PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

United Nations Headquarters, New York

22 February 2021

MYANMAR: PRESIDENT CALLS FOR RETURN TO CIVILIAN RULE AS ASSEMBLY PREPARES FOR SPECIAL ENVOY BRIEFING

  • The President said this morning that he remains deeply and saddened by the deaths of peaceful demonstrators. Human rights, freedoms and the rule of law should be upheld at all times, he added.
  • And he called for calm, restraint and a return to civilian rule in line with the outcome of the recent elections.
  • Also on Myanmar, the President will convene an informal meeting of the General Assembly this Friday, 26 February, to hear a briefing by the Special Envoy on Myanmar. This follows a request from a group of Member States and consultations with the Special Envoy.
  • This briefing is also pursuant to on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. That resolution ¡°requests the Secretary-General ¡­ to provide all assistance necessary to enable the Special Envoy on Myanmar¡­ to report to Member States every six months, or as warranted by the situation on the ground¡±.

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PRESIDENT APPALLED BY ATTACK IN D.R. CONGO, EXPRESSES CONCERN FOR U.N. PERSONNEL

  • The President said today that he was that the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and colleagues were killed during a heinous attack while on their way to visit a World Food Programme (WFP) school.
  • Noting that WFP is the world¡¯s largest humanitarian organization, he stressed that the perpetrators need to be brought to justice.
  • In response to a related question, the Spokesperson said the President had expressed his concerns many times about the safety, security, welfare and wellbeing of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ personnel throughout the world. From his first day, the President had repeatedly spoken about how, through his travels, he had met with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ personnel across the globe. He had seen firsthand how they worked as hard as they could ¨C often under very difficult conditions ¨C to better people¡¯s lives.
  • In general, the President spoke out every time there was an unfortunate attack on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ colleagues, expressing his concern and condemning such attacks.
  • Asked whether the President would convene a meeting on the safety and security of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ personnel, the Spokesperson noted that any formal meeting of the General Assembly would require an initiative from Member States. But from his side, the President would continue to use his platform to speak out against any attacks on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ colleagues.

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HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSERS TOO OFTEN NOT HELD TO ACCOÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵT

  • This morning, the President the opening of the 46th regular session of the Human Rights Council.
  • In his remarks, he said that, although human rights and fundamental freedoms are universal and inherent in every person, in practice they are not universally protected. And perpetrators of human rights abuses are too often not held to account.
  • He also said COVID-19 has provided a veil behind which more human rights abuses are being committed.
  • He added that the pandemic is not just a health crisis ¨C but also a human rights one. And he said it was essential that all responses be centered around human rights. That includes ensuring vaccines for all.
  • The President also addressed the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming. The theme this year focuses on the fight against racism and discrimination.
  • He said, if we are to address longstanding forms of discrimination, we must listen to, and learn from, each other¡¯s lived experiences. And we must recognize that privilege has arisen as a result of past injustices.
  • He said acknowledging past actions is the first step in adopting concrete measures towards reparatory justice. And if we are to create more equal, just and peaceful societies, we have no other choice.

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WE MUST SUPPORT THOSE WHO WISH TO SPEAK THEIR MOTHER LANGUAGE

  • The President delivered remarks to a virtual event organized by the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to mark International Mother Language Day.
  • He said our collective diversity in language and culture points to the richness and complexity of our societies.
  • He stressed that we must support those who wish to speak their mother tongue.

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PRESIDENT CALLS FOR ACTION ON ENVIRONMENT, AFRICA & VULNERABLE COÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵTRIES

  • This morning, the President addressed the high-level segment of the Fifth Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Environment Assembly by video message.
  • He said, ¡°We have a fundamental and existential choice to make: continue down our current path, which involves pressing demands on a planet whose capacity cannot meet our needs as is; or we adjust our behaviours, however inconvenient that may be, to find some sort of harmony and balance with the world around us. And this is very much the time to act.¡±
  • The President also spoke at the high-level opening session of the Africa Review meeting, held in preparation of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5).
  • In his remarks, he noted that, while all Member States have been adversely affected by COVID-19, the most vulnerable countries face the greatest risk of losing a generation of hard-won development gains. We cannot let that happen, he said.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO MEET TOMORROW ON UKRAINE

  • Tomorrow morning, the General Assembly plenary will hold a debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
  • This has been an annual debate since the General Assembly¡¯s 73rd session.