NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS BY PAULINA KUBIAK GREER,
SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ABDULLA SHAHID
United Nations Headquarters, New York

 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Starting with the General Assembly Hall… this morning there is the meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly.

In his opening remarks to the Working Group, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, said the call to revitalize the General Assembly’s work has never been more urgent, to improve the efficacy and efficiency of the United Nations at a crucial juncture in time.

The revitalization process is chaired by Ambassadors Egriselda Lopez of El Salvador, and Mitch Fifield of Australia.

Member States had chosen two areas of focus for the 76th session of the General Assembly. Those are the role and authority of the General Assembly, and its working methods.

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SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION

Also this morning, President Shahid met with his Advisory Committee on Sustainable Urbanization.

This group advises on the planning of the High-Level Meeting to assess the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. That high-level meeting will be held on 28 April.

The Advisory Group includes the heads of ECOSOC and 蘑菇视频-Habitat, Member States, regional organizations and civil society.

 

OBAMA FELLOWS

This afternoon, President Shahid will host a meeting between the Fellows for HOPE and the Obama Foundation Fellows. The event is expected to be about building networks between like-minded peers, and hopefully some friendships along the way.

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BILATERALS

To let you know about some of the bilateral meetings that the President has this afternoon.

President Shahid will meet with Noeleen Heyzer, who is visiting New York for the first time in her capacity as Special Envoy on Myanmar.

The President will also speak with Ambassador Peter Thomson, the Special Envoy for the Ocean.

 

QUESTIONS

The Spokesperson was asked whether the President of the General Assembly moderates his language on Ukraine when speaking with different Member States. She said that the President does not change his wording based on which Member States he meets with.

The Spokesperson was asked if the President uses “war”. The Spokesperson said the President uses “aggression” which is the word that is used in the Emergency Special Session resolution supported by 141 Member States.