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HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA,?SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MIROSLAV LAJ??K

THIRD COMMITTEE ADOPTS RESOLUTIONS ON D.P.R. KOREA, IRAN, CRIMEA, SEVASTAPOL; POSTPONES CONSIDERATION OF MYANMAR RESOLUTION

• The Third Committee is meeting today to consider draft resolutions on human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives.
• This morning it adopted without a vote a on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It also adopted a on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, by a vote of 83 in favour to 30 against with 68 abstentions.
• Today, the Third Committee also adopted a on the situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastapol, Ukraine, which was presented by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine. It was adopted by a vote of 71 in favour to 25 against, with 77 abstentions. The Third Committee will also consider today a on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic.
• Regarding the on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the United Nations Secretariat has informed Member States that there are potential budgetary implications. Thus, it is now up to the Secretariat to provide an estimate related to how much it would cost to implement this resolution.
• Since additional time is needed, the Third Committee has decided to postpone its consideration of the Myanmar draft resolution until this Thursday.
• If the Third Committee adopts the resolution on Thursday, the normal procedure would be for it to then be considered by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and then the Fifth Committee, which handles budgetary matters ¨C before going to the General Assembly plenary in December.
• Asked whether ¡°country-specific resolutions¡± would be ¡°abandoned¡± in the future, due to reservations from certain Member States, the Spokesperson said it was up to the Member States to agree on agenda items and what resolutions they would take action on. Whether or not the Member States would continue to draft and act on such resolutions was entirely in their hands.
• Asked whether the Third Committee would vote tomorrow on the on ¡°combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance¡±, the Spokesperson later informed the journalist that the Third Committee would not be meeting tomorrow. Since the Committee¡¯s daily programme was normally not issued until the evening before, it was not clear at this stage when the draft would be voted on.

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PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY & CONFLICT PREVENTION REMAIN KEY PRIORITIES FOR PRESIDENT

• Asked when the President had last mentioned the term ¡°preventive diplomacy¡± in one of his speeches, the Spokesperson later added that the President had used it in a on 24 October at the United Nations Bookshop¡¯s presentation on the book ¡°Oppenheim¡¯s International Law: The United Nations.¡± Specifically, the President had said: ¡°The United Nations is working to advance the rule of law around the world. This means building the capacity of national institutions and actors. It also means engaging in preventive diplomacy and mediation.¡±
• At the same time, the Spokesperson stressed that preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention were important priorities for the President and close to his heart. That was why the President would be convening a high-level meeting on sustaining peace on 24 April 2018. That President expected that the successful holding of this mandated event would be one of his key legacies for the 72nd session.

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DATE OF NEXT MEETING TO ELECT WORLD COURT JUDGES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON

• Regarding the election of the last remaining judge for the International Court of Justice (ICJ), six rounds of voting were held in the General Assembly yesterday. And in total, 11 rounds have been held to date.
• But neither of the two candidates ¨C who come from India and the United Kingdom ¨C obtained the required majority in both the General Assembly and Security Council.
• The General Assembly will therefore have to meet again on this matter. The date of that next meeting should be announced soon