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

PRESIDENT WRAPS UP TRIP TO GENEVA WITH CALL FOR SAFE, ORDERLY, REGULAR MIGRATON

• The President returned to New York last night from Geneva. There he participated in that will feed into the process to adopt the first ever global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration next year.
• In the first event, he : ¡°None of us wants people to suffer. None of us wants chaos. None of us favours our current model over safe, orderly and regular migration¡±.
• In the second, he : ¡°Regardless of passports or visas ¨C we all have the same fears and hopes. And, as human beings, we are entitled to the same fundamental rights¨C no matter where we are, or why we are there.¡±

PRESIDENT REGRETS U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM ±¬ÁÏÍøESCO

• While en route from Switzerland to New York yesterday, the President issued a on the United States¡¯ withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (±¬ÁÏÍøESCO). The President expressed regret over the US decision and concern about the possible adverse impacts on ±¬ÁÏÍøESCO¡¯s important work.
• He said that, given that the stakes for peace have never been so high, cooperation, dialogue and partnerships are more important than ever.

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH INDIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS & FORMER EGYPTIAN MINISTER

• The President met this morning with a . They discussed issues related to migration, peace, sustainable development, and United Nations reform.
• The President also met with former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, who recently joined his .

POLITICAL DIFFERENCES MUST NOT DISTRACT US FROM OUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO PEOPLE

• This morning, the President the General Assembly¡¯s Special Political and Decolonization Committee ¨C or Fourth Committee.
• He suggested that the Committee ¡°ensure that political differences do not distract us from our responsibilities to people¡±.
• He added: ¡°Even if we disagree on the status of a territory, we must find ways to work together for the people who live in it¡±.
• A record number of 116 petitioners have addressed the Fourth Committee already this year.

SECURITY CO±¬ÁÏÍøCIL REFORM: PRESIDENT WORKS TO FIND AREAS OF COMPROMISE

• Asked for an update on Security Council reform, the Spokesperson said the President still had to appoint the chair or co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on?Security Council?reform (IGN). But he had already met with a wide range of interested Member States and groups to hear their views and understand their positions. The President definitely wanted to see meaningful reform that all Member States could believe in and would keep working to that end to the best of his ability.
• Asked if the President saw ¡°hope at the end of the tunnel¡±, the Spokesperson said the President recognized that the process would be difficult. Most of the world agreed that the Security Council needed to be reformed and reflect the world¡¯s current geopolitical realities ¨C but there was disagreement among the Member States on how to make that happen. The President would continue to use his convening power to bring Member States together. And he would use all the diplomatic and political tools he had to try to make progress and find areas of compromise.