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PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS YOUTH ACTIVISTS IN HARLEM

• This afternoon the President will head to Harlem to address and hear from local youth activists.
• The informal gathering has been organized by the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WF±¬ÁÏÍøA) ¨C in collaboration with Children¡¯s Aid, Integrate NYC and Cyphers for Justice.
• Among other things, the event will focus on empowering young people, including inner-city youth, in decision-making processes.
• The President is expected to say that youth networks and young people are the lifeblood of our communities ¨C and that the ±¬ÁÏÍø needs their ideas and solutions more than ever.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY MUST APPROVE SECRETARY-GENERAL¡¯S CHOICE FOR NEXT HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF

• Asked to confirm the name of the United Nations¡¯ next High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Spokesperson said that it was not for him to confirm any choices that were to be made by the Secretary-General.
• Procedurally the General Assembly would have to take a decision on the proposed appointment of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• The High Commissioner was to be appointed by the Secretary-General and approved by the General Assembly, the Spokesperson said.
• The Spokesperson added that the President would convene a meeting of the General Assembly on this topic as soon as he received a note from the Secretariat. As of now, no such note had been received.
• Asked whether the note would need to be received before the end of the current High Commissioner¡¯s term, the Spokesperson said that this was up to the Secretariat. The President would take action once the note was received.

REFUGEE COMPACT TO COME BEFORE ASSEMBLY THIS FALL

• Asked whether the Global Compact on Refugees would come before the General Assembly, the Spokesperson noted that, while the General Assembly had been in the lead on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, it was the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (±¬ÁÏÍøHCR) that was leading on the Global Compact on Refugees.
• He later added that the Global Compact on Refugees was expected to come before the General Assembly through the Third Committee¡¯s annual resolution on ±¬ÁÏÍøHCR. That was expected to happen this fall.

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SPOKESPERSON HIGHLIGHTS EVENTS TO BE HELD DURING GENERAL DEBATE

• In response to questions about the upcoming general debate, the Spokesperson said the following:
• The general debate of the seventy-third session will be held from Tuesday, 25 September, to Monday, 1 October 2018.
• The high-level Nelson Mandela Peace Summit will be held on Monday, 24 September. This will be a new event. It has not been held before.
• A high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons will then be held on Wednesday, 26 September 2018.
• The President has invited Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, and Karipbek Kuyukov, the ATOM Project¡¯s Honorary Ambassador, to deliver keynote statements at that meeting.
• On the same day, we will also have the high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis. Like the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit, that will also be a new meeting.
• Finally, the high-level meeting to undertake a comprehensive review of the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases will be held on Thursday, 27 September.
• Although these meetings will all happen in the next session, they are currently being organized by President Laj?¨¢k?and his team.
• In response to a?question, the Spokesperson later confirmed that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, would participate in the high-level meeting on tuberculosis.
• Asked whether the meeting on tuberculosis would address cuts in tuberculosis-related funding to the Democratic People¡¯s Republic of Korea, the Spokesperson said he would not want to speculate on what substantive issues may or may not be discussed in September.
• He added that, overall, this high-level meeting was significant, as it was the first meeting of its kind dedicated to tuberculosis, which killed more people than any other infectious disease.