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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

11 November 2020

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PRESIDENT SENDS CONDOLENCES TO BAHRAIN FOLLOWING PRIME MINISTER¡¯S PASSING

  • The President today? to the royal family and people of Bahrain on the passing of His Royal Highness Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who served his country since its independence.

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER OF GUINEA

  • The President is?meeting right now?with the Foreign Minister of Guinea, H.E. Mr. Mamadi Tour¨¦, who will assume the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China this January.
  • They are expected to discuss the President¡¯s priorities and mandates for the 75th session, including the General Assembly¡¯s special session on COVID-19.
  • They will also speak about the Sustainable Development Goals and the need to focus on countries in special situations ¨C including Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

GENERAL ASSEMBLY & SECURITY CO±¬ÁÏÍøCIL TO ELECT 5 WORLD COURT JUDGES TODAY

  • The General Assembly plenary met this morning to consider the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
  • This afternoon, the General Assembly and Security Council are scheduled to simultaneously hold elections for five members of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
  • There are eight candidates running for five vacant seats. They are nationals of: China; Croatia; Germany; Japan; Nigeria; Rwanda; Slovakia; and Uganda.
  • They are not nominated by individual Member States ¨C and serve in their personal capacities as independent judges.
  • Asked whether the ICJ elections would be held virtually or in person, the Spokesperson said that, on the General Assembly side, they would be held in person. Asked for more details, the Spokesperson referred the journalist to a?letter sent to Member States?on the arrangements.
  • Asked whether representatives of a specific Member State who had been dealing with COVID-19 infections would be participating in the elections, the Spokesperson said that was a question for the specific Member State in question. He could not confirm which delegations might or might not be in the room this afternoon.

DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE TAKES ACTION ON REMAINING CLUSTERS, SPECIAL POLITICAL COMMITTEE ADOPTS NEARLY 40 DRAFT TEXTS

  • The First Committee, which covers disarmament, completed its action phase yesterday. It took action on texts related to regional disarmament and security. Five draft resolutions and decisions were adopted, including 3 draft resolutions that were adopted without a vote.
  • The First Committee also took action on texts related to disarmament machinery. Four draft resolutions and decisions were adopted with votes, and 7 were adopted without a vote.
  • The General Assembly¡¯s Fourth Committee ¨C or Special Political and Decolonization Committee ¨C wrapped up its work last Friday, after having 10 formal meetings and 2 informal virtual meetings. It adopted 34 draft resolutions and 3 draft decisions.
  • Recorded votes took place on 13 of those draft resolutions ¨C 7 on ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA and items related to ¡®Israeli Practices¡¯ and 6 on decolonization.
  • All other resolutions and decisions were adopted without a vote. Those were on the effects of atomic radiation, peaceful uses of outer space, special political missions, questions related to information, decolonization and plans of work for the 75th and 76th sessions.