Highlights of briefing by Brenden Varma

New York, Dec 8 (Just News): Highlights of briefing by Brenden Varma:

PRESIDENT ADDRESSES “MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND INCLUSIVE INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSIONS ON MIGRATION IN HISTORY”

The President will return to New York today. Yesterday, he delivered closing remarks to the General Assembly’s stocktaking meeting on migration, which was held in Mexico.

He said that, along with other gatherings related to the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration, the Mexico meting represented “the most comprehensive and inclusive international discussions on migration in history.”

He also highlighted areas of agreement at the meeting. Those included the ideas that: the current response to international migration is unsustainable; that migration is a global phenomenon in need of an international response; that a credible follow-up mechanism is essential for implementing what was agreed upon; and that Member States will continue to determine their own migration policies.

He said that negotiating the global compact, which would be the first of its kind, would be “a test of the United Nations’ capacity to respond to the most pressing global issues.”

While in Mexico, the President also met with the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the President of the IOM Council, and civil society representatives.

The Spokesperson was asked about how one could reconcile migration being handled as an international issue with the idea that different countries could still determine their own national policies. The Spokesperson replied that the point of the global compact was not meant to serve as a legally binding treaty or supersede national sovereignty. The goal was to arrive at a common global understanding of what migration means and how it should be addressed. Currently, no such understanding existed, and migration was being handled in a national and reactive fashion. The President felt that any steps toward understanding migration globally would be a step in the right direction and would help millions of people throughout the world who were on the move.
ASSEMBLY CONSIDERS DRAFT RESOLUTIONS FROM SPECIAL POLITICAL & LEGAL COMMITTEES

The General Assembly met this morning and adopted all draft resolutions and decisions from the Fourth Committee, or Special Political and Decolonization Committee.
This afternoon, it will consider drafts from the Sixth Committee, which handles legal matters.

PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS DIALOGUE ON PEACEBUILDING & CONFLICT PREVENTION

The President will speak at Columbia University tomorrow at an event entitled: “Sustaining Peace: Partnerships for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding.”
This is a United Nations-led dialogue with governments, the private sector, civil society, and academia.

It is one of the events leading up to the President’s high-level event on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, which he will convene in April 2018.

Other United Nations participants tomorrow will include the Secretary-General’s Chef de Cabinet, Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenèa, and Colombia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, H.E. Ms. María Emma Mejía Vélez.

Tomorrow’s event will take place from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. All are invited to attend or watch via webcast. Registration and viewing details can be found here.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S POSITION ON JERUSALEM IS CLEAR

Asked whether the President would be issuing a statement on Jerusalem, the Spokesperson replied that the position of the General Assembly on Jerusalem was already clear, as reflected in the resolution it had adopted

 (Just News/ys/2350hr)