PRESS CONFERENCE BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

 

On the opening day of the General Assembly’s sixty-second session, its President, Srgjan Kerim of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, said that the Assembly intended to debate today’s most crucial issues, with climate change high on the agenda.

Speaking to correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, he identified climate change, financing for development, implementation of the Counter-Terrorism Strategy, management reform and the Millennium Development Goals as among the main priorities.  The Assembly would also be actively engaged in important items of continued interest, such as Security Council reform and system-wide coherence.  Also on the agenda would be a five-year review of the implementation of the Children’s Summit’s outcome, as well as intercultural and interreligious dialogue.

Bearing in mind that the issue of revitalization of the General Assembly had been discussed for years, he believed that dealing substantively with the topics that were “the essence of the agenda of the United Nations” was the best way for the Assembly “to place itself where it belongs –- in the central position at the United Nations”, he said. 

On climate change, he stressed the issue’s far-reaching implications not only for the environment, but also for economic growth, sustainable development, energy, technology, good governance, health and security.  Despite initial scepticism, there was now political will and enthusiasm among Member States and relevant institutions to address the matter “in a very serious way”, as demonstrated by the forthcoming high-level debate next Monday, which had been convened by the Secretary-General.  Immediately after that, starting 25 September, the General Assembly would also address that issue during its general debate, which has “responding to climate change” as its main theme.

Following the Bali Conference in December, the Assembly President would like to convene a panel, bringing together representatives from business and academic circles, scientific, non-governmental and civil society to debate the essentials concerning climate change, including adaptation, mitigation, and finance and technology issues.  On the basis of the panel, and with full engagement of the Assembly, the President intends to ask the Secretary-General to prepare a United Nations road map on climate change, to cover the period through 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires, and beyond.  Among other things, it was important to address the institutional aspect of the matter, ensuring clear division of labour among relevant institutions.

Serious preparations should also start for next year's financing for development summit in Doha, Qatar, he continued, announcing that he had scheduled a briefing on the matter for 20 September.  At that briefing, two co-chairs would be appointed to take the lead, along with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Turning to the Millennium Development Goals, he said that almost halfway towards the benchmark of 2015, the initiative of some world and business leaders on convening a meeting on the implementation of the Goals should be considered with all seriousness.  He intended to convene such a meeting, in consultation with the Secretary-General, during the sixty-second session.

Highlighting the reform of the United Nations as another priority issue, he said that it related not only to the revitalization of the Assembly’s work, but also to management reform, the Organization’s efficiency and serious efforts to move forward with Security Council reform.  As far as the Counter-Terrorism Strategy was concerned, it was also important to strengthen Member States’ cooperation and use their strong political will to improve instruments and methods, including the adoption of an appropriate convention, “to attack terrorism all over the world, instead of them attacking innocent people and killing them”.  Another important issue was intercultural and interreligious dialogue, on which the Assembly would have a high-level debate on 4 and 5 October.

A correspondent asked how the President intended to tackle the Assembly’s agenda item on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, considering recent sales of submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons to Israel by a European Union country, and the current situation in Iran.

Mr. Kerim replied that every single aspect of the Middle East question -– one of the most complex issues, which the United Nations had been dealing with for decades -- had to be considered within the whole context.  He did not believe it would be useful to single out one of the aspects right now, including the one mentioned in the question.  Rather, he would prefer to see what the overall approach to the matter would be.  Recently appointed as a special envoy, Mr. Blair was now preparing recommendations on how to proceed, and there was also an initiative for a conference on the Middle East.  The issue could be further discussed within that context.

To several related questions, he said that he would be happy to publicly express his views following his scheduled meeting with the Secretary-General tomorrow, but it would not be fair to the Secretary-General if he had to find out about the General Assembly President’s views and suggestions through the media.

To several questions about Security Council reform, he said that, in spite of the difficulties and “a photo-finish” to the Open-Ended Working Group during the sixty-first session, there was a consensus on the matter.  He did not think Security Council reform should become an issue that would divide the United Nations and widen the gap between Member States.  Any decision on the matter required legitimacy.  In that respect, it would be good to move forward, as agreed, seeking a solution that all Member States would be ready to support.

He was looking forward to the continuation of the Working Group’s efforts during the sixty-second session, he continued.  The first step would be to appoint the co-chairs and facilitators on the matter and to agree on the framework of their activities. 

Responding to several questions about the jurisdiction of the Ethics Office, he said that, while there was no doubt that the Ethics Office was needed, its organizational aspect needed to be resolved in order to ensure coordination between the agencies and the Secretariat.  Very recently, discussions had taken place between the Secretary-General and heads of agencies to create a framework of coordination among the agencies and ensure harmonization in this regard.  The question would also soon be dealt with by the Assembly’s Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

He added that the agencies and the Secretariat did not have the same legal status and the institution of the Ethics Office needed to be constructed appropriately.  What mattered to him was that the Office needed to function in order to send a strong political message.  The organizational aspect was “solvable” and should not become an obstacle.

To questions regarding the climate change debate next week, he said that, together with the Secretary-General, who had convened the meeting, he would make a statement at the opening of the session.  Some 60 Heads of State and more than 30 prime ministers, as well as many other high-level participants would take part in the event.  Following the opening of the meeting, the debate would take place in four thematic roundtables.  The Secretary-General would make a summary of the proceedings at the end of the meeting.  “And we’ll also have a working dinner with some of the leaders to confirm once again what we have agreed upon during the day,” he added.

While every Member State had a sovereign right to make a statement according to its own interests, since the sixtieth session, the President of the General Assembly had initiated the practice of sending letters to all Member States suggesting a topic for the general debate.  In accordance with that practice, he had suggested the topic of “responding to climate change” to the Member States.  He also intended to make suggestions on how to structure the general debate to make it more interactive and focused on the priorities of the United Nations agenda.

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For information media • not an official record