HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARTIN NESIRKY, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
TUESDAY, 26 JUNE 2012
DEPUTY SYRIA ENVOY BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL
- The Security Council held consultations on Tuesday morning on the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). The Deputy Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Nasser al-Kidwa, briefed Council members by videoconference from Geneva about the recent efforts by Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan and his team.
- In the afternoon, the Security Council will hold consultations on the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
- Asked about Kofi Annan’s proposal to include Iran in a contact group for Syria, the Spokesperson said that was a topic that continues to be under active discussion, as are the time and venue for a possible meeting.
DRUGS, CRIME THREATEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – SECRETARY-GENERAL
- The Secretary-General told the General Assembly’s Thematic Debate on drugs and crime on Tuesday that drugs and crime threatened one of our most important goals: to ensure sustainable development around the world.
- He noted that we must work together to promote the rule of law and help countries bring criminals to justice, while fully respecting human rights and ensuring proportionality in our law enforcement responses.
U.N. HELPING MALIANS UPROOTED BY CONFLICT
- Twenty-five thousand vulnerable Malians displaced by conflict in the north of the country are to receive support from the United Nations.
- The aid – including essential non-food relief items, transport assistance, family reunification, and medical assistance – is intended for the most vulnerable people, including women, unaccompanied children, the old and those living with disabilities.
- The projects, implemented by the International Organization for Migration, in close collaboration with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other humanitarian partners, will mainly target conflict-affected internally displaced people from Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal.
MYANMAR: U.N. ENVOY TO WITNESS SIGNING OF PACT TO END CHILD RECRUITMENT
- The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, will witness the signing of an agreement on Wednesday in Myanmar to release children from the country’s armed forces.
- The new action plan sets out concrete and time-bound activities to ensure the separation of children from the armed forces and to prevent further recruitment.
- While in Myanmar, Ms. Coomaraswamy will meet with President Thein Sein, government ministers, UN agencies, civil society and the diplomatic community.
U.N. ENVOY HAILS WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN LIBYAN POLITICS
- Ian Martin, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, spoke at an event on Tuesday celebrating women’s participation in the Libyan National Congress.
- He said that the new Libya provides a new opportunity for Libyan women to articulate their political, economic and social aspirations. And he commended civil society for its practical efforts to support women to register to vote, to educate women and men about voting, and to help women candidates.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. AGENCY HELPING D.R. CONGO TO COMBAT LIVESTOCK DISEASE: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is mobilizing urgent support to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) tackle the spread of a powerful livestock disease that has already killed 75,000 goats and threatens neighbouring countries. The agency has an emergency project that will provide funds for vaccinating 500,000 sheep and goats in areas not yet affected by the disease, raising awareness via rural radio and village-level meetings to educate farmers about steps they can take to prevent PPR, and increasing active surveillance for PPR throughout the area, among other measures.
U.N. AFGHANISTAN ENVOY FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING U.N.D.P.: In response to a question about a United Nations Development Project (UNDP) in Afghanistan, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the country, Jan Kubiš, is closely following the developments and has already raised his points and concerns with the UNDP leadership in New York and in Kabul.
***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who spoke to reporters about his office’s World Drug Report.
