HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
 

BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

 

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
 

Thursday, May 20, 2010

 

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON WILL HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE MONDAY

• At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag
  Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is
  scheduled to hold a press conference.
   

• There will be no noon briefing
  on Monday.

BAN KI-MOON, IN TURKEY, WILL ADDRESS
SOMALIA CONFERENCE SATURDAY

• The Secretary-General arrived in
  Istanbul this morning for bilateral talks with Turkish leaders and to
  attend a major international conference on Somalia.
   

• Earlier today, the
  Secretary-General met with President Abdullah Gul. Following that, the
  Secretary-General is expected to be meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmet
  Davutoglu later.
   

• He will later be dining with Mr.
  Davutoglu and the President of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif.
   

• Earlier in the day, the
  Secretary-General delivered a speech at Bogazici University. He said
  Turkey was leading by example with dynamic diplomacy and UN involvement.
  He said Turkey was also well placed to do even more through the G20, its
  non-permanent Security Council membership and the
  
  Alliance of Civilizations. We have copies of his full remarks.
   

• Tomorrow, the Secretary-General
  will take part in the Somalia conference. In his prepared remarks, the
  Secretary-General is expected to warn that if the international
  community does not change its approach, there will be little chance for
  peace in Somalia.

REFUGEE AGENCY ISSUES NEW
ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR SOMALI ASYLUM SEEKERS

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has
  
  issued new eligibility guidelines on the protection needs of Somali
  asylum seekers. The agency has also notified donors of its concerns over
  the worsening situation in the country. It is appealing to all States to
  uphold their obligations under international agreements with regard to
  non-refoulement of asylum seekers. It says that asylum seekers from
  central and southern Somalia must only be repatriated on a strictly
  voluntary basis.
   

• UNHCR regrets that, despite new
  eligibility guidelines, more than 100 Somalis have been deported from
  Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.

REPORT ON CHILDREN AND ARMED
CONFLICT NAMES WORST NON-STATE AND STATE VIOLATORS

• The Secretary-General’s annual
  
  report on Children and Armed Conflict is out.
   

• For the first time the report
  includes a list of the most persistent violators for recruiting and
  using children—those who have been in the annexes of the
  Secretary-General’s report for at least five years.
   

• The Secretary-General encourages
  the Security Council to consider more vigorous measures against these
  persistent violators and to consider including child recruitment and use
  in the mandates of all its sanctions committees.
   

• The report also lists state and
  non-state parties to conflict who have killed, maimed, raped and used
  sexual violence against children.

 A
SOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS DISPUTE IS WELL WITHIN REACH

• The Secretary-General’s latest
  
  report on his mission of good offices in
  
  Cyprus is now available.
   

• The report covers the period from
  late November last year to the end of April this year, and in it, the
  Secretary-General says that considerable progress was made in the peace
  talks during that time-period.
   

• The peace talks, in particular
  the intensive rounds of early 2010, have generated increasing
  international focus on reaching a lasting solution in Cyprus, he says,
  adding that there is now a unique opportunity to make a decisive push
  forward on the talks.
   

• The Secretary-General goes on to
  say that a solution is well within reach, although time is not on the
  side of a settlement – he noted that shares the two sides’
  previously-expressed strong hope that they’d conclude the negotiations
  by the end of 2010 and that he’ll be closely monitoring over the
  progress made in the negotiations over the coming months.

 SECURITY
COUNCIL TO DISCUSS IRAQ NEXT TUESDAY

• The Secretary-General’s latest
  
  report on the work of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI)
  is out today as a document.
   

• In it, he says that the national
  elections for the Council of Representatives demonstrated Iraqis’
  resolve to exercise their democratic rights. He notes with satisfaction
  the planning and holding of the vote and the valuable technical
  assistance and expert advice provided by the UN to the competent Iraqi
  authorities.
   

• In view of the planned drawdown
  of the United States Forces for Iraq, UNAMI is now looking ahead and
  considering alternative arrangements to ensure that its security and
  logistic requirements are met, the report says. In order to improve the
  United Nations operational capacity, a significant increase in resources
  from Member States will be essential if the United Nations is to
  maintain or increase its activities in Iraq.
   

• The Security Council is scheduled to discuss the report on Tuesday, May
  25.

 MALAWI
IMPRISONMENT OF HOMOSEXUAL COUPLE IS “BLATANTLY DISCRIMINATORY”

• In Geneva, the High Commissioner
  for Human Rights Navi Pillay
  
  says that the prosecution and sentencing to 14 years of prison and
  hard labour of a Malawian gay couple, is “blatantly discriminatory” and
  sets an alarming precedent in the region.
   

• The High Commissioner called for
  the conviction to be repealed and for penal codes criminalizing
  homosexuality to be reformed in countries where they still exist.
   

• She also noted a marked
  deterioration in official and public attitudes in Malawi, not just
  towards individuals perceived as being homosexual but also towards
  organizations that speak out about sexual orientation and related
  issues, including ones doing vital work to mitigate the impact of
  HIV/AIDS.
   

• The Joint United Nations
  Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
  
  adds that the criminalization of individuals based on their sexual
  orientation threatens public health gains in the AIDS response. It says
  that criminalizing sexual behaviour drives people who engage in same-sex
  relations underground and hampers HIV-related programmes aimed at
  addressing their needs.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
 

U.N. ENVOYS BASED IN SUDAN TO
ATTEND OMAR AL-BASHIR’S PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION:
In response to question about who in the UN system will be attending the
inauguration of Omer Al-Bashir next week, the Spokeswoman said attending
will be Special Representative for Sudan Haile Menkerios and Special
Representative for the African Union and the United Nations Hybrid Operation
in Darfur (UNAMID) Ibrahim Gambari,  the senior UN officials on the
ground and as such they interact with the host government regularly on
operational issues to ensure that their Missions are able to function
effectively and to address areas of mutual concern.

 

VIOLATING ROAD SAFETY RULES MAY
LEAD TO DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS FOR ALL U.N. STAFF:
In response a question was about the enforcement of the new administrative
instruction on Road and Driving Safety, the spokeswoman said the
administrative instruction entered into force on 19 May. It provides the
following: "Failure to comply with the provisions of this Instruction and
all other United Nations Secretariat administrative issuances concerning the
driving of UN vehicles, including, but not limited to, the involvement in an
accident or violations of local traffic laws, may lead to the institution of
disciplinary proceedings against the staff member(s) concerned."

UNICEF SEEKS URGENT FUNDING FOR
ITS RELIEF WORK IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC:
UNICEF is warning that insecurity and conflict in the

Central African Republic are affecting tens of thousands of children.
And the situation is made worse by logistical difficulties in delivering
humanitarian aid where it’s most needed. Worse still, is the lack of funds
to carry out humanitarian operations. The agency says that it has received
only $2 million to date, out of the $12 million it requested in this year’s
Consolidated Appeals Process. It most urgently needs $4 million to respond
to immediate over the next three months.

 

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
 

Saturday, 22 May

 

The Secretary-General will be in
Istanbul, Turkey, for the international conference on Somalia.

 

Today is the International Day for
Biological Diversity.

 

Sunday, 23 May

 

The UN Independent Expert on the
situation of human rights in Burundi, Akich Okola, will undertake his 13th
mission to Burundi until 29 May, to assess the human rights situation in the
context of country’s elections.

 

Monday, 24 May

 

At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag
Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the Secretary-General will hold his monthly
press conference. There will be no noon briefing today.

 

Today, the Security Council will
hold a debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

At 12:30 p.m., the Pew Environment
Group will host a press briefing on the state of high seas fisheries
management on the first day of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement
(UNFSA) Review Conference. Participants include: Dr. Susan Lieberman,
International Policy Director for the Pew Environment Group; Kristín Von
Kistowski, senior advisor to the Pew Environment Group; and Sarika
Cullis-Suzuki, researcher at the University of British Columbia.

 

The Deputy Secretary-General will be
in Baku where she will address the 7th Council of Europe Conference of
Ministers Responsible for Equality Between Women and Men.

 

The ITU World Telecommunication
Development Conference (WTDC-10) will meet in Hyderabad, India, starting
today and until from 4 June. Ministers, heads of international
organizations, development banks and regulatory agencies, and CEOs of
private sector companies will attend with a focus on adopting the Hyderabad
Action Plan that will set the agenda for telecommunication and ICT
development over the next four years.

 

The UN independent expert on human
rights, water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, will visit Slovenia
from until 28 May.

 

Tuesday, 25 May

 

At 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General
will make remarks at an event marking the launch of a campaign to push for
the universal ratification of the Optional Protocols for the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, at UNICEF House.

 

At 12:30 p.m., in the Dag
Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference on the
launch of several media campaigns to combat violations of children's rights.
Participants include Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Ms. Marta Santos Pais,
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Violence against
Children; and Hilde Johnson, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director.
 

This morning, the Security Council
will hear a briefing and then hold consultation son the United Nations
Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). It is also expected to adopt a
resolution on MINURCAT.

 

The Secretary-General will make
opening remarks at a pledging conference for the Extraordinary Chambers in
the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) which will take place from 3 to 6 p.m., in the
Economic and Social Council Chamber (NLB).

 

Today is Africa Day.

 

Wednesday, 26 May

 

Today, the Security Council will hear a briefing on
“Inter-cultural dialogue for peace and security.”

 

At
11 a.m.,in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, Rob Vos, Director of
Development Policy Analysis in DESA will launch the updated 2010 United
Nations’ World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP).

 

Thursday, 27 May

 

The Secretary-General will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
where he will deliver a speech at the opening of the Alliance of
Civilizations Forum opening on Friday.

 

This morning, the Security Council will hold
consultations on UN peacekeeping operations as well as on the report of the
panel of experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the afternoon,
the Security Council is expected to adopt resolutions on the UN Mission in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and on the United Nations Operation in
Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI). It will also hold consultations on its 1718
Committee.

 

Friday, 28 May

 

Under Secretaries-General Alain Le
Roy and Susana Malcorra will be the guests at the Noon Briefing, to mark
International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

 

At 9:15 a.m., the Deputy
Secretary-General will preside over a wreath-laying ceremony honouring
fallen peacekeepers.

 

At 10 a.m., the Dag Hammarskjold
medals will be presented posthumously to the peacekeepers who fell in 2009
and in January and February 2010, at a ceremony in the Economic and Social
Council Chamber.

 

The 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is scheduled to end today.