Noon briefing of 1 March 2011

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEET WITH GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON LIBYA

• The Secretary-General has returned from Washington, D.C., and met with senior advisers earlier this afternoon to discuss the latest developments in North Africa and the Middle East.
  

• He will meet with the Member States of the General Assembly this afternoon as they consider their response to the Human Rights Council’s resolution on Libya, which was adopted last Friday.
  

• The Secretary-General made clear in his remarks to reporters after visiting the Holocaust Memorial on Monday in Washington that he commended the Human Rights Council for its unanimous recommendation to suspend Libya until the violence stops. He welcomed its call for an independent international investigation. The Secretary-General urges all Member States of the United Nations to act decisively in the General Assembly.
  

• He warned that, in Libya, a Government that has lost its legitimacy has declared war on its own people.
  

• In response to a question about the Secretary-General’s Monday meeting with US President Obama in Washington, D.C., the Spokesperson said that Libya was the main topic of discussion, but that they also talked about Egypt, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire and Sudan. He added that the Secretary-General and President Obama also discussed Rio 2012, the follow-up meeting to the Earth Summit taking place in Brazil next year, as well as climate change.
  

• Asked about the Secretary-General’s reaction to the situation in Libya, Nesirky said the Secretary-General had been clear in his messages to address the unfolding events across the region, not just in Libya. He said that the Secretary-General had noted the importance of the resolution adopted by the Security Council on Saturday.
  

• The Spokesperson added that the Secretary-General had said that these were tough measures but that further action could be necessary in the future.
  

• Asked about the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone in Libya, he said that this was a matter for the Security Council to consider.

SITUATION IN LIBYA REACHING CRISIS POINT, U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CAUTIONS

• With more than 140,000 people having escaped violence by going to Egypt and Tunisia, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that the situation in Libya is reaching a crisis point.
  

• On Monday alone, some 14,000 people – the highest number to date in one day – crossed the border into Tunisia. The Agency voiced concern that many sub-Saharan Africans are not being allowed to enter the country.
  

• Nearly 70,000 people have crossed into Egypt from Libya since late last month, it adds.
  

• The Agency says that it has received desperate calls from people in Libya and their family members outside, saying that they feel trapped, threatened and hunted.
  

• The World Food Programme (WFP) has sent 80 tonnes of food to help Libyans who have fled into Tunisia.
  

• Josette Sheeran, WFP’s Executive Director, is in Tunisia to discuss humanitarian needs with Government officials. She travelled to the border area with Libya today.
  

• For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) stresses the need for urgent action to avoid the emergence of potential pandemics, due to the severe shortage of food and clean drinking water.

U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF WARNS YEMENI AUTHORITIES AGAINST REPRESSION OF PLANNED PROTESTS

• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, warned the authorities in Yemen against any violent repression of planned protests today. She called on the Government to protect the rights of demonstrators and journalists under international law.
  

• Ms. Pillay said that people have the legitimate right to express their grievances and demands to their Government, and she denounced previous violence against protestors in Yemen, which is reported to have resulted in a number of deaths and injuries.
  

• The High Commissioner also cited reports of attacks, intimidation and harassment against local and international journalists covering the protests, as well as the arrest and detention of journalists and human rights defenders. She is particularly concerned about reports of enforced disappearances of political activists.
  

• Navi Pillay also expressed deep concern about the continuing illegal detention and reported ill treatment of 45 members of civil society in Zimbabwe.
  

• The Zimbabwean detainees have allegedly been charged with treason for discussing events in Egypt and Tunisia. Ms. Pillay is calling for their speedy release.

U.N. ASSESSMENT MISSION ARRIVES IN TUNISIA

• A High-Level Needs Assessment Mission led by Jamal Benomar, Senior Adviser to the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, has arrived in Tunisia and initiated its work. The mission will remain in the country from 1-5 March.
  

• It will meet with a wide range of interlocutors to discuss Tunisian plans for the transition period and possible needs for electoral assistance. The mission follows the receipt of a letter last month from the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting electoral assistance from the United Nations.
  

• Mr. Benomar is accompanied by the Director of the United Nations’ Electoral Assistance Division, as well as other members of the Department of Political Affairs and of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CALLS FOR HUMANITARIAN ACCESS FOR THOSE TRAPPED BY FIGHTING IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is calling humanitarian access for people trapped by fighting in the Abobo district of Abidjan, in Côte d’Ivoire.
  

• The Agency says that many people have already fled Abobo, but that there are reports that armed groups are preventing others from leaving. This includes, according to church authorities, some 60 families, mainly women and children, trapped in a church.
  

• UNHCR also cites reports of many dead bodies, buses burned and shops looted, and of young militiamen attacking people inside their homes.
  

• The Agency says there must be no targeting of civilians and that all efforts must be made to prevent civilians being placed in harm’s way.
  

• UNHCR also says that in recent days more than 29,000 people have fled across the border to Liberia, joining the 40,000 Ivorian refugees already there. The Agency is responding to this influx with plans for a further camp and transfers to the designated villages and to the existing Bahn camp where there are basic services such as healthcare, education and clean water.

SPOKESPERSON SAYS EXPERT GROUP ON CÔTE D’IVOIRE HAD RECEIVED INFORMATION REGARDING HELICOPTERS

• Asked about reports of helicopters being delivered to Côte d’Ivoire, the Spokesperson said that, according to the Department for Peacekeeping Operations, the Group of Experts established by the Security Council to monitor the arms embargo against Côte d'Ivoire reported that it had received information that three attack helicopters and related equipment were going to be delivered to the forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo.
  

• He added that on Sunday, the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) said it had received reports that a flight landed at Yamoussoukro, but the Group of Experts has not been able to confirm this due to restrictions on its movement. Given the seriousness of the issue, it was decided to raise the matter publicly, he said.
  

• Nesirky said that any deployment of attack helicopters would present a serious threat to civilians, peacekeepers as well as the Mission’s supply lines. In addition, he said, this would also present a serious threat to the Golf Hotel.
  

• The Spokesperson noted that, for the Mission to carry out its mandated tasks, including monitoring and enforcing the arms embargo, it needed freedom of movement. He said that freedom of movement was severely restricted at the moment.
  

• He added that the situation in Côte d’Ivoire was becoming increasingly complex and dangerous, making it much more difficult for UNOCI to carry out its mandated tasks, including monitoring and enforcing the embargo. The Mission continues to monitor activities at the airport in order to verify these reports, he said.
  

• Nesirky also said that the Permanent Mission of Belarus had informed the Secretariat that the Republic of Belarus fully complies with its international obligations regarding the embargo against Côte d’Ivoire and that Belarus has an effective export control system in place to avoid embargo violations. He noted that the Permanent Mission stated that, since the Security Council established the sanctions regime in 2004, Belarus has never undertaken or planned any arms deliveries to Côte d’Ivoire. The Spokesperson said that the United Nations welcomes these assurances.

PROLONGED DROUGHT COULD FURTHER WORSEN CONDITIONS FOR SOMALI CHILDREN, SAYS U.N. CHILDREN’S FUND

• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is concerned that a prolonged drought may further worsen living conditions for children in south-central and northern Somalia.
  

• The agency is preparing emergency aid to children and their families, and is hoping to reach some 900,000 people. This effort will focus on delivering water and sanitation, and health and nutrition, among other necessities.

CONFLICT ROBBING 28 MILLION CHILDREN OF A FUTURE, WARNS U.N. REPORT

• Armed conflict is robbing 28 million children of an education by exposing them to widespread rape and other sexual violence, attacks on schools and other human rights abuses, according to a new report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
  

• The publication cautions that the world is not on track to achieve the six Education for All goals, signed on to by 160 countries, by the target date of 2015. In spite of progress in many areas, most of the goals will be missed by a wide margin, especially in regions rocked by violence.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHINA ASSUMES SECURITY COUNCIL’S MARCH PRESIDENCY: China has assumed the Security Council’s rotating Presidency for the month of March. Ambassador Li Baodong of China is scheduled to brief reporters on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the Council’s programme of work for the coming month.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS NEW GLOBAL COMPACT BOARD MEMBERS: The Secretary-General has appointed six new members to the Board of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. The Board, now with 22 members, oversees the implementation of the Compact’s integrity measures, under which more than 2,000 companies have been de-listed for not communicating on progress made in implementing its principles.