Noon briefing of 4 March 2011

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CONCERNED THAT LIBYAN SECURITY SITUATION MAY HINDER PEOPLE FROM ESCAPING VIOLENCE

• With the number of civilians crossing into Tunisia having plummeted since Wednesday afternoon, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is very concerned that the security situation in Libya may be preventing people from fleeing the violence.
  

• Compared to earlier in the week, when between 10,000 and 15,000 people were entering Tunisia daily, fewer than 2,000 made it across the border on Thursday.
  

• UNHCR says that the border on the Libyan side is now manned by heavily armed pro-Government forces.
  

• It has also heard from those who managed to enter Tunisia that mobile phones and cameras are being confiscated.
  

• Significant progress has been made in evacuating Egyptians and those of other nationalities from Tunisia, but some 12,500 people – mostly from Bangladesh – still need to be repatriated.
  

• In response to a question, the Spokesperson said that a special UN humanitarian envoy for Libya will be named soon.
  

• Asked about casualties, he said that the United Nations is not in a position to verify casualties, given its lack of unimpeded access into Libya.

UNITED NATIONS HAS RECEIVED REQUEST TO CHANGE CREDENTIALS OF LIBYA’S U.N. REPRESENTATIVE

• Asked about the credentials of the Libyan Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the Spokesperson confirmed that the Secretary-General has received correspondence from the Libyan authorities, naming Ali Abdussalam Treki as their designated Permanent Representative.
  

• The United Nations has also received an earlier letter withdrawing the credentials of Permanent Representative Mohammed Shalgham and Deputy Permanent Representative Ibrahim Dabbashi. That letter is also being studied.
  

• Asked about the Secretary-General’s contacts with Mr. Treki, Nesirky said that he was unaware of any contacts since Mr. Treki had served as President of the General Assembly.
  

• He clarified that recognition of countries is a matter for Member States. Libya is a recognized UN Member State, and, as with all Member States, it can designate whom it chooses as its representative at the United Nations.

SUDAN: SECURITY COUNCIL VOICES DEEP CONCERN OVER RECENT ABYEI CLASHES

• The Security Council received a briefing on Thursday afternoon by Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Atul Khare on the security situation in Abyei and in South Sudan.
  

• In a press statement issued afterward, the members of the Security Council expressed deep concern over the recent fighting in Abyei, and condemned the use of violence. They urged all parties to work to reduce tensions, by implementing the agreements made in Kadugli in January of this year. The members of the Security Council also urged the parties in Abyei to cooperate with the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) as it assists them in resolving their differences.
  

• Asked whether the Mission had transported Governor Ahmed Haroun to talks on Abyei, the Spokesperson confirmed that it had, and said that the UN Mission is mandated to provide good offices to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) parties in their efforts to resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations.
  

• The UN Mission in Sudan, he said, has been working with the parties, including the local authorities, to contain any potential violence which may escalate.
  

• Following the recent clashes in the Abyei Area, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement parties met today at the UNMIS premises in Abyei, Nesirky said.
  

• The meeting addressed the immediate security situation in Abyei and adopted specific steps to ensure the implementation of the Kadugli Agreements of 13 and 17 January. These include establishing a standing committee consisting of representatives from the two parties, the two armies, the two police forces and security services, as well as the command of the Joint Integrated Units.

D.R. CONGO: CHILDREN FACING MULTIPLE CHALLENGES TO SURVIVAL, SAYS HEAD OF U.N. CHILDREN’S FUND

• With sexual violence rampant in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Anthony Lake said today that children there are facing multiple challenges to their survival, health, and welfare.
  

• Thousands of children were among the victims of the more than 14,500 cases of sexual violence reported in DRC in 2010. Hundreds more children were abducted and forcibly enlisted by various armed groups operating in the region.
  

• Mr. Lake, who is on an official fact-finding trip to the region, has called for greater protection and better health, education and other services for children. There should be no impunity for crimes against children, he said.

U.N. AGENCY TO HELP D.P.R.K. TACKLE FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE OUTBREAKS

• A team of animal health specialists from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has arrived in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to help veterinary authorities in the country respond to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease among pigs and cattle.
  

• The mission aims to assess the situation on the ground in order to provide guidance and technical assistance to DPRK officials to help them contain outbreaks and to prevent the further spread of the disease.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL VALUES GENEVA TALKS: Asked about the funding of officials working on the Geneva International Discussions, concerning Georgia and Abkhazia, the Spokesperson noted that the participants of the Geneva International Discussions completed their fifteenth session today. He added that the Secretary-General values those talks.

HEAD OF U.N. GENDER EQUALITY BODY ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE TO BOOST WOMEN’S ROLES IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION: Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, has unveiled a new initiative to enhance the role of women in conflict resolution. The body will create an international roster of gender experts who can be rapidly deployed to work on issues such as constitutional law, electoral and party law, and legal aid – all critical to post-conflict reconstruction processes.

***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. She briefed reporters on Libya and other areas of humanitarian concern.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
26 FEBRUARY – 4 MARCH 2011

Saturday, 5 March

There are no major events scheduled for today.

Sunday, 6 March

Today, Mohamed Chande Othman, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, will begin a visit to Southern Sudan and Abyei in the transitional areas of the country. His visit will end on 13 March.

Monday, 7 March

At 10:00 a.m., there will be a meeting of the Working Group of the Whole of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations in Conference Room 2 of the North Lawn Building (NLB).

At 1:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference on the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Participants will include Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

At 3:00 p.m., the Trusteeship Council will meet in Conference Room 3 (NLB) to elect its President and Vice-President.

Today, in Vienna, there will be a press briefing on the urgency of addressing the plight of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention facilities. Speakers will include Abdou Salam Diallo, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations in New York.

Today, in Vienna, there will be a meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Tuesday, 8 March

Today is International Women’s Day.

Today, in London, the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking will launch its Small Grants Facility. Participants will include Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov and UNODC Goodwill Ambassador Mira Sorvino.

This morning, the Security Council will be briefed by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA).

At 10:00 a.m., Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro will be among the speakers at a forum on “Investing in Women and Entrepreneurship: Solutions to Addressing MDG 3” sponsored by the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the US Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center. It will be held in Conference Room 1 (NLB).

At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference on Rio 2012. Participants will include Sha Zukang, Rio 2012 Conference Secretary-General.

At 11:00 a.m., United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark will host a live Twitter chat about women and development issues.

Wednesday, 9 March

There are no major events scheduled for today.

Thursday, 10 March

This morning, the Security Council will hold an open debate on the “Comprehensive Strategy for the Realization of peace and Security in Somalia.”

Friday, 11 March

This morning, the Security Council will hold consultations on the 1591 (Sudan sanctions) Committee.