Noon briefing of 11 March 2011

BAN KI-MOON OFFERS UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE FOLLOWING JAPAN EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMIS

• The Secretary-General has expressed his deepest sympathies and condolences to the Japanese people and Government, especially those who lost family and friends in today’s earthquake and subsequent tsunamis.
  

• The United Nations, he said, stands by the people of Japan and will do anything and everything it can at this very difficult time. He expressed his hope that Japan will be able to overcome this difficult time as soon as possible.
  

• Experts from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) are in contact with their Japanese counterparts. We have offered to send a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team to Japan and are awaiting a reply. Dozens of international search-and-rescue teams are also monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist.
  

• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed by Japan that a heightened state of alert has been declared at a power plant north of Tokyo. The plant has been shut down and no release of radiation has been detected.
  

• Asked about the United Nations’ assistance to Japan, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations had a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team ready to be deployed to the country, if requested by Japan. He said that team could help to coordinate the efforts of the various international search and rescue teams.
  

• In response to a question on a possible nuclear leak following the earthquake, Haq said that the IAEA had expertise in this area and could provide assistance to Japan if asked to do so.

BAN KI-MOON DISPATCHES SPECIAL ENVOY TO LIBYA

• The Secretary-General met this morning with his Special Envoy to Libya, Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, and they spoke to reporters afterwards.
  

• The Secretary-General said that his message on Libya has been strong and consistent. The violence must stop. Humanitarian aid must get to those in need. Those responsible for violence against civilians will be held accountable. A peaceful resolution must be found.
  

• He said that he has decided to dispatch Mr. Khatib to Libya soon. He will depart from New York over the weekend, accompanied by a team that includes senior humanitarian officials and staff from the Department of Political Affairs and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). They are expected to arrive in Tripoli next week for several days of discussions.
  

• Their objective will be to assess the situation on the ground and undertake broad consultations with Libyan authorities on the immediate humanitarian, political and security situation.
  

• In response to a question on the forthcoming trip of the Special Envoy, the Spokesperson reiterated that Mr. Khatib would go with his team to the region early next week. He noted that the Secretary-General had been in touch with the Libyan Foreign Minister, as recently as Wednesday, and was promised cooperation on this.
  

• Asked about Mr. Khatib’s business interests, the Spokesperson noted that, as with other senior officials, he would be required to fill out a financial disclosure.
  

• Asked whether Ali Abdussalam Treki was scheduled to meet with the Secretary-General to present his credentials as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the Spokesperson said that no appointment was scheduled so far.

AGENCIES RUSH AID SUPPLIES TO LIBYA AS THOUSANDS FLEE WORSENING VIOLENCE

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that some 2,500 people are arriving at the Libya-Tunisia border daily.
  

• But it notes that evacuation flights are not keeping pace with arrivals. At the Choucha border transit camp, 17,000 people of 25 nationalities – mostly Bangladeshi – are awaiting onwards travel or other solutions.
  

• New arrivals in Tunisia continue to say that there are many checkpoints between Tripoli and the Ras Adjir border crossing with Tunisia.
  

• The Agency says it has heard consistent reports that telephones, SIM cards and cash have been taken at these checkpoints, as well as accounts of threats and discrimination on the basis of skin colour throughout Libya.
  

• According to Eritrean and Somali refugees who recently arrived in Tunisia, some of their friends and family in Tripoli are too afraid to travel to the border.
  

• To date, more than 230,000 people have fled the violence in Libya.
  

• The World Food Programme (WFP) says that a ship carrying nearly 1,200 tons of wheat flour – enough to feed some 94,000 people for one month – has now arrived in Benghazi. It had been forced to turn around last week due to the aerial bombardments in the city.
  

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered five health kits – capable of treating 50,000 people for more than three months – to hospitals in Djerba, Tunisia. The supplies will be used in Libya once access is established or at the border area if needed.
  

• In Geneva, the Human Rights Council established today an independent, international Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law in Libya.
  

• Three high level experts have been appointed: Cherif Bassiouni, Asma Khader and Philippe Kirsch. The Commission is due to report to the Council at its next session in June.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MAKES FIVE SENIOR APPOINTMENTS

• The Secretary-General today made five senior level appointments, three Under-Secretaries-General and two Assistant Secretaries-General. They are the Heads of UN Office at Nairobi (UNON), UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), the UN Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and two Deputies to the Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General for UN Women.
  

• In making these appointments the Secretary-General has taken into account geographically balanced distribution and gender balance. He has also been aware of the need to bring fresh blood and to encourage motivation in the rank and file within the Organization.
  

• The Secretary-General has appointed Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia as the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON). Ms. Zewde will be the first person and woman leader to be appointed to this newly created position at the level of Under-Secretary-General. Ms Zewde brings to this position more than two decades of progressively responsible experience at the national, regional and international levels. She is currently Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA).
  

• The Secretary-General has appointed Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan as the new Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the first Asian serving in this position. Mr. Tokayev brings to this position a wealth of experience at the senior levels of government, including his long tenure as Foreign Minister, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament and Prime Minister. Mr. Tokayev also has extensive knowledge of the issues and deliberations of the Conference on Disarmament, coupled with extensive hands-on management experience.
  

• The Secretary-General intends to appoint Mr. Abou Moussa of Chad as the first Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) based in Libreville, Gabon. UNOCA recently was established as of 1 January 2011 and was inaugurated on 2 March 2011.
  

• Mr. Moussa, who currently serves as the Secretary-General’s Principal Deputy Special Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, brings to this position many years of considerable diplomatic, political and humanitarian experience from his long years of service with the United Nations system.
  

• Based on the recommendations of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the Executive Director of UN Women, the Secretary-General has appointed two new Deputies to er in UN Women at the ASG level: one woman and one man, reflecting the need for gender balance.
  

• Ms. Lakshmi Puri of India was appointed as Assistant Secretary-General for Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships at UN Women. Ms. Puri brings a wealth of experience to this position, including a long experience at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and has worked in different capacities for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of development, human rights, and peace and security.
  

• Mr. John Hendra of Canada was appointed as Assistant Secretary-General for Policy and Programme at UN Women. Mr. Hendra brings a wealth of experience to this position, in particular over 20 years experience in development programming in a number of positions with the UN system, including his responsibility as Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, his tenure in Tanzania and Latvia, and conducting development policy dialogue with Member States at the highest levels.

COTE D’IVOIRE POST-ELECTION CRISIS SHOWS NO SIGNS OF ABATING

• In a press conference earlier today in Abidjan, the Secretary-General’s Special representative, Choi Young-Jin, said that the post-electoral crisis, which is entering its fourth month, was not showing signs of abating.
  

• He said that the UN Mission’s role was to protect civilians and the Golf Hotel, as well as to protect the certification of the election results.
  

• On the protection of civilians, Choi said the Mission, UNOCI, was not only patrolling and intervening when needed but that it was also documenting, investigating and gathering proof of human rights violations.
  

• The Special Representative also said that attacks against UNOCI were increasing.
  

• Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said today it would scale up its operations in the country. It plans to assist 125,000 people over a six-month period in Côte d’Ivoire and some 186,000 people in Liberia.
  

• But the with ongoing violence and increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced people, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, says that it is increasingly concerned by the very limited response seen so far to the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. UNHCR says that the security situation is further deteriorating, with new clashes in the Abobo and Cocody districts of Abidjan, as well as violence in the west, spreading to the central and southeastern parts of the country.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT GUATEMALA NEXT WEEK

• The Secretary-General will travel to Guatemala next week from Tuesday to Thursday. While in Guatemala City, he will meet with President Alvaro Colom and cabinet members.
  

• He will visit the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, known as CICIG. He will also take part in a ceremony to launch the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund's engagement in Guatemala and meet with representatives of civil society, including indigenous people.
  

• On Wednesday, the Secretary-General will attend a meeting with the Heads of State of Central America to discuss regional issues. He will also take this opportunity to engage with regional leaders on a bilateral basis.

RIGHTS OFFICE ALARMED AT KILLINGS, THREATS AGAINST ACTIVISTS IN YEMEN, BAHRAIN AND WIDER REGION

• The Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today expressed its concern regarding allegations of recent threats against human rights defenders in Bahrain, whose names, address and photographs are being circulated on social networking websites.
  

• On Yemen, it called on the Government of Yemen to exercise restraint and to investigate all allegations of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations by the country’s security forces. Nearly 40 protesters and at least six security officers have reportedly been killed so far since the unrest began in the country.
  

• The human rights office also voiced its concern over developments in Saudi Arabia, where the situation is very tense. As in other situations in the Middle East, the Office urges restraint on the part of both authorities and protestors there. It also stresses that people should be allowed to exercise their internationally recognized rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.
  

• In response to a question on events in Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen, Haq said that the Secretary-General had clearly and repeatedly said that all the leaders of the region had to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of association. He added that the Secretary-General had also stressed the need for the leaders to listen to the genuine aspirations of their people.

U.N.D.P. CHIEF OPENS NEW CENTRE IN ISTANBUL

• UN Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark today inaugurated UNDP's International Centre for Private Sector in Development in Istanbul, Turkey, noting that the country’s important contribution to international development makes it an ideal location for the institution.
  

• The new centre will engage the private sector in anti-poverty efforts and be a source of expertise with wide applicability on building business models that promote home-grown enterprises and create more jobs.
  

• Earlier, Helen Clark and Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoglu, also signed a partnership agreement on UNDP and Turkey's commitment to support global poverty reduction. Helen Clark is on a four-day trip to Turkey.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. MISSION IN SUDAN HAS FACED PROBLEMS IN FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT: Asked about reports that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) was blocking access to areas in Sudan where fighting is taking place, the Spokesperson said that the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is trying to get access to the area of the fighting, but is having problems with various groups on the ground in terms of its freedom of movement.

CENTRAL AFRICAN STATES TO MEET NEXT WEEK: The United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa will hold its 32^nd ministerial meeting, in Sao Tome, Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, from 12 to 16 March.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
12 – 18 MARCH 2011

Saturday, 12 March

There are no major events scheduled for today.

Sunday, 13 March

Today, the High Commissioner for Human Rights will begin a visit to Guinea and Senegal.

Monday, 14 March

At 10:00 a.m., the Commission on the Status of Women will hold its 17^th meeting in the Economic and Social Council Chamber of the North Lawn Building (NLB) to conclude its work for the fifty-fifth session.

At 3:00 p.m., the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly will hold its first meeting in the Economic and Social Council Chamber (NLB).

Tuesday, 15 March

Today, the Secretary-General will depart for a three-day visit to Guatemala, where he will attend a meeting with the Heads of State of the Central America to discuss regional issues.

This morning, the Security Council will hold consultations on Cyprus. This afternoon, the Council will hold consultations on the Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 and 1907 concerning Somalia and Eritrea.

At 12:30 p.m., immediately following the Noon Briefing, in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference with Ndolamb Ngokwey, Humanitarian Coordinator for Côte D'Ivoire, and Moustapha Soumare, Humanitarian Coordinator for Liberia.

Wednesday, 16 March

This morning, the Security Council will be briefed and hold consultations on the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

Thursday, 17 March

This morning, the Security Council will hold a debate on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). This afternoon, the Council will meet on Somalia and be briefed by the Iran sanctions committee.

Friday, 18 March

There are no major events scheduled for today.