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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESPERSON’S NOON BRIEFING

BY MARTIN NESIRKY, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

WEDNESDAY, 15 JUNE 2011

IN URUGUAY, SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS TOP OFFICIALS, TROOPS SERVING IN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS
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• This morning, the Secretary-General laid a wreath at the General Jose Artigas monument in Montevideo, Uruguay, and he also visited the National School for Peacekeeping Operations, where he met with troops who have served in peacekeeping missions.
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• The Secretary-General is to address the Parliament of Uruguay this afternoon, and he is expected to speak about Uruguay's outsized contributions to United Nations peacekeeping. Adjusted for population, Uruguay is the world's number one contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations. He will also meet in the afternoon with the country’s foreign minister and Vice President.
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• On Tuesday, after arriving in Uruguay following a boat trip from Argentina, the Secretary-General met with President José Mujica. Speaking to the press afterward, he said that his visit to South America comes at a time of opportunity, hope and change.
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• The Secretary-General added that he is convinced that the region can play an even bigger role in the United Nations, and the United Nations can play an even bigger role in the region.

 

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF HIGHLIGHTS DIRE SITUATION IN SYRIA

 

• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, presented a report to the Human Rights Council concerning the work of the fact-finding mission that it established on Syria.
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• She notes that she has not received any response to repeated requests to the Syrian authorities to ensure full access to the country for that fact-finding mission. However, the mission has gone about its work, gathering and analyzing information on the human rights situation from a range of sources both inside and outside Syria.
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• Ms. Pillay writes that the information received so far reflects a dire human rights situation in Syria. The alleged breaches of the most fundamental rights on such a broad scale require thorough investigation and full accountability. The High Commissioner reiterates her call for access to Syria, and she is hopeful that she will be able to provide a more extensive assessment of the human rights situation in Syria in her follow-up report to the 18th session of the Human Rights Council.

 

SECURITY COUNCIL UPDATED ON AFRICAN UNION’S EFFORTS ON LIBYA

 

• The Security Council heard a briefing this morning from the Foreign Minister of Mauritania concerning the efforts of the African Union’s High Level Ad Hoc Committee on the Situation in Libya. He expressed the African Union’s commitment to work closely with the United Nations and with the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Libya, Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, in resolving the situation in Libya.
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• This afternoon at 3:00, the Security Council expects to hold a meeting on Sudan. And Council members intend to receive a briefing by videoconference from Haile Menkerios, the head of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
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• Asked about the humanitarian situation in Libya, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations remains concerned about the situation and about securing greater access for humanitarian workers and supplies.

 

MORE THAN 60,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED AS FIGHTING CONTINUES IN SOUTH KORDOFAN

 

• According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), fighting continues in South Kordofan and more than 60,000 people are now displaced and many more are hiding in mountainous areas.  Aerial bombardments continue.
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• Despite ongoing access restrictions, humanitarian partners are scaling up the response to the extent possible given the security situation, with a limited distribution of food and non-food items taking place in several locations.
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• The UN and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society have provided food rations for seven days to 6,000 people displaced people living around the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) compound in Kadugli. However, the threat of disease among those around the UNMIS base is growing, due to a lack of clean water, hygiene, and sanitation.
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• In response to a question asked the previous day about allegations against Egyptian peacekeepers in Southern Kordofan, the Spokesperson said that a preliminary inquiry was carried out by the Force Provost Marshall, who obtained brief statements from the persons who are normally immediately informed of incidents of this nature.  None of them had been contacted by either the party making the allegations, the alleged victims or third parties, he added.
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• Nesirky said that the United Nations treats any allegation of rape and other serious misconduct with the utmost seriousness. UNMIS is making every effort to investigate these allegations.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL BELIEVES SRI LANKA’S GOVERNMENT SHOULD INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

 

• Asked about a documentary report concerning Sri Lanka, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General is aware of the documentary.
   
• He said that the Secretary-General has reviewed the recommendations of the Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka and is working with the Secretariat to determine how to follow up on the recommendations.
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• The Secretary-General believes that it is first and foremost the responsibility of the Sri Lankan Government to follow up by investigating alleged violations of human rights.
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• Nesirky added that the Secretary-General made the report of the Panel of Experts available to Member States and the public and Member States are in a position to act on its contents and recommendations.
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• He added that, to establish an international inquiry into war crimes having executive or judicial powers, he would need host country consent or an appropriate intergovernmental mandate, such as one from the Human Rights Council, Security Council or General Assembly.

 

NEW REPORT CALLS FOR FAST ACTIONS ON POLLUTANTS TO LIMIT GLOBAL TEMPERATURE RISE

 

• A new assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says that fast actions on pollutants such as black carbon, ground level ozone and methane may help limit short term global temperature rise. They may even significantly increase the chances of keeping temperature rise below 2 degrees C --and perhaps even 1.5 degrees C.
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• According to this report, these actions can have immediate climate, health and agricultural benefits -- because, unlike carbon dioxide (CO2), which can remain in the atmosphere for centuries, black carbon only persists for days or weeks.
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• The report also says that in addition to these actions, immediate and sustained measures to cut back carbon dioxide emissions are crucial if temperature rises are to be limited over the long term.

 

*** The guest at the noon briefing today was Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

 

 

 

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
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New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055