Noon briefing of 27 June 2011

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESPERSON’S NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ, ACTING DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

MONDAY, 27 JUNE 2011

TOP U.N. POLITICAL OFFICIAL BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL ON LIBYA

• B. Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, briefed the Security Council this morning on the situation in Libya, including the latest fighting. He said the initiative in recent days has been with the opposition forces.
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• Mr. Pascoe also discussed the work of the Special Envoy for Libya, Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, who, he says, plans to visit Libya again in the near future and then come to New York to brief the Security Council. He is trying to narrow the difference between the two parties and start indirect talks. The Special Envoy has met the parties repeatedly and is also in frequent telephone contact with both of them.
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• On the humanitarian front, Mr. Pascoe said that, as the opposition takes control of some of the towns and cities, there are reports of some migrant workers returning to those areas.
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• While an agreement is still far from being concluded, he added, the beginning of a negotiation process is now underway.

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT ISSUES ARREST WARRANTS FOR LIBYAN LEADER, TWO OTHERS

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) today issued an arrest warrant for Muammar Al-Qadhafi for crimes against humanity allegedly committed across Libya.
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• The Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber also issued arrest warrants for one of Mr. Qadhafi’s sons and the head of the country’s intelligence forces.
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• The Chamber found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the three suspects’ arrests are necessary to prevent them from using their powers to continue committing crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction.

SECURITY COUNCIL SETS UP U.N. PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN SUDAN

• The Security Council this morning adopted a resolution establishing, for a period of 6 months, the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). The Security Force shall comprise a maximum of 4,200 military personnel, 50 police, and appropriate civilian support.
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• That force is being established following the Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area.
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• Asked about the new Force’s human rights monitoring capabilities, the Spokesperson noted that the Security Council resolutions asks the Secretary-General to ensure that effective human rights monitoring is carried out, and that the results are included in his reports to the Council. The Secretary-General, he said, would respond accordingly.

AIR STRIKES CONTINUE IN SUDAN, U.N. RELIEF ARM REPORTS

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the information it has received indicates continued air strikes and artillery shelling by the Sudanese Armed Forces in South Kordofan. Due to the security situation, the Office adds, it is difficult to verify reports or properly assess the overall impact of the ongoing military operations on civilians.
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• According to estimates by the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, the Humanitarian Aid Commission, and UN agencies, at least 73,000 people have been displaced throughout the central and eastern parts of South Kordofan due to fighting.
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• The World Food Programme (WFP) and its local partners have distributed food to 42,000 vulnerable people in the area and is prioritizing distributions to locations that are expected to be inaccessible when the rainy season starts.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HAS PRESSED FOR ESTABLISHED AID ROUTES TO BE USED FOR GAZA

• Asked about a flotilla reportedly heading towards Gaza with aid for the Palestinians, the Spokesperson recalled that the Secretary-General has spoken with a number of leaders in the region to make sure that nothing is done to raise tensions at this time.
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• The Secretary-General, he said, has repeatedly made clear that existing land routes should be used in order to bring aid to Gaza. For his part, the Secretary-General has been pressing to make sure that more aid can get into Gaza and that access into and out of Gaza can be improved.
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• Asked further about the Secretary-General’s efforts, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General had spoken last week with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to press for meaningful steps to ensure that aid can get into Gaza through established channels.
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• Asked about the rights of journalists to cover the flotilla’s travels, Haq noted that the United Nations consistently supports freedom of expression and the freedom of the media to do its work.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR-GENERAL

• José Graziano da Silva of Brazil has been elected as the new Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He will succeed Jacques Diouf of Senegal.
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• Since 2006, Mr. Graziano da Silva has served as FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.
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• The Food and Agriculture Organization says that in Brazil, he helped to design and implement the “Zero Hunger” plan, which helped lift 24 million people out of extreme poverty in five years.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL SENDS MESSAGE ON FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM: Asked about a message delivered by the Secretary-General at a conference on terrorism in Iran, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General had sent a message to that conference and added that the Secretary-General believes that, since all States and peoples are affected by terrorism, they must all be involved in the fight against terrorism.

HEARINGS BEGIN AT TRIAL OF FOUR SENIOR KHMER ROUGE OFFICIALS: Hearings began today in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in the trial of the four most senior living members of the Khmer Rouge. They are charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, homicide and torture, among other offences.