Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 13 September 2011

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESPERSON’S NOON BRIEFING

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

TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2011

PAKISTAN: SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES SHOCK AT DEADLY ATTACK ON BUS CARRYING CHILDREN

  • The Secretary-General is shocked by today’s attack near Peshawar, Pakistan, on a school bus carrying young children which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. The Secretary-General strongly condemns this abhorrent act of terrorism and extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims.

FORTHCOMING ELECTIONS WILL ALLOW LIBERIA TO CONSOLIDATE PEACE, SAYS SPECIAL ENVOY

  • The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Liberia (UNMIL) briefed the Security Council earlier today.
  • Ellen Margrethe Løj said the country should be proud of the eight years of unbroken peace it is seeing, the longest such period in three decades.
  • She added the country also continues to recover economically.
  • The forthcoming presidential and legislative elections, Ms Løj said, come at a critical time for the sub-region, as they follow the Ivorian crisis, which has caused humanitarian and security concerns along Liberia’s borders.
  • She added that the elections will also provide Liberia an opportunity to consolidate peace.

U.N. RELIEF ARM: FIGHTING CONTINUES BETWEEN SUDANESE ARMED FORCES AND S.P.L.M. IN BLUE NILE, SOUTH KORDOFAN STATES

  • The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) continues in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

  • The Sudanese Red Crescent Society has reported that in the days following the outbreak of fighting in Blue Nile State, some 115,000 people fled their homes, while 20,000 more people were displaced in the west of the state.
  • The security situation in Ed Damazine is normalizing, but is still tense. Very little information is available about the situation in the rest of the state due to lack of access.
  • In the states of Sennar and Blue Nile, government-imposed restrictions for UN agency staff remain in place.
  • The World Food Programme (WFP) has received official requests for food assistance. However, due to government-imposed restrictions on pre-positioning of food stocks in Blue Nile State, WFP has limited stocks of pre-positioned food to feed 20,000 people for about two weeks.
  • Meanwhile, in South Kordofan, there have been reports of continued fighting in various parts of the state, but no detailed information has been provided to OCHA.
  • Eight thousand newly displaced people in the eastern areas of the state have been provided with essential non-food items made available by United Nations agencies and Sudanese partners.

U.N. AGENCIES STEP UP ASSISTANCE FOR TUNISIA

  • Two hundred and forty thousand Tunisians are expected to benefit from various cash-for-work projects being launched by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Tunisian Government, along with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
  • The projects will unfold over the next two years and will focus mainly on water and soil conservation and will involve training schemes for farmers in the central-western areas of Tunisia.
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  • This also marks the re-establishment of WFP’s presence in the country.

YEMEN: U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS TEAM STRESSES NEED FOR URGENT PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS

  • A United Nations human rights assessment mission, which visited Yemen over the summer, has called for immediate action to protect civilians, respect the right to peaceful demonstration and to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country.
  • During the visit between 28 June and 6 July, the delegation visited Aden, Sana’a and Ta’izz.
  • In a report published today, the mission says it observed an overall situation where many Yemenis peacefully calling for greater freedoms, an end to corruption and respect for rule of law were met with excessive and disproportionate use of lethal force by the state.
  • It adds that hundreds have been killed and thousands injured.

U.N. CONCERNED OVER EVICTION OF CIVILIANS FROM EARTHQUAKE CAMP SITES IN HAITI

  • The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is concerned following the recent evictions of individuals from camp sites set up after last January’s earthquake in Haiti.
  • These evictions – some involving the use of force – violate the right to adequate housing.
  • Since the earthquake, nearly 70,000 people have been affected by evictions and in the past year, the number of camps under threat has quadrupled.
  • The humanitarian community in Haiti reiterates its opposition to forced evictions, which only exacerbate existing vulnerabilities of camp populations.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO OPEN SYPOSIUM ON PEACE DAY: On Wednesday evening, the Secretary-General will open a symposium entitled, “Give Peace Another Chance.” This is in observance of the annual International Day of Peace, and it is the 30th anniversary of its inception.

AMPHETAMINE-TYPE STIMULANTS ARE SECOND MOST WIDELY-USED DRUG, SAYS U.N. REPORT: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says in a new report that amphetamine-type stimulants such as ecstasy and methamphetamine rank as the world’s second most widely-used type of drug after cannabis. The trade of the drug and the high criminal profits pose an increasing threat to security and health worldwide, it notes.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

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Transcript

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement continues in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan States. The Sudanese Red Crescent Society has reported that some 115,000 people fled their homes, while 20,000 more people were displaced in the west of the state.

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