ARCHIVES
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARTIN NESIRKY, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
MONDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2011
SECRETARY-GENERAL,
U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY SPEAK OUT AGAINST ATTACK IN AFGHANISTAN
- Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a
UN compound in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, on
Monday morning, killing three employees of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and wounding
two others.
- The Refugee Agency is seeking a
fuller understanding of the circumstances of today’s attack, and adds that
the functioning of its Kandahar
office has been seriously disrupted.
- António Guterres, the High Commissioner for Refugees said in a
statement, “This is a
tragedy for UNHCR and for the families of the dead and wounded.”
- The Secretary-General on Monday
morning said
that this attack underscores the risks that UN and international aid
workers face in Afghanistan.
He emphasized, once again, that this work is purely humanitarian. Its sole
purpose is to improve the daily lives of the country's people.
AS GLOBAL
POPULATION HITS 7 BILLION, BAN KI-MOON URGES SOLIDARITY FOR BETTER WORLD FOR
ALL
- The Secretary-General said that the
world's population reached 7 billion on Monday. He added that, together,
we can be seven billion strong - by working in solidarity for a better
world for all.
- He said that he will leave on Tuesday
for the G20 summit in Cannes,
and his message there will be loud and clear: Think about our children.
Think about the future, with vision and foresight.
- The Secretary-General acknowledged
that we face a serious economic crisis, and that, for much of the world,
fiscal austerity is the new order of the day. Yet even in these difficult
times, he said, we cannot afford to cut loose those who are hardest hit.
SENIOR U.N.
OFFICIAL ARRIVES IN MYANMAR
- The Special Adviser to the
Secretary-General for Myanmar,
Mr. Vijay Nambiar, arrived today in
Myanmar
for a five-day visit at the invitation of the Government. The Special
Adviser will hold meetings in Naypyitaw and
Yangon with the Government of Myanmar, political parties, civil society
organizations and other key interlocutors, in the implementation of the
Secretary-General’s good offices mandate.
SECURITY
COUNCIL MEETS ON PEACEBUILDING, LIBYA AND SOMALIA
- On behalf of the Secretary-General,
Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support briefed the Security Council on Monday morning
to update it on the peacebuilding agenda. In her
remarks, she noted progress has been made in creating more cohesive UN
senior leadership teams and to respond more rapidly to leadership gaps,
and this has helped minimize the loss of strategic momentum during
critical periods. She concluded by noting that peacebuilding
takes at least a generation to become truly sustainable but that with new
tools and a culture shift in place, we can help post-conflict countries
beat the odds.
- On Monday afternoon, the Council will
meet in formal sessions to discuss the situation in Libya and peace and security in Africa
followed by the situation in Somalia. This will be followed
by closed consultations on Somalia
and other matters.
TOP U.N.
PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL VISITING SUDAN,
SOUTH SUDAN
- The Under-Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, is currently visiting UN peacekeeping
operations in Sudan and
South Sudan.
- At the weekend, he visited Darfur where the African Union-United Nations
Mission, (UNAMID)
operates.
- On Monday, he visited Abyei, where the newest UN peacekeeping operation, the
UN Interim Security Force (UNISFA), is
operating. He will visit South Sudan and the UN Mission (UNMISS)
there in the week to come, as well as Addis Ababa, where he will be
holding meetings with African Union representatives as well as the United
Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU).
U.N. HAS NO INFORMATION ABOUT POSSIBLE MOVEMENT OF
MILITIA FROM DARFUR
- Asked about the movement of "Janjaweed" militia from Darfur to the Blue Nile State
on Government of Sudan flights and on the mandate of the African
Union-United Nations Mission (UNAMID), the
Spokesperson said that the Mission has no
information related to the possible movement of former "Janjaweed" or other militia from Darfur to Blue Nile.
- UN peacekeeping does not have a
presence in Blue Nile
State, Nesirky said.
From Darfur, the Mission
has not witnessed the movement of such personnel by plane or other means.
- As to the question of whether the
United Nations has a mandate to monitor movement of personnel on Government
of Sudan planes, UNAMID does have a monitoring mandate. If the Mission had
information on such movements, the Spokesperson said, it would raise it
with the Government.
- The Mission does not have a mandate to
conduct static monitoring of the movement of personnel by the Government
of Sudan, meaning that the mandate is not explicit about monitoring who
boards Government of Sudan flights. Should the Mission
have a reason to question the Government of Sudan on air movements, the Mission would do so.
CYPRUS MEETING ENTERS SECOND DAY
- The Secretary-General is meeting with
the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in Greentree, Long Island,
again on Monday.
- Following the first day of talks on
Sunday, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Alexander Downer, spoke
to reporters.
- He said that the Secretary-General
instituted substantive discussions on four core issues: governance and
power-sharing; property; territory and citizenship.
SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES CONCERN OVER ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE IN SOUTHERN
ISRAEL, GAZA
<![if !supportLists]>·
<![endif]>In a statement issued on Saturday, the Secretary-General said that he has been
following with deep concern the recent escalation of violence and bloodshed in
southern Israel and Gaza. He condemns rocket
fire from Gaza,
which has killed an Israeli civilian, and calls for its complete cessation. He
urges maximum Israeli restraint following the killing of a reported ten alleged
militants. He hopes that the parties will fully respect the calm as brokered by
Egypt.
The Office of the Special Coordinator on the ground remains actively engaged in
supporting these efforts.
<![if !supportLists]>·
<![endif]>Asked about the attacks, the Spokesperson further
added that the Quartet has made clear that any provocative actions need to be
avoided at this time.
<![if !supportLists]>·
<![endif]>He added that the Secretary-General has reiterated
that any loss of human life is regrettable.
SYRIA: BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS REPORTED KILLING OF CIVILIANS
<![if !supportLists]>·
<![endif]>In a statement issued on Saturday, the Secretary-General
said that he condemns
the reported killing today of dozens of civilians in Syria’s Homs and Hama
provinces, adding to an alarming death toll of well over 3,000 people since the
beginning of the protests seven months ago.
<![if !supportLists]>·
<![endif]>The Secretary-General believes the calls of the Syrian
people for change must be answered with far-reaching reforms, not repression
and violence.
<![if !supportLists]>·
<![endif]>He appeals for military operations against civilians
to stop at once, and for the release of all political prisoners and those
detained in connection to their participation in the popular protests.
<![if !supportLists]>·
<![endif]>He emphasizes that violence is unacceptable and must
stop immediately.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECURITY COUNCIL CONCERNED ABOUT REPRISALS IN LIBYA: Asked about violence in Libya, the Spokesperson noted that
the Security Council, in a resolution last week, expressed its concerns about
reprisals, arbitrary detention, wrongful imprisonment and extrajudicial
executions. He noted that the Commission of Inquiry for Libya has urged the National
Transitional Council and the future interim authorities to undertake
independent, impartial and transparent investigations into all allegations of
human rights violations.
PALESTINE NEWEST MEMBER
STATE OF U.N. BODY: The General
Conference of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted
on Monday to admit Palestine as a Member State
of the Organization. The vote was 107 votes in favour to 14 against. Admission
to UNESCO for states that are not members of the United Nations requires a
recommendation by the Organization’s Executive Board and a two-thirds majority
vote in favour by the General Conference. Monday’s vote brings the number of
UNESCO’s Member States to 195.
***The guests at the Noon Briefing today were Yury Fedotov, the Executive
Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and António Guterres, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees. They briefed reporters on the launch of a joint plan
of action between UNODC and UNHCR.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, SA-1B15
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
