Noon briefing of 20 April 2012

SECRETARY-GENERAL ATTENDS WORLD BANK MEETING ON RIO+20

• On Friday, the Secretary-General began the day in Washington, D.C. at the World Bank with a meeting with its President Robert Zoellick.
• He then attended a meeting on Rio+ 20 with the world9;s leading Finance Ministers participating in the World Bank spring meeting.
• He then delivered the keynote address at an event entitled “Delivering Sustainable Energy for All: Opportunities at Rio+20”, hosted by the Centre for Global Development and Climate Advisers.
• Saying that the support of the leading ministers of finance is crucial to the transformation to a green economy, the Secretary-General emphasized the need to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to agree on a concrete set of outcomes that will create an inclusive green economy for this and future generations.

• The Humanitarian Forum on Syria was held on Friday in Geneva. The Forum was an operational meeting for Member States, regional organizations, and international and non-governmental organizations.
• It was chaired by John Ging, the Director of Operations at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and co-facilitated by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Commission9;s humanitarian arm (ECHO) and the League of Arab States.
• The top message that came out of the meeting is that we must urgently scale-up the humanitarian response.
• John Ging told media that a draft plan has been developed to help one million people over the next six months with food, medical assistance, support for basic services such as education, provision of other emergency supplies and livelihood support.
• This complements the regional plan to help Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries and is an essential step to strengthen operations and ensure the response is coordinated adequately and is flexible as possible.
• He noted that the existing humanitarian capacity in Syria was not sufficient to respond to the huge demand and thus the need to send in more humanitarian workers.
• In the meantime, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), through the Syrian Red Crescent, has already provided food for up to 100,000 people. This figure is expected to double this month.
• Asked about when the Security Council would authorize the deployment of more observers to Syria, the Deputy Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General had presented his report and hoped that a decision would be made as soon as possible. However, he said this was in the hands of the Security Council members now.
• del Buey added that there were seven observers on the ground right now, with two more arriving on Monday and that the United Nations was hoping to increase the number of observers to up to 30 by the end of next week.
• He also noted that a preliminary protocol was signed on Thursday with the Syrian authorities.
• Asked about the cooperation of the Syrian Government, the Deputy Spokesperson said that they had been cooperating to a certain extent. He noted that there was still violence on the ground and that the situation was fragile but said that the presence of monitors was seen has very important by the United Nations.
• del Buey also said that the presence of observers would allow the international community to get a better picture of what was happening on the ground.

• The United Nations Children9;s Fund, UNICEF, says there has been an increase in measles outbreak in Yemen with some 180 deaths and over 4,000 cases reported by the end of March.
• UNICEF says the outbreak is the result of insecurity and a breakdown of health care services following last year’s political crisis. And it is made worse by severe malnutrition affecting children in Yemen.
• UNICEF says it has an on-going vaccination campaign which is targeting to reach 8 million children under the age of five
• UNICEF is also expressing grave concern that children were increasingly becoming victims of landmines and unexploded ordinance in Yemen.
• In the first three months of 2012 alone, 13 children were reported killed and another 12 maimed by unexploded ordnance or mines in 12 reported cases.
• In 2011, 28 children were killed by landmines in Yemen.

• The United Nations Chief Executives Board (CEB) has released a statement ahead of the Rio+20 conference.
• It says the conference provides an opportunity to strengthen the institutional framework for effective coordination and support to Member States in achieving sustainable development.
• The Chief Executives Board says it is heartened that momentum is building to define sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Rio.
• These goals, it says, will need to complement and reinforce the MDGs, which have been instrumental in advancing poverty eradication and social development.
• It adds that the sustainable development goals should form part of an integrated, coherent agenda for addressing the critical changes of the post-2015 period.
• The CEB is the highest level of coordination within the United Nations System. It meets twice a year and brings together the heads of UN agencies under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General.

• International efforts to tackle the threat of national and transnational organised crime will be discussed during the 21st session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), which opens on Monday, 23 April in Vienna.
• The President of the Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC) Miloš Koterec and the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, will be among UN officials speaking at the opening session.
• On Tuesday, 24 April, there will be a special discussion on preventing violence against migrants, migrant workers and their families. Other issues include strengthening State oversight in civilian private security services, countering maritime piracy, and the treatment of prisoners.
• The session wraps up on Friday, 27 April.

• On Friday, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, begins a six-day visit to Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia’s most flood-ravaged countries.
• She is scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and other senior officials.
• While she is in the country, Ms. Wahlstrom is also expected to propose that the Government convene a dialogue on disaster risk reduction and lead the post-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action discussions. Cambodia is currently the chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

There are no major events scheduled for today.

Sunday, 22 April

Today is International Mother Earth Day.

Monday, 23 April

Today is World Book and Copyright Day (UNESCO).

This morning, the Security Council will hold open debate on Middle East.

This morning in Geneva, there will be a press conference with Dr. Peter Strebel, Group Leader of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and biologicals of the Wold Health Organization (WHO) on outcomes of a decade-long effort to reduce measles deaths globally.

Today, the 21st session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) will open in Vienna. The President of the Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC), Miloš Koterec, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, will be speaking at the opening session.

At 8:45 a.m., there will be a briefing by the General Manager of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on the theme: “The Global Fund –– results, reforms and challenges”, organized by the New York Office of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, in Conference Room 7 of the North Lawn Building (NLB).

At 12:30 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, Special Representative to the Roll Back Malaria Partnership; Mr. Thomas Teuscher, Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and Mr. Ray Chambers, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria, will be guests at the Noon Briefing, in advance of World Malaria Day (April 25).

At 6:30 p.m., there will be a round-table discussion on “The trial of Adolf Eichmann: 50 years later”, organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, Department of Public Information, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Israel, in the Economic and Social Council Chamber (NLB).

Tuesday, 24 April

This morning, we expect the Security Council to adopt a resolution on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

This morning, the Security Council will receive a briefing and hold consultations on Women and peace and security.

This afternoon in Geneva, there will be a press conference on World Malaria Day. Speakers include Dr. Andrea Bossman, WHO Global Malaria Programme; Dr. Richard Cibulskis, WHO Global Malaria Programme, and Dr. Jan Van Erps, Roll Back Malaria Partnership.

At 1:15 p.m., there will be an interactive discussion on “Sustainable fisheries and Rio+20”, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the World Bank, in Conference Room 6 (NLB).

Wednesday, 25 April

Today is World Malaria Day (WHO).

This morning, the Security Council will hold open debate on the theme: Threats to international peace and security: Securing borders against illicit flows.

Today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, will wrap up a six-day visit to Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia’s most flood-ravaged countries.

Thursday, 26 April

Today is World Intellectual Property Day (WIPO).

This morning, we expect the Security Council to adopt a resolution on Côte d’Ivoire.

This morning, the Security Council will receive a briefing and hold consultations on the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Friday, 27 April

This morning, we expect the Security Council to conduct elections for the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

This morning in Paris, France, Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock will kick-off the first annual International Jazz Day (April 30) with a full day of events including live performances, Master Classes, and discussions featuring Marcus Miller, Barbara Hendricks, Hugh Masekela, Dee Dee Bridgewater.

At 10:30 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Touré, will lead a press briefing on the issue of media speculation about the alleged intentions of the agency to ‘run the internet’ and specifically to use the treaty-making World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) at the end of this year as a platform to do this. The briefing will clarify the ITU’s role and the precise function of WCIT-12. Related issues such as internet governance, cyber-security and the significance of the global roll out of broadband will also be covered.