HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

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

THURSDAY, 7 JUNE 2012

SECRETARY-GENERAL, SYRIA ENVOY WARN OF DETERIORIATING SITUATION

  • The Secretary-General and Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan spoke at the General Assembly’s informal meeting on Syria on Thursday morning, and they warned the Member States that the situation there continues to deteriorate.
  • The Secretary-General said that reports of another massacre today at Mazraat al-Qubeir and Kafr Zeta are shocking and sickening.
  • He added that UN monitors have been trying to get to the scene, but were shot at during that effort.
  • The Secretary-General said that we see too little evidence that the Syrian Government is living up to its commitments under the six-point plan endorsed by the Security Council more than two months ago.
  • For their part, many elements of the opposition have unfortunately turned to arms and declared that they will no longer respect the plan. 
  • He said that Syria and the region can quickly move from tipping point to breaking point. The dangers of full-scale civil war are imminent and real.
  • The Secretary-General called on President Assad to urgently and unconditionally implement the six-point plan and to allow the UN observer mission to do its work, safely and without interference or intimidation.
  • He also called on Syrian authorities to allow UN humanitarian teams to operate freely. The Secretary-General called on all Member States to exert their maximum influence – with both sides – to help the Joint Special Envoy succeed in his mission.
  • The Joint Special Envoy said that despite the acceptance of the six-point plan and the deployment of a courageous mission of United Nations observers to Syria, the plan is not being implemented.
  • Clearly, he said, the time has come to determine what more can be done to secure implementation of the plan, or what other options exist to address the crisis.

BAN KI-MOON, SYRIA ENVOY TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL

  • The Secretary-General and the Joint Special Envoy, Kofi Annan, will brief the Security Council on Thursday afternoon about Syria, and that is in closed consultations. Following that meeting, they will speak to reporters at the Security Council stakeout.
  • The Security Council has received updates on Thursday morning from the senior officials of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia about the work being done to wrap up the two tribunals’ case loads.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS SENIOR OFFICIALS FOR DEVELOPMENT, BURUNDI

  • The Secretary-General has appointed Ms. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning. 2015 is the target date for the Millennium Development Goals.
  • Ms. Mohammed brings to the position more than 30 years of experience as a development practitioner in the public and private sectors as well as in civil society
  • The Secretary-General has also appointed Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB).
  • He will replace Ms. Karin Landgren of Sweden, who was recently appointed the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Liberia.

SETTLEMENTS CONTRAVENE INTERNATIONAL LAW, SAYS U.N. MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

  • Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, has reiterated the international community’s view that all settlement construction, whether on private Palestinian land or elsewhere in occupied Palestinian territory, is contrary to international law.
  • He said that the latest announcements about such construction are deeply troubling. The Special Coordinator reiterated that we could be moving down the path toward a one-state reality, which would also move us further away from regional peace in the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. MISSION STRONGLY CONDEMNS DEADLY ATTACKS

  • The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has condemned in the strongest terms the attacks that took place in several parts of the country on Wednesday, which killed 40 civilians, including 10 children, and injured at least 67 others.
  • These attacks produced the deadliest single day for civilian deaths in 2012.
  • The UN Mission noted that the use of improvised explosive devices and suicide attacks by anti-government elements have by far caused the greatest number of civilian casualties, which was once more underlined on Wednesday.
  • The UN Mission has also repeatedly expressed concern that aerial operations have resulted in more civilian deaths and injuries than any other tactic used by pro-government forces since the present armed conflict began. 

U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF WRAPS UP VISIT TO PAKISTAN

  • The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, wrapped up her visit to Pakistan on Thursday.
  • While in the country, she met with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and other senior officials, as well as with civil society.
  • Ms. Pillay told reporters that Pakistan is at a very important juncture in its efforts to consolidate democratic civilian rule.
  • Since the restoration of democracy in 2008, the Government has taken a number of key initiatives on human rights, she said.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED ABOUT THREATS TO PAKISTANI RIGHTS ACTIVIST

  • The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the recent reports of threats to the life of Ms. Asma Jahangir, a former UN human rights special rapporteur and a prominent human rights lawyer and activist in Pakistan.
  • As the Secretary-General has stressed in the context of reprisals against human rights defenders, he urges the Government to investigate the nature and source of the threats and to take all possible steps to ensure her protection. 
  • The Secretary-General also calls upon the authorities to ensure the security of all human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers in Pakistan, who are an important pillar of efforts to strengthen democracy and the rule of law. 
  • While on an official visit to Pakistan this week, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, visited Ms. Jahangir to discuss this deplorable development and to offer her support.
  • The High Commissioner also raised the case with the Prime Minister, who assured her that he and the President have called Ms. Jahangir to inform her of their efforts to ensure her safety.

U.N. REPORT WARNS OF POSSIBILITY OF TURMOIL IN FINANCIAL MARKETS

  • An escalation of the debt crisis in the euro area could trigger severe turmoil in the financial markets, according to a report released on Thursday by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
  • It says the debt crisis, especially in Greece, remains the biggest threat to the world economy.
  • The report, on the “World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP)” says that despite some scattered signs of improvement in recent months, the global economic situation is still challenging.
  • It describes the outlook for global economic growth in 2012 as “tepid”.
  • It adds that a further sharp rise in energy prices may also stifle global development.

GLOBAL FOOD PRICES DROPPED IN MAY – U.N. AGENCY

  • The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its Food Price Index for the month of May.
  • Global food prices have dropped sharply due to generally favourable supplies, growing global economic uncertainties and a strengthening of the US dollar.
  • The Food Price Index, measuring the monthly change in an international basket of food commodity prices, fell by four percent in May.
  • This was the lowest since September last year and about 14 per cent below its peak in February of the same year.

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