HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

FRIDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2015

 

 

NIGERIA: SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES NEW POLL DATES TO BE KEPT

  • In a statement attributable to the Spokesman: following the postponement of general elections in Nigeria to 28 March and 11 April, the Secretary-General strongly urges the Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure these new dates are maintained, in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution. He welcomes the commitments by the candidates to the Presidency to respect the new calendar.
  • The Secretary-General commends the progress made by the Election Commission in the preparation for the elections, including the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards. The Secretary-General urges all relevant national institutions to continue to work with INEC to ensure all voters can exercise their constitutional right to participate in the elections freely and without intimidation.
  • The Secretary-General nevertheless expresses strong concern over reports of election-related violence. He urges all political leaders to adhere to their commitments under the Abuja Accord, to refrain from inflammatory statements and to immediately condemn any statements from their supporters that amount to an incitement to violence or subversion of the electoral process.
  • The Secretary-General reiterates to Nigerians that the United Nations will closely be following developments and is offering its full support to Nigeria at this important moment.  His High-Level Representative to Nigeria, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, will remain actively engaged with the Nigerian authorities over the coming weeks.

NEARING ONE-YEAR MARK OF ABDUCTION OF CHIBOK GIRLS, U.N. EDUCATION ENVOY CALLS ON BOKO HARAM FOR THEIR RELEASE

  • The Special Representative for Global Education, Gordon Brown, is urging Boko Haram to free the girls who were taken from Chibok last April, after the group released yesterday 158 women and children taken during a separate raid on Katarka, in December.
  • He said that now that Boko Haram had released some hostages, they should release them all and that there would be no let-up in the campaign to find them and free them.
  • Mr. Brown also said that if the girls were still prisoners by that time, the first full year of their captivity would be marked by a vigil planned here at Headquarters on 14 April.

SYRIA: SECRETARY-GENERAL APPEALS FOR DE-ESCALATION OF CONFLICT TO PAVE WAY FOR POLITICAL SOLUTION

  • In a statement attributable to the Spokesman, the Secretary-General appeals to all parties to de-escalate the conflict in order to provide a reprieve for the long-suffering civilians of Syria. An immediate de-escalation is a much needed step towards a political solution to the conflict.
  • The Secretary-General takes note of the indication reported by Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura to the Security Council on February 17th that the Syrian Government has committed to suspend all aerial attacks and artillery shelling over the entire city of Aleppo for a period of six weeks. This is in order to allow the United Nations to implement the pilot project of unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid starting with one district in Aleppo and building incrementally to others.
  • The Secretary-General recalls that Security Council resolution 2139 called for an end to the indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas in Syria, including shelling and aerial bombardment, and expects that the Syrian Government to follow through on its commitment. The Secretary-General also appeals to all armed opposition groups in Aleppo to suspend their shelling of the city.
  • The last four years of war have led to the deaths of over 200,000 civilians, the greatest refugee crisis of modern times and created an environment in which extremist groups and terrorist organizations such as ISIL/Daesh are able to flourish. The Secretary-General recalls Security Council resolutions 2170 and 2178 and stresses that there is no military solution to this conflict. This is a political conflict.  Ending the killing, reversing the increasing fragmentation of Syria requires a political process, based on the full implementation of the Geneva Communique of 2012 that addresses the deep roots of the conflict and meets the aspirations of all Syrians.

UNTHINKABLE CRIMES CONTINUE TO OCCUR DAILY IN SYRIA, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FINDS

  • The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has released its latest report, in which it says that unthinkable crimes continue to occur daily in Syria, with victims’ voices in danger of being lost amid the horrors of a conflict now approaching its fifth year.  
  • The report, the Commission’s ninth to the Human Rights Council, charts the major trends and patterns of international human rights and humanitarian law violations committed from March 2011 to January of this. The report emphasises the need for concerted and sustained international action to find a political solution, to stop grave violations of human rights, and to break the seemingly intractable cycle of impunity.

IN PHONE CALL WITH FOREIGN MINISTER, SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES CONCERN OVER DANGEROUS SITUATION IN EASTERN UKRAINE

  • The Secretary-General spoke by telephone today with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin. The Secretary-General spoke to him just a short while ago. The Secretary-General commended the leadership displayed by President Poroshenko in efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. However, in the phone call, he voiced his concern at the still dangerous situation on the ground. The Secretary-General also expressed hope that the cease-fire agreed to on 12 February in Minsk would firmly take hold across the region.
  • On the possibility of peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine, the Secretary-General informed the Foreign Minister that the United Nations would stand guided by any decision of the Security Council would make on this issue. The Secretary-General and Foreign Minister agreed to continue their discussion on matters of mutual concern.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE EXPRESSES WORRY OVER FATE OF CIVILIANS IN DEBALTSEVE

  • The Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights says that while the 15 February ceasefire has led to a decrease in hostilities in many parts of the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, it remains deeply concerned about the fate of civilians, as well as captured or wounded Ukrainian servicemen in the Debaltseve area.
  • Heavy fighting continued in that area until 18 February as a result of repeated breaches of the ceasefire by the armed groups.
  • The Office says that it is unclear how many civilians were trapped while fighting raged there, and how many have been wounded or killed, or whether they now have access to medical and other basic services.
  • The High Commissioner’s Office also expressed regrets that OSCE monitors were not, and still have not, been allowed access to this area.
  • The Office says that, as of Wednesday, the death toll has risen to nearly 5,700 and the wounded in eastern Ukraine numbers at least 14,100 – which it calls a conservative estimate.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT PARAGUAY, CHILE

  • The Secretary-General will travel for an official visit to Asuncion, Paraguay, on Tuesday, 24 February, before heading to Santiago, Chile, on 27 February.
  • In Paraguay, the Secretary-General will hold bilateral meetings with President Horacio Cartes and Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga, as well as other senior officials and civil society representatives.
    In Chile, the Secretary-General will attend the high-level event on “Women in power and decision-making: Building a different world”, aimed at reflecting the last 20 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
    The Secretary-General will deliver the keynote address at the event and will also hold bilateral meetings with President Michelle Bachelet and Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, as well as other international and national officials.
    He will return to Headquarters in New York on Monday, 2 March.

U.N. MISSION DEPLORES TERRORIST BOMBINGS IN EASTERN LIBYA

  • The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) today strongly deplored the terrorist bombings in the city of Al-Qubbah in eastern Libya, causing many casualties.
  • The mission called the bombings cowardly act. It believes that the best response to counter terrorism and violence is for the Libyans to forge ahead with the search for a political solution to end the conflict.

MALI: U.N. MISSION WELCOMES DECLARATION AS ‘POTENTIALLY’ IMPORTANT STEP TO FURTHER GOOD WILL, BUILD CONFIDENCE

  • The UN Mission in Mali says it has taken note of the declaration signed yesterday by the parties to the inter-Malian inclusive dialogue announcing an immediate cessation of hostilities. 
  • It welcomes this as a potentially important step that can demonstrate good will and help build confidence in the talks currently ongoing in Algiers to reach a sustainable political solution.
  • It also calls upon Malian signatories to the declaration to strictly abide by its provisions.
  • The UN also calls upon the parties to make good on their commitment to fully participate in existing ceasefire monitoring arrangements and to cooperate with the UN mission on confidence-building measures.

INDEPENDENT EXPERTS INVESTIGATING VIOLENCE ARRIVE IN MALI

  • A team of independent experts appointed by the Secretary-General to look into the events surrounding the 27 January violent demonstration in Gao, Mali, has arrived in Bamako and started its work today.
  • The three-member team met with officials from the Government of Mali and briefed them on its terms of reference. The team also expressed appreciation for assurances of collaboration from the Malian authorities. The team will travel to Gao in the coming days.

U.N. SOMALIA ENVOY LABELS ATTACK ON MOGADISHU HOTEL ‘CRUEL AND DESPICABLE’

  • The Special Representative in Somalia, Nicholas Kay, has condemned, in the strongest terms, today’s attack on the Central Hotel in Mogadishu that resulted in the death and injury of dozens of people, including senior members of the Federal Government of Somalia. Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.
  • He said that such an indiscriminate attack against the Somali people is a cruel and despicable crime intended to rob Somalis of their hope for a better future. He added that despite such inhuman atrocities, Somalis are successful in rebuilding their government institutions and security forces after more than two decades of state failure and conflict. The UN in Somalia will continue to work to help Somalis realise their hopes and aspirations for a peaceful and stable future.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST RACIST BEHAVIOUR OF CHELSEA FOOTBALL FANS

  • From Geneva, the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights today strongly condemned the racist behaviour of a group of Chelsea football fans during the build-up to a Champions League game that was taking place in Paris on Tuesday.
  • As you’ve seen, these fans were filmed singing a song flaunting their racism and repeatedly preventing a French citizen of African descent from boarding the Paris Métro.
  • In recent years, the Office of the High Commissioner has been engaging in discussions with both FIFA and UEFA about ways to enhance the effort to root racism out of football after numerous examples of racist behaviour by football fans, especially inside stadiums.

INJURED BLUE HELMETS EVACUATED FROM MALI, HEAD OF AFRICAN-UNION-U.N. MISSION ATTENDS DARFUR TALKS

  • In response to a question about injured peacekeepers in Mali, the Spokesman said that the UN Mission (MINUSMA) reports that an accidental explosion at the mission's camp in Tabankort injured four peacekeepers. Three of them have been evacuated out of the country for further medical treatment.
  • In response to a question about the UN delegation to talks in Khartoum about the exit strategy for the joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the acting Joint Special Representative for the Mission, Abiodun Oluremi Bashua, led the talks from the UN side.


 

*** The guests at the noon briefing were the Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, and Dr. Bruce Aylward, the Assistant Director-General for Emergencies for the World Health Organization (WHO).

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