HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH 2015
BAN KI-MOON STRONGLY CONDEMNS ATTACK AGAINST MUSEUM IN TUNISIAN CAPITAL
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In a statement, the Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms today’s attack against the Bardo Museum in central Tunis and deplores the loss of life.
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He conveys his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this deplorable act.
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The Secretary-General also expresses his solidarity with the Tunisian people and the Tunisian authorities.
SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES VISIT OF FORTHCOMING VISIT OF POPE FRANCIS TO U.N. HEADQUARTERS
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His Holiness Pope Francis will visit the United Nations Headquarters on the morning of 25 September 2015.
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The Secretary-General welcomes the visit of Pope Francis as an important part of a historic year in which the United Nations marks its 70th anniversary and in which Member States will take major decisions about sustainable development, climate change and the future peace and well-being of humankind.
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During the visit, Pope Francis will address the United Nations General Assembly. His Holiness will also have bilateral meetings with the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly and will participate in a town hall gathering with United Nations staff.
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The Secretary-General is confident that His Holiness Pope Francis's visit will inspire the international community to redouble its efforts to achieve human dignity for all through ensuring greater social justice, tolerance and understanding among all of the world's peoples.
IN ITALY, SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES LIBYA, TERRORISM WITH LEADERS
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The Secretary-General is in Italy today, where he met earlier in Rome with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The Secretary-General thanked the Prime Minister for Italy's strong support for the political and humanitarian work of the United Nations in Libya and Italy’s contribution to global efforts to address terrorism, including in Syria and Iraq. They also discussed the need to address the root causes of irregular migration and of terrorism. The Secretary-General further expressed his gratitude for Italy's support to United Nations peacekeeping operations, especially in Lebanon. They also discussed the situation in Ukraine.
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The Secretary-General also met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, with whom he discussed Libya, Syria, migration, climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Earlier in the morning, he met Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and spoke to the press afterwards.
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In his remarks, the Secretary-General said that he is very concerned about the increasing presence of the so-called Islamic State, or Da’esh, in Libya. He praised Italy's strong support for the UN efforts in Libya and their efforts to counter violent extremism.
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The Secretary-General is now in Turin, where he is chairing a retreat of the senior officials of the UN system.
HAITI HAS MADE STRIDES TOWARDS HOLDIING LONG OVERDUE POLLS, U.N. ENVOY TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL
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The Security Council is meeting on Haiti this morning. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the country and Head of the UN Mission, Sandra Honoré, said the country had made measurable gains towards the holding of long overdue elections by the end of the year. She called on all political actors to continue a genuine dialogue and a transparent and consultative approach.
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She also said it was time for Haitian authorities, including the Electoral Council, to demonstrate their capacity and assume even greater ownership of the electoral process.
As Haiti enters a complex electoral period, with a planned reduction of the UN Mission’s military personnel, Ms. Honoré invited all partners to make an additional effort in fully staffing the Police component of the Mission.
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Prior to the meeting on Haiti, the Security Council also heard a briefing from the delegation that just visited the Central African Republic, Addis-Ababa and Burundi.
VANUATU: 11 PEOPLE KILLED BY CYCLONE PAM, U.N. AGENCIES SUPPORTING VACCINATION CAMPAIGN
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The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that due to cyclone Pam, 11 people have died in Vanuatu, according to the Government.
More than 3,000 people have sought shelter in 26 evacuation centers but people are beginning to return to their homes.
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Assessments missions to some of Vanuatu’s worse-hit provinces have found that food, water, medical supplies, shelter and hygiene kits are urgently needed. Communication within and between the country’s islands, as well as access to affected areas, is the greatest challenge to the humanitarian operation.
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Nearly half of the 30,000 houses in the worst-affected parts of the country have been damaged by the cyclone.
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Aid agencies continue to support the Government providing help, with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) having airlifted kits to cover 50,000 patients, while shelter kits and household items are being dispatched in the coming days.
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UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) are also supporting an emergency Government-led vaccination drive to protect children affected by cyclone Pam in Vanuatu.
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There are fears of a serious measles outbreak in the country, which already has very low rates of routine immunization and suffered an outbreak of measles, a potentially deadly disease, earlier this month.
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Six teams have been deployed in the capital, with six additional teams expected to be trained to begin vaccinations by the end of the week.
U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF VOICES STRONG CONCERNS OVER TRIAL OF FORMER MALDIVES LEADER
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The High Commissioner for Human Rights today expressed strong concerns over what he called the hasty and apparently unfair trial of the former President of the Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed, who has received a 13-year jail sentence.
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The High Commissioner said that Mr. Nasheed was sentenced following a rushed process that appears to contravene the Maldives’ own laws and practices and international fair trial standards in a number of respects.
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Mr. Nasheed’s trial began one day after his arrest. The country’s Constitution states that anyone accused of a crime has the right to adequate time and facilities to prepare their defense.
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At trial, the former President’s defense was constrained from calling witnesses, contrary to international fair trial standards.
The High Commissioner also noted that the courts refused requests by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, as well as domestic and international observers, to monitor the trial proceedings.
WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, IRAQI GOVERNMENT DISTRIBUTING MEALS TO SCHOOLCHILDREN
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The World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it is collaborating with the Government of Iraq to implement a school meals programme in Thi Qar, one of the most disadvantaged governorates in the country.
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The World Food Programme plans on distributing nutritious meals to 21,000 vulnerable primary school children across 73 schools in southern Iraq, until the end of May 2015.
NON-SMOKING NEW GLOBAL NORM – WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
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Non-smoking is becoming the new norm worldwide, according to new data presented today during the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) in Abu Dhabi.
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The new report on Trends in Tobacco Smoking by the World Health Organization (WHO) finds that in 2010, there were 3.9 billion non-smokers aged 15 years and over - 78% of the 5.1 billion population aged 15 and over, and this percentage is projected to rise to 81% by 2025.
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The prevalence of men smoking tobacco products has fallen in 125 countries between 2000 and 2010, and in 156 countries for women.
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However, based on current trends, only 37 countries are on track to achieve the 30% tobacco reduction global target for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases by 2025.
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The World Health Organization calls on governments to intensify action to combat the tobacco industry and dramatically reduce consumption of tobacco products.
TURKEY BECOMES 61ST MEMBER STATE TO PAY DUES IN FULL
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Turkey has become the 61st Member State to pay its contributions in full.
