HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

MONDAY, 11 MAY 2015

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT REPUBLIC OF KOREA, VIETNAM, IRELAND AND BELGIUM

• The Secretary-General will arrive in the Republic of Korea (ROK) on 18 May 2015. During his visit, he will open the World Education Forum, to be held in Incheon.
• The Forum will be co-convened by the UN Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other UN partners. It is expected to lead the way in defining a new education agenda, building on the Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative.
• While in ROK, the Secretary-General will address special meetings organized by the UN Global Compact and the UN Academic Impact. He will also speak at a commemorative event marking the 70th Anniversary of the UN and other meetings related to the UN agenda. He is expected to meet President Park Geun-Hye as well as with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Chung Eui-hwa, and the Foreign Minister, Yun Byung-se.
• On 22 May, the Secretary-General will arrive in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he is expected to meet with President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
• Environmental sustainability and climate change will be the focus of his trip, and he will take part in the inauguration ceremony of the Green One UN House – an environmentally friendly building home to the UN family working in Vietnam.
• He is scheduled to visit the Chu Van An High School to speak to students and teachers about the role of youth in promoting gender equality and preventing gender-based violence in schools and their communities. The Secretary-General will also speak to students at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.
• On 24 May, the Secretary-General will arrive in Ireland, where he will receive the Tipperary International Peace Award and meet with the country’s leadership and a cross section of Irish civil society.
• Earlier this year, in thanking the Tipperary Peace Convention, Mr. Ban said that despite today's grave challenges, he is convinced that our era offers remarkable opportunities to set the world on a course towards a more peaceful, prosperous, equitable and sustainable future for all.
• On 26 May, the Secretary-General will travel to Brussels, Belgium, where he will hold talks with senior European Union officials and Belgian leaders. He will also address the European Parliament meeting in Brussels.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ALARMED BY RECENT VIOLENCE IN KUMANOVA, F.Y.R.O.M.

• In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General expressed alarm by the recent violence in the city of Kumanovo in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and extends his condolences to the families of those killed and injured.
• He said that he strongly supports the calls by the European Union and other members of the international community urging the state authorities and all political and community leaders to cooperate to restore calm and to fully investigate the events in an objective and transparent manner.
• At this sensitive time, the Secretary-General called on all actors to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from any rhetoric and or actions that may escalate tensions further.
• He also encouraged the country’s authorities to address the concerns voiced by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 17 March 2015 and to reaffirm their commitment to fundamental human rights and the rule of law by fostering an environment in which opposing views can be expressed freely.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS NEW DEPUTY FOR U.N. MISSION IN D.R. CONGO

• The Secretary-General today appointed Mamadou Diallo of Guinea as the Deputy Special Representative for the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
• Mr. Diallo succeeds Moustapha Soumaré of Mali. The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Soumaré’s outstanding contribution and dedicated service for the past three years in supporting the implementation of MONUSCO’s mandate and coordinating the activities of the UN system in the DRC.
• Mr. Diallo currently serves as the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Regional Director for West and Central Africa. He brings to this position many years of experience with the UN system with over two decades of increasingly responsible managerial and leadership positions in development and humanitarian operations at the national, regional and international level.

RUSSIA: SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES WAY FORWARD ON UKRAINE WITH PRESIDENT PUTIN

• The Secretary-General attended the Victory Day celebration in Moscow, Russia.
• In his meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the Secretary-General discussed in depth the way forward on Ukraine and agreed that full and good faith implementation by all sides of the "Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements" presented the best opportunity to bring forth a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
• They also discussed the political process on Syria, Russia's contribution to peacekeeping and climate change.
• The Secretary-General also met President Nicos Anastasiades of the Republic of Cyprus and welcomed the new optimism about the resumption of negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement in the country.

U.N. ENVOY ON MIGRANT CRISIS STRESSES IMMEDIATE NEED TO SAVE LIVES

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for International Migration, Peter Sutherland, briefed the Security Council today. He said that the Deputy Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Refugees, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Director General for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and he have met regularly to coordinate and discuss the UN’s response to the Mediterranean refugee and mixed migratory crisis.
• Mr. Sutherland said that the situation in the Mediterranean represents, first and foremost, a security crisis for the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants in harm’s way. He stressed that it is essential to remember that about half of those who reach Europe qualify for international protection as refugees.
• An effective strategy to address the crisis, Mr. Sutherland said, including in the context of a Security Council resolution, begins with the immediate need to save lives. If we do not frame our response in this way, it would represent a moral failure of the first order, one that would undermine international law and security.
• At the most basic level, he said, we need to engage in a systematic, intense dialogue among countries of origin, transit, and destination, and the UN stands ready to help foster, inform, and guide such a dialogue.

U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF URGES CALLS ON YEMENI PARTIES TO GIVE PEOPLE RESPITE, FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT OF HUMANITARIAN PAUSE

• The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, took note of the announcement of a humanitarian pause in Yemen by the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the US Secretary of State on behalf of the coalition, to start tomorrow. She hopes that reports of agreement to the humanitarian pause by the Houthis are accurate.
• Given the deteriorating humanitarian situation on the ground in Yemen with hundreds of thousands of vulnerable civilians trapped in the middle of fighting and unable to access lifesaving aid, it is essential that this pause materialise.
• Ms. Amos said that if the pause in fighting, scheduled to commence on 12 May, is implemented by all parties to the conflict, it will enable the UN and its partners to scale up its operations. Essential international staff members are returning to Yemen.
• She called on all those engaged in this conflict to stop the fighting and bombing, and give the people of Yemen respite. It is vital that all parties respect their obligations to protect civilians under international humanitarian law. A pause to allow aid in and people to flee to safety would be a lifeline.
• The Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, met with Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Federal Council Affairs, in Abu Dhabi. Tonight, he is headed to Djibouti, with the plan to fly into Sana'a tomorrow morning, ahead of the announced humanitarian pause. While in Sana'a, he hopes to meet with various Yemeni interlocutors, in particular the Houthis.

SYRIA: U.N. ENVOY LOOKS FORWARD TO NATIONAL COALITION’S ENGAGEMENT AT CONSULTATIONS IN GENEVA

• The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has taken note of the decisions taken by the National Coalition of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SOC) and he looks forward to the arrival of the National Coalition’s Envoy to Geneva.
• Mr. de Mistura is indeed interested in receiving the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s point of view on the Geneva Consultations, saying that this is the whole purpose of the exercise.
• The Special Envoy for Syria remains appreciative of ongoing efforts by the Coalition to contribute to a long overdue peaceful solution in Syria.
• The Geneva consultations are a rolling process to seek views of all Syrian and relevant regional and international parties on the operationalization of the Geneva Communiqué. 
• In this context, Mr. de Mistura continues to meet separately with all Syrian actors from inside and outside Syria. He looks forward to the Syrian Opposition Coalition's engagement in this process.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: U.N. ENVOY WELCOMES AGREEMENT BY ARMED GROUPS

• The head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Babacar Gaye, said that an important step on the way to peace in the country has been made during the Bangui Forum.
• Mr. Gaye welcomed the signature of an agreement yesterday by 10 armed groups who have committed themselves to give up the armed struggle. He called on all signatories to guarantee that it is reflected on the ground.

JOINT U.N. AND A.U. MISSION IN DARFUR CALLS FOR MAXIMUN RESTRAINT FOLLOWING TENSIONS BETWEEN TRIBES

• The African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) expressed serious concerns today over the recent escalation of tensions between two tribes in East Darfur, the Rezeigat and the Ma’alia tribes.
• The UN Mission encourages the leaders and members of both tribes to exercise maximum restraint, engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve their dispute and refrain from all acts that would lead to violence and displacement.
• The Mission also welcomed the deployment of additional troops by the Government of Sudan to create a buffer zone between the two tribes, as well as its ongoing efforts to de-escalate the tension.

U.N. MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER INTENSIFIED MILITARY ACTIVITIES IN UNITY STATE

• The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has grown increasingly concerned about intensified military activities in Unity State, with reports of towns and villages being burned, killings, abductions of males as young as 10 years of age, rape and abduction of girls and women, and the forced displacement of civilians.
• The Mission has experienced exceedingly limited access to the affected areas, as well as increasingly aggressive behaviour toward United Nations staff from soldiers at checkpoints.
• The Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, said that ongoing hostilities in Unity State have obliged UN agencies and NGOs to evacuate staff from Leer and other locations, leaving over 300,000 people without lifesaving aid.
• Renewed violence comes at a time when stocks of food are depleted, and at the height of the planting season when communities could be planting their crops to reap a harvest later this year. Mr. Lanzer called for assurances from the parties to the conflict that the work of aid agencies can continue without delay. 

U.N. ENVOY FOR WEST AFRICA STRESSES NEED FOR DIALOGUE IN GUINEA

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, welcomed the invitation extended by President Alpha Condé of Guinea, to the leader of the Guinean opposition, Cellou Dalein Diallo.
• He stressed that dialogue is the only way to resolve peacefully the current crisis which will help create the necessary conditions for the last mile in the fight against Ebola and establish a political atmosphere conducive to the holding of violence-free, inclusive and credible elections in the country. M. Ibn Chambas is expected to travel to Conakry on Thursday 14 May.

ATTACKS AGAINST U.N. MISSION PATROL REPORTED IN MALI

• The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) reported that earlier today, an armoured vehicle on patrol in the Kidal region hit an improvised explosive device (IED) or mine. No injuries were reported but the vehicle was damaged in the explosion.
• This is the second such attack on a MINUSMA patrol in two days. Yesterday, an IED or mine detonated under a MINUSMA vehicle in the Mopti Region, seriously wounding two peacekeepers who were evacuated to a hospital in Timbuktu.

U.N. MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN CONDEMNS ATTACKS AGAINST LEGAL PROFESSIONALS

• The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has strongly condemned yesterday's suicide attack against a civilian bus transporting employees of the Attorney General's Office in Kabul.
• Five prosecutors, including three women prosecutors, were killed, and 19 other civilians have been injured.
• The Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, says that an emerging pattern of deliberate attacks by the Taliban against civilian staff in the Attorney General's Office and legal professionals is reprehensible and must stop.
• So far this year, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for 11 separate attacks against legal professionals and court houses resulting in 114 civilian casualties.

MORE FUNDING NEEDS TO SUPPORT DISPLACED COMMUNITIES IN PAKISTAN

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) held a meeting in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, to update donors on the progress made regarding uprooted people returning to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
• The returns began this March in the three agencies of South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Khyber. Some 140,000 displaced people have returned home in the past two months, some after spending several years in host communities and camps - this represents some 8 per cent of the total number of people displaced.
• In January 2015, OCHA and the humanitarian country team released a plan to support the needs of displaced population and returnees which aims to mobilize $434 million for the year.