HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

MONDAY, 22 JUNE 2015

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS PANEL FOR EXTERNAL REVIEW OF RESPONSE TO CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC ALLEGATIONS

• The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned by the allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of children by foreign military forces not under the command of the United Nations in the Central African Republic, and the United Nations system’s response to these allegations.
• The Secretary-General had previously announced his intention to set up a panel to conduct an External Independent Review into this matter.
• He has, today, appointed the panel, which will be chaired by Ms. Marie Deschamps of Canada, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The other two members will be Mr. Hassan Jallow of the Gambia, the Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and Ms. Yasmin Sooka of South Africa, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa.
• The panel will review the United Nations response to the allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of children by foreign military forces not under United Nations command and assess the adequacy of the procedures in place.  This will include any allegations of abuse of authority or retaliation by senior officials.  The panel may also look at any shortcomings in existing procedures covering serious crimes by United Nations and related personnel, host State forces and non-State actors that it may become aware of during its review.
• The panel will conduct its work independently and will receive unrestricted access to all UN records and full access to staff members and other UN personnel.  The UN will make its best efforts to facilitate the access of the panel to non-UN personnel.  In addition to those that the panel may reach out to, any person who wishes to provide information relevant to the External Independent Review is encouraged to contact the panel directly through an external email address that will be announced shortly.
• The panel will begin its work in July and aim to submit its report within ten weeks. The panel is also mandated to make recommendations on how the UN should respond to similar allegations in the future and on any shortcomings in existing procedures. The Secretary-General will make this report public, subject to due process and confidentiality considerations.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER, GRAND DUKE OF LUXEMBOURG

• The Secretary-General arrived this morning in Luxembourg, where he had an audience with Grand Duke Henri. They reviewed the state of play in the negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for Luxembourg’s strong and continuous commitment to development aid.  The Secretary-General also thanked Luxembourg for its assistance to UN activities in Mali and to the Central African Republic.  He then met with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, with whom he discussed in-depth the priorities for Luxembourg’s forthcoming Presidency of the European Union's Council.
• The Secretary General later participated in a working luncheon with the European Union Ministers of Foreign Affairs, hosted by Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. He raised the importance of a strong UN-EU partnership, the challenge of migration, the threat of violent extremism, and the crucial opportunity this year to lay plans for a more sustainable future.
• After a joint meeting with Luxembourg's Ministers of Foreign and European Affairs, Environment and Development, Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, he left for Strasbourg, France, where he will address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS ATTACK ON AFGHANISTAN PARLIAMENT

• The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms today's assault against the parliament in Kabul as yet another unacceptable attack on civilians in Afghanistan.  The assault follows the killing of 16 civilians on 20 June, who were travelling in a minibus which struck an improvised explosive device in Helmand.  Together, these attacks have claimed at least 18 civilian lives and injured a further 40.
• The attacks demonstrate a callous disregard for the lives of all Afghans, including women and children, who had already been forced to flee their homes. They undermine efforts aimed at building a stronger, more prosperous Afghanistan.
  The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the families of those killed and injured, and reiterates his unwavering support to the people of Afghanistan.
• The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also issued a statement condemning the attack.
• Also today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, briefed the Security Council on the latest report on the country.
• Noting modest progress in Afghanistan’s economic, and security and political areas, Mr. Haysom said that there is now no room for complacency and that any failure in any one of these areas would have consequences for the overall success of the Afghan transition.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE BATHILY ARRIVES IN BURUNDI TO SUPPORT REGIONAL EFFORTS TO REDUCE TENSIONS

• A statement issued on Sunday said that the Secretary-General has requested his Special Representative and Head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa, Abdoulaye Bathily, to offer good offices in Burundi in support of regional efforts to reduce tensions and help Burundians peacefully settle their differences. Special Representative Bathily arrived in Bujumbura yesterday.
• As elections draw near, the Secretary-General calls on all Burundian political leaders to address the current political crisis with the highest sense of responsibility. He urges them to resume political dialogue earnestly with a view to creating an environment conducive for peaceful, credible and inclusive elections.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES SIGNING OF AGREEMENT IN MALI

• Over the weekend, a statement was issued in which the Secretary-General welcomed the signature of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali by the Coordination coalition of armed groups in Bamako on Saturday.
• The Secretary-General notes that signature by all parties paves the way for the full and timely implementation of the Peace Agreement. The ultimate responsibility for peace lies with Mali and the Malians, and the Secretary-General urges all parties to continue to work in good faith to advance progress, and to fully implement the provisions of the ceasefire.

MISSION REPORTS SHOOTING OF DISPLACED PEOPLE IN SOUTH SUDAN

• The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports that five internally displaced persons (IDPs) – four women and one man -- were shot during an incident early Saturday evening at a market area adjacent to the protection-of-civilians site in Juba. Four of the wounded people were taken to a clinic inside the site for medical treatment and their conditions are serious. Another two displaced people were injured as they fled the scene of the shooting. UNMISS is investigating the incident.
• Meanwhile, UNMISS aircraft have been denied permission to land at the Mission’s county support base in the Upper Nile State town of Nassir by armed opposition forces for six consecutive days. The amount of supplies for UNMISS personnel stationed at the Nassir base is reaching critically low levels as a result of the inability to operate flights into Nassir.

INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY RELEASES REPORT ON GAZA CONFLICT

• The Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict issued its report today and said that it has gathered substantial information pointing to the possible commission of war crimes by both Israel and Palestinian armed groups.
• The chair of the commission, Justice Mary McGowan Davis, told a press briefing in Geneva today that the extent of the devastation and human suffering in Gaza was unprecedented and will affect generations to come. She added that there is also ongoing fear in Israel among communities who come under regular threat.
• The 2014 hostilities saw a huge increase in firepower used in Gaza, with more than 6,000 airstrikes by Israel and approximately 50,000 tank and artillery shells fired. In the 51-day operation, 1,462 Palestinian civilians were killed, a third of them children. Palestinian armed groups fired 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortars towards Israel in July and August 2014, killing 6 civilians and injuring at least 1,600.

U.N. ENVOY CALLS FOR DONOR ASSISTANCE FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN LEBANON

• Sigrid Kaag, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, today called for increased donor assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in order to meet the needs of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and those from Syria. Ms. Kaag was speaking during a visit to the Palestinian refugee camp of Burj El-Barajneh in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
• The Special Coordinator welcomed the calm that has been maintained in Burj El-Barajneh, particularly since the beginning of the crisis in Syria. She encouraged further cooperation between the Palestinian and Lebanese authorities to ensure that this stability continues to prevail.

HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BEGINS THREE-DAY VISIT TO REPUBLIC OF KOREA

• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, will begin a three-day visit to the Republic of Korea, where he will open a new UN Human Rights office to work on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
• The independent international Commission of Inquiry in its 2014 report on DPRK had recommended that “a field-based structure to strengthen monitoring and documentation of the situation of human rights in the DPRK” be established.
• During the visit to Seoul, Mr. Zeid is scheduled to meet President Park Geun-hye as well as a number of high-level Government and State officials as well as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. He is also expected to speak to the press in Seoul at 4 p.m. local time on Thursday, at the conclusion of his visit.

MEMBER STATES WORKING TO REACH CONSENSUS ON DRAFTING SESSION ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT

• The Third Drafting Session of the 3^rd International Conference on Financing for Development was held last week on 15-19 June.
• Throughout the week, and over the weekend, Member States negotiated the texts of the draft outcome document. In addition to assessing the progress made in the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration, the draft text also aims to strengthen the financing framework for the implementation of the Post-2015 development agenda to be agreed at the Summit in September.
• The session extended into the weekend to allow focused discussions on specific issues such as trade, debt, international tax cooperation, and the follow-up framework.
• This is the final phase of negotiations. Today Member States continue to work toward reaching a consensus. We expect the document will be adopted at the meeting in Addis Ababa - Financing for Development which will take place from the 13-16 July.