HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

THURSDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2015

 

U.N. ENVOY FOR LIBYA URGES COLLECTIVE ENDORSEMENT OF POLITICAL AGREEMENT

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino León, briefed the Security Council today.
  • Following a year-long complex process of negotiations and compromises between the Libyan parties during the UN-facilitated talks, Mr. León said that Libya’s leaders now have a unique opportunity to reach a political settlement that spares the country and people further bloodshed and destruction.
  • Success, however, would always be dependent on the parties’ collective endorsement of the agreement, he said, adding that Libyan ownership of the dialogue process and outcomes has been at the heart of the UN meditation efforts.
  • Mr. León said that the proposed political agreement was never intended to provide a panacea for all of Libya’s problems. It was meant to lay the structures and principles that would guide the next phase of the country’s political transition.
  • Mr. León stressed that the UN will continue to encourage the political parties to endorse the agreement and urged the international community to move quickly in mobilizing support for a future Libyan Government of National Accord.
  • Prior to Mr. León’s briefing, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ms. Fatou Bensouda, briefed on Libya.

SECRETARY-GENERAL REITERATES CALL TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY AT BOOK LAUNCH

  • The Secretary-General today launched a book called “Moving Away from the Death Penalty” at the UN Bookstore.
  • Stressing that the death penalty should be abolished, the Secretary-General said that there is still no proof that death penalty even deters crime. He added that when States impose the death penalty, they also kill any hope for justice.
  • The Secretary-General also pointed out that death penalty discriminates, saying that there are studies that have proven that those who are poor, mental disabled, and/or are minorities are at higher risk regardless of guilt or innocence.

TURKEY: SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATUALTES PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT ON PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

  • In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General congratulated the people and Government of Turkey on the parliamentary elections on 1 November.
  • He encouraged the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and all political parties in Turkey to work closely together to strengthen the peace, stability and democracy in the country.

U.N. DISASTER AND COORDINATION TEAM DEPLOYED TO HELP RELIEF EFFORTS IN YEMEN, FOLLOWING CYCLONE CHAPALA

  • A UN Disaster and Coordination (UNDAC) team consisting of 11 people has been deployed to Oman today to support the response to Tropical Cyclone in neighbouring Yemen.
  • The primary task of the team is to evaluate setting up a relief supply chain from Oman into affected areas in Yemen. The team, which will be in Muscat tomorrow to start operations, will the complement the response effort of over 900 UN staff already in Yemen.

WESTERN SAHARA: U.N. ENVOY SAYS SITUATION REMAINS INCREASINGLY ALARMING

  • In a recent statement marking 40 years of conflict over the future of Western Sahara, the Secretary-General said that the situation in north-west Africa is becoming increasingly alarming.
  • This conflict must be brought to an end if the people of the region are to meet their shared challenges and achieve their full potential, he added.
  • The Secretary-General stressed that the definitive status of this territory is the object of a negotiating process being conducted under his auspices in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions.
  • He noted with regret that the April 2007 proposals of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front have not opened the way to the genuine negotiations for which the Council and the Secretary-General have repeatedly called.
  • At his direction, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Mr. Christopher Ross, has intensified his efforts to facilitate the entry of the parties into negotiations without preconditions and in good faith to achieve a mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
  • The Secretary-General urged all concerned within the region and within the broader international community to take advantage of his Personal Envoy’s intensified efforts to facilitate the launching of true negotiations in the coming months.

PROTECTING CIVILIANS IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF U.N. PEACE OPERATIONS, SAYS DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL

  • The Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, continued his visit to Washington, D.C., United States, today. He delivered the keynote address entitled “What is next for UN peace operations?” at a workshop, in which he said that addressing today’s conflicts means using the full range of UN tools. 
  • To achieve this, he said, we need clear organizing principles, which is why the emphasis on the primacy of political strategies and solutions by the Secretary-General’s High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations is so important.
  • The Deputy Secretary-General noted that the pursuit of a negotiated political settlement in today’s conflicts is intertwined with the protection of civilians.
  • Protecting civilians threatened by conflict is therefore an integral part of UN peace operations, and there can be no excuse for a failure to act in the face of threats to civilians. 
  • While in the US capital today, the Deputy Secretary-General is also scheduled to meet with members of Congress and senior officials of the State Department. He will deliver a lecture at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

U.N. LAUNCHES APPEAL TO HELP GREECE AND BALKAN COUNTRIES COPE WITH MIGRANT AND REFUGEE CRISIS

  • With the numbers of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe continuing to be high, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today launched an appeal for nearly $100 million for additional help for Greece and countries in the Balkans as winter approaches.
  • The harsh weather conditions will likely worsen the suffering of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece and traveling through the Balkans.
  • The Agency is planning for up to 5,000 arrivals per day between this November and next February, and warned that winter weather could result in further loss of life if adequate measures are not taken urgently.
  • It will work to winterize shelter and reception facilities, as well as aid packages containing winter clothing and blankets.

UKRAINE: HUMANITARIAN CHIEF CALLS FOR SUSTAINED AND UNIMPEDED ACCESS TO VULNERABLE PEOPLE

  • The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, wrapped up a visit to Ukraine yesterday, calling for sustained and unimpeded access to vulnerable people caught in the middle of the crisis and who urgently need humanitarian aid.
  • He said that he went to Ukraine to see first-hand the consequences of the conflict in the east on civilians and those forced to flee their homes. Some four million people in eastern Ukraine need assistance and protection.
  • Mr. O’Brien held talks with the Prime Minister and other senior official in the capital, Kyiv, and with representatives of the de facto authorities in Luhansk and Donetsk.
  • As a result of his meetings and the welcome assurances he received, he said he is confident that he can count on all the parties to facilitate immediate, unimpeded and sustained aid delivery.
  • Mr. O'Brien began a two-day visit to Russia today. He met with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and they discussed ways of building on the strong partnership between the UN and Russia on a range of humanitarian issues.
  • Tomorrow, he will hold talks with senior officials and visit the Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) national crisis management centre.

U.N. CONDEMNS ATTACKS AGAINST BLOGGERS AND PUBLISHERS IN BANGLADESH

  • The High Commissioner for Human Rights today strongly condemned the continuing violent attacks against bloggers and publishers in Bangladesh, calling on the Government to take urgent, concerted measures to protect all who are being threatened by extremists operating in the country.
  • He noted that at least five Bangladeshi writers and publishers, as well as two foreign aid workers, have been violently murdered this year in the capital, Dhaka, and many more attacked and threatened, apparently by groups that believe they have the right to impose their views on others through wanton violence.
  • The High Commissioner said there is an urgent need for a concerted response to prevent more killings by promptly bringing the perpetrators to justice.
  • He also stressed that the State must ensure that journalists, civil society actors and human rights defenders are able to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and opinion without fear for their safety.

COLOMBIA: U.N. WELCOMES F.A.R.C.’S COMMITMENT TO STOP USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS

  • The Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, welcomed today the commitment made by the FARC in Colombia to stop the recruitment and use of children under 18.
  • The commitment was expressed during her second visit to Cuba from 30 October to 3 November to discuss the fate of children affected by the armed conflict with the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP – the two negotiating parties to the Colombian peace talks.

FOOD PRICES INCREASE IN OCTOBER DUE TO WEATHER-DRIVEN CONCERNS

  • According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Food Price Index, major food commodity prices rose in October, up 3.9 percent from September, spurred by weather-driven concerns about sugar and palm oil supplies.
  • The reasons for this rise go from excessive rains in Brazil and drought in India and Thailand, to intensifying concerns that El Niño may hamper next year's palm oil supply in Indonesia.

 

 

 

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