Noon briefing of 1 November 2017

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 1 NOVEMBER 2017

SECRETARY-GENERAL EXTENDS CONDOLENCES TO NEW YORK IN WAKE OF DEADLY ATTACK

• Shortly after the attack in downtown New York City last night, the Secretary-General tweeted, “Our hearts go out to the people of our great host city; today all of us at UNHQ are New Yorkers.”
• He extends his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
• The Secretary-General contacted US Ambassador Nikki Haley yesterday evening to express his condolences. This morning, he called New York City Mayor Bill di Blasio and reaffirmed his solidarity with the people of New York.

• The Secretary-General António Guterres is appointing Susan D. Page of the United States as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH).
• The Secretary-General expresses his gratitude to his Deputy Special Representative, Mamadou Diallo of Guinea, who has provided excellent leadership since the establishment of the new Mission on 16 October, and to his former Special Representative Sandra Honoré, who successfully led the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for four years until its closure on 15 October 2017, contributing to the many achievements that made the transition to MINUJUSTH possible.
• Ms. Page brings to this position extensive managerial and leadership experience in diplomacy, international development and rule of law. She has served as Deputy Special Representative for Rule of Law in MINUSTAH since January 2017.

• The Secretary-General has appointed Kim Bolduc of Canada as his Deputy Special Representative for the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). She will also serve as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Ms. Bolduc succeeds Mamadou Diallo of Guinea, who completed his assignment in October and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his leadership and dedicated service during his tenure.
• Ms. Bolduc brings to the appointment more than 30 years of experience in international development and humanitarian work, as well as a demonstrated record of management and leadership. She served since 2014 as Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of United Nations Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

• The Secretary-General is appointing Alice Walpole of the United Kingdom as his new Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
• Ms. Walpole succeeds György Busztin of Hungary, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service since 2011 in support of the United Nations role in Iraq.
• Ms. Walpole brings a wealth of diplomatic and other relevant experience to the position, including serving for a two-year period as British Consul-General in Basra, Iraq. She most recently served as British Ambassador to Mali, and prior to that as Ambassador to Luxembourg.

• The Secretary-General today appointed Luis Carrilho of Portugal as UN Police Adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
• He will succeed the outgoing Police Adviser, Stefan Feller of Germany. The Secretary-General appreciates Mr. Feller’s dedication, professionalism and leadership on UN policing issues.
• Mr. Carrilho is Chief Superintendent with the Polícia de Segurança Pública in Portugal. He served as UN Police Commissioner in three UN peacekeeping operations: in Timor Leste, in Haiti and most recently in the Central African Republic.

• In a letter to staff circulated yesterday evening, the Secretary-General and the heads of the UN staff councils and unions reiterated their commitment to eliminating sexual harassment from the Organization.
• While the UN has a clear policy on sexual harassment and a process to investigate allegation, the letter said that this in itself is not enough – we all have a duty and an obligation to create an environment that is welcoming to all, where everyone feels valued and where each colleague can perform at their best regardless of who they are or where they are from.
• Many staff, both victims and witnesses, accept this as an everyday reality. But this should not be so.
• The Secretary-General and the other signatories said that we should reflect on our everyday behavior and what we can do better as staff and as manager, understanding that harassment covers a wide range of actions.
• We must support colleagues who are harassed and call it out where we see it, and we must fight it together.

• This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the High-Level Symposium on “Global Energy Interconnection: Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.”
• He said that a growing population and the increasing effects of climate change underline the need to transform the world’s energy systems so they can fulfil energy needs without polluting the environment.
• He noted that the world is still far from achieving the vision of Sustainable Development Goal 7 of affordable and clean energy for all, with some 1 billion people still living without any access to any electricity and 3 billion people still cooking and heating their homes without clean fuels. The Secretary-General urged all governments and all stakeholders around the world to step up investments in energy efficiency, clean energy and renewable energy to make progress on this issue.

• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, welcomed the full return of the Gaza crossings to the control of the Palestinian Authority. He said that this is a landmark development in the implementation of the intra-Palestinian agreement, signed in Cairo on 12 October. The positive momentum should be maintained and the Palestinian Government must be fully empowered to function in Gaza.
• Mr. Mladenov said that the return of the crossings should facilitate the lifting of the closures, while addressing Israel’s legitimate security concerns, and unlock increased international support for Gaza’s reconstruction, growth, stability and prosperity.
• He reminded all factions in Gaza of the importance of maintaining security and ending militant activities that undermine peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis alike.

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan, David Shearer, was in Akobo today, a remote and hard-to-reach area in the north-east of the country, close to the border with Ethiopia. Speaking from there, Mr. Shearer said that the needs of people in Akobo are immense and that the UN mission is looking at ways of extending a presence in the town.
• Some 71,000 displaced people are currently living in Akobo and the surrounding area after fleeing fighting between government and opposition forces.
• Mr. Shearer said that peacekeepers are expected to reach vulnerable people in remote parts of South Sudan as the UN mission takes a more nimble and proactive approach. The mission has already been stepping up flights into Akobo, sending in peacekeepers and UN staff on temporary assignments.