HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 11 JUNE 2019

CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Earlier today, the Secretary-General spoke at the 12th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He stressed that disability inclusion is a fundamental right, and that realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is a matter of justice as well as a common-sense investment in our common future.
“When we remove policies, biases or obstacles to opportunity for persons with disabilities, the whole world benefits,” he said.
The Secretary-General acknowledged that we have a long way to ensure full accessibility, including in the UN. With this in mind, he announced the launch of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy which seeks to raise the standards of the UN’s own performance on disability inclusion across the board.
“It is very simple: We can no longer be a platform for change when persons with disabilities cannot access that platform to speak,” he said.
 
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council is holding an open meeting today on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Speaking on behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, was Reena Ghelani, OCHA's Director of Advocacy and Operations.
She told Council members that alarming numbers of people go missing in armed conflicts – whether they are captured and held incommunicado, are victims of extrajudicial executions, or merely fleeing violence.
Ms. Ghelani stressed that, as the Secretary-General said in his report on the issue, parties to conflict must respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law, which prohibits enforced disappearances.
 
MALI
In a statement issued after the press briefing yesterday, the Secretary-General expressed his outrage at reports of an attack in central Mali that resulted in the killing of at least 95 civilians, and many injuries as well. 
He called on the Malian authorities to investigate this tragedy and to bring the perpetrators to justice. He also urged the Government and all others to engage in intercommunal dialogue to resolve tensions and differences.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali reports that a majority of the victims of Sunday’s attack were women and children, while a number of civilians remain missing.
The UN Mission has deployed a human rights fact-finding mission comprised of human rights officers, UN police, forensic and ballistic experts, and it continues to assist the Malian prosecutor in launching an investigation.
 
BOTSWANA
The Secretary-General joins the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and the acting Executive Director of UNAIDS, Gunilla Carlsson, in warmly welcoming the landmark decision by Botswana’s High Court to decriminalize consensual same-sex relations.
Botswana is the ninth country in the past five years to have decriminalized consensual same-sex relationships. Consensual same-sex sexual relationships remain criminalized in at least 67 countries and territories worldwide.

YEMEN
The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, met yesterday with the President of Yemen, Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi. That meeting took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
During the meeting, Mr. Hadi and Ms. DiCarlo discussed the work of the Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, the way forward for implementing the Stockholm Agreement and for returning to dialogue to reach a political solution to the wider conflict in Yemen, based on the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the National Dialogue Conference outcomes and all relevant Security Council resolutions.
The discussions were productive, with Ms. DiCarlo thanking the President for his Government’s commitment to the full implementation of the Stockholm Agreement.
 
SUDAN UNICEF
On Sudan, our colleagues at UNICEF said today that at least 19 children have been killed and dozens injured in the country since June 3rd.
The Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, is calling for an end to the violence. She said she is gravely concerned at the impact of the continuing violence and unrest in the country on children and young people, especially the reported use of excessive force against peaceful protestors.
UNICEF has received information that children are being detained, recruited to join the fighting and sexually abused. Many parents are far too scared to let their children leave the house, fearful of violence, harassment and lawlessness.
UNICEF is continuing to work to help children in the face of the unrest, providing millions of children, including those who have been displaced or are refugees, with vaccines, safe water, treatment for severe acute malnutrition and psychosocial support.