BAN KI-MOON: PEOPLE IN
MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA ARE VOICING LEGITIMATE
ASPIRATIONS

• The
  Secretary-General
  
  spoke this morning about the latest
  developments in North Africa and the Middle
  East, in which, he said, people are standing
  up to voice their legitimate aspirations.
   

• He
  said that the reports from Bahrain overnight
  are deeply troubling.  Here as elsewhere,
  violence should not be used against peaceful
  demonstrators and against journalists.  It
  must stop.  Those responsible must be
  brought to justice. He added that there
  should be no violence from any quarter and
  urged all parties to exercise restraint.
   

• 
  Speaking about Egypt, the Secretary-General
  welcomed the public commitments that have
  been made to the holding of free and
  transparent elections and the enactment of
  measures to enable them - all as part of a
  transition to democratic, civilian rule.
  Those commitments must be fulfilled, with no
  turning back, he said.
   

• The
  United Nations not only stands ready to
  help, but we are actively preparing to
  provide any assistance that may be
  requested.
   

• Asked about UN
  assistance, the Spokesperson noted that the
  Secretary-General said that the United
  Nations is actively prepared to provide
  assistance, including technical support for
  elections, if it is requested to do so.
   

• Asked about
  specific UN activities, the Spokesperson
  cited, most recently, the visit by a human
  rights team to look at the situation in
  Tunisia.
   

• Nesirky noted
  that the Secretary-General had provided an
  assessment of the situation in Egypt and
  elsewhere when he briefed the Security
  Council upon his return from his recent
  travels.
   

• Asked about the
  role of UN agencies, funds and programmes,
  Nesirky said that they are already on the
  ground and their role as matters develop in
  the region will be closely coordinated.

BAN KI-MOON URGES
FULL COOPERATION WITH AFRICAN UNION HIGH LEVEL
PANEL ON COTE D’IVOIRE

• The
  Secretary-General attaches great importance
  to the forthcoming mission to Côte d'Ivoire
  by the five-member High Level Panel
  established by the African Union's Peace and
  Security Council to facilitate a peaceful
  solution to the post-elections crisis in
  Côte d'Ivoire. The Secretary-General urges
  all Ivorian parties to extend their full
  cooperation to the High Level Panel and to
  create a political and security environment
  conducive to the success of the Panel's
  efforts.
   

• The
  Secretary-General is
  
  concerned about the continuing violence
  and the planned demonstrations which could
  increase tensions and undermine the
  prospects for an early and peaceful end to
  the crisis.  He calls for an immediate end
  to the acts of violence against the civilian
  population and for restraint in the planned
  demonstrations.  He also calls for an end to
  the obstruction of the operations of the
  United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI),
  and the removal of the siege on the Golf
  Hotel.
   

• He urges all
  Ivorians to exercise patience and restraint
  and to give the ongoing efforts a chance to
  find a solution that is peaceful and
  respects their will, as expressed through
  the run-off presidential election of 28
  November 2010.

COTE D’IVOIRE: WEST
AFRICAN NATIONS OFFER NEW TROOPS TO PEACEKEEPING
MISSION

• The
  UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI)
  
  says that three countries, two of which
  are in West Africa, have offered to send
  troops to reinforce the Mission.
   

• 
  UNOCI says that negotiations with the
  concerned countries are well advanced.
  Discussions with other countries are also
  ongoing.
   

• 
  Regarding the three helicopters to be
  deployed in UNOCI, which are currently in
  Liberia, they should be deployed once a
  logistics package has been put in place to
  sustain them.
   

• And
  concerning the human rights situation in
  Côte d’Ivoire, the Mission says that it has
  recorded four new cases of summary killings
  in Ndotré, Yopougon Niangon and Adjamé Gare
  Ran. To date, UNOCI confirms at least 300
  deaths in connection with the violence since
  mid-December 2010.

CYPRIOT LEADERS HAVE
ADVANCED IN TALKS ON ECONOMY AND EUROPEAN UNION
MATTERS

• The
  Cypriot leaders met in the UN Protected Area
  in Nicosia for about two hours today.
   

• 
  Speaking to reporters afterward, Lisa
  Buttenheim, the Secretary-General’s Special
  Representative for
  
  Cyprus, said that the progress achieved
  in the last two meetings of the
  Representatives on economy and European
  Union matters has been confirmed by the
  leaders.
   

• She
  added that the next meeting between the
  leaders will take place on Friday, 25
  February.  Before that, the Representatives
  will meet tomorrow, and then on 21 and 23
  February.  The Representatives will continue
  discussions on the economy, EU matters, and
  governance and power sharing.

KOSOVO: U.N MISSION TOOK ALL PROPER STEPS
HANDLING ORGAN TRAFFICKING ALLEGATIONS

• The
  Spokesperson said, in response to an earlier
  question, that the
  UN Mission in
  Kosovo (UNMIK)
  has made clear that, when it first heard
  about allegations of human organ
  trafficking, it referred the matter to the
  Office of the Prosecutor of the
  International Criminal Tribunal for
  Yugoslavia. In late 2008 and early 2009,
  UNMIK transferred all pertinent files to the
  incoming European Union Rule of Law Mission
  to Kosovo (EULEX).
   

• The United
  Nations Mission in Kosovo remains ready to
  provide its full support to any further
  eventual investigations into the allegations
  that may be conducted in the future.

ON VISIT TO RUSSIA, U.N.
RIGHTS CHIEF HOLDS TALKS WITH PRESIDENT, OTHER
OFFICIALS

MIGRANTS’ REMITTANCES A
GROWING SOURCE OF INCOME FOR POOR NATIONS

• 
  Money sent home by economic migrants working
  in foreign countries exceeded $300 billion
  in 2010, the UN Conference on Trade and
  Development (UNCTAD)
  
  said in a press release today. UNCTAD
  calls for better management of this growing
  income, so as to do the most good for
  recipient families and the economies of poor
  nations.
   

• The
  UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General, Petko
  Draganov, made these recommendations at a
  Geneva meeting of member states,
  international organizations and various UN
  agencies. Participants at the meeting also
  agreed that remittances are now a major
  economic force, and must be better
  understood and harnessed for development.
  

OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS CONSULTATIONS ON
PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS:
The

Security Council this morning heard
briefings from Alain Le Roy and Susana Malcorra,
the Under-Secretaries-General for Peacekeeping
Operations and for Field Support, in closed
consultations. They are
focusing
on the issue of national consent in host
countries that have peacekeeping missions.

FLOTILLA PANEL TO
DECIDE ON REPORT RELEASE IN CONSULTATION WITH
SECRETARY-GENERAL:
Asked what will be released by the high-level
panel looking into the 31 May 2010 flotilla
incident, the Spokesperson said that the panel,
in consultation with the Secretary-General,
would decide what information is put out once
they have completed their work.

*Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, was the guest at the Noon Briefing.