ARCHIVES
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARTIN NESIRKY, SPOKESPERSON
FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
THURSDAY, 12 MAY 2011
WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME CALLS FOR SAFE ACCESS TO LIBYA’S WESTERN MOUNTAINS REGION
- Fighting
is blocking access to the Western
Mountains area of Libya,
where the World Food Programme (WFP)
believes food needs could be immense.
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- WFP
Executive Director Josette Sheeran appeals
to all parties for safe access and for an immediate ceasefire, so that WFP
can deliver food assistance.
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- Although
WFP has moved food through a supply route from the Tunisian border into
western Libya to reach
areas heavily affected by clashes, it has not yet been able to reach
Yefrin and Zintan in the Western
Mountains.
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- The
supply route is now facing serious challenges due to insecurity in many of
the areas, in addition to severe fuel shortages.
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- WFP
chartered two ships to carry food and other relief items to Misrata, but the
shelling of the port is now making it more difficult to send aid.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES NEW HAITIAN PRESIDENT
- The
Secretary-General spoke by phone yesterday with Haitian President-elect
Michel Martelly and congratulated him ahead of his inauguration Saturday.
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- The
Secretary-General said that he would be dispatching a high-level UN
delegation to represent him at the inauguration.
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- The
delegation will be headed by the Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose
Migiro, and will also include the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations, Alain Le Roy, and UNDP Associate Administrator, Rebecca
Grynspan.
SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS INVESTIGATION INTO TRAFFICKING ALLEGATIONS IS
NEEDED IN KOSOVO
- Asked about Serbia’s concerns
about allegations of organ trafficking in Kosovo, the Spokesperson
recalled the Secretary-General’s latest report on the United Nations
Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which takes note of the
adoption of a resolution by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe on the report on the “investigation of allegations of inhuman
treatment of people and illicit trafficking in human organs in Kosovo.”
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- The Secretary-General says in
the report that there is a need for a thorough, impartial and
independent investigation into these serious allegations, with a strong
witness protection programme and with the full cooperation of all relevant
stakeholders.
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- He adds that UNMIK is
ready to extend its full cooperation to any investigation that may be
conducted.
SECRETARY-GENERAL, MAYOR OF NEW
YORK ATTEND EVENT
ON ROAD SAFETY
- The
Secretary-General took part in an event on road safety with New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg today.
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- The
Secretary-General said that many of the 1.3 million deaths in traffic
crashes every year are avoidable.
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- The Global
Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety provides a
roadmap, and our goal is to save 5 million lives between now and the year
2020.
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- Later
this afternoon, the Secretary-General will address students attending the
International High School Model United Nations Conference. He is expected
to tell the students that their leadership begins today. He will express
hope that they will be truly global citizens and the next generation of
global leaders.
SECURITY COUNCIL IS BRIEFED ON CIVILIAN CAPACITY IN PEACEBUILDING
- Susana
Malcorra, the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, participated in
the Security Council’s open
debate today concerning civilian capacity in peacebuilding.
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- Jean-Marie
Guéhenno, chair of the Senior
Advisory Group that provided a report to the Security Council on
civilian capacity, briefed the Council on that report’s recommendations,
and Ms. Malcorra said that the Secretary-General welcomed the report’s direction.
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- The
Secretary-General, she said, has stressed that the report’s emphasis on
the need to do more within existing resources and to make better use of
the systems already in place is in line with his own drive to build a more
accountable, efficient and effective United Nations.
CYPRIOT LEADERS DISCUSS POLICE MATTERS, UPCOMING MEETING WITH
SECRETARY-GENERAL
- The
leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities today
discussed police matters and their upcoming meeting with the Secretary-General.
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- The
Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Alexander Downer, said today’s talks
were held in a very constructive environment.
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- The
leaders’ next meeting will be held next Friday, 20 May.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS TO BE RAISED DURING MYANMAR VISIT: Asked about the trip by the Special Adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, to that country, the
Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General and his Special Adviser have
continuously worked to urge Myanmar
to release all political prisoners and will continue to raise this. The
opportunity for the new Government to address this will again be stressed
during the visit.
SECRETARY-GENERAL DID
NOT HAVE MEETING WITH RAJOELINA: Asked about the recent exchange between
the Secretary-General and Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar,
the Spokesperson said they both attended a dinner at a major international
conference in Istanbul,
and that they did not have a bilateral meeting. More than 600 people were
seated at that dinner, he noted.
**The guest at the noon
briefing today was Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, SA-1B15
New York, NY
10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
