Noon briefing of 9 September 2011
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESPERSON’S NOON BRIEFING
BY EDUARDO DEL BUEY, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
FRIDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2011
U.N. HAS NOT YET RECEIVED FORMAL SUBMISSION BID REGARDING PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
- Asked about a Palestinian bid for UN membership, del Buey said that the United Nations had not received any formal submission concerning such a bid. He said the UN did not want to prejudge or appear to take sides in this matter and noted that, ultimately, decisions regarding such a bid would be up to Member States.
- Asked about the Secretary-General’s position on Palestinian statehood, the Deputy Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General was a committed proponent of the two-state solution and is fully convinced that the Palestinians have a legitimate right to an independent, sovereign and viable State of their own, living side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security.
- He said the Secretary-General believed that achieving a two-State solution was more urgent than ever and that, for this reason, he continued to urge both parties to return as quickly as possible to the negotiating table.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL COMMEMORATES TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 ATTACKS
- The Deputy Secretary-General spoke this morning at a General Assembly ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
- She said that to truly honor the memory of those who died and the sacrifices of the brave responders who rushed to the scenes of the attacks, all people must stand up against terrorism.
- The attacks targeted more than one single country, the Deputy Secretary-General stressed. They were an assault on humanity itself, and on the universal values of peace and dignity that the United Nations was created to promote and defend.
- She added that the challenge of terrorism affects the entire world. 鶹ý is determined to honor the memory of those who died ten years ago by galvanizing all countries in this necessary fight to seek justice, promote peace and build a better and more secure future for generations to come.
IAN MARTIN BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL ON LIBYA
- Ian Martin, the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor for post-conflict planning in Libya, is briefing the Security Council in closed consultations.
SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REPORT ON USE OF PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY LAUNCHED
- The first-ever report by the Secretary-General on the use of preventive diplomacy by the United Nations and its partners to stop conflicts before they escalate into costlier crises is now available.
- The report, entitled Preventive Diplomacy: Delivering Results, summarizes recent advances and continuing challenges in this area, making the case that building the world's capacities for fast and effective preventive diplomacy is "without a doubt, one of the smartest investments we can make."
- Under-Secretary-General Pascoe will be the guest at the Noon Briefing on Monday, to discuss the report, which will also inform a high-level meeting of the Security Council on conflict prevention on 22 September.
HORN OF AFRICA: AGENCIES INTENSIFY AID EFFORTS, AS THOSE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE REACHES 13 MILLION
- The says that 13.3 million people – including nearly 850,000 refugees – are in need of assistance across the Horn of Africa.
- Adding to this is the conflict in the Blue Nile State of eastern Sudan, with close to 20,000 Sudanese refugees entering Ethiopia in the first week of September, the Office notes.
- The is stepping up its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa.
- Since the beginning of July, it has helped more than 7 million people and seeks to reach nearly 10 million people over the coming weeks.
- With the start of the school year this week in the region, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is underscoring the importance of education as an important part of the response to the emergency.
- School-feeding programmes in drought-affected areas are often one of the few means of ensuring that children eat every day, it says. Schools also play a key role in delivering life-saving messages on nutrition, hygiene, sanitation and health education.
- For its part, the UN Refugee Agency is scaling up its presence in Somalia’s border regions and in the capital, Mogadishu, amid assessments of a somewhat improved security situation in some parts of the country.
- On Thursday, an Agency team visited Dobley, in southern Somalia, to finalize arrangements for a presence there. Once security clearance is obtained, the premises will be available to other UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations.
U.N. RIGHTS OFFICE CONCERNED ABOUT
VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA,
CALLS ON AUTHORITIES TO TAKE PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
- The UN Human Rights Office is concerned about the renewed deadly violence that has flared up in Nigeria’s so-called “Middle Belt.”
- Reports point that up to 70 people having been killed since the beginning of August.
- The Office notes that ethnic and religious divisions have affected the region, particularly in and around the city of Jos, for many years. A cycle of violence has emerged in which each incident almost invariably provokes deadly reprisal attacks.
- The Office encourages authorities at the national and local levels to take effective preventative measures against such violence, underlining the importance of ensuring that the alleged perpetrators of violence are prosecuted and that there are remedies for victims and their families.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE NEXT THURSDAY: The Secretary-General will hold a press conference, at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, next Thursday, 15 September, at 11:30 a.m.
JOURNALIST FOUND WITH IMITATION GUN IN U.N. PREMISES: Asked about an incident involving a UN correspondent, the Deputy Spokesperson said that an imitation gun had been found in a journalist’s belongings during a screening process. He added that the individual was turned over to the New York City police.
DISCIPLINING OF PEACEKEEPERS RESPONSIBILITY OF TROOP CONTRIBUTING COUNTRIES: In response to questions on sexual misconduct by peacekeepers in Haiti, del Buey explained that the disciplining of troops was the responsibility of Troop Contributing Countries. He noted that the UN Mission was aware of an incident involving a peacekeeper who fathered a child with a Haitian girl. He said the Government of Uruguay had identified this peacekeeper and asked him to support the child and mother.
U.N. TO SCREEN “THE WHISTLEBLOWER” FILM IN MID-OCTOBER: Asked about the movie “The Whistleblower,” the Deputy Spokesperson confirmed that the film would be screened at UN Headquarters in mid-October and that a panel discussion would also be organized to discuss the themes of this movie.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
10 - 16 SEPTEMBER 2011
(This document is for planning purposes and is subject to change.)
Saturday, 10 September
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day.
Sunday, 11 September
Today, the XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), begins in Istanbul, Turkey. It ends on 15 September.
Monday, 12 September
Today, the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly will close.
At 10:00 a.m., the Security Council will receive a briefing and hold consultations on the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL).
At 12:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, will be the guest at the Noon Briefing. He will discuss the report by the Secretary-General on preventive diplomacy.
At 3:00 p.m., the Group of Least Developed Countries will meet in Conference Room 2 of the North Lawn Building (NLB).
At 3:00 p.m., there will be a panel discussion on “Opportunities for strengthening the coordination and coherence of the economic pillar of sustainable development” in the Economic and Social Council Chamber (NLB).
At 5:30 p.m., the Secretary-General will attend a prayer service on the occasion of the opening of the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly at the Church of the Holy Family in New York.
Today, the second regular session 2011 of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will take place in Conference Room 3 (NLB). It ends on 15 September.
Today, in Geneva, the Human Rights Council begins its 18th session. It ends 30 September.
Today, in Geneva, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will launch a working paper entitled “Children and Justice During and in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict” and present her report to the Human Rights Council.
Today, in Geneva, the Committee on Rights of Migrant Workers begin its 15th session.
Tuesday, 13 September
This morning, the Security Council will receive a briefing and hold consultations on the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
At 10:00 a.m., there will be a briefing on “South-South migration cooperation” in Conference Room D (NLB). This event is being organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the MacArthur Foundation.
At 11:00 a.m., the Secretary-General will take part in an hour-long global conversation that will be streamed live on Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, Livestream and UN Webcast.
At 12:15 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, the Secretary-General will launch the new Roll Back Malaria Partnership’s report entitled, “A Decade of Partnership and Results.” Other participants include Professor Awa-Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and Geeta Rao Gupta, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director.
At 3:00 p.m., the sixty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly will convene at United Nations Headquarters.
Today, High
Commissioner for Refugees ԳóԾ Guterres
will announce the winner of the 2011 Nansen Refugee Award.
Today, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will launch its
2011 global amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) assessment in Vienna
and Bangkok.
Wednesday, 14 September
This morning, the Security Council will adopt a resolution on the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), followed by a debate on Somalia.
At 12:00 p.m., there will be a panel discussion entitled, “A World of 7 billion people: Meeting the Challenges and Seizing the Opportunities,” in Conference Room 4 (NLB). Participants will include the Secretary-General; Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); and Carsten Staur, Permanent Representative of Denmark.
Today, in Geneva, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will hold a press conference.
Thursday, 15 September
Today is the International Day of Democracy. This year’s theme is “Youth and Democracy.”
This morning, the Security Council will adopt a resolution on the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), followed by consultations in which it will be briefed by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA).
At 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General will participate in a Peace Bell ceremony in the Rose Garden at United Nations Headquarters.
At 11:30 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, the Secretary-General will hold a press conference.
At 2:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference by Dr. Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), on non-communicable diseases.
Friday, 16 September
Today is the International Day for the Protection and Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
This morning, the Security Council will adopt a resolution on the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), followed by a debate on Haiti.
At 11:30 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference to launch the 2011 Millenium Development Goals (MDG) Gap Task Force report entitled, “The Global Partnership for Development: Time to Deliver.” Participants will include the Secretary-General and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
At 12:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli of the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) will be the guest at the Noon Briefing.
Transcript