UN Webcast

By the Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General. 

Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will brief on the occasion of Human Rights Day .

Elements of Today's Noon Press Briefing:

SECRETARY-GENERAL'S STATEMENT ON THE DRC

The Secretary-General takes note of the announcement of the provisional results of the presidential elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which indicate that President Joseph Kabila garnered the most votes. The Secretary-General calls for any differences regarding the provisional results of the polls to be resolved peacefully through available legal and mediation mechanisms, including the National Mediation Committee.

The Secretary-General continues to follow the situation closely and strongly condemns any acts of violence in connection with the electoral process in the DRC. He reiterates his call for calm and urges all candidates and their supporters to exercise restraint and refrain from any acts of violence, provocation and incitement to violence.

Statement on UNIFIL attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General strongly condemns this morning’s attack against a UNIFIL vehicle near the town of Tyre, inside UNIFIL’s area of operations. The attack injured five UNIFIL military personnel.  UNIFIL and Lebanese authorities are cooperating closely in the ongoing investigation, which aims to ascertain the facts. The Secretary-General expects that the perpetrators will be swiftly identified and brought to justice.This attack on UNIFIL, the third since May 2011, is deeply disturbing. The security and safety of all United Nations personnel in Lebanon is of paramount importance.

SECRETARY-GENERAL IN MOGADISHU AND DADAAB

As you will have seen, the Secretary-General visited the Somali capital Mogadishu and Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya with the President of the General Assembly today.

In Mogadishu, the Secretary-General met with the President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, and with African Union peacekeepers and UN staff working in Somalia.

He was the first Secretary-General to visit Mogadishu since Boutros Boutros Ghali in October 1993.

The Secretary-General announced that the UN Political Office for Somalia would relocate to Mogadishu from Nairobi next month.

He told reporters he was visiting to show the strong solidarity of the United Nations and the broader international community. He said being in Mogadishu was the most visible way to send a clear message to the people of Somalia that they are not alone.

On his way back to Nairobi from Mogadishu, the Secretary-General visited the Dadaab refugee complex, which hosts the largest number of Somali refugees.

He met with refugees and elders in the camp. He also met UN staff working in Dadaab and was briefed on the work that UN agencies, and in particular the UN Refugee Agency, do to assist refugees there.

The Secretary-General is now on his way to Doha to attend a meeting of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations.

And, Valerie Amos, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, has welcomed an announcement by Sweden of an additional $10 million contribution to the Horn of Africa crisis. Ms. Amos has just completed a two-day visit to Sweden.

SECURITY COUNCIL

This morning the Security Council met in consultations to discuss Cyprus and Liberia.

PAKISTAN FLOODING

In Pakistan, the Government and humanitarian agencies have distributed shelter and other relief supplies to help 450,000 families in flood-affected areas in Sindh and Balochistan.

However, more than 40 percent of families have not yet received help.

The focus at the moment is on distributing blankets, bedding and kitchen sets to help people cope with the cold, as temperatures drop. Many areas of Sindh remain under water. Humanitarian organizations are monitoring temporary settlements to confirm the locations of all those displaced by the floods.

You can get more details from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS GYÖRGY BUSZTIN OF HUNGARY AS DEPUTY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR IRAQ 

The Secretary-General has appointed György Busztin of Hungary as his Deputy Special Representative for Iraq.  Mr. Busztin will head the political, electoral and constitutional support component of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).  He will replace Jerzy Skuratowicz of Poland who has served in Iraq for the past two years.  The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Skuratowicz for his dedicated service and commitment to assisting the people of Iraq.

INTERNATIONAL CORRUPTION DAY

As the world marks International Anti-Corruption Day today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all individuals to act against the cancer of corruption.In his message marking this day, the Secretary-General said that although the poor may be marginalized by corruption, they will not be silenced.The United Nations is helping countries to combat corruption as part of a broader, system-wide campaign to help bolster democracy and good governance. The United Nations Convention against Corruption is a powerful tool in furthering those efforts.The Secretary-General urged all Governments that had not yet ratified the Convention to do so without delay, and said that companies could create a more transparent global economy through anti-corruption initiatives, including the work of the United Nations Global Compact.

YEAR END PRESS CONFERENCE

Finally, I’ve mentioned a couple of times that the Secretary-General would hold a press conference next week. Just to give you the date and time. It’ll be on Wednesday, that’s the 14th of December, at 1100 right here in this auditorium.

The guest today is Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.