Activities of Secretary-General in Washington, D.C., 19-21 November
United Nations Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon travelled to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, 19 November, to chair the twice-yearly meetings of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), which brings together the heads of the entire United Nations system to discuss issues of mutual concern.
On Wednesday evening, he attended an event for the Champions of the Earth Awards, which are conferred by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The Secretary‑General said, in remarks at the event, that the award winners are impressive in their own right, but that they also represent a larger change that is taking place across societies: a growing awareness of the need for more determined and dramatic steps to save our planet. (See Press Release SG/SM/16353.)
He added that he was very encouraged by the announcement one week earlier by President Xi Jinping of China and President Barack Obama of the United States on post-2020 action on climate change, and by the European Union’s announcement last month on emissions reductions. Now, the Secretary‑General added, we need others to follow their lead and announce ambitious post-2020 targets as soon as possible, so that we generate momentum towards a new climate agreement in Paris next year.
On Thursday, 20 November, the Secretary‑General chaired the first sessions of the fall 2014 Chief Executives Board meeting, which was hosted by the World Bank Group. In sessions that day, the CEB participants focused on the sustainable development agenda that would be implemented following 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals.
The Secretary‑General also spoke separately by telephone with Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, and Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine. The Secretary‑General said he was shocked by the deadly attack of 18 November on a synagogue in West Jerusalem. He said he was extremely alarmed by the upsurge of violence in recent weeks. The dangerous downward spiral must urgently be reversed. He emphasized that at this delicate and dangerous juncture, courage and responsibility were required from both the President and the Prime Minister to take a stand that may be contrary to extremists in their own domestic constituencies.
The Secretary‑General said he hoped the recently announced confidence-building measures and firm commitments made by both sides at the meeting in Amman to maintain the status quo regarding the holy sites would be further translated into a de-escalation of tensions. Absent this, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may quickly morph into a religious conflict, over which the international community will have limited, if no, leverage.
On Friday, 21 November, the CEB participants continued with their discussions on United Nations system-wide cooperation on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. They also discussed how the system was coordinating its response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. CEB participants heard updates on that topic by Special Envoy David Nabarro and by Anthony Banbury, the Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
The Secretary-General also spoke by telephone with Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of Mali, to discuss the recent reported cases of Ebola in that country.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, the Secretary‑General said that, as a way to show the United Nations solidarity and unity and immediate support, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dr. Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), would travel to Mali that afternoon.
At the same time, the Secretary‑General said that he had instructed Mr. Banbury to establish, on an urgent basis, a United Nations support mission in Mali. He had also designated, upon agreement of President Keita, the WHO Country Director in Mali, Dr. Ibrahima Fall, as representative of UNMEER.
The Secretary‑General told reporters that the United Nations was determined to do everything in its power to help the affected countries to stop the outbreak of Ebola. He warned that results to date are uneven. The rate of transmission continues to increase in many places.
At the same time, he said, there has been some welcome progress. Where the Ebola response strategy is implemented, the rate of new cases appears to be slowing. He also said we are seeing the curve bending in enough places to give us hope.
The Secretary‑General added that, if we continue to accelerate our response, we can contain and end the outbreak by the middle of next year. He pledged that the United Nations system will continue to scale up its response until the very last case of Ebola is identified and treated.
Later that afternoon, the CEB meeting concluded in Washington, D.C., and the Secretary‑General returned to New York.