Noon Briefings

The Secretary-General, in a report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 (2004), says that the formal parliamentary endorsement of the Government of National Unity in Lebanon last December, six months after the parliamentary elections, is an important achievement. However, he adds, the presence of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias continues to pose a threat to the stability of the country and the region.

The Board of Inquiry report on the 28 October 2009 attack on the United Nations guest house in Kabul has been finalized. The relevant findings of the report are being presented to the Afghan authorities, both in New York and in Afghanistan, and other relevant stakeholders will likewise be informed.

In recent days, the Spokesperson has received several questions about the process by which the Afghanistan Board of Inquiry did its work. In response, he said, there is a standard operating procedure for such boards, and that procedure was followed with this Board.

The Secretary-General has transmitted to the General Assembly his nominations for the posts of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). In both cases, he has re-nominated the incumbents for further terms -- António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres of Portugal as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Achim Steiner of Germany as Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, effective 15 June.

Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met today with Fazel Ahmad Manawi, the new Chairperson of the Independent Election Commission. De Mistura said that these elections must be an improvement over last year’s. He also said that with the appointment of Manawi and the endorsement of the Implementation Guidelines, he had recommended to the international community that they release funds, as soon as feasible, to allow electoral operations to begin.

The Secretary-General addressed the Security Council’s open debate on post-conflict peacebuilding this morning. He said that we must seize the crucial opportunity after the end of a major conflict. We must respond early and robustly, he said, adding that we must then stay engaged over the long term. Peacebuilding was a complex and multifaceted undertaking -- requiring significant amounts of human, financial and institutional resources, he said.

The Commission of Inquiry that was formed to determine the facts in the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will formally present the report on its work to the Secretary-General at 4:30 p.m. The Secretary-General will then transmit it to the Government of Pakistan, and he will also share it, for information purposes, with the members of the Security Council.

The Secretary-General is announcing today the development of a Joint Action Plan for accelerating progress on maternal and newborn health. The Plan will bring together Governments, foundations, the corporate sector, civil society and UN agencies in a targeted effort to improve the health of women and children.

The Secretary-General is in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, where he will deliver remarks this afternoon laying out his priorities in dealing with the safety of nuclear stockpiles. Those priorities are preventing nuclear terrorism; securing nuclear fissile materials; strengthening the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency; increasing the engagement of the Security Council; and achieving tandem progress on both nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.

The Secretary-General is on his way to Washington, where he will attend the nuclear security summit chaired by President Barack Obama. He told reporters this morning that we can see new momentum towards our ultimate ambition: a world free of nuclear weapons. Nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats we face today and in Washington, he will call on all world leaders to come together, perhaps at the United Nations in September, to further advance this essential cause.