Noon Briefings

The Secretary-General will speak this afternoon at the New York launch of Kwibuka20, a series of events marking 20 years since the genocide in Rwanda. The theme is “Remember, Unite, Renew”. The Secretary-General will call for those words to be an inspiration during the weeks of reflection ahead, as the world remembers the more than 800,000 innocent people who were so brutally murdered

The Secretary-General said that he is increasingly concerned about the political crisis in Thailand. He has condemned the recent escalation of violence in different parts of the country. The Secretary-General believes strongly that there should be no place for violence by any side in resolving political differences and disputes.

The Secretary-General is seriously concerned about the signing into law of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. The Secretary-General reiterates that everyone is entitled to enjoy the same basic rights and live a life of worth and dignity without discrimination

In a statement we issued this morning, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for non-violence in Ukraine and urged all Ukrainians to express their differences peacefully and through dialogue, and to seek a durable solution through compromise. He calls for a firm commitment to uphold democracy and human rights, and thereby create a conducive environment for free and fair elections.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, condemned an attack on the headquarters of the Somali Government in Mogadishu today. He said the Somali people were tired of shootings, bombings and killings. He added that it was time for a new chapter in Somalia’s history and that we could not allow a slide back at this critical time.

Valerie Amos, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, concluded her visit to the Central African Republic today. After returning from Bossangoa, she told reporters in Bangui that she had been shocked by what she saw, including burned homes and people so scared by violence that they sleep in the bush at night.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called on all parties in Ukraine to exercise maximum restraint after more than 20 people were killed during violent clashes in Kyiv between riot police and protesters on Tuesday. She strongly condemned the killings and urged the Government and protesters to act to defuse tensions and to take swift action to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, welcomed the report of the independent UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which was published in Geneva yesterday. She said that its findings need to be treated with the greatest urgency, as they suggest that crimes against humanity of an unimaginable scale continue to be committed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed its deep alarm today at reports of a major military build-up and the increased threat to the population in the town of Yabroud, an opposition-held area in the Qalamoun Mountains of Syria. Estimates suggest there are some 40,000 to 50,000 people in that area, with thousands fleeing over the last few days.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, has allocated an additional $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the most critical life-saving aid operations in the Central African Republic. She says the country has