Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, is in Juba today on the first stop of her three-day visit to South Sudan, and she said that South Sudan faces significant humanitarian challenges, including hundreds of thousands of people displaced in 2011, people returning from Sudan and refugees from the conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General arrived in Jordan this morning. He has held talks with King Abdullah, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. At a press conference with the Foreign Minister, the Secretary-General said the Security Council meeting on Syria was crucially important and he hoped Council Members would be really united, reflecting the wishes of the international community and the Syrian people.
The Secretary-General received the report of his High-level Panel on Global Sustainability from the co-chairs of the Panel, President Zuma of South Africa and President Halonen of Finland. Titled “Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing”, It contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice.
The annual Holocaust memorial ceremony is taking place in the General Assembly hall. This year’s observance is dedicated to the children who were victims of the Holocaust. In a message, the Secretary-General said children are uniquely vulnerable to the worst of humankind and that we must show them the best the world has to offer.
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the killing yesterday of Dr. Abd-al-Razzaq Jbeiro, Secretary-General of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and extends his condolences to his family and colleagues. He condemns the attack that killed him and calls on the Syrian Government to investigate this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.
This morning, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, briefed the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question. Mr. Fernandez-Taranco reported that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators started meeting 3 January in Amman, under the auspices of King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Judeh.
The Secretary-General is at the Greentree Estate in Long Island, New York, where he has been meeting since this morning with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities. The talks will last until tomorrow evening. And tonight, at around 7:20 p.m., the Special Adviser, Alexander Downer, will speak to the media.
The Secretary-General will host a joint meeting with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities on 23-24 January at the Greentree Estate in Long Island, New York. This is fifth time that the Secretary-General is meeting with Mr. Christofias and Mr. Eroğlu in the framework of the Cyprus negotiations.
The Secretary-General addressed the Security Council on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict settings. He said that our task is to usher in an era of respect for the law in every field: from peace and security to trade and development, from the high seas to local communities.
The Secretary-General has designated David Scheffer of the United States as the Special Expert to advise on the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials for an initial period of six months. Mr. Scheffer replaces Clint Williamson, whose term of office expired on 30 September 2011.