In progress at UNHQ

Noon Briefings


On World Toilet Day, UNICEF, USAIDS and the World Health Organization issued a new report that brings together for the first time research and case studies showing the link between sanitation and malnutrition.  Some 2.4 billion people globally do not have toilets and roughly one in eight still defecates in the open. 

The Secretary-General called the French President to offer his condolences to the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris.  He commended France’s active role in mobilizing the world community to counter that grave threat and stressed the need to treat refugees and migrants with compassion and respect.

During a press conference at the G20 Summit in Turkey, the Secretary-General reiterated his profound condolences to the people of France and stressed the need for a robust response to terrorism, within the rule of law and with respect for human rights so as not to “fan the fire we are trying to put out”.

Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, in a joint statement with the African Union Chairperson, expressed alarm at the widening divisions in Burundi and the threat of many more lives lost and a deep regional crisis.  They pledged to work closely and to mobilize all means to prevent a further deterioration of the situation.

The Secretary-General, meeting with Saudi King Salman, urged cooperation with the special envoys on Syria and Yemen.  He expressed hope that the next Vienna meeting on Syria would devise a clear set of next steps and on Yemen, that extreme care would be taken not to harm civilians and that talks would take place this month.

The Secretary-General, in his address to the Summit of Arab and South American countries, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, plans to highlight the transition made by Latin American nations sought by so many people across the Arab world.  He will stress the role of community, civil society and human rights groups to that end.

The Secretary-General condemns the killing of at least seven people, including a United Nations staff member, in a bar in the Kanyosha neighborhoud of Bujumbura on 7 November. Preliminary reports suggest that the attack was conducted by people wearing police uniform.  He urges the Government to conduct a swift investigation.