Noon Briefings

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.

Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine Bragg is in Côte d’Ivoire for a three-day visit to assess the humanitarian situation one year after the post-electoral crisis. Ms. Bragg launched the 2012 appeal for Côte d’Ivoire, which seeks more than $173 million to cover the needs of over 3 million people this year.

The Secretary-General is in Abu Dhabi today, where he addressed the opening of the World Future Energy Summit. He said energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity and preserving the environment. His High-level Group on Sustainable Energy had created a framework for a robust action agenda to be ready for this June’s “Rio+20” Conference on Sustainable Development.

The Secretary-General today appointed Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen of Denmark as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Management of the United Nations Population Fund. He also appointed Raisedon Zenenga of Zimbabwe as Deputy Special Representative (Political) in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

Today is the second anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. We issued a statement last night in which the Secretary-General honoured the memory of the more than 200,000 people who perished in the earthquake, including 102 United Nations personnel. He also paid tribute to the Government and people of Haiti, who made important strides in rebuilding the country.

The Secretary-General spoke at the chairmanship handover ceremony of the Group of 77 and China this morning, when Argentina handed over to Algeria. He said Group of 77 leadership is fundamental in ensuring that concrete measures are adopted at the “Rio+20” conference in June.

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the terrorist attack in the town of Jamrud in the north-west of Pakistan that left dozens of people dead and many wounded, including children. He extends his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and reiterates the continued solidarity of the United Nations with the people and Government of Pakistan in their continuing efforts to confront terrorism and extremism.

The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities met in Nicosia today. They discussed the forthcoming talks with the Secretary-General at the Greentree Estate in Long Island, which are to take place from the 22nd to 24th of this month.