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.

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.

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 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.

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 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 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.

Calling strongly today for an end to the deadly tit-for-tat violence between two of South Sudan’s main nomadic tribes, the top United Nations official for the fledgling country condemned with equal vigour the ongoing use of hate speech to sow seeds of ethnic division in the flashpoint region of Jonglei.

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 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.