Speaking at a high‑level conference on the UN Central Emergency Response Fund this morning, the Secretary‑General said that the Fund has far exceeded expectations since it was launched by the General Assembly five years ago. He said that the Fund has disbursed more than $2 billion in assistance, making it one of the largest sources of humanitarian funding in the world.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, briefed the Security Council this morning on his investigations regarding Darfur. He reiterated his call for Sudan to transfer indicted suspects to the Court, noting its repeated failure to do so.
The Secretary‑General briefed the Security Council this morning on his visit last week to Somalia. He told Council members that we finally face a moment of fresh opportunities in Somalia, and we must seize it. We must secure gains and extend them beyond Mogadishu, he said.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, will brief the Security Council on the human rights situation in Syria, under the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East”, today at 3 p.m.
The Secretary‑General strongly condemns this morning’s attack against a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle near the town of Tyre, which injured five UNIFIL military personnel. UNIFIL and Lebanese authorities are cooperating closely in the ongoing investigation, and the Secretary‑General expects that the perpetrators will be swiftly identified and brought to justice.
The security of the border between Sudan and South Sudan remains of concern, and the United Nations continues to believe that the establishment of the joint border monitoring mechanism is indeed needed to build confidence, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council this morning.
At a high-level event in Durban on climate financing, the Secretary-General said there was a long way to go towards mobilizing $100 billion a year by 2020. The challenge now was getting a scaled-up climate finance system up and running.
At the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban, the Secretary-General said we must be realistic about expectations for a breakthrough. But he said he expects advances, starting with implementing Cancún agreements and progress on short- and long-term financing.
At the conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany, the Secretary-General acknowledged that the challenges ahead for the country are large, but stressed that we will not be deterred. He said the United Nations will be there for Afghanistan. It was there well before 2001 and will be there far beyond 2014.
Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the Secretary-General said we are at a decisive moment in history. As calls for change echo across the world, we cannot take refuge in silence. Leaders must respond to the demands of people who seek to build their own future.