The Secretary-General, during his visit to Guatemala, this morning inaugurated a monument in memory of the Guatemalans who lost their lives while serving in United Nations peacekeeping missions. He will also meet with civil society representatives and visit the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General has remained closely abreast of the situation in Libya and the critical discussions under way in the Security Council. His Special Envoy departed Libya today, stressing the need for a firm and unambiguous commitment on the part of the Libyan Government to cease hostilities immediately.
The UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team in Japan is supporting the Japanese Government’s efforts to deal with the aftermath of last Friday’s earthquake and tsunamis. The Government has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to send a technical support team to the area affected by the recent developments at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
The Secretary-General spoke by phone this morning with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, who informed him that there was no danger at the nuclear reactors in Japan. The Director General said that the release of radioactivity from the reactors had been minimal and there should be minimal health consequences as a result.
Expressing his deepest sympathies and condolences to the Japanese people and Government, the Secretary-General said the United Nations will do anything and everything it can in the wake of today’s earthquake and tsunamis.
The Secretary-General deplored the move by authorities supporting Laurent Gbagbo to ban United Nations and Licorne flights inside Côte d’Ivoire. Warning that any attempt to disrupt the Organization’s work is unacceptable, he confirmed that the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire will maintain its flight operations and fulfil its mandate.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission have issued their latest annual report on the protection of civilians, which records more than 2,700 conflict-related civilian deaths in 2010, representing an increase of 15 per cent compared to 2009.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked the 100th International Women’s Day today, saying that in too many countries and societies, women remain second-class citizens. Only through the full and equal participation of women in all areas of public and private life can we hope to achieve the sustainable, peaceful and just society promised in the United Nations Charter, he said.
A statement issued yesterday expressed the Secretary-General’s concerns about the fighting in western Libya, which is claiming large numbers of lives and threatens even more carnage in the days ahead. He urged the authorities in Tripoli to respect the human rights of all the country’s people and to lift restrictions on the media.
United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos briefed the press on the humanitarian effort under way in Libya, saying she was concerned by reports that pro-Government forces were preventing civilians from leaving the country. She plans to head to the region for a first-hand assessment of the situation later in the day.