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HIGHLIGHTS OF U.N. ACTIVITIES

FRIDAY, 2 JANUARY 2015

UNITED NATIONS RECEIVES DOCUMENTS ON PALESTINIAN ACCESSIONS

• In response to questions, the Spokesman had the to say about Palestinian submission of documents:
• The Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations in New York has transmitted to the Secretariat copies of documents relating to the accession of Palestine to 16 international conventions and treaties in respect of which the Secretary-General performs depositary functions. These include the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The original versions of these documents were delivered on 1 January 2015 to the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the PLO and the PA. The documents are being reviewed with a view to determining the appropriate next steps.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES NEW SOMALI PRIME MINISTER

• The Secretary-General today the new Prime Minister of Somalia, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, to congratulate him on his recent appointment. The Secretary-General expressed the hope that the Prime Minster will move quickly to form an inclusive Government, with the full participation of women. He called on the Somali leadership to work closely together to regain momentum in the political process, including the formation of federal states and a participatory constitutional review process.
• The Secretary-General also emphasized that recent gains by AMISOM and the Somali National Army against Al-Shabaab should be complemented by the delivery of basic services and the rule of law. The Secretary-General reassured the Prime Minister of the full support of the United Nations in Somalia’s efforts towards peace, development and the full respect for human rights.

LEBANON: BAN KI-MOON EXTENDS MANDATE OF SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR THREE YEARS

• The Secretary-General has extended the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) for a period of three years from 1 March 2015, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1757 (2005).
• The mandate of the STL, which is based near The Hague in the Netherlands, is to hold trials for those accused of carrying out the attack of 14 February 2005 in Beirut which killed 22 people, including the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri, and injured many others. Five accused have been indicted over the killing. The trial in absentia began in January 2014 and is currently ongoing.
• The Secretary-General reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to support the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to bring those responsible to justice and to ensure that impunity for such major crimes will not be tolerated. The United Nations looks forward to the continued support and cooperation of the Government of Lebanon.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS SHELLING OF WEDDING PARTY IN HELMAND, AFGHANISTAN

• In a issued on Thursday, the Secretary-General condemned in the strongest terms the shelling that hit a wedding party in Helmand province on 31 December, which reportedly killed 25 civilians and wounded 45 others.
• The Secretary-General urges the Government to carry out a full investigation of the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
• The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to the relatives of the victims and wishes a swift recovery to the injured.

SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS TO PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA ON CLIMATE CHANGE, EBOLA, KOREAN PENINSULA

• The Secretary-General and President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea (ROK) exchanged New Year9;s greetings in a on Thursday.
• The Secretary General commended the ROK9;s active contribution to the work of the United Nations under the leadership of President Park, including through global efforts to address climate change and fight against Ebola, among others. The Secretary-General noted this year would meaningfully mark the 70th anniversaries of both the founding of the United Nations and the independence of the ROK.
• He told President Park that he looked forward to the ROK’s leadership in forging a meaningful agreement on climate change, as well the accomplishment of the and the shaping of the post-2015 development agenda.
• They also discussed issues related to the Korean Peninsula. The Secretary-General appreciated President Park9;s commitment to building peace and prosperity in the Korean Peninsula through inter-Korean dialogue. He took note of the Democratic People9;s Republic of Korea’s positive response today.
• The Secretary-General reaffirmed his readiness to provide any support, as appropriate, in facilitating peace and stability in the region in close coordination with the concerned countries.

OUTGOING HEAD OF MISSION FOR EBOLA EMERGENCY RESPONSE NOTES PROGRESS OVER PAST 90 DAYS

• Anthony Banbury, Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), gave a final review of progress in the fight against Ebola today as he prepares to hand over the role to his successor, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania on Saturday.
• Mr. Banbury said that there has been significant progress in the fight against Ebola over the past 90 days. He pointed, for instance, to the increased number of isolation beds in each country, which stands at two beds per patient in Guinea, 3.5 in Sierra Leone, and 14 in Liberia.
• With support from UNMEER and other partners, the three countries now also have sufficient capacity to isolate and treat 100 percent of confirmed Ebola patients and enough burial teams to ensure safe and dignified burials for 100 percent of all deaths due to Ebola.
• Mr. Banbury, however, said several challenges remain, including the geographical dispersion of Ebola. He also cited behavior change and community resistance as major obstacles in some areas despite massive interventions.

U.N. MISSION IN MALI CONDEMNS VIOLENCE, PROVOCATION IN NORTH

• The UN Stabilization Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, has expressed its concerns following violence in recent days in Zarho, in the Timbuktu region, and Bamba, in the Gao region.
• The Mission sent military and police troops in both locations.
• A UN delegation, headed by David Gressly, Officer-in-Charge of MINUSMA, also went to Zahro on 29 December.
• Since 31 December, there have also been tensions in the Ber region, and MINUSMA deployed two helicopters to prevent violence.
• MINUSMA has condemned these acts of violence and provocation.

INTERNATIONAL ENVOYS FOR GREAT LAKES REGION CALL FOR DECISIVE ACTION AGAINST F.D.L.R.

• Today, 2 January 2015, marks the expiration of the six month grace period granted by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for the full and unconditional surrender and demobilization of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
• The Team of International Envoys, comprised of UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Said Djinnit, UN Special Representative and Head of MONUSCO Martin Kobler, as well as the representatives for the Great Lakes Region of the African Union, European Union, United States and Belgium, have noted with concern that the FDLR has not met this deadline.
• The Envoys say that instead, the FDLR has used this six-month grace period to continue to commit human rights abuses against innocent people in Eastern DRC, recruit combatants, and champion its illegitimate political agenda.
• They add that by failing to fully comply with the decisions of the ICGLR, SADC, and the United Nations Security Council, the FDLR has left the region and the international community with no other option than to pursue the military option against those within the armed group that are unwilling to voluntarily disarm.
• The Envoys hereby call upon the DRC Government and MONUSCO, including its Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), to take all necessary measures to disarm the FDLR, in line with Security Council resolutions 2098 (2013) and 2147 (2014).

U.N. MISSION REPORTS CONTINUED FIGHTING IN SOUTH SUDAN

• The UN Mission in South Sudan () reports the resumption of intermittent clashes on Thursday between Government troops and armed youths in the vicinity of the UNMISS county support base in Nassir, in Upper Nile State, including the reported use of shelling and small-arms fire.
• In Unity State, UNMISS reports a number of explosions from the south of Bentiu on Thursday morning. Another 27 explosions were heard by the Mission later that morning south of the UNMISS compound.
• Meanwhile, an IGAD monitoring and verification team confirmed reports received by UNMISS that shelling was exchanged early Thursday between Government troops and opposition forces around the Unity oil fields as well as Lalob, about 25 kilometres northwest of Bentiu.
• The Mission is concerned by the continuing violence in the country and once again calls for the fighting to stop immediately and for the leadership of both sides to agree to an inclusive, power sharing arrangement to begin a transitional phase of governance that will address the root causes of the conflict.

REFUGEE AGENCY CALLS FOR CONCERTED ACTION TO HELP REFUGEES IN MEDITERRANEAN SEA

• Vincent Cochetel, the Europe Bureau Director of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), noted the use of larger cargo ships in the Mediterranean Sea as a new trend, adding that it is part of an ongoing and worrying situation that can no longer be ignored by European governments.
• He said that urgent European concerted action is needed in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as increasing efforts to rescue people at sea and increased efforts to provide legal alternatives to dangerous voyages.
• UNHCR thanks the Italian authorities for their response to these latest incidents, despite the phasing down of the Mare Nostrum operation. The Refugee Agency has expressed concerns over the ending of this operation without a similar European search-and-rescue operation to replace it. This will undoubtedly increase the risk for those trying to find safety in Europe.

SECRETARY-GENERAL OFFERS CONDOLENCES FOLLOWING DOWNING OF AIRASIA FLIGHT

• The Secretary-General has followed closely the developments of downed AirAsia flight QZ8501. He his sincerest condolences to the families of the 162 crew members and passengers on board and to the governments and peoples of their countries of origin, particularly Indonesia, which suffered the greatest loss.
• The Secretary-General also thanks those governments that joined in the search for the missing plane for their quick and able response.

U.N. MISSION RECORDS LARGEST NUMBER OF CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN IRAQ SINCE 2006-2007 VIOLENCE

• According to casualty figures released on 1 January by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (), a total of 1,101 Iraqis were killed and another 1,868 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in December.
• The number of civilians killed was 680, while the number of civilians injured was 1,360. A further 421 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed and 508 were injured.
• From 1 January to 31 December 2014, UNAMI recorded a total minimum number of 35,408 civilian casualties (12,282 killed and 23,126 injured). The number of civilian casualties in 2014 has been higher than that in 2008 and is the worst experienced by Iraq since the violence in 2006-2007.