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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

WEDNESDAY, 6 JANUARY 2015

SECRETARY-GENERAL DEEPLY TROUBLED BY UNDERGROUND TEST ANNOUNCED BY DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

• In a statement delivered today at the Security Council stakeout, the Secretary-General the underground test announced by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 6 January deeply troubling.
• He said that this test once again violates numerous Security Council resolutions despite the united call by the international community to cease such activities. It is also a grave contravention of the international norm against nuclear testing.
• The Secretary-General said that this act is profoundly destabilising for regional security and seriously undermines international non-proliferation efforts. He condemned it unequivocally.
• He demanded that the DPRK cease any further nuclear activities and meet its obligations for verifiable denuclearization.
• The Secretary-General also said that we are monitoring and assessing developments in close coordination with the concerned international organisations, including the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization () and interested parties.
• The Security Council is meeting in closed consultations on this right now and will receive a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Miroslav Jenca.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED OVER POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN HAITI

• In a statement issued on 5 January, the Secretary-General his concern over political developments in Haiti related to the ongoing electoral process.
• He urged the Haitian authorities and all political actors to resolve outstanding issues and ensure that the electoral process is concluded as soon as possible in a transparent, inclusive and credible manner.
• The Secretary-General recalled that Parliament has not functioned since January 2015. In this regard, he underlined the importance of inaugurating the new legislature within the constitutional time frame to ensure the renewal of democratic institutions and consolidate political stability in Haiti.

HEAD OF U.N. POLITICAL AFFAIRS TO VISIT NEPAL

• The Under -Secretary-General for , Jeffrey Feltman, will begin a two-day visit to Nepal tomorrow.
• While in Nepal, he is scheduled to meet with senior Government officials, political leaders and representatives of civil society. This will be Mr. Feltman’s third visit to Nepal since March of 2013.
• He looks forward to engaging with Nepali leaders to encourage maximum flexibility to resolve the current political situation. Mr. Feltman is expected to brief the media in Kathmandu at the end of the visit.

THAILAND: HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF URGES DECISIVE AND SUSTAINED EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE WHEREABOUTS OF MISSING PEOPLE

• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra9;ad Al Hussein, today urged the Thai Government to take decisive and sustained efforts to investigate the whereabouts of at least 82 people listed as disappeared.
• He also called on the Government to criminalize enforced disappearance in its legislation, in line with international standards.
• The High Commissioner said that all of the families of those who have disappeared have the right to know the truth regarding the disappearance of their kin, as well as any progress and the results of investigations.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. CONDEMNS SPATE OF BOMBINGS IN KABUL’S CIVILIAN AREAS SINCE BEGINNING OF 2016

• The UN Assistance Mission Afghanistan () has condemned a spate of bombings in civilian areas of Kabul by the Taliban since the beginning of 2016.
• The Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Mark Bowden, said that the use of highly explosive devices in civilian populated areas continues to cause extreme harm to Afghan women, children and men.
• The mission stresses that international humanitarian law explicitly prohibits attacks against civilians and requires all parties to uphold their legal obligations to at all times avoid harm to civilians.

U.N. ENVOY FOR LIBYA CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON OIL TERMINALS

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for , Martin Kobler, has strongly the attack by Da’esh on Sidra and Ras Lanouf oil terminals.
• He added that the attack serves as a strong reminder to all Libyans of the need to immediately implement the Libyan Political Agreement and form the Government of National Accord.
• As you know, the Secretary-General has also stressed in the past that terrorism has no place in the new Libya and that only by working together can Libyans start building a state and institutions that can confront terrorism.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: U.N. ENVOY STRESSES NEED FOR ELECTORAL PROCESS TO CONTINUE IN MEETINGS WITH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

• The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic () has reported that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, met today with 28 of the 30 presidential candidates in Bangui. He stressed the need for the electoral process to continue.
• The candidates committed themselves to channelling election-related complaints through the Constitutional Court, as provided for in the Electoral Code as well as the Code of Good Conduct.
• As of yesterday, 98 per cent of the voting results of presidential elections and 96 per cent for the legislative elections were received at the Data Processing Centre in Bangui.
• Regarding refugees9; vote, tally sheets were received from Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of Congo and Sudan. The final provisional results are expected to be announced in the coming days.

**The guest at noon briefing, the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (), Lassina Zerbo, briefed via video link on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.**