The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Eduardo del Buey, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to the briefing.

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I have a statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on the Oklahoma City tornado.

The Secretary-General was deeply saddened to hear of the death and destruction in Oklahoma City as a result of Monday’s tornado.  He sends his deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones and to everyone affected by the storm.

The Secretary-General has written to the Governor of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin, to express his solidarity and to offer the assistance of the United Nations, if requested, to help with the recovery efforts.

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Today, the Secretary-General met with Mozambican President Armando Guebuza.  They discussed a wide range of topics, including developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC] and Madagascar, as well as in Mozambique.  The Secretary-General praised the President and the country for the progress made over the past 20 years.  The Secretary-General briefed reporters after that meeting, and he said that the clashes in the eastern DRC show how urgent it was to implement the framework agreement for the DRC and Great Lakes region.

The Secretary-General has also visited a school in Maputo, where he met many students and discussed his “UNiTE” campaign to end violence against women and girls.  He also delivered a lecture at Mozambique’s International Relations Institute and answered questions from students.

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General travels to the DRC, where he will join with the President of the World Bank, Jim Kim, for talks with Congolese leaders.

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The United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) informs that this morning for the second day, fighting between M23 and Congolese forces has resumed in Mutaho, 12 kilometres from Goma.  MONUSCO is actively continuing its diplomatic and political efforts at all levels to contain and end these clashes.  The Mission has expressed strong concerns about this development while actively intervening to seek de-escalation of this situation.  MONUSCO is closely monitoring the situation and calls for restraint.

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Mary Robinson, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, expressed her concern today about the recent outbreak of fighting in locations near Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.  She said that the suffering and displacement of people, especially women and children, in the eastern Congo and beyond have gone on for too long and cannot be tolerated any further.

The Special Envoy proposed a set of principles today to guide the immediate efforts to tackle the crisis in the region, while maintaining a focus on long-term solutions.  Those proposals are informed by her recent visit to the region.  She urged the DRC and all other parties to implement their commitments under a recently adopted framework agreement with a focus on a peaceful solution to the crisis in the eastern DRC and the region.  We have a press release with more details in our office.

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The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said today that a cholera epidemic declared by the Government of Niger on 11 May has left seven people dead in the west of the country, including two Malian refugees.  Outbreaks of cholera are recurrent in Niger, which is currently hosting some 50,000 Malian refugees, including 31,000 in three camps in the Tillaberi region.

The refugee agency is responding to the outbreak in the camps by implementing emergency health and sanitation measures, such as increasing the supply of clean water.  It says that more drugs are urgently needed to treat potential new cases.  A cholera epidemic last year affected 5,287 people and killed 110 throughout Niger.  There is more information available on the refugee agency’s website.

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Poverty and food insecurity have risen significantly in Egypt in the past three years, according to the World Food Programme and other organizations.  A joint report by the World Food Programme and the country’s Government found that nearly 14 million Egyptians — or 17 per cent of the population — suffered from food insecurity in 2011, compared to 14 per cent in 2009.  Data also shows that between 2009 and 2011, some 15 per cent of the population moved into poverty.  There is more information on the World Food Programme’s website.

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The Deputy Secretary-General said that diverse actors of society are key to building resilience to disasters and making our communities safer.  He said this at the opening of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva this morning.

He noted that the United Nations is committed to reducing the risks stemming from disasters in the world and he said that least developed and small island developing States face the added burden of high vulnerability and exposure to hazards.  The Deputy Secretary-General also expressed sympathy to the people of Oklahoma hit by the recent tornado.  His full remarks are available online.

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Tomorrow at 11 a.m., in this room, there will be a press conference by the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation to highlight the upcoming Sixth Global South-South Development Expo.

At 12:30 p.m., there will be a press conference by Braulio de Souza Dias, Executive Director of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Ambassador Regina Maria Cordeiro Dunlop, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil, on the occasion of the International Day of Biodiversity.

Questions, please?  Nizar?

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Question:  About the Jordan decision of the [inaudible] Syrian refugees:  has the Secretary-General been in contact with the Jordanian authorities to change their mind or has there been any alternative arrangement for these refugees…? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and staff are in contact with Jordanian authorities and I would invite you to look at the Geneva website to see what they had to say on that this morning.

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Question:  Another issue regarding the skirmishes that took place this morning in the Syrian Golan, between the Israelis and the Syrians… authorities.  Has there been any information from UNDOF [United Nations Disengagement Observer Force] coming to you regarding that? Deputy Spokesperson:  No, we have not received any information from UNDOF to date.  However, it underscores once again the dangers of the Syrian conflict spilling over the borders, and the Secretary-General, as always, will call on both sides to exercise maximum restraint to ensure this doesn’t happen.  Matthew?

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Question:  Sure.  I have some questions about the Great Lakes.  One is this fighting that’s near Goma, are these… the two battalions that were involved in the rapes in Minova, the 391 and 41 battalions, involved in the fighting to MONUSCO’s knowledge? Deputy Spokesperson:  We’ll have to find out.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  I really don’t know what the plan is.  I know he is visiting Rwanda…

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Deputy Spokesperson: …meeting President Kagame, but I really don’t know what the details are, Matthew.

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Question:  Okay.  And I also wanted to ask you, in this third stop, Uganda they recently the… the Daily Monitor and two radio stations were closed.  One was besieged and two were closed by the Government for reporting that President Museveni’s son may… may run to replace him.  So given, you know, this press freedom and he is about to go there, does the Secretary-General have any comment on the… on the closure of radio stations and the besieging of a newspaper in Uganda? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, we have nothing on this particular case, but as you know, the Secretary-General believes firmly that journalists must be allowed to conduct their business freely and without fear of persecution and intimidation.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  I am not going to prejudge what he may take note of; we’ll see what happens.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  Nizar?

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Question:  Do you think that the United Nations can do anything to allow the civilians who are trapped in [inaudible], in the town of Quasayr is witnessing heavy fighting there?  Do you think that… will the United Nations… could play a role in order to evacuate the civilians from there? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, as you know, we don’t have a military mission there, so we don’t have the capacity to evacuate people.  We would call on all sides to end the violence.  Basically, this has been the question for the past few years now, Nizar.  The violence has to end.  The people of Syria are paying an enormous price for the violence on both sides and it has to end.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  Mr. Brahimi is meeting with leaders, he is working hard with the Secretary-General and with the Russians and the Americans and other leaders in trying to get this conference on Syria together, and that is what he is doing, basically.

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Deputy Spokesperson: I’m sorry?

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Deputy Spokesperson:  I don’t know where he is right now, I couldn’t tell you.

[The Deputy Spokesperson later said that Mr. Brahimi is in Cairo.]

Correspondent:  Okay, all right.

Deputy Spokesperson:  Matthew?

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Question:  I want to ask you about the… the Wasserstrom whistleblower case that this was with some… it was announced… it was ruled on that he was retaliated against.  Now it is… it is reported that the… the Secretary-General has appealed.  What I wanted to know is, what’s the relation… he also… the Secretary-General also announced that he was hiring some… or some outside consultants were going to advise the UN on how to better protect whistleblowers or how to revamp whistleblower protection.  What’s the relation between this appeal, which many people see as… as kind… as basically a statement that, even where in the rare cases whistleblowers are found to have been retaliated against, there is just automatic appeals being filed? Deputy Spokesperson:  Matthew, I am not going to comment on that situation; it is under appeal, and we don’t comment on them.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  I’ll have to check on that for you.

Correspondent:  Okay, that would be good.

[The Deputy Spokesperson later said that the United Nations Secretariat has engaged Justice Louise Otis of Canada to conduct an independent review of the Organization’s protection-against-retaliation policy for the purpose of issuing recommendations to the Secretary-General to enhance policy effectiveness.  Justice Otis is an expert in international administrative law, and formally served on the Redesign Panel on the United Nations Administration of Justice System.  Justice Otis’ review is currently under way, and her final report is expected to be delivered to the Secretary-General later in the year.]

Deputy Spokesperson:  Okay, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.  Have a good afternoon.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  Thank you.

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The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Eduardo del Buey, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to the briefing.

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The Secretary-General arrived in Mozambique earlier today from Russia.  The Secretary-General has just taken part in an event on sustainable development and how to plan for what follows the Millennium Development Goals.  He has also had meetings in Maputo with the leadership of the National Assembly, which is Mozambique's parliament, and the UN country team.

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will meet the President of Mozambique.  He will also visit a school to highlight a campaign to end violence against women and deliver a lecture at the Institute of International Relations.

Over the weekend, the Secretary-General was in Moscow, where he met the UN Country Team, and visited the headquarters of the RIA Novosti news agency and a police academy, where officers from around the world are trained to tackle terrorism, extremism, drugs trafficking and other cross-border criminal activities.

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After concluding his visit to Mozambique on 22 May, the Secretary-General will travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which will be the first leg of a three-day joint visit with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim to the Great Lakes region of Africa.

The aim of the joint visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda is to support the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region, following the signing of the Framework in Addis Ababa on 24 February, by these three countries and eight others.  The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, Mary Robinson, will be part of the joint visit.

During their stay in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, the Secretary-General and the World Bank President will meet with Congolese Government officials, including President Joseph Kabila and Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo.  They will then travel to Kigali, Rwanda, where they will meet with Rwandan Government officials, including President Paul Kagame.

On Friday, 24 May, the Secretary-General and World Bank Group President will travel to Entebbe, Uganda, where they will meet with Ugandan Government officials, including President Yoweri Museveni.  The joint visit to the Great Lakes region of Africa will conclude on 24 May.

Subsequently, the Secretary-General will travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he will participate in an African Union Summit to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).  He will also hold meetings on the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region.  The Secretary-General will depart Addis Ababa to New York on 26 May.

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The United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) informs that early this Monday morning, fighting broke out in the localities of Kibati and Rusayo, some 12 kilometres from Goma, between combatants of the M23 [23 March Movement] armed groups and soldiers of the Congolese armed forces.  The Mission reports that initial incidents escalated to the use of heavy calibre weapons, mortars and rocket launchers.  MONUSCO also adds that, according to reports, the Congolese army used attack helicopters in one of their operations.  MONUSCO has expressed its concerns about this incident and the Mission is actively pursuing a diplomatic and political solution to contain and end the clashes.

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The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and UN-Women [United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women] have urged Afghan authorities to step up their efforts to ensure the full implementation of the law on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in line with their international commitments.

Jan Kubiš, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that progress in implementing the law to eliminate violence against women would help deter harmful practices and protect women from violence in their daily lives.

He added that the law is critical, not just for women and girls, but for all of Afghan society.  The international community also has firm expectations of the Government on increasing respect for women’s rights, which can affect the assistance that Afghanistan receives.  We have a press release with more details.

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In a message sent to the opening of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the Secretary-General notes that, with less than 1,000 days of action to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, Governments are gathering to make key decisions to reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases.

In his message, the Secretary-General says that the MDGs have undoubtedly been good for global health.  As we shape plans for the post-2015 era, we must draw lessons from where we have succeeded and ensure that benefits are shared equitably.  And he adds that we must keep moving towards universal health-care coverage, so all people can have access to the health services they need without suffering financial hardships.  At the same time, Governments must address other pressing health challenges, such as non-communicable diseases.  The full message is online.

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The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has opened its twelfth session this morning.  In a message to the opening of the Forum, the Secretary-General said that we must have a better understanding of the views and values of indigenous peoples by engaging them in decision-making and providing a platform for issues affecting their lives and livelihoods.

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And there will be two press conferences later today related to the twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

The first, at 1:30 p.m., will be on the opening of the Forum and the speakers will be Paul Kanyinke Sena, chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; Andres Landry, Canadian Youth Representative; and Setareki Macanawai, Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Disability Forum in Fiji.

The second, at 3 p.m., will be on the introduction of a new Polynesian currency, and you will be briefed by the Ali’I Nui of Polynesia, Aleka Aipoalani.

Questions, please?

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Question:  Yesterday, the Secretary-General expressed his concerns regarding [inaudible] North Korea.  Can you tell us, are the… are these tests a violation of any Security Council resolutions or any international laws?  And the second question is concerning the press conference at 3 p.m. by… as you said, as I understand he is a king of the so-called [inaudible] kingdom in Hawaiian Islands.  You said that this kingdom is recognized by the United Nations; can you make it clear what relations are between the United Nations and this kingdom, and why they are making this presentation in this building? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, I’ll have to find out for you on the second question.  On the first question, I believe that the launching of missiles goes against Security Council resolutions, as the Secretary-General referred to them in his statement.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  Sorry?  Resolutions.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, you would have to take a look at the Security Council resolutions.

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Question:  Yes, the situation in Syria, I mean, I know the Secretary-General has been to Moscow and… and there have been talks between the United States and… and Russia and all that, but so far, it doesn’t seem anything is happening.  How does the Secretary-General now see the situation unfolding?  And has anybody paid any attention to Israel’s constant interference by attacking convoys inside Syria without any [inaudible]? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, on the first question, the Secretary-General has had extensive conversations with a wide variety of people over the past few weeks on the hope for a conference coming up, and we are working with all sides to ensure that the conference takes place.  On the second question, of course, any type of interference is unhelpful at this stage when everybody is trying to get the conversations towards peacemaking re-engaged again between the Palestinians and the Israelis.  So, any type of unhelpful rhetoric is certainly not conducive to helping this take place.  Joe?

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Question:  All right, yeah, you… you had just read out a statement concerning women’s rights in Afghanistan and the Secretary-General’s urging of further progress in that area.  I am wondering whether the Secretary-General has any comment to make on the recent spate of car bombings and other attacks that have cost the lives of civilians and members of the international force in Afghanistan and have taken place over the last number of days. Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, you know full well the Secretary-General is against any form of violence in that sense and has said that no objective justifies the use of violence, and especially violence that results in deaths to… to…

Correspondent:  In all media and other situation when they have occurred in Africa and so forth, he has put out specific statements, condemning those specific [inaudible].

Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, statements are put out when the Secretary-General feels it is necessary.  Also, Jan Kubiš, the Special Representative for the Secretary-General, is constantly making statements on Afghanistan and is constantly alerting us to what is happening there and alerting the Afghan authorities and people as to what our views are in terms of violence.  Matthew?

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Question:  Sure, Eduardo, I want to ask, there… there has been all this fighting in South Sudan, not only in Pibor, but in Boma, and it was… it was said that this town was taken over and a… a… a hospital was closed.  What’s the status and what has the UN peacekeeping Mission been doing in terms of either assisting the… the… the South Sudan army to retake the town or protecting civilians from either of the two sides fighting? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, there have been contradictory reports on the situation in Boma.  The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is closely following the situation.  As soon as conditions allow, the Mission will send an assessment mission which will determine the needs regarding the protection of civilians.

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Question:  And could I also… it was… it said that a… a… a… a peacekeeper from Nepal died last weekend in… in UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon], in Lebanon.  Is that true and what’s the… what was the cause… what’s this…? Deputy Spokesperson:  A peacekeeper from Nepal?  I’ll have to find out, I haven’t heard.

Correspondent:  It’s in the Nepalese press, that’s why I am wondering why it’s not [inaudible].

Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, we’ll have to find out for you.

Correspondent:  Okay.

Deputy Spokesperson:  Masood?

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Question:  Yes, sir.  I just want to know, has it been determined that the convoys that Israel have been attacking, it is actually… were, in fact, carrying weapons which were threatening Israeli security?  Has that been determined?  Have they also said that that is, in fact, the case? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, Masood, as you know, we have no way of determining what is happening in Syria.  We don’t have a mission there tasked with observing what is happening there.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, we analyse information from all sectors, from all protagonists and we take a look at the information that is available to us and we come to our conclusions then.  Joe?

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Question:  Has any progress been made in the last number of days in the negotiations with Syria to permit the team of experts the Secretary-General appointed to investigate the allegations of use of chemical weapons, has anything…? Deputy Spokesperson:  The negotiations continue, Joe.  When we have something to else to announce, we will.  Matthew?

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Question:  Sure, I wanted to ask, the… the… the… it is said that the President, new President of Cyprus has written to the Secretary-General complaining about Alexander Downer having either mis-described or mis-set up a dinner with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Derviş Eroğlu.  Are you aware of this letter being received?  It is reported in the Cyprus press and it says that they are… they may both pull out of the dinner and out of talks.  So, it seems serious. Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, Matthew, as Martin has said on a number of occasions here, we… the Secretary-General gets many letters throughout the day and we are not privy often at the first moment that these letters are received.  We will check to see and we will get back to you.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  One more question.

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Question:  Yeah, on… on… okay, then I’ll… I’ll… I was going to ask something else, but I need to ask this one.  This meeting that is taking place this morning on… on… on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, it was on UNTV at the beginning and then mid-way through the speech by Saeb Erakat, it cut off and said the meeting is closed, and then disappeared from the… the UNTV sort of online website.  So, it wasn’t closed; I ended up running there and it was open.  But, in terms of people around the world that were interested in this topic, I am wondering, can we get a UN statement of why the TV was cut off in the middle of this important speech? Deputy Spokesperson: We’ll check with UNTV and find out what had happened.

Correspondent:  Okay.

Deputy Spokesperson:  Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen.  Have a good afternoon.

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Eduardo del Buey, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to the briefing.

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As you may be aware, today is marked by millions of people around the world as the International Day against Homophobia.  This year, the United Nations Human Rights Office — which has the lead within the UN system in relation to human rights protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people — has put out a short, compelling video, called The Riddle, which you can view on YouTube.

In addition, the Secretary-General has issued a message, which was delivered last night by the High Commissioner for Human Rights at a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights conference in The Hague.  We have copies of that message in my office.  The High Commissioner will be delivering her own keynote speech on the issue at the closing session of the conference, at 2 p.m., New York time, today.

Here to brief us on the issue of homophobia are the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, and the Deputy Head of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Maarit Kohonen Sheriff.  The floor is yours.

[Press conference on the International Day against Homophobia is issued separately.]

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

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The Secretary-General recently finished a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.  You will have seen that we issued a readout on that meeting, the main focus of which was Syria.  The Secretary-General expressed his support for the agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States to convene an international conference as soon as possible, to help the Syrian parties operationalize the 30 June 2012 Geneva Communiqué on establishing a transitional governing body with full executive powers.  They discussed the importance of both regional support for the conference and the role of the Joint Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi.

They also discussed the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, climate change, sustainable development and peacekeeping operations.  Their conversation continued over a working lunch, where they discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula, Iran, the Responsibility to Protect, the Central African Republic, the Sahel and Mali, terrorism, and also Russia's presidency of the Group of 20.

Earlier, the Secretary-General met Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and held a press conference with him.  The Secretary-General told reporters that he sincerely hopes an international conference on Syria can be convened as soon as possible.  Asked about allegations about the use of chemical weapons, he said it was regrettable that the UN investigation team has not been able to enter Syria to investigate onsite.  He again urged the Syrian authorities to be flexible and to allow the team to have onsite investigations.  The full text of his press remarks is available online.

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The UN refugee agency says that the number of Syrian refugees who have now left their country has surpassed 1.5 million.  The agency warns that the widening gap between the needs and resources available is a growing challenge.  UNHCR has registered close to 1 million refugees since 1 January of this year — that is about a quarter of a million people each month.

Refugees have been describing increased fighting, and the changing of control of towns and villages, in particular in conflict areas, results in more and more civilians deciding to leave.  Over the past four months, the refugee agency reports that it has seen a rapid deterioration when compared to the previous 20 months of this conflict.  UNHCR continues to respond to the emergency needs of those in desperate need inside Syria and in neighbouring countries.

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In a press statement issued last night, the members of the Security Council strongly condemned the incident on 15 May in which a group of anti-Government armed elements detained three United Nations Military Observers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization’s (UNTSO) Observer Group Golan for several hours, and looted a United Nations observation post within the Area of Separation there.

In that incident, a group of unknown armed men broke into UN Observation Post 52 in the area of separation.  Three unarmed UN military observers were taken and held for approximately five hours and were released unharmed.  They returned safely to UN Observation Post 52, where they were met by the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) Head of Mission.  The members of the Security Council noted with grave concern that this was the third such incident in the past two months.

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Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, urged all Iraqi leaders to do everything possible to protect Iraqi civilians, as another wave of bombings hit the country during the past few days and claimed more innocent lives.

He said that it is the responsibility of all leaders to stop the bloodshed in Iraq and to protect their citizens.  He said that small children have been burned alive in cars and worshippers cut down outside their own mosques.  This is beyond unacceptable, Mr. Kobler said.

He said that it is the politicians’ responsibility to act immediately and to engage in dialogue to resolve the political impasse and put an end to this.  The country will slide backwards if they do not take action.

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On Monday, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator will begin a four-day visit to Sudan, which will take her to the capital, Khartoum, and to Darfur.

While in the country, Valerie Amos will meet with Government officials and representatives of aid organizations to discuss how to improve humanitarian access to people affected by conflict and displacement, particularly in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur.

In Darfur, Ms. Amos will see first hand the ongoing relief operation, 10 years after the start of the current emergency.  The humanitarian community continues to work with the Government to address deteriorating living conditions in camps and to find lasting solutions for those who have been uprooted for many years.

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The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, after making landfall in Bangladesh and moving away from Myanmar, Tropical Storm Mahasen has weakened and dissipated.

Myanmar’s Rakhine State was spared any impact from the storm and initial assessments indicate no damage.  The Government reports that nearly 120,000 people were moved or relocated, and many are now returning to their camps or host communities voluntarily.  UN agencies and their partners are continuing to monitor the movements of people to provide a sense of protection for all of those who are still displaced as the rainy season continues.

In Bangladesh, the Government says that up to six people were killed.  While assessments are continuing, in spite of the damage anticipated, damage to houses has been limited.

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On Sunday, 19 May, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Geneva to represent the Secretary-General at the fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.  During his visit, he will participate and give opening and closing remarks at a high-level dialogue meeting on disaster risk reduction.  He will also attend an event on small island developing States and disaster risk reduction, and meet with a group of mayors.

On 22 May, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to The Hague, where he will have bilateral meetings with senior Government officials.  He will also meet with officials of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

Then, on 26 May, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Brussels and represent the Secretary-General at the third high-level meeting of the Inter-Regional Dialogue on Democracy.  During his visit, he will hold bilateral meetings with European Union and Commission officials.  He will also host a meeting with UN heads of agencies based in Brussels, and participate in a discussion with members of the European Parliament.  He will return to New York on 29 May.

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The UN Human Rights Office today welcomed the fact that dozens of international companies have made a legal commitment to improve safety in Bangladesh’s garment factories in the wake of last month’s building collapse, which the Office says killed more than 1,100 people.

Nearly 40 companies have signed on to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which the Human Rights Office calls an important and, in many ways, unprecedented, agreement, which can be enforced in the countries where the multinationals are based.  However, the Office expressed concern that some major retailers, especially in the United States, have chosen not to sign this agreement, but to instead carry out their own inspections.  The Office added that the best way to honour the victims of the recent collapse is to ensure such a tragedy never happens again — in any industry, anywhere.

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Today, the Secretary-General is announcing four senior personnel appointments.

The first is that of Albert Gerard (Bert) Koenders of the Netherlands, who will serve as Special Representative for Mali and Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA.  Mr. Koenders has been the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) since October 2011.

To fill Mr. Koenders’s post in Côte d’Ivoire, the Secretary-General is appointing Aïchatou Mindaoudou Souleymane of Niger.  Ms. Mindaoudou has been serving as Deputy Joint Special Representative in the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

Haile Menkerios of South Africa will be the new Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the African Union.  Mr.  Menkerios will also continue his current assignment as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.

And finally, the Secretary-General today announces the appointment of Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil as Force Commander of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).  Biographical notes on all these appointments are available in my office.

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And on Monday, at 1:30 p.m., there will be a press conference here on the occasion of the opening of the twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

We have time for a few questions.  Please?

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Question:  Just to follow up on that, I asked a few days before about a report that was given, that was sent, to the Secretary-General by the smaller Bosnian entity, besides the report from High Representative Valentin Inzko, was indeed received, and through what channel to the Secretary-General’s cabinet? Deputy Spokesperson:  I’ll have to check on that; I don’t have any information on it yet.

Correspondent:  You answered… I mean, Martin answered the same two days…

Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, I am telling you exactly what I have, which I don’t have anything.  When we have something, we’ll let you know, Erol.  Nizar?

Correspondent:  If I only can note that the story sometimes cannot wait for that.

Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, you’ll have to wait as long as it takes for me to get the information.  Nizar?

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Question:  Yeah, Eduardo, there… concern… talking about the refugee crisis of the Syrian, 1.5 million, there is compelling evidence, and more and more reports coming, and even videos showing, that the countries which are fuelling the conflict there continue to do so outside international legitimacy by sending weapons, by spending billions of dollars in order to militarize this conflict.  Yesterday, there was a big truck crossing Turkey, carrying French ambulances and French medical supplies, exploded at the… at the crossing point in Bab al-Hawa, causing a lot of casualties, deaths.  It was, of course, disguised as humanitarian aid, but in fact, there was a lot of munitions inside and weapons.  And they exploded there, everybody was watching it, people suffered.  What does the Secretary-General think that he should tell these countries to stop fuelling the conflict in Syria? Deputy Spokesperson:  Nizar, we’ve been over this over and over again.  As I have told you, the Secretary-General, from day one, has said that militarization of this conflict is completely non-productive and unacceptable.  He continues to stand by that position, which is why he is very anxious to have the second conference, the second Geneva conference, take place so that a process of dialogue can hopefully begin and the violence come to an end.  That has been his position for the past almost three years, and that continues to be his position.  Matthew?

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Question:  I have some questions about Syria, but I want to be sure that to get… get one in about Darfur before turning to that.  There is a… there are… the JEM [Justice and Equality Movement] rebels there say that Chadian troops have crossed the border into Sudan and also that the Chadian air force had bombed their positions inside Darfur.  Is that something that UNAMID is… had… is… either can confirm or is trying to confirm? Deputy Spokesperson:  I’ll have to check with the mission.

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Question:  Okay.  The other… and on… on Syria, I… I… on this… this most recent seizure or… or… of… of… of peacekeepers:  one, I wanted to know, when… when did your office… your… you know, this… the U… the… the Office of the Spokesman… Sec… Spokesperson of the Secretary-General become aware of this? Deputy Spokesperson:  I am not going to discuss that with you, Matthew.  We had a statement that came out last night as a note to correspondents, and we will leave it at that.

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Question:  They seemed to have come out this morning, that’s why I am asking.  There seemed to be a big gap between DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] announcing it to a small group of journalists and your Office, which is the official, UN Spokesperson’s Office, speaking about it.  So, I wanted to know what explains that gap. Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, the fact is it came out of a conversation that DPKO had with a few journalists and afterwards we issued it as a note to correspondents.  Carla?

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Deputy Spokesperson:  The situation remains as it has been for some time.  He made his statement very clear when he was here the last time, and that hasn’t changed.  Nizar?

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Deputy Spokesperson:  You have to ask DPKO.  Masood, I’m sorry?

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Question:  Eduardo, I want to ask this question about continued Israeli attacks inside Syria, which… this… they are… and they are warning countries not to intervene while they are intervening with aid being delivered to the militants.  Has it been determined what political groups Israel is targeting or not, not supplying these weapons, whatever it is?  And is it okay for them to continue to intervene like this? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, we’ve seen the report, we’ve seen the reports, and… and… and obviously, this type of action is not acceptable under international law, and that is our position; that’s where it remains.

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Question:  And just a follow-up on Mr. Brahimi.  Is it fair to say that after the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Russians, we have now the situation that Mr. Brahimi will prolong, or it is still fluid, as you said? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, it’s not fluid, Mr. Brahimi has been Joint…

Correspondent:  You suggested, excuse me.

Deputy Spokesperson: …Special Representative.  He is Joint Special Representative, and as far as I know, he will continue to be Joint Special Representative.  His situation hasn’t changed.  He made a statement here a few weeks ago, and that stands.  One more question.

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Question:  Okay, well, I guess I’ll link these two together because I… I… first of all, I wanted you to confirm that Mr. [Hervé] Ladsous met with Syrian Permanent Representative [Bashar] Ja’afari, and as I would like to know, I’ve heard… I… I have Mr… Mr. Ja’afari’s readout on it; what’s the DPKO’s readout on it?  And number two, I just… if I can say this, it seems to me that the kidnapping or killing of peacekeepers shouldn’t come out in a conversation by a UN official, that your Office has some duty to release news that is newsworthy to the correspondents, and on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access absolutely protested it.  It’s sort o… how could you say in conversation?  Would this be done on… if a peacekeeper died, would it be… would be said in a conversation by… by U… USG [Under-Secretary-General] or does your Office have some duty in… in this regard? Deputy Spokesperson:  As I said in the statement, Matthew, they were held for a few hours and released.  By the time we got word that they had been taken, they were released.  Number two, we do not issue readouts as a normal situation on meetings between Under-Secretaries-General and other people.

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.  Have a good weekend.

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The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Eduardo del Buey, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to the briefing.

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The Secretary-General arrived in the Russian Federation earlier today.  He is now in Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast, and tomorrow he is scheduled to meet President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov there.

After his visit to Russia ends on 19 May, the Secretary-General will travel to Mozambique.  During his stay in the capital, Maputo, the Secretary-General will hold talks with Mozambican Government officials, including President Armando Guebuza and Foreign Minister Oldemiro Baloi.

He will also participate in a round-table event on “The Future We Want — Millennium Development Goals’ Post-2015 and Agenda 2025”, and will visit a school on the theme of “‘UNiTE to End Violence against Women and Girls’ Campaign, Education and Youth”.  The Secretary-General will conclude his visit to Mozambique on 22 May.

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I have a readout of the Secretary-General's telephone conversations with the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of Palestine.

In the past two days, the Secretary-General has had phone conversations with both the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of Palestine.  They discussed the Middle East peace process and the situation on the ground, including in East Jerusalem.  The Secretary-General strongly encouraged the ongoing efforts towards the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and expressed his hope that they will lead to a substantial peace initiative soon.  He stressed the importance for the parties to create the conditions conducive to a resumption of meaningful negotiations.

Regarding the recent tensions in East Jerusalem, and more particularly, restrictions of access to Muslim and Christian holy sites, the Secretary-General conveyed his concerns to the Israeli authorities, urging Israel to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law.  The Secretary-General stressed to both leaders the importance of respect for the religious freedom of all, and that worshippers of all faiths should have access to their holy sites.

With regard to the regional situation, the Secretary-General reiterated that all should act responsibly and abide by international law to prevent escalation.

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We received questions yesterday about the declaration of a state of emergency in parts of Nigeria.

I can say that the Secretary-General is aware of the decision by the Nigerian Government to declare a state of emergency in three north-eastern states of Nigeria.  The Secretary-General has been and remains very concerned about the continued violence and the deteriorating security situation in north-eastern Nigeria, which poses a threat to national peace and security.  He calls on all extremist groups to cease their attacks.  The Secretary-General reiterates his firm conviction that no objective can ever justify such use of violence.  He underscores the need for all concerned to fully respect human rights and to safeguard the lives of all Nigerians.

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Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, welcomed the relocation of a first group of 14  Camp Liberty residents to Albania.  He said the arrival last night of the residents was an encouraging first step in the relocation of the group of 210 residents that the Albanian Government has agreed to receive.  He thanked the Government of Albania and encouraged other Member States to come forward and to receive residents in their countries as well.

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The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said today at a press conference in Geneva that stability in Yemen may collapse if the humanitarian crisis in the country is not properly addressed.  Over half of the population of Yemen needs humanitarian assistance, including 10 million people who do not have enough to eat and 6 million who do not have access to basic health care.  There are also more than 340,000 internally displaced people in Yemen.

The Humanitarian Coordinator said that 1 million children suffer from acute malnutrition and that more than 15,000 of them are so malnourished that they may die if they don't receive immediate assistance.  Eighty-nine humanitarian organizations are working in Yemen to help 7.7 million vulnerable people across the country. However, the humanitarian appeal for this year, which requires $716 million, is only 28 per cent funded.

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The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that Tropical Cyclone Mahasen has been downgraded to a tropical storm, as it has weakened in the past 24 hours.

In Bangladesh, an estimated 1 million people were evacuated last night and this morning ahead of the storm, which made landfall north of Chittagong.  The UN is committed to working with the Government to provide support.  In Myanmar, while the storm has moved further away from the country, rain is still expected.

Aid organizations have some 250 staff on standby to respond.  The Government estimates that nearly 78,000 people in Rakhine State have been relocated.  Assessment teams are expected to visit affected areas as soon as possible after the storm subsides.  Monitoring continued today at various camps, and community leaders, religious leaders and international aid organizations are working together to help alleviate the concerns of people who have been resistant to moving to safer areas.

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The Security Council held consultations this morning on the work of its sanctions committee dealing with resolution 1718 (2006), concerning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the one dealing with sanctions in Sudan.

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And, as you may be aware, tomorrow will be marked by millions of people around the world as the International Day against Homophobia.  And so, I will be joined by Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), and Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, the Deputy Head of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who will brief on the issue of homophobia.

Questions, please?

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Question:  Thank you, Eduardo.  In the Adamawa State in Nigeria, since there has been an army curfew, I am wondering what UN teams are doing to ensure food aid to the civilians that are being affected since they implemented that curfew. Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, I’d have to check with OCHA.  You might want to check with OCHA; I don’t have any information on that right now.  What I do have is the statement I read that we issued last night in terms of the imposition of martial law.  Mr. Abbadi?

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Question:  Thank you, Eduardo.  The plan for the stable recovery for Mali contains 12 priorities, including territorial integrity, peace, development, security, etc.  Does the Secretary-General think that it is realistic to plan for the elections in July in the country? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, that is what is planned, and it is on course.  The Secretary-General has called for elections to be held as soon as possible.  You need to have a representative Government in order to implement many of the changes you want implemented.  And right now, you don’t have that.  You also need the territorial integrity of the country to be guaranteed, which is why we are waiting of the forces to arrive.  Edie?

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Question:  Two questions, Eduardo.  First, there seems to be some confusion on the UN death toll in Syria.  The President of the General Assembly yesterday used the figure 80,000, a figure that the Prime Minister of Britain has also used.  Yet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has not raised the death toll from 70,000.  Could you try and clear up this confusion? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, we’ll try and find out.  Obviously, it is very difficult to get exact figures on the ground since we don’t have anybody there really in a position to assess how many people have died.  So, we depend on a variety of sources.  Those sources have to be evaluated, the information has to be collated and we’ll see if we can get some kind of a figure from the Secretariat, but right now, it is a very fluid situation.  Many people continue to die every day and that’s the reason why the Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate end to the violence.  Another question?

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Deputy Spokesperson:  If we have anything to announce, we will announce it.  Right now, we have got Russia and he’s got Mozambique, and that trip ends on the… what did I say, the twenty-second of May.  Matthew?

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Question:  Sure, actually, I am sorry… you… you… I have seen that MONUSCO has announced that he is going to go to… to the DRC [ Democratic Republic of the Congo], so I wanted to know, is that… was that wrong… the… the… the… I… I… I… the…? Deputy Spokesperson:  Matthew, as you know…

Correspondent:  Yeah. MONUSCO said it.

Deputy Spokesperson:  …Secretary-General’s trips are announced from Headquarters; we have not announced anything.  If and when we have something to announce, we will announce it.

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Deputy Spokesperson:  I imagine you have another question.

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Question:  I do.  I… I wanted to ask you, I know that the Deputy Secretary-General met with Riyad Mansour of Palestine and three… at least three Perm Rep… Permanent Representatives of the Arab countries, and… and I wanted to know what came up.  One, if there… is it possible to get a readout?  I’ve… I understand that they met with the [Deputy Secretary-General] instead of the Secretary-General due to scheduling, but is it possible to get, one, some readout?  And two, whether the Secretary-General as… as I have been told, and was… was… undertook to make calls to… to both Israel and Palestine following that meeting? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, as I read out…

Correspondent:  Okay.

Deputy Spokesperson:  …the readout of the Secretary-General…

Correspondent:  Great.

Deputy Spokesperson: …he did call the…

Correspondent:  Okay.

Deputy Spokesperson:  …Prime Minister of Israel and the President of Palestine, so it’s there in the readout.

Correspondent:  Okay.

Deputy Spokesperson:  That is a readout of what we have…

Correspondent:  Okay

Deputy Spokesperson:  …on the situation.

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Question:  Okay, very good.  I… I… all right.  And… and, on this issue that arose yesterday in the… in the debate on the Syria resolution in the General Assembly, where Ambassador Ja’afari of Syria held up an e-mail which he says is from a… I… I… I… have learned more about it since asking at yesterday’s noon briefing.  He says it is from a UN, you know, staff person in Damascus, high up in DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] is what he said, stating that the Syrian opposition ambassador “in Doha was involved and… and in… in… some way in the kidnapping of UN peacekeepers”.  Is there any UN response?  It seems like it is a very serious charge.  I understand you can’t reopen the negotiation, but do you deny that the UN is aware that the Syrian ambassador in Doha was part of the kidnapping? Deputy Spokesperson:  Matthew, we don’t comment on leaked documents.

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Question:  I mean for… so… forget that he waved the e-mail.  I guess I am asking you, is it the UN’s understanding that the Syrian opposition that’s mai… named in the resolution adopted yesterday was involved in the kidnapping of UN peacekeepers? Deputy Spokesperson:  Matthew, we are not going to comment on the modalities of the negotiations that took place for obvious reasons.  Edie?

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Question:  Eduardo, the BBC had a report today on… on the alleged use of chemical weapons in another place in Syria, and I wondered whether there had been any progress at all in getting the UN team into Syria. Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, negotiations continue, and the team continues to do its work outside Syria, receiving information from a variety of sources.  And I imagine if the BBC has anything to share with them, they will take it into consideration and it will be part of their analysis.  Okay, one more question?

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Question:  Sure, I guess, you… you… there was an announcement yesterday about this, you know, in South Sudan, the UN’s concern about attacks and looting.  Now the Yau Yau group has said that they have laid siege to Pibor.  Is that… I mean, do you have any update on… in terms of what either UN… UNMISS [United Nations Mission in South Sudan] with its… with its peacekeepers is doing to the… protect, you know, both civilians and aid operations, and is… is it true that Pibor is… is under siege? Deputy Spokesperson:  Well, what I can tell you, the situation in Pibor remains tense.  The UN Mission has a full-time presence in Pibor and is continuously monitoring the security situation, particularly in respect to the few remaining residents.  The Mission is prepared to assist and protect civilians under threat in the current period, as well as preparing to assist and protect should residents decide to return to their homes.  That’s what I have on Pibor.

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Have a good afternoon.

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The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.  Welcome to the briefing.

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At the launch of the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction this morning, the Secretary-General said that trillions of dollars will be invested by the private sector in hazard-exposed regions in the years ahead, and such spending must address risk factors.

The Report, which was released today, has reviewed disaster losses in 56 countries.  It estimates that direct losses from disasters are in the range of $2.5 trillion and that average losses from earthquakes and wind damage from cyclones will be $189 billion per year.

The Secretary-General said that direct losses from floods, earthquakes and drought have been underestimated by at least 50 per cent.  He also called for strong partnership with the private sector, including investment banks and insurance companies, in reducing disaster risks.

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The Secretary-General has just participated in a meeting of the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on Post-2015 Development, which seeks a new framework to succeed the one provided by the Millennium Development Goals.

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And, just to remind you, the Secretary-General will be leaving for Russia today.  On Friday, he will hold talks with President [Vladimir] Putin and Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov.

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This afternoon at 1 p.m., there will be a press conference by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  As you will be aware, Mr. [David] Cameron is one of the three Co-chairs of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.  Mr. Cameron will speak to the press at the second floor stakeout of the North Lawn Building.

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The Secretary-General sent a message to the High-level Conference on the Support and Development of Mali, which took place in Brussels today.

In the message, delivered by Rebeca Grynspan, the Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Secretary-General said that addressing the crisis in Mali goes beyond addressing security threats.  He added that it means tackling deep-rooted political, social and development challenges.  He called on Mali’s leaders to work together in the framework of an inclusive national dialogue.

The Secretary-General also said the forthcoming establishment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission demonstrates the commitment of the international community to help Mali lay the foundations for durable peace and security.

He said Malian partners should use this opportunity to promote a sustainable and inclusive political process that will lead to improved governance, including elections — for which resources need to be mobilized — national cohesion and reconciliation, and long-term development.  The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel, Romano Prodi, also attended the Conference.

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The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Central African Republic, Margaret Vogt, has just briefed the Security Council on the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in the country.

In the report, the Secretary-General says that the situation is horrifying and intolerable, and that the international community needs to send a strong message to Séléka leaders that there is no impunity for murder, looting and unconstitutional changes of Government.  The Secretary-General also calls upon the Security Council to consider sanctions and other steps against those who have committed gross human rights violations, including sexual violence against women and children.

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The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that, according to the Government of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, some 36,000 displaced people have relocated as Cyclone Mahasen approaches.

Humanitarian agencies report some reluctance by the uprooted to move due to a lack of understanding and fear that they will not be relocated back to the locations where they are currently living.  Aid organizations in Rakhine, including the UN refugee agency and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, are monitoring as many of the relocations as possible.  They are providing the uprooted with information on the storm, on the need to move to safe places and on the Government’s preparedness plan.

The Government in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, today asked community leaders of both the Rakhine and Rohingya communities to help with the relocations by explaining to the communities the need to move to safe areas.  UN agencies and their partners have stressed with both communities and the Government the importance of ensuring safety and the protection of people at risk.

And for its part, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has sent additional staff to Sittwe in the past two days.  It is also looking to increase its preparedness in other parts of the country, such as Chin State, Mandalay region and Kachin, where strong winds and heavy rainfalls may further worsen the situation of vulnerable communities.

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United Nations agencies and partners said today that a landmark has been reached in the fight against tetanus, because this disease has been eliminated in more than half of 59 priority countries.

The announcement came today during an annual meeting on the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative in New York.  Despite the progress, more than 28 priority countries have still not reached the elimination goal.  Tetanus kills one newborn baby every nine minutes, and almost all of these babies are born in poor families living in the most disadvantaged areas and communities.  The UN Children’s Fund has more information on this.

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