GENEVA / CANBERRA (30 September 2016) – United Nations Special Rapporteur Michel Forst will visit Australia from 4 to 18 October 2016 to assess the overall environment for human rights defenders and civil society in the country.
“Experience has taught us that human rights defenders are critical to sustaining a democratic society and strengthening the rule of law,” the expert said. “The visit is a fertile opportunity for me to consult the vibrant Australian civil society about their situation and to have a focused dialogue with the Government on ways and means to support the important work of rights defenders in the country.”
The independent expert, with the global mandate from the UN Human Rights Council to assess the promotion and protection of defenders, will gather first-hand evidence on potential challenges facing civil society organisations in Australia and explore possible actions that can help enable the environment for human rights defenders.
“I look forward to the dialogue with the Government and civil society organisations to identify concrete ways of empowering human rights defenders and supporting their vital and legitimate work,” Mr. Forst said.
During the two-week visit, at the invitation of the Australian Government, the Special Rapporteur will meet with both federal and state level officials, parliamentarians, various rights commissioners and ombudsman, as well as human rights defenders and a broad range of civil society representatives from various parts of the country.
The rights expert will visit Melbourne (3-4 Oct), Sydney (5-6 Oct), Hobart (7-9 Oct), Brisbane (12-13 Oct), Darwin (14-15 Oct) and Canberra (10-11 Oct and 16-18 Oct).
The Special Rapporteur will share his preliminary findings and recommendations at a press conference on Tuesday, 18 October 2016, at 11.30 am, at the
Access to the press conference is limited to journalists.
The Special Rapporteur’s final report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in a future session.
Statement By UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon On The Death Of His Excellency Mr. Shimon Peres, Former President Of Israel
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Shimon Peres, the former President of the State of Israel. I offer condolences to his family and friends, and to the people of Israel.
Shimon Peres played a central role in Israel’s founding, and served his country throughout his life, not only as President but also Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and in other key roles. He worked tirelessly for a two-state solution that would enable Israel to live securely and harmoniously with the Palestinians and the wider region, a commitment duly recognized when he shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. He was also a good partner of the United Nations, eager to see Israel contribute to the work of the international community.
I met Mr. Peres on many occasions, and always benefitted from his views. Even in the most difficult hours, he remained an optimist about the prospects for reconciliation and peace.
As he once said at the United Nations, “The time has come to comprehend that the real triumph is in the harvest of peace, not in the seeds of another war. When we replace war maps with peace maps, we will discover the differences were minimal. The wars were appalling. We shall see that the promised land could have become the land of promise a long time ago.”
May his spirit of determination guide us as we work to ensure peace, security and dignity for Israelis, Palestinians and all the peoples of the region.
New York
27 September 2016
United Nations Human Rights up Front Initiative
Human Rights up Front is a Secretary-General initiative to strengthen prevention of serious concerns that cut across the UN’s three pillars of peace and security, development, and human rights. The initiative seeks to bring the UN System together in a way that is mutually supportive, helps prevention, and prioritizes human rights. In the worst situations, the initiative also seeks to prevent the most serious life-threatening violations.
The initiative aims to realize a cultural change within the UN system, so all staff and UN entities conduct their work with an awareness of their wider responsibility to support the UN Charter and overall UN mandates. It encourages staff to take a principled stance and to act with moral courage to prevent serious and large-scale violations, and pledges Headquarters support for those who do so. It also seeks operational change, and change in UN engagement with Member States.
Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Judgement of the International Criminal Court in the case of Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi
The Secretary-General welcomes the Judgement delivered today by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the case of The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, in which Mr Al Mahdi was found guilty as a co-perpetrator of the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against religious and historic buildings in Timbuktu, Mali, in June and July 2012.
The Secretary-General notes that this ICC Judgment, the first in a case of destruction of cultural heritage, represents an important step forward in the fight against impunity in Mali. He further notes that the path to healing wounds between communities in the country must be premised in greater accountability, justice and the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.
The Secretary-General expresses his appreciation for the efforts undertaken by UNESCO and the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, in support of national authorities, to protect and reconstruct Mali’s heritage and to preserve cultural diversity in the country.
New York, 27 September 2016
Farmer Field School in Tonga Breaks New Ground in the Pacific for Training Young Farmers
‘Eua Island, 26 September 2016 – More than 20 farmers from ‘Eua Island in Tonga recently graduated from a new Farmer Field School – the first in the Pacific to teach young farmers how to grow and sell more food with certified training.
Spending an entire season together, with the field as their classroom, participants exchanged knowledge and expertise while being provided with the tools they needed to analyse and identify ways to improve their farming techniques. Each graduate earned a certificate in horticulture, recognized by the Tonga Qualification and Accreditation Board.
Up-scaling ICT for Bougainville Parliament
“It is the beginning of the transformation of the Bougainville Parliament” says Speaker of the Bougainville Parliament, Hon Simon Pentanu
Buka, September 26, 2016 – Over 30 parliamentarians from the Bougainville House of Representatives (BHOR) received certificates last week after completing a week long computer training in Buka Town. The training was the first of a series of planned Information, Communications Technology (ICT) training to upscale the use of ICT among Parliamentarians in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
According to UNDP Peacebuilding Fund Programme Coordinator based in the autonomous region, Mr. Lawrence Bassie, the training was part of UNDP’s overall efforts to strengthen the work of the Autonomous Bougainville Government in general and more specifically to support the House of Representatives to be more effective and accountable to their electorates.
Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Aleppo
The Secretary-General is appalled by the chilling military escalation in the city of Aleppo, which is facing the most sustained and intense bombardment since the start of the Syrian conflict.
Since the announcement two days ago by the Syrian Army of an offensive to capture eastern Aleppo, there have been repeated reports of airstrikes involving the use of incendiary weapons and advanced munitions such as bunker buster bombs. The Secretary-General underlines that the apparent systematic use of these types of indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.
The Secretary-General considers this a dark day for the global commitment to protect civilians. The international community has to unite to send a clear message that it will not tolerate the use of indiscriminate and ever more deadly and powerful weapons against civilians.
New York, 24 September 2016
Transnational organized crime is undermining security and governance in the Pacific: United Nations report
Press Release
French Polynesia, 21 September 2016 – The Pacific is increasingly vulnerable to exploitation by transnational organized crime, law enforcement agencies in the region are largely unable to manage territorial borders, and governments and regional organizations are struggling to address the situation, according to a comprehensive report launched today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Titled “Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) in the Pacific: A Threat Assessment”, it is the first UN report to examine major illicit trafficking flows and issues in the region following Security Council calls to address security threats to fragile small island states in 2015.
Developed in close partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the report draws together information and cases from the Pacific, with supplementary information from neighbouring East and South-East Asia and the Americas, to assess illicit flows impacting the region. Four major transnational organized crime types are covered in the report: drug and chemical precursor trafficking, human trafficking and migrant smuggling, environmental crime, and trafficking of small arms.
New Report Identifies Strategies to Finance the SDGs and Climate Action
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 21 September 2016 – Strategies to shift capital towards investments that generate climate action and sustainable development were discussed at the United Nations today at a high-level event to discuss a new report titled “Links in the Chain of Sustainable Finance: Accelerating Private Investments for the SDGs, including Climate Action.”
The high-level event was opened by the President of the UN General Assembly H.E. Peter Thomson and chaired by his predecessor H.E. Mogens Lykketoft.
Discussions were centred around the report, commissioned by President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, Mr Lykketoft, and written by Brookings Institution scholars Homi Karas and John McArthur. Similar reports from UNEP and from the New Climate Economy were also discussed.
Twenty-Six Member States Pledge $151 Million to UN Peacebuilding Fund
New York, 21 September 2016 – The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund received $151 million in pledges from Member States at its Pledging Conference held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Fund announced.
The pledges cover the years 2017-2019 and will go toward projects the Fund underwrites in more than 20 countries with the aim of sustaining peace and preventing violent conflict. The event was co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The conference sought pledges totaling $300 million over three years.