New Zealand Attack & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (21 March 2019)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General.
Daily Press Briefing:
- New Zealand Attack
- Senior Personnel Appointment
- Western Sahara
- Chad
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Iraq
- Indonesia
International Days
Exhibit
Honour Roll
NEW ZEALAND ATTACK
The Secretary-General is now back in New York following his travel to Buenos Aires.
This afternoon, he intends to visit the Permanent Mission of New Zealand to sign the condolence book for those who died in last week’s massacre in Christchurch.
In his statement on that attack, the Secretary-General underscored the sanctity of mosques and all places of worship.
Accordingly, on Friday, just after noon, he will visit the Islamic Cultural Centre of New York at 96th Street here in Manhattan.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
Today, the Secretary-General is announcing Denise Brown of Canada as his new Deputy Special Representative for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), where she will also serve as UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.  
Ms. Brown succeeds Najat Rochdi of Morocco, who completed her assignment in February. The Secretary-General is grateful for Ms. Rochdi’s leadership and dedicated commitment during her tenure to supporting recovery, peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts in the Central African Republic.  
Ms. Brown brings to the position over two decades of professional experience and an extensive knowledge in humanitarian affairs and recovery programmes with a particular focus on contexts of complex emergencies. She has been serving at World Food Programme (WFP) headquarters in Rome since 2017. 
WESTERN SAHARA
Today, delegations from Morocco, the Frente POLISARIO, Algeria and Mauritania are meeting in Geneva for a second roundtable on Western Sahara, hosted by the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Köhler.
During the meeting, which will last until tomorrow, the delegations are expected to discuss elements of a solution in accordance with Security Council resolution 2440, to revisit regional issues and to explore trust-building measures.
The Personal Envoy hopes the meeting will also build on the positive dynamic achieved during the first roundtable, held last December in Geneva.