Secretary-General at Paris Peace Forum & other topics - Daily Briefing (12 November 2018)

Daily Press Briefing: Secretary-General Travels, Deputy Secretary-General at Peace building Commission, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Ebola, UNOOSA
Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVELS
Good afternoon everyone. The Secretary-General is just about to leave Paris, where he took part yesterday, along with other world leaders, in the commemoration of the 100th Armistice Day. In a tweet, he said he hoped that we would draw from its lessons and strengthen international cooperation to face the tests and threats of today and tomorrow.
Yesterday afternoon, he spoke at the opening of the Paris Peace Forum – along with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General said multilateralism was a necessity and that the United Nations remained at the centre of the harmonisation of efforts to achieve peace and sustainable development. He added that governments would not be able to meet their people’s expectations for protection in the absence of international cooperation.
This afternoon, the Secretary-General opened the Internet Governance Forum with President Macron and Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. He told the Forum that technology should empower and not overpower us. The Secretary-General also encouraged the Forum to focus especially on innovative solutions that can increase trust in the Internet.
Earlier today, the Secretary-General met with President Macron at the Elysée. They discussed Africa and particularly the Central African Republic and the Sahel; the situations in Yemen and Syria; and the forthcoming Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-24) in Poland next month.
He also had bilateral meetings on Saturday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and on Sunday with Chancellor Merkel and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL AT PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION
This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, spoke to the members of the Peacebuilding Commission, which is focusing this year’s Annual Session on the Sahel.
She noted that this morning’s session, as well as the joint session with ECOSOC tomorrow on climate security in the Sahel, are opportunities to reiterate commitment to addressing the multidimensional challenges in the Sahel region in a coordinated, comprehensive, coherent and efficient way.
Only a collective, integrated and inclusive approach, owned and led by the countries of the region, will support sustained progress towards the lasting peace and development that are so urgently needed in the Sahel.
“Investing in this region is vital” she said, “to prevent countries experiencing fragility today from becoming failed states of tomorrow.”
You can find her remarks online.
SRI LANKA
We issued a statement over the weekend expressing the Secretary-General’s concern at President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve Sri Lanka's parliament and move to new parliamentary elections on 5 January 2019.
The Secretary-General underlines the utmost importance of respecting democratic processes and institutions and resolving differences in accordance with the rule of law and due process. He renews his call on the Government to ensure peace and safety for all Sri Lankans and uphold its commitments to human rights, justice and reconciliation.
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