World No Tobacco Day & other topics - Daily Briefing (29 May 2019)

Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the President of the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Highlights:
- Secretary-General’s Travels
- Syria
- Central African Republic
- Colombia
- Senior Personnel Appointment
- Pakistan
- Peacekeepers Day
- No Tobacco
- International Telecommunication Union
SG TRAVELS
The Secretary-General addressed the students at RWTH Aachen University in Germany this afternoon, and he gave the students an overview of the challenges facing the world, focusing on climate change and the impact of new technologies. He told the students that he was encouraged by the youths’ engagement on climate change, an issue that his own generation had failed to deal with properly.
Looking at the fourth industrial revolution, the Secretary-General told the students that new technologies that are developing rapidly will likely destroy many jobs but also create many jobs – which, however, will be different types of jobs. Societies will need to adapt to ensure that no one will be left behind, he added.
He reiterated his call for a total ban on autonomous weapons. Taking a human life cannot be done without human responsibility, he said, and it undermines international law and the rules of war.
The Secretary-General also called for a strong and united European Union to be present on the global stage as a positive force. Unfortunately, he said, it is too often missing in action, especially concerning political issues.
He then spoke to the Charlemagne Prize Forum on Europe - a group that brings together leading Europeans in government, civil society and the media.
In a few hours, the Secretary-General will participate in the Charlemagne Prize Open Air Event in Aachen. Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will officially receive the 2019 Charlemagne Prize and deliver a keynote address.

SYRIA
Geir Pedersen, the Special Envoy for Syria, is briefing the Security Council this morning in closed consultations. He will discuss the latest developments regarding the political process and the implementation of resolution 2254.
Mr. Pedersen will talk to journalists at the stakeout once those consultations have finished.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The UN Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, reports that three suspects, who were allegedly involved in the attacks against villages in western Central African Republic, were detained on 24 May and handed over to authorities in Bangui on 27 May.
Following a joint mission by MINUSCA, the Central African Government, the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States on Saturday, a MINUSCA Joint Protection Team was deployed to Paoua on 27 May to conduct field missions to the areas affected by the killings.

COLOMBIA
Regarding a question asked yesterday on Colombia, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, and President Duque discussed yesterday in Bogota points of progress and challenges in the implementation of the peace agreement. Mr. Ruiz Massieu, in comments to the press, welcomed the President’s commitment to consolidate peace.
Today, in a meeting in New York with Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo echoed that message of encouragement.
Full Highlights: