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UN Daily News
Tuesday, 3 May 2016

Issue DH/7150

In the headlines:
Security Council demands protection for hospitals

Ban announces intention to appoint expericed

UN envoy cautiously hopeful for re-launch of truce

Greater assistance needed to help tackle Iraqs

On World Day, UN highlights link between press

At high-level forum, UN spotlights power of

and health workers in conflict zones

in Syria

freedom and development

Ban welcomes launch of UN inspection to facilitate

flow of commercial goods to Yemen

Syrian refugee begins Olympic torch relay in

Brasilia UN agency

Norwegian offical to head up UN environment office

humanitarian crisis UN refugee agency

information technology in advancing development

UN expert warns combat against violent extremism

could be used as excuse to curb free speech

Ban announces intention to appoint seasoned

Mexican diplomat to head UN climate framework

Flint Michigan crisis not just about water, UN

rights experts say ahead of President Obamas visit

Security Council demands protection for hospitals and health

workers in conflict zones
3 May With increasing wartime assaults on and patterns of
systematic destruction of health facilities in countries affected by
conflict, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a
resolution today to strengthen protection for health care workers, the
sick and wounded, hospitals and clinics, in war zones.
Speaking to the 15-member body, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
reiterated that denying people access to essential health care is a
serious violation of international humanitarian law.
All too often, attacks on health facilities and medical workers are not
just isolated or incidental battlefield fallout, but rather the intended
objective of the combatants. This is shameful and inexcusable, Mr.
Ban told Council members.

A nurse taking care of an infant child in an incubator at the AlSabeen Hospital in Sanaa. Hospitals and clinics in Yemen have been
paralyzed by the war: they have either been attacked, run out of
medical supplies and fuel or the medical staff have been forced to flee.
Photo: UNICEF/Mohamed Yasin

In Syria and elsewhere, he noted that Governments impose

cumbersome procedures that restrict access to healthcare: This is
strangulation by red tape. It is violence by bureaucratic means rather than force of arms, but it is just as devastating, he
said.
The UN chief urged all Member States, parties to conflict and other relevant actors to heed the Councils demands by:

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Facilitating humanitarian access

Developing domestic legal frameworks that protect health facilities and medical workers
Training armed forces so they understand their obligations
Prosecuting those responsible for such attacks and other violations

Also in attendance at todays meeting were the leaders of two of the largest non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
consistently working in conflict zones and disaster-hit regions providing health care to people in dire need. Mr. Ban told
Peter Maurer, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Dr. Joanne Liu, the International
President of Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), that their NGOs play unique and vital roles.
Through their leaders here today, I want to thank and commend all of their personnel for their professionalism and
dedication in serving people in danger and distress across the world, he said, recalling that last week, MSFs head of
mission in war-ravaged Aleppo had underscored the urgency and importance of efforts such as todays resolution.
Aleppo was recently hit by an air strike, which Mr. Ban said was by all accounts by the Government of Syria. It destroyed
a hospital and killed at least 20 people, including three children and the areas one and only paediatrician, Dr. Mohammad
Wassim Maaz.
Yet this appalling act was only the latest wartime assault on health care in Syria, the UN chief warned. Since the
beginning of the conflict, Physicians for Human Rights has documented more than 360 attacks on some 250 medical
facilities. More than 730 medical personnel have been killed.
He added that a similar pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities is evident in Yemen, with more than 600
medical facilities having closed because of damage sustained in the conflict and shortages of supplies and medical workers.
Last year, the United Nations verified 59 attacks against 34 hospitals. In January this year, Coalition air strikes hit the
Shiara Hospital, which serves around 120,000 people in Saada Governorate, he said. And last October in Kunduz,
Afghanistan, a bombing by United States military destroyed another MSF hospital and killed dozens, as patients were
burned alive in their beds.
Mr. Ban went on to say that such patterns of destruction are repeated in other conflicts, including in Iraq and South Sudan,
where violence against health care is multiplying the difficulties of already fragile health systems. When so-called surgical
strikes end up hitting surgical wards, something is deeply wrong, he said: stressing: Explanations ring hollow to parents
burying their children and communities pushed closer to collapse.
Highlighting that wars and armed conflicts have evolved from open battlefields to urban areas, and from pistols to mass
shelling and bombardments by air forces, ICRCs Peter Maurer said the wounded and sick are not just those in uniforms.
Attacking a hospital, threatening a doctor, coercing a nurse to give preferential treatment to armed fighters, hijacking
ambulances, using patients as human shields these are not collateral damage. These are not sad realities we have to get
used to. They are abominations to fight and trends to roll back, he said.
Mr. Maurer commended the Security Council for passing the resolution, noting that it underlines the importance of
international humanitarian law, calling on States and all parties to armed conflict to comply with their obligations and
develop effective measures to protect people's lives by preventing and addressing violence against medical personnel,
facilities and transports, and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties.
This resolution marks a momentous step in the international community's efforts to draw attention to a problem that we
otherwise risk getting used to through the sheer frequency of its occurrence, he added.
Meanwhile, MSFs Joanne Liu told Council members that while the nature of warfare may have changed, the rules of war
have not.
You are charged with protecting peace and security. Yet four of the five permanent members of this Council have to
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varying degrees, been associated with coalitions responsible for attacks on health structures over the last year. These include
the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, the Russia-backed, Syrian-led coalition. You
therefore must live up to your extraordinary responsibilities, and set an example for all States, she stated.
This resolution must lead to all states and non-state actors stopping the carnage. You must also pressure your allies to end
attacks on healthcare and populations in conflict areas. We will not leave patients behind. And we will not be silent. Seeking
or providing healthcare must not be a death sentence. You will be judged not on your words today, but on your actions.
Your work has only begun. Make this resolution save lives, she concluded.
In his address, the Secretary-General also reiterated that the World Humanitarian Summit, a two-day conference in Istanbul
beginning on 23 May, is the moment to renew commitments to preventing and ending crisis, and that the engagement of all
partners Governments and NGOs is necessary.
The success of the World Humanitarian Summit is in your hands, he stressed.

UN envoy cautiously hopeful for re-launch of truce in Syria

3 May Following discussions in Moscow on the intra-Syria talks,
the United Nations envoy facilitating the process has said that he is
cautiously hopeful that the cessation of hostilities pact will be relaunched, perhaps even later today.
Silence or non-silence what the Syrians want to hear is no bombs,
no rockets, no shelling, no aerial bombing anymore and no canisters,
so they can start believing in what we are trying to do with them,
said Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy for Syria, at a joint press
stakeout with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation, Sergey Lavrov.
Mr. de Mistura said that the main reason he travelled to Moscow was
to be able to discuss with the Russian authorities the urgent feeling
that what has been so far achieved should not be wasted, and that we
should be able, instead, to build on it and move forward.
Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. UN Photo/Jean-Marc
Ferr

For this reason, the Special Envoy said, he had, in a briefing to the UN Security Council, drawn the attention of the main
sponsors of the intra-Syrian talks Russia and the United States about the fact that the cessation of hostilities was in
danger.
The envoy recalled that the talks were very proactive in March, which he attributed to a wind in the back of the intraSyrian talks. He said that the discussions then were helped by a feeling that the cessation of hostilities and delivery of
humanitarian aid were progressing, keeping in mind that the most important outcome was a political solution through a
political transition.
These recent talks were, in a way, not helped by the news that we were getting, Mr. de Mistura said. The cessation of
hostilities was becoming more and more [fragile]. Thats why we were still able to come up with some conclusions which, if
you read them, are quite interesting, in the sense that they have been showing that there has been progress particularly in the
first steps in what can be considered common lines on a political transition, which is the key of the future in Syria. Syrianled but sponsored and supported by the international community.
Since that time, however, the Special Envoy said that there was a sense that the cessation of hostilities was in danger. For
this reason, the sense and hope that the parties will be able, in a way, to re-implement and re-invigorate and re-launch the
cessation of hostilities is crucial, the special envoy said.
And we all hope and we have to be cautious but we all hope that this indication, perhaps in the next few hours, will be
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able to have also a re-launch of the cessation of hostilities under whatever name we want to call it, Mr. de Mistura said.
If that takes place, then we are on the right track again, and we have been preparing for that, he added.
Mr. de Mistura highlighted that the UN has been very proud to be able to quickly organize an Operations Centre, which he
said is much more technically and technologically effective than what was in place in the past, with more staff from both the
Russian and the United States sides.
Then the next steps are, of course, preparing for the [International Syria Support Group] ISSG, perhaps even a Security
Council meeting reinforcing all this process and next the intra-Syrian talks, which obviously are the beginning of the end of
the Syrian crisis, because the key word is political transition, the Special Envoy said.
Yesterday, Mr. de Mistura met in Geneva with United States Secretary of State John Kerry and the two discussed the current
situation on the ground and the need to bolster support for the cessation of hostilities.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the warring Syrian sides to immediately recommit to the cessation of hostilities
and uphold their responsibility to protect civilians.
The Secretary-General is profoundly concerned about the dangerous escalation of fighting in and around Aleppo and the
intolerable suffering, counted in mounting deaths and destruction, it is causing among civilians, UN Spokesperson
Stphane Dujarric said in a statement.
Noting the temporary re-launch of a cessation of hostilities in Damascus and Lattakiya governorates, the UN chief stressed
the need to expand these arrangements to other parts of Syria, with a special urgency for Aleppo.
Mr. Ban, according to the spokesman, also reiterated his call on all concerned regional and international actors, in particular,
Russia and the United States, co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which is supporting the current
UN-mediated intra-Syrian talks, to redouble their efforts to help the warring parties put the truce back on track.
The ISSG, which along with Russia and the US, comprises the UN, the Arab League, the European Union and 16 countries,
has been seeking a path forward to end the Syrian crisis for the past several months.

On World Day, UN highlights link between press freedom and

development
3 May Top United Nations officials today highlighted the
dependency of human rights, democratic societies and sustainable
development on the free flow of information and press freedom,
stressing that these fundamental rights are vital in providing
information to citizens around the world and for progress itself.
Press freedom and the free flow of information are necessary not
only to inform citizens about the [Sustainable Development] Goals,
but to enable them to hold their leaders accountable for fulfilling the
pledges they have made, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his
message marking World Press Freedom Day, which is observed on 3
May each year.
The media including, and increasingly, new online media serve
as our eyes and ears. We all benefit from the information they
provide, he added.

Journalists wait for the arrival of official delegations at the Geneva II

Conference on Syria, in Montreux, Switzerland. UN Photo/Violaine
Martin

In particular, Mr. Ban emphasized that human rights, democratic societies and sustainable development depend on the free
flow of information, and that the right to information depends on press freedom.
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Each year, World Press Freedom Day is observed to emphasize these fundamental principles, to protect the independence of
the media, and to honour media workers who risk and have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession, the SecretaryGeneral said.
The UN General Assembly designated 3 May as World Press Freedom Day in 1993. It aims to celebrate the fundamental
principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world; to defend the media from attacks on their
independence; and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. This year's theme
for World Press Freedom Day is 'Access to information and fundamental freedoms this is your right!'
In his message, the UN chief highlighted that this year, World Press Freedom Day coincides with three important
milestones. It is the 250th anniversary of the world's first freedom of information law, covering both modern-day Sweden
and Finland, and it is the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration of press freedom principles. In
addition, 2016 is also the first year of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mr. Ban also said that he is very concerned about the increasingly restrictive environment for media workers in many
countries, stressing that constraints on freedom of expression place shackles on progress itself.
A free, independent and safe media environment is essential. Yet, all too often, journalists are threatened, harassed,
obstructed or even killed in the pursuit of information. Many languish in detention, some in appalling conditions, for
shedding light on governance failures, corporate malfeasance or societal problems, the Secretary-General said.
He urged all Governments, politicians, businesses and citizens to commit to nurturing and protecting an independent, free
media.
Without this fundamental right, people are less free and less empowered. With it, we can work together for a world of
dignity and opportunity for all, Mr. Ban said.
Along those lines, Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
stressed that access to information is a fundamental freedom and part of the basic human right to freedom of expression.
Receiving and imparting information, both offline and online, is a cornerstone of democracy, good governance, and rule of
law, she said.
Ms. Bokova noted that this past year, the world had agreed on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to guide all
efforts over the next 15 years to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity and lasting peace for all. The new
SDGs include a target on public access to information and the protection of fundamental freedoms two interrelated
objectives that are key accelerators of progress across all of the new agenda, she stressed.
At this time of turbulence and change across the world, including new challenges that require global cooperation and
action, the need for quality information has never been so important this requires a strong environment of press freedom
and well-functioning systems to ensure the people's right to know, the Director-General said.
Ms. Bokova highlighted that 250 years ago, the first formal Right to Information legislation was enacted in what is today
Sweden and Finland. A historical breakthrough at the time, she emphasized that this still provides inspiration today, as
Governments increasingly adopt laws that allow public access to information. In addition, 25 years ago, in then newly
independent Namibia, the historic Windhoek Declaration on press freedom was adopted, paving the way to recognition by
the UN of World Press Freedom Day.
In marking these anniversaries, World Press Freedom Day this year highlights the importance of free and independent
journalism for advancing the 2030 Agenda, Ms. Bokova said.
This includes the safety of journalists, at a time when, tragically, a media professional is killed every five days. This cannot
stand, and guided by the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, UNESCO is working
with Governments around the world to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers everywhere,

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she added.
In this spirit, I call on everyone to stand united in defending and encouraging press freedom and the right to access to
information. This is essential for human rights and dignity, for our aspirations for sustainable development, for common
determination to build lasting peace, Ms. Bokova said.

Ban welcomes launch of UN inspection to facilitate flow of

commercial goods to Yemen
3 May United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed
yesterdays official launch of the operations of a UN inspection
mechanism to facilitate the unimpeded flow of commercial goods and
services to Yemen, while ensuring compliance with the arms embargo
created by the Security Council, his spokesman said today.
Mr. Ban notes that UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism
(UNVIM) based in Djibouti should provide fast and impartial
clearance services for shipping companies transporting commercial
imports and bilateral assistance to Yemeni ports outside of the
authority of the Yemeni Government, Spokesman Stphane Dujarric
said.
A vendor in his shop for selling nuts in old Sanaa city, Yemen. Photo:
World Ban/Foad Al Harazi

According to the Spokesperson, the Secretary-General further notes

that the launch of UNVIM is part of broader efforts to bring relief to
suffering Yemeni civilians, which he hopes will culminate in a negotiated political settlement between the Yemeni parties
through UN-mediated talks under way in Kuwait.

Syrian refugee begins Olympic torch relay in Brasilia UN

agency
3 May Flanked by cheering crowds, a 12-year-old Syrian refugee
girl ran through with the Olympic flame through Brasilia today, at the
start of a relay across the host country ahead of the Olympic Games in
August, the United Nations refugee agency has announced.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
said that the Organizing Committee of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
selected Hanan Dacka, who has been living in Brazil for the past year,
to participate in the first day of the torch relay on Brazilian soil.

Syrian refugee Hanan Dacka takes part in the 2016 Olympic Games
torch relay in Brasilia, Brazil, on 3 May 2016. Photo: UNHCR/Gabo
Morales

With the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution at its

highest in the post-World War II era, Hanans carrying of the Olympic
torch through Brasilia symbolizes solidarity with refugees
everywhere.

After being lit on 21 April in the Greek city of Olympia, birthplace of

the Games, the flame was carried by Syrian refugee Ibrahim al-Hussein through Eleonas camp, the Athens centre, housing
some 1,500 asylum-seekers.
The Brazilian leg will last nearly 90 days, concluding with the Games opening ceremony on 5 August in the Maracana
Stadium, where the Olympic pyre will be lit.
The most important thing in sport is to have fun and make friends," said Hanan before taking up the flame. "By carrying

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the Olympic Torch, people from all over the world will know that refugees are real people, and that we can do positive
things, she added.
She lives with her family in So Paulo. Fully integrated in the local community, she goes to a school near her home, speaks
fluent Portuguese and has many Brazilian friends.
Hanan and her family used to live in the north-eastern Syrian city of Idlib. When war broke out, they sought refuge in
Jordan, where they spent two and a half years in a refugee camp.
According to UNHCR, the family decided to leave for Brazil under the countrys special humanitarian visa program. To
date, around 8,000 of these special visas have been issued by the Brazilian authorities, including to Hanan and her family
who were recognized as refugees and are now rebuilding their lives.
The war in Syria, which entered its sixth year in March, has generated 4.8 million refugees in neighbouring countries and
hundreds of thousands in Europe. Of the 8,700 refugees who have settled in Brazil, over 2,000 are from Syria.

Flint Michigan crisis not just about water, UN rights experts

say ahead of President Obamas visit
3 May Speaking ahead of United States President Barack Obamas
visit to Flint, Michigan, three United Nations experts are calling for
immediate action to address the serious human rights concerns related
to the contamination of the citys water supply and the devastating
consequences for residents there, who have been dealing with a waterrelated crises since April 2014.
The decline of federal funding in the US for water and sewer systems
in recent decades has disproportionally affected poorer cities; 41.5 per
cent of Flints residents live below the poverty line, and 56.6 per cent
are African-Americans. Thousands of the citys residents have
received water shutoff notices in 2015 because they could not afford
their bills for one of the most expensive water and sanitation services
in the US.

Bottled water. UN Photo/Logan Abassi

The UN experts on extreme poverty, water and sanitation, and housing said that the Flint case dramatically illustrates the
suffering and difficulties that flow from failing to recognize that water is a human right, not ensuring that basic services are
provided in a non-discriminatory manner, and treating those who live in poverty in ways that exacerbate their plight.
They welcomed President Obamas visit as an opportunity to address the situation in Flint and to show global leadership by
acknowledging that governments the world over have a human rights-based obligation to ensure everyones access to safe
drinking water and sanitation, no matter their socio-economic status.
Decisions would never have been made in the high-handed and cavalier manner that occurred in Flint if the affected
population group was well-off or overwhelmingly white, said Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty
and human rights.
Elected officials would have been much more careful, there would have been a timely response to complaints rather than
summary dismissals of concerns, and official accountability would have been insisted upon much sooner, he said.
The fact that Flint residents have not had regular access to safe drinking water and sanitation since April 2014 is a potential
violation of their human rights, warned Lo Heller, UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and
sanitation. Serious problems reported on water quality, particularly high concentrations of lead, are also concerning human
rights issues.

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Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, cautioned that the impact on housing and living conditions for
an already vulnerable group is clear and devastating.
There are deep and obvious connections between the human right to adequate housing, the human rights to safe drinking
water and sanitation and the right to life, the expert said.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report
back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff,
nor are they paid for their work.

Ban announces intention to appoint expericed Norwegian

offical to head up UN environment office
3 May Following consultations with the chairpersons of the regional
groups of Member States, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon has informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint
Erik Solheim of Norway as the new Executive Director of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP).
Mr. Solheim is currently Chair of the Development Assistance
Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), a post he has held since 2013.
From 2007 to 2012, he was Norways Minister for the Environment
and International Development.
Erik Solheim. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

He also served as Norways Minister for International Development

from 2005 to 2007.

Greater assistance needed to help tackle Iraqs humanitarian

crisis UN refugee agency
3 May The United Nations refugee agency has reported that Iraq
will continue to need greater humanitarian assistance as the countrys
displacement crisis shows no sign of easing, with more than 3.4
million people displaced and ongoing conflict causing thousands more
families to leave their homes in search of safety.
The Director of the Middle East and North Africa Bureau (MENA)
for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
Amin Awad, visited Debaga camp in Makhmour district in KR-I,
where more than six thousand newly displaced people have sought
shelter and are living in overcrowded conditions. UNHCR is going to
provide additional shelter for 550 families at a new tented camp set up
by the agency at the football stadium.

A young girl shelters from the rain in Baharka IDP Camp, in

northern Iraq (October 2014). Photo: OCHA/Brandon Bateman

Meanwhile, families in Debaga have fled their villages as the Iraqi

Security Forces continue their operations to re-take control of villages held by extremist groups.
"As the Iraqi security forces continue their advance towards the Tigris river, civilians continue to flee their homes to avoid
being caught up in military clashes. We anticipate that there could be up to 30,000 newly-displaced arriving in Makhmour in
the next few weeks, warned Mr. Awad upon concluding a visit to Erbil and Basra .

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He said UNHCR is drawing up contingency plans to be able to prepare for the fresh displacements: "UNHCR will have to
build additional capacity to receive displaced people, and we are surveying areas for possible location of new camps to
shelter an additional 20,000 individuals.
During talks in Erbil with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, and other senior
ministers, Mr. Awad acknowledged the generosity of the KR-I authorities in providing humanitarian assistance to both
Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqis despite facing serious economic challenges. Around 98 per cent of Syrian refugees in
Iraq are living in the Kurdistan Region, in addition to more than one million Iraqis displaced due to conflict a figure
accounting for 25 per cent of the population of KR-I.
In Basra, UNHCRs MENA director visited a collective centre hosting 90 displaced families in a market structure
rehabilitated and partitioned to ensure privacy and dignity to families. He also met families receiving emergency relief items
from UNHCR staff.
Meeting with senior officials from the Governorate, Mr. Awad paid tribute to efforts by the authorities to provide assistance
to asylum seekers, especially Syrian refugees in Iraq, while at the same time having to deal with large-scale internal
displacement. Basra has received more than 3,500 families - an estimated 21,000 individuals - who have been displaced
from Anbar and Ninevah provinces since 2014.
"What I have witnessed in Basra is very encouraging: generosity and solidarity from Iraqi to Iraqi across sectarian and tribal
lines," said Mr. Awad. "This solidarity gives us some hope for the future," he concluded.
Despite the likelihood of increased demands for humanitarian assistance, overall funding for the 2016 plan to help nearly
250,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq (the Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan, or 3RP) is just 23 per cent funded, while
the UNs Humanitarian Response Plan for Iraq this year is only 22 per cent funded.

At high-level forum, UN spotlights power of information

technology in advancing development
3 May Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have
the power to help people around the world bridge the digital divide
and accelerate innovation as world leaders continue to work towards
implementing the United Nations development agenda, SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon underlined today at the opening of a high-level
forum of the ICT for development community.
Information and communication technologies are the drivers of the
global economy and have revolutionized how we communicate,
interact socially and do business, Mr. Ban stressed in a

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (on screen), delivers video message

to the opening of the annual UN World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) in Geneva. Photo: ITU/I. Wood

video message to the opening of the annual UN World Summit on the

Information Society (WSIS) Forum in Geneva, which is hosted by the
UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

ICTs also provide innovative solutions to combat climate change,

improve health care and education, and empower women and the vulnerable, the Secretary-General said.
Mr. Ban highlighted that the ICTs will be critical to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
People are better connected than ever, but we still have to close the gap so that everyone can benefit from ICTs. We have to
ensure that everyone has freedom of access to information, the UN chief said.
He urged participants to continue working to ensure universal access to a more open information society.
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Let us empower people everywhere with these transformative technologies so that they can help build a better future for
all, Mr. Ban said.
Along those lines, ITU Secretary-general Houlin Zhao noted in a separate
video message that putting ICTs at the heart of global development will be critical to meeting the SDGs.
The WSIS process is all about helping to bridge the digital divide so that people everywhere can reap the tremendous
benefits of connectivity, Mr. Zhao said.
Let us strive to empower individuals with transformative technologies that can change their lives, the lives of their families
and their communities, so that we can all share in a more prosperous and more equitable future, he added.
The forum whose over-arching theme is WSIS Action Lines: Supporting the implementation of the SDGs is coorganized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the UN and sister agencies.
This years event is being chaired by Daniel A. Sepulveda, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Coordinator for
International Communications and Information Policy in the United States State Departments Bureau of Economic and
Business Affairs.
The forum, which will conclude on Friday, 6 May, is expected to include 1,800 participants, including more than 85
government ministers and 250 high-level representatives. Sessions will focus on, among other things, cybersecurity,
promoting peaceful and inclusive knowledge societies, and implementing best practices and addressing challenges.

UN expert warns combat against violent extremism could be

used as excuse to curb free speech
3 May A United Nations human rights expert today signalled
concern that efforts to counter violent extremism may be construed
as the perfect excuse for democratic and authoritarian governments
to restrict free expression and control access to information.
By balancing freedom of expression and the prevention of violence,
the programmes and initiatives aimed at countering violent
extremism have often purposely, sometimes inadvertently put at
risk or curtailed the independence of media, said David Kaye, UN
Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, in a press release on
World Press Freedom Day.
While recognizing the important role that governments and non-State
actors play in countering violence extremism (CVE) and its
incitement, Mr. Kaye and his counterparts from the African
Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
raised concerns in their annual Joint Declaration that programmes to prevent or and/combat violent extremism risk
undermining freedom of expression.
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye. UN Photo/Jean-Marc
Ferr

So-called CVE or PVE programmes must be based on a legal framework and on evidence of their effectiveness and their
necessity and proportionality to achieve legitimate objectives, Mr. Kaye stressed.
The human rights expert noted that most relevant programmes fail to provide definitions for key terms, such as extremism or
radicalization, pointing out that in the absence of a clear definition, these terms can be used to restrict a wide range of
lawful expression.
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Some governments target journalists, bloggers, political dissidents, activists and human rights defenders as extremists or
terrorists, criminalizing and detaining them, using legal systems to counter broad and unclear offences, Mr. Kaye warned.
The harm is felt not only by journalists but also by their audiences, the public that deserves the right to know and to access
information of public interest.
The Special Rapporteur also cautioned that CVE-inspired efforts including content removal, surveillance, the blaming of
security tools like encryption risk undermining the potential of digital technologies to foster freedom of expression and
access to information and to provide avenues for counter-speech.
Freedom of expression plays a critical role in promoting equality and in combating intolerance, and the role the media, the
Internet and other digital technologies play in keeping society informed is essential, Mr. Kaye said.
For the UN Special Rapporteur, limiting the space for freedom of expression and restricting civic space advances the goals
of those promoting, threatening and using terrorism and violence.
The Joint Declaration on freedom of expression and countering violent extremism, by Mr. Kaye; Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media; Edison Lanza, IACHR Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression; and Pansy
Tlakula, ACHPR Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information is available here.

Ban announces intention to appoint seasoned Mexican diplomat

to head UN climate framework
3 May United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has started
the process of consultation with the Conference of Parties through its
Bureau, and has informed of his intention to appoint Patricia Espinosa
Cantellano of Mexico as Executive Secretary of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Ms. Espinosa Cantellano has more than 30 years of experience at
highest levels in international relations, specializing in climate
change, global governance, sustainable development and protection of
human rights.

Patricia Espinosa Cantellano. UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz

Since 2012, she has been serving as Ambassador of Mexico to

Germany, a position she also held from 2001 to 2002. She previously
served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico from 2006 to 2012.

The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section
of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)