HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 3 FEBRUARY 2017
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES AFRICAN DEVELOPMENTS WITH SECURITY COUNCIL

• The Secretary-General met with the Security Council today in closed consultations, to discuss recent developments in Africa.
• He returned this week from a trip to the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, where he met with AU leaders on South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and other key areas.

DEEPLY CONCERNED BY STEPPED UP CLASHES IN EASTERN UKRAINE, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR OBSERVATION OF CEASEFIRE

• The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the on-going tensions and intensification of the fighting in eastern Ukraine. He appeals to all parties to fully observe the ceasefire and allow for immediate humanitarian access.
• The UN Human Rights Office said today also expressed its serious concern over the dire humanitarian and human right situation in the country’s east.
• The Office reports that between 29 January and today, at least 7 people have been killed and 41 injured in shelling.
• UN Human Rights Office teams are visiting locations and verifying reports of civilian casualties in both Donetsk city and Avdiivka, which were reportedly hit by shelling during the evening of 2 February.

NEW U.N. REPORT DETAILS SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY MYANMAR SECURITY FORCES

• Mass gang rape, killings, including of babies and young children, brutal beatings and disappearances are among the serious human rights violations by Myanmar’s security forces in northern Rakhine State detailed in a new report from the UN Human Rights Office.
• The publication is based on interviews across the border in Bangladesh with more than 200 victims, the vast majority of whom reported witnessing killings and nearly half having a family member who was killed or is missing. Of the 101 women interviewed, more than half reported having been raped or suffering other forms of sexual violence.
• After the repeated failure of the Government of Myanmar to grant the UN Human Rights Office unfettered access to the worst-affected areas of northern Rakhine State, the High Commissioner deployed a team of human rights officers to the Bangladeshi border with Myanmar, where an estimated 66,000 Rohingya have fled since 9 October 2016.
• Noting that the new report suggests an unprecedented level of violence, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the Government of Myanmar must immediately halt these grave human rights violations against its own people, instead of continuing to deny they have occurred, and accepts the responsibility to ensure that victims have access to justice, reparations and safety.

TOP U.N. PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL TO VISIT HAITI FOR ASSESSMENT MISSION, INAUGURATION OF NEW PRESIDENT

• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, will lead a strategic assessment mission to Haiti next week, as requested by the Security Council. During his visit, Mr. Ladsous will also represent the Secretary-General at the inauguration of the new President.
• The purpose of the mission is to develop a UN-wide understanding of the situation in the country through an assessment of the political, security, human rights, socio-economic and humanitarian situation. The assessment will identify the critical needs of Haiti and will recommend options for the future configuration and presence of the UN in Haiti, to be presented in the next report of the Secretary-General due in mid-March. These options will inform the Security Council on the way forward, before the mandate of the mission expires on 15 April.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: U.N. SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS, AID ORGANIZATIONS

• The UN peacekeeping mission as well as the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic, Michel Yao, have both condemned the recent violence against civilian populations and humanitarian organisations perpetrated by armed groups in Bocaranga, in the Ouham Pende préfecture.
• Yesterday, the 3R (Retour, Réclamation et Réparation) and anti-balakas armed groups attacked and pillaged Bocaranga, leading to the displacement of 9,000 people who have sought refuge in the forest. A site hosting internally displaced people was attacked, as well as the compounds of international NGOs. Shops, a church and the market were pillaged. Civilians were reportedly killed and injured during the clashes. UN peacekeepers intervened to stop the violence and have been patrolling the area. They have also reinforced the protection of a number of sites.
• The Special Representatives of the Secretary-General for the country, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, and for Central Africa, François Louncény Fall, are calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities between the coalition led by the Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC) and the Mouvement pour l’Unité et la Paix en Centrafrique (UPC) in the préfectures of Ouaka and Haute Kotto.

THOUSANDS FLEE SOUTH SUDAN FOR UGANDA – U.N. AID WING

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that thousands of people have been displaced from areas in and around Kajo-Keji in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria, causing an outflow of civilians across the border to Uganda. More than 4,000 refugees arrived into Uganda on 28 January alone. Refugees report killings of civilians, sexual violence, and fears of arrest and abduction as their main reasons for fleeing.
• There are currently around 30,000 people who were previously displaced from other locations in Central Equatoria sheltering in three internally displaced persons’ sites in Liwolo area, outside of Kajo-Keji. Humanitarians are responding to the needs of displaced people but are facing increasing challenges as local businesses have shut down and reports of insecurity are rising.

U.N. CONCERNED BY PLIGHT OF CIVILIANS AMIDST ANTI-D’AESH OPERATIONS IN SYRIA’S ALEPPO

• The UN remains deeply concerned about the situation faced by civilians affected by anti-Da’esh operations in and around Al Bab in Syria’s Aleppo governorate.
• It is estimated that about around 30,000 civilians have fled Al Bab city and surroundings since late December, heading mainly towards other districts in Aleppo. The UN and partners are providing assistance to those who are displaced, including through setting up reception and transit centres to receive and provide basic assistance to those in need.
• Up to 10,000 civilians remain in Al Bab city, facing increasingly difficult conditions under Da’esh control, including severe movement restrictions.
• Access to Al Bab and surrounding areas has been severely curtailed for UN and its partners since its takeover by Da’esh nearly three years ago, as well as the ongoing military operations.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL PRESIDENT UNDERLINES NEED TO STEP UP INVOLVEMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE

• The recent Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, which was convened in New York earlier this week, was held against the backdrop of a backlash against globalization, increasing inequality and a marked shift towards nationalism and isolation in many parts of the world.
• According to a note from the ECOSOC President, we must build on the achievement of the ECOSOC Youth Forum, to strengthen the voice and participation of young people in building the future we want. 

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, BELGIUM EXPLORE USING DRONES IN HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES

• The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Belgian Government are joining forces to explore the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, in humanitarian emergencies.
• UAVs are increasingly recognised by aid organizations for their potential effectiveness in disaster response. They can help to quickly collect information, achieve higher data accuracy, and provide safer monitoring systems in emergencies.

U.N.I.C.E.F. URGES ACTION BY EUROPEAN UNION IN WAKE OF RECORD NUMBERS OF REFUGEE, MIGRANT DEATHS IN MEDITERRANEAN

• UNICEF has called on the European Union to take urgent action after a record number of refugee and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean over the past three months, including an estimated 190 children.
• More than 1,300 migrants and refugees have drowned since the beginning of November, the majority of those deaths happening along the dangerous Central Mediterranean sea route between Libya and Italy. 
• At an EU summit today in Malta, UNICEF stressed the pressing need for governments on both sides of the Mediterranean to do more to keep children safe, saying that the decisions taken at the summit could literally mean the difference between life and death for thousands of children.

NEW U.N.-BACKED REPORT FINDS DEEPLY CHALLENGING HUMANITARIAN SITUATION ON COLOMBIAN BORDER

• The humanitarian situation along Colombia’s border areas remains deeply challenging, according to a recent study by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Colombian Ombudsman.
• The report shows that despite the efforts made by national and local institutions to assist victims of the armed conflict, clear gaps remain; particularly with regard to access to State services, prevention of forced displacement, loss of property and child recruitment.
• It also stresses the challenges faced by people entering the country through irregular channels, including human trafficking risks, poor reception conditions and limited access to official documentation.

AHEAD OF WORLD CANCER DAY, NEW GUIDANCE FROM WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SEEKS TO IMPROVE SURVIVAL CHANCES

• Ahead of World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidance aimed at improving the chances of survival for people living with cancer. 
• The guidance is specifically focused on the importance of diagnosing and treating the disease early before it has progressed to an advanced stage. WHO says one of the biggest obstacles to surviving cancer is that many diagnoses come too late to allow for effective treatment.
• According to new figures released by WHO, some 8.8 million people die annually from cancer, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.

VETERAN U.N. OFFICIAL NAMED TO SENIOR U.N.D.P. POSITION

• Today, the Secretary-General is announcing the appointment of Susan McDade of Canada as Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Management Services at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 
• Ms. McDade will succeed Jens Wandel of Denmark, and the Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Wandel for his dedication and commitment during his term in this post at UNDP.
• Ms. McDade brings many years of leadership experience to this position, most recently as UNDP’s Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.

ALGERIA, KUWAIT LATEST U.N. MEMBER STATES TO PAY FULL U.N. DUES

• Algeria and Kuwait have both paid their regular budget dues in full, bringing the total number of Member States which have done so this year to 27.