HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

WEDNESDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2014

U.N. PEACEKEEPING CHIEF VOICES CONCERN OVER STEPPED UP ATTACKS AGAINST MALI MISSION

• The Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous, briefed the Security Council this morning on the situation in Mali via video conference from the capital, Bamako, this morning.
• He expressed his concern at the rate of attacks against the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in the last months, as well as at the number of peacekeepers killed and wounded by these attacks. He said that the recent number of victims in the Mission was one of the highest seen in peacekeeping operations.
• Mr. Ladsous added that MINUSMA, the UN Mission, was the main international presence in Northern Mali, making it a target. But he said that the UN was working on a number of measures designed to increase the protection of the Mission’s staff, equipment and bases.
• The Under Secretary-General said that all parties had to commit to the Malian peace process.
• In a statement yesterday evening, the Secretary-General expressed his outrage on the attack yesterday on MINUSMA’s camp in Kidal. The attack, as you would recall, killed one Senegalese peacekeeper and injured another. The Secretary-General reminded all parties of their responsibility to prevent attacks against United Nations’ peacekeepers.

U.N. FOOD AGENCY LAUNCHES NEW SCHEME TO HELP 90,000 HOUSEHOLDS IN WEST AFRICA AFFECTED BY EBOLA EPIDEMIC

• On Ebola, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched today a new programme to urgently assist 90,000 vulnerable households in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone whose food supplies and livelihoods are threatened by the epidemic.
• Activities include awareness campaigns; boosting food and cash crops, livestock and fisheries production, introducing microfinance strategies to safeguard rural incomes; and setting up early warning response systems. FAO is urgently calling for $30 million to support activities linked to the programme over the next 12 months.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) also says that it requires US$ 179.6 million for its global Ebola emergency operations until February 2015.  Only US$ 48 million so far have been received.
• Besides assistance to meet the basic food needs of over 1 million people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the World Food Programme is providing transport and logistics support in the fight against the outbreak.
• In Liberia, in Monrovia, the Logistics Cluster, through WFP, is building four Ebola treatment centres and has set up a dedicated storage hub for the humanitarian community.
• On donations, Japan just announced a US$22 million emergency contribution to the World Health Organization, the operations of WFP and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) against Ebola. We very much welcome this announcement, and we continue to encourage other countries to also intensify their support to the international response.
• The Head of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), Karin Landgren, announced today that an international staff member who works for the mission has tested positive for Ebola.
• This is the second case of Ebola within the mission. An earlier probable case resulted in the death of a staff member on 25 September.
• Ms. Landgren says that the Mission has taken all necessary measures to prevent any possible further transmission within or outside the mission.
• In line with World Health Organization (WHO) protocols, the UNMIL Medical team has conducted immediate and robust contact tracing to ensure all people that came into contact with both staff members while they were symptomatic are assessed and quarantined. All UNMIL staff considered at-risk have been isolated, and ambulances and other locations decontaminated.

UKRAINE: MORE THAN 3,500 PEOPLE KILLED BETWEEN APRIL AND OCTOBER, NEW U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT FINDS

• The latest UN human rights report on Ukraine was released earlier today in Geneva.
• The High Commissioner for Human Rights said at the launch that despite a fragile ceasefire in the east of Ukraine, the protracted conflict continues to kill and wound civilians, depriving more of the millions of residents in areas affected by the violence of their basic human rights.
• Though there have been no large-scale offensive actions since September 5^th when the ceasefire was announced, in some cases, artillery, tank and small arms exchanges have continued almost daily.
• The report says that between mid-April and 6 October, at least 3,660 people were killed and more than 8,700 people wounded in eastern Ukraine.
• The High Commissioner stressed that all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law must be scrupulously investigated and prosecuted. These include indiscriminate shelling of civilians, killings, and allegations of sexual violence.

U.N. SYRIA ENVOY URGES DEFENSE OF KURDS PROTECTING NORTHERN SYRIAN CITY OF KOBANE

• In Geneva, Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy for Syria, warned yesterday that the international community needs to defend the Kurds who are fighting to protect the city of Kobane, also known as Ayn al-Arab, on Syria’s northern border.
• Mr. de Mistura said that the international community cannot sustain another city falling under the control of ISIL. He added that Turkey has been very generous in receiving more than 200,000 Kobane inhabitants but what is needed now is concrete action.
• The Special Envoy said that the world will regret deeply if ISIL is able to take over a city which has defended itself with courage. We need to act now, he said.

LIBYA: U.N.-BACKED HUMANITARIAN APPEAL SEEKING MORE THAN $35 MILLION

• The humanitarian country team in Libya has launched a new appeal, seeking $35.25 million to help hundreds of thousands of people affected by the crisis in Libya.
• Aid organizations estimate that more than 331,000 people are in need of assistance, including an estimated 287,000 people who are internally displaced within and around Tripoli and Benghazi. Another 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries.    
• The funding will help aid organizations reach affected communities with food, health care and other life-saving support.

U.N. MISSION REPORTS RETURN OF CALM IN SOUTHEAST SOUTH SUDANEST TOWN FOLLOWING CLASHES

• The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports that relative calm has returned to Chukudum town in Eastern Equatoria State following violence that erupted between Sudan People’s Liberation Army soldiers and residents on Monday.
• The UNMISS military patrol left for Chukudum earlier today to gather more information.
• Meanwhile, on the humanitarian front, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that 2.2 million people face emergency or crisis levels of food insecurity in the country. This is a reduction since May, when the figure was more than 3.5 million.
• OCHA says that projections indicate that this progress is temporary and fragile, and that the food security situation could be extremely serious at the beginning of next year.
• In addition, it says that Kala-azar, a parasitic infection caused by the bite of the sand fly, is on the rise. As of 2 October, there were 4,624 cases in 2014, as opposed to 1,614 cases by the same week last year. The rise is due to displacement of people and lack of access to food and water. 

SENIOR U.N. OFFICIAL TO HEAD GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT

• On 5 September 2014, the Secretary-General designated Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, as the Secretary-General for the third International Conference on Financing for Development.
• The Conference, which will be held in Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, from 13-16 July next year, will seek the adoption of a comprehensive financing framework to support the implementation of the post-2015 agenda.

U.N. SYSTEM IN MEXICO SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DISAPPEARANCES, CALLS FOR PROMPT RESPONSE

• In response to a question, the Spokesman said that the UN System in Mexico condemns recent disappearances and calls for a prompt and vigorous response by the authorities.
• It takes notes of the actions taken and urges them to conduct a thorough investigation.
  The Mexican Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has undertaken the documentation of the cases, has deployed staff in the field and has contacted directly with families of victims, as well as with state and local officials.