HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

THURSDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2014

CLIMATE ACTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ARE TWO SIDES OF SAME COIN, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL IN PERU

• In Lima, Peru, today the Secretary-General took part in the high-level ministerial meeting on climate action at the UN Climate Change Conference.
• He stressed that climate action and sustainable development are two sides of the same coin and that we cannot eradicate poverty without strengthening climate resilience and utilizing cleaner, safer sources of energy.
• The Secretary-General and his wife, Madam Ban Soon-taek as well as the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala Tasso, and First Lady Nadine Heredia visited a reserve in the Andes to see first-hand how local communities are adapting and bolstering resilience when it comes to climate change.
• The Secretary-General also met with the Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, Héla Cheikhrouhou, as well as with the environment ministers of Brazil, the Republic of Korea and Canada.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR EARLY ACTION TO PREVENT GENOCIDE

• The Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, participated today in the launch of the Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, a tool which has been developed by the Office of the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect.
• The Deputy Secretary-General described the Framework as an analysis and risk assessment tool which uses a specific set of risk factors, with related indicators, to help identify and prevent atrocity crimes.
• He said the Framework allows us to track how a situation is evolving over time and to analyze how to prevent a crisis from deteriorating or re-lapsing.
• He added that the Framework of Analysis demonstrates that atrocity crimes rarely happen suddenly; they often evolve and develop over time. Therefore, well before tensions escalate to violence, there are many opportunities to take action.
• The Deputy Secretary-General said that we must all be aware of those moments and act as early as possible.

NEED FOR SUSTAINED ATTENTION ON SAHEL GREATER THAN EVER, U.N. ENVOY TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL

• The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel, Hiroute Guebre Sellassie, briefed the Security Council this morning.
• Ms. Sellassie said that given the deterioration of the political and security situation in the Sahel region and the adverse impact on humanitarian and development gains, the need for sustaining Security Council attention on the Sahel was greater than ever.
• She noted that progress had been made in putting together the necessary structures and coordination mechanisms to ensure a more coherent approach of the United Nations system and the international community at large in the Sahel region.
• Despite the progress, she added that the situation calls for stronger commitment by governments of the region to improve governance, including the promotion and protection of human rights. She noted that the crisis in Burkina Faso and the persistent conflict in Mali attest to the fact that efforts in the Sahel will not be productive unless the countries of the region commit to some standards of governance.
• She also said that the Boko Haram atrocities in northern Nigeria have become a major threat to some Sahel communities and countries, and that if the situation in Libya is not quickly brought under control, many states in the region could be destabilised in the near future.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN, WARNS U.N. ENVOY IN SOUTH SUDAN

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Loej, said today that the patience of the international community with both parties in the country was wearing thin.
• She added that the leaders must inject a new sense of urgency into the peace process in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement as soon as possible.
• Speaking at a press conference in Juba, Ms. Loej said that she hoped that representatives of both parties at the IGAD-sponsored peace talks will return to the negotiating table with a heightened sense of responsibility and openness to compromise.
• On the protection of civilians’ sites, Ms. Loej said that more focus was needed on fostering a safe and secure environment outside of these sites. She also said the UN was doing its best to foster and promote safe returns of displaced people but that the ultimate responsibility for the protection of civilians remains with the Government.
• She also noted that while around 100,000 people are still seeking refuge in UN camps, around 1.5 million people are internally displaced throughout the country.
• She finally added that the overall humanitarian situation remains dire with an estimated 1.5 million people already experiencing crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity. This could rise to 2.5 million people in the coming weeks and months, she added.

BURUNDI: U.N. POLITICAL CHIEF REITERATES CALL FOR CREDIBLE AND INCLUSIVE ELECTIONS

• The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, participated today in a roundtable in Burundi, Bujumbura, entitled Progress, Challenges and Prospects, organized by the Government and its main regional and international partners,
• Mr. Feltman said that the foundation for a new Burundi had been laid but that many observers had noted a growing reduction of the political space. It is for Burundians to show them that they are wrong, he added.
• He encouraged the Government to maintain its efforts to guarantee credible and inclusive elections in 2015. The Political Mission in Burundi is closing and the UN Electoral Mission in Burundi, to be known as MENUB, will start on 1 January.

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION DETERIORATES IN SOMALIA

• The Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia, Philippe Lazzarini, warned today that the humanitarian situation in the country has significantly deteriorated this year, for the first time since the end of the 2011 famine – as a result of a combination of conflict, drought, floods, increasing food prices and limited aid access.
• More than 3 million Somalis need humanitarian assistance urgently, including 1 million people who can’t meet their minimum food requirements – this is a 20 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.
• Aid organizations need $863 million to help more than 2.7 million Somalis in the coming year. 

MIDDLE EAST: U.N. ENVOY STRESSES NEED TO IMPROVE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT FOR GAZA’S RECONSTRUCTION

• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, visited Gaza today and said there that by the end of this month more than 20,000 homeowners are expected to be able to procure construction material for urgent repairs of their dwellings.
• He stressed that this can only be the beginning of an effective process to rebuild Gaza and much more needs to be done. 
• Unfortunately the operating environment continues to face many challenges, including a fragile and informal ceasefire which has not yet solidified, and a lack of empowerment of the Government of National Consensus in Gaza, with no control over the crossings.
• These difficult issues, coupled with insufficient financial assistance from donors, have only worsened the atmosphere in an already devastated Gaza.
• Mr. Serry remains gravely concerned about the dire situation in Gaza. He intends to brief the Security Council next week on the need for all stakeholders and the international community to make good on their calls made at the Cairo Conference to give Gaza more than hope, to give Gazans material with which to rebuild their lives and to create conditions that will lead to the end of the blockade. 

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS ENVOY ARRIVES IN UKRAINE

• The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonovic, is in Ukraine to assess the human rights situation in the country.
• During his visit, Mr. Šimonovic is scheduled to meet with a number of Government officials as well as representatives of civil society. He is also scheduled to visit the eastern region of the country.
• He will hold a press conference in Kyiv on 15 December at the conclusion of his visit, launching the eighth monthly report of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

GLOBAL CEREAL PRODUCTION ALL-TIME HIGH, SAYS F.A.O.

• World cereal production will reach an all-time record of more than 2.5 billion metric tonnes in 2014, buoyed by bumper crops in Europe and a record maize output in the US, according to the latest report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called the Crop Prospects and Food Situation Report.
• The record global cereal harvest in 2014 will outpace projected world cereal utilization in 2014/15, allowing stocks to rise to their highest level since 2000.
• The report also warned that food insecurity is worsening in a number of countries due to civil conflict, adverse weather and the Ebola outbreak. Some 38 countries are at risk of food insecurity, 29 of them are in Africa.