Noon briefing of 12 February 2015

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

THURSDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2015

YEMEN IS COLLAPSING BEFORE OUR EYES, WARNS SECRETARY-GENERAL

• At a Security Council meeting on Yemen today, the Secretary-General warned that the country is collapsing before our eyes and that we cannot stand by and watch.
• He said that a dangerous political crisis continues in Sana’a. He said that President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and government ministers and other state officials must be granted freedom of movement.
• The Secretary-General remains concerned by reports of excessive use of force to disperse peaceful demonstrators, and the use of arbitrary arrest and detention of civil society activists and journalists. He called for the protection of human rights, especially the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
• He said that his Special Adviser, Jamal Benomar, is facilitating negotiations with all sides on a consensual and peaceful way forward, under very difficult operational circumstances. All Yemeni parties must engage in these negotiations and cooperate in good faith, said the Secretary-General.
• Mr. Benomar also briefed the Council today, saying that Yemen is at a crossroad: either the country will descend into civil war and disintegration, or it will find a way to put the transition back on track.
• This largely depends on the political will of the Yemeni leaders, said Mr. Benomar adding that they all bear responsibility for the current status of affairs, as well as responsibility for finding a way to pull the country from the brink.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS TWO SENIOR OFFICIALS AT U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY

• The Secretary-General has appointed George Okoth-Obbo of Uganda as the Assistant High Commissioner for Operations and Volker Türk of Austria as the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
• Mr. Okoth-Obbo will succeed Janet Lim of Singapore and Mr. Türk will succeed Erika Feller of Australia. The Secretary-General is grateful to both Ms. Lim and Ms. Feller for their dedicated service and commitment to UNHCR’s work.

SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON ECONOMIC SANCTIONS

• The Security Council today adopted a resolution condemning any engagement in direct or indirect trade, in particular of oil and oil products, and modular refineries and related material, with ISIL, ANF and any other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities designated as associated with Al-Qaida.
• It detailed steps for Member States regarding trade in cultural heritage, banking measures and arms transfers with such groups. The Council also extended the mandate of the panel dealing with sanctions on Sudan.

U.N. ENVOY IN MYANMAR WELCOMES COMMITMENTS TO END FIGHTING

• The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, welcomed the commitments made today in the country to end armed conflict in the country and to resolve grievances through dialogue.
• A Deed of Commitment was signed by the President, the Speaker, political parties and ethnic armed organizations in Myanmar, which is marking Union Day today.
• Mr. Nambiar said this is a historic moment, as it is the first time that a President of Myanmar has formally signed a commitment to build a democratic and federal union.

HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES CALLS FOR ROBUST SEARCH AND RESUCUE EFFORTS IN MEDITERRANEAN

• The High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, said that, following the deaths of at least 300 people trying to reach Europe from Libya earlier this week, there can be no doubt that Europe’s Operation Triton is a woefully inadequate replacement for Italy’s Mare Nostrum.
• Mr. Guterres emphasized that the focus has to be about saving lives. He called on the European Union to urgently set up a search-and-rescue operation similar in scale and reach to Mare Nostrum.
• If not, he warned, it is inevitable that many more people will die trying to reach safety in Europe.
• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has repeatedly urged European Governments to address the needs of people fleeing conflict and trying to reach Europe, with the aim of reducing loss of life at sea.
• It also encouraged a greater focus on addressing the root causes of population movements, such as political solutions to conflict and the provision of safe and legal alternatives to dangerous boat journeys.

U.N. AGENCIES AND PARTNERS NEED $705 MILLION FOR AID EFFORTS IN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

• The Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory, James Rawley, participated today in the release of the Strategic Response Plan for 2015, which aims to address the humanitarian needs of 1.6 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
• The 2015 Plan requests $705 million to carry out 207 projects presented by 77 organizations. Almost 80 per cent of the funding sought is to provide shelter and non-food items and to enhance food security among vulnerable Palestinians. Over 75 per cent of the request targets Gaza.

WORLD BANK MOBILIZES FUNDS TO HELP FARMERS IN EBOLA-AFFECTED COUNTRIES

• The World Bank announced today it had mobilized up to $15 million in emergency financing to provide 10,500 tons of maize and rice seed to more than 200,000 farmers in the Ebola-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, in time for the April planting season.
• According to the latest estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), more than one million people could go hungry unless they have reliable access to food.
• Movement restrictions have severely dented farmers’ ability to harvest crops, market produce, prepare fields for planting and maintain a steady supply of seed for planting in the next season.
• Reports show that desperate farming families have resorted to eating stored seed originally intended for use in the next cropping cycle, while rural flight has caused harvest-ready crops to wither in the fields.

ON INTERNATIONAL DAY, U.N. WARNS CHILDREN ARE INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE TO RECRUITMENT AS SOLDIERS

• In a message on the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, said that children are increasingly vulnerable to recruitment and use by armed groups, as conflicts around the world become more brutal, intense and widespread.
• Ms. Zerrougui said that Governments have made progress to recognize that children have no place in their armies, but the recruitment of child soldiers is still a huge problem, especially with armed groups.
• Situations in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Syria are of particular concern.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

• In response to a question on Bangladesh, the Spokesman said that Assistant Secretary Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, as part of his functions, he is in regular contact with Member States, including the United States (US).
• In his meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal, Mr. Fernandez-Taranco discussed among other issues the situation in Bangladesh, expressing concern about the escalation of violence and stressing the need for peaceful de-escalation of the situation.
• The Spokesman also announced that New Zealand became the 33^rd Member State yesterday to have paid its due of the regular budget assessment in full.

*** The guests at the noon briefing were the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper, and the Humanitarian Coordinator for Mal, David Gressly.