Noon briefing of 17 March 2015

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

TUESDAY, 17 MARCH 2015

HEAD OF PEACEKEEPING CALLS FOR PRESSURE ON DARFUR PARTIES TO ENTER DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS TO STOP HOSTILITIES

• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, briefed the Security Council on the situation in Darfur this morning.
• He said that the security and humanitarian situations deteriorated significantly over the past year.
• He added that there had also been no tangible progress toward the resolution of the conflict during that period. He said that, now more than ever, the Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union needed to intensify pressure on the parties to engage in direct negotiations to cease hostilities.
• Regarding the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur, UNAMID, Mr. Ladsous said that it had, over the last 12 months, implemented a series of measures to address the challenge of its troops’ operational capabilities and effectiveness on the ground.
• He however noted that one of the biggest problems was the Government’s denial of access for UNAMID to conflict-affected areas which continued to significantly impede the Mission’s ability to implement its protection of civilians mandate.
• This afternoon, Sigrid Kaag, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, will brief the Council in close consultations.

U.N. MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN CONDEMNS BREACH OF ITS PROTECTION SITE IN BENTIU

• The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) says it is seriously concerned about fighting that took place this morning and later this afternoon, in the vicinity of its compound in Bentiu in Unity State, including an artillery shell which landed in the protection of civilians site.
• The Mission strongly condemns today9;s breach of the protection of civilians site9;s perimeter by SPLA soldiers. UNMISS currently protects some 53,000 civilians in Bentiu.
• The Mission remains committed to maintaining the civilian character of its protection sites, and reminds the parties that these sites provide safety to civilians under threat of violence.
• It calls on the parties to the conflict to refrain from activities that undermine the sanctity of the protection of civilians sites, or hinder the United Nations9; ability to protect or assist civilians.
• In Upper Nile State, the Mission reports intermittent fighting around its support base in Renk, with mortars fired from the vicinity of the base.
• According to the Mission, the fighting around Renk follows an SPLA offensive last week in and around Wad Dakona, a few kilometres south of Renk.
• Fighting around Wad Dakona and Renk constitutes the biggest military action since the peace talks collapsed at the beginning of the month.
• UNMISS is not yet in a position to confirm movement and/or casualties on the ground.

BURUNDI: SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED AT APPARENT ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST WIFE OF OPPOSITION LEADER

• In answer to questions, the Deputy Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had expressed his concern at the report of an apparent assassination attempt on Sunday against Annonciate Haberisoni, wife of Burundian opposition leader Agathon Rwasa, as Burundi prepares for general elections in two months. This act threatens to heighten tensions and entrench polarization and distrust.
• The Secretary-General urges the Burundian authorities to promptly launch a thorough and impartial investigation into the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
• The Secretary-General recalls the signing a week ago of the Charter on non-violence and urges all political parties in Burundi to publicly condemn all forms of political violence and acts of incitement to hatred or violence, in line with the Constitution of Burundi and the Arusha Accord.

VANUATU: AID ORGANIZATIONS STEP UP RELIEF EFFORTS

• On Vanuatu, aerial assessments following cyclone Pam continue to indicate that there is severe and widespread damage across the bigger islands of Efate, Erromango and Tanna, with around 3,370 people sheltering in more than 48 evacuation centres across the country.
• Aid organizations are stepping up relief efforts, and continue to deploy supplies and personnel to support the Government9;s response around four key priorities: evacuation centres, assessments, aid distribution and shelter.
• Water supply has been restored to 80 per cent of Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, with work ongoing to restore water in other areas that are so far accessible.
• Water, sanitation and hygiene kits have been provided to families in evacuation centres.
• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that while 1,400 shelter kits have arrived in-country, an estimated 12,000 kits and 24,000 tarpaulins are urgently required.

YEMEN: U.N. SPECIAL ADVISER WELCOMES LIFTING OF HOUSE ARREST ON PRIME MINISTER AND FOREIGN MINISTER

• The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Yemen, Jamal Benomar, welcomed the lifting of the house arrest yesterday on Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Alsaidi and other cabinet members. He called upon the Houthis to build on this gesture of goodwill by committing fully to Security Council resolution 2201 on Yemen.
• Mr. Benomar expressed relief that his continuous outreach efforts with Ansarullah and other Yemeni and international parties have eventually yielded positive results. He considered the move a good gesture that may restore the missing confidence in the current political negotiations.
• Mr. Benomar expressed the hope that the Prime Minister and the other released officials would actively resume their contribution to Yemen’s political life and to the success of the negotiations, which aim at bringing the transitional process back on track and ending the serious crisis that threatens Yemen’s unity, stability and security.

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON SYRIA SAYS IMPUNITY EMBOLDENS PERPETRATORS OF ATROCITIES

• In Geneva, the Commission of Inquiry on Syria presented its ninth report to the Human Rights Council today, charting the major patterns of violations perpetrated over the last four years.
• Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission, told reporters afterwards that impunity emboldens perpetrators of atrocities and a coordinated accountability strategy and the will to implement it effectively are desperately needed. He said that the Commission continues to advocate for an urgent Security Council referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court or to an ad hoc tribunal.
• Also today, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is scaling up its support to Jordan and other countries in the region affected by the humanitarian crisis in Syria. FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva initiated three projects in Jordan to improve food security and nutrition by making better data available to decision-makers and preventing the spread of animal diseases across borders.

ONE OUT OF FIVE EBOLA INFECTIONS HITS A CHILD, SAYS U.N. CHILDREN’S FUND

• One out of 5 Ebola infections hits a child; that’s according to a report released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund.
• Of the more than 24,000 people infected, some 5,000 are children, while more than 16,000 children have lost one or both parents or their primary caregiver.
• While participating in the Ebola response, UNICEF and its partners have immunized thousands of children against other deadly diseases like measles, strengthened primary health care services, and helped minimize the risk of Ebola infections when schools reopened.
• The report also stresses that planning for longer-term recovery must draw on gains made during the response, to build back better and address historical inequities.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY RELOCATING SOUTH SUDANESE REFUGEES IN ETHIOPIA AHEAD OF RAINY SEASON

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has started to relocate more than 50,000 South Sudanese refugees from flood-prone areas in Ethiopia ahead of the rainy season, which is expected to start in late April.
• The refugees are being moved from the Leitchuor and Nip Nip refugee camps in the Gambella region.
• They are being moved the existing Pugnido camp and a new camp called jewi which was opened over the weekend and is located some 18 kilometers from the regional capital Gambella.
• UNHCR says that finding the land with the right conditions to set up another refugee camp has been a huge challenge, as several sites that had been identified immediately after last year’s rainy season were subsequently declared unsuitable. It adds that more land is still needed to accommodate new arrivals from South Sudan.

NEW CONVENTION ON TRANSPARENCY OF TREATIES-BASED INVESTOR-STATE ARBITRATION OPENS FOR SIGNATURE

• The Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration, adopted by the General Assembly in December last year, has been opened for signature earlier today at a signing ceremony hosted in Port-Louis by the Government of Mauritius. The Convention will forthwith be known as the 9;Mauritius Convention9;.
• The Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Under-Secretary-General Miguel de Serpa Soares, officiated at the signature ceremony, in the framework of which the Convention was signed by the following eight States: Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Mauritius, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HEADS TO ITALY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RETREAT AND MEETING WITH SENIOR ADVISERS

• The Secretary-General is scheduled to arrive shortly in Italy, having wrapped up his visit to Japan earlier today. He will be chairing a Climate Change Retreat and a meeting of UN Senior Advisers in Turin this week.
• Before leaving Tokyo, he met this morning with UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador Kurara Chibana.