HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015

SECRETARY-GENERAL DRAWS ATTENTION TO IMMENSE SUFFERING IN SYRIA, IRAQ, YEMEN, SOUTH SUDAN AT COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEETING

• The Secretary-General is on his way back from Strasbourg, France, where earlier today he addressed the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
• He told the Assembly about the immense suffering taking place in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan and elsewhere. He said the UN is doing all it can to save lives and help bring peace where possible, while insisting that the crimes that shock our conscience do not go unpunished.
• He added that globally, democracy is on the rise, but in some countries around the world, democratic progress is going backwards. He said that we must raise our voices against those who block non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders.
• The Secretary-General also met today with Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. They discussed the plight of migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean and noted the need to create a political environment that sustainably addresses discrimination and intolerance faced by migrants and their families.
• The Secretary-General also spoke to the press after meeting with Anne Brasseur, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, and said that he and the President discussed how to continue to work closely together to promote sustainable development, counter violent extremism, and address the grave humanitarian situation of migrants travelling through the Mediterranean and elsewhere in South East Asia and the Andaman Sea.
• Before leaving Strasbourg, he also met with Igor Crnadak, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia-Herzegovina and President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS LOUISE FRECHETTE OF CANADA AS ADVISOR ON PEACE OPERATIONS

• The Secretary-General received the report of the High-level Implementation Panel on Peace Operations last week. He will be studying the panel's work closely as he prepares his own recommendations to the General Assembly and the Security Council.
• To that end, he has asked Louise Fréchette of Canada to advise him in the drafting of his report, which is expected to be ready for the 70th session. In this capacity, Ms. Fréchette will work with Member States and the UN system as well other interested parties.
• Ms. Fréchette served as the UN's first Deputy Secretary-General. She is also an expert on peace operations and has served as the Deputy Minister of Defense in Canada.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR ELIMINATION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT

• In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General welcomed the decision of the General Assembly to establish June 19^th as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
• The Secretary-General commended Member States and particularly the Government of Argentina, as the sponsor of the resolution, for the increasing priority given to conflict related sexual violence.  
• This resolution is the achievement also of the continued work by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, and his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, whose efforts have helped to galvanize political support resulting in concrete results at the national and regional levels to address conflict related sexual violence.
• Women’s security and empowerment remain priorities for the Secretary-General. The international community must not rest until all violence against women and girls is eliminated, and women’s full political and economic participation worldwide is ensured. These are critical for upholding human rights, as well as achieving sustainable development and peace. 

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR END TO DISCRIMINATORY ATTITUDES TOWARD WIDOWS ON INTERNATIONAL DAY

• In his message for International Widows Day, the Secretary-General called on everyone to help end discriminatory attitudes and take action to ensure that widows of all ages enjoy equal human rights, including the right to shape their own future and to participate fully in society.
• He said that we must erase the social stigmatization and economic deprivation that confronts widows; eliminate their high risk of sexual abuse and exploitation; and remove the barriers to resources and economic opportunities that constrain their future.
• In his message for Public Service Day, the Secretary-General highlighted the dedication of public servants everywhere, saluting their tireless efforts to provide efficient and inclusive services that are available to all.

SYRIA CRISIS HAS MUTATED INTO A HIGHLY FLUID WAR OF ATTRITION, WARNS HEAD OF INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY

• In an interactive dialogue in Geneva this morning, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, told the Human Rights Council that the war in Syria had mutated into a multi-sided and highly fluid war of attrition. The surges and setbacks in that war have fuelled the illusion that a military victory remains possible.
• Mr. Pinheiro said that the Syrian Government, with the superior firepower and control of the skies, inflicted the most damage in its indiscriminate attacks on civilians. He added that non-State armed groups continued to cause civilian deaths and injuries as well.
• The prolonged fighting in Syria has now resulted in more than 220,000 killed, 7.6 million people internally displaced persons and four million refugees.

AID ORGANIZATIONS DELIVER MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO HEALTH FACILITIES IN YEMEN’S FOUR GOVERNORATES

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that health kits, IV fluids and other essential medicines have been delivered to health facilities in four governorates in Yemen in the past week, for the treatment of more than 438,000 people, including treatment of patients with dengue fever.
• A new analysis released by OCHA shows that in the first three weeks of June, only 11 per cent of the estimated total monthly fuel requirements for Yemen have been delivered.  This compares to 18 per cent for May, 1 per cent for April, and 23 per cent for March.
• Commercial shipping is slowly increasing, but remains constrained by port congestion, uncertainty over coalition searches, and high fees related to the time spent by ships waiting to dock. This is contributing to massive food insecurity. The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) is flying regularly from Djibouti to Sana'a every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS OPENS NEW FIELD OFFICE TO MONITOR SITUATION IN DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, is in the Republic of Korea, where he opened a new field office in Seoul to work on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
• In his remarks at the opening ceremony, Mr. Zeid said that the new office will operate with full independence, integrity and in accordance with UN principles.
• It will monitor and document human rights issues in the DPRK, building on the landmark work done by the Commission of Inquiry and the Special Rapporteur. He added that its work will help lay the basis for future accountability.

U.N. LIBYA ENVOY MEETS WITH SECURITY AND MILITARY ACTORS INVOLVED IN LIBYA DIALOGUE

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino León, yesterday met with the representatives of armed groups from various parts of the country.
• The meeting, which took place in Misrata, is a part of the UN Mission’s (UNSMIL) efforts to meet with the security and military actors involved in the Libyan dialogue. This is complementary to the ongoing political discussions.
• Other meetings are being planned - including one in Cairo with representatives of the Libyan Army and armed groups from regions in the east and that is expected to take place in the coming days.
• At the meeting, Mr. León underscored the importance of the support of the armed groups for the successful implementation of the agreement, specifically on security arrangements including withdrawal from cities and towns, and the positive role the armed groups can play in support of the Government of National Accord.

MALI: U.N. ENVOY WARNS DESPITE NOTABLE PROGRESS, SECURITY SITUATION REMAINS FRAGILE

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Mali, Mongi Hamdi, briefed the Security Council today. He said that in spite of notable progress on the political front, the security situation in the country remains fragile.
• He added that recent clashes remain a stark reminder of the complexity and unpredictability of the security environment in the northern regions.
• Mr. Hamdi said that security provisions in the Peace Accord, if implemented in a timely, inclusive and consensual fashion by the parties, could positively impact efforts to stabilise the northern regions.

U.N. MISSION RECEIVES NEW ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

• The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reported that it received allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated against street children in Bangui by members of one of its contingents.
• The troop contributing Member State was immediately notified and an investigation procedure was initiated. Medical care and assistance is being provided to the alleged victims.
• If the allegations are substantiated, this would constitute a grave violation of UN principles and code of conduct for UN Peacekeepers. The Member State would be requested to take swift and appropriate punitive action.

LACK OF FUNDING CONTINUES TO HOLD BACK U.N. PEACEBUILDING EFFORTS, WARNS DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL

• Speaking at the 2^nd Annual Session of the Peacebuilding Commission, the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson said that peacebuilding remains at the core of UN activities in conflict-affected countries, helping countries transition from war to peace.
• Mr. Eliasson warned that the lack of sufficient and predictable funding for critical peacebuilding priorities continues to hold back the UN’s efforts, urging the international community to do more to be effective in preventing the relapse into violence. He added that building institutions that form the backbone of sustainable peace can take a generation.
• Next week, the Advisory Group of Experts of the Peacebuilding Architecture review will present its report to the General Assembly and the Security Council. 

MILLIONS OF WORLD’S POOREST CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND DESPITE GLOBAL PROGESS, NEW REPORT SAYS

• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that the global community will fail millions of children if it does not focus on the most disadvantaged.
• Launching its latest Progress for Children report, the agency today said that despite significant achievements, unequal opportunities have left millions of children living in poverty, dying before they turn five, without schooling and suffering chronic malnutrition.  
• It warned that at current rates, and given the projected population growth, 68 million more children under five could die from mostly preventable causes by 2030, and 119 million children could be chronically malnourished by 2030.

U.N. GLOBAL COMPACT MARKS 15 YEAR OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

• Today kicks off a three-day series of events marking the 15th anniversary of the UN Global Compact - the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.
• The event, Global Compact+15:Business as a Force for Good, will bring together 1,000 participants to assess the impact of corporate sustainability over the past 15 years, the role of the UN Global Compact in growing a global corporate sustainability movement, and pathways for the future on issues from climate to human rights to anti-corruption.
• The series of events will culminate in a session at the UN General Assembly [Hall] on Thursday, bringing together business, government and civil society leaders to demonstrate the private sector's role in advancing global priorities.
• At a related Business for Peace event this morning, the Deputy Secretary-General reminded the participants that while the primary responsibility for peace lies with governments and the UN Security Council, business has a critical role to play.
• A company’s decisions – on investment and employment, on relations with local communities, on protection of the environment, and on inclusive recruitment and training – can help a country overcome conflict, reduce tensions and build peaceful societies, said the Deputy Secretary-General.