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

THURSDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2015

LIBERIA: NOW IS THE TIME TO FOCUS ON BUILDING UNIFIED AND RECONCILED NATION, SAYS PEACEKEEPING CHIEF

• This morning, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, briefed the Security Council on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
• He praised the Liberian people for their ability to overcome recent adversity, including civil wars and the recent Ebola outbreak.  Mr. Ladsous stressed that now is the time to focus on the important work of continuing to build a unified and reconciled nation with an accountable Government committed to addressing corruption.
• He said that the decision by Council members to set 30 June 2016 as the date for the full assumption of security responsibilities by national authorities is a remarkable demonstration of confidence that the country has overcome the instability and is moving in the direction of building a viable and fully independent nation.
• Mr. Ladsous added that the UN will continue to support the people and Government of Liberia in building that nation.

HEAD OF U.N. FIELD SUPPORT VISITS INDIA AND BANGLADESH

• The Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Atul Khare, is visiting India, where he is meeting with senior officials, including the Chief of Army Staff and the Foreign Minister.
• He expressed the Organizations' appreciation for India's significant contributions to date and urged the Indian Government to increase its contributions, in particular in terms of much needed peacekeeping enablers. All interlocutors reiterated their strong and continued commitment to the eradication of conduct and discipline violations and to taking quick action should a case occur.
• Mr. Khare will proceed in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 13 to 15 September, where he is expected to engage in discussions with senior government officials on both the challenges and opportunities related to UN peace operations.

U.N. CONDEMNS LATEST ATTACK ON HUMANITARIAN WORKERS IN WEST DARFUR

• The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Marta Ruedas, strongly condemned the fatal attack carried out Tuesday, 8 September, in West Darfur against aid workers from the State Ministry of Health and World Health Organization (WHO).
• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) says that the attack took place about 40 kilometers from Geneina in Kreinik area. Unidentified gunmen ambushed the vehicle, killing the driver and a security official. Two health ministry staff and a WHO doctor in the vehicle were unharmed. The assailants stole the vehicle and fled the scene.
• The UN Humanitarian Coordinator said that the incident demonstrates that insecurity continues to hamper the operations of humanitarian workers in Darfur. She added that over 2.5 million vulnerable people in Darfur need some form of humanitarian assistance, yet humanitarian workers are confronted by danger on a daily basis.
• Since January there have been 131 security incidents in Darfur that have affected humanitarian workers and peacekeepers, including abductions, armed attacks, car-jacking and other crimes.

MIDDLE EAST QUARTET ENVOYS UNDERLINE ROLE OF GULF STATES

• Envoys of the Middle East Quartet met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, 9 September, as part of their regular and direct outreach to Arab states.
• The Envoys from the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations met with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir and the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Dr. Abdul Latif Al Zayani, to discuss how to preserve the two-state solution, and how to create conditions that will enable the parties to return to meaningful negotiations with the goal of achieving a two-state solution.
• The Quartet Envoys underlined the essential role of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States in achieving a sustainable and just Israeli-Palestinian peace, and noted the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative for a comprehensive resolution to the conflict.

U.N. AGENCIES, SAUDI ARABIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON FUNDS FOR AID OPERATION IN YEMEN

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) signed an agreement in Riyadh today with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, for $5.8 million, $142.8 million and $8 million, respectively, in funding to support the aid operation in Yemen.
• This is part of the broader contribution from Saudi Arabia to the UN Flash Appeal for Yemen for $274 million.
• The fulfilment of these Saudi pledges brings the total funding of the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan to 35 per cent, or $556 million of the $1.6 billion requested.
• The remaining Saudi pledges to UN agencies are for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for $525,000 and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) for $2.5 million.
• Also, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Special Envoy for Yemen, was scheduled to brief the Security Council by video teleconference on Thursday afternoon.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. AGENCIES WARN OF GROWING FOOD INSECURITY

• UN aid agencies and their partners have warned that the number of people struggling to cope with food insecurity in Afghanistan has doubled in the last year.
• Today, more than 1.5 million people are considered severely food insecure.
• The agencies report that more and more people are resorting to extreme measures, including selling land and taking their children out of school to work, in order to cope with the problem.

FOOD PRICES REGISTER SHARPEST DROP SINCE 2008

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today that its Food Price Index registered its sharpest fall since December 2008.
• In August, the cereal price index went down 7 percent from July and down more than 15 percent from last year, with continued improvements in production prospects for 2015/16.
• Vegetable oil, dairy products and sugar prices are also down, while meat prices remain unchanged.

GABON BECOMES 117^TH MEMBER STATE TO PAY DUES IN FULL

• For the honour roll, Gabon has paid its dues in full becoming the 117th Member State to do so.

*** The guest at the Noon Briefing was Gordon Brown, the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, who briefed by telephone on ways to help Syrian refugee children.