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

WEDNESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2015

NIGERIA: SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS BOMB ATTACK IN YOLA

• In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General condemned the bomb attack on 17 November in the city of Yola, in the north-eastern state of Adamawa, Nigeria, which resulted in dozens dead and scores injured.
• He extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Government and people of Nigeria, and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
• The Secretary-General reiterated that no political or ideological objective whatsoever justifies the loss of life and terror to which civilians are being subjected.
• He also reiterated the UN’s support to the Nigerian government in its fight against terrorism, which - to be effective - should also be grounded in international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law.

FRANCE: SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS PRESIDENT HOLLANDE TO REITERATE HIS CONDEMNATION OF ATTACKS IN PARIS

• The Secretary-General called the President of France, François Hollande, this morning, to present his condolences to the families of the victims of the 13 November terrorist attacks in Paris, as well as to the Government and people of France. He reiterated his condemnation of these attacks.
• The Secretary-General also commended France’s determination and active role in mobilising the international community to counter the grave threat of international terrorism.
• He underlined that many refugees were themselves fleeing extremism and terrorism and stressed the importance for France and Europe to continue to treat refugees and migrants with compassion and to respect their rights. 

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ELECTION OF NEW U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES

• The Secretary-General welcomed today’s action by the General Assembly to elect Filippo Grandi of Italy as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
• Mr. Grandi will succeed António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres of Portugal, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his utmost gratitude for his tireless efforts and dedication in protecting refugees, displaced persons and stateless people and for bringing the plight of the most vulnerable, and their pursuit of a dignified existence, into the centre of the UN agenda.
• Mr. Grandi was most recently Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from 2010 to 2014 and its Deputy Commissioner-General from 2005 until 2010.
• Having been engaged in international cooperation for over 30 years, Mr. Grandi brings vast experience to his new position from his work in refugee and humanitarian operations and policies, addressing human consequences of major conflicts, encompassing protection, emergency management, donor relations and political affairs.
• He served as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and has a long-standing career with UNHCR, notably as Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and Chief of Staff in the High Commissioner’s Executive Office at Headquarters.
• His vast UNHCR field experience includes positions in Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq, having led emergency operations in Kenya, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen.

SECERTARY-GENERAL STRESSES IMPACT OF WATER AT U.N. SPECIAL THEMATIC SESSION

• The Secretary-General today spoke at the Second UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters, ahead of World Toilet Day which will be observed tomorrow.
• Addressing Member States, the Secretary-General stressed that water is the source of life, health and livelihoods across the world. He added that water can also devastate entire cities, rich or poor.
• Today, floods, droughts and windstorms account for almost 90 per cent of the 1,000 most disastrous events since 1990. They have caused more than $1 trillion in damages and affected more than 4 billion people.
• The focus of this year's observance of World Toilet Day will be on the vicious cycle connecting poor sanitation and malnutrition.
• Sanitation was the most-missed target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the Secretary-General calls for an end to open defecation by 2025.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO MALAYSIA, MALTA AND FRANCE

• The Secretary-General will be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday, 22 November, where he will take part in the 7th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-UN Summit. He is expected to meet with leaders in the region, including Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak.
• The Secretary-General will also attend the signing ceremony of the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Community and the Declaration on ASEAN 2015. He will return to New York on Monday, 23 November.
• On Thursday, 26 November, the Secretary-General will leave for Malta, which is hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Governments’ meeting and the Secretary-General has been invited to participate in a special session on climate change.
• From Malta, he will travel to Paris on Saturday, 28 November, for the opening of the Climate Conference, also known as COP21.
• In response to questions on a possible trip by the Secretary-General to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General has repeatedly stated his willingness to play a constructive role, including travelling to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in an effort to work for peace and stability, as well as to promote dialogue in the Korean Peninsula.
• He added for this purpose, discussions are continuing and that unless a trip announcement is made by the Spokesman, the rest is pure speculation.

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES FULL DISCLOSE OF INFORMATION RELATING TO PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED DAG HAMMARSKJOLD

• The Secretary-General on 2 July 2015 transmitted to the President of the General Assembly the report of the Independent Panel of Experts regarding the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic deaths of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him.
• The report of the Panel and its appendices were issued in General Assembly document A/70/132 and are available to all Member States and to the public at large.
• The Secretary-General is grateful to Member States for their cooperation thus far. However, some of the Panel’s requests for information have not been conclusively answered.
• There is a possibility that unreleased material relating to the crash of flight SE-BDY on the night between 17 and 18 September 1961 may still be available. Therefore, the Secretary-General again urges all Member States to disclose, declassify or otherwise make available all information they may have in their possession related to the circumstances and conditions of the crash.
• The Secretary-General welcomes the General Assembly’s upcoming consideration of a resolution on the issue on 19 November. It underlines the importance of addressing the outcome of the Panel’s report.
• The Secretary-General reaffirms that he is personally invested in fulfilling our duty to the distinguished former Secretary-General and those who accompanied him, to endeavour to establish the facts after so many years, and will inform the Assembly on any further progress made before the end of its seventieth session.

U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY DISCUSSES SITUATION IN YEMEN WITH IRANIAN LEADERS

• The Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, visited Tehran today, where he met with the Iranian Foreign Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister. The Special Envoy and his interlocutors reiterated their support for a political solution to the conflict in Yemen.
• Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed is now heading back to Muscat to continue discussions with the Houthis on arrangements for talks. He will then travel to Riyadh to meet with the Yemeni Government delegation on the same issue.
• The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, told reporters by a videoconference from Sana’a that the collapse of basic services in Yemen continues to accelerate.
• He estimated that more than 14 million people lack sufficient access to healthcare; three million children and pregnant or lactating women require malnutrition treatment or preventive services; and 1.8 million children have been out of school since mid-March.
• He said that an estimated 21.2 million people – a staggering 82 per cent of the population – currently require some kind of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs or protect their fundamental rights.
• The Humanitarian Coordinator said that more than 32,000 casualties have resulted from the ongoing conflict in Yemen since 26 March, of whom 5,700 were killed - including 830 women and children. In the same period, more than 8,800 human rights violations have been verified.

RECENT MILITARY OPERATIONS DISPLACE OVER 4,000 PEOPLE IN IRAQ, WARN U.N. AND HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that recent military operations in and near Iraq’s Sinjar District have displaced over 4,000 people between 12-17 November. Preliminary information indicates that people had to flee rapidly and have no belongings.
• Of those, approximately 1,000 people have reached Dahuk Governorate. Humanitarian groups have begun to assess their needs and provide emergency assistance, including food and medical aid. Security in areas directly affected by the military operation remains fluid.
• Humanitarian officials continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect international law and ensure the protection of civilians and property during and after military operations.

U.N. OFFICIAL HIGHLIGHTS SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS CHALLENGES IN SOMALIA

• The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonovic, concluded his five-day visit to Somalia, calling on the country’s international partners to increase their support to the Federal Government in its efforts to advance human righs.
• Condemning the numerous abuses committed by Al Shabaab, Mr. Šimonovic said that Somalia still faces a series of serious human rights challenges. He called on the Government and all security forces operating in Somalia, including the Somali National Army, African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and other foreign forces to take effective measures to prevent and address violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
• He stressed that overcoming terrorism cannot solely be achieved through military means, adding that there is a need to address the root causes of terrorism, including poverty, corruption, lack of good governance, unemployment, social exclusion and marginalization.

U.N. AGENCY CONCERNED OVER VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN IN BURUNDI

• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today it is deeply concerned about the impact on children from both violence and increasing poverty and vulnerability in Burundi.
• Children risk bearing the brunt of an escalation in violence in Burundi, UNICEF warned, noting that the crisis has already left 17 children dead and many more injured.
• Since the crisis began in April, child rights violations have multiplied, with children being caught up in violent clashes and raids, schools being hit by grenade blasts and more than 100 children being arbitrarily detained, at times for long periods alongside adult prisoners.

ETHIOPIA: U.N. FOOD PROGRAMME REACHES OVER 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE, WITH TIMELY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM KEY DONORS

• The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that, due to timely contributions from key donors, it is able to continue food distributions for more than 1.5 million people in the Somali region of Ethiopia.
• It will also be able to scale up nutrition help to more than 700,000 children and nursing mothers in the most drought-affected areas.
• WFP added that a dramatic increase in the number of people in need of relief assistance - from 2.5 million at the beginning of the year to 8.2 million in October - led to a serious funding gap.
• WFP was concerned that it would have to entirely stop distributions for people affected by the drought at the end of November but such a situation was avoided, due to the contributions from Canada, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
• The United States Agency for International Development has also confirmed an in-kind contribution.

UKRAINE: THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS AND STUDENTS IN DONETSK AND LUHANSK RECEIVE FOOD AID

• The World Food Programme (WFP), together with a partner organization, today started distributing food to some 7,000 patients in hospitals and students in schools in conflict-affected areas in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
• WFP says that the conflict has resulted in the shelling of residential areas, leading to the destruction of places such as hospitals and schools.
• By providing food to these institutions, WFP wants to ensure that vulnerable people have access to sufficient nutritious food to stay healthy.
• Under its ongoing emergency operation launched last November, WFP plans to provide assistance to 575,000 people by the end of 2015.
• In partnership with NGOs, WFP has already provided food assistance to more than 250,000 of the most vulnerable people in Donetsk and Luhansk.

NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS EFFECTIVE AND READY-MADE PORTFOLIO FOR CLIMATE ACTION

• A new UN report issued today spotlights the wealth of opportunities that exist to limit greenhouse gas emissions while increasing ambitions to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
• The report, put together at the request of governments, provides a straightforward, go-to-reference to assist ministers, advisors and policymakers pursuing climate actions now and over the years and decades to come.
• The Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres, said that the remarkable reality revealed in the report is that the very policies that deal most effectively with climate change also offer a ready-made portfolio of actions that can assist the Sustainable Development Goals and achieve everyone’s ultimate aim of a prosperous, stable and environmentally healthy world for all.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENT

• At 6:30 p.m. in Conference Room 1 today, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng; Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of the Park Avenue Synagogue; Menachem Rosensaft, General Counsel of the World Jewish Congress; as well as genocide survivors will discuss “Faith, Identity and the Promotion of Peace in the Aftermath of Genocide.”

**The guest at the noon briefing was the UN Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro.**