Noon briefing of 6 April 2016

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2016

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO RECEIVE HONORARY DOCTORATE FROM LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY

• The Secretary-General arrived in Los Angeles and spoke at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council yesterday. The Secretary-General gave the audience an overview of what the United Nations is doing to meet today’s global challenges, from humanitarian crises to climate change to sustainable development.
• He stressed that in his talks with world leaders he has encouraged them to show greater solidarity to refugees -- not just through relief, but through resettlement and other legal pathways. He said that, when managed properly, accepting refugees is a win for everyone.
• The Secretary-General will receive an honorary doctorate from Loyola Marymount University today. He also intends to meet and talk to a group of students from the University’s Asian and Pacific Studies Programme.
• In the evening, the Secretary-General will travel by road to Santa Barbara to attend the ECO:nomics Summit, which brings together a diverse group of global CEOs, top entrepreneurs, environmental experts and policy makers. The conference is being organized by the senior editors of the Wall Street Journal.

SPORT IS A DRIVING FORCE FOR POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL ON INTERNATIONAL DAY

• In his message for International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the Secretary-General said that Sport is a unique and powerful tool for promoting dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of every member of the human family. It is a driving force for positive social change.
• The Secretary-General urged Governments, organizations, businesses, and all actors in society to harness the values and power of sport to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

POLITICAL SOLUTION REMAINS ONLY VIABLE OPTION IN DARFUR – HEAD OF U.N. PEACEKEEPING TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL

• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, briefed the Security Council today on the situation in Darfur.
• He called on the members of the Council to impress on all parties to the conflict in Darfur that a political solution remains the only viable option.
• Mr. Ladsous also reiterated the Secretary-General’s call to the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid to immediately cease hostilities in Jebel Marra, and commit to peaceful negotiations, without preconditions.
• He said that the escalation of fighting in Jebel Marra, has led to large-scale displacement, especially from mid-January to late March – with humanitarian organizations estimating that at least 138,000 people from Jebel Marra had been newly displaced as at 31 March.
• He added that due to the Government9;s access restrictions, the exact number of civilian casualties from the recent wave of fighting could not yet be ascertained, and that these had prevented the African Union – United Nations in Darfur (UNAMID) and humanitarian actors from responding to the protection and humanitarian needs of the displaced.
• Mr. Ladsous said that with the new outbreak of fighting in Jebel Marra, the Mission focused its efforts on ensuring the protection of the civilian and displaced populations.
• He noted that UNAMID had established protective areas near displacement sites, reinforced its military and police presence and intensified day-and-night patrols in order to maintain security and law and order near these areas.

U.N. OFFICIAL IN LIBYA CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO DEATHS OF MIGRANTS IN DETENTION CENTRE

• The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Ali Al-Za’tari, has expressed concern over the loss of life of four migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa in a detention centre in al-Zawiya. He has called for an independent, impartial and full investigation into their deaths.
• According to the UN Support Mission Libya (UNSMIL), the four detainees sustained fatal gunshot wounds and 20 more were injured during and in the aftermath of an apparent escape attempt from the detention centre, where conditions are reportedly inhumane, with severe overcrowding, shortages of food and other basic necessities, including medical care.

YEMEN: U.N. ENVOY CONCLUDES VISIT TO EUROPEAN UNION IN BRUSSELS

• The Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, concluded a two-day visit to Brussels yesterday, where he met with senior officials from the European Union and the Government of Belgium.
• At the end of his visit, the Special Envoy issued a statement commending the work of the European Union. He added that he is positive that the political will of the Yemeni parties, supported by the international community, will enable a political solution and a way out of the present conflict in Yemen.

PROSECUTOR FOR CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL APPEALS VOJISLAV SEŠEJI TRIAL JUDGEMENT

• The prosecutor of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) in Hague Serge Brammertz announced his decision to appeal the trial judgement against the Serbian politician Vojislav Šešelj.
• Mr. Šešelj was acquitted by the International Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of all charges including charges of crimes against humanity on 31 March.
• “Given the far reaching nature of the errors we have identified in the Majority Judgement, we underscore for the victims of the crimes that the forthcoming appeal is of utmost priority for this Office. We consider there has been a fundamental failure by the Majority to perform its judicial function” said Mr. Brammertz in a statement.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY FUNDS SUPPORT FOR DISPLACED COMMUNITY IN UKRAINE’S SECOND LARGEST CITY

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that it has provided 5 million Ukrainian hryvna, which is approximately US$193,000, to support internally displaced people in the region of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
• The money is supporting a regional project for community based initiatives, new vocational training, social counselling, internet services at the community centres run by UNHCR partner NGO “Station Kharkiv.”

DESPITE IMPACT, CLIMATE CHANGE FAILS TO MAKE NEWS HEADLINES, WARNS U.N. AGENCY

• Even as 60 million people around the world face severe hunger because of El Niño and millions more because of climate change, top European and American media outlets are neglecting to cover the issues as a top news item, says a new research report funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today.
• The report, “The Untold Story: Climate change sinks below the headlines” provides an analysis of the depth of media reporting around climate change in two distinct periods: two months before the 21^st session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris, and two months after.
• Specifically, it explores whether issues connecting climate change, food security, agriculture and migration made headlines, and if so, how much prominence these stories were given.

AHEAD OF WORLD HEALTH DAY, NEW U.N. REPORT URGES ACTION ON DIABETES

• Ahead of World Health Day tomorrow, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a call for action on diabetes.
• According to WHO’s first “Global report on diabetes”, 422 million adults live with diabetes, mainly in developing countries; a number that has almost quadrupled since 1980, driven by a rise in overweight and obese people.
• Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director General, stressed that if we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain.
• She added that even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes.

U.N. TO HOST ONE OF THE LARGEST OPEN SOURCE TECHNOLOGY EVENTS IN THE WORLD

• The United Nations’ Chief Information Technology Officer, Atefeh Riazi, announced today that in July the organization will host what is expected to be among the largest open source technology events in the world.
• Called "Open Camps @ UN 2016", this event will bring together as many as 6,000 developers from open source communities, private sector technology companies, academic institutions and Member States to collaborate on open source technology solutions that support the Organization’s mission.