Noon briefing of 6 September 2016

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

TUESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2016

SECRETARY-GENERAL BEGINS VISIT TO LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

• The Secretary-General arrived in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic today for the ASEAN Summit. Upon arrival, he visited a hospital supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime as well as the World Health Organization, and met with some patients being treated for their addiction.
• He later met with the Prime Minister of Thailand with whom he discussed the political and security situation in Thailand, and Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, with whom he discussed climate change and the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in Cambodia.
• Over the weekend, the Secretary-General attended the G20 Summit in China. Upon arrival, he received the instruments to join the Paris Agreement from China and the United States. The Secretary-General noted that with China and the United States making this historic step we now have 26 parties to the Framework Convention and 39 per cent of global greenhouse emissions accounted for, which means we just need another 29 Parties and 16 more per cent of global emissions to bring this Paris Agreement into force. The Secretary-General urged all leaders from G20 countries to show their leadership by acceleration of their domestic ratification processes so we can turn the aspirations of Paris into the transformative action the world so urgently needs on climate.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES NEED TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT’

• The Deputy Secretary-General spoke this morning at an interactive dialogue with Member States on the responsibility to protect. He noted that while much has been accomplished in the last decade, we continue to witness unconscionable brutality against civilians around the world.
• In order to overcome the barriers of the implementation of the responsibility to protect, Jan Eliasson stressed the need to demonstrate that we are serious about prevention. He said we all know that the window of opportunity is wider at the early stage of a crisis. Yet, we continue to respond to situations often only when this window starts to close. The protection of human lives must not be seen to be in contradiction to national interests, he stressed.
• The Deputy Secretary-General also underscored the need to be more effective in preventing the recurrence of atrocity crimes. We need to invest in sustainable peace, he said, with international assistance tailored to strengthen the resilience of States and their capacity to fulfil their responsibility to protect.

GABON: SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR RESTRAINT FOLLOWING PRESIDENTIAL POLLS

• From China, the Secretary-General spoke several times by phone to President Ali Bongo and Jean Ping, presidential candidate of the Démocratie Nouvelle party. He reiterated his call to President Bongo to impress upon the Government the need to show restraint and urged Mr. Ping to issue a clear message to his followers, calling on them to refrain from any acts of violence in the interest of the country and of national unity. The Secretary-General stressed the importance to employ exclusively peaceful and legal means to seek redress in all disputes related to the outcome of the presidential elections.
• In the margins of the G20 Summit, he discussed the situation in Gabon with President Idriss Déby, the President of Chad and current Chairperson of the African Union, welcoming the engagement of the African Union in defusing tensions in the country and facilitating a peaceful resolution to the current crisis.
• On the ground, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Central Africa, Abdoulaye Bathily, continued his shuttle diplomacy among all relevant actors. Following the contested elections, Mr. Bathily continues to encourage the opposition to pursue constitutional means to deal with any grievances, including filing an appeal with the Constitutional Court. He recalls that the deadline to do so is 7 September. In this regard, he has also met with the President of the Constitutional Court.
• Mr. Bathily further spoke with the Foreign Minister of Chad, the current African Union (AU) Chair, to discuss the role of the African Union. Discussions focused on the dispatch of an AU-led high-level mission to Libreville that would also include representatives of the AU Commission and the UN.

U.N. YEMEN ENVOY VISITS OMAN, SAUDI ARABIA

• This past Saturday, the Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, travelled to Muscat, where he met with the Omani Foreign Minister and the heads of the Ansarallah-General People's Congress delegation.
  Today, he arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and met with Yemeni President Mansour Hadi and former Vice President Bahah.
• He briefed on the outcomes of the Jeddah meetings and underscored the need to concentrate the efforts of the Yemeni political leaders to protect their country from the disastrous effects of a prolonged crisis.
• The Special Envoy will hold discussions in Riyadh and Jeddah with several Saudi and international interlocutors relevant to the Yemeni file and will meet with the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Dr. Abdellatif Al-Zayyani.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME PROVIDES FOOD FOR MORE THAN 30,000 BESIEGED PEOPLE NEAR IRAQ’S MOSUL

• The World Food Programme (WFP) distributed today desperately needed food for more than 30,000 people in and around the northern Iraqi town of Qayyarah, which is about 60 kilometres south of Mosul. The town was under siege and inaccessible over the last two years.
• Through its local partners Muslim Aid and Women Empowerment Organization, WFP distributed emergency food rations containing ready-to-eat foods such as dates, beans, canned foods, as well as monthly food rations containing rice, lentils, wheat flour, bulgur, beans and vegetable oil, over the past week.
• These rations will provide enough food for more than 30,000 people for a full month. WFP also distributed food to almost 2,000 displaced people living in camps and with host families surrounding the town.

IRAN: U.N.I.C.E.F. HEAD VOICES DEEP CONCERN OVER DETENTION OF STAFF MEMBER

• The Executive Director of UNICEF, Anthony Lake, issued a statement today expressing his deep concern at the continuing detention of a former staff member, Baquer Namazi.
• Mr. Lake said that it had now been over six months since Mr. Namazi was detained in Iran. Already on 3 March, he had expressed UNICEF’s concern at his health and well-being and that concern has grown ever since.
• Mr. Namazi served at UNICEF’s as Representative for Somalia, Kenya and Egypt, among other positions and he worked tirelessly on behalf of the children in all those positions, often in highly difficult circumstances. He deserves a peaceful retirement, Mr. Lake said. Mr. Lake added that UNICEF does not engage in politics and he hopes that Mr. Namazi will be treated as the humanitarian that he is, and that a humane perspective can be brought to his plight.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST POPULISM IN EUROPE, U.S., WARNS OF POTENTIAL VIOLENCE

• Speaking in The Hague yesterday, the High Commissioner for Human Rights cautioned against populism and demagoguery in Europe and the United States which he said has led to the “banalization of bigotry” and an atmosphere thick with hate which could descend into violence.
• The High Commissioner noted the commonalities in tactics used between those such as Geert Wilders, Donald Trump, Viktor Orban and Da’esh.
• Both, the High Commissioner said, use half-truths and oversimplification in their modes of communications, with both sides benefitting from each other, as neither would expand in influence without the others’ actions.
• He added that history has perhaps taught demagogues how effectively xenophobia and bigotry can be weaponized, adding that communities will barricade themselves into fearful, hostile camps which could lead to colossal violence.
• Ultimately, he said, it is the law that will safeguard our societies and we must guard it passionately and be guided by it.
• The High Commissioner was speaking in Holland at a Peace and Justice Security Foundation event.

NEW U.N.E.S.C.O. REPORT STRESSES NEED FOR EDUCATION CHANGE TO MEET DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

• In a report issued today, UNESCO said that education needs to change fundamentally to meet global development goals. The new Global Education Monitoring report by UNESCO shows the potential for education to drive progress towards global goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• It also highlights the urgent need for greater headway in education. On the current trajectory, the world will achieve universal primary education in 2042 and universal upper secondary education in 2084.

UGANDA BECOMES 105^TH U.N. MEMBER STATE TO PAY DUES IN FULL

• Uganda has become the 105^th UN Member State to pay its United Nations dues in full.

HEAD OF U.N. AGRICULTURAL AGENCY NAMED WINNER OF AFRICA FOOD PRIZE

• The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, was named today as the recipient of the inaugural Africa Food Prize at the African Green Revolution Forum taking place in Nairobi this week. The Prize honours Nwanze for his leadership and advocacy in putting Africa´s smallholder farmers at the center of the global agricultural agenda, including reorienting IFAD´s work to make small-scale farming a viable business, and expanding IFAD's presence in developing countries to increase the organization's effectiveness. The Prize also acknowledges Nwanze´s courage in reminding African leaders to go beyond promising development and change to delivering it.