HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
TUESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2016
 
 
U.N. MISSION IN COLOMBIA HAILS ANNOUNCEMENT OF TALKS BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND REBEL GROUP

• The UN Mission in Colombia hailed the announcement of the beginning of the public phase of negotiations between the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) as a positive sign of a collective hope for peace.
• Yesterday in Bogotá, leaders of the UN Mission and the UN System in Colombia reiterated their support for the ceasefire and the peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP).
• The Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the UN Mission in Colombia, Jean Arnault, said in a press conference that Colombian society is facing the uncertainties resulting from the 2 October plebiscite with maturity.

• The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports sustained small arms fire as well as mortar explosions and tank fire to the north west and south west of Leer town on Sunday and Monday. The Mission also received reports of heavy fighting between Government and Opposition forces in Leer Country over the weekend.
• The peacekeeping mission remains very concerned by the fighting between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Opposition, which continues to impact the already dire humanitarian situation in the country. The Mission calls on both sides to respect the July ceasefire agreed to by the parties and reiterates the need for them to fully implement the peace agreement.

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to appeal to the international community to respond generously to the appeal for hurricane assistance and immediately to ensure assistance gets to the people who need it most.
• The World Food Programme distributed emergency rations necessary to feed a family for a month to 1,000 people in Les Cayes, as well as food rations to 2,500 people in Jeremie.
• Preliminary results indicate almost 100 percent of crops are destroyed in the Grand-Anse department, and more than half the livestock killed.
• From Geneva, the World Health Organization announced its decision to deploy another 1 million doses of cholera vaccines.
• And UNICEF said that at least 300 schools in Haiti had been completely or partially damaged. As a direct consequence, 100,000 children are currently not going to school. 

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Maman Sambo Sidikou, briefed the Security Council this morning, warning that the country has entered a period of extreme risk to its stability.
• He noted that the electoral crisis has become a constitutional crisis, with deepening political polarization and no immediate resolution in sight. The scope of the threats dramatically outstrips the Mission’s capabilities, he warned.
• Mr. Sidikou also highlighted that the security situation in eastern DRC remains very worrying, characterized by severe protection of civilians risks to many communities.
• The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) has continued to carry out military operations against armed groups, based on solid cooperation between the Force and the Congolese army. The challenge ahead will now be to consolidate these gains, and assist the national forces in building up their control in the area.

• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today that a major health campaign is underway in the Lake Chad Basin area to vaccinate over 41 million children against polio. The re-emergence of the disease after two years with no recorded cases is a huge concern in an area that was already in crisis. Nearly 39,000 health workers are deployed in the region to deliver the oral polio vaccine in areas at high-risk for the virus. So far, approximately 30 million children have been vaccinated.
• In the Lake Chad Basin, UNICEF’s response remains hampered by continued insecurity and by a lack of funding.  Out of the US$158 million needed for the emergency response in the region, only US$50.4 million have so far been received.

• The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, is in Bangkok today where he took part in a meeting of representatives of aid agencies and militaries on improving responses to natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region.
• National militaries are often the first responders in disasters, and in larger emergencies, these efforts can be strengthened by regional and international groups, including foreign militaries.
• As we mentioned yesterday, from Thailand, Mr. O’Brien will travel to Myanmar.

• In a new report issued today, the World Health Organization urges global action to curtail consumption and the health impacts of sugary drinks.
• The report says that taxing sugary drinks to lead to at least a 20% increase in their retail price can lower consumption and reduce obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay.
• Worldwide prevalence of obesity more than doubled between 1980 and 2014, with 11% of men and 15% of women -- that represents more than half a billion adults -- being classified as obese.

• On his message marking this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, the Secretary-General stresses that the wellbeing, human rights and empowerment of the world’s 1.1 billion girls are central to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
• He notes that investing in girls is both the right thing to do, and the smart thing to do. It has a powerful ripple effect across all areas of development, and reaches forward to future generations.
• The Secretary-General says that we need to make sure that our initiatives are reaching all girls: girls in extreme poverty; girls in isolated rural areas; girls living with disabilities; girls in indigenous communities; girls who are refugees or displaced within their own countries.

• Yesterday, the Spokesman mentioned phone conversations that the Secretary-General had with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and the leader of the FARC-EP, Timoleon Jiménez. He clarified that the phone call to President Santos happened on Saturday, while the call to Mr. Jiménez took place on Monday.

• Tomorrow, immediately after the Noon Briefing, in the context of Africa Week 2016, there will be a briefing by Maged Abdelaziz, the UN Special Adviser on Africa; Dr. Mayaki, the CEO of NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency; Mr. Mwencha the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission; Professor Maloka, the CEO of the African Peer Review Mechanism Secretariat; and Abdalla Hamdok, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa.