HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
TUESDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2016
  
SECRETARY-GENERAL OBSERVES EFFORTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

• The Secretary-General is visiting the Galapagos Islands today, to observe measures implemented by the Government of Ecuador to ensure the environmental protection and sustainable development of the site, the first to be added to the World Heritage List in 1978.
• The Secretary-General also met with President Rafael Correa yesterday in Quito and told reporters afterwards that they had a positive and productive meeting in which they discussed Ecuador’s reconstruction following the recent earthquake. They also discussed Ecuador’s contribution to the United Nations.
• And in a separate meeting yesterday on the margins of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, Habitat III, the Secretary-General discussed the peace process in Colombia with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Secretary-General said he remained encouraged by the commitment to peace reiterated by all parties to the process. He also welcomed the upcoming negotiations starting on 27 October in Ecuador between the Colombian Government and the ELN.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that while humanitarians continue to reach the most affected areas along the southern peninsula, remote inland parts of the country are still difficult to access.
• OCHA reports that more than 175,000 people are living in 224 temporary shelters. An estimated 116,100 children have their education disrupted. Efforts are made to prioritize the clean-up and repair of lightly damaged or undamaged schools to enable children to return to class.
• Over 1.2 million people, including 500,000 children, need safe water and adequate sanitation to help prevent the spread of diseases, especially cholera. To meet these needs, water purification tablets were airlifted to provide safe drinking water to about 475,000 people and chlorine is being procured to help local authorities chlorinate piped water systems throughout the country. A newly established water plant is now providing 300,000 litres of potable water to 20,000 people per day in Jérémie.
• The United Nations is concerned by the poor donor response to the Flash Appeal launched on 10 October. The $120 million appeal which aims to assist 750,000 of the worst affected people over the next three months is critically under-funded with just over $15 million contributed so far.
• The UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) reports that peacekeepers provided security to four humanitarian convoys that departed Les Cayes earlier today. UN police and military continue to assist the Haitian National Police in securing humanitarian aid, including when it reaches its intended location. A UN military hospital is also now operational in Jérémie and available to provide medical assistance to the population in two locations in Grande Anse.
• Meanwhile, Dr. David Nabarro, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, continues his visit to Haiti. After returning from Jérémie yesterday, Dr. Nabarro engaged with members of the donor community. Today, he will hold a series of meetings on the cholera situation, including with Haiti’s Minister of Health. He will participate in a press conference in Port-au-Prince before leaving for New York.

• With the start of the operation to liberate Mosul from Da’esh terrorists, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) called on the Iraqi people to unite in support of their country’s armed forces and is urging that every step be taken to avoid civilian casualties.    
• The UN Mission said the liberation must be followed by genuine dialogue leading to an historic compromise among all components of Iraqi society in order to consolidate victory and ensure sustainable peace for the future.
• Reports on the first 36 hours of the military operations in Iraq indicate that military activities on the ground have taken place in less populated areas and are not leading to immediate large scale displacements of affected people.  No significant civilian displacement out of Mosul has been recorded so far.
• Serious concerns remain for the protection of civilians as hostilities intensify closer to and in densely populated and urban areas.
• Movement out of the city so far has been very limited and displacement is anticipated to become more significant in the coming week.  An estimated 200,000 people are anticipated to be displaced in the first weeks of the offensive. In a worst-case scenario, one million people could be displaced.
• Humanitarian partners will be doing everything possible to support people that may be displaced in context of the military operation. Preparations are focusing on identification, assessment and establishment of displacement sites to receive displaced families. Continuous monitoring of civilian displacement is taking place.

• The Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, announced a plan yesterday for the resumption of a comprehensive Cessation of Hostilities in Yemen. The Special Envoy has received assurances from all Yemeni parties of their recommitment to the Terms and Conditions of the Cessation of Hostilities of 10 April 2016, which will re-enter into force at 23:59 Yemen time on 19 October 2016, for an initial period of 72 hours, subject to renewal.
• The Special Envoy welcomes the restoration of the Cessation of Hostilities, which will spare the Yemeni people further bloodshed and will allow for the expanded delivery of humanitarian assistance. He calls upon all Yemeni parties, the region and the international community to encourage full respect for the Cessation of Hostilities and to ensure that it leads to a permanent and lasting end to the conflict. And he reminds all Yemeni parties of their obligation under the Cessation of Hostilities to allow free and unhindered access for humanitarian supplies and personnel to all parts of Yemen, in addition to a full and comprehensive halt to military activities of any kind.

• The Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, El-Ghassim Wane, was in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, yesterday. He officially presented the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (ONUCI)’s consolidated handover plan to Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan. This plan outlines all major activities undertaken by the peacekeeping mission since 2004 and lists the remaining activities, which will still need to be pursued by the UN partners and the government. The Mission’s mandate ends on 30 June 2017.
• Later this week, Mr. Wane will visit Sudan to attend a meeting of the Tripartite Mechanism between the UN, the African Union and the Government of Sudan in Khartoum on 20 October. The Tripartite Mechanism will discuss the status of the operations of the African Union/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the work of the trilateral Joint Working Group on the UNAMID exit strategy.

• The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released a special report focusing on this summer’s attack against a peaceful demonstration in Kabul.
• Suicide bombers attacked the gathering on 23 July 2016, leaving 85 civilians dead and more than 400 others injured. Almost all of the casualties were male and from the Hazara community, which is predominantly Shia Muslim. Da’esh claimed responsibility for the attack.
• The report stresses that the fundamental human rights of all Afghans must be respected, while also examining the planning and preparedness of Afghan Security Forces in the lead-up to the demonstration.

• Today at 3 pm, the Security Council will meet in closed consultations on Colombia.  Following that meeting, at approximately 5 pm, Jean Arnault, the head of the UN Mission in Colombia will be at the press stakeout.

• UNICEF informs with sadness and personal concern that former UNICEF staff member Baquer Namazi, who has been incarcerated in Iran since 22 February, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• Mr. Namazi served at UNICEF as Representative for Somalia, Kenya and Egypt, among other positions. He worked tirelessly on behalf of children in all those positions, often in highly difficult circumstances. He deserves a peaceful retirement and UNICEF appeals for his release on humanitarian grounds.

• The flags are not on display today outside the UN Headquarters as we pay tribute to the late King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej.

• In response to a question asked last week, the Spokesman confirmed that the allegation of a letter from the D-2s of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights protesting about the appointment of Andrew Gilmour as the new Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights on the grounds that the post wasn’t advertised is completely false.
• He also confirmed that the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, only has one nationality, which is Australian.

• Austria and Romania have become the 130th and 131st UN Member States to pay their regular budget dues in full.