HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
TUESDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2016
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO AUSTRIA

• The Secretary-General is traveling this evening to Vienna, where he will bid farewell to UN staff there and stress the importance of their work in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.
• He will meet with Austrian officials including Chancellor Christian Kern and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, as well as the President-elect, Alexander Van der Bellen.
• The Secretary-General will also visit a restaurant where refugees work together with locals to serve fusion cuisine, and he will speak at the Anti-Corruption Award Ceremony, which will be attended by His Highness, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar.
• The Secretary-General will arrive back in New York on Friday evening.

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Martin Kobler, briefed the Security Council today. As the first anniversary of the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement approaches, he said that people in Libya are rightly frustrated at the slow pace of progress.
• Mr. Kobler stressed the need to tackle outstanding political questions, noting a path forward should consist of inclusive, peaceful dialogue, and never military escalation. The only alternative to the Libyan Political Agreement is chaos, he said.
• He further noted that while the fight against terrorism produced results, the gains are not irreversible. The economic recovery of Sirte and Benghazi must therefore be a matter of priority.
• He added that the issue of human rights and the rule of law, including the situation of migrants, must be more effectively and comprehensively addressed. “Libya is a human marketplace. It is a shame”, he told Council members.

• In response to a question on the Board of Inquiry looking into the attack on a humanitarian convoy in Urum al-Kubra in Syria, the Spokesman said that last week the Government finally approved some members of the Board of Inquiry to visit Damascus. Some Board members travelled there over the weekend to meet with Government officials.
• The Government has also approved them to visit Aleppo to meet with other officials, but not to visit the site of the 19 September attack on the aid convoy.
• The Board of Inquiry is working on a visit to Aleppo. The Board is expected to submit its report later this month.

• The United Nations is extremely concerned by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged neighbourhood of Al-Wa'er in Homs as a result of sporadic fighting since mid-November. Dozens of people have reportedly been killed and a health centre was damaged. Some 50,000 people remain besieged in Al-Wa’er. Recently, administrative and security procedures on the delivery of aid have also increased, leading to a reported deterioration of conditions on the ground. Al-Wa’er was last reached with humanitarian assistance through inter-agency convoys on 26 October.  The UN stands ready to provide immediate assistance through inter-agency convoys to people in need, in line with the December plan.
• The United Nations is also very concerned about the safety and security of civilians in the four besieged towns of Madaya and Zabadani in rural Damascus and Foah and Kafraya in Idleb.  Credible reports indicated the death of four people and injury of twenty in Madaya following attacks on the town. There have also been reports of people killed and injured in Foah and Kafraya, as well reports that the only hospital in Foah became inoperable as a result of hundreds of rockets shelled at both locations.
• Our latest figures are that an estimated 31,500 people from east Aleppo remain displaced within the entire city of Aleppo over the past six days.  The UN and partners continue to respond to the needs of the newly displaced in all areas they can access and are increasing protection services in the shelter facilities currently being used.  We are also increasing emergency preparedness in the event of further displacement, with food and current supplies available in west Aleppo, with more supplies that could be brought in quickly from Damascus, Homs, and Tartous.

• Current internal displacement in the context of the Mosul offensive now exceeds 82,000 people. The majority of this week's movement has come from Mosul city, with most families still moving eastwards towards the camps in the Hasansham area.
• Clean drinking water, trauma care for civilian casualties and food shortages remain the priority humanitarian needs in newly-retaken areas, including eastern Mosul city. Safe drinking water is being provided to these communities through water trucking, and repair of water treatment plants is planned to ensure a sustainable supply of potable water in the longer term.
• Health care centres near eastern Mosul are being supported with additional trauma care supplies and expertise.
• Since 17 October, 239,000 people have received emergency response packages containing food, water and hygiene items, while 224,000 people have received food rations to last one month. Given the onset of winter, some 164,000 people have received basic household items and winterization kits, including blankets and thermal mats.

• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said today that the so-called “Legalization bill” in Israel has the objective of protecting illegal settlements and outposts built on private Palestinian property in the West Bank.
• He said that, if adopted, the bill will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel, across the occupied West Bank and will greatly diminish the prospect of Arab-Israeli peace.
• Mr. Mladenov encouraged Israeli legislators to reconsider this move.  He reiterated that all settlement activities are illegal under international law and run counter to the Middle East Quartet position that settlements are one of the main obstacles to peace.

• The World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to make new cuts in food rations for refugees in Kenya amid a severe funding shortage. WFP says it is rapidly running out of resources to feed some 434,000 refugees living in Kenya’s Dadaab and Kakuma camps and in the new Kalobeyei settlement.
• In an effort to stretch food supplies, WFP was forced to cut the amount of food rations given to refugees in half.  Yet, even with that reduction, supplies are expected to last only until the end of February unless WFP receives new funding quickly.
• Annalisa Conte, WFP’s Representative and Country Director for Kenya says about $13.7 million is needed to cover the food and cash needs for the refugees between now and April.