HIGHLIGHTS OF THE U.N. SYSTEM
FRIDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2016
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REMARKS AT PRESS CONFERENCE

It is a great pleasure to see you this morning. Usually we gather at this time around this year but now we meet at the end of my term.
Believe it or not, I will miss these exchanges. We have spent much time together in this room, in the halls of this building and around the world over the last ten years.  You are part of the UN family. And I thank you for your strong commitment and working together, working for the United Nations.
More than that, you have an important job to do – informing the world about our work -- when we make progress and when we fall short.  I deeply believe in your mission.  I have been saying that you are connecting the world, connector between the United Nations and the people of the world. And at a time when Governments across the world are harassing journalists and cracking down on press freedom, I have worked hard to be your ally and defender.  The fight for freedom of the press is everybody’s fight.
I will be brief today to allow maximum time for questions.  Let me make just three points.
First, the carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience. 
Aleppo is now a synonym for hell.
As I told the Security Council three days ago, we have collectively failed the people of Syria.  Peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen.
Second, I am closely following the deteriorating situation in South Sudan.
This week marks the third anniversary of the fighting.  The country’s leaders have betrayed their people’s trust, and squandered a peace agreement.  Tens of thousands lie dead.
Most immediately, my Special Adviser Mr. Adama Dieng, has warned of the risk of genocide.  We continue to push for access for lifesaving relief.  And I urge the Security Council to take more concerted action, including through punitive measures. 
Third, we will continue to support the global momentum behind the Paris Agreement on climate change. 
Climate action means jobs, growth, cleaner air and better health.  Leaders from across the globe and on every front understand this -- from Fortune 500 CEOs to Governors and Mayors. 
The Paris Agreement on climate change is a precious achievement that we must support and nurture.  There is no turning back.
I will undertake one last trip during my final days in office -- to speak at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. 
One can draw a straight line from the principles that President Lincoln defended to those that represent the best spirit of the United States and that animate the United Nations.  Lincoln was a heroic force for equality, integration and reconciliation; and desperately, we need that spirit today.
This has been a decade of unceasing test.  But I have also seen collective action change millions of lives for the better. 
Difficult as it may sometimes be, international cooperation remains the path to a more peaceful and prosperous world. 
I will continue to spare no effort to appeal to world leaders, long-standing or newly minted, to recognize and embrace that preeminent 21st-century fact.
Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to our host country and host city.
Yesterday in Washington D.C., I thanked President Obama, Vice-President Biden and National Security Adviser Rice for their strong support over the years.  We all stressed the centrality of close, productive ties between the United States and the United Nations.
I have also recently met with Mayor de Blasio of New York and Governor Christie of New Jersey, and will speak soon to Governor Cuomo of New York.  The United Nations continues to draw strength from its home here in the New York metropolitan area.
Thank you again for your friendship over the past decade.  And I wish you continued good success, and work and engage more closely with the UN, so that you will always deliver and connect the world with the United Nations. And thank you very much.
Now, let me say one last thing, I am happy to take your questions. Thank you.

THOUSANDS EVACUATED FROM ALEPPO WITH U.N. HELP

• In an operation that started on Thursday and continued into Friday morning, thousands of people were evacuated from Aleppo, including 194 patients who were evacuated with assistance from the Syria Arab Red Crescent, ICRC and the UN. They were brought to hospitals in Idlib, western rural Aleppo and to Turkey, with the support of humanitarian health partners in Gaziantep.
• The evacuation of wounded and civilians from the besieged enclave of eastern Aleppo city was unfortunately suspended by the Syrian authorities earlier on Friday.
• The UN urged the parties to take all necessary measures to allow safe resumption of the evacuations. It is estimated that a high number of vulnerable people, including wounded, children remain in desperate conditions. There are reports of children trapped in basements for days, sending pleas for safety.
• The UN and partners in Idlib have prepositioned supplies and are ready to provide assistance to all those in need and evacuated from eastern Aleppo.
• The United Nations stands ready to support the evacuation process by providing protection through its presence, and we have communicated this clearly to the parties.

SECRETARY-GENERAL PRESENTS FINAL MIDDLE EAST REPORT TO SECURITY COUNCIL

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported to the Security Council for the last time on the situation in the Middle East this morning, saying that it saddened him that his last such briefing brings no sense of optimism for the future.
• The Secretary-General called on the Security Council to reaffirm without reservations that there is no alternative to the two-state solution.
• The status quo, he warned, entrenches a one-state reality of perpetual occupation and conflict. And he added that we must not give up on the right of Palestine to exist, just as we must protect the right of Israel to exist in peace and security with its neighbours.
• Ultimately, the Secretary-General said, it is up to the Israelis and Palestinians to make peace—we cannot do it for them.  They must rebuild trust in each other, as the only way to address the fears and suspicions that have led to the deep polarization we see today.  At the same time, we all can and must contribute to building trust, so sorely needed in the Middle East and the world today.

• In a statement issued today, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General is following developments regarding the formation of a new Government in Guinea-Bissau closely, notably the decisions taken by President José Mário Vaz in this regard on 12 December 2016 and the statement by the Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) of 13 December 2016, distancing itself from the new Cabinet.
• The Secretary-General urges the Bissau-Guinean political stakeholders to demonstrate goodwill and a spirit of compromise to take advantage of the Conakry Accord of 10 September 2016 as an important first step in the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Roadmap aimed at ending the political impasse and restoring institutional viability in Guinea Bissau.
• The Secretary-General encourages ECOWAS to continue to support the efforts of the Bissau-Guinean leaders towards this end. He is looking forward to the pertinent decisions of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at their Summit on 17 December 2016 in Abuja to facilitate full implementation of the Conakry Agreement.
• His Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau, Mr. Modibo I. Touré will continue working closely with all the stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau, in close collaboration with ECOWAS, the African Union and other key partners towards a definitive solution to the institutional crisis.

• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, today warned that the Myanmar Government’s approach to the Northern Rakhine crisis is “short-sighted, counterproductive, even callous.”
• He warned that the approach could have grave, long-term repercussions for the country and for the region.
• The High Commissioner said that the repeated dismissal of the claims of serious human rights violations as fabrications, coupled with the failure to allow our independent monitors access to the worst affected areas in northern Rakhine, is highly insulting to the victims and an abdication of the Government’s obligations under international human rights law.
• He also expressed his deep disappointment that the UN Human Rights Office’s persistent request for access had still not been approved, particularly given the alarming allegations of human rights violations – including killings, rapes and the burning of Rohingya homes – that are reported to the Office on a daily basis.
• The High Commissioner appealed to the Government of Myanmar to accept the outstretched hands of the international community offering to help resolve the increasingly dangerous and untenable situation in northern Rakhine, which is already spilling over into the wider region.

• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, warned today that the increased military presence deployed across The Gambia since President Yayha Jammeh rejected the election result risks heightening the current climate of intimidation and harassment in the country.
• The High Commissioner called on the security forces to exercise restraint in the use of force and uphold international human rights standards, noting that all those responsible for human rights violations must be held accountable.
• He also urged the president and all political parties to respect the result of the elections, the democratic process and the rule of law.  
• The High Commissioner called on Mr. Jammeh to respect the independent status of the Independent Electoral Commission, whose premises were taken over by the army on Tuesday and officials ordered to leave. 

• The humanitarian community is seeking US$151 million to address the most critical life-saving needs of 940,00 people in Libya. The 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan for Libya addresses needs for life-saving healthcare, protection and access to basic goods and services like food, drinking water, sanitation services, shelter and education.
• The Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for Libya, Dr. Jaffar Hussain, said the severity of the humanitarian crisis in the country is underreported and underfunded and that the situation in Libya cannot be forgotten.
• Hundreds of thousands of people in Libya live in unsafe conditions, exposed to violence and unable to access critical medical assistance and other basic social services. The Libyan healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, and 1.3 million people’s lives are at risk without immediate access to emergency healthcare and essential medicines.

• It has been a record year for UNHCR’s cash-based aid programme for refugees and other displaced people, with $430 million in cash expected to go directly to people in need by the end of 2016.
• The unprecedented amount signals an important shift in how the world’s refugee situations are being managed, says UNHCR.  Traditionally, aid has been largely delivered through in-kind support.  But with some 80 per cent of the world’s displaced people living in cities, often with limited or no access to legal employment, cash aid is now a critical tool for meeting basic needs.
• For the refugees, direct cash empowers them by giving them the choice over how to meet their most immediate needs.