HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 7 MARCH 2017
 
IN SOMALIA, SECRETARY-GENERAL SPOTLIGHTS RISK OF FAMINE AND CHOLERA, CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

• The Secretary-General arrived in Somalia earlier today to highlight the ongoing risk of famine and cholera faced by millions in the country.  The Secretary-General said he decided that he wanted to make Mogadishu and Baidoa his first field visit as Secretary-General to express his solidarity with the Somali people at this difficult time.  At a moment when more than half of the country’s population is in need of humanitarian assistance and 300,000 children are acutely malnourished, he made a strong appeal for support from the international community. 
• Speaking to reporters alongside the newly elected President of Somalia, the Secretary-General stressed that there is a chance to avoid the worse and avoid a situation like the one in 2011 when hundreds of thousands of people perished.  He also underscored that this was a time of hope in Somalia, with a new government with a strong commitment to enhance security and the capacity of the government to provide effective services to the population.
• The Secretary-General then flew to Baidoa, where after meeting with the President of the Southwest State of Somalia, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, he visited two camps for internally displaced people just outside the city. For over an hour, the Secretary-General walked through the camp and listened to the stories of dozens of families who had come to Baidoa to seek food and water. Some had recently resettled from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya only to be forced to move again because of the drought.  Following the visit to the camp, the Secretary-General went to the Bay Regional Hospital, a medical facility created in 1936, and toured the cholera wards there.
• The Secretary-General is now back in Nairobi, where he will meet with the President and then make a field visit focused on girls’ empowerment for International Women’s Day. 

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that one out of seven children dies before its fifth birthday in Somalia. WHO says acute malnutrition weakens the immune system, which makes affected children more susceptible to disease such as measles.
• Only about half of the Somali population – some 6.2 million people – has access to basic health services; and less than half of all pregnant women have access to assisted deliveries.

• In a statement issued yesterday, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General condemns the reported firing of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), three of which landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone. Such actions violate Security Council resolutions and seriously undermine regional peace and stability.
• The Secretary-General reiterates his call for the DPRK leadership to refrain from further provocations and comply fully with its international obligations.

• Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, spoke at a meeting of the Ministerial Council of the League of Arab States in Cairo, and he said that as the region faces challenges that require all moderate forces to work together against the common threat of extremism and terror, cooperation is needed more than ever.
• He noted that, since the beginning of the year, significant settlement moves have been made in the occupied West Bank. These have included tenders for around 800 units and the advancement of plans for over 3,300 units, some of which have reached the final approval stage. Construction has also been advanced in East Jerusalem. He reiterated the UN position that settlement activities are illegal under international law and once again called on Israel to stop all such activities.
• Mr. Mladenov added that he is concerned by continuing violence, including so-called “lone wolf” attacks.

• UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, this week opened Chamakor, its latest camp in the Mosul area, to manage the spike in displacement triggered by the recent Iraqi offensive to recapture the western parts of that city. Capacity is rapidly filling in camps to the east, while those to the south are full. More than 195,000 people are currently sheltering in the 21 camps built by UN agencies and the government around Mosul, and there is currently space available for up to 109,000 new arrivals in existing camps. UNHCR is building two additional camps near Mosul for another 39,000 people.
• Also, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, has concluded a seven-day visit to Iraq, encouraged by the commitment of Iraqi authorities to address the immediate and long-term consequences of conflict-related sexual violence, giving recognition and support to the victims and shining the spotlight of international scrutiny on those who commit, command or condone such egregious violations.

• Following the signing of the new Executive Order on U.S. refugee resettlement, UNHCR has underscored that refugees are ordinary people forced to flee war, violence and persecution in their home countries and are in urgent need of life-saving assistance and protection.
• Commenting on the Executive Order, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said that the imperative remains to provide protection for people fleeing deadly violence, and we are concerned that this decision, though temporary, may compound the anguish for those it affects.
• UNHCR says it is ready to engage constructively with the U.S. Administration to ensure all refugee programs meet the highest standards for safety and security.

• UNHCR has expressed its deep concern over a new law in Hungary that would put in place measures resulting in mandatory detention of asylum seekers for the entire length of the asylum procedure.
• In practice, the law would mean that all asylum seekers, including children, would be detained in shipping containers surrounded by high razor wire fence at the border for extended periods of time.
• UNHCR says the new law violates Hungary’s obligations under international and European Union laws, and would result in terrible physical and psychological impacts on women, children and men who have already suffered a great deal.

• The United Nations and partners in Madagascar are working with the Government’s office of national disaster and risk management to respond to the immediate humanitarian needs following tropical cyclone Enawo.
• UN agencies have scaled up their presence to support the Government in responding to the potentially devastating humanitarian impacts of this natural disaster which struck the island today.
• About 760,000 people are likely to be directly affected and 9 regions are at high risk of either floods or severe impact of winds.

• The UN Department of Field Support (DFS) launched today its new website on conduct and discipline.
• The new website comes amidst the Secretary-General’s continuing call for strict enforcement of United Nations standards of conduct in peacekeeping operations and political missions.
• The site contains in-depth information on the conduct and discipline mandate of UN missions, policies, training, awareness raising activities and the handling of allegations of misconduct. The site also contains a new and enhanced section on data.

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti, Sandra Honoré, has issued a statement following the passing of former President René Préval.
• She stressed Mr. Préval’s political and social mark on Haiti’s history, describing him as a consensus builder and a supporter of political pluralism.
• The Secretary-General also conveys his heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Préval as well as to the people and Government of Haiti.

• Ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow, the High Commissioner for Human Rights today paid tribute to the struggle of millions of women who have demanded respect for their rights and the rights of others.
• Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said that the women’s movement has brought about tremendous change, but that we must also recognise that progress has been slow and uneven.
• He noted that in too many countries, we are now seeing a backlash against women’s rights, a backlash that hurts us all. 
• The High Commissioner said that it is extremely troubling to see the recent roll-backs on fundamental legislation in many parts of the world, underpinned by the renewed obsession with controlling and limiting women’s decisions over their bodies and lives, and by views that a woman’s role should be essentially restricted to reproduction and the family. Such an agenda, he stressed, threatens the gains of the past.

• The Russian Federation and Bahrain have paid their regular budget dues, bringing to 53 the number of Member States that have done so.