Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 5 May 2017

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 5 MAY 2017

SECRETARY-GENERAL UPDATES MEMBER STATES ON PROGRESS ON U.N. REFORM
  • The Secretary-General has written to Member States to update them on his various reform initiatives.
  • Through a number of global agreements on sustainable development, climate change, sustaining peace and financing for development, Member States have provided a broad vision of the future they want.
  • The Secretary-General intends to advance meaningful reform to adapt the United Nations to the complex world in which we operate today and to make sure that this organization can effectively serve all of its member states in achieving that future and managing shared challenges and opportunities along the way.
  • The letter provides a timeline of progress on a number of reform issues, including gender parity, the reform of the development system, the reform of the peace and security architecture, management of the Organisation, the new Counter terrorism office, whistle-blower protection, combatting sexual exploitation and abuse, among others. The Secretary-General has established an Internal Review Team on peace and security in January and one on management reform in April.
  • The Secretary-General also shared his vision for prevention.
  • For him, prevention means doing everything we can to help countries to avert the outbreak of crises that take a high toll on humanity, undermining institutions and capacities to achieve peace and development. We cannot meet the prevention challenge with the status quo. The United Nations needs to be much more united in its thinking and in its action, putting people at the centre of its work - hence the various reform streams he has initiated since he joined the helm of the organization to ensure that we are doing so. In short, prevention needs to permeate everything the United Nations does.
  • Throughout this reform process the Secretary-General is committed to extensive consultations with member states, starting with brainstorming sessions on management reform in May.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO UNITED KINGDOM, CHINA AND FRANCE
  • The Secretary-General will leave New York on Tuesday, 9 May, for London, United Kingdom, for the London Somalia Conference, the first leg of a trip that will then take him to Beijing, China, for the Belt and Road Forum for International cooperation; Strasbourg, France, on the occasion of a plenary session of the European Union Parliament; and finally Switzerland, for the annual seminar of his current Special and Personal Representatives and Envoys.
  • On Wednesday, 10 May, the Secretary-General will deliver a speech during an event in the Great Hall of Central Hall Westminster organized by the UN Association-UK. He is expected to address an audience of approximately 2,000 people, representatives from Government, Parliament, NGOs, the private sector, media, schools and universities, and the general public.
  • The following day, the Secretary-General will co-chair the 2017 London Somalia Conference with Prime Minister Theresa May and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo of Somalia. There, he will give a press conference along with President Farmajo and the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Boris Johnson.
  • The Secretary-General will then travel to China for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, organized from May 14 to 15 in Beijing. This Forum’s theme is "strengthening international cooperation and co-building the 'Belt and Road' for win-win development."
  • The Secretary-General will also hold a series of bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Government in attendance.
  • On 17 May, in Strasbourg, the Secretary-General will deliver a speech before the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg and meet with its President, Antonio Tajani of Italy.
  • The next day, the Secretary-General will be in Switzerland for the 13th seminar of his current Special and Personal Representatives and Envoys organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
  • The Secretary-General is expected back in New York on Monday, 22 May.
SOUTH CAROLINA: SECRETARY-GENERAL TO DELIVER UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
  • The Secretary-General will be in South Carolina tomorrow, where he will speak at the University of South Carolina’s commencement ceremony and receive an honourary degree from the school.
NEW U.N. BURUNDI ENVOY APPOINTED
  • The Secretary-General is announcing today the appointment of Michel Kafando of Burkina Faso as his Special Envoy.
  • Mr. Kafando’s role will include leading and coordinating the United Nations political efforts to promote peace and sustainable development in Burundi. Furthermore, he will provide assistance to the efforts of the East African Community for political dialogue among Burundi role players.
  • Mr. Kafando brings to the position more than three decades of extensive experience in high-level international diplomacy and politics. He served as President of the Transition in Burkina Faso until December 2015. You will find more on this in my office.
  • Mr. Kafando’s contract will be on a ‘when actually employed’ basis.
SECRETARY-GENERAL ENCOURAGED BY AGREEMENT ON DE-ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE IN KEY SYRIAN AREAS
  • In a statement issued yesterday evening, the Secretary-General said that he was encouraged by the agreement reached in Astana, Kazakhstan, by guarantor countries Iran, Russia and Turkey to de-escalate violence in key areas in Syria. It will be crucial to see this agreement actually improve the lives of Syrians. The Secretary-General welcomes the commitments to ceasing the use of all weapons, particularly aerial assets; to rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access; and to creating conditions for the delivery of medical aid and meeting civilians’ basic needs. The commitments made should not affect the rights of Syrians to seek and enjoy asylum.
  • The UN will continue to support de-escalation within the framework of the Security Council resolutions on Syria. The UN has also been proactively supporting discussions in Astana regarding detainees and humanitarian demining.
  • The Secretary-General welcomes the affirmation from the Astana meeting of the fundamental importance of a political solution and the full support expressed there for the UN-led intra-Syrian talks process in Geneva within the framework of Security Council resolution 2254.
  • The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is in consultation with all concerned as he finalizes the date for the next round of the intra-Syrian talks.
U.N. MIDDLE EAST ENVOY: ‘WE ARE WALKING INTO GAZA CRISIS WITH OUR EYES WIDE OPEN’
  • Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, spoke to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in Brussels yesterday, and he said that we are walking into another crisis in Gaza with our eyes wide open. For the last ten years, he said, two million people are held hostage by disagreements, divisions and closures. It is time for this situation to end.
  • Mr. Mladenov said that the current electricity crisis is a manifestation of the broader political crisis. Since the shutdown of the Gaza Power Plant, hospitals are operating on minimum capacity putting patient lives at risk. The population is supplied portable water only once every four to five days. More than 100,000 cubic meters of raw sewage is being discharged daily into the Mediterranean Sea. These developments increase health risks for both Palestinians and Israelis along the coast.
  • He urges all parties to refrain from taking actions that would further exacerbate the situation and to seek a political solution to the standoff. This situation can only be resolved through a compromise, based on the implementation of intra-Palestinian agreements that would end the division and return Gaza to the control of the legitimate Palestinian authorities.
  • Until then and under the current circumstances, he added, the United Nations can only work to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable.
ONE IN SEVEN CHILDREN WILL DIE BEFORE FIFTH BIRTHDAY IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, U.N.I.C.E.F. WARNS
  • The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that without increased support, the lives and futures of more than 1 million children in the Central African Republic are under threat. Christine Muhigana, UNICEF’s Representative in the country, said that without sufficient support the agency will not be able to provide the vital services that are needed to keep children healthy, safe and in school. 41 per cent of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition; 1 in 7 children will die before they reach their fifth birthday; and a third of children are out of school. UNICEF is facing a $32.6 million funding gap as it races to provide life-saving assistance to children and families in the country.
  • The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the CAR added that during the first quarter of the year, 33 incidents targeting humanitarians were recorded across the country. This figure places the Central African Republic among the high-risk countries for humanitarian aid. Since last March, in the Prefecture of Ouham only, 16 attacks against humanitarians have been reported. Four major humanitarian organizations have decided to temporarily suspend their activities in areas where threats reached a climax. Other organizations have decided to reduce their presence to life-saving activities.
U.N. VOICES CONCERN OVER ATTACK AGAINST INDIGENOUS GROUP IN NORTHERN BRAZIL
  • The UN System in Brazil expressed grave concern following an attack against a group of indigenous persons from the Gamela ethnicity, earlier this week in the Maranhão region of northern Brazil.
  • More than ten were injured, some of them severely and still receiving treatment in hospital. In the region, land disputes involving indigenous people and their rights to land are common.
  • The UN System in Brazil expressed its appreciation for the Brazilian authorities’ pledge to bring the perpetrators to justice.
  • Attacks against indigenous people in Brazil, and impunity for perpetrators, are unfortunately very common.
  • In line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, which marks its tenth anniversary this year, it is essential to ensure their unhindered access to justice and their human rights in general, in contexts where they are often marginalized and living in poverty.
ONE-THIRD OF ROAD TRAFFIC DEATHS DUE TO SPEEDING – WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
  • A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), called “Managing speed,” suggests that excessive or inappropriate speed contributes to 1 in 3 road traffic fatalities worldwide.
  • Around 1.25 million people die every year on the world’s roads. Road traffic crashes remain the number one cause of death among young people aged 15–29 years.
  • Yet only 47 countries of the world follow good practice on one of the main speed management measures, namely implementing an urban speed limit of 50 km/h or less and allowing local authorities to reduce these limits further on roads around schools, residences and businesses.
MOVES TO IMPEACH NEPAL’S CHIEF JUSTICE AN ASSAULT ON HUMAN RIGHTS – TOP U.N. OFFICIAL
  • The High Commissioner for Human Rights today condemned efforts to impeach Nepal’s Chief Justice, warning that these moves suggest that the Government is trying to undermine the independence of the judiciary.
  • He said that Chief Justice Sushila Karki has been instrumental in several high-profile and politically sensitive decisions.
  • Therefore, the High Commissioner said, the attempt to remove her gives rise to serious concerns about the Government’s commitment to transitional justice and the rule of law.
HIGH FOOD INSECURITY LEADS TO STEPPED UP MIGRATION, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME FINDS
  • A new study by the World Food Programme (WFP) released today says that, at a time of record-high number of people being forced to flee their homes across the world, high levels of food insecurity lead to higher levels of migration across borders.
  • The report found that each one percentage increase in food insecurity in a population compels 1.9 per cent more people to migrate
  • WFP also noted that food insecurity is a significant cause for the incidence and intensity of armed conflict.
U.N.E.S.C.O-BACKED INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE FORUM STARTS IN AZERBAIJAN
  • The UNESCO-backed 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue opened today in Baku, Azerbaijan, to support cultural diversity and inclusive societies through dialogue.
  • The two-day event will look into effective response to challenges such as migration and violent extremism.
  • It will bring together Government leaders, civil society, journalists and others.
NUMBER OF U.N. MEMBER STATES PAYING FULL DUES REACHES 95
  • Chile and Kenya are the latest Member States to have paid their regular budget dues in full, bring the total number of Member States which have done so to 95.

***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Philippe Lazzarini, the Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the UN in that country.

Transcript

United Nations colleagues in Brazil expressed their grave concern following an attack against a group of indigenous persons from the Gamela ethnicity, earlier this week in the Maranhão region of northern Brazil.  More than 10 were injured — some of them severely and are still receiving treatment in hospital.

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