HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 8 JUNE 2017
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES TO AVOID ESCALATING TENSIONS

• The Spokesman said that the Secretary-General is following the situation in the Middle East with deep concern.
• He urges countries in the region to avoid escalating tensions and work instead to overcome their differences. He encourages diplomatic means to address concerns and is ready to support such efforts, if desired by all parties.

• The Secretary-General is encouraged by the progress in the implementation of the peace accord in Colombia and in particular, the completion yesterday of the delivery to the United Nations Mission of the first 30 per cent of the arms of the FARC-EP.
• The Secretary-General encourages both parties to advance with further progress in the implementation of their respective commitments under the peace agreement and reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to continue to support the peace process as required. 

• In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General congratulated the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho on the conclusion of a peaceful National Assembly election. He commends the work of the Independent Electoral Commission in organizing the election and the role played by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in assisting the Kingdom of Lesotho to ensure a peaceful political environment.
• The Secretary-General highlights the importance of now focusing attention on the implementation of SADC decisions on further strengthening democratic governance and stability and reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to support the Kingdom of Lesotho in this regard.  

• The Secretary-General arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan, a few hours ago. Upon arrival, he attended a concert in honour of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State Council, which he will address tomorrow.
• Tomorrow, he will also hold a bilateral meeting with the Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and pay a visit to the EXPO-2017 organized in Astana.

• The Secretary-General has appointed Liu Zhenmin of the People’s Republic of China as the next Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. 
• He will succeed Wu Hongbo of the People’s Republic of China, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his commitment and dedicated service to the Organization, and for successfully guiding the preparations for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, the third International Conference on Financing for Development, and the United Nations Ocean Conference.
• Mr. Liu brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in the diplomatic service, with a strong focus on the promotion of bilateral, regional and global issues. He was deeply involved for ten years in climate change negotiations, including the conclusion of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Currently, Mr. Liu is Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

• The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, briefed the Security Council on Da’esh, also known as ISIL, today, and said that the group continues to resist, particularly in Mosul and Raqqah. At the same time, Da’esh has reorganized its military structure, giving more power to local commanders, and is more focused than ever before on enabling and inspiring attacks outside of conflict zones. 
• Mr. Feltman said that the threat from Da’esh has been intensified by its use of the Internet and social media to disseminate propaganda online to a wide international audience. Although the volume of such messages has declined in the past 16 months, the threat persists as supporters outside Syria and Iraq collect and re-distribute this propaganda.
• He added that, although Da’esh’s financial situation has steadily declined over the past 16 months, it continues to rely chiefly on the same two revenue streams, sales of hydrocarbons and extortion/taxation, which may amount to tens of millions of dollars per month.

• The UN Human Rights Office today said it has received credible reports that more than 231 civilians attempting to flee Iraq’s western Mosul have been killed on 26 May, including at least 204 people over three days last week alone.
• The Office has been documenting Da’esh’s use of civilians as human shields and its slaughter of people trying to leave Mosul, and notes that there has been a significant escalation in such killings.
• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said that there are no words of condemnation strong enough for despicable acts, such as shooting children as they try to run to safety with their families.
• He called on Iraqi authorities to ensure that those responsible for these horrors are held accountable, stressing that the victims of such terrible crimes must not be forgotten.

• The World Food Programme (WFP) says that in May violence in the south-eastern part of the Central African Republic caused massive numbers of people to flee their homes and exacerbated humanitarian needs. Half of the population requires assistance and more than two million are hungry. Stunting due to malnutrition is widespread among children.
• Even so, the Central African Republic still counts among the world’s most forgotten crises. Halfway into the year, the humanitarian response plan for 2017 is only one-quarter funded. 

• A high-level humanitarian mission led by the African Union and the UN began today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and will then proceed to Somalia and Kenya.
• The mission will assess the humanitarian situation on the ground and seek to enhance humanitarian support to respond to the devastating drought and food security crisis in the Horn of Africa. The mission will visit the Somali region in Ethiopia tomorrow to see first-hand the drought-induced crisis and the humanitarian response.
• On 12 June, they will travel to Doloow in southern Somalia to meet with impacted people and humanitarians on the ground, before wrapping up their mission on 13 June in Nairobi, Kenya.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that despite stable global food markets, rising shipping costs and larger import volumes will drive the global food import bill higher this year.
• The bill will top $1.3 billion this year, a more than 10 per cent increase from 2016.
• The food import bills of least-developed countries, low-income food deficit countries, and sub-Saharan African countries are on course to rise even faster because of higher volumes of imports of meat, sugar, dairy and oilseed products.

• Today is World Oceans Day, and this year the Day is being celebrated alongside the Ocean Conference.
• In his message, the Secretary-General said: “Oceans connect all of us, linking people and nations in cultural ties, and they are essential for sharing goods and services across the world.  The importance of our oceans to every single living being on our planet cannot be overstated. Today, we celebrate all that the oceans give us, and reaffirm our commitment to being good stewards.”
• The Day is being observed in the General Assembly Hall with a series of performances, talks from renowned ocean experts and explorers, representatives from coastal communities, and voices from current and future generations.