HIGHLIGHTS OF THE U.N. SYSTEM
MONDAY, 28 AUGUST 2017
 
IN ISRAEL, SECRETARY-GENERAL SPOTLIGHTS HIS COMMITMENT TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM

• The Secretary-General is in Israel today, where his first stop was to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, paying tribute to the victims of what he called the “most hideous crime against humanity in the history of mankind.” Addressing the press, he stressed his commitment to fight anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and all other forms of bigotry, voicing his shock at having heard neo-Nazis, in a developed country, chanting “blood and soil” recently.
• The Secretary-General participated in a tree planting ceremony for Heads of States at the Grove of Nations and also paid his respects at the tomb of former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
• He held met with President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, as well as with the Leader of the Opposition, Israel Herzog, and Avi Gabbay, who heads the Labour Party.
• Speaking to reporters before his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Secretary-General underlined his commitment to the right of existence of the State of Israel and to be a messenger for peace. He also emphasized his desire for two states to live together in mutual recognition, peace and security.
• The Secretary-General also received a presentation in Jerusalem from Israeli companies of innovative technologies which will help promote the Sustainable Development Goals in the areas of water, recycling, energy, agriculture and medicine. In brief remarks at the event, which also included Prime Minister Netanyahu saluted to potential of these technologies for the developing world
• Yesterday, the Secretary-General visited Kuwait, where he paid tribute to Kuwait for its leadership in both the political and humanitarian arenas.
• Speaking to reporters after meeting with the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Secretary-General said that Kuwait’s agenda is peace and understanding, expressing his support for the country’s mediation efforts in the current Gulf crisis.

• On Sunday, the Secretary-General said he was shocked to learn that Jimmy Morales, President of Guatemala, has issued a statement declaring Ivan Velasquez, Commissioner of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), persona non grata. 
• He added that he fully expected that Mr. Velasquez will be treated by the Guatemalan authorities with the respect due to his functions as an international civil servant.
• Under Commissioner Velásquez's leadership, CICIG has made a decisive contribution to strengthening justice sector institutions in Guatemala, helping to ensure justice was done in numerous cases.  Mr. Velásquez has worked tirelessly to promote a culture that upholds the rule of law and rejects corruption.
• The Secretary-General has repeatedly reiterated his full confidence in Commissioner Velasquez.

• This afternoon, the Security Council will meet on Libya.
• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the country, Ghassan Salamé, will brief Council members via video conference.

• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, will be visiting Europe from 29 August to 8 September. His trip will include France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, where he will attend the Defence Ministerial Conference, Germany, and Switzerland, where he will visit the UN Office in Geneva. 
• He will hold meetings with senior Government officials and key stakeholders to discuss challenges, opportunities and evolutions related to UN peacekeeping; cooperation among the UN, African Union, and European Union; and partnerships for sustainable peace.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, yesterday, a joint convoy, comprising the UN, the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), delivered aid for more than 107,000 people in the hard-to-reach city of Ar Rastan in Homs. The last convoy to reach the city was in June.
• OCHA also says that, on 26 August, a joint UN- SARC convoy delivered urgently-needed aid to 20,000 people in the besieged neighbourhood of Barzeh in Syria’s capital, Damascus.
• The Office also remains deeply concerned for the safety and protection of up to 25,000 civilians in Raqqa city caught in the crossfire.
• Access to safe drinking water, food and other essential services is at a critical low and civilian movement is severely restricted.
• Since the Raqqa offensive began last November, some 75,000 people have been displaced from the city, including close to 10,000 in the first half of August.

• UNICEF says that ordinary Yemenis are leading the heroic daily fight against acute watery diarrhea and cholera, with the weekly number of new cases having dropped by one third since late June.
• Health, water and sanitation personnel, who have not received salaries in more than ten months, have been working tirelessly to stem the outbreak, which is the world’s worst.
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, as of yesterday, there have been more than 565,000 suspected cholera cases and more than 2,000 associated deaths.
• UNICEF says that massive collective efforts to treat the sick and improve water and sanitation systems have helped slow the spread of the disease.
• It notes that, despite recent gains, the fight against cholera is far from over, calling on the international community to step up its support for rebuilding health, water and sanitation facilities and invest in preventing future outbreaks.
• UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict to find a peaceful political solution to the violence in Yemen to save children’s lives and offer them the prospect of a brighter future.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that Iraqi Security Forces have announced the recapture of the town of Telafar from Da’esh today.
• Compared to civilian displacement during the military operation in Mosul, the number of people who have fled Telafar has been limited due to the fact that most fled the town before the start of the campaign.
• Aid workers have continued to help those who have left Telafar, with a new camp that can hold more than 21,000 people having opened on Saturday.

• The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned the attack at the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul that killed at least 20 civilians on 25 September, including seven women and one child, and injured more than 30 others. The Mission has said these figures may rise.
• The Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and acting head of UNAMA, Toby Lanzer said the attack has no possible justification and is “a serious violations of international law that may amount to war crimes.”
• This attack was the sixth this year targeting Shi'a mosques in Afghanistan, killing a total of at least 64 civilians and injuring at least 118, according to UNAMA. Four of the attacks occurred in Herat and the other two in Kabul.

• The UN Mission in South Sudan has expressed its sincere sympathy to the family and friends of journalist Christopher Allen, killed during fighting in the town of Kaya, near the border with Uganda, in circumstances that remain unclear.
• Mr. Allen is the tenth journalist to have been killed in South Sudan since 2012.
• The UN Mission has repeatedly stated that attacks on journalists are unacceptable, and calls on all parties to respect the freedom of the press.

• The World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to reduce food rations for 320,000 refugees in Mtendeli, Nduta and Nyarugusu Camps in northwest Tanzania as a result of funding shortfalls.
• WFP urgently requires US$23.6 million from now through to December 2017 to be able to continue meeting the food and nutritional needs of refugees in Tanzania.
• WFP provides refugees, primarily from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with five food commodities: maize meal, pulses, Super Cereal, vegetable oil and salt.
• Due to funding shortages, all five commodities were reduced for the August distribution, reaching only 62 percent of the 2,100 required kilocalories which is the recommended daily calorie intake.
• Reducing rations result in far-reaching and potentially life-altering consequences for refugees. Cutting the intake of kilocalories and nutritional support can lead to acute malnutrition and increased vulnerability to disease.
• In addition to the five food items, WFP also provides hot meals for refugees upon arrival, supplemental rations for pregnant and nursing women and food assistance to hospital in-patients and people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Hot meals for refugees entering the country and supplementary feeding programmes remain unaffected by the current ration reductions.

• In a statement issued today, the United Nations Children’s Fund says that “the whole UNICEF family is deeply saddened to learn that the appeal of the 10-year prison sentence of Baquer Namazi, our respected former colleague, has been denied.”
• UNICEF adds that Mr. Namazi is 81 years old and in increasingly poor health. He has now been detained in Iran for more than 18 months.
• “After many years dedicated to serving the world’s most disadvantaged children, he deserves to be at home in the care of his family”, UNICEF says.
• On behalf of his friends and former colleagues around the world, UNICEF urges the government of Iran to release Mr. Namazi on humanitarian – and compassionate – grounds.  

• The Secretary-General today announced the appointment of Alain Noudéhou of Benin as his Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).  He will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Mr. Noudéhou succeeds Eugene Owusu of Ghana, who completed his assignment in July 2017.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Owusu’s dedicated service with the United Nations in South Sudan.
• Currently the Chief of Staff and Director of the Executive Office of UNDP in New York, Mr. Noudéhou brings to the position extensive experience in international development and humanitarian affairs since 2016. 
• He previously served as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the People’s Republic of China (2014-2016) and UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Zimbabwe (2010-2014).