HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2017
 
D.P.R. KOREA: CONDEMNING LATEST MISSILE LAUNCH, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON LEADERS TO RESUME DENUCLEARISATION TALKS

• In a statement, the Secretary-General condemned the launch of yet another ballistic missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea earlier today.
• This manifest violation of Security Council resolutions comes just days after the DPRK conducted its sixth nuclear test.
• The Secretary-General called on the DPRK leadership to cease further testing, comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions, and allow space to explore the resumption of sincere dialogue on denuclearisation.
• The Secretary-General will be discussing the situation on the Korean Peninsula with all concerned parties in the margins of the upcoming high level week of the United Nations General Assembly.
• The Security Council will meet in consultations on the DPRK this afternoon.

SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST TERRORIST ATTACKS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ

• In a statement, the Secretary-General condemned the terrorist attacks on 14 September in Thi-Qar province in southern Iraq. He expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Iraq. 
• The Secretary-General voiced hope that the perpetrators of these crimes will be swiftly brought to justice. He reiterated the support of the United Nations to the Government and people of Iraq in their efforts to fight terrorism and violent extremism.

NUMBER OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES FLEEING MYANMAR FOR BANGLADESH NEARS 400,000 – U.N. RELIEF WING

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled across the border from Bangladesh to Myanmar has climbed to 391,000.
• Aid workers continue to supply food, plastic sheets, water and other supplies.
• The first 15 of 35 scheduled trucks of aid provided by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) arrived in Cox’s Bazar today, while other agencies are airlifting supplies into Bangladesh.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Government and other organizations to provide healthcare.
• Tomorrow, a WHO-backed vaccination campaign against measles and polio will be launched and aims to reach 150,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 15 years old who have newly arrived in Bangladesh.
• WHO is also helping the Government send medical teams to the new refugee settlements and will distribute emergency medical kits, water purification tablets and cholera kits in the coming days.

U.N. AID REACHES BESIEGED SYRIAN TOWN OF DEIR EZZOUR

• Ali al-Za’tari, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, confirmed that United Nations supplies arrived in Deir Ezzour city yesterday, where 93,500 people are in urgent need of assistance.
• The UN supplies, delivered by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent by road, consisted of lifesaving items such as hygiene kits, solar lamps, plastic sheeting, and kitchen sets for 15,000 families. Wheat flour, which was also part of the shipment, will be dispatched shortly. The UN has also been coordinating with the national authorities to provide 4 tonnes of life-saving health supplies with an additional 14 tonnes of the most needed medicines, supplies and equipment to be sent to Deir Ezzour in the next few days.
• The UN is working with humanitarian partners to respond to those in need of assistance in Deir Ezzour on a regular basis, as soon as security conditions allow. In order to support the massive needs of people the city, Mr. al-Za’tari and heads of UN agencies wish to visit Deir Ezzour immediately to meet the Governor and local departments to review the needs as soon as the situation on the ground permits.

U.N. ASSISTS NIGER IN WAKE OF DEADLY FLOODS

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that flooding across Niger has impacted almost 200,000 people and killed 54. Causing damage in all regions of Niger, the floods have destroyed over 11,000 houses and 12,000 hectares of crops, and killed 16,000 heads of cattle.
• In the capital, Niamey, 50,000 people need humanitarian assistance, while thousands living on the River Niger islands are at imminent risk should the river bursts its bank.
• Relief efforts are underway and humanitarian partners continue to mobilize resources. UNICEF and the UN Migration Agency have supported at least 22,000 people with noon-food items and shelters.

NIGERIA: U.N. WELCOMES PACT TO END RECRUITMENT OF CHILD SOLDIERS

• The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and UNICEF today welcomed the signing by the Civilian Joint Task Force of an action plan to end the recruitment and use of children in Nigeria.
• The Civilian Joint Task Force was formed in 2013 to support the Nigerian security forces in the fight against Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria. It was listed last year in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s Annual Report for Children and Armed Conflict for the recruitment and use of children.
• With the signature of this action plan, the Civilian Joint Task Force commits to put in place a number of measures to end and prevent child recruitment and use, including identifying and releasing all children within the group’s ranks and instructing its members not to recruit or use children in the future.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY SOUNDS ALARM ON CONTINUED CLASHES IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said today they are extremely worried over continued violence in the Central African Republic, which has been causing massive new levels of displacement.
• The number of Central African refugees in neighbouring countries now stands at 513,676. This is the highest number of refugees from the country since the start of the crisis in 2013. Some 600,000 people have also been forced to flee inside the country. This means that total displacement is also at its highest level ever, at over 1.1 million.
• Meanwhile, a mere 9 per cent of the funding required to assist internally displaced people and Central African refugees in the region has been received, which is among the lowest of any refugee situation anywhere.

NUMBER OF WORLD’S HUNGRY ON THE RISE, NEW U.N. REPORT FINDS

• The annual State of Food Insecurity in the World report was issued in Rome, which finds that, after years of progress, the report finds that the number of hungry people in the world is on the rise. This signals a reversal of trends and could undermine efforts to reaching zero hunger by 2030.
• In 2016 the number of chronically undernourished people is estimated to have increased to 815 million, up from 777 million in 2015. There are 155 million children under 5 who suffer from stunted growth and are too small for their age. 
• These worsening figures are directly linked to the increase in conflicts around the world, and to places where there is conflict and floods and droughts. Food security has worsened especially in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, South-Eastern Asia and western Asia.
• The report was prepared by the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

NEARLY 400,000 CHILDREN ACUTELY MALNOURISHED IN KENYA – U.N.I.C.E.F.

• UNICEF says today an additional 37,000 children across Kenya are below the threshold of acute malnutrition following the failure of the March-June long rains.
• Almost 370,000 children across the country now require treatment for acute malnutrition, including 72,600 who are suffering from the most severe form, which requires specialized, life-saving care.
  Lack of rain has led to widespread crop failure, acute water shortages, and declining animal productivity – including the lowest production of milk in years, which pastoral children rely on for protein.
• Poor feeding practices, disease outbreaks and limited access to health services are being exacerbated by a nationwide nurses’ strike, now in its third month.

NEW U.N. CAMPAIGN CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF LANDMARK PACT AGAINST OZONE DEPLETION

• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is launching a campaign to mark the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol and its success in protecting the Earth against ozone depletion and mitigating climate change.
• The campaign, “Ozone Heroes”, was created in partnership with Marvel Comics and seeks to raise awareness of how people can work together to tackle climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer. The campaign includes an online quiz with characters from Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy where users can discover their superpower and learn about these issues.