Noon briefing of 28 September 2017

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2017

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the number of Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, since late August has topped 500,000.
• This is the largest mass refugee movement in the region in decades, and the total number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is believed to be well over 700,000 people.
• Aid agencies are working with the Government to improve road access to refugee camps and are also working with authorities to set up a one-stop shop for the arrival of humanitarian supplies and to facilitate approvals for incoming aid agencies.
• As of today, humanitarian partners have received $36.4 million, or just under 50 per cent, of the $77 million that was called for earlier this month. As previously stated, the scale of the emergency has far surpassed initial projections, and the needs are being revised.

• In response to clashes in the area of Uvira, in the South Kivu province, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) yesterday rapidly deployed troops in order to deter any attack on the city.
• The MONUSCO Deputy Force Commander is on site to oversee the situation.
• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC, Maman Sidikou, urged armed groups to immediately cease all forms of violence.
• Uvira is the second largest town in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• The Envoys of the Middle East Quartet –which comprises the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations – welcome efforts, including those of Egypt, to create the conditions for the Palestinian Authority to assume its responsibilities in Gaza.
• The Quartet Envoys urge the parties to take concrete steps to reunite Gaza and the West Bank under the legitimate Palestinian Authority. This will facilitate lifting the closures of the crossings, while addressing Israel's legitimate security concerns, and unlock international support for Gaza's growth, stability and prosperity, which is critical for efforts to reach lasting peace. The Quartet envoys stand ready to engage with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the region in support of this process.
• The Envoys emphasize that the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, most notably the crippling electricity crisis and its impact on health, social and economic well-being of the population, must be addressed. The Quartet encourages the international community to act accordingly.

• Speaking to the Security Council yesterday afternoon, Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy for Syria, confirmed his intention to convene the 8^th round of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva about a month from now, with the precise date still to be determined. He added the talks should start no later than the end of October or very early in November.
• He said he was reaffirming that timeframe so that all concerned can use the crucial month from now until then to create conditions for the talks to be particularly meaningful.

• Regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that yesterday, the Resident Coordinator and the Word Food Programme (WFP) Regional Director, Miguel Barretto arrived in Dominica yesterday to assess the damage first-hand.
• They will meet with the Prime Minister and UN staff on the ground to discuss and support the government-led response.
• Humanitarian organizations are delivering aid and carrying out assessments. Although access to Dominica is gradually being restored, internal access along key roads is limited and hindering the delivery of crucial aid to cut-off communities. There are now 21 UN staff in the capital Roseau.

• Worldwide, 25 million unsafe abortions occurred every year between 2010 and 2014, according to a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Guttmacher Institute.
• The majority of unsafe abortions, or 97%, occurred in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
• The study shows that in countries where abortion is completely banned or permitted only to save the woman’s life or preserve her physical health, only 1 in 4 abortions were safe.
• It notes that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions. Most abortions that take place in Western and Northern Europe and North America are safe, and these regions also have some of the lowest abortion rates.
• Approximately 55% of all abortions from 2010 to 2014 were conducted safely, which means they were performed by a trained health worker using a WHO-recommended method appropriate to the pregnancy duration.

• There has been an airlift of cholera medicines procured by UNICEF to Djibouti, where the supplies will then travel to the port of Hodeidah by sea. The medicines can treat up to 300,000 cholera patients.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a statement regarding the recent announcement by the tobacco company Philip Morris International of its support for the establishment of a new entity - the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.
• WHO said it will not engage with this new Foundation and added that Governments and the public health community should not partner with it, as there are a number of clear conflicts of interest involved with a tobacco company funding a purported health foundation, particularly if it promotes sale of tobacco and other products found in that company’s brand portfolio.
• It stressed that Philip Morris International engages in large scale lobbying and prolonged and expensive litigation against evidence-based tobacco control policies, and that the tobacco industry and its front groups have misled the public about the risks associated with other tobacco products.
• This includes promoting so-called light and mild tobacco products as an alternative to quitting, while being fully aware that those products were not less harmful to health.
• This decades-long history means that research and advocacy funded by tobacco companies and their front groups cannot be accepted at face value, WHO said.

• Today is World Rabies Day, and this Day marks the announcement of the biggest global anti-rabies initiative, as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) reveal an ambitious initiative to end human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030.
• The plan ‘United Against Rabies’ builds on more than ten years of global partnership, research and evidence- building to demonstrate the feasibility of eliminating dog-transmitted rabies.
• It places a magnifying glass on the problem of continued human deaths from rabies and helps to make this a priority disease for key international organizations and governments.
• Rabies is a viral disease that is 100% preventable and yet still occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. It is usually fatal once symptoms appear. Dog-transmitted rabies accounts for about 99 percent of human rabies cases. An estimated 59,000 people die from the disease every year

• Today is also World Maritime Day. This year’s theme is "Connecting Ships, Ports and People" and it was chosen to provide an opportunity to focus on the many diverse entities involved in the shipping and logistics areas. Supporting these actors will also help achieve sustainable development, as more efficient shipping will increase energy efficiency, protect the environment, and ensure maritime security.

• And finally, today is also the International Day for Universal Access to Information. The Day’s celebrations are being held in Tunisia, where UNESCO has organized a series of discussions among government, media and civil society representatives on the laws providing access to information. Similar events are also being held this week in Mauritius and at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.

• Yesterday, the Spokesman was asked about member contributions to the Global Compact. As of January 2018, the Global Compact will require businesses with annual revenues over 50 million dollars to make an annual contribution. Smaller companies will not have to make this contribution.
• The annual contributions will vary depending on the size of the company as well their level of engagement. More specifics are available on the Global Compact toolbox.