HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2017
 
ZIMBABWE: POLITICAL DIFFERENCES MUST BE RESOLVED PEACEFULLY, SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES

• In a statement, the Secretary-General said that he is closely following developments in Zimbabwe and calls for continued calm. He underlines the importance of resolving political differences through peaceful means, including through dialogue and in conformity with the country’s Constitution.
• The Secretary-General welcomes the efforts initiated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to facilitate a peaceful solution to the situation. He remains in contact with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and regional leaders in support of such efforts.
• The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations’ commitment to continuing to support Zimbabwe’s national efforts to consolidate democratic governance.

• In a letter to Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the Secretary-General says that the blockade imposed by the Coalition since 6 November 2017 is already reversing the impact of humanitarian efforts.  While he welcomes the reopening of Aden port, the Secretary-General notes that this alone will not meet the needs of 28 million Yemenis.
• The United Nations calls on the Coalition to enable the resumption of United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flights to Sana’a and Aden airports, and the reopening of Hodaidah and Saleef ports so that fuel, food and medical supplies can enter Yemen.
• The Secretary-General adds that, once the blockade of the ports of Hodaidah and Saleef as well as Sana’a airport is lifted, the United Nations stands ready to send a technical team to Riyadh to discuss the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism, which was instituted with the aim of facilitating the unimpeded flow of commercial goods to Yemen.  The United Nations will also then be able to dispatch a senior United Nations team, including humanitarian officials, to discuss arrangements at Hodaidah port and Sana’a airport.

• In a joint statement, the heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO) today urgently called for the immediate lifting of the blockade in Yemen to respond to what is now the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
• While the Saudi-led military coalition has partially lifted the blockade, the closure of many of the air, sea and land ports is making an already catastrophic situation worse, the statement said. The space and access we need to deliver humanitarian assistance is being choked off, threatening the lives of millions of vulnerable children and families.
• More than 20 million people, more than half of whom are children, are in need of urgent assistance. Some 17 million people do not know where their next meal is coming from and 7 million are totally dependent on food assistance.
• Even with a partial lifting of the blockade, WFP estimates that an additional 3.2 million people will be pushed into hunger. If left untreated, 150,000 malnourished children could die in the coming months.
• The statement stressed that we are already seeing the humanitarian consequences of the blockade. With diphtheria spreading quickly, vaccines and medicines in transit have been blocked from entry and at least one million children are now at risk of contracting the disease.
• It also warns that, though the world’s largest cholera outbreak is waning, if the embargo is not lifted, it will flare up once again.
• For its part, the humanitarian community in Yemen expressed its outrage at the continued blockade, saying that the ongoing obstruction by the Saudi-led coalition to the delivery of critical supplies is a measure which may amount to collective punishment of millions of Yemeni people.

• The Secretary-General has delivered a lecture at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London on “Counter-terrorism and human rights: winning the fight while upholding our values.”
• Noting that modern terrorism has become an unprecedented threat to international peace, security and development, the Secretary-General said that terrorism is not only different in scale, but in nature. It has grown more complex, with new modus operandi, and is an assault on our security, and our very humanity.
• The Secretary-General added that the fight against terrorism will never succeed by perpetuating the same denial and destruction. Therefore, we must relentlessly fight terrorism to protect human rights, and not allow terrorism to challenge the fundamental principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, National Constitutions and international law. The power of human rights to bond is stronger than the power of terrorism to divide.
• While in the UK, the Secretary-General also held bilateral meetings with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the new Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt.
• He will return to New York tomorrow afternoon.

• The Deputy Secretary-General today attended the First WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in a Sustainable Development Era in Moscow, co-hosted by Russia's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO).
• On the margins of the Conference, the Deputy Secretary-General, accompanied by the who Director-General, held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the active cooperation in tackling tuberculosis globally and other health issues.  The Deputy Secretary-General and the President also exchanged perspectives on the ongoing efforts to reposition the UN development system and the broader reform of the United Nations.

• The UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial ended last evening in Vancouver, Canada. The event hosted more than 550 delegates from 79 countries and five international organizations. Forty-eight delegations made new peacekeeping pledges and 54 countries endorsed the Vancouver Principles on the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers in peacekeeping operations.
• A number of Member States came forward with “smart” pledges to deliver key capabilities to fill gaps in peacekeeping operations, such as engineering units, fixed and rotary wing aviation assets, quick reaction forces, rapidly deployable battalions, and medical capabilities. Commitments also included innovative pledges for better and more sustainable training and capacity-building. These training efforts will help to ensure that peacekeepers can succeed in the difficult contexts into which they are asked to deploy.
• Member States also pledged to increase the deployment of female troops and police officers. Canada has committed approximately $21 million to support the increased deployment of women, alongside technical assistance, the development of a systematic approach to increasing women in peacekeeping, and research and monitoring. The funds will go towards ensuring an enabling environment, such as facilities conducive to both women and men in missions. A further $15 million has been committed towards a funding mechanism to incentivize troop contributing countries to deploy more women. Canada’s leadership on this issue is particularly welcomed given that the number of female uniformed personnel has moved little over the past two decades and continues to be 3 per cent in military peacekeeping and only 10 per cent in police.

• The United Nations continues to be alarmed by the high level of hostilities in besieged eastern Syria’s Ghouta and Damascus.  Yesterday, a building holding UN assistance, which was recently received in Duma, was reportedly impacted by shelling. While damage was reported to be limited and the main warehouse remained intact, such attacks on humanitarian stocks are inexcusable.
• At the same time, indiscriminate shelling on different residential neighbourhoods in Damascus resulted in civilian deaths and injuries.
• We continue to call for safe, independent and sustained access to all people in need, particularly the three million people who live in hard-to-reach and besieged areas.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has airlifted trauma kits and medical supplies to Iran to support the treatment of thousands of people injured as a result of the recent earthquake in the Iran-Iraq border region.
• The supplies, enough to provide surgical care for up to 4,000 trauma patients, were transported from WHO’s emergency logistical centre in Dubai to Kermanshah province early this morning. They were immediately delivered to hospitals and other health facilities receiving the injured. 
• Almost 9,400 people in Iran were injured as a result of the earthquake, including more than 1,000 people hospitalized in Kermanshah province with serious injuries, and 340 more who were transferred to hospitals in neighbouring provinces, including Tehran.
• In Iraq, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that all affected areas have now been reached with some form of assistance. A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team is in Iraq upon request of the Government and will provide support to the authorities with assessments and coordination.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that more than 181,000 people remain displaced in northern Iraq since mid-October.
• Most of these people are from the Touz district of Salah Al-Din governorate and from the Kirkuk and Daquq districts of Kirkuk governorate.
• Another 172,000 people who had fled their homes have since returned, most of them back to Kirkuk.
• The Government and aid agencies continue to continue to provide life-saving aid, including water, shelter, food, household items and medical assistance.

• The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned today’s attack in Kabul’s Aspa Square that killed at least nine civilians, including one child, and injured at least 16 others.
• The head of the Mission, Tadamichi Yamamoto said the attack is an act of terror and a serious violation of humanitarian law.
• “At a time when Afghanistan is facing so many challenges, and with so many Afghans yearning for peace, such attacks simply cannot be justified,” he stressed. “The use of explosive weapons in civilian-populated areas must stop, without exception.”

• This morning, the Security Council met on Libya. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the country, Ghassan Salamé, said that two months after its launch, the Action Plan for Libya has made significant headway. The UN convened two sessions of the Joint Drafting Committee to agree on a set of amendments to the Libyan Political Agreement and Mr. Salamé said he was quite confident that a consensus is close. The UN mission is also well into preparations for the National Conference, to take place in February 2018.
• Turning to the humanitarian situation, Mr. Salamé said with 25 per cent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, it is outrageous that a country which stands upon such vast wealth has so much suffering. On migrants and refugees, he urged the Libyan Government to find a solution that respects their rights and those of host communities across the country.
• Finally, he warned that impunity for grave crimes is shaking popular faith in the political process and said he cannot accept that repeated calls for justice go unattended. If Libyans alone cannot combat impunity for war crimes, he said, it is time for the international community to consider mechanisms that can help them do so, possibly including joint tribunals.

• This afternoon, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, will brief Member States in an open meeting on the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that the number of undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa has increased, mainly due to the impact of conflict and climate change. The agency says this points to the urgent need to build affected communities’ resilience and to find peaceful solutions that strengthen food security.
• According to the FAO, the number of undernourished people rose from 200 to 224 million between 2015 and 2016, accounting for 25 percent of the 815 million people undernourished in the world in 2016.

• Today is the International Day for Tolerance. This year, the Day is highlighting the UN’s Together campaign, which aims to reduce negative perceptions and attitudes towards refugees and migrants, and to strengthen the social contract between host countries and communities, and refugees and migrants.

• Today is also World Philosophy Day, which highlights the enduringvalue of philosophy for the development of human thought, for each culture and for each individual.
• To mark the Day, UNESCO is organizing a series of debates, workshops and discussions with philosophers, scientist and educators to encourage critical and independent thought as a way to achieve a more tolerant and peaceful society.