HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2017
 
D.P.R. KOREA’S MILITARY, HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS INSEPARABLE, SENIOR U.N. OFFICIAL TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL

• The Security Council held an open meeting on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid R’ad Al Hussein, told the Council that the international security crisis regarding the DPRK’s military actions is inseparable from concerns about the human rights situation of ordinary people in the country. The military tensions have deepened the extremely serious human rights violations endured by the DPRK’s 25 million people.
• He expressed concerns over torture in prisons, as well as the more severe controls over freedom of movement and civil and political rights.
• The High Commissioner also said that the people of the DPRK face severe violations of their economic, cultural and social rights, enduring chronic food insecurity.
• Also speaking at the meeting was Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenča.

• During his visit to the DPRK by Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, from 5-8 December, he met with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Guk.
• Mr. Feltman emphasised the need for the full implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions, saying that there can only be a diplomatic solution to the situation, achieved through a process of sincere dialogue. Time is of the essence.
• He also noted the urgent need to prevent miscalculations and open channels to reduce the risks of conflict, underlining that the international community, alarmed by escalating tensions, is committed to the achievement of a peaceful solution to the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
• While in the DPRK, Mr. Feltman also met with the UN Country Team and diplomats in the country.

• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is in Moscow, Russia, on a two-day trip. During his visit, Mr. Lacroix will meet Government and security officials to update them on issues related to peacekeeping, as well as to thank Russia for its continued engagement and support to our operations.
• He will then head to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to attend the memorial ceremony that will take place in Goma on Thursday to honor the 14 peacekeepers from Tanzania who were killed in last week’s attack in Semuliki, in North Kivu. Mr. Lacroix will also meet the wounded peacekeepers, as well as personnel of the UN Mission to thank them for their service and dedication in the name of peace.
• Mr. Lacroix will then travel on 15 December to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to personally convey to the people and Government of Tanzania the UN’s deep gratitude for the sacrifices of their men and women and their continuing contributions over the years in the DRC, as well as to some of our most challenging missions, including in the Central African Republic, Darfur and Lebanon.

• The Geneva talks with the Syrian parties continued today, with the Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, meeting the Government delegation this morning and the Syrian National Congress delegation this afternoon.

• The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said today that, while the violence that engulfed Sana’a city over the last weeks has subsided, the suffering continues.
• He stressed that famine still threatens millions and preventable diseases continually strike a weakened population. The continuing blockade of ports, is limiting supplies of fuel, food and medicines; dramatically increasing the number of vulnerable people who need help.
• Mr. McGoldrick said that the priority for humanitarian organisations is to resume life-saving operations. He stressed that the lives of millions of people – including 8.4 million Yemenis who are a step away from famine – hinge on the ability of aid workers to continue their operations and to provide health, safe water, food, shelter and nutrition support.
• He emphasized that the parties to the conflict are obliged to fully facilitate sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access, as required by international humanitarian law. This includes ensuring the protection of humanitarian staff and facilities, facilitating visas and not interfering in the work of humanitarian organisations. It also means lifting the restrictions on Red Sea ports and Sana’a airport.
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that limited commercial imports have arrived in Yemen since the easing of the blockade. Last month, commercial food imports dropped 22 per cent and commercial fuel dropped 44 per cent, compared to the month before. Nearly 30 million Yemenis are dependent on food and fuel imports though Hodaidah and Saleef ports.
• On cholera, as of earlier this month, there have been more than 975,000 suspected cholera cases, with 2,224 associated deaths. Meanwhile, there have been nearly 240 diphtheria cases, with 28 associated deaths from 15 governorates.
• Germany has contributed some $35 million to the Yemen Humanitarian Fund, which is now 61 per cent funded with $1.4 billion of the $2.3 billion required this year.

• Today marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Algiers in which 17 UN staff members lost their lives. In a message, the Secretary-General said we have not forgotten the victims and those who survived.
• He said that the Organization was increasingly becoming a target across the world, even though it aimed to support the most vulnerable populations. He added that Algeria was an important partner of the UN in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and expressed his solidarity to the people and Government of Algeria in their efforts to fight these scourges.

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today launched an urgent appeal calling for 1,300 resettlement places to be made available by the end of March 2018 for highly vulnerable refugees stranded in Libya.
• Volker Türk, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, said that given the imminent humanitarian needs and the rapidly deteriorating conditions in detention centres in Libya, UNHCR is actively working to organize more life-saving refugee evacuations to Niger. A first group of 25 refugees of Eritrean, Ethiopian and Sudanese nationalities were evacuated from Libya to Niger last month.

• The UN Mission in South Sudan reports that a patrol was dispatched to Abier, Cuei-Cok and Abiriu, in the northwest of Lakes region, on Saturday following the attack by armed youth last week in which more than 60 people were killed and 70 injured. The patrol assessed the security situation and used its presence to deter a possible escalation of the conflict. It also worked to facilitate dialogue between the parties involved. During the patrol, the UN Mission engaged with community leaders; interviewed witnesses and victims to gather facts about the attack; visited the wounded; and spoke with community members about the need to prevent retaliatory attacks.
• The Mission is urging all parties to avoid further violent confrontation and to work together to find an urgent political solution. The visit by the UN Mission resulted in the removal and opening of roadblocks by armed youth to allow motorists, traders and humanitarian vehicles to travel from Rumbek to Wau and other areas.
• Another UN patrol to the area is expected to take place later this week. The Mission will continue to engage with local authorities, the Government and communities on the way forward and to promote the need for an immediate peace dialogue.

• A report released today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN mission in Somalia warns that armed conflict continues to have a heavy toll on civilians, displacing millions of people and impeding access to humanitarian relief for communities in need.
• The report says that from 1 January 2016 to 14 October of this year, the UN has documented 2,078 civilian death and 2,507 injuries. Sixty per cent of these casualties are attributed to Al Shabaab militants and 13 per cent to clan militias.
• The report also notes that conflict has disproportionately affected children, exposing them to grave violations during military operations, including killing, maiming and arrest and detention by Somali security forces. In addition, reports of recruitment of children increased sharply.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that diphtheria is rapidly spreading in camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, where Rohingya refugees have settled. As of today, some 550 suspected cases and nine fatalities had been reported.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Ministry of Health to respond to the uptick in cases. A vaccine campaign will begin tomorrow, with more than 900,000 doses of vaccine expected to arrive in Cox’s Bazar in the next few days.
• The Rohingya refugee population is extremely vulnerable to disease outbreaks due to low vaccination coverage in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and overcrowded, unsanitary living conditions in refugee sites in Bangladesh.

• The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects report was launched today.  
• According to the report, the world economy has reached its highest growth since 2011. This positive outlook gives policy makers an opportunity to address some of the deep-rooted issues that continue to impede more rapid progress towards sustainable development: strengthening the environmental quality of economic growth, making economic growth more inclusive, and tackling institutional deficiencies that hold back development.

• Today is International Mountain Day This year’s theme is “Mountains under pressure: climate, hunger, migration” and seeks to highlights the challenges that mountain communities face due to climate change and land degradation.
• At the Food and Agricultural Organization’s Headquarters in Rome, countries and civil society organizations that are members of the Mountain Partnership pledged to strengthen the resilience of mountain communities and environments to help them adapt to climate change.