Noon briefing of 18 December 2017

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 18 DECEMBER 2017

ON INTERNATIONAL DAY, U.N. CHIEF SAYS SOLIDARITY WITH MIGRANTS HAS NEVER BEEN MORE URGENT

• Today is International Migrants Day. In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General stressed that solidarity with migrants has never been more urgent. He said that evidence overwhelmingly shows that migrants generate economic, social and cultural benefits for societies everywhere and yet, hostility towards them is growing around the world. He called for international cooperation in managing migration to ensure that its benefits are most widely distributed and that migrant’s human rights are protected.
• Today at 2:00 p.m. the Secretary-General will be taking part in a panel discussion at UNICEF House, which you are welcome to attend. And my guests today will be Mr. Béla Hovy, Chief of the Migration Section of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) who will be discussing The International Migration Report 2017, and also Mr. Leonard Doyle, the Head of Communications for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

• Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the members of the Security Council today on the follow-up to resolution 2234, passed a year ago.
• He said that he is particularly concerned as to the future of our collective efforts to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The Secretary-General, he recalled, has been clear that ending the occupation and realizing a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestine, is the only way to achieve such a vision. Today, however, he warned, there is a growing risk that the parties may revert to more unilateral actions.
• He noted that since the adoption of resolution 2234, there has been a significant reduction of the number of violent attacks. He said that significantly more housing units for settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory were advanced and approved in 2017, compared to 2016; however, the number of tenders published and opened for bidding has decreased this year.

• The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said that a patrol hit a suspected improvised explosive device in Kidal city this morning. One peacekeeper was slightly wounded. In response to the attack, the Mission deployed a quick reaction force and an explosive ordnance disposal team to secure and clear the incident site and to recover a vehicle that was damaged.
• This follows four separate attacks against Mission personnel and premises in Kidal on Friday, all of which were repelled by peacekeepers. One peacekeeper was severely wounded. Two UN Mission staff and two civilians, who were slightly wounded, were immediately given medical attention.
• In a statement over the weekend, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mahamet Saleh Annadif, strongly condemned the attacks on peacekeepers that also put civilians at risk, adding that the Mission would continue to repel all attacks in a similarly robust manner.

• The Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, today deplored the deadly ambush on a convoy carrying humanitarian food supplies for people affected by conflict on Saturday 16 December. He also expressed grave concern over the limitations that attacks of this nature may have on the delivery of life-saving supplies to people in need in north-east Nigeria.
• Four civilians are reported to have been killed in the ambush that took place on the road between Dikwa and Gamboru, in Borno State. Aid items destined to alleviate the suffering of thousands of people have also been destroyed.

• The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Pernille Dahler Kardel, met separately this morning with President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. She had met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri last week.
• Ms. Kardel, who arrived in Lebanon last week, discussed with Lebanon’s top leaders the key issues that are on the agenda between Lebanon and the UN. She underlined the UN’s continued support for Lebanon on crucial issues related to peace and security, stability and socio-economic development.

• Humanitarian organizations working in Yemen released a joint statement yesterday on allegations of corruption and bias in the provision of relief assistance, in which they condemned in the strongest terms allegations put forward by the parties to the conflict in Yemen without proper substantiation. The humanitarian partners in Yemen emphasised that they maintain their neutrality and do not take sides with any of the parties to the conflict.
• Meanwhile, clashes and air strikes are reportedly continuing in southern Hodeidah Governorate, about 100 km south of Hodeidah city. Renewed clashes along the south-west coast have reportedly caused significant civilian displacement, although comprehensive displacement estimates are not yet available.