HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 27 MARCH 2018
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEET WITH SAUDI CROWN PRINCE MOHAMAD BIN SALMAN

• The Secretary-General is expected to meet at 5 pm today with Prince Mohamad Bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Today’s meeting follows the generous pledge that Saudi Arabia made with the United Arab Emirates in January to provide $930 million to the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.

SECRETARY-GENERAL REAPPOINTS MOHAMED CHANDE OTHMAN TO CONTINUE INVESTIGATION INTO DEATH OF DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD

• The Secretary-General is pleased to confirm that, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/252, he has reappointed Mohamed Chande Othman, former Chief Justice of Tanzania, to continue his work in relation to the investigation into the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him.
• It is recalled that the Secretary-General had previously appointed Chief Justice Othman as Eminent Person pursuant to General Assembly resolution 71/260, and the Secretary-General transmitted the Eminent Person’s report to the General Assembly in September 2017 (A/71/1042).  That report concluded, among other things, that it remained plausible that an external attack or threat may have been a cause of the crash. 
• The Secretary-General urges Member States to actively assist the Eminent Person in the performance of his mandate.  In this respect, and as provided for in General Assembly resolution 72/252, the Secretary-General calls on Member States that may hold information relevant to the Dag Hammarskjöld investigation to appoint an independent and high-ranking official to conduct a dedicated internal review of their intelligence, security and defence archives to determine whether relevant information exists.
• The Secretary-General renews his commitment to this matter in the strongest terms as he firmly believes that he owes it to his illustrious and distinguished predecessor, Dag Hammarskjöld, and to the other members of the party accompanying him and to their families, to pursue the full truth of this matter. 

• Mark Lowcock, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the Security Council this morning by videoconference on the humanitarian situation in Syria, and he said that the last few months have been some of the worst yet for Syrian civilians. Among other recent examples of the violence, he said that more than 1,700 people have been reportedly killed by airstrikes in eastern Ghouta in recent weeks.
• Meanwhile, he said, tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced from Douma, Hrasta and Kafr Batna, among other locations, in recent weeks. Most of the collective shelters for the displaced do not have the facilities to accommodate such a large number of people. The UN has mobilised a rapid response to provide evacuees staying at shelters with basic goods.
• Mr. Lowcock said that the UN and its partners continue to seek access to Douma, saying that we are ready to provide aid to some 16,500 people if we get the access we need.

• In a statement yesterday, the Secretary-General said he is shocked at reports of remarks attributed to Myanmar Senior General U Min Aung Hlaing. He urges all leaders in Myanmar to take a unified stance against incitement to hatred and to promote communal harmony. Such leadership is critically needed to advance institutional measures to combat discrimination and implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission.
• The Secretary-General reiterates the importance of addressing the root causes of the violence and the responsibility of the Government of Myanmar to provide security and assistance to those in need.  Meanwhile, it is critical that conditions are put in place to ensure that the Rohingya are able to return home voluntarily, in safety and in dignity.

• In a statement, the Secretary-General said he was saddened to learn about the deadly fire at a shopping mall in the city of Kemerovo in the Russian Federation.
• He wishes speedy recovery to the wounded and extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of the Russian Federation.

• In Ukraine, the UN Refugee Agency’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, George Okoth-Obbo, today called on the Government to address the plight of conflict-affected persons and to secure their rights, including access to pensions and freedom of movement.
• Mr. Okoth-Obbo just concluded a week-long visit to the country, where conflict has displaced some 1.5 million people over the past four years.
• In a meeting with Ukrainian officials Mr. Okoth-Obbo said UNHCR was concerned over the low recognition rate for asylum-seekers and urged the authorities to facilitate access for UNHCR and its partners to asylum-seekers in international transit zones at airports to provide legal assistance.

• Today, the UN Refugee Agency and the Council of Europe announced the launch of the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees, a project that aims to assess refugees’ education level, work experience and language proficiency in absence of full documentation.
• The qualifications passport, can be used by public authorities, higher education institutions and employers to better assess refugees’ skills and help refugees access the job market or be admitted to further studies in the host country. The “passport” is also valid in other European countries if refugees move to another country in the continent.

• The World Health Organization held a pledging conference yesterday for their Contingency Fund for Emergencies.
• This Fund was established in 2016 as a result of the lessons learned from the Ebola crisis in West Africa to provide WHO with flexible funds that can be disbursed rapidly to fill the gaps until other financing streams become available.
• At the conference, donors have pledged an additional USD 15.3 million to support quick action by WHO to tackle disease outbreaks and humanitarian health crises in 2018.
• In 2017, the Fund provided nearly USD 21 million for operations in 23 countries, with most allocations released within 24 hours. Without it, the recent outbreaks of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Marburg Virus Disease in Uganda and pneumonic plague in Madagascar could have spiralled out of control.
• WHO is seeking to secure further donor commitments to achieve its funding targets of USD 50 million for 2018 and USD 100 million for the 2018-2019 biennium.