HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 4 APRIL 2018
 

• The Secretary-General will leave New York for China on 6 April.
• In Beijing, he will meet with the President of China, Xi Jinping, as well as with Yang Jiechi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee; Wang Yi, State Counsellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council.
• He will also visit the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center.
• The Secretary-General will then travel to Boao, Hainan Province, to attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018, where he will deliver remarks during the opening ceremony of the Forum.
• The Secretary-General is expected to be back in the office on 11 April.

• The Secretary-General is appointing Major General Gebre Adhana Woldezgu of Ethiopia as the new Force Commander of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei, known as UNISFA.
• Major General Woldezgu succeeds Major General Tesfay Gidey Hailemichael, also of Ethiopia, who will complete his assignment on 23 April 2018.  The Secretary-General is grateful for his tireless dedication and invaluable service and effective leadership of UNISFA.
• Major General Woldezgu brings to this position 38 years of experience in the Ethiopian Army, and we have more on this in my office.

• This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke at the opening of the 2018 ECOSOC Partnership Forum and said that in order to deliver on the Agenda 2030, the UN must continue brokering a new generation of partnerships. She added that we count on the private sector to align their business models with the 2030 Agenda because “sustainable business makes business sense.”
• She also called on the business sector to innovate market-based solutions that drive inclusion and provide opportunities for women, young people and vulnerable groups.
• You can watch the forum on UN Web TV, and there will also be a series of Facebook live discussions on the Department of Economic and Social Affairs Facebook Page.

• Today is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General said that “in our turbulent world, mine action is a concrete step towards peace,” and added that it is vital so normal life can resume in places where there has been conflict. He also urged governments to provide political and financial support to enable mine action work to continue, wherever it is needed.

• The Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ursula Mueller, is today visiting Sittwe, in Rakhine State, to take stock of the ongoing humanitarian crisis and advocate for the protection of civilians, unfettered humanitarian access and addressing humanitarian needs.
• Ms. Mueller is on mission to Myanmar to observe first-hand the humanitarian situation in the country and discuss ways to improve the response through meetings with key stakeholders.
• She met with Government officials, including with Myanmar’s State Counsellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Ministers of Social Welfare, Border Affairs, and Defence.

• This morning, the Security Council heard a briefing by Thomas Markram, Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, on the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons programme.
• He said that efforts have continued toward the destruction of the two remaining chemical weapons production facilities by Syria. He also noted that the OPCW Technical Secretariat continues to be unable to confirm the completeness and accuracy of Syria's declaration.
• As for the Fact-Finding Mission, it has a team currently in Damascus, looking into allegations of the use of chemical weapons that were brought to the attention of the Director-General by the Government of Syria.
• Mr. Markram stressed that the conclusions of the Fact-Finding Mission do not entail attribution of responsibility in cases where the use of chemical weapons is determined. The Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) was created for this purpose, but regrettably, its mandate was not renewed, he recalled.
• The persistent allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria underscore the need to identify solutions and reach agreement on an appropriate accountability mechanism, Mr. Markram finally said.

• The United Nations remains deeply concerned for the safety and protection of tens of thousands of civilians from Eastern Ghouta who continue to be displaced from their areas of origin, in addition to those who remain in the besieged enclave.
• Since 9 March, an estimated 133,000 women, children and men have left the besieged enclave of Eastern Ghouta, either through established corridors to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) sites in Rural Damascus or through evacuation agreements to Idlib and Aleppo governorates.
• As of 3 April, some 44,000 people remain in eight IDP sites in Rural Damascus, down from a peak number of 83,000, but most shelters still largely exceed their capacity.
• While some assistance is being provided to the population remaining in newly-accessible areas, there has been no access to the besieged area of Duma since the last inter-agency convoy reached the area on 15 March 2018.
• The UN and partners are also facing serious funding gaps to respond with life-saving assistance and protection services.
• In Afrin, the gradual return of internally displaced people reportedly continued mainly from Nabul and Zahraa, and a smaller number from Tal Refaat towards Afrin district, but exact figures are not yet available.
• The UN continues to be concerned for the safety and protection of civilians impacted by hostilities in the area and reported restrictions of movement. An estimated 137,000 people have been displaced to Tal Refaat and to the surrounding villages due to recent fighting.

• A statement was issued yesterday on the Central African Republic in which the Secretary-General condemned the attack against a base of the UN Mission in the country (MINUSCA) on 3 April, in Ouaka prefecture. The attack led to the death of one Mauritanian peacekeeper, while 11 others were injured and are receiving medical care.
• The Secretary-General offers his deepest condolences to the families of those killed, as well as to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. He wishes a swift recovery to the injured.
• The Secretary-General is also outraged by the killing of 21 civilians, including four children and four women as well as the injuring of 14 civilians, which occurred the same day in the same prefecture.
• The Secretary-General calls on the Central African Republic authorities to investigate these attacks and quickly bring those responsible to justice.

• The UN Refugee Agency today announced the #WithRefugees solidarity tour to raise awareness and inspire action for people who have been forced to flee conflict or persecution.
• The tour will kick off on Friday with a sports day at Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp featuring international athletes, including Egyptian Modern Pentathlete Aya Medani.
• Other events on the tour will include a fashion show in Chicago featuring fabrics made by refugees in Kenya, a refugee football match in Ireland, a photo exhibit in Paris, a week of events on Jeju Island, South Korea and judo competitions and workshops in South Africa. The tour will end on 1 October at UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award Ceremony in Geneva.