HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 8 MAY 2018

 
IN CUBA, SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH PRESIDENT DIAZ-CANEL, ADDRESSES REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMISSION

• This morning in Havana, the Secretary-General addressed the 37th session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC.
• He praised ECLAC for consistently and courageously putting forward a development vision with equality as a driver of growth, and for focusing on equality that looks beyond income as a measure of well-being.
• “Seventy years after its founding, ECLAC continues to be where it has always been: on the frontlines pushing for a fair globalization,” he said.
• The Secretary-General praised the region’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, and encouraged them to “keep building, pushing and fighting for a fair globalization that leaves no one behind.”
• Yesterday, the Secretary-General met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. He also laid a wreath the Memorial of José Martí and toured the streets of Old Havana, where he had the opportunity to meet and talk to locals, and he praised Cuba’s restoration efforts of that part of the city, calling it a gift from the Cuban people to the world.
• The Secretary-General also met with the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, Raúl Castro.
• He is expected back in New York this evening.

• The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack on 5 May 2018 in Gwaska village, Kaduna State, northwestern Nigeria, which resulted in scores of casualties.
• The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and to the Government and people of Nigeria, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.
• The Secretary-General calls for those responsible for this attack to be swiftly brought to justice. The Secretary-General also expresses his continued concern over the persisting violence and urges all actors to work together to bring peace and stability to the country.

• Yesterday, more than 1,300 people, the majority of them women and children, were reportedly evacuated from Yalda, Babilla and Beit Sahm (YBB) towards the Euphrates Shield areas in Syria’s northern rural Aleppo Governorate. In total, more than 8,000 people are reported to have been evacuated from these areas of southern Damascus since 4 May.
• Also on Monday, hostilities between Government forces and Da’esh reportedly continued in Da’esh-held parts of Yarmouk camp. According to local sources, the Government allowed some civilians from Yarmouk, including the sick and wounded, to enter neighbouring Yalda.
• The United Nations and partners stand ready to deliver inter-agency humanitarian assistance to people in need in Yalda, Babilla and Beit Sahem, as well as to Yarmouk and neighbouring areas, as soon as conditions allow and access is granted.

• The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, is making an official visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from 8 to 11 May.
• He will visit schools and nurseries to meet some of the mothers and young children that WFP is supporting, as well as to understand the needs of the operation, which at this point is under-funded.
• During his visit, Mr. Beasley will have meetings with senior Government officials in Pyongyang and visit nutrition activities supported by WFP in nurseries and kindergartens.  
• WFP aims to assist 650,000 women and children in DPRK every month, providing highly nutritious, fortified cereals and biscuits that can address their nutritional needs. 
• Funding shortfalls have meant that rations have had to be reduced and suspended in some cases.

• After decades of displacement, 93 refugees in Thailand have returned to south-eastern Myanmar with the support of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and its partners.
• The returns mark further progress in the voluntary repatriation of refugees from Thailand.
• The refugees departed yesterday from five refugee camps on the border and were received by Myanmar authorities at two reception centres.
• Refugees in Thailand have been expressing interest in returning home in the hope that peace and stability will prevail in their places of origin in south-eastern Myanmar.
• UNHCR expects returns to continue. In south-eastern Myanmar, conditions allow for UNHCR to facilitate these voluntary returns. In Rakhine State, however, the situation is not yet conducive for the return of Rohingya refugees.

• In response to questions about media reports out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding the investigation into the murder of the two UN experts in March 2017, the Spokesman made the following clarification.
• Last week, the UN Mission in the country (MONUSCO) and the Follow On Mechanism supported an operation conducted by the Congolese authorities in Moyo Musuila in an attempt to gather relevant evidence. This operation led to the recovery of two sets of remains.
• We understand the Congolese authorities are currently conducting forensic analyses of these remains and are attempting to establish their identities.
• Only once these analyses are completed can there be a determination of the identity of the victims and the relevance to the investigation if any.

• The Secretary-General continues to support efforts to fight impunity in Guatemala and the important work of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and its Commissioner, Ivan Velásquez.
• CICIG is an independent body established through an Agreement between the State of Guatemala and the United Nations.
• It is funded through voluntary contributions from a number of Member States and we trust they will continue to support CICIG’s efforts.