HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 18 MAY 2018
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEET PRESIDENT TRUMP TODAY

• The Secretary-General is continuing his travel to Washington, DC and he met today with the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and National Security Adviser John Bolton. They spoke about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Yemen, Syria and the broader Middle East.
• At 2:30 pm, the Secretary-General will meet with President Donald Trump.
• Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will deliver the commencement address at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, spoke at the Special Session of the Human Rights Council on the occupied Palestinian territory today. He said that since the protests began on 30 March, 87 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli security forces in the context of the demonstrations, including 12 children; 29 others, including three children, were killed in other circumstances. And more than 12,000 people have been injured, more than 3,500 of them by live ammunition. He added that the figure of 60 people killed on Monday is the highest one-day death toll in Gaza since the 2014 hostilities.
• Those responsible for violations must in the end be held accountable, he said.
• Meanwhile, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, commended Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s decision to maintain the opening of Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, in both directions, throughout the holy month of Ramadan. 
• This is an important and encouraging step by Egypt, and Mr. Mladenov hopes that the security situation will allow for a more regular movement.

• In Geneva, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, convened today the first meeting of WHO’s Emergency Committee regarding the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• The Committee did not declare this outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. In light of this advice, WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions.
• The Committee said the response by the government of the DRC, WHO and partners has been rapid and comprehensive, and interventions underway provide strong reason to believe that the outbreak can be brought under control.
• However, the Committee stressed the risk of more rapid spread given that Ebola has now spread to an urban area, the city of Mbandaka, which is in proximity to the Congo river, with significant regional traffic across porous borders.
• It also noted huge logistical challenges given the poor infrastructure and remote location of most cases currently reported.
• Neighbouring countries should therefore strengthen preparedness and surveillance, and if the outbreak expands significantly, or if there is international spread, the Emergency Committee will be reconvened. 

• The UN Refugee Agency is alarmed at new displacement in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 7,000 Central African Republic refugees have arrived in under a week into a situation of little help and desperate need.
• The speed of arrivals and the very limited humanitarian presence in the area mean that these people, mostly women and children, urgently need increased support.
• Critically, UNHCR’s own capacity for an emergency response is severely stretched, with the DRC operation funded at 16 per cent of the needed level.
• UNHCR commends the Democratic Republic of the Congo for keeping its borders open to refugees and is appealing for urgent support for these villages which, for many of them, now house more refugees than local Congolese people.

• In a statement on the Central African Republic yesterday, the Secretary-General condemned the attack by presumed anti-Balaka elements on a convoy escorted by UN peacekeepers in the southeast of the country. The attack resulted in the killing of a peacekeeper from Mauritania and the wounding of eight others.
• Four peacekeepers seriously injured yesterday were evacuated to Entebbe, Uganda, today.
• Meanwhile, the Mission reports that in Bambari, the UN Force and Police are patrolling in the city together with the Central African internal security forces. The Mission is engaged in discussions with local authorities, UPC representatives and anti-Balaka to address the security situation in the city.

• UNICEF said today that more than 200 children were released by armed groups in South Sudan yesterday. It was the third such ceremony this year and brings the total number of children released in 2018 to 806. Additional releases are expected in the coming months that could result in more than 1,000 children being freed.
• During the ceremony, the children were formally disarmed and provided with civilian clothes. Medical screenings will now be carried out, and they will receive counselling and psychosocial support. Once reunited, the children and their families will be provided with three months’ worth of food assistance to support their initial reintegration. They will also receive vocational training aimed at improving household income and food security. UNICEF and partners will also ensure the released children have access to education services.
• The 210 children released included three girls and largely came from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition, with 8 having been associated with the National Salvation Front.

• The United Nations is concerned for the safety and protection of civilians in Yarmouk and Hajar Al-Aswad in southern Damascus, as well as elsewhere in Damascus, in light of the ongoing military campaign.
• Hostilities between Government forces and Da’esh reportedly continued in the Da’esh-held parts of Yarmouk and Hajar Al-Aswad. Thousands remain caught up in fighting that has resulted in civilian deaths, injuries, and displacement – with the majority of those affected being Palestinian refugees - and the destruction of essential civilian infrastructure.
• Meanwhile, yesterday, shelling on residential areas in Damascus resulted in the deaths of two people and injuries to 22 others. Since 13 April, about 130 projectiles have been shelled on residential areas in Damascus, resulting in 16 deaths and 160 injuries.
• The United Nations and its 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 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said today they are concerned about what appears to be a deteriorating climate for the defence of human rights in Guatemala.
• Over the past 10 days, three human rights defenders working with indigenous and peasants’ rights organizations were murdered.
• The Human Rights Office calls on the authorities to promptly investigate these murders and other attacks and threats against human rights defenders, and to ensure that those found responsible are held accountable.
• They also express concern about smear campaigns against independent journalists and media, judicial officials, civil society organizations, human rights defenders and other actors involved in the fight against past and present corruption and impunity.

• After one year in office, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will open the Seventy-First World Health Assembly next week in Geneva with an ambitious agenda for change that aims to save 29 million lives by 2023.
• Ministers of Health and other delegates will meet to discuss a range of issues, including the 13th General Programme of Work, which is WHO’s 5-year strategic plan to help countries meet the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• This Programme of Work is the result of 12 months of intensive discussion with countries, experts and partners, and centres on the “triple billion” targets:
  • 1 billion more people benefitting from universal health coverage
  • 1 billion more people better protected from health emergencies
  • 1 billion more people enjoying better health and well-being.
• Other topics that will be covered include WHO’s work in health emergencies, polio, physical activity, vaccines, the global snakebite burden and rheumatic heart disease.

• On Sunday we will mark the first World Bee Day, which seeks to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and the threats that they face.
• Seventy-five per cent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity - a cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Goals. But pesticides, monocropping practices and climate change threaten bee colonies.
• World Bee Day coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention.