HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 27 JULY 2018
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES PAKISTAN FOR ELECTIONS

• In a statement, the Secretary-General congratulates the people of Pakistan on the 25 July general elections. By exercising their constitutional right to vote, the people of Pakistan have reaffirmed their commitment to a democratic Pakistan.
• The Secretary-General commends the Electoral Commission of Pakistan for the organization of the elections, noting positive initiatives related to training and efforts to enhance the inclusion of women, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups, as well as first-time voters, in the electoral process. The United Nations is committed to continue to support the Electoral Commission.
• The Secretary-General looks forward to the formation of the new government and wishes it success in providing the people of Pakistan a stable, democratic, and prosperous future.

CAMBODIA: AHEAD OF POLLS, SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES NEED FOR INCLUSIVE, PLURALISTIC POLITICAL PROCESS

• In a statement issued this morning on Cambodia, the Secretary-General said that, as Cambodians prepare to take part in the elections scheduled for 29 July, he recalls that an inclusive and pluralistic political process remains essential for safeguarding the progress made by Cambodia in consolidating peace.
• The Secretary-General calls on all political actors to reduce tensions and political polarization. He calls upon the government to uphold international human rights standards and in particular to ensure guarantees for civil society actors and political parties to exercise their democratic rights. He reiterates the continued commitment of the United Nations to support a peaceful and democratic Cambodia that fully respects the human rights of all its citizens.

• Ahead of the presidential election in Mali on 29 July, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MINUSMA, reports that the security situation remains volatile, with local intercommunity tensions and the risk of criminal and terrorist actions in the north and the centre of the country. So far, however, there have been no major incidents related to the electoral process.
• The UN mission is providing technical assistance to the Malian authorities' efforts to create conditions conducive for the holding of credible and peaceful elections. This includes the preparation and dispatching of electoral materials, back-up security support, as well as sensitization, transportation and training of electoral officials. The mission has also made transportation available for all candidates to travel to the north and centre of the country for campaign purposes.
• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, is proactively performing his good offices and political support mandate, with a view to ensuring that any electoral-related dispute is resolved peacefully and in accordance with the law. The mission is closely coordinating with international, regional and national partners that have deployed to observe the electoral process.
• Security Council resolution 2423 (2018) mandates the UN mission to support, within its resources and areas of deployment, the conduct of inclusive, free, fair and transparent elections.

• The Security Council this morning met on the humanitarian situation in Syria this morning.
• Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said that the UN and its partners have mobilized a response that is reaching tens of thousands of people across much of the south-west. However, some 110,000 newly displaced people remain in Quneitra in areas largely cut off from aid.
• He said that humanitarian organizations continue to reach millions of people across Syria, with more than 3 million people having received food last month alone. But Mr. Lowcock stressed that needs in many areas have continued to grow, particularly in the south-west and north-west, as well as in Raqqa.
• He noted that the UN appeal for Syria this year is still substantially underfunded. He also emphasized the need for safe, unimpeded and sustained access.
• For her part, Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said that children continue to be disproportionately affected by the conflict. She said it was essential that the Security Council does all that is in its power to put pressure on parties to conflict to comply with their obligations under international law and ensure that children are no longer subject to grave violations of their rights.
• Ms. Gamba said that it is time for the children of Syria to believe in their own future and to learn what peace means.

• Yesterday afternoon, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Colombia, Jean Arnault, briefed the Security Council.
• He said the UN Mission stands ready to adopt the same collaborative approach with the incoming administration of President-elect Ivan Duque that the Mission pursued with President Santos.
• He noted that the presence of the political party FARC in the new Congress fulfills one of the core objectives of the Peace Agreement and that this Congress was among the most diverse, plural and representative in the country’s legislative history.
• Supporting institutions in their efforts to curb the violence in the territories will remain a top priority for the Mission, Mr. Arnault told the Council, adding that the reintegration into civilian life of former FARC-EP members is very much unfinished business.
• Fulfilling the guarantees given to those who have laid down their weapons is essential for Colombia, and also for Colombia to be a source of motivation for parties to conflict elsewhere in the world, he stressed.

• This year, the Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated $10 million to respond to the urgent food needs of 382,000 people in Chad and to provide nutrition support to 72,000 children under the age of five.
• 22,000 of these children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
• In June, more than one million people in Chad were assisted with food support.
• Chad’s food security and nutrition situation is showing a marked deterioration compared to last year as a result of severe rainfall deficits in 2017 which have compounded conflict dynamics and high food prices.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that recovery and response efforts are continuing in the wake of Monday’s dam collapse in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
• The United Nations is working closely with the Government to provide any support requested.
• The United Nations is also bringing together all international NGOs and development partners to coordinate support and to meet the immediate needs.
• Several UN agencies are helping the Government on the ground, including through the deployment of staff members to the affected areas to assess road conditions and immediate needs, and to provide food, medicine and hygiene supplies.

• Tomorrow, 28 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) marks World Hepatitis Day.
• This day focuses on raising awareness of the global burden of viral hepatitis, a major health problem that needs an urgent international response.
• According to WHO, there were approximately 325 million people living with chronic hepatitis (as of 2015), and about 1.34 million deaths per year are caused by viral hepatitis, higher rates than HIV/AIDS or malaria. 
• However, 90 per cent of people with hepatitis B and 80 per cent infected with hepatitis C do not even know it, which prevents them from seeking appropriate medical care and taking measures to avoid transmitting the infection to others.