HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 2 JULY 2018
 
IN BANGLADESH, SECRETARY-GENERAL ‘HEARTBROKEN’ BY SUFFERING OF ROHINGYA, URGES STEPPED UP FINANCIAL SUPPORT

  • The Secretary-General and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim visited Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh today, where they saw firsthand the conditions of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.  Speaking at a press encounter in Cox’s Bazar, the Secretary-General said that it is impossible to visit the camps without being heartbroken over the suffering of the Rohingya people.  He said he had listened to terrible stories of massive violence – of killings, rape, torture, and house or villages burnt. He added that it is also terrible to see more than 900,000 people living in terrible circumstances
  • The Secretary-General said that the solidarity expressed by the international community has not been translated into sufficient support to the Rohingya people of Myanmar in Bangladesh, with the nearly $1 billion appeal only 26 percent funded.  The Secretary-General said he was extremely grateful to World Bank President Kim for mobilizing the World Bank and said he expected the World Bank to announce an extremely important contribution to the Rohingya refugees and to the local community.
  • During the day, the two toured what is now the world’s largest refugee camp, hearing first-hand accounts of the violence these refugees had been subject to in Myanmar. Some described, in vivid terms, a climate of fear, with military raids in their villages. One man explained how women in his family were raped and killed while he was hiding in the forest. Others outlined the continuing restrictions of freedom of movement and lack of access to services imposed on them by the Government of Myanmar. The Secretary-General and the World Bank Group President took particular care to spend time with women and girls who recounted stories of unspeakable violence against themselves and their families.
  • The Secretary-General and President Kim arrived in Dhaka on Sunday. On his arrival at the airport, the Secretary-General said that this was going to be a visit of solidarity with the Rohingya refugees and with the people of Bangladesh, especially the local communities, who have shown such so much generosity to towards the refugees.
  • Later in the morning on Sunday, the Secretary-General and the World Bank Group President met with Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The Secretary-General and Dr. Kim assured the Prime Minister of closer collaboration between the two institutions under the leadership of the Government to address the complex Rohingya crisis.
U.N. ENVOY VISITS WESTERN SAHARA
  • After visits to Algiers, Nouakchott, Rabuni and Rabat, the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Horst Köhler, paid a three-day visit to Western Sahara from 28 June to 1 July, which included meetings in Laayoune, Smara and Dakhla.
  • In his meetings, Mr. Köhler stressed the importance of making progress towards a just, lasting and mutually agreeable political solution to the conflict which will provide for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people. He underlined the need for a new spirit of realism and compromise. Such a solution, he stressed, would remove obstacles to more foreign direct investment and to the creation of growth and jobs in Western Sahara and the entire Maghreb region. The Personal Envoy was encouraged by the openness of all interlocutors to play a constructive role in the search for a solution to the conflict, including by building trust across the political divide.
MALI: SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DEADLY ATTACK ON INTERNATIONAL FORCES
  • In a statement issued yesterday on Mali, the Secretary-General condemned the attack perpetrated against the international forces in Gao which left two civilians dead. Fifteen civilians as well as some Barkhane personnel were wounded in the attack.
  • The Secretary-General expresses his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the Malian Government and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
  • He also reiterates the determination of the United Nations to continue to support, together with international forces operating under relevant Security Council mandates, the tireless efforts of the Malian authorities and people toward the stabilization of their country.
U.N. SOUNDS ALARM ON DEATHS, INJURIES IN DARA’A
  • Over the weekend, the UN received reports that intense air and ground-based strikes continued in multiple areas in Syria’s Dara’a Governorate, resulting in the death and injury of civilians and the largest displacement in the area since the conflict began. 
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that an estimated 270,000 people have been displaced. Estimates are subject to change as numbers continue be verified and frontlines shift.
  • A United Nations cross-border convoy has been on standby at the Ramtha border crossing since 27 June and will proceed as soon as the security situation allows.
  • In response to the surge of internally displaced people seeking protection at the Nasib/Jaber border crossing, as of 1 July and in coordination with Jordanian authorities, the United Nations is providing aid to the Jordanian side of the crossing, which is then transported by Syrian NGOs to the Syrian side for distribution. Aid includes food, water, hygiene and dignity kits, basic items and mobile medical assistance and equipment.
  • The United Nations and its humanitarian partners stand ready to respond to tens of thousands of displaced people at shelters and sites, through the most direct routes, as soon as access allows.
AFGHANISTAN: U.N. MISSION CONDEMNS ATTACK IN JALALABAD
  • The UN Mission in Afghanistan condemned yesterday’s attack in Jalalabad that killed at least 19 civilians, and expressed its concern about a recent spate of incidents in which civilians have been killed in attacks on schools and medical centres.
  • “The architects of this appalling crime must be brought to justice,” said Ingrid Hayden, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES MEXICO FOLLOWING RECENT POLLS
  • In response to questions about the elections in Mexico, the Deputy Spokesman said that the Secretary-General congratulates the people of Mexico for the civic exercise of participation in the largest elections that the country has celebrated. He expresses the readiness of the United Nations to work with the new administration, continuing a longstanding tradition of excellent cooperation between Mexico and the United Nations.
U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CALLS FOR EUROPEAN UNITY IN UPHOLDING RIGHT TO ASYLUM
  • The UN Refugee Agency today urged the Austrian Presidency of the European Union Council to unite European countries so they can deliver common policies that uphold the right to asylum.
  • UNCHR also released a series of recommendations which include establishing a fair distribution mechanism across the EU in support of countries receiving a disproportionate number of asylum claims and a regional approach to make disembarkation more predictable and manageable.
  • The agency today named American actor, director and producer Ben Stiller its latest Goodwill Ambassador.
MORE THAN 200 MIGRANTS DROWN IN MEDITERRANEAN IN PAST THREE DAYS, U.N. AGENCY REPORTS
  • The UN Migration Agency reports that over 200 migrants drowned over the past three days in the Mediterranean.
  • On Friday, 103 people died in a shipwreck north of Tripoli, which was caused by smugglers taking migrants to sea in unsafe vessels. And on Sunday, 100 people were reported missing after a small rubber boat capsized off Alkhums, east of Tripoli.
  • IOM staff is providing food and health services to the survivors.
  • So far this year, the Libyan Coast Guard has returned some 10,000 people to shore from small vessels.
BOLIVIA, CHILE LATEST U.N. MEMBER STATES TO PAY DUES IN FULL
  • Bolivia and Chile have become the latest Member States to join the Honour Roll, bring the total number of Member States which have paid their regular budget dues in full to 107.
U.N. FORUM TO BRING TOGETHER MORE THAN 2,000 PUBLIC, PRIVATE SECTOR LEADERS TO DISCUSS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  • On Monday, 9 July, more than 2,000 government, business and civil society leaders will participate in the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The theme this year is “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies.
  • The Forum will end on 18 July.