HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 10 APRIL 2018
 
IN CHINA, U.N. CHIEF STRESSES NEED FOR FAIR GLOBALIZATION

• The Secretary-General is on his way back to New York.
• Earlier today, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018, he said that globalization is irreversible. It has brought many benefits, he said; hundreds of millions of people have risen from poverty, but vast numbers of people are being left behind. He stressed the need for a fair globalization that leaves no one behind as a pathway to peace and sustainable development. But he added that we won’t make globalization fair by isolationism, protectionism or exclusion. Global problems need global multilateral solutions and our contribution to a fair globalization is the 2030 Agenda.  
• He said there is another challenge that can undo all our best efforts to end poverty and promote universal peace and well-being: climate change. This is a global threat in itself and a massive multiplier of other threats that is moving faster than we are. He said that we need to dramatically raise our ambition, adding, “Science demands it. The global economy needs it. And humanity depends on it.”
• Before leaving Boao, the Secretary-General also met with Shahid Abbasi, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Khurelsukh Ukhnaagiin, the Prime Minister of Mongolia.

• In a statement issued overnight, the Secretary-General expressed his outrage at the continued reports of use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic and reiterated his strong condemnation of the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population. The seriousness of the recent allegations requires a thorough investigation using impartial, independent and professional expertise. In that regard, the Secretary-General reaffirms his full support for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and its Fact-Finding Mission in undertaking the required investigation into these allegations. The Fact-Finding Mission should be granted full access, without any restrictions or impediments to perform its activities.
• The norms against chemical weapons must be upheld. The Secretary-General appeals to the Security Council to fulfil its responsibility and find unity on this issue and also encourage the Council to redouble its efforts to agree upon on a dedicated mechanism for accountability.  He stands ready to support such efforts.
• Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said it was particularly concerned about the situation in Douma in Eastern Ghouta, where tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped. UNHCR estimates that more than 133,000 people have fled Eastern Ghouta over the past four weeks. This is almost three times the number it reported on 20 March.
• Panos Moumtzis, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, said today that over half of the Syrian population has now been displaced and is in need of humanitarian and protection assistance.

• The Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Said Djinnit, briefed the Security Council this morning. He said that negative forces, including the Allied Democratic Forces, continue to attack and terrify the population, causing suffering and displacement, and fuelling mistrust between the countries of the region.
• He also noted that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite progress in preparations for the elections, tensions persist between the Government and the opposition, and that in Burundi, the political and human rights situation remains of great concern, particularly as the country is heading towards a referendum for constitutional changes.
• Human rights violations and impunity remain central to the instability in the region, Mr. Djinnit said, also stressing that the humanitarian situation in the DRC and the region requires greater attention.
• While progress is slow and the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement is yet to fully deliver on the expectations it raised, it remains a vital tool which requires greater political will, the Special Envoy finally said.

• The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) warned in a report published today that armed groups in Libya, including those affiliated with the State, hold thousands of people in prolonged arbitrary and unlawful detention, and submit them to torture and other human rights violations and abuses.
• Since renewed hostilities broke out in 2014, armed groups on all sides have rounded up suspected opponents, critics, activists, medical professionals, journalists and politicians, the report says. Hostage-taking for prisoner exchanges or ransom is also common.
• Those detained arbitrarily or unlawfully also include people held in relation to the 2011 armed conflict - many without charge, trial or sentence for over six years.
• The report, published in cooperation with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), calls on the authorities to publicly and unequivocally condemn torture, ill-treatment and summary executions of those detained, and ensure accountability for such crimes.

• The Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Alain Noudehou, strongly condemned the killing of an aid worker in Bentiu, in South Sudan’s Unity State, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of seven others abducted by an armed group in Morobo County, in Central Equatoria.
• At least 99 aid workers have been killed since the start of the conflict in December 2013. Most have been South Sudanese nationals.

• Yesterday a statement was issued in which the Secretary-General stressed the importance of global efforts to address climate change at the meeting being held in London this week of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee.
• He added that given the increasing vulnerability of all countries to climate change, policy and market signals need to quickly align to encourage the maritime industry to make the needed transition toward zero net greenhouse gas emissions. 

• The Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Miroslav Jenča, visited Jakarta yesterday and today, where, together with ASEAN Secretary-General Mr. Lim Jock Hoi, he co-chaired the ASEAN-UN Secretariat-to-Secretariat meeting and a meeting between the UN and the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives
• Mr. Jenča stressed the Secretary-General’s prevention agenda and recalled his call for a “quantum leap” in cooperation between the two organizations at the 9th ASEAN-UN Summit in Manila last November, and he impressed upon the ASEAN counterparts the need for expanded and deepened cooperation with regional partners to tackle today’s challenges.