HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 12 APRIL 2018
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL WARNS OF RISKS OF IMPASSE IN SECURITY COUNCIL ON USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN SYRIA

• The Secretary-General has been closely following developments in the Security Council on the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria and regrets that the Council has so far been unable to reach agreement on this issue.
• In a statement, the Secretary-General said that he had called the Ambassadors of the five Permanent Members of the Security Council to reiterate his deep concern about the risks of the current impasse and stressed the need to avoid the situation spiralling out of control. He reiterated that, ultimately, our efforts must be about ending the terrible suffering of the Syrian people.
• While the Government of Syria has reportedly taken full control over eastern Ghouta, an estimated 50,000 people remain in different towns that have changed control, in addition to an estimated 70,000 to 78,000 civilians in Douma city.
• Yesterday, close to 3,900 people reportedly arrived from Douma city in eastern Ghouta, Syria, to Al-Bab in rural Aleppo Governorate. Nearly 3,000 of them were transported to a camp near Azaz town.
• Any evacuation of civilians must be safe, voluntary, and in strict accordance with protection standards under international humanitarian and human rights law. It is also imperative that all those displaced are allowed to return voluntarily, in safety and in dignity, to their homes as soon as the situation allows it.
• The UN and partners are urgently appealing for increased funding to allow the UN and its partners to respond with life-saving assistance and protection services to those displaced to IDP sites in rural Damascus, as well as to people who remain in eastern Ghouta. Additionally, further financial assistance is urgently required to assist IDPs in Idleb and Aleppo Governorates.

• In the Central African Republic, the Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, Smail Chergui, today met with the Religious Platform, including the Archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonne Nzapalainga, and the Imam, Kobine Layama. The UN and AU officials praised the inter-faith platform for its sustained effort towards peace, in particular its recent mediation in Bangassou and in the PK5 neighborhood of Bangui. They reiterated the commitment of both the UN and the AU in support of sustainable peace in CAR through dialogue through regional synergies and restoration of state authority with all available means.
• Mr. Lacroix and Mr. Chergui also met a delegation from PK5 to discuss the ongoing situation and stressed the need to work with all those who are committed to peace through dialogue.
• In the afternoon, Mr. Lacroix chaired a memorial ceremony for a peacekeeper from Mauritania and one from Rwanda recently killed in attacks in Tagbara and Bangui respectively.
• There have been no major security incidents in Bangui today although there have been attempts to spread misinformation. The UN Mission has reinforced its position at key locations in the capital’s third district.

• This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, spoke at the General Assembly Hall on improving global road safety. She said that deaths and injuries due to road traffic have become a serious and urgent global concern with some 1.3 million people dying and up to 50 million getting injured on the world’s roads each year.
• Ms. Mohammed said that the newly established United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund will help address this issue and help achieve the road-safety related Sustainable Development Goals. She called on Member States to contribute to the Fund and pool their resources and expertise to save the lives of millions of people around the world and prevent suffering and loss.

• The Secretary-General has appointed Marta Ruedas of Spain as his new Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Ms. Ruedas will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq.
• She will succeed Lise Grande of the United States, who has served in Iraq since December 2014. The Secretary-General is grateful for Ms. Grande’s leadership and dedicated service during her tenure.
• Ms. Ruedas brings to this position more than 27 years of experience in coordinating United Nations development and humanitarian work in conflict and post-conflict countries, as well as extensive experience supporting peacebuilding transitions. She has served as the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan since 2015.

• The latest records released today by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan show that the number of civilians killed and injured by armed conflict have remained at high levels this year.
• During the first three months of 2018, the Mission documented 2,258 civilian casualties (763 deaths and 1,495 injured), which is similar to the figures from the same time period in 2017 and 2016.
• The Mission called on all parties to “do everything in their power to protect civilians from harm,” stressing Afghans continue to suffer, caught in the conflict, in ways that are preventable.

• In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has launched its Needs and Priorities Plan for this year which seeks $111 million dollars to assist six million of the most vulnerable people in the country.
• Undernutrition continues to be a serious concern in the DPRK with more than one-quarter of children stunted due to a lack of adequate food. People also struggle to access basic services, and almost a quarter of the population do not have access to sanitation facilities.
• The Plan will focus on enhancing food security, reducing malnutrition, increasing access to healthcare, water and sanitation services, and building resilience to natural disasters.

• A meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on emerging technologies in the area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) has been taking place in Geneva this week, and that session will end on 13 April. The second meeting is foreseen for 27 to 31 August 2018, also in Geneva. Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill of India is the chair of both meetings. The discussion will build on three informal meetings of experts on the topic, held under the auspices of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
• Participation at these meetings includes a wide array of stakeholders, including many of the Convention’s 125 High Contracting Parties, as well as representatives of international organizations, non-governmental organizations, academia, industry and civil society.

• A new episode of the popular Chinese reality show “Keep Running” will be broadcast tomorrow.  The programme was shot at the United Nations in Vienna.
• Seven top Chinese celebrities visited the UN’s headquarters in the Austrian capital last month to film an episode of the TV challenge show “Keep Running”, which is hugely popular with young people and others in China and across Asia.
• The seven film, TV and singing stars, who have a combined social media following of more than 500 million people, took a Chinese-language guided tour with the Vienna Visitors Service and were briefed on the work of the United Nations.
• The show will be online on Friday 13 April at 8.50 pm (Chinese time)/ 2.50 pm (CEST)/ 8.50 am (EST): https://www.youtube.com/runningmanchina

• The Central African Republic and Tunisia have paid their regular budget dues in full, bringing the Honour Roll to 77.