HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2018
 
IN KUWAIT, U.N. CHIEF LAUNCHES RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PROGRAMME FOR IRAQ

• Speaking at the Kuwait International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq today, the Secretary-General launched the United Nations Recovery and Resilience Programme for Iraq, which he said is a two-year programme designed to help the Iraqi Government fast-track the social dimensions of reconstruction.  He added that it aims to make immediate and tangible improvements to people’s daily lives, rather than the long timelines associated with major infrastructure projects and economic reforms.
• The Secretary-General said that reconstruction and development programmes must go hand-in-hand with a strategy to prevent the recurrence of violent extremism and terrorism in Iraq. This must include full respect for human rights, including political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights.
• He added that he was encouraged to see progress in the Baghdad-Erbil dialogue, and the Secretary-General hopes that meetings between the federal Government and Kurdistan Regional government will continue and resolve outstanding issues.
• The UN is seeking $482 million for the first year of the Recovery and Resilience Programme and an additional $568 million to help stabilize high-risk areas. Separately, partners are seeking $569 million to provide life-saving assistance to 3.4 million highly vulnerable people across Iraq through the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan.

• Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy for Syria, told the Security Council that since the Vienna and Sochi meetings, he has been consulting on the establishment of a constitutional committee for Syria. His team is in touch with a wide array of Syrians and he also continues to pursue the convening of Syria talks dealing with all four baskets of issues concerning Syria.
• He said he will proceed from New York to Munich, where he will consult with the Secretary-General and other senior officials present at the Munich Security Conference.
• Mr. de Mistura warned the Council that we have seen a string of dangerous and worrying escalations, including inside the de-escalation zones, as well as increased military intervention from multiple sources. He said that this is as dangerous and violent a moment as any that he has seen in his time as Special Envoy.

• A United Nations/ Syrian Arab Red Crescent inter-agency convoy entered Nashabieh in besieged eastern Ghouta to deliver food, health and nutrition items for 7,200 people in need. This is the first inter-agency convoy to cross conflict lines in 2018, and the first to a besieged area since November 2017. The UN estimates that there are 11,765 people in the Nashabieh area and some 393,000 people living throughout besieged eastern Ghouta.
• Since an escalation of hostilities in mid-November, civilians have endured hundreds of shelling attacks and airstrikes that have reportedly resulted in over 200 deaths and left more than 600 people injured. Over the same period, dozens of mortar shells and rockets have fallen on Damascus neighbourhoods and suburbs, reportedly resulting in scores of civilian deaths and injuries.
• The UN reminds all parties to the conflict in Syria of their responsibility to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to facilitate safe, unimpeded and sustainable access to all in need, particularly those in besieged and hard-to-reach areas as required by international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

• Aid agencies in Mali today launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the country, which is seeking US $263 million to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people.
• The humanitarian situation in Mali has deteriorated with insecurity spreading from the north to the central regions. Some 4.1 million people require assistance in 2018 compared to 3.8 million people in 2017.
• Food insecurity is a particular concern, with more than one in five Malians facing food insecurity this year. Of these people, 795,000 require immediate assistance.
• The number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition has also increased by more than 10 per cent between 2017 and 2018.

• In Johannesburg, the Secretary-General’s Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake spoke at the at the 8th Africa Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. She stressed that youth engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals is critical in the African continent, where many young people, and especially girls and women, continue to suffer severe disadvantages when it comes to health services and education.
• She noted that despite recent progress, Africa still has the highest levels of teenage pregnancy in the world, many of which occur in the context of child marriage.
• “In the 21st century, she said, “we cannot allow for child marriage to happen. And similarly, in the 21st century we cannot allow for children to give birth to children.”

• Today is Valentine’s Day. Although it is not an international day we wanted to bring to your attention two campaigns with this theme.
• The UN Environment Programme has launched its “Are you in a toxic relationship?” campaign, which asks consumers to “break up” with disposable plastic to help reduce marine litter.
• And the UN Population Fund is promoting their “I don’t” campaign which seeks to raise awareness that although Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a romantic time for couples, millions of children are coupled up before they are ready, often against their wills. UNFPA calls on the world to prioritize ending child marriage.

• The Honour Roll has climbed to 50 members, with payments from Croatia and Slovenia.