HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2017
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL NAMES NATALIA KANEM HEAD OF U.N. POPULATION FUND

• Following consultations with the Executive Board of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Secretary-General has appointed Natalia Kanem of Panama as the Fund’s new Executive Director. Dr. Kanem succeeds the late Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin of Nigeria.
• A champion of a life of dignity for all, Dr. Osotimehin was admired globally for his leadership of UNFPA and for his immense and invaluable advocacy for the world's women and girls.
• Dr. Kanem brings to the position more than three decades of strategic leadership and management in the fields of medicine, public health, international peace and development, human rights and social justice. She currently serves as Acting Executive Director of UNFPA. Prior to that, she was UNFPA’s Deputy Executive Director (Programme) and earlier, the UNFPA Representative in the United Republic of Tanzania.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh has reached 509,000.
• Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake continued their visit to Bangladesh today and spoke to the press in Cox’s Bazar.
• Calling for urgent funding to scale up the response, Mr. Lowcock noted the “horrific” living conditions of the refugees, stressing the need to ensure the current tragedy does not become a catastrophe with the outbreak of disease. He announced an additional $12 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the second allocation this month, to respond to the crisis.
• OCHA says that the total amount of land now occupied by refugees is 9.6 million square metres, equivalent to 889 football fields.
• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), together with Bangladeshi authorities and other partners, are working to contain an outbreak of diarrheal disease, with nearly 4,800 cases having been reported in the past week.
• A diarrhea treatment centre opened yesterday in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp, where refugees who have been living there since 1992 have taken in thousands of newcomers.
• By the end of this week, there will be a total of 80 beds in diarrhea treatment centres in three locations, with two more centres planned to open next week.
• UNHCR staff, alongside refugee volunteers, will fan out to refugee camps and informal settlements to find people who may be sick but have not sought treatment.
• The Agency is also supporting an effort by the Ministry of Health to administer vaccinations for cholera, which is endemic in Bangladesh, to refugees.

• Further to his statement of 28 September, the Secretary-General said in a statement yesterday that he remains deeply concerned about the situation in Cameroon and strongly condemns the acts of violence reported in the South-West and North-West regions of the country on 1 October, including reported loss of life. He calls on the Cameroonian authorities to investigate these incidents and urges political leaders on both sides to appeal to their followers to refrain from any further acts of violence, and to unequivocally condemn all actions that undermine the peace, stability and unity of the country.
• The Secretary-General takes note of the calls by the authorities for dialogue and encourages representatives of the Anglophone community to seize the opportunity in their quest for solutions to the community’s grievances, within the framework of the Cameroonian constitution.
• The Secretary-General reiterates the support of the United Nations for such efforts, through the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA).

• The UN Mission in South Sudan has received reports of fighting in Waat town, in Jonglei, between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition and youth belonging to the Lou Nuer tribe.
• The Mission is concerned by the large number of reported casualties and is trying to gain access to the area. It calls on all sides to immediately halt all hostilities and reiterates the need for an inclusive political solution to end the crisis.

• In response to questions about the United Nations’ efforts to deal with the authorities in Baghdad and Erbil, the Spokesman said that we welcome efforts to resolve the issues between Baghdad and Erbil based on the Constitution, notably the intervention of the religious authority Ayatollah Al-Sistani last Friday, that urged respect for the Constitution, and the Supreme Federal Court’s decision as regards the referendum. We also welcome other initiatives to resolve the crisis within the constitutional framework and in full respect of Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to re-start dialogue and cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil on this basis.
• The UN Mission in Iraq, UNAMI, is carefully monitoring the impact of the administrative, legal, economic and diplomatic steps and measures introduced by the federal Government in discharge of its prerogatives, rights and responsibilities according to the Constitution. The Mission urges both sides to start technical negotiations on how to implement them, in the spirit of partnership. We take note of the pledges of the Government of Iraq to preserve and respect the interests of all citizens of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the confirmation that the measures are not intended to prevent travel of the people and arrival of supplies, to punish the people or to impose sanctions, but that they are for controlling the entry and exit of people and goods in the region and putting it under the control of the federal Government and federal regulatory authorities.   
• We continue to call for calm and restraint, and strongly call on all sides to avoid statements, public announcements and steps that could raise racial or sectarian tensions, that could further inflame the situation and pave way towards escalation. 

• Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, met today with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Gaza.  He said afterward that he was encouraged by the firm commitment of President Abbas and the Government to return to Gaza under the full control of the legitimate Palestinian Authority.
• This is essential for resolving the humanitarian situation as soon as possible, most notably the crippling electricity and health crises, and should facilitate the lifting of the movement and access restrictions on Gaza, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1860.
• He added that he is encouraged by the continuing engagement of Egypt with all sides to ensure the implementation of the Cairo understandings.
• The United Nations stands ready to continue working with the legitimate Palestinian authorities and the region in support of the Government in taking up its responsibilities in Gaza.

• The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, is becoming increasingly concerned over the funding situation for refugees and other displaced families in the Middle East, where currently only a quarter of families are likely to receive adequate support to prepare for the approaching winter.
• There are nearly 15 million Syrian and Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people scattered across the region. UNHCR estimates that as many as four million are in the extreme risk category and need timely and substantial help to properly prepare for the forthcoming winter. Of these, only one in four are likely to get the assistance they need.
• The $245 million Regional Winter Assistance Plan for the region is currently only 26 per cent funded.

• UNHCR said today that growing violence in parts of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has driven 3,360 refugees into northern Zambia since 30 August.
• This is the largest influx of Congolese refugees into Zambia in the past five years. Some 60 per cent of those arriving in Zambia are children, with many showing signs of malnutrition.
• The Zambian government, UNHCR and the Zambian Red Cross are distributing hot meals and identifying those with specific needs. The humanitarian response team is delivering basic items and temporary shelters are being erected.

• The Global Task Force on Cholera Control will launch a new strategy tomorrow to reduce deaths from cholera by 90% by 2030.
• Cholera kills an estimated 95,000 people and affects 2.9 million more every year.
• The new plan, Ending Cholera: A Global Roadmap to 2030, recognizes that cholera spreads in endemic “hotspots” where predictable outbreaks of the disease occur year after year.
• The Global Roadmap aims to align resources, share best practice and strengthen partnerships between affected countries, donors and international agencies.
• It underscores the need for a coordinated approach to cholera control with country-level planning for early detection and response to outbreaks. By implementing the Roadmap, up to 20 affected countries could eliminate cholera by 2030.
• The Global Task Force on Cholera Control is a diverse network of more than 50 UN and international agencies, academic institutions, and NGOs that supports countries affected by the disease.