HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 14 JUNE 2017
 
IN AFGHANISTAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES COMMITMENT TO HELPING DISPLACED PEOPLE

• The Secretary-General was today in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, where he met with displaced men and women from Kapisa Province now living in a settlement in the outskirts of the capital. They told him that security was the prerequisite for their return to their home province and that education, including for women and girls, from primary to vocational training, was critical for supporting themselves and their families. They also stressed their need for medical care.
• The Secretary-General expressed his compassion and solidarity and assured them of his personal and the UN's full commitment to work with the Government and people of Afghanistan to address their needs and build a sustainable and prosperous future with and for them.
• The Secretary-General also held bilateral meetings with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah. He also met with UN staff working in Afghanistan.
• In a press conference in Kabul, he stressed that his visit is essentially a visit of solidarity with the Afghan people during the holy month of Ramadan – something that he noted he did every year when he served as High Commissioner for Refugees. He recalled the recent terrorist attacks and offered condolences to the families of the victims. The full transcript of this press conference should be available soon.
• For this visit to Afghanistan, the Secretary-General observed the Ramadan fast, in solidarity with Muslims all around the world, and called for peace and compassion. 
• He is traveling back to New York.

• During his visit to Central Asia, the Secretary-General has been following the crisis in the Gulf region closely. Being convinced of the importance of a regional solution, he spoke today on the phone with Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, following a number of other contacts, to express his full support for Kuwait's efforts to deescalate tension and promote an effective dialogue.
• Today, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said that he is alarmed about the possible impact on many people’s human rights of the situation in the Gulf.  He said the Human Rights Office is receiving reports that specific individuals have already been summarily instructed to leave the country they are residing in, or have been ordered to return home by their own Government. Among those likely to be badly affected are couples in mixed marriages, and their children; people with jobs or businesses based in States other than that of their nationality; and students studying in another country.
• The High Commissioner is also extremely troubled to hear that the UAE and Bahrain are threatening to jail and fine people who express sympathy for Qatar or opposition to their own governments’ actions, as this would appear to be a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression or opinion.

• On the tenth anniversary of the Security Council’s decision to deploy the African Union-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, El Ghassim Wane, briefed the Council on the joint recommendations of the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on the reconfiguration of the Mission.
• Mr. Wane said that, over the last three years, the conflict has markedly changed, following a successful military campaign by the Government. The number of inter-communal security incidents has decreased and progress has been made on the political front. Yet, as illustrated by a population of internally displaced persons of 2.7 million, a number of crucial grievances at the origin of the conflict and key issues related to its aftermath still need to be addressed.
• Mr. Wane therefore said that the joint report proposed a two-pronged approach combining peacebuilding and peacekeeping tasks. Most parts of Darfur require a more peacebuilding-oriented approach, while in the Jebel Marra and its vicinity the Mission's efforts would focus on traditional peacekeeping tasks. This concept would enable the Mission to reduce its troop ceiling down by 44% and the police ceiling by 30%.

• This afternoon, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed will speak to the Member States at an informal briefing on the Secretary-General’s report on Haiti and cholera.
• This morning, she spoke at an event on the rule of law, and said that the essence of Sustainable Development Goal 16 and its specific target 16.3 to promote the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice for all is not only a self-evident objective, but it is catalytic to all the Goals.  She said that it is clear that the rule of law provides a foundation for preventing conflict, fostering peace and advancing sustainable development, but establishing the rule of law does not happen overnight. 

• The Security Council will send a mission to Haiti from 22 to 24 June. Council members are expected to meet with the President, the Prime Minister and other Government officials; the leadership of the UN Mission; the UN Country team; the UN Police presence; and a range of civil society actors.
• The mission intends to reaffirm the support of the Security Council to the Government and people of Haiti to strengthen their country and institutions, in order to contribute to the stability and development of Haiti. The Council members will also conduct a review of the implementation of Resolution 2350 (2017), on the closure of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the smooth transition between MINUSTAH and the UN Mission for Justice and Support (MINUJUSTH).

• Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien said he is deeply concerned for the well-being of some 400,000 people on both sides of the ‘contact line’ in the Donetska Oblast of eastern Ukraine, who have been without access to safe drinking water for four days due to shelling of the First Lift Pumping Station of the South Donbass Water Pipeline on 11 June. The water supply to another 700,000 people is also hanging in the balance.
• He appeals to all parties to the conflict to immediately ensure a prolonged cessation of hostilities to allow critical repair and maintenance to restore the water supply, including the facilitation of any movements across the ‘contact line’.
• Emergency services and aid agencies are working together to provide water to affected communities by any means possible.
• Mr. O’Brien is extremely concerned about possible outbreaks of water-borne diseases and the effect that water cuts will have on health facilities in the area. The need for urgent and permanent repairs to the pumping station is paramount.

• The World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered food to displaced people in seven hard-to-reach areas in Raqqa and Deir Ezzour governorates in northern Syria, where regular deliveries of humanitarian assistance have been suspended for more than three years due to conflict and besiegement.
• This week, sixteen trucks loaded with a one-month supply of WFP food assistance delivered relief for 80,000 displaced people who have arrived in parts of Raqqa, Deir Ezzour and Al-Hassakeh. WFP also delivered a one-month supply of specialized nutrition supplements for the treatment and prevention of malnutrition for nearly 5,000 children.
• Meanwhile, heavy clashes continued in Raqqa city yesterday, with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reportedly advancing from both the western and eastern sides of the city. As fighting and military operations continue, the UN continues to be deeply concerned for the safety and protection of tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the city.

• The World Food Programme (WFP) is scaling up its emergency operations to help those most urgently in need of help in Yemen, home to one of the world’s worst hunger crises.
• The country is on the brink of famine, with more than 17 million people – or two-thirds of the population – not knowing where their next meal will come from.
• This month, WFP aims to reach 6.8 million people with food. The agency stresses that resources are urgently needed, especially given the outbreak of cholera.

• The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, warned today about the disastrous consequences of a further reduction in the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip on the living conditions of two million Palestinians. He called upon the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Israel to put the welfare of Gaza’s residents first and to take the necessary measures to avoid further suffering. The UN has already appealed to the international community to support its limited humanitarian efforts to prevent the collapse of vital life-saving, health, water, sanitation and municipal services.
• Early this week, the Israeli cabinet agreed to a reduction in the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, following a decision by the Palestinian Authority to reduce its monthly payments for that supply by 30 per cent.  If, as a result of the Palestinian Authority’s instructions, this decision is implemented, the situation will become catastrophic. The reduction will bring most households and service-providers down to 2 hours or so of power per day. 
• Mr. Piper warned that a further increase in the length of blackouts is likely to lead to a total collapse of basic services, including critical functions in the health, water and sanitation sectors. The people in Gaza should not be held hostage to this longstanding internal Palestinian dispute.

• The amount of money migrants send to their families in developing countries has risen by 51 per cent over the past decade according to a new report released by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today. This is far greater than the 28 per cent increase in migration from these countries.
• “Sending Money Home: Contributing to the SDGs, One Family at a Time” is the first-ever study of a 10-year trend in migration and remittance flows over the period 2007-2016. While the report shows that there have been increases in sending patterns to almost all regions of the world, the sharp rise over the past decade is in large part due to Asia which has witnessed an 87 per cent increase in remittances.
• More than 200 million migrant workers are now supporting an estimated 800 million family members globally. It is projected that in 2017, one-in-seven people in the world will be involved in either sending or receiving more than US$450 billion in remittances. 

• In response to questions yesterday on the Central African Republic (CAR), the Secretariat is taking the matter regarding the contingent of the Republic of Congo deployed in the UN Mission in the CAR seriously and is considering the next steps.
• The Secretariat intends to rapidly take all necessary measures to address the situation.

• The UN has released the 42nd edition of Basic Facts about the United Nations, which has a couple of firsts, including a new section on the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

• Greece and Uganda have paid their regular budget dues in full, bringing to 107 the number of Member States that have done so.