HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 16 MAY 2017
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEET WITH FRENCH PRESIDENT

• The Secretary-General is in Paris, where he is to meet with President Emmanuel Macron today.
• He will then travel to Strasbourg, where he is to address the plenary session of the European Parliament tomorrow morning and then give a joint press conference with the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.
• Before leaving China, the Secretary-General delivered remarks at a roundtable session of the Belt and Road Forum, in which he stressed the importance of recognising the crucial links between sustainable development and sustaining peace. While poverty, extreme inequality or the denial of basic human rights may not necessarily directly cause civil war or terrorism, he said, they all contribute to a sense of social injustice and greatly increase the risk of instability and violence.

• In the Central African Republic, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, today met with leaders of political parties in Bangui, to discuss the ongoing attacks against civilians, mainly the Muslim community, as well as UN personnel and premises. He said that these deliberate attacks in Bangassou, with heavy weaponry, seem to have been well planned as the perpetrators made access very difficult by destroying bridges and blocking all accessible roads to the town. The UN Mission also briefed political leaders about ongoing efforts to put an end to the violence and to stabilize the situation in Bangassou, including by reinforcing its presence by deploying additional troops to neutralize attackers, protect civilians and facilitate critical humanitarian support to the population.
• Yesterday peacekeepers conducted searches and clashed with anti-Balaka fighters in parts of the town. In parallel, the Mission escorted some 250 civilians seeking protection in a mosque to the cathedral, which is being protected by UN peacekeepers. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that according to preliminary estimates, 25,000 people out of the 35,000 inhabitants of Bangassou will need humanitarian assistance.
• Meanwhile, clashes that erupted in Bria (Haute Kotto) yesterday caused the displacement of around 1,000 near the UN Mission’s base, while over 500 have sought refuge at the OCHA compound. In Alindao (Basse Kotto) up to 8,500 people have been displaced by clashes. Unverified figures indicate that up to 100 people may have been killed. OCHA plans to lead an inter-agency assessment mission there.
• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, today expressed grave alarm over the expanding attacks by armed groups against the civilian population in several parts of the Central African Republic, as well as attacks against UN peacekeepers. The High Commissioner warned that violence and rising tensions are spreading to areas that had previously been spared the kinds of terrifying violence seen in some other parts of the country.

• The UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) reports that its camp in Timbuktu was targeted in a mortar attack yesterday. According to preliminary reports, four peacekeepers and three members of the Malian armed forces were injured. Eight shells were reportedly fired in the direction of the airport, close to the UN camp. The UN Mission condemns this attack and denounces the increasing violence in several regions of Northern Mali. The Mission also calls on all signatories of the peace agreement to increase their efforts towards the implementation of the agreement, which is the only way to achieve stability in the country.
• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, continues his visit to Mali. Earlier today, he was in Timbuktu with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mahamat S. Annadif. They visited the Liberian contingent at the site of the attack on 3 May in which one peacekeeper was killed and nine others were wounded. Mr. Lacroix paid tribute to the fallen peacekeeper and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. He also conveyed his solidarity when he met with civilian and uniformed staff members and thanked them for their dedication and sacrifices in difficult conditions. In Bamako, Mr. Lacroix then met with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and hand-delivered a letter from the Secretary-General, encouraging further progress on the peace agreement as well as expressing support for the G5 regional initiative.

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Zahir Tanin, briefed the Security Council this morning.
• Mr. Tanin said that the situation remains generally stable in Kosovo, but the necessary level of trust between Pristina and Belgrade has been further eroded by irresponsible and inflammatory statements.
• He also noted that the decision to call an early parliamentary election in June was a significant development, adding that elections provide opportunities for the renewal of political will and direction, as well as for greater diversity in leadership and representation.
• In the afternoon, the Council will meet on its recent mission to Columbia, followed by consultations on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and other matters.

• In response to questions about the humanitarian conditions in Raqqa, Syria, the Spokesman said that the United Nations and its partners continue the large-scale humanitarian response to those affected by fighting and military operations in Raqqa.
• Since March 2017, UN agencies through their local partners have continued to provide humanitarian assistance for almost 300,000 people, including tens of thousands of people in camps for internally displaced people. Assistance comprises food and non-food-items, such as hygiene kits, nutrition and medical treatment, and vaccinations.
• The humanitarian community is continuing to update its operational plans and is ready to address humanitarian needs that may arise as a result of the ongoing military operations against Da’esh.
• The United Nations calls for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to those affected by the fighting in Raqqa, and more broadly, to the 4.5 million in hard to reach areas across Syria.
• Meanwhile, the UN continues to receive disturbing reports of continued fighting and military operations endangering the lives of civilians in Deir Ezzour governorate. Yesterday, airstrikes on Abu Kamal city in rural Deir Ezzour allegedly killed dozens of people, including women and children.
• In response to questions, the Spokesman said that the UN cannot independently verify information about the presence of a crematorium in Sednaya prison. The Syrian Government has systematically rejected repeated requests from UN bodies to access detention centres and prisons.
• However, UN entities have regularly documented and reported on human rights violations in Syria, including torture in the context of detention.
• We are extremely concerned that thousands of civilians continue to be held in Government-run detention facilities and have grounds to believe that they are systematically subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment including torture and sexual violence.

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today said that fighting in Yemen’s Taizz has displaced nearly 50,000 people since the beginning of the year.
• This is in addition to the three million people who have been uprooted since the start of the conflict, of whom two million are still displaced and one million have returned home to precarious conditions.
• The Agency was able to access Mokha, one of the worst affected areas in Taizz, three times last year, most recently last week when it distributed enough aid for 6,200 people, in addition to the nearly 70,000 already reached since the start of the year.
• In Hudaydah, UNHCR field teams saw a huge spike in humanitarian needs, with displaced people living on the streets. The Agency is leading efforts to respond to additional displacement in anticipation of intensified hostilities in the area.
• Also on Yemen, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that as of today, the number of suspected cholera cases has exceed 14,000 with 186 associated deaths.
• The UN and its partners are delivering supplies to 33 diarrhea treatment centres and health facilities across the country. OCHA will fast track funds to help contain the cholera outbreak.

• The UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has urged an investigation into the murder of Mexican journalist Javier Arturo Valdez Cárdenas.
• Valdez was the founder and editor of the weekly Riodoce in the State of Sinaloa and had received the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award for his reporting on crime and drug trafficking.
• Ms. Bokova said Valdez’ death  is a reminder of the dangerous conditions in which many journalists exercise their profession and that attacks on them undermine the fundamental human right of freedom of expression.
• The head of the UN Human Rights Office in Mexico, Jan Jarab, said the security situation for journalists and rights defenders in Mexico this year has become “a nightmare with no end in sight” with at least six journalists and three activists killed in the first quarter.

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that over the weekend, some 500 were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Libya. However, around 20 men, women and children are missing and feared dead.
• With this latest incident, it is estimated that more than 1,350 people are now missing or dead in the Mediterranean Sea.

• In a new report, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners say that more than 3,000 adolescents die every day, totaling 1.2 million deaths a year, from largely preventable causes, such as road traffic injuries, lower respiratory infections and suicide.
• More than two-thirds of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and South-East Asia in 2015.
• The new report says that most of these deaths can be prevented with good health services, education and social support. However, in many cases, adolescents who suffer mental health disorders, substance use or poor nutrition cannot access the prevention and care services they need.

• The UN torture prevention body today urged Bolivia to improve monitoring of detention places and tackle its high rate of pre-trial detention, which amounts to 70 per cent of the prison population in the country.
• The call came at the end of the second visit to Bolivia by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, which stressed that the Government should increase efforts to make the country’s designated detention monitoring body fully independent, effective and in line with the country’s international obligations.

• Iraq has paid its regular budget dues, becoming the 99th Member State to have done so.