HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
TUESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2014
SECRETARY-GENERAL ENCOURAGES DISCUSSIONS ON TRANSITION PROCESS IN BURKINA FASO
· The Secretary-General continues to follow closely the situation in Burkina Faso.
· He welcomes the ongoing discussions on the modalities of the transition process. He encourages all Burkinabe stakeholders to finalize this document as soon as possible.
· The Secretary-General commends the ongoing efforts of the joint UN-AU-ECOWAS mediation.
· He welcomes the various high-level delegations that have visited Ouagadougou this week to engage with Burkinabe stakeholders in support of their efforts to agree on a consensual, civilian-led transition, including the Chairperson of the African Union, President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, as well as President Macky Sall of Senegal and President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, who are currently in the country.
SYRIA: SPECIAL ENVOY DE MISTURA DETAILS FREEZE ZONES’ PROPOSAL
· The Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, spoke to reporters in Damascus today, one day after he met with President Bashar Al-Assad and visited the city of Homs.
· He discussed the UN proposal for a freeze – or “Tajmeed” in Arabic – which he said is a new way to achieve a de-escalation of violence, starting with the city of Aleppo. And he added that the freeze meant that all sides would stop fighting and not move from their positions.
· Mr. de Mistura said that his meetings with the President and with Government officials indicated they are studying the proposal very seriously.
· The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been trying to prepare displaced populations in Iraq and Syria for the coming winter, but the Agency is increasingly concerned by a $58.45 million funding shortfall, which could leave as many as a million people without proper help.
· The shortfall affects the Refugee Agency’s winter preparedness programmes, although it has already invested $154 million on winter aid for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people.
· While the problem is most acute in Iraq and Syria, there are also needs in other parts of the region. This will be the fourth winter away from their homes for many Syrian refugees and the first for the 1.9 million Iraqis who have become internally displaced this year. Many fled with nothing.
· Right now, UNHCR estimate that the winter shortfall will affect some 990,000 people, mainly newly internally displaced people in Iraq and Syria, including a gap of $27.4 million for IDPs inside Syria, and $25 million for those displaced in Iraq.
U.N. ENVOY FOR LIBYA BERNARDINO LEON IN TRIPOLI
· Bernardino Leon, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, traveled to Tripoli today as part of his efforts to listen to the views of the parties and various stakeholders on the way forward. He is also discussing the possibility of convening an inclusive dialogue.
· Mr. Leon met Mr. Nouri Abu Sahmein today in the framework of his consultations with different political personalities to overcome the Libyan crisis. And on Sunday, Mr. Leon travelled to Al-Baida, where he met with the Chairman of the Constitution-Drafting Assembly, Ali Tarhouni, to discuss UN technical assistance. He later met in Shahat with Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni to hear his views on the latest developments in the country.
· Regarding the bombings that took place in Shahat, Mr. Leon has condemned the cowardly act and stressed that such attacks will not prevent the UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) from carrying on with its work to push for solutions for Libya's crisis.
· Also today, the Security Council heard from Fatou Bensouda, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), concerning its handling of the situation in Libya.
THOUSANDS CONTINUE TO FLEE BOKO HARAM VIOLENCE TO CAMEROON
· The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, says that violence by Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria’s northeast continues to send thousands of refugees across the border into neighboring Cameroon.
· According to Cameroonian authorities, some 13,000 Nigerian refugees crossed from Adamawa state after insurgents attacked and captured the town of Mubi in late October. And the vast majority of them have now returned to Nigeria, saying that their final destination was Yola, the capital city of Adamawa state.
· On the Nigeria side, a UNHCR team confirmed that thousands of Nigerians are now being hosted at Girei and at the National Youth Service Centre in Yola, one of five sites in Adamawa State hosting internally displaced persons.
· In other areas in the Far North region that border Nigeria’s Borno state, Cameroonian authorities continue to report regular attempts by insurgents to carry out incursions into Cameroonian territory.
· Meanwhile, in Niger, at least 1,000 people have arrived in the Bosso area, in the south of the country, following the capture by insurgents last week of the garrison town of Malam Fatori.
· The new arrivals in Bosso say that Malam Fatori is now almost empty, as most inhabitants have fled without taking any belongings with them. Children show signs of trauma. At this point, it is difficult to know exactly how many people have arrived in the past few days.
SOMALIA: 50,000 AFFECTED BY SEASONAL FLOODING
· The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today that seasonal flooding has been reported in several regions of Somalia, affecting up to 50,000 people.
· Humanitarian partners had pre-positioned emergencies supplies ahead of the flooding, allowing for rapid response.
U.N. ENVOY TO MEET TOMORROW WITH GREECE AND FYROM REPRESENTATIVES ON NAME ISSUE
· As we announced last week, Ambassador Matthew Nimetz, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the talks between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, will meet with the Representatives of the two countries here at UN Headquarters tomorrow.
