HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

TUESDAY, 14 APRIL 2015

 

WE MUST NEVER FORGET CHIBOK GIRLS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS ON ON ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ABDUCTION

• A statement attributable to the Secretary-General on the one-year anniversary of the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, was issued:
• One year ago, over 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok, Borno State, in north-eastern Nigeria. While some of the girls were fortunate to have escaped, the fate of many still remains unknown. We must never forget the kidnapped Chibok girls, and I will not stop calling for their immediate release and their safe return to their families.
• Over the past 12 months, Boko Haram intensified its brutal attacks on boys and girls in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. Hundreds of thousands of children have been displaced from their homes, and deprived of their rights to live and grow up in safety, dignity and peace. Boko Haram’s killing, abduction and recruitment of children, including the use of girls as “suicide bombers”, is abhorrent.
• I also remain deeply concerned by the group’s repeated and cowardly attacks targeting schools, in grave violation of international humanitarian law. Going to school should not have to be an act of bravery. The children of north-eastern Nigeria and neighbouring countries must be allowed to live in peace and enjoy their right to a safe education.
• The legitimate response to Boko Haram’s attacks must be fully consistent with international law and not create additional risks for the protection of children. On this day, I reaffirm my support to the governments and peoples of the region in the fight against Boko Haram. I stand in solidarity with the families of all abductees, especially children, their communities and society at large.

HAITI: SECRTARY-GENERAL URGES SWIFT INVESTIGATION INTO DEAHT OF BLUE HELMET

• In a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
• A Chilean peacekeeper serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) died of gunshot wounds when his vehicle came under fire in the North East Department on 13 April, yesterday.
• The Secretary-General expresses his sincere condolences to the family of the peacekeeper who was killed as well as to the Government and the people of Chile.
• The Secretary-General calls for a swift investigation and urges the Haitian authorities to do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON TO SPOTLIGHT U.N.’S CHALLENGES IN ITS 70^TH YEAR

• The Secretary-General will travel to Washington, D.C., later this week, and he will appear on Thursday at the National Press Club. The Secretary-General will discuss the challenges and opportunities that the United Nations faces in its 70^th year, from fostering sustainable development and dealing with climate change to confronting violent extremism, and he will take questions during an hour-long session.
• On Friday and Saturday, the Secretary-General will attend a series of side events, including on Ebola, climate change and financing for development, among other topics, as well as attend the official Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. He will also speak at the Global Citizens Concert being held at the Washington Mall on Saturday before returning to New York later that day.

WRAPPING UP HUMANITARIAN VISIT TO SYRIA, U.N. OFFICIAL STRESSES NEED FOR ACCESS TO YARMOUK REFUGEE CAMP

• The UN Relief and Works Agency’s Commissioner-General, Pierre Krahenbuhl, today concluded his humanitarian mission to Damascus. As part of the joint UN effort, Mr. Krahenbuhl today discussed with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Miqdad, the importance of resuming distributions to civilians remaining in or unable to leave Yarmouk; of ensuring the safe exit of those civilians wishing to temporarily leave Yarmouk; and broadening the humanitarian response to those civilians from Yarmouk who have arrived in areas in the immediate vicinity of Yarmouk.
• Speaking after the meeting, Mr Krahenbuhl said that the access yesterday and today to civilians from Yarmouk who arrived in Yalda nearby is a positive development and the result of dialogue with the government. UNRWA hopes to build on this in coming days.
• UNRWA welcomes the response by the Government of Syria and the close cooperation with the Office of the Special Envoy. As you know, Mr. Ramzy is there as well.
• It is well aware that the situation remains critical for thousands of civilians and it will spare no effort to find ways to assist civilians inside Yarmouk and to further improve the support to those who have fled the camp.
• UNRWA will follow developments in the coming days very closely and reiterates its call for all possible measures to be taken to ensure respect for and protection of Palestinian and Syrian civilians living inside this camp.

SECURITY COUNCIL PASSES ARMS EMBARGO TO BENEFIT YEMENI OFFICIALS

• The Security Council adopted a resolution by 14 votes in favour and one abstention, placing an embargo on arms and related material for the benefit of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Abdullah Yahya Al Hakim, Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Huthi and other designated officials.
• Last night, the Security Council issued a press statement strongly urging all Libyan parties participating in the dialogue to agree on arrangements on the formation of a National Unity Government to end the country’s political, security and institutional crisis. The parties met yesterday in Algeria and are expected to resume the UN-facilitated dialogue in Morocco tomorrow.
• The Security Council also issued a statement on the death of the UN peacekeeper in Haiti.

ALL SIDES TO YEMEN CONFLICT MUST INVESTIGATE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES – U.N. RIGHT CHIEF

• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Al Hussein, reminded all sides to the conflict in Yemen today to ensure that attacks resulting in civilian casualties are promptly investigated and that international human rights and international humanitarian law are scrupulously respected.  In addition to hundreds of fighters, at least 364 civilians are reported to have lost their lives since March 26, including at least 84 children and 25 women.
• The High Commissioner said that such a heavy civilian death toll ought to be a clear indication to all parties to this conflict and that there may be serious problems in the conduct of hostilities.
• The High Commissioner also warned that the intentional targeting of civilians not taking direct part in hostilities would amount to a war crime.

SECRETARY-GENERAL INSTRUCTUS U.N. SYRIA ENVOY TO HOLD CONSULTATIONS TO OPERATIONALIZE GENEVA COMMUNIQUE

• Upon instructions by the Secretary General to enhance efforts towards operationalising the Geneva Communiqué, starting in May, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, will proceed with a series of in-depth, separate consultations with the Syrian stakeholders and regional and international actors to take stock of their views as of today on the Geneva Communiqué.
• No invitations have yet been issued.
• Both the Special Envoy and his Deputy, Ramzy Ezzeldine Ramzy, are currently engaging these stakeholders on the nature of this process. The Special Envoy will also be briefing the Security Council next week.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: U.N. ENVOY STRESSES NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT ON HUMANITARIAN, POLITICAL FRONTS

• The Security Council held a meeting on the Central African Republic.
• Babacar Gaye, the Head of the UN Mission in the country (MINUSCA), said that the humanitarian situation remains difficult, with 50,000 newly displaced people since January 2015, and that the fragmentation of armed groups impedes humanitarian access.
• He also stressed that the transition has reached a critical stage and that the electoral process is facing challenges, including the registration of IDPs and refugees outside the country.
• Mr. Gaye told the Council that the continuous support of the international community to the Central African Republic, both on the humanitarian and the political fronts is more essential than ever.

U.N. OFFICIAL MEETS DISPLACED SHELTERING IN SOUTH SUDAN MISSIONS IN SOUTH SUDAN’S MALAKAL

• The Deputy Special Representative of the UN in South Sudan, Moustapha Soumaré, visited Malakal today. He met with local officials and with community leaders of the approximately 26,000 internally displaced people who are being sheltered by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and toured the Mission’s two protection sites as well as an extension site currently under construction to relieve overcrowding at the existing facilities for displaced people.
• He noted that the recent fighting between youths from the Dinka and Shilluk communities triggered an influx of more than 4,000 new IDPs into the UN protection sites in Malakal two weeks ago. He said he was impressed by the progress made in the building of a new extension that will host these recently arrived civilians, as well as other people who have been under UN protection for many months.
• We passed another unfortunate marker in that the UN Mission is currently sheltering more than 117,000 displaced people throughout South Sudan, which is the highest number since December 2013, when this current crisis started.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY VOICES CONCERN OVER KENYA’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT CAMPS HOSTING SOMALI REFUGEES SHOULD BE CLOSED

• From Geneva, our colleagues at the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) have expressed concern following the Kenyan Government’s recent announcement that the Dadaab refugee camps, hosting some 350,000 Somali refugees, should be closed. The Agency has urged the Government to reconsider its decision.
• UNHCR says that it shares Kenya’s shock over the Garissa attack, and understands the current regional security situation and the seriousness of the threats Kenya is facing.
• It also remains concerned that the abrupt closing of the camps and forcing the refugees to return to Somalia would have extreme humanitarian consequences, and would be a breach of Kenya’s international obligations.
• UNHCR has reiterated that it stands ready to work closely with the Government of Kenya to strengthen law enforcement at Dadaab and support other measures to protect refugees and Kenyans alike against possible intrusion by armed groups.
• UNHCR also expressed its thanks at Kenya’s continuous generosity in hosting the camp.
• Across the border in Somalia, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) has condemned today’s attack on the Ministry of Higher Education complex in Mogadishu.

NUMBER OF UPROOTED WITHIN UKRAINE REACHES 1.2 MILLION – U.N. RELIEF WING

• In a humanitarian update on Ukraine, Government figures, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), indicate that an estimated 1.2 million people have now been internally displaced by the conflict in the country. UNHCR alone says that nearly 778,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries.
• UN agencies and humanitarian partners warn that the lack of access to food has greatly increased since last October, especially for people living in non-government controlled areas. Rapidly increasing food prices and decreased food consumption and diet quality have significantly impacted the lives of displaced families in the eastern provinces.
• Aid agencies are also concerned about restricted access to social services such as pension and salaries in conflict-affected areas. A UNICEF mission to Donetsk found that some school teachers had not been paid for three months.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS VITAL TO ADDRESSING DISASTERS, BOOSTING DEVELOPMENT – SECRETARY-GENERAL

• The Secretary-General delivered a video message to the High-level session on the two Water Conventions during the seventh World Water Forum taking place in Daegu in the Republic of Korea.
• He said that sustainable management of transboundary waters is vital in addressing disasters, adapting to climate change, ensuring peace and fostering sustainable development.
• Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, is attending the Forum and is representing the UN.
• On that same subject, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says today that in 2050, there will be enough water to help produce the food needed to feed a global population expected to top nine billion, but that overconsumption, degradation and the impact of climate change will reduce water supplies in many regions, especially developing countries.
• Currently, water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of people in the world, a proportion set to reach two-thirds by 2050.

SECRETARY-GENERAL NAMES DANIEL CRAIG AS U.N. GLOBAL ADVOCATE ON ELIMINATION OF LANDMINES

• Just about an hour ago, Daniel Craig met with the Secretary-General and was designated as the UN Global Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Other Explosive Hazards for the next three years.
• As the first UN Global Advocate on this issue, Mr. Craig will be raising awareness about United Nations mine action work, promoting our vision of a world free from the threats of mines and explosive remnants of war, visiting UN mine action programmes, and assisting in raising political and financial support for mine action activities.
• Announcing the designation, the Secretary-General thanked Mr. Craig – known for playing James Bond as you know– for using his star power to draw attention to the causes of mine destruction and mine awareness.
• “As 007, Mr. Craig had a licence to kill,” the Secretary-General said. “Today we are giving him a licence to save.”

UNITED KINGDOM BECOMES 72^ND MEMBER STATE TO PAY DUES IN FULL

• The United Kingdom has become the 72^nd Member State to pay its 2015 Regular Budget dues in full.

 

***The guest at the noon briefing was Zainab Bangura, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, who spoke to reporters on the Secretary-General's latest Report which will be discussed in the Security Council tomorrow.