HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

TUESDAY, 21 JULY 2015

BURUNDI: SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON ALL AUTHORITIES TO ENSURE PEACEFUL ELECTIONS

• In a statement issued yesterday on Burundi, the Secretary-General took note of the indefinite suspension of the inter-Burundian dialogue that started on 14 July 2015 under the facilitation of Uganda.
• The suspension of the dialogue took place without an agreement being reached on a range of issues that would have contributed to the creation of a climate conducive to the holding of credible and peaceful elections, as contained in the relevant recommendations of the East African Community and the African Union.
• In this worrisome context, and following the decision of the Burundian Government to hold the presidential election today, the Secretary-General calls on the authorities to do all in their power to ensure security and a peaceful atmosphere during the election. He further calls on all parties to refrain from any acts of violence that could compromise the stability of Burundi and the region.
• He also reiterates his appeal for the resumption of a frank dialogue among all parties and urges them to avoid undermining the progress achieved in building democracy since the signing of the Arusha Agreements.
• The UN Electoral Observation Mission (MENUB) has deployed observers to all 18 of the country's provinces. There are a total of 21 teams of three observers each and MENUB's observation teams will cover well over half of all the country's communes.
• The Secretary-General calls on all parties to facilitate their work and calls in particular on the Government to ensure their security.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF MISSION IN MIDDLE EAST

• The Secretary-General today announced the appointment of Major General Arthur David Gawn of New Zealand as Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO).
• Major General Gawn succeeds Major General Michael Finn of Ireland, who will complete his assignment at the end of this month. The Secretary-General is grateful to Major General Finn for his dedicated leadership of UNTSO over the past two years.

U.N. ENVOY DISCUSSES SYRIA CRISIS WITH IRANIAN AUTHORITIES

• The Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, visited Teheran today where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Arab-African Affairs, Hussein Amir Abdollahian.
• During his meetings Mr. de Mistura stressed the urgency of a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict and exchanged views on how to proceed with a political process, with the support of the Security Council. 
• He also underscored the absence of a military solution to this conflict and recalled the imperative for all parties to uphold the principle of the protection of civilians.
• The Special Envoy is working to finalize his proposals to the Secretary-General on a way forward to support Syrian parties in their search of a political solution to the conflict, in preparation for a briefing to the Security Council next week in New York.

YEMEN: FIRST-EVER W.F.P. SHIP CARRYING AID ARRIVES IN ADEN SINCE START OF CRISIS

• A World Food Programme (WFP) ship carrying food assistance arrived in Aden today – the first WFP-chartered ship to berth at the port since conflict erupted in Yemen in March. The food will provide much-needed assistance for people in contested southern governorates.
• The MV Han Zhi docked with 3,000 metric tons of food – enough to feed 180,000 people for one month – at Aden’s oil port of Al-Buraiqa. Although it had arrived off Aden on 26 June, it was forced to wait over three weeks for a safe window to berth.
• WFP has made repeated attempts to send ships to Aden, all of which until today were blocked due to severe fighting in the port area. Despite insecurity and extreme difficulties reaching Aden by road, WFP has delivered food to displaced families in the governorate.
• Through its local partner, WFP last reached Aden on 14 July with emergency food assistance for more than 27,000 people. More WFP-chartered ships are on stand-by near Aden carrying fuel and more food.
• Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports that intense fighting has continued in Yemen, with at least 165 civilians, including 53 children and 23 women, killed between 3 and 15 July. Another 210 people were wounded during this period.
• The majority of the casualties are reported to have been caused by air strikes, but civilians are also regularly being injured and killed by mortar fire and in street fighting. The total death toll since 26 March is now at least 1,693 civilians, with another 3,829 wounded. Of these, at least 33 civilians were killed after a humanitarian pause was supposed to have taken effect on 11 July.

OVER 3 MILLION IRAQIS DISPLACED BY CONFLICT

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the number of Iraqis internally displaced by the conflict is now over 3.1 million people. Fighting in Anbar Governorate has caused the new displacement of nearly 300,000 people from Ramadi district since April. 
• This includes more than 78,000 people that have fled Saqlawaiyah, near Falluja, since 8 July. Many people have been displaced multiple times since the crisis began in January last year.
• Military operations in other areas of the country, including in Salah al-Din and Kirkuk Governorates, are also causing further displacement. Humanitarian workers are trying to verify these new reports.
• People need food, water, shade and other shelter, and basic household items. Shade and water are particularly critical, due to rising temperatures and threat of dehydration. 
• Despite the number of people requiring assistance continuing to rise, funding for humanitarian operations is rapidly becoming exhausted.
• The appeal for 2015 is over 90% unfunded, which is causing the shutdown or scaling back of vital programmes in health, emergency water and sanitation, and dramatic reductions in food rations for displaced people.

SOUTH SUDAN: OVER 1,000 CHOLERA CASES REPORTED MOSTLY IN JUBA AND BOR

• On South Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that more than 1,210 cholera cases, including 39 deaths, have been reported, mostly in Juba and Bor Counties.
• In response to the outbreak, health partners have set up cholera treatment centres and oral rehydration points in both counties, and are conducting cholera prevention activities, including hygiene promotion and improvement of access to safe drinking water.
• The Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, is scheduled to arrive in the country on a four-day visit to see first-hand the humanitarian consequences of the conflict as well as the efforts by aid organizations to respond to the escalating needs.
• During his visit, Mr. O’Brien is expected to meet communities affected by the violence, senior Government officials, humanitarian partners and the diplomatic community, to discuss the crisis and ways of strengthening the humanitarian operation.

CIVILIANS CONTINUE TO FLEE INSECURITY IN NIGERIA TO NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that weeks after the elections in Nigeria, violence and attacks continue to affect population movements in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
• In Cameroon’s remote Far North Region, a steady flow of Nigerian refugees are moving from the volatile Nigeria-Cameroon border area and seeking shelter some 100 kilometres inland at the Minawao camp, which is run by UNHCR and its partners. UNHCR added that an average of about 100 people every day are registering at the camp.
• In Niger’s Diffa region, authorities have reported the arrival of some 2,500 people from Nigeria in the past days following an attack by militants on the Nigerian town of Damassak last week. The new arrivals are mainly women, children and older people.

HEAD OF U.N. POLITICAL AFFAIRS ARRIVES IN COLOMBIA TO DISCUSS PROGRESS IN PEACE TALKS

• The Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, arrived in Bogota yesterday for an official mission to discuss progress in the Colombian peace talks with President Juan Manuel Santos and other national and international parties. 
• He will also meet with representatives of Cuba and Norway, the guarantor countries of the peace process.