HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

TUESDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2015

**The Secretary-General will hold a press conference at 12 p.m. on 16 September and there will be no Noon Briefing**

SYRIA: SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF JOINT CHEMICAL WEAPONS INVESTIGATIVE MECHANISM

• The Secretary-General has appointed Ms. Virginia Gamba of Argentina to head the independent three-member panel to be set up to lead the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) established by Security Council resolution 2235 (2015) on the use of chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic.
• Ms. Gamba is currently serving as Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. She will assume overall responsibility of the JIM with two Deputies responsible for the political and investigative components respectively.
• Ms. Gamba will bring to the JIM more than thirty years’ experience and professional leadership on disarmament.
• In particular, Ms. Gamba has displayed outstanding leadership in various international initiatives to promote the disarmament agenda, and provided key support to two earlier missions related to chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic lead by Professor Åke Sellström and Ms. Sigrid Kaag respectively.
• The appointment was made following the usual consultations and in coordination with the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
• The Secretary-General reiterated his call for all parties in Syria to cooperate fully with the Joint Investigative Mechanism. He counts on the continued engagement and support of the members of the Security Council as well as the entire UN membership to ensure the effective implementation of this resolution.
• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that there are more than two million children in Syria who would not be able to attend school this term. Another 400,000 are at risk of dropping out as a result of conflict, violence and displacement.
• As the conflict in Syria entered its fifth year, the crisis continues to wipe out years of achievements in education. Some children in Syria have never been inside a classroom, while others have lost up to four years of their schooling.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) said that critical funding shortages have forced it to halve the level of assistance provided to almost 1.3 million vulnerable Syrian refugees in the region.
• In Jordan, WFP has reduced the value of its food vouchers to refugees living outside the camps to $14 per person, per month. All 96,000 refugees living inside the camps continue to get $28 per person per month to meet their food needs.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HONOURS INTEGRITY AND IDEALISM OF DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD 54 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH

• The Secretary-General laid a wreath in memory of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, who died 54 years ago. Speaking at the ceremony, he said that the UN remains inspired every day by Mr. Hammarskjöld’s integrity, intelligence and idealism.
• Earlier this year, at the request of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General appointed a panel of experts to examine new information about the crash that took the life of Mr. Hammarskjöld and 15 others in 1961.
• He added that although the panel has increased our understanding of the incident, it has also highlighted some aspects that cannot be explained without additional evidence that may exist.
• At 3 p.m. today, the Secretary-General will address the opening of the 70^th session of the General Assembly. Following the opening, the new President of the 70^th session, Mogens Lykketoft, will speak to the press at the General Assembly stakeout.

U.N. SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR MIDDLE EAST CONCERNED OVER VIOLENCE AROUND HOLY SITES IN JERUSALEM

• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, briefed the Security Council by video teleconference today, expressing his grave concern over the violence and continuing clashes in and around the Holy Sites of the Old City of Jerusalem.
• He said that such serious provocations have the potential to ignite violence well beyond the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Mr. Mladenov urged all political, community and religious leaders to ensure that visitors and worshippers demonstrate restraint and respect for the sanctity of the area. All sides have a responsibility to refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric.
• He added that it is imperative that the historic status quo is preserved, in line with the agreements between Israel and His Majesty the King of Jordan, as Custodian of the Muslim Holy Sites in Jerusalem.
• A note to correspondents we issued yesterday afternoon noted that the Secretary-General has consistently reiterated the importance of respect for the religious freedom of all, and for worshippers of all faiths to have access to their holy sites.
• These events once again underscore the importance of reaching a final status agreement through negotiations on all issues, including arrangements for the holy sites that are acceptable to all.

YEMEN: DAMAGE TO KEY INFRASTRUCTURE CONTINUES UNABATED, WARNS U.N.

• The Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that damage to civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, mosques and schools continues unabated in Yemen, while the depletion of medical stocks and the lack of fuel to run hospital generators further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.
• Yemen relies on imports for 70 per cent of its fuel requirements and 100 percent of its medicine needs. In August, imports accounted for only 12 per cent of monthly fuel needs, a steep drop compared with 69 per cent in July.
• The decrease is due to embargo-related import restrictions and damage to the main ports such as Al Hudaydah, but also unwillingness of commercial shipping companies to berth in Yemen due to insecurity concerns.
• Since the conflict escalated in March, 30 people have been killed and 185 injured on average each day, according to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• As of 7 September, there have been nearly 30,000 deaths and injuries reported by health facilities, according to WHO. The number of casualties is likely much higher than reported, as many health facilities are closing or victims never reach a health facility.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY HONOURS AFGHAN TEACHER DEDICATED TO HELPING REFUGEE GIRLS IN PAKISTAN

• The UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) 2015 Nansen Refugee Award went to a teacher from Afghanistan, who has dedicated her life to bringing education to refugee girls in Pakistan.
• UNHCR recognizes the dedication of Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi for her work in the Kot Chandana refugee village in Mianwali, where she has helped a thousand refugee girls with primary school education.
• According to the agency, Afghanistan remains the largest, most protracted refugee crisis in the world. More than 2.6 million Afghans currently live in exile and over half of them are children.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY WELCOMES EUROPEAN COUNCIL’S DECISION TO ADOPT RELOCATION PLAN FOR 40,000 REFUGEES

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that yesterday’s decision to adopt a relocation proposal for 40,000 people by the European Council of Ministers was a welcome single step. However, the Agency said it is clear that much more is needed.
• It is deeply disappointed that although a majority of Member States were in agreement with a wider relocation proposal for 120,000 people, a final consensus within EU Members was not reached.
• The Agency said that decisive agreement is needed without further delay to address needs, as well as bold action based on solidarity from all Member States.
• It welcomed the announcement of increased support by the European Union and Member States to UNHCR to respond to the needs of refugees in countries neighbouring Syria.
• The Agency stressed once again that saving lives of refugees and migrants at sea continues to be a critical priority, as demonstrated by several boat tragedies over the past few days.

U.N. MISSION IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC STRONGLY CONDEMNS ANY INSTANCE OF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

• The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) (MINUSCA) has received an allegation of sexual exploitation committed by one of its civilian staff on 12 September 2015. MINUSCA has informed the country’s authorities of this allegation.
• The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has immediately taken steps to investigate this case, consistent with the Secretary-General’s zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse.
• MINUSCA condemns in the strongest possible terms any instance of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by UN personnel in the CAR.
• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, has discussed the new case both with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.
• He reiterated his personal and institutional commitment to ensure that the rights and dignity of victims are protected, an investigation is carried out swiftly, and that justice is done.
• The Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic, Aurélien Agbénonci, is alarmed by the eviction of 114 people from Saint Jean Gabaladja displacement site in Bangui on September 12. They have been temporarily moved to Benzvi displacement site, where they have been provided with support to resettle.
• The Humanitarian Coordinator said he remains concerned that the evictions could signal the start of a wave of forced movements, with nine displacement sites hosting 2,700 people currently under threat of eviction.
• He said that any movement of displaced populations must be based on a voluntary decision by the concerned people, ensuring best safety conditions and respecting the dignity of people affected, following the rules and principles of the international humanitarian law and the Kampala Convention.
• There are 31 displacement sites in Bangui alone, hosting over 27,300 people. Throughout the country, some 368,000 people are also internally displaced.

PACIFIC: U.N. URGES ISLAND STATES TO PREPARE FOR LOOMING EL NIÑO EMERGENCY

• The UN has urged Pacific Island nations to prepare now for a looming El Niño emergency which could affect more than four million people.
• The UN Resident Coordinator in Fiji, Osnat Lubrani, said that there are suggestions that this El Niño could be as severe as the event in the late 1990s which was the worst on record and brought severe drought to Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
• She said several countries are currently in the process of implementing or drafting drought plans, and that the UN stands ready to support these efforts by providing coordination and technical advice.

GOODWILL AMBASSADOR DAVID BECKHAM JOINS CHILD SURVIVORS’ CALL TO END WIDESPREAD ABUSE

• The UN Children Fund’s (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham has championed a letter signed by 18 child survivors of violence that calls on world leaders to end the widespread abuse that affects millions of children around the world.
• Including the words of survivors of violent conflict in South Sudan, sexual abuse in Iceland and child trafficking in Pakistan, the letter highlights an epidemic of violence that is facing children in every corner of the world.
• Next week, Mr. Beckham will stand alongside the Secretary-General and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake ahead of the adoption of the most expansive development agenda the world has ever seen.
• Together they will call on world leaders to put children, especially the most disadvantaged, at the centre of all decisions and investments made over the next 15 years.