SPOKESMAN'S HIGHLIGHTS

TUESDAY, 29 DECEMBER 2015

**No noon briefing this week [28 December to 1 January]**

BURKINA FASO: THE SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES NEW PRESIDENT, COMMENDS SUCCESSFUL END OF TRANSITION

• In a message delivered by Jeffrey Feltman, Under- Secretary-General for Political Affairs, the Secretary-General warmly congratulated Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on his inauguration today as President of Burkina Faso.
• He said that this was an historic moment for Burkina Faso, and commended the country’s people and political leaders for their exemplary conduct and peaceful and responsible participation during the vote of 29 November that successfully marked the end of the transition period.
• The successful completion of elections in Burkina Faso is a significant development not only for the country but also for the Sahel region, where socio-economic hardship and contested electoral processes continue to be a source of tension, and at a time when terrorist groups, illicit trafficking and irregular migration continue to threaten regional security, he added.
• The Secretary-General noted that many priorities and formidable challenges await the new government, including moving ahead with an inclusive national reconciliation process and continuing to reform the security sector.
• The United Nations remains committed to supporting you along the path of peace, democratic governance and equitable socio-economic development, he concluded.

EBOLA: THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DECLARES THE END OF TRANSMISSION IN GUINEA

• Today the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of Ebola virus transmission in the Republic of Guinea, as 42 days have passed since the last person confirmed to have Ebola tested negative for the second time.
• Guinea now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to ensure that any new cases are identified quickly before they can spread to other people.
• The original chain of transmission started in Gueckedou, Guinea in late December 2013 and drove the outbreak which spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone and, ultimately, by land and air travel to seven other countries.
• WHO and its partners are working with the Governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to help ensure that survivors have access to medical and psychosocial care, screening for persistent virus, as well as counselling and education to help them reintegrate into family and community life, reduce stigma and minimize the risk of Ebola virus transmission.
• At the same time, 2016 will see the three most-affected countries implementing a full health sector recovery agenda to restart and strengthen key public health programmes, especially maternal and child health, while continuing to maintain the capacity to detect, prevent and respond to any flare-up of Ebola.
• UNICEF welcomed the declaration but cautioned that the thousands of children orphaned by the disease, as well as those who survived infection, will need continued support.
• In Guinea alone, 6,220 children lost one or both parents or their primary caregiver, while 230 survived infection and 519 were killed by Ebola.

U.N. MISSION CONTINUES PREPARATIONS FOR TOMORROW’S ELECTIONS IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

• The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that the situation in Bangui remained calm yesterday as the campaign period came to an end.
• Meanwhile, l'Autorité Nationale des Élections (ANE) issued yesterday a directive on the modalities and conditions for voting to address concerns over allegations of voter card trafficking and fake voter registration receipts.
• MINUSCA continues to deliver sensitive electoral material to polling centres and has deployed additional troops to Ndélé (Bamingui-Bangoran), Birao (Vakaga) and Sibut (Kémo-Gribingui).
• Furthermore, the Mission in partnership with the ANE facilitated today a meeting of the 30 presidential candidates to discuss security planning for election day, transmission of results and voting and counting procedures. The Mission also yesterday facilitated a meeting with key stakeholders from the predominantly Muslim PK5 neighbourhood and the anti-Balaka stronghold in Boeing on the outskirts of Bangui.

SYRIA: OVER 450 PEOPLE EVACUATED FROM HARD TO REACH AND BESIEGED TOWNS

• The United Nations in Syria, in partnership with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have successfully facilitated yesterday the evacuation of more than 450 people including the injured and their accompanying family members, following a local Agreement concerning the Syrian towns of Foua, Kafraya in Idleb and Zabadani and Madaya in Rif Damascus.
• The UN in Syria, SARC and ICRC carried out coordinated tasks, which led to the evacuation of 338 persons from the towns of Foua and Kafraya, and 126 people from the towns of Zabadani and Madaya. They were simultaneously evacuated by land and air through Turkey and Lebanon to the agreed final destinations where those requiring longer term medical care will receive it.
• While the United Nations and partners are not party to the Agreement, the humanitarian actors are keen to see its provisions implemented as people in these towns live in a difficult situation, and the injured people urgently need medical assistance.
• The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Yacoub El-Hillo, said that the humanitarian community in Syria was keen to see the swift implementation of the next phases of the Four Towns Agreement including humanitarian access to people in these towns.
• The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that the UN’s clear goal is to reach, as soon as possible a nationwide ceasefire. “Meanwhile, initiatives like this one bring relief to besieged or isolated communities and have great value,” he said.

SOUTH AFRICAN LIEUTENANT GENERAL APPOINTED AS NEW COMMANDER OF U.N. FORCE IN D.R. CONGO

• The Secretary-General has appointed Lieutenant General Derick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi of South Africa as Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
• He succeeds Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil, who completed his assignment on 2 December 2015. The Secretary-General is grateful to General Cruz for his significant contribution to MONUSCO over the past two and a half years.
• Lieutenant General Mgwebi has more than 35 years of national and international military experience.