HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

FRIDAY, 8 JANUARY 2015

YEMEN: SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES DEEP CONCERN OVER STEPPED UP COALITION AIRSTRIKES, CLASHES

• In a statement, the Secretary-General said he is deeply concerned about the intensification of Coalition airstrikes and ground fighting and shelling in Yemen, despite repeated calls for a renewed cessation of hostilities.
• The Secretary-General is particularly concerned about reports of intense airstrikes in residential areas and on civilian buildings in Sana’a. These include the Chamber of Commerce, a wedding hall and a centre for the blind. We have also received troubling reports of the use of cluster munitions in attacks on Sana’a on 6 January in several locations. The use of cluster munitions in populated areas may amount to a war crime due to their indiscriminate nature.
• The Secretary-General reminds all parties of the utmost necessity to respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks directed against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
• The Secretary-General calls on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to engage in good faith with his Special Envoy for Yemen in order to convene a new round of peace talks as soon as possible.
• The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, arrived in Riyadh today, where he will meet the Vice President and Prime Minister of Yemen, Khaled Bahah, the Government of Yemen’s delegation to talks, leaders of Yemeni political parties, and senior officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  Earlier this week, the Special Envoy was in Paris where he met the Foreign Minister of France Laurent Fabius on 6 January. He then travelled to the United Arab Emirates, where he met the Foreign Minister and several other high-level Government officials.
  The Special Envoy is expected to travel to Sanaa soon.
• In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General condemned the decision of the Government of Yemen to expel from the country the Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He is also extremely concerned about the safety of the remaining national and international staff.
• By impeding the United Nations' human rights work, the Government is failing to uphold its obligations. Doing so can only be harmful for the country's return to peace and stability.
• In keeping with the Human Rights Up Front Initiative, the Secretary-General stresses that UN staff must never be threatened or sanctioned for doing their work, which is based on the United Nations Charter.  The Secretary-General reiterates his full confidence in the representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sana’a and urges the Government of Yemen to reconsider its position on his expulsion.
• Today, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, urged the Government of Yemen to reverse its decision to declare his Representative in the country persona non grata, saying that it was “unwarranted, counter-productive and damaging to the reputation of the Government and its coalition partners.”

SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST TERRORIST ATTACK NEAR LIBYAN POLICE BASE

• In a statement on Libya yesterday, the Secretary-General condemned the deadly terrorist attack that took place near a police base in Zliten, in western Libya.
• He also condemned the ongoing attacks by Daesh-affiliates on oil facilities near Sidra, in central Libya, deploring the attempts by extremists to strip these natural resources from the Libyan people.
• The Secretary-General said that these criminal acts serve as a strong reminder of the urgency to implement the Libyan Political Agreement and form a Government of National Accord. Unity is the best way for Libyans to confront terrorism in all its forms.
• The Secretary-General renewed his call on all political and security actors to create a conducive environment for the Government to assume its responsibilities. The United Nations remains committed to supporting the Libyan people as they work to achieve peace and stability in their country.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES SRI LANKA ON FIRST YEAR OF POLITICAL TRANSITION, URGES CONTINUED PROGRESS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

• In a statement issued late yesterday, the Secretary-General congratulated the President of Sri Lanka and the Government and the people of Sri Lanka on the first year of the country’s political transition.
• He is encouraged by the Government’s commitment to a broad reform agenda that aims to realise durable peace, stability and prosperity for the Sri Lankan people.
• The Secretary-General acknowledges the initial steps the Government has taken to strengthen good governance, advance reconciliation and implement the resolution of the Human Rights Council of October 2015. He urges continued progress in these areas and emphasises the need for inclusive consultation processes to address issues of transitional justice.

U.N. MALI MISSION BREAKS GROUND ON SITES SUPPORTING DEMOBILIZATION OF FORMER COMBATANTS

• The UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has started today to build two cantonment sites in Northern Mali, one in the Timbuktu region and the other in the Gao region.
• These are the first cantonment sites to be built to support the demobilization of former fighters. The Mission welcomes this as a crucial step in the implementation of the Peace Agreement.

GLOBAL SUPPLY OF CHOLERA VACCINES SET TO DOUBLE – WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

• The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the global supply of oral cholera vaccines is set to double after they approved a third producer, helping to address global shortages and expand access to more countries.
• The addition of this vaccine producer will allow for 6 million doses of the vaccine for 2016 alone, with the potential for further increased production in the future.
• There are between 1.4 million and 4.3 million cases of cholera a year, and as many as 142,000 deaths. It is endemic in more than 50 countries.

D.R. CONGO TROOPS SERVING WITH U.N. MISSION IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPBULIC TO BE REPATRIATED

• In response to a question on the situation of the contingent from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) serving in the Central African Republic, the Spokesman said that following standard procedure, UN Peacekeeping has recently conducted a pre-deployment assessment on the readiness of the DRC troops being rotated into the peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
• Despite improvements between the first pre-deployment visit in November and the second one in December, UN Peacekeeping found that the progress achieved so far only partially meets the requirements set by the United Nations in terms of equipment, vetting and preparedness. In light of this result, the battalion from the Democratic Republic of the Congo currently deployed to MINUSCA will be repatriated without replacement.
• The UN acknowledges the contribution of the DRC troops to peacekeeping in the CAR, both under the African Union-led mission, MISCA, and subsequently with the United Nations. This contribution helped the people of Central African Republic during a critical time for the country and despite many challenges.