HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

FRIDAY, 29 JANUARY 2016

 

IN ADDIS ABABA, SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS AFRICAN UNION CHIEF, RELEASES $100 MILLION TO HELP PEOPLE IN 9 GLOBAL EMERGENCIES

  • The Secretary-General today arrived in Addis Ababa and addressed the African Union’s Peace and Security Council. He will also attend the AU Summit which begins tomorrow.
    Upon arrival, the Secretary-General met with Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. They discussed UN-AU cooperation and specifically the situations in Burundi, Libya, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia.
  • The Secretary-General also attended a reception ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit, where he announced that he was allocating $100 million dollars for underfunded emergencies in nine countries, including Ethiopia itself, where more than 10 million people need food assistance as a result of severe drought and the worst El Niño event on record. 
  • On Sunday, the Secretary-General is expected to visit badly affected areas of the country to see for himself the human consequences of the crisis and how the leadership of the Government has ensured a swift response.

U.N.-BACKED INTRA-SYRIAN TALKS KICK OFF IN GENEVA

  • As previously announced by the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, the Intra-Syrian Talks are starting today. 
  • Mr. de Mistura will start by meeting the Government’s delegation today, headed by the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations, Bashar al-Ja’afari. He will continue meetings with other participants in the talks and with representatives of the civil society subsequently. 
  • As previously indicated by Mr. de Mistura, these will be proximity talks, meaning that the parties will be meeting with him separately.

U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF ALARMED AT CONTINUED ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

  • The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said today that he is extremely alarmed at continuing allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of minors in the Central African Republic (CAR) by members of foreign military forces. The alleged crimes mostly took place in 2014, but only came to light in recent weeks. 
  • A joint UN team in the CAR recently interviewed a number of girls who said they had been sexually exploited or abused by foreign soldiers. 
  • Four of the girls said their abusers were attached to contingents operating as part of the European Union operation, or EUFOR. Two of the girls interviewed said they were raped by EUFOR soldiers, and the two other girls said they were paid to have sexual relationships with other EUFOR soldiers. While the nationalities of some of the soldiers remain unclear, three of the girls said they believed their abusers were members of the Georgian EUFOR contingent. The four girls were aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the alleged abuse. 
  • UN human rights staff also interviewed a girl and a boy – aged 7 and 9, respectively -- when they were allegedly abused in 2014 by French Sangaris troops. All six cases involving non-UN foreign military forces took place in, or near, the M’Poko camp for displaced people next to the airport in the capital, Bangui. 
  • High Commissioner Zeid last week raised the cases with the European, Georgian and French authorities, as well as with another country on a similar allegation for which additional corroboration is needed. All four authorities have promptly responded to the High Commissioner and stated that they have already begun investigations or referred the cases to relevant judicial authorities in their respective countries.
  • In addition, a number of cases involving UN peacekeepers also came to light during the interviews carried out by the joint UN team.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME REACHES EASTERN LIBYA FOR FIRST TIME SINCE JUNE

  • The World Food Programme (WFP) has started distributing food in eastern Libya for the first time since last June. It will provide assistance over the coming four weeks to nearly 80,000 displaced people in and around Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city. The agency will supply each family with rations of pasta, couscous, rice and other food items.  
  • In 2016, through its partner, WFP plans to reach at least 70,000 people each month in Libya, including displaced people, host communities, refugees and asylum seekers. It plans to gradually increase its capacity in the country, as it receives more funding, to eventually reach as many as 210,000 people by the end of the year.

SECRETARY-GENERAL COINCERNED BY SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN ON HUNGER STRIKE HELD IN ISRAELI ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION

  • In response to questions, the Spokesman said that noting the 27 January decision by the Israeli High Court to remand Mohammed al-Qiq in custody under administrative detention, the Secretary-General is concerned about his health condition. Mr. al-Qiq has been on hunger strike since 25 November in protest against the arbitrary nature of his detention. 
  • The United Nations on the ground is closely following the overall situation of Palestinian detainees and reiterates its long-standing position that all those detained – Palestinian or Israeli – should be charged or released without delay. 

SCORES OF PEOPLE DISPLACED BY WAVES OF VOLENCE IN EASTERN D.R. CONGO SINCE NOVEMBER, U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY WARNS

  • The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has warned that since November, waves of violence caused by Mai Mai militias as well as other groups including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), and the Allied Democratic Forces of Uganda (ADF) have forced many people to flee their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
  • UNHCR strongly believes that the authorities must urgently address the growing tensions in the region and scale up support to the newly displaced. 
    The agency is also increasingly concerned at the targeting of civilians as the clashes intensify, particularly given decades-long tensions between ethnic groups.
  • According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated 7.5 million people in the country are in need of aid. Some 1.5 million people remain forcibly displaced in the eastern provinces, including 600,000 people in North Kivu. 
  • UNHCR runs 31 displacement sites in the region and since November at least 15,000 people have sought shelter at the sites as well as at sites run by the International Organization for Migration.

U.N. AND AID PARTNERS CONCERNED OVER LIMITED ACCESS TO PEOPLE IN NEED IN SOMALIA’S LOWER JUBA REGION

  • The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that aid workers are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of civilians in Badhadhe town in Somalia's Lower Juba region following heavy fighting.  
  • Access to affected areas remains severely constrained due to insecurity and the presence of armed groups. Humanitarian organizations are engaging with the parties to ensure unhindered access to people in need of critical assistance, and to emphasize obligations under International Humanitarian Law.
  • According to OCHA, Somalia remains one of the most challenging security environments for aid workers in the world. In 2015, over 140 malicious acts that directly impacted on aid organizations and their personnel were recorded: among these 17 humanitarian workers lost their lives. 
  • For 2016, humanitarian partners have appealed for $885 million to provide urgent life-saving assistance to 3.5 million people in Somalia.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES BURUNDI VISIT

  • The Security Council, in its final session for January, discussed its recent visit to Burundi in an open meeting.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS CLIMATE CHANGE ADVISOR, TECHNOLOGY EXPERT PANEL

  • The Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Janos Pasztor of Hungary as Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Change. 
    In his new role, Mr. Pasztor will support the efforts of the Secretary-General to mobilize world leaders and all sectors of society to implement the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.
  • The Secretary-General expresses his deep gratitude for Mr. Pasztor’s dedicated service and leadership over the past quarter of a century with the United Nations on the key global challenges of climate change, energy and sustainability.
  • The Secretary-General today announced the appointment of a group of ten experts to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, which was launched at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015. The Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) is meant to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
  • The 10-Member Group consists of representatives of civil society, the private sector and the scientific community. They will advise the UN Inter-agency Task Team, in particular on preparations for the annual meetings of the multi-stakeholder forum and on support for the development and operationalization of the online platform.

SECRETARY-GENERAL PAYS TRIBUTE TO JEAN GAZARIAN

  • The Secretary-General, in a letter, paid tribute to long-time staff member Jean Gazarian, saying that he was one of the UN family’s most cherished and long-standing colleagues.
  • The Secretary-General said that he joined the Organization in its infancy, served several Secretaries-General with distinction, and from his unique perch in General Assembly Affairs was present for some of the most renowned moments in UN history.

AUSTRALIA, SAMOA BRING NUMBER OF U.N. MEMBER STATES HAVING PAID FULL DUES TO 21

  • Australia and Samoa have paid their dues in full, bringing the number of Member States who have contributed in full to 21.

 

***The guests at the noon briefing were Ahmad Alhendawi, the Secretary General's Envoy on Youth, and Navid Hanif, Director of the Office of the Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) Support and Coordination in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). They spoke to journalists about the upcoming ECOSOC Youth Forum on Monday, which will focus on the important role of young people in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Also briefing reporters was Anthony Banbury, the Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support, who spoke to the press about allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse cases in the Central African Republic.
 

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