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

MONDAY, 07 MARCH 2016

SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS TINDOUF; REMAINS DEEPLY SADDENED BY HARSH CONDITIONS FACING SAHRAWI REFUGEES

• The Secretary-General has arrived in Baden-Baden, in Germany, where a little later today he will receive the German Media Award.
• He arrived from Algiers, where earlier today, he had visited an elementary school and chatted with five-year-old and 11-year-old students. He spoke to reporters afterward, saying that, if we give children the means to learn, they will become creative and productive citizens who are able to make a difference. 
• The Secretary-General also spoke at an event on ending violence against women and girls, saying that our goal is “planet 50-50”, where women and girls live free from violence and discrimination. Before leaving Algiers, he met with survivors and families of victims of the 2007 bombing of the UN house there.
• Yesterday, the Secretary-General spoke at the Algerian Foreign Ministry, and he discussed his earlier visit to Tindouf, where he saw first-hand the very harsh conditions of the refugees. He said that he was deeply, deeply saddened – and especially concerned about the children who may not be able to imagine life beyond the camps.
• The Secretary-General said that to assess the search for a settlement on Western Sahara, he has asked his Personal Representative, Ambassador Christopher Ross, to engage in more shuttle diplomacy so that the negotiations could be resuscitated as soon as possible.
• He added that he had come to the region to shine a spotlight on the neglected humanitarian tragedy of the Sahrawi refugees and to pay tribute to the staff of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and encourage them to continue their mission, even though it may be very difficult.

SYRIA: SPECIAL ENVOY SAYS WOMEN MUST BE PART OF POLITICAL PROCESS, AHEAD OF INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR WOMEN

• The Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, sent a message today in advance of the International Day for Women, saying that he has met many Syrian women and seen how they have been affected by the country’s five-year war.
• He said that mothers and grandmothers have continued with courage and determination to keep the households going on, in spite of all the violence. He said that they have refused to give up hope.
• Mr. de Mistura said that Syria’s women have, and must have, the right to be part of the political process and the negotiations that the UN is organising.  He said that the delegations coming both from the opposition and from the Syrian Government need to include women and allow them to speak. The women of Syria deserve to have their voices heard.
• Last Friday, an inter-agency humanitarian convoy reached Saqba, Ein Terma and Hazzeh in the Kafr Batna sub-district of Eastern Ghouta with food, nutrition and health assistance for 20,000 beneficiaries.
• Today, deliveries are underway to the remaining three areas in Kafr Batna - Beit Sawa, Jisreen and Hamoryah - with supplies for more than 16,000 people.
• The humanitarian agencies observe that there has been relative calm for almost two weeks under the Cessation of Hostilities agreement, which has offered hope to the 6.5 million people displaced inside Syria and more than 4.5 million people who fled the country.

U.N. ENVOY IN IRAQ CODEMNS TERRORIST BOMBING IN IRAQ’S BABYLON GOVERNORATE

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ján Kubiš, strongly condemned the terrorist bombing yesterday near the City of Hilla in the Governorate of Babylon in southern Iraq, which caused scores of casualties, including women and children. He deeply deplored the continuing loss of life and property in yet another terrorist bombing and calls on Iraqis not to be cowed by the terrorists’ murderous campaign.
• He said that the horrifying attack adds to the terrorists’ long record of brutality that the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMI) and all Iraqis of different affiliations strongly condemn and totally reject.
• Mr. Kubiš reiterated his appeal to Iraqis not to fall into the trap of the terrorists who seek to undermine the country’s unity and fuel sectarian strife. In this connection, he applauded the restraint shown by the relatives of the victims and their communities of a similar terrorist outrage that took place on 29 February at a funeral ceremony in Muqdadiya.
• He called on the Government of Iraq to make sure that the perpetrators of these crimes and those behind them are swiftly brought to justice.

HUNGER AND MALNURITION ON THE RISE IN AREAS AFFECTED BY BOKO HARAM VIOLENCE, WARNS U.N.

• The World Food Programme (WFP) said that hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in areas of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger affected by the Boko Haram crisis, where more than 5.6 million people do not have enough to eat.
• The prevalence of stunting among the displaced runs as high as 49 per cent in Niger  and 47 per cent in Chad – the highest rates in West and Central Africa  - while recent rapid evaluations in the Lake Chad region of Chad showed wasting rates as high as 30 per cent.
• WFP aims to scale up its assistance from 600,000 people assisted last year to nearly 750,000, and needs urgent support to be able to do so.

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS TRIPLE SINCE 2015 IN ETHIOPIA – FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that timely agricultural assistance for the upcoming rainy season is essential to help the drought-affected people of Ethiopia, as one of the strongest El Niño events on record continues to have devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of farmers and herders.
• Humanitarian needs in Ethiopia have tripled since the beginning of 2015 as the drought has led to successive crop failures and widespread livestock deaths.
• As a result, there are alarming food insecurity and malnutrition rates in the Horn of Africa country, with some 10.2 million people now food insecure. One-quarter of all districts in Ethiopia are officially classified as facing a food security and nutrition crisis.

REGIONAL MEETING ON FOOD AND AGRICULTURE-RELATED ISSUES KICKS OFF IN MALAYSIA

• The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) 33^rd Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific kicked off today in Malaysia.
• The 5-day conference is expected to focus on a broad-range of food and agriculture-related issues, including the present state of food production across the region, and ways to boost nutrition and end child stunting while curbing the growing rates of obesity.
• Despite a high food production rate and low food costs, the region remains home to 490 million undernourished people - some 62 per cent of the world's total.

HEAD OF ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY CALLS FOR INCREASED GLOBAL NUCLEAR SAFETY ON 5^TH ANNIVERSARY OF FUKUSHIMA ACCIDENT

• Speaking to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Directors in Vienna today, Director General Yukiya Amano said that as the world this week marks the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan, we must do everything humanly possible to ensure that no such accident ever happens again.
• Mr. Amano encouraged Member States to contribute to increased global nuclear safety and security by adhering to the relevant international conventions.
• Later this year, the agency will hold its high-level International Conference on Nuclear Security which the Director General called “a very important event which will help to set the agenda for our work in the next few years, underlining the agency’s role as the global platform for improving nuclear security.”

**The guest at the noon briefing was the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, who briefed on the Secretary-General’s recent visit to Algeria.**