Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 22 April 2016

THERE WAS NO NOON BRIEFING TODAY,

FRIDAY, 22 APRIL 2016

SECRETARY-GENERAL REMARKS AT JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRESIDENT OF FRANCE FRANCOIS HOLLANDE

The Secretary-General gave a press-conference with the President of France after opening of the Paris Signing Ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters. Below are his remarks.

  • Today is a historic day. At least 175 countries are here to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change. This is by far the largest number of countries ever to sign an international agreement on a single day.
  • This is a very moving day for me personally. I am touched to see so much support and political momentum to move the Agreement forward.
  • I thank all the world leaders who have come here to show their support.
  • I also welcome the strong presence of the private sector and civil society, who are crucial to realizing the great promise of the Paris Agreement.
  • The participation by so many countries today, and the attendance by so many world leaders, leaves no doubt that the world is determined to take climate action.
  • The next critical step is to ensure that the Agreement enters into force as soon as possible.
  • If all the countries that have signed today take the next step at the national level and join the Agreement, the world will have met the requirement needed for the Paris Agreement to enter into force.
  • I encourage all countries to move forward to join the Agreement. In particular, I call on the countries gathered here today to use this opportunity to announce a timeline for joining the Agreement without delay.
  • I would like to congratulate the 15 Parties that have deposited their instruments of ratification today – and I want to make a point of recognizing them by name again: Barbados, Belize, Fiji, Grenada, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Nauru, Palau, Palestine, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Somalia and Tuvalu.
  • These Parties are on the frontlines of climate impacts and they see the full implementation of the Paris Agreement as critical to their national survival and future.
  • In two weeks, I will co-host Climate Action 2016 in Washington D.C. This will be another opportunity to move the climate agenda forward. We will bring together leaders and experts from many fields, including government, business, civil society and academia.
  • Paris sent a clear message that the world is ready to move in a new direction – a path of low-carbon growth and prosperity.
  • The well-being of our common future and our common home depend on it.
  • Implementation of the Paris Agreement gives us a chance to be on the right side of history and change.
  • That starts with the historic support we have seen today here at the United Nations.

CLIMATE ACTION IS NOT A BURDEN, IT OFFERS MANY BENEFITS, STRESSES SECRETARY-GENERAL AT PARIS SIGNING CEREMONY OPENING

  • The Secretary-General today opened the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement for Climate Change in New York. Speaking to high-level officials from more than 170 countries gathered in the General Assembly Hall, the Secretary-General urged all countries to quickly join the Agreement at the national level so that it can enter into force as early as possible.
  • He added that we must never forget that climate action is not a burden; it offers many benefits, including contributing to global efforts to eradicate poverty, create green jobs, defeat hunger, prevent instability and improve the lives of girls and women.
  • Prior to the Secretary-General’s remarks, youth representative Gertrude Clement, a 16-year-old radio reporter from Tanzania and climate advocate with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), addressed the delegates, saying that young people expect more than words on paper and promises; they expect action on climate change on a big scale today, not tomorrow.
  • Later today, the Secretary-General is expected to speak at the high-level luncheon co-hosted by the Global Compact, encouraging the business community to collaborate, innovate and invest to help build a more sustainable world.
  • He will also speak at an informal high-level event on promoting the early entry into force for the Paris Agreement as well as a high-level event on the implementation of the climate and development agendas, to stress the need to focus on accelerating action and partnership on climate action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO BELGIUM, AUSTRIA, NEPAL AND VIET NAM

  • On 24 April, the Deputy Secretary-General will depart New York for Brussels, Belgium, to have bilateral meetings with senior officials of the European Union. On 26 April, he will travel to Vienna, Austria to attend a session of the Chief Executives Board (CEB) over the following two days and to deliver a keynote address at an event on the Sustainable Development Goals, hosted on 29 April by the Austrian Development Agency.
  • On 29 April, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Kathmandu, Nepal, to meet senior Government officials and to visit areas affected by the 2015 earthquake. On 2 May, he will travel to Hanoi, Viet Nam, to meet senior Government officials. On 3 May, he will travel to Ho Chi Minh City to visit drought-affected areas.
  • The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York following that visit.

ECUADOR: U.N. LAUNCHES US$72.7 MILLION FLASH APPEAL FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

  • The Flash Appeal for Ecuador was launched today, less than one week after the earthquake, calling for US$ 72.7 million to assist some 350,000 people in need over the next three months.
  • The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O9;Brien, who returned yesterday from Ecuador, expressed "our collective support for the response effort by the Government of Ecuador and our deep solidarity with the people who have suffered such loss and injury and damage to their lives, their livelihoods and their homes".
  • Some 2,000 buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged and some 280 schools affected.
  • At least 720,000 people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance.
  • Meanwhile, the U.N. Refugee Agency announced the beginning today of the distribution of core relief items to three locations in Manabi Province - Manta, Pernales and Portoviejo -, including some 900 tents, 15,000 sleeping mats, 18,000 repellent-impregnated mosquito nets, plastic sheets and kitchen sets.
  • The aim is to deliver these items to some 40,000 people – refugees, asylum-seekers and local citizens alike – in the communities most affected by the earthquake.
  • UNHCR has already delivered tents and plastic sheeting to Esmeraldas, Jama and Canoa, and has begun work on the construction of a camp to provide essential shelter to scores of displaced families.
  • For its part, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated half a million dollars as emergency funding in response to the earthquake, to boost recovery in affected areas.
  • Cash for work initiatives will start early next week, providing temporary employment to women and men and placing affected communities at the centre of the recovery process.
  • An online and mobile donations platform is also collecting funds to support the quake-affected population.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY WARNS BURUNDIANS CONTINUE TO FLEE THEIR COUNTRY

  • One year after the Burundi crisis began, almost 260,000 people have fled to nearby countries and thousands more could join them over the rest of the year unless a political solution is found and a descent into civil war averted, the U.N. Refugee Agency said today.
  • People continue to arrive in neighbouring countries, albeit in smaller numbers in recent weeks as it becomes harder to cross borders. These countries are Tanzania (135,941 refugees), Rwanda (76,404), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (22,204) and Uganda (24,583).
  • Many asylum seekers or new arrivals report human rights abuses in Burundi, including torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, intimidation, forced recruitment by militia, killings and extortion.
  • With mass returns not currently expected soon, UNHCR will in the coming year put greater emphasis on education for children and youth, and encourage refugees to become self-sufficient at a time when budget shortfalls are leading to cuts in some assistance.
  • UNHCR is seeking almost US$175.1 million for its Burundi crisis operations this year, but has received only US$47.8 million to date, or some 27 per cent.

VACCINATION: TWO-THIRDS OF UNIMMUNIZED CHILDREN LIVE IN CONFLICT

  • Almost two-thirds of children who have not been immunized with basic vaccines live in countries that are either partially or entirely affected by conflict, UNICEF said ahead of World Immunization Week.
  • Of countries in conflict, South Sudan has the highest percentage of unimmunized children, with 61 per cent not receiving the most basic childhood vaccines, followed by Somalia (58 per cent) and Syria (57 per cent).
  • Measles, diarrhoea, respiratory infections and malnutrition are major causes of childhood illness and death, and in conflict and emergencies, their effects can worsen. When children contract measles in non-conflict settings, fewer than 1 per cent of them die. In areas where crowding and malnutrition are rife, such as refugee camps, child deaths from measles can soar to up to 30 per cent of cases.
  • Overcrowding and lack of basic necessities like food, water and shelter make children even more vulnerable to disease.
  • Areas in conflict also see the killing of health workers and the destruction of medical facilities, supplies and equipment, all of which have a disastrous effect on children’s health.

U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF CONCERNED OVER THAI MILITARY’S ROLE IN CIVIL ADMINISTRATION

  • The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra9;ad Al Hussein, today expressed growing concern about the military’s deepening role in Thailand’s civilian administration, as well as tight curbs on dissent, as the Kingdom prepares to vote on a final draft Constitution.
  • High Commissioner Zeid said that several critics of the draft Constitution have already been arbitrarily arrested, detained and harassed since the draft was made public at the end of March.
  • He expressed particular concern that the clampdown on criticism would intensify following hard-line comments by Government officials and stressed the need for the general public, members of political parties, civil society, including non-governmental organizations, journalists and academics, to be given the space to express their views without fear of harassment, reprisals or arrests.

D.R. CONGO: US$2 MILLION FOR FLOOD VICTIMS

  • The Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Mamadou Diallo, has allocated US$2 million from the DRC Humanitarian Fund to respond the people9;s needs from floods affecting Tshopo, Mongala and Equateur provinces.
  • The allocation will cover priority needs in health, water and sanitation, as well as for shelter and basic household items.
  • "The aim is to assist the most vulnerable households and help them fight against cholera risks," said Dr Diallo.
  • Since the end of 2015, heavy rains triggered unprecedented floods in DRC, killing 91 people and affecting over 700,000.
  • More than 38,000 shelters have been destroyed as well as 5,500 acres of fields.

WITH SUPPORT FROM UNICEF AND W.H.O, LIBYA CONCLUDES POLIO VACCINATION CAMPAIGN

  • Libya concluded its first national polio vaccination campaign in two years.
  • The five day campaign is estimated to have reached more than one million children under the direct supervision of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and with support from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
  • Ahead of the campaign, UNICEF provided 1.5 million doses of polio vaccines while WHO has catered for all the operational cost of the campaign as well as the technical assistance.
  • Dr. Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Special Representative in Libya stressed that the shipment of vaccines is part of UNICEF’s efforts to restore routine immunization activities across Libya and crucial to the survival of the children in
  • Libya has been polio free since 1991. Conflict and violence have interrupted routine immunization against polio, mandatory since 1970.
  • The new vaccination campaign was the first since 2014. Implemented across Libya’s 64 districts, the campaign involved 2,000 trained vaccinators working in 600 health facilities.

PROCESS TO ELECT NEW DIRECTOR OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION BEGINS

  • The process to elect the next Director-General of the WHO is now underway. As of today, Member States can nominate candidates to be the new head of the global public health body, the first step in a rigorous process which will culminate in a final round of voting at the World Health Assembly in May 2017, with the new Director-General taking office on 1 July 2017.
  • The current incumbent, Dr Margaret Chan, was elected in 2006 and will complete her second term on 30 June next year.
  • The process for nominating and appointing WHO’s Director-General has been substantially revised since the last election took place in 2012. Innovations such as a Code of Conduct and forums for candidates to interact with Member States will be part of the election process to promote transparency and fairness in the selection procedures.
  • In 2017 the World Health Assembly will appoint the new Director-General from among up to 3 candidates. Previously, just 1 nomination was submitted by WHO’s Executive Board to the World Health Assembly who then made the final appointment.

LANDMARK PHOTO EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF REFUGEES

  • The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in partnership with the Annenberg Foundation has organized a landmark photo exhibition in Los Angeles, which brings into focus the world’s largest displacement crisis.
  • According to the UNHCR, at 60 million, the number of those currently displaced worldwide is greater than at any time since World War II.
  • At the opening of the exhibition, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements said: "The images capture at once both the scope of the crisis and the resilience and courage of mothers, children and fathers fleeing for their lives."
  • Nearly 20 million of the 60 million displaced people are refugees and more than half of those are children.
  • The conflict in Syria is the main driver of this global crisis, forcing more than 4.8 million Syrians to become refugees in its neighbouring countries alone, with more seeking safety further afield.
  • UNHCR provided logistical support and collaborated with the Annenberg Foundation for the exhibition, which shows the growing displacement crisis through the lens of some of the world9;s most renowned photographers.
  • The exhibition runs through 21 August 2016 at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles.