HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

THURSDAY, 4 AUGUST 2016

SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BRAZIL TO PARTICIPATE IN OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY

• The Secretary-General has just arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he will attend the opening of the Olympic Games and participate in the Olympic torch relay tomorrow.
• He will soon be paying a visit to the Olympic Village, where he will meet with the Refugee Olympic Team. And this evening, he will meet with the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach.

S. SUDAN NEEDS ‘URGENT’ ACTION FROM THE SECURITY COUNCIL:  U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF

• From Geneva, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights today published a report on recent fighting in South Sudan.
• The High Commissioner, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) killed large numbers of civilians, raped women and   destroyed property during the fighting in July.
• He said violations are continuing, not only in Juba but in other parts of the country.
• The SPLA appear to have specifically targeted people of Nuer origin, he said.
• The UN counted at least 73 civilian deaths, during the month, and documented at least 217 reports of sexual violence in Juba alone.
• Mr. Zeid also expressed concern about allegations that some peacekeepers may have failed to assist women and girls who were reportedly raped and assaulted near their positions.
• He took note of the UN mission’s measures to address this situation and urged strong action in those instances. 
• Mr. Zeid said he had provided the Security Council with a report on the situation.
• He said, “The severity of the recent violence, and the very dangerous ethnic undertone, call for urgent action by the Security Council.”
• Yesterday the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, asked Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to urge the Government of South Sudan to take action to address sexual violence crimes. The leaders of IGAD are meeting in Addis Ababa tomorrow for an extra-ordinary summit on the situation in South Sudan.

OUTBREAK OF HEPATITIS E VIRUS REPORTED IN DARFUR

• Our humanitarian colleagues report that an outbreak of Hepatitis E virus has been declared in Sortony, North Darfur, with 134 suspected cases of Acute Jaundice Syndrome reported.
• The current rainy season is likely to contribute to unsanitary conditions due to overflowing latrines and related contamination in living areas, and the outbreak may continue if the issue of overcrowding is not addressed.
• Humanitarian health, water and sanitation partners are working with the Ministry of Health to address the situation. Efforts aimed at containing the outbreak include strengthening health promotion-related activities and improving water quality through chlorination.

U.N. COMMITTED TO INTRA-SYRIAN TALKS BY MONTH’S END: U.N. SYRIA ENVOY

• The Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Ramzy Ezzeldine Ramzy, spoke to reporters in Geneva today to reiterate the Special Envoy’s commitment to holding the intra-Syrian talks by the end of the August. For these talks to be fruitful, he added, the cessation of hostilities has to stand and be reinforced.
• Regarding Aleppo, Mr. Ramzy noted that the United Nations is currently in intensive discussions with the Russian Federation and the Government of Syria to ensure that the civilian population in Aleppo is protected and that the standards of international humanitarian law are respected in any operation on humanitarian assistance.
• In the same press encounter, the Special Advisor to the Special Envoy, Jan Egeland, said that UN and other humanitarian workers had hoped to reach 1.2 million people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas affected by conflict in July, but only reached about 40 percent of that target, largely because of continued fighting.  He said that humanitarian pauses and a temporary end to the fighting are badly needed now, more than ever, for the city of Aleppo.
• He added that humanitarian workers are ready, able and willing to go, if there are pauses in the fighting.  
•  The World Food Programme, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and UNICEF completed an urgent relief operation to provide a one-month ration of desperately-needed food and hygiene supplies to more than 75,000 people who are trapped along a land embankment, or berm, at the Syria-Jordan border. 

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS CONTINUING CRIMES AGAINST ETHNIC COMMUNITIES IN IRAQ

• In a statement issued yesterday on the second anniversary of the seizure of Sinjar by Da’esh, the Secretary-General reiterated his strong condemnation of the heinous crimes that continue to be committed by Da’esh against the diverse ethnic and religious communities of Iraq. 
• The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the safety of the people who remain in the group’s captivity, in particular the thousands of Yezidi women and children. He calls upon all those engaged in the fight against Da’esh to make their release a prime objective in their military operations.
• The Secretary-General stresses that the crimes committed by Da’esh in Iraq may constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and even genocide, and he calls on the Government of Iraq to continue identifying ways to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice without delay, based on fair trial and due process. This could include the option of a referral to the International Criminal Court.
• The Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, also issued a statement in which she said that the extreme acts of sexual violence committed by Da’esh cannot go unpunished, and that we must renew our commitment to the women and girls who have suffered some of the most unspeakable atrocities of our time.  Both statements are online.

U.N. TO MARK ANNIVERSARY OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

• The Secretary-General will send messages to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Ceremonies to commemorate the 71st anniversary of their atomic bombings, respectively on 6 and 9 August.  They will be delivered by Mr. Kim Won-soo, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, who will participate in the ceremonies on his behalf.
• On this occasion, Mr. Kim will also pay tribute, on the Secretary-General’s behalf, to the Korean victims of the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima by attending the ceremony organized by the Korean Resident Union in Japan (Mindan) on 5 August, alongside Japanese political and social leaders.  Six years ago, the Secretary-General personally visited the Monument Dedicated to Korean Victims and Survivors.

REFUGEE AGENCY WELCOMES DRAFT DECLARATION ON MIGRANTS

• The UN Refugee Agency today welcomed the draft declaration on refugees and migrants reached Tuesday by the General Assembly.  
• Filippo Grandi, the High Commissioner for Refugees said, “The message from the negotiations is clear:  no one government can address large-scale movements of refugees on its own.”  
• He added, “International cooperation is the only way forward,” he said.
• Mr. Grandi said the declaration includes a reaffirmation of basic principles of international refugee law and responsibility-sharing for refugees.
• He said, “It represents a solid basis on which to develop more coordinated – and more equitable – comprehensive responses to future large-scale refugee movements.”
• The draft will be adopted at    the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants meeting here on 19th of September