HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 3 AUGUST 2017
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES INDEPENDENT PANEL REPORT ON UNHABITAT

• The Secretary-General welcomes the report of the High Level Independent Panel to Assess and Enhance the Effectiveness of UNHabitat, which was drafted in response to General Assembly Resolution A/RES/71/256. The Secretary-General thanks the Panel members for their robust, evidence-based assessment of the agency.
• The Secretary-General appreciates the recommendations put forth by the Panel on better ways to address urbanization, a global mega-trend that is putting pressure on communities, infrastructure and the environment, and on how UNHabitat and the UN system can reform to become fit for purpose in cities.
• The Secretary-General finds many of the recommendations in line with his own proposals for the reform of the UN Development System, particularly the establishment of “UN Urban,” aimed at fostering more collaborative work by UN agencies in the revamped UN Country Teams, and the alignment of UNHabitat’s regional offices with the new policy integration functions of the Regional Economic Commissions.
• He also acknowledges the recommendations for changes to UNHabitat’s governance, and agrees that the agency must be equipped with a flexible, efficient structure that delivers for the most vulnerable residents of the world’s cities. He recognizes the challenges with universal membership as well as the importance of articulating a definitive normative and operational mandate for the organisation, and looks forward to further discussions with Member States about this recommendation.
• The Secretary-General considers rapid urbanization and its links with poverty, inequality, public health, migration, climate change and natural disasters to be one of the most pressing concerns of the United Nations.  He therefore appreciates the strong relationship between the assessment of UNHabitat and the overall reform of the UN Development System. He thanks the High-Level Panel for its compelling ideas, and looks forward to further discussions with Member States on ambitious reforms that will help the human family to meet the urban tests of our time.

• The Security Council met today on enhancing the effectiveness of UN sanctions.
• Addressing the Council, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Taye-Brook Zerihoun said that sanctions are not an end in themselves – at their most effective, they should contribute to a comprehensive political strategy.
• He noted that, currently, 13 Security Council regimes help to prevent conflict, counter terrorism and constrain the proliferation of nuclear weapons, adding that sanctions are flexible, being subject to regular reviews, adjustments and terminations.
• Mr. Zerihoun stressed the importance of broad-based support of Member States and the international community at large, noting that even the best-designed UN sanctions resolutions are not self-implementing.

• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, concluded his visit to South Sudan today. He visited the UN Protection of Civilians site in Malakal where he witnessed the various security challenges and humanitarian efforts to assist displaced people. He stressed that we are determined to continue to do our best to help the population.
• During his final press conference in Juba, Mr. Lacroix reiterated the importance of the initiative led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development aimed at revitalising the implementation of the peace agreement. He noted that the UN would continue to closely follow the National Dialogue process to ensure that it is conducted in an inclusive and transparent manner and that it complements broader efforts to return South Sudan to a path of peace and prosperity. He called on all parties to stop fighting and to make all efforts towards a cessation of hostilities.
• Finally, Mr. Lacroix expressed concern about the dire humanitarian situation and reiterated that the UN is working impartially to help everyone in South Sudan, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation.

• Three years after the Da’esh attack on the Yazidis, the Commission of Inquiry on Syria today called on the international community to recognize what it calls the crime of genocide being committed by Da’esh against the Yazidis and to take steps to refer the situation to justice.
• The Commission also reiterated its recommendation to all parties fighting Da’esh to consider rescuing Yazidi captives.
• In a 2016 report, the Commission found that many Yazidi women and girls were taken to Syria, where they were sold as chattel and sexually enslaved by Da’esh fighters, while boys were indoctrinated, trained, and used in hostilities.
• The Commission says that thousands of Yazidi men and boys remain missing and that Da’esh continues to subject some 3,000 women and girls in Syria to horrific violence, including brutal daily rapes and beatings.

• The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) has issued a new report on the motivations of Foreign Terrorist Fighters to travel to Syria and to return to their countries of origin.
• The report is the product of direct interviews with 43 fighters from 12 nationalities in seven countries.
• It found that the fighters interviewed lack opportunities, are disadvantaged economically, lack education and have poor labour prospects.
• The report recommends that, in dealing with returnees, it may be important to differentiate among their initial intention before going to Syria, what they actually did there, and their reasons for return. For those interviewed for this report, it seemed that not all went to Syria to become fighters there.

• The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag, spoke today at the launch of a media campaign on reducing tensions between Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees.
• Speaking with the Lebanese Information Minister, as well as with representatives of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other partners, she noted Lebanon’s exceptional generosity towards all refugees.
• Ms. Kaag said that there is no other country in the world that bears the burden as graciously, generously and with an open spirit and heart.

• In Turkey, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports that more than 850,000 refugees are now receiving monthly cash assistance thanks to a programme funded by the European Union.
• The Emergency Social Safety Net programme supports the most vulnerable refugee families in Turkey with a debit card to cover basic needs such as food, rent, medicine and clothes. The card provides them with roughly $35 dollars per family every month.
• WFP said the programme has grown quickly since it was launched at the end of 2016 and continues to add beneficiaries every day.

• The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said today that they are concerned about the unrest ahead of the constitutional referendum scheduled for Saturday in Mauritania, particularly the apparent suppression of dissenting voices and the reported use of excessive force by the authorities against protest leaders.
• The Human Rights Office urges the Government to ensure that its response to the protests is in line with its obligations under international human rights law and to ensure that the rights to peaceful assembly, to freedom of opinion and expression are fully respected. These rights are particularly precious in a pre-electoral context. The Office calls on all sides to refrain from the use of violence and to take measures to prevent the situation from escalating.

• UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner will visit Myanmar over the weekend, his first visit as Administrator to a major program partner.
• Mr. Steiner will be listening and learning about the development challenges Myanmar faces, and how they link to Agenda 2030 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released their monthly Food Price Index today.
• The Index averaged 179.1 points this month, its highest value since January 2015, marking a 2.3 percent increase from June 2017 and 10.2 percent rise from its level a year earlier. The rise was driven mainly by higher cereal, sugar and dairy prices.