Noon briefing of 30 April 2015

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

THURSDAY, 30 APRIL 2015

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN NORTHERN MALI

• In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in northern Mali.
• The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned by the serious ceasefire violations that have occurred in Mali in recent days, at a critical moment in the peace process and as efforts are underway to bring all Malian parties to sign the draft peace agreement.
• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali, Mongi Hamdi, and the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) are engaging with all parties to de-escalate tensions and encourage continued dialogue.
• The Secretary-General urged the parties to demonstrate their commitment to the peace process and adhere to their obligations.

U.N. HUMANITARIAN OFFICIALS VISIT EARTHQUAKE-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES IN NEPAL

• The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, and the European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, arrived in Nepal today.
• During her three-day visit, Ms. Amos will meet with Government officials, community leaders and families affected by the earthquake. She also plans to visit areas affected by the earthquake outside Kathmandu Valley.
• After arriving in the capital, Kathmandu, she noted that people are becoming frustrated despite the work which has already been done and continues, calling it a major coordination challenge.
• The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Ertharin Cousin, is also in Nepal to see for herself WFP’s operations to help survivors of the earthquake. While in the country, she will travel to remote locations where WFP is delivering food.
• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the death toll now stands at nearly 5,600 people and that more than 11,100 people have been injured, according to the Government.
• More than 130,000 houses have reportedly been destroyed and nearly 86,000 partially damaged. Some 24,000 people are currently living in 13 camps across Kathmandu.
• Yesterday, WFP its partners delivered more than 100 metric tonnes of food to the Gorkha and Dhading Districts.
• OCHA reported that inaccessibility to some remote areas, the lack of helicopters, poor communication and security concerns remain the main challenges in delivering relief.
• In the past 48 hours, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has delivered nearly 30 metric tonnes of supplies, including tents, water purification tablets, and first aid and hygiene kits.
• This is part of UNICEF’s efforts to reach at least 1.7 million children in the areas hardest hit by the earthquake.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has stepped up its efforts to deliver medical relief to people living outside the Kathmandu valley, with a major focus on reaching the injured and preventing outbreaks of disease.
• WHO is helping to coordinate international medical support in the mountainous region of Sindhupalchowk district, which has reported the largest number of fatalities of any region in Nepal.
• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is concerned about the impact of the earthquake on farmers, noting that those who miss the planting season expected to start later in May will be unable to harvest rice, which is Nepal’s staple food, until late 2016.
• This, together with likely losses of food stocks and wheat and maize harvests, would severely limit food supplies and incomes in Nepal, where around two-thirds of people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ATTENDS CHIEF EXECUTIVES BOARD MEETING IN PARIS

• Secretary-General is in Paris today attending the meetings of the UN Chief Executives Board. This morning, he hosted a working breakfast meeting for certain agency heads to focus on the Financing for Development Conference, to be held in Addis Ababa later this summer.
• He also met with Philippe Douste-Blazy, his Special Advisor on Innovative Financing for Development. The Secretary-General then chaired a private session of the Chief Executives Board of the UN system.
• The Secretary-General and the members of the CEB attended a working lunch hosted for them by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. The discussions at the lunch, which also included a number of Chief Executive Officers of French companies, focused on climate change and the forthcoming Conference of Parties meeting in Paris this December.
• The last session of the Chief Executives Board focused on the new global threats.
• The Secretary-General also met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, before attending the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) International Jazz Day celebrations.

WIDESPREAD VIOLENCE REPORTED IN YEMEN’S ADEN CITY

• The UN received reports of widespread violence in Yemen’s Aden City. Houses were reportedly set on fire in Khormaksar District yesterday.
• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has also received reports that Al Jamourah hospital – the main hospital in Aden and the referral facility for the entire southern region – has been heavily damaged by today’s fighting.
• The water and sanitation company that provides water to Aden Governorate has reported that it is unable to operate, due to heavy shelling in Al Barzakh and Al Karae, where tanks supplying water to seven of Aden’s eight districts are located.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed to all parties in Yemen to allow the commercial sector and aid agencies to bring urgently needed fuel and food into the country, where a severe fuel shortage is threatening the delivery of lifesaving assistance to Yemenis hit by the conflict.
• In the last two weeks, WFP has reached 700,000 people with emergency food rations in seven governorates. But the fuel shortage threatens to bring the operation to a complete halt.

LITHUANIA TAKES OVER SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY FOR MAY

• Today marks the last day of Jordan’s Security Council Presidency. Lithuania will assume the Presidency of the Security Council for May starting tomorrow.

82 COUNTRIES PAY DUES TO U.N.

• Bahrain became the 82^nd Member State to pay its regular budget dues to the UN in full.