Noon briefing of 10 December 2015

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

THURSDAY, 10 DECEMBER 2015

ON MARGINS OF CLIMATE CHANGE MEETING IN PARIS, SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, CIVIL SOCIETY LEADERS

• The Secretary-General is continuing his series of bilateral meetings in Paris with various delegations, including the President of the Conference of the Parties (COP21), French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. The Secretary-General also had separate bilateral meetings with China’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Xie Zhenhua; Catherine McKenna, Canada’s new Minister of Environment and Climate Change; Izabella Teixera, Minister of Environment of Brazil; the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga; and Hoesung Lee, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
• Early in the afternoon, he met with a group of civil society leaders, who represented a broad array of organizations who had gathered more than six million signatures encouraging governments to adopt an ambitious agreement in Paris.
• Speaking to the press, with civil society leaders at his side, the Secretary-General said that one of the valuable lessons he has learned is that no government and no international organization can work properly without the active engagement and support from civil society. He encouraged civil society to stay mobilized after Paris, telling them to hold government, community and business leaders accountable.
• Asked about his reaction to the current status of the negotiations, the Secretary-General said he was very optimistic and that he hoped that the parties would agree to a strong, ambitious and universal agreement on climate change, respecting the aspirations of all people around the world.
• The Secretary-General is also expected to speak at the Momentum for Change awards ceremony.

ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, SECRETARY-GENERAL SPOTLIGHTS NEED TO UPHOLD FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION, FROM FEAR

• In a message to mark Human Rights Day today, the Secretary-General stresses the need to take more concerted global action to promote the timeless principles we have collectively pledged to uphold.
• These principles include the four basic freedoms identified by former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt: freedom of expression; freedom of worship; freedom from want; and freedom from fear.
• On the freedom from fear, the Secretary-General notes that millions of refugees and internally displaced people are running from war, violence and injustice across continents and oceans, often risking their lives.
• In response, he says that we must not close but open doors and guarantee the right of all to seek asylum, without any discrimination. Migrants seeking an escape from poverty and hopelessness should also enjoy their fundamental human rights.
• To commemorate Human Rights Day, there will be several events, including one at the Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island where speakers included Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson and High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
• In the afternoon, there will be an interactive discussion on the exclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals, and in the evening, there will be a screening of the film “Quebranto,” or “Disrupted.”

SECRETARY-GENERAL HONOURED THAT OLYMPIC CUP AWARDED TO UNITED NATIONS

• The Secretary-General was honoured to learn about the decision by the International Olympic Committee to award the Olympic Cup to the United Nations. He is pleased to receive it on behalf of the Organization.
• The Secretary-General considers the Award a sign of the close partnership between the two organisations. Our collaboration is based on many shared values and ideals, and the common goal of using the power of sport to promote development and peace.
• The Secretary-General is particularly grateful to the International Olympic Committee and its President, Dr. Thomas Bach, for their strong commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET ON DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

• The President of the Security Council has informed Council members that a public meeting will take place this afternoon on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
• Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, are expected to brief the Council.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. MISSION SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DEADLY TALIBAN ATTACK ON KANDAHAR AIRPORT

• The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has condemned the Taliban attack at Kandahar airport yesterday, which has reportedly killed dozens of civilians, including four children.
• The Mission has reiterated that international humanitarian law, which applies to all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, prohibits attacks against civilians at any time and in any place. It has called on all parties to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians against the impact of attacks.

TWO U.N. CONVOYS WITH FOOD FOR NEARLY 145,000 PEOPLE REACH YEMENI CITY OF TAIZ

• Two convoys of assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) have arrived in the central Yemeni city of Taiz with badly needed food supplies for residents living in dire conditions under a virtual state of siege.
• The food is enough to feed nearly 145,000 people for one month. Two convoys of 31 trucks carrying various types of food arrived on Tuesday in the city’s Salah and al-Qahira areas and a third one is currently on its way to Mudhafar district.
• WFP has stressed that it needs freedom and safety of movement inside the country to reach as many people as possible with food assistance before they fall deeper into hunger.

U.N. ENVOY TO BRING TOGETHER MISSIONS TO DISCUSS GOVERNANCE, SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA

• The Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, will chair the 28^th High Level meeting of Heads of the United Nations Missions in West Africa, tomorrow in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
• The meeting will bring together the Heads of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the Special Envoy for the Sahel, the United Nations Integrated Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), and the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).
• This bi-annual meeting will focus mainly on governance and security developments in the sub-region and discuss ways and means to continue to strengthen coordination between the various UN entities in the sub-region. The Heads of Mission will also review progress in the implementation of their respective mandates.

U.N., SINGAPORE TO COLLABORATE ON SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FOR PEACEKEEPING

• Today, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of the United Nations with the Government of Singapore to work collaboratively on software development in support of UN Peacekeeping.
• Singapore will partner with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support to co-develop software systems that will use information management to enhance situational awareness, trend analysis and early warning capacities in field missions.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, PARTNERS JOIN FORCES TO ELIMINATE HUMAN RABIES

• The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners today launched a new framework to eliminate human rabies.
• The framework calls for action on three fronts – making human vaccines and antibodies affordable, ensuring that affected people receive prompt treatment as well as mass dog vaccinations to address the disease at its source.
• According to WHO, tens of thousands of people die from rabies each year and, worldwide, four out of every 10 people bitten by suspected rabid dogs are children under the age of 15. In Asia and Africa, where the burden is the greatest, one person dies every 10 minutes, from this preventable disease.
• However, treatment can cost up to $50 – which can be 40 days of wages in some of the most affected countries.

U.N. PERMISSION NOT GRANTED FOR USE OF EMBLEM BY MALDIVES OPPOSITION

• In response to questions, the Deputy Spokesperson said that the UN is aware of the use of the UN emblem on materials used during recent political demonstrations in the Maldives. The UN had not granted permission for this use of the UN emblem and emphasizes that it does not endorse, sponsor or have any connection to the content used on those materials.
• The UN has reminded the MDP party, the organiser of the demonstrations in question, as well as all other political parties, that use of the UN emblem is reserved to the Organization for its official use. The United Nations has, therefore, asked all concerned parties to refrain from using the UN emblem in any of their materials in the future.