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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

THURSDAY, 9 JULY 2015

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SECRETARY-GENERAL LOOKS FORWARD TO COMMITMENTS TO AN UNCONDITIONAL HUMANITARIAN PAUSE IN YEMEN

• In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General the President of Yemen, Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour, and continued to encourage his support for a humanitarian pause, as conveyed in a letter received on 8 July.
• He noted that the President has communicated his acceptance of the pause to the Coalition to ensure their support and collaboration.
• The Secretary-General has received assurances through his Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, from the Houthis, the General People’s Congress and other parties that the pause will be fully respected and that there will be no violations from any combatants under their control.
• The Secretary-General looks forward to the commitments of all parties to the conflict in Yemen to an unconditional humanitarian pause to start on Friday, 10 July, at 23:59 (GMT +3) until the end of Ramadan.
• It is imperative and urgent that humanitarian aid can reach all vulnerable people of Yemen unimpeded and through an unconditional humanitarian pause. Full and unhindered access by humanitarian agencies to all parts of the country, including through sea and airports, should be ensured with a view to reaching people in need, including with essential medicines, vaccinations, food and water.
• The Secretary-General reminded the parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and calls on all sides to contribute to preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in the country.
• The Secretary-General is grateful for the efforts of his Special Envoy to continue to engage with all Yemeni stakeholders to take confidence-building steps towards a durable cease-fire and develop a mechanism for the withdrawal of forces, release of political prisoners and the resumption of an inclusive political process in accordance with Security Council resolution 2216 (2015). These measures will form part of subsequent agreements which will require further consultations.
• The Secretary-General encouraged all parties to the conflict to extend their full cooperation and support to his Special Envoy on the way forward. The Secretary-General firmly believes that the only sustainable solution to the conflict in Yemen is through peaceful and all-inclusive political dialogue and negotiations.
• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs () said that more than 21 million people in need of humanitarian aid in Yemen – 80 per cent of the population and millions of people one step away from famine.
• During a humanitarian pause, humanitarian agencies and their partners aim to reach people in need with essential medicines, vaccinations, food and water.
• If people have the adequate access, aid agencies plan to stockpile supplies throughout Yemen, including supplies for nutritional assistance for acutely malnourished children, emergency shelter, water and sanitation and medical supplies which could benefit over 2.3 million people, and food for 1.2 million people for one month.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) says in a recent assessment it has put the number of food-insecure people in Yemen at close to 13 million.
• Since fighting escalated in April, WFP has assisted close to 2 million people in the country through the distribution of 25,000 metric tonnes of food assistance in 12 governorates.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY WARNS OVER 4 MILLION SYRIANS ARE NOW DISPLACED IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES

• The �山����Refugee Agency () that more than 4 million Syrians have now become refugees in neighbouring countries, making the Syrian conflict the worst refugee crisis for almost a quarter of a century.
• The latest figures from UNHCR released today put the total number of refugees from Syria to just over 4,013,000 people.
• The �山����High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, said that this is the biggest refugee population from a single conflict in a generation. It is a population that deserves the support of the world but is instead living in dire conditions and sinking deeper into abject poverty, added Mr. Guterres.
• At least an additional 7.6 million people are displaced within Syria, many of them in difficult circumstances and in locations that are difficult to reach.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) today they have reached the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, in northern Ar-Raqqa governorate, for the first time in eight months, delivering desperately needed food assistance to 10,000 people.

BURUNDI: U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF WARNS OF POTENTIAL FOR SERIOUS CRISIS

• The heard today from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, and from Assistant Secretary-General for Tayé Brook Zerihoun on the situation in Burundi.
• The High Commissioner said that an escalating pattern of politically motivated violence, coupled with this country's history of recurring bloodshed and atrocities, should alert us to the potential for serious crisis.
• Already more than 145,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries, and this movement has increased drastically in recent days.
• He added that, contrary to some recent reports, the massive outflows of refugees appear to have been sparked, not by rumour, but by precise and targeted campaigns of intimidation and terror.
• Refugees interviewed by the Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania continue to refer to the Imbonerakure militia as the main threat, but some have also stated that militants from other groups are also employing violence – a new and disturbing trend.
• Mr. Zerihoun shared with the Council the assessment of the �山����Electoral Mission in Burundi () of the 29 June elections, in which it concluded that the environment was not conducive for free, credible and inclusive elections.
• He said the East African Community (EAC) summit communiqué provides a clear path forward. The United Nations remains ready to provide whatever support is needed.�� Burundian parties must accept that political dialogue and compromise are the only way out of the impending downward spiral.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: U.N. MISSION REPATRIATES PEACEKEEPERS

• The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) () said today that it has repatriated 20 peacekeepers to their home country.
• This follows the inquiry concerning the incidents on 10 June, in which four individuals arrested during a security operations were apparently the victims of excessive force resulting in the deaths of two of them and the hospitalization of a third man.
• At that time, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for CAR, Babacar Gaye, deplored the deaths and injuries and stressed that these acts could potentially constitute serious human rights violations for which the perpetrators should be prosecuted.

U.N. AND PARTNERS REAFFIRM SUPPORT TO REPATRIATE F.D.L.R. COMBATANTS IN GREAT LAKES REGION

• The United Nations and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) today reaffirmed their willingness to work closely with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, as well as regional organizations, to support the repatriation of FDLR combatants.
• The Special Envoy for the region, Said Djinnit, along with the Deputy Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Deputy Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (), made the call to encourage repatriation while visiting Kisangani yesterday.
• They visited the Bauma transit camp which is managed by the government and currently shelters 790 people, including former FDLR combatants. The Envoys commended the actions taken by the DRC, with the support of MONUSCO, to neutralize armed groups in the east of the country.

U.N. ENVOY WELCOMES INDICTMENT OF FORMER GUINEA LEADER FOR ROLE IN DEADLY 2009 RALLY

• Zainab Hawa Bangura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on , today’s indictment of former President Moussa Dadis Camara of Guinea.
• Mr. Dadis was indicted yesterday for his role in the events of 28 September 2009 when at least 156 people were killed and more than 109 women and girls were sexually assaulted.
• Ms. Bangura called the indictment “an important step in Guinea’s fight against impunity for the crimes that were perpetrated against unarmed civilians.”
• Her office has been providing technical support to the country's Panel of Judges for the past three years.

INTERNATIONAL EBOLA RECOVER CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK KICKS OFF TODAY

• The technical consultations of the International Recovery started today. The consultations, led by the three impacted countries, will focus on discussions on the recovery process. The Finance Ministers of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are expected to present their 24-month recovery plans.
• At 3 p.m. in the press briefing room, Special Envoy for Ebola Dr. David Nabarro and the �山����Development Programme’s () Sunil Saigal will brief you before the high-level conference which gets underway tomorrow.
• The Secretary-General, Presidents of the affected countries, as well as high-level representatives from the African Union, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the Islamic Development Bank and other partner organizations are expected to participate in tomorrow’s segment in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
• At the conclusion of the conference, Dr. Nabarro and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark will brief the press at the stakeout between the Trusteeship Council and ECOSOC anytime from 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. tomorrow.

WORLD CROP PROSPECTS POSITIVE IN 2015, SAYS U.N. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE AGENCY

• The Food and Agricultural Organization [] that favourable worldwide conditions for cereal crops are expected to lead to better-than-expected production this growing season.
• However, FAO remains concerned about a sharp shortfall in maize grown in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as poor production in other food insecure hotspots. And that’s according to the latest Price Index (FPI).

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENT

• On 10 July, at 10:00 a.m., in the Conference Room 3, the Department of Public Information (), as well as the �山����Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), will organize a roundtable on “The General History of Africa: Learning and Teaching about African Heritage".��
• It will be led by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO; Maher Nasser, the Officer-in-Charge of DPI; and the Permanent Representative of Kenya, as well as the DPR of Brazil, the Permanent Observer of the African Union. The event is held in cooperation with DPI's Remember Slavery Programme.��