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

MONDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2016

PARTIES AT INTRA-SYRIAN TALKS MUST PUT PEOPLE AT HEART OF DISCUSSIONS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS DURING VISIT TO OMAN

• The Secretary-General is in Oman today where he the National Defense College. Speaking about conflict prevention, he stressed that the conflicts in Syria and Yemen showed that the idea of a so-called winner had lost all meaning. Everyone is losing, and the biggest victims are the innocent civilian populations.
• He noted the start of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva and urged all parties to put the people of Syria at the heart of their discussions, and above partisan interests. He said that civilians, including children and women, are bearing the brunt of the conflict.
• The Secretary-General thanked Oman for its key role as a bridge builder for peace, particularly in support of the Yemen talks, as well as for its recent financial contribution for conflict prevention.
• He also thanked Oman for helping the United Nations digitize its audio-visual archives, being a prime mover of this critical undertaking for the UN, its history and its past.

ETHIOPIA: SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES INCLUSIVE DIALOGUE TO ADDRESS SITUATION IN BURUNDI

• Over the weekend, the Secretary-General attended the African Union Summit in Ethiopia. He also conducted a number of meetings with Heads of State and other officials, including with the Presidents of Mali, Chad, Rwanda and South Africa and the Second Vice-President of Burundi.
• The situation in Burundi was central in many of his discussions. During a press conference, he urged all parties, particularly Burundian political leaders, including President Nkurunziza, to engage in inclusive dialogue and listen carefully to the concerns and aspirations of Burundian people.
• He also expressed his concern regarding the failure of South Sudan’s leaders to meet the deadline for the formation of a Transitional Government, as well as the importance of increasing support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
• In his to the African Union, among other issues, the Secretary-General reiterated the need for good governance, as seventeen African countries will go to the ballot box in 2016. Leaders should never use undemocratic constitutional changes and legal loopholes to cling to power, he said, stressing that we have all seen the tragic consequences when they do.
• Before leaving Ethiopia yesterday, the Secretary-General visited an area of the country affected by drought caused by one of the worst El Niño weather phenomena on record. He said he was impressed by the national efforts to address the situation and called for increased support from major donors.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL EMPHASIZES YOUTH’S ROLE IN SHAPING 2030 AGENDA AT FORUM

• The Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, today at the opening of the Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) Youth Forum.
• He underscored young people’s crucial role in shaping the , calling them agents of change whose contributions will bring benefits both to themselves and to society.
• Mr. Eliasson also spoke about the challengers confronting young people today, including obstacles in finding decent job.
• The UN estimates that nearly 75 million young people around the world are out of work. Some 40 per cent of all economically active youth are either unemployed or working in poverty.
• Stressing that decent work, particularly for young people, is the backbone of development and stable societies, the Deputy Secretary-General welcomed the launch of the first-ever UN system-wide Global on Decent Jobs for Youth – an idea that originally from young people.

KEEPING PEOPLE UNDER INDEFINITE OCCUPATION UNDERMINES SECURITY OF ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS - SECRETARY-GENERAL

• In an op-ed in today’s New York Times, the Secretary-General wrote that 2016 has begun much as 2015 ended in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories — with unacceptable levels of violence and a polarized public discourse.
• That polarization, he wrote, showed itself in the halls of the United Nations last week when he pointed out a simple truth: History proves that people will always resist occupation.
• The Secretary-General said that some sought to shoot the messenger by twisting his words into a misguided justification for violence. He reiterated that nothing excuses terrorism and he condemns it categorically. He added that it is inconceivable that security measures alone will stop the violence.
• Everyone is free to pick and choose what they like or dislike from speeches but the Secretary-General asserted that the time has come for Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to read the writing on the wall: The status quo is untenable. Keeping another people under indefinite occupation undermines the security and the future of both Israelis and Palestinians.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ALARMED OVER HAMAS’ INTENTION TO CONTINUE FIRING ROCKETS AT ISRAEL

• In a issued over the weekend, the Secretary-General expressed alarm over recent statements from the Hamas leadership in Gaza about the group9;s intention to continue building tunnels and firing rockets at Israel.
• Such statements and actions put at risk reconstruction, humanitarian and development efforts by the international community and Palestinian and Israeli authorities. They also do a serious disservice to the long-suffering people of Gaza.

OVER 12,500 PEOPLE BESIEGED IN VILLAGES IN SYRIA’S IDLEB GOVERNORATE, WARN AID AGENCIES

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that an estimated 12,500 people are besieged in the villages of Foah and Kafraya, in Syria9;s Idleb Governorate, where residents have faced a deterioration of the humanitarian situation over the last months.
• Humanitarian agencies say that there are increasing reports of acute shortages of food, basic commodities, medical items and fuel in the enclave.
• A lack of fuel and fertilizers has made cultivation of agricultural lands in that area increasingly difficult. Local sources report that up to 70 per cent of the farmland is now inaccessible due to sniper activity. Prices of food and other basic staples have increased sharply.
• Residents are depending on water from untreated wells, sold at high cost. However, water availability is dependent on the availability of diesel to operate the water pumps.
• The United Nations and the Red Cross/Red Crescent delivered assistance to the enclave in October 2015, and on three occasions in January 2016.

IRAQ: NEW CASUALTY FIGURES SHOW INCREASE IN INJURIES AMONG CIVILIANS IN JANUARY

• A total of 849 Iraqis were killed and another 1,450 were wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in January, according to casualty figures released today by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (). The figures showed that Baghdad Governorate was the worst affected, with 1,084 civilian casualties, including nearly 300 killed.
• Ján Kubiš, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, deplored the continuing high casualty toll, particularly a sharp increase in the number of injuries among civilians in January as compared to the previous month.
• He said, “One casualty is one too many. The suffering of the Iraqi people must end.”

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CONCERNED OVER CLAMPDOWN ON MEDIA IN TURKEY

• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra9;ad Al Hussein, today expressed his concern over the actions of security forces and the clampdown on the media in Turkey.
• He urged Turkish authorities to respect the fundamental rights of civilians in security operations and to investigate the alleged shooting caught on video of unarmed people in the southeast.
• The High Commissioner said he is seriously concerned by reports that the cameraman, who was himself wounded, faces arrest once he leaves the hospital, as well as at the extraordinarily harsh prison sentences being sought for two other well-known Turkish newspaper journalists.
• He stressed that filming an atrocity is not a crime, but shooting unarmed civilians most certainly is, adding that it is essential that there is a thorough, independent, impartial investigation into this and any other events that have led to the wounding or killing of civilians.

U.N. AGENCIES CONTINUE TO MONITOR ZIKA VIRUS AND INCREASE IN MICROCEPHALY

• The World Health Organization’s () Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, today the first meeting of the Emergency Committee concerning Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations.
• The UN Population Fund () said that everyone should take steps to avoid exposure to the Zika virus. Pregnant women and those of childbearing age should take extra care to avoid exposure to mosquito bites, use insecticide-treated mosquito nets and apply insect repellents approved for use in pregnant women.
• The Fund added that pregnant women have the same risk as the rest of the population of being infected with Zika virus: between one in four to one in five people infected with the Zika virus develops symptoms, and among those with symptoms, the illness is usually mild.
• The World Health Organization’s () has on governments to rate movies that portray tobacco use in a bid to prevent children and adolescents from starting to smoke cigarettes and use other forms of tobacco.
• According to WHO’s new report entitled “Smoke-free movies: from evidence to action,” movies showing tobacco use have enticed millions of young people worldwide to start smoking.
• It added that taking concrete steps, including rating films with tobacco scenes and displaying tobacco warnings before films can help prevent children around the world from being introduced to tobacco products and subsequent tobacco-related addiction, disability and death.

**The guests at the noon briefing were the Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Rider; the Director of the Employment Policy Department at IOL, Azita Berar Awad; and the President of the NGO AIESEC, Anna Salgarriaga. They briefed on the launch of the recently approved Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth.**