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

MONDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2014

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IN CHICAGO, SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS TO COUNCIL OF CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION

  • The Secretary-General arrived on Sunday evening in Chicago, with officials from the United States, including the Federal Aviation Association as well as the Secretary of Transportation. He also with the Mayor of Montreal.
  • He then attended the opening of the Extraordinary Session of the International Civil Aviation Organization () Council. As some of you may know, this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which established ICAO and was signed in Chicago, 70 years ago. In his at the opening, the Secretary-General said that ICAO helps the UN address some of its most pressing issues on the global agenda, including in the areas of health, security and the environment.
  • The Secretary-General's last event in the Windy City was an event with Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the Rookery Building to showcase the efforts to promote energy efficiency in Chicago’s buildings.
  • He then left for Lima, Peru, where he will attend the which is already under way.

JAPAN PROVIDES PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO U.N. EBOLA MISSION

  • The fight against Ebola got a boost today with the arrival of 20,000 sets of Personal Protective Equipment from the Japan Disaster Relief Team. This is the first batch of 700,000 sets of such equipment committed by the Government of Japan to the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response ().
  • The equipment should help provide critical protection to healthcare workers in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali.
  • At the official handover ceremony this morning in Accra, the head of the UN mission Anthony Banbury thanked the Government of Japan and stressed the need for continued contributions from partners around the world to keep up the fight.?
  • Meanwhile, the peacekeeper from the UN Mission in Liberia (), who tested positive for the Ebola Virus Disease on 3 December, was evacuated from the US-run Ebola Treatment Unit in Monrovia to the Netherlands on Saturday.
  • Karin Landgren, the head of that Mission, said that she was encouraged that the medical evacuation process was organized quickly and efficiently and that the patient, who was in stable condition, will receive the best possible treatment in a Dutch medical facility.

UNICEF: 2014 WAS A DEVASTATING YEAR FOR CHILDREN

  • The UN Children’s Fund () has 2014 as a devastating year for children. In a press release issued today, the agency said that globally, an estimated 230 million children are currently living in countries and areas affected by armed conflict, including some 15 million of them in the Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, Palestine, Syria and Ukraine.
  • There have also been significant new threats to children’s health and well-being, most notably in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the Ebola outbreak has orphaned thousands of children and kept an estimated 5 million children from attending schools.
  • UNICEF says that, despite the tremendous challenges, the agency and its partners continue to provide life-saving assistance and other critical services, such as education and emotional support for children growing up in some of the most dangerous places on earth.Ìý

ONE MILLION PEOPLE RELOCATED TO EVACUATION CENTRES IN TYPHOON-AFFECTED PARTS OF PHILIPPINES

  • From the Philippines, our colleagues say that Typhoon , which made landfall in Eastern Samar on December 6, remains unpredictable as it moves towards Batangas province, just south of Manila.
  • So far, an estimated 1 million people have been relocated to 687 evacuation centres across the affected region and Metro Manila, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of the Philippines.
  • Humanitarian partners continue to liaise closely with the national authorities. Over the weekend, the World Food Programme () providing transportation and food supplies in the impacted areas.

U.N. LAUNCHES $16.4 BILLION HUMANITARIAN APPEAL FOR 2015

  • In Geneva today, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos joined by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, the 2015 global humanitarian appeal, asking for $16.4 billion to help at least 57.5 million people across the world.Ìý
  • Ms. Amos said that the majority of the people who need assistance are in countries affected by conflicts. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs () added that the crises in Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan and Syria, which account for more than 70% of the funding requirements, will remain top humanitarian priorities next year.

U.N. MISSION TRIES TO CREATE CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR DIALOGUE IN LIBYA

  • The UN Support Mission for Libya () that it has held intense consultations with all major stakeholders to create a conducive environment for the mission’s proposed dialogue.
  • UNSMIL continues to reiterate that dialogue remains the most viable and effective means of addressing the political crisis in Libya.
  • The mission has also stressed to all stakeholders that there will be no conditions attached to the dialogue, and that the primary objective will be to reach agreement on the management of the remainder of the transitional period, until a new permanent constitution is adopted.

U.N. ENVOY FOR SYRIA HOLDING TALKS IN TURKEY ON PROPOSED FREEZE FOR ALEPPO

  • The UN , Staffan de Mistura, is in Turkey, where he met with officials in Istanbul on Sunday as part of his regional consultations.
  • While in Turkey, he met with a delegation of the Syria National Coalition, headed by Hadi Al-Bahra, the president of the coalition. During the meeting Mr. de Mistura exchanged views on the proposed freeze in Aleppo and how to make it operational on the ground.
  • He also met separately with Feridum Sinirliglu, the Under Secretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry. And Mr. de Mistura is travelling today to Gaziantep, in southern Turkey, to discuss his plan with key rebel groups from Aleppo.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: HEAD OF U.N. MISSION CONDEMNS MASSACRES IN NORTH KIVU

  • Martin Kobler, head of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (), said on Sunday that he was deeply shocked at the massacres that took place over the weekend in Ahili and Manzanzaba, in the North Kivu Province. He condemned the attacks, which he said are intended to maintain a climate of terror in the region.
  • Mr. Kobler pointed to the urgent need to increase the joint actions by the Congolese Armed Forces and the UN Mission, and he urged parties on the ground to cooperate to allow for those bodies to step up their patrols.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TO READ DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN HARLEM

  • On Tuesday, UN Jan Eliasson will lead a public reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, right here in New York City.
  • The reading is part of a number of activities and actions taking place around the world to mark the commemoration of this year's Human Rights Day, which is on December 10.
  • This year, 10 December will also mark the launch by the General Assembly of the Decade of People of African Descent. The Decade will provide an opportunity to combat the continued inequality and disadvantage experienced by Africans and the African diaspora and to raise awareness of the legacy of slavery and colonialism.
  • And also on human rights, the Human Rights today elected a new president and vice-presidents for 2015. Ambassador Joachim Ruecker, Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN Office in Geneva, is the President-elect.
  • And Ambassadors from Albania, Paraguay, Kazakhstan and Botswana have been elected to be Vice Presidents for the one-year term, which starts on 1 January.

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