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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2016
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HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE TO SCALE UP IN HAITI AS ACCESS TO ISOLATED COMMUNITIES IS RESTORED

• The UN peacekeeping Mission in Haiti () continues to facilitate the escort and to provide security for humanitarian convoys from Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes and Jérémie. Escorts are provided primarily by UN Police in collaboration with the Haitian National Police. Since 5 October, the Mission has operated 33 flights in support of the humanitarian response and the peacekeepers are providing security in the airport of Les Cayes and Jérémie.
• The peacekeeping Mission reports that access to isolated areas as well as the repair of secondary roads remain major concerns. In support of requests by the Haitian authorities, peacekeepers are undertaking road repairs and maintenance in a number of places, including around Camp Perrin, which is located on the main supply road between Les Cayes to Jérémie, as well as in the western tip of the peninsula, north west, and the south west coast. Peacekeepers are also working to repair and maintain the route from Belle Anse to Grand-Gosier (South East).
• The humanitarian response is underway across most sectors and is expected to scale up substantially in the weeks ahead as road access is restored to cut-off communities. So far, 58,000 people have received food rations in the Departments of Sud and Grand’Anse. Humanitarian actors are working to restore destroyed cholera treatment centers, and ramp up access to clean drinking water and emergency sanitation to help prevent the further spread of cholera. Some 71,500 tarpaulins, 30,000 hygiene kits and more than 24,000 kitchen sets have arrived or are in transit to Haiti. The $120 million Flash Appeal has received additional contributions but it remains critically under-funded with just over $26.5 million contributed so far.

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs () reports that military activities in Mosul remain concentrated in less populated areas, with civilian displacement still limited at this stage. So far 1,900 people have been received in Qayyarah district, south of Mosul, primarily from Al Houd town, and from other areas south of Mosul. Humanitarian partners have conducted assessment missions in Qayyarah to identify urgent needs and access issues and are providing arriving families with assistance. A further 900 people who fled into Syria have been received in al Hol camp in eastern Syria.
• Serious concerns remain for the protection of civilians as hostilities intensify closer to and in densely populated and urban areas. Displacement is anticipated to become more significant in the coming five to six days.
• The Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (), Babatunde Osotimehin, said he is deeply concerned about the rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in Mosul, and the heightened threat to the health and lives of pregnant women who may be cut off from life-saving emergency obstetric care. He said that among the 200,000 people likely to be displaced during the initial weeks of military operations in Mosul, an estimated 46,000 are women and girls of reproductive age, including about 8,000 who are pregnant or about to give birth. He added that life-saving health services must be maintained and accessible to all who require them.

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs () reports that for the first time in almost a month (since 25 September), an inter-agency humanitarian convoy today is on its way to deliver much needed humanitarian assistance to the besieged city of Duma in East Ghouta, Rural Damascus.
• The UN/Syrian Arab Red Crescent/International Committee of the Red Cross convoy is delivering food, health, water and sanitation and other emergency supplies for 35,000 people in Duma.

• Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson spoke this morning at a event to mark the 50th anniversary of the two human rights covenants which completed the to form the .��
• Mr. Eliasson said that this marked the beginning of a global constitution of human rights protection and galvanized the consensus view that the protection and realization of human rights is fundamental to building resilient, inclusive and peaceful societies.
• But he said that regrettably, serious human rights violations remain a huge challenge.
• Mr. Eliasson stressed that in a world of widespread suffering, war, poverty and discrimination, this 50th anniversary is an appropriate moment to rally around the Covenants’ principles and vision.
• For his part, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the Covenants have been a lifeline for millions of women, men and children over the past 50 years. They have helped to shape constitutions of many countries.

• The UN Special for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, the Security Council this morning and said that settlement announcements, outbreaks of violence and terror, and the absence of visionary leadership continue to define the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said that the absence of progress has led to growing anger and frustration among Palestinians and profound disillusionment among Israelis. It has strengthened radicals and weakened moderates on both sides.
• Under-Secretary-General for Stephen O’Brien said that poverty and unemployment have driven more than a quarter of all Palestinian households to food insecurity; half a million school children require humanitarian assistance to access quality education; and an estimated 1 million people are in need of humanitarian health and nutrition interventions. Overall, some 2.3 million Palestinians out of a total population of 4.8 million in the occupied Palestinian territory, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

• Though the fighting between Myanmar’s security forces and attackers identified by the Government as belonging to the organization “Aqa mul moujahideen” appears to be continuing in some villages in the outskirts of Maungdaw township of Northern Rakhine, they seem to have reduced in severity and frequency over the last two days.

• Meanwhile, we understand that tight restrictions on movements continue in the “operation zone” of Northern Rakhine State, blocking access for the 51�Թ� and other international personnel as well as the movement of local Muslim villagers. Since 9 October, almost all humanitarian activities have been suspended and many international NGOs continue to have national staff members stuck in the affected areas. An atmosphere of fear and tension continues to affect the lives of the local population.
• While deploring the attacks on the security forces and noting their sober response to these attacks, the 51�Թ� continues to underline the importance of caution to avoid any loss of innocent lives or damage to properties of the local population from the continuing operations against the attackers. We also note the strong commitment expressed by the government in upholding the rule of law, proceeding against the perpetrators in accordance with proper judicial process and guarding against any looting, provocation of hatred among the people or incitement to communal violence.
• We also note that Bangladesh had sealed the borders with Myanmar to deny perpetrators easy escape and has handed over two suspects to the Myanmar authorities.
• The 51�Թ� hopes that this situation can be resolved quickly so that Rakhine State can be restored to normalcy so that its people can move forward towards a peaceful, prosperous and harmonious future.

• The Special for Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag, today visited El-Qaa and Hermel in the country’s north-eastern border area.
• During the visit, Ms. Kaag her condemnation of the suicide bombings that struck El-Qaa last June and commended the local residents for their measured response to the attacks.
• The Special Coordinator underlined the need for additional international support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces.

• The Under-Secretary-General for , Hervé Ladsous, will travel to Morocco, Western Sahara and Tindouf (Algeria) from 21 to 25 October to visit the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (). The visit will be an opportunity for him to speak to the parties to the conflict and encourage their adherence to the terms and the spirit of the ceasefire agreement. In Laayoune, Mr. Ladsous will assess the situation on the ground and evaluate the progress towards the return of the Mission to full functionality.
• During the course of the visit, he is also expected to visit Guerguerat, the site of recent increased tensions between Morocco and the Frente Polisario, to evaluate the situation there, and assess the difficult conditions facing UN military observers in the location.
• Mr. Ladsous will then travel to Paris on 26 October to participate in a ministerial conference on peacekeeping in Francophone countries.

• The UN Mission in Afghanistan () is calling for stepped-up efforts to protect civilians in the country. The latest released today by UNAMA for the first three-quarters of 2016 show continuing high numbers of civilian casualties from the armed conflict.
• Between 1 January and 30 September of this year there have been nearly 8,400 conflict-related civilian casualties, including more than 2,500 deaths and 5,800 injured. Ground engagements remained the largest cause of civilian casualties, followed by suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices.

• The UN Children’s Fund () today that the price of a vaccine that protects children against five deadly diseases has been halved to below $1 a dose.
• Over the next three years, UNICEF will buy 450 million doses of this vaccine to send to 80 countries.
• The vaccine will protect tens of millions of children from diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and hepatitis B.
• Shanelle Hall, UNICEF’s Director of supply and procurement, said that for the most vulnerable children in the world, pricing can make a difference between life and death.

• The World Food Programme () is providing emergency food assistance to 8,000 people affected by an upsurge in violence in the north of the Central African Republic. This is in addition to regular food and nutrition support for some 120,000 people. Over the next three months, WFP plans to assist an additional 17,000 people with food or food vouchers.
• In 2016, WFP and its partners plan to assist 1.4 million people in the areas of the Central African Republic worst hit by conflict and hunger. But with only 44 percent of funding needs met, they urgently require US$42 million to keep doing so.

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Colombia, Jean Arnault, briefed the Security Council yesterday afternoon about the recent events in Colombia and implications for the work of the and he highlighted the broad national consensus around the ceasefire.

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