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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE U.N. SYSTEM
WEDNESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2017

OPENING REMARKS BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AT PRESS CONFERENCE

Ladies and gentlemen of the media. Thank you very much for your presence. It’s good to meet all of you once again.
We have a very busy week ahead. Global leaders will gather here next week at a time when our world faces major threats – from the nuclear peril to global terrorism, from inequality to cybercrime. Hurricanes and floods around the world remind us that extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent and severe, due to climate change.
No country can meet these tests alone. But if we work together, we can chart a safer, more stable course. And that is why the General Assembly meeting is so important.
Today I want to mention two issues at the top of global concerns – and two reform initiatives.
First, the situation in Myanmar. Grievances that have been left to fester for decades have now escalated beyond Myanmar’s borders, destabilizing the region.
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. When we met last week, there were 125,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled into Bangladesh. That number has now tripled to nearly 380,000. Many are staying in makeshift settlements or with host communities who are generously sharing what they have. Women and children are arriving hungry and malnourished.
I urge all countries to do what they can for humanitarian assistance to be provided.
As you know, I wrote an official letter to the Security Council to express my concern. I welcome the Council’s decision to discuss this crisis today.
I have condemned the attacks made by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in Rakhine State, but there have been disturbing reports of attacks by security forces against civilians, which are completely unacceptable. Aid activities by UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations have been severely disrupted.
I call on the Myanmar authorities to suspend military action, end the violence, uphold the rule of law, and recognize the right of return of all those who had to leave the country.
I urge them to ensure the delivery of vital humanitarian aid by United Nations agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations and others.
I repeat my call for an effective action plan to address the root causes of the crisis. The Muslims of Rakhine State must be granted nationality or, at least for now, a legal status that allows them to lead a normal life, including freedom of movement and access to labour markets, education and health services.
Turning now to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The nuclear and missile tests by the DPRK have created great instability and tension on the Korean peninsula, throughout the region and beyond.
Unity in the Security Council is critical. This week’s unanimous adoption of a new resolution sends a clear message that the DPRK must comply fully with its international obligations.
I call on all Member States to ensure the full implementation of this and other relevant Security Council resolutions.
But Security Council unity also creates an opportunity for diplomatic engagement – an opportunity that must be seized.
The solution can only be political. Military action could cause devastation on a scale that would take generations to overcome.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would also like to announce two new initiatives to strengthen the work of the United Nations that are part of my broader reform agenda.
When I took office, I called for a surge in diplomacy for peace. Since then, I have increased my own engagement and worked to improve our institutional capacity to conduct mediation.
As part of this effort, I am announcing today the establishment of a new High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation.
The Board is made up of 18 internationally-recognized personalities who bring experience and skills, deep knowledge and extensive contacts to this extremely important task. The names will be distributed to all of you.
I will look to the Board to provide me with advice and to back specific mediation efforts. I am confident they will help us to collaborate more effectively with regional organizations, non-governmental groups and others involved in mediation around the world.
Today I am also launching my gender parity strategy for the United Nations. This roadmap fulfils an urgent need, a moral duty, an operational necessity – and a personal priority.
The strategy now completed aims to achieve parity at senior levels by 2021, and across the board by 2028. I have already started to do my part. Since January, over half of my appointments to the Senior Management Group have been women – a total of 17 women and 15 men so far, including both appointments and renewal of mandates. There is a large majority of men in the present mandates, which means that in the new appointments, the high percentage of women is even higher.
But more than statistics, we will need to change our own attitudes and approaches. We must lead by example on gender equality and women’s empowerment, which is one of the greatest human rights challenges and opportunities in our world.
Finally, I know the headline crises rightly fill our screens and working agendas every day. But I want to shine a spotlight on an under-reported emergency.
In the Central African Republic, we have seen a 37 per cent increase in refugees and displaced people in just the last three months.
This is grave cause for concern in a country where more than half the population are in dire need of assistance. I hope global leaders will give this crisis their attention during their talks next week.
I would also like to highlight that when we do act together, we can achieve results.
The international humanitarian system sounded the alarm earlier this year about the threat of famine in Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria. I remember this was my first press conference in this room.
Despite serious food insecurity in these countries, which has tragic consequences, famine as such has so far been kept at bay – thanks to coordinated efforts by governments, Non-Governmental Organizations, donors, and the United Nations system. I want to express my deep appreciation to the work of all my colleagues in the UN humanitarian agencies. You, the media, have also played a very important part.
Some 13 million people in these four countries are receiving life-saving aid each month. We must continue to meet the needs of all those who look to us for support.
But this is a reminder that when we act together as united nations, we can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
Thank you very much for your attention, and now, of course, I will be able to take your questions.

SOMALIA PROGRESS GRADUAL BUT FRAGILE, U.N. OFFICIAL TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL

• This morning, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Michael Keating, briefed the Security Council on the situation in that country.
• Mr. Keating said the challenges facing Somalia remain formidable, but added that the unity of the Security Council and the solidarity of the international community have been essential to the country’s gradual, if fragile, progress.
• Mr. Keating added that the US$1 billion contribution for humanitarian action this year had helped the famine prevention response reach over 3 million people every month. However, the risk of famine remains.
• In addition, he said the country needed to tackle its immediate political challenges, which are threatening progress on core objectives. Completing the constitutional review is critical for this, and for the holding of election in 2020, he said.
• In regards to security in the country, Mr. Keating emphasized that securing funding for security is a top priority and added that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) continues to play a fundamental role in protecting Somalia's progress and people, and Somali security forces are not yet ready to shoulder full responsibilities.

• The UN for the Middle East ɫ��TV Process, Nickolay Mladenov, welcomed the recent developments related to Palestinian unity in Cairo. He said that reconciliation is critical to addressing the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza, preventing the continuing militant buildup and restoring hope for the future.
• The Special Coordinator urged all parties to seize the current positive momentum and reach an agreement that would allow the Palestinian Government to immediately take up its responsibilities in Gaza.

• As part of his four-day mission to the region of the Lake Chad Basin, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, concluded yesterday a two-day visit to Nigeria. He said that while the Government and humanitarian workers have made important progress in delivering life-saving relief to millions of people in north-east Nigeria, the complex Lake Chad Basin crisis will require sustained international support over the coming years.
• Mr. Lowcock said that the international system has rapidly scaled up and saved millions of lives, and two million people are reached with food assistance every month. However, while we have averted famine, he said, millions of people are still at risk if more international help is not forthcoming.

• The cholera outbreak in Eastern Chad, near the border with Sudan, is growing. Some 306 cases have been reported to date, including 48 deaths.
• The outbreak first emerged on 14-15 August 2017, when a cluster of 50 cases of acute watery diarrhea, including 13 deaths, were reported in Marena, a remote village in Koukou District. The outbreak later spread to 25 localities in the Sila and Salamat regions.
• Response efforts are ongoing. The biggest challenges remain poor access to safe drinking water, thus complicating community sensitization, monitoring and early treatment of patients.
• Four treatment centers are now functional in Marena, Dogdoré, Goz-Amir and Koukou Urbain areas with the support of MSF Holland. The World Health Organization () and have provided three cholera kits on site. Local healthcare staff and hygienists have been trained on the management of diarrheal diseases.
• Social mobilization activities have been strengthened through the recruitment of six community health workers in each area of concern, aiming to promote public awareness of hygiene (hand washing), consumption of safe drinking water and cooked food. Chlorination water sites have been set up to provide safe drinking water to households.
• Community volunteers have been recruited and trained to assist with raising community awareness and door-to-door sensitization.

• During a visit to Wau town, in north-western South Sudan, the Head of the UN in the country, David Shearer, said that the return of displaced people to their homes in Wau could provide a model for other parts of the country.
• The number of displaced people living in the UN Protection of Civilians site has fallen from 38,000 to 32,500 over the last two months as the security situation improved. Many of those people have returned home to cultivate their land. Mr. Shearer welcomed efforts by the local authorities, the police and National Security to improve the security environment.
• He met with the Wau Governor and security officials about cooperation with the UN, humanitarian agencies and, importantly, the displaced people themselves, to create enabling conditions to assist people to leave the camps and go home.
• Mr. Shearer said that this collaboration could represent a new model for the return of displaced people. “It is important that people return to their homes voluntarily,” Mr. Shearer added, “and for that to happen they need to feel safe and confident about their future.”

• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi today called on Hungary to improve access for people seeking asylum and to do away with its so-called border “transit zones,” which he said are in effect detention centres.
• Mr. Grandi is currently in Budapest, where he is meeting with Government officials. In his meetings he stressed the importance of European solidarity and of all member states, including Hungary, taking part in the EU program to relocate asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy.
• He also expressed his concern that asylum-seekers, including children, were being kept in the “transit zones” during their asylum process, and appealed to the Hungarian government to ease constraints on its asylum system so that asylum-seekers entering the country face no obstacles and can have their cases heard in line with Hungary’s international commitments.

• The UN Children’s Fund () has partnered with renowned photographer and filmmaker Rankin to create a 60-second film highlighting the plight of children uprooted by war, poverty and disaster, especially those separated from their families as they become refugees.
• The film urges people to see past the refugee and migrant labels and value each child as a child, no matter where they’re from.
• Around the world, nearly 50 million children are living outside their country of birth or are displaced within their own country, at least 28 million of them driven from their homes by war and conflict.

• The UN Migration Agency has compiled a cookbook with traditional recipes from across much of Southeast and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
• The book aims to promote tolerance towards migrants and refugees, as well as celebrate the benefits of migration in our daily lives.
• The book was launched this week in Vienna as part of the UN’s “” campaign which aims to promote tolerance towards migrants and refugees.