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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

FRIDAY, 15 JANUARY 2016

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UNVELING NEW ACTION PLAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP TO PREVENT VIOLENT EXTREMISM

• This morning, the Secretary-General the on his , calling for a new global partnership to confront this menace.
• He stressed that violent extremism is a direct assault on the UN Charter and poses a grave threat to international peace and security.
• The Secretary-General noted that the threat of violent extremism is not limited to any one religion, nationality or ethnic group, but he recognized that today, the vast majority of victims worldwide are Muslims.
• He said that terrorist groups are not just seeking to unleash violent action, but to provoke a harsh reaction. He added that we all lose by responding to ruthless terror with mindless policy – policies that turn people against each other, alienate already marginalized groups, and play into the hands of the enemy.

SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST AL SHABAAB ATTACK ON AFRICAN UNION BASE IN SOMALIA

• In a statement, the Secretary-General the terrorist attack perpetrated by Al Shabaab this morning against an AMISOM base in the town of El Adde, Gedo region in Somalia. Details of casualties are still being verified.
• The Secretary-General commends the efforts of AMISOM troops working for peace in Somalia. He affirms that this attack will not diminish the resolve of the United Nations to work hand in hand with the African Union and AMISOM to support the people and Government of Somalia.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS CYPRUS, SYRIA

• This morning, the held consultations on Cyprus, and was briefed by the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, , and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡keeping mission in Cyprus (), Lisa Buttenheim.
• Also on Cyprus, in an made yesterday evening, the Secretary-General will host a meeting in the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos on 21 January with the Greek Cypriot leader and the Turkish Cypriot leader to take stock of the state-of-play in the negotiations.
• This afternoon, the Security Council will hold a meeting on the Middle East to discuss the humanitarian situation in Syria. Assistant Secretary-General for Kyung-wha Kang will brief the Council on aid deliveries to besieged towns in Syria.

SEVERE MALNUTRITION FOUND IN CHILDREN IN SYRIA’S MADAYA – U.N.

• On Syria, regarding the aid that has gone into the Syrian towns of Madaya, Foah and Kafraya over the past day, the UN Children’s Fund () confirms that cases of severe malnutrition were found among children in Madaya following its participation in the second joint humanitarian mission to the area on Thursday. The people met in Madaya were exhausted and extremely frail. The UNICEF team that went to Madaya was particularly saddened and shocked to have witnessed the death of a young man named Ali, who was severely malnourished and who passed away in front of their very eyes, in the town’s clinic.
• Meanwhile, nutritionists from the World Health Organization () and UNICEF have conducted a malnutrition assessment, and the Syrian Arab Red Cross (SARC) conducted medical examinations on more than 350 people. The reports from those would be available soon but already it was clear that medical treatment and further assessments would be required.
• WFP’s contribution to the mission included wheat flour for 39,000 people, which would last a month, and wheat flour for 20,000 people in the towns of Foah and Kafraya. It took many hours of negotiations until the convoys were allowed into Madaya, at around 7 p.m. last night.
• We reiterate our previous calls on all parties to the conflict to lift the siege on communities in Syria and provide unimpeded, unconditional and sustained humanitarian access to all who need it.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RELEASE OF SAUDIS HELD IN YEMEN

• Yesterday afternoon, in a statement, the Secretary-General the release of two Saudi citizens who had been held in Yemen since March 2015. He is greatly relieved that they were released in apparent good health.
• The Secretary-General thanks his Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, for his efforts to secure the safe release of these individuals.Ìý The two Saudi citizens departed Sana’a on the morning of 14 January, accompanied by the Special Envoy.

BURUNDI: U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF WARNS OF UPTICK IN SEXUAL VIOLENCE BY SECURITY FORCES, ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES

• The UN High Commissioner for Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned today that deeply worrying new trends are emerging in Burundi, including cases of sexual violence by security forces and a sharp increase in enforced disappearances and torture cases.
• He also called for an urgent investigation into the events that took place in Bujumbura on 11-12 December, including the reported existence of at least nine mass graves.
• According to information gathered from inhabitants of various neighbourhoods, some of the victims of human rights violations during the search operations that followed the 11 December events were targeted because they were Tutsis.
• At least 130 people were killed in December, double the number of killings during the previous month.
• The High Commissioner said that a complete breakdown in law and order is just around the corner in Burundi and, with armed opposition groups also becoming more active, and the potentially lethal ethnic dimension starting to rear its head, this will inevitably end in disaster if the current rapidly deteriorating trajectory continues, said the High Commissioner.

NEW EBOLA CASE CONFIRMED IN SIERRA LEONE – WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

• The World Health Organization () today confirmed a new case of Ebola in Sierra Leone, reflecting the ongoing risk of new flare-ups of the virus in affected countries.
• The Sierra Leone government acted rapidly to respond to this new case. Through the country’s new emergency operations centre, a joint team of local authorities, WHO and partners are investigating the origin of the case.
• WHO warned in a statement yesterday that Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone remain at high risk of additional small outbreaks in the coming months due to the virus persisting in survivors after recovery.

AS ETHIOPIA FACES WORST DROUGHT IN THREE DECADES, U.N. AGENCY LAUNCHES $50 MILLION EMERGENCY PLAN

• The Food and Agriculture Organization () presented today a $50 million emergency plan as Ethiopia faces the worst drought in 30 years.
• Due to El Niño, 10.2 million people are believed to be food insecure after major crop failure and livestock losses. According to the FAO, the outlook for 2016 is very grim with access to pasture and water continuing to deteriorate until the start of the next rainy season in March.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE FLEEING MOZAMBIQUE TO SEEK ASYLUM IN MALAWI ON THE RISE – U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY

• The UN Refugee Agency () says that the number of people fleeing Mozambique and seeking asylum in Malawi has increased significantly over the last few weeks.
• In the village of Kapise, some 100 kilometres south of Malawi’s capital Lilongwe, UNHCR registration teams have recorded the arrival of 1,297 people, two thirds of them women and children, with over 900 people awaiting registration.
• The Mozambicans have told UNHCR and local authorities that they fled fighting between the opposition RENAMO and government forces.
• Malawi already hosts some 25,000 refugees mostly from the Great Lakes region in Dzaleka camp, a camp already stretched to capacity.

NEW SENIOR OFFICIALS NAMED FOR U.N. MISSION IN ABYEI, U.N. CHILDREN’S FUND

• Major General Hassen Ebrahim Mussa of Ethiopia has been appointed as Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei ().Ìý

• He succeeds Lieutenant General Birhanu Jula Gelalcha of Ethiopia, who will complete his mission on 20 January, this month.Ìý
• Justin Forsyth, a British national, has been appointed Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund ().
• He will succeed Johanna Yoka Brandt, who has been appointed as Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and to whom the Secretary-General thanks for her exceptional service and commitment to UNICEF.

SEVEN MEMBER STATES PAY U.N. DUES IN FULL

• Armenia, Haiti, Hungary, Kyrgyz Republic, Senegal, South Sudan and Ukraine have paid their UN dues in full.