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UN Daily News
Friday, 1 April 2016

Issue DH/7128

In the headlines:
Syria: UN advisor warns of 'lost momentum' and

UN refugee agency urges safeguard compliance

Ebola: UN health agency reports new case in

In Washington at Nuclear Security Summit, Ban

Preparations underway 'at full speed' for intra-

Ban welcomes joint China-US pledge to sign Paris

Iraq: UN envoy voices alarm at ongoing violence,

UN peacekeeping chief condemns sexual

Marking Autism Awareness Day, UN officials call for

Libya: Security Council welcomes Presidency

frustration in humanitarian access talks

Liberia, as experimental vaccine used in Guinea

highlights role of UN watchdog agency

Yemeni peace talks, says UN envoy

climate accord in April

'unacceptable' loss of civilian lives

inclusive societies

before any returns begin under EU-Turkey deal

exploitation; says victims' needs are 'top priority'

Council's arrival in Tripoli

Syria: UN advisor warns of 'lost momentum' and frustration in

humanitarian access talks
1 April Diplomats are very frustrated about not being able to keep
the early momentum in the humanitarian track of the intra-Syrian
talks, a United Nations humanitarian mediator has warned.
Coming out of yesterday's International Syria Support Group (ISSG)
meeting on humanitarian access, Jan Egeland, Special Advisor to the
UN Special Envoy for Syria, told reporters that the situation has
notably improved from 2015, but the operation is now running into
difficulties.

In Madaya, Syria, local community members help offload and

distribute humanitarian aid supplies. Photo: WFP/Hussam Al Saleh

Compared with a year earlier, when UN had access to only one

besieged area in Yarmouk, humanitarian supplies have now reached
150,000 people in 11 of the 18 besieged areas, he said.

In addition, convoys got a greenlight to go to three new places,

Arbeen, Zamalka and Zabadin. Airdrops in Deir Ez Zor are likely to start on a regular basis within a fortnight.
However, I will not hide that we are afraid now to lose some of the momentum that we got after the Munich meeting, Mr.
Egeland said.
There is no access or greenlight at all to Douma, Darayya and East Harasta. In Douma, more than 90,000 people are in need.
And there are a number of administrative problems, security issues, and delays. For the three new areas, UN has much
higher number of people in need that the Government approved.
And perhaps, most importantly, we are still not where we should be according to international law on medical services and
For information media not an official record

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01 April 2016

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health services for the besieged areas, he said, noting that surgical equipment is still taken off convoys, the besieged areas
remain off-limits to medical personal, and medical evacuation is not permitted.
Within the last 75 hours, three children bled to death in Madaya, he said. They were playing with an unexploded bomb,
they were gravely wounded but they didn't die. They died because of medical evacuation was not allowed and possible to
organize, he added.
It is basically a bit frustrating now and my clear message was that all of the countries that have influence, not only Russia,
have to help us, he said.
Urging the Government and the opposition groups to break the impasse, Mr. Egeland said we must continue to get to the
remaining besieged areas and we cannot allow medical services to be exempted.
The next ISSG meeting on humanitarian access will take place on Thursday, 7 April. He said he expects Russia, Iran, China,
Iraq as well as the Europeans who have contact with Damascus to be actively engaged with the Government.
The ISSG is comprised of the United Nations, the Arab League, the European Union and 18 countries and which has been
seeking a path forward for several months.

Ebola: UN health agency reports new case in Liberia, as

experimental vaccine used in Guinea
1 April Lab results confirmed a new case of the Ebola virus in
Liberia, the United Nations health agency today announced, while an
experimental vaccine against the virus is being used in parts of Guinea
to contain the latest flare-up of the virus in that country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that national health
authorities had convened an emergency meeting early this morning
with key partners to coordinate and plan a response. This, after a 30year old woman died yesterday, as she was being transferred to a
hospital in the capital Monrovia.
This latest case marks the third flare-up of the virus since Liberia was
officially declared free of Ebola on 9 May 2015.

A team of contact tracers visited a community in Conakry, Guinea, in

2015 after a family member was infected with Ebola. The family was
provided with buckets and chlorine and taught how to wash hands
properly at home. Photo: UNMEER/Martine Perret

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Guinea, hundreds of people in Guinea's

southern prefectures of Nzrkor and Macenta have been vaccinated
with an experimental Ebola vaccine with the aim of containing the latest flare-up of Ebola.

WHO's office in Guinea said more than 800 people have been vaccinated in the past week with the Vesicular Stomatitis
Virus-Ebola Virus vaccine known known as VSV-EBOV.
Those people are part of a group of more than 1,000 who have been identified and are closely being watched after coming in
contact with eight individuals known to be infected with Ebola.
Transmission of the deadly virus was believed to have been stopped in the Western African country on 29 December 2015.
Earlier this week, WHO said that Liberia and Guinea, along with Sierra Leone, remain at risk for Ebola flare-ups, largely
due to the persistence of the virus in some survivors and urged people to remain on high alert.
WHO has dozens of staff members on the ground in the affected areas working in support of government-led response
efforts, as well as to assist Ebola treatment centres.
UN News Centre www.un.org/news

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01 April 2016

Preparations underway 'at full speed' for intra-Yemeni peace

talks, says UN envoy
1 April Preparations are underway at full speed for the next round
of United Nations-brokered intra-Yemeni peace talks to start on 18
April in Kuwait, a UN envoy said today.
The aim is to reach a comprehensive agreement that will end the war
and allow the resumption of inclusive political dialogue in line with
UN Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) and other relevant
Council resolutions.

The aftermath of a bombing by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Photo: Almigdad Mojalli/IRIN

I am looking forward to the active participation of relevant parties in

the talks, said Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Secretary-General's
Special Envoy for Yemen, urging the country's delegations to seize
this opportunity to provide a mechanism for a return to a peaceful and
orderly transition based on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
initiative and the outcomes of the national dialogue conference.

UN political experts have already been deployed to Sana'a and Riyadh to work with the delegations there toward the
resumption of talks, he said. Another team is on its way to Kuwait to finalize the preparations with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
The Special Envoy said he encouraged the parties to engage constructively in the talks, including on the areas of the
withdrawal of militias and armed groups, the handover of heavy weapons to the State, interim security arrangements, the
restoration of state institutions and the resumption of inclusive political dialogue, in addition to the creation of a special
committee for prisoners and detainees.
Within this same context, the special envoy welcomed the encouraging steps taken recently between Saudi Arabia and
Ansarallah, known as the Houthis, including the release of prisoners and the relative calming at the borders.
These initiatives reinforced the spirit of the confidence building measures recommended at the previous round of talks and
there is no doubt that they can provide an important drive to the political process, he said.
The parties to the conflict have agreed to a nation-wide cessation of hostilities beginning at midnight on 10 April. With
political will, good faith and balance, they could take this opportunity to end the conflict and pave the way towards a
permanent and durable end of the war, he added.

Iraq: UN envoy voices alarm at ongoing violence,

'unacceptable' loss of civilian lives
1 April The top United Nations official in Iraq has expressed
concern over the continuing acts of violence in the country, which last
month took 1,119 lives and injured another 1,561 according to
casualty figures recorded by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq
(UNAMI).
I am extremely disturbed at the continuing loss of life and injury as a
result of terrorism, violence and armed conflict. It is totally
unacceptable that civilians should bear the brunt of violence, said the
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq,
Mr. Jn Kubi, in a press release.
An apartment complex near the University of Anbar. A UN
assessment in March and satellite photography indicate substantial
damage inflicted on residential areas during months of fighting in
Iraq. Photo: OCHA/Themba Linden

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

Among the casualties were civilians in personal security details,

facilities protection police and the fire department, in addition to 45

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01 April 2016

federal police officers killed and 50 others injured.

The Iraqi Security Forces, which included Peshmerga, Special Weapons And Tactics Team (SWAT) and militias fighting
alongside the Iraqi Army but excluding Anbar Operations, experienced 544 killed and 365 injured.
The overall casualty figures saw an increase from February, where a total of 670 were killed and 1,290 were injured.
My hope is that the proposed reforms will be implemented and will lead to an eventual normalcy in this beautiful country,
Mr. Kubi asserted.
With 259 killed and 770 injured, Baghdad totalled 1,029 civilian casualties, making it the worst-affected Governorate.
Elsewhere, Ninewa endured 133 killed and 89 injured; Babil, 65 killed and 141 injured; Kirkuk, 34 killed and 57 injured;
Diyala, 11 killed and 0 injured; and Salahadin, 6 killed and 1 injured. According to information obtained by UNAMI from
the Health Directorate in Anbar, up to and including 30 March, that Governorate suffered 201 civilian casualties, comprised
of 64 killed and 137 injured.
The UN mission noted that it had been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas as well as reports of large
casualty and unknown numbers of persons who died from secondary effects of violence after fleeing their homes due to
elements exposure and lack of water, food, medicines and health care. For these reasons, the figures reported are considered
as the absolute minimum.

Marking Autism Awareness Day, UN officials call for inclusive

societies
1 April On the eve of the World Autism Awareness Day, United
Nations officials highlighted the contributions to humanity by people
with autism, noting that shunning them is a violation of human
rights and a waste of human potential.
Addressing a commemorative event this morning, UN General
Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft stressed that autism and other
forms of disability are part of the human experience that contributes to
human diversity.

Photo: CARE/David Rochkind, Design: Kim Conger

The head of the 193-nation body noted that autism prevalence figures
are growing, one in 68 people, or about one per cent of the world's
population. The vast majority of those affected are children.

Today we also celebrate the unique talents of persons with autism, he said, emphasizing that each must be treated a
valued member of society and is thus entitled to equal opportunity in all respects, including education, employment,
participation in social, political and cultural life and access to information.
Member States have emphasized the need to mainstream disability in the global development agenda. This means that the
needs and rights of persons with disabilities, including autism, need to be taken fully into account, on an equal footing with
other citizens, in the design and implementation of all policies and programmes.
In adopting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)in September 2015, the Assembly pledged that no one would be
left behind.
Let's make that a reality by building providing an inclusive society and accessible communities where people with autism
and other disabilities can thrive, enjoy equal opportunity and thus be empowered, he said.
Titled Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity, the event also featured a keynote speech by
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01 April 2016

Steve Silberman, author of Neuro Tribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity.

Violation of human rights and waste of human potential

In a message on the Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that autism is not well-understood in many countries,
and too many societies shun people with autism.
This is a violation of human rights and a waste of human potential, he said.
Earlier this year, he engaged in a dialogue with a young man with autism at United Nations Headquarters. His innovative
approach to the implementation of the SDGs was impressive, he said.
The UN is proud to champion the autism awareness movement. The rights, perspectives and well-being of people with
autism, and all persons with disabilities, are integral to the 2030 Agenda and its commitment to leave no one behind.
Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, he called
on societies to invest more funds in enabling young persons with autism to be part of their generation's historic push for
progress.

UN refugee agency urges safeguard compliance before any

returns begin under EU-Turkey deal
1 April The United Nations refugee agency today urged parties to
the recent EU-Turkey agreement on refugees and migrants to ensure
all safeguards are in place before any returns begin.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
does not object to returns of people without protection needs and
who have not asked for asylum, providing that human rights are
adhered to, UNHCR Chief Spokesperson Melissa Fleming told
reporters in Geneva.
According to a statement issued by the EU, the sides agreed that all
new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey into Greek islands will
be returned to Turkey, starting from 20 March, and for every Syrian Newly-arriving refugees wave as the large inflatable boat they are in
approaches the shore, near the village of Skala Eressos, on the island
being returned to Turkey from Greek islands, another Syrian will be of Lesbos, in the North Aegean region of Greece. Photo:
UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII
resettled from Turkey to the EU.
Across Greece, which has been compelled to host people because of closed borders elsewhere in Europe, numerous aspects
of the systems for receiving and dealing with people who may need international protection are still either not working or
absent, she said.
There are currently around 51,000 refugees and migrants in the country, 46,000 on the mainland and 5,000 on the islands.
Recent arrivals spiked on 29th March at 766 after several days of arrivals averaging about 300 people a day.
Without urgent further EU support, the limited capacity of the Greek asylum service to register and process asylum claims
will create problems, she said. Limited hours of registration, daily ceilings on registrations, a lack of access to the Skype
system for registration set up by the Asylum Services, are at present adding to the anxiety.
In Turkey, UNHCR has requested access to people returned from Greece, to ensure people can benefit from effective
international protection and to prevent risk of refoulement. UNHCR hopes that the Temporary Protection regulation required
for granting or reinstating temporary protection status for Syrians readmitted from Greece will be adopted soon.
UNHCR has set out the safeguards that would be required for safe readmission from Greece to Turkey, most recently in a
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01 April 2016

paper of 23 March.
In line with its global policy on promoting alternatives to detention, UNHCR has had to suspend services at all closed
facilities, with the exception of protection monitoring and providing information on asylum procedures, she said.

In March, sea arrivals down in Greece, up in Italy

Greece saw more than 150,700 sea arrivals for the first three months of 2016, albeit with lower arrivals in March.
Sea arrivals on the other main Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy increased to 18,784 from 10,165 recorded
in the same period of 2015, representing a more than 80 per cent increase, with March arrivals showing a four-fold increase.
These are predominantly Nigerians, Gambians, Senegalese, Malians and other West African nationals.

In Washington at Nuclear Security Summit, Ban highlights role

of UN watchdog agency
1 April At the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C.,
Secretary-General Ban Ki moon has attended a working lunch with
other dignitaries and in his remarks, he is expected to spotlight the
crucial role played by the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) in the area of nuclear security.
Many states lack sufficient capacity to act on nuclear security threats
and this is where the IAEA role is indispensable in providing
expertise, advice and technical assistance, said UN Spokesperson
Stphane Dujarric.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with participants before the opening

session of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. UN
Photo/Eskinder Debebe

The spokesperson also noted that the UN chief will also highlight the
importance of UN Security Council resolution 1540, requiring the
states to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and
of the UN Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear

Terrorism.
On the margins of the Summit, the Secretary-General met with the President of France, Franois Hollande. The SecretaryGeneral and the President discussed the situation in Western Sahara.
They also exchanged views on the situation in Mali. Mr. Ban thanked France for its continued support to the implementation
of the peace agreement in Mali, for the review of the mandate of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and for tackling
issues of insecurity and the re-establishment of State authority throughout the country.
He thanked France for its continued support to the democratically elected Government of the Central African Republic,
underlining the need to maintain international attention on the situation in the country.
On the allegations of misconduct by peacekeeping troops in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Secretary-General and
President Hollande agreed on the imperative of a thorough investigation to ensure that perpetrators be brought to justice.
Mr. Ban also met with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko and commended the country for its important
contribution to global nuclear security.
Regarding the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, Mr. Ban expressed his deep concern over the precariousness of the
security situation and reiterated the urgent need for full implementation of the Minsk agreements. President Poroshenko also
updated the Secretary-General on the domestic political situation in Ukraine.

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

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01 April 2016

Ban welcomes joint China-US pledge to sign Paris climate

accord in April
1 April United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
commended the joint presidential statement on climate change by
China and the United States announcing that both countries will sign
the Paris Agreement at a special ceremony at UN Headquarters on
22 April, the first day the accord is open for signature.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban further
welcomed the announcement that both countries will take necessary
domestic steps to formally join the Agreement as early as possible this
year. He also welcomed that they urged other countries to do the same
so that the Paris Agreement can enter into force as early as possible.
By absorbing much of the added heat trapped by atmospheric
greenhouse gases, the oceans are delaying some of the impacts of
climate change. Photo: WMO/Olga Khoroshunova

The Secretary-General is further encouraged by the commitment of

the world's two largest emitters to work for successful outcomes this
year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Montreal
Protocol, the International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly, and at the upcoming G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China,
the statement said.
The 22 April signature ceremony will build on the strong political momentum from Paris for urgent global climate action by
all countries, which is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and creating a more prosperous, equitable
and livable future for all people.
The climate pact will enter into force after 55 countries that account for at least 55 per cent of global emissions have
deposited their instruments of ratification.

UN peacekeeping chief condemns sexual exploitation; says

victims' needs are 'top priority'
1 April The top United Nations peacekeeping official has
underscored that the protection of and assistance to victims of sexual
exploitation and abuse in the Central African Republic remains the
Organization's top priority.
According to the Office of the Spokesperson for the SecretaryGeneral, Herv Ladsous, the Under-Secretary-General who heads the
UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said: 'I condemn the
scourge of sexual exploitation in the Central African Republic,' and
reiterated proposals to establish martial courts in situ.

Moroccan peacekeepers serving with the UN Multidimensional

Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic
(MINUSCA) in Bangui are deployed to Bambari on 15 June 2014. UN
Photo/Catianne Tijerina

Mr. Ladsous met with personnel from the UN Multidimensional

Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic
(MINUSCA) and, through video conference, with staff from the field,
where he firmly reminded military personnel commanders and police
officers that they needed to be personally committed to countering

sexual exploitation and abuse.

Speaking to reporters in Bangui, the UN peacekeeping chief stressed that it was the responsibility of police and troop
contributing countries to provide military and police staff personnel who have been sensitized, trained and fully aware that
they would face sanctions if allegations were to be confirmed.

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

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At the same time, victims in the area continued to be interviewed by a MINUSCA-led investigation team comprised of
experts on internal oversight, human rights, child and women's protection, conduct and discipline from various parts of the
UN system, including the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Mr. Ladsous has been in CAR since earlier in the week when he represented the Secretary-General at the inauguration
ceremony of the newly elected president of CAR, Faustin-Archange Touadera.

Libya: Security Council welcomes Presidency Council's arrival in

Tripoli
1 April The United Nations today welcomed the arrival in the
Libyan capital of Prime Minister Fayez Serraj and other members of
the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord.
This was an important step towards bringing stability to the country
and bringing the political process back on track to implement the
Libyan Political Agreement, the Security Council said in a press
statement issued by Ambassador Liu Jieyi, the Council president for
the month of April.

Traffic in Tripoli, Libya. Photo: UNSMIL/Abbas Toumi

The Libyan Political Agreement, which was signed in Skhirat,

Morocco, on 17 December 2015, following a UN-brokered process to
form a national unity. The Council had welcomed the Agreement in
its resolution 2259 (2015).

In today's statement, the Security Council encouraged the Presidency Council to urgently start its work so as to broaden the
basis of its support and to tackle Libya's political, security, humanitarian, economic and institutional challenges and to
confront the rising threat of terrorism. In particular, this includes the threat from groups proclaiming allegiance to Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and groups affiliated with Al Qaeda.
The Council also reiterated its call on all parties in Libya to support the efforts underway and again expressed concern about
activities which could be damaging to the integrity and unity of Libyan State financial institutions and the National Oil
Corporation.
In addition, the Council renewed their call, from resolution 2259 (2015), to cease support to and official contact with
parallel institutions that claim to be the legitimate authority but are outside of the Libyan Political Agreement as specified by
it.
Since arriving on Thursday, the Presidency Council has met with local political leaders, as well as businesses, including
with the Governor of the Central Bank and Tripoli municipalities.

The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section
of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)