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UN Daily News
Issue DH/7087

Wednesday, 3 February 2016

In the headlines:
UN mediator suspends intra-Syrian talks for three

UN health agency urges action now in European

Ukraine: UN official urges Government to keep

At Cambridge, Ban says universality of human

DPR Korea's intention to launch a satellite 'deeply

Crucial UN aid reaches Syrian town cut off by

Citing 'new agenda for humanity,' UN deputy chief

UN emergency fund allocates $8 million to assist

weeks

checkpoints open for access to medicines, food

troubling' UN chief

urges bold action on humanitarian funding

countries to prevent Zika virus spread

rights is key to preventing crises of 21st century

fighting for three years

vulnerable women and children in DPR Korea

UN mediator suspends intra-Syrian talks for three weeks

3 February - Just two days after declaring the official start of delayed intra-Syrian talks in
Geneva to end five years of bloody warfare, the United Nations mediator suspended them
for three weeks today following differences between Government and opposition
delegations on the priority of humanitarian issues.

Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de

Mistura updates the press on the IntraSyrian Geneva Talks. UN Photo/JeanMarc Ferr (file)

I have been asking even before issuing the invitations that there is an immediate
implementation of a humanitarian initiative, even before the talks start, UN Special Envoy
for Syria Staffan de Mistura told journalists, citing such issues as lifting sieges and
providing access for humanitarian aid to all the places which are at the moment
unreachable.

I was told and reassured that they were going to take place during the talks. Well, I have been hearing from the
Government that they had some procedural issues before talking about humanitarian side. I have been hearing from the
opposition that they are urgently feeling the need for the Syrian people.
He stressed that the suspension was only a temporary pause and not the end or failure of the talks, noting that both sides
insist they are interested in having the political process begin. He set 25 February for the next session.
Mr. de Mistura has made clear from the start that he is under no illusions about the difficulties in ending a war that has killed
over 250,000 people, sent over 4 million fleeing the country, displaced 6.5 million internally, and put 13.5 million people
inside the country in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
There will be a lot of posturing, we know that, a lot of walk-outs and walk-ins because a bomb has fallen or because
someone has done an attack, and you will see that happening, he said last week.
Today he was asked how he felt. Im not frustrated, Im not disappointed, I have been long enough with the UN to know
that when you have a five-years war and have had so many difficult moments, you have to be determined but also realistic,

For information media not an official record

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he replied.
When you see things going in a certain direction, you take we are the convener, we manage the conference, we decide
when the conference producing results or not and if they dont produce results we need to go deeper, thats what we are
doing, he said, dismissing the idea of holding talks just for the sake of holding talks.
The UN cannot allow simple procedural matters to actually become more important than actually the results of
humanitarian situation of the Syrian people who have been waiting for us to deliver this time, not a conference, but
something concrete for them.
He was asked if the military escalation by the Syrian government and the Russian bombardment have basically bombed
your talks.
Im not referring to military activities, Im saying to an impossibility through military activities and other reasons for the
fact that the humanitarian signals which are meant to be sent to the Syrian people for instance lifting of the sieges, for
instance the access for all the places which are at the moment unreachable should be seen, he said.
The whole matter is, again, are we here to have another Geneva conference without any result for the Syrian people, or are
we serious about what we have been saying, that while we are having a conference, talking about the future, and political
future of Syria, and the new constitution, and the new elections, the Syrian people will see and expect me and they expect all
of us to produce something while we are talking.
Since I am not seeing that, I have to be honest and say with myself, it is time now to have a pause only a pause and give
time for this to happen.
Mr. de Mistura declared the official start of the talks on Monday after meeting for two hours with the opposition High
Negotiations Committee (HNC) at the UNs official Geneva headquarters in the Palais des Nations. He met Government
representatives yesterday.
The talks between the sides are not face-to-face but indirect, involving close proximity diplomacy, with the UN envoy
shuttling between them in different rooms.
Both Government and opposition are reported to have denied that the talks have officially started but Mr. de Mistura said
today: They are talks, and the talks have started, you can call them as you want, but they were talks, but there is more work,
more work, to be done.
Not only by us, we have done our part. but by the stakeholders, who have been telling us go and start this initiative, while
in fact they, the Security Council and the ISSG, are now expected to address some of the issues pending, one in particular,
what are these talks going to make as a difference to the Syrian people.
The ISSG - the International Syria Support Group comprising the Arab League, the European Union, the United Nations,
and 17 countries including the United States and Russia laid the groundwork for the Geneva talks at a meeting in
November.

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Ukraine: UN official urges Government to keep checkpoints

open for access to medicines, food
3 February - A senior United Nations humanitarian official in Ukraine today called on the
Government to keep checkpoints open in conflict-affected areas in the country's east to
prevent hardship for thousands of mostly elderly people seeking access to medicines, and
food and other items.

This WFP 12-truck convoy, with food

supplies to feed more than 7,000 people
for one month, reached Luhansk in
eastern Ukraine for the first time since
the suspension of humanitarian activities
four months ago. Photo: WFP/Logistics
Cluster

Closure of checkpoints has an immediate impact on people's lives, directly increasing

hardship and humanitarian need, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Neal Walker
said of the post along the contact line between Government- and non-Governmentcontrolled areas.
If hostilities increase, civilians may be trapped in unsafe areas, at the mercy of violence,
mines and unexploded munitions. We urge Government to keep checkpoints open.

Humanitarian organizations are concerned about thousands of civilians facing difficulties every day in crossing the 'contact
line.' Mostly elderly and vulnerable, they queue for hours in the cold to access medicines and food, receive their savings and
pensions, and see their relatives.
Restrictions are also placed on people living in areas under Government control close to the frontline. Closure, even if
temporary, of one or more checkpoints will have severe consequences for these people and Government's decision to close
Zaytseve checkpoint in the Donetsk region, starting today, and possibly other crossing points, is of serious concern.
International humanitarian law stipulates that if a certain transport corridor is closed, all alternative options need to be
explored and new safe corridors established to ensure civilians can move freely, especially from areas of heightened
hostilities.
We call on all parties to stop fighting, to adhere to International Humanitarian Law and to ensure protection of civilian
population against dangers arising from military operations, said Barbara Manzi, Head of the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ukraine.
Freedom of movement of civilians is critical as is access of humanitarian workers to people in need, she added.

DPR Korea's intention to launch a satellite 'deeply troubling'

UN chief
3 February - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said the intention of
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch a satellite in the coming
weeks is a deeply worrying development.
According to a statement issued by Mr. Ban's spokesperson, this will further aggravate the
profound concerns that the international community already has in the wake of the recent
nuclear test.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks
to journalists at the Security Council
stakeout. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras (file
photo)

The statement is referring to an underground nuclear test announced by the DPRK on 6

January, which the United Nations at the time deplored, calling it a grave contravention of
the international norm against nuclear testing.

Today, the Secretary-General also called upon the DPRK to refrain from using ballistic missile technology and work for
peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

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3 February 2016

He stands ready to help to reduce tensions and facilitate reconciliation and dialogue, the statement added.

Citing 'new agenda for humanity,' UN deputy chief urges bold

action on humanitarian funding
3 February - Maintaining the United Nations momentum towards the first-ever World
Humanitarian Summit set for 23 and 24 May in Istanbul, Turkey the United Nations
Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Jan Eliasson, today urged taking bold action on behalf
of 125 million people who depend on the international community to survive.

Near the town of Gevgelija, former

Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a young
Syrian girl holds the hand of an adult
waiting to board a train to the Serbian
border. Photo: UNICEF/Tomislav
Georgiev

"We now need a mobilization to live up to the humanitarian imperative and to help the
millions of men, women and children in desperate need around the world," he told a
briefing on the report of the High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, which is entitled
Too Important to Fail Addressing the Humanitarian Financing Gap.
Since the report was commissioned, "the conditions on the ground have become even more
dire," said Mr. Eliasson, adding that this has in turn made the convening in May of the firstever World Humanitarian Summit that much more important.

In Central America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, millions of people are food insecure, often caused by drought, sometimes
related to the effects of El Nio. Millions more are at risk of more extreme weather events, he said.
"Apart from these natural disasters, the world is trying to with a number of atrocious man-made catastrophes. The suffering
is enormous and international humanitarian law is being disregarded to a shocking degree," Mr. Eliasson.
Indeed, the conflict in Syria has generated the worst contemporary humanitarian crisis, Mr. Eliasson continued, noting that
in recent weeks, the world had been shocked by the images of the suffering endured during the siege of Madaya.
Tragically, there are hundreds of Madayas throughout the country. Humanitarian conditions in besieged and hard-to-reach
areas are insufferable and with time without relief, getting even worse," he said.
"The resulting tensions in neighbouring countries are enormous," he continued. "Refugee flows are spectacular and
shocking. The social and political consequences may become uncontrollable," he said, and these events and conditions are
an affront to our common humanity and the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law."
In this context, he stressed the importance of international humanitarian conference on Syria to be co-chaired tomorrow in
London, by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the United Kingdom, Germany, Kuwait and Norway.
"We have seen the power of global solidarity with the recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. We must
fulfill our promise to leave no one behind, acting boldly in for the 125 million people who now depend on the international
community for their survival, "he said.
Mr. Eliasson went on to say that the World Humanitarian Summit will be the international community's opportunity to unite
in the name of common humanity and to take a stand against the horrific levels of suffering and misery that we witness in
the world today.
We must now stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable people of the world and we must be committed to represent
their interests at the Summit in Istanbul in May, he said.

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3 February 2016

UN health agency urges action now in European countries to

prevent Zika virus spread
3 February - European countries were called on today by the United Nations World Health
Organization (WHO) to act early and in a coordinated way to protect the region from Zika
virus, just one day after another case was confirmed in the United States.

A model of the Aedes mosquito, which

spreads the Zika virus to humans. Aedes
mosquitoes also spread dengue,
chikungunya, and yellow fever. Photo:
Kate Mayberry/IRIN

Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations.
As there is no vaccine or treatment for Zika virus disease, we must protect the European
region by stopping the disease at its source, said Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional
Director for Europe, in a press release.
A number of travellers infected with Zika have entered Europe, but the disease has not
been transmitted further, as the mosquito is still inactive. With the onset of spring and
summer, the risk that Zika virus will spread increases, she added.

WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan declared on Monday that the recent cluster of microcephaly and neurological
disorders in Latin America and the Caribbean constitutes a public health emergency of international concern and requires a
united response.
Dr. Chan defined it an "extraordinary event" and a public health threat to other parts of the world, on the basis of a strong
suspicion of a causal link between this cluster of disorders and Zika virus disease, as agreed by the experts on the
International Health Regulations Emergency Committee.
The combination of broad geographical distribution of mosquito species that can transmit the virus, the absence of
immunity against the virus throughout the world and lack of both a vaccine and rapid, reliable diagnostic tests raises
concerns that Zika virus disease will spread globally, warned Dr. Jakab.
Meanwhile, asked whether the new case in Dallas, Texas, in the United States was a major cause for alarm, WHO
Communications Officer, Gregory Hartl, said of course it's a concern but 99 per cent or more of cases are transmitted by
mosquitoes.
What is most important in all this is protecting oneself from mosquito bites in the first place, and the protection starts with
national authorities doing good vector control programmes, and at an individual level there are several things one can do to
stay away from mosquitoes and to reduce ones chance of getting bitten, he said.
This includes wearing proper clothing, using insect repellent, staying indoors during peak mosquito times, and sleeping
under bed nets.

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At Cambridge, Ban says universality of human rights is key to

preventing crises of 21st century
3 February - Warning of a strong sense that that we are off track and in a deep mess,
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the world to move from a
pattern of reaction to crises to a culture of prevention, with a heightened focus on the
universality of human rights in tackling the mega-crises of the 21st century.

Secretary-General Ban (right) receives an

honorary Doctor of Law degree from the
University of Cambridge for his
humanitarian work, support for womens
rights and achievements in pursuit of
global peace and security. UN
Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Asserting one's own rights is only one part of the battle. Recognizing the human rights of
others is the true and harder test of commitment. Yet today, in many places and in many
respects, the human rights compact is under assault or has broken down completely, he
said in an address at Cambridge University, England, on receiving an honorary doctorate.
We see this in the deliberate starvation of besieged populations in Syria; and in the
enslavement of women and girls by Da'esh [an alternative name for the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL], Boko Haram and other violent extremists.

We see it in many places where governments are retaliating against human rights defenders and restricting media freedoms.
We may also be seeing it in the world's response to the refugee crisis, he said.
Commending the countries and citizens who have opened their arms and doors in solidarity, Mr. Ban stressed that too many
Syrians and others fleeing appalling violence are being victimized several times over: at home, where life is impossible;
by smugglers and by other perils of their journeys; and by harsh treatment upon arrival in places where they hope to find
asylum.
As we address the wider challenge of large-scale displacement, I appeal for shared responsibility and compassion, he said.
Razor-wire fences, the confiscation of assets, and the vilification of people seeking safety all summon up ghosts of past
crises - the lessons of which we are meant to have learned already, he added, citing some of the hurdles the refugees and
migrants have faced in Europe and calling for a strong show of solidarity at tomorrow's humanitarian conference in London.
We need to get Syrian children back in school we have 2 million Syrian children out of school at this time and get our
aid convoys through to people in dire need. We have at least 400,000 people stranded in besieged villages, at least 15
besieged villages. It is very difficult for us, very dangerous, he noted.
Referring to criticism of UN efforts in Syria which have managed to reach only a fraction of those in need less than five
per cent Mr. Ban noted that half the area is controlled by Da'esh and only two per cent by the Government and he
underscored the responsibility of the Syrian Government and the need to fight against the ways of Da'esh.
Citing the three pillars of the UN Charter peace and security, development, and human rights he highlighted the primacy
of the third pillar.
Among the three pillars, the human rights pillar should be given the highest priority, highest priority, he declared, noting
that the international community did not do enough to prevent the horrors of Cambodia, Rwanda, and Srebrenica in Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
Since 2013, we have pursued a new effort to ensure that we act early to identify, and speak out about, violations of human
rights. We know that exclusion based on ethnic, religious or other potential dividing lines is especially combustible. Under
the 'Human Rights up Front,' which I initiated just two years ago, we aim to act on these clear warning signs before they
escalate.
He dismissed assertions that discussion of a country's rights violations breach the UN Charter by interfering in a country's
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3 February 2016

domestic affairs.
Sovereignty was never meant to be a barrier behind which a government can freely abuse its own citizens, he stressed.
Sovereignty remains part of the bedrock of international order. But the less sovereignty is viewed as a wall or a shield, the
better our prospects will be for protecting people and solving our shared problems.
Impunity only breeds even more violence. Indifference only makes our world far less secure. Inaction remains the greatest
threat. We have to get away from this impunity, indifference, and inaction.
It is time to do more to stop the brazen and brutal erosion of respect for human rights and international humanitarian law in
the world's conflict areas. It is time to strengthen the way we prepare for and respond to the mega-crises of the 21st century,
said the Secretary-General.

Crucial UN aid reaches Syrian town cut off by fighting for three
years
3 February - Working with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), the United Nations
refugee agency has delivered crucial humanitarian aid to a rural town near Damascus that
has been cut off by fighting for three years, stranding thousands of residents in dire
conditions without clean water or fuel for warmth.

Families evacuated from East Ghouta,

Syria, congregate in the courtyard of the
Dahit Qudsayya collective shelter for
basic aid. Photo: OCHA/Josephine
Guerrero

"People were asking for extra plastic sheeting and blankets as they don't have any other
means for heating their homes, many homes have been destroyed, with many families
sharing residences with relatives and neighbours, said a volunteer involved in the delivery
to Al-Mleiha, which lies on the edge of the eastern Ghouta region at a strategic road leading
to Damascus airport.

The SARC convoy delivered non-food aid on Sunday to more than 1,300 people living in
the buffer zone around Al-Mleiha, where families living in shattered homes are burning plastic to keep warm.
Around 50,000 people lived in Al-Mleiha before the present crisis, although many have since sought safety in neighbouring
towns and villages. There are currently only around 26,000 people living in the town, according to UN reports, 10,000 of
them internally displaced.
"These items are of crucial support to the residents of Al-Mleiha as it helps them reinforce their shelters and provide them
with warmth in this cold season," Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Senior Field Officer Pablo
Vizcaino said of the aid, which included hygiene kits, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, kitchen sets, and blankets, along with
food parcels provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
As the crisis in Syria nears its sixth year, up to 4.5 million people still live in hard-to-reach areas, including some 400,000 in
15 besieged locations, without access to the aid they desperately need.
Access to Al-Mleiha "boosts hopes for upcoming regular deliveries of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people in AlMleiha and other besieged and hard to reach locations," UNHCR Representative in Syria Sajjad Malik said.
The deliveries to local residents in the town will be continued periodically according to SARC.
Last month, UNHCR and its partners finally managed to reach the besieged town of Madaya with life-saving health and
food supplies 42,000 desperate residents after reports of people starving to death under encirclement by pro-Government
forces.
At the same aid was also delivered to Kafraya and Foah, two towns under siege by opposition forces near the Turkish border
in northwest Syria, where 20,000 people were also in desperate need, cut off from humanitarian and commercial access
since October.
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In 2015, UNHCR reached 3,213,275 people with core relief items that included blankets, winter clothes, jerry cans,
household items and diapers.

UN emergency fund allocates $8 million to assist vulnerable

women and children in DPR Korea
3 February - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has released eight million
dollars from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for severely underfunded
aid operations in the Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), to enable life-saving
assistance for more than 2.2 million people most vulnerable and at risk of malnutrition.
The DPRK was one of nine countries to receive such grants within the overall $100 million
allocation to underfunded emergencies.
At a clinic In Nampo City, DPRK,
children wait to receive nutritional
supplementation on Child Health Day, in
November 2014 (file).
UNICEF/UNI180565/Basurmanova

The commitment and support of the international community is vital. Protracted and
serious needs must be addressed said United Nations Resident Coordinator for the DPRK,
Mr. Tapan Mishra, in a press release.

Humanitarian needs must be kept separate from political issues to ensure minimum living conditions for the most
vulnerable people, he added.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), undernutrition is a fundamental cause of
maternal and child death and disease. In DPRK, chronic malnutrition or stunting among children less than five years of age
is at 27.9 per cent, while four per cent of children under-five are acutely malnourished, or wasting. Around 70 per cent of the
population18 million peopleare considered food insecure.
In addition, food production in the country is hampered by a lack of agricultural inputs and is highly vulnerable to shocks,
particularly natural disasters. Due to drought in 2015, 11 per cent of the main harvest was lost.
Meanwhile, health service delivery, including reproductive health, remains inadequate, with many areas of the country not
equipped with the facilities, equipment or medicines to meet peoples basic health needs. Children under five and low-birthweight newborns are vulnerable to life-threatening diseases, such as pneumonia and diarrhea if they do not receive proper
treatment or basic food, vitamins and micronutrients.
OCHA underlined that CERF funds will be used to sustain critical life-saving interventions aimed at improving the nutrition
situation in the country through reduction of maternal and under-five child mortality and morbidity. More than 2.2 million
people are expected to benefit from assistance provided by the funds, including 1.8 million children under five and 350,000
pregnant and lactating women.
The United Nations also stressed it will continue to work towards addressing the structural causes of vulnerabilities and
chronic malnutrition through its interventions agreed with the DPRK Government.

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)