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UN Daily News
Wednesday, 9 March 2016

Issue DH/7112

In the headlines:
UN: Syria talks to begin next week, as

Multiple attacks in Israel condemned by senior UN

Hunger intensifies in areas suffering from drought,

UN experts suggest ways to avoid human rights

UNAIDS piloting new mobile platform to better

Freedoms of religion and expression twin rights in

humanitarian aid reaches more besieged areas

flooding and conflict UN report

inform HIV patients, improve health care

LGBT detainees suffer higher rates of violence,

states new UN report

UN chief appoints French national to head new

political mission in Colombia

official

violations during public protests

fighting intolerance UN report

Head of UN tourism agency advocates for safer,

easier travel in 2016

No terrorist attack can reverse Tunisias

democracy, UN Security Council says

UN: Syria talks to begin next week, as humanitarian aid reaches

more besieged areas
9 March The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria today
announced that substantive UN-mediated peace talks will begin next
Monday, as humanitarian aid convoys continue to reach more people
in besieged and hard-to-reach areas following a nationwide cessation
of hostilities that began on 27 February.
Quite an achievement, Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva,
referring to the 238,485 people the UN and its partners have delivered
aid to via 536 trucks.

Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (centre), flanked by his

Special Advisor, Jan Egeland (left) and Yacoub El Hillo, the UN
Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria briefing the press in Geneva. UN
Photo/Anne-Laure Lechat

Mr. de Mistura informed the press that participants have begun to

arrive in the Swiss city, where he will hold proximity talks over the
coming days as more of the parties arrive. He said he expects to start
substantive discussions, known as the intra-Syrian talks on 14 March,
in a round which he expects will end by the 24th.

We believe that having a timetable and a time limit is healthy for everyone, the Special Envoy noted. When we start
having the talks on Monday, the focus will be on substance, on the agendas, in other words on new governance, constitution,
and elections, the future elections in 18 months time, both presidential and parliamentarian.
Turning to the humanitarian situation, Mr. de Misturas Special Advisor, Jan Egeland, highlighted the progress made in
recent weeks.
Ten areas have been reached by UN and partners, several with multiple convoys, he announced. UNRWA [UN Relief

For information media not an official record

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9 March 2016

and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East]has had progress reaching people in Yarmouk, and WFP [World
Food Programme] has been systematically working to overcome all of the obstacles to be able to do airdrops to Deir ezZor.
However, Mr. Egeland added that six important besieged areas including Darayya and Douma remain unreached as
permits and security guarantees have not yet been obtained. He also underlined that April will be the month of new
procedures, noting that these have been too cumbersome with too much time spent asking for permission for access.
We believe by then we will have a more rational, speedier, easier system that will enable us to overcome this very black
stain on the conscience of Syria and on the international community, namely that people starve in besieged areas and hardto-reach areas while humanitarian workers have supplies that can reach them and are prevented from reaching women,
children, other civilians in great need, he stressed, adding that a tremendous plan to access more areas through the
cessation of hostilities is underway.
Meanwhile, Yacoub El Hillo, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, said the global community must work together to
ensure that the ceasefire is not just extended for two weeks or two months, but that it lasts.
Looking at the horizon between now and April, we are aiming to reach 870,000 people in hard-to-reach areas, but also the
specific locations in besieged areas that we have so far not been able to reach, Mr. El Hillo said.
The hope is that in the next few days, with the help of members of the taskforce, we will be able to complete deliveries and
reach the thousands of people trapped in these places, he added, referring to humanitarian task force set up by the
International Syria Support Group to ensure access and the delivery of aid.

Hunger intensifies in areas suffering from drought, flooding and

conflict UN report
9 March Thirty-four countries, including 27 in Africa, are currently
in need of external assistance for food due to drought, flooding and
civil conflicts, according to a new United Nations report released
today.
The figure has grown from 33 last December, after the addition of
Swaziland, says the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its
Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.
The report, produced by FAOs Global Information and Early
Warning System
Drying corn on the hood of the family truck in Manyandzeni Village,
Swaziland. Photo: FAO/Giulio Napolitano

(GIEWS), points out that drought associated with El Nio has

sharply reduced 2016 crop production prospects in Southern Africa,
while expectations for the harvest in Morocco and Algeria have been

lowered due to dry conditions.

Also in areas of Central America and the Caribbean, ongoing dry conditions linked to El Nio may affect sowings of the
main season crops for the third consecutive year.
Moreover, FAO stresses that persistent conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and the Central African Republic have
taken a heavy toll on the agricultural sector, further worsening the humanitarian crisis in those countries. In most cases, the
impact of conflict extends into neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo that are
hosting refugee populations.
In several countries already in need of external assistance for food, the report finds that conditions generally worsened in the
past three months, mainly in the Southern Africa sub-region, where food prices have reached record highs.
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It also warns that last years reduced production would negatively impact the food security situation in the Democratic
Peoples Republic of Korea, where most households were already estimated to have borderline or poor food consumption.
Elsewhere, the outlook for the 2016 crops already in the ground, mostly winter grains in the northern hemisphere, is
generally favourable. Early forecasts indicate large 2016 wheat crops in most countries of Asia.

UNAIDS piloting new mobile platform to better inform HIV

patients, improve health care
9 March Starting this month, a thousand people living with HIV in
Cte dIvoire will receive additional health information through their
mobile phones, the United Nations agency leading the worlds
HIV/AIDS response announced today.
The four-month pilot project in Abidjan is part of a collaboration
between the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the
telecommunications operator Orange.

In Cte dIvoire, a counsellor from UNICEF partner NGO Femme

Active, instructs an adolescent boy, diagnosed with HIV in 2012, on
how to take his antiretroviral (ARV) medication correctly. Photo:
UNICEF/Olivier Asselin

This project will allow countries to benefit from state-of-the-art

technology that is cost-effective and simple to use, to ensure they can
provide the highest quality of services for people living with and
affected by HIV, Michel Sidib, Executive Director of UNAIDS,
said in a press release.

By using a web-based platform, Orange Mobile Training EveryWhere

(M-Tew), healthcare workers will be able to communicate via text messages, calls and voice messages, with people enrolled
in care.
The people involved in the pilot project are those most affected by HIV in Abidjan, according to the press release, including
300 sex workers and men who have sex with men.
All information collected is said to be anonymous and fully confidential.
Some of the goals are to improve HIV services to ensure that patients remain in care and treatment, as well as to break down
stigma and discrimination.
The creators also said that the programme will collect and analyse data, in order to identify gaps and take action to improve
the quality of care.
The Cte d'Ivoire Government has said it is supportive of the programme, which would help it achieve a reduction in HIV
prevalence to below one per cent by 2020.
In addition to the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene and the Autonomous District of Abidjan, UNAIDS and Orange
Cte dIvoire are also collaborating with civil society partners.
If successful, the project will be rolled out to other areas of Abidjan, and could be expanded to other priority countries in the
region.

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9 March 2016

LGBT detainees suffer higher rates of violence, states new UN

report
9 March Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) detainees
suffer more acts of violence than the general population in custody,
according to a new United Nations human rights report that explored
the link between gender and torture.
Gender stereotypes still cause us to downplay the suffering of
women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
people and sometimes even acquiesce in it, Juan E. Mndez, the UN
Special Rapporteur on torture, said today.
The report to the Human Rights Council looks at gender-based
violence through the prism of the Convention against Torture, and
highlights a tendency to regard violations against these groups as illtreatment even where they would more appropriately be defined as
torture.

Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Mndez. UN Photo/Loey

Felipe

The human rights expert pointed to the clear link between the criminalization of LGBT people and the violence and stigma
these groups face. At least 76 countries have laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships between adults, he said.
States are complicit in the violence women and LGBT groups face if they implement discriminatory laws that trap these
people in a spiral of abuse, Mr. Mndez stressed.
Focusing on detention conditions, the report quotes studies that say women make up between 2 per cent and 9 per cent of the
prison population in most of the worlds prisons. Of those, up to 80 per cent are mothers and yet most jails are typically
designed for men.
The expert recommends that non-custodial sanctions be given to help protect women, in particular mother and child, since
the majority of crimes committed by women tend to be non-violent in nature.
Denial of safe abortion services can also amount to torture or ill treatment in some cases, where the life of the mother is
endangered, or the pregnancy is the result of rape and incest, he said, urging States to reform their laws in this respect.
Domestic violence is far more prevalent than most people realise, said the rapporteur, citing an estimate that 35 per cent of
women worldwide have experienced domestic violence of various kinds. Societal indifference, discriminatory laws and
attitudes and a culture of impunity exacerbate problems like this, he said.
States must finally implement their heightened obligation to prevent and combat gender-based violence and discrimination
perpetrated by both State and private actors against women, girls and persons who transgress sexual and gender norms, he
stressed.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and
report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN
staff, nor are they paid for their work.

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9 March 2016

UN chief appoints French national to head new political mission

in Colombia
9 March Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the
appointment of Jean Arnault of France as the head of the United
Nations political mission that will be deployed in Colombia.
In his new capacity, Mr. Arnault, who has been leading the
preparations for the future deployment of the mission, will also serve
as the Secretary-Generals Special Representative in Colombia.
Mr. Arnault has been serving as the Delegate of the Secretary-General
to the Sub-Commission on End of Conflict Issues within the
Colombia peace process. This position had him working closely with
the negotiating teams of the Government of Colombia and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Peoples Army (FARCEP) in the context of the peace talks underway in Havana, Cuba.

Jean Arnault of France, appointed head of UN Mission in Colombia.

UN Photo/Ryan Brown (file)

The Security Council in January 2016 approved moves to set up a UN political mission in Colombia, which would consist of
unarmed international observers to monitor disarmament, should a final peace agreement be reached between the
Government and the FARC-EP.
An experienced UN political official, Mr. Arnault moderated the peace process in Guatemala before being appointed the
head of the verification mission in the country (MINUGUA).
He has also worked in senior positions with the UN in Afghanistan, Burundi, Georgia, and was recently the UN Special
Adviser to the Group of Friends of Democratic Pakistan.

Multiple attacks in Israel condemned by senior UN official

9 March The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle
East Peace Process has condemned the multiple attacks which took
place on Tuesday in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Petah Tiqva and Jerusalem in
which at least one person was killed and some 14 others injured.
There is and can never be any justification for terror, said Nickolay
Mladenov in a statement. It is deplorable that some choose to glorify
such acts that undermine the future of both Palestinians and Israelis.
He added that his thoughts are with the families and friends of all
victims, while hoping for a full and speedy recovery of the wounded.
At Tur, near Al Maqassad hospital in East Jerusalem, one of
Political, religious and community leaders on all sides must live up In
several roadblocks, placed by Israeli forces in October 2015 in
to their responsibility to stand firmly against violence and incitement, Palestinian neighbourhoods, as the wave of violence across the
Mr. Mladenov stressed. They must urgently take the necessary steps occupied Palestinian territory and Israel continued. Photo: OCHA
to rebuild hope and show that a political horizon for a negotiated twoState solution is still possible.

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UN experts suggest ways to avoid human rights violations

during public protests
9 March A new report presented today to the United Nations
Human Rights Council offers recommendations on proper
preparations and precautions to protect the rights of the demonstrators,
bystanders and police during public gatherings.
The report is the first presented jointly by the Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, and
the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and of association, Maina Kiai.

In November 2015, refugees and migrants protest border restrictions

near the Greek town of Idomeni, close to the border with the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Photo: UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson
VII

The proper management of assemblies can in many cases serve to

prevent an escalation of the situation and the eventual outbreak of
violence, the UN experts said in a press release based on their
presentation in Geneva.

During the briefing, they discussed a wide range of rights impacted,

and emphasized the States obligation not only to protect, but also facilitate, the exercise of these rights.
Their recommendations include State obligation to facilitate assemblies, notification procedures and permission limitations
of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, the use of force and surveillance in policing of assemblies, access to
information and accountability.
Assemblies can play a vital role in the protection and fulfilment of human rights, the experts recalled. They should not be
viewed or treated as a threat, but rather as a means of dialogue in which the State should engage.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and
report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN
staff, nor are they paid for their work.

Freedoms of religion and expression twin rights in fighting

intolerance UN report
9 March The freedoms of religion and of expression are not
contradictory but complementary, as both rights are the twin tools in
combating incitement to hatred, an independent United Nations
human rights expert said today.
There is widespread perception that the rights to freedom of religion
or belief and to freedom of opinion and expression are in opposition to
each other, said Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on
freedom of religion or belief, during the presentation of his latest
report to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council.
While freedom of expression seems to signal a green light to all
sorts of provocation, freedom of religion or belief seems to give a
stop sign instead, he said.
In his report, the expert considers that both rights are closely related in
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Outside a Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka. Photo: IRIN

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law and practice, and they both protect unconditionally a persons inner realm of thinking and believing without any
restrictions.
Mr. Bielefeldt explained that some problematic restrictions include blasphemy laws, unclear anti-hatred laws and
criminalization of ill-defined superiority claims.
He also noted that the synergies between both rights exist in different formats, such as interreligious communication, frank
public discourse and policies of the government and other actors, to publicly condemn incitement to acts of hatred.
The expert called on all States to proactively share their experiences and best practices when implementing the Human
Rights Council Resolution 16/18 to fight intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of persons based on religion
or belief, as well as discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against them.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a
country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they
paid for their work.

Head of UN tourism agency advocates for safer, easier travel in

2016
9 March The promotion of safe and seamless travel should be one
of the key priorities for the tourism industry this year, says the head of
the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Safety and security are priorities for all and we need to ensure
tourism is fully integrated into national and international security
agendas, Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General, told the opening
ceremony of the major tourism trade fair known as ITB Berlin
[Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin].
Digue Island, Seychelles. Photo: UNWTO

In his address on Tuesday, Mr. Rifai cautioned that security

challenges should not prompt the building of new walls and stressed the need to cooperate, not isolate.
Enhancing security and enabling more seamless travel should always go hand-in-hand, he noted.
One of the ways to make travel safer and easier is through technology, Mr. Rifai said, which is rapidly changing consumers
behaviour and business models.
He highlighted the need to better understand the impact of technology on the tourism sector, and to maximize new
opportunities that improve the competitiveness of destinations and help manage natural resources more effectively.
The tourism industry can embrace sustainability and still reach its economic goals, was another key message for 2016, as the
UN agency expects the industry to grow an estimated 4 per cent this year.
Mr. Rifai called on industry representatives to adhere to the 2030 Agenda, which contains the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) as a matter of realizing benefits for all.
The topic will be particularly relevant next year, given that the UN has declared 2017 as the International Year of
Sustainable Tourism for Development.
Climate change mitigation, effective resource management, poverty reduction and inclusive growth need to be at the centre
of tourism development, said Mr. Rifai.

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Addressing these priorities can only be achieved with tourism established as a national priority with the necessary financial
and political support to advance the sector. At the same time, tourism can support the economic, social and environmental
foundations of many countries, he noted.
As we embrace a new sustainable development agenda let us ensure that while we build a more competitive sector we are
also contributing to a better world, Mr. Rifai urged the audience.

No terrorist attack can reverse Tunisias democracy, UN

Security Council says
9 March Strongly condemning the 7 March terrorist attack in
Tunisia, the United Nations Security Council last night stressed that
no terrorist attack can reverse Tunisia's democracy and its efforts
towards economic recovery and development.
Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of
their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever
committed, the 15-nation body said in a press statement.
According to media reports, the attack killed at least 12 members of
Tunisia's security forces and seven civilians, and injured more than 17
in Ben Gardane, a town located on the border with Libya, on Monday.
Street scene in Tunisia. Photo: World Bank/Dana Smillie

In the statement, the Council underlined the need to bring

perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all States to
cooperate actively with all relevant authorities, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant
Security Council resolutions.
Further, the Council reaffirmed the need for all States to combat the threats posed by terrorist acts to international peace and
security, by adhering to the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including
international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.
A press statement is a declaration to the media made by the Council's President on behalf of all 15 Members.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on Monday through his spokesman, condemning the attack.

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)