13 January 2018 – In an official visit to Colombia, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday met with the country’s President in the capital, Bogotá, where the UN chief said it is the duty of all the citizens of the world to support the peace process there.

&#8220We see that there are more and more new conflicts and that old conflicts have no solution. That is why what happens in Colombia is of fundamental symbolic importance for the world,&#8221 Mr. Guterres told a press conference at Palacio de Nariño, Colombia’s presidential palace, following a meeting with President Juan Manuel Santos.

&#8220I believe that it is the duty of all the citizens of the planet to fully support the peace building process in Colombia for the Colombian people,&#8221 the UN chief added.

The purpose of Mr. Guterres’ visit is to take stock of achievements that followed a peace agreement between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) in November 2016, which ended 50 years of conflict.

The UN chief seeks to reinvigorate the implementation of the peace deal, including the process of reintegrating former rebel combatants into society, and ensure that Colombians are committed to stay the course.

This mission is clearly a mission of solidarity with Colombia and with the Colombian people

&#8220This mission is clearly a mission of solidarity with Colombia and with the Colombian people in a historical moment and of enormous importance for Colombia, for Latin America and for the world,&#8221 Mr. Guterres said.

His visit also comes ahead of legislative elections in March and presidential elections in May, and at a time when a temporary ceasefire agreement between the Government and another rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), has just expired.

The UN chief said Colombia embarked on the challenge of not only building peace but also guaranteeing the presence of the State throughout the Colombian territory, including administrative presence, security, public services, education, health, development.

&#8220It is a huge challenge, it is something that is not done by miracle, but I want to reiterate the commitment of the United Nations to support the Colombian government in this project of enormous importance to build peace but at the same time build an inclusive democracy,&#8221 he said.

&#8220There is no justification for armed violence. Peace is the only answer that can solve the problems of poverty, development, equality and democracy,&#8221 he said.

President Santos thanked the Secretary-General for his visit and the continuing support of the United Nations and the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, which is currently monitoring compliance with the agreements established in the peace agreement.

The President highlighted the effort of Colombia to end the conflict and reiterated, to Mr. Guterres, his Government determination to continue moving in that direction.

&#8220It is a process, we are the first to recognize the challenges that we are facing, the most important has to do with the issue of security in rural areas, which suffered so long in the armed conflict … As I always say, peace is like a cathedral and must be built brick by brick,&#8221 he said.

On Saturday, Mr. Guterres were to meet with officials of the Government and Armed Forces, as well as with FARC-EP leadership and the Catholic Church.

On Sunday, 14 January, the Secretary-General will travel to the Department of Meta, where his agenda will include, among other activities, a visit to a territorial area for training and reintegration of former FARC-EP combatants.

12 January 2018 – For Samuel James Ayot, a villager from Akoka in rural north South Sudan, accessing basic services and earning a livelihood does not mean having to make a perilous neck-deep wade across a river, thanks to the tireless efforts of Indian peacekeepers from the United Nations mission there, who rebuilt a bridge and connected his village to a major provincial town.

In addition to Akoka locals, the bridge – built by the ‘blue helmets’ from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), in record time – has greatly benefited humanitarians, enabling faster aid delivery as well as security patrol and outreach activities by the Mission.

According to UNMISS’ Lt. Colonel Nishkam Puri, in-charge of the Indian engineering company that rebuilt the bridge, the project was vital to allow other critical road repairs in the region.

It was also not without problems.

“The major challenge was reconstructing the bridge through a submerged area with a depth of up to 4 metres in some places,” said Lt. Colonel Puri.

The UN peacekeepers, working in collaboration with the Government, took just 10 days to make the route passable. The bridge had been inoperable since last June when heavy raises washed away a 300-metre-long road segment.

The Akoka Bridge lies between Malakal (the provincial capital) and Melut on a major service road that also reaches Bunj and Renk.

Providing for the basic needs of the most vulnerable is essential to empowering themUNMISS spokesperson Ratomir Petrovic

“The road now provides access for life-saving food and supplies to reach the people who need them,” said Ratomir Petrovic, a spokesperson for UNMISS.

“Providing for the basic needs of the most vulnerable is essential to empowering them. Initiatives such as this one demonstrate the power of peacekeepers to make a real difference in the lives of South Sudanese families,” he added.

According to the Mission, the next phase is installing appropriate structures and marram to bolster the bridge’s strength to withstand the next rainy season.

Migration, sustaining peace, development high on UN General Assembly’s agenda for 2018

12 January 2018 –

Migration, sustaining peace and development are among the priorities of the United Nations General Assembly for the remainder of the current session through September 2018, the President of the main UN deliberative and policymaking body said Friday.

“We are nearly four months into the 72nd Session of the General Assembly. And I believe we can say we have achieved a lot in this time,” said Miroslav Lajčák in his briefing to UN Member States, noting that the body has already adopted more than 250 resolutions and a new regular budget for 2018-2019 period, among other accomplishments.

“We need to see these eight months as an opportunity; as a chance to ensure that, when we get to September 2018, we will have even more achievements to point to,” he added.

Such achievements would include, he said, agreement on the world’s first-ever Global Compact on Migration.

When negotiations on the Compact begin on 20 February, Member States will all have to compromise and mobilize support at home, he said, adding that an agreement must be in place in July so that the compact will be adopted in December.

A second achievement relates to sustaining peace, and he will convene a high-level meeting on peacebuilding and sustaining peace on 24 and 25 April, he said.

On this subject, he stressed the need for a stronger focus on conflict prevention. “We should be acting faster, and sooner, when there is a peace to keep – rather than scrambling for solutions once it has been lost,” he said.

Underscoring the importance of partnerships and the participation of women and youth, he also highlighted the need for better financing for the chronically underfunded UN peacebuilding and sustaining peace activities, and the need to integrate UN efforts in this regard.

“Sustaining peace is not a task for one office, or one team at the United Nations. Instead, it must be mainstreamed […] Everything the United Nations does must be seen through a lens of peace,” he said.

As for development, he plans to convene three major events in the resumed part of the session. The first will focus on water. On 22 March, he will convene a high-level launch of the International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Sustainable Development.’

The second event will be a youth dialogue on 30 May. A wide range of topics will be covered – from education, employment and opportunities, to prevention of violent extremism and radicalization.

The third contribution from his Office to the ongoing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an event on financing on 11 June. It should act as a platform for stronger public-private partnerships.

The discussions and outcomes of these events will feed into the High-Level Political Forum in July.

The process to revitalize the work of the General Assembly demands our continued attention. This is the most representative body in the world – and one in which we all have a stake UN General Assembly President Lajčák

Mr. Lajčák said he also intends to focus on human rights “because there can be neither peace nor development without respect for dignity and fundamental rights.”

“That is why human rights must be mainstreamed throughout all of our activities – from peacebuilding and sustaining peace, to SDGs implementation and migration.

Important tasks remain to be done for UN reform. The first round of intergovernmental negotiations for Security Council reform will take place at the end of January.

After the Secretary-General’s concrete proposals to reposition the UN development system are considered by the Economic and Social Council in February and March, the General Assembly will have an important role to play.

As for management reform, further discussions will be needed once the Secretary-General submits his comprehensive report. And work must continue on the reform of the UN’s peace and security pillar once the Secretary-General submits his second report.

Mr. Lajčák stressed the need to revitalize the work of the General Assembly, as it the most representative body in the world.

The Assembly’s agenda also includes many mandated processes, such as planning for the diplomatic conference on a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction.

Preparations for the first-ever high-level meeting on ending tuberculosis will also begin. And the Assembly will also convene the first comprehensive review of the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, and organize the first informal interactive hearings with indigenous people, on the margins of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, in April.

In June, the biennial review of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy will take place.

For the first time, the Assembly will be conducting dialogues with the candidates for the position of President of the General Assembly for the 73rd session.

Wrapping up his remarks, Mr. Lajčák warned that “multilateralism is under threat” because the very purpose of the United Nations is being questioned not by one actor but by many.

Up for debate now are truths, accepted for decades, such as that we are stronger together, than apart; that all voices should be heard – not just those belonging to the most powerful; and that a compromise or agreement for all is better than a win for one, or a few, he said.

“We all have a responsibility to push back, against this trend,” he urged.

12 January 2018 – What is believed to be the largest-ever outbreak of the bacterial disease Listeriosis – or Listeria – has left more than 60 people dead across South Africa, with nearly 750 confirmed cases, the United Nation’s health agency said Friday.

Listeriosis is a serious, but preventable and treatable disease caused by the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, which is found in soil, water, vegetation and some animal faeces. Animal products, including meat and dairy; seafood; and fresh produce, such as fruits and vegetables, can all be contaminated.

“Infants are often a high target of this bacteria,” said Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), adding that “newborns are about 40 per cent of the infected people.”

Having a three-week incubation period makes it difficult to establish the source and thus, tough to prevent.

“You wouldn’t know what you ate three weeks ago – maybe the one particular food that made you sick three or four weeks later – this is the big challenge we face in this situation,” the spokesperson elaborated.

South Africans are called upon to practice WHO’s ‘Five Keys to Safer Food’ programme that include washing hands before and often during food preparation; separating raw meat, poultry and seafood from other foods; and cooking foods thoroughly, especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood.

Mr. Lindmeier underscored the importance for those with weakened immune systems – including the elderly and people living with HIV and cancer – and pregnant women, “who are 20 times more likely to get Listeriosis than other healthy adults,” to exercise care.

Nearly two-thirds of the reported cases have been from the Gauteng province, where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located.

“We have a total now of 748 laboratory-confirmed cases, but then again, this is difficult because many cases may not be even reported,” he said, adding that cases have been found in all socio-economic backgrounds since the outbreak was declared on 5 December.

The second largest outbreak of Listeriosis was in 2011, when the United States had a total of 147 reported cases. Prior to that, Italy had a large occurrence in 1997.

South Africa has implemented some measures to stem Listeriosis, such as making it a notifiable disease, whereby every Listeriosis-diagnosed patient must be reported.

“And that’s important because Listeriosis is such a big challenge because it is not just the health sector that is involved, it involves all sectors – the food industry, farming – and to find the source is really difficult simply because the incubation period is so long,” Mr. Lindmeier asserted.

12 January 2018 – Amid reports that some 160 people are feared lost during desperate attempts to cross the Mediterranean this week alone, the United Nations refugee agency on Friday called for more action to save lives by offering more resettlement places and safe alternatives for people on the move.

“[We] have been advocating for a comprehensive approach to address movements of migrants and refugees who embark on perilous journeys across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean,” William Spindler, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the press at the regular news briefing in Geneva.

The approach, he outlined, should include building and strengthening protection capacity and livelihood support in countries of first asylum; providing more regular and safe ways for refugees to find safety through legal pathways; and addressing the root causes and drivers of refugee displacement.

In two separate incidents Monday and one Tuesday in the Mediterranean, about 160 people – including women and children – were reported dead or missing.

Less than five per cent resettlement places over 2018-19

In September last year, the UN refugee agency had appealed urgently for 40,000 resettlement places for refugees in 15 priority countries of asylum and transit along the Central Mediterranean route.

In all, 277,000 refugees are estimated to be in need of resettlement in these countries.

However, against these projected needs, UNHCR has to date received approximately 13,000 offers of resettlement places in 2018 and 2019.

“Most of these are part of regular established global resettlement programmes and only a few represent additional places,” added Mr. Spindler.

On its part, UNHCR has evacuated hundreds of vulnerable refugees since November, the vast majority children and women, from Libya to Niger.

“For unaccompanied children, a solution in the best interest of each child will be identified, while adults go through UNHCR regular processing with a view to identifying solutions for them, including resettlement,” said the UNHCR spokesperson.