For updates and e-mail alerts,

visit UN NEWS CENTRE at

www.un.org/news

UN Daily News
Issue DH/7086

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

In the headlines:
With 4 million Syrian children out of school, $1.4

Nigeria: Security Council condemns heinous

As flood of child refugees and migrants into Europe

UN in Central African Republic releases $9 million

Zika virus: UN agencies step up response

Senior UN humanitarian official deeply concerned

billion sought by UN to save lost generation

soars, UN calls for enhanced protection

measures following declaration of public health

emergency

UN envoy for Syria meets with Government

terrorist attack attributed to Boko Haram

to respond to urgent needs

at Israels administrative detention practices

Turkeys Erdogan visits UN regional commission in

Latin America and Caribbean

delegation in Geneva

Marking end of 2016 Youth Forum, senior UN

official says event exceeded expectations

With 4 million Syrian children out of school, $1.4 billion sought

by UN to save lost generation
2 February - With four million Syrian and host community children in need of education
and no let-up in sight in the fighting tearing the country apart, the United Nations and its
partners are seeking $1.4 billion at a major conference in London on Thursday to save the
current youth generation.
The scale of the crisis for children is growing all the time, which is why there are now
such fears that Syria is losing a whole generation of its youth, said UN Childrens Fund
(UNICEF) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Peter Salama, whose
agency is coordinating the No Lost Generation Initiative'.

Displaced Syrians receive UNICEF winter

clothing kits. Photo: UNICEF/Aho Yousef

As a result of all the work being done by partners and donors, education and protection for children are now being
prioritized. But what we must see in London is the step-change necessary to bring all children back to learning; to protect
those who are at risk of dropping out; expand safe and inclusive learning environments; recruit and train more teachers;
improve the quality of education, and support the development of technical, vocational and life skills opportunities for
youth.
The London conference is being co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Kuwait and Norway, and leaders from more than 30
countries are expected to attend, with the aim of raising new funding to meet the immediate and longer-term needs of those
affected by the crisis.
Nearly five years into the Syrian war, some four million Syrian and host community children and youth aged 5-17 years are
in need of education assistance, including 2.1 million out-of-school children inside Syria and 700,000 Syrian children in
Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
Last year, the combined efforts of Governments and international partners helped more than one million children and youth

For information media not an official record

UN Daily News

-2-

2 February 2016

inside Syria benefit from formal or non-formal learning opportunities. But with no political solution in sight to one of the
most brutal conflicts the world has seen in decades, the number of children missing out on an education continues to climb.
Governments at the London meeting will also be urged to put more pressure on parties to the Syria conflict and those who
support them to end attacks on schools and other places of learning, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
According to UNICEF, the killing, abduction and arrest of students and teachers has become commonplace, as have
arbitrary attacks on schools. About one in four schools cannot be used because they have been damaged, destroyed or are
being used as shelters for the internally displaced or for military purposes.
The No Lost Generation Initiative was set up in 2013. By the end of 2015 1.2 million children and youth inside Syria
benefitted from improved formal and non-formal learning opportunities and more than 650,788 in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
Lebanon and Turkey received school supplies or support through cash grants.

As flood of child refugees and migrants into Europe soars, UN

calls for enhanced protection
2 February - Child protection systems across Europe are completely overwhelmed as the
rate of youngsters in the flood of refugees and migrants has soared to one in three compared
with one in 10 less than a year ago, the United Nations warned today, calling for
strengthened steps to prevent exploitation and abuse.

A boy from Afghanistan receives warm

gloves at a UNICEF distribution point in
the Winter Reception Transit Center in
Slavonski Brod, Croatia. Photo:
UNICEF/Vanda Kljajo

Although there is a great risk of trafficking, so far there has only been anecdotal evidence,
UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Sarah Crowe told a news briefing in Geneva,
giving the latest update on the situation.
For the first time since the start of the crisis, the majority of those crossing from Greece
into the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at Gevgelija, nearly 60 per cent, have
been children and women, she noted.

Germany and Sweden have the most thorough data on the numbers of unaccompanied children who have requested asylum
60,000 and 35,400 respectively. More and more children and women are at risk at sea and need support on land through
enhanced protection, health and welfare systems, she said.
Effective guardianship programs for children on the move are needed every step of the way and reports of children who are
not fully accounted for in these systems are extremely worrying, she stressed. Effective guardianship programmes for
children on the move are needed every step of the way.
Unaccompanied children are mainly adolescents 15 to 17 years old, coming primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, Ms.
Crowe said. In some countries, they are temporarily delayed, get frustrated and tend to move on, as they do not want to be
detained in centres.
UNICEF has no concrete evidence regarding violence experienced by children and women, Ms. Crowe said. The
reunification rate for children lost in transit has been 100 per cent so far and there are no children who are definitively lost.
UNICEF is waiting for a green light from the Greek Government to operate fully in Greece, since it now is only present
through its national committee, focusing on advocacy and awareness-raising.

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

UN Daily News

-3-

2 February 2016

Zika virus: UN agencies step up response measures following

declaration of public health emergency
2 February - Following yesterdays declaration of a public health emergency of
international concern regarding the cluster of microcephaly and other neurological
disorders in relation to the Zika virus, United Nations agencies today highlighted their
actions to support affected communities.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Zika virus has spread rapidly and
has so far been detected in 25 countries, with a surge in cases of microcephaly particularly
in northeastern Brazil. The protocol for diagnosing it starts with measuring the head of a
newborn at least one day after birth to see if it is below a certain level. The disease could be
responsible for a number of problems, from convulsions to learning disabilities.

A UN peacekeeper fumigating mosquitoes

in the Bel Air neighbourhood of Haitis
capital Port au Prince. Photo:
UN/MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi

At a press briefing at UN headquarters in Geneva, Dr. Antony Costello, the Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent
Health at WHO, said there are currently two main challenges being tackled.
One is that Zika virus [] we dont have a commercially available diagnostic test, and further, the test that we do have
only detects the virus when its active, lets say during a period of I think five days, he explained, noting that this means
many women could have been exposed to Zika virus and it may not be clear whether theyve had the infection or not.
The second problem is that microcephaly is not an absolutely simple diagnosis to make, he added. At the moment there
are nearly 4,200 cases reported as suspect from Brazil but a significant proportion of those cases could be discarded if linked
to other causes.
Dr. Costello also informed reporters that a global response unit has been set up, bringing together all people across WHO in
Headquarters and in the regions, to prepare a formal response using the lessons learned during the Ebola crisis.
Meanwhile, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) is working with governments to mobilize communities to protect
themselves from infection.
Although there is still no conclusive evidence of the causal link between microcephaly and the Zika virus, there is enough
concern to warrant immediate action, said Dr. Heather Papowitz, UNICEFs Senior Advisor for Health Emergencies, in a
press release.
We need to act fast to provide women and pregnant mothers with the information they need to protect themselves and their
babies, and we need to engage with communities on how to stop the mosquito that is carrying and transmitting this virus.
According to the agency, simple measures that can help keep people safe include using insect repellent, covering as much of
the body as possible with long, light-coloured clothing, removing places where mosquitoes can breed, and putting screens on
windows and doors. Pregnant women who think they have been exposed to the virus should seek care by a trained health
provider.
While the surge in microcephaly has so far only been reported in Brazil, UNICEF is also scaling up its support to other
countries in the region and stands ready to support national governments as needed using its network of 24 offices serving
35 countries and territories.
It is also launching a nearly $9 million appeal for its programmes to limit the spread of the virus and mitigate its impact on
newborns and their families across the region.
UN News Centre www.un.org/news

UN Daily News

-4-

2 February 2016

Turning to how the Zika virus could affect travel, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recalled in a press release
that according to WHO there should be no restrictions on travel with the affected areas.
The agency stressed that travellers to areas with Zika virus transmission should be provided with up to date advice on
potential risks and appropriate measures to reduce the possibility of exposure to mosquito bites. It also said standard WHO
recommendations regarding disinfection of aircraft and airports should be implemented.

UN envoy for Syria meets with Government delegation in

Geneva
2 February - The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria today met with a delegation
from the countrys Government, one day after meeting with representatives of the
opposition High Negotiation Committee (HNC), which he said had officially begun the
UN-mediated intra-Syrian talks in Geneva.
Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura is also expected to issue invitations to Syrian women and
civil society representatives to contribute to the talks, being held in Geneva between
representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition.
Both women and civil society organisations can provide vital ideas and insight to the talks
by presenting the views and recommendations of important segments of Syrian society,
Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

Delegation from the Syrian Government

arrives for the UN-mediated intra-Syrian
talks in Geneva. UN Photo/Jean-Marc
Ferr

Mr. de Mistura, heeding the call by many Syrian women to meaningfully be able to contribute to the talks and the guidance
provided by Security Council
eesolution 2254, has established an independent Womens Advisory Board to the Office of the UN Special Envoy for
Syria, he noted.
The Advisory Board will allow Syrian women to articulate their concerns and ideas covering all topics discussed during the
talks, and present recommendations to the UN Special Envoy for consideration. The Board will initially be composed of a
group of 12 women chosen by several Syrian women organizations through their own consultative process.
Mr. de Mistura has said the Geneva meetings will start with proximity talks and are expected to last for six months, with
Government and opposition delegations sitting in separate rooms and UN officials shuttling between them, with the
immediate priorities being a broad ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and halting the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL).

Marking end of 2016 Youth Forum, senior UN official says event

exceeded expectations
2 February - Marking the end of the two-day United Nations Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) Youth Forum, the President of the 54-member body told hundreds of youth
leaders that the event exceeded high expectations and that the time is now for young people
to get behind global efforts to ensure sustainable development for all.

President of the Economic and Social

Council (ECOSOC) Oh Joon. UN
Photo/Rick Bajornas

We should aim high and we have the potential to reach ambitious goals, Oh Joon said at
the Forums closing ceremony. What else have we learned? The challenges the youth is
facing are real, he said.
Mr. Oh listed unemployment, poverty, climate change, and inequality as issues needing to
be addressed through a cross-cutting and interconnected approach.

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

UN Daily News

-5-

2 February 2016

This being said, solutions exist and there is a need for an inspiring commitment by all stakeholders to drive the 2030
Agenda forward, he stressed, referring to the new set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all UN
Member States last September.
This years Youth Forum, an annual event taking place for the fifth time, focused on how young people can support the
goals worldwide. ECOSOCs President underlined that youth will play an important role in advocating for the SDGs so that
people all over the world know about them. This is a prerequisite to ensure that nobody is left behind, he declared.
Meanwhile, a key message that emerged from the forum was the recognition that young people are not only key actors in
advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but they are also directly affected by the challenges the SDGs
seek to tackle.
One of these challenges is the prevailing employment crisis young people face all across the globe, said Mr. Oh,
delivering ECOSOCs President Statement. As President of the Economic and Social Council, I welcome the launch of the
UN systems Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth by the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, at the opening of our
Forum.
The 54-member body also highlighted key messages and recommendations that emerged from the Forum. These included
not just working for youth, but with youth to promote the SDGs; creating participatory and inclusive political processes for
all the diverse voices of youth to be heard; creating not just jobs but decent jobs for young people; and enhancing the quality
of education and training for them to meet todays labour market needs.
Mr. Oh also highlighted that the level of engagement during this years Youth Forum has shown that young people are ready
to act to implement the SDGs.

Nigeria: Security Council condemns heinous terrorist attack

attributed to Boko Haram
2 February - Condemning in the strongest terms Saturdays horrific terrorist attacks
attributed to Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, which resulted in a large number of dead
and wounded, the United Nations Security Council today called on all States to cooperate in
bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and
security, the 15-member body said in a press statement, which condemned the attack on
Dalori village, in restive Borno state.
According media to reports, Boko Haram, armed with machine guns, raided the village on
Saturday, leaving more than 50 people dead and wounding dozens more.

Girls use their new school supplies during

a class in an informal learning centre in a
UNICEF-supported safe space for
children in the Dalori camp for internally
displaced people, in the north-eastern city
of Maiduguri in Borno State. Photo:
UNICEF/UNI193691/Andrew Esiebo

The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these
reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice. They stressed that those responsible for these terrorist attacks should be held
accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council
resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard.
It expressed their deep condolences to the families and friends of those killed and injured by these heinous acts and
commended regional efforts, including through the Multi-National Joint Task Force, to combat Boko Haram.
Reiterating that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever,
and by whomsoever committed, the Council reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, within the framework
of international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

UN Daily News

-6-

2 February 2016

UN in Central African Republic releases $9 million to respond to

urgent needs
2 February - The United Nations announced today that the Common Humanitarian Fund
(CHF) in the Central African Republic (CAR) has released $9 million for life-saving
assistance to 2.3 million people who need urgent support, including those displaced by
violence, returnees, refugees and vulnerable host communities.
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the
allocation will fund projects that respond to critical and urgent humanitarian needs to
improve access to basic services, and contribute to reducing violence in and among
communities.
Our priority through this CHF funding is to bring life-saving assistance to the people
mostly affected by the crisis, said Aurlien Agbnonci, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator
in CAR, in a press release.

In the Central African Republic (CAR), a

nurse vaccinates a baby in a village along
the Oubangui River, which divides CAR
from the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC). Photo: UNICEF/Sebastian Rich

This funding will help humanitarian organizations to provide clean water and sanitation, camp management of [internally
displaced persons] sites, education, healthcare, food and immediate livelihoods support, nutrition, protection and shelter and
non-food items, he added.
The inclusion of gender considerations and the mainstreaming of protection in each and every funded project will reportedly
be required.
It is vitally important that the international community is able to respond rapidly to the most urgent humanitarian needs in
CAR, stressed Mr. Agbnonci. Thanks to donors who have contributed to this CHF allocation that allows partners to help
alleviate suffering and continue providing live-saving assistance to thousands of displaced people and host families in
desperate need.
The multi donor funding mechanism CHF was established in 2008 and is managed by OCHA. As of end of January 2016,
the Fund had received $ 2.9 million in contributions from Belgium and Sweden. In 2015, a total amount of $24.9 million
was funded from the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the
United Kingdom.

Senior UN humanitarian official deeply concerned at Israels

administrative detention practices
2 February - A senior United Nations humanitarian official today voiced deep concern at
the administrative detention of more than 525 Palestinians in Israeli jails and detention
centres, including one who has been on hunger strike for over two months.

Palestinian prisoners are being held in

Israeli prisons similar to this one. Photo:
IRIN

In particular, I am alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating health of Palestinian administrative

detainee, Mohammed Al-Qiq, who is on hunger strike in protest against the arbitrary nature
of his detention and ill-treatment, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance and
Development Aid for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper said in a statement.

After 69 days of hunger strike, Mr. Al-Qiq is in a dangerous state of health and his
physicians have informed him of the possibility of irreversible damage. I reiterate the
United Nations long-standing position that all administrative detainees Palestinian or Israeli should be charged or
released without delay. All allegations of ill-treatment must also be independently and promptly investigated.

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

UN Daily News

-7-

2 February 2016

According to data from Israel Prison Service (IPS), 527 Palestinians, including one woman and five minors were held in
administrative detention in IPS facilities at the end of November 2015.
Just last month Mr. Piper called for an immediate end to Israeli plans to transfer Bedouin living in the Jerusalem area for a
settlement expansion, long recognized as a violation of international law and an obstacle to realizing a two-state solution to
the Middle East crisis.

Turkeys Erdogan visits UN regional commission in Latin

America and Caribbean
2 February - Appealing for international collaboration to cope with the crisis of Syrian
refugees and the challenges to peace in the Middle East, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said at a recent keynote lecture given at the headquarters of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), that his country
would like to broaden its political and trade relationships with the region.

The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip

Erdogan (left), with ECLAC Executive
Secretary Alicia Brcena. Photo:
ECLAC/Carlos Vera

The Turkish Head of State arrived in Chile on Sunday, January 31 in the framework of a
trip to the region that will extend until February 4, and which will include visits to Peru and
Ecuador. He was met yesterday by ECLAC Executive Secretary, Alicia Brcena. The
Chilean Minister of Foreign Relations, Heraldo Muoz, also participated in the meeting.

During her presentation, Ms. Brcena said the message of the Turkish President towards Latin America and the Caribbean
shows that countrys willingness to strengthen the understanding with this region.
She recalled that Turkey is a founding member of the United Nations and noted that in the region, Turkey is an Observer of
the Organization of American States (OAS), of the Pacific Alliance and of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). In
addition, it maintains contacts with the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and with the Caribbean Community
(Caricom), and forms part of the bloc called MICTA, along with Mexico, Indonesia, the Korean Republic and Australia.
Regarding their trade relationship, exchanges between Turkey and Latin America have multiplied tenfold, rising to almost
$10 billion in 2014 from around $1 billion in 2000, Alicia Brcena said. The Executive Secretary also highlighted the
current growth of the Turkish economy, with an expansion above the world average.
The ECLAC chief also appreciated that next May, Turkey is preparing to host the first World Humanitarian Summit, with
the aim of improving response capabilities and global commitment in this area.
During his keynote lecture, the Mr. Erdogan stressed that in the last decade, his country has applied an opening strategy
towards Latin America and the Caribbean, where it currently has 13 diplomatic missions compared to the six missions it had
in 2009. Moreover, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) had opened offices in Mexico and Colombia
to strengthen South-South ties. Within this strategy, he expressed Turkeys interest in becoming a member State of ECLAC.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is interested in subscribing free trade agreements (FTA) with Latin American
and Caribbean countries with the aim of strengthening trade exchanges. Chile was the first country in the region to sign an
agreement of this type with Turkey in 2009.
The Turkish leader also noted that his country currently hosts more than two million refugees that have fled the war in Syria
and asked for the international communitys cooperation to confront this humanitarian crisis.
On his part, Chilean Minister of Foreign Relations, Heraldo Muoz, also appreciated Turkeys role as a recipient country of
Syrian refugees and said that Chile has offered to receive displaced families by this conflict.

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)