Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**World Humanitarian Day

Today is World Humanitarian Day. To mark the Day, the Secretary‑General participated in a wreath‑laying ceremony at the UN Secretariat Lobby earlier today to honour aid workers killed in the line of duty.  Later on today, he will deliver remarks at a high‑level event at the Economic and Social Council Chamber organized by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  As you remember, World Humanitarian Day marks the anniversary of the UN Headquarters bombing in Baghdad in 2003 when 22 people lost their lives, including the head of the mission, Sergio Vieira de Mello. We also pay tribute today to those colleagues who survived the attack and who continue to work in the UN on humanitarian causes.

The Deputy Secretary‑General, who briefed the Security Council today on the protection of humanitarian workers, said that the consequences of the crimes against aid workers are not only felt by humanitarian workers and their families, but also by the millions of people who cannot be reached when assistance is sabotaged by violence.  [The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] says that new figures published today show that 2013 has set a new record for violence against aid groups.  There was a 66 per cent increase in the number of victims from 2012.  In 2013, 155 aid workers were killed and another 171 were seriously wounded.  More than 80 aid workers were killed in Afghanistan alone, the country with the highest number of attacks that year. And so far this year, nearly 80 aid workers have been killed.  More information is available online.

** Iraq — World Humanitarian Day

In Baghdad today, our colleagues in Iraq commemorated World Humanitarian Day, paying tribute to those who died during the bombing 11 years ago.  The Secretary‑General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said that Iraqis are now counting on the support of humanitarian workers more than ever as the violence and displacement remains widespread.  He called on the Government of Iraq and the humanitarian community to step up their efforts to alleviate the suffering and ensure the protection of people in need.  His full remarks are available online.

** Iraq — Humanitarian

In response to the deteriorating situation in Iraq, the UN refugee agency is launching one its largest aid pushes aimed at helping close to half a million people who have been forced to flee their homes in recent months.  Barring last minute delays, an air, road and sea operation is expected to begin tomorrow with a four-day airlift from Aqaba in Jordan to Erbil.  This would be followed by road convoys from Turkey and Jordan, and sea and land shipments from Dubai via Iran over the next 10 days.  The shipments are expected to deliver shelter and housing supplies, tents, kitchen sets and plastic sheets.

Also on Iraq, the World Food Programme (WFP) says it has been able to scale up food assistance to hundreds of thousands of displaced Iraqis in recent weeks thanks to the recent generous contribution from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  WFP received nearly $149 million of the recent $500 million donation made in July.  The funding has helped WFP provide desperately needed food to people who fled the conflict since mid-June, including Christian and Muslim families and most recently the Yazidi people.

**Ebola

Just a brief update on Ebola.  According to the World Health Organization, the number of cases in the four impacted countries, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, has reached 2,240 and a total of 1,229 deaths were also registered.  The World Health Organization is working with the World Food Programme to ensure that people in the quarantine zone receive regular food aid and other non-medical supplies.  Food has been delivered to hospitalized patients and people under quarantine who are not able to leave their homes to purchase food.  Governments have set up quarantine zones in areas of high transmission including severely‑affected cities such as Gueckedou in Guinea, Kenema and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and Foya in Liberia.  More information is available on the World Health Organization’s website.

And as announced yesterday, the UN System Coordinator for Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, will be here to brief you at 4 p.m. this afternoon.  The briefing will be limited to half an hour in this room.

**Security Council

This afternoon the Security Council will meet on the Central African Republic.  The Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the country (MINUSCA), Babacar Gaye, will brief Council Members.  And he also informed us he would make himself available to address the press at the stakeout following the meeting, probably around 5 p.m.

** Central African Republic — Commission of Inquiry

You saw that, late yesterday, the Secretary‑General announced the third member of the Central African Republic Commission of Inquiry, which will investigate events since 1 January 2013, as voted on by the Security Council.  The new appointment is Mr. Philip Alston of Australia, who has been appointed to succeed Mr. Jorge Castañeda, who stepped down for personal reasons earlier this year.

**South Sudan

Also from South Sudan, the UN Mission in that country (UNMISS) condemned today a live fire exercise in the vicinity of its camp in Bentiu.  SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] soldiers based nearby fired in the air for 30 minutes in celebration of War Veterans’ Day.  As a result, one child was injured in the Mission’s Protection of Civilian area and a total of nine bullets penetrated the Mission’s accommodations.  The UN Mission there calls once again on national, state, local authorities and forces to protect all civilians, to ensure that the inviolability of UN premises is protected, and to take effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

** Ukraine

Later today, the Under‑Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, will be travelling to Ukraine.  In Kyiv, he is expected to hold meetings with senior Government officials, UN colleagues and international partners in pursuit of the good offices of the Secretary‑General.

**Question and Answer

Correspondent:  Tomorrow is your birthday.  On behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association, I wish you all the best wishes and all health.  My question is:  yesterday the Secretary-General announced that he was talking actually about cutting the world poverty in half.  Based on what parameters he was able to confirm, or to conclude, rather, that the world poverty is cut in half, if I understood well?

Spokesman:  I'd refer you back to what he said but obviously our numbers and statistics are based on information, our development group, UN development group harvests through its different country offices, and I believe later, this week in fact, we will have a briefing on the MDGs.  We'll give you more information, but those statistics are all publicly available.

Question:  A short follow-up on that?

Spokesman:  Can you turn on the microphone?  Okay, great.

Question:  As a follow-up, there are media criticism already before even this last address by the Secretary-General that the UN somehow is trumpeting its successes in cutting poverty in half or cutting poverty rather, while on the ground, since we are talking about statistics, not everywhere is really cut in half, or cut substantially, to be visible and pronounced as a success.  What do you say on that?

Spokesman:  Well, I think, first of all the successes we've seen are not just the UN successes.  It's the successes of countries.  It's the successes of people.  It's a global… it's a global effort based on the UN's Millennium Development Goals.  I think what we've seen is obviously, yes, a drop in poverty, but what we've also seen that we've talked about at length in different fora here is the rising inequality and pockets of extreme poverty in countries where national numbers are going up, so I think as you said, the statistics, the detailed statistics, tell a very interesting story, one of on one hand success, and another one of remaining challenges.  Nizar?

Question:  You mentioned that thanks to the generosity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] has been able to deliver more aid to the Iraqis.  How many refugees does Saudi Arabia so far receive in their land compared to the neighboring poorer countries like Jordan, receiving hundreds of thousands of refugees, Lebanon over 1.4 million refugees.  How many refugees did Saudi Arabia receive?

Spokesman:  I understand your compare and contrast exercise.  I think different countries are free to help in whichever way they can, in whichever way they choose.  And I think the effort, the global effort, to alleviate the suffering of the… of civilians in Iraq and neighboring countries is one where every country has a part to play.

Question:  But can we say that they received nobody?

Spokesman:  You can say whatever you'd like.  And you can, but we can check with UNHCR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] what the numbers are.

Correspondent:  Another issue is regarding also Saudi Arabia here.  They sentenced or are about to sentence the cleric.

Spokesman:  And on that we are checking and I hope to have something for you shortly, so I heard your question yesterday and we're trying to harvest the right information.  Matthew , then Mr. Davik.

Question:  I want to ask two maybe related questions.  One has to do with what I asked you yesterday about the peace… the DRC [ Democratic Republic of the Congo] Army serving in MISCA [African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic] and transitioning to MINUSCA [United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic] in the Central African Republic.  Have you been able to find out from DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] if they are leaving?

Spokesman:  I think that's a question that General [Babacar] Gaye expects to hear from you and I think he'll be able to answer that.

Question:  I guess I also wanted to… yesterday, did the Secretary‑General meet with Ken Roth of Human Rights Watch?  And if so, could you say whether this topic or give some type of a readout of the issues raised?

Spokesman:  Yes, he did meet with him.  It was on his public schedule.  They discussed issues relating to Human Rights.  I don't have a more detailed readout to give you.  Obviously, the Secretary‑General and other senior officials in the building often meet with NGOs and outside partners and it's just part of routine meetings.

Question:  How about, can you say like which countries or which continents were discussed?

Spokesman:  I could, but I don't.

Question:  Right, Haiti cholera?

Spokesman:  Sir.

Question:  Does the UN have any confirmation that Hamas has violated the latest ceasefire and which basically ended or at least for now ended the situation in Cairo?

Spokesman:  You know, at this point, I can't confirm what has actually happened.  Obviously, looking at what's going on, it appears that hostilities have resumed.  I hope to have a bit more for you later, but I would also kind of quote back what Robert Serry said yesterday, that the hopes — and I'll read you what he said just to strengthen the message — that he hopes the people in Gaza for a better future and the hopes of the people in Israel for sustainable security rests on the talks in Cairo.  And we all call on delegations in Cairo to live up to this responsibility.  We continue to urge the parties to reach an understanding on durable ceasefire, which also addresses the underlying issues afflicting Gaza or make substantive progress towards it.  If I have more as the day goes on, I will share it.

Question:  Just one more then on Robert Serry.  Yesterday, you said in this room that you can assure us that the UN doesn't get its numbers from the… from Hamas.  Robert Serry said that afterwards that Hamas, that they get their numbers from health authorities in Gaza, which is Hamas.

Spokesman:  Well, I always enjoy you quoting me back at me.  I may be turning 49 tomorrow, but I still remember what I said, and what I did say, and I said exactly what Robert Serry said, is that we get our sources, our information, from various sources, including local health officials, as well as NGOs.

Correspondent:  Okay, you did say that you don't get it from Hamas.

Spokesman:  I said exactly what Robert Serry said.  Yes, sir, gentleman in the back.

Question:  Yes, sir, regarding the Ebola virus.  There's a lot of ongoing stigma in families, even doctors, simply fleeing or running away from the patient.  Is there any reaction of the United Nations in terms of…?

Spokesman:  I think in a time of a spread of a disease like Ebola, it is very important that people fully respect and support the health workers who are on the front lines, that people listen to health authorities and their public health authorities to ensure that they have access to the right information, and that people should not be stigmatized, people should not be persecuted.  It's very important to keep calm and to access the right information.  We don't want to create a climate of fear and retribution.  But, Dr. Nabarro will be here at 4 p.m. and I would encourage you to be there, because I'm sure he will speak much more eloquently on the matter.

Correspondent:  Hi.  I was wondering if the United Nations has any information… there's a Japanese citizen, Haruna Yukawa who is being held by the Islamic State…

Spokesman:  I've seen the reports.  I don't have any information.

Question:  Any reaction from the [Secretary-General?

Spokesman:  We're just trying to get more information at this point, but we've always called for armed groups to release any civilians they may be holding.  Matthew?

Question:  I want to ask about Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and more, if you'll allow.  On Sri Lanka, the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, met with foreign press today and said he will not grant visas to the panel of inquiry into the war crimes of 2009.  And I wanted to know:  given the Secretary‑General's visit there in 2009 and statements since, what is his response to this public statement by the President?

Spokesman:  Okay, I think as you know and as we've stated here the Secretary‑General fully supports the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  And commends the leadership she's demonstrated to assist Sri Lanka in advancing accountability and reconciliation.  The Secretary‑General encourages Sri Lanka to cooperate with the inquiry led by the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, that was established by the Human Rights Council.  He reiterates the importance for the Government and the people of Sri Lanka to constructively engage with the entire UN system as it would help the country make constant progress development, lasting peace and protection of Human Rights.  One more.

Question:  I don't know if you've seen, it's reported that in Afghanistan, a journalist, The New York Times reporter there, who reported on Hamid Karzai possibly staying over given the electoral dispute, was told that he couldn't leave the country.  I want to know, first, if there's any… I assume that the UN believes journalists should be able to leave where they were working, but is Mr. Kubiš involved?  What's the status of that recounting?  And does he believe that it's credible that Hamid Karzai will try to stay on…

Spokesman:  I've not seen any of those… the reports you mention.  Obviously, the audit is ongoing.  The UN is supporting that audit and has called for all those involved to support the electoral process set out by the Constitution.  On the journalist, clearly, as I've said before, even as of earlier this week, the freedom of reporters to report and to move about is critical.  Nizar and then we'll go…

Question:  Does the United Nations believe that what the Islamic State in Iraq is doing… is kind of genocide against minorities, all kinds of minorities in the region, especially after the revelations that some of the Yazidis have been buried alive?

Spokesman:  I think it's clear that what we have seen in the reports we've seen against minorities — Turkomans, Yazidis, Christians, Shi'ites and other minorities — could very well constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity and it's important that people be held accountable.  Erol?

Question:  One question, one point of clarification.  Question, with calling the destruction Gaza manmade hurricane, the Secretary‑General recognized the destruction and all the suffering there.  But, does he really plan to go there and to visit the place himself in the near future?  That's the question.

Spokesman:  There are no plans that I'm able to share with you at this point.

Question:  And a point of clarification:  You announced a few days ago $100 million of Saudi Arabia to that country's terrorism center.  Can you clarify please where is actually that Centre?  Who is the head of the Centre?  How many employees?

Spokesman:  The center is in Saudi Arabia.  They have a very good website.  You can take a look at it.  If you still need more information, I'm happy to share it with you.  Young lady back who's been very patient, and then we'll go to Anne.

Question:  So, a while ago, I got a confirmation that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva reviewed among a lot of things as part of the schedule the situation happening in Ferguson.  There was a panel there.  With the situation escalating, has there been any indication that the UN might step in or release any sort of statement, or anything of the sort?

Spokesman:  Two things.  Whenever… you should check with obviously my colleagues at the Human Rights Office in Geneva on what the Human Rights procedures are doing.  And I think yesterday, from this podium, I did answer that question.  I'll reread to you what I said, which was, the Secretary‑General is aware that the [ United States] federal authorities have announced an investigation into the killing of Michael Brown.  He hopes that local and Federal investigations will shed full light on the killing and that justice will be done.  [The] Secretary‑General calls on the authorities to ensure that the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are protected, and he calls on all to exercise restraint and for law enforcement officials to abide by [ United States] and international standards in dealing with demonstrations.  Anne?

Question:  Yes, as you know, today's The New York Times ran an article entitled:  Rebels kill dozens in attack on refugee caravan, Ukraine says, in which it was reported that many of those seeking refuge, including women and children, were burned alive.  Although members of the UN Security Council such as Lithuanian Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaitė have spoken out about the role of disinformation in this Russian Ukrainian conflict, why doesn't the UN say anything about this issue?

Spokesman:  I think the UN has spoken out on this general issue in its regular reports on human rights from the human rights monitors, but I think the incident you referred to, the tragic incident you referred to, I think underscores the urgency for cease fire and a diplomatic solution be found as quickly as possible, and obviously, these are issues that Mr. Feltman will take up when he travels to Ukraine.  All of you, one question.  Matthew, Nizar and Errol, and then we'll stop this Q&A.  Go ahead.

Question:  Okay, I was going to do a follow‑up on Ukraine, but I'll ask about Libya.  There have been air strikes conducted which seems like a pretty big escalation there and various countries have said they didn't do the air strikes, so the question is, who did the air strikes?  General Haftar?  What's the UN, either Mr. León or Mr. Mitri or whoever is currently in charge, what's their sense of who's doing air strikes in Tripoli?

Spokesman:  I don't… I think we reported back with the Mission yesterday, if there's anything more I'll share it with you.  Nizar?

Question:  Again, regarding the support of terrorism, Saudi Arabia finances thousands of mosques worldwide, 65 per cent of those who commit suicide in the Middle East are Saudis.  I wonder what in this center of counterterrorism what do they teach?  If they preach…

Spokesman:  Listen.

Correspondent:  This is something very serious because the United Nations…

Spokesman:  Listen, the issue of terrorism is one that the United Nations, the Secretary‑General takes very seriously.  I would urge you to take a look at the information that's on the Centre's website, it's very exhaustive and it will tell you exactly what they do.

Question:  Today, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia renounced what ISIS [Islamic State in Iraq and the Shams] is doing, and this is just the first time in Saudi history that they renounce such a thing.  Now, are they going to review their whole ideology, Wahhabi ideology, which has been spewing all this hatred worldwide?

Spokesman:  Nizar, you're raising points that I think are sometimes best left for an academic debate rather than a press issue.

Correspondent:  It is a threat to international peace and security.

Spokesman:  No one has denied terrorism is not a threat to international peace and security.

Question:  I've seen that website.  Actually, thank you, you sent me a link for that.  But, a little bit of… sort of logical question then.  Why the Saudi Ambassador, that Centre is in Saudi Arabia, why does he use the platform of UN in New York to give that check to the Secretary‑General with the check obviously going back to Saudi Arabia?  And it looks like a sort of, although with a very good website, et cetera, still phantom… I would use this…

Spokesman:  A, I disagree with your description.  In fact, even if you look on our… listen, I'm not sure, since…

Question:  So, the Secretary‑General here, that's the question.  Forget about my description.

Spokesman:  You may find my answer surprising, but I am not the Spokesman for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and if you want to know why the Ambassador came to New York, I think you should ask the Ambassador.  Have a wonderful day, all of you.

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For information media • not an official record