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.
**Guest
In a short while, I will be joined by Zainab Hawa Bangura, the Special Representative of the Secretary‑General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. She will speak to you about her recent trip to South Sudan.
**Ebola
Turning to Ebola, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared Nigeria free of Ebola virus transmission, after 42 days without a single case.
In a statement, the WHO called it a spectacular success story that shows that Ebola can be contained. Such a story can help the many other developing countries that are deeply worried by the prospect of an imported Ebola case and are eager to improve their preparedness plans.
This announcement comes only a few days after Senegal was also declared to be Ebola‑free.
On the funding front, the trust fund set up by the Secretary‑General for the Ebola response now has $8.8 million in deposits and $5 million in commitments.
In total, $43.5 million have been pledged and the Secretary‑General continues to urge countries to turn these pledges into action as soon as possible. All numbers are available on the Ebola Multi‑Partner Trust Fund’s website.
Also on Ebola, I regret to inform you that a UN-Women staff member in Sierra Leone passed away this weekend from Ebola. His spouse is currently receiving treatment.
All measures to protect staff at the duty station in Sierra Leone are being taken as best as possible under the current circumstances. This includes decontamination of the UN clinic, disposal of the isolation facility and contact tracing.
**Nuclear Research
Earlier today the Secretary‑General spoke at the European Council for Nuclear Research, or CERN, event marking 60 years of science for peace and development.
He called on the scientific community to invest a significant proportion of its talent and resources over the coming year to research that would accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the future of the sustainable development goals.
The Secretary‑General added that he has created a scientific advisory board to prepare regular scientific assessments in matters of science, technology and innovation, especially for sustainable development. His full remarks are available online.
**Turkey
Meanwhile, from Turkey, Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos met displaced people from Syria yesterday at the Yibo Transit Centre in Suruç, in southern Turkey, close to the border with Syria. The Centre shelters 5,000 people — half of them children — who have fled from Syria. Ms. Amos spoke to the press in Ankara today and emphasized that the people she saw need shelter and other help.
Some 170,000 civilians have fled from Kobane in Syria into Turkey in recent weeks. There are nearly 900,000 registered Syrian refugees and an estimated total of 1.6 million Syrians seeking refuge in Turkey. Meanwhile, inside Syria, nearly 11 million people need aid. The crisis is becoming even more acute with the onset of winter, said Ms. Amos.
She also underscored once more the need for continued and unhindered access for aid workers in Syria so that they can deliver much-needed assistance. And she also emphasized the need for a political solution in Syria. The world must remember the suffering of the Syrian people and act, she said.
**Iraq
Meanwhile, from Iraq, the acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Neill Wright, called today for greater winter preparedness across Iraq. As winter nears, approximately 800,000 people are in urgent need of shelter assistance, and at least 940,000 lack essential household and other life‑sustaining items.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the lead UN agency for shelter, currently has the capacity and resources to respond to the needs of just 30,000 families — less than half of what is actually required.
I’d also like to draw your attention to a report that was published on Sunday by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) jointly with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which documents the alarming rise in executions carried out by Iraq since the restoration of the death penalty in 2005. Between 1 January and 30 September of this year, at least 60 people have been executed.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Nickolay Mladenov, said that the large numbers of people who are sentenced to death in Iraq is alarming, especially since many of these convictions are based on questionable evidence and systemic failures of the administration of justice. He called upon the Government of Iraq to reconsider its position on the imposition of the death penalty.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
From the DRC, the humanitarian community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely concerned about the lives of thousands of people who are trapped in a spiral of violence near Beni, in North Kivu Province.
Several villages have been recently attacked by rebels believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that thousands have been displaced from these attacks and fled to safer areas.
The UN Mission in the country, MONUSCO, is boosting its presence in the area.
Also from the DRC, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, condemned the decision of the Government to order his top official in the country to leave within 48 hours and the serious intimidation aimed at other human rights staff in the country.
The decision to declare Scott Campbell, the director of the UN Joint Human Rights Office, persona non grata was confirmed on Friday, despite a concerted effort by Martin Kobler, the Head of the UN Mission, to persuade the Government to reconsider its decision.
The High Commissioner said that with these acts of intimidation and reprisal, the Congolese authorities risk setting back years of strenuous efforts by UN human rights staff and some sectors of the Congolese authorities to assist victims of human rights violations.
**Somalia
From Somalia, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, has condemned an attack on the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces in Hiiraan region.
Armed men and rioters blocked and attacked AMISOM troops yesterday morning while they were on a mission to help restore peace near the village of Deefow. More information on this is available on the UN Mission in Somalia’s (UNSOM) website.
**Venezuela
Also from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, he expressed serious concern today at the continued detention of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López, as well as more than 69 other people who were arrested in the context of public protests which started in February.
The High Commissioner met Leopoldo López's wife in Geneva on Friday, and discussed the situation of all detainees and their families.
Last month, the working group on arbitrary detention said that the detention of Mr. López, as well as the detention of former mayor of San Cristobal Daniel Ceballos, was arbitrary.
The High Commissioner called on the Venezuelan authorities to immediately release Mr López and Mr Ceballos, as well as all those detained for exercising their legitimate right to express themselves and protest peacefully.
He also deplored the continued reports of threats and intimidation directed at people working to defend human rights in Venezuela.
**United Nations Day
Last announcement: this Friday is UN Day, and in celebration of UN Day, world renowned‑pianist and UN Messenger of Peace Lang Lang will perform in a concert at the UN headquarters. He will be joined by Grammy Award‑winning musician Sting and an international youth orchestra conducted by Manuel Lopez‑Gomez.
The concert offers an opportunity to highlight the UN’s focus on youth and the education of global citizens. It also marks an important milestone — the global observance of the seventieth anniversary of the UN.
On Friday, there will be a press conference at 12:30 p.m. on this concert. A press release has already been shared with you.
**Press Conferences
After that, tomorrow at 1:15 p.m., there will be a briefing in this room on torture by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan Ernesto Méndez.
That's it. Yes, Ma'am?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you. On Saturday, the Pakistan Prime Minister foreign adviser, Sartaj Aziz, spoke to the UN Chief. Do you have a readout of that meeting? And also, Pakistan has repeatedly asked for the SG's intervention on Kashmir. Will the SG and his good offices intervene? Because India has said it is a bilateral issue they need to sort out between themselves.
Spokesman: No, I do not have a readout of that call, but I will try to get you an update. In the back. Yes, you.
Question: Do you have a list of countries that the UN is dealing right now? Where do you place Libya on the priority list? And what more can the UN do to help end the violence?
Spokesman: I think ranking crises is unhelpful, in a way, because if you're in need of help, you don't like to be ranked. Obviously, Libya is very much a focus of the Secretary-General's work. As you'll recall, he was in Tripoli last week to encourage legislators to work together to solve the political issues in Libya. And he does strongly believe that only a political dialogue involving all Libyan parties will result in bringing peace and stability back to Libya. Matthew, and then Nizar?
Question: Sure. Thanks, Stéphane. I wanted to ask you about the air drop of weapons and medical supplies by the U.S. into Kobane yesterday. And, one, do you have — since there have been calls by both the Secretary-General and Mr. [Staffan] de Mistura for action to be taken, is this the action they had in mind? And also, if you can, what's their understanding of the international legality of it, of dropping weapons into Syria? Did they inform Syria, did they inform anyone?
Spokesman: I think, as the Secretary-General said, he believes that all those who can do something should do something to stop the advance of ISIL and other extremist groups in Syria. So we've taken note of these air drops. And, as we've said before, he believes that all these actions need to be taken within the broad context of international law.
Question: Is this in the broad context?
Spokesman: That's as far as I'll go.
Question: I have two questions, one on Saudi Arabia and the other on killing of journalist in Turkey. In Saudi Arabia, there were so many arrests happening last week, one of them in a congregation of Christians, minority, who were holding prayers ceremony in Khafji. They arrested 28 Christians, including children and women, and confiscated their Bibles.
Another one is they arrested Sheikh Hassan Farhad, who is a moderate Sunni, just because of views calling for tolerance and dialogue between sects in a time when such preachings are well required in this region.
Another thing: Sheikh Nimr Al Nimr, of course, facing death sentence, which was passed by a dubious court in Saudi Arabia. What is the United Nations position on that?
Spokesman: On the first two, I'll check on those reports. I have not seen it. But I'll see if we have anything on that. And on the Sheikh, I have nothing to add to what we've said in the past.
Question: On our colleague in Turkey was killed by, also, a dubious car accident in Turkey, near the border close to Kobane. A Press TV correspondent who was overrun by a truck. Do you have any reaction?
Spokesman: I haven't seen those reports. And I'm not in a position to pass judgment on what exactly happened, since I don't have the details. But obviously, I think as I've said repeatedly here, that journalists in conflict zones need to be protected, need to be able to do their work.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. My question is on Ukraine. As we all know, this Sunday, there will be parliamentary elections held there. And in response to that, the rebels on the east promised to hold their own elections on 2 November. What's UN's attitude towards this? Will UN consider these elections legitimate?
Spokesman: It's not for us to say whether elections will be legitimate or unlegitimate. But we very much hope that the parliamentary elections will be a step forward in bringing political reconciliation in Ukraine. Ibrahim?
Question: Thank you. This correspondent, Press TV, in Turkey, she this Friday reported that Turkish Government used FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] trucks for moving terrorists to border of Syria. And two days after this report, she was killed in the car accident. And somebody think the Turkish Government killed her. Because FAO is a UN body…
Spokesman: As I said, you know, we're obviously very sorry for the loss of your colleague. I'm not in a position here to opine on what may or may not have happened. I hope the case is fully investigated by the authorities and is brought to light, but I can't comment any further.
Question: But we can wait for tomorrow your comment? Because this is FAO is a United Nations body…
Spokesman: I will follow up. That's the only thing I can promise. I can't promise you I will have something, but I promise you I will follow up. Karen?
Question: Stéphane, on the Ebola trust fund, can you provide more information on where this money is coming from? It looks like it's new money and it's doubling the trust fund?
Spokesman: We'll supply you with a table. But as you know, commitments are made and it's basically commitments that turn into real money, the bump in the trust fund, if I'm not mistaken, is the cashing of a cheque from Australia. So, you know, the process is that people make commitments, leaders make commitments, which are very much welcome, then those need to be transformed into hard cash. Different Governments have different processes. They need to be approved by different bodies. And at the end of the line, the cheque needs to clear. Evelyn?
Question: There's a lot of commotion of whether Boko Haram will release the Chibok girls. UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) seems to think it will happen. Do you have any update on that?
Spokesman: No, I do not. It's obviously something we would very much like to see and we've hoped for a long time and we hope these girls are released. But I don't have any inside information.
Question: And, secondly, on the trust fund, remind me again, what the goal is? How many zillions you expect to get?
Spokesman: The overall appeal was for $989 million. Let's go to people who haven't asked a question yet.
Question: Thank you. On Ebola. There is today a summit in Havana of ALBA. I'm aware that Mr. [David] Nabarro is there, but is there any comment of Secretary-General on that event?
Spokesman: Obviously, I think the Secretary-General has publicly and continues to welcome Cuba's involvement in the fight to halt the spread of Ebola, noticeably by sending in medical personnel and health workers, which is a great example to other nations. Yes?
Question: Stéphane, on Ebola, is there a possibility to see a close collaboration or coordination between the Nigerian Government and the UNMEER (United Nations Mission on Emergency Ebola Response) and to profit from their expertise on fighting Ebola?
Spokesman: Obviously, the World Health Organization has been working with the Government of Nigeria. And I think what happened in Nigeria and Senegal shows that when the health system works, when there's contact tracing, when there is the right follow-up, imported cases can be stopped and can prevent the further spread. But we are obviously in touch with the Nigerian authorities. Yes, sir?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. There are reports coming that there is going to be a donor conference organized by EU [European Union] on the Ukraine. And it's supposed to be taking place at the end of January 2015. Does the UN plan to take part in it? And the second question on the situation between DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and the South Korea. Did the Secretary General follow these events? And what's his reaction to them?
Spokesman: On — I'm sorry. What was your first question? On donor conference? On donor conference, I don't know. I'll check and I will get back to you. On the DPRK and the Korean peninsula, yes the Secretary-General follows what is going on there, as he follows on what is going on in a lot of other places, and I think he's always pushed for a peaceful resolution of the tensions on the Korean peninsula. Anna and then Matthew?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Continuing the complicated topic of Kobane. There was a large publication in New York Times and I think other media resources also; State Department, I think, wasn't very pleased with the situation. Did UN comment somehow on the fact that instead of more proactively helping people trapped in Kobane by terrorists, Turkey instead bombed the forces, the only forces that were helping these people? And does UN plan to send any peacekeepers to this region? And if not, why? Thank you.
Spokesman: I think, as you know, the deployment of peacekeepers is within the realm of the Security Council. Our focus right now is on providing humanitarian support — the UN's focus on providing humanitarian support. As far as the comment on the situation, I'll repeat what I've said: that the Secretary-General believes that all those countries that can do and can help relieve the siege of Kobane should do so. Yes, Ma'am?
Question: On the Ebola, could you give us more details about the UN-Women staffer who got Ebola? Like, was he directly involved with work with patients? And this was a national of Sierra Leone? And, second, what are the precautions that the UN is taking? Because this is the third case of a worker.
Spokesman: It is. The gentleman was a local staff member. I believe he was a driver. And we will have to ask UN-Women to see what other details they can share. In terms of precautions, as I mentioned, what I have already mentioned in terms of disinfection of the UN, the local medical services and contact tracing. I think all the UN presence, all the UN missions and offices that are present in those countries are taking the maximum amount of precautions. Sherwin, and then Matthew?
Question: Thanks. Just to follow up on the Boko Haram question. To what extent does the UN Office in West Africa (UNOWA) still play a role? I know that Said Djinnit, before he was appointed to the Great Lakes, played a role as envoy. To what extent are you familiar that the Nigerian Government was in ceasefire talks with Boko Haram? Because this seems to be something that everybody was kept in the dark about.
Spokesman: Mr. [Mohamed ibn] Chambas, who has taken over for Mr. Djinnit, has taken over the Nigeria file. I know he plans to go to Nigeria soon. As far as I'm aware, the talks between the Nigerian Government and Boko Haram were exactly that: talks between Nigeria and Boko Haram. We have not been involved in the security and military aspect of this. What our focus has been is on providing support to the impacted community and preparing support for the girls once they are released. And we very much hope that they will be released. Yes, in the back and then Mr. Lee?
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. On Ebola, how much was that boost in funding that came in from the Australian Government?
Spokesman: I will get you the exact figure. I don't want to speak figures off the top of my head. But I will get you the exact figures. Yes, and then Mr. Lee?
Question: So last week there was a little bit of confusion about the trust fund being the entire 1 billion or whatnot. But how much should come from the trust fund, ideally, in terms of that 988 million? Because it's 40 percent funded if you look at the OCHA figures.
Spokesman: Right. I think it's two separate things. We went through quite a lot of detail on Friday to hopefully clear up the confusion. And I hope not to re‑add to that confusion, recreate confusion. There is an ask for $988 million. $443 million has been funded in terms of targeted assistance where countries and donors give to a specific programme or specific country. And that's managed by OCHA. The trust fund gives the Secretary-General a lot more latitude in where he's able to send the money and use the money. And we very much hope that that will be replenished as much as possible. Mr. Lee?
Question: I wanted to ask about DRC, Bahrain and Cyprus. In DRC, there are reports of one of the MONUSCO drones crashing in Muniji. And I wanted to know, can you confirm that? Confirm or deny today whether that's taken place?
Spokesman: I can confirm. It did take place around 8:40 in the morning local time. An unarmed aerial vehicle crashed after taking off from the airport in Goma in North Kivu. The crash occurred in an unpopulated area, about 3 kilometers north of Goma airport. The accident did not cause casualties or damage other property. MONUSCO troops and Congolese police are guarding the site of the accident. And we still don't know the reason behind the crash. MONUSCO has launched an investigation to obtain the cause of the accident. That's it.
Question: Of the drones that were initially procured for MONUSCO, how many have crashed?
Spokesman: I'm not aware of any other crash. We have four.
Question: There was an earlier crash that was announced from this podium.
Spokesman: I think we had five operational. Now we have four that are operational.
Question: I wanted to ask about Bahrain. I wanted if know if you have a figure. Nabeel Rajab, a well-known opposition figure there, has been hold over without bail for a single tweet about the royal family or the security apparatus of the country. What is the UN position on that?
Spokesman: I don't have anything else than what I have already said on Bahrain last week.
Question: Did you get a letter from Dervis Eroglu of the Turkish Cypriot side? They say he wrote to the Secretary-General on Sunday, urging the reopening of the talks, which the Greeks Cypriots canceled. Do you have that?
Spokesman: I'm not aware of the letter being received. Nizar, and then Mr. Carpenter and then we’ll get to our guest.
Question: I understand that Mr. [Jan] Eliasson will be having a visit to the Middle East. Can you elaborate about his schedule?
Spokesman: I will elaborate when we're ready to announce the trip.
Question: Another thing is how much is Mr. de Mistura staying in Tehran?
Spokesman: I'll get you an update on that. We should have had an update on that. [He later said that Sattan de Mistura’s trip to Iran had concluded. He had met with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Deputy Foreign Minister Abolhassan Abollahian, Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati and National Security Adviser Ali Shamkhani.]
Question: One last thing is about the refugees in the Kurdistan area: We had reports, I watched reports today showing that they are living in a very dire circumstances. Their tents are not even provided with basics. And they complain about lack of food, even. Is there…
Spokesman: I think as I've just said, talked about the situation in Kurdistan, where there's great concern of oncoming winter and that we need a lot more shelter than we already have. Mr. Carpenter?
Question: Stéphane, what is the UN policy on the remains of deceased foreign UN staff operating in West Africa?
Spokesman: Sorry. Say again?
Question: The policy on the remains of the deceased foreign UN staff operating in West Africa?
Spokesman: That's a good question. I don't know. In terms of deceased from?
Question: Ebola.
Spokesman: I'm sure every precaution is taken to ensure safe burial, but I'll see if there's anything more detailed. We'll go to Ms. Bangura and I'll be back in about two and a half minutes.