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.
Good afternoon. Happy Friday to you and to those of you watching on the webcast.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
Today is the last day of the Secretary-General's visit to Lima, Peru.
This morning, together with President Ollanta Humala of Peru, he launched the country's national plan on human rights education. Such an education, he said, strengthens values and reinforces attitudes which uphold human rights. It also encourages behaviour and action to defend these rights.
The Secretary-General then met with the President of the Peruvian Congress before addressing the body.
This afternoon, he will meet with the Foreign Minister of Peru.
**Ebola
From Geneva today, the World Health Organization (WHO) wrapped up a two-day high-level meeting on rebuilding health systems in Ebola-affected countries.
Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director General of Health Systems and Innovation at the World Health Organization, stressed that due to Ebola, the majority of health facilities in these countries were either not functional or not used by people for fear of contracting the disease.
Participants determined that substantial external financing will be needed to address key areas for improvement: health workforce, community trust and resilience of subnational health systems.
As a next step, the World Health Organization’s Chief, Dr. Margaret Chan, invited Governments to convene meetings at the national level, with key partners, to develop country specific plans. There is more on this on the WHO’s website.
Also in Geneva, UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, announced today an expanded fight against the virus to continue tackling the two major drivers of Ebola transmission: lack of early isolation of patients and unsafe burials.
The Ebola response supported by UNICEF also impacts on other sectors beyond health. With schools closed, UNICEF is working with Ministries of Education and other partners to support continued learning by airing daily lessons on national and community radio stations, and through self-directed learning modules.
UNICEF is working to prepare for the eventual safe reopening of schools, with tens of thousands of teachers being trained in psycho-social support techniques, Ebola prevention and safe and protective learning environments, again to strengthen community-based responses. More information is on UNICEF’s website.
**Sudan
Turning to Sudan, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says it is deeply concerned about a pattern of detentions and prosecutions in recent months that appear aimed at silencing political opposition and criticism of the policies of the ruling party.
The Office says that the most recent high-profile case involved the arrest and detention on 6 December of two prominent public figures in Khartoum: Dr. Amin Makki Medani, a prominent human rights defender and former UN Human Rights Office Regional Representative for the Arab Region, as well as Dr. Farouk Abu Issa, the leader of the opposition National Consensus Forum.
A third man, Dr. Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Alagar, is also believed to have been arrested on 7 December 2014.
The Human Rights Office is urging for the release of the three men in the absence of valid legal charges or promptly charge them with recognizable offences and bring them before a judge which guarantees their right to a fair trial.
The Office notes that the Government is required by its international human rights obligations to inform individuals arrested of the grounds for their arrest through an arrest warrant, and to guarantee their safety and disclose their whereabouts, so that family members and legal counsel can have access.
The High Commissioner’s Office is urging the Government to cease the harassment and prosecution of political activists, human rights defenders and other public commentators, such as journalists and bloggers, for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion.
**South Sudan
From South Sudan, the UN Mission in that country, UNMISS, reports some heavy fighting near the Upper Nile State town of Nassir between Government troops and armed youths who fired on an army patrol early this week. The armed youths were seen retreating to the east.
The same day, the Mission received reports of fighting between Government troops and opposition forces about 40 kilometres southeast of Renk in Upper Nile state.
**Burundi
From Burundi, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeff Feltman, is winding up his visit to the country. Today, he met with the President of Burundi, today in Bujumbura, the capital.
They discussed the drawdown of the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB), as well as the establishment of the UN Electoral Observation Mission, known as MENUB, which, as you know, will start on 1 January.
Mr. Feltman welcomed both the commitment of the Government to continued political dialogue, and of the opposition to participate in the electoral process.
They also touched on questions of peace and security in the Great Lakes, and in particular Burundi's role in the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region.
**Ukraine
Also related to Mr. Feltman: In continuation of the Secretary-General's good offices to assist in finding a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, Mr. Feltman will travel to Kyiv on 16-17 December for consultations with senior officials. We will obviously update you on his visit.
**Lebanon
Moving on to Lebanon, the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, will travel to Beirut tomorrow evening.
In Beirut, he will participate in the 15 December launch of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan for 2015–2016, which, as you may know, seeks to address the impact of the refugee presence in the country. As you know, Lebanon is bearing a huge burden of refugees from the Syrian crisis.
While in Beirut, the Deputy Secretary-General will meet with Lebanon’s Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament and other senior Government officials and key Lebanese interlocutors. On Tuesday, he will have a meeting with his Beatitude Archbishop Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, the Patriarch of Antioch. He will also visit a public school in Beirut, where he will meet with Lebanese and Syrian students.
During his visit, the Deputy Secretary-General will also meet with Heads of UN agencies and will hold a town hall meeting with UN staff at the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, otherwise known as ESCWA.
He will conclude his visit on 17 December.
**Syria
Turning to Syria, the UN will launch two funding appeals for the Syria crisis at an event hosted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in the capital of Germany, Berlin. This will happen on Thursday, 18 December.
These include the Syria Strategic Response Plan 2015, which covers the humanitarian response inside Syria. That will be launched by Valerie Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs who is also the Emergency Relief Coordinator for the UN system.
Also, the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for 2015-2016, covering support to refugees from Syria and host communities in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, will be jointly launched by the High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, and Gina Casar, the Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). That will take place also in Berlin.
**Iraq
Moving on to Iraq, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and officials from the Iraqi Federal Government, the Government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Saudi Government will hold a ceremony in Erbil, Iraq, next week to mark the arrival of eight mobile health clinics.
These urgently needed clinics were procured by the World Health Organization and flown in by the World Food Programme from Amman, Jordan, and will be immediately deployed to parts of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to help address the health needs of displaced populations residing in areas with limited access to health care — in camps, informal settlements, and in urban and remote areas across the country. There’s more information on the World Health Organization website.
**Security Council
Back here in New York, the Security Council just passed a resolution welcoming the agreement between NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and Afghanistan to establish the post-2014 non-combat Resolute Support Mission, which will train, advise and assist the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces at the invitation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Prior to that, the Council received a briefing from the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, about her office’s work in Sudan.
**Appointment
An appointment today: the Secretary-General has appointed Mongi Hamdi of Tunisia as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, known by its French acronym, MINUSMA.
Mr. Hamdi succeeds Albert Koenders of the Netherlands, who served in this capacity since 2013. The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Koenders for his service and dedicated leadership in guiding the early establishment and deployment of MINUSMA.
Mr. Hamdi, for those of you who don’t know, is currently the Foreign Minister of Tunisia, a position he has held since [January] 2014, and brings with him more than 25 years of experience working on trade, economic and social development issues within the United Nations system, including for the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
**Press Conferences
Lastly, as a reminder, on Wednesday, 17 December, at noon in this room, what will we have? [in response to an answer from the back of the room] A press conference by the Secretary-General. Thank you for paying attention.
**Questions and Answers
That's it. Luke.
Question: Thanks. I was wondering if the SG has any reaction to the damage caused to the Nazca Lines World Heritage Site in Peru by Greenpeace activists and whether he feels this has constituted a distraction during the COP (Conference of Parties) talks.
Spokesman: I haven't seen — I haven't seen enough detailed reporting on it. Obviously, the — two things here. The preservation of World Heritage Sites is critically important for the world as its designation — [cellphone goes off; Spokesman looks at where cellphone ringing emanated] somebody's guilty. I just don't know who it is. [laughter] The preservation of World Heritage Sites is critical for the world’s heritage, as its name implies. And obviously, people who feel they need to demonstrate a particular point need to be able to do so but in a peaceful manner. Olga, Oleg, and then Sylviane and then Matthew.
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. Can you please provide more information about the visit of Jeffrey Feltman and Ukraine? Will he visit eastern regions? Will he take press conference? And what can we get after some report or what?
Spokesman: I don't have many details at this point to share. He will be there obviously to meet with Government leaders, civil society and other key interlocutors. I think if we have more details as his visit comes along, we will share them with you. And we will see — I am sure he will either report back to Security Council, or if he does not, we will also ask him to come here. Oleg?
Question: Also on Ukraine, Stéphane, thank you. You have monitors on the ground, obviously. What do they say about this new truce between the rebels in the east and the Ukrainian authorities? Do they consider that it is being observed? What's the situation over there?
Spokesman: I think I would ask — I would beg for your patience, and as you know, Mr. [Ivan] Šimonovic is currently in Ukraine. He is scheduled to hold a press briefing in the next couple days, after a visit to the east and meeting with the human rights monitors, and to release the latest report. So we'll get something for you then. Sylviane and then Matthew. Microphones, s'il vous plaît.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Can you give us the exact figure of the refugee — Syrian refugees in Lebanon now?
Spokesman: Nope, I cannot at this very moment at the top of my head. But I can give you — we can ask UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency) just as we finish this briefing or my colleagues listening may be trying to provide you that number right now. [He later informed the correspondent that UNHCR said that Lebanon was expected to host more than 1.3 million refugees by the beginning of 2013.]
Question: I have another question. Mr. Deputy Secretary‑General will be meeting with the Prime Minister in Lebanon, Tammam Salam, and Patriarch of Maronites. Is there any plan to meet with other key leaders?
Spokesman: Yes, he will be meeting with other — other key people and will — as soon as we have more details, we will see if we can get you those.
Question: Okay. Thank you very much.
Spokesman: Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure, I want to ask you about Darfur and also Haiti. In the Security Council meeting that just happened on the ICC and Sudan, among the things said was Argentina said that the report into alleged cover-up by UNAMID (African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur), the whole report should be made available and not simply the summary, and I wanted to know, can you explain again why this UN, if it belongs to Member States, why Member States can't see the whole thing and why the public can't see it? And she also said there should be a full implementation by the Secretary‑General of a policy on contacts with ICC indictees, including a public disclosure of why contacts take place and when they take place. Is that the current position of the Secretary‑General? And did it apply to Mr. [Hervé] Ladsous meeting Omer al-Bashir in the past?
Spokesman: I think the basic line on contacts with ICC indictees, if I'm not mistaken, is that they can only happen for — in order for — for operational issues. There are not — and these contacts are not taken lightly. Obviously, I'm sure we've heard what the Permanent Representative of Argentina had to say. I don't have a reaction to it at this point.
Question: On the contacts, is it the policy to inform the ICC of the contacts when they take place?
Spokesman: That's all I have now. If I can get you more, I will. I will. Okay. Mr. Carpenter?
Question: Stéphane, this — both Mr. Feltman and Mr. Šimonovic are going to Ukraine. Are they coordinating or are these two separate —
Spokesman: I think they both have separate roles. Mr. Feltman represents the Secretary‑General and his good offices mission and Mr. Šimonovic is there as part of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ mandate in terms of human rights monitoring, and he's there for the release of the latest report. Yes, sir?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. There are talks about a new French approach here to — regarding the peace process in the Middle East between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I wonder whether the Secretary‑General is playing any role in those discussions and whether he has the same view that the direct negotiations is not viable anymore.
Spokesman: No, I don't think I agree with the premise of your question. Obviously, what we're seeing is discussions in the Security Council on a resolution that involves Member States. I think you've interpreted that draft in a certain way. The Secretary‑General continues to believe that there is a need for both parties to sit down and negotiate directly and discuss directly and it is up [to] the international community and the United Nations to do whatever we can to support that. Obviously, it's a draft resolution. We haven't seen it. So I'm not commenting on the content of that resolution, but just restating the Secretary‑General's opinion. Madame?
Question: Thank you again. Do you know when — do you know when Mrs. [Sigrid] Kaag will be — will take her new mission in Lebanon?
Spokesman: No, that's a valid question, but I believe early — early next year. That's my understanding.
Question: January?
Spokesman: Yeah, we'll try to get you an exact date.
Question: Thank you.
Spokesman: Oleg and then Matthew and then Masood.
Question: On Feltman's trip, when was the last time he was in Ukraine? Can you check?
Spokesman: I can check. It was not that long ago. But we can check.
Question: Thank you.
Spokesman: Matthew?
Question: About Haiti. There was — yesterday afternoon, almost at the same time as the Ebola press conference, there was a religious ceremony held across the street of the Church Centre by both Haitians that live in New York who have had family members killed by cholera and also UN staff who feel that the UN policy of not directly addressing the claims for the families that were victims of the cholera is unjust. I wanted to know if you were aware of that, if you have any response to it?
Spokesman: I personally was not aware. I think you know that the legal position of the UN as to this case is not, has not changed. That being said, the UN continues to be very involved jointly with the Government of Haiti to work on the cholera issue in Haiti, to work on rebuilding the sanitation system, and I think the Secretary‑General in his visit to Haiti in — over the summer, right? In July, in mid‑July, excuse me, in mid‑July, I think, you know, went to one of the impacted village, prayed with the families and showed his empathy to the victims.
Question: I understand that. I don't think — people see the Secretary‑General trying to raise funds for water and sanitation going forward. I guess the question becomes for families that lost their breadwinner and, therefore, have kids who are unable to go to school with school fees, things like that, is there any — what's the UN's thinking? Is the — the Government apparently has not addressed that problem. So I'm wondering… I guess…
Spokesman: I think whenever you have — whenever you have victims of any disaster, the issue of losing the breadwinner is an important one and one that needs to be addressed by national authorities in assistance with the international community. Masood?
Question: Yes, sir. I'd like to know about Secretary‑General's — I mean, he's — he's supposed to be giving a press conference. At the end of the year, is the, are the United Nations and the United Nations ready to announce any some sort of reform as to how to deal with these crises, especially the Palestinian — Israeli‑Palestinian crisis? It keeps on festering forever and nothing is being done about it. So are there any views…?
Spokesman: You know, I think you — you're offering a fairly broad question at the end of the year. I would not agree with you that nothing is being done about it. I would agree with you that these situations have not been solved, but it's not for lack of trying. And I think the United Nations, the Secretary‑General, the Member States are very focused on the crises, most of which [are] man-made that we see across the world — across the world today.
Question: My question basically was: is there any out‑of‑the‑box thinking that can just — or just a format that you have to talk to the Palestinians and the Israelis?
Spokesman: I think at end of the day, whichever crisis, political crisis you're talking about, it's really an issue about the parties involved, the two parties directly involved having to sit and talk and resolve their differences peacefully, and what the international community can do is support that process. Edie and then Matthew.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Robert Serry met with Hamas's number two official today. I wonder if you could tell us why that meeting was essential and what it accomplished.
Spokesman: I don't have any information on that particular meeting, but I will revert to you as soon as we're done here. [The Spokesman later said that Robert Serry would have informal contacts with Hamas officials if and when necessary for operational purposes.] Matthew and then we'll go.
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you, there's an open letter today by the — the staff union or the people that say they won the election in December. I've seen it. It's not just — I've seen it being delivered around to the various UN offices in those yellow envelopes. So I wanted to ask you about it. It basically says a year ago, there was an election taken and there may have been some dispute on the Secretariat's part on who won it but since then there's been essentially no staff representation. The previous people were given work release, and it lists a lot of things and it calls on him to — the Secretary‑General to abide by a recent finding by the arbitration committee and actually — at least, I would go beyond this and say recognize some union to deal with on labour issues. And I wanted to know what's the response to this, after a year?
Spokesman: I will take a look at the letter and we'll see what kind of response we have.
Question: And I guess given — I think — you know, they tied it to the Human Rights Day of 10 December, but I would say like a full year, it seems like — I guess I'd ask when you come back on this, what is the Department of Management's plan to actually have a credible force to —
Spokesman: You know, all the staff would like to see one staff union. Thank you. Have a great week.