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. Couple of things today.
**Somalia
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, as you know, briefed the Security Council earlier today in an open session. Presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report on Somalia, Mr. Kay said that 2015 should be a year of federalism and delivery — a year that it will determine whether and how Somalia can become a unified, peaceful federal State.
He warned that the political and security challenges and risks continue to be significant. Mr. Kay stressed the need to build a sustainable and inclusive State, one that includes minorities and marginalized groups in the process. And Mr. Kay should be speaking to you around 1 p.m. at the Security Council stakeout.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Head of the UN [Organization Stabilization] Mission [in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] (MONUSCO), Martin Kobler, strongly condemned new murders of civilians around Beni, in the eastern part of the country. He said that nothing would deter MONUSCO’s determination to neutralize armed groups in the region and reiterated UN support to the Congolese authorities against these groups.
**South Sudan
From South Sudan, the UN’s Children Fund (UNICEF) says that the country could face a growing food crisis by the end of the dry and lean season if the warring parties don’t reach a long-term settlement and fighting continues. UNICEF says the conflict is sharply reducing food supplies and slowing humanitarian access to those who need the most assistance. It reports seeing large numbers of people on the move in conflict areas because of food shortages.
At least 229,000 children are estimated to be suffering from acute malnutrition in South Sudan — a number that has doubled since the start of the conflict just a year ago. UNICEF says it needs access to remote areas made inaccessible because of the fighting. It adds that, along with the World Food Programme (WFP), it continues to step up aid for malnourished children across the country. UNICEF and its partners have already provided therapeutic feeding for almost 100,000 severely malnourished children in 2014 and are aiming to reach 137,000 children who are under the age of five and suffering from acute malnutrition in 2015.
**Malawi
Also on the humanitarian front, in Malawi, the World Food Programme is scaling up its assistance to those affected by massive floods in the country. WFP had reached nearly 210,000 people by the end of January with more than 1,500 metric tons of food assistance, but is now working to bring food to an additional 160,000 people. It also stresses that additional contributions are urgently required to fill the funding gap for its operations in the country.
**Aviation
Yesterday, the second High-level Safety Conference on International Civil Aviation wrapped up in Montreal, which is the site of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As you know, the Conference discussed emerging safety issues, including those related to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines [Flight] 370 last March and the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines [Flight] 17 in Ukraine in July last year.
On the issue of global tracking of aircraft, member States recommended the adoption of a new 15-minute aircraft tracking standard. This standard would require commercial aircrafts to report their position every 15 minutes. ICAO will now send its recommendation to member States for comments and anticipates the adoption of the new tracking standard this autumn. On the issue of risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones, ICAO said that member States at the Conference expressed strong support for a proposal to develop a prototype online resource for global conflict zone risk assessments.
**Honour Roll
Our daily honour roll: as of 3 February, 29 Member States have paid their regular budget assessments in full. Today, we thank Hungary, Kuwait and Slovakia for their contributions.
**Press Conferences
Tomorrow, the guest at the noon briefing, one of our regular guests: John Ging, Operations Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. He will be here to brief you on his recent trip to the Ebola-affected countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. And then, at 1 p.m., there will be a briefing here by the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yasuhisa Kawamura, at 1 p.m. in here.
And I think that it is it, which means you get to ask questions. Yes, Matthew?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Sure. I wanted to… I've seen two separate reports about UN peacekeepers being killed in crashes in Côte d’Ivoire. One report said three Moroccans died in a crash on [27 January]. More recently, there’s a report saying that a number of Egyptians died yesterday in, apparently, a separate accident. One, I'm just wondering are both of these accounts true? And, two, why has the mission or yourself not said anything about these dead peacekeepers?
Spokesman: I've seen some reporting. I'm trying to get the details. We'll put those out as soon as we can.
Correspondent: It seems like, if there are two separate crashes, is there some… it seems like a lot.
Spokesman: I mean, peacekeepers, by definition, operate in difficult terrain. Those… where the roads are not… are sometimes dangerous and not passable. And so, there are, unfortunately, sometimes, fatal auto accidents.
Question: Right, but I guess I'm just… so is the protocol… if people are killed in conflict or in combat or in some way, then you announce it and the Council generally puts it out a press statement?
Spokesman: I'm waiting to see what information I can get from the missions and we'll see what we can say. Go?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. As you know, Jordan executed two prisoners including Sajida al-Rishawi, as revenge to the deaths of this pilot. The UN is calling to combat ISIS [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham] by all means. So, could you support this Jordanian reaction?
Spokesman: I think, if you look back to what we said yesterday, that the Secretary‑General urges all Governments to strengthen their efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism and extremism within the bounds of their human rights obligations. And clearly, the Secretary‑General's position and the UN's position on the death penalty is unchanged. Madame, welcome.
Correspondent: Thank you.
Spokesman: Breathe. It's okay. I'm not going anywhere.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. What is the position of the United Nations… well, the Secretary‑General on the law that was approved in Venezuela that will allow the Government to use firearms to control protests? However, they did not specify which type of protests, so it could be any type of protests.
Spokesman: You know, I haven't seen the details of that law, but I think, from here, we have repeatedly spoken about the right of people to demonstrate peacefully and the need of the forces… law enforcement forces to respect that right and to obey all international human rights and international law.
Question: As a follow‑up, is it a concern… a violation of human rights when we have firearms being allowed to be used?
Spokesman: As I said, different countries have different laws, different methods. I think as a matter of principle, it is important and it is vital that people be allowed to demonstrate peacefully without the fear of getting harassed… shot by law enforcement forces. But, it is… it is about peaceful demonstration. Yes, sir?
Hold… no. This just in, as they would say in the newsroom: We do have a press statement issued today on the death of six blue helmets in Côte d’Ivoire. Six… and I'm translating from the French as I speak. Six Egyptian peacekeepers died on Tuesday, yesterday, in a car accident between… on the road between Yamoussoukro and Abidjan. We have the list of those deceased. They had left Yamoussoukro on their way to Abidjan when the vehicle that was transporting them suddenly veered off the road, following a blown tire. This… their deaths brings to 92 the number of Blue Helmets killed since the beginning of the set-up of the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) in 2004. The whole UN family, the special representative, of course, are presenting their condolences to the families and to the Government of Egypt.
Question: I know there are other questions. On this in particular, there's another report in APA, saying that, on 27 January, three Moroccans similarly died in a car crash. They have the names, Kamal Tahiri… et cetera. This is why I'm asking more about kind of the… Did that one come in and not be read out?
Spokesman: You know, I call 'em as I get 'em. Yes, sir?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Yong Shin from Korean Times. Yesterday, the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] State media reported that their Foreign Minister sent a letter to the [Secretary-General], stating that the recent human rights resolution that passed the General Assembly is null and void, and asked the [Secretary-General] to take an appropriate measure on this. Can we confirm that he received this letter, and if so, has he responded to this letter? What's…?
Spokesman: I will check right after if we've actually received the letter. So, come back to my office, and I will let you know. [He later confirmed the receipt of the letter.] All right. Thank you. Matthew?
Question: Sure. On the… the… the statement of the attack in Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many people are saying, because of the location and for other reasons, it's the ADF‑NALU or ADF [Alliance of Democratic Forces]. I wanted to know is… since you've said that MONUSCO and its Force Intervention Brigade are not themselves engaged in military action against the FA… the FDLR [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda], but instead are leaving it to FARDC [Armed Forces for the Democratic Republic of the Congo], are they engaged in combat with ADF? Would they in a similar fashion rely on the Congolese Army for that?
Spokesman: I don't think I've said exactly what you said I've said. I think the Force Intervention Brigade has a mandate which it is executing, and again, I think for those sort of detailed operational questions, I don't have that information here. You're free to check with the mission.
Correspondent: The reason… I wasn't trying to mischaracterize…
Spokesman: No, no, no. I know it wasn’t.
Correspondent: I thought you said on the neutralization…
Spokesman: I think what I said is we are supporting them operationally, logistically and strategically, but it is an operation that is being led by the FARDC. How that support is then translated on the ground on a day‑to‑day, hour‑by‑hour situation, that is up to the command… to the leadership of the mission to decide, and those really detailed information that will be shared there, if they are shared.
Question: The only reason I'm… the… the detail I understand. I think you understand in the region, including by neighbouring countries and others, there's a perception that the UN used its Force Intervention Brigade to itself assault the M23 [23 March Movement] reb… described as a Tutsi militia group and is not taking the similar approach to the long-standing Hutu militia. And so, on any day to day… How do you respond to that?
Spokesman: The mandate of the peacekeeping mission applies to the whole territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But, obviously, the primary responsibility for peace and security in the country is with the Government.
Question: Can you confirm that Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman is going to Gambia on a follow‑up to Mr. [Mohammed ibn] Chambas' visit?
Spokesman: I do believe he is in Gambia, and we will get more details.
Correspondent: And is there some reason that his schedule, like, it seems… I mean, this was reported in the press there. It seems when he goes places, he's representing the Secretary‑General.
Spokesman: I think we try to share his schedules. Sometimes things fall through the cracks. But, we try to be as open and transparent as we can
Question: Can you ask [the Department of Political Affairs] to put it online?
Spokesman: Thousands of [Department of Political Affairs] staffers are probably watching this briefing.
Correspondent: I’m sure. It must be…
Spokesman: Something. This is really amazing. [Receives a note]
Question: The Moroccans?
Spokesman: Exactly.
Question: Where… what's the date line?
Spokesman: Fourth… 4 February. So, just to say again that three Moroccan Blue Helmets were killed on January… died on 27 January following a car accident 5 kilometres outside of Guiglo. We have the names of the Blue Helmets, and of course, our condolences go out to their families, as well as the Government and people of Morocco. Thank you.