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. Again, apologies for being late.
**Climate Change
On climate change, as you will have seen, a key milestone towards a new, universal agreement on climate change was reached today in Geneva, with nations having agreed on a negotiating text after seven days of talks.
As you know, the agreement is set to be reached in Paris at the end of this year and will come into effect in 2020.
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that she is extremely encouraged by the constructive spirit and the speed at which negotiators worked during the past week.
The negotiating text covers areas such as mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology and capacity-building.
The next round of negotiations will take place in June in Bonn, with other ministerial-level meetings with climate change on their agendas, such as the G7 and G20 meetings, set to take place throughout the year.
The negotiating text is available for you to see on the UNFCCC’s website.
**Chapel Hill Killings
I was asked by a number of your colleagues this morning about the Secretary-General’s reaction to the killings earlier this week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
I can say that the Secretary-General was deeply moved by the scenes of thousands of Americans — as well as many people around the globe — coming together to mourn the lives of three young Americans murdered in Chapel Hill this week.
He extends his deepest condolences to the families of Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha and Deah Shaddy Barakat, and the communities in which these three proud Americans lived.
At a time of troubling tensions stoked by those who seek to twist the teachings of faith and sow division, these three young people represented the best values of global citizenship and active community compassion to build a better world for all.
**Egypt
And in a statement we issued last night, the Secretary-General welcomed the decision by the Egyptian authorities to release on bail the journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed of Al-Jazeera.
He hopes that their cases, as well as those of other journalists in detention, will be resolved expeditiously.
**Ukraine
And we also issued yesterday afternoon a statement on Ukraine, in which the Secretary-General commended the perseverance of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany in efforts to bring the violent conflict to an end, which has resulted in the signing of a package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk accords of September 2014.
In that regard, the Secretary-General expects that the commitments which have been made in Minsk will be respected by the parties. He urges the parties concerned to ensure that a genuine and lasting ceasefire will commence on 15 February as agreed.
The Secretary-General joins the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany in reiterating the full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
**Mali
On Mali, just before the briefing, we issued a note to correspondents on the launch of the UN Inquiry into the violent demonstration of 27 January 2015 in Gao, Mali.
The Inquiry, which was announced by the Secretary-General late last month on 29 January, will be conducted by three independent experts with extensive international experience.
They will travel soon to Mali in order to establish, swiftly and comprehensively, the facts surrounding the demonstration.
**Nigeria
On Nigeria, the UN Refugee Agency is calling for urgent humanitarian access to refugees and internally displaced people, as the violence in north-eastern Nigeria is now spilling over into Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.
In Niger, the Agency says that it is unable to access displaced people outside camps, whether at the border areas, or in Bosso or Diffa towns, because of recent attacks.
In Cameroon, UNHCR says that insecurity is making it increasingly difficult for its teams to access the border areas where refugees arrive and from where they are relocated to the Minawao refugee camp, 120 kilometres away.
And in Chad, some 3,000 Nigerian refugees were registered at the end of 2014, but a further 15,000 have fled into Chad since then. Refugees and returnees have been received in a number of sites in the lake area. But security is a major concern for all humanitarian agencies and for the refugees themselves, and many remain unreachable in various islands.
In total, the violence in north-eastern Nigeria has caused more than 157,000 people to flee into Niger, where 100,000 people arrived, Cameroon (40,000) and 17,000 in Chad.
**Darfur
From Darfur, the Deputy Joint Special Representative of the African Union and the UN, Abdul Kamara, visited yesterday Um Baru in North Darfur, where newly internally displaced persons have sought refuge near the Mission’s site.
Thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, fled their villages following fighting between Government forces and armed groups last month.
Since their arrival to Um Baru, UNAMID (African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur) peacekeepers, together with UN humanitarian agencies and international nongovernmental organizations, have been providing protection and services to the displaced people, who have been temporarily settled in a safe zone built next to the Mission’s base.
We have a press release from the Mission.
**Sudan
Also in relation to Darfur, yesterday, as you know, the Deputy Secretary-General met with Professor Ibrahim Ghandour, Assistant to President Omer Al-Bashir of Sudan and Deputy Chairman of the National Congress Party. The Secretary-General had also met Professor Ghandour earlier in the week.
They discussed the National Dialogue called for by President Bashir and ongoing efforts to end hostilities in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. They also exchanged views on the situation in Darfur, including the ongoing discussions on an exit strategy for UNAMID. The Deputy Secretary-General underscored the need to end the fighting in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, and to ensure humanitarian access to people in need. He stressed the importance of an inclusive and transparent national dialogue for the achievement of lasting peace and development in Sudan.
Mr. Eliasson also expressed concern over the continued allegations of mass rape in the village of Thabit in Darfur. He urged the Government of Sudan to allow UNAMID access to that site to carry out a full independent investigation.
**Central African Republic
From the Central African Republic, the UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kyung-wha Kang is continuing her visit, along with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced people, Mr. Chaloka Beyani.
They travelled today to the town of Yaloke, about 250 km north-west of Bangui, where some 500 people from the Fulani pastoralist minority have been stranded for almost a year in warehouses, under the protection of the UN Mission, MINUSCA.
Ms. Kang said she was encouraged by the visible progress made by local authorities in promoting reconciliation but that more immediate assistance is needed to be brought to the displaced people.
**Yemen
An update from Yemen from our humanitarian colleagues: they say that more than 60 per cent of the people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance.
That is nearly 16 million Yemenis who desperately need food, clean water and sanitation.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, said today that despite the political crisis, delivering humanitarian assistance to all those in need is possible, especially through partnerships with various organizations.
He also stressed that it is essential that humanitarian aid is delinked from the political situation.
From UNICEF, they say that the security situation in Yemen is very difficult, but that from a humanitarian perspective, it is still possible to conduct field trips on a regular basis.
More from the UNICEF’s press release.
**Ebola
The Head of the UN Development Programme, Helen Clark, is continuing her tour of Ebola-impacted countries. She is in Liberia today, she just arrived in Liberia.
Earlier, she met with a number of community groups in Conakry, Guinea, where she stressed the vital importance of community advocacy in stopping the outbreak. Her mission will conclude with a visit to Sierra Leone early next week.
And still on Ebola, the World Food Programme (WFP) stresses the need to support communities once they are Ebola free. WFP is providing these communities with three months of food assistance so they can restart their livelihoods, and it is also supporting local markets and economies by purchasing local products.
WFP has forged a new partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) to support health workers in getting to zero cases, by providing operational support to 63 field surveillance sites, some deep in the jungle.
**Senior Managers Compact
Earlier today, the Secretary-General signed the annual performance and accountability compacts with senior UN officials. At the ceremony, he said that today’s signing reflects our pledge to create a stronger, more transparent and better-run organization. He added that the compacts are the heart of the UN’s drive for accountability and transparency, and set the tone for performance at the top.
He told his senior managers that to better serve the world’s people, we need to continuously reflect on our work, learn from the past and find ways to improve in the future.
The compact expects all senior managers to set their unique priorities and standard managerial indicators for the year.
**Radio Day
And for those of you who don’t know, today is World Radio Day.
In his message, the Secretary called radio a medium that captures the imagination and brings people together.
Highlighting the importance of radio to the world’s 1.8 billion young women and men, the Secretary-General said that as we shape the new sustainable development goals and agreement on climate change, we need to hear the voices of young women and men, loudly, strongly and urgently.
Joining the Secretary-General was the Director-General of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), who called on countries and partners to make the most of radio’s ability to foster social inclusion, intergenerational dialogue and social change.
**Honour Roll
And on this cold Friday in February in New York, we thank the Bahamas which joins the ranks of the fully-paid-up Member States. Yesterday they became the thirty-fourth country to pay their regular budget assessment.
**Questions and Answers
Nizar.
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. Stéphane, after the advances achieved by the Syrian army near the Golan, did you receive any requests or any review from UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) regarding deployment after they vacated many positions to…
Spokesman: No, I don't have anything new. Obviously UNDOF reviews its deployment on a day-to-day basis, but I will try to get you some — get you an update.
Question: Have you been monitoring the situation there in…
Spokesman: That's what UNDOF does. Abda Hamid. Then we'll go to Joe.
Question: Thank you. I have a few questions if you don't mind. First about de Mistura, he gave a statement today, I think in Vienna, saying that President Bashar al-Assad is a part of the solution, not part of the problem. So does the Secretary‑General share the same assessment of Mr. de Mistura?
Spokesman: I think, you know, Mr. de Mistura said what he said. I think he also clarified to say what he meant to say with — in that the Geneva communiqué remains a reference in reaching for long‑term political solution for the crisis in Syria, and I think what he said is that President Assad and the Syrian authorities must contribute to reaching a solution that would put an end to the violence in unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Syria.
Mr. de Mistura continues to focus on reaching a freeze in hostilities in Aleppo and de‑escalate the violence. President Assad represents one side of the warring parties, and he's crucial to making that freeze operational on the ground.
Question: My second question is about the statement issued today by the Secretary‑General about the killing of the three Muslims in North Carolina. Why it came late? And we were expecting the statement to come almost the same day or the following day. And the second, it — it didn't condemn anything. It expressed sadness and it didn't mention Islamophobia and hate crime, which I think is important.
Spokesman: Well, I think — you know, I think the Secretary-General expresses his — expressed his sentiment fairly clearly in the statement. I think the funeral was yesterday. I think the timing is entirely appropriate. We may have different opinions; I do feel the timing is entirely appropriate. I think the Secretary‑General has spoken out on the issue of Islamophobia. I think on this particular crime, I think we hope — we encourage the authorities to investigate fully, including the possibility of this being a hate crime. We are not obviously — have any influence or capacity to investigate the reasoning for this horrendous crime. I think the Secretary‑General is expressing his sadness in noting also, you know, these trends and recent incidents where people are twisting faiths and the rise of these kinds of issues.
Yes, we'll go to the back and — Joe. Sorry. Joe had the next ticket.
Question: Thank you. You noted in your statement on Darfur that the Deputy Secretary‑General had, again, requested unfettered access to the area of the alleged mass rapes. You didn't tell us what the response was, so I'd like to…
Spokesman: I think…
Question: And secondly, assuming that there's continued resistance by President al-Bashir and his Government to providing such access, what is the Secretary-General going to do? What is the next action that he's going to propose be taken? Is he going to make recommendations to the Security Council for some teeth in trying to get such access? What's the next step other than just continuing to make these requests?
Spokesman: Well, I think the response will be in the proverbial pudding. It's not up to me to state what the Sudanese interlocutor of the Deputy Secretary‑General said. What we would like to see is access, and we would like to see it as soon as possible to Thabit to conduct the investigation that we need to conduct.
Obviously, this is a situation that has been festering for quite some time now. I think everyone has their — has to live up to their responsibilities — the Security Council, the Sudanese authorities, and ourselves — and we will continue to push for access.
I'll come back to you. Yes. All the way in the back and then Roger.
Question: Question about Myanmar. There have been reports of clashes in the north-east of the country in Shan State and 47 soldiers were apparently killed yesterday, according to the State media, in the country. Does the Secretary‑General have a comment on this violence, what it might mean for the request for a national ceasefire?
Spokesman: Well, I think, as you saw ‑‑ you saw the statement that was made by Mr. Nambiar yesterday, where he welcomed the commitment made by the country to end armed conflict and resolve grievances through dialogue. The commitment, as you saw, was signed by the President, by the Speaker, by political parties and ethnic armed organization. I think we continue to urge all parties to continue their negotiations to reach the nationwide ceasefire agreement as early as possible, as stated in the commitment that was signed yesterday. We do also express our hope and expectation that the commitments will help create a more conducive environment to address the continuing conflict that we're seeing both in Kachin and Shan State and obviously the very serious impact it has on the humanitarian situation of the population.
Question: But no specific comment on this 47 ‑‑
Spokesman: That was your question. That was my response. Mr. Lee and then we'll go back to Roger.
Question: Sure. One follow-up and then actually something on that as well, but I mean, on Darfur, what I wanted — on the Thabit rapes, specifically, Mr. Ghandour met with the Secretary-General on Wednesday and then the Deputy, Thursday. Then he put out the readout. When you were saying “they”, does this mean only the Deputy Secretary-General raised the issue of the Thabit rapes? I didn't understand…
Spokesman: He meant both the general — the issues were discussed by both and I gave you the readout I gave you.
Question: Okay…
Spokesman: What was your other question?
Question: On Myanmar, yesterday you'd said that on this issue of the Rohingya being now denied the right to vote which was pretty much clearly announced by the President, that Mr. Nambiar was going to look into it. Has he looked into it?
Spokesman: His office has looked into it. I don't have anything…
Question: And why wasn't — I was at the compact signing, and I didn't see him there, but I did see a nameplate for him on a side room. So is he around? And is he not signing a compact?
Spokesman: He may be on official travel. The fact that he — I will check if he was on the list for him to be signed, but some people were on official travel and they will sign them later if they were not able to sign…
Question: They had seven of them that they said couldn't.
Spokesman: Okay.
Question: Okay. Just wanted to know.
Spokesman: I understand. Roger.
Question: Thanks. On Thabit. Yes, it's clear from your statement that UN is still calling for more access. But on the UNAMID website, the only statement about access is that they've had access; this is from back in November and having called UNAMID, their Spokesperson's on leave for another few weeks. Is there…
Spokesman: There's no update.
Question: Seems like they're in agreement with the Sudanese.
Spokesman: I speak for the Secretary-General and the Secretariat here. I think we've expressed our opinions as to what should happen, which is unfettered access to Thabit in order to launch the right kind of investigation, where people are able to speak to us freely and without the fear of reprisal. And that's what we keep — that's what we keep calling for and that's what we keep pushing for.
While we spoke, I was handed a statement. The Secretary-General — this is on the attacks in Pakistan that we saw today. The Secretary‑General condemns the attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar in Pakistan during the Friday prayers, which has reportedly killed at least 19 people, including Mr. Naveed Abbas, a Pakistan national working with the United Nations. Dozens more were also injured. The attack comes merely two weeks after more than 60 people were killed in another attack on a Shia mosque in southern Pakistan. The Secretary‑General is deeply dismayed by such repeated targeting of innocent people on account of their religious beliefs and in their places of worship. There is no justification for such crimes. The Secretary‑General calls on the Pakistani authorities to bring swiftly to justice the perpetrators and urges them to redouble their efforts to protect religious and ethnic minorities and to combat terrorism in all its forms. The Secretary‑General extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Government and people of Pakistan.
Question: Stéphane, can you give us an update on Libya and what are the next steps that Mr. León is intending to…
Spokesman: No, the only update is that Mr. León is continuing — is continuing his work in trying to bring the parties together. Oleg.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. There was article in Denmark published by the Climate Minister of the country, where he criticized the UN climate panel for their recommendation for Denmark to stop pumping oil from the Northern Sea in ten years. He basically called this — let's see — academic nonsense, and he said that Denmark is planning to get fossil-free to 2050. But by that time, they're going to pump as much oil from the Northern Sea as possible. What's your reaction at the UN?
Spokesman: You're trying to engage me in a dialogue with one hand tied behind my back because I can't see the article you're actually looking at, and I don't know what panel this person is referring to. Obviously everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but if it is a — if it is referring to the IPCC panel, I think the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change represents a huge number of scientific views from all across the world. They express their views in an — annual — in periodic reports which are critical to our efforts to mitigate climate change. And the Secretary‑General has been a great supporter of Dr. Pachauri and the panel's work.
Round 2. Nizar.
Question: Yeah. Follow‑up on the Golan issue. Did you receive any communication from the Israelis regarding the situation in the Golan? Because there were some media reports talking about, that they've sent a letter asking for redeployment of…
Spokesman: I have not seen such a letter. I will make it my business after this briefing to see what's going on.
Question: Another question regarding Yemen. Does the Secretary‑General view that Al-Qaida is the biggest threat in Yemen or the Houthis' change of power?
Spokesman: I think it's not a matter of comparing threats. The Houthis are a part of the political talks that Mr. Benomar is having with political parties. I think, you know, if you look at what the Secretary‑General said yesterday is that Yemen is crumbling before our very eyes, and I think the political parties, including the Houthis, all have the responsibility to a agree on a political solution.
Question: Since many tribes are rallying behind Al-Qaeda in Ma’rib, in Shabwah and other parts remote, are these invited into dialogue with the parties for a political settlement?
[Overlapping talking.]
Spokesman: Al-Qaeda is not part of… is obviously not part of the dialogue that Mr. — that Mr. Benomar is engaged in. What is critical is that the political parties, including the Houthis, which are broadly representative of Yemen as a whole, agree on a political process forward. Abda Hamid.
Question: Thank you again and want to follow‑up with the questions raised by my colleagues Joe and Matthew about Sudan. And I want to ask if the issue of expulsion of the Resident Coordinator and the country leader of UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), Mr. Za'atari and Ms. Yvonne Helle, if that was raised in the meeting and if it's not, has it been solved? And what is the situation with the expulsion of those two senior UN workers?
Spokesman: We are happy to share with you; in terms of what was discussed in the meeting, we did in the readout. I will check for you what the update is on Mr. Za'atari's situation.
Go, and then Mr. Lee.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. About this American hostage, Kayla Mueller was killed, so far there is no either Secretary-General statement, no Security Council press statement. As far as I know, each time any hostage was killed in ISIS detention, there was a statement.
Spokesman: I think you would you have to talk to the Security Council.
On the second part of your question, obviously, the Secretary‑General is deeply saddened to learn of her death and extends his condolences to her family, as well as the Government of the United States.
Mr. Lee.
Question: Sure. Just one thing just to follow up on what you had announced, this inquiry into the killing of protestors at Gao, is it — it didn't say, is this report — it’s going to be thorough etc., is it going to be made public?
Spokesman: We will keep you updated. We'll keep the public updated on what the — on the work of the inquiry, and I strongly hope that something — that we will be able to share publicly something of its work.
Question: And I wanted to — in the briefing — and thanks for arranging it with Mr. Chambas, I didn't expect — he said it's been agreed that the UN's human rights due diligence policy will apply to this action, to the multinational joint task force. I tried to ask him about it, but it — basically, he said it's going to be forward‑looking, i.e., it won't look at the track record of the soldiers included in the action, those — you know, many of whom who served in CAR, some of whom in the African Union mission there, some of whom served in Mali, and I thought that the whole purpose of the UN's human rights due diligence policy was to exactly look at past practice of the soldiers included or the commanders. So can you explain that?
And do you have any update on the implementation of the human rights due diligence policy on the FDLR offensive yet to begin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Spokesman: No, I don't have anything new for you on — or any of you for that matter on the DRC. If I had, I would share it with you. I think on — and I didn't hear Mr. Chambas' exact words, but I think it's — obviously any — any fight against — military action against Boko Haram needs to take into account human rights and needs to ensure that by fighting terrorism, we don't trample on human rights. We will — we call for — on all the countries involved in that task force to ensure that human rights are respected. I think this is not a — human rights continue to be at the forefront of our work in this regard, but this is not a human rights due diligence policy in the same sense that we find in a peacekeeping mission, because the actions of the multinational task force are not a UN mission per se. But in all our work with them, whether it's advising or any other role we may have in the future with them, the issue of human rights will be front and centre.
Question: And thanks. I appreciate that. Since it was announced that the DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) is actually going to be helping the planning of this thing, it seems to me that the policy applies before providing support of any kind…
Spokesman: I think the — DPKO's role at this point has been on some advisory basis at initial meetings. I think we have to see exactly what the UN’s operational role will be and that it still being looked at, obviously with human rights in mind.
Thank you all. Have a great, great Friday.
As a reminder, we are closed on Monday, so there will not be a briefing. So have a very good long weekend.