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.
Seeing the size of this crowd, I think I am just the opening act here. The main performance will start at 12:30.
**South Sudan
I’ll start off with a statement on South Sudan.
The Secretary-General takes note of the outcome of the last round of negotiations between President Salva Kiir and former Vice-President Dr. Riek Machar, as reflected in the agreement they signed in Addis-Ababa on 2 February 2015. He regrets that neither of them compromised on a mutually acceptable power-sharing formula. He emphasises that no sustainable peace will be found in South Sudan unless its leaders place the interests of the civilian population above their own. He underscores the urgent need for them to agree on a comprehensive and inclusive peace agreement that addresses key institutional reforms, economic governance, reconciliation, and accountability for the crimes committed since the beginning of the conflict, in a manner consistent with international standards.
The Secretary-General calls once again on both parties to urgently and strictly adhere to the Cessation of Hostilities agreement signed on 23 January 2014. He urges them to prepare for the next round of talks with the intent to expeditiously end the conflict. He commends the mediators and Heads of State and Government of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, otherwise known as IGAD, for their tireless efforts and commitments to broker a peace agreement in South Sudan and assures them of the UN’s readiness to assist, along with other partners, in their efforts to engage the South Sudanese parties.
**Ukraine
A note regarding Ukraine: the High Commissioner for Human Rights today urged all sides to halt the dangerous escalation in the fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called on States and all those with influence in the region to take measures to ensure compliance with the Minsk accords, which have a direct bearing on the human rights situation in the eastern part of Ukraine.
He said that bus stops, marketplaces, schools, hospitals and residential areas have become battlegrounds in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which he said is in clear breach of international humanitarian law governing the conduct of armed conflicts.
The High Commissioner said that the death toll now exceeds 5,300 people, with more than 12,200 having been wounded since last April.
The High Commissioner stresses that any further escalation will prove catastrophic for the 5.2 million people living in the midst of conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The next report of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is scheduled to be released at the beginning of next month.
**United States
Another note on the High Commissioner: he began a visit to the United States today.
This is the first official visit by the UN human rights chief to Washington, D.C., to meet senior US administration officials and members of Congress since 2007, when former High Commissioner Louise Arbour made a similar visit. More information is available on the High Commissioner’s webpage.
**Gaza
Also related to the human rights machinery of the UN: The President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Joachim Ruecker of Germany, received a letter from Professor William Schabas last night, in which Professor Schabas indicated that he is resigning as chair and member of the Commission of Inquiry on the Gaza conflict, with immediate effect.
In a statement that was issued in Geneva, the President said he had accepted the resignation of Professor Schabas and thanked him for his work over the past six months.
The President, in the statement, also noted that the Commission is now in the final phase of collecting evidence from as many victims and witnesses as possible from both sides. The report of the Commission of Inquiry is scheduled to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its upcoming session on 23 March.
**Nigeria
From Nigeria, our humanitarian colleagues say that, according to reports by the National Emergency Management Agency, attacks on communities in the north-east of Nigeria have been occurring almost every day since January.
More than 981,000 people have been displaced across the country since the State of Emergency was declared by the Government in May 2013. More than 90 per cent of those displaced are located in the north-east of the country and most of them are living with host communities while a little more than 100,000 in camps managed by the authorities.
Colleagues at OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) also say that as many as three million Nigerians living in the north-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe risk being unable to meet their basic food needs by July this year.
And UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has also warned that some 100,000 children are at risk of severe malnutrition in the area.
**Former Yugoslavia
As you will have seen, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ruled today that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other’s populations during the 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia.
In its judgment, which is final, without appeal and binding for the Parties, the Court explains that the intent to commit genocide — by destroying a population in whole or in part — had not been proven by either country.
There is a press release from the ICJ on their website with more details.
**Security Council
At 12:30 p.m., Ambassador Liu, Permanent Representative of China, will brief you on the programme of work for the month of February.
**Honour Roll
Lastly, our daily honour roll: we are now up to 26 Member States having paid their regular budget assessments in full, with the Philippines being the most recent. With that, we thank the Philippines.
**Questions and Answers
Talal?
Question: The resignation of the Chairman of the Human Rights Council on the inquiry of the 2014 Gaza war, he resigned now because there's a conflict of interest, as Israel has stated. What this conflict of interest had started six months ago, when he started; so what about the work that has been done for the last six months? And especially that what you said is in the last phase and they reported they are giving to the Council on 23 March.
Spokesman: Well, you know, as — first of all, a couple points: first, as you know, this undertaking is being done by the Human Rights Council and is independent of the Secretary‑General. I think from the statement that I've read out from the President of the Human Rights Council, the work is ongoing. They're looking to appoint a new chairwoman, a new chairperson, if they haven't already done so. But I would direct your questions to the presidency of the Human Rights Council. Matthew, then Matthew, and then Nizar?
Question: Hi. There are reports that the Jordanian pilot was burnt alive by ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Sham); do you have a reaction to that?
Spokesman: No, I have not seen those reports. We will take — obviously take a look at this as soon as the briefing is over.
Question: Sure. I have some other questions, but I wanted to ask about this resignation of Mr. Schabas. It's reported that either Mr. Ruecker or the Human Rights Council Secretariat has sought a legal opinion from Headquarters here. So I wanted to know two things. One, you know, it's in a quantity of $1,300. So I'm wondering, what triggers — that supposedly he took as a contract to write an opinion for the State of Palestine. What trigger — are you going to go forward and render a legal opinion? And two, when — there are much larger amounts at stake. For example, you've been asked about Tony Blair as the Quartet representative, and he has contracts in the millions with Kazakhstan, with PetroChina. So I’m wondering: Does only a Member State complaint trigger a review of conflict of interest by your office and what happens with this review now?
Spokesman: No, I think your — you know, the decision to resign was taken by — as far as I can see, because we're really relying on the press releases issued by the presidency of the Council. We're not involved in this undertaking, as I said. The resignation of Mr. Schabas: he sent the letter. It was accepted. Whatever legal advice may be given by the Office of Legal Counsel to various bodies in the UN remains privileged legal advice. And I'm not going to comment as to whether or not it took place. And obviously, every legal advice is different.
Question: One follow‑up on that. Isn’t it… For the UN's open purposes, isn't it important that the public know what the UN views as a conflict of interest, both in terms of quantity of money and…
Spokesman: I think — you know, I think every — anyone who seeks legal advice, every case is different. So I'm not going to give you a blanket answer. Nizar?
Question: Yeah. Stéphane, yesterday, a channel in Turkey called [inaudible] Rada aired some threats to foreigners in Egypt, calling all foreigners to leave Egypt within couple of days. In fact, the deadline has been finished. Otherwise, they will face probably retaliation from the Egyptian extremists. Of course, you've seen such reports. Is there anything the United Nations can say to Turkey about having a station like that, threatening everyone? Is it permissible to have a station?
Spokesman: You know, I haven't seen those. I will take a look at it. And get back to you. I'm just handed a statement from the Human Rights Council that they said they have appointed — the President of the Human Rights Council has appointed Mary McGowan Davis to replace Professor Schabas. The Commission is made up of Mary McGowan Davis and Doudou Diène, both of whom were appointed in August, and they continue their important work and are scheduled to present the findings on the 23rd. Edie?
Question: Stéphane, going back to South Sudan, first, does the UN have any indication that this latest ceasefire is being observed? And, secondly, the Secretary‑General sounded very sceptical in the note — in the announcement that you just read of his reaction. Does he have plans to talk to either Salva Kiir or Riek Machar?
Spokesman: You know, the contacts with the parties are being led by our Special Envoy, Mr. [Haile] Menkerios, and others who are very much involved in supporting IGAD. As to your judgment on how the Secretary‑General feels about the outcome of this last round of negotiations, I'll leave it up to you to analyse it, but I think you've seen other SG statements welcoming agreements, and you can compare it with this one.
Question: But on my first question, does the UN have any indication of whether this ceasefire is… is being held?
Spokesman: I have no new information as to any military activity on the ground, but obviously we have seen it repeatedly in the last week. We've seen issues, so we — you know, I think the operative line in this statement, and this is really something that the Secretary‑General has said before, that there will be no peace until the leaders put the interests of their people above that of their own. Yes?
Question: Hi. Regarding the images about UN food distributed in Syria with the ISIS stamp, is the Secretary‑General concerned about this matter? Is he particularly concerned about how he can affect raising necessary funds for humanitarian aid?
Spokesman: You know, our colleagues at WFP (World Food Programme) are obviously extremely concerned about these reports, and they're making every effort to verify the authenticity of these photos. Any aid that is being — UN aid that is being misused or mislabeled is a very serious incident, which needs to be investigated. I think it's important to respect the impartiality of the aid, the humanitarian aid that is being distributed by the UN. One second and I'll come back to you, because we don't have that much time. And — let's go to the new questions.
Question: How would you characterize the relationship between the Secretary‑General and the Israeli Prime Minister, given the continued criticism by Mr. [Benjamin] Netanyahu to the UN and given that the last conversation between both — it was bad, and the meeting before that, it was also bad. And I have another question on whether Mr. [Robert] Serry is resigning or not and who's replacing him. Thank you.
Spokesman: I think the issue of Mr. Serry — as you know, Mr. Serry is leaving. We should have an announcement on his replacement soon. And it will be done from here, either in person or by mail. You know, I think your character — it's your characterization of the meetings. The Secretary‑General has a very good relationship with the Prime Minister of Israel, as he had with many other leaders in the region and throughout the world. Obviously, there are a lot of issues and tensions in the Middle East, but I think the Secretary‑General and the Prime Minister have a very good working relationship.
Question: Can you characterize the last meeting between the two?
Spokesman: They have a very good working relationship and a very productive one. Yes? And then we'll go to Olga.
Question: Back to South Sudan. There was a report that was supposed — by the — about what was going on. It was supposed to be released at the meeting that just took place, and I'm just wondering: does the Secretary‑General have any sense that that report should be — it was an investigation of what's going on?
Spokesman: I think you're — you're talking about an AU (African Union) human rights report. So I think I would refer to you what the Secretary‑General said in answer to that question in a press conference in Addis Ababa just a few days ago, in which he hopes there will be transparency and light shed on the human rights situation. But I would go and look at that transcript, because he answered that specific question. Olga?
Question: Very short question. Any updates about Russian pilots abducted in Darfur?
Spokesman: No, no update and no change in the position since we last talked — since we last talked about it. Erol?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Given the size of the previous conflict in Balkans in today's rolling out the genocide charges both on Serbia and Croatia, does the Secretary‑General has anything to say, especially in the context of missing person that was specially mentioned today?
Spokesman: No, the ruling, as I mentioned, was done by the ICJ, which, as you know as well as I do, is very much independent of the Secretary‑General. We have seen it, seen the ruling. We've taken note of it. We will be studying it. We've also seen — taken note that both Croatia and Serbia have accepted the ruling, and we very much hope that this will enable them to continue on having closer bilateral relationships. But we will take a look at the ruling. Roger?
Question: Thanks. The Sri Lankan Government said a few days ago they were thinking about bringing a new local inquiry with foreign experts into the violence in 2009. Has — does the UN have a reaction to this?
Spokesman: No, we've seen those reports. I think the question was asked a few days ago. Obviously, we welcome — you know, we would welcome any move that would help to bring light what's happened in Sri Lanka. But the Secretary‑General's call and the High Commissioner's call for cooperation with the UN inquiries stand. Nizar?
Question: I have a question regarding the aid to the areas controlled by ISIS in Syria. I mean, the Syrian Ambassador, a few weeks ago in the Security Council, accused the United Nations of just handing over the aid to the ISIS groups and they delivered them. That means the delivery is not being done by relief agencies but rather by ISIS. Would the United Nations continue, you know, doing this practice, after the recent revelations?
Spokesman: I would refer you back to the report submitted by the Secretary‑General and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the humanitarian situation in Syria, which I think lays out in detail the challenges and the successes that we have in delivering aid, not only ourselves but through partner organisations, notably the Syrian [Arab] Red [Crescent].
Question: After these pictures, will you ‑‑
Spokesman: I think as ‑‑ as I've said, you know, this is obviously great concern to WFP. They're taking a very serious look at what happened, and we should get more information from them.
Question: How about in the Golan area? Because thousands —
Spokesman: You know, that's — I have nothing else for you on this. Yes, Mr. Lee?
Question: Thanks a lot. I wanted to ask about DRC and Sudan. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there's reports of a — either a UN personnel or UN volunteer being killed in a place called Aru. And Mr. Kobler has offered condolences, and I was sort of waiting to see whether you had a statement on the death of UN personnel?
Spokesman: I don't have any information on that. [The Spokesman later issued a press release by the UN Mission, MONUSCO, concerning the violence in Aru and the death of a UN volunteer there.]
Question: And has the mission told you anything about whether it is fighting FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) or it's only…
Spokesman: You know, I think the — the ongoing operation remains the same, that the UN peacekeepers are there in support logistically, operationally and strategically of an operation that is being led by the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). I think if you have any kind of operational questions, I will let the mission answer it, and I would encourage you to get in touch with them directly.
Question: And on Sudan, can I ask — there have been two separate newspapers that have had their whole press runs seized this week. One is Al-Midan, the other one is Akir Laza. And I'm wondering whether the UN takes note of this? Does the UN no longer sort of cover, other than Darfur, Sudan for human rights, free press purposes? What’s your findings?
Spokesman: I think the — we'll look into those reports. The UN’s stand on defending freedom of the press remains the same. Yes, Zach?
Question: Any updates on Mr. [Staffan] de Mistura's talks on Moscow and whether he's going to go back to Damascus or come here to brief the Security Council ?
Spokesman: Sure. When — he will be, I think as I said, in New York sometime mid‑February. The President of the Security Council will probably give you the exact date. He did send a senior adviser to Moscow to be there to be present in the talks. We're obviously very much supportive of any effort that is being made to find a political solution, and we hope that the Russians will continue on these efforts.
Thank you very much. We will leave you with the President of the Council.