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.  Apologies for the usual delay.

**Yarmouk

The Secretary-General was briefed this morning about the dire situation in Yarmouk camp in Damascus, by Pierre Krähenbühl, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees [in the Near East] (UNRWA).  The Commissioner-General updated the Secretary-General on what is going on the ground and the extreme suffering we are seeing of Palestinian refugees trapped in the camp.  He is currently briefing the Security Council in closed consultations via videoconference from Amman, Jordan, and he has promised us that he will then brief you from here by videoconference to be able to answer your questions.  We expect that to happen hopefully within the next hour or so, we will give you a 15-minute warning, hopefully, before we are able to beam him into this room.

As you will have seen, over the weekend, UNRWA issued a statement in which it said that never has the hour been more desperate in Yarmouk, strongly appealing to all armed actors to cease hostilities that place civilians in acute danger and to withdraw immediately from civilian populated areas.  UNRWA demands that all parties exercise maximum restraint and abide by their obligations under international law to protect civilians. It also demands humanitarian access and the establishment of secure conditions under which we can deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance and that enable civilians to evacuate safely.

**Yemen

From Yemen, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say that airstrikes and armed clashes have reportedly continued over the last 24 hours with reports of medical facilities being seized by armed parties.  It has called on all parties of the conflict to refrain from targeting civilian infrastructure.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 540 people have been killed and some 1,700 people have been wounded by the violence in Yemen since 19 March.  Increasing numbers of people from Sa’ada and Sana’a are reportedly moving to Amran Governorate, where local partners estimate that up to 28,000 people have arrived since the crisis began; while in the south, more people continue to arrive in Abyan.  The violence continues to restrict humanitarian access.  Despite challenges, aid partners are working to import critical aid supplies, mainly to support hospital services, and to deploy emergency medical teams.

**Sport for Development

And today is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.  In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General highlights the important role that sport can play in achieving sustainable progress and change.  He adds that sport has the power to help develop the potential of individuals, communities and nations.  It helps the more vulnerable groups in society, especially young people and persons with disabilities, to enjoy their [human rights], and encourages respect for equality and mutual respect.

**Press Conference Tomorrow

And tomorrow, Dr. Jacob Kumaresan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s office here in New York, will be our Guest at the briefing.  He will brief on “Food Safety:  from farm to plate, make food safe”, which is the theme for this year’s World Health Day. On that note, I will take your questions.  Thank you for your support.  Go ahead.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  On the Yarmouk crisis that you just told us about, the Secretary‑General has been briefed, is there… is there a possibility that it will be said that United Nations or all the other international Red Cross or other agencies will get access at any point?  Is that being negotiated?

Spokesman:  Obviously, that’s the question.  What we need now is access to the camp, access to the thousands, tens of thousands, of people who are inside the camp.  I think Mr.… the Commissioner‑General will brief you in more detail obviously on the situation on the ground.  He has the latest, so I don’t want to go into too much detail.  What is important, however, is to… that this serves as a reminder of the picture of extreme violence we’re continuing to see in Syria as we enter the fifth year of this conflict, and it’s also important that all the countries, whether they be on the Security Council or outside of the Security Council, who have an influence over one or more of the parties use that influence to enable the fighting to stop and, in this particular case, in Yarmouk, to enable civilians to leave safely and to enable aid to be delivered.

Question:  Similarly, in Yemen, this… I mean two different places, but the same sort of situation exists.  Does United Nations have, I mean, all the international agencies have any access to that area now?

Spokesman:  I think the situation in Yemen, the access of humanitarian aid is complicated and not as, at a level that we would like to see.  I think, as I’ve just told you in giving you the update from our colleagues at [the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs], it remains a challenge to get aid into, into Yemen, and it is something that we would like to see, to see more of.

Question:  [inaudible]

Spokesman:  Sir, sir, you know how much I enjoy hearing your questions, but I will come back to you.  Yes, please.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  Has the… has United States or any of the world Powers involved in discussions with Iran on a nuclear deal submitted the framework of… agreement to the United Nations?

Spokesman:  Not that I’m aware of.  And I think, as we all know, and I don’t know much more than do you, this is a framework agreement, and this is not yet the final.  Matthew and then we’ll go to you, Michelle.

Question:  Sure.  On Yemen humanitarian access, can you confirm the Secretary‑General asked the Saudi Arabia, as the leader of this coalition, for a two‑hour daily window of access, and what was the Saudi response?

Spokesman:  No, I’m not able to confirm it.  Michelle.

Question:  By all accounts, Islamic State has pretty much has taken over control of Yarmouk.  Is UNRWA trying to negotiate with them to get people to leave?

Spokesman:  I think, again, I will leave that question to Mr. Krähenbühl.  Obviously, the issue of access to the camp’s residents is a critical one, but I’m not on the ground.  My colleagues who are on the ground will have a better picture and I will ask you to ask Mr. Krähenbühl that question.  Go ahead.

Question:  Yes, Stéphane, given that this situation in Yemen is so bad and the bombardment has been going on unabated for over 12 days now, are you… is the United Nations concerned that this crisis might mushroom and comes out bigger than the Syrian one given that we have 25 million Yemenis who are in poverty even before this conflict started?

Spokesman:  We’re not going to engage in a compare and contrast exercise here.  What we’re seeing in both places is violence and civilians suffering.  What we saw in Yemen is that, even before this, as you mentioned, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid was very large, in fact larger, I think, than what we even need in the Sahel.  It is important that the parties return to the negotiating table.  Mr. Benomar is currently in Doha where he is talking to UAE… sorry, to Qatar, in Doha in Qatar, which he is talking to Qatar which is currently chairing the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council], and we do hope that the parties will return and find a political solution to the current crisis.

Question:  On to the final solution, will the Secretary‑General call for halt of these attacks?

Spokesman:  Well, obviously… you know, obviously, we would like to see a return to the political… to political dialogue.  Yes, sir.

Question:  Thank you.  I have two questions on Yarmouk and on Yemen.  On Yarmouk, is there anything appointing about who’s responsible for this tragic developments in Yarmouk?  And on the… on Yemen, where is this Mr. Benomar?  We were told by the end of last week briefing that he’s in his way to New York and he was sharing the same plane with you so…?

Spokesman:  I will make you a deal.  I will answer your questions if you listen to my answers, because that was… I just… I just said that Mr. Benomar is in Doha in Qatar where he’s talking to Qatari authorities.  That’s okay.  Sorry.  You see, I broke the deal.  I didn’t listen to your second question.  On Yarmouk, who is responsible?  You know, regardless of who is responsible, we know that it’s the Palestinian refugees who are suffering.  They are… one would say the most vulnerable civilians in a country where civilians are already very vulnerable.  They’re suffering twice… twice over.  Their camp has been overrun by armed groups.  We know they’ve seen reports of government violence as well.  They are trapped in the middle, in a conflict that is not theirs.  And I think our focus and UNRWA’s focus is try to get aid to them as quickly as possible.  Yes.

Question:  [inaudible]

Spokesman:  Then if it’s your first time, I will stop you and I will ask to you use your microphone.  Thank you.

Question:  I’m from Rudaw Media Network, the Kurdish media, [inaudible]  I have two questions about Iraq.  The first one, that military victory in Tikrit.  It was welcomed by the United Nations.  But, now there are reports about human rights violation, even massacre in that city, committed by the militias there.  Does the United Nations look at any… into those report, any investigation going on, or any reports from there?  That’s my first question.  The second one, there was a phone call between Mr. Ban Ki‑moon and President Masoud Barzani of the Kurdish region about a week ago about the humanitarian situation in the Kurdistan region.  There’s more than 1.5 million refugees there.  There’s talk about a visit soon of Mr. Ban Ki‑moon to Iraq.

Spokesman:  No, I mean, Mr. Ban Ki‑moon was just in Iraq last week.  I know that for a fact because I was there.  I think it was last week.  He did call President Barzani from the airport in Baghdad to update him on his talks that he’d just had with the President and the Prime Minister.  Obviously, I think we’re all very grateful for the immense effort that the Kurdish… that the authorities under Mr. Barzani’s control have shown in welcoming the internally displaced people, both from Iraq and also from Syria.  As to the situation in Tikrit, this an issue the Secretary‑General raised privately and publicly in his meeting with the Prime Minister of Iraq.  I think there is… there is concern that there’d be no revenge violence, that the people who’d been freed in Tikrit, and thank God they were freed, should not have to also fear their liberators, but we… it’s an issue I know that the Prime Minister is also very much concerned about and said he would do his utmost to ensure that human rights and protection of civilians is respected.

Question:  [inaudible]

Spokesman:  You need to turn on your… obviously, we have a very large humanitarian operation in Kurdistan.  But unfortunately, like all our humanitarian appeals, they are underfunded.  Mr. Lee.

Question:  Sure.  Thanks a lot.  Two things on reports.  One is, on Sunday, El Pais published what it says are extracts of Spain’s review of the killing of the peacekeeping… UNIFIL peacekeeper… pretty much saying that those present believe that Israel targeted the site and that the mortars kept getting closer and closer.  Wanted to know what’s the UN’s response to that, and what’s the status of the UN’s own report into that incident?

Spokesman:  The response is to not comment on leaks especially if they were not, they were reports, investigations not done by us.  I would refer you to, back to what the Secretary‑General wrote in his recent report on resolution 1701 (2006) to the Council in which he said the UNIFIL’s interim investigation has been completed and the internal preliminary findings have been shared with both parties.  For them to provide additional information is relevant.  And that’s where… that’s where it stands.

Question:  The other one has to do with Mali.  While you were away or last week, the summary was released of the incidents in Gao.  And I wanted to know, since Mr. Ladsous did not answer this question, does the report contain a review of the deal that was struck between the UN mission and the MNLA in Tabancourt that gave rise to the protest in which three civilians were killed?  And I also wanted to bring to your attention that during the stakeout by Mr. Ladsous on Thursday, the microphone was grabbed by Mr. Ladsous’ spokesman to avoid just this question.  Since you previously said it wouldn’t happen, I wanted to know what you think of it.

Spokesman:  I think on the issue of the summary, what was released is released.  I have nothing to add to the summary.  My understanding is that Mr. Ladsous’ spokesman pointed to another journalist to answer the question, and that’s the way it happened.

Correspondent:  He grabbed the microphone.  I guess…

Spokesman:  Go ahead.

Question:  Okay.  I just wanted to make you aware of that.  But, I wanted… I guess what I’m saying is that the summary of the report was released, but it seems like the underlying incident that gave rise to the protest wasn’t answered about in any way.  What does the UN understand…?

Spokesman:  The report looked at, at the incident, which is a very violent confrontation.  And I think we’ve made our recommendations clear, and I think the investigation was done rather swiftly.

Question:  And is the Haiti report about shooting at civilians going to be similarly summarized?  And if not, why not?

Spokesman:  The Haiti report is currently… has now been finalized.  [The Department of Peacekeeping Operations] and [the Department of Field Support] have been in contact with the relevant police‑contributing country concerned, which has decided to repatriate the unit commander.  In addition, three officers have been placed on modified, nonoperational duty pending the final result of the inquiry.  So I will… I hope to have more on that for you.

Correspondent:  Hi, Steph.  We’ve heard the argument specifically from that podium that those with influence over the parties in Syria should bring that influence to bear, you know, to get them to stop fighting.  We’ve heard it again this morning on the situation in the Yarmouk refugee camp.  Has the United Nations completely run out of new ideas regarding this?  Should there not be greater appeals for firmer action from the Security Council?  I mean, you keep saying the same thing with…

Spokesman:  I mean…

Correspondent:  [inaudible]

Spokesman:  I think we all share the same frustration.  I think the Secretary‑General in his recent speech at the League of Arab States clearly laid out his anger, his frustration, his shame, in a way, at the way the situation has been handled.  He has tasked his Special Envoy in his office to reinvigorate the political dialogue based on the Geneva Communiqué.  Our focus is on finding a political way forward.  Our focus is on bringing more humanitarian aid to the people inside Syria, to the people of… outside of Syria.  Obviously, I think, as the Secretary‑General said, the best solution to the humanitarian crisis is to find a political solution.  But, I think it won’t come as a surprise to any of you when I say we don’t hold all the cards in the current crisis.  I think the Secretary‑General has increasingly voiced his personal frustration, and I think he will continue to do that.  He is, as you know or as you may know, there is a retreat of the Security Council this afternoon and tomorrow.  I think that will be a big issue that he will bring up with Security Council members.

Question:  Are there any Member States in the Secretary‑General’s view that could bring influence to bear on ISIS [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham], for example?

Spokesman:  I think there are many Member States that can bring influence to bear on all of the parties involved in this conflict.

Correspondent:  [inaudible]

Spokesman:  That’s where I will leave it.  Yes, sir.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  Any statement from Ban Ki‑moon since today’s the anniversary of the conflict in eastern Ukraine?

Spokesman:  Again, at the, at the risk of sounding much the same as to some of the other conflicts we’re seeing, I think our focus, our call, is to encourage the parties to find a political solution.  We have seen in the time that this conflict started a country that had no internally displaced people to have almost close… I think close to a million or 800,000 internally displaced people, communities destroyed, communities torn apart, again, children not being able to attend school.  The most vulnerable people being placed at even greater… at even greater risk, and I think looking back at the destruction that we’ve seen in the past should be encouragement to those involved to settle their differences peacefully and politically.  Yes, in the back.

Question:  Right now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is essentially slaughtering civilians in Yemen.  People are dying left and right, and a Russian consulate has also been attacked.  This clearly violates the UN Charter.  Is anything being done about the situation in Yemen?

Spokesman:  Well, I think the situation in Yemen is very much on the forefront of the discussions of the Security Council.  Very recently, I think we have flagged our concern at the loss of civilian lives and the need for greater humanitarian access.

Question:  Yeah, did you say the report on Haiti was going to be made public?

Spokesman:  I did not say that.

Question:  Will it?

Spokesman:  I would say I would have an update for you as it is shared with me.

Question:  What do you mean an update?

Spokesman:  Hopefully, a conclusion to the report and what was done with the peacekeepers.  Yes, the triangle over here.

Question:  Which one?  Me?

Spokesman:  Yeah, you’re the first corner.

Question:  Okay.  Going back to the situation in Yemen, obviously, this conflict is an internal one.  It’s between those supporter of the former President and other parties — Ali Abdullah Saleh and Houthis and others.  Now, how does the United Nations view that Hadi does not enjoy anymore any real popularity on the ground?  He doesn’t control people.  He didn’t control land.  Is he still legitimate in you…?

Spokesman:  You…

Correspondent:  [inaudible] to be early and…

Spokesman:  Our position on that hasn’t changed.  I’m not able to judge all of that from here.  I think Mr. Benomar has put a huge amount of effort into bringing people around the table.  He has done so a number of times.  We’ve now seen the situation unravel with the levels of violence that we’ve seen, and it’s important that people go back and sit around the table and try to resolve those differences.  Yes.

Question:  Are these…?

Spokesman:  I’ll come back to you. Yes, sir.

Question:  Thank you.  Stéphane, this is totally a different question.  This is about employees of certain United Nations missions over here who are not getting employee, I mean, health insurance from their employers over here at the United Nations despite the fact that Affordable Act… Affordable Health Act came into being about a year ago.  And they are complaining again.  So, what can they do?  How can they approach it?  They cannot tell the United Nations to talk with the missions because they’re told by international law, immunity, and so forth.  So what is… how do they approach this issue?

Spokesman:  I’m not aware of the situation you’re… you appear to be referring to.  I’m happy to look into it, but as a general statement, I would say that all employers need to treat their employees with dignity and give them the coverage that they need.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  First, want to ask you about Mr. Mladenov.  When is he going to take his post and arrive on ground and the occupied Palestinian territories?

Spokesman:  Very soon, because I know he will be here this week or next week to see the Secretary‑General, and then I think he goes off to the region.

Question:  Okay.  And my next question about the report on Western Sahara:  is it due any day now?  Do you have anything to share with us as the Secretary‑General last year, excuse me, he promised to be a different annual report altogether.

Spokesman:  I don’t like to preview reports I have not seen.  When it comes out, it shall come out.  Mr. Lee, and then I’ll go back to you.

Question:  Sure.  I wanted to ask on freedom of expression and freedom of the press.  Turkey has blocked the entirety of Twitter and YouTube based on the publication of photographs of this hostage incident.  I wanted to know, does the Secretary‑General think that the blocking of entire social media platforms for a single photograph is legitimate?

Spokesman:  I don’t have the details of this particular case either, but I think, as we’ve said here, it’s important that people have free and unfettered access to news sources.

Question:  And I wanted to ask something about… I guess it’s about UNISFA [United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei].  There’s an incident where, where it said that the Misseriya have kidnapped children from the Dinka Ngok and there’s references to UNISFA being involved and either trying to get them back… do have any status report on that?

Spokesman:  We can ask the mission and get an update.  You will have the last word.

Question:  Yesterday, the Saudi authorities attacked Al Awamiya town which in Eastern Province, predominantly a Shia town, and they arrested many people.  There were casualties and injuries in these incidents.  What does the United Nations think about that?

Spokesman:  I’ll take a look at that particular incident.  Thank you, all.  We will keep you updated on Mr. Krähenbühl’s availability.  It will be here.  We’ll try to give you few minutes’ warning.  Thank you.