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 Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon. I will try to get this part over with reasonably quickly so we can be joined soon by the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Lassina Zerbo.
**Secretary-General Travels
First off, this morning the Secretary-General delivered the opening remarks at the Vatican at a symposium on climate change organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. It brought together faith leaders, civil society representatives and political leaders, including the Presidents of Italy and Ecuador. He told the participants at the workshop, called “Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity”, that mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects are necessary to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequality and secure equitable, sustainable economic development.
He stressed to the gathered delegates that climate change is an issue of social justice, human rights and fundamental ethics. Ban underscored that the world’s faith groups are clear on this issue — and in harmony with science. He told the audience, “science and religion are not at odds on climate change; indeed, they are fully aligned.”
Prior to the opening of the session, the Secretary-General had an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis. During their extensive meeting, they had a long discussion on climate change. The Secretary-General told the Pontiff that he very much looked forward to the Pope’s encyclical on the subject, which would act as a moral voice on the issue. They also talked about the crisis in the Mediterranean, and the Secretary-General shared his impression of his visit yesterday to an Italian Navy vessel involved in search and rescue operations as part of operation “Mare Sicuro”.
On the sidelines of the symposium, the Secretary-General also met with the President of Italy [Sergio Mattarella]. They focused mainly on the issue of migration. The Secretary-General reiterated that there was a collective moral responsibility to deal with the current crisis and it could not be left to just a few countries to handle.
Prior to leaving the Vatican, the Secretary-General spoke to reporters. He said that, in dealing with the migration crisis in the Mediterranean, the international community needs to address the root causes of migration and find ways to share responsibility for resettling those who make the perilous journey. Collective action, he added, is the only approach that can work for a problem of such a large and transnational nature.
The Secretary-General is now in Paris where he just addressed the Ambassadors to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD. Later this afternoon, he will chair a meeting of his Global Education First Initiative and then he is expected to participate in a ceremony marking the seventieth anniversary of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.
**Burundi
In a statement we issued a few hours ago, the Secretary-General condemned the outbreak of violence in Burundi following the nomination of President Pierre Nkurunziza as the presidential candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party. He calls on the Burundian authorities to conduct a prompt investigation into the deaths that occurred during the recent demonstrations so that those responsible are held accountable.
The Secretary-General has dispatched his Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, Said Djinnit, to Burundi for consultations with President Nkurunziza and other Government authorities, political party leaders and members of the diplomatic community. He calls on the Burundian authorities to uphold the human rights of all Burundians, including the freedom of assembly, association and expression. He calls on the security services to remain impartial and exercise restraint in responding to public demonstrations. He urges all parties to reject violence and avoid using inflammatory language or hate speech that could further increase tensions.
The Secretary-General appeals to Burundians to safeguard the hard won gains made in consolidating peace and democracy and urges them to resolve their differences through dialogue. He reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to support peaceful, credible and inclusive elections. That statement is available online.
Still on Burundi, the UN refugee agency says today that almost 21,000 civilians have fled to neighbouring Rwanda this month to escape electoral violence, including a surge of more than 5,000 who crossed the border over the weekend. Most of the refugees are women and children, who say they have experienced intimidation and threats of violence linked to the 26 June presidential election.
More information is available on UNHCR’s website.
**Darfur
Yesterday, we also issued a statement on Darfur.
In that statement, the Secretary-General said that he was deeply concerned about the recent increase in attacks on peacekeepers serving in the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur or UNAMID and the limited cooperation provided by the Government of Sudan in addressing these incidents. The Secretary-General condemned the two successive attacks by unidentified armed groups that occurred in Kass, South Darfur, on 23 and 24 April.
The Secretary-General urged the Government of Sudan to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice and take all necessary action to avoid further attacks on or threats against peacekeepers in Darfur. UNAMID has launched its own investigation into the incidents.
The Secretary-General also deeply regretted that, on 26 April, the Government of Sudan denied a flight request for the emergency medical evacuation of an Ethiopian peacekeeper injured while performing his duties in Mujkar in West Darfur. The peacekeeper died hours later.
The Secretary-General underscored the need for the Government of Sudan and the United Nations to work in full cooperation, especially in the context of the ongoing discussion on the UNAMID exit strategy. The Secretary-General expresses his appreciation and support to UNAMID and its troops for their tireless efforts to implement their mandate.
**Nepal
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos will visit Nepal from Thursday to Saturday, at the invitation of the Government. The aim of her visit is to show solidarity with the Nepali people, raise the visibility of the crisis and assess the response operations.
Her office says that the death toll has risen to nearly 4,400, with more than 8,100 people injured and hundreds unaccounted for, according to Government figures. Some 8.1 million people have been affected. Authorities say that up to 80 per cent of houses in Kathmandu have collapsed, with many people feared to be trapped inside.
In Kathmandu Valley, the main hospitals are functioning, but are overcrowded and lack emergency supplies. Damage to hospitals is reported from several affected districts.
A UN team is being deployed in the capital to assist the Humanitarian Country Team and the Government to coordinate emergency relief efforts on the ground. There are 37 urban search-and-rescue teams on the ground with over 545 personnel and 36 dogs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating arrivals, dispatch and allocation of medical teams to affected areas. It has also deployed emergency health kits containing essential medicine and other items to cover the health needs of 80,000 people for the next three months.
The World Food Programme (WFP) plans to provide food for 1.4 million people over the next three months. Distribution of rice is expected to start in Gorkha, one of the worst-hit districts, tomorrow. It has also dispatched 80 metric tons of emergency items including tents, blankets, health kits and telecommunication equipment.
WFP is also activating its UN Humanitarian Air Service operation to access remote areas cut off completely or hard to reach overland. For its part, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is responding to a call by the Government and is sending thousands of plastic sheets and solar-powered lamps to people left homeless and without light.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), together with the Nepal Red Cross, is distributing hygiene kits. UNICEF will also airlift medical and sanitation supplies, as well as tents, from Copenhagen.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the three UN Mine Action Service contractors who were abducted on 23 April in North Kivu Province have been released earlier today. They are unharmed and have arrived safely in Goma. They will return to their home locations over the coming days.
**Central African Republic
As you know, Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, is currently in the Central African Republic, as the UN Mission in the country has just reached its full operational capability, a year after the mission was established. Mr. Ladsous also held meetings with the transitional authorities ahead of the opening of the National Bangui Forum on 4 May.
**Mali
On Mali, the Head of the UN Mission in the country, Mongi Hamdi, expressed his great concern for the peace process following the events in Ménaka yesterday and in Timbuktu today, where vehicles of the UN Mission, MINUSMA, were targeted. He appealed for calm to give dialogue and peace a chance and stressed that there is no alternative to the signing of a peace agreement.
**Security Council
In a series of votes this morning, the Security Council extended the mandates of the peacekeeping missions in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and Western Sahara (MINURSO) by one year, until the end of April 2016, and also extended the arms embargo in Côte d’Ivoire by a year.
The Security Council then heard in its closed consultations from Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Implementation of Resolution 1559, about the recent developments in Lebanon. Mr. Roed-Larsen intends to speak to reporters at the Council stakeout following those consultations.
**Yemen
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that violence has disrupted services at two major health facilities in Yemen. Militants entered the main hospital in Aden, Al Jumhouria Hospital, yesterday and started shooting. Patients and doctors fled in terror. The main public hospital in Haradh, which serves more than 150,000 people, is almost deserted after an attack on 24 April.
All parties to the conflict are legally obliged under international humanitarian law to respect and protect civilians and to spare them from the effects of the fighting. All attacks on hospitals must stop.
In Sana'a, water processing plants that supply drinking water have closed, and public transport and operations at financial institutions have been reduced because of the lack of fuel. Humanitarian partners estimate that more than 300,000 people have now been displaced by the escalating conflict, particularly in Hajjah, Al Dhale'e and Abyan Governorates.
Our humanitarian partners report that food distributions in Hudaydah Governorate will stop today because of lack of fuel. Operations in other locations will also run out of fuel in the next few days. About 106,000 people have received food assistance yesterday, bringing the total since 15 April to nearly half a million people in seven governorates.
**Libya
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and its partners are assisting some of the more than 1,200 people rescued at sea near Tripoli over the past 10 days. Many of them are in immigration detention centres.
In Libya, so far, UNHCR has registered some 36,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, many of them affected by the growing violence and lawlessness in the country. The majority of them are Syrians, Palestinians, Eritreans, Iraqis, Somalis and Sudanese.
The agency says that at least 2,663 migrants or asylum-seekers, including women and children, are now spread across eight immigration detention facilities across Libya run by the Department for Combatting Illegal Migration. This is a significant increase from the 1,455 people in detention a month ago.
UNHCR can generally organize the release of refugees and asylum-seekers it has registered, but its capacity to register new arrivals in Libya is currently limited due to the security environment. It has appealed to the Libyan authorities for the release of very vulnerable people, such as pregnant women, and also for alternatives to detention, where people can stay up to 12 months in poor conditions.
More information is available on UNHCR’s website.
**Deputy Secretary-General’s Travels
The Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, is in Geneva today, where he will be speaking at the Human Rights Council. And he will also meet with Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross. He will then travel onward to Paris, where he will participate in the Chief Executives Board meeting that the Secretary-General will chair.
**Southern Africa
The Food and Agriculture Organization warned today that southern Africa's maize harvest is expected to shrink this year by some 26 percent compared with 2014's bumper crop, a situation that could trigger food price increases and adversely affect recent food security gains.
The fall is mostly due to the impact of erratic weather conditions. An expected drop in the harvest of South Africa — the subregion's main producer and exporter — accounts for most of the decline.
More information is available on the FAO website.
**Toscanini
And I have a reminder that correspondents are invited to attend a presentation and Q&A session entitled “Toscanini — A Conductor Stands Up for Justice”, today from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Conference Room 3.
**Press Conferences Tomorrow
Like I said, in a short while, I will be joined by the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Lassina Zerbo. He will talk to you about the NPT Review Conference, which is currently taking place here at Headquarters. That will be right after we are done with questions.
And then at around 5:15 p.m. this evening, Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, will address press at the Security Council stakeout.
Then tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., there will be a briefing here by the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin.
And then at 3:30, there will be a briefing by the Minister of Economy of Argentina, Axel Kicillof.
And last, at 5:15 p.m., there will be a press conference by the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom.
That's it for me. Any questions?
**Questions and Answers
Yes, James.
Question: Follow-up question on the Gaza report yesterday. We had the explanation in the report which we read from Secretary-General why the whole report couldn't be released. We know the Secretary-General's a very strong supporter of the International Criminal Court (ICC). We also know their chief prosecutor has launched a preliminary examination to see whether there will be a formal investigation to the Gaza war. If she asks for the report, will she get the full report?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, certainly we would need to first see what requests we get and would make a determination at that point about sharing the report. But in terms of what we've done so far, of course, we've released a summary of the report for the purposes of sharing the board's findings with the Security Council and other… and other bodies. And at this stage, we'll… we'll study… the Secretary-General will also carefully review the board's report to determine claims that the organization might make. Beyond that, regarding the ICC, like I said, yesterday, I believe, it remains to be seen what action they will take but we'll have to study whatever their decision is.
Yes.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Today has been reported that five journalists, 1 Egyptian and 4 Libyans, have been assassinated in Benghazi. What can the Secretary-General do that would go beyond condemnation of this act?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, certainly, if these reports are confirmed, we would clearly condemn this. Obviously, as you know, we stand in support of the right of journalists everywhere to go about their work without hindrance… without any hindrance and without fear of these sorts of threats. But any sort of mass killing of journalists would be an appalling atrocity. We'll have to see whether those reports can be confirmed and adjust accordingly. But certainly, this is yet another reminder of the need to put in place negotiations in Libya that can bring about the sort of stability that the country has needed for a long time now. As you know, the Secretary‑General's Special Representative, Bernardino León, has been conducting several different rounds including in Skhirat, Morocco, and we're hoping that we can get the parties to an agreement that can actually bring peace on the ground and stop this reckless situation where so many people have been killed.
Joe.
Question: Yeah. Following up on that, Farhan, amongst the root causes of the crisis of migrants leaving mostly from Libya that Secretary‑General said should be sought, is one of them the removal and the overthrow of [Muammar Al-] Qaddafi? Whatever we think about him. The stability we just talked about was there and, since his overthrow, there has not only been chaos including this latest incident in Sahel but these migrants. Is that one of the root causes of this?
Deputy Spokesman: That sounds like one of your analytical arguments than something we've said. As you know, the international community’s actions taken on Libya were in response to what was then an imminent threat on the city of Benghazi by the forces of the Government of Libya of that time. And so the actions of the international community took, it took in order to protect civilians.
Question: I need follow up on that…
Deputy Spokesman: The problems that happened in recent months have been problems having to do with instability of the… of the Government of Libya and of the various parties on the ground, and what we're trying to do is bring the parties together and restore stability in that country.
Question: I need to follow up on that. The Washington Times ran a series of articles that has been completely overlooked a couple of months ago, in which some leaked audiotapes revealed that there was no imminent crisis in Benghazi and that the Chief of Staff of the United States military actually sent an envoy secretly to see Qaddafi and his son to try to stop Hillary Clinton from leading the US and NATO into this device. I just want to say that's not necessarily the case about Benghazi.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, first of all, those aren't even our leaked documents. I wouldn't comment on those. But I would draw your attention back to what the Secretary-General said at the time.
Hold on. First you. Yes. Yes.
Question: On Cyprus, yesterday you spoke about Governments replying to question of Cyprus. You want to clarify that? Was it slip of the tongue?
Deputy Spokesman: Oh, certainly. If that's what I said, yes. I do want to clarify that. I clearly misspoke. I, of course, mean communities, they are communities, not Governments, yes.
Question: And follow-up. Mr. [Nicos] Anastasiades, the President of Cyprus, today announced some confidence-building measures and that he will handle to Mr. [Mustafa] Akinci, the new leader, on Saturday when they meet. You have any comment on that?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, actually, yes, I do. The United Nations welcomes the positive announcement on confidence-building measures by Mr. Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader. The UN seeks confidence-building measures which further contribute to the positive climate surrounding the talks. Now that we're preparing for the early resumption of the negotiations, making progress in these negotiations will be of utmost importance and will be our main focus in the coming weeks and months. Yes, Erol.
Question: Yes, follow-up on Joe's question. Actually, can you please remind us, Farhan, what are the few at least main root causes according to the Secretary-General for these obvious crises with the refugees coming from soil of Libya and northern Africa?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, that's an issue that actually the Special Representative [of the Secretary-General], Bernardino León, is dealing with. Obviously, there are different communities who have their various different interests and who want to make sure that they feel represented. We're trying to find a solution whereby all the groups of the new nation of Libya can feel represented in the new republic and can feel that their claims are being fairly addressed, and that's what he's trying to do. Yes, Stefano and then Matthew.
Question: Yes, kind of follow-up and then my question. First, I want to like in this room say there is nothing… Qaddafi… even when there was Qaddafi in Libya, the crisis was there. In fact, we have been calling this emergency, emergency, but something that goes on for about ten years I don't think is an emergency because [inaudible] come from Sicily. The immigrants coming from Libya and Tunisia, they've been dying in the Mediterranean at least for ten years. So it's not something to do with…
Deputy Spokesman: Certainly. And not to cut you off, but is this leading to a question then?
Question: Yeah. The question is, the meeting of the Secretary-General that had yesterday with the Prime Minister of Italy [Matteo Renzi] on the ship, was… did the Secretary-General try to understand from the Italian Prime Minister what he meant when he talked about “get rid of the trafficking of boats and vessels”, what it was in that kind of article that he wrote for The New York Times if [he] intended to bomb? Because then they gave an explanation. Did they say that there was… nobody mentioned an attack on Libya on the trafficking but we didn't understand he talked about, what the Secretary‑General think about it.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding that, certainly they did discuss a range of migration-related issues, including that. The Secretary-General has made clear that he wants the situation to be dealt with primarily through a focus on protecting the lives of civilians and that includes through search and rescue operations, through an effort to make sure that the seas are safe and through an effort to help increase the possibility of safe application for asylum and for refugee status. So those are the means that he's focusing on. I would leave it to the Italian authorities to explain what their other options are.
Question: And the Pope, the… I know that you just mentioned. They did talk also about the migrants. What is… there was anything specific that you can give us?
Deputy Spokesman: There's a very lengthy readout we have in our office and online to that, so I would refer you to that. Matthew and then Joe and then Evelyn.
Question: Sure. Does the Secretary-General have any comment on what's been taking place in Baltimore, the killing of Freddie Gray, the protests, crackdown and state of emergency?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, you'll have seen what we said before about these situations, that… that in any country, what we need to make sure is that people feel that they're treated fairly and without discrimination by the law enforcement authorities. And it's up to every country to determine how they can go about that.
Question: Do you think… I mean, a prisoner having his spine severed and then being driven around in a police van is…
Deputy Spokesman: Well, of course these are things that need to be investigated. I believe there is an effort to investigate that. I wouldn't comment on that until that proceeds.
Question: And just on… I don't know if you have anything, there's these reports of a ship being boarded and seized by Iran for violating its territorial waters. Have you heard anything on this? Do you have any…
Deputy Spokesman: All I’m aware of is a media report. I don't have any confirmation on that.
Yes. Joe and then Evelyn and then… and then Linda after.
Question: Yeah, I just want to go back to Libya, if I may. You indicated in response to Joe's question that there was an imminent emergency, humanitarian emergency in Benghazi prompting the Security Council resolution, and assuming that there was such an imminent prospect of a massacre, does the Secretary-General have any comment on the apparent expansion of the mission that NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] carried out, which ended up in regime change? That was not explicitly in the original resolution. And it's the regime change that some have said has contributed to the instability and rise of jihadist terrorism we're seeing today.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I would just refer you back to the resolutions themselves. Of…
Question: The resolutions… the resolutions does not address anything other than dealing with protection of civilians. It doesn't talk about regime change. Unless I'm mistaken…
Deputy Spokesman: I think you need to look back at the text of the resolutions and I'd refer you back to those. Evelyn.
Question: Yeah. I think it says any means possible, which means anything. But anyway… in Sudan, this has been going on for quite a while. Is there any possibility the Secretary-General using the bully pulpit rather than those milquetoast statements on Darfur, South Kordofan and all the other atrocity that are appearing there that the UN is involved in a never-ending negotiations that seem to go nowhere? Is it time do you think, or do you think he would consider sort of saying something that people would pay attention to since he has the bully pulpit?
Deputy Spokesman: As my colleague Stéphane [Dujarric] has pointed out, words are our bread and butter. Words are what we believe people pay attention to. At the same time, we have taken action and we have… had a considerable amount of actions having to do with Sudan in any number of areas, whether it be peacekeeping, political negotiations or, as you know, even in international law. What of those things helps change the dynamic remains to be seen, but we're working on many different avenues.
Question: May I follow up? The negotiations are all over the place, not necessarily run by the UN. No one knows where they begin and where they end. And I just wonder if it's time for the Secretary-General to start analysing what's going on there and not just Darfur isolated, South Kordofan isolated.
Deputy Spokesman: No, there's an effort to bring those together and in fact, there's one envoy, Haile Menkerios [Secretary-General’s Special Representative to African Union], who works to try to bring together all the threads of the various negotiations and efforts that we have and he'll continue trying to do that. Nizar.
Question: Yes. Yesterday Mr. Jamal Benomar [Special Adviser on Yemen] has blamed the blockade for the misery of the Yemenis and he asked that this should… blockade should be lift so that emergency relief can be delivered to the Yemenis. Does the Secretary-General subscribe to that opinion?
Also, I have another question regarding the bombardment of Sana’a which is inscribed by UNESCO as the cultural heritage of UNESCO. Why UNESCO did not issue anything regarding the wanton destruction of Sana’a at this time?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, it… I'll leave you to get the answer on that from UNESCO itself. For our part, as you know, we have called for a halt to all fighting, and the Secretary-General, as you know, spoke two weeks ago about the need for an immediate ceasefire and we followed up on that.
Regarding your… your first question was what again?
Question: About the lifting of blockade. Does the United Nations call for lifting of blockade…
Deputy Spokesman: The measures that were put in place were put in place, as you know, by the Security Council, so what we're talking about is the Security Council resolution, so that's really a question for the members of the Council.
Question: Another thing, four journalists were killed in one incident in Sana’a when Yemen Today Television was destroyed by an aerial strike. There was no condemnation to that action. And yesterday there was another attack against a media outlet in Sana’a as well.
Deputy Spokesman: We're against the killing of any journalist anywhere, and certainly, if journalists are being targeted, that would be a very serious crime in the context even of the overall violence, which, as you know, we have opposed.
Linda and then Mushfiqul.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Again, regarding the Mediterranean crisis, does the Secretary-General believe that all migrants in that situation have the right to be permanently sent to other countries?
And also, it was mentioned that he believes there should be a collective responsibility and that a few countries shouldn't be the ones that are there addressing this crisis. Can we imply from that that perhaps he's saying that, if the migrants are going to be resettled, that perhaps other countries, for example, maybe those in… countries in Latin America or Asia or places far away from the Mediterranean would have a responsibility?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I'll just leave it at what the Secretary-General said. You know, he's made it very clear that it shouldn't just be a few countries taking on the burden. So he wants it to be more widely shared and that is really a matter for a wider range of countries and wider number of countries to discuss and try to resolve so that… so that one country does not become overburdened. In the same sort of way that Lebanon, as you know, has taken a vast number of Syrian refugees and other neighbouring countries have had to do that. So too now you have Italy facing a large number and another of this… of the countries in the nearby Mediterranean facing a large number of the people coming out of the Libya. And that, again, the idea is the burden needs to be shared more evenly.
Question: Just a quick follow-up. Does the Secretary-General have any view about… there was some talk about a possible naval blockade of Libya and that area there. Does he have a few about that?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, he's made it very clear in his remarks that he believes that these matters cannot really be resolved through militarized means so I would refer you to the comments he's made in recent days where he's made very clear the kind of efforts we want to see in place, whether it’s through search-and-rescue or through improved asylum and refugee processing.
Yes.
Question: Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, please, in the back.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. It's been reported earlier that Secretary-General's Special Adviser on genocide prevention issues, Adama Dieng, was supposed to visit Yerevan. Do you know if this was in affiliation of 100-year anniversary of Armenian genocide, and also can you inform us what meetings were held, what statements were made? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: I believe Stéphane commented on this about a week ago. I'll just refer you back to what he said that Mr. Dieng was going to be there.
Question: Were there other developments, statements made by Mr. Dieng?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't have anything to add to what Stéphane said last week.
Mushfiqul.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. UN has urged for free, fair and credible election… city corporation election in Bangladesh, but yesterday we did not see that like this. The city corporation election in Dhaka and Chittagong ended 4 p.m. local time today. And it was [inaudible] widespread vote rigging and intimidation and loaded polling station. Even journalists get beaten up and media was blocked to cover the election result. And US and UK have already expressed their disappointment in this sort of [inaudible] rigging [inaudible] violence. So what is your comment on these issues?
Deputy Spokesman: The Secretary-General is aware of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s decision to boycott the Dhaka and Chittagong elections amid allegations of electoral fraud. He encourages the competent authorities to investigate all allegations and the opposition to use the democratic institutions to express its concerns. He appeals to all parties to express their differences through peaceful means. The Secretary‑General reiterates his call on all political leaders to find a peaceful resolution to the current situation.
Question: Farhan…
Deputy Spokesman: Let's have people go through a first round before.
Oleg.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. On the elections…
Deputy Spokesman: Farhan… I know. We look alike.
Question: My bad. You do. That's true. On the elections in Kazakhstan, is there any reaction from the Secretary-General on the… what seems to be a landslide victory of [Nursultan] Nazarbayev. Has he called him? Is he going to call him?
Deputy Spokesman: No, there's been no call to President Nazarbayev, but certainly we take note of the election.
Question: Do I understand you correctly that the blockade that's taken place by the Saudi naval vessels and other Egyptian is legitimate under Security Council resolution which was 2216?
Deputy Spokesman: No, those are separate issues, but as you know, there are some measures put in place by the Security Council, and I would refer you to those.
Question: Yeah, but here you have the agencies, the relief agencies are complaining that there is no fuel and they cannot deliver food or they cannot deliver aid.
Deputy Spokesman: And we have been speaking on that. Certainly, we need fuel and we need supplies. I mentioned that just a few minutes ago.
Question: But who's preventing them from bringing in ships to Hudaydah and other seaports to deliver?
Deputy Spokesman: It's essential that deliveries of humanitarian supplies and of fuel and other assets that are necessary to transport those supplies are put in place, and we continue to appeal to all those to allow those deliveries to happen.
Question: Okay. Can you cite any incident when there was no delivery allowed there? I mean, ships were not able to dock…
Deputy Spokesman: We're aware that there have been some deliveries, but there have not been nearly enough. And like we said, we want more than that.
Question: I want to ask about the stakeout and also something on Yemen. At the stakeout, the Ambassador… the Permanent Representative of Morocco said clearly that Polisario should not be allowed to speak there, which they did not speak, and you said that’s because they're not a Member State. I know I had asked earlier and Stéphane said there was no request. I wanted to know, can you say what are the rules pertaining to… in a UN-facilitated process like on Western Sahara to one side speaking and the other side not speaking?
Deputy Spokesman: I believe that anyone can speak if they're sponsored to by one of the States. So it's really a question of whether a State is sponsoring.
Question: So when… for example, when the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus speaks, that’s they're sponsored by a State. That's why they speak.
Deputy Spokesman: I believe all speakers who are at the podium are sponsored one way or another whether they're States or NGOs or other.
Question: And I wanted to ask on the new Yemen Special Adviser, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed, there was this understanding of why on the page of the Secretary-General there's no public financial disclosure.
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding that, we did check with the ethics office, and he has made available his disclosure in line with the existing rules and procedures, and so he is up to date on those. There are times when for… for a variety of different reasons people's disclosures may not be on the website.
Question: But is he one of the officials that's decided to not make even the summary public? I want… because when the name is listed, there’s a checkbox…
Deputy Spokesman: I've said what I have to say on that, but he has made his disclosures in line with the appropriate rules and regulations.
Question: And also Stéphane had said that he would check whether a letter was received by the Office of the Secretary-General from a number of parties in Yemen concerning the appointment of this new envoy. Did he do that? Have you received that letter?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't know. This was when?
Question: It was on Friday, I believe, that I asked him and he said he would check. The reports are that the… a variety of the parties in Yemen wrote a letter about the process of replacing Mr. Benomar. And I wanted to obviously just to know if you got it…
Deputy Spokesman: Certainly… In the day after you asked, we announced the appointment, so that is part of our answer.
And with that, let me bring our guest. Sorry. We've kept our guest waiting for a bit. So let's get him.