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 Vannina Maestracci, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Bonjour. Welcome to the noon briefing. So, I have a few notes for you.
**Iraq
Ján Kubiš, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, briefed the Security Council this morning on the work of the UN [Assistance] Mission in that country, UNAMI. He said that, since last summer's onslaught by Da’esh, Iraq has been living through one of the most difficult phases in its modern history. But, he added that, while problems may seem daunting and persistent, there is hope and a vision for the way out of the crisis, as expressed in the National Political Agreement.
Mr. Kubiš said that one year after the fall of Mosul, a third of Iraq remains under the control and governance of Da’esh and that the human cost of the conflict remains far too high. UNAMI continues to receive widespread reports of attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, extrajudicial killings, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and forced recruitment of children, among other human rights violations.
He added that the humanitarian situation is of the gravest concern. At least 8.2 million people, or roughly one in four Iraqis, need urgent assistance, of which half need food assistance. Those remarks are available in our office.
**Syria
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has expressed deep concern over the situation of the civilian population in the town of Zabadani. In a statement issued last night, he cited reliable local sources that confirmed that a large number of barrel bombs have been dropped on the city, causing unprecedented levels of destruction and many deaths among the civilian population. Armed opposition forces known as the “Army of Conquest” have retaliated by firing rockets and heavy mortar shells on two villages near Idlib, Al Foua and Kefraya, where a substantial number of civilians are trapped. In both cases, civilians are tragically caught in the middle of the fighting. The Special Envoy calls on all parties to uphold the principle of the protection of civilians. He once again calls on the Syrian Government to halt the use of crude and indiscriminate weapons, such as barrel bombs, on its own cities.
**Afghanistan
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, has condemned the bombing in the northern province of Faryab, which has killed at least 19 civilians and injured some 28 others. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, reiterated that such attacks against civilians demonstrate an appalling disregard for human life. The Mission has called again for an immediate ban on weapons which kill indiscriminately and that are used in civilian-populated areas. There is more information available on UNAMA’s website.
**Yemen
On Yemen, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that wheat flour and cooking gas are still in very short supply in the country, and prices are rising beyond the reach of many people. Wheat flour, a staple food, now costs more than double the pre-crisis price in some areas, and the price of cooking gas has risen up to 264 per cent more in some governorates.
Despite the immense challenges, aid organizations are responding to communities where security allows. For the first time since the conflict escalated, more than 3,300 displaced families in Sa’ada Governorate received household kits, plastic sheeting and tents for shelter. Over half a million people received water from local water corporations in Hajjah, Dhamar, Amran and Sa’ada because of diesel made available by humanitarian partners. And medical and nutrition supplies were provided to 12 health facilities in Sa’ada between 10 and 16 July. Also, three months’ supply of medicine has been delivered to Kharaz refugee camp by the UN refugee agency and its partners.
Today, a World Food Programme (WFP) ship carrying 500,000 litres of fuel for humanitarian operations arrived in Aden — the first WFP-chartered vessel with fuel to berth in the southern port since conflict erupted in Yemen in late March.
**West Bank
Our office was asked earlier about the planned Israeli demolitions in the West Bank. I can tell you that the Secretary-General is concerned about the plan announced by the Israeli Government to demolish properties of the herding community in Susiya, placing dozens of civilians at risk of further displacement. He hopes that the ongoing dialogue between the Israeli authorities and the herding community will protect the rights of the persons affected.
**Press Conference Tomorrow
Finally, tomorrow, at 1 p.m., there will be a briefing in this room by the members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries. And that's all I have for you. I'll take a few questions. Michelle.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thanks, Vannina. Just a follow‑up on Burundi, the elections yesterday. Did the [Secretary-General] have anything further to add? Has he spoken to the President there? How has the mission assessed the election yesterday?
Associate Spokesperson: Well, nothing to add to the statement that we issued on Monday night for now. As you know, the Electoral Mission has a mandate to observe the elections before, during, and after… and it is doing that. And we are awaiting [for] their assessment, just like for the election on 29 June. We hope to have that assessment for you in a few days. Other than that, I hope that we'll have something from the Secretary‑General a little bit later for you. Sure, Matthew.
Question: Sure. Also on that, I just wanted to… yesterday, I'd asked Farhan about these reports of death… of at least two deaths during the voting, and he said that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had these four monitoring teams out. I understand it takes them a few days to put together their electoral assessment. But, does the… does that side of the UN have anything to say about actual physical violence directed at those voting or not voting?
Associate Spokesperson: Nothing from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights right now… but you're right, they do have four teams on the ground, regional teams that are mobile. And as soon as we hear back from them and from MENUB, from the Electoral Mission, we will let you know. Oui, Sherwin.
Question: Hi, Vannina. Thank you. Will the United Nations… I mean if, which seems very likely President Nkurunziza is reinstalled as President for a third term, would the United Nations recognize the government of Pierre Nkurunziza as legitimate?
Associate Spokesperson: I think we're going to wait for the election result to come in. I think it will be tomorrow or Friday, from what's been reported. The Secretary‑General has made clear his concern concerning the fragility of the situation before the elections, of course. And he's also called repeatedly for a frank dialogue between the parties. So, I think, for now, that's what I would stick with, that we would want — whatever the outcome of the election — a frank dialogue between the parties that ensures the stability of Burundi and of the region.
Question: So one of the… one of the proposed outcomes of this dialogue you speak of is talk now of a unity government with Pierre Nkurunziza as the head of that government. Is that something the United Nations would be open to?
Associate Spokesperson: I'm not going to speculate on something that hasn't happened yet. But, of course, we'd like to see all the parties come together and find a way out of this crisis and ensure the stability of Burundi. Yes.
Question: Thank you. Do you have any comment on the urgent action petition filed by The Washington Post with Working Group on arbitrary detention over their correspondent in Iran? And is there a time frame within which the working group has to make a decision or give some sort of an answer to such a petition? Thank you.
Associate Spokesperson: Yes. We're aware of the petition by The Washington Post. It went to the Working Group on arbitrary detention, which is in Geneva and reports to the Human Rights Council, as you know. So, anything further on the modalities and time frame and all that would have to go to Geneva and the Human Rights Council. Oleg… oh, sorry, Majeed.
Question: Thank you. I have a question about Iraq. In the copy of a draft of the… extending the mandate of UNAMI and there's… there's a push to change the priority of the UN Mission in Iraq, not just to be a humanitarian but also there should be a political role. There has been demands of that. As you thinks there be… there should be more… UN should have more political role especially in the reconciliation in Iraq among the different factions, the Sunni parties and the Shias and the Kurds. Will you have such role — humanitarian role — that it has now?
Associate Spokesperson: I'm not sure I understand your question. Majeed, I haven't… okay. I'm going to do this simply: I haven't seen the draft resolution. If it's a draft resolution, I would not comment on it anyways. And Mr. Kubiš is in this building, right down the door, so, hopefully, you can ask him, but I haven't seen that draft resolution. And anyways, we wouldn't speak on it before the mandate… if and when the mandate of UNAMI was changed in any way.
Question: Just follow‑up on that. Does the Secretary‑General think the UN should have more political role in Iraq…?
Associate Spokesperson: The UN has a political role in Iraq. UNAMI is a special political mission. Yes.
Question: Thank you, Vannina. Also, on Iraq, Ján Kubiš voiced concern today in the Security Council that some Iraqi communities are forced to look for… to ISIS [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham] to receive humanitarian aid because lots of UN‑funded programmes are short of financing. Are there any actions taken to contact governments to appeal for more money? And how does the UN plan to address this situation when people are asking terrorists for help?
Associate Spokesperson: Well, you know, on humanitarian appeals in general, we're always in contact and trying to get donors to provide more funds to our humanitarian appeals, many of which are sorely underfunded. So, it's definitely something that we try to work on. We also understand that donors have many conflicting crisis and, you know, that there's a lot going on right now, and there's a lot of people who need assistance. But, we keep pushing on and trying to bring assistance, including in Iraq, and making sure that they get neutral and impartial assistance. James?
Question: Can you confirm that one of the senior UN officials on the scrutiny for her role in the handling of child sex abuse allegations in the Central African Republic, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, has resigned, and can you tell us why she's resigned?
Associate Spokesperson: I can confirm that Flavia Pansieri has, indeed, resigned. And she cited health reasons for her resignation.
Question: Follow‑up on that? Could you also… I don't know if you'll do it from here, but, apparently, her contract was coming to an end some months ago, and she was given a temporary extension. So, I think to put in con-… I guess can you confirm that? There was a lot of discussion around whether she would be extend… given an extension or not.
Associate Spokesperson: I don't know the details of her contract. What I do know is that Flavia Pansieri came out of retirement to become the Deputy High Commissioner and has been in that role for three years and that she also has a long record of serving in the Human Rights Office at the UN — I think almost 30 years of service with the Office.
Question: Do you know if she's yet spoken to the independent panel on the sexual abuse?
Associate Spokesperson: I do not know.
Question: Or does she intend to despite…?
Associate Spokesperson: I do not know.
Question: Could I ask, if you don't mind, a journalist que-… there's this report of the three Spanish and possibly a fourth journalist that have been kidnapped or abducted or gone missing in Aleppo. So, it is said that the Spanish Government has requested the assistance possibly of the Assad Government, but also possibly of Staffan de Mistura. Are you aware of such a request?
Associate Spokesperson: I'm not, but I'll check.
Question: And when you said that… he issued the statement last night, I was searching around. How did he issue it? I know that in the past your office has sent out statements. Was this sent out or not?
Associate Spokesperson: Not from our office, no. I don't think it was sent out from our office. I think his own spokesperson sent it out, and I encourage you to get on her list if you're not, and we're more than able to give you her contact right after this. Oleg.
Question: Last week I asked about some updates on the human rights [inaudible] mission in Ukraine. When is it mandate…?
Associate Spokesperson: About the mandate, no, I don't have an answer. I know you've asked for the next reporting, and I believe it should be around September — the next reporting. [The Associate Spokesperson later clarified that the current mandate of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine runs through September.]
Anything else? Wait. I have actually, I just want to read one more note that I was asked to read. Bear with me. This is on Colombia.
**Colombia
Just an update on the Under‑Secretary‑General for Political Affairs' travel there, that Farhan flagged yesterday, so Jeffrey Feltman, UN Under‑Secretary‑General for Political Affairs, concluded today a two‑day visit to Bogota in which he met with President Santos, officials of his Government, representatives of civil society and political parties and the international community.
The purpose of Mr. Feltman's visit was to convey, on behalf of Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon, the UN's firm support for the peace process and its commitment to providing any support required by the parties to its successful conclusion. In this regard, the Under‑Secretary‑General informed that, in response to the request of the Government and the FARC‑EP, the United Nations has a team of experts prepared to travel soon to Havana to begin assisting the discussion of the subcommission focused on end‑of‑conflict issues. I'm very sorry. That's it. Anything else? Matthew.
Question: Sure. Two things. One, I wanted to know, there was a report in South Sudan that nine people were killed just outside the UN protection-of-civilians base in Malakal on Saturday. The Government has said that it did occur and said that General Olony was the perpetrator. I want to know, did UNMISS [United Nations Mission in South Sudan] send anything in to your office about this attack?
Associate Spokesperson: This was on Saturday, [18 July]?
Correspondent: Yes.
Associate Spokesperson: Okay. I'll check. It's possible.
Question: Okay. And the other one just… it has to do with Yemen. There are these, you know, footage of brand‑new APC's and other military equipment now arriving in Aden. Some say it's from the UAE [United Arab Emirates]. Some say they're actually [United States]-made APC's — mine‑resistant vehicles. Given the Secretary‑General or his Envoy, what do they think? Do they have any comment on the entry of more weapons into Yemen at this time?
Associate Spokesperson: I think we would be concerned about, you know, further militarization of this conflict and increased weapon flow. Obviously, we are thinking of the suffering of the Yemenis, and as you know, 21 million people, that's 80 per cent of the population, need humanitarian assistance. We need access to them. And we want parties to abide by the international law and make sure they protect civilian and give access to humanitarian organizations so we can alleviate and end the suffering of the Yemenis.
Correspondent: And also on Yemen…
Associate Spokesperson: You are unstoppable, Matthew.
Question: No, maybe you'll deny this one, but I wanted to ask you just sort of it's said or I've heard that… that Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed at this time was on vacation. And of course, people take vacations. But, given the situation in Yemen and given the question was asked here of where he was going next and it was said he's preparing his travels and will go to Riyadh, I guess I'd just like to ask you, is he on vacation at this time?
Associate Spokesperson: I don't know. I do know he is scheduled, expected to go to Riyadh Saturday. I'll check on his vacation. But, yes, people do take leave. Leave is a good thing. Yes.
Correspondent: Thank you. [Inaudible]. I just have a quick question. If the Libyan peace agreements have been… if there's been any update on it and if Bernardino León contacted the General National Congress in Tripoli.
Associate Spokesperson: I do not have an update since [Special Representative of the Secretary-General] León briefed you here last week, I believe. I don't have anything. But, I can check with his office if there's been any further contacts since he updated the Security Council last week. Okay? Thank you. Thank you very much. Have a great afternoon.