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.
**Burkina Faso
Starting off with a statement on the situation in Burkina Faso. The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the coup d’état in Burkina Faso. He reiterates that all Burkinabé officials under detention must be released immediately and demands the resumption of the country's political transition, in accordance with Burkina Faso’s Constitution and Transitional Charter.
The Secretary-General deplores the violence reported in the country and calls on all Burkinabé defence and security forces to exercise restraint and ensure respect for the human rights and security of all Burkinabé citizens. Those responsible for the coup d’état and its consequences must be held accountable. The Secretary-General's Special Representative for West Africa, Mohamed ibn Chambas, remains in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina, and continues to work closely with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union and other international partners to support and safeguard the transition in Burkina.
**Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Earlier today, the Secretary-General spoke at a meeting of troop and police contributing countries on sexual exploitation and abuse, telling them that this was a violation of everything the United Nations stands for. He said that stopping sexual exploitation and abuse depended on these countries’ full engagement and support — and he asked them to join him in doing much more.
The Secretary-General highlighted seven specific actions — from enhancing pre-deployment education and human rights training, and properly and fully vetting personnel, to conducting rapid and effective investigations and ensuring justice. He underlined the need to boost assistance to victims and said he would establish a trust fund to strengthen victim assistance programmes and support awareness-raising and community outreach.
The Secretary-General said he would include country-specific information in his future reports to the General Assembly concerning the number of credible allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving military and police personnel. He added that he would not hesitate to repatriate entire contingents or terminate deployments where there are failures in command and control, evidence of widespread or systematic violations, or when Member States fail repeatedly to respond to requests for investigations or to investigate promptly.
**Hungary
Turning to the ongoing situation in Hungary, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein today said that he was appalled at what he called the callous, and in some cases, illegal actions of the Hungarian Government in recent days, including denying entry to, arresting, summarily rejecting and returning refugees. He also expressed his shock at images of women and young children being assaulted with tear gas and water cannons at Hungary’s border with Serbia. The High Commissioner emphasized that some of these actions amount to clear violations of international law.
His office noted that the Hungarian Government has just finished building a fence on its border to Serbia, closed the border crossings and is also taking measures [for] building more fences along its other borders with Romania and Croatia. The High Commissioner deplored the xenophobic and anti-Muslim views that appear to lie at the heart of the current Hungarian Government policy. He also urged European institutions to resolve their impasse and take firm action to respond to the crisis in Hungary and elsewhere. You can read more about it on the website of the High Commissioner.
**Afghanistan
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nick Haysom, briefed the Security Council on the latest report of the Secretary-General. That was done today. Mr. Haysom stressed that Afghanistan continues to need the support of the international community, as well as the sustained attention of the Security Council as it faces difficult economic, security and political challenges. He added that the conflict continues to take “a horrid toll on Afghan civilians.” In the first eight months of 2015 alone, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented the highest level of civilian casualties since it began records.
The Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, also addressed the Council today, saying that illicit drugs trade are supporting instability, insurgency, corruption and organized crime, while weakening State institutions and Afghanistan's overall ability to promote peace and good governance. Last year, Afghanistan accounted for an estimated 85 per cent of global opium production and 77 per cent of global heroin production — opium cultivation and processing remains one of Afghanistan's leading economic activities today. We expect Mr. Haysom to be available to you at the stakeout later on.
**South Sudan
On South Sudan, the UN Mission in that country, UNMISS, says it has received reports that scores of people have been killed and an unknown number of people are injured in Maridi town, in Western Equatoria State, after a fuel tanker overturned yesterday, causing it to explode. The Mission conveys its heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of South Sudan and the families of those who lost their lives. The Mission has dispatched an emergency patrol to the site to assess the situation. A special flight carrying a medical assessment team arrived there a few hours ago.
**Iraq
I just want to flag a special meeting that took place in Germany: Zainab Hawa Bangura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, is reuniting with two of the Yazidi girls she met while in the Middle East. The girls, 15 and 11, had been kidnapped by Da’esh. Ms. Bangura met the girls in April while on an official visit to Iraq, Syria and the neighbouring countries, looking at how sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war and tactic of terrorism. The Special Representative wanted to see how the girls are adjusting to their new lives. She is also discussing with Yazidi leaders how the UN can support the efforts to trace girls still being held by Da’esh and bring them home.
**Yemen
Turning to Yemen, despite challenges in access due to the security situation in Yemen, aid agencies are delivering lifesaving assistance to people in need. More than 466,000 people across six governorates have been provided with emergency food assistance since mid-April. In Sa’ada, where the humanitarian situation is extremely dire, UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] has provided 12,000 litres of fuel to enable pumping water for 50,000 people. In Al Hudaydah Governorate, water has been delivered to close to 11,000 people each day.
**Malaria
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF today announce in a report that the MDG [Millennium Development Goals] target on malaria has been achieved. Death rates have plunged by 60 per cent since 2000, translating into 6.2 million lives saved, the vast majority of them children. And an increasing number of countries are on the verge of eliminating the disease.
Dr. Chan, the Head of WHO, said it is one of the great public health success stories of the last 15 years. However, about 3.2 billion people — almost half of the world’s population — are still at risk, with some countries carrying a disproportionately high share of the global burden. Fifteen countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, accounted for 80 per cent of malaria cases and 78per cent of deaths globally in 2015. The full report “Achieving the malaria MDG target” is available online.
**Press Conference Tomorrow
Speaking of MDGs, tomorrow, at 11 a.m, the Secretary-General will join the Administrator of UNDP [United Nations Development Programme], Helen Clark, and the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs [Wu Hongbo] on a press briefing for the launch of the Millennium Development Goal Gap Task Force Report 2015. The Secretary-General will make opening remarks but then will leave, and Ms. Clark and Mr. Wu will take questions.
**Honour Roll
Since my last briefing, on Tuesday, four countries have now paid their 2015 dues in full: Central African Republic, El Salvador, Seychelles and Tuvalu. We thank all of their capitals.
**General Assembly Numbers
Lastly, a number of you have been asking us about numbers coming up for the General Assembly. I can tell you that as of last Friday, we expect 154 Heads of State or Government and 30 Ministers for the SDG [sustainable development goals] summit. For the General Debate, we expect 144 Heads of State and Government and 46 ministers. Those numbers will change as the days get closer.
Between 31 August to 15 September, we have accredited 8,915 delegates, but we expect that number to rise by a couple of thousand by the time the General Debate starts. We are also nearing the 3,000 mark on press accreditation being given out. During the General Debate, we expect, we plan for 485 meetings. Those include side events, as well as general mandated meetings.
As usual, world leaders will use their time in New York at the UN to have a number of bilaterals. For that purpose, we have set up 40 bilateral booths, in four different locations in the building. We don’t have the number of bilaterals expected yet, but as a point of reference, last year we had 1,321 bilateral meetings and we expect a larger number this year. Those do not include the Secretary-General’s meetings.
As for the Secretary-General, we expect him to have about 230 various engagements during the week of the General Debate. Those include press interactions, bilateral meetings, statements read out to various meetings. And we will try to keep you updated on numbers as we have them if you are interested. Mr. Lee.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you, on this… on the Secretary‑General's speech on sexual exploitation and abuse, also, I saw… I mean, I would have liked to have asked him about it yesterday frankly. But, I saw he did an interview with The Guardian. The Guardian reports that countries such as France, Morocco and South Africa have prosecuted troops serving under the UN flag. So, I wanted to ask you, is it the case that France serves under the UN flag under Côte d’Ivoire or CAR [Central African Republic] or what's the basis of that report?
Spokesman: No, I think that is The Guardian's own information.
Correspondent: And also, I guess, and I…
Spokesman: I mean, who serves under UN flag…
Question: Did the UN promote in this interviews?
Spokesman: That paragraph is not a quote from the Secretary‑General.
Correspondent: It says “UN official says”.
Spokesman: Okay. As to French troops who serve under UN flags, they don't serve in the CAR. There must be a couple places where we have a couple of French military people serving under flags, observers or others.
Question: But, if it says UN officials said… cited France as an example of a country that prosecutes, is this to say that the Secretary is praising France's response, for example, to the Sangaris rapes in CAR?
Spokesman: I think any country that actively prosecutes people who are accused of sexual abuse is to be praised.
Question: No matter how long it takes?
Spokesman: I think the point is that justice is moving fairly quickly, and I think, in the case of the Sangaris allegations, they are moving fairly quickly.
Question: I'm anticipating some pushback, but hear me out. I notice, in his seven‑point or maybe it's an eight‑point plan that he put out in the speech, there was no reference to what Mr. Ladsous devoted a substantial amount of his time on this issue in this room, to be fair, improving the conditions for including R&R [rest and recuperation] trips, recreation and comfort for peacekeepers. And I wanted to know, what is the relationship between what Mr. Ladsous described as a solution and the plan of the Secretary‑General? And what are the specifics of Mr. Ladsous' proposal here, to begin relatively cheap R&R trips for peacekeepers as a way to avoid…?
Spokesman: I think we've gone through this quite a bit. The issue of welfare of staff and welfare of troops is something that has been discussed for many years. Okay? Mr. Ladsous was giving one example. I think the Secretary‑General's seven points are fairly clear. They're very broad and also in‑depth. I don't think there's any contradiction to what Mr. Ladsous said and what the Secretary‑General said.
Question: When do the flights start?
Spokesman: I think you go back to what Mr. Ladsous says. It is something — obviously, they're exploring something, I think that needs to be explored with troop contributors and there's also a cost factor.
Question: Yeah, I have a few questions about Yemen first. The Secretary‑General yesterday criticized the bombardment of many facilities in Yemen and the infrastructure there. One of the, I've learned that the Hodeidah cranes which were destroyed, each one of them cost more than $100 million. They destroyed wantonly five of those cranes. Will those attackers which are identified as coalition, Saudi‑led, will they be accountable for such crime?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary‑General was very clear in his condemnation of the aerial attacks that we have seen in Yemen. Obviously, once the conflict ends, there will have to be an account of what has happened and who is responsible for destroying what. But, I think the focus right now for us is on getting people back to the political table and at least pausing this conflict as a first step, if not ending it.
Question: The resolution 2216 (2015)… wanted to, I mean, criticize the spoilers, and now Mr. Hadi, obviously, looks like he's the spoiler because he refused the agreement, which is supposed to, which was close to be, I mean, the Muscat meeting. Will the Security Council or Secretary‑General criticize the spoiler in this case?
Spokesman: I think with the Security Council, you can ask Ambassador Churkin. As for the Secretary‑General, his Special Envoy, as far as I know, is currently in Riyadh or was there very recently to try to get people back to the table. These kinds of discussions are very complex, trying to get all these different parties to agree to meet is a challenge. There are ups and downs in diplomacy, but we have no choice but to continue.
Question: Who is he… sorry, who is he meeting?
Spokesman: In Riyadh, Saudi officials, Yemeni officials and others.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. You said that there will be 485 bilaterals at the meetings?
Spokesman: No, I said…
Question: Is it going… do you know if the interreligious dialogue will take place during the…?
Spokesman: The Alliance of Civilizations? Yes, there is a meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations. The other thing, I'm sorry, I should have added is that a very thick week ahead shall be posted very shortly with a list of all the meetings that we have now — Secretary‑General's participation, Deputy Secretary‑General's participation. That list is a guideline. It will change, but I would encourage you to look at it. But, I did remember seeing a meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations.
Question: I have another question I couldn't ask to directly the Secretary‑General. What is, what he has to say to the Pope for… regarding the Christians of the Middle East? They are leaving Syria. They are leaving Iraq. Now they are actually… they asked them to leave Lebanon. Can I have your thought about it and the Secretary‑General about it?
Spokesman: I think the diversity of cultures and religions are what make up the strength of a lot of countries in the Middle East and the Secretary‑General would very much hope that, whatever can be done to preserve that diversity is done. And obviously, it is an issue that the pope has been speaking out on. Joe and then we'll go this way.
Question: Yeah. My question is really to seek a clarification on the Secretary‑General's speech on sexual exploitation and abuse. It's unclear to me, when he talks about suspending… administrative suspension of pay when there's credible evidence that there's been an issue, what triggers that? Credible evidence determined by whom? Because initially, if there's an allegation, isn't it handed over right away to the troop‑contributing State and they have six months to investigate? Or is there a parallel investigation going on at the same time?
Spokesman: You know, my sense is that there are times where there is prima facie evidence, and a call can be made that there's enough evidence here that something has happened and that payment can be suspended. Obviously, the peacekeeping missions themselves will look at the situation. The responsibility for investigating individual conduct of soldiers lays with the contingents themselves, but there are cases one can very well imagine where, while the individual responsibility needs to be established, the overall fact that something terrible has happened can be for everyone to see. Yeah.
Question: Thanks. In light of the previous press conference and also to an extent last night's primetime TV spectacle, could you clarify if the Secretary‑General has ever met with members of Congress, specifically on climate change, if he plans on doing so, like, how the pope presumably plans to do so next week? And if there is any way he's actually…?
Spokesman: Well, the Secretary‑General has had… whenever he travels for official visits or non-official visits, he will often meet with legislators in every country, which is a big part of his agenda often. He has gone to Washington a number of times, has met with either individual members or with Foreign Relations Committee, Foreign Affairs, you know, both the Senate and the House, and often the issue of climate change is discussed. And when groups of US legislators come to see him, it's also often on the agenda as part of the broader UN agenda. Olga.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I have a question on Ukraine. Ukraine yesterday presented new sanctions list and 400 people who are now banned to enter the country. There are more than 40 journalists from more than 20 countries. Is Secretary‑General aware of it? And…
Spokesman: Yes, we've seen those reports. Obviously, any moment where journalists are targeted is quite troubling. We will look into the veracity of these reports and also talk to our colleagues at UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization].
Question: Thank you. Yesterday, one Sudanese teenager — Muslim teenager — get arrested in Texas because he brought hand‑made clock as suspicion of the bomb. And Mr. Obama invited him to the White House. What [is the] Secretary‑General’s opinion on that in terms of Islamophobia? Thank you.
Spokesman: I haven't seen the details of that particular report. Obviously, the Secretary‑General has often stood out and spoken out against Islamophobia, but I'll look into that. I haven't read it through. Cara Anna?
Question: Thank you. The Secretary‑General repeated his intention today to make public the country‑specific information on credible allegations of peacekeeping sexual misconduct. Does this mean he's going ahead despite Member State pushback on that? And when will he begin sharing this information?
Spokesman: The aim, as far as I understand it, is to do it for the next report to the General Assembly. Obviously, as part there's a consultation, a discussion with Member States, but I think the Secretary‑General is very determined to do so. Mr. Lee.
Question: I wanted to ask, yesterday, after a long delay, the Human Rights Cou… at the Human Rights Council, the UN's report on war crimes over a period of years in Sri Lanka was released. And I wanted to ask, generically, whether there's a response from the Secretary‑General, but, in specific, it mentions, for example, in great detail that Shavendra Silva, who was a member of the Secretary‑General's senior advisory group on peacekeeping operations, shelled a hospital. And they said that that is a crime of war and that there were civilians in it. It also describes the white flag killing incident, mentions senior UN officials, which I believe is a reference to Mr. Nambiar and his role as an intermediary prior to the extrajudicial execution of those surrendering. So, particularly, given that, what does the Secretary‑General think of this UN report? Does he take any lessons from it? And what does he think should happen next?
Spokesman: Sure. I mean, obviously, the Secretary‑General supported the efforts by the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He welcomes the release of the reports. It will be reviewed here in detail, and obviously, we hope that it will also be looked at in detail in Sri Lanka and it's part of an important journey towards reconciliation and justice. I have not gone through the details of the report as of yet, but obviously, the report is an important step for those who have been… who were victimized during the incident in Sri Lanka to seek and to find justice.
Question: And on Prince Zeid's proposal for a special hybrid court which would have international judges, but would be… I mean, it's a hybrid. I mean, some people think that doesn't provide enough assurance of objectivity and sort of outside input. Does the Secretary‑General have a view on that recommendation?
Spokesman: No, I think this is a key part of the recommendations. The report was drafted to issue such recommendations. As I said, the Secretary‑General welcomes and supports the report. Nizar and then…
Question: Yeah, on the situation in Jerusalem, Netanyahu gave orders to shoot all those who throw stones, and they deployed even snipers on rooftops. What's the situation… the position of the United Nations towards such an order?
Spokesman: Well, I think the Secretary‑General would appeal to all to find ways to calm the situation. There have been a number of phone calls which the Secretary‑General took part, notably with the king of Saudi Arabia, the Emir of Qatar, as well as the President of Turkey. The Secretary‑General was scheduled to speak to…
Correspondent: [Inaudible].
Spokesman: Exactly. Sorry. The Secretary‑General was also scheduled to speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu a bit earlier today, so I'm waiting to get confirmation that call happened. You know, there is a right to peaceful demonstration. There's also a need to use proportionate force in response, but we would very much hope that the status quo remains at the Holy Sites and that calm prevails. Ms. Fasulo.
Question: Thank you, Steph. I have a question regarding the refugee crisis. The United States has said that it takes, will take about a year or so before it can vet various, you know, the Syrian refugees who want to come to the United States. And that's mainly because there are security concerns. Yet, for example, in Europe, there are tens of thousands of refugees going directly into countries. Does the UNHCR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] or the UN in general have some kind of procedure for vetting refugees?
Spokesman: Well, you know, UNHCR can be there and other parts of the UN with the IOM [International Organization for Migration] can be there to help countries put in place the right policies that respect international law, and obviously, meet the needs of the countries, their own needs they have. We do hope that all countries around the world share in the responsibility we have towards refugees and finding them a safe place and that we've seen some countries do a lot, others do more and others could do more. But, obviously, every country has its own procedures. What is important for us is that they respect international law and that they respect the dignity and the rights of refugees. Mr. Klein.
Question: Thank you. You mentioned phone calls that the Secretary‑General had with the King of Saudi Arabia and the Emir of Qatar and I tried to ask after the press conference yesterday whether he had spoken to either of them directly about admitting, taking in some of these refugees. And they haven't so far to any significant degree. So, that's my first question, you know, whether such direct outreach to these leaders from the Secretary‑General has taken place. Secondly, does the Secretary‑General himself think that under international law it's impermissible for a country to build a fence along its border for the purpose of controlling the flow of migrants into their country? Putting aside what might be required or prohibited under EU [European Union] law, I'm looking at this more from the Secretary‑General's perspective under international law.
Spokesman: I think, you know, every country, obviously, has a right to secure its borders, but obviously, we also, I think as the Secretary‑General said much more eloquently than I will, I think, has been shocked and somewhat disturbed by the images we've seen notably out of Hungary and other places in a way that refugees and migrants and the way that humans have been treated. People looking for a safe place have been treated and have been met with batons and water cannons and so forth. So, I think there can be a balance between meeting your own security needs and protect your own borders and also uphold international law as it comes to refugee law. On the conversations that he's had, I know, my understand… I'm not sure the direct issue of refugees did come up. I know the Secretary‑General… the phone calls were initiated by both the Emir and the King of Saudi Arabia on the situation and the Holy Sites in Jerusalem, and I know the Secretary‑General also raised the current situation in Yemen with the King of Saudi Arabia.
Question: Just to follow up on the first part, some of the… many of the refugees and migrants are trying to choose which country within Europe to migrate to, passing through several countries that would be regarded as safe, so… I mean, I… at some point along the way, is a country like Hungary — and I'm putting aside their reaction with the water cannons and tear gas — but is a country like Hungary allowed under international law to build a fence to control its border when refugees and migrants have been given the opportunity before reaching that border to ask for asylum?
Spokesman: I think no one is questioning the right of countries to have borders and secure their borders. I think the issue is how you treat people. One of the calls that the Secretary‑General has made, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the High Commissioner for Refugees, is for clarification of EU‑wide policy, because I think what we're seeing is also a lot of people being left in legal limbo in various countries in Europe as they try to find a safe place. Yes? I'll come back to you.
Question: Thank you. Stéphane, Secretary‑General condemned the military coup in Burkina Faso. I'd like to ask a question about is there any criteria for military coup for Secretary‑General or the United Nations? Does it change from one country to another? Thank you.
Spokesman: I think we've seen what happened in Burkina, and I think we've condemned it very directly, and I would think that we condemn just about every forceful military takeover of power, especially as we saw in Burkina where there was a transition already under way.
Question: So, what happened last year in Egypt?
Spokesman: I think the… I'm not sure the comparison is exactly the correct one. Nizar.
Question: Yeah. On the issue of building fences and walls, in 2011, the Palestinians tried to return to their country and to their towns and villages, and the Israelis shot at them. They were not condemned for shooting and killing at least 9 or 10 of them at the time. Also, building a wall, the international tri… court, justice… court of justice has issued a verdict that the Israeli wall in West Bank is illegal. So, if we compare the situation in Hungary with what's happening in Israel, shouldn't there be condemnation for their atrocity…?
Spokesman: I think there's a body of work, of resolutions, statements made regarding the situation in Israel and in Palestine and I think the Secretary‑General has continued and will continue to urge both parties to return to the table to find a solution to all the problems that you've listed. But, I think we have spoken out often and other bodies of the UN have spoken out against abuses that we may have seen along the ones you described. Mr. Lee.
Question: Sure. I heard what your… what you said from UNMISS about Maridi. And I wanted to ask you, I'm looking at… there was a [situation report] put out by UNMISS, I guess, yesterday, but it says there was fighting on 15 September there in Maridi between SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] soldiers and the local population. Three civilians were shot in the incident, and people fled towards Maridi town for safety. First of all, I'm kind of wondering why UNMISS didn't make this public at the time that the army was shooting at civilians. But, two, is there any indication that this larger incident has anything to do with fighting or is it purely…?
Spokesman: I don't have any more details from UNMISS. Obviously, there's been quite… there has been a number of incidents of violations of the ceasefire, a violation of the agreement rather that was signed, the IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority for Development] agreement. The IGAD monitoring mechanism has reported them. Their website is public and they've put them out. As I get more information from the Mission, I'll share it. Obviously, the Mission is also working very closely with the IGAD monitors in providing them logistical support as they can.
Question: I guess I'm just asking… I understand the ceasefire is one thing, but, like, the army killing civilians, isn't there sort of a UN role to report that?
Spokesman: I hadn't seen the [situation report]. I can look into it.
Question: Okay. And can I ask you a Burundi question? I wanted to ask you, there's been a number of things going on, but one is the arrest of up to 100 “young people in Gitega Province charged with joining a rebel movement”, but the Government hasn't said either what movement that is. It seems… some people are saying it's basically just a roundup of people who oppose the third term. Is there a response by the UN? Where do things stand in terms of the UN's response to this?
Spokesman: Well, as I said, the discussions for naming a specific person focusing on Burundi, a UN person, are still going on. As I’ve said before, the Secretary‑General remains very concerned about the continuing violence in Burundi. And I think all of that is a sign again for all key stakeholders to return and have an inclusive political dialogue. Ms. Fasulo, then we'll call it an afternoon.
Correspondent: Thanks, Steph. Just to follow up on this issue of processing refugee requests, we know that there are refugee camps that have been established in Lebanon, Turkey, etc. Under international law… and I know this may not be your strength, but… it's difficult.
Spokesman: Thank you. You're right.
Question: But, are all countries permitted to establish refugee camps in order to process refugees or…?
Spokesman: Yeah, countries… I think the countries have a responsibility to do what they can to help with refugees. Not all countries can actually build camps. Other countries… countries like Lebanon and Jordan have really… Jordan has camps and Lebanon really has taken them into their communities and into society. The point is to treat people with, along with their rights with dignity. The issue, too, is we continue to see the drop in funding in the humanitarian appeals, which has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut back on the food distributed to refugees in those bordering countries. Thank you. See you tomorrow.