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, the three of you.
**Secretary-General’s Activities
The Secretary-General spoke to the General Assembly today on the future of peace operations. The Secretary-General thanked the panel, which he appointed a year ago to assess the operations, for delivering a report that was wise and bold, and for its outstanding service on behalf of all those around the world living under the threat or the reality of conflict.
The Secretary-General stressed that UN peace operations are a global instrument, adding that renewed investment in UN peace operations is urgent and clear. He said that the operations must be judged by their impact on people and that they must never abuse that trust.
The Secretary-General also spoke to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, and proposed a budget level of $5.57 billion for the biennium 2016-2017, before recosting. This amount is 1.6 per cent, or $90.8 million, below the appropriation for the current biennium, and is 0.2 per cent, or $10.2 million, above the budget outline figure set by the General Assembly.
He added that the increase over the budget outline figure is mainly due to adjustments in light of recent General Assembly decisions on Umoja. His full remarks from this morning are all available online.
**Bolivia
The Secretary-General came back yesterday night from Bolivia, where he spoke at the Peoples’ World Conference on Climate Change and the Defence of Life in Cochabamba. He noted that climate change and the defence of life are at the top of the international agenda this year, with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the upcoming COP-21, or twenty-first Conference of Parties, in Paris. Our goal is transformation, he said, and no one must be left behind — no man, no child and especially no woman.
He said Bolivia was setting a good example, being one of the few countries in the world with as many women as men in Parliament, and he praised its advocacy for the rights of indigenous peoples. He also praised the inspiring Bolivian principles of “vivir bien” and Mother Earth. Caring for Mother Earth is a moral issue and we must listen and act now, he said. His remarks are available in English and Spanish. Before leaving Bolivia, the Secretary-General inaugurated several social services in the remote village of Vila Vila, alongside President Evo Morales.
**Central African Republic
The UN [Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization] Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, reports that the situation in the country remains fragile. The Mission remains on high alert to prevent any attempts of armed ex-Séléka moving towards the capital, Bangui. On Saturday, in Kemo prefecture, MINUSCA and Sangaris forces confirmed the presence of approximately 150 ex-Séléka or Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de Centrafrique (FPRC).
MINUSCA engaged with their leader, Nourredine Adam, in Kaga Bandoro and conveyed a strong message that the International Forces would not accept any movement of the armed groups towards Bangui. The Mission says it is very concerned over what it calls the organized infiltration of several armed groups in Bangui and has condemned all attempts to destabilize Bangui.
In accordance with its mandate to protect the civilian population from the threat of physical violence, the Mission, with support from Sangaris, has used force in reaction to attacks from FPRC elements around Sibut. And in Bangui, unknown persons targeted MINUSCA on two occasions on Saturday near M’Poko airport and at Mission headquarters. No casualties were recorded.
MINUSCA is determined to continue to use all necessary means to protect civilians, strengthen State authority and support the political process. On the political front the “ad hoc Committee on elections” agreed on a preliminary electoral calendar which is scheduled to be presented to the National Transitional Council next week for approval.
**South Sudan
On South Sudan, the UN Mission in [South Sudan], UNMISS, reports that the town of Mundri, in Western Equatoria, is divided between Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA, and an unknown armed militia. There are currently approximately 600 internally displaced persons with their own dwellings seeking protection around and in the immediate vicinity of the UNMISS Temporary Operating Base there.
And in Bentiu, in Unity State, the Mission says that on Friday night, a number of shots were fired into its protection of civilians site, where some 108,000 displaced persons are being protected. Four of them sustained gunshot wounds, including a 13-year-old boy. They are being treated by an NGO [non-governmental organization] clinic and are now in a stable condition.
The Mission reiterates its call for all parties to the conflict to respect the inviolability of UN assets and premises, including the protection of civilians sites, where overall it continues to protect some 185,000 civilians. It appeals to the national authorities to protect those facilities.
**Statements
As you will have seen, we issued over the weekend a statement on the elections in Guinea and we may have another statement on the Guinea elections later today. And we also issued two statements over the weekend, on the attacks in Chad and Turkey.
**Afghanistan
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed anger at the murder of a staff member today in the southern city of Kandahar. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Nicholas Haysom, has confirmed that the staff member, Toorpaki Ulfat, who has worked for UNAMA for the past five years, was a respected human rights defender. Initial reports indicate that Ms. Ulfat was killed by gunfire from unknown persons on a motorcycle. The motive behind this murder is to be determined and UNAMA is working with the local authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. The UN stresses that violence carried out against its personnel constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.
**Yemen
Our humanitarian colleagues say that only 1 per cent of the monthly requirements for commercial fuel for Yemen were imported through Red Sea ports during September, down from a low 12 per cent in August. Commercial food prices are reported to have increased by 28 per cent during September over August, reaching some 45 per cent above pre-crisis levels.
**Refugees
The High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, has concluded his visit over the weekend visit to Lesbos, Greece, the main European Union entry point for nearly 450,000 refugees and migrants so far this year. Assessing conditions on the Greek island of Lesbos, Mr. Guterres said that European governments have yet to match the "gigantic effort" that the island and its people have made in trying to cope with the huge influx. He praised the improved relief efforts mounted by Greek authorities and the civil society on the island.
He stressed that without a Europe-wide approach and an effective strategy in dealing with the influx, criminal networks would continue to thrive. When States are not able to organize the orderly movement of refugees, smugglers take charge, exploiting people further, he added. More information on his trip is available on the UN refugee agency’s website.
**Office of Internal Oversight Services
And the Secretary-General welcomes today’s action by the General Assembly to approve Heidi Mendoza of the Philippines as Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services for a five-year non-renewable term. She succeeds Carman L. Lapointe of Canada, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service to the Organization. And more information is available in the Spokesman’s office.
**Nepal
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that most Bhutan refugees in Nepal will receive a 30 per cent smaller food ration from next year as part of an effort by the agency to stretch limited resources to ensure full rations can continue for the poorest and most vulnerable people. WFP added that as new, massive refugee crises around the world compete for limited donor funding, it has been faced with a difficult decision to stretch decreasing resources over a longer period of time. Refugees from Bhutan have been arriving in Nepal in the 1990s and an estimated 19,000 of them receive WFP food assistance.
**Food
In Rome today, the Committee on World Food Security opened its plenary, marking the first international gathering on food security and nutrition since global leaders approved the sustainable development agenda. Opening the meeting, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, said that the agenda brings new momentum to the international community’s efforts to achieve food security, end hunger and malnutrition in all its forms. More information on the meetings is available on FAO’s website.
**Press Conferences
And this afternoon at 1 p.m., here in this room, there will be a briefing by Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, the Special Envoy of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the Central African Republic, and Mansour Ayyad SH A Alotaibi, Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations. And we also have a large number of press conferences for you tomorrow. Among them, John Ging, the Director of Operations of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, will be the guest at the noon briefing to talk about his recent travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan. And that's it for me. Yes, Mr. Abbadi, you go first.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Farhan. In view of the continuing violence in the occupied areas in Jerusalem and other areas, what is the Quartet doing or saying?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, as you will have seen, the Quartet [Principals] themselves have… had met on this topic. They came out with a statement at the end of last [month], which we had flagged for you, so I'll refer you to what they were saying, but they have called on the leaders to avoid provocations and to make sure that their respective parties do all that they can to decrease violence or the threat of violence. Of course, all of the members of the Quartet, including the Secretary‑General, have stressed the need for the status quo — the historic status quo — in the old city of Jerusalem to be preserved. And as you know, this is something the Secretary‑General has taken up with the Israeli and Palestinian leadership. Yes, yes, please. You can…
Correspondent: I have a follow-up. Thank you, Farhan. As a follow‑up, Amnesty International said that 23 Palestinian were killed and 1,991 injured. And here is what Human Rights Watch says: "We have very strong concern about excessive use of force and very strong concern about the indiscriminate and even deliberate fire on crowds of demonstrations." A pregnant Palestinian woman was killed with her child, I think 3 years old, next to her in Gaza. And all these developments and we don't hear from the Secretary‑General. He issued two statements condemning the Palestinians — one of them for stabbing two settlers and one for attacking soldiers. However, he issued a statement last week about killing one boy in a refugee camp, but all these developments, he had been absent.
Deputy Spokesman: I would disagree with your evaluation. He issued statements, as you know, on 4 October and 6 October, and they take all sides to task for this. He's made a call on all the sides including the respective Israeli and Palestinian authorities…
Question: Is it fair to call on all sides? Is it fair? I mean, there is occupied people for 48 years and being deliberately slaughtered in their homes by tanks and armed men; however, those under occupation fighting with just a stone or with a knife.
Deputy Spokesman: The Secretary‑General is concerned about violence by all sides, and he's worried about the effect it can have on all of the peoples of both Israel and Palestine. He's made it clear that he has no patience for anyone who places Palestinian lives at risk. But, at the same time, as you know, there have also been attacks on Israeli civilians, and he deplores all of that. Ultimately, the basic point is, whoever is attacking and whoever is being attacked, the continuing violence risks… runs the risk of spinning out of control and damaging both peoples. Ultimately, what he has tried to emphasize is the need once more for the Israelis and Palestinians to come back to the negotiating table and work on a solution, a two‑State solution, that can provide an actual hope of peace. Otherwise… and he said this many times over the years, otherwise, we run the risk every few months, every few years of returning to the same cycle of violence, of attack and counterattack. And no matter what you may think individually or personally about who's in the right or who's in the wrong at any given point in time, ultimately, the bottom line is all of it has to stop. The peace process has to take hold, or the future of both peoples is endangered.
Question: Just one follow‑up. One question, please?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, and then Nizar.
Question: Isn't occupation a form of violence or not? People under occupation, what they supposed to do? Just sing songs, national songs? Tell me. Forty-eight years of occupation.
Deputy Spokesman: The United Nations, as you know, has tried to do what it can to end the period of occupation. And that is why we believe that there needs to be negotiations and a two‑State solution. Ultimately, that is the way you can get out of a logic of occupation and into a logic of countries working with each other to resolve their problems. Nizar?
Correspondent: Yeah, on the same subject, equating the occupied with the occupier, equating a settler who has stolen lands and taken over somebody else's house and threatening with a gun, the police are supported by a policeman, equating that is a crime in itself. You cannot equate this with that. At least if the United Nations cannot liberate it or cannot restore order, they can least can say this is wrong.
Deputy Spokesman: The United Nations has come out against the logic of occupation repeatedly, and you'll have seen the reports we've issued. And of course, you're aware of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council on this matter, and we reaffirm those. At the same time, regardless of the problem of occupation itself, which you and your colleague have brought up, ultimately, our priority at this stage is to find an end to the violence, because if it spins out of control, it will be a horrible result for all the people. Yes? Yes, please?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Did the Secretary‑General speak to Mr. [Benjamin] Netanyahu recently about this excessive force?
Deputy Spokesman: He… as you know, he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he visited the United Nations two weeks back.
Question: But, Stéphane [Dujarric] said sometimes after this he would speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Is there any problem to reach to Mr. Netanyahu?
Deputy Spokesman: He does intend to contact him in the coming days. It's a question of being able to communicate with each other. As you know, the Secretary‑General only just now, basically in the early hours of this morning, got back from travel to Bolivia. So, he does try to keep in contact with a number of world leaders, and he'll see whether he can do that by telephone. Yes, you and then Matthew?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. We're still in the Middle East, about Syria and the recent developments, now with Russians getting into the war zone. What's the Secretary‑General's assessment of the situation, and how fruitful are the efforts of the Special Envoy [Staffan] de Mistura in trying to bridge the gap between all the parties? The situation keep escalating, and we just see the United Nations taking a passive role, just sitting in the background.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, has been trying to be in contact with all the parties about the latest developments. Mr. de Mistura just spoke in the last few hours to the press and said that he would be travelling to Moscow and then from there to Washington. So, he is going to be in touch with officials in those two Governments as he tries to build support for his way forward. And of course, regarding the Secretary‑General's views, you've seen what his concerns are about the violence and about… particularly about the protection of civilians and the need for any operations in Syria to be conducted in line with international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Yeah?
Question: Sure. Thanks, Farhan. I just wanted to make sure… see if you have any comment on Libya, on the rejection by the GNC [General National Congress] of the proposal of Mr. [Bernardino] León. Then I have some questions about the Ashe, Lorenzo, et cetera.
Deputy Spokesman: Okay. Well, first off, on Libya, we do expect there will be mixed reactions to the proposed political agreement which was presented. At the same time, the Secretary‑General's Special Representative, Bernardino León, is continuing his own efforts to get the greatest possible buy‑in among Libyans, so that all participants in the Libyan dialogue endorse the agreement as expected by 20 October. And you'll have seen what the Security Council and the international community as a whole have said about this, and they're united in backing the agreement as a genuine opportunity for the parties to resolve Libya's political, security and institutional crises.
Question: Thank you. I wanted to… in light of these charges against John Ashe, Frank Lorenzo, and others, increasingly, it's emerging that… that… the Secretary‑General, if not met, had, you know, staged photo opportunities with a number of the individuals charged. And I wanted to know, in looking at this, do you have some kind of a comment on how these occurred, particularly in instances where they may have been arranged by a third party, been arranged by an organization that invited Ban Ki‑moon and then received funds from South‑South News or others and then put the two together on photograph? Was that appropriate? And what would be your response to… to OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] looking at that or otherwise?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding that, as you're aware, the Office of Internal Oversight Services will do an audit. They've been requested to do that, and so we'll be able to see whether there was any effect from either the relationship with these various groups, these two groups, the Sun Kian Ip Group and the Global Sustainability Foundation, and any of the monies received. So, we'll await what they have to say about any of this.
Question: But, I guess I want to ask again, given that Mr. Frank Lorenzo has been charged and he's now out on $2 million bail, he was head of South‑South News, which spread $12 million, according to the documents, throughout the UN system. So, what was, how, what was the criteria used to choose these two NGOs and not either South‑South News or International Organization for Sustainable… you know, or South‑South Cooperation or Steering Committee on Sustainable Development? It seems like it's a very limited inquiry and…
Deputy Spokesman: It's not really an inquiry. It's an audit, and this is initial step. If OIOS feels like there is something… there's a direction which they need to go as a result of these initial results, they're certainly free to do that, but we needed to get the ball rolling and have an initial step forward so that we can look into what exactly is the impact of the monies and the relationship with these groups. Yes?
Question: Regarding Yemen, we hear the reports about the lack of the fuel and lack of… and the inflation in food prices, after the mechanism which has been applied… or I don't know if it has been applied yet. Why is this shortage, I mean, growing rather than diminishing?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding that, in a letter to the Secretary‑General on 6 October, President [Abd Rabbuh Mansur] Hadi pledged to allow the imported fuel through all ports. However, despite this pledge, no commercial fuel has yet been imported, and our humanitarian colleagues tell us that 11 commercial ships remain anchored offshore, waiting to berth at Hudaydah port. So, that's where we stand on it.
Question: Another thing, in Marib, there were accusations that the Saudi coalition is using chemical weapons in an area… a very vast area. Will there be any investigation? Of course, there's evidence that cluster bomb… I mean munition has been used, but now this new revelation that chemical weapons are being used in Marib, will there be any investigation into this news?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we don't have any confirmation of that particular report, but, of course, to have a mandate to do such an investigation, that would need to be a determination made by the Security Council or other relevant body, so we would await guidance on that. Regarding cluster bombs, of course, you know what our concerns are about this. We've discussed this in regard to Syria, and the same concerns apply to Yemen. Yes. Oh, actually, sorry, Dulcie.
Question: Yeah. Back to South‑South News, does it have an office in the UN correspondents’ set-up upstairs? Does it have an official office there, and if so, is it still there even though it's…?
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah, I believe they continue to have an office. My colleagues in the media accreditation side would know for sure whether that office maintains, but I believe, yes, that they have had.
Question: Even though the head of South‑South News is under arrest?
Deputy Spokesman: As far as…
Question: It hasn't been stripped of its office?
Deputy Spokesman: As far as I'm aware, South‑South News continues to have its accreditation. Like I said, our media accreditation colleagues would have the latest update. [He later confirmed that South-South News continues to be accredited.]
Question: Okay. And then Mr. de Mistura's trip to Moscow and Washington, who is he meeting this those capitals? Thanks.
Deputy Spokesman: We'll provide details of his meetings once they happen. He did announce his travel, like I said, in the last couple of hours, and we'll try to get some updates as he takes his visits. Yes?
Question: Sure. Thanks a lot. On Burundi and on the PGA's [President of the General Assembly] office or as related to the Secretariat. On Burundi, the son‑in‑law of Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, who's a human rights advocate, whose situation you've previously commented, was killed since the last briefing here by gunmen in Bujumbura. And I just wonder, both you… on that and on the other killings that have taken place, what is the UN… it may be difficult to send an envoy, but what is the UN trying to do to defuse this escalating situation?
Deputy Spokesman: We are trying to defuse it, both through the work of our Great Lakes envoy and through our contacts on the ground. And we are, by the way, continuing to follow up on the human rights situation in Burundi, and so we're trying to keep track of all of the various violations. You will have seen the Secretary‑General's concerns, and as you know, he's been in contact with people, including, as you will have seen, the officials of the Government of Burundi, to relay his concerns. And I'd refer you to the readout that we put out on this just two weeks ago.
**Press Conferences
By the way, before we go any further, I saw, lost in my papers, an entire list of press conferences tomorrow, because… beyond what I just mentioned for the noon briefing, I just want to read out that at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, there will be a briefing by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin. At 11:15 a.m, there will be a briefing by Janos Pasztor, Assistant Secretary‑General on climate change. And, finally, at 1:30 p.m., there will be a briefing sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands on Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security. Yeah?
Question: Great, yeah. This is the one… it may seem… last week I was asking Stéphane about the sort of overlap between the teams of recent Presidents of the General Assembly, John Ashe, Sam Kutesa and Mogens Lykketoft, and it was based off… the website used to have a link to the teams of each ex‑PGA, and I notice the one for Sam Kutesa is now gone. It now goes directly to Mr. Lykketoft's site. There's no longer a link on this list of previous presidents to his team. So, I've asked them. I know you're going to say, ask them. I haven't gotten an answer. I wanted to know, from your side, maybe you can find out, what is the role of the Secretariat and DPI [Department of Public Information] in maintaining the website? And who is it that could have changed the link for Sam Kutesa, from a link to his actual team to basically just a blind one to the PGA site currently?
Deputy Spokesman: I'm aware we provide some technical support, but ultimately, the content of those sites is provided by the Office of the President of the General Assembly, so we would get that from the President of the General Assembly. And consequently, as you had expected, you would need to ask the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly about that.
Question: Would you be concerned if access to information about this chain of PGA's given… suddenly changed in the midst of… of… or days after the criminal charges were filed?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we certainly trust and expect all of our delegations, all of our offices, to maintain transparency at all times. Regarding the content that they put out, of course, how they put it out, that's up to them. Yes?
Question: In the newspaper Ha’aretz yesterday, it said that the French mission is preparing a draft resolution on the settlement in the West Bank. Can you confirm that; any information about a new initiative by the French mission?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I… it's not my position to speak either for the Government of France or for the Security Council. So, if there are any developments in the Security Council, the ambassadors themselves would be the best placed. Mr. Abbadi?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon, to my knowledge, has travelled more than any of his predecessors. Does he plan to stay sometime here at Headquarters, or does he plan to travel more?
Deputy Spokesman: He's here today. And he'll be here tomorrow. But, sometime this week, we will announce further travel. So, there will be that. Yes?
Question: Sure. I wanted to just get your comment on a couple of things. One was, in the… in the General Assembly session at which Ms. Mendoza was confirmed as OIOS, Sweden, speaking for the Nordic group, made reference to a… problems with OIOS and how it's viewed — the perception of OIOS in connection with the Central African Republic rape allegations. And I just wanted… did the Secretariat note that? Do they agree that this was something of a problem for OIOS, and how do they intend to address it?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, you know how we intend to address it. The Secretary‑General named a panel headed by Judge Marie Deschamps to deal with the question of how we have handled the question of the Central African Republic. We expect them to report back to us early next month, and hopefully, we'll be able to get some guidance on what worked well and what didn't work well.
Question: And I wanted to ask just kind of a structural question. I understand that the Secretary‑General can waive immunity for UN personnel. And I'm thinking, particularly, if you read the US Attorney document, it talks about a UN official 1 that changed the document at issue in that case from… revised the letter from John Ashe to Ban Ki‑moon to include the name of a company. So, I wanted to know, if… if it's true, one… I mean, obviously, more things have to develop… could the Secretary‑General waive immunity in a case like that? And, number two, who controls the immunity of a PGA? If a PGA is not under the Secretariat, who would it be that could, if appropriate, waive immunity for such a person?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I'm not going to engage in speculative questions. The bottom line for us is that we stand ready to cooperate if requested to do so by the US authorities. As of just before this briefing, we still have not received any such request. Have a good afternoon, everyone.