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.
**Haiti
This morning, the Security Council decided unanimously to extend the mandate of the UN Stabilization Force in Haiti, MINUSTAH, for another year. That is until 15 October 2016. The overall force levels follow the Secretary-General’s recommendation.
**Somalia
Following Haiti, the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Atul Khare, briefed the Security Council on Somalia. Speaking about the strategic review of the UN Support Office for the African Union Mission to Somalia, otherwise known as UNSOA, Mr. Khare said that the office continues to work in a significantly non-permissive environment affected by insecurity and a humanitarian crisis.
He added that, in the last 18 months alone, the UN has suffered attacks on its personnel or facilities about once every 10 weeks. Moving forward, he urged Member States to significantly strengthen the capacity of UNSOA so that it can continue supporting high-intensity military operations as well as political engagement in Somalia and beyond. Mr. Khare’s public comments are available in my office.
**Yemen
On Yemen, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, held consultations in Moscow yesterday with senior Russian officials. He received assurances from those officials of Russia’s support for his work. The Special Envoy is on his way to Saudi Arabia and will be in New York next week to brief the Council. And we will ask him to speak to you as well.
**Central African Republic
From CAR [Central African Republic], the World Food Programme (WFP) says that, after being forced to briefly suspend its operation during the recent violence, it has now reached more than 30,000 newly displaced people in the capital with food in the past week.
WFP says that people in need had been cut off from any assistance for days, living in difficult circumstances in over 20 displacement site. It adds that, even before this latest escalation in violence, about one in four people were in need of urgent food assistance.
And also on the Central African Republic, the UN peacekeeping Mission in that country (MINUSCA) reports that efforts continue to register voters for the upcoming elections. As of Tuesday, 87 per cent of the population had been registered — eligible voters, I guess, had been registered.
Efforts are continuing with regard to the registration of refugees in neighbouring countries, to ensure a fully inclusive and credible process. Registration is currently under way in Cameroon, Chad and the Republic of Congo. At the moment, just 10 per cent of eligible voters who are refugees have been registered — that is about 20,000 people - due in part to the recent security situation that prevented the deployment of registration materials to some out-of-country locations.
**Migration
The Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, spoke at the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Istanbul, Turkey, today. He said that our ability to respond to migration and refugee movements is being tested as never before.
The Deputy Secretary-General noted that Turkey has been at the heart of the refugee crisis in the region, paying a high price for the horrific war in Syria. He said that for many years, Governments have worked to establish clear rules for cross-border trade, finance and services. Yet, he said, the cross-border movement of human beings remains insufficiently regulated and managed.
**Climate Change
In a message to the International Conference on the Implications of Climate Change for Defence, the Secretary-General said that the impacts of climate change continue to grow at a dangerous pace. He told the event, which took place in Paris, that extreme weather events threaten to provoke widespread food insecurity and humanitarian crises. The Secretary-General said it is clear that climate change is a threat multiplier — it not only threatens to exacerbate conflicts within and between States, but that it is itself a threat to international peace and security.
**Appointment
The Secretary-General is announcing today the appointment of Laura Londén of Finland as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director (Management) of the UN Population Fund (otherwise known as UNFPA). She succeeds Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service and commitment to the Organization. Ms. Londén brings to the position over 25 years of progressive inter-agency experience at both headquarters and field duty stations. Her bio is in my office.
**Honour Roll
While we say congratulations to Ms. Londén, we say thank you to our friends in Jordan, as Jordan became the 130th Member State to pay its dues in full to the regular budget of these United Nations.
**Press Conferences
In a short while, I will be replaced at this podium by the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Africa (OSAA) – I can hear them already in the back – to brief you on "Agenda 2063: Africa's Fifty Year Transformation Plan."
Tomorrow at 11 a.m., there will be a briefing by Under-Secretary-General David M. Malone, Rector of the UN University (UNU), and Sebastian von Einsiedel, Director of UNU’s Centre for Policy Research, on a new volume entitled “The UN Security Council in the 21st Century”.
And then at around noon, Yukio Takasu, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, will be here as Farhan’s guest to brief on the financial situation of these United Nations.
Yes, Majid?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I have a question about Iraq. The Iraqi Kurdistan region that is a safe haven for nearly 2 million refugees is now on a brink of a civil war due to a political standoff among the Kurdish parties, and I understand Mr. Jan Kubiš met with the parties to try to resolve this issue. Do you have any comments about this? Have your colleagues from UNAMI [United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq] given you any updates about the turmoil in Kurdistan right now?
Spokesman: Sure. I think we're very well aware of the situation in Kurdistan. Mr. Kubiš is, indeed, in Erbil. We're awaiting a full readout of his meetings, which will be issued shortly. What I can tell you is he did meet with local officials and other government parties. I think he expressed his grave concern at the protracted political impasse that we're seeing and urged for calm and for government and political parties to resume dialogue and negotiations. But we should have more a little bit later. Lou, then Mr. Lee, then Mr. Avni, then Olga, then Abdel Hamid, because I'm sure you'll have a question.
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. On his way into the Council, the British Ambassador said that the Sudanese Government is holding up close to 200 containers of essential rations and supplies for UNAMID [ African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur]. Can you give us any details about this? I mean, has the UN been in touch with the Government in Khartoum? What's happening at this…?
Spokesman: Sure. What… The holdup concerns about 190 containers, largely food rations, with a few containers of what we would call operational supplies. They're currently being held in Port Sudan. I think it's important to note that the current food ration levels in the missionary are of grave concern to us. We obviously urge the Government of Sudan to release the containers immediately. I'm sure contacts are being held at different levels and the Under‑Secretary‑General for Peacekeeping, Mr. [Hervé] Ladsous, is currently briefing the Council on this very issue as we speak. Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask again about this… the John Ashe case, but I wanted to ask a follow‑up on that. When was DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] going to say publicly that peacekeepers' food was being blocked? Why did it take the UK Ambassador to say it? What's the role of DPKO?
Spokesman: Well, I can't speak… the UK Ambassador is free to speak whenever he wants. I'll sure we would have been told after Mr. Ladsous briefed the Security Council.
Question: Okay. I wanted to ask you about… and is… is… is… as days go by, I'm sure that the UN has digested this sworn affidavit by the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation]. And what I wanted to ask you about now is the paragraph that has to do with Kenya, in which it has said that Ashe said: I have been in touch with, bracket, a particular Kenyan UN official, and informed him of your desire to meet with him while he's in Beijing. And this Kenyan UN official, which I'm reading to be a staff member of the UN who comes from Kenya, arranged various business meetings with Kenyan officials and others. One, can you say in the abstract, is it appropriate for a UN official to be setting up business meetings between businessmen such as the one indicted and Government officials? And, two, what is the UN doing about this sworn statement?
Spokesman: I think we're… as I said, we're studying the full impact of the statement that was released by the Office of the Prosecutor for the Southern District. Any activity that a UN official conducts should be done within the full ethical requirements of… that exist in the UN. The mere fact that a UN — and I'm speaking in complete general terms, not obviously on the particulars of the case — UN officials have contacts with NGOs [non-governmental organizations], with foundations, with the business sector, even with journalists. All those contacts need to be held to the highest standards and following the ethical guidelines that exist in the United Nations.
Question: Right. So but… I guess my question is, this seemed to be Ashe himself contacted this individual. So, is it within the ambit of the OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] inquiry that the Secretary‑General asked for…?
Spokesman: I can't… I don't know the details of the reported meeting between Mr. Ashe and this person. So if I have something more…
Question: But who in the UN… all I'm saying is, who in the UN is reading this document and saying we need to find out who changed the document, who did this…?
Spokesman: There are a number of offices involved and we're taking a look.
Question: Can we get updates?
Spokesman: As soon as I have updates, I will offload them off my chest. Who was next? Mr. Avni?
Question: Yeah. On… when was it? 9 October, the UN coordinator for the development on humanitarian activities in the occupied Palestinian territories…
Spokesman: Are you using a microphone, Benny?
Question: Yes. Oh, sorry. On 9 October, the UN Coordinator of Development on Humanitarian Activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, Robert Piper, issued a statement: "I condemn yesterday evening stones throwing attack on clearly marked United Nations vehicle travelling on Route 50, East Jerusalem, which seriously injured senior UN official." Can you tell us a little bit about this? I mean, who threw stones? What happened? Why was there no echo to this, despite the fact that the UN official is being injured?
Spokesman: Why was there no echo?
Question: Yeah, why we wouldn't hear about it…
Spokesman: A public statement was released. My understanding…
Question: But usually when UN people are attacked…
Spokesman: My understanding is that it was the representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO). I don't have more details of the case in front of me. But I… that's what I know off the top of my head.
Question: Was he a UN official?
Spokesman: I just said he was the local representative of the International Labour Organization, which is part of the United Nations system. Olga?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. The latest report on Yemen that you mentioned a couple of days ago shows that there's a huge lack of fuel deliveries for commercial needs in Yemen. And, in September, UN established the mission to monitor the commercial deliveries in the country. How does it operate now?
Spokesman: My understanding is it is not yet operational, but I will get an update from OCHA [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]. I think, as we… as Mr. Ging said yesterday, we welcome the fact that one tanker did make it in. But, obviously, it's just a drop in the… a drop in the tanker, if you'll excuse the analogy, as Yemen is starving for fuel, both for household needs and, obviously, for our ability to deliver humanitarian goods.
Question: So the mission still doesn't…?
Spokesman: My understanding is it is not yet fully operational, but as we speak, my colleagues are checking.
Question: Steph, you still didn't have an… answered my question about who threw the stones…
Spokesman: I said I don't have more details here soon… on this podium right now. When I get more information, I will share it with you. Abdel Hamid? To the left.
Question: So I will ask the same question again. So, in the view of the Secretary‑General, all this violence in the West Bank and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem does not warrant a statement expressing concern when 30 Palestinians killed and about 2,000 arrested… sorry, wounded, and hundreds of Palestinians were arrested? So, this situation needs no expression of concern on the part of the Secretary‑General?
Spokesman: Abdel Hamid, you and I see each other in this room every day, but sometimes I think we're in different rooms. We have issued quite a number of statements in the last few weeks expressing the Secretary‑General's very, very strong concern about the escalating violence, renewing his call for the parties to create a political horizon and negotiations to create a two‑State solution for Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, side by side. We have expressed our concern about the… about certain ways the Israeli security forces use of force. We have clearly condemned the knife attacks we have seen by Palestinians against Israeli civilians. We have condemned the loss of life by Palestinians in the hands of Israelis as we saw in the horrific attack on the family in the occupied West Bank not too long ago. This is a message we keep repeating. On the ground, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr. [Nickolay] Mladenov, has been meeting with Israeli security officials, with Palestinian security officials. He's in Amman to talk to regional partners. I think it's a situation that should be of concern, not just to the Secretary‑General, but it is… it should be a concern to the wider international community, and we will continue to speak out. Reuters number 2?
Question: Thanks, Steph. A follow‑up to Olga's question on Yemen. There was a US Navy report today saying the Saudi coalition is to blame for slowing the aid efforts in Yemen. [laughter]
Spokesman: I assume that's not a comment on your question.
Question: No. Is that a view shared by the United Nations?
Spokesman: I think we would like to see any roadblocks that are currently in place by the coalition to the quick and effective arrival of humanitarian goods of oil be lifted. As I've said, we've had to come up with a mechanism, but it is not yet fully operational. It is important that humanitarian goods be allowed in quickly and freely. And that would include oil, because without fuel, hospitals don't run; generators don't run. We can't… the fuel that we need for the trucks to deliver the food can't run. So that's a basic building block of the humanitarian aid that we need. And we would urge all of those who are making it more complicated to make it less so.
Question: And what is delaying the… that coming into force?
Spokesman: My understanding, and I sometimes should speak based on fact and [not] understanding, is that it remains a financial one. But I will be… I will be standed corrected? I will be corrected shortly if I'm wrong on that one. Because we have the blueprint. It's a question of finances.
Question: How much money is needed?
Spokesman: I will find out. Yes, sir? And then Oleg, then Matthew.
Question: Stéphane, did you have a chance… the Amnesty International report that I mentioned yesterday?
Spokesman: No, I'm sorry. I owe you… we'll try to get you something this afternoon. Oleg?
[The Spokesman later informed the reporter that we are studying the Amnesty report, which contains very serious allegations. The allegations should be investigated, and anyone found responsible for any crimes brought to justice. The Secretary-General has consistently stressed the need for accountability in Syria, calling for, among other things, the referral of the situation in that country to the International Criminal Court.]
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Back to Israeli‑Palestinian question, correct me if I'm wrong, but in the… at least in the last statements issued by your Office, there is a constant call for the parties not to take unilateral steps which could maybe increase tensions or do something destructive. But if we look at the situation happening over there right now, these attacks, these knife attacks, rock throwing incidents, they are followed by some really strange steps taken by… for instance, by the Israeli Government. For example, they… reportedly they do not give the bodies of the killed Palestinians to the families right now. Now they're easing the restrictions of the gun rules, regulations for the gun carrying. So from the UN's side, are there any follow‑up steps to discuss these measures with the Israeli authorities what is being done?
Spokesman: I don't know what more words I can use in what I said to Abdel Hamid. Sometimes we run out of words here. Whether it's contacts here or whether it's more very direct contacts between Mr. Mladenov and security officials working for Mr. [Benjamin] Netanyahu, security officials working with Abu Mazen, there are discussions going on, trying to de‑escalate the situation, to ensure that civilians on all sides can live freely and without fear. And we will continue those efforts.
Question: Do you see any results of these negotiations right now?
Spokesman: You know, I think this was not… if this was a quickly solvable crisis, it would have been solved decades ago. But that doesn't mean we can't keep trying. Mr. Lee? And then Linda and then Abdel Hamid.
Question: I want to ask about Haiti and Central African Republic. On Haiti, I'm compelled to ask you. It seems like it's an anniversary. I'm sure you saw that the… the… the people with the portraits of victims outside. I understand it's taking place outside Geneva and Port‑au‑Prince. And I wanted to ask you, the number they're using is 9,000 people killed, 745,000 people sickened by cholera they say the UN brought negligently to their country and there's been no accountability. And I wanted to know, like, what… now that Mr. [Pedro] Medrano seems to have been decommissioned and wasn't replaced, what is the UN's response to… to this sort of being called to task for total lack of accountability and families left without breadwinners, etcetera?
Spokesman: I think on the legal issues, our stand has not changed. Obviously, on a more personal level, if you let me speak, I would refer you to what the Secretary‑General said when he met victims… families of victims of cholera when he went to Haiti just about a year and a half ago, I believe, or two years ago. And those feelings still stand. The work that Mr. Medrano had done on mobilizing resources to take… to help support the sanitation system and the… dealing… and helping Haiti deal with the aftermath of cholera has continued under the auspices of the UN country team. So it's not as if the UN is not active on this front.
Question: I guess my… if… if on the issue of sexual abuse and exploitation there's a move towards setting up a trust fund to compensate victims? In this case, the families that were supported were left with nothing, so I'm wondering, has the UN done anything in that regard?
Spokesman: The UN country team and Mr. Medrano had tried to raise funds to deal with the aftermath of the cholera.
Question: Only the water issues.
Spokesman: What's your CAR question?
Question: Okay. The CAR question has to do with I believe Miranda Brown… we discussed in this room before… whistle-blower who was terminated has written to the Secretary‑General. So I'm not asking about the letter, but I'm more concerned with what's in the letter. She's citing this France 2 interview by a then-employee of the Central African Republic, who claims that she told the French Sangaris force of the rapes two months before [Anders] Kompass did. So the question becomes, Miranda Brown's letter said, drop the OIOS investigation of Kompass. My question is, why would this individual who has publicly said they told Sangaris in May of 2014 not be in the same situation as Kompass? What is about Kompass is being charged as having violated all kinds of procedures, and this person — her name is [Gallianne] Palayret — has said publicly that she told the French… I mean, there's a separate question of why the French haven't really done anything yet, but from a UN perspective, is Ms. Palayret a whistleblower and Kompass not?
Spokesman: Who gets whistleblower status is something between the individual and the relevant offices at the UN. This whole situation, as you well know, is being looked at by a panel led by Marie Deschamps and that report should be out next month. Ms. Fasulo, then Abdel Hamid, and then we will go to the Special Adviser on Africa, who is waiting behind.
Question: Thank you, Steph. I have a question regarding the humanitarian appeal for Syria. I was wondering how happy the SG is regarding the status of contributions, and, indeed, is he making phone calls to various countries or to the usual contributing suspects?
Spokesman: I think, for all humanitarian appeals, which are basically all underfunded, we're very happy and thankful for the money that has come in. But they are critically underfunded, and we see the impact that has. When food rations have to be cut, people start moving. This is an issue that the Secretary‑General regularly brings up in his bilaterals and it is one that, whether it be Stephen O'Brien or Ertharin Cousin or António Guterres, also bring up in their own discussions.
Question: Just a quick follow‑up. How does… how does the Secretary‑General feel about possible linkage between the migration to Europe and…?
Spokesman: I think it is… it would seem to most people that it is one aspect of that — that forces people to move. It is not the only aspect. It is… the root causes of the migration to Europe are complex and complicated. The ongoing conflicts in Syria, in Iraq, and Afghanistan obviously have a large role to play, but lack of funding and the draw‑down of food rations in camps that are holding Syrian refugees obviously is also one aspect. Abdel Hamid, then… Benny you left then came back. Go ahead, anyway.
Correspondent: Thank you. I hope you'll bear with me a little bit.
Spokesman: I'll bear…
Correspondent: I'm not trying…
Spokesman: No, no, it's all in good form. I will bear with you if you ask me a question. I will not bear with you if you release a statement.
Question: I will ask two questions. I am here. There was a statement issued by the Secretariat on 4 October condemning the Palestinians and another statement on 6 October condemning the Israelis, and Mladenov issued a statement and
UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] issued a statement. But the SG, from 6 October until today, he didn't issue any statement. That's one thing. The second, you said in your briefing that the Secretary‑General has called [Mahmoud] Abbas to call him to… for… and you said that he's planning to call Prime Minister Netanyahu that afternoon or the next day. So I want to ask about if he did call Prime Minister Netanyahu. And the last question, in your definition, do settlers who live in occupied territories in an inclusive or in… in a Jewish neighbourhood over Palestinian land, do you consider them civilians? Thank you.
Spokesman: The Secretary‑General has issued statements. The UN can speak out through varying degrees, through its local representatives, regional representatives, or the Secretary‑General himself. I think you've all been in this room here. The Secretary‑General issues a lot of statements on different issues. Could we issue more? Could we issue less? I will let you decide. On your second part, I would… the Secretary‑General is… condemns the… and repeatedly and has in all situations the loss of life and the killing of civilians. Mr. Avni?
Question: The phone call?
Spokesman: I… I… the phone call, if it happens, I will let you know. Benny?
Question: Yesterday you called on Israel to review… to do a serious review of apparent excessive use of force by Israeli security forces. Why is it apparent and who is it apparent to? Can you cite your sources for that?
Spokesman: I think we have seen loss of life by Palestinian civilians at the hands of Israeli security forces. But I would refer you back… I don't know if you'd left the room, to the rather long answer I gave Abdel Hamid a little earlier. Very brief, Carla.
Question: [inaudible]
Spokesman: No, that's a short question I'd like to hear.
Question: The front page of the New York Times had an article speaking of the fact that the Syrian… the military activity is becoming a proxy war in Syria. Has there been any statement about that?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary… the Secretary‑General or Mr. [Staffan] de Mistura have spoken out quite a bit on the massive loss of life that we have seen in Syria and the need for the political negotiations to restart. Over. I will get the Special Adviser on Africa. And I will not see you tomorrow.