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 everyone.
**Middle East
The Secretary‑General met in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah today. He made clear to both Israeli and Palestinian leaders the urgent need to reaffirm through words and deeds that they are partners for peace. He said that they must refrain from unilateral steps that diminish prospects for peace, and make significant improvements on the ground aimed at building the foundations for a two‑state solution.
He also held a separate meeting in Ramallah with the Prime Minister, Rami Hamdallah.
Speaking after the meeting with President Abbas, the Secretary‑General said that he was deeply concerned by repeated provocations at the Holy Sites in Jerusalem, which have fuelled the current outbreak of violence. Addressing the existing tensions is critical to reversing the trend towards escalation.
He noted that the response by Israel has also added to the already difficult challenge of restoring calm. The Secretary‑General emphasized to Prime Minister Netanyahu the urgency of addressing this issue.
In remarks to the press following his meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, the Secretary‑General said that attacks by individuals are not taking place in a vacuum. Over the past weeks, he said, he has been deeply troubled by statements from Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, praising such heinous attacks.
The Secretary‑General is now in Amman, Jordan, where he will brief the Security Council by videoconference in its consultations this afternoon.
He's scheduled to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan tomorrow. He will brief the King on his meetings in Ramallah and Jerusalem. We expect to have the Secretary‑General back in the office on Friday.
**Libya
The Secretary‑General’s Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino León, today spoke to the press in Tunis.
Stressing the need for a political agreement, Mr. Leon said that the process to reach an agreement and form a Government of National Accord will go on despite attempts to derail the process. He added that the majority of Libyans want a political solution and that such a solution is the only real alternative to the crisis in the country.
Mr. Leon reiterated the Secretary‑General’s call for the Libyan parties to endorse the agreement, adding that the UN will continue to support the Libyan‑led process.
The transcript of his press conference is available on the UN Mission’s website.
**Somalia
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, joined the European Union as well as leaders from Somalia and Kenya to open the pledging conference for Somalia in Brussels today.
The conference aims to mobilize more international support to create better conditions for the voluntary returns of Somali refugees and displaced communities. It also focuses on ways to help them integrate sustainably in Somalia, and on the security and resilience of refugees and host communities in Kenya.
The plan of action, which is aligned with the Somalia New Deal Compact framework, requires a total of US$500 million and is expected to fund projects until the end of 2017.
More information is available on UNHCR’s website.
**Iraq
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the humanitarian situation in Iraq is deteriorating, with more than 8.6 million Iraqis now requiring assistance.
Of those who have been uprooted, nearly 2.8 million people have fled Anbar, Ninewa and Salah al‑Din governorates and just over half a million people have fled insecurity in Anbar since 1 April 2015, following the Ramadi crisis. Close to 1.6 million people are currently displaced in Anbar, Baghdad and Dahuk governorates.
As new displacement continues, some people have also begun to return home. An estimated 400,000 people have returned to their home areas that have recently come under Government control. However, in many areas, people have found their homes and communities destroyed by conflict, which limits further returns.
Meanwhile, by 15 October, a month after a cholera outbreak was declared by the Government, more than 1,600 cholera cases have been confirmed by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization. UNICEF and the World Health Organization are working with the Government to curb the outbreak, by supporting water, sanitation and hygiene activities. Additional funding is urgently needed to support the cholera response.
**Haiti
From Haiti, the Special Representative of the Secretary‑General and Head of the UN Mission in the country, Sandra Honoré, released a video and radio message ahead of the elections this Sunday.
She said that the preparations for this second round of legislative elections and first round of presidential and local elections have been encouraging.
She stressed that there is no room for violence in the electoral process and called on all Haitians to show their engagement for democracy and stability in the country.
**Myanmar
Recent flooding in Myanmar has had a devastating impact on agricultural livelihoods and food security, according to a joint Government‑United Nations report released today.
More than half a million hectares of rice paddies were affected and almost a quarter of a million livestock were killed by Cyclone Komen in late July and early August.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have asked for more international support to replace livestock, seeds, fertilizer, tools and equipment for affected farmers, especially those most vulnerable to poverty.
Also on Myanmar, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today welcomed a statement by the leaders of the country’s four main religions calling for the respect of religious freedom and tolerance as essential conditions for every child to grow and develop to her or his full potential, regardless of their or their parents' religions.
More on both of these items can be found online.
**Peacekeeping
Yesterday, the Under‑Secretary‑General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, chaired a follow‑up discussion with Member States that pledged support to UN Peacekeeping during and after the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping last month.
The discussions focused on current critical gaps, rapid deployment as well as on next steps, including the follow up conference to be held in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Ladsous is travelling today to France where he will attend a high‑level international conference for the economic recovery and development of Mali. That is taking place tomorrow in Paris. From there, he will travel to Cyprus and Jordan.
**Human Rights
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, presented his Office’s annual report today to the General Assembly’s Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee.
He said that the report laid bare the urgent need for better human rights protection across every field of human endeavor.
Zeid also said that the turmoil and crises that the international community faces clearly demonstrate the disasters that may occur when human rights are neglected. He added that they will only be solved when States apply the binding human rights commitments to which they have agreed.
It is by insisting on the dignity and worth of every human being, and securing their rights, that our States, together, will thrive, he said.
His full statement is available online.
**Press Conferences
For press conferences, today, at 1:15 pm, there will be a press briefing by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel García‑Margallo and the Interior Minister of Spain, Jorge Fernández Díaz.
Then at 10:30 a.m., tomorrow, in this room, there will be a press briefing by the Vice‑Chair of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Bernard Duhaime.
And at 11:15 a.m., there will be a press briefing by the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, David Kaye.
That's it from me. Yes, Mr. Abbadi?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Farhan. According to some media sources, the Secretary‑General speaking about violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank said that these acts of violence must be investigated. Is that correct? And if it is correct, who will do the investigation?
Deputy Spokesman: Our hope is that the relevant security officials in those areas will conduct any of the necessary investigations. I'd just refer you to the full text of what the Secretary‑General said following his meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and with President Abbas earlier today in which he talked about the need to follow up on looking into the causes and the violence and including actions by the relevant security forces. Yes?
Question: The statement made by Prime Minister Netanyahu was without any comment. First, while standing next to the Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu said that Abbas in fact joined Hamas and ISIS, and that is the reason for this trouble in Jerusalem. So that statement was heard by the Secretary‑General, and let it go without making any comment — by accusing the President of Palestine as a member of ISIS, it's a big accusation. The second, in a speech also Prime Minister Netanyahu distorted history when he accused the Palestinians now of the Holocaust when he said that, in fact, Haj Amin al‑Husseini convinced Hitler to kill the Jews and not to throw them out, which is that is an insult to the collective memory and to the national pride of the Palestinians and a statement issued by Germany today denying this accusation. Why this big false accusation to the Palestinian people to let go without the SG making any comment?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding a comment from our side on this, I can make one right now, which is that these views are not helpful to deescalating the current tensions. Throughout his visit the Secretary‑General has called on all political, community, and religious leaders to stand firm against incitement, and he will continue to do so. Regarding what you said about these remarks concerning the Holocaust, any suggestion that the Holocaust against the Jews could possibly have been inspired by Palestinians, Muslims, or anyone other than the Nazis would seem unthinkable. Majeed?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. I have a question about the statement about Iraq. On the UN website, it says the Government of Iraq and the UN launched a revised [inaudible] Iraqi humanitarian response plan seeking 498 million. Is this in addition to what was required this year? This is like, this is a big money. This is almost half a billion dollars, or it's the same amount the whole thing that is needed for Iraq?
Deputy Spokesman: This is what is needed for the remainder of this year I believe.
Correspondent: For the remainder of the year, for the remaining six months.
Deputy Spokesman: We had issued an appeal earlier, but with our appeals what we do is, over the course of the year, we provide updates on what continues to be needed. And as you will have heard, I just mentioned what the additional problems are in terms of displacement and the need to take care of that.
Question: I have one additional. Can your office give me a detail of how this money is spent? Is there any source that I can see? Like, how the money is spent by the UN and the Iraqi Government?
Deputy Spokesman: There is a website that we have that details our projects, and so I can just refer you over to that. But there is a place on our Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs website which details…
Question: The UN?
Deputy Spokesman: This would be the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, so it's there. Yes, Masood?
Question: On his visit, did the Secretary‑General understand from the Israeli authorities as to why they're so opposed to any international force in east Jerusalem and so forth? Why is [inaudible] so opposed to anything that is proposed by the Palestinians?
Deputy Spokesman: He's had discussions with both the Israeli and Palestinian leadership of course and I would refer you to the press remarks he's made after his meetings. He's made remarks to the press on all of those. I don't speak for either of the Governments of course so I don't provide the details about what their reasoning is, but he has, of course, talked to them about the situation, and including what their specific concerns are.
Question: I understand that you don’t speak for governments but do you understand that what is the Secretary‑General's position on any such international force which is basically meant to diffuse the situation over there, and to be an independent force, independent of Israeli pressure? That is what the objective is.
Deputy Spokesman: In terms of views, any question of force would require, as you know, a mandate, and we would leave it in the hands of the Security Council to determine that. So it's not for us to provide our own assessment of whether such a thing is needed or not. Ultimately we will be beholden to the members of the Security Council and will await their instructions. Yes, Matthew first and then Nizar.
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you… I'm sure you've seen this… the Grand Jury has returned an indictment against Ng Lap Seng, John Ashe, and others, and they've added new charges including money laundering. So I wanted to know now that it's not just the prosecutor but a Grand Jury has itself embraced these charges and added to them, what is, is the UN, who… as this process goes forward, does the UN look at these new charges and say, you know, even pending our audit how do we close these apparent holes that exist in our system? What's your process? What's your comment on the indictment?
Deputy Spokesman: Our comment on the indictment is that we certainly hope that the legal process that's under way in the United States can get to the bottom of this. We feel that there is a major need to determine what the truth is and what could be a very serious issue. As you know, the Secretary‑General made very clear that this goes to the heart of how the United Nations works and we would try to do anything we can to make sure that the truth can be determined. As we have made clear, we've offered our cooperation, as if so needed by the authorities, and if we get a request, the relevant request, from the U.S. authorities, we would follow up on that.
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you about another event here. Sheri Yan, who is also among the indictees yesterday, there was a painting exhibition. I actually remember it well. It was in September 2014 in the Secretariat lobby where the coffee shop is now, and basically it was presented as, you know, art exhibition. It's still… the video is still on UN TV, but the artist was, in fact, Sheri Yan's father. So some people are asking: Is this how the UN works? What is the process, if you could explain it generally speaking, in order to have a, quote, UN art exhibit? And is it appropriate, can someone just flash cash and get their relative to have a show inside the UN?
Deputy Spokesman: No, not in the least. There is a Committee that deals with exhibitions, and exhibitions are vetted through that Committee. At the same time, in terms of determining how the specific exhibition went, as you know, the Office for Internal Oversight services is doing an audit and we'll see whether it turns up any information about how any of these particular projects or events occurred here.
Question: Is it a DPI Committee or a Department of Management? What is that Committee?
Deputy Spokesman: The Department of Public Information has the key role in that. Yes?
Question: I have two questions, one on Saudi Arabia and one on Yemen. On Saudi Arabia, now it's many weeks since this disaster happened in Hajj. The figures about Hajj has been ranging between 700 of the death toll, have been ranging between 700 and over 2,200 — the latest estimates. Are you following up, is the United Nations following up on that? And does the United Nations support investigation because the Saudi authorities seems to be reluctant to cooperate with any country to investigate what happened. Many people are still missing there.
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding that, I'd just refer you to the statement we issued at the time, where we expressed the Secretary‑General's own concerns and his condolence following this tragedy. As for any investigation, of course, it's important to make sure that all steps are taken to avoid any sort of recurrence of this type of disaster so we would appreciate any such effort.
Question: How about the responsibility to what happened? Thousands of people perished as a result of mismanagement, as they say, of the event, which is an annual… and this has happened many times in the past.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, it's our hope that the authorities will do the appropriate follow‑up, and again, I'd refer you back to what we said at the time. Hold on, there's other questions please. Yes?
Question: Yes, thank you. As you know, yesterday, UNESCO did vote, and they, on some resolution where they have proclaimed the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb as Muslim sites. But they did not, they withdrew, was withdrawn, a resolution to re-designate the Western Wall as part of al Aqsa Mosque. You fielded several questions about this yesterday. I'm wondering if you can shed any light as to whether the Secretary‑General had any views on this decision not to change the status quo? And if he had any opinion whatsoever? I know that the Secretary‑General of UNESCO certainly weighed in, and that's being credited with the events that happened.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, exactly. Irina Bokova did speak on this, and the sort of concerns that she had which the Secretary‑General supported, as you yourself have noted, seemed to have been taken into consideration, and that is a positive sign. The Secretary‑General, as we have made clear, wanted to make sure that the status quo with regard to the holy sites would be maintained, and that seems to be the case.
Correspondent: So you're saying the Secretary‑General supported Bokova's position.
Deputy Spokesman: What the Director‑General of UNESCO said? Yes, yes, their views, they shared the views on the importance of maintaining the historic status quo there.
Question: On Yemen, is there any improvement in the delivery of aid to Yemen? There were reports that a lot of aid which was located in Djibouti was sold by those who are responsible of distributing it, and those from the Yemeni Government.
Deputy Spokesman: As I believe Stéphane pointed out last week, the aid has started to move. We had mentioned a backlog of ships that had been docked which were waiting to deliver their aid. It has been moving slowly, and then we'd given a little bit of an update at the end of last week on that but some of it is now on the move, and we're hoping that it will get to the people who need it most.
Question: How would you describe the situation in Aden? Because the reports coming from there say that Al Qaeda is in full control of Aden nowadays and this is where the official Government is supposed to be, right?
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding the situation everywhere in the country, we continue to have concerns about the large amounts of violence, and the large humanitarian needs throughout Yemen. This is why the Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, continues with his work trying to bringing the parties together. And he's trying to finalize arrangements so he can get to face‑to‑face talks.
Correspondent: On Al Qaeda…
Deputy Spokesman: Sorry, Nizar, you've got to give other people a chance for questions.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Sometimes when there are misinformation, I have to say something, but I also end it with a question. There are two different issues here. The status quo agreement was signed with Jordan in 1994. It has to do with the administration of the holy sites, because Israel doesn't want to deal with the Palestinian Authority at that moment. There was an agreement between Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority to keep the status quo as Jordan being the custodian of this area. That's one thing. Now, my question, the Western Wall of Jerusalem, is it recognized as Occupied Territories which was occupied in 1967 or not? If not, then that means the Secretary‑General agrees that this Western Wall is not Occupied Territory, and that is a change of the status of Jerusalem and the status of the all territories occupied in 1967. So can you distinguish between both, being part of the Occupied Territories in 1967, and being under this status quo agreement, which was reached between Israel and Jordan with the consent of the Palestinians?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, first of all, regarding Jordan, what we continue to stress and have always stressed, is the importance of reducing tensions at the holy places in Jerusalem, and calling, and we've called for upholding the status quo in line with previous understandings between Israel and Jordan, with respect to Jordan's special role. And as you know, the Secretary‑General will go to see the King of Jordan tomorrow. He's already in Amman and presumably we will be able to discuss that further at that point. Regarding the issue of the holy sites, our priority is simply that the rules for access to the holy sites remain in place as they have done for the past decades. We are trying to preserve that historic status quo, and that is without prejudice to questions of occupation. Yes, Benny.
Question: Regarding that UNESCO Resolution, you said that the concerns of the Secretary‑General and Bokova were heeded? Or… yeah, were addressed.
Deputy Spokesman: I mean, I don't — I'm not commenting on the resolution as a whole, but regarding the status of the holy sites in Jerusalem, with that regard, we had concerns about maintaining the status quo.
Question: Okay. So since you keep talking about the need to reduce tensions, that resolution as it passed today designated Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs, both of which are holy to Jews as well as Muslims, as Muslim sites, Muslim‑only. Didn't say anything about Jewish sites. So does that help in reducing tensions? Or could that exacerbate some of the feverish tensions that exist now based on religion?
Deputy Spokesman: Our hope continues to be that all Member States will try to act responsibly and to avoid exacerbating tensions throughout the Holy Lands, including throughout the various holy sites.
Question: Farhan… [cross talk]
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding that resolution, as you know, this is a resolution passed by Member States. It's not something that we have proposed, and in fact, if you look at what the Secretary‑General and Irina Bokova have said, we had raised our own concerns about changes to the previous status quo.
Question: Farhan, it passed by an organization that ends in ESCO. What are the first letters of that organization?
Deputy Spokesman: That's a rhetorical point. You're not asking a factual question, are you?
Correspondent: I'm asking. I'm just saying that, you're saying that you continue employing the shaggy defense: “It wasn't me, it wasn't me. It wasn't me.” UNESCO is a UN body. On a day that the Secretary‑General calls on everybody to reduce tensions, a UN body passes a resolution that you're not saying whether it is helping to reduce tension or it actually exacerbates them.
Deputy Spokesman: As we have made clear over and over again, whether it's different bodies of Member States for the agency's funds and programs, whether it's the General Assembly, whether it's the Security Council, there are always key decisions that are taken by Member States and we…
Question: Should UNESCO help in reducing tensions or not?
Deputy Spokesman: We have made very clear what our concerns are and our concerns remain. But again, we do not speak for individual Governments. Yes.
Question: Yes, Farhan, a statement made by the Israeli Prime Minister, the horrible statement that he made, that somehow Palestinian, all Palestinian authorities, were complicit in Holocaust, which is absolutely horrible, did the Secretary‑General take an exception at that time when he made the statement, the Prime Minister of Israel?
Deputy Spokesman: That was in an audience that was separate from when he met with the Secretary‑General. That wasn't at their meeting. You've heard what I had to say when Abdelhamid asked about it just now, and that's where we stand. Yes you and then, and then — you haven't had a shot yet, have you? Why don't you go first then.
Question: I'm trying to get clarification on this whole Mufti al‑Husseini thing, because the historical records do show that he was a Nazi collaborator involved in training Bosnian forces, Nazi forces, taking trips to meetings in Germany and a whole slew of things that are actually — there are photographs, everything's there. It's a historical record. So what exactly is the UN position on this?
Deputy Spokesman: To repeat what I just said: Any suggestion that the Holocaust against the Jews could possibly have been inspired by Palestinians, Muslims, or anyone other than the Nazis would seem unthinkable. Yes?
Correspondent: Farhan, I have to challenge you on this because historical records show that he was involved in consultations on what to do with the…
Deputy Spokesman: That is not the quote.
Correspondent: It's in the records.
Deputy Spokesman: With all due respect, Jonathan, that's not the quote with which we have disputed. The idea again that anyone other than the Nazis was the inspiration for the Holocaust is one that we're not giving credence to. Yes?
Question: Okay, I wanted to ask, I'm sure you've seen there's an audit by the Global Fund has come out of the UN's operations in South Sudan to fight various forms of disease and they say that up to 36 per cent of the buildings constructed with donor money were never occupied and basically it's a pretty damning audit. And I wanted to know: Given it's one of the countries that the UN has a major peacekeeping mission in and talks about protection of civilians, what is the UN System's response to this audit?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we'll need to check with the UN Mission in South Sudan what they have to say in terms of a follow‑up to that audit.
Question: Can I ask a Sri Lanka question? Yesterday you said this trip by Mr. Jenca, I wanted to know there's been a… Mahinda Rajapaksa before he left power commissioned his own report which has now been tabled in Parliament there. It's basically kind of the Government's response to the UN report, and in some ways it's proposing amnesties. It's called the Maxwell Paranagama report, and I wanted to know: Is this the kind of thing that Mr. Jenca will be… what's the follow‑up I guess on the statements that have been made by the Secretary‑General in terms of accepting a mostly domestic somewhat hybrid process? And what does he think of this a move now in Sri Lanka?
Deputy Spokesman: I think first we'll have Mr. Jenca go to Sri Lanka, meet with President Sirisena and other officials, and we can see from there what the results of his discussions are but certainly we have always called for accountability and he'll continue to press for that. Yes? Yes, Mr. Abbadi.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Just a point of clarification. You indicated earlier that the Ambassador of Spain will give a Press Briefing in this room. What's the subject under discussion?
Deputy Spokesman: It's not the Ambassador of Spain. It will be the Foreign Minister and Interior Minister of Spain, and that will be at 1:15.
Question: And the subject of discussion?
Deputy Spokesman: That's for you to see when it happens. Have a good afternoon, everyone.