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.
**Burundi
I have a readout of the Secretary-General’s phone call with Dr. [Nkosazana Dlamini] Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Today, the Secretary-General called H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to discuss the situation in Burundi.
The Secretary-General welcomed the decision made by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council on 17 October to address the political impasse and deteriorating security situation in Burundi. He noted that such comprehensive and resolute action could offer Burundi the opportunity to put an end to the continuing violence and find a consensual political solution on the way forward.
The Secretary-General assured the Chairperson of the African Union Commission that the United Nations stands ready to provide any support necessary to advance the implementation of the measures agreed upon by the members of the African Union Peace and Security Council. That readout should be available on the web very soon, as well as a version in French.
**Syria
Back here, Stephen O’Brien, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the Security Council on Syria this morning and said that, by any measure, the situation there has worsened since the beginning of the year. He estimated that some 13.5 million people in Syria are in need of some form of protection and humanitarian assistance throughout the country, an increase of about 1.2 million people in just ten months. More than 6 million of those in need are children. He added that there are now some 6.5 million people displaced inside Syria. In addition, 4.2 million have fled the country, with neighbouring countries in the region bearing an enormous burden.
Mr. O’Brien warned that indiscriminate attacks on civilian-populated areas continue with impunity. In Aleppo city, for example, pro-government forces and non-State armed opposition groups have continued mutual shelling inside civilian-populated areas of Aleppo city, with hundreds killed and injured in September.
He added that while humanitarian workers now know where those considered most vulnerable are located, humanitarian organizations are still not able to get sustained, unimpeded access to millions of affected people. Latest estimates indicate that some 4.5 million people are living in hard-to-reach areas. His remarks are available in my office.
Meanwhile, as a result of new donor support, the World Food Programme (WFP) has increased the value of electronic vouchers used to provide food assistance to extremely vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon to an average of $21 per person per month. That’s 80 per cent of the full intended value of the vouchers.
In addition, the World Food Programme is resuming assistance to 229,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan who stopped receiving food vouchers in September due to severe shortage of funds. Their electronic vouchers will be uploaded with a value of $14 per person per month. More information on WFP’s website.
**Yemen
Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund], said that the health facility reportedly attacked today in Saada, Yemen, is the 39th health centre hit since the violence escalated in March. Critical shortages of fuel, medications, electricity, petrol and water threaten to stop many more from operating.
Mr. Lake warned that more children in Yemen may die from a lack of medicines and healthcare than from bullets and bombs. The threat of preventable diseases is acute and the number of children at risk of the deadliest form of malnutrition has tripled to more than half a million. Across the country, 10 million children require humanitarian aid. Once again, Mr. Lake appeals to all of those involved to respect international humanitarian law and bring an end to this tragedy.
Also on Yemen, UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] reports from Geneva that, despite the ongoing conflict in Yemen, almost 70,000 refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants — primarily from Ethiopia and Somalia — have arrived by boat in Yemen so far this year. More than half of these arrivals have been since the conflict erupted in March. UNHCR is providing shelter, food and medical care in the Mayfa'a reception centre for those arriving on the Arabian Sea coast. For those arriving along the Red Sea coast, reception facilities have been suspended after an attack destroyed a village hosting new arrivals in Bab el Mandab. More information online.
**Central African Republic
From the CAR [Central African Republic], the UN Mission in the country, MINUSCA, has strongly condemned the attack yesterday in Bangui against a UPC delegation — that’s the Union pour la paix en Centrafrique. The delegation was attacked by unknown assailants in the 8th district of the capital. One representative was seriously wounded and taken to the MINUSCA hospital in Bangui for emergency treatment. The whereabouts of at least three delegates are currently being investigated.
The Mission says the attack comes at a moment when the Head of State of the Transition, the national authorities and the international community have been steadfastly engaged in consensus-building dialogue to establish an electoral calendar. MINUSCA denounces this attempt to use violence to disrupt, once again, the positive developments underway. The Mission calls on those behind this attack to release any hostages they might be illegally detaining. It also calls for calm and restraint by all sides and asks them to resolve their differences through dialogue.
**Western Sahara
An update from Tindouf, Algeria, where the Sahrawi refugee camps suffered from unprecedented heavy rains causing catastrophic damages: According to initial UN estimates, at least 7,000 families have suffered total or partial destruction of their homes. More destruction could occur as the mud brick constructions continue to crumble. The most urgent need is to provide shelter. Food stocks, health services, and other social infrastructure such as schools have also suffered.
UN Agencies have established a coordination team led by UNHCR with the Algerian and Sahrawi Red Crescents as well as NGOs [non-governmental organizations] active in the camps. Initial shipments of emergency supplies have been scheduled and a flash appeal for humanitarian aid will be issued in the next few days. The UN calls on the international community to mobilize to meet these urgent requirements. Beyond these immediate needs, planning and financing for the rebuilding of the camps on a less fragile basis will be required to provide for the refugees until they are able to return home.
**South Asia
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the major impact of the recent earthquake in Afghanistan was in the provinces of Kunar, Takhar, Badakshan and Nangarkhar. According to authorities, 74 people have been reported killed, more than 250 people have been injured and some 4,000 houses damaged or destroyed.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that national and provincial authorities are responding to needs, supported by the international humanitarian community. Over the border in Pakistan, the official death toll has risen to 228 people with 1,600 injured and over 2,500 houses damaged. For its part, UNICEF warned today that children in earthquake-hit areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan are facing further deadly threats as extreme conditions and insecurity cut off communities from aid. More information online.
**Ukraine
From Ukraine, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that we resumed our aid operations in parts of Luhansk that are not under Government control after a three-month suspension. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Neal Walker, said the UN is working with all parties to quickly distribute aid to the most vulnerable people. Some 16,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other materials have been ready to be delivered for some time. Mr. Walker said he hoped to receive similar permission to resume aid operations in Donetsk.
**Youth Violence
I’d also like to flag the publication today by the World Health Organization (WHO) of Preventing youth violence: an overview of the evidence. That report aims to help policy-makers and planners — particularly in settings with limited human and financial resources — to address youth violence using an evidence-informed approach. More information on their website.
**Appointments
Two appointments today related to the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, known as UNAMID: the Secretary-General and the African Union Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, are announcing today the appointment of Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi of Nigeria as Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of UNAMID. He succeeds Mr. Bashua of Nigeria, to whom the Secretary-General and the Chairperson wish to reiterate their deep appreciation for his dedicated service during his tenure as Acting Joint Special Representative.
Also heading to Darfur will be Bintou Keita of Guinea, who will take up the post of Deputy Joint Special Representative. Ms. Keita succeeds Abdul Kamara of Sierra Leone, to whom the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the AU [African Union] are grateful for his dedicated service during his tenure with UNAMID.
**Earlier Questions
Yesterday, Matthew you asked about South Sudan. The Department for Peacekeeping Operations says that it is aware of reports of SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] attacks in Leer. While the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) does not currently have presence in Leer, it is looking at ways to improve its ability to assess the situation and enhance the protection of civilians by establishing longer and more established presence in southern Unity state.
**Honour Roll
Thank you to our friends in Gaborone, as Botswana has paid its regular budget dues in full, making it the 137th Member State to do so.
**Department of Public Information
You correspondents are all invited to attend the opening of the "Unknown Spaces Exhibit", this evening at 6 p.m., in the 1B neck area of the Conference Building. “Unknown Spaces” examines the impact of the United Nations on local communities, and the influence of local communities on staff members. After its premiere in Vienna in 2013, the exhibition travelled to Nairobi in 2014 before coming to New York, as part of the seventieth anniversary celebration.
And then at 6:30 p.m., you are also invited to attend a special event entitled “Markings and Music” which is taking place in the ECOSOC [Economic and Social Council] Chamber. The event will feature readings by Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson from Dag Hammarskjöld's book Markings, with musical interludes by Swedish pianist Per Tengstrand. And I am probably mispronouncing the name. If you are interested, Tal [Mekel] has tickets for you.
**Press Conferences
At 1 p.m. here: press conference by the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed. At 2 p.m., Foreign Minister of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parilla. Tomorrow, at 11 a.m., in this very room, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Marzuki Darusman. Mr. Klein?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you. I just want to get an update whether, to your knowledge, there has been any inquiry from U.S. officials to any UN department regarding the charges against Mr. [John] Ashe and…
Spokesman: No, I'm not aware of any official discussions.
Question: Okay. And, secondly, when the UN audit is completed and any other internal investigations are completed, if there are findings of serious wrongdoing, is there an intention to share those findings on a confidential basis with U.S. authorities?
Spokesman: I'm not going to prejudge what will happen. But what I can tell you, if… whenever the UN finds wrongdoing that is possibly criminal in nature, it is shared with the local judicial authorities. Yes, Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. I mean, first, just a… just… I have to ask. Mr. Ashe has now been released on $1 million bail. And I wonder since he was the PGA [President of the General Assembly] here not long ago, do you have any response to that?
Spokesman: I think the judicial system seems to be going through its process. I think the Secretary‑General spoke to his shock and reaction when this was announced, and there's nothing else to add.
Question: And I wanted to ask something else that's come up. In that meeting that was held in Macau in August, one… and there's been some… some outside reporting on the Prime Minister of Dominica, Mr. [Roosevelt] Skerrit, was there… and it's reported in Dominica that some of the South‑South Cooperation that was discussed had to do with casinos in… by Mr. Ng [Lap Seng] in Dominica. And although you could say this is between a business and a country, given the use of the UN, of this conference and the office of South‑South production, I wonder, one, can you say definitively whether UNDP [United Nations Development Programme] considers gambling facilities to be a part of South‑South Cooperation? And, two, it's arisen that Dominica had a number of people that were not from their island that were registered at the UN as ambassadors of the country. And I wanted to know, generally from you, does the UN give any special scrutiny to non‑residents of… non‑nationals of a place being named ambassadors? How does that process work?
Spokesman: The credentialing of delegates is the responsibility of Member States. There are credential… if credentials are challenged, there's a committee… Member State committee that addresses it. Obviously, the UN doesn't work towards investment in gambling. What the Prime Minister of a Member State discusses with a business official is really nothing that I can have any special insight or knowledge about.
Question: That's why I'd like to reiterate. And Joe has asked it as well, but to get this, I guess, still described as new head of the office of South‑South Cooperation…
Spokesman: He's still new, yes.
Question: I know he's still new. But basically there's written questions that haven't been answered. Farhan [Haq] said he was going to answer something about the conference. It would be great to have him come and answer…
Spokesman: I hear you. Go?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. The US Navy destroyer has sailed close to the… this controversial Chinese artificial island, and the China claim that this is a serious violation of the sovereignty. What's the UN position? Is this US Navy act legal or illegal, according to the international law?
Spokesman: Well, I think what the Secretary‑General has done… I think the Secretary‑General has noted with concern the increased tensions that we're seeing in the South China Sea. I'm not going to rule on the legality or illegality of this act from here. I think the broader message from the Secretary‑General is that… and the one he's consistently stressed since we've seen this heightened tensions over the last… over some time now is that all parties should exercise the utmost restraint and resolve their disputes in a peaceful manner through dialogue in conformity with international law, including the United Nations Charter. Yes?
Question: Just a follow-up: So, the Secretary‑General consider this act a provocation or…?
Spokesman: That's not what I said. What I said is that he's noted the increased tensions in the South China Sea. Majid and then we'll go to the back.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I have a question about Syria. There are reports recently about the use of dumb bombs by Russia increasingly. It's not… none precise guided bombs that causes indiscriminate targeting. And some groups inside Syria reported the civilian deaths of this. There's also a report of civilian death by the U.S. airstrikes. My question was: what is the particular reason that this morning Mr. O'Brien didn't mention the civilian casualties caused by the U.S. or Russia airstrikes or any other UN report? Is this a lack of information or there's…
Spokesman: You know, obviously, I think the report and Mr. O'Brien's speech at the Security Council makes it very clear in terms of the devastating toll that civilians are carrying in Syria, either through violence from Government, pro‑Government forces, their allies or from non-state armed groups — that civilians are basically caught in the middle, reiterating the need for a political dialogue. Consistently since the beginning of this conflict and since we have seen outside parties involved in airstrikes, the Secretary‑General has consistently called on them to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties. Yet, unfortunately, we have seen a large amount of civilian casualties.
Question: Just a follow-up: To be more accurate, he means… he used the word… as you mentioned, he used the word "parties" in the conflict. Does that mean the US and Russia… UN consider them parties of the Syrian conflict?
Spokesman: I think any… whether it's non-State actors or State actors that are operating militarily in Syria are considered parties to this. Yes, sir?
Question: Follow‑up on that. Human Rights Watch reported that in… in… Russian air bombardment, 59 people killed from the two families. Do you have any information about it? And…
Spokesman: Again, I don't have any specific information on that detailed incident, but I would reiterate the Secretary‑General's call on all the parties involved to avoid any civilian casualties. Sam, and then we'll go to the back.
Question: Just on the question of the party to the conflict. In Yemen, does the UN consider a country like the US party to the conflict there? They're supplying weapons. They're offering targeting intelligence. They're doing resupply missions. How does that fall under what the UN views there?
Spokesman: I think, as I said, anyone who is involved in any military conflict, in any role has a responsibility to do its utmost to avoid civilian casualties. Unfortunately, as we've seen today, we've seen another hospital being bombed with most likely… reportedly being bombed with, most likely, casualties. I think it serves as a reminder to all to avoid targeting any civilian infrastructure and to avoid any civilian casualties. Yeah?
Question: Just a follow‑up on the South China Sea. What is the SG's position on China building the artificial islands?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary‑General has called on all the parties involved in the current tensions to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner through dialogue in conformity with international law, including the Charter of these United Nations. Mr. Lee, then Go?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you about… on Burundi, first, just… just in trying to read between the lines of that readout, does this mean… is the Secretary‑General any closer to naming the envoy that was described as imminent some months ago?
Spokesman: I think it was obviously not the right choice of words.
Question: All right. No, no… I'm not trying… it's not a "gotcha". I'm just wondering, where does it…?
Spokesman: When it's announced, it's announced.
Correspondent: And more specifically, two things. There's… one, there's a report on RPA, a kind of a… a… a media in Burundi that's been attacked by the Government, but their report is the Burundian police in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, have not “received their benefits for 16 months since they've been at the mission and that they're protesting”. And I want… and this is actually blamed on the UN. So, I wanted to know…
Spokesman: I haven't seen any reports of protests, but we'll look.
Question: And there was supposedly a letter of Burundi opposition to the Secretary‑General, Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman and Mr. [Herveé] Ladsous about the continued participation of Burundian forces in UN peacekeeping. Are you aware of that letter?
Spokesman: I have not seen that letter. Go?
Question: Can you check it?
Spokesman: Yes.
Question: Thank you. Sorry. Again, it's on the same subject. Can you tell us, generally speaking, if any country can claim any right of… territorial right based on any artificial island?
Spokesman: I think, at the risk of using the same words, maybe in a different order, I think what the Secretary‑General feels is that the differences that we're seeing between different countries in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully in accordance with international law. Mr. Klein?
Question: Thank you. I think previously, you said that, if I heard it correctly, that there weren't any…?
Spokesman: Just don't quote me back at me. Go ahead. I'm sorry.
Question: I believe you used the word "official". You said there weren't any official contacts between the UN and US officials concerning the recent charges at Mr. Ashe, et cetera.
Spokesman: That's what I said.
Question: Is that… is that… could you say whether there have been any unoff… without getting into details? I understand… any unofficial or informal contacts…
Spokesman: No, I cannot say that.
Question: Stéphane, about human rights reports with regard to Iran, yesterday Mr. Ahmed Shaheed praised Iran and said they are more engaged with the UN about this particular issue of human rights. Does the Secretary‑General share the same opinion? You think…?
Spokesman: Well, obviously, the special rapporteur is independent, has his own opinion. I know the Secretary‑General and the Deputy Secretary‑General have raised the issues of human rights in their various bilateral meetings, whether it's here in New York, with various Iranian officials or in Tehran and have always been engaged… have been engaged constructively on the issue. Mr. Lee and then Sam?
Question: Syria and Saudi Arabia separately. On Syria, I'm wondering if you have any explanation or statement on this delivery of expired biscuits to the rebel‑controlled areas in Zabadani.
Spokesman: And the other question?
Question: The other question is about… there's been… apparently, there was a pause in the flogging of Raif Badawi, noted human rights activist, but now his supporters say that he received specific information from within the Kingdom that it will resume. So, I wanted to ask you again, what… one, what has the UN done during this brief hiatus in flogging? And what do you say about prospective flogging…
Spokesman: We would hope that the flogging does not take place and we… which we consider cruel and unusual punishment. On the biscuits, as you may be aware, it was the UN humanitarian coordinator himself who came out and announced that, to his regret, the UN was informed that 320 out of 650 boxes of high‑energy biscuits sent to Zabadani and Madaya as part of the relief convoy earlier in this month had, in fact, expired in September 2015. This was the result of a very unfortunate human error during the loading process. The biscuits themselves were a very small portion of what was shipped. And obviously, I think whether it's the UN or the humanitarian partners… the Syrian humanitarian partners we work with take these kinds of issues very closely, very seriously. You know, what we have found after checking with medical sources is that the consumption of these biscuits, which had expired about a month ago, do not pose any health risk to children or anyone who consumes them. That being said, obviously, we're trying to replace them as quickly as possible and ask the communities that have received them to isolate those biscuits. Mr. Oakford?
Question: Just a follow‑up on my first question. Does the SG think that a country like the US and Yemen should be investigating on their own in some capacity civilian deaths that have resulted from a coalition that they're supporting heavily, maybe in reference to international law…?
Spokesman: I think anyone who has… who plays a part in the conflict should investigate any incident where there are civilian casualties. Go. Yes, try… you can try again. Okay.
Question: I give up for the last subject. Regarding the draft resolution calling to finalize the embargo against Cuba, apparently it was adopted just few minutes ago, with 191 in favour and 2 against. Do you have any comment on that?
Spokesman: No, you know, I'll get something to you shortly. Okay. Thank you.