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.
**Libya
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) calls on the main political stakeholders in Libya to redouble their efforts in bringing the Libyan political dialogue process to a successful conclusion. Such a conclusion would allow for an agreement to form a Government of national accord and resume Libya’s democratic transition.
Immediately after the conclusion of the Libyan Political Dialogue, the UN Support Mission in Libya transmitted on 11 October the Libyan Political Agreement to the main political stakeholders for their endorsement. Following this, the Mission has undertaken extensive consultations with parties across the Libyan political spectrum on ways to address some of the concerns with respect to the configuration of the Presidency Council, especially those related to fair and adequate representation for the east, more specifically Benghazi.
Meanwhile, in response to questions concerning the leadership of the UN Support Mission in Libya, the Secretary-General has reaffirmed that his Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino León, remains fully engaged on his behalf in facilitating the Libyan Political Dialogue. The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to reiterate his full confidence in Mr. León's efforts.
**Syria
A note on Syria: you will have seen we issued a statement late on Friday on the Secretary-General supporting the discussions that took place in Vienna. Meanwhile, the Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, spent the last two days in Damascus, where he discussed with the Government of Syria the outcomes of the Vienna conference and the importance of early confidence-building measures in order to maintain the spirit of the Vienna meeting.
**Yemen
Turning to Yemen, our colleagues at the World Food Programme (WFP) say that Yemen’s fragile food security is deteriorating fast. Ten out of Yemen’s 22 governorates are classified as facing food insecurity at “emergency” level — one step below famine. Humanitarian organizations need to be able to move freely and safely to provide assistance to reach all those in urgent need before they fall deeper into crisis. Yemen has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world. Now, an estimated one in five people is “severely food insecure” and in urgent need of food assistance.
The security situation in Yemen continues to be tense. Airstrikes and ground conflict reported across the country have major implications for the ability of the World Food Programme to deliver food. Road access to Taiz from Sana’a is particularly affected by insecurity and conflict in the governorate. Despite colossal challenges, WFP has been reaching 1 million people on average every month since the conflict started. In September and October, the World Food Programme scaled up its response, providing food assistance to over 2.5 million people across Yemen each month.
Also on Yemen, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that a category 3 cyclone is bearing down on Yemen's southern coast and is expected to make landfall early tomorrow morning. The effects of the cyclone may be felt over large parts of Yemen, but are likely to be more severe in the coastal governorates of Shabwah and Hadhramaut. These governorates have a combined population of about 1.8 million people, 1.4 million of whom are already considered in need of humanitarian support. OCHA and UN agencies are monitoring, planning and pre-positioning relief in preparation for the landfall of the storm.
**Central African Republic
On the Central African Republic, the UN [Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization] Mission in the country, MINUSCA, reports continuing tensions in Bangui. UN police personnel were yesterday caught in crossfire during clashes in the vicinity of Fatima Church in the 6th district of Bangui. No injury was reported. Earlier in the day, there was movement of a group from the Muslim stronghold in the 3rd district towards the Christian-dominated Kpetene area in 6th district. UN police officers interposed between the two communities to prevent clashes. The Mission also sent reinforcements, including armoured vehicles to the area.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Mamadou Diallo, strongly condemned the abduction on Sunday of 14 aid workers working for a Congolese NGO [non-governmental organization] in the Rutshuru area in North Kivu Province. He said that this abduction confirms the fragile security situation in which many humanitarian organizations are working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and whose first victims are the local people.
**Iraq
As you will have seen, the UN [Assistance] Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) released yesterday its regular casualty figures: a total of 714 Iraqis were killed and another 1,269 were wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in October 2015. Ján Kubiš, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, said that the figures illustrate the suffering of the people of Iraq from terrorism and conflict. More information on the UNAMI website.
**Ukraine
The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien, arrived in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv today for a three-day mission which we had announced last week. He met with Prime Minister [Arseniy] Yatsenyuk and had a good discussion on ways to get vital humanitarian aid to people in need. Tomorrow, Mr. O'Brien is scheduled to travel to areas in the east of Ukraine to see for himself the impact of the conflict on civilians caught in the middle of the fighting.
**Myanmar
As you will have seen yesterday, we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General expressed his deep concern at the continuous resort to hate speech, the incitement of communal animosities and the abuse of religion for political purposes resorted to by extreme elements among the majority community in Myanmar. He noted the antagonism displayed in certain quarters against international organizations, including the United Nations. With the approaching elections on 8 November, the Secretary-General urged all concerned in Myanmar to eschew any kind of pressure, intimidation, dissemination of hatred or violence against individuals or organizations based on their ethnic identity, gender, religious persuasion or political views.
**Journalism
Today, as you may know, is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. In his message for the day, the Secretary-General stressed that more than 700 journalists have been killed in the past decade and that only 7 per cent of those cases are resolved, and less than 1 crime out of 10 is even fully investigated. Such impunity deepens fear among journalists and enables Governments to get away with censorship, the Secretary-General said, adding that the world must do more to combat this trend and make sure that journalists can report freely. That message is available online.
**Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Just to flag an event here at Headquarters tomorrow with the High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres: he will take part in panel discussion on the importance of nationality in today’s world, marking the first anniversary of the launch of UNHCR’s [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] #IBelong campaign to end statelessness by the end of 2024. This event will take place at 11:30 a.m. in Conference Room 11.
**Press Conferences
Also tomorrow, in fact, also at 11:30 a.m., so you will have to choose, the President of the General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft, will address reporters at the General Assembly Stakeout area, just outside of the GA Hall on the 2nd Floor. He will brief on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly and also his recommendations to Member States to strengthen the institution and integrity of the Office of the President of the General Assembly. And then, at 12:30 p.m., there will be a briefing President of the Security Council for the month of November, Ambassador Matthew Rycroft of the United Kingdom. He will be here to, of course, brief on the Council’s programme for the month of November.
**Côte d’Ivoire
Just before I give you the floor, two more things; one: a statement just handed to me on the final results of the presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire.
The Secretary-General welcomes the publication of the final results of the presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire by the Constitutional Council on 2 November — that would be today — and congratulates President Alassane Ouattara on his re-election.
The Secretary-General also congratulates the people and Government of Côte d’Ivoire on the successful conclusion of the presidential election. He applauds the Independent Electoral Commission for having organized and carried out the elections in a professional manner in accordance with the law and the Constitution of Côte d’Ivoire. He also wishes to acknowledge the role played by the different electoral observation teams, including from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States. The Secretary-General acknowledges in particular the commendable engagement of civil society, which contributed to enhance the transparency and credibility of the elections.
The Secretary-General believes the successful conduct of these polls confirms that Côte d'Ivoire is returning towards lasting peace and stability. He commends the Ivorian leadership and people for their tireless efforts over the past five years to consolidate peace, and promote democracy and the rule of law. He is hopeful that the same democratic and peaceful spirit will prevail in the conduct of the upcoming legislative elections.
The Secretary-General looks forward to working closely with President [Alassane] Ouattara and the people of Côte d’Ivoire in defining the future role of the United Nations in support of the consolidation of peace, stability and democracy in the country. That statement is not only available in my office, it is also available in French in my office. I will spare you the reading of the French.
**Appointment
Lastly, a Senior Personnel Appointment for today: the Secretary General is announcing the appointment of Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia as Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Mr. Gettu succeeds María Eugenia Casar of Mexico, who is taking up a new position as the Executive Director of the Agency for International Cooperation and Development of Mexico. The Secretary-General expresses his gratitude to Ms. Casar for her services to the Organization and her role in leading change from within UNDP. Mr. Gettu is currently serving as Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, and has previously had a distinguished career within UNDP. Lots more information available for you in my office. Nizar, Matthew.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Stéphane, regarding the situation in Yemen, there are… news are saying that there's intensification of bombardment… aerial bombardment, in the east of Taiz, using… some videos showed cluster munition being dropped on there, and some phosphorus bombs. Are you receiving any reports about the using of banned munition in that area?
Spokesman: We have not… I have not seen any reports of using any type of phosphorus or any other ammunition. We will check, but, again, as I will tell you, our presence on the ground is limited and very much focused on humanitarian issues, so we don't have the forensic ability to look at these things. But, obviously, I will look to see if we have any reports. We have not seen any lessening of the violence that the Yemeni people have suffered from since this conflict gained intensity a few months ago. To that end, the Secretary‑General's Special Envoy is continuing his discussions. He's in Qatar today, traveling to Jordan tomorrow, to work with Yemeni elders on recommendations that the peace talks can also build on. But, basically, the preliminary work he's doing with both parties is continuing.
Question: Is this separate from the track of Mr. [Ismail] Ould Cheikh Ahmed? I mean, talking to the elders…
Spokesman: This is who is talking to the elders. It's the Special Envoy.
Question: The Special Envoy?
Spokesman: Yeah.
Correspondent: Okay. Regarding the convening of the conference… proposed conference in Geneva, there are reports that… saying that Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed is not meeting any of Ansarullah, Houthis and the… Ali Saleh’s group.
Spokesman: The Special Envoy will meet whoever he needs to meet with. You know, we've seen reports about a possible date… or venue for the talks. Nothing yet has been confirmed. But, it would be ideal to hold the talks by mid‑November, but obviously, that will depend on progress on the ongoing preparations. Nizar, I… I… I know, but with you the follow‑ups are like Alice in Wonderland. It's a rabbit hole. So, I will come back to you. Masood and then Matthew.
Question: Yeah, thank you, Stéphane. Just one. Over the weekend, the Secretary‑General weighed in on the Vienna talks wherein he suggested that Mr. Bashar al-Assad’s fate should not be made… I mean, should not be made sort of a hos-… should not be a hostage to the talks, in the sense that does he mean that Mr. [Bashar] al-Assad should stay, or does he mean that he should go?
Spokesman: I think, Masood, the Secretary‑General was very clear. He said exactly the fate of one man should not hold the talks hostage, and that the future of… if you look at exact I had what he said, the future of Mr. [al-]Assad should be decided upon by the people of Syria. Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. Thanks. I want to ask about Burundi and Macau. The… on Burundi, there's been… there was a speech by the President of the Senate, saying that opposition neighbourhoods will be razed. Many people are calling it a genocide speech. There's also a speech by the President, saying anyone who doesn't disarm within the next five days will be treated as an enemy of the State. So, I'm wondering, it seems like… not to overdo it, but it seems… things seem pretty serious. I wanted to know: what is the UN doing?
Spokesman: It's clear that those in position of power, whether in Government or in the opposition, have a responsibility not to incite fear or hate of any kind. I think that's very important and that whatever security measures the Government takes fully comply with international law and respect for the right of people to freely assemble and protest.
Question: Okay. Can I… I'm going to just try to ask you this one. I'd asked you, I think, on Thursday, and you'd said that you would check, for… whether UNDP… how and when it will make available a document that it signed with the Prime Minister of Dominica and Mr. David Ng. I haven't even received a responsive e-mail from them, and their website was down the whole weekend.
Spokesman: I think… we spoke to them this morning. I will make sure they get back to you. I think the website might have been down overnight. If it was down… sometimes websites do go down. But, I will make sure they get back to you. But, I can't speak… I won't speak for them.
Question: No, I guess what I wanted to ask you generally is, are documents signed by… with… you know, it's not a secret document. There was a signing ceremony. I'm not really sure of the status of that Macau conference in terms of the UN. There were many UN officials there and signed documents. Where are the signed documents?
Spokesman: I can't speak to… I can't speak to how that office handles its…
Correspondent: You were in UNDP. That's why I'm asking.
Spokesman: I was in a lot of places. I will…
Question: From the top of the organization, is the idea that the UN will make available such documents?
Spokesman: When I have more to get back to you, I will. Masood?
Question: This airline crash in Egypt, the… the airline people are saying that some outside object hit it, and it's being disputed by other people in Egypt. Is it a possibility that ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] will somehow get involved in it?
Spokesman: I think the primary responsibility for the investigation of a crash… and we very much… we understand the investigation is ongoing… is focused on the civil aviation authorities of where the crash happened, obviously where the plane was registered, and obviously involving the manufacturers of the plane. That's ongoing. If there's a request for ICAO to get involved, I'm sure they will handle it, but obviously, the primary responsibilities are with the relevant national civil aviation authorities.
Question: So, that civil aviation authority, isn't that also a member of ICAO?
Spokesman: They are… I do not… I doubt not that both Egypt and the Russian Federations are a member of ICAO, so if they have an issue, they can raise it with them directly. Nizar. I haven't heard from you in a while.
Question: And on Yemen again, the reports that speak about the influx of Al-Qaida and Da’esh into Aden and Taiz, of course, these came from different sources, including from Turkey and from Syria, as well as from Yemen itself. Who is monitoring such influx?
Spokesman: I think, you know, as… this is not something that we are monitoring or have the capacity to monitor. It's clear, as we've said here before, the longer this conflict goes on, the weaker the State institutions become, the more the people… more people suffer. And the weaker the State institutions become, the less power… legitimate authority there is, it gives more room to extremist elements to grow. And that's why Secretary‑General would, again, call on all those who have influence, countries in the region and beyond, to help push the political process forward.
Question: Are there… is there any progress in the endeavours to release the contractors who were seized in Sana’a, for example?
Spokesman: Not that I'm aware of. Yes, Edie?
Question: Stéphane, on Libya, does your statement mean that Bernardino León is going to be staying on well beyond the time that he had initially been planning to leave?
Spokesman: I think… my statement not only implies but, hopefully, says that Mr. León is currently the SRSG, the Secretary‑General's Special Representative, for Libya. He is fully involved in the talks, with the full backing of the Secretary‑General. As you will have… may have noted, we have not made any official announcement as to his successor, and the focus should be on the efforts currently being led by Mr. León. Just one thing, Nizar, I would like to make clear on Yemen that the contractors that are detained are not UN contractors.
Question: How did they come with the airplane, I mean, a UN plane?
Spokesman: They were there to work on the facilities that are… they work for the company that manages the facilities that the UN is doing. And I think it's only normal that we facilitate their transport.
Correspondent: But, they are not supposed to be on the plane.
Spokesman: No, that's not true at all. We are… the UN's humanitarian air service often transports people that are not UN personnel but works… it transports people that are in support of UN operations, and might I add, sometimes we even transport journalists. Masood?
Question: [Inaudible]. On the situation in Bangladesh, where this secular publisher was killed and before that the Islamists also killed some of the bloggers, does the Secretary‑General has anything to say about that…?
Spokesman: We would clearly condemn the killing of the publisher we saw in Bangladesh, and we would very much call on the Government to fully investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. Fathi?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. With regard to Myanmar and definitely the Secretary‑General statement is well appreciated. However, doesn't change anything from the reality of the ground, the atrocities that the Rohingyas are facing on the hands of the majority in Myanmar, and yet, the Government there is not taking any active measures to curb these hate speeches prevalent, to curb the suffering, and even reported at many cases that they are taking part in the oppression of the Rohingyas. How can the international community and the [Secretary-General] bring this matter to the attention of the Security Council in order to take more tangible actions in this matter?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary‑General has repeatedly expressed his concern about the situation in Rakhine State, including the human rights situation, humanitarian conditions, of the Rohingya, the Karen, and other affected communities. He has spoken out very strongly against any kind of pressure, intimidation, dissemination of hatred or violence against any individuals or organizations based on their ethnic, religious or other factors. I think these are messages that have been conveyed to the authorities in Myanmar by the Secretary‑General through his Special Envoy, Mr. [Vijay] Nambiar, and I think others in the international community.
Question: I'm sorry. Follow‑up again: my question is, what are the measures that can be taken, tangible measures, other than statements of condemnation, which doesn't have…?
Spokesman: I think it goes beyond, I think, the words in the sense, as I've just said, that these are points of discussion for the Secretary‑General's envoy and other UN envoys who have gone to Myanmar and have made these points to the Government, who hold the ultimate responsibility for the safety and well‑being of all people in Myanmar. Matthew and then Evelyn. I… okay. Yeah, go ahead.
Question: Okay. Sure. I want to ask something on South Sudan. But, I want to follow‑up to Nizar on Yemen. I just wanted to, I guess, ask you directly. I understand you're making this distinction that the people flown, you know, worked for a contractor that maintains the building. Obviously, you're… I mean, the allegation by those detaining them is they were previously with US intelligence. So, I'm wondering, is it… given that the building used to be occupied by the US Embassy, what is the company? What is the name of the company that maintains the building?
Spokesman: It's called DTF… no. You know what? I don't have the name of the… I don't have the name of the company.
Question: Seems like you probably… can you…?
Spokesman: No, I don't know about it.
Correspondent: You're flying them.
Spokesman: I'm not flying them. I'll see what I can do.
Question: I read somewhere that… that the UN is trying to get… seeking the release through the DSG [Deputy Secretary-General]. Is that the case?
Spokesman: You know, the… whichever channels we use are UN channels. I'm not going to go into any of the details.
Question: Right, but there have been… okay. Here's a more sort of generic one on this day of protection of journalists. There was this Manama conference in… to which the envoy apparently attended, because he did some speaking there. And it turns out that the acting Foreign Minister of Yemen, Mr. Yassin, had two, “respected Yemeni analysts” asked to leave, calling them Houthis, which they, in fact, aren't. It seems, to many people who follow Yemen, this is kind of an embarrassment that people were ejected from a conference, and it showed a lack… and I wanted to know, did the envoy… maybe he didn't say anything that I'm aware of. But, can you check with the envoy whether he had any view of whether it is positive for the process to have people ejected from this conference?
Spokesman: I don't have any facts about this conference. If I have facts, I will share them with you. Carole, and then we'll go have some food.
Question: Just on this… the Yemen contractor, so they're not UN contractors. And who is detaining them? And when did this happen?
Spokesman: This happened… They are detained… they arrived on… from Djibouti on August… on 20 October and were detained at the airport… we'd had… some of the same contractors… sorry, contractors from the same company had flown into Sana’a by the UN before without any incident. But, they are there as part of the company that manages the facility that the UN uses in Sana’a.
Question: And who's detaining them?
Spokesman: The authorities in… at the airport in Sana’a.
Question: Is that the Houthis? Who are the authorities?
Spokesman: It's… they are… whoever is detain… the authorities in charge of the airport in Sana’a. If I have more details, I will give them to you. All right. It's only Monday. See you tomorrow.