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.
Let me start off with a statement on the attacks in Yola, in Nigeria.
**Nigeria
The Secretary-General condemns the bomb attack on 17 November in the city of Yola, in the north-eastern state of Adamawa, Nigeria, which resulted in dozens dead and scores injured. He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Government and people of Nigeria, and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
The Secretary-General reiterates that no political or ideological objective whatsoever justifies the loss of life and terror to which civilians are being subjected. He also reiterates the UN’s support to the Nigerian government in its fight against terrorism, which — to be effective — should also be grounded in international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law. That statement is online.
**Dag Hammarskjöld
I also have a statement on the report of the Independent Panel of Experts dealing with the death of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld.
On 2 July 2015, the Secretary-General transmitted to the President of the General Assembly the report of the Independent Panel of Experts regarding the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him. The report of the Panel and its appendices were issued in General Assembly document A/70/132 and are available to all Member States and to the public at large.
The Secretary-General is grateful to Member States for their cooperation thus far. However, some of the Panel’s requests for information have not been conclusively answered. There is a possibility that unreleased material relating to the crash of flight SE-BDY on the night between 17 and 18 September 1961 may still be available. Therefore, the Secretary-General again urges all Member States to disclose, declassify or otherwise make available all information they may have in their possession related to the circumstances and conditions of the crash.
The Secretary-General welcomes the General Assembly’s upcoming consideration of a resolution on the issue which is scheduled for tomorrow. The resolution underlines the importance of addressing the outcome of the Panel’s report. The Secretary-General reaffirms that he is personally invested in fulfilling our duty to the distinguished former Secretary-General and those who accompanied him, to endeavour to establish the facts after so many years, and will inform the Assembly on any further progress made before the end of its seventieth session. That statement is also available in my office.
**France
The Secretary-General called this morning the President of France, François Hollande, to present his condolences to the families of the victims of the 13 November terrorist attacks in Paris, as well as to the Government and people of France. He reiterated his condemnation of these attacks.
The Secretary-General also commended France’s determination and active role in mobilizing the international community to counter the grave threat of international terrorism. He underlined that many refugees were themselves fleeing extremism and terrorism, and stressed the importance for France and Europe to continue to treat refugees and migrants with compassion and to respect their rights. And as you will recall, yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General also went to the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations to sign the book of condolences.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
As you well know, there's been quite a lot of speculation in the last 48 hours about a possible trip by the Secretary-General to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. I just want to clarify things as much as possible. The Secretary-General has repeatedly stated his willingness to play a constructive role, including travelling to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in an effort to work for peace and stability, as well as to promote dialogue in the Korean Peninsula. For this purpose, discussions are continuing. That being said, unless a trip announcement is made by myself here or any of my colleagues who brief here, or by the Secretary-General himself, the rest is pure speculation.
To that end, in order to clear up any questions about the Secretary-General’s whereabouts, in the coming days, I want to flag a couple of his activities: he will be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 22 November, this Sunday. While in Malaysia, the Secretary-General will take part in the 7th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-United Nations Summit. He is expected to meet with leaders in the region, including the Malaysian Prime Minister. The Secretary-General, while in Malaysia, will also attend the signing ceremony of the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Community and the Declaration on ASEAN 2015. We expect him back in New York on 23 November.
Then on Thursday, 26 November, he will leave for Malta. The country as you know is hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Governments’ meeting and the Secretary-General has been invited by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth to participate in a special session on climate change. From Malta, he will travel on to Paris where he is expected on 28 November to attend the opening days of the COP21 (Conference of Parties) Conference in Paris.
**Yemen
Moving on, the Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, visited Tehran today, where he met with the Iranian Foreign Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister. The Special Envoy and his interlocutors reiterated their support for a political solution to the conflict in Yemen. Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed is now heading back to Muscat to continue discussions with the Houthis on arrangements for talks. He will then travel to Riyadh to meet with the Yemeni Government delegation on obviously the same issue.
Also today, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Johannes van der Klaauw, told reporters in Cairo by a videoconference from Sana’a that the collapse of basic services in Yemen continues to accelerate. He estimated that more than 14 million people lack sufficient access to healthcare; three million children and pregnant or lactating women require malnutrition treatment or preventive services; and 1.8 million children have been out of school since mid-March. He said that an estimated 21.2 million people — a staggering 82 per cent of the population — currently require some kind of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs and protect their fundamental rights.
The Humanitarian Coordinator said that more than 32,000 casualties have resulted from the ongoing conflict in Yemen since 26 March, of whom 5,700 people were killed — including 830 women and children. In the same period, more than 8,800 human rights violations have been verified.
**Iraq
Our humanitarian colleagues in Iraq inform us that recent military operations in and near Iraq’s Sinjar District have displaced 4,000 people between 12-17 November. Preliminary information indicates that people had to flee rapidly and have no belongings. Of those, approximately 1,000 people have reached Dahuk Governorate. Humanitarian groups have begun to assess their needs and provide emergency assistance, including food and medical aid. Security in areas directly affected by the military operation remains fluid. Humanitarian officials continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect international law and ensure the protection of civilians and property during and after military operations.
**Somalia
The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonović, has just concluded his five-day visit to Somalia, calling on the country’s international partners to increase their support to the Federal Government in its efforts to advance human rights.
Condemning the numerous abuses committed by Al Shabaab, Mr. Šimonović said that Somalia still faces a series of serious human rights challenges. He called on the Government and all security forces operating in Somalia, including the Somali National Army, AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) and other foreign troops, to take effective measures to prevent and address violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
He stressed that overcoming terrorism cannot solely be achieved through military means, adding that there is a need to address the root causes of terrorism, including poverty, corruption, lack of good governance, unemployment, social exclusion and marginalization.
**Burundi
Regarding Burundi, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today it is deeply concerned about the impact on children from both violence and increasing poverty and vulnerability in Burundi. Children risk bearing the brunt of an escalation in violence in Burundi, UNICEF warned, noting that the crisis has already left 17 children dead and many more injured. Since the crisis began in April, child rights violations have multiplied, with children being caught up in violent clashes and raids, schools being hit by grenade blasts and more than 100 children being arbitrarily detained, at times for long periods alongside adult prisoners.
**Ethiopia
A rare bit of somewhat good news from WFP: the World Food Programme says today that, thanks to timely contributions from key donors, it is able to continue food distributions for more than 1.5 million people in the Somali region of Ethiopia. It will also be able to scale up nutritional help to more than 700,000 children and nursing mothers in the most drought-affected areas. The World Food Programme says that a dramatic increase in the number of people in need of relief assistance — from 2.5 million at the beginning of the year to 8.2 million in October — led to a serious funding gap.
WFP was concerned that it would have to entirely stop distributions for people affected by the drought at the end of November. But such a situation was avoided, thanks to contributions from Canada, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund. The US Agency for International Development has also confirmed an in-kind contribution. We say “thank you” to all of them.
**Ukraine
The World Food Programme (WFP), together with a partner organization, also today started distributing food to some 7,000 patients in hospitals and students in schools in conflict-affected areas in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. WFP says that the conflict has resulted in the shelling of residential areas, leading to the destruction of places such as schools and hospitals.
**Climate Change
A new UN report issued today spotlights the wealth of opportunities that exist to immediately limit greenhouse gas emissions while increasing ambitions to keep the global temperature rise below 2 C. The report, put together at the request of governments, provides a straightforward, go-to reference to assist ministers, advisors and policymakers — and journalists — pursuing climate actions now and over the years and decades to come.
Christiana Figueres, who heads the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that the reality revealed in the report is that the very policies that deal most effectively with climate change also offer a ready-made portfolio of actions that can assist the Sustainable Development Goals and achieve everyone’s ultimate aim of a prosperous, stable and environmentally healthy world for all.
**Water
Earlier today, the Secretary-General spoke at the second UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters, ahead of World Toilet Day, which will be observed tomorrow. Addressing Member States, the Secretary-General stressed that water is the source of life, health and livelihoods across the world. He added that water can also devastate entire cities, rich or poor. Today, floods, droughts and windstorms account for almost 90 per cent of the 1,000 most disastrous events since 1990. They have caused more than $1 trillion in damages and affected more than 4 billion people.
**World Toilet Day
On the observance of World Toilet Day, this year focuses on the vicious cycle connecting poor sanitation and malnutrition. By many accounts, sanitation was the most-missed target of the Millennium Development Goals, and the Secretary-General calls for an end to open defecation by 2025. Copies of the message in English and French are available.
**Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
To tell you something that you probably already knew: the Secretary-General welcomes today’s action by the General Assembly to elect Filippo Grandi of Italy as the next UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). That is now official.
**Press Conferences
As I told you, Dr. David Nabarro will join me in a few minutes to provide you [with] an update on the Ebola outbreak and speak in his capacity as Chair of the Advisory Group on Reform of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Work in Outbreaks and Emergencies. He will brief you on the recommendations of that working group.
**Holocaust
At 6:30 p.m., in Conference Room 1, you are all invited to hear Adama Dieng, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, along with Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of the Park Avenue Synagogue, Menachem Rosensaft, General Counsel of the World Jewish Congress, as well as genocide survivors who will discuss “Faith, Identity and the Promotion of Peace in the Aftermath of Genocide”. You are all invited to attend this event which is organized by DPI’s [Department of Public Information] Holocaust Programme and Outreach Division. Mr. Abbadi?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Regarding the issue of the death of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in '61, you mentioned that the Secretary-General feels that there are some materials that are not declassified or released. Does he feel that way because of the report of the panel or he has some other knowledge? And second, would he be interested in having the Security Council, in addition to the resolution of the General Assembly on the matter tomorrow, also adopt a resolution on the issue? Thank you.
Spokesman: You know, I don't have a particular comment on your second part. I think our focus right now is on this General Assembly-led process. The report was fairly clear, as I recall, that they were… the authors were clear that there was information that had not been declassified and that had some moderate probative value that should be shared with the United Nations in an effort to clarify exactly what happened on that tragic night. Mr. Lee and then we'll go…
Question: Sure. I heard what you said about Burundi and UNICEF. I wanted to ask you two questions on that. One… I mean, on Burundi. One is: there's a report by Refugees International of the Government basically making it impossible for people to flee the country, saying the country is now safe and having both militias and Government troops at the border stopping the right to… to flee. So I wanted to know, is the UN aware of that? What are they going to do about it?
Spokesman: I haven't seen that report, but obviously, people should have the right to leave, should they so choose.
Question: And right here in UN headquarters, earlier today, the ambassador of Burundi, Mr. [Albert] Shingiro, blamed the crisis on opposition overseas and the media. Given what you've said from this podium about the Iwacu case and other things, what… this has happened in the Trusteeship Chamber. Do you… it's not a question of do you agree. Do you find that… do you find that a country blaming deadly violence in its streets on the media there to be a helpful comment?
Spokesman: You know, I think that what would be helpful would be for the Government and the opposition and all of civil society to get together and engage in a political dialogue to find a way out of this current crisis.
Question: Had the Special Adviser taken off?
Spokesman: I assume he's left 42nd Street and I'm sure he's on his way…
Question: I saw him in the afternoon on 47th [Street]. Sorry.
Spokesman: Okay. Then we'll go to you.
Question: Stéphane, You said Secretary-General is not traveling to North Korea next week. What about the coming weeks? And…
Spokesman: I think if you…
Question: Does he try to arrange it… a visit?
Spokesman: I'm sure you heard what I said, which is: unless something is announced from this podium by either myself, by anybody else from my office who briefs or obviously by the Secretary-General himself, the rest is pure speculation. The Secretary-General has always expressed his willingness to play a constructive role on the situation in the Korean Peninsula, including traveling there, and discussions are ongoing.
Question: Follow-up: So does he want to visit North Korea?
Spokesman: I don't… I understand your question. I don't know what other words to use than what I've already used. Edie?
Question: Steph, when the Secretary-General is in Paris, given the events of last Friday, do you expect him to participate or to organize or to do anything related to generating global support for an international fight against terrorism?
Spokesman: The focus of the trip will be very much on climate change, and that will be the focus of the bilaterals that he has. I have no doubt that the issue of terrorism and the fight against terrorism will come up, but, you know, we are… there are a lot of the things going on in the world today, whether it's terrorism and climate change and the issue of sustainable development and refugee flows. We need to really seize the time in Paris to focus on climate change and getting a strong agreement out of those discussions. Yes, Anna, and then Oleg.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I have two questions. It was declared by UN but… that international law was breached in Libya by all sides. Apart from the apparent obvious, like terroristic organizations, what other sides did the UN have in mind? And what UNSMIL [United Nations Support Mission in Libya] and UN going to do about that? That's the first question.
Spokesman: UNSMIL under the leadership of the new SRSG, Mr. [Martin] Kobler is in Tunis. They're focusing on finalizing the political agreement that Mr. [Bernardino] León had very much started and focused on. I think when we say all sides, I don't… I think, when I used the term "all sides," any sides are excluded. Next question?
Correspondent: And the next question, recently a student was convicted in London, Yahya Rashid, for spending his loans to join Da’esh.
Spokesman: For what?
Question: To join Da’esh. For spending his student loans to join Da’esh, the terroristic organization, and he recruited four other students along the way. And his attorney said that the guy wasn't violent. He just wanted to live in Islamic utopia. My question is this, what do we do to stop these kids from falling into this, you know, trap of living in Islamic utopia, which has nothing to do with real Islam or any religion whatsoever, this case and, also, you know, other brainwashed people to stop this supply of fighters for these organizations?
Spokesman: Obviously, a large part of the fight against terrorism is to address the issue of violent extremism, of how extremist groups are able to recruit among vulnerable youth, because we're seeing mostly young people. This is something that Member States need to address. This is something that the Secretary-General has been working on and will continue to address with Member States, and things need to be done in a coordinated fashion. Oleg…?
Question: Is the Secretary-General going to come up with some agenda on this?
Spokesman: I think, as the Secretary-General had mentioned, there will be a report on combating violent extremism. This is something he's taken up with interfaith leaders, as you'll remember, earlier last year… earlier… I can't… this year, I think. Oleg?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. First, how Ban Ki-moon is going to celebrate the World Toilet Day? [Laughter] And the second question is: which countries particularly are withholding the information regarding to the Dag Hammarskjöld investigation?
Spokesman: I would refer you back to the report, and I think it makes… the report makes it clear of those countries that would have information on what may have happened and may not… that information may not have been shared. You know, as to World Toilet Day, it always induces some snickering. I think the Secretary-General very much addressed the issue in speaking at the water and sanitation event today. It is a serious issue that leads to deaths, to malnutrition. We've seen it… we saw it in India a few… not too long ago with women who had forced to openly defecate and within… we've seen it in all sorts of questions. I think I would encourage you to read the Secretary-General's message.
Correspondent: As a follow-up to the Dag Hammarskjöld question, you mean that, since the publication of the report, which was a while ago, any of the countries…
Spokesman: That is exactly how you would interpret that statement, that we have not received new information. Britney?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. In yesterday's briefing, Sherwin mentioned that some of the journalists attending COP‑21 are going to have their credentials cut. Do you have any or information on that?
Spokesman: I don't think… the issue is, from my understanding, that the… my colleagues at UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] who were handling it is that the ceiling of 3,000 journalists has been reached. We understand there are a couple of individual cases of journalists here that had applied in time who did not get their credentials. We're trying to address that through the Department of Public Information. Carla?
Question: [Inaudible]?
Spokesman: I need a microphone. You're especially very far. I can hardly hear you.
Question: Following the bombing… the terrorist bombing of Mumbai, must have been seven or eight years ago, former President of Croatia Stjepan Mesic chaired the Security Council and he said, when you've got such poverty and such destitution, you have an almost limitless pool of foot soldiers to carry out terrorist operations. It seems as though now all they’re talking about is war against terrorism and bombing. Why is no focus being… being put upon the root causes, which drive people to desperation?
Spokesman: Well, Carla, I think you walked in towards the end of the briefing. And if you had heard what I said about exactly that, Assistant Secretary-General Šimonovic… and I will reread it to you for your pleasure. He just finished a trip to Somalia, and he stressed that overcoming terrorism cannot be solely achieved through military means, adding that there is a need to address the root causes of terrorism, including poverty, corruption, lack of good governance, unemployment, social exclusion, and marginalization. I think the Secretary-General would agree with every word of that. So as to what other countries are doing, I would urge you to ask them. Yes, ma'am, Carole?
Correspondent: Stéphane, the Security Council is going to be discussing this afternoon a letter to be sent to Member States inviting candidacies for the post of Secretary-General. I'm wondering if the SG has any views on the timing for this process. There's concern that the resolution that was adopted by the General Assembly, no action has been taken on it yet and… and moving that process along, whether or not you might have anything to say.
Spokesman: First of all, the Secretary-General is focused on doing his work as Secretary-General until 31 December 2016. That's his focus. I think, obviously, the Member States are in the lead on selecting the next Secretary-General. I think it's important that the process be as open and transparent as possible within the Charter. Mr. Abbadi, and then Matthew and then…
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I would like to go back to my question regarding the issue of the death of Dag Hammarskjöld. At the time he was flying and before his plane crashed, he was on a peace mission. Therefore, the issue of his death is directly related to international peace and security. Wouldn't the Secretary-General be interested in having the Security Council take up a resolution on the issue?
Spokesman: As I said, it's not that he would not be interested. It's that our focus remains right now on the General Assembly. They have… they passed the resolution and put forward the creation of the panel. The report of the panel, I think, is… it reads… is rather fascinating and reads like a whodunit, like a crime novel, and what it leaves us with is a lot of open-ended questions. And clearly there's some information that countries may have that we have not yet received. Mr. Lee?
Correspondent: Sure. I have a DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] question, but first I want to ask something about transparency and access. One has to… from where… I think where you're standing right now, your compatriot, the spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, yesterday…
Spokesman: My colleague.
Correspondent: Your colleague. There you go.
Spokesman: I have nothing against the British. He's my colleague, not my compatriot.
Correspondent: You're right, you're right. Your compadre.
Spokesman: I guess we're all civil servants. Go ahead.
Question: Okay. He said, in response to a request that the PGA [President of the General Assembly] henceforth publishes daily schedule, such as is done for the Secretary‑General and DSG [Deputy Secretary-General]. He said that his security detail advises against it. And since it seems to be the same DSS [Department of Safety and Security] that does both, do you have any response to that? Has this ever been a concern for the Secretary-General? And do you think in the spirit of transparency, that more transparency…
Spokesman: No, I don't have… obviously, the PGA decides what he wants to do. Obviously, whenever we publish public information about the Secretary-General, security… there's a security element to it when… whether or not we announce travel and how far ahead of time we do it, but I'm not going to get into a debate through you with my compatriot.
Correspondent: Okay. This is the access question. You announced yesterday at this signing of the condolence book at the French Mission by the Secretary-General. So I wanted to know, it seemed like I tried to go to your office. You weren't there. I went to MALU [Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit]. It seems like it's a UN thing, so I went to cover it, but I was unable to cover it when they called upstairs from the downstairs…
Spokesman: If it's a UN thing, if it happens in the UN.
Question: Right. Is it the Secretary-General's position where space exists for his outside events that UN journalists should be able to cover it or not?
Spokesman: We rely on our hosts.
Correspondent: Okay. And this is the DRC question.
Spokesman: Okay.
Question: In the DRC, some time ago, there was a… South Africa withdrew 47 troops, saying that they were under investigation. They've now suspend… they've now said that they are basically dismissed because they were… broke curfew. But this is the quote I wanted to ask you about. The South African National Defence Force's Spokesman says, we don't know where they were, who they were with, and what could have happened thereafter. It's a quote, you know, in… it's a quote. So what I wanted to know is, since… given the report's there that this may have involved sexual exploitation, if not abuse, does MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] or OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] or Mr. [Hervé] Ladsous… given that… the country has disciplined them but only for a curfew violation. Where were they, and is there any follow‑up by the UN?
Spokesman: I was just told this report as I was walking out, I've asked my compatriots in DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] for some more details.
Correspondent: There we go. There we go.
Spokesman: All right. I will get… Dulcie, and then we'll get Dr. Nabarro.
Question: Yeah. I'm just a little confused about this Dag Hammarskjöld thing. So, the GA resolution is going to be voted on 19 November? What's in the resolution?
Spokesman: That would be tomorrow. I mean, I would urge you to get a draft copy of the resolution. I think I alluded to it in reading the statement. You're actually asking me to remember every word that I've… that I've read.
Correspondent: No, I just heard…
Spokesman: I will give you a copy of the statement, and I'm sure we'll get you a copy of the resolution.
Correspondent: Okay. Thanks.
Spokesman: Great. I will get Dr. Nabarro.