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.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
The Secretary-General is on his way and should be back in New York in a few hours, after attending the opening of the COP21 conference [twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] in Paris. Before leaving France, he held a joint meeting with the Presidents of Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, with whom he discussed the way forward for the climate change negotiations.
He then attended a high-level meeting on Africa and climate change, hosted by President [François] Hollande of France. In his remarks, he stressed that Africa was particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with much of its economy depending on a climate-sensitive natural resource base. He added that sustainable energy offers a huge opportunity. The Secretary-General welcomed yesterday’s announcement of the African Adaptation Initiative, as well as efforts to launch the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative.
All of his remarks are online, and we expect the Secretary-General to speak to you at the Security Council stakeout on Thursday at about 12:30 for a short stakeout.
**Iraq
Turning to Iraq, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) released its casualty figures for November, saying that a total of 888 Iraqis were killed and another 1,237 were wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict last month. That toll includes nearly 500 civilians killed.
Ján Kubiš, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, said today that the Iraqi people continue to suffer from this vicious cycle of violence, which has affected all walks of life in the country. He said the United Nations deplores the continuing loss of life resulting from acts of terrorism and armed conflict in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) distributed urgently needed food assistance today, provided by the Government of Iraq, to nearly 70,000 people in the besieged cities of Haditha and Al Baghdadi in the central governorate of Anbar. Lack of steady access to these cities, located some 240 kilometres north-west of Baghdad, has left tens of thousands of people without humanitarian assistance for more than seven months. Haditha and Al Baghdadi have been under siege since March 2015, severely impairing humanitarian access and exacerbating humanitarian needs.
**Syria
Meanwhile, the Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, visited Oslo yesterday upon the invitation of Norway’s Foreign Ministry for consultations on the Vienna process and on efforts currently undertaken jointly by the Norwegian, British and German Governments to call for an international donor conference on Syria next February. Norway has been providing support for the office of the Special Envoy through various initiatives, for which Mr. de Mistura is grateful.
Also, Mr. de Mistura is now in Brussels, where he is consulting with representatives of a number of European countries and European Union officials.
**Jordan
And the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, arrived in Jordan yesterday, as part of her visit to the Middle East. Today, she travelled to Ramtha border, where she met with border authorities and operational partners. She also travelled to Azraq camp, where she met with aid organizations and refugees affected by the Syria crisis.
Ms. Kang remarked on how gratifying it was to be able to see cross-border operations in action and noted her appreciation of the support of the Jordanian authorities in facilitating cross-border operations into southern Syria and their support to the refugees. Tomorrow, she is expected to meet with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Jordan.
**United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
And the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, otherwise known as UNRWA, today started a campaign, called Share Your Warmth, which intends to raise $2 million to provide vulnerable Palestine refugees with the support they need to keep warm this winter. All donations to the campaign, lasting from today till the end of February 2016, will support the Agency’s winterization efforts, including shelter repairs and the provision of food and cash assistance to Palestine refugee families.
The campaign is being launched in 10 languages today, and you can see the relevant information on the Agency’s website. And for you who are curious as to what those 10 languages are, they are: Arabic, English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Malay and Bahasa Indonesia.
**Yemen
And the WFP said today that Yemen’s fragile food security is deteriorating fast. 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. Since October, WFP’s operations have scaled up and currently reach more than 2.8 million people each month.
In November, the World Food Programme reached all 10 governorates on the edge of famine and delivered much-needed food assistance to over 900,000 people. WFP is also scaling up and aims to reach 5 million people every month by February of next year. To do this, the Agency requires $320 million for the next six months, from November to April of next year.
**Burkina Faso
And turning to Burkina Faso, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, is today in Ouagadougou, the country’s capital. He met with the President-elect of Burkina Faso, Mr. [Roch Marc Christian] Kaboré. He also met with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission and representatives of the European Union and African Union observation missions.
Following the announcement of the preliminary results, Mr. Ibn Chambas congratulated the people of Burkina Faso, civil society, the transitional authorities, the Electoral Commission and all political actors for making these elections a success.
He noted that the elections marked the end of the transition period in the country and said that the United Nations and the international community stand with Burkina Faso in this new era.
**Democratic Republic of Congo
And an update from the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the UN Mission in the country (MONUSCO) reports that it conducted an operation this morning against an Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) camp in coordination with the Congolese Armed Forces near Eringeti in North Kivu province. The operation included the use of attack helicopters as well as artillery fire. The UN has received reports that about 13 ADF combatants were killed in the operation.
**South Sudan
And from South Sudan, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that aid workers have reached Leer town and Thonyor in Leer County today for the first time since October, when they were forced to withdraw because of intense fighting. The relief teams brought survival kits, blankets and high-energy biscuits for communities in need and began to re-establish operations in the area.
**Thailand
And our friends at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today welcomed an announcement by the Government of Thailand that more than 18,000 people have been granted nationality in the country in the last three years. With more than 10 million people believed to be stateless around the world, the Agency says that this marks an important further step in the global campaign to end statelessness by 2024. More information online.
**AIDS
And in his message to mark World AIDS Day today, the Secretary-General applauded the staunch advocacy of activists, commended the persistent efforts of health workers and paid tribute to the courage of all those who have joined forces to fight for global progress against the disease.
He noted that world leaders unanimously committed to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September. But the Secretary-General stressed that the window of opportunity to act is closing. To break the epidemic and prevent it from rebounding, he said, we must all act on all fronts.
And there is also a message from the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé. All of those messages are online.
**Press Conferences
Today, at 3:30 p.m., in this very room, there will be a briefing by [United States] Ambassador Samantha Power, the President of the Security Council for the month of December. She will brief you on the programme for the month for the Security Council.
Sherwin?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. My question is on Burundi and remarks made by the President of the Security Council yesterday, basically drawing a question mark on the preferred option of the Secretary‑General in terms of what should… you know, what the UN should be doing in Burundi, the… this team for… for Special Adviser [Jamal] Benomar. What does this team really do differently to the two envoys that were appointed to Burundi before this that have come and try to get dialogue started and failed? And how is this any different to what the EAC [East African Community] is trying to do under President [Yoweri] Museveni? Why is this a preferred option when it seems to kind of recycle what has come before?
Spokesman: Well, I think Mr. Benomar was successful in his effort to meet with President [Pierre] Nkurunziza and have a good dialogue with him and meet with other senior Government officials. I think it’s clear that the violence we’ve seen, the human rights violations we’ve seen, will not end until there is a sustained political dialogue. And I think Mr. Benomar’s view is that, by strengthening his office and the, I would say, the small window he’s opened, would be at this point the preferred way to go. Mr. Lee?
Question: Question about USG [Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey] Feltman. But I wanted to ask you a follow‑up on Burundi first. There are now reports in some documentation that the Government is charging residents of contested neighbourhoods attacks to fund the… you know… money to fund the ruling party’s militia to provide protection. And if people don’t pay, they’re being accused of opposing a third term. Is the UN aware of that? What would they think of that?
Spokesman: I haven’t seen those reports, but I will check.
Question: And, given the proposal for just a support team for the Special Adviser, I mean, does the UN… what is the status of the UN’s ability to track down alleged human rights violations and…?
Spokesman: I mean, obviously, the UN has a presence on the ground. We’d like to see that presence augment. Part of the presence is the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. And I will check on the report that you had mentioned.
Question: And this thing about Mr. Feltman, yesterday, as happens monthly, there was a release of… of e-mails by the US State Department. And without getting into all the… all 5,000 of the e-mails, I wanted to ask about the ones that involve Mr. Feltman, specifically in the time frame after he left the State Department and came to the UN. So, there’s an e-mail in 19 October 2012. This is months after he was at the UN, in which he forwards to Jake Sullivan and others in the State Department his communications with Derek Plumbly about Lebanon. And he says, “Here’s my communications with my guy in Lebanon”, redacted, redacted, redacted, “please tell me what you think and advise.” And I guess I wanted to ask you, is it… what is the… what’s the protocol for a former… of any government, not just the US, for a UN official to share what are presumably confidential UN communications with his previous employer, and how would you… how do you respond to this?
Spokesman: I think the way to look at it is that, I think, through our mediation efforts, UN officials are often in touch with Foreign Ministries or permanent missions and share our analysis. And that’s often how we get our work done. I’m not going to comment on the exact… you know, what exactly was said. I haven’t seen the e-mail. But I think it’s… you know, we have contact, and we share our analysis with members of the Security Council, with permanent missions and Foreign Ministries.
Question: My question is one of the e-mails… in one of the e-mails, Mr. Feltman says, I’ve tried to send this through Hotmail, but it didn’t work, which to me implies it wasn’t necessarily as a UN official. Like, would you say… in what you’ve described as the protocol, should this be done very clearly as a UN official seeking advice from the…?
Spokesman: As I said, I think there is nothing untoward with senior UN officials who we often… in dealing with mediation, we need to consult with different sides and share analysis and share information.
Question: Can you share with others, other than the US?
Spokesman: I’ll leave it at that. Olga, then Abdelhamid and then Edie?
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. Syrian President Bashar al‑Assad said yesterday he welcomes the peaceful conference on settlement of the crisis in Prague, Czech Republic, because he doesn’t welcome, like, France and other countries. Is it a new direction to work and is sec… de Mistura aware of this readiness of Syrian…?
Spokesman: Mr. de Mistura’s focus right now is on… working on… to build onto the momentum that we’ve seen come out of the series of Vienna talks and, obviously, as he said, to launch the parallel process initiative in early January, both on the political talks and, obviously, hopefully, for a ceasefire and cessation of violence.
Question: And any new… any date for a new Vienna talks?
Spokesman: No, I think… there was some discussion about… at some point this month, but we don’t have any details to share at this point. Abdelhamid and then Edie?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Today, President [Barack] Obama, in his press conference in Paris, said that he told the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to better control the border with Syria. Did the SG share the same ideas? Did he raise the same issue with his… in his meeting with Mr. Erdogan?
Spokesman: I don’t have any information… you know, on… I think it is… the need to control borders is one, I think, that all Member States have. I think we’ve spoken extensively on the issue between Russia and Turkey, but I don’t have any particular comment on what the President said.
Question: Just a follow‑up on another meeting with the SG, between the Secretary‑General and President of Egypt, Mr. [Abdel Fattah al] Sisi. I read the readout, and he didn’t mention anything with Mr. Sisi about the freedom of expression and the other kind of freedoms in Egypt which had been curtailed in the last year or so.
Spokesman: I think, if you look back at what we’ve said from this podium on various cases in Egypt and a recent one, which we saw the release of an activist, I think the Secretary‑General’s viewpoint on those issues is very clear. Edie?
Question: Thank you, Stéph. A follow‑up on Burundi. The British ambassador, who [was] the President of the Security Council, said that he believed that the Council already had the authority and was putting in… already had a support team in place in… for Mr. Benomar. And so he said that the Council needs to focus on other options. Is it the Secretary‑General’s belief that the Council needs to further authorize a support team?
Spokesman: You know, I think the discussions with the Council will continue. We put forward our proposals. The way I read it… I mean, the way I listened to Ambassador [Matthew] Rycroft is it was not an either/or proposition. Majeed?
Question: [inaudible] Can I just follow up? It did sound that the starting point for Council’s deliberations will be the two options excluding the recommendation of the Secretary‑General. So, it was an either/or, the way we read it.
Spokesman: Well, as I said, the discussions with the Council will continue. Majeed?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. In Turkey, about two days ago, a prominent human rights lawyer, Kurdish lawyer, was killed, Tahir Elci. And Human Rights Watch called it an assassination and a big loss for human rights community. Have you heard about this? And do you have any comments?
Spokesman: Yes, I think one of your colleagues asked about it when it happened, and we said we would very much hope the Turkish authorities would find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Yes, and then Go?
Question: Thank you. Stéphane, on Syria yesterday, you said you will collect information from the humanitarian partners on the ground. Do you have information about this… the civilian deaths by the Russian air force attacks?
Spokesman: No, as I said, we have… I don’t have any updated numbers. We do… we do have… periodically release numbers on the civilian deaths. I’m not sure we’re able to pinpoint who is responsible for those deaths, as we’re not able to monitor the exact movements of military aircraft. Go?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Regarding the tension between Russia and Turkey after this downing of the Russian jet, the SG had called for a scientific and objective fact‑finding investigation, but, so far, there is no anybody taking care of that. So how do the UN could be involved to ease the tensions?
Spokesman: The UN can always be involved as long as anyone’s asked, you know, both parties ask, but I doubt the UN will be involved in this particular… very much doubt the UN will be involved in this particular instance. We do hope the tensions between Turkey and Russia get resolved, but we also have reason to hope that they will not impact the ongoing Vienna process.
Question: But, I mean, if asked, the UN is ready to get involved?
Spokesman: We’re always… we’re speculating here. If asked, we’re ready to do a lot of the things. But I… as I said, I sincerely doubt that we will be asked to do that. Yes, sir? And then we’ll move to the left.
Question: Just to follow up on the Secretary‑General. Does he have plans to go back to Paris at some point for specific event or ceremony?
Spokesman: Yes, I think you will not be surprised to hear an announcement soon that he will be returning to Paris. Mr. Klein and then Linda?
Question: Yes. Does the Secretary‑General have any comment on Turkey’s apparent invasion of Syria’s air space to target Syrian Kurds, as opposed to specifically ISIS? And, has the Secretary‑General, in the past, or… made any comment or what he would any comment now concerning the Kurds’ longstanding aspirations of self‑determination?
Spokesman: Nothing new to say to what we’ve already said on… on your second… second part of your question. On the first part, the Secretary‑General’s repeatedly said that any action against Da’esh and other extremist groups in Iraq needs to be done in a way that avoids any civilian casualties.
Question: Just for my benefit, could you just sort of refresh our recollection in the general what the Secretary‑General has said about the Kurds?
Spokesman: I will not go back to what we’ve already said. We can refresh your collective memories later. [laughter] Linda?
Question: Thank you, Stéph. Turning to Yemen, I was wondering what… we know that there are 80… about 80 per cent of the population in need of some kind of aid and that thousands of civilians have been killed. Does the UN have any recent or any further assessment of which sides are responsible for which casualties?
Spokesman: No. It’s difficult for us to come up with those figures again, almost for the same reasons that we talk about in Syria, is that we don’t… the kind of personnel we are on the ground aren’t really there to look at forensic investigations having to do with civilian deaths. We’re able, through the World Health Organization (WHO), the Human Rights Office, to, unfortunately, tabulate casualties. But we do not have the means to do real investigations to determine who is responsible. Now, obviously, I think, when there are deaths through different kinds of attacks, aerial or others, one can lead to a conclusion as to who is responsible, because we do know there are air coalitions and others. But in terms of serious investigations, we don’t have that capacity. Luke?
Question: Can I just follow up?
Spokesman: Yes.
Question: In terms of the aerial bombardments, is there a particular percentage or a sense of how many people have been killed as a result of those?
Spokesman: I don’t think… I’ll see if we have those numbers. I don’t believe that we do. Luke?
Question: Thanks. A question about the latest UNHCR numbers on new arrivals to Europe, which are down, I believe, 80,000 from a month ago, which would seem like a good thing, but given the new border restrictions in the Balkans and Turkey essentially being paid to dissuade people from moving on to Greece, does the UN feel that lower numbers going forward don’t necessarily mean that this crisis is abating?
Spokesman: No, I think… you know… the numbers may be lower, but they’re still dramatic. And we’re seeing… because of the restrictions put in place within the Balkans, we’re seeing a grave humanitarian situation with very vulnerable people being stuck at various border points. Sylviane? We’ll go to people who haven’t… we’ll still go to round one.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. On the Lebanon exchange of prisoners with Al‑Qaida, do you have any reaction and is there… the United Nations has something to do about this release?
Spokesman: No, I’m not aware of any UN involvement in this… in the exchange, but obviously, we very much welcome the release. Sigrid Kaag, I think, issued a statement earlier today. She said she was delighted that they would be reunited with their families and resume their lives, and also recalls with sadness the hostages that were killed. Ms. Kaag praised the unity of all Lebanese in supporting the armed forces and security forces, and she said the Lebanese armed forces and security services play a crucial role in fighting terrorism and shielding Lebanon from conflict. The Special Coordinator commends the efforts of the Lebanese Government in securing the release, and she expresses the hope that the remaining Lebanese servicemen still being held hostage would also soon be freed. Go?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Coming back to the same subject between Russia and Turkey, you said that you doubt the UN would be asked to do something. Why?
Spokesman: My own personal experience. I… you know, it’s… I don’t… I’ve often been wrong in predicting things, but I can’t… seeing the situation, I doubt we will be asked. I may be back here next week and hang my head in shame. But I will take that risk. Majeed?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I’m not sure if my colleagues asked this before, but has the…?
Spokesman: You should look at the briefing when you’re not here. Things do happen. [laughter]
Question: Has Mr. de Mistura reported any impact of this crisis between Russia and Turkey on the peace process that he’s trying to initiate?
Spokesman: Majeed, I think one of your colleagues just asked the question, and what I will say again is that we have reasons to hope that the current tensions between Russia and Turkey will not impact the ongoing Vienna process. Mr. Lee, then Abdelhamid, then Edie?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you, on South Sudan, last… it was said on Friday that the Mission was going to go and check these deaths. And I’ve been looking at these [situation reports]. They don’t… it seems to me that they’re not really reporting on… on… on… on… you know, things that even the media’s reporting of attacks in the country. So, one, do you have anything on that? And, I wanted to ask you about something that was in one of the [situation reports], yesterday’s, where it says that a UN staff member was driving a car. He had a crash. UNDSS [United Nations Department of Safety and Security] appeared and said that the sustained visible… somebody was dead in the other car. Basically, it’s a deadly car crash caused… or involving the UN staff member. The reason I’m asking you is, it says the local police on the spot attempted to arrest the UN staff; however, after negotiation, the UN staff member was taken for medical treatment. What is… are UN staff members exempt from traffic laws even in deadly crashes?
Spokesman: I don’t… this seems to me like an isolated incident. I would encourage you to reach out to the mission to see if you can get more detail. I’m not going to speculate on…
Correspondent: But the policy is not isolated. The guy is dead.
Spokesman: I’m not going to speculate on this particular case, but if you reach out to the mission, I’m sure they…
Question: But can you find out what the UN policy is on negotiating the release of…?
Spokesman: I’m not going to speculate. Yes? Richard? Sorry, then Abdelhamid.
Question: When is the SG having a press conference? I mean, has that been announced?
Spokesman: We hope to have it the week of December… of 14 December, at some point during that week, before you all leave and go away, hopefully. Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you again. I don’t know if you are following this… the court in Israel, that they had just indicted two suspects and didn’t indict the third primary suspect of the burning alive of the young boy, Mohammed Abu Khdeir. Two were found guilty and one was not. And the father of the young boy said he will take the issue to the ICC [International Criminal Court]. The three suspects were treated humanely. No homes were demolished, and we will expect also their… the sentence will be very mild. Is there any comment on this?
Spokesman: I haven’t seen… you know, obviously… I haven’t seen the results of the case. I think, at the time, the Secretary‑General very strongly condemned this horrific act. Edie?
Question: Stéph, I’d like to follow up on your comment that the UN has reasons to hope that the Russia‑Turkey dispute would not impact the Vienna process. Is that hope based on discussions that the Secretary‑General had with both sides, with other world leaders in Paris?
Spokesman: That hope is based on contacts that have been had at various levels. Matthew, and then Joe?
Question: Right. I’m going to try to ask one that you won’t say to ask elsewhere. Back to Flavia Pansieri and the reason I… yesterday you’d said… I mean, I went back and looked, and it was said in this room on 23 July that she has resigned. And I think most media accounts reported that she had left and that this was one small piece of accountability for the Central African Republic rapes. So I’m seeing today… it’s December. She’s still presently the Deputy High Commissioner. So what was the… was it mis… did your office always intend to say that she was resigning months down the road or what happened?
Spokesman: We shared the information that we had, and I hope to have an update on that for you shortly.
Question: Can I ask a Congo question?
Spokesman: You may ask a Congo question.
Question: Okay. You’d said that MONUSCO is working with the FARDC [Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo] on this offensive or defence against ADF. Do they work with the Congolese army against the FDLR [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda], the other armed group, or is that still on hold? If so, what’s the difference other than commitment…?
Spokesman: I don’t have an update on the FDLR operations. Mr. Klein?
Question: Thank you. It’s been reported that a number of developing countries, including India, do not think that the target of $100 billion a year, you know, for adaptation and mitigation, the effects of climate change by 2020, is enough. And some are asking for additional aid, at least to deal with the consequences of natural disaster. I’m wondering if the Secretary‑General, A, has any position on this and, B, whether that might have come up in his discussions with various world leaders in Paris, including Mr. [Narendra] Modi? Thank you.
Spokesman: You know, the discussions are still going on in Paris. So I don’t want to get into the middle of them. And the Secretary‑General has always appealed for a very well‑financed Green Climate Fund and adaptation fund. But, beyond that, I think, as the COP is going on, we… let’s wait and see what the days bring. Thank you. Let’s do this again.