Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon, everyone.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
The Secretary-General is continuing his series of bilateral meetings in Paris with various delegations, including the President of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) [to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change], French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. The Secretary-General also had separate bilateral meetings with China’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Xie Zhenhua; Catherine McKenna, Canada’s new Minister of Environment and Climate Change; Izabella Teixeira, Minister of Environment of Brazil; the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga; and Hoesung Lee, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Early in the afternoon, he took some time to meet with a group of civil society leaders who represented a broad array of organizations, who had gathered more than 6 million signatures encouraging Governments to adopt an ambitious agreement in Paris.
Speaking to the press, with civil society leaders at his side, the Secretary-General said that one of the valuable lessons he has learned is that no Government and no international organization can work properly without the active engagement and support from civil society. He encouraged civil society to stay mobilized after Paris, telling them to hold government, community and business leaders accountable.
Asked about his reaction to the current status of the negotiations, the Secretary-General said he was very optimistic and that he hoped that the parties would agree to a strong, ambitious and universal agreement on climate change, respecting the aspirations of all people around the world.
In a short while, the Secretary-General is expected to speak at the Momentum for Change awards ceremony.
**Human Rights Day
In a message to mark Human Rights Day today, the Secretary-General stresses the need to take more concerted global action to promote the timeless principles we have collectively pledged to uphold.
These principles include the four basic freedoms identified by former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt: freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
On the freedom from fear, the Secretary-General notes that millions of refugees and internally displaced people are running from war, violence and injustice across continents and oceans, often risking their lives.
In response, he says that we must not close but open doors and guarantee the right of all to seek asylum, without any discrimination. Migrants seeking an escape from poverty and hopelessness should also enjoy their fundamental human rights.
To commemorate Human Rights Day, there will be several events, including one shortly at the Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island. Speakers at that event will include the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
This afternoon at 3 p.m., there will be an interactive discussion on the exclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals, and in the evening, there will be a screening of the film Quebranto, or Disrupted, at 6:30 p.m. in Brooklyn.
**Olympic Cup
The Secretary-General was honoured to learn about the decision by the International Olympic Committee to award the Olympic Cup to the United Nations. He is pleased to receive it on behalf of the Organization.
The Secretary-General considers the award a sign of the close partnership between the two organizations. Our collaboration is based on many shared values and ideals, and the common goal of using the power of sport to promote development and peace.
The Secretary-General is particularly grateful to the International Olympic Committee and its President, Dr. Thomas Bach, for their strong commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
**Security Council
The President of the Security Council has informed Council members that a public meeting will take place at 2:30 p.m. on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, and High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, are expected to brief the Council.
**Afghanistan
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has condemned the Taliban attack at Kandahar airport yesterday, which has reportedly killed dozens of civilians, including four children. The mission has reiterated that international humanitarian law, which applies to all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, prohibits attacks against civilians at any time and in any place. It has called on all parties to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians against the impact of attacks. More information is available on UNAMA’s website.
**Yemen
Two convoys of assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) have arrived in the central Yemeni city of Taiz with badly needed food supplies for residents living in dire conditions under a virtual state of siege.
The food is enough to feed nearly 145,000 people for one month. Two convoys of 31 trucks carrying various types of food arrived on Tuesday in the city’s Salah and Al-Qahira areas and a third one is currently on its way to Mudhafar district.
The World Food Programme has stressed that it needs freedom and safety of movement inside the country to reach as many people as possible with food assistance before they fall deeper into hunger.
**West Africa
The Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, will chair the twenty-eighth high-level meeting of Heads of the United Nations Missions in West Africa, tomorrow in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The meeting will bring together the Heads of the UN Mission in Liberia, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, the Special Envoy for the Sahel, the United Nations Integrated Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau, and the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire.
This biannual meeting will focus mainly on governance and security developments in the subregion and discuss ways and means to continue to strengthen coordination between the various UN entities in the subregion. The Heads of Mission will also review progress in the implementation of their respective mandates.
**Peacekeeping
Earlier today, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the United Nations with the Government of Singapore to work collaboratively on software development in support of UN Peacekeeping.
Singapore will partner with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support to co-develop software systems that will use information management to enhance situational awareness, trend analysis and early warning capacities in field missions.
**World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners today launched a new framework to eliminate human rabies.
The framework calls for action on three fronts: making human vaccines and antibodies affordable, ensuring that affected people receive prompt treatment, as well as mass dog vaccinations to address the disease at its source.
According to the World Health Organization, tens of thousands of people die from rabies each year and, worldwide, four out of every 10 people bitten by suspected rabid dogs are children under the age of 15. In Asia and Africa, where the burden is the greatest, one person dies every 10 minutes from this preventable disease.
However, treatment can cost up to $50, which can be 40 days of wages in some of the most affected countries. More information is available on WHO’s website.
**Maldives
In response to earlier questions, we can say that we are aware of the use of the UN emblem on materials used during recent political demonstrations in the Maldives. The UN had not granted permission for this use of the UN emblem and emphasizes that it does not endorse, sponsor or have any connection to the content used on those materials.
The UN has reminded the MDP party [Maldivian Democratic Party], the organizer of the demonstrations in question, as well as all other political parties, that use of the UN emblem is reserved to the Organization for its official use. The United Nations has, therefore, asked all concerned parties to refrain from using the UN emblem in any of their materials in the future.
**North Lawn Building
And I was also asked a few days ago about the cutting down of trees near the North Lawn Building.
I can announce today that the demolition of the temporary North Lawn Building has begun, following a General Assembly mandate that the building be removed after the completion of the renovation of the UN Headquarters under the Capital Master Plan.
Since 2010, the North Lawn Building first hosted conference facilities and the Secretary-General with his Executive Office. Later, it accommodated the General Assembly during the sixty-eighth session. Most recently, the building served as the hub for the Headquarters Deployment Group for the implementation of the Umoja system.
The North Lawn Building will now be dismantled and recycled. By September 2016, the original landscaping of the North Lawn will be restored. The refurbished sculptures will be returned to their former locations and new trees will be planted for the ones that had to be taken down after construction started, in 2008.
And, as for the recent trees, the honey locust trees that were removed this past weekend will all be replaced with mature trees of the same species. Regrettably, the trees, which were nearing the end of their natural lifespan, were diseased.
**Press Conference Note
And, after I’m done here, today at 12:30 p.m. there will be a press conference with Ahmad Alhendawi, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth; Oscar Fernandez Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support; the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations, Dina Kawar; and Saba Ismail, a young peace activist from Pakistan. They will brief on the adoption, yesterday, of Security Council resolution 2250 on youth, peace and security. And that should be in about 20 minutes.
Yes, Luke?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Farhan. A spokesperson for the Jordanian government came out in the press on Tuesday evening and refuted the number that the UN provided, about 12,000 refugees sort of stuck along the berm in the border. They say that’s an exaggerated number, and they also claim that the borders between Syria and Jordan are open for refugees.
So, two questions. First, does the UN stand by that number of 12,000? And, second, are they correct? Is that border open? Should those refugees pass across, as this minister would seem to indicate is permitted?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I would just refer you to the information that has been provided by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. They’re the ones who have been counting as people go across the border following the intensified fighting in Syria. And, so, they said that the number had, in fact, tripled from about 4,000 a little while ago to about 12,000 now. That’s the numbers that they have, and they’ve been doing the work on the ground about this.
They’ve made clear what their concerns are. Of course, if the Government of Jordan is opening the border, that’s a welcome development, and we would certainly work with them to make sure that the people who have been fleeing from Syria will receive the sort of help and support that they need. Ultimately, that follow-up would be done by the UN Refugee Agency.
Question: Can I ask a follow‑up?
Deputy Spokesman: Sure.
Question: In that same Tuesday appeal from UNHCR, the Agency offered to screen refugees at Azraq camp and make space for those who were stranded. Has there been any response to that offer from the Jordanian Government?
Deputy Spokesman: I’m not aware of any, but, yes, it’s clear that the UN Refugee Agency says that there is space in Azraq camp to accommodate a further group of refugees. So, if there’s a willingness on all sides to allow for that movement, we would be able to put them up there. Yes, Majeed?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Syrian opposition in Riyadh agreed on a group to represent them in the Syrian talk just today. Do you have anything to say about that?
And my, and, also, an Iranian official just declared that ISIS‑affiliated group has participated in those talks. Will the United Nations, first of all, my, been informed about who participated? Have been, Mr. de Mistura discussed that with Riyadh?
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding this, we have checked with Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy. At this stage, we are not reacting to the developments out of Riyadh. We’re aware that the meeting is still going on, so we’ll continue to monitor events and to study what happens at the conclusion of them before coming out with any particular response. So I expect we’ll respond probably more likely tomorrow rather than today on this.
Regarding our concerns about terrorist groups, as you’re well aware, we’ve made clear our concerns about any participation by those identified as terrorists, and you’ll have seen the results of the past meetings of the International Syria Support Group in Vienna, which discussed this matter, and I would refer you to the results of those. Yes?
Question: One follow‑up on that and then something on Haiti. Just a quick, do… the group Ahrar ash‑Sham attended in Saudi Arabia and then fairly loudly left the meeting. And I wanted to know, did the UN play any role in this? Does the UN view that as a terrorist‑affiliated group and have any comment on them pulling out?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, in terms of what the UN views, the one list that is available of groups that are regarded as terrorists is the consolidated list produced by the Security Council sanctions committee in line with resolution 1267 and its successor. So I would just refer you to that.
Question: Okay. On Haiti, I wanted to ask you, there were… there were two, some 2,000 letters of victims of cholera that were supposed to be delivered today to MINUSTAH [United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti] in Port‑au‑Prince. They’ve also been put online to be read, and the request by those turning them in is that they be turned over by MINUSTAH to Security Council members. And they asked for the Security Council to urge Ban Ki‑moon to take responsibility for the introduction of cholera to Haiti and two other points.
Was… can you comment on the letters? I understand that… there’s like… the legal position remains the same, but factually, have these letters been received? And will MINUSTAH or DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations], in fact, transmit these victim letters to Security Council members?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we need to check, first of all, whether the letters have been formally received by MINUSTAH, and so we’d have to check on that. Yes, Oleg?
Question: Farhan, I have to ask this. Any reaction to what was reported from North Korea, that they seem to have a hydrogen bomb, any reaction to this? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: I, I don’t have any comment on these latest reports. As you’re well aware, there will be a Security Council meeting on the topic of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at 2:30, and it’s quite possible that the topic may come up there. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Doctors Without Borders have once again asked for an independent investigation into the US bombing of hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. Does the Secretary‑General have any view on this?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we…
Question: They’ve expressed dissatisfaction…
Deputy Spokesman: We have expressed our views on this directly after the bombing of the medical facility in Kunduz. And, so, you’ll have seen what the Secretary‑General said at the time. Our position has not changed on that, and, of course, we are hopeful that, one way or another, there will be a full and thorough review of what happened there.
Question: [inaudible] the investigation being conducted by United States, but the Doctors Without Borders have said they are not satisfied with that [inaudible].
Deputy Spokesman: From our standpoint, like I said, we’ve expressed our views in that statement, and we do want there to be a full and thorough review, and, certainly, we believe that that will be done.
Question: On Yemen, is there any firm date for the start of talks?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, it’s 15 December.
Correspondent: Okay.
Deputy Spokesman: It will be in Geneva, or in Switzerland, on 15 December, under the auspices of Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Special Envoy. Yes. You first, Olga.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Tell us, please, who will represent the UN on the conference on Libya in Rome, [on] 13 December.
Deputy Spokesman: It’s not fully clear yet. I believe the expectation is that Martin Kobler, the head of the UN Mission in Libya, will be there for that. But we’ll need to be able to confirm that. Yes, Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. There is a report published today that says that 25 Palestinian children were killed in the last two month, October and November. Three hundred eleven were wounded. One hundred forty-three of them were [inaudible] by bullets and live ammunition. So, do you, are you aware of this report? And what is the reaction of the Secretary‑General to these killing of children?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we have raised our own concerns about the recent violence, of all people, but including the children who have been, who have been dying in the recent violence. You’re aware what the Secretary‑General has said on this, and we’ve pursued our contacts with the authorities on the ground from both Israeli and the Palestinian sides to make sure that all the violence, whether it’s perpetrated by the differing security forces or by individuals, can be brought to a halt. Yes?
Question: About Burundi and then separately about UN peacekeeping. Yesterday, I’d asked about these… these… covered in mainstream media killings of five people in, in Bujumbura by the Government. People are now coming out with names of saying people that are in the, the Burundian army that took place in this. So I wanted to know, since Burundi is, again, used in UN peacekeeping, what is… the team that’s there on the ground, have they been able to go out and, one, verify this incident and, and say also whether, whether the same forces used in UN peacekeeping were involved?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding the forces used in UN peacekeeping, before they join UN peacekeeping, they go through our human rights due diligence to make sure that, and this is true of all peacekeepers, to make sure there are no problems with the human rights records of any of the people who are brought forward and we would continue to do that sort of vetting before they’re included.
Regarding the action, activities on the ground, although I can’t confirm these specifically from here, our Human Rights Office is still operational in Burundi, in Bujumbura and other locations. So they’re continuing about their work. And they’ll coordinate and continue to report on their findings as their work proceeds.
Question: Okay. Yesterday in the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, there was a session on UN peacekeeping, and several of the senators were asking about accountability for sexual abuse allegations. And Ambassador Power said things back. But I wanted to ask, at this point, now we’re in December. This… this twice-delayed report into how the UN dealt with allegations of sexual abuse in CAR [Central African Republic], when is it due? Will it be made public? I’ve heard that Mr. Ladsous was given a response, you know, is writing response to it. Will that be made public? And will it… some people say it should be taken up in the Security Council. Is that something that the Secretariat would be willing to brief the UN Security Council about in a public session?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, first of all, yes, I expect the report to be ready hopefully fairly, hopefully fairly soon. It’s not, it’s not done yet, but I do expect that, sometime this month, it will come out and once that happens, yes, we expect it to be made public.
As for Security Council, you’d have to ask the members of the Security Council what they put on their agenda.
Question: In the response by individuals that are named in the report, is that incorporated in the findings changed or annexed as a letter?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I haven’t seen the report, so I can’t really judge whether those in there or not. I think the idea behind the report was that any responses needed would be added as part of that. But, but we’ll see when we get there.
Correspondent: Okay.
Deputy Spokesman: Have a good afternoon, everyone. Oh, wait. One more?
Question: The World Bank is supposed to have a report on, on LGBT this afternoon, on the economic implications of it. They did one in early 2014. Do you know if there’s another one lying around, or do I have to go down and check?
Deputy Spokesman: Please go down and check. There will be, like I just announced, an LGBT event, so I think there will be some information there at that. Oleg?
Question: One quick question. On Yemen, any changes to the announced talk, plans or anything? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: Nope, nope. You’ll have a photo op at the start, and the spokesperson for Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed will try to provide periodic updates as events proceed. And Linda?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Regarding the Syrian refugees, I know the SG has said that resettling them is really a global issue. And so, besides the neighbouring countries and Western countries, do you know if any other countries — whether they be Gulf States or Asia, China, etc. — have stepped up and offered to accept these refugees?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, you’ll have seen the offers as they come in. It’s still not really enough by our standards. There’s still a lot more that needs to be done to accept Syrian refugees, but we’re appreciative of the offers that have gradually been coming in from countries in the Western world, in the region and around. But, ultimately, in order to lower the burden on countries like Turkey, like Jordan, like Lebanon, we’ll need other countries to step up and do more.
Question: So, for example, the Gulf countries, there’s been no movement…
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah.
Question: … there?
Deputy Spokesman: There’s been some slight movement in different areas, but… but like I said, it’s still not at the level that we need to actually ease the burden on the countries in the region.
Question: Can I ask one thing about… you’d said that there will be this DPRK meeting this afternoon. I just want to understand. It was said publicly at the stakeout that this would be taking place, but then we received from your office this urgent, you know, urgent notice that the meeting would take place. The reason I’m asking this is, I know there’s some kind of a note of the Security Council that it couldn’t go in the UN Journal because it hadn’t yet been agreed to. But was your office aware… I guess I’m just wondering, for future reference, the media alert and announcements from your office, do you tell us information that… of meetings you know are taking place, or is there some restriction on you telling us until it’s urgent even if there was…?
Deputy Spokesman: Once we’re informed about meetings, we, that are here at Headquarters, we put them out on our alerts, yeah.
Question: Farhan, is there any update of whether the Vienna conference will definitely be held here on the 18th?
Deputy Spokesman: No, there’s not.
Correspondent: Okay.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes.
Question: Farhan, it was the statement about the Cup awarded by International Olympic Committee to the United Nations. When it will be, it will be placed here at the UN or what?
Deputy Spokesman: We just got informed about the award in the past hours, and you’ve seen what our reaction is to that. We’ll have to make that evaluation once we actually physically get this object.
Question: Yeah, but the ceremony, how will… where it will take place?
Deputy Spokesman: In terms of the ceremony, I think you’ll need to check with the International Olympic Committee. They’re the ones who are giving it to us, for which we’re grateful. Thanks.