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.
**Turkey
I will start off… I have a statement on the terrorist bombing in Istanbul. The Secretary-General condemns the terrorist bombing today [in Sultanahmet Square] in Istanbul, Turkey. This despicable crime targeting the heart of Istanbul’s tourist district has reportedly claimed the lives of ten people and injured at least 15 [others].
The Secretary-General expects the perpetrators of this attack to be swiftly brought to justice. He sends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and the Governments of Turkey and Germany and other foreign citizens impacted by the bombing. He wishes those injured a speedy recovery.
**Trip Announcement
I do want to flag an upcoming trip by the Secretary-General to the United Arab Emirates and to Switzerland. The Secretary-General will depart New York on the evening of Saturday, 16 January, to travel to the UAE [United Arab Emirates]. On 17 January, the Secretary-General will speak at the launch of the report of his High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing in Dubai. The report will help frame the discussion at the World Humanitarian Summit, which is scheduled for May 2016 in Turkey. The Secretary-General is expected to speak to the media at the conference.
Later on 17 January, the Secretary-General will leave Dubai for Abu Dhabi where he will attend the World Future Energy Summit on 18 January, held at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The Secretary-General will deliver a keynote address on turning political commitments on climate change into practical actions at the Abu Dhabi Global Action Day high-level event. He will also participate in the Zayed Future Energy Prize Awards Ceremony and in a multistakeholder dialogue on energy hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency.
On 19 January, he will depart the UAE for Geneva, where he will meet with some of the heads UN agencies based in Geneva. The following day, he will travel to Davos to attend the annual World Economic Forum. He is expected to meet leaders, both from the public and private sector, and participate in World Economic Forum sessions on tackling climate change and development. On 22 January, he will be in Zurich, where he is expected to deliver a keynote address on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the Annual Conference of Swiss Development Cooperation 2016. We expect to be back in New York on the evening of 22 January.
**Iraq
I also wanted to flag that Ján Kubiš, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, has condemned the bombing of six mosques in Diyala Province in Iraq. He appealed to all sides to refrain from being drawn into a cycle of reprisals by these outrageous acts, which aim to drive a wedge between the various components of Iraqi society. Mr. Kubiš also condemned the attacks on the Baghdad shopping mall and a car bombing, which claimed a number of lives and left many injured.
**Education
I also wanted to flag a press release by UNICEF today which says that in 22 countries affected by conflict in the world, nearly 24 million children are out of school — that is one in four children in conflict zones not receiving an education. South Sudan is home to the highest proportion of out-of-school children, with over half of primary and lower secondary age children not accessing an education. Niger is a close second, followed by Sudan and Afghanistan.
And on that same subject, as you saw already in the photo, we are also be joined by phone by Gordon Brown the UN Special Envoy [for] Global Education. He will brief you ahead of the Syria Pledging Conference, which will take place in London on 4 February, on new developments and pledges for educating children in conflict zones.
**Exhibit
Just flag that DPI [Department of Public Information], the [Office of the] UN [High Commissioner for] Human Rights (OHCHR), UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] and the Permanent Mission of the [United States] will host an exhibit at 6 p.m. today, in the Curved Wall Area on the 1st Floor of the Conference Building. And the exhibit provides an overview of the International Decade for People of African Descent, which is being observed from 2015 to 2024. And the exhibit will be up for two weeks. That’s all the material I brought. Mr. Klein. Go ahead.
**Questions and Answers
Question: I just wanted to get a… if you can give us that update I asked for last week on the South‑South Cooperation office audit. You said were you going to check.
[There was an interruption as a result of the continuation of an earlier briefing.]
Spokesman: Before we go to Gordon Brown, I wanted to flag, on the high‑level Panel on the Humanitarian Financing, we're organizing an embargoed briefing by Kristalina Georgieva, who's part of the Panel, here on Thursday at 10 a.m. If you're interested, please drop by my office. I'll take one question, and then we'll go to Gordon Brown, who's been waiting. And then I have the answer to the second question. Yes, go ahead.
Question: What do you make of starving the people? How do you categorize this from the United Nations' point of view? And what should be done…
Spokesman: I think it's, it's clear that starvation, intentional starvation, could very well be considered a war crime. I think that is, that is clear, and that is, I think, what we're seeing, what Yacoub described, is the clear suffering of the people of Madaya. Those are the people we're seeing. I think there are many other towns that are besieged. There are many other towns in which we need humanitarian access. The answer to your question is the audit is ongoing, and we expect it to be finalized in the next few weeks. But I will keep you posted.