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.
I will start off with a statement on climate change.
**Climate Change
The Secretary-General welcomes the statement today from the Presidency of the G20 [Group of 20], the People’s Republic of China, affirming the G20’s full support for the signing on 22 April of the Paris Agreement at the United Nations, and calling for entry into force of the Agreement as early as possible. The Secretary-General thanks China for its continued strong leadership in promoting global cooperation, grounded in ambitious national action, on climate change. The Secretary-General is encouraged by the strong political momentum from the more than 130 countries that have confirmed their intention to sign the Agreement on 22 April right here in New York, and urges all other countries to join them in the Signing Ceremony, here at the UN.
**Violent Extremism
As you know, earlier today the Secretary-General opened the high-level segment of the Geneva Conference on Violent Extremism in Geneva this morning. The Secretary-General said in his statement that violent extremism is not rooted or confined to any religion, region, nationality or ethnic group, adding that the threat is clearly transnational and requires urgent international cooperation.
Stressing the importance of prevention, he said that violent extremism flourishes when aspirations for inclusion are frustrated, political space shrinks, human rights are abused and when too many people, especially young people, lack prospects and meaning in their lives. Speaking to the press with the Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, following the opening of the high-level segment, the Secretary-General said that he has appealed to the international community to come together and demonstrate united political will and vision, courage and leadership, needed to prevent violent extremism.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
Just to flag another trip that the Secretary-General will take next week: he will go up to New Haven, Connecticut, next Tuesday to give the keynote address at the opening session of the eighth Global Colloquium of University Presidents, which is being hosted by Yale University. The colloquium will centre on the theme of “Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Strategies” and the Secretary-General is expected to speak on that topic. It is being convened by the presidents of its six sponsoring institutions — Brown, Columbia, New York, Princeton and Yale universities, as well as the University of Pennsylvania — on behalf of and with the support and participation of the Secretary-General. He is expected to be back in New York the next day.
**Central African Republic
Just to give you an update on Jane Holl Lute’s activities in the Central African Republic, her first visit in her new role as the Secretary General's Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse. She arrived yesterday in Bangui, and already met with MINUSCA's [United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic] senior leadership, including the Force Commander, the Deputy Police Commissioner, the Human Rights Office, as well as the Conduct and Discipline Team. She also attended MINUSCA's regular Task Force meeting on sexual exploitation and abuse. Her discussions with the mission and others on the ground focus on UN's response efforts to recent allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as improving prevention and enforcement measures.
**South Sudan
Our colleagues at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have now completed the operation of return of the SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army]-in Opposition forces with the last rotation of UNMISS's flight from Malakal into Juba. As of today, 1,190 SPLA-in-Opposition troops have been airlifted with the Mission’s support. The process will be complete over the weekend, with two flights chartered by partners that will airlift the remaining 180 troops in order to reach the total number requested to pave the way for the return of the Vice-President designate, Riek Machar. From 24 March until today, the Mission has airlifted a third of the total SPLA-in-Opposition forces to Juba. In addition, it has supported documentation and airport ground handling in Malakal and Juba, as well as aviation operations.
**Bangladesh
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, is concerned about the latest death sentences handed down against two men by the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal, particularly given continued concerns in relation to international due process and fair trial standards. Motiur Rahman Nizami, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami opposition party, has filed a review petition against his death warrant, due to be heard on Sunday, 10 April, this Sunday, following a one-week deferral. This is the last stage of the legal process in appealing against his execution, other than to seek a presidential pardon, which the Human Rights Office hopes will be considered thoroughly by the court.
The UN opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, no matter the gravity of the crime committed and even if the most stringent fair trial standards were respected. The UN Human Rights Office renews its call to the Government of Bangladesh to halt all executions and institute a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The Office also said it is alarmed by the violent killing of yet another blogger in Bangladesh. The High Commissioner has urged the Government to take urgent, concerted measures to ensure the protection of all those who are being threatened by extremists operating in the country.
**El Niño
The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Ertharin Cousin, announced today scaled up operations to help the most vulnerable in four countries impacted by El Niño: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti. WFP will assist 1.6 million people hit by droughts exacerbated by El Niño and help them in building resilience against future climatic shocks. In Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, more than 2 million people are food insecure, while in Haiti, that number reaches 3.6 million after three years of severe drought. In Haiti, WFP initially responded with food distributions for a two-month period to 120,000 people, but it now plans to launch an emergency operation to assist 1 million people, primarily by cash transfers. For operations in these four countries, WFP says it needs $100 million.
**Haiti
Still on Haiti, aid agencies yesterday launched the Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016, seeking $ 193.8 million to provide assistance to some 1.3 million people. The humanitarian situation in Haiti has deteriorated since the middle of last year due to multiple factors, including the depreciation of the national currency and high inflation rates leading to increases in the prices of food and medicines, in addition to El Niño. Over 60 per cent of Haiti's population lives in poverty with little resilience to withstand and recover from crises. At the institutional level, the capacity to respond to humanitarian risks — without external support — also remains limited.
**Nuclear Security
One legal issue to flag: Nicaragua has ratified today the Amendment to the UN Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, which brought the number of adherents to the Convention to 102, the threshold required for the agreement to come into effect in 30 days. Speaking on the occasion, the head of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], Yukiya Amano, said that the entry into force of the Amendment on 8 May will help reduce the risk of a terrorist attack involving nuclear material.
**World Food Programme
This afternoon, Ertharin Cousin, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), will moderate an informal meeting of the General Assembly from 3 to 6 p.m. on the humanitarian response in Africa. It is opened and you are all cordially invited.
**Press Conferences
On Monday, I will be joined by the Director of the Secretary-General's Climate Change Support Team, Selwin Hart, who will give you a preview of 22 April events.
**Honour Roll
We close by saying thank you to Bahrain and Kazakhstan, who have paid their regular budget dues in full, bringing the total number to… 65. If you have a question, you get it. Otherwise, you can yield. We're going to start auctioning them off.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Good motivation. Okay. With regard to the signing ceremony on 22 April, now there is 130 countries, and there is various reports about 60, 63 Heads of States are arriving. Do we have a final list of the Heads of States…?
Spokesman: No, I think Selwin will give you a bit more details on Monday, but as you know, these lists keep growing until… the final list will be on 22 April, so…
Question: And is the Secretary‑General considering holding a side summit with the presence of all these Heads of States regarding any of the pressing issues, such as countering violent terrorism? I know he's speaking in Geneva about it since we… usually we don't have this amount of Heads of States outside of the GA meetings and the migration issues. Is there any… any plans for that?
Spokesman: There are no scheduled side events that I know of on issues other than climate, but the Secretary‑General will be having a number of bilateral meetings with some of the visiting dignitaries. Carole?
Question: Stéphane, I wanted to ask about MINURSO [United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara]. Yesterday, after the Security Council briefing, we heard that the mission is… is… is hanging by a thread. It's quite in dire straits. There have been cuts to rations and incidents of harassment by the Moroccans. What's… do you have an update on what's going on there?
Spokesman: No, obviously, the Mission… what remains of the Mission continues to operate in a rather challenging environment, and that continues to be the case. It's not getting any better. But, that's really the only thing I have to offer on that.
Question: Same topic?
Spokesman: I'll get back to you. Lou?
Question: Yeah. On Western Sahara, one of the things that was apparently told to the Council was that the Mission is not only not able to fulfil its mandate at the moment, it's not able to do anything. And it's just a matter of weeks before it's simply completely crippled and able to pull out. Maybe if you could confirm whether this was actually told to the Council. And then, secondly, when all of these candidates for the post of Secretary‑General are here next week, does the Secretary‑General have any appointments to meet with any of them?
Spokesman: Not that I'm aware of. Those events are taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Correct? 12 and 13 April. Yeah. No, I mean, the Secretary‑General, as I mentioned, will be away from Headquarters most of Tuesday, parts of Wednesday. And, as you know, this is a process that does not involve him and is in… firmly in the hands of Member States. As for the Mission, obviously, as we've said from the beginning, the current situation cannot hold for the long… for the long term. But, the Mission is… what remains of the Mission is there. All of these issues, obviously, will be reported upon in the report. Matthew?
Question: Sure. I have other questions, but on… I mean, on Western Sahara, I wanted to ask something that I don't think was told to the Council but that I've been told, which is that in… in… Morocco suspended this $3 million payment in various assistance to the Mission. So, I was told that part of that money was spent for hotels for… for, you know, staff of the UN, but that, as it's been unwound, it was found that the staff were also receiving mission support assistance, as if they weren't in a paid hotel. And I'm wondering, is that… first of all… I have a couple of questions. Maybe you can answer some of them now, maybe some of them later. Are there other UN peacekeeping missions in which the host country pays directly for the accommodation of the civilian staff or peacekeepers? And, two, if the country is paying, are the people supposed to be receiving DSA [daily subsistence allowance], or, in this case, I'm told it's called MSA, on top of that? And if this did occur, what does the UN do about it?
Spokesman: I'm not aware of any… of arrangements like this in any other mission. There may be, but I'm not aware of them. I can check. Obviously, if the housing is paid for as a matter of principle, they may… staff may also receive monies for food and other daily needs, but I can look into it.
Correspondent: But I'm told… if you could, because I'm told there was a full MSA… it may have been an oversight, but it's obviously a pretty big oversight.
Spokesman: Okay. Emoke, then Edie, and then Masood.
Question: Thank you, Steph. Going back to the signing ceremony on 22 April, yesterday, the statement said that there will be a number of countries also depositing their instruments of ratification. Do you have the number for how many?
Spokesman: I don't have the number. And, again, I think that number will… we will know for sure once it happens, but if I get a ballpark figure today, I will get one for you. Edie and then Masood.
Question: Stéphane, MINURSO. Is it possible to tell us the state of talks between the Secretariat and the Moroccan Government? Who's involved? Are they still going on? Are they making any progress?
Spokesman: I mean, the discussions are ongoing, which, I think, in itself, is… is a good sign. Masood?
Question: Yes, Stéphane. Thank you. On Armenia and Azerbaijan, both the countries are accusing each other of breaking the ceasefire at least 115 times in last 24 hours. Does the United Nations have any take on this as to which side…?
Spokesman: We have no confirmation, obviously, of these… of violations, if there were any. The political process, in terms of the situation in Nagorno‑Karabakh, is being led by the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]. The Secretary‑General, when this latest incident broke out, did express his concern at the situation. Yes, Anna.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I have a follow‑up question actually to my colleague Masood's question. It's about human right abuses during this Azerbaijani attack against Nagorno‑Karabakh Republic. It's been reported multiple times this abuses… one soldier who was Yazidi by origin [inaudible], he was murdered and he's dead… after that, his head was severed, and it was being demonstrated as a trophy, very much ISIS style, which is not surprising because Azerbaijan has been long a training ground for ISIS soldiers. And also elderly couple were tortured to death. Their ears were cut off, so on, so forth, horrific things. Is UN going to react somehow to these abuses of human rights?
Spokesman: I haven't seen these reports. I will look into them…
Correspondent: They've been full to documented and proven.
Spokesman: I understand. I just haven't seen them…
Question: Yeah, and I have a second question. And my second question is on this difficult refugee situation in Greece. It's been reported that this night from the island off Lesbos coast, Samos, refugees are being massively deported to Turkey, back to Turkey. And all kinds of human rights organizations are very concerned. And rebellions are going on, especially after it happened in the island of Chios. Is UN going to react somehow? Because they say these people are…
Spokesman: I think the High Commissioner for Refugees has… and his office have talked about this… the challenges of the current situation. We have clearly expressed our concern at the situation, first of all, to ensure that the… those people who are sent back is done so within their full respect of their rights, their human rights, their legal rights, and their human dignity. We're, obviously, following the situation very, very closely.
Question: But, how about the people who are being held right now in refugee camps? Is there anything that's going to be done to improve these conditions?
Spokesman: As I said, our colleagues at the Human Rights Office are involved in these situations. We know UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] also has a presence in a lot of these camps. Erol?
Question: Stéphane, thanks. Just to clarify or… I wonder, actually, whether the Secretary‑General is going to taking any form or shape… is he going to participate, actually, in those briefings that are planned for the new SG?
Spokesman: Not… not at all. This is… again, this is not his process. He's delighted it's happening, but it's not his process. It's a process that is Member State‑led and Member State‑run for them to decide on who will be the successor to Ban Ki‑moon. But, it is not one that involves the current occupied… occupant of that office. George?
Question: [Inaudible] you mentioned this event of the World Food Programme this afternoon [inaudible]. I don't think you mentioned…?
Spokesman: I did not, because I was not told, but I'm sure it's somewhere in one of the large conference rooms that are held in building. And I'm sure one of my colleagues who's listening now must… will bring me a piece of paper and tell me exactly where that is. [He later said that the WFP event was taking place in the Trusteeship Council.] Sherwin?
Question: Just back on the Secretary‑General and the elections coming up, what advice do you think the Secretary… the current Secretary‑General would give to the candidates ahead of these engagements with Member States?
Spokesman: For the engagement with Member States? I don't know. He may… I may be going out on a limb here, but… I think, you know, one advice he may use is a quote he often repeats that his middle school teacher gave him, which is: Keep your feet firmly on the ground and put your head in the clouds. Giampaolo, then Carla?
Question: Did Mr. [Martin] Kobler have any update on the recent travels for the Secretary‑General in the Libya situation?
Spokesman: No, I do not have an update on Libya. Carla?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. There are reports that the US and Manila are conducting military exercises, and China is saying that this is raising tensions in the area. And the US and… recently in the Republic of Korea… actually, they're ongoing… conducted military exercises, which China, again, felt was increasing tensions. In the case of Republic of Korea, the ostensible threat was North Korea. But, in the case of Manila, it looks as though there seems to be some kind of encirclement going on or… or… does the UN have any comment about this?
Spokesman: No, no particular comment. I'm not aware of the military exercise, but no particular comment. Oleg, then Mr. Lee?
Correspondent: Thank you Stéphane. There have been a number of reports in the Russian media that Ban Ki‑moon, while meeting Lebanese… speaker of the Lebanese parliament, when he visited the Middle East, he called Ukraine an unwanted element on the European arena.
Spokesman: A what?
Correspondent: Unwanted element, presumably. That's…
Spokesman: I'm not sure what that means.
Question: Yeah. It's like unwanted player or something like that. So, I don't know why he said that. Can you confirm that?
Spokesman: I don't know if he said it, and I'm not even sure I understand the… whatever translation it may be from either Arabic or Russian into English, but I…
Question: Did it…?
Spokesman: It's not that I don't know. It's that I don't understand, frankly.
Question: Did he discuss…?
Spokesman: I really don't understand what that means. But, I will see if I can get… if I can… if somebody can help me understand, I will try to understand. Mr. Lee, then Masood.
Question: Sure. Some other questions, but just a follow‑up on this next SG thing, and I know it's not for what his views are, but I wanted to know what the UN's rules are given that there are now two candidates that are currently employed by the UN system, Irina Bokova of UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization], Helen Clark of UNDP [United Nations Development Programme]. I wanted to know, what rules apply as to how they devote their time, how resources of the agencies and of other staff in the agencies are devoted to helping their campaign.
Spokesman: Obviously, for UNESCO, that is something for the UNESCO governing body to decide. As far as UNDP, obviously, we would expect that and our understanding is that this will have no impact on her… on Ms. Clark's leadership of UNDP and that, obviously, that no staff resources would be used for that.
Question: No, and I mean, I… I guess I mean it with all due respect, but inevitably, she's going to be spending time devoted to this. So, the question is, like, how much time should she…? It's an obvious…
Spokesman: No, no, I'm saying it's a… I'm not debating the obviousness of the question. That's what I have to say at this point.
Question: Okay. So I wanted to ask you about sexual abuse. There was… the report that came out that mentioned that… that a peacekeeper in Haiti, who had fathered children with a… with a… in a condition of sexual exploitation, was suspended for nine days. And now there's reports in Canada that are more specific, that say this was a Montreal police officer. There were actually two of them. One was only suspended for five days. And there are calls in the Haitian community in Montreal that this is an outrage in terms of the lack of punishment. So, I wanted to know… I asked at the time, like, is not… Mr. [Atul] Khare, I think it was, was nine days enough? What does the UN think? Given it was in the UN's report as one of the few cases in which a home country actually took action, is nine days enough? And what is the UN going to do in terms of Canada's dealing with sexual exploitation in Haiti when the people come home?
Spokesman: Obviously, I think each… Member States are responsible for the prosecution of people who may have committed crimes. We hope that those people are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I'm not aware of the details of the case, and I… it's hard for me to say what is sufficient or not sufficient.
Question: Should they pay child support?
Spokesman: Obviously, people who father children have responsibilities.
Question: But, does the UN, I guess… what I'm saying is that… there was no criminal anything…?
Spokesman: No, and I also think, you know, there is… be this Trust Fund for support for the victims, but I have no more details on the case. Masood?
Question: On this… Stéphane, on this India‑Pakistan peace talks, which is, again, being interrupted for the umpteenth time, Secretary‑General has been offering his good offices. Does the Secretary‑General again… would like to offer good offices? Because they keep…
Spokesman: I think… you know, there is a… whenever there is a conflict, an issue, between Member States, the Secretary‑General's offer for good offices stands as a matter of principle. But, that has to be agreed on and asked for by both parties. Yep?
Question: Yeah. A ceasefire is due to enter into force in Yemen this Sunday. How upbeat are you that this time it will hold, and if you are, why? What elements do you have that suggest that, this time, it will hold?
Spokesman: I don't think "upbeat" is a word I would use in relation to Yemen. We are very much aware of the challenges that are facing us in the situation in Yemen and the destruction that the Yemeni people… country has endured and the suffering the Yemeni people have endured. What is important is that all the parties that are involved in this conflict observe the cessation of hostilities, and we're hopeful that they will.
Question: On Burundi, do you have an update on when the options on the police component might go to the Security Council? And the Burundian ambassador mentioned that, in his view, it would be a group of 20, 30 unarmed experts or observers, which seems like, you know…
Spokesman: No. The short answer is not… I do not. I know the discussions are still going on within the Secretariat, and hopefully, we would have an update in the coming days. Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. Also something on Burundi. I wanted to ask, first, is… is… some there are saying that… that some of the peacekeepers that were re… that came back from… from CAR [Central African Republic] under allegations of abuse have, in turn, just been simply sent out to AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia] in Somalia. And they're naming a First Major Sergeant Zepherin. And I wanted to know, if… what is the UN's role in vetting… vetting those sent to AMISOM? I know there used to be a support mission. Is it… I would assume that the UN wouldn't allow a peacekeeper repatriated from one mission to be sent to another mission, but how about being sent to an African Union mission that the UN supports?
Spokesman: Well, listen, I can't… I'm not aware of those details, but obviously, we would hope that anyone who is repatriated for any… for suspicion of being involved in sexual abuse would have to deal with those charges first before doing anything else.
Question: Okay. I want to ask a couple questions about the audit, but I want… I'm sure you've seen this The New York Times article about the Roma that were in UNMIK [United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] camp in Pristina. And I wanted… I mean, it seems like they may be getting an apology and even recompense, but I guess people inevitably look at that and compare it to the situation of Haiti, and they say, if UNMIK had a claims commission or whatever body or human rights review panel that's able to, at this distance, award damages and an apology, why doesn't the mission in Haiti have such a similar body?
Spokesman: On Haiti, our position has not changed. On Kosovo, the leadership of the Mission in Kosovo has, indeed, received the recommendation, the Advisory Panel's recommendation, in reference to that complaint. It's not… the Human Rights Advisory Panel is not a tribunal but an advisory body, as its name implies, set up in 2006 by the SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary-General] in Kosovo, to examine complaints of alleged human rights violations committed by or attributed to the United Nations Interim Administration [Mission] in Kosovo. Upon completion of an examination of a complaint, the Panel submits its findings to the SRSG, which they have done. The findings of the Panel, which may include recommendations, are an advisory nature. The SRSG will now carefully study the Panel’s opinion and recommendations and will issue a decision in due course, taking into account all its aspects.
Question: So, is it up to each SRSG whether there's accountability?
Spokesman: No, this is a specific mechanism that was created in this case.
Question: And then if I… I'd asked… this OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] audit, I obtained it, published it and I want to ask two… just for today, two specific questions about it. One is, it talks about funds going to this thing called UNPAN, which I've heard of, but it seems to be pretty obscure. And in looking at its website, it claims to be publishing articles they say were published in December 2016, which hasn't actually occurred yet. So, there's something a little… a little… can you say what… what's been done on the recommendations as to… to UNPAN and its… the use of its name by the entities that were audited and… and…?
Spokesman: The recommend… the audit, I think, as all of you have seen now, includes recommendations and includes the status of those recommendations, and we're following through with them.
Correspondent: And I guess I wanted to… I'd asked Farhan [Haq] yesterday about the 30 June 2015 event in the Visitor's Lobby, which has a section of the whole audit about DPI [Department of Public Information] being in charge of it, not doing it. I want to ask you about another event, which was 25 March, this unveiling of the Ark of Return permit memorial, which they said was no due diligence done of the Global Sustainability Foundation. And, I guess, my question here is, it seems like, in this audit, they make these two findings about DPI, these two events, but it's only looking at… at… at… I guess at institutionally. As I've asked you, when… when Global Sustainability Foundation was founded in this building, a senior adviser of the Secretary‑General and his spouse were present…
Spokesman: I mean, I think…
Question: Does this audit look at individuals or only entities…?
Spokesman: The audit looks at… looked at the systems. When there are issues related to individuals, further investigations are being done.
Question: Right. But, it seems like they only mention the individuals that were in the criminal complaint. There was nothing…
Spokesman: You know, the audit… I think the audit speaks for itself and outlines how we're following up with it. Masood?
Question: Yes. Stéphane, does… at the top of the briefing, you just gave this statement of the human rights… on situation in Bangladesh. Does the Secretary‑General share this point of view of the human rights chief about the situation in Bangladesh?
Spokesman: I think he doesn't stand against it.
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. In Syria, Jan Egeland yesterday said that hundreds of thou… well, I guess it's 287,000 people can't be reached. Seems the problems are continuing and maybe even getting worse as the hawks go on. Does the SG have any statement on that that… you know, pressure should be…?
Spokesman: I think the SG and the UN humanitarian's apparatus as a whole, which share the very grave concerns expressed by Mr. Egeland, I think, especially on the issue of access, the delay in access, and also the issue of evacuations, of medical evacuations, where we're now in a… in this bizarre situation where there has to be a tit for tat or quid pro quo for evacuations where people's medical needs are subjugated to political realities. If people need help, if they need to be ur… immediately evacuated, we should be able to do so without having to negotiate. It's about humanitarian access. It's humanitarian. It's not political. And I think Mr. Egeland also underscored the potential negative impact of the slowdown in humanitarian access may have on the political talks.Question: If I may just follow up, that situation in Madaya where the boys were killed, that couldn’t be evacuated, that's part of the Four Towns Agreement, which sort of draws an equal… there's two sides. You got to let people out of one and the other. Does the SG think that deals like that may be problematic in the sense that the Government's actually the one that's besieging the majority…?
Spokesman: I think we have to… you know, and this is Mr. [Staffan] de Mistura's approach. It's like you have to start somewhere, and you have to start small on these cessation of hostilities agreement. But, I think there is… where there is a play is the broader principle of humanitarian access, and that needs to be respected by all parties. Linda?
Question: Thank you, Steph. This is in regard to Iraq. We know that Secretary of State John Kerry has been there, et cetera, and has called for more constructive role on the part of Iran. I was wondering if the SG himself has been in touch with Iran. I mean, I know de Mistura, et al, has been in touch. But, I was wondering if the Secretary‑General has any specific views in terms of what Iran could do in helping to resolve both the crisis in Yemen, as well as in Syria.
Spokesman: Well, I mean, we would hope that all… Iran, as well as the other regional players those countries who have influence among parties use that influence in a positive manner. We know that Iraq's political situation is challenging, and we would hope that anyone who has influence on Iraq… excuse me. Iraq's political situation is challenging. We hope that anyone who has influence brings that influence to bear in a positive manner, whether it be in Iraq or anywhere else. Mr. Lee?
Correspondent: Sure. I want to ask something about Congo-Brazzaville, but I've been waiting to see if somebody brought you in a piece of paper about Ertharin Cousins about this event, and if it’s an access issue.
Spokesman: It's open. And when I said you're all invited, you're all invited.
Question: Sure. Including to stand in front of it?
Spokesman: If anybody's interested in going to the event, I would encourage you not to stand in front of it, but to stand in it. It's open.
Correspondent: Right. But, I'm saying as people go in and out. All right. My question to you is this…
Spokesman: You can be in. You don't have to wait outside is what I'm saying.
Question: I know, but if you go in through the 3rd Floor, you can't speak… okay. What I wanted to ask you is about Congo-Brazzaville. Many countries have commented on what they call flawed electoral process; mobile phone networks were turned off during it. There's been gunfire which killed 17 recently. And I was waiting, I guess, to see whether… I know that this is a region the UN operates in. I don't know which of the various parts of DPA [Department of Political Affairs) deals with it, but what does… does the UN think that it was a… the election was okay? Was it okay to turn off all the cell phones?
Spokesman: I don't have anything on Congo-Brazzaville right now. Thank you.