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 Travels
The Secretary-General earlier today addressed both houses of the Austrian parliament in Vienna, becoming the first foreign leader to do so. In his speech, he said that the world urgently needs global citizenship to address the many threats it faces. The Secretary-General said that he recognized the generosity shown so far by the people and governments of Europe to migrants and refugees, not least in Austria. But he added that he is concerned that European countries were now adopting increasingly restrictive immigration and refugee policies.
He said such policies and measures negatively affect the obligations of Member States under international humanitarian law and European law. The Secretary-General also said he was alarmed about growing xenophobia and that all of Europe’s leaders should live up to the principles that have guided the continent. The Secretary-General has spent much of the day chairing the UN system’s Chief Executives Board — as you know that brings together the heads of the UN agencies. Tomorrow, he will fly off to Geneva and will be back in New York tomorrow evening.
**Syria
The Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, spoke to the press late last night in Geneva following his briefing to the Security Council by video, and he made clear that the latest round of intra-Syrian talks have been overshadowed by the substantial and worrisome deterioration of the cessation of hostilities. Noting the Aleppo attack, among others, he said that, in the previous 48 hours, there had been an average of one Syrian killed every 25 minutes and one Syrian wounded every 13 minutes.
He shared a mediator’s summary of common points reached between the parties. Among them, the parties have agreed on the urgent need for a true and credible political transition. They share an understanding that a credible political transition should be overseen by new, credible and inclusive transitional governance, which should include members of the present Government, the opposition, independents and others. And they agreed that Syria requires a new constitution. Mr. de Mistura said that the next round of talks will be meaningful only if the cessation of hostilities is restored to the level we saw in February and in March. He urged the United States and the Russian Federation to urgently work together to address that matter, before a new round of talks can be scheduled.
**Security Council — Syria
Earlier today, the Security Council heard from Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O’Brien, who briefed by videoconference from Vienna. He urged the members of the Council to explore every possible avenue to end the violence. He noted that, just today, the Syrian Government reportedly restarted aerial bombardment of Dara’a Governorate for the first time since the cessation of hostilities had started. He added that humanitarian access cannot be a one-off event and cannot be limited to certain types of aid. The current levels of access still leave civilians starving and without medical care. He noted that medicines and medical supplies continue to be removed from aid convoys. He drew particular attention to humanitarian needs in areas where access has been regularly denied. His statement is available to you.
**Yemen
The talks in Kuwait organized under the auspices of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, are continuing today. Yesterday, he held several rounds of talks on a general framework for negotiations proposed by the UN to end the conflict in Yemen. The sessions included an overview of the proposal, together with its associated implementation and coordination mechanisms.
The talks also addressed ways to strengthen the De-Escalation and Coordination Committee and the issues related to the withdrawal of armed groups, the handover of heavy weapons, the resumption of the political transition and the release of prisoners and detainees. The Special Envoy said that a positive atmosphere prevailed throughout the discussions despite the clear differences between the delegations on key issues. He said that, while divergences are to be expected, it is crucial that all parties make concessions for the sake of the country and its people, in order to reach a comprehensive political agreement on security and stability.
**South Sudan
From South Sudan, the UN Mission [in South Sudan] (UNMISS) has strongly condemned an attack that took place on Monday, [25 April], against its compound in Bentiu, where a rocket-propelled grenade landed inside the perimeter of the compound and partly damaged one of the containers located in the humanitarian hub. Initial investigations indicate that the projectile, along with other small arms fire, was directly targeted at the Mission compound. The location of the compound is well-known and there were no known armed forces in the vicinity of the base at the time of the attack. The UN reminds all South Sudanese actors of the sanctity of UN staff, equipment and installations, including the Protection of Civilians sites and the civilians that are being protected inside those sites.
**Central African Republic
The [United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization] Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, reports today to us that it has increased patrols and established a temporary operating base in Koui following clashes earlier this week between the anti-Balaka and the Retour, Reclamations, Rehabilitation elements in Ouham-Pende prefecture. The Mission has also re-enforced patrols in Mambere-Kadé, in the south-west of the country, after anti-Balaka elements reportedly attacked other anti-Balaka elements yesterday near Amada-Gaza and wounded two people.
**Croatia — International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Just to flag to you that Serge Brammertz, the prosecutor for the ICTY is visiting Zagreb today and tomorrow as part of preparations for his regular biyearly report to the Security Council. The Prosecutor is scheduled to meet with high-ranking Croatian officials to discuss the progress in the prosecution of cases transferred from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Croatia. Mr. Brammertz will present his report to the Council in June.
**Security Council — Ukraine
At 3 p.m. the Security Council will hold its first meeting this year on the situation in Ukraine. They will hear from Ertugrul Apakan, the head of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and he will brief the Council via video link.
**Special Event
At 1:15 p.m., in Conference Room 8, there will be a special event on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work which is co-organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Permanent Mission of Germany. Should you be interested, you are most welcome.
**Press Conference Tomorrow
Tomorrow, at 12:30 p.m., in this very room, there will be a Press Conference by Permanent Representative of China, the President of the Security Council for the month of April. And he will brief you on the work of the Security Council that has been done during the month of April.
**Honour Roll
We have three countries — Barbados, Italy and Mali — which have all paid their regular budget in full, and the total [number] is now… [77]. Go ahead.
**Questions and Answers
Correspondent: Thanks, Stéph. Two questions. First, India has said that they're awaiting UN instructions on what to do with an oil tanker bringing oil from Eastern Libya, which is a bit confusing as we're not sure what the UN means. And so, I wondered, if, I don't know… Kobler or if you're aware of any sort of UN involvement there. And also, if you could say whether the Secretary‑General has anything to say about the latest apparently failed attempt at a ballistic missile launch by North Korea. Thanks.
Spokesman: I think, on your first part, no, I don't have an update. I've seen those press reports. We're trying to gather information as to the situation. We'll try to keep you updated. You know, again, I think we would repeat that these types of actions by the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] are extremely troubling, and we would yet again encourage the DPRK to cease any further provocative actions and return to full compliance of its international obligations. Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. These may be kind of interrelated questions. One has to do with… there was that report about Kosovo and the Roma that were confined to live in the lead‑poisoned camp. So, there's a story today saying that Zahir Tanin, the SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary-General], has expressed his apology and has said — this is the phrase I wanted to ask you about — he says that "Tanin also brought the matter of compensation to the attention of UN Headquarters, the statement said." So, I wanted you… to know from you, what happens now? If he has, in writing, asked, I guess, OLA [Office of Legal Affairs] or somebody to look into compensating, how is it determined? And by whom is it determined? And by when will it be determined whether to compensate these people injured by…?
Spokesman: I had not seen that statement. I will see if there's anything to be had. I don't know of any updates since we last spoke about it and since we'd received the advisory ruling.
Question: Sure. And the other one has to do with an official of Amnesty International has written a piece in which… and… and presumptively credible describing the killing of a… of a 61‑year‑old truck driver in Bangui in the Central African Republic in August by name, Balla Hadji, saying basically that he came out of his home and was shot to death by peacekeepers and his son was shot. So, the same question, I guess, comes to my mind, which is, what's actually… I'm asking… I'm saying the name to say can you, I guess, find out from the mission in the same spirit as the sexual abuse ones, what's been done about this case? Both in terms of accountability and compensation?
Spokesman: I will take a look. I will take a look. Okay. Yes, sir.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Stéphane, I want to ask you about Iraq. With the talks about operation in Mosul and the Secretary‑General's latest visit, I think he discussed this with Iraqi leaders. There are now serious concern by human rights group about the violation committed by the Shia militias in Iraq, especially in the city of Fallujah, which you talked about, I think, last week. UNAMI [United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq] reported some violations there. There's a great concern about what they will do once they liberate Mosul. Has there been any reporting from Iraq from UNAMI about… about the situation in Fallujah, about the behaviour of the… of the Shia militias?
Spokesman: I haven't seen any particular reporting in the last couple of days. The Secretary‑General's report to the Security Council, I think, on UNAMI should be going very soon, so that may contain an update. As a matter of… as an overall answer to your question, the Secretary‑General and his Special Representative have expressed their concern to ensure… about the ongoing fight against Da’esh and other extremist groups by various militias and other armed groups to ensure that that fight be conducted along and with full respect to international law and human rights and that once the areas are liberated that people are not subject to further trauma and that areas that need to be liberated should be so to make sure that all the human rights of those people who have been liberated are fully respected. Stefano?
Question: Thanks you very much, Stéphane. About the speech the Secretary‑General did today, there is a particular passage that you just mentioned that is about international law. He didn't mention the agreement in the speech; he didn't mention anything about the agreement between European Union and Turkey. But, I'm asking, in that passage, is he also referring specifically to that agreement? And again, I wanted to remind to my colleagues that, for example, just few days ago, here in New York City, to our questions to the Premier… Italian Premier if the international law was respected with that agreement, he replied in three words: "Yes, it is respected."
Spokesman: I think the Secretary‑General was referring to the overall situation that we've seen in Europe, whether in Central Europe or in South-Eastern Europe, in the way that refugees and migrants have been treated. Again, on the EU‑Turkish agreement, we're continuing to monitor the situation to ensure that the rights of migrants are respected. I think the Secretary‑General is expressing his deep concern at the way the situation has been moving, as well as the rise of extremist movements and xenophobic movements in Europe. Yes, sir.
Question: Thank you. Stéphane, yesterday, a MSF [Doctors without Borders] hospital in Aleppo, Mr. O'Brien said two doctors and other people killed, and do you have any information who's responsible for this airstrike? Because we know only the Russian and Syrian army has air force there. And do you have… do you have any information on who's responsible and what Secretary‑General says…?
Spokesman: No, we don't have any particular information as to the responsibility. What is clear is that the Secretary‑General condemns the attack in no uncertain terms, as well as the condemnation of the attacks, the indiscriminate shelling that we have seen by Government forces, by opposition groups, and other terrorist tactics. I think the attack and targeting of civilian infrastructure, of hospitals, is an inexcusable violation of international law. Go. Do you have a question? Okay. Mr. Lee?
Question: You had the… and I've seen the statement from UNMISS about the incident three days ago of an RPG falling into the Bentiu camp, and you called it a preliminary investigation. So, there were reports of… of Dinka, SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] in Government and Johnson Olony's in-opposition forces fighting near there. Is there… did this investigation by the UN involve trying to figure out who fired the RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] at the UN?
Spokesman: Well, obviously, they're limited in the way they can investigate exactly who fired the RPG. They're trying to gather as much information as possible.
Question: But, they are going to try to determine…?
Spokesman: They're trying to gather as much information as possible.
Correspondent: Okay. And I wanted to ask you the, the, there was that statement by the Secretary‑General on the assassination of General Kararuza in Burundi. And since then, there are reports that his daughter wasn't actually killed in the attack, but has since died in the hospital. And some… some people say this is suspicious, and they point to the fact that, that soldiers who were on the scene when the… when the assassination took place have since been detained by the SNR, and they're calling this basically a cover‑up of some larger group who carried out the assassination. I wanted to know, given there's a UN presence in the country, is there any UN involvement in trying to determine who it was that, in broad daylight, killed this General Kararuza in his car and his wife…
Spokesman: I'm not sure there's any direct UN involvement. We would hope the national authorities would conduct a thorough investigation. We're trying to obviously find out a little bit more on that.
Correspondent: But, if the national authorities have, in fact, arrested witnesses…
Spokesman: I'm just trying… we're trying also to figure out what happened. Thank you.
Correspondent: One more.
Spokesman: Sure. One more.
Question: I believe they're interrelated, so I'm just going to do them very fast. One would be… you'll find the answer to this, but for something I'm writing. I wanted to know, when people work for the PGA's office… this is related to the John Ashe case. When people work in the PGA's office and they're… they're… they work for the UN, but they work for the PGA's office, are they supposed to have a G4 visa or an “A” diplomat visa? There's a reason I'm asking this. Some people are seconded, and supposedly, they can have then an A visa, which gives much greater immunity. Some people are paid by the UN, and I wanted to get an answer from you whether G4…
Spokesman: If they are UN staff, then I would assume they're under G4 visas…
Question: What happens if… what if somebody is a UN staff that, for some reason, for some erroneous reason, happened to have an A visa? Would this give them immunity?
Spokesman: I don't know. I don't know.
Question: All right. And the other one is just… it's a straight… you might say it's beneath you, but I wanted to know whether the position in DPI, Strategic Communications Division, is now, is… is… is vacated if there's a recruitment for…?
Spokesman: I think if there is a recruitment, it would be posted on Inspira, which you're free to…
Question: If it is, does that mean that the person who held the post is taking a demotion, is going out of the… out of… out of… out of New York?
Spokesman: Well, if the post is vacated, it means the person has moved on to another post. Thank you.