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.
**Brazil
I will start off with a statement on Brazil.
The Secretary-General has been following closely recent events in Brazil. The Secretary-General calls for calm and dialogue among all sectors of society and trusts that the country's authorities will honour Brazil’s democratic processes, adhering to the rule of law and the Constitution.
The Secretary-General is grateful for the important contributions of Brazil to the work of the United Nations.
**Sudan
Also a joint statement by the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and that is on Darfur: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations condemn Monday’s attacks by armed groups on an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp and the shooting at a nearby market in Sortoni, North Darfur. The attacks resulted in the killing of five people, including two children, and the wounding of several individuals, including a peacekeeper from Ethiopia serving with the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
The Chairperson and the Secretary General express their serious concern over the recent escalation of tensions between nomadic and IDP communities in the area. They call on them to refrain from acts of violence and resolve their disputes through dialogue. They urge the Sudanese authorities to investigate and promptly bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice.
The Chairperson and the Secretary-General underscore that the continued implementation of UNAMID's mandate is imperative to maintain security and protect civilians across Darfur, including those displaced as a result of the most recent fighting in Jebel Marra between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid.
The Chairperson and the Secretary-General urge all parties to the conflict in Darfur to resume negotiations without further delay, under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan and South Sudan (AUHIP), with a view to achieving a comprehensive political solution that addresses the root causes of the conflict.
That statement is also available online.
**Portugal
The Secretary-General is in Lisbon today. He met earlier with the Portuguese Foreign Minister. They discussed Portugal’s contribution to peacekeeping, the Law of the Sea and ocean affairs, as well as the evolving situations in Mozambique and Brazil, among other issues. We'll have a readout issued a bit later.
And just a few minutes ago, the Secretary-General met with a group of Syrian students. After hearing some of their stories, he commended them for their strength and resilience. He said that a growing number of Syrian students were unable to pursue their dreams and aspirations and that only a small number of Syrian refugees were able to continue with their education.
The Secretary-General is scheduled to meet later with the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa.
We expect the Secretary-General to be back in New York tomorrow.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
I do have other trips to announce for the following week: the Secretary-General will travel to Qatar for the sixteenth Doha Forum on Saturday, 21 May, on the first leg of a trip that will take him to the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, the Jeju Forum in the Republic of Korea, the G7 Summit in Ise-Shima, Japan, and the annual UN DPI-NGO (Department of Public Information-Non-Governmental Organizations) Conference which is taking place in the Republic of Korea.
On Saturday, 21 May, the Secretary-General will address the opening session of the sixteenth Doha Forum in Qatar, a meeting bringing world leaders together on issues related to development and free trade in the Middle East, the Arab countries and the world.
The next day, he will fly from Doha to Istanbul for the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit that will bring together some 6,000 people and nearly 90 leaders so far. The Summit will be a unique opportunity to generate the momentum for change and send a message of solidarity and support to the more than 125 million people in immediate crisis throughout the world.
Following the Summit, on Wednesday, 25 May, the Secretary-General will participate in the Jeju Forum, in the Republic of Korea, a regional multilateral dialogue platform for promoting peace and prosperity in East Asia.
From there, he will go to Ise-Shima, Japan, on Friday, 27 May, to participate in the Outreach Session of the G7 Summit, which, as you know, is being hosted by Japan.
He will then return to the Republic of Korea for the opening session, on Monday, 30 May, of the annual UN DPI/NGO Conference in the south-eastern city of Gyeongju, in Korea. Over 2,000 NGO representatives from all regions of the world will be in attendance to focus on the role of education in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Secretary-General will be back here in New York on Monday evening, on Memorial Day, Monday, 30 May.
**Peacebuilding
The Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, delivered remarks this morning on the future of peacebuilding in Africa.
Calling the African Union a vital strategic partner, the Deputy Secretary-General said that the UN is looking forward to deepening its partnership with the organization to make sustaining peace a reality for the people of Africa.
Peacebuilding in Africa has been a top priority for the UN, he said, underscoring the importance of investing in initiatives in several countries through the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF).
He stressed that such investments require a shared responsibility and commitment between the UN and its Member States, including on financing, and urged for more support for the Fund to ensure predictable and sustainable financing. His remarks are available.
**Syria
Jan Egeland, the Special Adviser to Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Envoy for Syria, briefed reporters in Geneva today on humanitarian access to besieged and hard-to-reach parts of Syria, saying that the first ten days of May have been frankly disappointing in terms of humanitarian deliveries.
He said that we have not had permission to get access to half of the 905,000 people that we hoped to reach this month, including all of the locations in Aleppo. Of the 18 besieged areas, humanitarian workers have only had access to Yarmouk, through UNRWA’s (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) good work, and Deir Ezzour, through the continuous air drops from World Food Programme (WFP).
Transcript has been made available to you.
**Iraq
A humanitarian update about Iraq: about 80,000 people have been newly displaced by escalating armed conflict in Iraq since the beginning of March, as military operations by the Iraqi security forces and allied armed groups intensify against Da’esh. New displacement has occurred in three areas: the Anbar corridor, the Mosul corridor, and in northern Salah al-Din.
Humanitarian assistance is being provided to affected people in all locations, including through the provision of ready-to-eat food, water, sanitation facilities and shelter support.
However, insecurity, strict security screening procedures, the remote location of displaced people, serious protection concerns, and overcrowded camps remain critical challenges.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped in areas effectively under siege — like Fallujah — and lack access to regular humanitarian assistance.
**Yemen
The Yemeni delegations to the peace talks in Kuwait continue to meet in parallel committees.
Yesterday, the political committee discussed aspects of the resumption of State institutions and political process. Meanwhile, in the security committee, the parties began to present their visions on withdrawals and the handover of weapons, specifically mechanisms of withdrawal and assembling of forces. And in the prisoners and detainees committee, the delegates considered a proposal to release 50 per cent of all prisoners and detainees held by the parties before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
The Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said that he was pleased by the seriousness demonstrated by both parties and hopeful that this collaboration will lead to real peace.
The three committees also reconvened this morning.
**ITU
The sixteenth Global Symposium for Regulators organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) started its work in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
This is the largest annual gathering of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) policy experts who will be debating regulatory issues related to cybersecurity and digital entrepreneurship.
More than 500 delegates are attending the event which will go on through 14 May. More on the ITU website.
**Tuberculosis
Colleagues at the World Health Organization (WHO) also released new recommendations today to speed up detection and improve treatment outcomes for multidrug resistant TB — through the use of a novel rapid diagnostic test and a shorter, cheaper treatment regimen.
At less than $1,000 per patient, the new treatment regimen can be completed in 9 to 12 months, and is also expected to improve outcomes and potentially decrease deaths due to better following of treatment.
More information on this is available on WHO’s website.
**Air Pollution
Also from WHO: they say that more than 80 per cent of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed the limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
While all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most impacted: 98 per cent of cities in low- and middle-income countries with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not meet WHO guidelines. More information on their website.
**Ecuador
A couple of follow-ups: one on Ecuador; I want to mention a concert yesterday in Miami of more than 20 Latin music artists, including Carlos Vives, Chayanne and Franco De Vita, in support of the victims of the earthquake.
More than 5,500 people attended the concert, which was supported by many outlets and included a fund-raising campaign.
The show, “Ecuador Aquí Estoy”, raised more than $230,000 dollars that will be managed by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) to support impacted communities.
**Venezuela
As a follow-up to an issue that had come up earlier this week, I wanted to say that Ambassador Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño, the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the UN, met yesterday with Edmond Mulet, the Secretary-General’s Chef de Cabinet.
During the meeting, Ambassador Ramírez Carreño reiterated again his regret for the language he had used in a recent Security Council Arria formula meeting on Palestinian civilians. He stressed to Mr. Mulet that he stands against any form of anti-Semitism and fully respects the millions of victims of the Holocaust. He also informed the Chef de Cabinet that he had personally apologized to Ambassador [Danny] Danon of Israel.
Mr. Mulet thanked the Ambassador for this important clarification and assured him that the Secretary-General and his staff value their productive relationship with him, as the diplomatic representative of Venezuela, as a member of the Security Council and of course as the Chair of the Special Committee on Decolonization.
**Press Briefings
At 1:15 p.m., there will be a briefing here by indigenous youth representatives on "Indigenous Youth: Solutions to Self-Harm and Suicide".
At 2 p.m., briefing on “Sustaining Peace: Mechanisms, Partnerships and the Future of Peacebuilding in Africa”. Speakers will be Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya who chairs the UN Peacebuilding Commission; Maged Abdelaziz, the Special Adviser on Africa; and Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support.
Special event entitled “Families, Healthy Lives and Sustainable Future” on the occasion of the International Day of Families — 15 May, organized by DESA (Department of Economic and Social Affairs). And that is 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. in Conference Room 12; you are all cordially invited.
**Questions and Answers
Yes, sir?
Question: Thank you, Steph. With regard to the Secretary‑General travels, as you detailed that he's going to be inside the Republic of Korea, would the Secretary-General be finally making the final decision on taking the trip to North Korea — or not yet?
Spokesman: As you know, we have nothing to announce on that front. Yes, sir, and then Matthew.
Question: Thank you. My question on… in regard of refugee camp that was air-striked. Did anybody found out who was it who behind it and who is in charge of finding this?
Spokesman: No… Obviously, we would expect the authorities on the ground, but as for us, we're not in a position to conduct a forensic investigation.
Question: Follow-up?
Spokesman: Go ahead.
Question: [inaudible]
Spokesman: No, Turkey.
Question: Oh, what?
Spokesman: Turkey. I mean Northern Syria. I'm sorry.
Correspondent: All right.
Spokesman: Matthew?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you, yesterday there was this session of the so-called Kigali Principles. A number of States signed up to do more to protect civilians. And one of the issues that came up is… is the UN's performance in Malakal and the attack on the base. And since I've last asked about it, there… basically there's a leaked copy of a UN report and there's also an outside NGO report, both of which say that the UN peacekeepers fired their weapons at SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) and that the UN… UNMISS (United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan) mission basically underplayed it, that what was read out from this podium about it being essentially an ethnic conflict was inaccurate and misleading. So I'm wondering, what's… what… so people in this meeting were saying, when is the UN going to sort of come clean about what took place? When is that going to happen…?
Spokesman: Well, I think I would ask for some indulgence, some patience. There are two different processes going on. There is a special investigation into the Malakal incidents, which is looking at the broader context. And then there's the Board of Inquiry, which is looking at what happened in the camp and the performance of the UN. Those processes are under way. And as soon as we're able to give you a bit of a timeline, though it should be… the special investigation should probably be concluded before the end of the month or early next month.
Question: One of the questions that arose, I guess, even on an interim basis was whether… one of the reports describes a TCC (troop-contributing country) that refused… essentially returned to its residence and remained there. And they wanted to know if that TCC is still holding itself out as protecting civilians in Malakal. Have there been any removals or rotations or changes in assignments?
Spokesman: Looking at the conduct of the troops will be what the Board of Inquiry will look at, so we have to wait for the end of the report. Evelyn?
Question: Yes, in Darfur, do we know who attacked the IDP (internally displaced persons) camp? They apparently arrested or nabbed two people. The peacekeepers took two of the… of the attackers, and we still don't know? Is it the follow… the successors to the Janjaweed or…
Spokesman: As we know, there have been tensions between the IDPs and the pastoral… the communities around. And that's where, I think, the… a lot of the tensions have emerged from. But I… the investigation is still ongoing.
Question: But will we ever know who did it, since they nabbed two people?
Spokesman: We would hope, but I don't from here. Yes, sir?
Question: On Syria. So the political process is in deadlock. The humanitarian access is disappointed, as Mr. [Staffan] de Mistura has put it. And the same… at the same time, indiscriminate attacks on civilians continue. So my question is, what's next? Is this the status quo in light of the… all of the situation with the heavy toll we are all aware of? Thank you.
Spokesman: You know, I would respectfully disagree with your analysis of the political talks. I don't think they're in deadlock. We… the best… the next really… the next big point on the calendar is the meeting of the ISSG, the International Support Group for Syria, which will take place in Vienna a bit later this month. At some point, the Secretary‑General's Special Envoy, Mr. de Mistura, will announce a resumption of the proximity talks. In the meantime, he has been discussing with various partners. He's been travelling and obviously meeting with people in Geneva in order to make sure that we, at the right moment, are able to announce the resumption of the talks. The last round was set in time. It ended. We expect the next round to take place. What is important is that out of the ISSG comes a recommitment to the cessation of hostilities, that all those who sit around the table in the ISSG, who have the ability to put pressure and to influence the fighting on the ground, put that influence to good use. I think we're seeing with the violence that we've seen recently, we've seen the impact that it has on the humanitarian process. I think Mr. Egeland said it better than I in terms of the disappointment of the last few weeks. It is difficult, obviously, if you're sitting in Syria, if you're sitting in Aleppo, or other besieged cities or if you're under fighting, to be asked to be patient. But the point is that the discussions are continuing, and we hope to announce a resumption of the talks.
Question: Thanks, Steph. It appears that the convoy to Darraya was turned away. That happened in the past few hours. It's been confirmed by the Red Cross. This is something Jan Egeland mentioned earlier, it wasn't even going to have food in it, but it's been turned away. Is there any updated response to this? This is a place that hasn't been reached in many, many years.
Spokesman: Of course, it's again extremely disappointing, to say the least. There were discussions between the Special Envoy and the UN resident humanitarian coordinator this evening. They decided to abort the mission to Darraya because of the removal of nutrition items for children, other than vaccines, from the UN convoy at the last checkpoint. This, despite the earlier approvals that had been obtained from the Government of Syria.
Question: Can you just clarify? So the UN cancelled it rather than them being turned away? You felt conditions weren't…
Spokesman: They made the decision not to go through because of these key items had been taken out. Matthew then… go ahead. Go ahead.
Question: Okay. Sure. I wanted to ask you, something came up in the Security Council meeting this morning about Abyei. And it had to do with the Secretary‑General had previously said that it was his intention to appoint a civilian head of the mission. And that hasn't happened. And… but nothing more has been said from this podium. Can you say what changed? Why hasn't it happened?
Spokesman: I'll have to get some information. I can't answer that question.
Question: Basically, I mean, I guess…
Spokesman: No, I understand the question…
Question: Did Sudan say no, and does the Secretary-General…
Spokesman: I understand the question. I just don't have a way to answer it right now. Yes, sir?
Question: [Omar] Al‑Bashir is in Uganda today for the [Yoweri] Museveni inauguration. Does the UN taking his movement as a defeat or… According to the warrant… ICC (International Criminal Court) warrant against him, so what would be the reaction?
Spokesman: We've seen the reports of Mr. Bashir being in Uganda. Obviously, as in other places you well mentioned, we would expect every country that's a signatory to the ICC to uphold their commitments to the International Criminal Court. Evelyn?
Question: Human Rights Watch today put out a… a release saying that the President of Sudan intended to attend… attend the inauguration of Museveni in Uganda. Anyone from the UN going to comment on that?
Spokesman: That was just the question I was just asked.
Correspondent: I'm sorry.
Spokesman: That's okay. That's okay. Go ahead, Sia Pak, then Matthew.
Question: Going back to the air strike: Is there any way UN can find out who was behind it? Because it's… only a few countries had aircraft to…
Spokesman: You know, at this point, we don't have the forensic capability to undertake such an investigation. What is clear is that it is an example… continues to be an example of the tremendous suffering that civilians, who… especially people who had sought shelter, have had to suffer through this conflict.
Question: Since UN doesn't have the facility, can UN ask a third party to do that?
Spokesman: We would hope that all those who have the capacity to conduct an investigation and all those who were… who have… who operate militarily would look at their own actions.
Correspondent: Thank you.
Spokesman: Mr. Lee?
Question: Okay. One… just on Uganda, I'd wanted to ask you this. There are a couple… there's been an order by the Government to shut down most social media channels, Twitter, Facebook, et cetera, during the inauguration. And also media houses there have been told, if they cover opposition protests to it, they face closure. So what does the UN… has the… this is…
Spokesman: The Secretary‑General would once again reiterate his stand for media to be able to report freely and people to be able to use social media freely.
Question: Okay. I wanted to ask a Haiti question given… and you might find it a strange one, but there's a controversy about the US has proposed to mass… mass deliver peanuts for… for… to the country for nutritional purposes. But there's a big controversy about it destroying Haitian agriculture. So since you have a mission there… people have written to the State Department. There's a big dispute. Oxfam has come out against it, saying essentially it would cause more harm than good. Given that there's a mission there and the UN sort of specializes in these matters, what's its view of this type of… of… of mass… some people call it dumping. Some call it aid.
Spokesman: I'll take a look. I haven't seen those reports.
Question: Okay. I wanted to ask you one more thing. On this… this is… ongoing… yesterday you'd said that the… the… the connection to this Global Governance for UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) wasn't clear. I urge you, just look who registered the group. But what I wanted to know is in looking… now that you mentioned this NGO committee… the NGO meeting in South Korea, there was a DPI-NGO meeting held here in August of 2015. And there's… there's a sponsor with a very long name that is one of the four founding principals… partners of this Lorenzo‑linked group that was a sponsor of that meeting. Ms. [Cristina] Gallach spoke at it, etc. And I wanted to know, what… both… what do you say about that? It seems that the connections between these groups and DPI are more extensive than were in the audit. And what's being done of this upcoming NGO-DPI conference to ensure that the same groups that… that infiltrated are not there?
Spokesman: All our colleagues… we would expect all our colleagues to be vigilant and do proper vetting, and the participants in the DPI-NGO are all… NGOs have registered with DPI. Thank you.