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.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
The Secretary-General is currently in Nagoya, Japan, where he will attend the outreach session of the G-7 Summit tomorrow. Shortly after arriving in Nagoya, the Secretary-General held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Viet Nam, with whom he discussed Viet Nam’s support to UN peacekeeping operations, including its preparations to enhance contributions, as well as human rights and regional issues.
The Secretary-General came to Nagoya from Jeju Island in the Republic of Korea, where he spoke earlier today to the Jeju Forum, in remarks that focused on how Asia can manifest wisdom, flexibility and soft power in an effort to build a better world in the region and beyond. The Secretary-General encouraged Asian leaders not to be held back by the continent’s past disputes. He said that it is time to agree on borders that are now disputed and rise above conflicting interpretations of history.
He called the security situation on the Korean Peninsula deeply troubling and one of the great challenges to global action and regional cooperation and said that the pursuit by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles only undermines its own security and hurts its citizens. We have the transcript of his remarks online.
On the margins of the summit, the Secretary-General had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn of the Republic of Korea. The two discussed a wide range of issues, including climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
**Syria
This afternoon, the Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is briefing the Security Council on the current situation in Syria. This is his first briefing to the Council since the conclusion of the last round of talks in Geneva and since the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) met in Vienna on 17 May. He told reporters earlier today in Geneva that he intends to consult the Security Council regarding what would be the best option for the resumption of the talks.
In his remarks to reporters today, Mr. de Mistura also said that if areas besieged either by the Syrian Government or by the opposition are not accessible, the option of air drops should be taken seriously into account. He noted credible reports of severe malnutrition among children in areas such as Moadamiyeh, saying that such reports should add a sense of urgency. The transcript of his remarks is online.
Yesterday, a joint UN-International Committee of the Red Cross-Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy delivered much-needed humanitarian assistance to the hard-to-reach area of Houle in Homs, Syria.
Food, nutrition, hygiene kits, and educational materials were delivered to 71,000 people. This is the third humanitarian convoy to Houle this year.
Since the beginning of 2016, inter-agency operations have reached more than 800,000 civilians in need in besieged, hard-to-reach and priority cross-line areas. Many of these people have been reached more than once.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, also said that cross-border aid operations from Turkey into Syria are vital, reaching some four million people who cannot be reached via other routes.
He said this at the end of a visit to Hatay in southern Turkey.
There’s more in a press release.
**Yemen
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, spoke to the press in Kuwait today about the progress of the Yemeni peace talks there.
He said that he has convened a number of bilateral meetings with the delegations over the past few days. The delegations have discussed specifically the details and mechanisms of withdrawal, handover of weapons, resumption of political dialogue, restoration of state institutions and other matters that will be included in a comprehensive agreement. The discussions also covered the importance of guarantees and reassurances to ensure the implementation of an agreement.
He said that the talks are ongoing, the international support is stronger than ever and the United Nations is determined to achieve a lasting peace and to solidify any agreement reached.
At the same time, the Special Envoy warned, the ongoing conflict has destroyed the country’s economic infrastructure and severely disrupted the functioning of state institutions, causing the suffering of many civilians. Failure to address the issue will lead to further deterioration of the economic situation. His remarks are available online.
**Iraq
As operations are underway to liberate Fallujah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ján Kubiš, strongly urges all parties to undertake every effort to protect the lives of civilians and preserve the city’s infrastructure in accordance with the relevant principles of international human rights and humanitarian law. He calls on all parties to the conflict to adhere strictly to international humanitarian law and to ensure that civilians are permitted to leave areas where fighting may be taking place in dignity and safety.
Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies on the ground in Iraq are warning that civilians in Fallujah in Iraq are at extreme risk. Lise Grande, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said humanitarian workers are receiving distressing reports of civilians trapped inside Fallujah who are desperate to escape to safety, but cannot.
Since 22 May, 800 people have reached safety, mostly from outlying areas. Some families report having to walk for hours under harrowing conditions to reach safety. People trapped in the city centre are thought to be most at risk. At least 50,000 people are thought to remain in the city, and the few people who have left Fallujah report that conditions are dire. We have more details in press releases.
**Security Council
As you know, the Security Council heard from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, on Libya this morning. She will speak to you in this room at 1:15 p.m. and her office tells us that she will be happy to take questions on Libya and other matters.
**Greece
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) Goodwill Ambassador, singer Nana Mouskouri and UNICEF Regional Director Marie-Pierre Poirier are visiting Greece amid the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis.
Their four-day mission aims to see the work being done to help refugee and migrant children and their families in Athens and Piraeus.
Some 22,000 children are among the 55,000 migrants and refugees currently stranded in Greece, hosted in 35 camps and sites on the mainland and islands.
UNICEF is scaling up its response to provide more support for children and meet their most pressing needs in terms of protection, health and education.
**WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today the creation of a new Health Emergencies Programme which adds operational capabilities for disease outbreaks and humanitarian emergencies.
The programme is designed to deliver rapid, predictable and comprehensive support to countries and communities as they prepare for, face or recover from emergencies caused by any type of hazard to human health, whether disease outbreaks, natural, or man-made disasters or conflicts.
WHO member states agreed on a budget of $494 million for the Programme for 2016−2017. This is an increase of $160 million to the existing Programme Budget for WHO’s work in emergencies.
**FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) appointed Carlo Petrini, President of Slow Food, as Special Ambassador for Zero Hunger for Europe. And we have a press release with more details.
**Peacekeeping
And just to update you on a project launched by the Department of Field Support with support from Japan and Kenya in July 2015 designed to train and equip African military engineers to be deployed in peacekeeping missions.
Our colleagues in the Department tell us that the second phase of training for a cohort of future African peacekeepers under the Triangular Partnership Project will commence this June in Kenya.
The trial training for this project was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya. And this second phase will see 18 Japanese instructors train up to 60 Kenyan military engineering students.
**Press Encounters
And besides the 1:15 [p.m.] press briefing with Fatou Bensouda, this evening at around 5:00 p.m., Monique Barbut, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), will brief at the Security Council Stakeout following her briefing to the Council on the Sahel.
**Questions and Answers
And that is it for me. Yes?
Question: Farhan, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) was denied accreditation at the NGO Committee and I was wondering if the Secretary‑General had any thoughts about whether this organization should have access to the UN.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the Secretary‑General is a strong supporter of the work of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and he believes that their work should be supported. I don't know how the committee made its decisions, but certainly, we interact and the Secretary‑General, in particular, has often interacted with the leadership of the Committee to Protect Journalists. And we look forward to continuing with that relationship, and we hope their work will be supported. Yes?
Question: Follow‑up: Are there any plans to abolish that Committee and have a different, less political system? The nickname of it is "if you keep out my dissidents, I'll keep out yours." And one… and, you know, the judgment is really based on subjective factors.
Deputy Spokesman: I believe that issues involving committees of Member States are up to the Member States. So we leave the matter in their hands. Certainly, we hope that all Member State bodies go about their work fairly and with integrity. Yes?
Question: Sure. I want to ask you, on Malakal, what I wanted to ask you is that there's a report by… by the South Sudanese Government, commissioned by Salva Kiir, that says that senior leadership of the UN should be held accountable for failure to protect civilians and failures to… to… to uphold neutrality and impartiality. And so it seems like this is something that DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) should answer. This is a host government saying that… that UNMISS (United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan) massively failed in the incident in Malakal. And I wanted to know, what is the response? What's the timetable for the UN's own report to come out? Will the report be public? And would you consider holding leadership accountable as the host country has requested?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding that, we, of course, intend to put out as much as we can in terms of the details of our findings of the Malakal report. That is still being worked on. We have made clear that we are ourselves looking into any failings, and we'll follow up on whatever the recommendations are as they come in. I think what the UN needs to be judged on is, when there are these sorts of problems, do we look into them? Do we… and do we learn the lessons and pursue accountability if there's been any wrongdoing? This is clearly what we're in the process of doing and we do intend to follow up. So I think that speaks to our efforts to ensure the credibility of all of our work, including the work of the UN Mission in South Sudan.
Question: I also wanted to ask you about UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon). Yesterday in response you'd said… you'd said that there's no evidence but that UNIFIL itself is looking into it. And the El País story is very detailed. It not only quotes unnamed people, it quotes named people who cite a number of stores throughout Lebanon where they found food marked “for domestic consumption only, UN”. They made complaints not to the UN but to the Lebanese Government. So I wonder, when you read the statement that says that there's no evidence, is… are these things… are the things in the El País story not true, or what's your standard for there being a systematic resale of food?
Deputy Spokesman: First of all, as I made clear, this matter… the investigation is ongoing. It's being conducted in order to verify facts and individual responsibilities, if any. At the present stage, as I'm being asked this, there is at present no indication confirming any evidence of a systematic sale of food rations in local markets or any involvement of UNIFIL contingents.
Question: Right, but systematic… my question is what does systematic mean? If it's in five stores, seven stores? When does it become systematic, according to UNIFIL?
Deputy Spokesman: This is, as I've said, if there are further details as a result of the investigation as it proceeds, I'll share them at that stage. This is what I have for now. Yes?
Question: Farhan, in the readout of the SG's meeting with the Prime Minister of South Korea, there's a line that says the SG also stated that the rights of people of all sexual orientations must receive full, equal protection and that their dignity must be respected. I'm wondering, first of all, did he make that comment about LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) rights in reaction to the ruling yesterday in South Korea by a court rejecting gay couples’ marriage license, or did he just… I mean, what was the context in which he made those comments?
Deputy Spokesman: I think the readout speaks for itself, and it's very clear about where he stands on this issue. As you know, this is a stand he's taken in many different countries, not just in this one. And, of course, we were aware of the decision. Yes?
Question: Wait, wait. Follow up.
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah.
Question: So I know the SG has implemented a lot of benefits for… for same‑sex staff here and such, but does he have a position on gay marriage? Is he for gay marriage? I mean, where does… how far does his position go?
Deputy Spokesman: As you know, the Secretary‑General is a big supporter of the Free & Equal campaign, and you'll have seen what the Free & Equal campaign is about and what it puts out. Yes. Yes, in the back?
Question: Thank you. Thank you for your briefing, Mr. Haq. I have two short questions that occurred. Yesterday the Russian prisons released Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, who was kept for almost two years. How will you comment on this? And second, yesterday, the United Nations Committee of Prevention of Torture, SPT, has suspended its visit to Ukraine after being denied access to places in the country where it suspects people are being deprived their liberty by the security service of Ukraine. Can you comment [on] this, please? Thanks.
Deputy Spokesman: On the first one, what I can tell you is that the Secretary‑General takes note of the release of Ukrainian citizen Nadia Savchenko and of Russian citizens Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev. He is particularly encouraged that the dialogue in this regard between Kiev and Moscow was successful and hopes that this development will contribute to achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Regarding the access given to the committee, we, of course, implore all Member States to provide sufficient access to the work of the various UN bodies so that they can go about their work fully and without hindrance. Yes, Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you. I have two questions, Farhan. Regarding the use of the General Assembly Hall for the Israeli conference against BDS, my question, if Palestine asks for the same hall to hold a conference to speak for BDS, would Palestine will be offered the GA Hall?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding that, I think what you're really asking is basically a question about the ground rules, and I have asked our colleagues in the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) what the ground rules are. So I'm awaiting some language on that. Once I have that, I'll share that with you.
Question: My second question, there is a child called Hassan Manasra who has been killed, and his body was kept by Israel for seven months, seven months. He was released two days ago, and the Israeli intelligence ordered his family to allow only 40 people to attend the burial ceremony. Why do these incidents not sound, resonate with the UN Special Envoy in Palestine?
Deputy Spokesman: We are, of course, stressed by the killings of anyone in terms of whether it is through the stabbings or through excessive use of force by security forces, and we have spoken out about our concerns on all of these particular needless deaths. And we will continue to do so. It's tragic especially when children have been the victims of this conflict. And Mr. [Nickolay] Mladenov has spoken out, and he will continue to do so. Yes, Joe?
Question: Yes. In responding to the first question, could you see whether the procedures do distinguish between Member States and non‑member observer states? That's the first question.
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah, I'll see what I get. I've put in a request for some guidance.
Question: I'd like you to include that as one of the questions if you would.
Deputy Spokesman: What I get I'll share, whenever it is.
Question: Well, you have to ask the questions. Secondly, could you also look into an incident back in 2005, for example, when a ceremony was held at UN Headquarters. At that time Secretary‑General Kofi Annan, Presidents of the UN Security Council and General Assembly attended, and prominently displayed was a map of Palestine that omitted the Member State Israel from the entire map. So could you in looking into background look into that?
Deputy Spokesman: I can answer that. Alas, Stéphane [Dujarric] and I have been long… here long enough that we had to deal with this question at that time. There was an error with maps, and it was rectified at the time. I remember very well the days of hassle about this. But apparently, there was an error in terms of the map that the delegation itself brought, and we expressed our regrets at that time on that. That was an error that was rectified.
Question: Okay. Well, not… not at the time of the ceremony. But secondly, in 2000…
Deputy Spokesman: No, not at the time of the ceremony but right after that.
Question: If you could also look into an incident 2013 in Lebanon, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) official displaying, again, under the auspices of the UN, a map of, quote, Palestine without any reference or inclusion of the Member State of Israel or even the General Assembly-approved part… 19… yeah, partition. If you can look into that if you're going to get into background. Yeah. Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: I believe… Check with my colleagues in UNRWA, because I believe they have also dealt with this. This is a past thing, so if you talk to UNRWA, I believe they still have the language from that particular incident. Yes?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you more about the Secretary‑General's trip. The… the… the press coverage is pretty… pretty… in terms of interpreting what he said and how he's going about things is pretty… almost unanimous in saying that he's trying to send signals that he's going to run for President. So this is a direct quote I want to ask you about. The deputy floor leader of the Minjoo party said the latest remarks amount to a de facto declaration of a presidential bid. And my question in this light is, I know that Mr. Kim [Wonsoo] met with South Korean journalists before the trip occurred. And, apparently, according to them, he said this is not a political trip. And what I wanted to know is, first, in what capacity did he met with him? Did he meet with him as Under‑Secretary‑General for Disarmament? Did he meet with him… in a sense, some people see it as sort of political work. And so I'm wondering, in the same way that Helen Clark has said that she takes leave to do work to run for SG, was he on the clock and what… in what possible capacity was he speaking?
Deputy Spokesman: No, he's speaking as a UN official who is talking about a visit… an official visit by the Secretary‑General. The Secretary‑General is here in his capacity as Secretary‑General. He is doing things, such as the Jeju Forum and the DPI (Department of Public Information) NGO conference, in his capacity as Secretary‑General. This is not a trip in a private capacity, and he's made very clear, including to reporters in the Republic of Korea, that he will not be acting in a private capacity until he is done with his duties as Secretary‑General.
Question: He said… he says that he's been approached by other world leaders about running, that they've offered their support. I mean, I'm sure you've read… this is in Korea Joongang Daily. They quote a number of reporters at this meeting and he says things well beyond what you're saying from here. And so… I mean, he can do whatever he wants, whatever the resolution says. But my question… again, I want to go back… Is there any consideration… Mr. Kim's work, was this done in his capacity as Under‑Secretary‑General of disarmament or as sort of… he used to be Deputy Chief of Staff. Is he still performing that role?
Deputy Spokesman: No, he's not. The Deputy's Chief of Staff is Patrick Carey. When there are delegations who go on trips, sometimes they speak to reporters about the trip. That's the case with that. The spokespeople do that, as well. In this case, he was talking about the trip, and he was trying to make it very clear that this is not a political trip. And that is something that we echo from here. Good afternoon, everyone. Oh, okay, one more.
Question: Can I ask one more question, just a factual… this is unrelated. It's unrelated but just… the other day, I was coming in through the metal detectors. And there was a long student group coming through. It's not what you think I'm going. I'm going somewhere else. There was a student that had on a Bernie Sanders button and the guard said, "Take it off. There's no political statements allowed in the UN." I wanted to know, is that really the case?
Deputy Spokesman: Security are told that there're not supposed to be political slogans or political banners brought into the United Nations. I don't, frankly, know how they enforce it on a case‑by‑case basis, but the standing rule is that you're not supposed to bring in any sort of political slogans or banners in.
Question: Right. I guess… do you… maybe you don't have it offhand. Tell me what the rule is so I can look into whether it applies to a button.
Deputy Spokesman: I do think that depends on the individual judgment of the security guard, whether a button counts or not. I am, of course, wearing a button right now for Peacekeepers Day, although, presumably, that's a nonpartisan button, and hopefully, that passes the standard. We shall see when I exit.
Question: Can I follow up on that? Is there any guideline or definition of what's considered a political statement? Is it specific to candidates, which would be the most obvious, running in an election, or is it about a particular side in a cause that's before the UN?
Deputy Spokesman: There are broad guidelines, yes. But ultimately, some of this depends on judgment calls from the officials on the ground. Have a good afternoon, everyone.