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.
**South Sudan
As you may have seen, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous briefed the Security Council on South Sudan this morning. He said that today the UN Mission in the country (UNMISS) had been able to conduct limited patrolling again to assess the security situation and the safety and security of personnel and assets at UN compounds. However, he noted that securing freedom of movement remains an uphill battle as security forces limit the mission’s movement every step of the way. He urged the Government to allow UNMISS and humanitarian actors’ freedom of movement and access to provide vital assistance to the affected civilian population.
As of this morning, Mr. Ladsous said that humanitarian partners are estimating that at least [36,000] civilians have been displaced by the fighting in Juba. Seven thousand of those are accounted for at the two UNMISS compounds and the remaining approximately 35,000 are sheltering between the WFP [World Food Programme] compound and an NGO [non-governmental organization] compound and several churches in the city.
Mr. Ladsous expressed great concern about the potential for the resumption of violence and spillover into others parts of the country. Noting that the parties had deliberately attempted to stall the implementation of the Peace Agreement, he echoed the Secretary-General’s call for the Security Council to urgently reconsider an arms embargo, as well as additional targeted sanctions on leaders and commanders blocking the implementation of the Peace Agreement. He stressed that we can no longer afford to sit idle as the people of South Sudan bear the brunt of the intransigence of their leaders.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Løj, is briefing the Security Council in closed consultations as we speak. And we have made preparations for her to brief you via video in a few minutes or whenever they are done with consultations. We will be giving you a heads up for that.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
As the Secretary-General has hinted to you earlier this week, he will be travelling to East Africa. He will leave New York on Thursday, tomorrow, for Kigali, Rwanda, where he will meet with African leaders, before flying off to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the fourteenth session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development — and that’s on Sunday, 17 July, and on to Durban, South Africa, for the opening the next day of the twenty-first International AIDS Conference, otherwise known as AIDS 2016.
In Kigali, where the African Union Summit is currently taking place, the Secretary-General is scheduled to meet with the leadership of the African Union and other participating leaders, including members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, on the situation in South Sudan, of course. He will have a number of bilateral meetings and probably deliver a number of statements — we will also keep you updated as soon as we have more details on the programme.
In Nairobi, the Secretary-General will speak at the opening of the UNCTAD on Sunday, 17 July. The theme of this session of UNCTAD is “From decision to action: delivering the post-2015 development agenda”. On Monday, the Secretary-General will be in Durban, South Africa, for the opening of the AIDS 2016 Conference. Scientists, policymakers, world leaders and people living with HIV will discuss together successes and challenges specific to South Africa, as well as current global epidemic trends. And the Secretary-General is expected to be back in New York on 19 July.
**South Sudan
I failed to mention also on South Sudan that our colleagues from UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] also report that they and partners are providing urgent life-saving assistance to thousands of people displaced by the fighting in Juba. Four trucks of supplies were dispatched from UNICEF warehouses and taken to a UN displacement site in Juba as soon as movement became possible in the city earlier today. These include supplies for the treatment of malnutrition, as well as sanitation items such as water containers and soap. Primary health care kits, as well as recreational items for children, will be distributed tomorrow.
**Syria
And turning to Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, and Kevin Kennedy, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, today expressed their alarm at the escalating violence in and around Aleppo city, which puts hundreds of thousands of people at risk of death and injury.
Since 7 July, heavy clashes between the Government of Syria forces and non-state armed groups have rendered the Castello road, the last remaining access road in and out of eastern Aleppo city, impassable. Government and Kurdish forces have since then reportedly gained control of the majority of Castello road, cutting off humanitarian, commercial and civilian movement in and out of eastern Aleppo city, and putting an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people closer to the line of fire and at risk of besiegement.
Both Mr. Kennedy and Mr. El Hillo say that humanitarian needs must be immediately addressed, including through re-establishing medical evacuations from east Aleppo. The UN and partners in east Aleppo have enough food supplies for 145,000 people for one month, and are urgently working on a response to meet increasing needs. The UN deplores the spread of hostilities throughout Aleppo and calls on all parties to the conflict to end indiscriminate attack on civilians and fully respect international humanitarian law. The UN continues to call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to the 5.47 million Syrian men, women and children in hard-to-reach locations, including some 600,000 people in 18 besieged locations.
**Mali
And the World Heritage Committee currently meeting in Istanbul has added the Old Towns of Djenné, in Mali, to the List of World Heritage in Danger. Insecurity is preventing safeguarding measures to address the deterioration of construction materials in the historic town, urbanization, and the erosion of the archaeological site.
Inhabited since 250 years B.C., the Old Towns of Djenné became a market centre and an important link in the trans-Saharan gold trade. Its traditional houses, of which nearly 2,000 have survived, are built on hillocks as protection from the seasonal floods. The site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988 — more information on UNESCO’s [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] website.
**Avian Flu
Just to flag from the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization]: countries across West Africa and Central Africa are on alert as the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 continues to spread across the region, with Cameroon becoming the latest African country to detect the disease. The strain can infect and cause death in humans and kills poultry at a high rate.
The latest outbreaks were recently confirmed on chicken farms in Cameroon, putting the poultry production in the country and its neighbours at high risk. This is the first time the disease has been found in Central Africa since 2006. This brings the number of countries that have battled bird flu in West and Central Africa to six, and also including Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Niger and Nigeria.
**Papua New Guinea
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that severe food insecurity persists in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, driven by El Niño induced drought. The humanitarian community, supported by donors and private sector contributions, is supporting the Government’s drought response efforts, which aims to meet the urgent needs of 226,000 people. Earlier in July, Ambassador [Macharia] Kamau, one of the two UN Special Envoys on El Niño and Climate visited Papua New Guinea, calling for a greater focus on both immediate response and preparedness for future climate shocks.
**Press Conferences
And as I mentioned probably around 1 p.m., we will have Ellen Margrethe Løj here via video conference. And tomorrow, colleagues at the General Assembly have asked us to flag that the GA [General Assembly] will conduct another informal dialogue — this one with Christiana Figueres, Costa Rica’s nominee for the post of Secretary-General. That will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. She will then speak to media at the GA stakeout shortly after that. Carole?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Stéphane, the Secretary‑General is meeting with the Saudi foreign minister this afternoon. Can you tell us what they will be talking about, specifically the children and armed conflict?
Spokesman: Sure. The meeting was requested by the Saudi delegation, so we will obviously wait to hear what the foreign minister brings up; but, obviously, we do expect to discuss the situation of children and armed conflict, the overall conflict in Yemen and the situation in the region as a whole.
Question: Have you responded to their letter, the invitation to go to Riyadh to discuss?
Spokesman: Obviously, those discussions are still going on. We are be issuing a readout after that meeting. Yes, please go ahead.
Question: Thank you very much. Turkish Government planning to give citizenship for the Syrian refugees inside Turkey, over 3 million refugees. What do you think about this planning and second place if the plan is going to be helped for the Syrian crisis, thank you?
Spokesman: I don't have any specific comment on the plan. We obviously are extremely thankful, I think the international community is extremely thankful for all of what the Turkish Government and the Turkish people have done in showing great hospitality to the millions of Syrians who have either taken refuge or come through… refugees who were either taken refuge or come through Turkey. Anything, I think, that could make their life easier and more and improve it would be very much welcome.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. A senior Iranian official told Iranian local media that Mr. [Javad] Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, had a very harsh telephone conversation with Mr. Ban Ki‑moon, and I quote him here, in reaction to SG's [Secretary-General] call to stop… call on Iran to stop conducting the ballistic missile launch. Since we didn't have a readout of that telephone conversation, can you tell us about that?
Spokesman: I'm not aware of any harsh phone calls that took place between the Secretary‑General and the foreign minister. I think these… I don't have a specific readout to share with you, but I think these calls usually tend to be very pragmatic and useful.
Question: Just to follow‑up on that: The Iran official declared they will not stop conducting those missile launches?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary‑General would encourage Iran to abide by its international obligations and for all the parties to the nuclear deal also to abide by their obligations. As you know, the Secretary‑General will be reporting to the Security Council on that. I'll come back to you. You, Mr. Lee.
Question: Sure, I wanted to follow up on that, just to understand why didn't your office issue a readout of that call? It's kind of an important call.
Spokesman: I just don’t have a readout.
Question: I wanted to ask you just now various media in Juba say that President [Salva] Kiir has granted amnesty to SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] in Opposition fighters for the most recent violence and I wanted to know, does the UN have a response given that two peacekeepers were killed and several others were injured?
Spokesman: I can't confirm that. I… obviously, that is maybe something Ms. Løj will be able to address, as she has the most up‑to‑date information. But, obviously, I think anyone who is involved in the killing and attacks on peacekeepers needs to face justice on that, on those very… on those crimes if they did occur.
Question: Have you seen the… in Burundi a parliamentarian, the East African Parliamentarian, Hafsa Mossi, has been assassinated in the capital and some people say that she was threatened by hardliners in the CNDD-FDD party; but in any event what is the…?
Spokesman: No. I just saw the report. I do expect a statement to be issued a bit later on that very topic. Masood and then Evelyn.
Question: Stéphane, on the situation in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, the Indian Prime Minister today went on record saying, blaming the press for misreporting and creating the crisis which killed 35 Kashmiri freedom fighters, so what does the Secretary‑General have to say about the latest situation over there and the [inaudible], instead of talking to them, blaming them and blaming the media for the crisis there?
Spokesman: Look, I think the Secretary‑General, as we said earlier this week, is obviously… is following the situation in Kashmir very closely. I think he regretted the loss of life and calls on all the parties to exercise restraint. And I think the Secretary‑General has always welcomed any direct discussions on the situation between India and Pakistan. And the Secretary‑General's good offices on any issues is a standing offer for anything that is going on, but good offices work when two parties both ask for the good offices. Evelyn? Sorry, your microphone, please. Your microphone, please. Microphone, yeah. So the viewers on the webcast can hear us.
Question: Sorry about that. Okay, Stéphane, do you have anything on the BBC story of Russian or perhaps Syrian jets bombing the refugee camp on the border with Jordan? Many of them are relatives of the… of rebel fighters.
Spokesman: No. I've seen those. I saw the press report just before coming in and I don't have any way to confirm it or any independent information on that. I was giving this forward to your neighbors. We are still going on the first round, but I will come back to you, Carole.
Question: Two questions. So, is South Sudan turning into a point of contention between the Secretary‑General and Security Council, because it doesn't seem like they are on a track for arms embargo or sanctions? And also what did the Secretary‑General think of the town hall last night?
Spokesman: You know, it's funny; I didn't have a chance to discuss the town hall with him. I don't… I can't tell you whether or not he watched it. It was, in fact, I wanted to ask him and I forgot to ask him, so I don't know and I'm not going to speculate. You know, I think the… while obviously interested in who will succeed him, I think, as you all do, and as we all do, the Secretary‑General has quite a lot on his plate right now to deal with on a day‑to‑day basis. Is it a point of contention? No, I would not describe it as such. I think the Secretary‑General has obviously made his viewpoint clear on what he thinks is important, especially on the arms embargo. I mean, and he has been calling for an arms embargo for some time. Those discussions will continue in the Security Council. I mean, I think we have seen, it's no secret we have seen in the past points of contention between the Secretary‑General and the Security Council for other areas, but I would not classify the current situation in South Sudan as on par with those other issues that we've seen. Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. As we all followed the discussion yesterday in the Security Council about the Quartet report, which raised more questions than gave answers, and there was a presidential statement introduced by the US a week ago and what happened? Why there was no presidential statement if I may ask?
Spokesman: You may ask, but I don't think… you may ask me, but I don't think you should ask me. I think you should ask the Presidency of the Security Council and Council members.
Correspondent: No, I understand.
Spokesman: No, no, but I don't… I'm not privy nor do I want to be privy to the discussions going on between the 15 members of the Council. The Secretary‑General's position is clear. He outlined it clearly yesterday and as he has since the end of the Quartet report. I'll get back to you.
Question: On South Sudan, did the SG have a chance to talk with President Kiir and Riek Machar to have the explanation about what happened?
Spokesman: He's had a chance to speak to Vice-President Machar yesterday and we are very much hoping for a phone call with Salva Kiir, with President Kiir.
Question: What did they say?
Spokesman: Okay, we may get Margrethe Løj in about 15 minutes. Obviously, I mean, it's a message for the Secretary‑General that he delivered yesterday was to see a halt to the violence, respect for the freedom of movement for the UN. And I think his message to the leaders is clear — it's to put the interests of their people ahead of their own interests and that whatever orders for a ceasefire are given that they be respected by all their troops. I mean, we have noted today, you know, I think there was some sporadic shooting early this morning, but it's been relatively calm, as we say, calm but tense in Juba but again the SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary-General] will be able to tell you that shortly. Carole?
Correspondent: Just coming back to the Quartet report, two things yesterday: The Palestinian ambassador came out and said the Arab Group had met and agreed that the Security Council should not welcome the report. This was right after the Secretary‑General asked the Council to support the Quartet and said that basically the Security Council should shelve it. So, I was wondering what your response was to that. And the second point he made was that he indicated that the Secretary‑General had given him assurances while traveling in the region that certain language would appear in the report and that it was changed by the US ostensibly.
Spokesman: I think this question has come up. I'm not aware of assurances being given to anyone. What I can tell you is that both the Palestinians and the Israelis had a chance to have inputs into the report. The report represents the views of the United Nations and the Secretariat and represents the views of… the sort of the consensus views of the UN, United States, the Russian Federation and the European Union. I think it's fairly broad-based in that sense, and the Secretary‑General and the other members of the Quartet would very much like to see the support of the whole Security Council to this report. Luke?
Correspondent: Thanks. Question about last night's event, Al Jazeera has put this online in full, but the UN audio-visual services only got maybe 10 or 20 minutes of clips. You know, Al Jazeera, if you've got a satellite dish you can watch it pretty much around the world, but there are a number of countries that prevent you from accessing it.
Spokesman: My understanding is that everything that was shot by the UNTV is on the webcast. If that is not the case…
Correspondent: It's not owned by them.
Spokesman: As I said, the material that was shot by UNTV cameras was available to all and is UN material. But, I will check if that is not the case, I will check. [The full video footage was available on UNTV later that day.]
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Another question about Iran, Iranian Kurdish rebels have broken unilateral ceasefire with attacks against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that led to clash on the Iranian and the Iraq border on Iranian side. Do you have any…?
Spokesman: I think if those reports were to be confirmed, I think any increased fighting in that area would be of concern to us. Mr. Lee?
Question: I wanted to ask you about… there are these reports that, in a protest in Gao, in Mali, opened… there was fire opened on the protesters, three dead, 31 injured, and I wondered, given that there is, you know, a UN peacekeeping mission there, were they aware of that? Were they aware of the protest, what was their role?
Spokesman: We are aware of the incidents that took place around the demonstration in Gao. The Mission, the peacekeepers in Mali were not involved in securing the demonstration, providing any sort of security to those people who were demonstrating. That was handled by the Malian defense forces and security forces. The Mission was securing its premises and personnel.
Question: How does that comport with the protection of civilians mandate of the Mission?
Spokesman: I think we are aware that the protests took place. I don't think the Mission can be, given its limited resources, can be everywhere all the time. So, I'm just saying we were not involved and we were not there when this particular demonstration took place.
Question: I think with the JIU [Joint Inspection Unit], this JIU report that came out about fraud in the UN system and wanted to ask you specifically about one of their findings, which is the “absence of a strong tone at the top in dealing with fraud”, since that seems to be a reference to the top of this building. What is the response to the Secretariat?
Spokesman: I would… I think I would disagree with that qualification. I think the Secretary‑General has been very strong on fighting fraud and accountability. Abdelhamid?
Question: Again, I want to go back to the Quartet report. The Security Council did not welcome the report, did not adopt a statement identifying with the report, there was so much criticism of the report. I went through the speeches, one after the other and hardly, even the US statement or the British statement, found so many defects in this report. Now, what is the role of [Nickolay] Mladenov? Did he really participate? Did he have an input? Because that report is completely biased against the Palestinians and the ambassador spoke eloquently and openly about their criticism.
Spokesman: I think, obviously, you have your opinions on the matter. Mr. Mladenov is the Secretary‑General's representative. He and his team led the drafting of the report from the UN side. I recall this is the Quartet — from my calculations, that would mean the UN is 25 per cent of the Quartet, but obviously with the full backing of the Secretary‑General and his advisors, we have… we stand by, obviously, the report and obviously have great appreciation for the work that Mr. Mladenov and his team do on the ground. As we said in, I think… the Secretary‑General said, as we have said here from this podium, I think criticism was to be expected of the report. We are dealing about very contentious issues which people on all sides have very, very… have differing views, have very strong held beliefs. We hope the report sparks a discussion, which it clearly did, and we encourage the parties to engage with the Quartet, which hopefully will then lead to them having face‑to‑face discussions. Masood?
Question: Thank you. The follow‑up on this Quartet report, the Quartet, more and more, is becoming totally ineffective and is unable to deliver on anything that it has been asked to do, so why doesn't the Secretary‑General think about disbanding this Quartet? And saving the money for the United Nations?
Spokesman: As I said… I very much always appreciate hearing your opinions, but I would completely disagree with the question, the premise of the question. I think the Quartet has published a very important report. I think that lays bare a lot of the realities on the ground and is thought provoking and is discussion provoking, and that is exactly what is going on. So, we will continue with the Quartet. Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask, in Cambodia, this human rights campaigner, Kem Ley, was killed. One of the special rapporteurs spoke on it, but the main opposition party had actually asked for UN involvement in investigation of his killings, a big critic of Hun Sen, and is the UN aware of that request? Will they…?
Spokesman: No. I haven't seen the request. Obviously, I think the Secretary‑General was very sad to learn of the death of Kem Ley. We hope the authorities will mount a full and impartial investigation into the circumstances of his… of the shooting, of his death. I think overall, the Secretary‑General remains very concerned about the situation in Cambodia, including reports of wide-spread intimidation, harassment and arrest of members of civil society, the media, members of the opposition, and the National Election Committee. He calls for the full respect of human rights, including the freedom of expression, association, and assembly.
Question: How about in Thailand, I don't know if you have seen, they have the upcoming referendum, opposition party members that were campaigning against the referendum have been arrested, including a journalist from something called Prachatai, who was covering their distribution of booklets?
Spokesman: I have not seen that. And we are obviously following the situation in Thailand. Yes, Evelyn?
Question: On Madaya and the civilians who are starving to death, both the Syrian Government doesn't let the aid through and the UN is accused of not making enough noise and insisting on a deal?Spokesman: You know, I don't know. I think we make a lot of noise. We make noise here. We make noise in Geneva. We make noise in the region. Whether or not those who should listen are hard of hearing or tone deaf, I don't know. But, I think we have been raising this issue over and over again. I think just a few days ago, Mr. El Hillo again noted the terrible situation in the four towns, including Madaya. We have asked over and over again for all the parties to the four towns’ agreement to live up to their commitments to allow for immediate action and unhindered access for humanitarian aid. It’s also… it's outrageous that, you know, we have to negotiate over the medevac-ing of people, that they have to be tit‑for‑tat negotiations about who gets to go through these lines to have treatment. We have been making noise. The question is, unfortunately, those who have the power don't always listen.
Correspondent: Madaya is so close.
Spokesman: I know. Matthew and then we will go.
Question: Sure. You said that in Kigali the Secretary‑General will meet with other participating leaders, one of whom will be Omar al‑Bashir. Given that Sudan is a neighboring country, is he considering meeting with Mr. Bashir?
Spokesman: There are no plans for him to be meeting with Mr. Bashir.
Question: And also you've quoted Yacoub El Hillo on Syria, but I see the DSG [Deputy Secretary-General] is meeting with him today in his capacity on Liberia. Is today the handoff day?
Spokesman: I don't believe today is the official handoff day. I think he still officially has his Syria hat. Thank you, Evelyn.
Question: Yes, in Kigali with IGAD, is there going to be a number produced of how many soldiers?
Spokesman: We will have to see what the IGAD leaders have to say. They have expressed their willingness to participate. We will have to the see what they say. We will keep you posted on Ms. Løj, which will be in this and I think not too long from now.