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.
Good morning, everyone. Good afternoon.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
The Secretary-General just arrived in Los Angeles.
He will have two events involving the creative community to encourage the increasing collaboration which has been extremely valuable, allowing the UN to reach millions of viewers worldwide with messages about the role of the UN and global issues, such as the Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition, the Secretary-General will participate in an event with Congressman Ed Royce of California, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He will thank the Congressman for his leadership on a wide range of global issues.
He will also have a chance to meet and have a conversation with a group of recently arrived refugees from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East at an event co-sponsored by the International Rescue Committee, the Annenberg Foundation and the UN Foundation. He is expected to express his gratitude to the authorities in California, as it is the top state in receiving resettled refugees in the United States.
Yesterday, he wrapped up his travel to Argentina, and the readouts of his meetings and transcripts of his remarks are online.
**Sudan
And yesterday afternoon we issued the following statement, attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, on Sudan:
The Secretary-General welcomes the signing of the Roadmap Agreement for Ending the Conflicts in Sudan by the Sudanese opposition groups on the 8th of August. The agreement was proposed by the African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) and was signed by the Government of Sudan on the 21st of March 2016.
The Secretary-General is encouraged by this valuable step towards ending the war and resolving the crises in Sudan. He calls on all Sudanese parties to maintain this positive momentum and urges them to continue working towards an agreement on a cessation of hostilities, humanitarian access to conflict-affected areas and the process for reaching a final, political settlement through an inclusive national dialogue.
**Noon Briefing Guest
And in a short while, at around 12:20 p.m., I will be joined by my guest Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who will speak to you on South Sudan.
**Questions and Answers
And do we have any questions? No? No? Yes.
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask a couple of other things, but I’m sure you’ve seen that the Government of South Sudan has said that they do not accept the proposed force being under UNMISS (United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan) command. And so given, you know, the… the… what is the UN’s response to… to what seems to be a setback for the idea of trying to bring more troops into Juba, at least under UNMISS?
Deputy Spokesman: We’re aware of the remarks, but as you’re aware, the draft text of a resolution on the UN Mission in South Sudan remains just that. It’s still a draft, and we’ll leave it in the hands of the Security Council — what they’re going to do with that. And of course, if and when they’ve acted, we expect to have further comment about whatever their decision is. Regarding the policies of the Government of South Sudan, we do expect the Government, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition to continue to work with the UN Mission in South Sudan and to work with our mandate as it exists.
Question: But what are you… I guess… my… my… what I really meant is, what is… what is… you think this means about the Government… the current Government of South Sudan’s level of confidence in UNMISS that they make this distinction, that they agreed to an IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority for Development) regional force, but they don’t want it under UNMISS command and they see this as a US demand? Is there a problem… does the UN want to say that it’s not part of a… of the US strategy on South Sudan which is… as it’s being portrayed or… or what does it say about relations between the two, UN and South Sudan?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I’m not here to psychoanalyse the officials of any Government.
Correspondent: But just read the books…
Deputy Spokesman: Ultimately, we’re aware of what their comments are, but we do have our expectations, as we do in any mission… any place where our missions are deployed, for cooperation with the parties on the ground, and that would include the Government. As for how the mandate of the mission is altered, that’s in the hands of the Security Council, and we remain open to whatever mandate they give us. And Michelle?
Question: Thanks, Farhan. A bit of a follow‑up to something you said yesterday about the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) statement on the deaths of children in Yemen and the recent sort of renewal of air strikes by the Saudi‑led coalition. What discussions have there been between UN officials and Saudi officials over the past few days about this renewed campaign?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, as you know, the issue of what is being done for the protection of children in Yemen remains something that is under review with the Government of Saudi Arabia, and that will continue to be the case. You’ve heard what the Special Representative, Leila Zerrougui, had to say on that last week, and I don’t have anything in particular to add to what she said there. Regarding talks about the situation in Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed is going to continue to work with the individual parties following the end of the round that was held in Kuwait on Saturday, and I’d refer you back to what he said at that point. Masood?
Question: Yes. Again, on Yemen, at this… the United States Government has decided to sell whole bunch of arms and ammunition to Saudi Arabia. And, obviously, it is… people are concluding that that may be used… those arms may be used in Yemen to kill civilians and children. So, now, does the Secretary‑General has anything to say about the sale of arms, or is it just a bilateral matter you don’t want to talk about?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’ve raised our concerns about any further militarization of the situation in Yemen, and that continues to apply. We want all parties to make sure that there is a discouragement of any further militarization of any of the parties on the ground. Yes?
Question: I have a couple of questions, a few questions, on the situation with the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) guy who was arrested yesterday in Gaza. First of all, I wasn’t here yesterday, so did the Secretary‑General specifically have anything to say beyond the UNDP statement?
Deputy Spokesman: No. No, for now, the questions on this are basically going to our colleagues in the UN Development Programme.
Question: One… one thing the UNDP quest… statement did not address was… one allegation that came out was that this fellow, whenever there was any demolition, whenever there was a… a tunnel discovered or something of military nature, instead of reporting to the UN body that is in charge with those things, he reported it to Hamas. Can you explain to us exactly what is the procedure, as far as the UN is concerned, when something of military nature is discovered in the rubble?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, you’ll have seen what UNDP has already said about this. And beyond that, I would refer you back…
Question: It didn’t say… it didn’t address that question…
Deputy Spokesman: Excuse me, please. Beyond that, I would refer you back to our colleagues at UNDP who are following up on the information as they receive it.
Question: Just to follow up on this, actually, the UNDP didn’t address that question, but, from what I understand, when something like that is being discovered, he’s supposed to report it to another UN body that is charged with military situation, which has nothing to do with UNDP. Can you… do you know anything about that?
Deputy Spokesman: First, we need to verify what the information is about the person involved, Waheed al‑Borsh. And UNDP is following up on that. Beyond that, once we determine what the specific nature is of the allegations against him, then we would have further comment about that.
Question: But what is the procedure? If someone who works for…
Deputy Spokesman: I’m not going to say anything prejudicial to a process that’s under way at this point.
Question: I’m asking you a factual question.
Deputy Spokesman: Right now the matter remains, like I said, in the hands of UNDP. You’re free to talk to them. Yes, Oleg?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. I’m sure you saw that President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan met with Putin yesterday. I wonder if there’s any sort of reaction from the US [sic] side? Do you expect any maybe progress breakthroughs on Syria, since Russia and Turkey are trying to cooperate and getting closer to each other?
Deputy Spokesman: No, there’s no specific comment, but it’s always a good sign for countries and for leaders to work out their differences in a productive manner, and it’s a welcome thing to see. Yes?
Question: Okay. Yes, Farhan, I’ve been asking this question in the past. Can you please tell us if the UN has any record of how many children under Israeli detention, children, Palestinian children, under Israeli detention? And has… the human rights body that have been calling for their release, but it has not happened. Can you please tell us, do you have a record? Earlier they used to have a record of…
Deputy Spokesman: There have been numbers, and if you look at our periodic briefings to the Security Council, there have been records provided of numbers of people, including of children under detention. So I’d refer you back to those.
Question: What about children, in particular?
Deputy Spokesman: There have been in past updates, so I would just refer you back to that. Yes?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you about… on Burundi, I’d asked you about the journalist that’s been missing and that his publication Iwacu says that he’s been killed. But in investigating a body found in a river, something called the National Committee on Human Rights of Burundi went and they found more bodies in the river. So it gives me… I guess I wanted to know, since the UN has people, including, supposedly, human rights observers, on the ground, do they accompany the Government commission when they go to investigate bodies in a river? Some people are saying 11 bodies have been found. Certainly, two have been found. One is supposed to be a journalist. Given that the Government is accused in some of these cases of being the killer, what’s the UN’s role with its team on the ground?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the human rights monitors in Burundi follow up on any allegations of human rights atrocities, and then they report back on them, and as you know, those reports are available.
Question: Right, but specifically, I guess, do they… are they in Bujumbura reading about this, or do they accompany the Government to go to the site of bodies?
Deputy Spokesman: You can see the reports. They give details about the work that they do in their periodic reports.
Question: Right but in this instance, I guess I’m just asking you now, since there’s a dead journalist, when would they report on it?
Deputy Spokesman: We would have to see. Obviously, every so often, they have the periodic reports in which they describe the work that they’re doing. Yes, Emoke?
Question: Thank you. Farhan, do you have any update from Aleppo? It seems that the rebels were able to bring in some food into Eastern Aleppo. I’m assuming it’s not UN aid. Do you have anything from the ground?
Deputy Spokesman: No. We continue to be concerned about the deteriorating situation in Aleppo, both in terms of security and in terms of humanitarian assistance. I don’t have any progress to report to you on aid to Aleppo today. Yes?
Question: Follow‑up on Syria. Is the political process now dead, dying, because of the situation in Aleppo and the humanitarian situation?
Deputy Spokesman: No, I… the political process is as Staffan de Mistura has described it. He wants to start the next round of intra‑Syrian talks by the end of this month, but he has affirmed that there needs to be an appropriate atmosphere for those talks. Obviously, part of what that requires is a cessation of hostilities or at least a lessening of fighting so that people will be willing to come to the table and you can have productive talks. He has made clear what the proposals are. As you know, the… his deputy, Mr. [Ramzy Ezzeldin] Ramzy, invited the Government of Syria to the talks, and now we need to make sure that, in the coming days and weeks, we can get a good atmosphere on the ground. We’re not close to that yet. Yes?
Question: I know, Farhan, that you have spoken about this in the past, about this Yemen talks being postponed. And that has given the opportunity to Saudi coalition to continue its attack inside… inside Yemen. So do you know, does… is there any indication that those talks may be resumed or they’re going to be delayed for one month, as Mr. Cheikh says?
Deputy Spokesman: No, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed gave the parties time to confer with their respective… with their respective leaderships. He is going to continue reaching out to them in the coming days and weeks so that he continues his consultations with each of the individual parties. Meanwhile, we made clear our concerns about the reports of increased fighting, and it’s clear that that fighting exacerbates what’s already a dire humanitarian situation on the ground. Yeah, Benny?
Question: And one more question about the Gaza situation. Because we have a pattern now, two cases of workers for international organizations, including one UNDP, and there… the Israelis are saying that more allegations are pending, the question is, does the UN plan to get the commission of inquiry to check… to check that… that the picture of… of what’s going on there in Gaza with… with the… you know, cooperation between… because Hamas is the power on the ground. You need cooperation from Hamas to work there. And they are obviously… or, according to the Israeli allegations, they’re trying to recruit people who work for humanitarian organisations. The question is: does the UN need to investigate that?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’ve made clear how seriously we take these latest allegations, and we’re going to continue monitoring what the situation is. We need to get a clearer picture of what the facts are. And, depending upon that, we’ll see where we go from there. But right now, what we want to make sure is that we can get to the bottom of this and that the individuals accused also have their due process rights and rights to a fair trial respected. Yes?
Question: But no investigation of the UN, independent investigation of the…
Deputy Spokesman: I’ve already told you where we stand on where we are. Yes?
Question: Sure. Thanks a lot. I want to ask about Thailand and something about Mr. Han Seung‑soo. On Thailand, does the UN have any response… or any, I guess, comment on this constitutional referendum that took place the weekend without, you know, observers at the polls, and also this new provision or proposal by the Government that non‑Thais have a Government SIM card put into their phones that can’t be turned off such that they could be tracked throughout the country during their stay?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’re aware of the referendum that took place and take note of the results, but we have no further comment on that.
Question: And on the SIM card issue, do you see this as a violation of privacy, as some are saying, or as an attempt to even stop any kind of outside observation?
Deputy Spokesman: Ultimately, this is something that was put to a referendum and we note what the result is of that. Oleg?
Question: Thanks again, Farhan. On the reports that the Libyan House of Representatives presumably rejected the UN’s idea of holding intercommunity dialogue between the tribes, do you have anything to say on that?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’re continuing with our effort for an inclusive dialogue, and we hope that we can meet some success with that. There’s nothing further to say on that at this stage. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. I’m sorry if you’ve already addressed this, but I was wondering… this is regarding Aleppo. I was wondering if there’s any breakdown in terms of the composition of the rebels fighting the Government. I mean, we know that, in fact, there are moderate rebels, and then I believe al‑Nusra rebels are also playing a role. And so I just wanted to get a sense of the breakdown and how the SG, you know, regards this.
Deputy Spokesman: How the SG regards it is that we’re concerned about all of the violence around Aleppo, and we have a tremendous worry for the people on either side who have been cut off in different ways from the recent fighting. We want to make sure that there’s adequate access… humanitarian access to the people in Aleppo but also that people are free to move if they need to do so. Regarding the breakdown of the fighting forces, those aren’t the sort of figures that we would have. We’re not a military presence on the ground. Yes?
Question: Yes. On this latest report about… in Israel… I mean in occupied West Bank, an Israeli settler killed an 85‑year‑old Palestinian with his motorcycle. I mean, do you have any comments on that?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, that’s an issue actually for the local legal authorities on the ground, but we hope that that will be fully investigated. Yes?
Question: Sure. Thanks a lot. I wanted to… to… I guess I wanted to… I’ve been asking about… you’ve just given a very general description of the Ethics Office when it looks at positions and… and directorships. So I wanted to ask you this specifically. And maybe you can get them either to come out with what restrictions have been implied… imposed or whatever. In January 2015, Han Seung‑soo spoke at something called… at an international water summit in Abu Dhabi. He spoke as a UN official. He made various representations and was quoted saying what countries should do on the water issue. And, thereafter, Doosan, which he’s on the board of directors, sold a number of equipments, including desalinisation water equipment, to countries that attended the conference. So I wanted to know is how… how does the things that you said yesterday apply to this? What possible restriction… does this mean that he was recused from the decisions to negotiate with countries to sell equipment? In fact, it appears to some that it’s kind of operating as an advertisement. You’re having someone speaking in a UN capacity who’s on the director of a company that’s selling the equipment. So how is… how does the Ethics Office address this type of structural conflict?
Deputy Spokesman: As I’ve mentioned, the Ethics Office was informed of his dealings with Doosan in 2015, and they have taken measures since then. I’ve described those over the last couple of days, and that’s what I have for you.
Question: So this is okay, to speak as a UN… so could Jane Holl Lute speak as a railroad conference where Union Pacific was selling equipment…?
Deputy Spokesman: Those are hypothetical, but…
Correspondent: This is not hypothetical…
Deputy Spokesman: …the basic point is that the Ethics Office is seized of the matter, and they have been dealing with him on this particular case. And with that, let me go to our guest.