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.
All right, good afternoon.
**Secretary-General
The Secretary-General this afternoon will speak at the closing of the seventieth session of the General Assembly and the opening of the seventy-first session.
In his remarks this afternoon, he will highlight that the seventy-first session of the Assembly will begin work in earnest on Monday with a summit on the plight of refugees and migrants. The Secretary-General looks forward to working with all Member States to make the most of the presence of world leaders next week.
This morning, the Secretary-General laid a wreath in remembrance of the second Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld, who died 55 years ago. At the wreath-laying, the Secretary-General renewed his call to the General Assembly to appoint an eminent person or persons to review new information which may exist regarding the circumstances around his death and the loss of 15 others in their mission of peace.
As you know, the Secretary-General will hold a press conference in this very room tomorrow at noon so I will not be here, but the Secretary-General will. [inaudible comment from the press] I’m sorry? I will be here, physically here, but I will not be here answering your questions. All right. Anything else? Can we continue? Thank you, Sherwin.
**Human Rights
The High Commissioner for Human Rights today addressed the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein spotlighted his concern over what he called the growing refusal on the part of an increasing number of Member States to grant his Office or the Human Rights Council mechanisms access.
He stressed that human rights violations will not disappear if a Government blocks access to international observers and then invests in a public relations campaign to offset any unwanted publicity. The High Commissioner said that the States may shut his Office out, but they will not shut him up.
He noted that some States, such as the Republic of Congo, are fully cooperating, while others — such as Syria and Venezuela — are not. The High Commissioner stressed that even where the powerful might seek to deflect his Office’s work and evade its scrutiny, it and other human rights actors will always continue to speak the truth and stand up for the rights of all people. His speech is available online.
**Central African Republic
And I wanted to give you an update on the ongoing investigations into sexual exploitation and abuse in the Central African Republic — the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) that had been conducting investigations into the allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in the Kemo prefecture.
The mission, the OIOS mission, left Kemo on 2 September. In total, 31 OIOS staff members were deployed to the area over 137 days. They were supported by interpreters and [UN] Police seconded to OIOS by the peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). The investigators interviewed 435 complainants and witnesses in extremely austere and at times insecure conditions. The investigations were conducted jointly with the Burundian and Gabonese National Investigative Officers, to whom OIOS is very grateful for their close and high-level cooperation.
OIOS is now reviewing the evidence and preparing final reports for transmission to troop-contributing countries for them to take appropriate action, to ensure accountability, within their respective judicial processes. We will update you on the key findings once the reports are finalized.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
And also an update on the issue of armed individuals and civilians from South Sudan who have crossed into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) along with former Vice-President Riek Machar. In addition to information we shared with you on Friday, the UN peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has continued to extract this group of individuals from the Garamba National Park in the DRC.
Yesterday, the peacekeeping Mission extracted an additional 118 persons on humanitarian grounds. To date, 752 individuals affiliated with the SPLM/A-IO [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition] have been extracted. Among those extracted, 631 are in UN-run facilities in three locations receiving medical treatment or recovering. Security arrangements are in place in all locations.
The UN continues to engage with both the DRC and the South Sudan authorities as well as regional actors to encourage them to find a solution to the presence of South Sudanese armed individuals in the territory of the DRC. Authorities of both countries are regularly informed of actions taken on the ground.
**Libya
And yesterday, Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, expressed grave concern over the fighting in the Oil Crescent area. He urged military forces that moved into the area to immediately stop fighting and to refrain from further military escalation. He said that attacks on the oil terminals threaten the stability of the country and lead to greater divisions. Mr. Kobler will brief the Council this afternoon and he will be speaking to you at around 6 p.m. at the stakeout.
**Yemen
Local sources from Yemen report that on 10 September, on the eve of Eid al‑Adha, 30 people were killed and 17 others wounded, including first responders and two children, as a result of several air strikes on a water well in Beit Saadan village, north of Sana’a Governorate. These events follow weeks of intensified air strikes and ground fighting across the country, including missile attacks [from] the direction of Yemen towards Saudi Arabia.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, in a statement said that he remains deeply disturbed by the unrelenting attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure throughout Yemen by all parties to the conflict. He calls on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law, to recommit to the 10 April cessation of hostilities and to support the initiatives of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen.
**Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
The World Food Programme (WFP) today said it has delivered food aid to more than 140,000 people in the north of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or the DPRK.
According to OCHA [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs], the Government has confirmed that 138 people have been killed, 400 missing and approximately 68,000 still displaced. A Government-led needs assessment was conducted, which included UN agencies, the DPRK Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Crescent and international NGOs.
WFP is concerned about the continued vulnerability of people as extreme cold winter weather is approaching and the country has been affected by some of the worst floods in recent history. The agency says that the number of people impacted by the floods is likely to increase since some of the areas hit by flooding have not yet been reached.
**Refugees
And our colleagues at the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that, one year after the EU and member States agreed on a plan to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers, they called for increased support pledges, faster registration and for people of more nationalities to have access to the scheme. The agency calls the number of pledges woefully inadequate and said that the implementation of the plan has been unnecessarily slow and challenging. 4,776 asylum-seekers — just 3 per cent of the original target — have been relocated from Greece and Italy. You can read more about it on the UNHCR’s website.
**Fiji
And in response to questions I received on Fiji, I can tell you that the Secretary-General welcomes the release in Fiji of the representatives of political parties, trade unions and civil society who had been detained over their participation in a discussion on constitutional issues. He urges the Government of Fiji to fully respect and protect the rights of freedom of opinion, expression, and association, and create an atmosphere conducive to the exercise of these rights, which are fundamental to democracy.
**Press Conferences
I will be joined in a short while by the Under-Secretary-General for Small Island States and Least Developed Countries, who will brief you on programmes during the General Assembly. And tomorrow at 11 a.m., there will be a press briefing by Stephen O’Brien, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
Madame, I’m sorry that you’ve been silenced. Yeah? [laughter]
**Questions and Answers
Question: Do you have an update on aid possibly getting into Aleppo from Turkey?
Spokesman: I’m sorry. Say again?
Question: Do you have an update on aid getting into Aleppo, on its way to Aleppo from Turkey?
Spokesman: I can share some information with you. The Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, will be speaking to the press at about 1 p.m., so in about a half‑an‑hour, from Geneva, so you’ll be able to watch that live on the webcast. Obviously, we are… the UN’s humanitarian machinery is primed and ready. We have… whether it’s in convoys from inside Turkey cross… to go cross‑border or whether it’s assistance that’s already been positioned within Syria. In anticipation, we’re obviously prepared to deliver humanitarian assistance to people in besieged and hard‑to‑reach areas, including east Aleppo, where, as you will recall, about… between 250,000 and 275,000 people have not been reached by the UN since July. The first planned deliveries would provide food assistance to east Aleppo, and those would be delivered cross‑border from Turkey. Obviously, the security situation needs to be the right one for us to start. We’re talking about land convoys, which will be driven by local contractors. We need the security assurances, but we are obviously monitor… we are taking a look at what is going on, on the ground, and we’ll be ready to go, I assume, fairly quickly.
Question: I just… sorry. [inaudible] I just wanted to… so you can’t confirm [inaudible] already left?
Spokesman: I cannot, no. And as far… no, I definitely cannot.
Question: A question on the DRC?
Spokesman: Please, go ahead.
Question: What contingency plans is DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] through MONUSCO making regarding possible planned protests by youth in the DRC that are opposed to the extension of President [Joseph] Kabila’s mandate? These protests are due to start on 19 September. And given the protection of civilians mandate, are there any contingency plans being made by MONUSCO?
Spokesman: Well, first of all, first and foremost, it is important that the authorities in the DRC or any country respect the right of people to demonstrate peacefully. The Mission does have its mandate. Obviously, they are following the situation very closely. They will act when and if needed. But I think it is important that people be given the space to express themselves in a peaceful manner. And the Secretary‑General very much hopes that the political… current political situation in the DRC would be resolved through dialogue and very much peacefully. Mr. Klein?
Question: Yeah. This is a follow‑up to my question last week regarding the Paris Agreement. I’m sure you’ve seen in today’s New York Times an article with the headline, “With US election in sight, UN leader seeks quick action on climate accord”, and it talks about a very accelerated initiative on the part of the Secretary‑General to get the requisite amount of Member States and percentage of global emissions ratified, accepted or adopted this year, which would be much faster than normally happens with treaties. So I’d like to ask you to what extent the Secretary‑General, if you can share this, is taking unusual initiatives to push through getting this Agreement to go into force this year with concern about the possibility that Donald Trump might be the next President.
Spokesman: I would…
Correspondent: That’s what the Times article said, so…
Spokesman: No, I completely… that is the Times’ editorial framing. That is not our thinking. I think the Secretary‑General feels that the iron needs to be struck while it’s hot. There was an immense amount of enthusiasm after the agreement was reached in Paris. As you know, this has been one of his priorities since he came into office. I think, on a personal note, he really would like to see this come into force before he leaves office. I think we have the momentum. We have the global pressure from civil society, from people around the world, from those people who come from countries who are already being impacted by climate change to move quickly. I would state that it is not… it may not be the fastest coming into force we’ve seen of a treaty. My colleagues in the treaty section very kindly pointed out to me that there is a little document called the UN Charter, which was adopted on 26 June 1945, and entered into force three months later. Also, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in ‘89, came into force on 2 September 1990. And the Protocol to the Convention on Refugees was adopted on 31 January 1967, and entered into force on 4 October. So there are other examples of treaties, legal instruments, coming into force faster than the climate agreement. That being said, I think, as I said, it is no secret that the Secretary‑General would very much like to see this come into force before the end of his term. I think the historic moment that we saw in China, bringing together the President of China and the President of the United States, we hope will lead others to follow suit and show that the countries together amount for a large… very large portion of carbon emission. If they can do this together, I think others can and we can get this wrapped up before the end of the year. Evelyn?
Question: Thanks, Steph. Did the new PGA [President of the General Assembly] help with the problems in Fiji? And, second of all, you’re calling the climate accord a treaty, which was one of Joe’s arguments…
Spokesman: No, I called it an accord. If I called it a treaty, I misspoke or misheard.
Question: Yeah, well… all right. You have nothing more to say of what it is?
Spokesman: No. On Fi… I think the… the Agreement that was agreed to in Paris is transparent and open and everyone can read it. As for Fiji, I’m not aware the incoming President of the General Assembly had anything do with it. Yes, sir? Sorry. Go ahead, yep.
Question: We were just hearing from the PGA, the outgoing PGA, and, of course, the discussion of Security Council UN reform came up, and one of the questions was, what role can the future… the incoming PGA and the Secretary‑General play on this issue? And the response was that the current SG and the current PGA do not have a mandate from the general membership of the UN to pursue this issue. So my question is, how does the reform intergovernmental process differ from, say, the Paris climate change negotiations and the sustainable development intergovernmental process, where the Secretary‑General was very visible, was out and proud, if you will, in pushing the… these issues to their culmination. Why do we not see the same kind of presence from him on the other issue?
Spokesman: I would tend to disagree with you a little bit. I think the Secretary‑General, throughout his tenure and probably more so recently than before, I think, has spoken out on the need for reform, whether it’s on the need for reform on the Security Council or how the General Assembly does… goes about its working methods, on the issues of consensus. Just because he doesn’t have a mandate doesn’t mean he can’t speak to these issues. And I think he has, and I think… I look forward to you asking him about it tomorrow.
Question: Would you agree that the level of leadership that he showed on climate change on the sustainable developments is not the… there’s no equivalence to the intergovernmental process on UN reform?
Spokesman: I think it’s… they’re different issues. I think the… the member… this is a Member State organization. The Member States develop the working methods. When it comes to issues, to global issues, climate, refugees, peace and security, the Secretary‑General has a clear mandate and, I think, has a clear leadership role, and he plays that role. Yep?
Question: So on the Paris Agreement question, is Ban Ki‑moon in close contact with the leadership in India to prod India to signing or ratifying the Agreement? They’re the major outlier right now.
Spokesman: No, I think there have been contacts between the Secretary‑General and the Prime Minister and at other levels, and I think it’s no secret that the Secretary‑General very much hopes that, at the climate event that will be coming up next week, more countries will be bringing their instruments of ratification or other terms they may want to use or pledging that they will do… they will conclude the process by the end of the year. We fully understand that there are different constitutional processes in different countries. Some take more time. Some take less time. We know that the EU is in a particular spot where all of them have to agree before any can… any of them can bring their instruments over. But the Secretary‑General is continuing his lobbying effort, if you will, to all concerned Member States.
Question: So does he have a commitment from India right now?
Spokesman: I… you know, I think we will let the Indian… I won’t speak for the Indian Government, but we very much hope to see progress on it before the end of the year. Oleg?
Question: And as a follow‑up, so how many ratifications does he expect on this event that’s going to be happening over here?
Spokesman: I think we’ll… I don’t want to preview the numbers. Obviously, I think things may change before… hopefully, things will update and numbers will grow by the time the meeting happens. Yes, sir, Sherwin?
Question: Steph, imagine for a moment that you were standing in front a room of eighth‑graders, which I’m sure won’t be hard for you to imagine.
Spokesman: You’re complimenting yourselves. [laughter]
Question: How would you best, in simple terms, describe for those eighth‑graders what happens in New York once a year in September when over 130 Heads of State come to town?
Spokesman: You know, it is… I think it is the one moment during the calendar year where all Heads of Governments, Heads of States, come together and reaffirm the UN’s mission as a convenor, where they can all come, present their positions, we hope agree on global positions, look beyond their own national interests and look to the interests of the planet. To put it in a different kind of analogy, I think it’s the World Cup of diplomacy. It’s the Oscars of diplomacy. It’s also an interesting fashion week. [laughter] We always look forward to that. But it is a place where, once a year, all the Members come together and are able to discuss peacefully and calmly their positions and hopefully reaffirm their engagements… reaffirm their commitment to their international engagements. All right. I will be right back with our guest. Please do not go away. Give me two minutes.