Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
Good afternoon, everyone.
**Colombia
The Secretary-General arrived in New York early this morning, returning from Colombia.
Yesterday, in Cartagena for the signing of the Colombia Peace Agreements, the Secretary-General said that the agreements promise not only to stop the armed conflict, but to create the conditions for lasting peace based on equitable development, human rights and inclusion.
He stressed that victims have been among the most forceful voices for peace and reconciliation and against bitterness and hatred.
The divisions and distrust from decades of conflict run deep, he warned. He hopes that the Colombian people can overcome the pain, join together and make this a truly national project.
The Secretary-General pledged the United Nations support to peace, both through the UN Mission in Colombia and the larger UN system in the country.
The challenge now is to convert the vision that was so carefully crafted in Havana into transformative change in Colombia, especially in some of the most remote and historically neglected regions of the country.
And speaking to the press after the ceremony, the Secretary-General also said that Colombia’s ability to end its protracted conflict has inspired the world. He reiterated that the United Nations is proud and committed to accompany Colombia on this historic journey.
**Somalia
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Michael Keating, briefed the Security Council this morning and reported that about 24 hours ago the electoral commission announced that the country’s electoral process will need an additional 30 days. This means that parliamentary elections will now take place between 23 October and 10 November and the presidential election by 30 November.
Mr. Keating said the delay has raised a number of fears within the country — including that the process is being politically manipulated and the delay may be only one of several “rolling delays”.
What is most critical at this point, said Mr. Keating, is that the new extension does not create additional space for manipulation or disruption by spoilers.
Mr. Keating will be at the Security Council press stakeout at approximately 1 p.m.
**Mali
In Mali, the UN Mission in the country (MINUSMA) today welcomed the ruling of the International Criminal Court that recognised Ahmad Al-Faqi Al-Mahdi as guilty of war crimes for the destruction of religious and historical monuments in Timbuktu. The UN Mission said this judgment is a step forward in the fight against impunity and a strong signal against the destruction of cultural goods.
The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, called this decision a landmark in gaining recognition for the importance of heritage for humanity as a whole and for the communities that have preserved it over the centuries. It is a major step towards peace and reconciliation in Mali, UNESCO said. The agency noted that this case was a reminder of how heritage protection has become a major security issue, which cannot be delinked from the protection of human lives.
Still in Mali, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that school meals for nearly 180,000 children in about 1,000 schools are in jeopardy due to financial constraints. Unless $3 million in funding is found urgently, WFP will have to suspend its school meals programme in the country. The agency notes that school meals are often the only nutritious meal a child receives a day, relieving families from further financial stress, motivating parents to send their children to school, and, ultimately, serving as a vehicle for education.
**Central African Republic
The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that the situation in Kaga Bandoro and Ndomété in Nana-Grébizi prefecture remains calm after violence in both towns earlier this month. Local authorities in a number of villages along the Kaga Bandoro-Grevai axis inform the Mission that many of the anti-Balaka individuals that had gathered in the area departed following the increased presence of UN peacekeepers. The Mission continues to closely monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, MINUSCA reports that since the commencement of the process in October 2015, some 4,000 combatants have laid down their weapons in anticipation of a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme and are currently engaging in community-based projects.
**Syria
Some 250,000 people in eastern Aleppo are still without safe drinking water after a pumping station was hit by attacks on 22 September, UNICEF reports. This leaves more than 100,000 children in danger of outbreaks of waterborne diseases, which can be life-threatening.
UNICEF is assisting urgent efforts to repair the pumping station.
**Air Pollution
I would like to flag today new interactive maps from the World Health Organization (WHO) on air pollution.
These maps confirm that 92 per cent of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits.
Major sources of air pollution include inefficient modes of transport, household fuel and waste burning, coal-fired power plants and industrial activities.
However, not all air pollution originates from human activity. For example, air quality can also be influenced by dust storms, particularly in regions close to deserts. These maps can be seen on WHO’s website.
**Honour Roll
And for the honour roll, today Guinea has paid its regular budget dues in full, making it the 124th Member State to join the Honour Roll.
**Questions and Answers
And that’s it for me. Are there any questions? Yes?
Question: Farhan, can you confirm that you've received a letter that was signed by over 100 women activists, calling on the Secretary‑General to use the last couple months of his, you know, being in office to initiate a peace process in… to solve the Koreas conflict, and that it should be a peace process that is concluded by 2018? And do you have any comment to the letter?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't. I will first have to confirm that we've received the letter, but I'll certainly check that we've gotten that. [He later confirmed that the letter had been received.] You're aware of the Secretary‑General's own hopes for a peaceful resolution of that particular conflict… of that particular issue. Yes.
Question: Ask you, I'm assuming that you've seen this. The Guardian has a long interview today with a witness in CAR (Central African Republic) that had gone… come forward with the allegations of sexual abuse by the Sangaris force, and she… you know, it's more detail than… than… than before, and I just wondered… I tried to ask Mr. [Hervé] Ladsous on Friday when he did his stakeouts. He didn't answer. Is there any pro… has there been any convictions, to your knowledge, of these now, you know, quite getting older allegations of sexual abuse either by Sangaris or by the rehatted UN peacekeepers in CAR?
Deputy Spokesman: I think we've given you regular updates about the proceedings, and we'll continue to do that. Some of these procedures, as you know, are still in place. But there have been already different forces repatriated, different investigations launched into their behaviours. And we'll continue to provide updates as they come.
Question: I also wanted to ask… I'd been asking for some time now about this book, and I've actually now seen a copy of it. So I wanted to ask you, seems that the general editor was Vijay Nambiar, and there's 15 chapters. And they're written by various USGs (Under-Secretaries-General). Mr. Ladsous wrote the one on peacekeeping. So I just… I wanted to know, I think when I first… how much time… how much of Mr. Vijay Nambiar's time as Special Adviser on Myanmar was devoted to editing this 15‑chapter book?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, as you know, he's a Special Adviser with a series of portfolios. It's not restricted simply to the situation in Myanmar, although that has devoted an amount of his time. But in terms of their work, a lot of people were involved simply doing basically a lessons learned exercise, in terms of things that we either did well or could have done better over the course of Ban Ki‑moon's tenure. That was the point of that exercise. And regarding the book, I believe it is to be published sometime in the latter part of October.
Question: When you said like lessons learned, like, I was reading in the chapter by Prince Zeid about… about Rights up Front. It doesn't seem to mention Sri Lanka and the reason that the policy was elucidated. So I guess… can you point… I guess when it's released… it's actually been… it's now available. I wanted to know how it's consistent, having these USGs write chapters about their own departments, saying Mr. Ban did this, Mr. Ban did that, with the idea of a lessons learned exercise?
Deputy Spokesman: It's consistent insofar as they're the experts about the work of their respective bodies. Of course, the overall book will touch on most of the issues that happened over the course of the Secretary‑General's tenure. And it does include, of course, things that could have been handled better, as well as things that went well. But the idea is to offer some sort of guide for the next Secretary‑General about how things were conducted over this ten‑year phase. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. My question about the humanitarian convoys trying to reach Halab, is there any… Aleppo. Is there any effort now the UN is conducting to resume the convoys? And… and related to development, is the Security Council now meet… maybe I missed that… meeting on this issue now in a closed… closed‑door briefing?
Deputy Spokesman: I'm not aware at this stage what the Security Council's briefing right now is. They're in closed consultations. It will become clear once they've concluded that what the topic that they're dealing with right now is. They have been seized with the matters, including Syria, and, as you know, their last open meeting on Syria was just on Sunday. And we have been providing periodic briefings on the situation in Aleppo. Regarding our efforts to get aid to Aleppo, at this stage, we need there to be a cessation of fighting and access to the main roads so that we can actually deliver aid to the people in need. As we've made clear our concerns, there's still 250,000 or so people trapped in eastern Aleppo, and we're trying to… we're ready to provide aid for them once the access is granted, but it hasn't been. Yes, Olga and then Edie.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. It's actually the follow‑up question on the aid delivery in Syria. The OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) plan for September says that 1.9 million people should receive the delivery of humanitarian aid. You confirmed yesterday the delivery to four Syrian towns. Do you have an understanding or information on how many from this 1.9 [million] people received the humanitarian aid in September?
Deputy Spokesman: So far, still not a lot, because, as you know, we've had problems getting access to Aleppo. The towns that we were able to get to yesterday does include aid for, you know, well over 100,000 people in places like Foah, Kafraya and Zabadani. But there's some convoys that still have not been able to go. For example, a cross‑line convoy was scheduled to leave today for Al‑Rastan, but it had to be aborted due to insecurity. So we're still having problems getting access to all of the areas we need to this particular month, just as we had problems, as you know, in August. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Could you give us an update on the latest figures on the UN peace mission in Colombia? How many… how many people are on the ground? Are they actually starting to work? Are they waiting until after the referendum?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, some of it had to wait for the signing, which happened just yesterday. But even in anticipation of that, we've had a mission that is beginning work in Colombia. As you know, we've appointed the head of that mission, and last week we had announced some of the start of its verification activities. So it is already there. And, meanwhile, we also have a humanitarian presence on the ground trying to provide assistance to the population there.
Question: Any numbers?
Deputy Spokesman: I have some numbers at my desk. I can help you with that once we're done here. [He later informed the correspondent that, as of today, the mission has around 200 women and men who will begin monitoring the ceasefire.] Yes, Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you. There is a delegation from ICC (International Criminal Court) visiting the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Do you have an update on that? And my second question, Facebook has been clamping down on Palestinian blogs and a news network. They closed a number of them. Are you aware of that? And doesn't that contradict with the freedom of expression and freedom of information?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I don't know what Facebook's reasoning would be. You'd have to contact them about that. Of course, we're in favour of the principle of freedom of expression. I don't know how different private companies carry out their responsibilities regarding that. On the question of the International Criminal Court, I don't speak for the court, which is an independent body, so you'd have to check with their spokespeople. Yes?
Question: Do you have any more details on who prevented the humanitarian goods? Was it… into Aleppo? Was it just the… because the fighting was there, or was it the Government, or was it al‑Nusrah or what?
Deputy Spokesman: We need assurances from all sides that we're able to go there. But we've made clear our disappointment that the Syrian Government has not been providing the necessary access, and I would refer you to the remarks made on Sunday by Staffan de Mistura regarding that. Yes?
Question: Sure. Since you have numbers on Colombia on your desk, I wanted to ask, last week, I'd asked Stéphane [Dujarric] just to provide the number, of the 83 MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) staff who had been ejected or evicted or ousted from Western Sahara, how many have returned. Do you have that number?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, in terms of that, I don't have numbers to add to the initial group of the 25 international civilian personnel, who returned by 26 July. However, the UN Secretariat and the Mission continue to expedite the recruitment process of existing vacancies. The mine action component of the mission has also finalized its relocation to Tindouf, in order to resume its operational activities. In terms of routine, the Mission continues to operate under existing arrangements and procedures. Full functionality has not been fully restored.
Question: Great. Thanks. I guess I just wanted to understand, is there… so you’re… the… the… the people that were actually working there at the time that were told to leave, are they going back, or are you just recruiting new people for positions that were already vacated at the time that they were ousted? I just want to understand.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, some of the people… the lists had a number of discrepancies. Some of the people who they had asked to leave had been gone for some time, had gone on to other jobs or been… had gone back to other areas. At this stage, what we're trying to do is do the recruitment to make sure that all of the tasks that are needed to be performed are fulfilled by people. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Is the SG's office or the Spokesperson's office and security and protocol aware that, in order to access the only entry point for journalists during the GA (General Assembly), we have to go through the designated smoking section? And, additionally, in order to do photo ops on the 38th Floor, we have to go through the non‑designated smoking stairwell on the 37th Floor. Some media were complaining of headache and chest pains due to these health conditions.
Deputy Spokesman: No, I wasn't aware of where the path travels. That's something you should take up with our colleagues in the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit (MALU). Yes?
Question: Yeah, I just came from a press conference from some women who had crossed the DMZ (demilitarized zone) as part of the effort to make… to bring about a peace agreement with the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and the US (United States). And they said that they sent a letter to the Secretary‑General last year. Can you just…
Deputy Spokesman: Yes. Actually, your colleague asked that same question. I'll check whether we've received that. Yes?
Question: Ask a question about Sri Lanka, but there's one thing I need to… to… today may be the last shot at it. The… the… the son‑in‑law of the Secretary‑General, who was named the Resident Coordinator in Kenya, I guess… I mean, having not gotten answers to some questions, I'd asked whether it was possible to ask questions to him. Haven't gotten an answer yes or no, but I see him on the schedule of Jan Eliasson for this afternoon at 4:30. So I guess I want to reiterate my request. If your office is unable to… to… to address some of the issues that I have asked you in writing, can you at least ask the individual whether he'll address… whether, either on the way up or the way down, it's possible to ask him these questions?
Deputy Spokesman: We'll certainly convey your request.
Question: Okay. And the other one is sub…
Deputy Spokesman: Okay. Okay, one from you and then you.
Question: Okay, yeah, I just wanted to get your response to… to… the President [Maithripala] Sirisena of Sri Lanka has, in an interview done after his meeting with the Secretary‑General, said, "Neither the UN or the international leaders made any request to Sri Lanka to change its course of action in regard to the UN resolution. There was no pressure at all. In fact, the UN Secretary‑General hailed the progress we have made." And I just wanted… I mean, I understand everyone makes their own points, but is it the case that in the meeting between the Secretary‑General and President Sirisena that there was no pressure brought to bear to actually comply with international judges and accountability for the events that occur?
Deputy Spokesman: You've heard what we've had to say about the situation in Sri Lanka, as well as the readout that was put out. And I think that reflects what our position is. Obviously, other parties are free to put out their own readouts. Yes, you had…?
Question: Yeah. I had a question. I'm wondering, is there a list somewhere of the honorary degrees that the Secretary‑General has gotten over these ten years? I thought that would be, you know, helpful to see. I know that there have been announcements at different stages, but… and there have been quite a number of them, but I wondered if there's a place… there's a list of them.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, when he picks them up, we put them in the records of his various different travels, whether they're to universities or to other cities. Whether they're all able to be put together in an easy‑to‑digest format is a different question, but if you look at the site where we put out the press releases of all his various travels, you’ll find the record of all those.
Question: I have seen those, but I just wondered if there's some accumulation of that somewhere or a list. No?
Deputy Spokesman: Okay. Yeah, I'll see whether my DPI (Department of Public Information) colleagues can do something to make it all in one place, but it's available, although in a somewhat more scattered format.
Question: Can I ask one more?
Deputy Spokesman: Sure.
Question: I just wanted to follow up on something I'd asked yesterday, which is about the… I'd heard and I'm trying to ask you about what some staff describe as an attempt by the Secretary‑General… not attempt… by a move by the Secretary‑General to place an individual in his team in protocol in a P-3 position. So I'd asked you whether this has to be done through the G to P exam. You'd said there's various ways. I just want to know if I'm missing something. The staff rules 4.16‑2 says: "Such recruitment can always be done exclusively through competitive examination within the limits established by the General Assembly." Is that… is that the case?
Deputy Spokesman: I know that there are offices where Gs can apply to different positions. I've seen that happen in different places including, like I said, in our office and others that I'm aware of.
Question: Right. Can you with that… I'm not… I just want to get to the bottom of this. Is there some way to ask the Executive Office of the Secretary‑General whether there… whether any move of a G staff from there to Protocol P-3 position would be through… consistent with this rule through competitive examination? Because that's not what people…
Deputy Spokesman: Any placement of staff would have to be done in a way that's consistent with rules, and all of the positions are filled through competitive processes. Have a good afternoon, everyone.