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
The Secretary-General has received from Major General (retired) Patrick Cammaert a report on the Independent Special Investigation into violence in Juba in July 2016 and the actions of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), including its response to acts of sexual violence in and around the Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites at UN House and the attack on the Terrain camp.
The Special Investigation found that UNMISS did not respond effectively to the violence due to an overall lack of leadership, preparedness and integration among the various components of the mission. The Special Investigation also found that command and control arrangements were inadequate, while peacekeepers maintained a risk-averse posture. These factors contributed to the failures of UNMISS to respond to the attack by Government soldiers on the Terrain camp on 11 July and protect civilians under threat. The Special Investigation was unable to verify allegations that peacekeepers failed to respond to acts of sexual violence committed directly in front of them on 17 and 18 July.
The Special Investigation found that the UN peacekeeping mission faced an extremely challenging set of circumstances and was caught in the crossfire of an active and particularly violent conflict. During the three days of fighting, according to some conservative estimates, at least 73 people were killed, including more than 20 internally displaced persons in the PoC sites. Two peacekeepers were killed and several more were injured. One hundred and eighty-two buildings in the UN House compound were struck by bullets, mortars and rocket propelled grenades.
The Secretary-General is deeply distressed by these findings. He reiterates his outrage over the acts of violence committed in Juba in July and the continuing betrayal of the people of South Sudan by too many of its leaders. The Secretary-General recognises that the UN peacekeeping mission has saved hundreds of thousands of lives over the past three years, including in its PoC sites, and commends the Mission's personnel for their dedication. He is, nonetheless, alarmed by the serious shortcomings identified by the Special Investigation, which were evident in the mission's failure to fully implement its mandate to protect civilians and UN staff during the conflict.
The Secretary-General has studied the recommendations made by the Special Investigation and intends to implement them. The Secretary-General will ensure the necessary steps are taken to enable UN peacekeeping mission to protect civilians more effectively, including through greater accountability of the mission's civilian and uniformed leadership. The Secretary-General has transmitted the Executive Summary of General Cammaert's report to members of the Security Council.
**Syria
Turning to the situation in Syria, the UN strongly condemns an attack on the building where UN offices and staff are based in west Aleppo city. The UN presence in the building is long established and well known. The top floors of the building were damaged by a tank shell on that day. Ali Al-Za’tari, the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, said that it is appalling that the building that houses the UN offices was directly targeted. He strongly condemned the increased violence in all of Aleppo, east and west, which has resulted in the deaths and injury of scores of civilians, including children.
The Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights noted reports over the weekend of intensified shelling by armed opposition groups of civilian-populated areas in Government-controlled western Aleppo. More than 30 civilians, including at least 10 children, were reportedly killed and dozens injured as a result of the attacks on 29 and 30 October in western Aleppo. Such high numbers of civilian casualties suggest that armed opposition groups are failing to follow the fundamental prohibition under international humanitarian law on the launching of indiscriminate attacks, and the principles of precaution and proportionality.
**Central African Republic
The Deputy Secretary-General arrived in Bangui in the Central African Republic today for a two-day visit. He is expected to meet with President [Faustin-Archange] Touadéra, to address the National Assembly, to visit camps of internally displaced people in Mpoko and to meet religious and community leaders and to be briefed on the demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration process.
**Iraq
And with fighting now ongoing inside Mosul city, the humanitarian community repeats its call for the strict adherence to International Humanitarian Law and the protection of civilians in Iraq. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O'Brien, said he was deeply concerned for the safety of civilians in Mosul as fighting reaches the city. He has renewed his call on all parties to place the protection of civilians at the centre of all military action, and follow their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. Civilians who want to leave the conflict zone must be allowed to do so and access protection and assistance in safer areas.
More than 17,900 people are so far recorded as internally displaced since 17 October due to the ongoing operations in Mosul. A significant increase is anticipated in the coming days, as a result of the fighting reaching Mosul neighbourhoods and opening routes for civilians to escape, as well as continued hostilities in the surrounding areas. Also on Iraq, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also has further reports of mass killings by Da’esh. On Saturday, 40 former Iraqi security force soldiers were killed and their bodies thrown in the Tigris River. They were reportedly among the civilians who had been abducted earlier from al-Shura sub-district of Mosul and from villages surrounding Hamam al-Alil. There are more details online.
**Colombia
And the Security Council has sent a letter to the Secretary-General, giving the green light to the UN Mission in Colombia to verify the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities in the country. This was following a request from the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The UN Mission will roll out functions previously approved by the Council, except those related to the laying down of arms, which will be postponed until the successful conclusion of the political dialogue and the adoption of a new Final Agreement. The head of the UN Mission, Jean Arnault, welcomed the Council's support, stressing it is a boost to Colombia’s peace process. More information on the Mission’s website.
**Appointment
Also wanted to flag an appointment today: The Secretary-General is announcing the appointment of Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan as Special Adviser on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants, which was held on the side-lines of the General Assembly this year. For the next three months, Ms. Nakamitsu will undertake these duties on a part-time basis in addition to and separate from her current responsibilities as Assistant Secretary-General for Crisis Response at UNDP (United Nations Development Programme).
The Special Adviser will support the follow from the Summit and coordinate the engagement of UN entities, in particular on the implementation of the New York Declaration of Refugees and Migrants, and support Member States in fulfilling their commitments with this regard. Ms. Nakamitsu has many years of distinguished service within and [outside] the UN, including with DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] and UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]. And she is, of course, succeeding Karen AbuZayd, who left yesterday.
**Guest
Today, I will be joined in a short while by Muhannad Hadi, WFP’s [World Food Programme] Regional Director for the Middle East, who will be here to discuss Yemen.
**Honour Roll
And today we say thank you to Viet Nam for paying its dues in full, which brings us up to? [134.] You get a candy today, the Halloween stash. Yes, sir?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Question on the special investigation report on South Sudan. Recommend… Recommendation number 1, those that didn't protect civilians should be held accountable. Ban Ki-moon has said he's going to implement the recommendations. We only have the Executive Summary, but from reading that very quickly, it's clear that one person is definitely singled out for criticism. That is the Force Commander. Does Ban Ki-moon still have confidence in the Force Commander? And should he stay in his post for the time being?
Spokesman: He has asked for the immediate replacement of the Force Commander, and that is one of the recommendations that will be implemented immediately. Others will be announced in due course. Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. Just trying to speed-read this, what you put out. Seems like… just a… looking at the Terrain section of it, number 1, maybe I'm missing it somehow, but I don't see any… I don't see the death of the journalist John Gatluak, who was executed there. And it seems to say… it makes this distinction about UN staff were clearly subject to a protection mandate, and humanitarian workers were as well. Since we're on the… the… the eve of the date of protection of journalists, does the UN acknowledge that a journalist was killed in the Terrain compound? And what does it… does it think it did enough? And number 2, it says… in the same section, it says that somehow the security officer who was dismissive of one of the track women's calls couldn't be identified. Can you explain how it is that the UN… I mean, I assume… it's not somebody on patrol. It's somebody answering the phone. How can the UN not be able to identify…?
Spokesman: I think… obviously, I think the report underscores the challenges that… around the Terrain compound and also underscores the lacunae in our response to the incidents that took place there. I think it's… you'll have more time to read the report. You're always welcome to ask me questions. On the security officer, obviously, the… Mr. Cammaert and his team went in after the events, spoke to a number of witnesses, spent some time in Juba. They were unable to identify the security officer on duty. It's very unfortunate. There a number of recommendations having to do with the overall Organization response, both in mission leadership, also including DSS [Department of Safety and Security]. The Secretary-General, as I said, will implement the recommendations. And, of course, all the line departments implicated will also implement the recommendations.
Question: I wanted to ask… also… I mean, I don't… in this Terrain section, it's come up in this room the idea of whether DSS had… had judged the place to be compliant with the MOSS [minimum operating safety] standard. I don't see that addressed. Maybe it's in the full report? Maybe… I don't know if you know or can find out. And also the teargas issue. At least I'm not finding it that's come up here about the use of teargas on… on civilians. And, just finally, I'm sorry to ask this, but given that Mr. Cammaert has done two of these reports and by some counts three. What would you say to an argument that says, if you have the same person doing reports, there's an incentive to make a report that's tough but not too tough because then, otherwise, you will not get a mandate to write another report?
Spokesman: Listen, I don't think Mr. Cammaert does this for money or…
Correspondent: No, that's not what I said.
Spokesman: …or to continue his employment. He is a very distinguished retired general with years of experience, both in his own… in the Netherlands and, obviously, in UN peacekeeping. I think the report that you read, you may not judge it tough enough. I think it's a pretty clear and tough report. So we're very pleased to have someone of his stature available to do these sorts of review. On the issue of teargas, I think it's come up in a number of different missions. There was teargas used at some point during the events as a non-lethal deterrent measure when security personnel were overwhelmed with an influx of external elements in the UN House compound. Teargas has been used at different places by peacekeepers. It's done as a last resort. It's non-lethal. It's not pleasant for anybody, but when it comes to ensuring the safety of UN personnel, the safety of the IDPs [internally displaced people] that were already in the camp and the safety of facilities, there is often no other choice.
Question: Is that part of the report what you just read, or is that DPKO's…?
Spokesman: No, it's… I think it should all be in the report. But it's a standard answer to the use of teargas in the past. Nisar?
Question: Yeah. Yesterday, Mr. [Ismail] Ould Cheikh Ahmed accused the Houthis and Ali Abdullah Saleh's groups of aiming at Mecca, at Kaaba, with their ballistic missile Burkan-1. This accusation is a very serious one, obviously. Did… and it was not based on any investigation as it looks, because we did not hear about an investigation. How did he come to this conclusion? And does the Secretary-General adopt this approach to it?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General stands by the presentation of his Special Envoy on Yemen. He has no reason not to. The Special Adviser's statement, I think, speaks for itself. It's based on information that he has, whether it's public or otherwise, that he's received and he feels confident enough to speak about it publicly.
Correspondent: Does it trouble him that Britain, for example, mentioned that it was aimed at Jeddah Airport, not at Mecca, which was quite a big difference between the two.
Spokesman: I think Ismail can only speak for himself. It's not for him to comment on what other members of the Council said.
Correspondence: But, this very important because…
Spokesman: I don't doubt the importance of the issue.
Question: I have a question on the same… same briefing. There was a big massacre in Hodeidah on Saturday. The jail was bombarded by airstrike. Ninety prisoners were killed, totally mutilated. And there was no mention of that yesterday by any of the briefers to the Security Council. Why such a big massacre does not come on the radar of Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed?
Spokesman: I will check… we'll check to see if we have any information on the incident that you mentioned. Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I have two questions, one on Israel and one on the Palestinian Authority. On Israel, there is a new law being pushed by Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu. The law is called [inaudible], which means the law of organization. This law will legalise the illegal outposts. According to Israeli law, it's illegal. Now there is a new law which will make these outposts legal. So why the SG [Secretary-General] and his Special Envoy don't say something before it becomes legal, and then they will issue a statement condemning that?
Spokesman: First of all, we're usually not in the business of commenting on laws that are still under discussion in parliament. The Secretary-General's, his Special Envoy's position on the settlements… on the illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory is well known and unchanged. Second question?
Question: My second question, since President [Mahmoud] Abbas participated in the funeral of Shimon Peres, there's large and massive movement of protests in the West Bank and Gaza but, in particular, in the refugee camps. The Authority has been clamping on those protesters. They have arrested large numbers. The freedom of expression is becoming narrower and narrower. There are… some website had been closed. They're even… a shooting happened to an opposition figure who lives in Washington, D.C. So this major compromise of the freedom of expression is being attacked by the Palestinian Authority. Why there is no statement on that?
Spokesman: You know, I… the issue of people being allowed to express themselves freely is one that the Secretary-General has defended, whether it's in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or anywhere else, and we will continue to do so.
Correspondent: A statement of that kind will give moral support to the people there.
Spokesman: Okay. I hear you. Yes. Go ahead.
Question: Thanks, Steph. I'm just going back to one of the first things you said about Syria, that… regarding the attack on UN facilities. I was wondering if you have any further information on that.
Spokesman: No, I mean, from what we know, a shell… a tank shell hit the top floor of that… of the building on 30 October. As Mr. Za'tari said, the presence of the UN in that building is not a state secret. We've been there for quite some time. It is well known. And we ask again that all parties respect the sanctity of UN facilities.
Question: Do you know what side committed the attack?
Spokesman: No, I do not have that information. Mr. Abbadi. Sorry.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. The Secretary-General has given very few press conferences in this room this year. Does he intend to wait until the end of the year to give the end-of-the-year press conference, or does he intend to give one soon?
Spokesman: Well, I think, even if we did one soon, it would qualify as end of the year, since we are close to the end of the year, but we do very much hope the Secretary-General will be here one last time. Fathi?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Just a quick follow-up on the report on UNMISS, South Sudan. Is there a time frame the Secretary-General has put in place for implementation of the recommendations that came in this report? As you mentioned, the commander of the Mission is on the top of the list for immediate changes…?
Spokesman: Yes. As I've said, we've asked for the replacement of the Force Commander. Other decisions that lie within the purview of the Secretary-General will be implemented soon. If you look at the report, there are a number of recommendations towards the Secretary-General and the Mission and different departments. The Secretary-General hopes that these will be implemented and implemented quickly.
Question: Will the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations be available for a briefing and…?
Spokesman: I'm sure next time he's at the stakeout, we can ask him to stop by. Mr. Lee?
Question: Sure. Ask you, first, on… on… Rwanda's issued a list of more than 20 French officials whom it says was involved… were involved or responsible for the genocide in 1994. And I wanted to know, given that the UN, you know, has days on this and events on this, where they… have… have they reviewed the list, particularly as it may relate to some people in UN peacekeeping?
Spokesman: I have not seen the list.
Question: You have not seen the story or the list?
Spokesman: I have not seen the list.
Question: Okay. Do you want me to send you the list?
Spokesman: I can use the Google machine.
Question: Okay. Very good. I wanted to know about, in Bahrain, there was a hearing yesterday for Nabeel Rajab. His trial was put over until the middle of December, but very… some Member States that were monitoring it said it was obvious that the hearing… that there's no case against him and that he should be released. And I wonder, does the Secretary-General have any… is he following this matter? Does he think Mr. Rajab should be released? What does he think of the evidence that was shown yesterday against him?
Spokesman: We're not in a position to evaluate the evidence. Earlier this year, I think we expressed our concern towards Mr. Rajab's situation and underscored the right of people to peaceful exercise, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly in Bahrain and everywhere. And I think our position is unchanged. We're obviously following it closely, but we are not in a position to express an opinion on the new evidence.
Question: I guess I'm asking because I think yesterday you'd announced that Mr. O'Brien was in Bahrain at the very… on the very day. Do you think he was aware of this case? Do you think there was… did anyone from the UN actually observe as was possible…?
Spokesman: I don't know. We can check with the country office if anybody observed. Nisar?
Question: Yeah. Going back to Mecca, Mecca is a very vast area, more than 15,000 kilometres, square kilometres. That rocket or that missile, did… how did Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed establish that it was aiming at Mecca, the city, the Kaaba itself? Because this is a very vast area. It's bigger than a country.
Spokesman: I think from what I recall of Mr. Ismail saying is that it was aimed at Mecca. I have no reason to doubt his statement and the information that was based on it. Regardless of where the rocket was aimed, I think the firing of such rocket is something that is to be condemned.
Question: I don't know why you don't have a reason to doubt since the penholder of Yemen file in the Security Council, Britain, said that it was aimed at King Abdulaziz Airport, which is hundreds of miles away.
Spokesman: I hear what the penholder said, and we'll stand by what the Special Envoy said. Abdelhamid?
Correspondent: Another… another question.
Spokesman: I'll come back to you.
Question: Yes, sir. Israel arrested last night 14 Palestinians, at least five of them under the age of 17. There is one at age 15. So why all these, you know, developments do not make it to the radar of Mr. [Nickolay] Mladenov?
Spokesman: I think just because we don't mention them here doesn't mean that these things don't make it to the radar of the Special Coordinator. I haven't seen the particular report you mention. I think Mr. … whether it's Mr. Mladenov, senior DPA [Department of Political Affairs] colleagues or the Secretary-General, I think, give very extensive and detailed briefings monthly to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East process, and we will continue to do so. Olga?
Question: Thanks, Steph. The follow-up of the shelling of UN offices in Aleppo, does it mean that, after the shelling, UN staff will postpone its work in West Aleppo for…
Spokesman: No, the UN will continue to do its work. Matthew?
Question: Sure. Another… I guess it's a Yemen question. One is just very procedural. He didn't… the Envoy didn't take many questions yesterday, and at least I thought that it was said because he was having to meet with the Secretary-General. But it looked like on his schedule he wasn't going to meet until 4:00. Do you know when that meeting took place? And can you give some sense…
Spokesman: My understanding is that it took place around 12:30 yesterday.
Correspondent: Okay. So then the schedule was not correct.
Spokesman: Whose schedule?
Correspondent: No, the schedule, the public schedule of the Secretary-General listed the Envoy at 4 p.m.
Spokesman: The last… from the little that I remember in my brain, I remember seeing it at 12:30 p.m.
Correspondent: Okay. What I wanted to ask you is the question that I tried to ask him then and I'm going to ask you then, which is that… and maybe it's kind of a… it's a structural question. Is it helpful to the… does it make his work more difficult that two of the permanent five members of the Security Council, at least, are both selling weapons to the Saudi-led Coalition and, in the case of the United States, fuelling the planes? I mean, is it something where… I've seen other envoys sometimes try to speak to the P5 or members of the P5, and I just wonder… he didn't, and he didn't answer that question. But what do you say of the… maybe it's the difficulty of being an envoy, but is it useful to him to have unceasing sales of weapons to the Saudi-led Coalition and fueling of planes in the air as they drop bombs…? [Cross talk]
Spokesman: I think whether you're talking about the conflict in Yemen, whether you're talking about the conflict in Syria, I think, from the beginning, the Secretary-General has been calling on all those who are directly involved in the fighting or who assist those who are directly involved in the fighting to focus more on a diplomatic solution. And I think that would be the case for Yemen. That would be the case for Syria. You know, what complicates the Envoy's work is that it's a very complex situation with various parties involved, and he is keeping at it and trying to bring them back to the table. He said he was going back to the region, I think, today.
Question: But just very specifically, on the case of refuelling planes, warplanes, in the air as they're conducting bombing raids, is that something the Secretary-General would like to see stopped?
Spokesman: I think… what the Secretary-General would like to see stopped is all the violence. Nizar?
Question: Yeah. On… on Aleppo, it's obvious that Al-Nusrah Front is leading this onslaught on Western Aleppo. Did the attack on the UN premises emanate from the same group?
Spokesman: I don't have any… we don't have any forensic investigatory details that would allow us to pinpoint those who are responsible for the shelling of the UN office.
Correspondent: But you established that it was a tank.
Spokesman: It was a tank shell. I think that much we can figure out. Okay. Mr. Abbadi?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. The Secretary‑General will soon travel to Morocco to attend the copy… the COP-22 [twenty-second Conference of Parties]. Does he plan to visit any other country in Africa?
Spokesman: At this point, no. Matthew?
Question: Sure. I'm sorry to have all this kind of backwash, but I just wanted to know, yesterday, you'd said that the ACABQ [Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions)… do you have any response by the Secretary-General's Office to their critique? And, number two, the offsets of carbon credits that he discussed. And, number three, speeches given in a private capacity. Thanks.
Spokesman: Sure. On the first one, my understanding is that the Secretary-General informed the membership of the receipt of a gift from the International Olympic Committee, which is a health and gym facility for the people who work here. It is currently… the Secretariat is currently in discussions with the Fifth Committee and bringing it more information as it has requested. And the other two, I don't have anything for you yet. And I'm going to go get our guest.