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.
**Syria
Let’s start with Syria. Evacuations escorted by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and International Committee of the Red Cross — that had been stalled for more than a day — resumed this afternoon at 4 p.m. local time from the besieged neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo, with operations expected to continue through the coming hours.
At least 20 surge staff from Damascus have been deployed to Aleppo to support ongoing observations of evacuations and response activities in the city.
UN teams have maintained a presence at the Ramouseh Government checkpoint in Aleppo to observe the evacuations from east Aleppo since 15 December.
The ICRC estimates that more than 25,000 people have been evacuated from the besieged neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo between 15 and 20 December.
According to the World Health Organization, as of 19 December, 301 wounded and sick people had been evacuated, including 93 patients in critical condition who have been transferred to Turkey; others were transferred to hospitals in Idlib and in rural western Aleppo.
Protection of civilians leaving these areas remains the biggest concern. The process for evacuation was traumatic, with crowding and vulnerable people waiting for hours and exposed to sub-zero temperatures. All remaining civilians must be allowed to safely leave should they choose to do so. Access to people in need to provide them with life-saving humanitarian assistance is also urgently needed.
**Security Council
Also on Syria, the Security Council this morning renewed the terms of its resolutions concerning humanitarian access in Syria for another twelve months. And it requested the Syrian authorities to expeditiously respond to all requests for cross-line deliveries submitted by the United Nations and their implementing partners, and to give such requests positive consideration.
And in a presidential statement adopted this morning, the Security Council reiterated its request to outgoing President Yahya Jammeh and the relevant Gambian Authorities to fully respect the results of the presidential election of 1 December 2016, to respect the will of the Gambian people and to carry out a peaceful and orderly transition process, and to transfer power to President-elect Adama Barrow by 19 January 2017 in accordance with the Gambian constitution.
**Iraq
On Iraq, an aid distribution point in the newly retaken eastern Mosul city neighbourhood of Zuhoor, where a local community-based organization was distributing food and fuel, was hit by indirect fire yesterday, reportedly killing four volunteers and injuring scores of bystanders.
This tragic incident underlines the security concerns associated with the situation in eastern Mosul neighbourhoods where scheduled distributions of multi-sectoral aid, including food and hygiene supplies, have not taken place in recent days due to insecurity.
The UN in Iraq has also received reports of an explosion in the eastern Mosul neighbourhood of Samah earlier today, possibly close to another aid distribution point. Further details on the event are being established.
Meanwhile, UN agencies continue to support primary health centres in eastern Mosul city neighbourhoods and are trucking water to 45,000 people in this area.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
The Secretary-General is in the US state of Illinois today. Right about now, he is delivering a lecture at Southern Illinois University.
The Secretary-General will emphasize that great achievements are possible when nations work together. He will say that as he passes the baton to his successor, the United Nations will count on the United States and all countries to pull together at this consequential time for peace, prosperity and human rights for all.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General will visit the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum, as well as President Lincoln’s tomb. He will return to New York this evening.
**Côte d’Ivoire
You will have seen that yesterday evening, the Secretary-General applauded the Government and the people of Côte d’Ivoire for the peaceful and inclusive legislative elections of 18 December.
The successful conclusion of this election confirms Côte d’Ivoire’s steady march towards lasting peace and stability, the Secretary-General said. That statement is online in English and in French.
**Guinea-Bissau
In another statement issued yesterday evening, the Secretary-General said that he shared the concern expressed by the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) over the prolonged political and institutional crisis in Guinea-Bissau.
He called on Guinea-Bissau’s political leadership to demonstrate the requisite commitment and goodwill to reach a lasting political solution to the crisis in their country on the basis of the ECOWAS Roadmap and the Conakry Accord.
That statement has also been shared with you.
**Madagascar
I also want to flag the results of a new Cost of Hunger in Africa [COHA] study which indicates that Madagascar’s economy loses US$1.5 billion per year — the equivalent of 14.5% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product [GDP] — to the effects of malnutrition.
In Madagascar, 47 per cent of children under the age of five are affected by stunting — which refers to a state of low growth for age. It is the fifth highest rate of stunting in the world.
Madagascar is the tenth country in Africa to have conducted a Cost of Hunger study, with support from the World Food Programme.
The process has revealed that African economies are losing between 1.9% and 16.5% of their GDP to child malnutrition. You can access the report on WFP’s website.
**Tajikistan
A new agreement to simplify the import, export and transit of humanitarian aid in large-scale emergencies between the United Nations in Tajikistan and the country’s Government entered into force today.
Tajikistan is susceptible to disasters such as earthquakes and floods, and this new agreement — the first of its kind in Central Asia — will allow people to receive international aid much faster than before. You can read more about this agreement online.
**Noon Briefing Guest
For the guest at the briefing, there is a change: the Executive Director of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), Yuri Fedotov, is not able to attend the briefing today, and in his place Ms. Kristiina Kangaspunta will present the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. That will be after I’m done here. Any questions? Yes?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thanks, Farhan. Could I just clarify some of these figures of how many UN staff are in Aleppo? With the surge of 20, are there now sort of around 130 staff in Aleppo?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’re trying to avoid giving too much in the way of numbers because the availability of people is different from what the raw numbers might imply. You know, we did add some, but you’re roughly right, that we have that many people in the area. Depending upon what the tasks are at hand, they may or may not be able to be there for the evacuations, however.
Question: And how many of those staff are in Eastern Aleppo?
Deputy Spokesman: That is a trickier number. And, honestly, I haven’t been able to get a number that I can quite rely on. There is always going to be a subset… depending upon access, we’ll try to get as many of those people on the ground as we can. But it does depend on the conditions that we have available for them.
Question: So you said there are some staff at a Government checkpoint. Are there any staff at the point in Eastern Aleppo where people are getting on the buses?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes. The place where they’re getting on the buses, a lot of them have been coming to the Ramouseh checkpoint, which is a Government checkpoint in Aleppo, and we do have a presence there.
Question: But is there UN presence where they get on… where the buses depart from, where they get on the bus?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, I believe so. I… and there’s also… like I said, on the buses, there are escorts from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Question: But UN staff, are there any UN staff in Eastern Aleppo where they get on the bus?
Deputy Spokesman: If you’re referring to the Ramouseh checkpoint, yes.
Correspondent: No, I’m referring to just in Eastern Aleppo wherever they get on these buses.
Deputy Spokesman: I don’t know what our presence is in Eastern Aleppo. I would need further information on that, because the numbers I’ve had on that, I don’t want to rely on. [He later added that UN staff were not present in opposition-held parts of eastern Aleppo, although SARC and ICRC staff were.]
Question: Okay. So the resolution the other day said that the UN should put monitors in Eastern Aleppo to not only monitor the evacuations, but also the safety of civilians who remain. And this is to be done in consultation with interested parties. Has the UN started talking to the Syrian Government about this? Have you…
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, yes, we have, as well as with other parties, where we’re trying to get that done as soon as we can.
Question: So you’ve requested, I guess, well, permission, or you’ve told them you’re going to go in?
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah. And, of course, part of the point is now we have a Security Council resolution, and we want all the parties to also abide by the terms of that resolution, which we intend to implement.
Question: So you’ve told the Government that UN officials were going to Eastern Aleppo.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, yes. And that we would need the access as entailed in the resolution of the Security Council.
Correspondent: Okay. Thanks.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes.
Question: Ambassador [Bashar al] Jaafari seemed to indicate that 20 would be it. I don’t know if that’s going to be carried out or not, in his speech after the resolution was adopted. Secondly, are they getting humanitarian aid in West Aleppo or wherever they’re going? And, thirdly, are there going to be any monitors in Idlib, which seems to be a… a good case for some more attacks?
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding that, we, of course, have our concerns about Idlib, but our focus right now is making sure that we can fulfil the tasks that have been given to us in Aleppo. And as for whether there’s any increase beyond the surge that we had, we’ll try to provide updates if we get more people in.
Question: Where are they getting humanitarian aid?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’ve tried… as you know, in the parts of Aleppo where we’ve had a presence, including in Western Aleppo, we’ve tried to make sure that there is a steady flow of aid. The problem had been of access to Eastern Aleppo, but we do continue to try to have aid in the other areas where we’re operational. Yes?
Question: Thank you. I have two questions, one on [Staffan] de Mistura’s statement saying that he would call for a meeting of the Syrian parties in early February, I think. Did he consult with all the parties? Did he start sending invitations, who’s coming and who’s not? Where does this invitation stand at this moment?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we haven’t started sending invitations this early. As you know, the date he had said for the talks to resume in Geneva would be 8 February 2017. So we’re quite a ways ahead of that. He has been in regular contact with all the parties, and so before he made the announcement, he had been in touch with all the relevant sides that he needed to contact.
Question: My second question, Farhan, is about a Tunisian engineer. His name is Mohhamed Alzoari. He was assassinated in Tunisia by, allegedly, four Mossad agents. Is that considered the state‑sponsored terrorism, on one hand? And, second, why there was no statement about this kind of assassination?
Deputy Spokesman: The details about this particular incident are still a little bit vague. We would need further information about what exactly has transpired.
Correspondent: And finally…
Deputy Spokesman: Sorry. Let’s get to some other questions. Yes, please.
Question: Yes. On Gambia, Jammeh recently accused ECOWAS criticizing the regional leaders saying… saying… accusing them of violating Gambia sovereignty. It seems that he’s not going to follow even the instruction of this morning’s Security Council declaration. What might be the next step after this? Because the situation is getting worse now.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’ll see what happens on the ground as we proceed. We have been in touch, in particular, with the Economic Community of West African States, and we have been very encouraged by the role that they have been playing in this, and we are supporting that. But I would refer you back to what the Secretary‑General said just two days ago in a statement we issued, where he expressed his worries that the Independent Electoral Commission continues to be under the control of military forces, and he urged the Gambian security forces to uphold their neutrality and demonstrate restraint under the unfolding circumstances. We made clear our concerns, and, of course, we have also made clear, as have the Security Council, the need to guarantee the protection of the President‑elect. And we’re welcoming the steps by various leaders to attend the inauguration of the President‑elect.
Correspondent: The fact is he’s accusing them now of violating the… his country’s sovereignty. And he also says that “nobody can deprive me of that victory except the almighty Allah”.
Deputy Spokesman: I won’t comment on the latter point. On the former point, regarding sovereignty, the United Nations and the UN Charter respects the sovereignty of all Member States, but you’ll have seen what the Secretary‑General and the Security Council have said on this. There is a process that is enshrined in the Gambian constitution, and we want to see that carried through. And that would include the inauguration of President‑elect Barrow. Yes?
Question: Sure. Thanks a lot. Two questions to start as well on Burundi. There’s reports that in a place called Kagaragara, some 500 families were… were forcibly and without notice moved out of their homes. The Government said it’s because there are rebels nearby. So these people are in tents. And I’m just wondering, one, is the UN coun… team there aware of that? And what do they say about it? And, two, in the Fifth Committee, which is a… you know, going to come to a vote, the Government of Burundi is arguing against any deployment of this Special Adviser’s team beyond the capital, and I’m wondering, is the Secretariat aware of it? Are they… are they somehow making their views known? Do they believe that these people should be deployed to places like Kagaragara?
Deputy Spokesman: Certainly, the Secretary‑General believes that the team should be able to go wherever they need to go in terms of carrying out their mandate. If there are places where we have specific human rights concerns, they need to be able to carry out their responsibilities. Of course, the Fifth Committee’s proceedings are its own business, and we leave the matter [to] the Member States. But we are always prepared to clarify questions for Member States on their request.
Correspondent: And I wanted to ask…
Deputy Spokesman: Hold on. And you had also asked about the incident in Kagaragara. We don’t have a reaction to it at this point, but certainly, the monitors and our team are able to follow up as needed. If there’s anything further that they need to say, we’ll let you know on that.
Question: Sure. And I wanted to ask you about… yesterday, as you know, the room was closed from 11:30 to 12:30. There were some questions about what was said, and Stéphane [Dujarric] said, wait until you see the coverage. So now I want to ask you, The Korea Times… this is their headline: “Ban Ki‑moon Declares Bid for South Korean Presidency.”
Deputy Spokesman: That’s their interpretation, and it’s not one we share.
Question: Again, I want to ask you then, then can we get a transcript… given that other people use a slight… say, the strongest hint yet, that’s their headline. So now that things are out and it wouldn’t violate… I guess Stéphane made some reference to journalistic ethics. Given that everyone that was here while others were excluded has had 24 hours to report it, is there a way to get either an audio, video or a transcript of what was said, actually said in this public UN room?
Deputy Spokesman: Although this is normally a public UN room, this was used because it was an exceptionally large group interview. The Secretary‑General, towards the end his term, is doing a number of interviews. Some of them are individual interviews. Some of them are group interviews. For example, he did one with the Japanese media a couple days before doing one with the Korean media. Because of the size of people, we had to use this room as an exception. But we normally don’t. But it’s still a group interview. And you would need to be in touch with those reporters, whether they would want to share their information with you.
Question: Why not Conference Room 8? Conference Room 5? I mean, there are many rooms in the building that you could use, other than this room.
Deputy Spokesman: There are, but this one was one that we could make available on a short notice. Yes?
Question: Thanks, Farhan. Just another follow‑up on Aleppo: When does the UN expect the evacuation of Eastern Aleppo to be complete?
Deputy Spokesman: It really depends on how many more people are there and how quickly they can go out. We certainly hope it will be carried out promptly, so that all the people who have specific medical needs can be taken care of, and so that the sort of evacuations and the sort of conditions we face, including the sub-zero temperatures, are not something that people have to face for days on end while they’re waiting to get out of a place that is basically lacking any real facilities for their survival. Yes, Masood?
Question: Yes. Thank you, Farhan. I just want to know, now that the Secretary‑General… throughout his term that he’s been here, he has been very reluctant to talk about this Indian‑Pakistan conflict, which has, I mean, from all estimation, claimed thousands of lives and he has consistently decided not to speak on it. Why? Because at any point in time… why? I mean, similarly…
Deputy Spokesman: I would disagree with you on that. We’ve had statements, including on the situations between India and Pakistan and on… specifically on Kashmir. There have been statements and notes to correspondents. The last one was just a few weeks back, so I would just refer you back to those. They’re available on the website.
Correspondent: No. But, Farhan, every time… I mean, I’ve been here. I’ve been asking you a whole bunch of questions on that. He has not answered any question substantively, except to say, yeah, my office is available to India and Pakistan for good offices of India and Pakistan. Nothing substantive about the human rights violations that are going on in occupied Kashmir. And even his human rights, what do you call, Commissioner has said that he wants to send a mission over there to determine all these allegations, but he has not said anything to even corroborate that, also not to endorse that.
Deputy Spokesman: All I can say is the Secretary‑General has had a very consistent position. One fact we expressed even just last month, which is to say that he is following with concern the increase in tensions along the Line of Control and that he urges the Governments of India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and encourages them to continue their efforts to resolve their differences peacefully and through dialogue. Linda?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Going back to Aleppo, I was wonder… I’m sorry if I may have missed this, but I was wondering what the status is of the exodus of the armed groups, you know, whether the so‑called moderate groups and the al‑Qaeda‑linked ones.
Deputy Spokesman: What we’ve been talking about is the evacuation of people in general, and the estimate that we have received from our colleagues in the International Committee of the Red Cross is that more than 25,000 people have been evacuated from the besieged neighbourhoods in Eastern Aleppo between the 15th and 20th of this month. Obviously, there may be some presence of armed groups there, but I wouldn’t know how to quantify the numbers there. Yes, Carole first, and then we’ll go to you.
Question: Farhan, I’m sorry if you’ve already answered this, but I’m not sure I understand what the holdup is in having a UN presence in East Aleppo. The resolution was adopted on Monday. It’s now Wednesday. Is it security? Is it authorisation? What… what can you tell us?
Deputy Spokesman: No, it’s not a question of a holdup. Like I said, we have brought in 20 surge staff from Damascus to Aleppo to observe the ongoing operations. We do have a presence at the Ramouseh Government checkpoint in Aleppo to observe the evacuations, and so we have some presence there. We are trying throughout, however, to be in touch with the Government and other parties to make sure that we have the access that we need so that we can carry out the responsibilities entrusted to us by the Security Council.
Question: And you don’t have access yet?
Deputy Spokesman: We certainly could use more cooperation on the ground, but we’re making our way forward, and we’re trying to get the resolution implemented. And we’re trying to make sure that all of the parties on the ground understand the need to also implement the resolution of the Council. Yes?
Question: Thank you. We requested, if we can, contact Ali Al‑Za’tari if he’s available to be interviewed by the UN journalists and if he is physically in East Aleppo. And, if not, who is the most senior person that the UN has in East Aleppo? And I have a second question after.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I’ll certainly see whether Mr. Za’tari is available. It’s… sometimes there are technical difficulties getting that sort of hookup, but if we can get that in the coming day or two, we’ll try to do that.
Question: Thank you. There was in Jordan, southern Jordan, the city of Karak, a confrontation between security men and a terrorist group. Seven security men were killed, two local citizens and one Canadian journ… tourist. Was there a statement by the Secretary‑General? Did I miss that? I apologise if there was a statement.
Deputy Spokesman: No, there isn’t, but what I can tell you on this is simply the following: The Secretary‑General condemns the attack in the southern Jordanian city of Karak. The Secretary‑General offers his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his solidarity with the Government and people of Jordan. He’s following developments closely as authorities gather further information and commends Jordan for its continued commitment to fighting terrorism in full respect of international norms. Yes, Carole?
Question: But if I hadn’t asked the question, would the statement be issued? Why it only came as a response to a question?
Deputy Spokesman: Some things are like that. Yes?
Question: Sorry, Farhan. I’m sorry to be slow on this, but is there a UN presence in East Aleppo?
Deputy Spokesman: As I’ve been pointing out, I don’t know whether… what our numbers are in some of the parts of Eastern Aleppo, but what I can say is that we do have a presence at the Ramouseh Government checkpoint in Aleppo, and that is a place from which they observed the evacuations from Eastern Aleppo.
Question: But are they in East Aleppo itself? And… and…
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah. I think we’re trying to get better access there. I don’t have any precise numbers of what we would have there.
Question: And also, would it be possible to clarify, in terms of the planning, because the resolution did talk specifically about the Eastern District of Aleppo, how many people you would like to have on the ground there? Because we… I mean, we understand the 20 extra and the 100, but how many should be there or do you have want to have there?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’re trying to work out what the numbers can be in terms of what our needs are. We’re trying to organise that right now. That’s a process that’s underway, and we’ll provide some more details of that as we get better access and as we know more precisely what our needs on the ground would be. Yes?
Question: Some more questions. I wanted to ask, it’s emerged and the UK has confirmed… Saudi Arabia has confirmed and the UK confirmed that UK-manufactured and sold… cluster bombs have been used by the Saudi‑led Coalition on Yemen. And since… it’s something that was denied, I believe, even at the stakeout by the Saudi perm[anent] rep[resentative], and it’s something that, ostensibly, the Secretary‑General is looking into until his last day whether they should be restored to the Children and Armed Conflicts list. Now that they’ve admitted using cluster bombs, which I believe the Secretary‑General has discouraged, what is the implications and what’s the status of him putting them back on the list before he leaves?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the review is ongoing, and I believe it may well continue into the next Secretary‑Generalship, but that review is still taking place. We made clear our concerns, and obviously, any further signs of activities, such as the use of cluster bombs, are further concerns. And in addition, of course, to the review of the annex of this present year’s report, these are… you know, facts are also going to be collected for next year’s report on Children and Armed Conflict, which follows the same format. Linda, you had a question before you leave? You had your hand up. It’s okay. You can leave. I just saw you raise your hand and then leave. And then I wanted… You’re not attached to your question, I take it.
Correspondent: No, no, right. But I’ll mention it anyway.
Deputy Spokesman: All right.
Question: I was wondering… you mentioned that 8 February is the de Mistura meeting with the groups. I was wondering… I mean, that’s basically a month and a half from now, and I was wondering if there was… if you had any understanding of what the major delays are.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, there’s always the need to get the right arrangements. As Mr. de Mistura made clear over the summer, he doesn’t want to have talks just for the sake of having talks. You need to have the groundwork prepared, and that’s what he will try to do in the coming weeks. Yes?
Question: Sure. I wanted to… yesterday, I’d asked Stéphane about this new group in the Central African Republic known as 3R. A number of human rights groups have issued reports on it. And he’d said, well, I haven’t heard about that group. And so I want to, I guess, ask again, is it something that DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] and MINUSCA [United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic], given that there’s widespread reporting the group killed 50 people in one week in November, are… is the UN aware of the group, and what is the UN doing about the group?
Deputy Spokesman: We’re aware, but obviously, it would be up to the mission, MINUSCA, to follow up and just get the facts on what this group is doing and what the casualties would be. Oh, hold on. And we have our… all right. And we have our guest. See you.