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.
**Guest
After this briefing, we will have an update by telephone from Sajjad Malik, the Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria. He will talk to you about Aleppo. And like I said, we will have that ready to go once we are done with the first part of the briefing.
**Haiti
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti, Sandra Honoré, and the other members of the “Core Group” today congratulated President-elect Jovenel Moïse on his election. As you know, the Core Group includes the Ambassadors of Brazil, Canada, France, Spain, the United States, the European Union and the Organization of American States. They welcomed the leadership of the Provisional Electoral Council in the process and encourage all actors to respect the final results. There is a press release available online.
**Central African Republic
From the Central African Republic, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MINUSCA, today condemned the attack against one of its convoys that took place yesterday around the town of Obo. Two Moroccan peacekeepers were killed and two others were wounded. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, stressed that nothing could justify an attack against peacekeepers and that everything would be done to track down the perpetrators so they can be brought to justice. The UN Mission also recalls that an attack against peacekeepers can be considered a war crime. Our condolences go to the people and Government of Morocco.
**Libya
And following developments in central Libya, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Martin Kobler, has warned against the risk of escalation leading to renewed conflict. He urged all parties to act with restraint and to resolve issues through peaceful dialogue. Mr. Kobler stressed the urgent need for renewed efforts to find solutions to political issues that will allow for the full implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement.
**Burundi
And we were asked yesterday about Burundi, and we are very disappointed to hear that the Burundian Government has banned the country’s oldest human rights organization, Ligue Iteka. The organization carries out crucial work in monitoring and documenting human rights abuses committed in Burundi, which is all the more important given the precarious human rights situation in the country. We call on the Government to reverse its decision and reconsider restrictions on the other human rights and civil society organizations that have been sanctioned in the past three months.
**Iraq
The number of displaced people in the context of the Mosul military operations in Iraq that began on 17 October 2016 is now nearly 132,000, of whom at least 114,000 are sheltered in camps and emergency sites. Since 17 October 2016, humanitarian partners have reached 513,000 people both in and out of camps with water, sanitation and hygiene services; nearly 386,000 internally displaced (IDPs) and other vulnerable people in need have received food aid; 333,000 IDPs have received household items, including winterization kits; and more than 277,000 medical consultations have been carried out by health partners.
Meanwhile, people inside Mosul are facing a dire humanitarian situation. Across the city, food stocks are dwindling while the price of staple foodstuff is rising rapidly and water boreholes in the east of Mosul are drying up or turning brackish from over-use. Response inside Mosul is hampered by a highly volatile security situation.
**United States
We received some questions this morning about whether the Secretary-General spoke with the US President-elect by phone. I can confirm that the Secretary-General spoke to President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday morning. This was an introductory phone call during which they had a very positive discussion on US-UN relations. The Secretary-General said that he looks forward to engaging with the President after his inauguration.
**United Nations Management
Yesterday, the Secretary-General shared with staff a number of management decisions taken on his first day in office. These decisions, which fall under his authority, aim at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of the Organization. As Steph [Dujarric] already mentioned to you yesterday, the Secretary-General is resetting the work of his Executive Office to build upon the work of the departments, agencies, funds and programmes, without duplicating their functions.
An Executive Committee, consisting of senior officials in the Secretariat, is being set up to assist the Secretary-General in taking decisions on issues of strategic consequence requiring top-level action across all the pillars of the UN’s work. This group will meet weekly, if not more often, under his chairmanship. The Secretary-General is also putting in place a number of new internal processes in order to improve integrated information flow and coordination of situational awareness to improve the effectiveness of the UN’s response to crises.
This includes a more prominent role for the UN Operations Crisis Centre and the physical co-location at headquarters of the regional divisions of the Departments of Political Affairs, Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support. Further development of certain aspects will need to be put before the legislative bodies for decision by Member States but these steps are the first in adapting the work of the Organization to a challenging world and the high expectations placed upon it. And that’s it for me. Like I said, after I’m done here, we will have by phone Sajjad Malik. Anything before that? Yes, Erol.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Happy New Year to you. First of all, who did call who? Secretary‑General called the President‑elect Trump or President‑elect Trump called him?
Deputy Spokesman: The Secretary‑General called the President‑elect.
Question: Okay. And, number two, Secretary‑General yesterday said that he is very much against, as we understood, as he put it, but his wording, “straitjacket of bureaucracy”. What does it mean how he intends to fight that beside what you just mentioned? And we understand from his [inaudible]?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, like I said, I did just mention the new structures that are being put in place. That is designed to make the work of the Organization more efficient, have the different departments work together more effectively, and avoid duplication of work — to have basically the Executive Office provide support to the work of the line departments without duplicating their functions. So, these are a number of steps that can already be taken under his authority. Like I pointed out, there are other steps he’s considering that will need to go to the Member States for their consideration, and we’ll unveil them in due course. But, the idea is to make sure that, where there are common points of work across departments, we can get them to work better together, while at the same time avoiding too much duplication in the work that each of them does. Yes, Evelyn?
Question: Doesn’t that mean cutting some jobs? And every time that happens, there’s an outcry from whatever group or region is going to get the jobs cut.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’ll see. At this stage, none of the steps that I’ve outlined just over the past few minutes involve depleting our staff in any particular way. If there’s any need to get rid of this or that function, we’ll let you know, but that’s not what’s on the table right now. What’s here right now is essentially a reorganization for greater efficiency. Mr Abbadi?
Question: Could I follow up, please?
Deputy Spokesman: First Mr. Abbadi and then you. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Is this Executive Committee you talked about… its function is executive direction of the UN or coordination? And what is the composition of the Executive Committee?
Deputy Spokesman: The Executive Committee’s members will include the Deputy Secretary‑General, the Chef de Cabinet, the Under‑Secretaries‑General for DPA [Department of Political Affairs], DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations], DFS [Department of Field Support], and DM [Department of Management], the Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Under‑Secretary‑General for DESA [Department of Economic and Social Affairs], as well, the chair of the UN Development Group, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Executive Director of UN-Women and the head of the Peacebuilding Support Office. Others may be asked to participate on an ad hoc basis. And, like I said, the purpose of this committee is to assist the Secretary‑General in taking decisions on issues of strategic consequence. So, it will have decision‑making responsibilities. Matthew and then you.
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask… actually, just on this… his management changes, I’m sure you’ve seen this morning that the staff union… or it was announced on behalf of two UN system staff unions that they’re actually going to finally now conduct an election to get the UN… the staff union headquarters put back together. Did… did the new Secretary‑General or his team play any role in that? And what do you make the timing of it coming right after the Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon left?
Deputy Spokesman: I wouldn’t make anything of this, in terms of the timing of… regarding the Secretaries‑General and their transition. This is a decision made by staff. Of course, we are pleased with any decision that would allow for staff to have a good functioning representation here.
Question: And on the call between the Secretary‑General and… and Trump, Sean Spicer gave a readout, and apparently, the… the idea is… are you saying that budget cuts did not come up, the idea of looking for waste and cutting the UN didn’t come up on this call? I’m just trying to ask for a little more specificity in your readout.
Deputy Spokesman: No, I… the point I made is that this is an introductory call. It went quite well. It discussed a number of avenues for participation and cooperation between the United States and the United Nations. I wouldn’t provide any more on specifics about that. I think they’ll get into more specific discussions the next time they get to see each other. But, like I said, part of that is that we’re waiting for him to actually be inaugurated. Yes. Yes, please?
Question: Two questions. I was wondering if you have anything on the Secretary‑General’s meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister, who will be visiting him tomorrow, as far as I know. And my second question is on Syria. There was a resolution adopted at the General Assembly last month, a UN panel, which would be… which will be gathering more crime evidence in Syria. Do you know when it will be established? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes. We are aware of the decision taken by the Member States at the end of December, and we will follow up on that. I don’t have any announcement to make about the composition of any such body at present. Right now, the idea is for the relevant information to be preserved down the line for a potential future use. So, that’s what’s happening at this stage. There’s no particular announcement to make on that. Regarding the meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister, yes, I believe that’s going to happen tomorrow. If we have any more details tomorrow, we’ll let you know at that point. Yes, Erol, and then you.
Correspondent: Just to follow up on previous discussion on the management and the… the new priorities of the Secretary‑General… actually, the question is whether it is right or fair to say that this fight against the internal bureaucracy is one or if not the utmost priority for the new Secretary‑General and whether this topic came within the phone call and speech with the… the talk with the… President-elect Trump.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I don’t have any more details to provide to you at this stage about the call beyond what I’ve said. So, I think I will leave it at that. And regarding efforts at reform, as you’re aware, that’s an ongoing process. We’ve announced some steps today, and if we have further steps down the line, we’ll announce it then.
Question: But, is it a priority for the new Secretary‑General?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, he’s made that clear. I’d just refer you back to the remarks he made yesterday when he entered the United Nations Headquarters. Yes?
Correspondent: Yeah, I’m just wondering if, during the call with the President‑elect Trump, the Secretary‑General brought up the Paris Agreement.
Deputy Spokesman: I’m… I don’t believe that that was specifically mentioned, but in any case, like I said, this was a more general discussion at this stage. Yes?
Question: Sure. I may have missed it… I’m sorry. I came in a little bit late, but these reports of UN guards being injured in Mogadishu, do you have anything on that and whether they are actually UN employees or they’re contractors?
Deputy Spokesman: No, we were told that that story is incorrect.
Question: Okay. And did you speak on the peacekeepers… the Moroccan peacekeepers killed in CAR [Central African Republic]?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, I did.
Question: Just one more question on the Secretary‑General’s Executive Committee. That’s about a dozen people. How often would it meet to take important decisions? Where would it meet, since some of them are not in New York?
Deputy Spokesman: What I said at the start is that this group will meet weekly and sometimes more often under the chairmanship of the Secretary‑General, and as you know, thanks to the wonders of video teleconferencing, it meets in several locations simultaneously. Yes?
Question: Do you have an update on the observers’ work in Syria, the ceasefire observers? Are they entering Aleppo? Also in Damascus, is there improvement regarding the water supply?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding the work of observers, I don’t have anything new to say past what we’ve been saying in recent days. Regarding the situation in Aleppo, more generally, our guest will provide some details about the humanitarian situation there after I’m done.
Question: And how about Damascus water supply?
Deputy Spokesman: You heard what Stéphane had to say yesterday, and we have our… our continuing concerns about that. But, just to recap a little bit about this, we are concerned that at least 5.5 million people in Damascus City continue to be deprived of water, due to fighting in the Wadi Barada area, which is where much of the city’s water supply originates.
Question: How about the… who did that? Because yesterday, I’ll tell you, one of the leaders of [Al-]Nusra claimed responsibility for cutting off the water. He tweeted that on his account.
Deputy Spokesman: There’ve been reports of damage to the water supply from both sides. On the one hand, there have been reports suggesting damage caused by barrel bombs and others having to do with problems caused by the opposition side in terms of contamination of the water supply. So we’ve heard… we’ve seen reports of each.
Question: But, they are bragging that we have managed to cut the supplies on Damascus.
Deputy Spokesman: We are opposed to efforts by any of the sides to damage the water supply. Remember, we’re talking about the ability of 5.5 million people to survive. It’s unforgivable for either side to target the water supplies. Yes, Richard?
Question: Where does the new Secretary‑General think that there’s common ground with the President‑elect on cutting waste and bureaucracy? I know it’s day two, and it’s still a few days before the President‑elect. But, wasn’t Ban Ki‑moon make… one of his priorities was reform? What went wrong? Was it the countries? What didn’t get done that the new SG thinks can get done?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, as the Secretary‑General made clear yesterday with his own actions, there are some actions that a Secretary‑General can take under his own auspices. Of course, there will always be steps that have to be negotiated with Member States. Member States are the people who fund this organization. They are the ones who control the funds, and that is their right. And so, consequently, we have to make sure that the Member States themselves can agree. So, that is always part of a lengthy process. We will work with all the Member States in good faith trying to make sure that, whatever we do, we’re doing to enhance the efficiency of the Organization. We’re not just going to embark on reform simply to cut the budget, but in order to make this an organization that can deal with all of today’s challenges at our most effective… in the most effective manner possible. Yes?
Question: Yeah. In Saudi Arabia, there were reports and even videos showing that the labourers or the workers in the… who were claiming their salaries were flogged because they have… they went on strike or tried to demonstrate. So, what is the position of the United Nations regarding that?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the United Nations stands behind the rights of all workers to demonstrate and to engage in collective action for their rights. I would refer you to the International Labour Organization (ILO) for anything more on that. And did you have your hand up? Okay. Yes.
Question: Sure. Thanks a lot. Yesterday, Stéphane announced this panel on sustainable development that… that the Secretary‑General had named just before he left. And as you may know, the ambassador of India, the Permanent Representative, has questioned that whether this is an equitable selection, saying that 10 of the 15 members are from the OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] developing countries and… and that it’s unfair. A number of other Member States have taken up that same critique. Why was it done at the last second in that way? And what is your response, if you can make one, to the criticism that Ban Ki‑moon chose rich countries to run the show on sustainable development?
Deputy Spokesman: This was a decision taken by the Secretary‑General in line with the mandates that we are given in terms of reporting on this particular topic. So, he was following up essentially on the request of Member States. Regarding the specific membership, the effort was made to reach out to people across a variety of regions. I wouldn’t have anything further to say about how the different members were chosen. Yes, Evelyn?
Question: Yes. I hope I didn’t miss it because I was late, but Kazakhstan meeting, is the UN… do you have any more news on whether the UN will be represented?
Deputy Spokesman: At this stage, I don’t have any details about our representation in Astana. We are checking with the Office of the Special Envoy to see what kind of representation, if any, we would have. But, at this stage, I don’t have anything to announce on that. Mr. Abbadi?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. It seems from what you said the Secretary‑General is determined to do something about conflict resolution, given the fact that you mentioned changes in management and even within DPA, the crisis management centre. Does he have a blueprint for these changes within DPA, in addition to reshuffling the staff of the centre for crisis management?
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding that, as you know, António Guterres, before becoming Secretary‑General, has also had long experience with the UN system. For 10 years, he had been the High Commissioner for Refugees, so he knows how the various components of the system act and interact with each other. And he’s simply trying to use some of that experience to find ways to have those interactions be as efficient as they possibly can be. Yes?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you, there was a story in The Korea Times today saying that former Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon held a… I guess an impromptu but… but… or, obviously, organized press gaggle on the steps of the UN residence on Sutton Place. And the reporters say that he appeared with Jeffrey Sachs, and he talked about… and Sachs… this is the quote: “Sachs told reporters Ban has made great contributions, and he’s willing to provide Ban with advice in the presidential election.” So, I wanted to know, is Jeffrey Sachs still a UN official? And if so, is it appropriate to be offering to provide advice during a presidential run? And, two, how is this… I guess as reporters who have covered Ban Ki‑moon for some time, how is the announcement of this use of the UN residence as a campaign prop made, that people didn’t know about it?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, first of all, the former Secretary‑General, Ban Ki‑moon, has moved out of the residence. He had a couple more days in, just given the realities of moving. You can’t actually move on New Year’s Day itself because there’s no one who moves you on New Year’s Day, as I’m sure you’re aware. He has now moved out of that. And his appearances and his interviews are things for which I cannot speak any longer, since he’s no longer the Secretary‑General of the United Nations.
Question: What about Jeffrey Sachs? Does he still work for the UN? And is it appropriate for a UN official to… to say “I am helping this presidential campaign”?
Deputy Spokesman: I’ll leave it to Mr. Sachs to explain his own actions. Yes, Erol?
Question: Just to follow up, where does Mr. Ban lives now, in the hotel or somewhere else?
Deputy Spokesman: He lives outside of the UN residence. It’s not the responsibility of the United Nations, at any rate. Yes?
Question: Just double checking, is everyone going to be in the same posts until the end of March or…?
Deputy Spokesman: If there’s any need to change posts or to appoint people to those posts, we’ll let you know at that point. At this stage, people are in their posts until otherwise announced. And with that, let us get to our guest.