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.
All right. Good afternoon, everyone.
**Security Council
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Haysom, briefed the Security Council this morning.
He said that the country has laid the foundations to make significant progress in 2019. The plans are in place and the milestones are clear. The management of the upcoming regional elections in 2019 and the remaining political processes, particularly the review of the Constitution, will determine whether Somalia can make further progress or not, he added.
Mr. Haysom highlighted areas of progress but said that despite these positive developments, the stalemate between the Federal Government of Somalia and Federal Member States’ leaders continued to impede concrete progress in defining the federal model, building institutions of State, and in the implementation of the National Security Architecture.
Mr. Haysom also said that the landscape was complicated by electoral processes that are currently under way in several Federal Member States. Politics is complex in any nation, he said, but in one that is still establishing its norms, institutional parameters, and still debating the roles and responsibilities of its respective governance structures, there is a risk that complexity shifts to conflict.
The Special Representative also noted that Al-Shabaab remains the biggest source of insecurity in Somalia. His full statement is available in our office.
**Yemen
Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, will visit Yemen and Saudi Arabia, starting this Saturday, in his latest round of consultations with the parties.
In Sana’a, he expects to meet with the Ansarallah leadership, as well as with General Patrick Cammaert and with Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande.
And in Riyadh, he expects to meet with President [Abdrabbuh Mansur] Hadi and other officials.
Meanwhile, in Hodeidah, General Cammaert and the parties convened the second joint meeting of the Redeployment Coordination Committee. The cessation of hostilities in Hodeidah continues to hold.
**Indonesia
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that, as of today, more than 400 people have died following the tsunami that struck the Sunda Strait region of Indonesia.
The tsunami was generated by volcanic activity at the Anak Krakatau volcano.
Nearly 3,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 33,000 people have been uprooted by the tsunami and volcanic activity.
Thousands of people from the Indonesian Government, Red Cross, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and others are working to respond and are also distributing emergency supplies, such as food, water, sanitation, and blankets.
The UN and our humanitarian partners are in close contact with national authorities to provide support that may be required.
**Honour Roll
And today, we thank the Dominican Republic for paying its 2019 regular budget dues in full. Muchas gracias to the third member of this year’s Honour Roll.
**Questions and Answers
That’s it for me. Yes, Maggie?
Question: Hey, Farhan. Happy New Year. Further on Mr. Haysom, yesterday, you said you couldn’t confirm that he’d been declared PNG [persona non grata] and expelled. Today, he did not reference it during his remarks. So, can you bring us up to date on what’s going on, if there’s anything behind the scenes? Has the Secretary‑General reached out to the authorities in Mogadishu about getting him back in?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, as I mentioned yesterday, we were still trying to get some information and further clarification about this matter, and that’s where we stand today. There’s no new details to add on that.
Question: Well, can I just continue with you a minute?
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah.
Question: The Foreign Minister of Mogadishu was on BBC yesterday, and he seemed pretty adamant that Mr. Haysom is not going back. So, have you… have they, like, sent you a letter, or have they made some official démarche or anything to tell you that?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, there’s nothing formal or official that I have to announce to you. So, I don’t… so, at this stage, we continue to seek further clarification.
Question: So, is Mr. Haysom just going to hang out in New York for a bit and then try and go back? Or…
Deputy Spokesman: I don’t want to speculate on the future. Obviously, as you’re aware, he is the Special Representative. He was briefing in that capacity to the Security Council just in the past couple of hours. And we imagine he will continue to go about his work. Yes?
Question: Farhan, the… the ambassador mentioned this morning that he hopes that the UN does not — what is his exact thing? — “the UN and its representatives have the duty and even the obligation to respect their mandate and not interfere with our internal affairs and let the Somalis control their own destiny.” That would appear to be implied criticism and would appear to relate to the event that led to Nicholas Haysom reportedly being expelled.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the… I believe his words speak for themselves, and I will let you do the interpretation as you need. Yes, Betul?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Two questions. First, has the UN followed the trial for the murder of the Saudi journalist in Riyadh, which began today? And, yesterday, on Myanmar, you mentioned the displacement of some 2,500 Rohingyas. Do you have more details on that? And is there any progress for the return of the refugees in Bangladesh back to Myanmar?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, on the first question concerning the death of Jamal Khashoggi, as you know, we continue to call for a thorough, clear and transparent inquiry. And we are monitoring the latest developments regarding that. But, of course, our call remains unchanged.
Regarding the question of the Rohingya refugees, at present, as the bodies on the ground, specifically the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), have made clear, the conditions continue not to be conducive for the return in full scale of the refugees. And we are continuing to work with the authorities on the ground to see what can be done to enable that to be carried out. And I don’t have any additional details to what I’d mentioned yesterday. Yes, Linda?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Regarding Yemen, I know you’ve discussed the humanitarian situation, but I was wondering if there are any… you know, what the latest developments are there in terms of UN distribution of aid and if the UN is planning any further interaction or involvement to get things moving.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, you’re aware of the Stockholm Agreement and our efforts to follow up with the parties on that. Part of what we’re hopeful for is that there will be an improved climate for the distribution of aid. A number of parties from the UN side, such as the World Food Programme (WFP), are actually planning to step up their distribution of aid. And the World Food Programme has made clear that they’re now scaling up to provide food assistance to 12 million people in the country, if possible. But, of course, for that, we continue to call on all parties to provide the access that we need. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Again, on Yemen, you were asked yesterday about the recruitment of young fighters from Darfur to help the Coalition. Was there any follow‑up from the SG or… or Mr. Griffiths?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, obviously we would call on all countries to avoid any actions that would escalate the situation on the ground in Yemen, and this is part and parcel of that. We want to make sure that the activities of all fighters, whether Yemeni themselves or from outside countries, halt all activities.
Question: But was there anything specific on the… the Darfur situation?
Deputy Spokesman: No. There’s nothing specific to Darfur. What I can say is that, obviously, we want all Member States to uphold the need to avoid any further escalation of the situation on the ground there. Yes, James?
Question: Thanks, Farhan, and happy New Year. Another couple of questions on Yemen. Thanks so much for the information you’ve given us so far. The Security Council resolution that was passed at the end of last year, it kickstarted a few dates, the first of which was the 21-day deadline on the Hodeidah withdrawal, which I think comes up on the 8th, which is next Tuesday. What are we expecting from you guys on that day? Are you going to be… are you going to provide us with a statement as to whether or not the withdrawal from the… of the two forces from Hodeidah has been completed?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, at the very least, it’s clear that we will report back to the Security Council on the implementation of that resolution. And, so, we’ll continue to keep the Council members apprised of the progress of the various timelines. From our standpoint, what we’re trying to do is achieve the withdrawals that are needed as soon as possible but bearing in mind the practical reasons on the ground in terms of how you carry out these tasks. So, General Cammaert is there. He’s been working with the parties, and they’ve been working with each other in a fairly cordial atmosphere. But we’ll see how quickly we can bring about… get the parties to carry out the withdrawals. Yeah, Zach?
Question: Happy New Year, Farhan.
Deputy Spokesman: Happy New Year.
Question: Question about Cameroon. Paul Biya gave a message… President Paul Biya gave a message to the nation in which he says, and I quote, “If my appeal to warmongers to lay down their weapons remains unheeded, the defence and security forces will be instructed to neutralize them”. I wonder if the Secretary‑General has any… is aware of that statement. It seems kind of alarming that he would sort of threaten to neutralize these folks, who are, obviously, involved in civil unrest for the past two years or so. And I’m wondering if there’s any kind of comment and any kind of update on the situation in Cameroon that you have from the UN.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I’ll see what we can get by means of a further update, but, certainly, we want to make sure that all actions taken by the various forces on the ground in Cameroon, including by the security forces, are carried out in such a way that respects the basic rights of all people and avoids any civilian harm. But, in terms of the activities of the Special Envoy, François Louncény Fall, we’ll see whether there anything further we can say about him. Yes. Yeah, Maggie?
Question: Farhan, does Mr. Haysom have the full support and confidence of the Secretary‑General?
Deputy Spokesman: Of course he does.
Question: And does the Secretary‑General have an opinion on whether what Mr. Haysom said or his approach to the authorities about Mr. [Mukhtar] Robow’s arrest, does the Secretary‑General have an opinion as to whether that constitutes internal interference?
Deputy Spokesman: I don’t actually have any comment on that. We’re trying to get some clarifications about what this issue is about, but I don’t have anything to say on that for now. And, with that, have a good afternoon, everyone.