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.
**Children and Armed Conflict
Good afternoon everyone, let’s get started. I have one statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the 2018 Children and Armed Conflict Report.
The Secretary-General is disheartened at the increasing level of grave violations committed against children, as documented in the 2018 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict. Last year, the United Nations verified more than 24,000 grave violations committed against children, while thousands of others were pending verification due to resources and access constraints. In the reporting period, girls and boys have again borne the brunt of new and protracted crisis and endured such violations as killing and maiming, recruitment and use by armed forces and armed groups, abduction, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian access.
The Secretary-General is particularly appalled at the number of children killed or maimed in the 20 country situations on the children and armed conflict agenda last year, which has reached more than 12,000 boys and girls, an unprecedented level.
The Secretary-General urges all parties to conflict to strengthen their engagement with the United Nations and reminds them of their responsibility to protect children. Parties must ensure compliance with their obligations under international law, including the special respect and protection accorded to children affected by armed conflict by international humanitarian law. In the conduct of hostilities, parties to conflict must refrain from directing attacks against civilians, including children, and civilian objects. He reiterates that peace remains the best protection for children affected by armed conflict and calls on all parties and those who can influence them to work towards political agreements and solutions to resolve existing conflicts.
The Secretary-General commends the engagement of his Special Representative, her office and each country team with parties to conflict to end and prevent grave violations, resulting in tangible measures benefitting children in several contexts.
**Nigeria
You will have seen that, yesterday evening, we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General strongly condemned the recent spate of attacks against civilians in Nigeria, including the attack on 27 July in Borno State.
The Secretary-General expressed his deep condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Nigeria. He wishes a speedy recovery to the injured and hopes those responsible for these attacks will be swiftly brought to justice.
The Secretary-General called for an end to these attacks and reaffirms that such acts of violence are grave threats to the security of human beings and constitute violations of international humanitarian law.
The Secretary-General reiterated the solidarity of the United Nations with the Government and people of Nigeria in their efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism.
**Syria
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock told the Security Council this morning that, for more than 90 days now, bombing and shelling by the Government of Syria and the Russian Federation has produced carnage in the so-called de-escalation zone of Idlib. He noted that on the 26th of July, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights identified at least 450 civilians who have been killed since late April - including more than a hundred in the last two weeks alone.
Mr. Lowcock said that, in spite of our efforts to work with parties to the conflict to prevent attacks on civilian objects and humanitarian workers, he has come to the conclusion that in the current environment, deconfliction is not proving effective in helping to protect those who utilize the system.
He added that some recent reports have claimed that UN humanitarian assistance reaches only those in areas not controlled by the Government and he asserted, “That is untrue. In fact, most of those reached with UN assistance are in areas under the control of the Government of Syria.”
Mr. Lowcock will speak to reporters at the Security Council stakeout shortly.
**Afghanistan
Today, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the reduction in civilian casualties in the 1 January-30 June 2019 period, but continues to regard the level of harm done to civilians as shocking and unacceptable.
The conflict in Afghanistan continues to have a devastating impact on civilians, with the latest UN update released today documenting 3,812 civilian casualties in the first half of 2019.
UNAMA acknowledges that parties have announced efforts to reduce civilian casualties, but they are insufficient.
While the number of civilians killed and injured is 27 per cent down from the same period in 2018, there was a 27 per cent increase in civilian deaths in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the first.
UNAMA attributed 52 per cent of all civilian casualties to anti-Government elements. with 38 per cent attributed to the Taliban, 11 per cent to Da’esh/Islamic State Khorasan Province and 3 per cent to unidentified groups. You can find more information online.
**Human Trafficking
Today, we are commemorating the World Day against Trafficking in Persons.
Marking this day, the Secretary-General said in a message that human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects every region of the world. He noted that some 72 per cent of detected victims are women and girls, and that the percentage of child victims has more than doubled from 2004 to 2016, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Most detected victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, but victims are also trafficked for forced labour, recruitment as child soldiers and other forms of exploitation and abuse.
The Secretary-General also stressed that armed conflict, displacement, climate change, natural disasters and poverty exacerbate the vulnerabilities and desperation that enable trafficking to flourish.
The latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found, among other things, that armed groups are using human trafficking as a strategy to finance activities or increase their workforce in conflicts around the world.
**Friendship
And today is also the International Day of Friendship. To mark the Day, UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Korean pop star group BTS released a video that calls on young people to brighten someone’s day with kindness. You can watch the video on UNICEF’s website.
And that’s it for today. Are there any questions? Yes, James?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Yes. Mr. Lowcock says deconfliction is not working. Is it then not time, as was suggested by Physicians for Human Rights in the Security Council, for the Secretary‑General to set up an inquiry into why deconfliction is not working and into who is carrying out the bombing on hospitals?
Deputy Spokesman: Mr. Lowcock made clear that the step he is going to undertake now is to talk to the humanitarian groups who have been dealing with this system and check with them what kind of a step forward they want to take, whether they want to continue to be part of a deconfliction system or not. And, of course, like I said, he also intends to speak to you at the stakeout, so that should be happening fairly soon. Yes, Ibtisam?
Question: Farhan, I want to go back to the report on children and armed conflict and Mrs. [Virginia] Gamba said it was a decision of the Secretary‑General not to list Israel as part of… on the list of the appendix. Can you explain to us why he decided this?
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah. It’s… I’ll read you a bit from the report itself that makes clear that he wants some further work to be done. He said that he is extremely concerned by the significant rise in the maiming of and injuries caused to children across Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory, including by tear gas inhalation requiring medical treatment. Then he went on to say: “I request my Special Representative to further examine the cases of maiming and injuries caused by Israeli forces and urge Israel to immediately put in place preventative and protective measures to end the excessive use of force.” And he reiterated his call upon Israel to uphold international juvenile justice standards, as well as to cease the use of administrative detention for children and end all forms of ill-treatment in detention and to cease any attempted recruitment of detained children as informants. And so, I believe as Ms. Gamba explained to you, she will be engaging both with the Government of Israel and with the Palestinian authorities about steps forward designed to reduce the violations committed against children in both of those zones. Yes, Benny?
Question: Totally unrelated, what the hell is going on with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency)? There is an internal report that accuses top UNRWA officials of sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination, and other abuses of authority for personal gain to support… to suppress legitimate dissent and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives, including allegations against [Pierre] Krähenbühl that says that he promoted somebody with a romantic affiliation to a higher position, on a fast track, and put their own, you know, commercial flights with him in business class and so on. And allegedly the report has reached the Secretary‑General. Can you tell us what is he going to do about it? Is he just going to…?
Deputy Spokesman: An investigation of the allegations contained in the report that you’re mentioning is ongoing. Until this investigation is completed, the Secretary‑General is not in a position to make any further comments on this matter. As he has shown in the past, the Secretary‑General is committed to acting swiftly, as appropriate, upon receiving the full report. The Secretary‑General continues to consider the work undertaken by UNRWA as absolutely essential to Palestinian refugees.
Question: A follow-up? Since we’re talking about the head of the agency, I mean, is that… do you think that is enough of a response, you know, we are not going to comment at all? I mean, at least as far as Krähenbühl is concerned, is there anything that has to be said about that? Has there been a promotion of that person?
Deputy Spokesman: Again, like I said, an investigation is ongoing so that essentially prohibits me from further comment until this investigation. I’m not going to interfere with anyone’s due process rights.
Question: And who is investigating?
Deputy Spokesman: This is happening by our Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). Now, I’ll leave it for you to evaluate the sufficiency of the steps that are taken once we take them; but, like I said, I’ve assured you the Secretary‑General is ready to take action upon receiving this… the full report. Yes?
Question: Two questions. First, when you said the report says the Israeli children also affected by or mentioned in this report, the report mentions six Israeli children were injured, as sad as it may be. Around six children, the report mentioned that six were slightly injured. So, when you put them with… together with 59 Palestinian children killed, and 30 of them were executed by live ammunition in the upper part of the body, according to the report, I think it’s very… is that a fair assessment, to put both in one basket? That is one question. And the second is about three young men were executed in Bahrain, and there are demonstrations going on in Bahrain. Is there any statement for that? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding your question on Bahrain, you’re aware, of course, of our long-standing position and our consistent position across the board against the death penalty in all its applications, and that would be the case here.
Regarding your other question, it’s our duty to look into all violations and that is what the Special Representative, Ms. Gamba, has done. Yes, Carmen Maria?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Regarding Benny’s question, it has to do now that there are reports that Switzerland has withdrawn its support, financial support, to UNRWA, and how would the Secretary‑General view this in light of the need for UNRWA to get as much funding as possible?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes. As I just said, the Secretary‑General believes it’s essential that the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, get the support that it needs and so we will be looking to make sure that all of the countries that have been generous in donating to UNRWA will continue to be able to support that, and will look at engaging with them to see what can be done to satisfy them. Clearly, this is an agency – as we have been saying in the last few years, when, as you know, it faced a financial crisis - this is an agency whose work is critical to the lives, to the health, to the education of millions of people, millions of Palestinians across the region, and they have been a vital source of stability, not just for those people but for the region itself. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Over the weekend there were mass protests in Moscow demanding fair elections and they resulted in a massive police crackdown with, like, 1,300 people detained, more than 70 people wounded, and a number of leaders of oppositions detained and even one of them allegedly poisoned. So, I wonder if UN is aware of this situation and maybe if SG is concerned, or not?
Deputy Spokesman: We are aware and we are trying to get more complete information about what has been happening. As you know, as a general point of principle, everywhere around the world, we uphold the right for people to demonstrate peacefully and expect that to be upheld. Yes?
Question: A follow‑up on the UNRWA report. You said that there is an investigation now taking place with the oversight office. What was the initial report that we are speaking about? Was that based on investigations or speculations or complaints? What was exactly the criteria of the first report? And why there is two investigations? Although there is, I believe it was, the ethics office that submitted the first report?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes. There was an initial look, and now we are working with the Office of Internal Oversight Services to get the facts.
Question: Is that… is there anything wrong, faulty with the methodology that the ethics office is using in the reporting on these issues? Why there is two investigations, that is my question?
Deputy Spokesman: No, it’s not two. This is an investigation by our Office of Internal Oversight, which, as you know, is the standard body that does these investigations; that’s our standard procedure.
Question: And what about the Ethics Office?
Deputy Spokesman: That was an initial look into different allegations, I believe made by a whistle-blower. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. In India, it was announced yesterday that the tiger population has doubled due to efforts there. How does the SG see that, in line with Goal 15 of biodiversity and to protect extension of certain species? Do you have a comment on that? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, that is the basic point. We have a Sustainable Development Goal which encourages the preservation of biodiversity and of all species including, in particularly, those that are endangered. So, it’s always a good sign if endangered species are, in fact, being protected.
Question: Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: And with that, Monica.