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.
**Secretary-General’s Travel
The Secretary-General will leave New York later today to travel to Addis Ababa, where, as he told you at his press conference, he will attend the African Union Summit this coming weekend. The Secretary-General said that he looks forward to discussing the continent’s efforts to “silence the guns”, as well as the shared work of the United Nations and the African Union to address the full range of global challenges. He will also meet many of the African leaders gathered for the summit. The Secretary-General will be back at UN Headquarters next Tuesday.
**Security Council
The Security Council this morning received a briefing from the Chairperson‑in-Office for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Prime Minister Edy Rama of Albania, on the partnership between the UN and the OSCE. At 3 p.m., the Security Council will discuss the situation in Syria, and Council members will hear from the UN Special Envoy, Geir Pedersen, and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock.
**Libya
The United Nations remains concerned about the continued impact of fighting in Libya on civilians. Rocket attacks and heavy artillery shelling continued yesterday in the Abusliem and Salaheddine districts of Tripoli. At least one civilian was killed and five others injured. Local schools in Abusliem district are due to re-open next week. The United Nations reminds all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools. Ongoing fighting in and around Sirte, following shifts in territorial control in the Sirte region in early January, is driving more people from their homes, especially in the front‑line area of Abu Qurain. Over 2,000 people have fled the area, according to the Libyan local crisis committees. Humanitarian partners are supporting the national response by providing assistance, including food baskets, hygiene kits, blankets, mattresses and other non-food items to the displaced, including in Misrata, Houn and Al Jufra.
**Central African Republic
Now turning to the Central African Republic: In a video message played in Bangui, during a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation, the Secretary-General congratulated the people of the country and their Government for achieving real progress. He noted the reduction in violent incidents over the past year, the beginning of the process of Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration and the redeployment of security forces. But, despite these positive developments, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the ongoing violence and said he is concerned by delays in the implementation of the peace agreement. He called on all signatories to respect their commitments and reiterated that the people of the Central African Republic must be at the heart of the peace process. In a joint statement, the African Union, Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the UN reiterated their full support to the peace agreement’s full implementation, which they said is the only viable path to build a lasting peace in the country.
**Food Prices
World food prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in January. That’s according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Food Price Index, which averaged 182.5 points — that’s 0.7 per cent higher than December 2019 and 11.3 per cent higher than the same month a year earlier. Vegetable oils, sugar, and wheat were the chief drivers of this increase in price. FAO also issued a new forecast for world cereal production in 2019, anticipating a record high of 2.715 billion metric tons, a 2.3 per cent increase from the previous year.
**Female Genital Mutilation
Over 200 million girls and women alive today have suffered from female genital mutilation, the Secretary-General said in his message to mark the international Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. This year, he added, more than 4 million girls are at risk. As the UN embarks on a decade of action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, the Secretary-General called for this decade to also mark the end of female genital mutilation. The heads of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN‑Women, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) also issued their own appeal for strong political leadership and commitment to end the practice, adding that today’s young people can play a critical role. WHO also launched a new interactive modelling tool, showing that the total costs of treating the health impacts of female genital mutilation would amount to $1.4 billion globally per year, if all resulting medical needs were addressed. More information is available online.
**Financial Contributions
And today, we are happy to announce full payments to the regular budget from both Maldives and Tuvalu. We thank them for that. Forty-one Member States have now paid in full for 2020. And that is it for me. Are there any questions? Yes?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Farhan. As the Secretary‑General is about to fly… bound to Addis Ababa for the African Union Summit, few days ago, there was a very alarming news release from the UN agencies warning about the dire situation in the Sahel area. And there are already indications, in some parts, of hunger, diseases, et cetera, in addition to the security and terrorism, which is the root cause. Is this area on the Secretary‑General agenda during his meetings in Addis Ababa? And what kind of initiative? Is there a call for donors to submit extra donations? What… is there a road plan for this part of the world?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes. This is one of our concerns, and this is something that we are trying to do different activities on the ground to deal with. In particular, the Food and Agriculture Organization has been bringing in money to try to provide assistance to the farmers of the region because of the problem of locust infestation. So, the locust infestation has done a huge amount of impact on the area's crops, and we're trying to make sure that this crisis of locusts can be dealt with so that normal farm activities can resume and the people can be fed. We've been giving you the numbers in recent days of the sort of funds we've freed up in order to deal with this. Yes?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Does the Secretary‑General have any comment on the soaring tensions and violent incidents since the United States announced its [Middle East] peace plan, including several actions today?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we've continued to be concerned about the levels of violence in Israel and throughout the Palestinian communities. Obviously, as you've seen from our reporting on the ground and the work of the UN Special Coordinator, we try to stay in touch with the various parties to make sure that violence is kept to a minimum. But, as you know from our monthly briefings to the Security Council by the Secretary‑General, by Nickolay Mladenov and others, there continues to be concern about the continuing incidents. And we are hoping that the leaders on all sides will do what they can to make sure that all the various populations act with restraint. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you. Is the Secretary‑General going to meet with President [Mahmoud] Abbas next week or any of the officials from the UN?
Deputy Spokesman: We'll see what happens next week. I don't have any meetings to announce this far in advance. The Secretary‑General will be back here by Tuesday. And I believe, on Tuesday, the Security Council is expecting some form of a meeting, but we'll have to see what they agree on. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. I've asked you this before in this regard. When a country doesn't pay its dues and then it can no longer vote in the General Assembly and it is so decided, is it only in the General Assembly that it can… it is…?
Deputy Spokesman: This is a decision, yeah, that affects its voting rights in the General Assembly. Other bodies, the Economic and Social Council, the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, have their own guidelines. But, the loss of vote under article 19 of the UN Charter has to do with the General Assembly vote. And as you know, the General Assembly can also take decisions where it believes, because of unavoidable circumstances, countries are simply not able to pay and, so, they retain their vote. Right now, at this stage, I believe there's only two countries who are unable to vote as of today, and that number can change depending upon when more dues payments come in.
Question: Which two?
Deputy Spokesman: I believe it's the Central African Republic and Venezuela. Yes, please?
Correspondent: Thank you, Farhan. I ask you about update in Yemen in [inaudible] known as… update in Yemen.
Deputy Spokesman: What about Yemen?
Question: How is… update in Yemen. You have news?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we have some news. As you know, we assist more than 12 million people a month in Yemen. And for months, we've been clear that constraints in Yemen — and particularly in northern Yemen — have been making our work more difficult. Most of these constraints have been introduced by authorities in Sana'a or their associates. They affect a range of critical activities, including assessments, aid delivery and monitoring. We remain committed to delivering principled assistance across the country, and UN agencies employ a wide range of monitoring tools to ensure aid reaches the people who need it most, and we're continuing a dialogue with the authorities in Sana'a to ensure this and are working with them to address concerns. Have a good afternoon, everyone.