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 Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon to you and all of you who are watching in the comfort of your homes or offices on the webcast. 

**Noon Briefing Guest

Very shortly, I will be joined by two people.  First, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Fink [Nicholas] Haysom, who also is the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).  He will be bringing along Georgette Gagnon, the Director of Human Rights for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. 

**Secretary-General’s Travels

The Secretary-General is in West Africa today.  Earlier this morning, he arrived in Liberia. 

He visited a facility in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, and held meetings with partners involved in the response against Ebola, with both local and international assistance. 

He also met with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  In a joint press conference following that meeting, he said there is reason to be cautiously optimistic that this terrible outbreak can be defeated, as the spread of the virus is slowing in Liberia.

However, he stressed it is not the time to ease our efforts, as just one case can trigger an epidemic.  He said that the approach against Ebola is adapting to the shifting evolution of the outbreak as it becomes more geographically dispersed.  He also said that, even as we focus on stopping transmission today, it is not too early to start working on recovery for tomorrow and appealed to all to work together to preserve Liberia’s hard-won peace.

We have the transcript of this press conference available as well as readouts of the Secretary-General’s meeting with President Johnson Sirleaf as well as the President of Ghana, whom he met upon arrival last night.

The Secretary-General is now in Sierra Leone, where he has been meeting with health workers and survivors.  And he is scheduled to meet with President Ernest Bai Koroma and hold a press conference with him later today.

And he is remaining overnight in Sierra Leone.  Tomorrow he will head to Guinea and Mali.  And as a reminder, the Secretary-General is being accompanied by the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Margaret Chan, as well as his Special Envoy for Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, and the Head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Anthony Banbury.

**South Sudan

From South Sudan, the Human Rights Division of the UN Mission in the country (UNMISS) issued a report today on the allegations that opposition forces killed at least 11 civilians and committed other serious human rights abuses during an attack on the Unity [State] capital of Bentiu last October.  UNMISS human rights officers also received testimony from multiple sources alleging that opposition forces abducted and raped female residents of Bentiu after Government troops withdrew from some parts of the city during the afternoon of 29 October 2014. 

According to the preliminary findings, “opposition forces committed gross human rights abuses and serious violations of international humanitarian law which may amount to war crimes.”

The head of the Mission, Ellen Margrethe Loej, said this report is a timely reminder of the fighting that has continued in Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei States in spite of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement that both warring parties signed nearly a year ago.  And a press release is available.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

From Geneva, our colleagues at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) say that they are greatly concerned by the ongoing killings and other human rights violations against civilians in the Beni area of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Multiple attacks over the last three months have caused widespread fear and displacement, and the Refugee Agency is asking for humanitarian access.

UNHCR says that, in all, about 88,000 people have been displaced and have received little assistance. 

The Agency is calling on the Government of Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect the civilian population in Beni and the surrounding areas to allow humanitarian organizations into the affected areas.

**Security Council

And back here in the Security Council, Jeffrey Feltman, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, addressed the Security Council’s open meeting on terrorism and cross-border crime this morning. 

He said that we were reminded yet again this week why we must not tire in our efforts to counter terrorism, following the despicable attack on a school in Pakistan by the Taliban.  And he added that the need for urgent action to address terrorism and its transnational linkages was regrettably well illustrated, for example by the intensification of Boko Haram activities across the Lake Chad Basin region of Central Africa.  In the Secretary-General's recent visits to Africa, he was constantly reminded that terrorism and cross-border crime cannot be addressed separately.

Mr. Feltman said that efforts to combat terrorism will not bear fruit unless we combine law enforcement actions with measures to strengthen good governance, rule of law and human rights.  He said that we will not uproot the ideologies that lead to violence if we do not win over hearts and minds.  His remarks are available in my office.

**Cuba

And from Geneva, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said that it very much welcomes the developments towards normalizing the relationship between Cuba and the United States, and in particular the fact that the remaining three members of the so-called “Cuban Five” as well as US citizen Alan Gross have all been released as part of the agreement.

He said that the progress towards normalizing relations between the two countries will hopefully have a beneficial knock-on effect in the human rights of all Cubans.

**Lebanon

Just one last note: the Major-General Luciano Portolano, the [Force] Commander of UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, met today with Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, as well as the Prime Minister, Tammam Salam, and the Minister of Interior, Nuhad Mashnouk.

Following the meetings, General Portolano said that he and the Lebanese leaders had discussed the situation in southern Lebanon.  He said that the leaders were particularly appreciative of the excellent relations with UNIFIL peacekeepers and the local population.

**Questions and Answers

Spokesman:  Voila.  Halas.  Excellent — oh, Matthew.  I was hoping for a perfect game but — [laughter]

Question:  No, sure.  I want to ask you a couple things.  One has to do with Colombia, the announced… and the unilateral ceasefire announced by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).  There's a story saying that the UN Representative in Colombia, Fabrizio Hochschild, has offered the UN's willingness and expertise to oversee the ceasefire.  One, I wanted to know:  has there been any response and, two, whether this would require Security Council approval or if the UN can oversee ceasefires that way?

Spokesman:  I do not believe it would need Security Council approval, but that is a belief.  It may not be fact.  And I will see if there's any response.

Question:  Who oversees it? DPA (Department of Political Affairs)?

Spokesman:  It's an offer, and I think one would have to flesh out the details of how exactly this would be done, whether it's at the country level or involves a greater involvement from Headquarters.

Question:  Sure.  And I wanted to ask, there's a story in Hurriyet, the Turkish newspaper, that says on Tuesday evening, Enver Yücel received a UN award, something called the Contribution to Global Education Award, and it has photographs — it's based on a press release by Mr. Yücel's university.  It has photographs of the Secretary‑General and his wife, and I wanted to know, did he receive a UN award?  Was that a UN award, or is this being misrepresented?

Spokesman:  No.  I think as you well know, Matthew, it is an award given by the UN Correspondents Association, and the Secretary‑General was at that evening and did in fact take a picture with the gentleman.

Question:  Sure, but do you have a problem with a media report and press release saying it's a UN award?

Spokesman:  I would say the award is exactly that, the UN Correspondents’ award, and should be described as such.  Go?

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) has just blamed DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) for being behind the Sony hacking.  Do you have any comment on that?

Spokesman:  No, I hadn't seen that report.  We're obviously aware of what has been going on with Sony Pictures and the hacking.  But I think we'll have to take a look at what the FBI actually said and we'll get you something.  Abdel Hamid?

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  I have two questions.  First about Jan Eliasson’s visit to Lebanon.  Where does it stand now?  Is there any update?  And the second question, there was a meeting in Geneva on the 17th, two days ago, of the high contracting parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and there was a statement.  Was that something that should be mentioned here?

Spokesman:  If you are referring to the meeting I believe you are referring to, that is a meeting organized by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), which is not a UN agency, so we would not flag an ICRC meeting.  We sometimes talk about them in the context of their partnering with the UN, but this is something that is solely under the responsibility of the ICRC.  And on Mr. Eliasson, his trip is, I believe, over.  I think earlier this week, he met, obviously, with a number of senior Lebanese officials and took part in a Lebanon support group meeting, which has to do — focusing on the huge burden that Lebanon is carrying in terms of the knock‑on effect of the war in Syria.  Yes, in the back and then — go ahead, Dulcie.

Question:  Thanks.  You might have said something earlier this week, but has there been a formal statement about the peacekeepers shooting the Haitians this past weekend?

Spokesman:  No, obviously, we're very much aware of what happened, and colleagues in MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) are conducting an investigation, and I would hope that we can report back on it as soon as possible.  Yes, go ahead.

Question:  The Secretary‑General’s Cyprus adviser, Mr. [Espen Barth] Eide, was in Cyprus for two days.  Can you give us some information or more information about his meetings on the island?  And do you know when is he going to submit his report on good offices?

Spokesman:  No, we have… I'll check for you when that report will be submitted.  Mr. Eide will routinely go visit the island, and when we can get an update, we will, but this is part of his regular contacts.  Matthew?

Question:  Sure.  I want to ask about Nigeria and South Sudan, but just on Haiti, since this incident, the film took place a week ago, is there something, maybe not right from this podium but later today, when are they going to finish this investigation?  It's actually…

Spokesman: I don't — I'm not disagreeing with the premise of your question.  But I'm not conducting the investigation, and investigations go on.  They take the time they need to take.  But we will ask them.

Question:  Has the person shown shooting at the crowd been interviewed?  I'm asking.  I guess they haven't told you.  I just want to ask you whether you have any — in Nigeria, 54 soldiers have been condemned to death for allegedly refusing to fight Boko Haram.  Some people say it’s sort of, they may be under‑equipped, but I wonder… I know there's a position on the death penalty, but given that Nigeria is a major troop contributing country, is there a specific UN comment on the sentencing to death of these soldiers?

Spokesman:  No, obviously, we would very much hope that the — first of all, to reiterate our strong opposition to the death penalty, and we would very much hope that the judicial process was followed.

Question:  Okay.  And on South Sudan, I don't know if you'll have anything on this, but maybe the Mission there will.  It's been announced that the Government has signed a contract with Erik Prince, formerly the founder of Blackwater but still very much involved in private military contracting field, and since there's this mission there that's had, historically, working with the Government, building up Government strength, did they have any comment on working with the…?

Spokesman:  I will ask.

Question:  All right.

Spokesman:  Abdel Hamid and then we'll go to our guests.

Question:  Yes.  Mr. Bernardino León, his first arrangement for Ghadames II on 9 December had failed, as you know.  And he said he would arrange for a second try for a meeting this week.  Is there any update on the planning for a second meeting of Ghadames II?

Spokesman:  No, they are continuing to talk to various Libyan parties and very much hope they can get a dialogue — a Libyan‑led dialogue under way, but there's no fixed date as of yet.

Question: Is there any plan to involve the regional power?  Because the conflict in Libya is becoming almost a proxy war.  There are many regional elements involved in that.

Spokesman: No, I think you're ‑‑ you're right, and Mr. León's discussions have not only included Europeans but also he's met repeatedly not that long ago at the African Union.  I think all those countries that have ‑‑ can have a positive impact on various armed groups within the country should use that influence positively.  Thank you, and I'll get our guests. 

For information media. Not an official record.