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 Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon, everyone.
**Burundi
On Burundi, the Secretary-General spoke this morning with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya about the situation in the country.
The Secretary-General emphasized the need for leaders in the region to join efforts to help resolve the crisis in Burundi. They agreed on the need for inclusive dialogue and calm.
The Secretary-General plans to speak to President [Pierre] Nkurunziza and other leaders in the coming days.
In the statement we issued yesterday, as you saw, the Secretary-General appealed for strict respect of Burundi's Constitution as well as the Arusha Agreement.
He urged all political and security leaders to clearly and openly reject the use of violence, refrain from acts of revenge, and rein in their militants. He also stressed that anyone responsible for ordering or committing human rights violations will be held accountable.
The Secretary-General finally urged Burundians to create the conditions for the holding of inclusive, violence free and credible elections, as soon as possible.
His Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, Said Djinnit, is in Burundi today and we will update you on his efforts when we can.
Over 105,000 people have now fled Burundi to neighbouring Tanzania, Rwanda and to the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
That’s according to the UN refugee agency.
The number of new arrivals has risen sharply in Tanzania over the last few days, with local immigration authorities reporting that over 50,000 Burundians are living rough on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, and that at least 10,000 people more are reportedly waiting to cross the border.
UNHCR says that the living conditions of the refugees have become extremely dire. The Agency is setting up a reception centre to address the most urgent needs. In Rwanda the rate of arrival has decreased over the last two weeks. Refugees report that authorities in Burundi have made it very difficult for people to leave the country.
More details are available on UNHCR notes from their briefing today in Geneva.
**Nepal
The Secretary-General spoke this morning at a General Assembly meeting on Nepal.
He said in that in the past three weeks, the lives of 8 million Nepalese people have been changed beyond recognition, with an earthquake on 25 April killing 8,000 people and a second one on 12 May killing dozens more.
The Secretary-General stressed the importance of getting aid, including clean water and sanitation supplies, to everyone in need within the next few weeks.
Support is also urgently needed to generate emergency employment, promote local economic recovery, and ensure livelihood support.
Even as we deal with these pressing needs, the Secretary-General said, we must look ahead, mindful of the continuum from emergency assistance to support for recovery and development.
He also said that emergency relief is never enough. Saving people’s lives is important but people must also be able to sustain their livelihoods. They want a future. The Secretary-General’s full remarks are available online and in our office.
**Cyprus
As you will have seen, in a statement issued yesterday evening, the Secretary-General welcomed the resumption of full-fledged negotiations today between the Greek Cypriot leader and the Turkish Cypriot leader under the facilitation of his Special Adviser, Espen Barth Eide.
Mr. Eide said today that the two leaders undertook to work tirelessly to reach as soon as possible a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus question.
The two leaders agreed that this will be a leader-led process and began elaborating their shared vision for a united federal Cyprus.
Mr. Eide said this took place in a very positive and constructive atmosphere.
The leaders also agreed on how they intend to spearhead the process over the coming months and will meet at least twice a month. Their next meeting will take place on Thursday, 28 May.
As a sign of their mutual commitment, Mr. Akýncý and Mr. Anastasiades agreed to work together on a number of confidence-building measures that would mutually benefit the two communities.
The Secretary-General hopes to speak with the leaders and Mr. Eide separately today when possible.
**Yemen
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, concluded his first visit to Yemen yesterday.
While noting a reduction in the overall degree of military activities, the Special Envoy expressed deep concern for the sporadic violations that did occur. He urged all parties to fully adhere to the agreed cessation of hostilities for the remainder of the five-day period and facilitate the delivery of urgently needed life-saving assistance in compliance with their obligations under international humanitarian law.
In order to allow the United Nations to provide this needed humanitarian assistance, the Special Envoy reiterated the earlier calls of the Secretary-General for all parties to ensure that humanitarian agencies and their partners have safe and reliable access throughout the country. The Special Envoy calls on all sides to refrain from any actions which would undermine the safety and security of Yemen’s airports, seaports and transport infrastructure. Furthermore, the Special Envoy encourages the lifting of the current blockade to enable the import of fuel, food and medicines and to facilitate the return of Yemeni citizens stranded abroad to their country.
While in Yemen, the Special Envoy held talks with leaders of political groupings and also civil society. Prior to his arrival in Sana’a, he visited several countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He will now continue his consultations in the region as part of his efforts to ensure that the international community and the region work together to help ensure peace in Yemen and the return to an inclusive Yemeni-led dialogue on the country’s future.
The humanitarian pause in Yemen is largely holding and will allow UN humanitarian agencies and their partners to replenish food, fuel and medical supplies in areas of the country where they have access, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen said today. The pause will also allow organisations to get more emergency supplies into the country.
In a briefing from Sana'a, Humanitarian Coordinator Johannes Van Der Klaauw said that airstrikes and fighting on the ground have so far killed at least 1,600 people and wounded more than 6,200 people. The number of newly displaced people is reaching 450,000, while more than 29,000 people have left the country over the last two months.
Humanitarian organizations are using the pause to feed at least 700,000 Yemenis, provide emergency shelter to 55,000 people, get primary health care to 500,000 people and make use of the 3.5 million vaccines for children which are in the country.
UN partners have brought 430,000 litres of fuel into Yemen recently, but organizations still struggle to get it to the hospitals and to the water pumping facilities.
The inspection regime linked to the arms embargo has resulted in commercial goods — by air or by ship — not coming into the country. The current inspection regime needs to be simplified and made faster so that commercial and humanitarian imports of fuel, food and other life-sustaining necessities can resume.
**Iraq
We were asked yesterday about an attack in the A’dhamiyya neighbourhood of Baghdad, and I have the following to say:
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Jan Kubiš, condemned the despicable incident where criminal elements with seditious intentions yesterday assaulted the Sunni Endowment Building in the district of A’dhamiyya, setting fire to several houses and causing the death and injury of innocent people trapped inside their torched homes.
He commended the Prime Minister, the Security Forces, the political leadership, as well as A’dhamiyya scholars and religious dignitaries, backed by local residents, for their wise handling of the incident, which allowed them to quickly retake control of the situation, and to foil an attempt by provocateurs to stoke up sectarian tension in the area.
**Libya
The UN Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL) says that armed groups across Libya are responsible for abductions of civilians, including minors, based on their actual or perceived origin, opinion, family and political affiliation.
The Mission says that those abducted are usually at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and are frequently denied any contact with their families. Some have died in custody, possibly executed or tortured to death.
Calling all hostage-taking, torture and murder war crimes, the Mission has warned that those responsible for committing, ordering or failing to prevent such crimes when in a position to do so are criminally liable, including before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
**South-East Asia
With some 6,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants believed to be stranded at sea in precarious conditions in South-East Asia, and three countries actively implementing a policy of pushing boats back to sea, the High Commissioner for Human Rights today urged Governments in the region to take swift action to protect their lives.
Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein said that he is appalled at reports that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have been pushing boats full of vulnerable migrants back out to sea, which will inevitably lead to many avoidable deaths.
The focus should be on saving lives, not further endangering them, the High Commissioner said, adding that news that another boat had been given provisions and then pushed back out to sea by the Thai navy yesterday was incomprehensible and inhumane.
He said that Governments in the region need to respond to this crisis from the premise that migrants, regardless of their legal status, how they arrive at borders, or where they come from, are people with rights that must be upheld. Criminalizing such vulnerable people, including children, and placing them in detention is not the solution.
For its part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today said it is very worried about the situation of children and their families stranded on boats in the seas of South-East Asia.
UNICEF said that these children need, and they have a right to, urgent help and protection.
It said that it shares the Secretary-General’s sense of alarm at reports that some countries are refusing entry to boats carrying refugee and migrant children.
The children currently stranded in boats need urgent, immediate humanitarian assistance to ensure their safety. They also need long-term help to determine their status and provide a safe environment where their rights are fully respected.
You’ll recall that yesterday, we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General expressed his concern about the crisis evolving in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca. That statement is available online. And the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General intend to follow-up matters with calls to the leaders in the region in the coming days.
**Noon Briefing Guest
As for the noon briefing guest, we will be joined in a short while by Ellen Margrethe Løj, the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). That will be after we are done with questions here.
**Honour Roll
And for the honour roll: Cabo Verde paid its full dues, becoming the eighty-seventh Member State to do so. Muito obrigado Cabo Verde.
**Questions and Answers
Deputy Spokesman: And that’s it for me. Yes, Edie.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Could you give us an update on the prospects for a meeting of the parties from Yemen that Cheikh Ahmed is trying to put together?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes. On that, work is ongoing to convene a meeting of the Yemeni parties in a third country, and that's in accordance with Security Council resolution 2216. We'll update you on developments in this regard as they happen. But certainly, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed is continuing with his work. In addition, of course, the Special Envoy has received a special invitation to the 17 May conference on Yemen that's taking place in Riyadh.
Yes, Erol.
Question: Thank you Farhan. Two quick points. Number one, situation in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, does the Secretary‑General feel the need to issue an appeal, at least for his Special Envoy between Greece and Macedonia, to renew his efforts to speed up the negotiation between them since obviously, as many analytics are saying, that leaving closed door to Macedonia to European Union and NATO because of this name issue is really the term contributing to the deterioration of the situation? That's number one. Okay.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, first on that, as you know, Matthew Nimetz has been continuing with his efforts and he will continue with those. Those are separate and apart from the situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that we've been talking about in recent days. You will have seen the statement that the Secretary‑General issued on this a few days ago, and I would just refer you to the sentiments expressed in that which he continues to share.
Question: Can I follow‑up on Cyprus?
Deputy Spokesman: Sure.
Question: Since this is going as you just said, that is going to be in several — actually, as a series of negotiations, they're going to meet again and again — can we call this, since we had an Annan plan, can we call this an effort to produce some new ‘Ban’s’ plan for Cyprus?
Deputy Spokesman: We're not at the stage of giving plans names or anything like that. These are talks by the leaders of the two communities. They seem to be going very well. It seems that the atmosphere for these talks has been very positive and we'll allow this dynamic to proceed the way that it's going. But right now, it's in the matter, the hands — the matter is in the hands of the leaders, which is where is should be, and they seem to be doing very well in their discussions.
Yes, Masood.
Question: Farhan, did the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy to Yemen, did he receive any assurances? I mean he's — I mean, he has said that he hopes that the ceasefire is sustainable, but did he receive any assurances from the Saudis or the other Houthi party that he went to have talks with? Did he get any concrete assurances from them at all?
Deputy Spokesman: We don't have anything to say at this point about any extension of the humanitarian pause. Right now, we're simply working on this. As you know, we're basically in the third day of it, so we're basically at a midpoint and we'll see whether there can be anything that lengthens it. But right now, as I just read, he was concerned about sporadic problems with the pause but he remains hopeful that the parties will continue to abide by it.
Question: Yes, on this horrendous bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, and a statement by the Secretary-General, has he followed up with the meeting, with the conversation with the Pakistani Prime Minister because it — these things keeps on happening again and again? He keeps on making these — I mean, asking them to take action, but nothing has happened so far. So has he followed up with any, asked them for any concrete action?
Deputy Spokesman: There's no call to the Prime Minister, but the call that we made in our statement was very clear. You're quite right that we've had problems with these sorts of sectarian attacks, and not just in Pakistan. And to that end, the Secretary-General has also been convening meetings, including the one you saw just some weeks back about countering violent extremism. We really have to make sure that the forces of tolerance and mutual understanding are the ones that are ascendant and the forces leading towards sectarianism, division, and extremism are the ones that are united against.
Yes, George.
Question: With reference to your comments on Burundi, you mentioned that you hope everyone will abide by A, the Constitution, and B, the Arusha Agreement. Do I take it — do I understand that to mean that you support Mr. Nkurunziza staying in office until the end of his established term and that someone else be elected thereafter to succeed him or be elected to succeed him thereafter?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, our focus right now is on the imperative need to restore calm and to avoid violence in the awake of the attempted coup. As the Secretary-General said in his conversation this morning with President Kenyatta of Kenya, there should be inclusive dialogue. Reprisals and revenge must be avoided. Due process and full respect for human rights must be observed. It's also essential that Burundians are able to fully exercise their freedoms of expression and assembly. Regarding President Nkurunziza, we hope that President Nkurunziza will lead a process of reconciliation and dialogue to address the deep divisions within Burundian society. Special Envoy Said Djinnit, who has returned to Bujumbura today, is working closely with the African Union and the East African Community to support a dialogue process to help create the conditions for the holding of peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections in Burundi.
Yes?
Question: Sure, I have some questions on Burundi and also on the Secretary-General. On Burundi, can you — did the UN move to remove some of its international staff from the country during this time?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't have any staff movements to announce. Certainly, we have international staff in the country. And like I said, Mr. Djinnit has arrived there.
Question: And there was a peacebuilding configuration meeting today at which Mr. Feltman was apparently asked why the UN or the Secretariat was slow to respond. And another question that arose is some regional organizations are talking about a human rights mission to the country, and I wanted to know would the UN be playing any part of that? And what's the response to the crit — to the statements in the peacebuilding configuration?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, I would disagree with that. The events of the last few days were very fast-moving and threw many parties, including the parties themselves on the ground, off-guard. We have — we're in place at the time, Mr. Djinnit continued with his work.
Question: [sneeze]
Deputy Spokesman: Bless you. And the Secretary-General has been continuing with his own work including with calls with relevant leaders. He does, for example, expect to be able to talk to President Nkurunziza when he can and there will be other calls to other leaders as this progresses, but we've been out in front on this.
And regarding the question on human rights, certainly as you can have seen from what I've just said, we do have concerns about human rights in the country, about the risk of possible reprisals or revenge attacks. And so we would support efforts to boost any sort of human rights presence in Burundi. Yes, Iftikhar.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. [inaudible]… Malaysia… they were actually made yesterday.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes.
Question: The question is whether that has been any response? Are these boats still stranded?
Deputy Spokesman: It's a mixed picture. Some people have been allowed on shore, but there have been, as I just mentioned just now, cases where boats full of people have not been allowed to dock or to disembark their passengers. Our concern is we don't want so many helpless people stranded out in the waters in unsafe, unseaworthy vessels that often times lack food or fuel.
We don't want them, in other words, to be in floating coffins. And we are trying to reach out to all the leaders of the countries in the region to respect their obligation under International Humanitarian Law and under Maritime Law and to allow these ships to dock and to place, as we do in the Mediterranean, we want to make sure that leaders place at the forefront the need to protect the lives of the humans who are out there on the seas.
To that end, the Secretary-General does expect, and the Deputy Secretary-General expect in the coming days to be in touch with the various leaders in Indonesia, in Malaysia and in Thailand to underscore the basic points about our concerns. Let's go through the first round before we go through seconds. Yes.
Question: Can you confirm that the Peace Pact in Mali has been signed today and whether the coordination party has signed it? Thanks.
Deputy Spokesman: We're monitoring the situation. Once we have confirmation the Peace Pact has, in fact, been signed, we do expect to respond possibly with a statement later this afternoon. Okay. Now you can go.
Question: Farhan, as a follow-up to Iftikhar’s question, and as you mentioned, you don't like coming from the United Nations to see those floating coffins filled with the people, especially kids and women, are pushed back to the sea. Does the Secretary-General really need that it's a very urgent call and that he should probably address it rather today than tomorrow? And what is the remedy other than appealing to the leaders, probably go up and appear to TV and make a global appeal on that? Because it's really saddened, isn't it?
Deputy Spokesman: We've been making appeals. You've heard what Stéphane [Dujarric] had to say on this yesterday and what I'm saying just anyhow now. What High Commissioner [Ra'ad Al Hussein] Zeid has just said today from Geneva — the Secretary-General is going to try to reach out to the leaders as quickly as those calls can be placed. But in any case, it's very clear that all of the officials in the UN system — the Secretary-General, the Special Representative dealing with migration, Peter Sutherland, the head of the International Organization for Migration, Mr. [William] Swing, High Commissioner Zeid and Antonio Guterres, the High Commissioner for Refugees, are all speaking with one voice on this — that we have to make sure all the leaders on this, all the parties in the region do what they can to make sure that the lives of these innocent people are protected and preserved. And like I just said, we don't want these boats to become floating coffins and that is what all of us across the board are contacting leaders for, talking to Governments about, and yes, we are talking to the public about this as well.
Question: And so what is the feedback and what is the response so far? Do you see some positive, really positive steps?
Deputy Spokesman: Well as I've just said to Iftikhar, it's a mixed picture. There have been some people out to disembark but there are also still some people trapped in paralysis conditions on the seas. Yes?
Question: Sure. Yesterday, I asked Stéphane about these developing stories about the nephew of the Secretary-General and the claims made about the Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund. And the reason I… he said yesterday, that the Secretary-General has nothing to do with his nephew. But I wanted to ask because there's been more reporting since even yesterday and basically what's emerged in these articles is that the nephew, Mr.… I don't want to get the name wrong. We'll call him Mr. Ban… Ban Joo-Hyun… had made two claims. He had made a claim to the construction company that was run by the now deceased business man, that the Secretary-General had raised this very project to the Emir of Qatar in a meeting. And he also made a claim that the Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund was behind the deal. So this is… the question that I have for you is, is even if the Secretary-General is saying that these statements didn't occur, that's what I was trying to get a yes or no on, or if they did occur, he has nothing to do with them, has he informed the members of his family, including his nephew, including his brother who is part of this story, and including, for example, his son-in-law, not to invoke his name when they seek to do business deals that obviously involve Sovereign Wealth Fund of countries that have business with the UN?
Deputy Spokesman: The Secretary-General keeps his work life and his personal life separate. He is not involved in this matter and this is not a matter that involves any UN personnel. Therefore, I would have no comment on it.
Question: But okay. I mean I understand, but there are obviously people reporting quite to the contrary, so I'm sort of asking you is there…
Deputy Spokesman: No, they're not. Actually, Matthew, they're not reporting to the contrary, they're reporting about other people. Nothing of what you said suggests any connection to the United Nations.
Question: Have you read today's Viet Nam news that says…
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, I have.
Question: The nephew said that Ban Ki-moon raised this with the Emir of Qatar, so my question is can you deny that? Do you deny that the Secretary General has raised that? Okay.
Deputy Spokesman: The Secretary-General is not involved in this in anyway.
Question: Okay, and also my fourth and further question. The nephew is reported to work at a New York real estate firm known as Colliers, which partners of whom say they have done business for the United Nations system. So I wanted to know… this seems… this is a just a factual question, is it true that the nephew of the Secretary-General works for a firm called Colliers? And is it true, will you confirm or deny that this firm has done business with the UN?
Deputy Spokesman: I do not have to comment on questions of family members of the Secretary-General who are not employed by the United Nations.
Question: Doing business with the UN, you don't have to comment?
Deputy Spokesman: He is not UN staff. He has not been UN staff and his business does not concern the United Nations.
Question: If somebody does business with the UN… I mean that's what I'm asking…
Deputy Spokesman: Matthew, a decade ago, people asked me different questions about other different relatives, but the point is what we concern ourselves with is the work of the UN and its personnel. Yes.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Just a follow-up on this tragic situation in South-East Asia, will the Secretary-General be also stepping up pressure on the sources of these problems, the Governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar where people are freeing from repression?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, as you may have noticed from the statement we issued yesterday, he also talked about the need to tackle the root causes, which are often human rights violations. So we also need to deal with the push factors that have brought people out onto the high seas.
And with that, I will bring out our guest. Thanks very much.