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.
Good afternoon, everyone.
**Burundi
I trust you have seen the statement we issued yesterday evening on Burundi, in which the Secretary-General took note of the indefinite suspension of the inter-Burundian dialogue that started on 14 July under the facilitation of Uganda. The suspension of the dialogue took place without an agreement being reached on a range of issues that would have contributed to the creation of a climate conducive to the holding of credible and peaceful elections, as contained in the relevant recommendations of the East African Community and the African Union.
In this worrisome context, and following the decision of the Burundian Government to hold the presidential election today, the Secretary-General calls on the authorities to do all in their power to ensure security and a peaceful atmosphere during the election. He further calls on all parties to refrain from any acts of violence that could compromise the stability of Burundi and the region.
He also reiterates his appeal for the resumption of a frank dialogue among all parties and urges them to avoid undermining the progress achieved in building democracy since the signing of the Arusha Agreements. The United Nations Electoral Observation Mission, MENUB, has deployed observers to all 18 of the country's provinces. There are a total of 21 teams of three observers each, and MENUB's observation teams will cover well over half of all the country's communes. The Secretary-General calls on all parties to facilitate their work and calls in particular on the Government to ensure their security.
**Syria
The Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, visited Teheran today, where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Arab-African Affairs, Hussein Amir Abdollahian.
During his meetings, Mr. de Mistura underscored the urgency of a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict and exchanged views on how to proceed with a political process, with the support of the Security Council. The Special Envoy underscored the absence of a military solution to this conflict and recalled the imperative for all parties to uphold the principle of the protection of civilians.
The Special Envoy is working to finalize his proposals to the Secretary-General on a way forward to support Syrian parties in their search of a political solution to the conflict, in preparation for a briefing to the Security Council next week.
**Yemen
A World Food Programme (WFP) ship carrying food assistance arrived in Aden today — the first WFP-chartered ship to berth at the port since conflict erupted in Yemen in March. The food will provide much-needed assistance for people in contested southern governorates. The MV Han Zhi docked with 3,000 metric tons of food — enough to feed 180,000 people for one month — at Aden’s oil port of Al-Buraiqa. Although it had arrived off Aden on 26 June, it was forced to wait over three weeks for a safe window to berth.
WFP has made repeated attempts to send ships to Aden, all of which until today were blocked due to severe fighting in the port area. Despite insecurity and extreme difficulties reaching Aden by road, WFP has delivered food to displaced families in the governorate. Through its local partner, WFP last reached Aden on 14 July with emergency food assistance for more than 27,000 people. More WFP-chartered ships are on stand-by near Aden carrying fuel and more food.
Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports that intense fighting has continued in Yemen, with at least 165 civilians, including 53 children and 23 women, being killed between 3 and 15 July. Another 210 people were wounded during this period. The majority of the casualties are reported to have been caused by air strikes, but civilians are also regularly being injured and killed by mortar fire and in street fighting. The total death toll since 26 March is now at least 1,693 civilians, with another 3,829 wounded. Of these, at least 33 civilians were killed after a humanitarian pause was supposed to have taken effect on 11 July.
**Iraq
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the number of Iraqis internally displaced by the conflict is now over 3.1 million people. Fighting in Anbar Governorate has caused the new displacement of nearly 300,000 people from Ramadi district since April. This includes more than 78,000 people that have fled Saqlawaiyah, near Falluja, since 8 July. Many people have been displaced multiple times since the crisis began in January last year.
Military operations in other areas of the country, including in Salah al-Din and Kirkuk Governorates, are causing further displacement. Humanitarian workers are trying to verify these new reports. People need food, water, shade and other shelter, and basic household items. Shade and water are particularly critical, due to rising temperatures and threat of dehydration. Despite the rise in the number of people requiring assistance, funding for humanitarian operations is rapidly becoming exhausted. The appeal for 2015 is over 90 per cent unfunded, which is causing the shutdown or scaling back of vital programmes in health, emergency water and sanitation, and dramatic reductions in food rations for displaced people.
**South Sudan
On South Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that more than 1,210 cholera cases, including 39 deaths, have been reported — mostly in Juba County, but also in Bor County. In response to the outbreak, health partners have set up cholera treatment centres and oral rehydration points in both counties, and are conducting cholera prevention activities, including hygiene promotion and improvement of access to safe drinking water.
And also on South Sudan, tomorrow, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, is scheduled to arrive in the country on a four-day visit to see first-hand the humanitarian consequences of the conflict, as well as the efforts by aid organizations to respond to the escalating needs. During his visit, Mr. O’Brien is expected to meet communities affected by the violence, senior Government officials, humanitarian partners and the diplomatic community, to discuss the crisis and ways of strengthening the humanitarian operation.
**Nigerian Refugees
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, says that weeks after the elections in Nigeria, violence and attacks continue to affect population movements in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. In Cameroon’s remote Far North Region, a steady flow of Nigerian refugees are moving from the volatile Nigeria-Cameroon border area and seeking shelter some 100 kilometres inland at the Minawao camp, which is run by UNHCR and its partners. UNHCR says an average of about 100 people every day are registering at the camp.
And in Niger’s Diffa region, authorities have reported the arrival of some 2,500 people from Nigeria in the past days following an attack by militants on the Nigerian town of Damassak last week. The new arrivals are mainly women, children and older people. There is more in the press briefing notes from Geneva.
**Colombia
I also wanted to flag that the Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, arrived in Bogota yesterday for an official mission to discuss progress in the Colombian peace talks with President Juan Manuel Santos and other national and international parties. He will also meet with representatives of Cuba and Norway, the guarantor countries of the peace process.
**Appointment
And I have a senior appointment: the Secretary-General is announcing the appointment of Major General Arthur David Gawn of New Zealand as Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the UN Truce Supervision Organization, or UNTSO for short. Major General Gawn succeeds Major General Michael Finn of Ireland, who will complete his assignment at the end of this month. The Secretary-General is grateful to Major General Finn for his dedicated leadership of UNTSO over the past two years. Full biographical details about Major General Gawn are available in our office. That's it for me. Yes, Mr. Abbadi?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Reports indicate that the African Union troops have shot several innocent civilians in Somalia. What do you know about that?
Deputy Spokesman: I'm unaware of the activities by the African Union's mission. Of course, that's really properly a question for them, but if we hear of anything from the side of our mission, the UN support mission there, UNSOM, we'll let you know at that point. But, in the primary aspect, it's a question for them. Yes?
Question: Is there a plan B for Burundi? Talks are suspended. Violence goes on. Elections go on. Is the [Secretary-General] going to ask the Security Council to do anything more than they've already done or the neighbours or what?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the first step, as you've seen, is we're hoping for a certain amount of restraint by the parties and to get through today peacefully. The UN electoral observation mission, MENUB, is going to report back and share its assessment with the Security Council. And, at that point, the Security Council can also take up the matter of where to go next on this. About our concerns, you've seen what our worries have been, and we've made this clear since the start of this year… how these elections would be conducted. And as you know, because of a certain lack of cooperation, we have not been able to avoid some of the problems that we had highlighted well in advance, and now we have to see what can be done to make sure that, at the very least, the sort of fragile peace that has been in the country for the past decade is maintained. That's the preeminent concern at this stage. Yes?
Question: Sure. Just on… specifically on Burundi, I don't know if you said this at the beginning, but there are reports of a number of deaths that have taken place during the day's polling, and I'm wondering, is that something that the UN, either the human rights side or MENUB, can confirm at this time before they issue a written report?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't have any details to share on that. You've seen the reports, as we all have done. The High Commissioner for Human Rights Office also has staff from four regional offices deployed from Bujumbura, among which are two mobile teams who are working closely with security staff and the UN Electoral Observation Mission. And as I said before you got in, we have teams from the Mission, MENUB, deployed to all of the country’s 18 provinces, and there's a total of 21 teams of 3 observers each being deployed. Yes. Do you have a question or no? No. Iftikhar?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Yesterday, UNMOGIP [United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan] observers visited the Line of Control in the disputed region of Kashmir and on the complaint of Pakistan of cross‑border fighting by the Indian troops. Have those observers filed a report, and if so, what are their conclusions?
Deputy Spokesman: There're no conclusions to share at this stage. As you know, if one or the other parties asks the UN observer mission, UNMOGIP, to deploy and observe a complaint about a ceasefire violation, UNMOGIP follows up on that, and so that's what it's doing. At this stage, there's nothing to report back, but, of course, it will file reports, if necessary, on the work it's seen. Yes, Mr. Abbadi?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. There are indications that the European Union would recommend the establishment of new body for the Middle East process… peace process to replace the Quartet, which will be composed of the permanent members of the Security Council, Spain and some Arab countries. Is the… is the Secretary‑General aware of that? And would the UN be part of it? And what would be the reaction of the Secretary‑General?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, first off, we don't have any comment to make about any proposals on what the European Union might do next. That's a decision for them to take. Right now, our concentration, on the Secretary‑General's side, is to see what can be done by any of the concerned parties to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to negotiations — and serious negotiations — with each other. So, from that perspective, he's working through the UN, but is also trying to work with the Quartet. And you'll have seen that the envoys of the Quartet have met several times in recent months, and so they're continuing with their efforts at this present juncture. Yes?
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you, there was… there was an interview in the Nigerian press in which the spokesman of the military says that there have been no cases of indiscipline among peacekeepers serving from Nigeria. He makes a claim. He says… and this seems to be inconsistent with the OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] report that, even as to countries broke that down… Can you… given this public statement and given what was said about… you’ve said naming and shaming, but here you have a country saying we have no cases. What's your response to this?
Deputy Spokesman: My response is to refer people to the relevant reports of the Office for Internal Oversight Services, and the facts and figures contained in it speak for themselves.
Question: Can I… I want to ask a follow‑up on Mr. Abbadi's question about Somalia. It's basically… the allegation is that in Merka, AU soldiers killed 13 civilians after they were attacked by unknown assailants with grenades. But what I wanted to know is, since UNSOA [United Nations Support Office for AMISOM] provides material… UN, you know, final support to the units, is… who in the UN system then, you know, acts on these very public reports of reprisal attacks in Merka?
Deputy Spokesman: Matthew, you can't elide the distinction just because of logistical support. Actions taken by AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia] have to be monitored by the African Union itself. AMISOM troops are under the control of the African Union, and we rely on the African Union to do the oversight.
Correspondent: But, my question is whether the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy, which says that the UN won't provide support if it may lead to human rights violations, applies to the… to UNSOA support to these AU units.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, the human rights policy applies to UNSOA, as it does to others. But, in the first instance, any investigation into activities by AMISOM would have to be by the African Union. So your questions really need to be asked of them. Yes?
Question: Farhan, I've asked this question before. When would the Secretary‑General appear in this room to give a press conference?
Deputy Spokesman: I expect he'll do that before the next session of the General Assembly, so hopefully, we'll be able to give you a date sometime in the future. It won't be this week. This week, he is away from the office. Have a good afternoon. Yeah?
Question: Can I ask about Cambodia? The maps on Cambodia?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, I believe that we've been sharing the relevant information. We found, I believe, 19 out of 26 documents that were sought by the Government of Cambodia and have shared that and are sharing that with the representatives of the Permanent Mission of Cambodia. Meanwhile, we continue to search various archives, including potentially the archives of the former Secretary‑General at the time, U Thant, to see whether there's any other relevant information that we can get from that. Yes?
Correspondent: Farhan, I'm a bit confused over the WFP report, because for weeks now, we've been asking about whether ships can get into… get out of port with monitoring, and it seems that they haven't been able to.
Deputy Spokesman: They've been able to get to some ports. The problem of Aden has been that ships have been queued up… including this ship that arrived today was queued up for three weeks waiting to dock. It wasn't able to get permission because of what was said to be severe fighting in the area. So, we waited patiently, and finally, we've been able to make it there, and hopefully, we'll get other shipments going there.
Question: Who gives the permission?
Deputy Spokesman: Ultimately, we need to make sure that the security conditions are there on the ground. Yes?
Question: Yes, Farhan, speaking about archive, does the UN have archives regarding the death of Dag Hammarskjöld? And did it make them available, all of them, to the group of experts that investigated the case?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, whatever information the United Nations had at its disposal, it provided to the group of experts, and what we're hoping for is that Member States that have relevant information will also do that because, of course, half a century later, it's well past that time for that information to be shared.
Question: But, did the UN have the archives?
Deputy Spokesman: It's not an archive per se. We had relevant information in documents, which we shared.
Question: And would that be made available?
Deputy Spokesman: It was made available to the panel, yeah.
Correspondent: No, to the public.
Deputy Spokesman: Some of it is public information, but others of it… other information was… while not public, was shared with the members of the panel. Have a good afternoon.