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.
Warm welcome to our Model UN students from South Africa, welcome. This is not the model briefing, it’s the real thing, so let’s hope you’ll enjoy it.
**Refugees
In Geneva today, the Secretary-General opened his High-Level Meeting on Global Responsibility Sharing for the Syrian refugees. In his address in Geneva, he stressed the need for an exponential increase in global solidarity. Just coming back from Jordan and Lebanon, where he met with Syrian families and communities that are hosting them, the Secretary-General said there was no substitute for a comprehensive and credible political settlement in Syria. But, in the meantime, we must do everything possible to give hope to the millions of Syrian women, men and children who have been forced from their homes and their communities.
In that regard, the Secretary-General said that neighbouring countries have done far more than their share, and that others must now step up. When the process is properly managed, resettling refugees is a win-win for everyone, he said, adding that attempts to demonize people fleeing conflict and persecution are not only offensive, but factually wrong. The Secretary-General asked that countries act with solidarity, in the name of our shared humanity, by pledging new and additional pathways for the admissions of Syrian refugees.
**Secretary-General in Sweden
Following the events in Geneva, the Secretary-General flew off to Stockholm, Sweden, where he is currently and he should be delivering just about now, the Dag Hammarskjöld lecture entitled “Evolving Threats, Timeless Values: the United Nations in a Changing Global Landscape”. In his remarks, the Secretary-General intends to focus on various challenges facing the world today, the most pressing of them — climate change. The Secretary-General will once again bring attention to the fact that the world is changing rapidly and that now we are more connected than ever before and more people than ever live in the cities. The Secretary-General will also emphasize in his speech the positive role Sweden has played in the United Nations for almost 70 years and on the country’s indispensable contribution in the UN humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts.
Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Löfven of Sweden. The two leaders are expected to discuss the challenges posed by the large-scale movements of refugees and migrants to Europe, and the necessity to work for peace and address the situation in Syria and Iraq, including efforts to counter Da’esh. They are also expected to exchange views on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, and the efforts to reform and modernize these United Nations. They may have already just held a joint press encounter, we’ll give you that transcript as soon as possible. And you would have seen, we also issued or about to issue the transcript of the Secretary-General brief press encounter in Geneva.
**Deputy Secretary-General
And in a special meeting on inequality, which is taking place today at the UN Economic and Social Council Chamber the Deputy Secretary-General delivered remarks. In his opening remarks, Jan Eliasson said that inequalities within and among countries pose a global challenge to development efforts. He pointed out that inequality features promptly in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and two of them specifically target the issue — Goal 5 on gender inequality, and Goal 10 on reducing inequality within and among countries. At the same time, he said, inequality is a cross-cutting issue which permeates practically all 17 goals and their targets. The Deputy Secretary-General stressed that the international development cooperation should play an essential role in our efforts to fight inequality in all areas of life. His remarks are available.
**Noon Briefing Guests
And related to that topic, the President of the Economic and Social Council, Ambassador Oh Joon, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea and President of the Economic and Social Council will be joined by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Sustainable Development Goals. They will be here just after we’re done to brief you on the importance of tackling inequalities to achieve sustainable development for all.
**Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
The Department of Field Support today is formally notifying the Permanent Missions of all 193 Member States of the establishment of the Trust Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, urging them to consider voluntary financial contributions to the fund. The contributions will be used to provide medical, legal and psycho-social assistance to the victims and children born as a result of sexual exploitation and abuse. This Trust Fund was one of the key proposals of the Secretary-General in his report on Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. The Secretary-General will also seek to have the monies withheld from individual UN personnel who commit these kinds of abuse diverted to the trust fund for victims.
**Security Council
Back here at the Security Council, the Head of the UN’s Humanitarian Operations, Stephen O’Brien, briefed the Security Council this morning on the humanitarian situation in Syria, saying that there had been some signs of progress on access over the past few weeks. He said that since the beginning of the year 150,000 people had been reached in 11 of the 18 besieged areas through inter-agency convoys. He said some of the places, such as Madaya, Zabadani, Foah, Kefraya, have been reached each month this year and that efforts were ongoing to safely reach 200,000 people in the besieged parts of Deir ez-Zor through high-altitude WFP [World Food Programme] airdrops.
Mr. O’Brien however said that many of the 4.6 million people in need in besieged and hard-to-reach areas still remained outside of the reach due to insecurity and obstructions by the parties. He said that this year, only 30 per cent in besieged areas and 10 per cent of people in hard-to-reach areas had been reached. The Emergency Relief Coordinator also stressed that even when there is access, serious concerns remain around the ongoing exclusion and removal of medical supplies and treatments from convoys. The challenge now, he said, was to scale up assistance further to reach levels required. He called for safe, sustained, unconditional and unimpeded humanitarian access for humanitarian goods. Full remarks are available in my office.
And earlier this morning, the Security Council also adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 31 March 2017. This afternoon, the Council will be holding consultations on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force otherwise known as UNDOF.
**Libya
On Libya, the Secretary-General Special Representative for that country, Martin Kobler, in a statement issued today strongly welcomed the arrival in Tripoli of the Presidency Council, which marks an important step in Libya's democratic transition and path to peace, security and prosperity. He said he commended the courage, determination and leadership of the Presidency Council in moving forward with the implementation of the Libyan political agreement and the aspiration of the overwhelming majority of the Libyan people. Kobler added that the international community stands firmly behind them and is ready to provide the required support and assistance. He also called on the Libyan people to extend to the Presidency Council and the Government of National Accord their full support and cooperation.
**Middle East Quartet
And in a joint press statement issued today, the Envoys of the Middle East Quartet said they met in Jerusalem and held discussions with Israeli and Palestinian counterparts. The Envoys from the Russian Federation, the US, the European Union, and of course, the United Nations met to discuss preparations for the Middle East Quartet’s upcoming report. During their visit they also took the opportunity to meet with officials from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as officials from the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
**Deputy Secretary-General — Slavery
Speaking last night, the Deputy Secretary-General, at a meeting of the General Assembly commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of Transatlantic Slave Trade, he stressed on the suffering incurred by the people of African descent. At the same time, he said, as we reject the vile human commerce embodied by the Transatlantic Slave Trade, we must reject and pursue the struggle against all forms of contemporary slavery. The Deputy Secretary-General emphasized in his remarks that much of the discrimination and marginalization today can be traced to the slave trade and that is why the United Nations Remembering Slavery Programme is reaching out to people of all ages to create awareness, promote understanding and change attitudes.
**Appointments
Two senior appointments today, not one but two. First, Secretary-General has appointed Elizabeth Spehar of Canada as his new Special Representative and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Ms. Spehar will also perform the function of Deputy to the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus. Ms. Spehar will succeed Lisa M. Buttenheim of the United States, who will take up the position of Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support at Headquarters. The Secretary-General is grateful for Ms. Buttenheim’s dedication and exemplary leadership of UNFICYP over the past six years. Ms. Buttenheim also provided invaluable support to the Secretary-General’s mission of good offices, as the Deputy to his Special Adviser on Cyprus. During her tenure, significant progress has been achieved in the negotiations towards a comprehensive settlement.
As earlier mentioned, the Secretary-General had appointed Lisa M. Buttenheim to be the Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support in the Department of Field Support. The Secretary-General is grateful to Hubert Price of the United States whom he has appointed as Acting Assistant Secretary-General until her arrival.
**Questions from Yesterday
A couple of answers to questions from yesterday on Yemen and the humanitarian situation, especially on the food situation. WFP tells me this morning that the Market Situation for February indicates that several governorates, including Taiz, Sa'ada, Marib, Al Jawf, Sana'a and Al Bayda continue to face severe shortages of basic commodities. However, the level of food imports in January 2016 was the highest since July 2015. Taiz continues to suffer the highest price increase, with a 70 per cent increase in wheat prices in the governorate. And in Taiz and in most governorates, prices of other food items were also persistently higher than pre-crisis levels.
Despite improved fuel imports in January 2016, fuel scarcity persisted across all governorates due to transportation challenges and insecurity slowing down the supply the fuel to local markets. And to ensure food assistance reaches the neediest people, the WFP is prioritizing 10 governorates as “emergency” level of hunger — that means districts in which 20 per cent of the population are severely food insecure, districts housing over 1,000 internally displaced persons, and all districts in Sa’ada, Aden, Taiz governorates. So far WFP has reached 3.2 million people with assistance in Yemen in February and at least 2.5 million in March.
And as far as the verification mechanism, it is now functional, the office in Djibouti has now been set up, monitors are being deployed in port countries, members of the Steering Committee have been appointed and are expecting to meet soon, after which the procedures will begin. The people of Yemen rely on continued imports of commercial goods and crops across the country, so, obviously, it is a critical mechanism. Imports have been improving a little last month, but in February we did see some decreases, this indicates the fluidity of the situation as well as the vulnerability of the people. If you still have a question, I will entertain it.
**Questions and Answers
Correspondent: I have a question. Thank you, Stéphane. Regarding Syria, Mr. Stephen O'Brien mentioned Foah, Kefraya, as well as Zabadani and Madaya as they are receiving regular supplies of food every month. However, yesterday, we had report from Kefraya and Foah, the people complaining that the supplies which reach there… received there are meagre. They are mostly symbolic. The medicine delivered is out of date, and the sniping continues unabated.
Spokesman: Look, what it… I'm sorry.
Question: How do you categorize this…?
Spokesman: I don't have any details, granular details about the state of the medical supplies. I know the issue of medical supplies is one of great concern as Mr. O'Brien said. We've seen many parties in this conflict remove basic medical supplies from convoys, which is shocking and illegal, to say the least. The food distributions are clearly not enough throughout the country. I mean, if you look at the numbers, you know, the hundreds of thousands of people that we have been able to reach compared to the 4.6 million people that we need to reach is a drop in the bucket. And I think Mr. O'Brien's statement is fairly clear in that regard. We need sustained, unfettered access. From the part of the Syrian Government there's been an increase in the authorization, but still we've seen cases where the UN has not been able to access areas that were just literally minutes away from some of the UN's warehouses. We've improved, and we've gotten better access, but it remains much of a drop in the bucket. Yes, ma'am.
Question: Stéphane, just getting back to the Trust Fund, can you clarify… I thought it was already up and running. What does this letter…?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary‑General had stated that he planned to start this particular Trust Fund. As far as I'm aware now, all the legalities and financial issues have been set up, and we can now receive donations.
Question: Okay. So and, in terms of withholding, so that hasn't been done? There's no money in the fund…
Spokesman: There already has been some withholding…
Question: Can you get a… do you have a figure on that?
Spokesman: Now, what the Secretary‑General intends to do is the moneys that are withheld will go into the Trust Fund.
Question: Can we know how much that…?
Spokesman: Sure, we can try to get you an update. Mr. Klein.
Question: Yes. Just following up on your announcement about the appointment regarding Cyprus and the Secretary‑General's taking note of what he called progress in the negotiations, I know the Secretary‑General visited Cyprus at least in 2000… I believe, 2010. I'm not sure if there were any additional visits. Is he willing to acknowledge and use the word "occupation" as he's done in the South and the Western Sahara, that there's still Turkish troops present after its invasion in northern Cyprus. There's internal displace… significant internal displacement, a decision of the European Court of Human Rights that Turkey's rejected awarding damages for the victims of the displacement. Is he willing to use… acknowledge that there is occupation in Northern Turkey… I'm sorry, Northern Cyprus by Turkey? Thank you.
Spokesman: The situation on the island of Cyprus is clear for all to see. The Secretary‑General's efforts through his Special Envoy, Mr. Espen Barth Eide… those talks are continuing with both parties. They're continuing well, and that's what our, that's where our focus is on.
Question: But, that was the case also presumably in Western Sahara?
Spokesman: I don't think… I don't think…
Correspondent: There were talks.
Spokesman: I don't think I would have used the same characterization for the work, the discussions between the parties in the Western Sahara and Cyprus. They're distinct. They're distinct. Mr. Lee.
Question: Sure. Also on… on this… the announcement of this Trust Fund for the victims of peacekeeper sexual abuse, it's been announced that France, the Defence Minister, Jean‑Yves Le Drian, has announced that Sangaris, the French force in CAR [Central African Republic], is pulling out… will be pulling out. Its objectives have been... have been met. And I wanted to know, given the… the multiple allegations of sexual abuse by that force and the new resolution that encourages groups like that to also be held accountable, one, well, is this… this Trust Fund is limited to the victims of UN peacekeepers? And does the Secretary‑General encourage countries that deploy alongside the UN, like France, to create similar funds? And will the pullout in any way hinder the follow‑through, including by the UN, to the degree it's doing it, on the alleged sexual abuse by Sangaris?
Spokesman: Let me try to unpack that. My understanding is that the judicial investigation into the allegations against Sangaris forces are continuing by the French judicial authorities. They are leading the criminal investigation. The UN has no capacity to do criminal investigation, and we would… whether they're international forces or Blue Helmets, it is up to the countries where those soldiers come from to ensure that the people who are found guilty are prosecuted and face exemplary punishment. We would very much hope that none of the decisions taken today or announced today have any impact on those investigations, which we would like to see completed as soon as possible. We hope that every Member State that has the capacity, financial capacity to do so, especially those who are on the front lines of peacekeeping, contribute to the Trust Fund.
Question: Just one follow‑up. Given… given that the UN had some role in investigating or, you know, some said covering up, but ultimately looking into this... the alleged Sangaris rapes, did the UN ever conclude that there were children born from these sexual encounters? And if so…?
Spokesman: I'm not able to answer that at this point, and in a sense, the point you raise is valid as to whether or not the Trust Fund monies will be used to those who fall victims of… from peace… UN‑mandated… UN Blue Helmets as opposed to international forces. Let me find out, and I'll get back to you. Yes, ma'am, in the back.
Question: Hi, I'm Anna Leier, ARD Radio. I have a question regarding the letter that was received yesterday by the Secretary‑General, a Mr. Marchesi of the committee of the 2… resolution 2231 (2015). What is the Secretary‑General's reaction to this letter? Is there any outcome? And I heard there's a committee meeting scheduled for this Friday. What…?
Spokesman: The letter will be circulated if it has not to the Security Council as is requested to be. I think the Secretary‑General mentioned this in his… the issue of the Iranian missile tests… in… in Geneva and obviously encouraged the Security Council to make a determination as to whether or not they violated or not the resolution. Yes, sir. You haven't been here in a while. I know what the next question's going to be. So go ahead.
Question: The Human Right Council has selected Mr. Michael Link as a new Special Rapporteur on the violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories. There was, as usual, objection from the Israeli lobby and the apologists of Israel accusing him of being unfair. And this is similar cases happen in the past with Richard Falk and with [inaudible]. Now, the Palestinians, in some cases, they objected to some appointment, but they were not listened to. Now, is there any definition of the UN role in this, why they have some time to sub… submit to the criticism where… where more than one had resigned?
Spokesman: You're asking me to comment on the healthy deliberations between Member States. As you know, the appointment of Special Rapporteurs is not one that is under the authority of the Secretary‑General. They do not operate under the authority of the Secretary‑General. The only thing the Secretary‑General would say about every Special Rapporteur is that he would encourage every country to allow them to conduct their official business, whichever Special Rapporteur. And this is something he's raised in many visits throughout the world. You know, this is… parts of this Organization are deliberative bodies between Member States. They will express themselves, and they will come to some resolution. I have no comment on that.
Correspondent: Thank you, Stéphane. Three days ago, CEN-SAD, which is, as you know, a regional organization of 27 African…
Spokesman: Which State? I'm sorry, go ahead.
Question: CEN-SAD, which is a regional organization of 27 African Member States, rejected the Secretary‑General's comments on his crisis with Morocco in which came in a… in a message that was read by Martin Kobler. And it said, and I quote here, acts… it calls for the UN to act in a constructive way in full respects of Member States and to abstain from counterproductive actions that's threatened regional, peace and security. Do you think that's the attempt to involve CEN-SAD in this crisis has backfired and was rather counterproductive? Is that the question that you expected?
Spokesman: I did expect the topic. Okay. You're welcome to ask me about the Mets next time. No, in all seriousness, people are going to… intergovernmental bodies are going to express their opinions as it has been on this issue. Frankly, I don't know what more to say. I think I've answered all those questions surrounding the Secretary‑General, what he said extensively over the last two days. Our position remains unchanged. And of course, as my answer to Abdelhamid, Member States will express themselves, and we hear what they say. Sorry. Edie, go ahead.
Question: A follow‑up question on the Trust Fund, actually two. The soldiers' pay, I'm sure, is pretty low, so I don't think that's going to make much of a dent in this Trust Fund. Is the UN planning to put any additional funds into the Trust Fund? And secondly, who is going to decide which victims get how much money?
Spokesman: The withholding of monies is, obviously, as you said, individual soldiers get an amount of money, but it is more symbolic than anything. What we are calling for is for Member States to contribute and to contribute healthfully to the Trust Fund. As for the disbursement, the operationality of the disbursement, I need to get a bit more detail on that. I'll come back to you.
Question: Thank you. You welcomed the entry of the Libyan government or the Presidential Council to Tripoli. Can you tell us more about, details about how they enter Tripoli? We understand they arrived on board Italian frigates or Italian warships and also some involvement of the French Navy. Can you tell us more? Because the Libyan people, we have so much of them… from them this morning reminding them of the Italian invasion and colonisation of Libya. Whose decision and did you… the UN take part in planning this?
Spokesman: I don't have all the operational details. I think what is clear is that the international community as a whole is there to support the Presidency Council and the Government of National Accord. I hope nothing is read into whatever way they entered. What is important now is that they're in Tripoli and that they receive the support from all the political parties that is needed to bring, to finally bring some stability to Libya.
Question: [Inaudible]?
Correspondent: The microphone.
Correspondent: Sorry. The plane for this Government to enter was denied permission, and that's why he came by sea. There is opposition for this Presidential Council, a strong one, and yet it became stronger today because of the way he entered on board Italian ships. I mean, the sensitivity of the subject, I'm just amazed that it's… that the United Nations didn't think of this angle.
Spokesman: But I think it is… this is not the United Nations' government. This is the Government of the Libyan people. It is up to them to decide how to enter and so forth. So I… I… I hear what you're saying, but I don't know what else I could add. Pam, please.
Question: Thank you, Stéph. The… just to push it further and ask you to follow up with some information on Edie's question on the Trust Fund is that, on 10 March, the Secretary‑General talked about this Trust Fund and talked about… one thing that I'm not sure what it means but paternity focal points, which maybe mean identify who the rapist is, and… if you could clarify that. And then he also... one thing was to talk about the Trust Fund payments, which sounded like a one‑time thing to victims, and another was support for children, which sounded like it might be somewhat lifetime. Can you clarify how these payments will be made…?
Spokesman: Sure. As I said, I will try to get some more detail on the disbursements of these things.
Correspondent: [Inaudible].
Spokesman: Yeah. Stefano and then Dulcie.
Question: Yes, this is a follow‑up on the Libya question. So, first of all, can you confirm that it was an Italian ship? Do you know…?
Spokesman: No, I'm not able to.
Question: Because the Italian Government didn't confirm, and actually the Libyan Government… Libyan Government, this premier of this Government say it was Libyan ship, that he was on the Libyan ship. The question is this, obviously, he was not welcomed. He couldn't land… he couldn't fly there. He arrived by sea. I… the question is, if he's attacked… we know that now he's inside naval… naval base. Who is protecting him? Can… and what the UN is going to do? Does the UN have any news if this Government, if this premier is attacked? And can you confirm that there are special forces, Italian, British and French forces, that at the moment are advising or helping certain forces, Libyan forces, to… to attack ISIS if they are ready to attack this Government?
Spokesman: That is something beyond my purview to comment on and I'm not able to confirm or comment on whether or not these forces are there. Obviously, the Government of National Accord and the Council Presidency have to rely on whatever national Libyan security is able to provide them. The UN mission is a political one. It is not an armed peacekeeping one. Dulcie.
Question: I'm sorry, but do you know if the ship was…?
Spokesman: I do not know. I'm not able to, no. Dulcie?
Question: Back to the Trust Fund. So, it's being set up for victims of confirmed sex abuse by peacekeepers? So, they have to be confirmed cases?
Spokesman: That's correct.
Question: Okay. And then, also, the pay that's being withheld by peacekeepers, are these… what is the status of these peacekeepers? Are they repatriated, or are they sitting in the barracks?
Spokesman: It depends. Some of them have been repatriated. Some of them are in the barracks.
Question: So there's a whole range of pay being withheld? Because…
Spokesman: For certain cases.
Question: Also, then… who's going to handle this Trust Fund? Who's in charge of it? Is it the peacekeeping department?
Spokesman: It's under the Department of Field Support, and as I said, I will get you more details on the disbursement mechanism. Olga. And then, sorry.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. According to Syrian media, President Assad sent letter to SG asking for help to restore Palmyra. On what help from UN Syrian government can count on besides works by UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]?
Spokesman: I've read the reports of the letter being sent. We have not seen the letter as of about 45 minutes ago. Obviously, on Palmyra, it would be, UNESCO would be in the lead, but obviously, we would need to see a security situation that's much different than what we have now.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Regarding Libya, how's UN support going to unfold in the coming days? And what are the next steps for Kobler?
Spokesman: Well, the support is a political support to work on… with the political institutions to ensure that the Government of National Accord has the support from all the parties that it needs in order to start operating properly. Ms. Fasulo.
Question: Thank you, Stéph. This is going back to the refugee issue. At this global responsibility meeting, the SG has called for a broadening of countries to help the refugees. But, the focus or discussion tends to revolve around the local… you know, local countries, as well as Europe. But, I was wondering, has there been any effort, direct effort, that… around other countries? For example, the Saudis, Bahrainis, Iran, you know, other countries in the region, or even stretching out, India, wherever, to do something?
Spokesman: You know, this is a… the Syrian crisis needs a global response. So, there is a responsibility for every country to step up and to do its part. Right now we're seeing hundreds of thousands of Syrian… mostly Syrian refugees in Europe. The European Union needs to find a legal pathway to handle all these asylum requests. But, the responsibility for refugees is a global one. Oleg?
Question: Stéphane, thank you. Ban Ki‑moon is tomorrow, I guess, taking part in the nuclear summit in Washington, D.C. I'm sure you saw the reports that Russia is not taking part in this summit. How concerned is Ban Ki‑moon that this major nuclear power is not going over there? As I've read from the reports from Moscow, the officials there say that there was lack of cooperation in preparing the summit, and Americans say that… well, they say that everything's…?
Spokesman: You know, obviously, we're not the hosts of this meeting, so it's a question really more targeted for the host, but, you know, for the Secretary‑General, we would want to see as broad representation as possible in that summit. You may follow‑up and then we'll go to Carole.
Question: And what's his message going to be to the summit? What's he going to talk about?
Spokesman: I think the… the message is on the importance of nuclear safety and nuclear security, especially at a time where we see the dangers posed by extremist groups.
Question: I just, Stéphane, wanted to get an update on MINURSO [United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara]. How many people have left? And what… when do you get to the point where the… the… the Mission is… is unable to function properly? I mean, are we weeks away or days away from that point? And also, looking ahead to the mandate renewal, how… how will the Secretariat or DPKO [Department for Peacekeeping Operations] prepare that given the situation…?
Spokesman: The numbers on MINURSO have not changed since we reported them last week. So, the numbers are unchanged. The Mission is doing what it can. Obviously, it is not able to fulfil its mandate as it was mandated because we need all the people that we, that we have. We're continuing at this pace for now. We'll see how long that can… that can continue. What is clear is that there is the annual report of the Secretary‑General on the Mission will be coming out soon, and it will reflect the Secretary‑General's observations as to the situation and recommendations for moving forward. The ultimate authority over the Mission, obviously, remains with the Security Council. Abdelhamid.
Question: Regarding Gaza, you were asked yesterday about the siege of Gaza and if the Secretary‑General is doing anything to talk to the Egyptian side because the siege is becoming brutal because also of Egypt. So, it is a crisis in abstention. Nobody talks about Gaza, and it's a humanitarian disaster. Why it is not being addressed…
Spokesman: I don't disagree with you as to the fact that it is a humanitarian crisis and that the people of Gaza have suffered. I do disagree with you the fact that nobody's talking about it. We do try to raise it as much as we can, both publicly…
Question: Has there been any discussion with the Egyptian…?
Spokesman: I still need to get some answers on that, but I think we had the… Robert Piper who was there not too long ago, as well as Nickolay Mladenov. Mr. Lee.
Question: Sure. Some questions on South Sudan, Burundi and access. But, I want… I hear your guests back there. So, I want to be sure to ask these two. One has to do with drones. It's been reported that the UN has entered a drone contract for Mali for $62 million with the French firm Thales. And I wanted to know if that's true given that, that DPKO has been run four times in a row now by French officials. Can you say, either now or later today, confirm the contract? And were there other bidders and who the other bidders were to provide some…?
Spokesman: I'm not able to confirm the contract, but obviously, as a matter of principle, all bidding goes through a very rigorous procurement process.
Question: Sure, but I guess I just want to ask, is it possible to know? Okay. And the other one has… this has to do with yesterday's… I hadn't seen when you were reading out the task force report on UN PGA office. And upon seeing it, I noticed that the task force… I'd known that the Chef de Cabinet had been in charge of it, but I noticed one of the three members is also Miguel de Serpa Soares, who is… is my understanding, as well as Under‑Secretary‑General of Legal Affairs, also the counsel to Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon. So, I wanted to know, given, even though the way it's been structured is this was only a look at the PGA's office, given… when you read the criminal complaint, there are number of references to the Secretariat. How would you respond to those who say, as Ban Ki‑moon's lawyer, Mr. Serpa Soares has a legal, ethical duty not to find anything wrong by Ban Ki‑moon? He's literally required. It would be unethical for him to say, I have found wrongdoing with the Secretariat. So, what does it mean…?
Spokesman: Whatever advice Mr. Soares gives to the Secretary‑General is legal advice and I won't discuss here. I think it's a misunderstanding to look at the report as anything but an examination of a structure. It was not a criminal investigation. It did not look at individuals. It looked at the structure of the office of the President of the General Assembly. And I think, in light of the objectives of the report, I think having the Legal Council is completely normal, and I find nothing wrong with it.
Question: But, I guess my question is… is… it does make critiques. It makes various critiques of the current PGA structure, and one could easily imagine it going into noting critiques of the interplay as took place on the GA resolution…
Spokesman: I think… Matthew, you've covered the UN for quite a long time. I think it is not shocking to find reports at the Secretary‑General's commission by various officials looking very critically at our own operations.
Correspondent: I'm talking specifically about a lawyer. I mean, I'm saying a legal duty of a lawyer not to… My other question is also about Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, and it has to do with the letter you were responding on yesterday. I have a very specific question on it. He was responding to an argument which says, if the UN, rightly or wrongly, finds that a reporter violated something… in my case, I'm not really even sure what it is… the distinction between the reporter and the media that they report for. And I'm aware of a case here in the UN in which a reporter for a media was found with a gun, a rubber gun, entering the UN and was disciplined as an individual for that, but the organization wasn't disciplined and kept its offices. So, I wanted to know… he didn't address it in the letter. What is the UN's rules on this distinction between media and a reporter? Totally outside of whether it's fair to punish or not the reporter. He didn't address it. He is a lawyer. So, I'm asking you.
Spokesman: What I think you should do is write back to him, because it's… it's a question I'm not going to get parse into right now. Mr. Klein.
Question: Actually, partial follow‑up here. Because the GA task force, GA office task force, report was released, it sounds like fairly contemporaneously when it was completed and circulated internally, why is there a delay on the release of the audit…?
Spokesman: It's two, it's two completely different things.
Question: Do you have a date cert… can I just ask…? It's related. Can you give us kind of a date certain or…?
Spokesman: Sure, I can give you a date certain as soon as I go back to my desk. Audits are handled through, these OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] audits are handled through rules and regulations, which are public, and in terms of the audits are first circulated to Member States, and then they're put up on the website. And I can give you the documentation. Two more questions, and then we're going to go to our guests. Go ahead. Oleg.
Question: Follow‑up on the investigation or the task force. Do you think there is a need for an independent investigation into this, like, to give more credibility to what's going on? Or these efforts… these task…
Spokesman: I think… You know, criminal investigations are done by the host country, and there's one that is thoroughly being done by this host country. The audit… the… the suggestions the Secretary‑General is making is up for the General Assembly to decide on. They may decide to chuck everything. They may decide to accept everything. They may decide to have an independent… somebody external do it. These are suggestions by the Secretary‑General's task force. They took a look at the situation, at the structure. They made recommendations. It is not the… it is not within the authority of the Secretary‑General, who is the Chief Administrative Officer of this Organization, to impose these things on the General Assembly. Please. Oleg, no, go ahead. That was a please…
Question: It's on a separate issue, if you don't mind. Maybe I missed something during the briefing. On this letter by the P3+1 on Iran that was sent among others to Ban Ki‑moon, what's his thought? Because the letter requested him to prepare a report on this…
Spokesman: I think, as he said in Geneva, the tests created some alarm in the international community, and he encouraged the Security Council to make some choices going forward. Yep.
Question: Thank you. So regarding Western Sahara, the UN and the media have been focusing on the word "occupation" and its meaning. However, there are other acts that the SG have… have done there that are considered as provocation by Morocco. One of them is the victory sign that he did in Tindouf camps, and the other one is… another one is that he bowed in front of a non‑State actor flag. So, what… what does this… these other acts mean?
Spokesman: I think, first of all, on the photo of the victory sign, I think we all know this was not taken in a Tindouf camp because the Secretary‑General was not able to get out of his vehicle in the camp. So, it's clearly not. It was taken at the airport in… it was taken at the airport. He was waving to some probably UN staff or other people who were at the airport. The Secretary‑General… people wave to him, he waves back. He's a friendly man in that sense. As to the flag… the flag incident, he was on his way to seeing the UN operating base in Bir Lahlou. There was a tent. He went in. He met some… some civilians. It was not… the UN did not plant the flags there. They were just… they were just there. We will go to our guests. Thank you, who have been very patient.