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.

**Saudi Arabia

Just wanted to give you the readout that you have been expecting on the meeting with the Secretary-General and Mr. Adel al-Jubeir, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  The Secretary-General met today with the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  The Deputy Secretary-General was also in the meeting and as you may have noticed because of scheduling issues where the Foreign Minister arrived about half an hour late due to plane issues and the Secretary-General himself had to go JFK [Airport] to catch a plane to go to Kigali, the Secretary-General spent about 15 minutes with the Foreign Minister and then the meeting was continued to be chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General.

In the meeting, the Secretary-General thanked Saudi Arabia for supporting the work of his Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.  He stressed that a negotiated political settlement is the only way to end the war and ensure that the interests of all the parties are met.  The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister agreed on the urgency to have the Yemeni peace talks focus on outcomes and agreements that are actionable on the ground.

On the issue of protecting children and civilians in the armed conflict in Yemen, the Secretary-General welcomed the Coalition’s readiness to take the necessary concrete measures to end and prevent violations against children and, to that end, work together with the United Nations in a constructive and forward-looking manner. He hoped that in advance of the open debate in the Security Council on 2 August, the Coalition would be able to provide information on the concrete actions they have taken. And that will be online.

**South Sudan

An update on the situation in South Sudan — the UN Mission in that country, UNMISS, reports that the situation in Juba is calm but tense with heavy SPLA [Sudan People's Liberation Army] military presence.  The Mission reports that its peacekeepers continue to undertake limited patrols, as well as strengthening security at the outer perimeter of the protection of civilian sites and UN House.  Currently, the Mission is protecting some 33,000 Internally Displaced Persons in Juba, most of whom are sheltering in the protection of civilian site adjacent to UN House.  The Mission will also start conducting search operations in the [protection of civilian] sites for weapons.

In the meantime, the Mission as well as other UN agencies, funds and programmes are preparing for the temporary relocation of non-critical staff from Juba. Two peacekeepers injured in the fighting have also been medically evacuated today.  The Mission has further received highly disturbing reports [of] targeting of UN and international NGO [non-governmental organization] personnel, premises and assets in Juba allegedly by SPLA soldiers, during the fighting that erupted in the last few days.  The reports include allegations of a killing of at least one South Sudanese national working for an international NGO, as well as rapes, including of an International NGO staff.  UN staff members have also been assaulted.  We call on the national authorities to investigate these serious allegations immediately and thoroughly and bring the perpetrators to justice.  The Mission is also looking into these incidents, including its own response.

Our humanitarian colleagues also report that three days into the tenuous ceasefire in Juba, many people have begun to return to their homes.  However, thousands remain displaced, including at the UNMISS Tomping base, the UN House and the WFP [World Food Programme] compound.  The relative calm has provided a window of opportunity for humanitarian organizations to respond and now we have visited all of the areas where people were reportedly displaced.  Humanitarian organizations are responding to the most critical needs, including distribution of high energy biscuits, nutritional supplements and sanitary items; establishing family tracing and reunification systems; and resupplying of vital medicines; and providing light basic supply kits for the most vulnerable people.  Humanitarian partners are closely monitoring the evolving situation in several locations across the country, including in Yei, Wau and Leer.  And we continue to call for immediate, safe and unhindered access [and] for the protection of civilians.

**Syria

And today, turning to Syria — an inter-agency convoy is delivering food, health, nutrition, water and sanitation and other emergency supplies to the besieged Al-Waer neighborhood in Homs, in Syria.  This is the first of two convoys planned to the neighbourhood, targeting 75,000 people in need.  The last inter-agency humanitarian delivery to this area was on 16 June.  However, unfortunately, we have to report that surgical items were removed during the loading of this convoy that went to Homs today.

The UN continues to call on all parties, particularly the Syrian authorities, to allow for all necessary humanitarian aid, including medical supplies and surgical items, to be allowed onto convoys, as well as the deployment of medical teams and medical evacuations where necessary.  Since the beginning of 2016, more than 978,000 people in hard-to-reach areas, including [more than] 364,000 people — that is over 60 per cent — in besieged locations have received various types of assistance, including food for at least one month, through UN inter-agency operations; many of them more than once.  However, obviously, much more access is required.

Despite receiving Government approvals to reach nearly all requested besieged and hard-to-reach areas requested by the UN as part of the July plan, access to many of these areas continues to be constrained by increasing fighting and insecurity, differences in the estimate of the number of beneficiaries in these locations, and other administrative delays.  This is leading to unnecessary loss of life and compounds the suffering of civilians, particularly in the hot summer months.

**Nigeria

And our colleagues at OCHA [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] say that UN agencies and its partners are today finalizing an operational plan to provide immediate assistance to [at least] 275,000 people living in 15 newly accessible military-controlled camps in Nigeria’s Borno State.  They are also preparing for cross-border assistance from Cameroon into Banki, Nigeria, where 15,000 displaced people urgently need assistance. Agencies such as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are working with the Nigerian Government to scale up assistance in north-eastern Nigeria to help some 431,000 people, including malnourished children.  Aid agencies urgently need funding of $221 million to ensure humanitarian response through the end of September in the Lake Chad Basin area.

**Ukraine

And a new report released by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine today documents wide-spread killings that have taken place across the country since January 2014.  It also highlights the very limited accountability that has taken place.  According to the report, armed conflict in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk has claimed some 2,000 civilian lives.  Moreover, nearly 90 per cent of conflict-related civilian deaths have resulted from indiscriminate shelling of residential areas.  Nobody has taken responsibility for any civilian deaths caused by the conduct of hostilities.  The report adds that impunity for killings remains rampant, encouraging their perpetuation and undermining the prospects for justice — more information on the [UN] human rights [office’s] website.

**Burundi

In a statement we issued yesterday afternoon, you will have seen, the Secretary-General condemned the assassination of Hafsa Mossi, the former Burundian Minister for East African Community Affairs and Member of the East African Legislative Assembly.  He extended his deepest condolences to her family. This despicable act of violence only serves to promote divisions, entrench mistrust, and destabilize the country.  Full statement is online.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

Our colleagues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo report that one of our Unmanned Aerial Vehicles crashed some 35 miles south-west of Bunia yesterday.  A recovery helicopter found the UAV early this morning in a remote spot; there were no injuries to civilians on the ground or damage to property.  But the UAV was destroyed.

**United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Our colleagues at UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] say that the World Heritage Committee today placed five World Heritage sites of Libya on the List of World Heritage sites in Danger because of damage and the threat of further damage caused by the conflict.  The five sites include [Archaeological Sites] of Cyrene, Leptis Magna, Sabratha as well as the Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus and the Old Town of Ghadamès.

Also, the head of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today again called for an end to the destruction at the Ancient City of Aleppo. She deplored the recent shelling at the National Museum — a World Heritage property located just outside of the boundaries of the Ancient City [of Aleppo].  And she added that the destruction of the museum in Syria is a new blow to the heritage and history of all Syrians, urging all parties to the conflict to keep cultural heritage out of the conflict.

**International Criminal Justice Day

Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel Miguel de Serpa Soares today spoke on behalf of the Secretary-General today at an event marking International Criminal Justice Day.  In his message, the Secretary-General stressed that to realize the vision of a more peaceful, just and sustainable future, we must hold perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international concern to account.  Thanks to the International Criminal Court (ICC), he said, criminals can no longer be confident that force will win them impunity. This is why the ICC can expect to face constant challenges to its authority, attempts to destroy public trust in it, and other efforts to undermine its work.  Full text is online.

**Yaws

WHO [World Health Organization] says today has officially declared the elimination of yaws, as well as maternal and neonatal tetanus in India.  India is the first country under the 2012 WHO neglected tropical diseases road map to eliminate yaws, a disease known to affect the most underserved population.  With this, the entire WHO South-East Asia region has achieved elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus.  Indonesia and Timor-Leste are now the only remaining countries with yaws transmission in the region.

**Iran

I was asked before this briefing about Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF [UN Children’s Fund] staff member reportedly detained in Iran.  UNICEF informs us that Mr. Namazi, who was 80 years old at the time of his detention, retired from UNICEF in 1996.  We have no information to provide on his status.  However, we remain concerned about his health and well-being.  And we will continue to follow the situation.

**Press Conference Tomorrow

At 3:15 p.m. tomorrow, there will be a press conference here on indigenous peoples and the Sustainable Development Goals.  Yes, sir.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane, with regard to the meeting this morning with the Secretary‑General and Deputy Secretary‑General from Saudi Arabia, Mr. al-Jubeir, my question regarding the joint review of the report of the children in armed conflict, there was supposed to be a delegation coming from Saudi Arabia and the coalition countries or the United Nations to send delegation to conduct this joint review, any development on this track?

Spokesman:  No.  Discussions on such a trip by the UN will continue and there may be a trip later but nothing to announce.

Question:  If this trip and this review did not take place, what would be the Secretary‑General's position on submitting the report as is to the Security Council?

Spokesman:  You know, the… we hope that in advance of the debate that is going to take place on 2 August, the coalition will be able to provide us with some concrete actions they have taken.

Question:  Any other members from the coalition countries have started the procedure or it's going to all be an outsourced to Saudi Arabia to speak?

Spokesman:  You know, we deal with Saudi Arabia.  The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the leader of the coalition and that's our main interlocutor for the coalition.  Yes, sir.

Question:  On the same subject, you are talking about measures to be taken, this is for the future events or accidents or incidents; but, however, in the past, I mean, the previous report, does it mean the elimination of Saudi Arabia from the risk of shame is permanent now in that respective?

Spokesman:  I think our position on that has not changed and I would refer you back to what the Secretary‑General has said.  We heard from the foreign minister that the coalition has undertaken some serious investigations into incidents with children and civilians were killed and look forward to see the outcome of those things.

Question:  We have a report out of Juba saying South Sudan authorities are not letting dual US-South Sudan citizens leave unless they renounce their… their South Sudan passport, do you have anything on that?

Spokesman:  No, I have not heard.  We definitely hope that people who wish to leave South Sudan regardless of their nationality for their own safety are able to do so without hindrance.

Question:  Okay, just another Haitian human rights Lawyer, Mario Joseph, says she is bringing a suit against the UN for children fathered by peacekeepers in Haiti.  Do you have any comment on that?

Spokesman:  Sure.  I mean, obviously we have seen… we've seen the report.  I think the issue of paternity in cases of peacekeepers, the Secretary‑General has repeatedly called on Member States to point focal… paternity focal points and member states are encouraged to call upon the assistance of missions to collect DNA and use the DNA, let's try this again, DNA collection of protocol developed by the Secretariat in their efforts to address of paternity.  A number of countries have done so.  Uruguay is one of the countries that has informed us that they have focal point designated for this function.  You know, if allegations are confirmed, substantiated, we take all the actions within our control, including repatriation and barring, from future peacekeeping service.  However, we have no authority over the… to sanction or criminally prosecute personnel under the exclusive jurisdiction of Member States.  It is up to those Member States to ensure that the soldiers, if need be, are sanctioned and that payments are the responsible behavior, responsibility towards the children they may have fathered, has fallen through.  Sherwin and Matthew.

Question:  Stéphane, the talk, when has the Secretary‑General spoken with President [Salva] Kiir and Vice-President [Riek] Machar?

Spokesman:  He spoke to Vice President Machar, what day is today?

Correspondent:  Thursday.

Spokesman:  He spoke with him on Tuesday, if I'm not mistaken, and he has not yet been able to connect with the president.

Question:  Now, given Vice-President Machar's absence from the capital as we understand it because the troops are out, would you say the transitional national Government is no longer functioning in South Sudan?

Spokesman:  I don't know if I'm going to make a ruling on that one.  What is clear is that agreements were signed by both the President and the Vice-President, those agreements we hope can still be implemented.  What we have seen over the last few days is again the squandering of another opportunity to bring peace back to the country especially back to Juba.  Over the last few days we have seen again death and destruction and the Secretary‑General's message continues to be the same, that the leaders need to put the needs of their people first and foremost.

Question:  Final question, despite the IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] call and the Secretary‑General's call for the troop… UNMISS to be increased, President Kiir seemingly said that no new foreign troops will be accepted in the country.  What do you make of that statement?

Spokesman:  I think we've asked for a technical rollover of the mandate of the Mission to give us time to assess the situation.  I have discussions with TCCs [troop-contributing countries].  We very much once the mandate is established by the Security Council it will be the responsibility of South Sudan to honor that mandate and to work with us.  Mr. Lee.

Question:  Sure, I wanted to know the talks on Kosovo or the talk that took place upstairs.  Can you say, you were up there, did the Secretary‑General stay for the whole talk?

Spokesman:  No, in fact.

Question:  Sorry?

Spokesman:  I said right at the beginning that the Foreign Minister's plane was delayed because of air traffic control issues at Kennedy.  He was half an hour late.  The Secretary‑General had himself was on a plane that left 11:15 a.m. for Kigali, commercial aircraft, which is not within our power to delay, so Secretary‑General had about 15 minutes with the Foreign Minister and he left at 10 a.m. and I hope he caught his plane.

Question:  Did…?

Spokesman:  The Deputy Secretary‑General chaired the meeting and Leila Zerrougui was present throughout the meeting, as well.

Question:  On Kosovo, I'm sure you've seen this report that came out that basically said all of this eight‑year long human rights adjunct to the Mission there basically said that all of its proposals that it made were rejected, this includes the lead poisoning of the Roma children by the Mission, so it's a pretty damning portrayal of a lack of responsiveness and accountability by the UN and DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations].  What is your response?

Spokesman:  Leaving aside your characterization of it, the report that was published today I think in The New York Times is an interim report.  We are still waiting for the final report.  UNMIK [UN Mission in Kosovo] obviously values the work of the advisory panel and as such we are carefully giving due considerations to the issues that have been raised by the panel.

Question:  You say it's interim, but it's extremely long and paragraph 121…?

Spokesman:  I'm aware of it, and, as I said, we are giving due consideration to the issues raised.

Question:  This issue of actual compensation for the Roma children, they recommended it, who is ultimately the decision maker on that?

Spokesman:  As I said, the Secretariat is giving due consideration.  Yes, ma'am.

Question:  Um, thank you.  I have a question following up for the South China Sea arbitration.  In 2006, China submitted a declaration to the Secretariat based on article 298 of the Convention of the Law of Sea.  It stated that China does not accept any compulsory arbitration procedures regarding disputes, referred to the convention.  This declaration has been included in convention and has been accepted by all the signed parties.  So according to the Convention does the Hague tribunal have the jurisdiction on this case and does this decision have any legal affect?

Spokesman:  I think we have… I spoke clearly about the ruling the other day.  I really have nothing to nothing to add.  We have seen the ruling.  The Court of Arbitration operates under part of the International Committee of the Law of the Sea.  This is not something that involves the Secretary‑General.  Mr. Abbadi and then Carol.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  Still on the meeting between the Secretary‑General and the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia and also with the Deputy Secretary‑General, what other specific subjects have they talked about besides Yemen?

Spokesman:  Yemen was really the center of the discussions that took place.

Question:  Stéphane, I wanted to ask about Western Sahara.  Can you confirm that the 25 MINURSO [UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara] staff have returned and what does this mean in terms of full functionality?  So, Christopher Ross whether or not he is traveling?

Spokesman:  On Mr. Ross' travel, those discussions are still ongoing.  As we had been hinting at and saying here, there have been discussions between the Moroccan authorities and the UN as part of those discussions.  The first group of [some of the] 25 MINURSO personnel, first batch, of the returning landed in Layun yesterday evening.  We expect additional staff members to be returning in the coming days.  We've had what I would call constructive discussions with Morocco and agreed as a result of those discussions to restore full functionality of the peacekeeping mission through a gradual process.  And the process, the arrival of this first batch is the start… is the start of that process and we will continue to work on reporting back to the Security Council as requested in the resolution on whether return of full functionality has actually been achieved, that resolution passed on the 29 April, so we have 90 days from then.

Question:  Okay, so how many are returning?

Spokesman:  Well, we are looking at full functionality, so the first batch is 25.

Question:  How many more?

Spokesman:  We are looking for that, all the posts are filled, so whatever numbers we had previous we want to see, we want to see full functionality and we want to see the mission being able to function… to function fully and to be able to exercise its mandate fully in conditions that we consider safe and practical.

Question:  So it's another 50?

Spokesman:  I'll give you the exact numbers.  But, it's a number that is growing, yes.

Question:  On AU [African Union] Summit, Rwanda confirmed through its Foreign Minister that [Omar Hassan] al‑Bashir will attend AU summit without issue.  She said anybody invited by the AU will be welcomed and hosted, President Bashir is a North African leader, duly invited, and we will host him.  What does the UN say?

Spokesman:  As we said in the past, we expect every country to uphold its commitments to the Rome Statutes.  It's up to them to implement them and we do expect that, as I said yesterday, there is no meeting plan between the Secretary‑General and the President of Sudan. Go ahead round two and then we will go to Oleg.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  The Secretary‑General on more than one occasion, including in this room, he said “civil society and free media are the lungs that societies breathe through”.  Did at any point during his meeting and Deputy Secretary‑General with Mr. al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, was the request tendered by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International regarding suspending Saudi Arabia membership in the Human Rights Council been brought to the table?  And is the Secretary‑General giving any consideration for this request or it's just part of freedom of expression?

Spokesman:  If I understand your question correctly, it is not… first of all, the issue was not discussed.  Second of all, it is not the purview of the Secretary‑General to decide on the suspension or nonparticipation of any Member States from a legislative.

Question:  Get to the Member State?

Spokesman:  It's not up to him.  There is a President of the Human Rights Council who is representing a Member State, which Member States participate and which legislative bodies or committees of the UN is in the hands of the member states themselves.  Oleg.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane. In terms of the first‑year anniversary of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, is Ban Ki‑moon going to say, any message for the press?

Spokesman:  No particular message.  I think the Secretary‑General obviously welcomed the agreement, hopes all the parties that are party to this agreement live up to their obligations and the spirit of the agreement.  There is a report that is due out to the Security Council, the Secretary‑General on the agreement which should be out shortly.

Question:  On the situation in Bahrain, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, the human rights activist, was recently… I mean his sentence has been prolonged and [inaudible] deportation decision is still being there and there are, of course, many protests against that.  Sheikh Salman [inaudible] suspended the sentence and he is in jail.  Any discussions with Bahrain or any steps taken in order to clear the pending situation there?

Spokesman:  I think we have repeatedly flagged our grave concerns of the situation in Bahrain with a number of people who have been arrested or detained and those concerns continue.  Mr. Abbadi and Mr. Lee.

Question:  Thank you.  What is the main message that the Secretary‑General is carrying to the summit of the African Union?

Spokesman:  Obviously, as you may or may or may not know, this was a trip announced, organized at the very last minute.  His message will focus on South Sudan, on the importance of the involvement of regional organizations including IGAD in finding a solution to the current crisis in South Sudan for those countries that have the ability to exercise pressure on either of the parties to do so in a positive manner, to also see work especially with IGAD members on the possibilities of strengthening the current peacekeeping mission in terms of assets and numbers and those discussions will be had.  So, those are issues that we will bring up.  And obviously it's an opportunity for the Secretary‑General to have a number of bilateral discussions with relevant leaders on the ground.  The Secretary‑General had made his farewell, so to speak, to the AU in the January meeting in Addis.  There had been no plans for him to travel because this would… this was planned to be more of an internal meeting for the African Union; but, obviously, given the gravity of the situation in South Sudan, a decision was made by him to go and deliver these messages and have these discussions in person.

Question:  Sure, I wanted to ask you on Burundi, there are photographs online of basically somebody being beaten in the streets of Bujumbura by the guard of Mr. [Alain Guillaume] Bunyoni, the Minister for Public Security and people who took the pictures have been arrested and wanted to know, back to this idea, there is a team on the ground, what is the team on the ground doing?  Are they aware of this incident that they can verify?

Spokesman:  I have not received any updates from them.  Obviously, we have people on the ground.  The general situation is worrying to us, especially the rights of people to be able to demonstrate and demonstrate freely.  There will be discussions in Arusha, hopefully very inclusive discussions in order to find a solution and a political way forward to the current crisis in Burundi and we will be participating in those.  We will be participating in those discussions.

Question:  Also, I wanted to ask you, yesterday Ellen [Margrethe] Løj was… confirmed that her knowledge of this incident at the Terrain Apartments where a number of internationals had been trapped and were freed, a journalist was killed in the course of that, John Gatluak of Internews, and I wanted to know, since many people are saying he was killed by the Government or because the Salva Kiir forces because he is a new Nuer, and given the UN, she said they are aware of that attack, is there going to be any follow‑up?

Spokesman:  You may have missed this at the beginning.  I read a whole paragraph expressing our… the fact that we had very disturbing reports of the targeting of UN and UN premises, UN staff, International NGOs including… including the journalist, it's something we are obviously aware of and asking the Government to investigate it and we are looking at it as well as our own response, so it's something we very much practically flagged a few minutes ago.

Question:  I'm asking because Ellen Løj said that she or the mission called the Government to go to the apartments and now the allegation is that the Government went, the Government that killed the journalist?

Spokesman:  Obviously, we need to find clarity into what happened.  What we are… what we are seeing are very disturbing reports of harassment of UN staff, international NGO staff allegedly by SPLA soldiers.  Carol.

Question:  Stéphane, sorry if someone asked the question but how much staff are being relocated then?

Spokesman:  I don't have a number.

Question:  On this?

Spokesman:  Obviously, we are looking at some temporary relocation of noncritical staff.  I don't have an exact number at this point. Trying to assess who is critical to what is going on and who can be… who could be spared and be evacuated.

Question:  Can we get some idea?

Spokesman:  Yeah, as soon as I can.

Question:  Where they are being relocated to?

Spokesman:  The relocation would most be the Nairobi or Entebbe.

Question:  Nairobi?

Spokesman:  Yes, Nizar.

Question:  Kefraya and Fua, when was the last time any aid was delivered there?  There are news reports about the spread of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in the town and more than 35 people died as a result of that.  Do you have any information about the aid going to that besieged area?

Spokesman:  No updates.  I think you weren't here yesterday; but, again, we expressed our concern and reiterated our call for unhindered access to those four towns.  And I think as the… we've not been able to access those towns since April, and obviously no access for us is very worrying because we are not able to assess the situation, which no doubt is extremely critical to the civilians who are trapped and we need to have access just like we need to have access all across Syria.

Question:  Aleppo, is there any talk about any truce so that food can reach the Eastern?

Spokesman:  There is a lot of talk of, you know, talk is not what's missing.  What is missing is an actual truce.  But, again, we have seen truces being called and not respected as they should and it's the civilians that pay the price.  Mr. Lee then Mr. Abbadi.

Question:  Sure, Ellen Løj said yesterday that the issue of the Malakal report that I asked you about earlier is firmly in the hands of Headquarters and since it was… said it would be released at the end of the day?

Spokesman:  The conclusions of the BoI [Board of Inquiry] will be shared as soon as I have a date I will share that with you.

Question:  Okay, could I have two other things?  Okay, one has to do with Thailand.  I had asked you yesterday about a particular case and now since then the military leader of Thailand has issued an order that any media can be closed down as a threat to national security and run up to the referendum and no independent poll watching either?

Spokesman:  I think we would obviously hope that journalists and media are able to monitor and report on these elections as any elections as they would be or should be.

Question:  The other one, I'll keep it brief, but have no choice, I wanted to ask you twice this week I've been accompanied to the stake out by the Trusteeship Council or ECOSOC [Economic or Social Council] by MALU [Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit] and have regardless of that been told by security to leave, so I wanted to know what is happening with this?

Spokesman:  Matthew, again, I think your freedom to work I think is wide and broad.  Your freedom to whether it's stalking me outside with your camera, outside these premises, whether it's stalking myself or my staff repeatedly, noting who we talked to, what time we leave the building.

Question:  Retaliation?

Spokesman:  No, it's not in retaliation.  You are able to do it.  Mr. Abadi.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane, a media question for you and hope we get the answer, and when would the Secretary‑General come here and give a comprehensive press conference?

Spokesman:  As soon as we are able to do it.

Question:  It has been reported in the Czech Republic armed militia are chasing refugees and causing harm to them.  Is there any position from the United Nations regarding that?

Spokesman:  I have not seen those particular reports, but I think in general we have seen in different parts of Europe worrying reports of the treatment of refugees and migrants.  Migrants and refugees need to be respected, human rights need to be respected and we would hope that Governments ensure that that is, in fact, the case.

Question:  What are the rules for [inaudible] because you made a connection now between filming you doing that?

Spokesman:  I have not made a connection.