Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon, I’ll start off with a couple of statements.
**International Criminal Court
One on the trial of Ahmad Al Faqs Al Mahdi at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The Secretary-General welcomes the landmark case before the International Criminal Court today relating to the trial of Ahmad al Faqi al Mahdi, an alleged member of Ansar Dine, who is charged with the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against historic monuments and buildings dedicated to religion in Timbuktu. These crimes reportedly took place in Mali, in June and July 2012 — they did take place.
This is the first time that the International Criminal Court is trying a case exclusively focused on the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against cultural property. It draws our attention to an increasingly worrying trend of deliberate destruction of cultural heritage in situations of armed conflict. Such attacks represent a callous assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations and their religious and historical roots. The Secretary-General strongly condemns all such acts, and calls on all concerned to ensure perpetrators are held accountable. The Secretary-General commends the Court for bringing this significant issue to the forefront of efforts to ensure international justice and accountability.
**Olympics
And I have a statement also on the closing of the Olympic Games. The Secretary-General congratulates Brazil, the city of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian people, the Rio 2016 Local Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee on yesterday's successful conclusion of the Olympic Games. Having had the pleasure and honour earlier this month to attend the opening ceremony, to participate in the Olympic Torch relay, to visit the Olympic village, to meet the Olympic refugee team and attend some of the events, the Secretary-General deeply appreciated the hospitality, diversity and capabilities of the Brazilian people and the world of sport, displayed at the first-ever Olympic Games hosted in Latin America. [The Spokesman later corrected this statement to “first-ever Olympic Games hosted in South America”]. The Secretary-General applauds this historic achievement and encourages all stakeholders to secure and build on the sustainable development effects of the Games.
And also related to that, a note from our colleagues at the UN refugee agency. The participation of 10 refugee athletes at this year’s Olympics has changed the world’s perception of the 65 million people who have been forced from their homes, UNHCR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] said today. The Deputy High Commissioner Kelly Clements said that this team has captured the world’s attention and in a short period of time, changed the conversation about refugees.
Refugees form South Sudan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, participated in running, swimming and judo at the games. A Syrian swimmer won her heat and a Congolese judo competitor qualified for a second round. Clements said that the athletes have inspired all of us to do more to work for peace and help those who are forced to flee. Refugees will also take part in the Rio Paralympic Games in September as members of the Independent Paralympic Team. More information on UNHCR’s website.
**Turkey
And you saw that yesterday we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General condemned the terrorist attack on a wedding party that took place in Gaziantep in Turkey over the weekend.
**Syria
And on Syria, Stephen O'Brien, the Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator briefed the Security Council this morning. He reiterated the call for a 48-hour ceasefire, stressing that anything shorter would not allow for a meaningful response. He said the UN is ready to move 70 trucks of assistance into eastern Aleppo, as soon as we receive the necessary security assurances. Once we have the green light, he said we can move assistance between within 48 to 72 hours.
After making progress in reaching besieged and hard-to-reach areas since the beginning of the year, Mr. O’Brien deplored that we now appear to be in reverse gear. In August, the UN was denied access to more than 50 per cent of the requested beneficiaries. Moreover, active conflict and insecurity, as well as delays in getting facilitation required to move convoys have been limiting factors. As a result, no inter-agency convoys have moved in August.
Calling Syria “the greatest crisis of our time”, Mr. O’Brien stressed the Security Council cannot look the other way and called on the Council to ensure the implementation of its resolutions. He said that what is happening in Aleppo and throughout Syria is “an outrage against every moral fibre in our being as human beings” and called on Security Council members to put differences aside and stop this “humanitarian shame”. That open meeting is continuing and his remarks are available to you on paper and online.
**State of Palestine
The UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Robert Piper, said today, warned today that many Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank are facing a heightened risk of forcible transfer. Since 1 August, Israeli security forces have destroyed or confiscated a total of 85 civilian structures, displacing 129 Palestinians and affecting the livelihoods of at least 2,100 others. Mr. Piper said that repeated rounds of demolitions, restrictions on access to basic services and regular visits by Israeli security personnel promoting “relocation plans” are all part of a coercive environment. His statement is available online.
**Health
All 47 members of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) African region adopted a new framework over the weekend on how to deal with malaria on the continent. They agreed on specific interventions and actions to reach a global goal of a malaria-free Africa. Although previous programmes have reduced malaria deaths in Africa by 66 per cent since the year 2000, the continent still bears the biggest malaria burden. The disease struck 190 million people on the continent in 2015 alone, and caused 400,000 deaths. Go ahead. More information on the interweb.
**Questions and Answers
Correspondent: [Off mic, inaudible] Am I the only one?
Spokesman: No, you're not the only one, but you're the first one.
Question: I want to take you back to Iran's nuclear deals [inaudible] when Iran started it's [inaudible] and West and United Nations came to the point that it might threaten the livelihood…
Spokesman: I think you need a microphone.
Correspondent: Oh. Sorry.
Spokesman: You can skip right to the question.
Question: Well, the… actually, I have to… I have to tell the.. …. kind of have a background on it.
Spokesman: All right. But, let's try to keep the background short.
Question: Yes, since we are full house, so I try to be a bit faster. UN got together with the Western allies and then put lot of sanction on Iran because Iran was threatening Western lifestyle. Meanwhile, Iran was executing its own people, average of a thousand people a day. Recently, that execution has gone really, really… I mean doubled up. But UN only sticks to the head… letterheads. It doesn't do much. How come when it comes to the life of outside, UN is everywhere, but when it comes to life of 7… more than 70 million Iranian, UN just does letterhead? Thank you.
Spokesman: All right. I'm not sure I agree with the premise of your question and your background. If I understand… no, no.
Question: So please let me…So please let me know what UN has done.
Spokesman: Okay. So, if… on the issue of the use of the death penalty, which is, I think, what you're referring to, the Secretary‑General and others within the UN system, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, they have expressed their very deep concern at the rise in certain countries of the use of the death penalty, and we have seen that… we have seen the use of the death penalty in Islamic Republic of Iran. I think the UN system, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has condemned it and has called on all countries to put in immediate effect a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. I don't think this is an issue that we have shied away from. This is an issue which we have raised publicly, and other parts of the UN have also raised privately. Abdelhamid.
Question: Thank you. How are you? I just came back… and I was also visiting the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, so I eye‑witnessed some of the stories you just mentioned, especially destruction of 12 homes in the town of Qalandia. My question is about first the hunger strike of Bilal Kayed, who has now entered his sixty-ninth day, and his health is deteriorating. And I wonder why Mr. Mladenov does not speak out on this case when he had served his present term. He finished 14 years and a half in jail, and he's supposed to be released. There's only one country in the world that, after they finish the imprisonment, they turn him to administrative detention. Where is Mr. Mladenov?
Spokesman: Again, I would implore all of you to stick to the question. But, I'll answer the question… the question you raised. Over the weekend, one of the… Mr. Mladenov's deputies, Mr. Piper, issued a statement on the case of Bilal Kayed, in which he said he was extremely concerned about the deteriorating health of Mr. Kayed, who was… you said after 67 days of a hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention. Mr. Piper added that this was an egregious case in which Mr. Kayed was placed on administrative detention on the day of his scheduled release after completing more than a 14‑year prison sentence. Mr. Piper noted that the number of administrative detainees is an eight‑year high and reiterated the UN's long-standing position that all administrative detainees, Palestinians or Israeli, should be charged or released without delay. So, I think, to answer your question, this is a case that we're obviously very much aware of and that we are raising publicly and, obviously, raising in our discussions with Israeli counterparts.
Correspondent: Can I just… I read the statement of Mr. Piper… I don't know that he's one of the deputies of Mr. Mladenov. I know he's the humanitarian coordinator.
Spokesman: He's part of the UN team on the ground.
Question: My second question is about the statement you just read about the destruction of Palestinian structures and leaving about 2,000 affected. Is there something more than just issuing a statement? I mean, the UN has been issuing statement again and again and again, and nothing has changed. Would there be something concrete that the UN can do that where maybe the…?
Spokesman: Obviously… different part… the Secretary‑General's role is to raise these issues, as I said, to highlight these issues, both publicly and privately, which he has… which he has done so. There are other parts of the UN that have different authority, but I think, as far as the Secretary‑General and his team are concerned, this is an issue that is of concern to us and that we are continuing to raise. Mr. Lee.
Question: Sure. I wanted to ask you about the Terrain Apartments in South Sudan. Back on 14 July, you'd said that the UN was already then starting to look at its role and I have since then obtained what was the UNDSS certification that it was safe. And it says things like the residents is recommended to UN personnel but it also says that there were CCTV cameras covering the area 24/7, that the gate was fine, and it recommended some mitigating measures. I guess my question is, if a month ago... more than a month ago, you'd said from here that the UN was investigating its role, what happened in that month? Is it true that, as was said in this DSS certification, that there are close… you know, closed‑captioned TV running the whole time? And if so, why didn't the…
Spokesman: Again, I think you have access to documents that I don't have access to.
Correspondent: Well, you can get this.
Spokesman: Well, I'm not… obviously, I'm not on the distribution list of the same documents that you are on. The… there was a preliminary work that was done, I think, as Farhan announced last week. A special investigation will be conducted. I expect to be… to be able to announce more details on that investigation either later today or at tomorrow's briefing. Obviously, they will take a look at all the circumstances, what decisions were taken by… by the UN, and, obviously, the fact that the perpetrators of these attacks will need to be brought to justice.
Question: Okay. Well… all right. I also wanted to ask this about Yemen. I'm sure the UN is aware there was a pretty large demonstration in Sana'a over the weekend largely against the airstrikes. And there's also announced that the… the… at least some part of the Houthi GNC side, GPPC side, have said they won't meet with the Envoy anymore. In part, they're complaining about being banned from even returning from the Kuwait talks on a plane through Oman. So I wanted to know, one, was the Envoy aware that some if his interlocutors were unable to return to the country? And, two, what does he say to… to… I mean…?
Spokesman: The Envoy continues his work. He's meeting with different interlocutors. He met recently, I think, with one of the deputy Russian Foreign Ministers. So, his work is continuing. We're aware that, due to the increased military activities, there were restrictions on flights in and out of different parts of… of Yemen. We would once again reiterate our call for a cessation of the hostilities, especially cessation of the airstrikes, which we have seen have caused and continues to cause tremendous damage on… on the civilian population, both in terms of directly on people and on infrastructure that people need… that humanitarian workers need to access… to access those in need. Sylviane.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. My question is on the meeting, today’s meeting, UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon]. Do you have something to say about it?
Spokesman: The meeting with the troop-contributing countries? No, I think it's part of… if I'm not mistaken… I hope I'm not… it's part of the regular briefing we have where troop-contributing countries from… who supply soldiers to different, to our various peacekeeping missions. If there's anything more specific, I will share that with you. Mr. Lee.
Question: I want to ask you this thing about the… if you can explain, on the public financial disclosure list of the Secretary‑General, which, until, you know, 2015, the most recent year, always included the list of all… of all officials, and then you'd click it, and it would say, in some cases, "I maintain confidentiality". Now that's gone, so there's no… I mean, are those forms collected…?
Spokesman: I have… I've heard your line of questioning to Farhan.
Correspondent: It's on the Secretary‑General's website.
Spokesman: I don't have any updates on that. If I do and when I do, I will share that with you.
Correspondent: He said to me… his answer was, “we don't have…
Spokesman: I know what his… actually, even on vacation, I sadly, at noon, wherever I was… would tune in to watch the show.
Question: So, then you heard him say, you know who UN officials are, so you're supposed to…?
Spokesman: As I said, if I… I'm not going…
Question: Ms. Carman Lapointe, she's not listed in 2015. Does that mean that she didn't report or was she already off the list?
Spokesman: If I have more, I will share with you. Thank you.