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.

Just a couple of in-house things to mention:

This is the last briefing we are doing this year. […]

During next week, we will be open Tuesday through Friday.  We will update anything, any announcements, on the web, but we will have a skeleton staff in the Spokesman’s Office ready to answer your questions if you have any.

And we will also, probably on Thursday or Friday next week, put out an advisory on what will happen on 3 January, which will be António Guterres’ first day in the office as Secretary-General.  And of course, Mr. Guterres will take over as Secretary-General on 1 January, just after midnight.

**Appointment

I have been asked to read out an appointment, in a statement by the Secretary-General-designate on the appointment of the Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination, and this is in the voice of Mr. Guterres:

I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild of Chile as my Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office.

Reporting to the Chef de Cabinet, Mr. Hochschild will work closely with other members of my team to support me in ensuring coherence across the political, peacekeeping, development, humanitarian, human rights and rule of law portfolios.

Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild, as you know, is currently serving as Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (otherwise known as MINUSCA), to which post he was appointed in July 2016.  He previously served as Deputy to the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.  From 2013 to 2016, he was the UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative for UNDP in Colombia.  From 2010 to 2012, he served as the Director of the Field Personnel Division in the Department of Field Support, here in New York; and from 2005 to 2009, as Chief of Field Operations and Technical Cooperation in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva.

He began his United Nations career in 1988 with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sudan.  He served in subsequent postings with UNHCR, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and in UN peacekeeping.  He was posted in Jerusalem (1990-1991), in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1991-1992), in Geneva (1993-1996), in New York (1998-1999), in Timor-Leste (2000), in Serbia (2001-2003) and in [the United Republic of] Tanzania (2003-2005).

Born in 1963, he is married and has three children.  He is a graduate of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Now you know everything.

**Security Council

Back here, the Security Council met this morning on South Sudan.  A draft resolution to impose an arms embargo failed to pass.

The Council then passed a resolution on the UN Mission in Liberia, extending its mandate until March 2018.

The Council is now meeting in close consultations on the humanitarian situation in Syria.  In the open meeting, it was briefed by John Ging, Operations Director of OCHA.

He told the Council that the operation to evacuate people from eastern Aleppo ended late last night, with more than 35,000 people evacuated, including 20,000 people since resolution 2328 (2016) was passed earlier this week.

Mr. Ging added that the UN’s role in supporting the evacuation had four main elements:  observation of the evacuation itself; support to evacuees once they have left; seeking access to those remaining in the areas of eastern Aleppo to provide assistance in those remaining in those areas; and ongoing humanitarian support to those in need across western Aleppo.

He noted that the evacuation operation was an extremely complex undertaking, and was punctuated by frustrating stops and starts due to negotiations between the relevant parties who were setting the terms and conditions of the evacuations.

Mr. Ging is set to speak to you at the stakeout after the closed consultations.

Following these consultations, we have been advised that the Council will meet on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

**Democratic Republic of Congo

Regarding the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said today that the high casualty figures during recent protests suggest a serious disregard by the various police, defence and security forces of the need to exercise restraint in policing demonstrations.

He also warned that violent repression of dissenting voices and a heavy-handed and irresponsible response to demonstrations risk provoking violence in return by demonstrators and possibly even tipping the constitutional crisis over the President’s future into further conflict across the country.

Over the previous week, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC (UNJHRO) has documented at least 40 killings of civilians in Kinshasa, Lumbumbashi, Boma and Matadi.

Further details on the violations documented by the Human Rights Office can be found on the Commissioner’s website.

**Bahrain

Also, our colleagues at the UN Human Rights Office today expressed their serious concern over the ongoing prosecution of Nabeel Rajab, a cofounder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Mr. Rajab, who has been detained since June this year for exercising his right to freedom of expression, faces charges relating to his critiques of the Saudi-led coalition’s air strikes on Yemen, among others.

The Human Rights Office stressed that criticizing the Government should not be grounds for detention or prosecution, and it called on the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him.

**Refugees

UNHCR says that 100 people are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea yesterday, bringing the number of casualties in the Mediterranean this year to more than 5,000.

UNHCR says this is the worst annual death toll ever seen.  An average of 14 people have died every day in the Mediterranean Sea this year.  Last year, when over a million people crossed the Mediterranean, 3,771 casualties were recorded.

The Agency stressed the need for States to increase pathways for admission of refugees, such as resettlement and student scholarship schemes so they do not have to resort to dangerous journeys and the use of smugglers.

**Ebola

WHO [World Health Organization] published today the results of a major trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine in Guinea, showing this vaccine to be highly protective against the deadly virus.

It is the first vaccine to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, and the findings add weight to early trial results published [last] year.

**United Nations Correspondents Association

I do want to congratulate your colleague Sherwin Bryce Pease on his election as President of the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA).

We understand that he could be the youngest and the first UNCA President to come from Africa.

We look forward to working with him, and say goodbye and congratulations to his predecessor, Giampaolo [Pioli].

**Honour Roll

Today, I am very pleased to announce two more full payments to the regular budget for 2016, with just a few days to go.

We want to thank our friends in Croatia and Jordan for their payments that bring the numbers [in the Honour Roll] up to 143.

**Questions and Answers

Mr. Abbadi.

Correspondent:  Thank you, Stéphane, and happy holidays.

Spokesman:  Thank you.

Correspondent:  When you resume your duty as Spokesman, it will be for Secretary-General António Guterres.  Do you expect to announce any other major changes?

Spokesman:  Up until the 31st, we are provided, as they come, any announcement from the Secretary-General-designate’s office.  As for changes after 1 January, I think we have to wait for the 3rd to come and wait to hear from the Secretary-General himself.

Erol, and then Matthew.

Correspondent:  Thanks, Stéph.  Very nice tie.  Spring-like.

Spokesman:  It’s actually Christ… it’s candy cane, so I think it’s more Christmas.

[laughter]

Correspondent:  Very nice.

Spokesman:  But it’s spring somewhere, yes.

Question:  Indeed.  I just wanted to follow up actually on this… about the question.  My sources are telling me actually that the… Mr. Secretary‑General, outgoing Secretary‑General, Ban Ki‑moon, is leaving office on Friday, 30th of December.

Spokesman:  Uh‑hmm.

Question:  And… but this has been that the… Mr. … incoming Secretary‑General, Mr. Guterres, will come that day or next day?

Spokesman:  No, I think we have to make a difference between the physical office and the virtual office.  The eighth Secretary‑General, Mr. Ban Ki‑moon, will leave, expects to leave the office, his physical office, on the 30th, on Friday, around noon, and we’ll share the details with that with you in due time.

He will remain in office until his mandate ends, which is December 31st at midnight or 11:59.  From January 1st onwards, the new Secretary‑General will be António Guterres.  So there’s no change in the constitutional calendar, so to speak.

Question:  But [inaudible]… Mr. Ban Ki‑moon…

Spokesman:  No, Mr. Ban Ki‑moon has said, I think, a number of times he plans to return home to Korea around mid‑January, but he will be, the Secretary‑General will be in the residence until the end of his tenure.

Mr. Lee.

Question:  Sure.

Spokesman:  And then I have some things I’ve been asked to announce, but go ahead.

Question:  Sure, I wanted to ask you, there are reports that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the FARDC engaged with and fired on and killed some Burundian soldiers who had crossed in.  And I’m… since there’s a billion‑dollar peacekeeping mission there, does the UN have any information…

Spokesman:  I’m aware that the peacekeeping mission and its cost.  I’ve just not received an update here from them.  It doesn’t mean that they’re not aware or just means I have not been given an update.

Question:  Sure.  I wanted… I’ve also seen… and I guess this is sort of the… the… Ban Ki‑moon on his way out.  I saw a report by the presidency of Sri Lanka saying, that he’d been… had gotten a call from Ban Ki‑moon extens… their readout is one of extensive praise.  And I wanted to know, is this true… is the Secretary‑General calling various Heads of State?  And, if so, specifically, in the case of Sri Lanka, was there anything discussed about accountability and the issues that have arisen since 2009…

[inaudible]

Spokesman:  The Secretary‑General has been making a number of calls to Heads of States basically saying goodbye.

Joe, and then I’ll read out what I was asked.  Go ahead.

Question:  Uh, yeah.  President‑elect Trump and President Putin yesterday made statements, I think Mr. Putin actually made this first, and then Mr. Trump replied, concerning their respective enhancement and potential expansion of their nuclear arms capabilities.  So… and… they’ve both down… have since downplayed the significance of those statements.  They’re just reflecting the reality, perhaps, that the current state of the nuclear arms is obsolete, whatever.  I’d like to know what the Secretary‑General’s comment, if any, is on that…

[inaudible]

Spokesman:  You know, we’ve seen the back‑and‑forth on this.  The Secretary‑General’s position today is the same as it was last week, which is to call for the elimination of nuclear weapons, and that, that position has not changed.

I was asked by one of your colleagues earlier on, for a reaction on the situation in Ukraine, and I can tell you the Secretary‑General notes the statement by the Special Representative of the OSCE office in Ukraine and the trilateral contact group from 21 December through which the relevant parties reiterated their commitment to a comprehensive, sustainable and unlimited ceasefire starting tomorrow and to the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

The Secretary‑General welcomes this development and hopes it will bring to an end the deadly violence along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine.  He expects that all concerned will abide by their commitments so as to enable the return of calm and continue the Minsk process with a view to making tangible progress.

The Secretary‑General underlines the UN’s continued support for the ongoing work of the OSCE, the Normandy format countries and others to bring about the resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and put an end to the suffering of the civilian population in the conflict‑affected areas.

Mr. Abbadi.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  Further to my earlier question, do you expect the Secretary‑General, António Guterres, to hold an early press conference in January and then to hold regular press conferences throughout the year?

Spokesman:  As I’ve said before, I speak to, I speak for one Secretary‑General at a time, and that’s not always successful on my part.  We will, I think, have more details after, after the first day in, physically, in the office as to what the plans are.

Mr. Lee.

Question:  Sure.  Thanks a lot.  I wanted to ask, on Myanmar, which continues to be reports of killing in Rakhine State and the border closed.  The Myanmar News Agency, the state agency of the Government has said, headline:  “Journalists impressed with extensive media access in Rakhine State.”

And I wanted to know, there as an announcement that some media were taken there and others were banned from going.  But I wanted to know, what is the UN’s understanding of media access to the… to Rakhine State and other conflict zones in Myanmar?

Spokesman:  I don’t have any details of what exactly, we’re not monitoring the media access.  Obviously, we remain very concerned by the situation in Rakhine State.  We do note that there’s been some improved humanitarian access following the discussions between the Government and the UN team.  Some health clinics were reopened.  And we’re following, obviously, focused on the humanitarian access, but as I said, I don’t have any independent confirmation of the kind of media access that there is…

[inaudible]

Question:  I wanted to ask you some kind of, I guess, close‑out questions.  One had to do with… I know I’ve asked you this before, but the Secretary‑General’s brother, Ban Ki‑ho.  I put it in writing and in this room just factual questions, whether, in fact, he remains mining in the country through Bosung Powertec.  And I’m wondering, since having sent them to you, some of the links went offline, have you been able in these months or will you be able, before his term ends…

[inaudible]

Spokesman:  My understanding is that his brother no longer works for this company.  I don’t have any other details.

Question:  Okay, and I wanted to ask also on the review of Saudi Arabia being taken off the Children and Armed Conflict list, where does it… as his term or at least these briefings end, where does the process stand in terms of evaluating… there’s… since… I don’t know if you were here that day, but the… the… Saudi Arabia’s admitted using cluster bombs now.

Spokesman:  Uh‑hmm.

Question:  So where does… between now and the 31st

[inaudible]

Spokesman:  Obviously, the process continues.  All the open files were shared with the incoming team.  We will, and I think what is very important to remember, is that all the incidents that have happened in Yemen from last spring will obviously be reflected in the next report of the Office of Children and Armed Conflict.

Question:  And as I’m sure you know, as the Fifth Committee winds down, Burundi is one issue, but there are other mandates of human rights rapporteur mandates that are being… the budget’s being questioned.  In the case of Burundi, it’s about actually deploying beyond the capital.

Is the, is the Secretariat… I understand it’s up to the Fifth Committee, but given the Secretary‑General… what he said about Burundi, is there going to be an attempt by him before they vote on this budget to make sure that… that…

Spokesman:  Obviously, you know, the budget is an issue for Member States to discuss.  We would hope that Member States continue to support the efforts of the UN on the ground and obviously its human rights component.

Mr. Klein.

Question:  Yes.  Talking about money, in Haiti, could you give us any update on the level of contributions, particularly to the second portion or the second tier, you know, regarding help for the communities affected?

Spokesman:  Yeah, I can’t, I don’t have those numbers with me, but we’ll either get them before the end of the briefing or as soon as we’re done here.

Yeah.

Question:  Have you seen the… I guess… you know, as… as his time expires… anyway, DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] has said… this is their quote.  They’ve called the Secretary‑General an opportunistic chameleon in the sense of his… what they see as his run for presidency of South Korea.  And I’m just wondering… I mean, it seems like, I’m sure you’ve seen the coverage, and I know that you’ve been very careful in saying how the room was used that day.  But most media are saying that this was a strong hint that he’s running.  There’s a lot of things going on.  What does he think of this… this im… im… important on the Korean Peninsula country saying that?

Spokesman:  I think it’s not surprising that the Secretary‑General’s comments have, have created a buzz.  I think the Secretary‑General was very clear.  He will go back to the Republic of Korea as Ban Ki‑moon mid‑January, consult, and then make decisions.

Question:  In the CAR… you remember… you were here… I think you were the Spokesman when… when the South Korean Mission gave the Hyundai.  Does this remain with UN?  Is that going to be the vehicle of Mr. Guterres?  Or what happens with it?

Spokesman:  No, my understanding is that that car is no longer in service.

Question:  And…

Spokesman:  Thank you.

Question:  …his house, has he moved out of the house?

Spokesman:  Not yet.  He’ll move out early, he’ll move out, I think, the 3rd.

For information media. Not an official record.