Muchas gracias, Señor Ministro. 

Señores y señoras, buenas noches.

Es un gran placer de estar en España.

Muchas gracias por su hospitalidad.

It is a great pleasure for me to be back in Madrid.  I thank the Spanish government and people for their commitment to the ideals of the United Nations.

Through its current membership on the Security Council, Spain is helping the world to address the most urgent issues on the international agenda, as has been explained by Foreign Minister [José Manuel] García-Margallo.

This includes the devastating war in Syria.

So far the cessation of hostilities is by and large holding, despite some incidents. I call on all parties to continue to keep their promises and demonstrate their good faith, particularly to allow the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to besieged areas. Some of the people in those areas have not received aid for months or even years.  Many people may have starved to death, or died from a lack of routine healthcare.

I very much appreciate the work of the Task Force on the Cessation of Hostilities and the leadership demonstrated by the members of the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG) and particularly as co-Chairs, the United States and the Russian Federation.

I call on everyone involved to build on the cessation of hostilities and prepare the groundwork for the resumption of talks on 9 March.

I urge Spain to continue its constructive role, and I thank the Government and people of Spain for their global citizenship and solidarity.

Spain is a steadfast contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations, and a strong supporter of conflict prevention and mediation.

As a member of the Friends of Western Sahara, Spain is an integral part of United Nations efforts to resolve that complex situation. I will be visiting the region in the next few days and I thank the Spanish government for its support of this mission.

I have just held fruitful talks with Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo.

We discussed the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers fleeing across the Mediterranean. I expressed my concern over the border restrictions that are being imposed along land routes. These restrictions are not in line with international law or with common human decency. Every asylum seeker has the right to have his or her application considered individually. 

I am grateful for Spain’s support for the principle of responsibility-sharing, and I call on other European countries to act in the same spirit.   This will be a key theme at the Summit on large movements of refugees and migrants, to be held on 19 September in New York this year.

My talks with Foreign Minister García-Margallo also touched on the fight against terrorism. Spain’s experience shows that the rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights and a unified society are crucial factors in defeating terrorist violence. 
I also count on Spain’s support in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The World Humanitarian Summit to be held in Istanbul on May 23rd and 24th will be an opportunity to agree on ways to better protect people, prepare for crises and ensure the funding we need to help all those caught up in natural and man-made disasters.

Foreign Minister García-Margallo, thank you again for Spain’s commitment and partnership and your leadership.

Muchas gracias, Señor Ministro. 

Q: Yes, [inaudible] from the Associated Press with a question for the Secretary-General. I’m wondering if you could be a little bit more specific for us on what you feel the prospects are for getting the humanitarian aid to besieged and hard-to-reach areas of Syria and your view also of the possibility of another meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG).  We are hearing the weekend of March 12th and 13th. And finally, if you have any reaction to the use of tear gas at the border of Greece and Macedonia against refugees, including children?

SG: Well, we are very much concerned that still there are almost half a million people who are living in besieged areas - at least 15 besieged areas. We have really been trying to provide and reach those people, but because of dire and very dangerous security situations we have not been able to do that. With strong Security Council resolution and also the commitment of the ISSG commitment we have been able to deliver to at least 80,000 people. In the coming five or six days we are also going to deliver to at least [to] 140,000 people. There was the first air drop, even though it was not completely successful I think it was good to provide life-saving assistance to those people living in besieged areas. It was 21 tonnes that have already been reported in the media. We will continue to try to provide other air drops. That is our top priority. For that to be possible, it is crucially important for the cessation of hostilities should be kept, without being broken. While, there are some incidents, but I am encouraged that these cessation of hostilities is now largely being held. I sincerely hope that the again the members of the ISSG and all the parties will ensure that this will continue to be held.

Thank you.

Q: [Question on Western Sahara in Spanish]

SG: I’ll answer first to the question that was raised to me. First of all, ideally speaking it is better, it would be ideal for me to be able to visit all the countries concerning this Western Sahara issue. I wanted to start from Rabat after meeting His Majesty King of Morocco, but we were told that the King was not available at this time. With the consultation of the Moroccan Government, I decided to take a two-step approach. First, I will visit Mauritania, Tindouf, and Algeria, and then at a mutually agreeable time I will go back to Morocco, then I’ll try to visit Laayoune and MINURSO [the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara]. This is the current plan.

As you know, I’m required to make my report to the Security Council during the month of April so this will be my first time as Secretary-General to visit the region, but as you may know, this is my tenth year - last year as Secretary-General. So, it is important for me to be able to visit even partially, but I will make sure that we will visit. Moroccan Government agrees that we need to find a mutually agreeable [and] convenient time so this will be done. Then about the incident which you made, I know that according to the announcement made by the Moroccan Government, that there were some Bedouins, it was not an intended one. I understand one person was killed accidentally because according to their information they were not sure when there was some movement in the darkness. They shot some fires and unfortunately one person was killed. This is what I can tell you, but you may check with the Moroccan Government on this matter.