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.

**Deputy Secretary-General’s Travels

Good afternoon.  The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, today addressed the fortieth session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and she saluted the Council for its outstanding contributions for human rights and, in particular, for Agenda 2030. 

She said she wanted to reinforce the rock-solid commitment to delivering on people’s rights and well-being through implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The Deputy Secretary-General said the 2030 Agenda is a people’s agenda which commits all of us to put people first and realize a more equitable and sustainable world — a world where no one is left behind.  She added that human rights are core to the 2030 Agenda, but, as the Secretary-General has warned, we are off track to achieving the 2030 goals.  She said we are falling behind in achieving the promise of leaving no one behind.

Her full remarks are available to you, and the Deputy Secretary-General will be back in the office later today.

**Yemen

Our colleagues in Yemen are alarmed by the military activities in Hajour and the humanitarian consequences resulting from a continuation of violence on civilians.  We call on the parties to exercise restraint and to refrain from any acts that lead to further escalations.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says that civilians continue to pay a higher price for the conflict in Yemen.  On average, almost 100 civilian deaths or injuries were recorded each week in 2018.

According to the Civilian Impact Monitoring Report for last year, more than 4,800 civilian deaths and injuries were reported over the course of the year, resulting in an average of 93 civilian casualties per week.

**Syria

And today, the UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) completed an interagency convoy delivering humanitarian assistance to meet the urgent needs of 50,000 people in the Menbij area and surrounding areas in north-west Aleppo Governorate.

A total of 37 trucks carried 862 metric tonnes of food and other items, education materials, nutritional and medical supplies that the Red Crescent will distribute in the coming days.  Female-headed households, people living with disabilities and those living in informal settlements — all considered particularly vulnerable — will be prioritized in the distribution.  The food supplies for 50,000 people are expected to last approximately 30 days, while the medical supplies will treat more than 80,000 people.

Menbij and surrounding areas have witnessed periods of heightened hostilities and large-scale displacement throughout the Syria crisis.  Humanitarian response has been limited in the area, and despite a gradual cessation of hostilities in the past two years, needs remain high.

The UN calls for safe, sustained and unimpeded access to Menbij to facilitate the regular delivery of assistance and services to meet the needs of the population.

**Ethiopia

And the Government of Ethiopia and humanitarian partners today launched the country’s 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan, seeking $1.3 billion to reach 8.3 million people with emergency assistance.

An increase in conflict-related displacement in various parts of the country has led to a near doubling of the number of internally displaced people (IDPs); that’s according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  Some 2.7 million displaced people and returnees will benefit from emergency shelter and non-food assistance.

Both displacement and a lack of recovery opportunities have contributed to higher humanitarian needs this year — some 8 million people need relief [food], 4.4 million need nutrition, and 7.2 million are in need of support to regularly access safe drinking water.

Without additional funding, our humanitarian colleagues say that most life-saving operations will cease beyond March.

**Gender Gap

And a new report I wanted to flag today from the International Labour Organization (ILO), and it says that over the past 27 years there has been very little improvement in closing the work gender gap.  In 2018, women were 26 percentage points less likely to be employed than men, despite 70 per cent of women saying they would rather be employed than stay at home.  This is an improvement of only two percentage points in almost three decades.

In addition, women are still underrepresented at the top, with less than one third of managers being women, although they are likely to be better educated than their male counterparts.  The report says that education is not the main reason for lower employment rates and lower pay for women, but rather that women do not receive the same dividends for education as men.  Moreover, mothers experience the “motherhood wage penalty” that compounds across their working life, while fathers enjoy a wage premium.

ILO said that a “quantum leap” is needed to make progress, including by changing policies that would ensure equal opportunities, the right to be free from discrimination, violence and harassment, and equal pay for work of equal value.  You can find the report online.

**Children with Disabilities

Meanwhile our friends across the street at UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) say in a new report that they have found that at least 75 per cent of the more than 5 million children living with disabilities in Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia are excluded from quality, inclusive education.

Evidence points to millions of children with disabilities never entering school, and, for those who do, hundreds of thousands of them are segregated from their peers and communities.

UNICEF is calling for investments in the availability and affordability of assistive technologies — such as special tablets and lightweight wheelchairs.

**Food Price Index

I wanted to flag the global Food Price Index from the month of February from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), and the index is up 1.7 per cent from January, in part driven up by sharp increases in dairy prices.

The Index — which, as you know, is a monthly indicator of changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities — is currently at its highest level since August 2018 but remains nearly 2.3 per cent below its value at the same month last year.

A new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also published by FAO, lowered the world's 2018 cereal production estimate, reinforcing an overall year-on-year decrease in global cereal production.  More information online.

**UNDP

And today we are delighted that the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is appointing Emmy-nominated television personality, award-winning author and internationally acclaimed food expert Padma Lakshmi as the new Goodwill Ambassador for UNDP.

In her new role, she will mobilize support for the Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on fighting inequality, discrimination and empowering the disenfranchised.

**Press Briefings

And after you are done with me, I will be joined by Zachary Mwangi Chege, the Chair of the fiftieth Session of the UN Statistical Commission and Director General of Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics, and he will be joined by our friend and colleague Stefan Schweinfest, the Director of the UN Statistics Division, who will brief on the work of the Commission, including the ongoing discussions on a refined indicator framework and measures to close the funding gap.

And tomorrow at 11 o’clock, there will be a press conference by the President of the PGA [President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés], which I assume Monica [Grayley] has already told you about. 

**Questions and Answers

Khalas.  Yes, sir?

Question:  Thank you, Mr.  Stéphane.  Regarding the humanitarian convoy that reached the city of Menbij in Northern Syria today, there have been some reports in the Arabic media — and there's one in particular in the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — speaking about not the whole convoy reach the Menbij, and some trucks were stolen along the way to Menbij.  Do you have any information about this…?

Spokesman:  No, it's a good question.  I can only report to what's actually made it into the area, but I will look at those disturbing reports of theft of convoys.  Masood‑ji?

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  Stéphane, can you tell us… so when will the Secretary‑General… I mean, I know he's monitoring the situation in the Indo-Pak zone.  When will he be able to act and talk to the leaders of India and Pakistan to stop the tension that are there?

Spokesman:  The Secretary‑General and members of his staff are in touch… have been in touch with the parties at various levels.  We continually monitor the situation and [are] available to the parties.  Yes, sir?

Question:  Yes, on Venezuela, Venezuela borders are closed since 21 February.  And is there any information about the crisis where now Venezuelans are leaving the country using paths or trying to get into the country with food or medicine to assist their families and… so, you have any update on this?

Spokesman:  No, we don't have… as far as I know, we don't have people at the main… at the borders.  I'm not aware that we do.  We, obviously, are continuing to express our concern about the overall situation in Venezuela, but I have no detailed updates for you for today.  Madame?

Question:  Thank you very much.  I have a question regarding the Chairman, Carlos Ghosn.  Is there any role played by the release on bail of Mr. Carlos Ghosn, who is the Chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi?  Is the Secretary‑General played a role in his release?

Spokesman:  No, he did not.

Question:  There… because there was a plea?  To the UN?

Spokesman:  No, I mean, I… There was no involvement of the Secretary‑General.  There have been… may be messages passed to other parts of the UN, but speaking for the Secretary‑General, he's had no involvement whatsoever in this case.

Question:  Because it's human rights issues?

Spokesman:  No, I… what I'm… I can only… you… I don't know what may have been sent to the Human Rights Council or Special Rapporteurs.  I can tell you, as far as the Secretary‑General, there's been no involvement in this case.  Yeah?

Question:  Yeah, regarding Venezuela again, what… what concrete steps are the UN agencies or affiliated NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that are working with the UN taking to ensure that the food and medical supplies and other humanitarian aid at the UN is overseeing are distributed equitably… I assume you're working with the Government agencies in the [Nicolás] Maduro regime in Venezuela.  What steps will be taken to ensure that that aid reaches the people in need based on need and not based on political favouritism by the Maduro regime, et cetera.?

Spokesman:  Look, as a matter of principle — and this goes across the board for every country we work in — aid has to be distributed based on needs and needs to be removed from any political consideration, so… and that's how we operate in every country.

Question:  But that… that's a…

Spokesman:  The UN has a presence in Venezuela.  We've worked… our focus on the ground, our human… whether it's UNICEF or the health organization, work in partnership with the Government.  And what programmes are run by the UN are done in full… in keeping with the humanitarian principles.  I cannot speak to aid that may or may not be distributed outside other channels or programmes that are run through other channels, but I can only speak to what the UN is doing.

Question:  Yeah, what I'm trying to do is drill down a little bit.  I understand the principles and the objectives, but, for example, last week, I believe Mr. [Elliott] Abrams indicated that one of the reasons for the reluctance of the US to work primarily through the UN is what he claimed was diversion of the aid over… what the UN… that the UN is overseeing and… by the Maduro regime… So what steps…

Spokesman:  UN aid is monitored.  I'm not aware of any reluctance expressed by the United States or anybody else to… not to work…

Question:  But how is it monitored to make sure that it is actually reaching all the people…?

Spokesman:  UN aid programmes, UN aid programmes run by the United Nations or affiliated agencies are done outside of political considerations.  Edie?

Question:  Two questions.  First, is there any update from Martin Griffiths on talks or what might be happening on the redeployment of forces from Hudaydah?

Spokesman:  He is…  Nothing to announce.  He and his team were in Muscat today, in Oman.  They are now, I think, on their way back to Jordan.  The discussions are continuing to be had.  I think we are as eager as you and as eager as the people of Hudaydah and Yemen to move forward, but we have nothing to announce.

Question:  And does the Secretary‑General have any comment on the expulsion from Venezuela of a… the German ambassador who greeted opposition leader Juan Guaidó at the airport and an American freelance journalist?

Spokesman:  No, on the journalist, I think we expressed our principled position yesterday.  On the issue of ambassadors, that's a bilateral issue between Venezuela and Germany.  Yes, sir?

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  Just I want to know if you have any new statements regarding the education camps in China and, also, since next week is going to be the sixtieth anniversary for the Tibetan uprising, whether you have any comment on that.

Spokesman:  No, I do not, and I would refer you to the comments made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I think, yesterday in Geneva.  Yes, Masood?

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  On Venezuela again, I mean, now that the opposition leader is also there and that the situation besides the German ambassador being expelled, the arrest of the American journal… does the Secretary‑General see any way that this crisis can be overcome other than holding an election?  Is there any way…?

Spokesman:  The way the current crisis can be overcome is through political dialogue.

All right.  I will thank you… I thank you, and I will get our guests.