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.
**Climate Change
On the occasion of the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, in remarks made by the Secretary-General this morning, he said that history was made today in humankind’s efforts to combat climate change.
At a time of record heat, he added, Member States embraced this new global agreement in record time.
The Secretary-General noted that our challenge is to sustain the momentum that has propelled the Agreement into force.
He marked the entry into force by meeting with civil society representatives, thanking them for their contributions and to hear their ideas on how to put the Paris Agreement into action.
Calling the entry into force an emotional moment for him, the Secretary-General said that civil society showed the climate challenge stakes and the solutions, mobilizing hundreds of millions of people for the cause.
He stressed the need to move to a low-emissions, climate-resilient future, asking each and every one of them to keep up the fight by holding governments accountable and to press for action.
His remarks are online.
**Cyprus
And as we announced a week ago, the Secretary-General will be travelling to Switzerland on Sunday to open intensive discussions on Monday morning between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders.
The talks will take place in Mont Pèlerin outside of Geneva, and will focus on territory; for the first time, the leaders will negotiate on the issue directly.
The Secretary-General has been closely following the Cyprus negotiations throughout his tenure, and he looks forward to lending his personal support to the work of the two leaders as they enter this crucial phase of negotiations.
He will be back in New York by Monday evening.
**Myanmar
Earlier this week, on the 2nd and 3rd of November, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar was part of a delegation which took part in a Government-led mission to Rakhine State.
The delegation visited villages, which they had selected, which were in areas affected by security operations in the wake of violence on October 9th. The delegation met with state and township officials, community leaders and local villagers.
Community representatives raised their concerns over shortages of food, shelter and medical care. The villagers reported serious human rights abuses during the security operations and also told the delegation of the need for authorities to avoid targeting civilians.
The delegation saw that, in some villages, a number of houses had been burnt.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Renate Lok-Dessallien, condemned the attacks against the security forces and the subsequent violence, urging security forces to respect the rule of law as they seek those responsible for the attacks. She stressed the need for an independent, credible and transparent investigation of both the incident as well as [of] the allegations of human rights violations.
She also pressed for access to assess and address the humanitarian needs of the affected population, and she was assured by the Government that international humanitarian assistance in place before the 9th of October could resume.
**Colombia
From Colombia, the joint tripartite Mechanism coordinated by the UN Mission, with the Government and FARC-EP, held its first press conference in Bogotá.
It will begin to verify and monitor the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities on Monday, 7 November.
General Javier Pérez Aquino, the head of the UN Mission´s international observers, stressed that the parties´ commitment to maintaining the ceasefire and coordination around the Mechanism´s activities are a boost for the peace process.
He also highlighted the importance of the Security Council’s — and the international community’s — support towards peace in Colombia and thanked countries from Latin American and the Caribbean, as well as Norway, for sending women and men observers to the UN Mission in the country.
**Haiti
Today marks one month since Hurricane Matthew made its devastating landfall in Haiti.
Since then, the World Food Programme (WFP) has distributed food assistance to almost 400,000 people as part of its continuing support to the Government’s recovery efforts.
Reports of widespread losses of crops, up to 100 percent in some areas of Grande Anse; livestock; and seeds have increased the urgency, as local markets run out of food and prices of imported goods rise.
As for UNICEF, they estimate that nearly 600,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance, and [that] they are stalked by disease, hunger and malnutrition.
UNICEF and its partners are reaching 100,000 people with safe water per day, and are organising distributions of water purification tablets and hygiene kits.
For its part, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO-WHO) stressed the need to restore and rebuild health services at various levels after the Hurricane.
In the South Department, 28 per cent of health facilities sustained severe damage, 8 per cent of them are closed, while in Grande Anse, 43 per cent of health facilities were severely damaged and 7 per cent are completely closed.
A vaccination campaign against cholera is planned to start on November 8th, targeting 820,000 people.
And the $120-million Flash Appeal is still only 34 per cent funded. It is essential that Member States step up their funding to enable aid agencies to reach and assist people who are in desperate need of aid.
**Iraq
From Iraq, our humanitarian colleagues tell us — excuse me, our human rights colleagues tell us — that they have received reports that Da’esh has been continuing to forcibly transfer civilians over the past few days in Iraq. On Tuesday, the Office [for] Human Rights was told that trucks full of abducted civilians — reportedly 1,600 people — were taken from Hamam al-Alil to Tal Afar city. Some of these families were told that they may be transported to Syria. The Human Rights Office is very concerned that Da’esh intends to use these families to shield themselves from air strikes.
There are also credible reports that 180 people were killed on Wednesday in Kokjali town in eastern Mosul, and possibly up to another 200 people were killed in Mosul city. The Human Rights Office is trying to verify the details of these alleged killings.
They have also has reports that Da’esh militants are holding captive nearly 400 women from Kurdish, Yezidi and Shi’a Muslim communities in Tal Afar. More details are available online.
Meanwhile, UNHCR has opened a new camp in Hasansham to house newly-displaced families fleeing the military offensive in Mosul. Some 3,000 people were received at the camp today. All families are being allocated a tent and receiving assistance. The camp will be able to house about 11,000 people.
**South Sudan
Our colleagues from UNHCR said today they are deeply concerned about the well-being of James Gatdet Dak, the Spokesperson for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (in Opposition) (SPLA-IO), who was returned to South Sudan from Kenya earlier this week. Mr. Dak had previously been granted refugee status by the Kenyan authorities.
UNHCR said that Mr. Dak’s forced return is a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which is the cornerstone of international refugee law. The agency also regrets that its interventions with the Kenyan authorities to stop Mr. Dak’s forced return were not successful. UNHCR urges the Government of South Sudan to ensure that Mr. Dak is treated in accordance with human rights law and standards.
They also tell us that South Sudan’s conflict continues to generate huge volumes of displacement. Data for October shows that on average 3,500 people fled to neighbouring countries each day. Nine out of ten are women and children.
UNHCR, national authorities and other humanitarian actors are racing to create safe and humane conditions for new arrivals, providing immediate life-saving assistance, including food, water and shelter. But severe underfunding is hampering the agency’s efforts on the ground.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that they are leading a convoy into the town of Yei, bringing in 38 trucks transporting one month of food rations, as well as water, sanitation, child protection items from UNICEF and shelter items from UNHCR. The UN has not been able to reach the town for several months. WFP said that malnutrition is above emergency levels in seven of the ten states of South Sudan and the threat of famine is very real, they say.
**Malaria
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) awarded yesterday the Malaria Champions award to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Suriname for drastically reducing malaria cases and deaths in the last 15 years.
Costa Rica achieved a 100 per cent decrease in malaria since 2000, and El Salvador reached a reduction of 98.9 per cent, while Suriname has virtually eliminated malaria from inland villages which previously had the highest rates of transmission in the Americas.
And today, Kyrgyzstan received the official WHO certification of malaria elimination.
Globally, a total of 32 countries and territories have received this certification, including 19 countries in the European region.
**Police Week
For the Week Ahead, which will be online a bit later today, I just wanted to flag that the 11th Annual United Nations Police Week starts on Monday, from 7 to 11 November in Conference Room 9. Heads of police components from UN peace operations will gather in New York. They will brief the Security Council and the Special Committee on peacekeeping operations and discuss goals and challenges related to police with UN officials. The Secretary-General will deliver the closing remarks on November 11th.
**Questions and Answers
Edie.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. On the Cyprus talks, are those only going to last for one day? And what are the Secretary-General’s hopes and expectations from those talks?
Spokesman: No, the talks, the Secretary-General will be there just for the opening, but my understanding, they will last for the, for the week. The Secretary-General is very much looking forward to attending the opening session as this is a critical juncture in the talks and that he welcomes very much the fact that the two leaders have jointly expressed their hope that this meeting will pave the way for the last phase of the talks in line with their shared commitments to do their utmost in order to reach a settlement within 2016.
Majeed.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Friday morning, Turkey’s time, the Turkish authorities arrested Selahattin Demirtas and nearly dozen other lawmakers, and he’s the leader of one of the largest opposition party and the biggest pro-Kurdish party in Turkey.
This is a major political development in Turkey, and there are, there was some concerns about the stability of the country overall. What is your comment?
Spokesman: Well, first of all, I think seeing what happened in Turkey earlier today, I just want to say that the Secretary-General condemns the terrorist attack that took place in Diyarbakir and expresses his condolences to the families of the victims and the people and Government of Turkey.
Now, going back to your question, I think the Secretary-General is also concerned about the scope and the suspensions following the July coup attempt, including those affecting members of Parliament or other elected officials, such as yesterday’s detention of the co-chairs of the opposition People’s Democratic Party and other parliamentarians. He’s also concerned about the increasing restrictions that we see being placed on the media and on journalists.
He calls on the Turkish authorities to make every effort to uphold the fundamental rights and universal principles, including freedom of expression, representation, independence of the judiciary, right to a fair trial and strict adherence to the due process, in line with Turkey’s international obligations.
Matthew.
Correspondent: Sure.
Spokesman: And then, sorry.
Question: I wanted to ask you about Yemen. I’m sure you’ve seen the story that former President Saleh has come out publicly in support of this proposed roadmap, which would involve President Hadi transferring some powers to a new Vice President.
Since it is, I guess, the Secretary-General’s proposal, if the envoy is making it, what does the Secretary… it seems like the missing party here is Mr. Hadi himself. Are there any plans by the Secretary-General to speak to the other side on this peace plan?
Spokesman: The Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, is clearly in the lead. He’s very busy in the region talking to various parties. He’s now gone back to Sana’a for a second time and obviously will have the consultations that he needs.
It’s an ongoing operation, to use that terminology, and I’m not going to comment on what one side or the other is saying while Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed is busy at work.
Question: And does the UN… separately, does the UN have any comment on the arrest of the… the leaders of this HDP party [Peoples’ Democratic Party] in Turkey? It’s the third largest party. Maybe I may have missed it.
Spokesman: Matthew…
Question: Did I? All right.
Spokesman: … for once you did. I just…
Correspondent: Sorry.
Spokesman: Your colleague just asked the question seconds ago.
Correspondent: I heard Turkey, and I was thinking it was about Iraq.
Spokesman: All right. Joe.
Question: Yes. In his closing remarks at the Paris Agreement meeting this morning, the Secretary-General kind of made a side reference to pressures he was getting from… he singles out African countries. I mean, is it safe to say that he was, had in mind Kenya? And were there any other countries he had in mind in terms of putting pressure on them? That’s the first question.
And related to that, you just read out a statement concerning the return of the member of the opposition party, forcible return of the member of the opposition party, to South Sudan from Kenya. Does the Secretary-General see a relationship between that decision of Kenya to return that person to South Sudan and the present dispute that’s going on between Kenya and the Secretary-General because of the report?
Spokesman: I’m not going to, I’m not going to expand on what the Secretary-General himself said. On your second part, I think that’s a question for the Kenyan authorities. Obviously, I think UNHCR, rightfully so, takes very seriously when people who have been granted refugee status are forcibly sent back. He’s now back in South Sudan. We would join UNHCR in calling on the South Sudanese authorities to ensure that he is treated with the most due respect and his rights be respected.
Carole, and then, go ahead.
Question: Just to follow up, do you know if he’s been arrested? Is he…
Spokesman: I don’t know.
Question: … in Juba? Has anything happened to him?
Spokesman: We understand, we understand he was returned to Juba. I don’t have, unfortunately, any further information as to his current state.
Question: Is anyone inquiring…
[inaudible]
Spokesman: Our colleagues, I’m sure, at UNHCR are trying to find out exactly what’s happened to him.
Yeah.
Question: I have questions on two subjects. The first one regarding the Native Americans and the pipeline. Why don’t we hear much from the Secretary-General about it, especially that it includes different subjects, like the crackdown on journalism, environmental, and the Native American issue. Thank you.
Spokesman: I think the…, one of the Special Rapporteurs, I think, had spoken to that, to that case. I think, from our, from where we stand, I think it’s, it’s clearly a very delicate issue. I think it’s very important that people be allowed to demonstrate freely and peacefully without fear of harassment, and just as important that journalists not be harassed or unjustly detained as they try to do the work and cover the stories, any other story.
Question: Don’t you think that, I mean, I’m aware that you answered questions in this regard last week, but don’t you think if the Secretary-General would issue a statement on this would be a benefit for everybody, especially human rights and all these issues?
Spokesman: I, that’s what I have to share with you, share with you on this issue for today. But I will get back to you if there’s anything else.
Linda… oh, you had another question.
Question: Actually clarifying questions. Yesterday, you said in the noon briefing regarding Yemen and Saudi, like, the children list that there will be update in the next… in 2017. Does that mean that we shouldn’t expect any update on the actual report?
Spokesman: I’m not going to, I’ve taken myself out of the business of predicting what we will do and won’t do. So, if we have an update on the current report, I will share it with you. But what is clear is that the activities that take place in 2016 and early 2017 will be covered, will also be covered by the next report, which will be submitted to the Security Council.
Correspondent: No, I… but it’s not a matter of predicting. It’s a matter of how things are standing. And we don’t know… I mean, this is about, like, maybe three, four months already passed, and it’s not really clear what’s happening, and it’s not clear why we don’t know.
Spokesman: I hear you.
Linda.
Question: Thank you, Stéph. I’m sorry if I missed this, but I was wondering if you could tell us what the latest developments are regarding fighting, humanitarian conditions, in both Eastern and Western Aleppo.
Spokesman: You know, there is, in Western Aleppo, we have seen, we had seen some, some fighting. We understand that there is a, that the Russians, as well as Syrians, had declared a pause. Where we stand and where our humanitarian colleagues stand is that humanitarian operations cannot be contingent on political and military initiatives. Whenever there are windows of opportunity, the UN tries to exploit that. But what really, what is really needed is to deliver life-saving assistance to people inside Eastern Aleppo.
It’s the responsibility of all parties to ensure that the security conditions enable that. Eastern Aleppo has been under siege since early July and has suffered extreme destruction. The humanitarian conditions are worsening, and there are reports of lack of food, medical supplies, and lack of access to medical services.
The bottom line is that the UN still does not have the security guarantees it needs to send aid into Eastern Aleppo. Of course, the actual humanitarian operation is dependent on security being provided by all parties.
Question: Just to follow up on that, you said there are not security guarantees. Is… who does that involve? Are both sides rejecting or…?
Spokesman: It involves everyone who has a finger on a trigger. Right? It involves all the parties, whether it’s the Syrian Government and any other, all the other parties that are involved in the conflict. Our colleagues who are on the ground are in constant contact with the various parties. When they feel things have clicked into place and for long enough, then we can get the trucks moving. But we haven’t been able to do that in quite some time.
It’s a matter of the safety of the humanitarian personnel, the incredible Syrian humanitarian workers, the Syrian drivers that are driving the trucks. We’ve seen, we have seen humanitarian convoys hit in the past, and we need to make sure that we have the security guarantees that we need.
Carole.
Question: Stéphane, a group of African countries have presented a resolution in the Third Committee questioning the mandate of the LGBT [Lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender persons] adviser, and I was wondering if the Secretary-General had any concerns about that, given his Elton John award.
Spokesman: I haven’t, I haven’t seen the draft resolution. On the issue of LGBT, it’s one that the Secretary-General, I think, feels very strongly about. It’s a question of human rights. In many countries, it’s a question of life and death. I think the Secretary-General has been very vocal on this on the international scene, and he has acted on his own authority as well to ensure that LGBT staff members here at the UN receive the same rights and privileges as every other staff member.
Mr. Lee.
Correspondent: Sure.
Spokesman: And then…
Question: Couple questions about Somalia. One is, I wanted to know if, on the military side whether the UN is aware, the UN with its UNSOM, is aware of discussions in the Burundian parliament to pull its peacekeepers out of AMISOM and, relatedly or not, of the rejection, some say, of military figure Habarurema from being deployed as the second in command at AMISOM. What’s UNSOM’s role, I guess, in making sure the force remains robust in Somalia?
Spokesman: Well, the UN provides a support role to, to the African Union-led mission, which is in part, in large part, I think, funded by the European Union. So that’s a question to ask them.
Question: And the other one is, is there are reports in Somalia that there’s, there’s an intelligence firm called Sahan that was started by a former member of the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group that’s now accused of various things, tax evasion. And, in the reporting, it says that UNICEF has a contract with them and that UNSOM is prepared to enter a mapping contract with them. So I wasn’t aware of UN agencies having contracts with what are described as intelligence firms.
Question: I’m not aware of the firm, but you should ask UNICEF.
Edie.
Question: What about UNSOM?
[inaudible]
Spokesman: If they have a contract with UNICEF, you should ask UNICEF.
Yes, ma’am.
Question: Stéph, in light of the visit to Myanmar by this UN-led delegation, is the UN doing anything about investigating the firing of a reporter for the Myanmar Times named Fiona MacGregor, who was fired after reporting on dozens of rapes in Rakhine State?
Spokesman: We’re obviously aware of the firing of this reporter. At this point, we’re still looking for a bit more information on exactly what happened. But, as a matter of principle, we obviously support freedom of the press and the right to free expression in Myanmar without any kind of interference, pressure, from the Government or other quarters.
Mr. Klein.
Question: Yeah. Again, earlier, when you read out your statement about Myanmar, you said "they" selected the towns that they were visiting, and it wasn’t clear, when you were referring to "they," whether you were referring to the UN-led delegation or the Government of Myanmar. I mean, who actually selected or had…
Spokesman: My…
Question: … the towns?
Spokesman: … understanding, it was selected by the delegation. It wasn’t led by the UN. The UN was participating, participated in it.
Question: Did the Government have final…
Spokesman: I think….
Question: … approval rights?
Spokesman: … there was a discussion process.
Mr. Lee.
Question: Sure. Hopefully, this is, I’m asking in the right place. I’m going to ask you again about this issue of the, the UNFCCC… the COP22 where the Secretary-General was going and this website. You said it was a very legitimate question. What is the answer by OLA [Office of Legal Affairs] whether UNFCCC logo can be used for a map that portrays Western Sahara…?
[inaudible]
Spokesman: I haven’t… first of all, the website is, the cop22.ma website is run by the Moroccan presidency of COP [Conference of Parties]. Right? We, obviously, the Moroccans are a partner in organising the COP. UNFCCC has its own website. I haven’t seen any maps on the COP22 website but I’m happy to see them.
The UN’s position on Western Sahara remains unchanged regardless of what is maybe on any website.
Question: I guess I’m asking because there have been recent comments by Hans Corell, the former head of OLA, saying that the whole thing is… is… that these... both the turbines in Western Sahara and their portrayal are legally problematic, so I’m just…
[inaudible]
Spokesman: The UN’s position has not changed.
Question: All right. Now I wanted to ask, this is something I needed to ask you. It has to… one, I mean, I’ve asked you about the Ethics Office and getting some kind of a passing on this question of whether the speech for the sponsorship without releasing the speech was permissible, but now I wanted to ask you this. Han Seung-soo, right? I asked you before. He’s on the board of Doosan. They do business. He’s a UN official.
Basically, there’s a project in the UAE. It’s a nuclear power plant, where, not only Doosan is involved, where he’s given speeches for the UN, but the Secretary-General’s brother Ki-ho is with a firm called Bosung that’s a joint venture in the project.
Has this… has the idea of direct blood relatives of the Secretary-General participating in projects with a UN official who’s also on the board, has this been raised with the Ethics Office?
Spokesman: I think you’re, you know, the Secretary-General’s relatives are the Secretary-General’s relatives. They’re not him. I don’t speak for them.
Han Seung-soo has his, has his mandate. I think you’re, you’re tying up a lot of points which, frankly, I don’t think are connected.
Question: Does he check, I guess what I’m saying is, as a UN official, even as you describe him as a Special Adviser on water and disaster risk reduction…
[inaudible]
Spokesman: As we’ve said in the past, he has reviewed his activities with the Ethics Office.
Thank you.