THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S PRESS ENCOUNTER ON CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
New York, 18 October 2017 
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am here to announce that I will travel to the Central African Republic early next week to spend United Nations Day with a peacekeeping operation in order to pay tribute to peacekeepers across the world.

Peacekeeping operations are among the international community’s most effective tools for meeting the challenges of global peace and security.

Peacekeepers show tremendous courage in volatile environments and great dedication in helping countries rise from the depths of armed conflict.

I thank the uniformed and civilian personnel for their contributions and the troop contributing countries for their commitment and generosity.

This service too often claims the lives of those who serve.  Since the beginning of the year, 67 peacekeepers have died in the line of duty.  

We honour their sacrifice.

In the Central African Republic, 12 peacekeepers have been killed from hostile acts this year alone.

It is important to remember that five years ago, the Central African Republic was experiencing mass atrocities, and United Nations peacekeepers helped avert the worst.

Today, the situation remains very troubling.  My visit also aims to draw attention to a fragile situation that is often far from the media spotlight.

Across the country, communal tensions are growing.  Violence is spreading.  And the humanitarian situation is deteriorating.  

Since the beginning of this year, the number of internally displaced persons has almost doubled, reaching 600,000.

The number of refugees in neighbouring countries has surpassed 500,000.

About one out of four people in the Central African Republic have been forced from their homes since the beginning of the crisis.

Despite these rising needs, humanitarian personnel and aid workers are being targeted and access restricted.

This year alone, 12 humanitarians have been killed in the Central African Republic, making it one of the world’s most dangerous places for aid workers to serve.

Meanwhile, our appeals for emergency aid are only 30 per cent funded.    

My upcoming visit will be an opportunity to engage with the Government and others in order to ease suffering, halt the current backsliding, and strengthen international support for peace.

I also aim to give impetus to the new United Nations approach to addressing and preventing sexual exploitation and abuse.

We know that the good work and the tremendous sacrifice of peacekeepers around the world has been tarnished by the appalling acts of some UN personnel who have harmed the people they were meant to serve.

I am pained that some peacekeepers are alleged to have committed egregious acts of sexual exploitation and abuse against the people of the Central African Republic.

During my visit, I will be accompanied by Jane Connors, who I appointed recently to serve as the Organization’s first Victims’ Rights Advocate.  We are determined to ensure that the voices of victims are heard – I will myself be ready to meet with victims and their families – in and beyond the Central African Republic. Victims must be at the centre of our response if we want our zero-tolerance policy to be successful.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is a critical moment for the Central African Republic.

Much has been accomplished, including the election of a president and a government, following the inclusive Bangui Forum.

A special criminal court has been established with the help of the United Nations to ensure accountability, and in several aspects there has been progress towards recovery.

We need to do everything we can to preserve these achievements, support the UN peacekeeping operation and sustain peace. I have just asked the Security Council to increase the ceiling of troops in the Central African Republic and also to increase their capacity, their mobility and their ability to address the very dramatic challenges they face.

But there is no military solution to this crisis.

We will continue to cooperate with the African Union and strongly support the African Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation, and I urge all partners to move this process forward, under the leadership of the Government of the Central African Republic, in line with the so-called Libreville Roadmap.

The country has seen enough brutality, enough division, enough conflict.
   
It is time to consolidate the fragile gains and transform them into a sustained investment in peace and stability for the people of the Central African Republic.

Thank you.

Question:  Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary-General. Question, you have said that the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, just last week, you said it was a breakthrough, you hope it's salvaged. What is your view of what came out of the Security Council this morning? People have asked for inclusion of other things, an amendment to it. Thank you.

Secretary-General:  As I said, it is, for me, clear that this agreement is essential. This agreement is something that needs to be preserved. It's up to the parties to the agreements to look into whatever development they might consider, but it is absolutely essential, in my opinion, to preserve this agreement for peace and stability in the world.

Spokesman:  Hold on. I'll come back to you. NHK.  

Question:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General. I'm Sato from NHK. My question is about North Korea. We are still worrying that the war of rhetoric between the United States and DPRK is still continuing. Could you tell us a little bit about your view on the current situation, of the Korean Peninsula situation? And, again, I would like to ask you what are you going to play a role as a mediator or to ease tension of the Korean Peninsula? Thank you.

Secretary-General:  I think the clear objective of the international community is to achieve the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, and this must be very clear and, in particular, very clear to the authorities in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. At the same time, I am a believer that the unity of the Security Council is a crucial instrument for that to be achieved. But I also believe, and I would like to repeat it, that I think that unity also creates the opportunity for diplomatic engagement. And, in my opinion, diplomatic engagement is the way to be able to achieve the objective of denuclearisation that we all cherish. I think that a war situation would be a tragedy that we need to be able to avoid.

I have been, as I said, available for any action that might be found useful, but, obviously, that can only be done if the relevant parties to this very dangerous situation will agree to it, and the conditions are not yet met for that to be possible

Spokesman:  Michelle… Hold on. Hold on. Michelle.

Question:  Thank you, Secretary-General. Michelle Nichols from Reuters. Just on Central African Republic, as you mentioned, you would like to see some more troops sent to the peacekeeping mission. Have you discussed this directly with the US Ambassador, Nikki Haley, given that they're trying to cut costs in peacekeeping? And do you think you've convinced her of the need for these additional troops?
And just a question on Iran. You report twice a year to the Security Council on the implementation of the resolution. Do you think that Iran is abiding by or violating the resolution?  

Secretary-General:  In relation to the first question, that is, of course, the most important, because the objective of this stakeout was related to the Central African Republic. There is a legitimate concern of Member States and, namely of the United States, to do, in relation to peacekeeping operations, the savings that might be justified. And we have, as you know, taken decisions to terminate the missions in Liberia and in Côte d'Ivoire. We have changed the nature of the mission into a much smaller one in Haiti. We are taking very tough measures for savings, for instance, in the use of air assets. And we are conducting this policy in a very determined way.

But this has nothing to do with the fact that there is a need to increase the capacity of our troops in Central African Republic to protect civilians, and so I am convinced that there will be a very positive understanding of all the members of the Security Council, including the United States of America, in relation to this.

In relation to the Iranian behaviour, I believe that the last report that was presented corresponds to the reality. I don't see anything happen that changes what we have said in our last report.

Spokesman:  Matthew?

Question:  Sure. Thanks a lot. Thanks, Secretary-General. On... on sexual abuse and exploitation, even in the last month, there have been at least four separate reports of alleged abuse by peacekeepers from Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan. So, I'm wondering, do you think your new approach is yet having an impact? What...would you repatriate some, some battalions if they don't punish them?
And, since everyone else is, I need to ask you about Cameroon. I'm sorry to ask you, but since October 1, there have been hundreds of people killed there. Your envoy, François [Louncény] Fall, has said he was going to go but hasn't gone. People are extremely concerned. And I'm just wondering, are we missing something? Are you preventing conflict in this instance or, or what is the UN doing? Thank you.

Secretary-General:  First of all, we have already repatriated one of the forces that was present in the Central African Republic, so these are things that we are taking very seriously. And this visit with our Victims' Rights Advocate is exactly to demonstrate, and to demonstrate to the countries, our total commitment.

And I have to say that I am having a very positive response. We have presented to Member States, namely troop-contributing countries, a compact with a number of very important things to ensure prevention and also to ensure training and to make sure that there is no impunity. I can announce that 72 countries have already signed our compacts and 19 are seriously considering it, in the process of preparing the signature, and that 57 Heads of State have joined the Circle of Leadership to commit themselves to fight sexual exploitation and abuse.

So, we are building an alliance with Member States in order to make sure that we all work together for the zero tolerance policy to become a reality. This, of course, will take time to produce results on the ground. There is a lot to be done, but we are totally committed to this policy and to achieve results in it.

Spokesman:  Ali.

Question:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General. On Syria, how important is to renew the Joint Investigative Mechanism regarding the chemical weapon use in Syria? Also, on Lebanon, does the… Hezbollah is heavily participating in the fight against terrorism. Does that give Hezbollah any legitimacy to keep their arms in Lebanon and beyond? Thank you.

Secretary-General:  It is very clear for us, in relation to Syria, that the Joint Investigative Mechanism is a very important tool, a tool addressing the problems of accountability. And we fully support their activities, and we are waiting for the report to be presented.

And, in relation to Lebanon, we are strong believers that the state of Lebanon must be a state with the monopoly of the use of force inside the country, like my own state and any other state, and this is something that I believe should be a goal for all Lebanese, knowing all the difficulties and complexities of the situation.

Thank you very much. 

 

 

• The UN Mission in the Central African Republic today condemned the violence that reportedly took place in Pombolo, in Basse Kotto prefecture. Preliminary reports indicate that many civilians might have been killed in the widespread violence. The Mission does not have any peacekeepers present in Pombolo.
• The UN Mission will do everything possible to put an end to this violence and facilitate access to treatment for the injured. One reconnaissance helicopter is being deployed, as well as ground troops.

 

• The UN Mission in Abyei said today it is deeply concerned about the recent spate of attacks on civilians within Abyei Area, which has resulted in the loss of civilian lives.
• The Mission said that these incidents are the work of spoilers and criminals bent on reversing the gains made to ensure sustainable peace and security within the Abyei Area.
• The UN Mission considers these attacks on innocent civilians a blatant violation of the weapons-free status of Abyei Area and condemns them in the strongest terms. It will not hesitate to engage forcefully with those engaged in such violations.

 

• The Director-General of the UN Migration Agency (IOM), William Lacy Swing, today wrapped up a three-day visit to Bangladesh, voicing his commitment to bolster efforts to help the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar.
• He said that the arc of misery that exists between Myanmar’s Northern Rakhine State and Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar is deeply upsetting, with too many people suffering desperately with too little support.
• While in Bangladesh, Mr. Swing visited makeshift settlements and met with Bangladeshi officials.
• He stressed that the needs on the ground are enormous, paying tribute to the people and Government of Bangladesh for its generosity. However, he said, the crisis has unravelled at an unprecedented speed and scope, with gaps in the response capacity on the ground.
• IOM said that the Bangladesh Government confirmed today that it will move an estimated 15,000 people currently stranded in “no man’s land” near the Anjuman Para border crossing point in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia District to more appropriate settlement areas.

• Following the category 5 hurricane that decimated the Caribbean island nation of Dominica on 18 September, a UN-wide Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) kicks off today, led by a senior team on the ground of the UN Development Programme and the World Bank.
• Critical infrastructure—including electrical lines, houses, public buildings as government offices, schools and hospitals—key to the economy and people’s livelihoods were significantly damaged. Over 90 percent of roofs were damaged or destroyed and 57.000 people, around 80 percent of the total population) have been directly affected, according to the preliminary assessments.
• The assessment takes place as a direct request from the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica to the European Union and its development partners, the World Bank and the UN System. It follows up on an initial “Rapid Needs Assessment” that immediately led to the deployment of 360 response personnel to support areas such as rescue, damage assessment and needs analysis.
• The physical, economic and human impacts of Hurricane Maria will also be assessed, including how it affects Dominica’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
• The study will propose a recovery strategy that includes short and medium-term social, economic, fiscal and institutional measures. It will assess capacities of local and national governments’ recovery and reconstruction systems to recommend training and capacity development for Government and community-based recovery.

 

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and partners launched a campaign against a new strain that jeopardizes livelihoods reliant on banana, the world’s most traded fruit.
• This fungus poses major risks to the world's banana production and could cause vast commercial losses and even greater damage to the livelihoods of the 400 million people who rely on the fruit as a staple food or source of income.
• FAO and its partners Bioversity International, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the World Banana Forum have launched a global programme requiring $98 million to contain and manage this new strain - Tropical Race 4 (TR4) - of Fusarium wilt, an insidious disease that can last for years in soils and can hitchhike to new fields and destinations through a number of means such as infected planting materials, water, shoes, farm tools and vehicles.
• Fusarium wilt TR4 was first detected in Southeast Asia in the 1990s and has now been identified at 19 sites in 10 countries, including the Near East, South Asia and Mozambique in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The global programme is initially targeting 67 countries in a bid to prevent its spread and management. Without a coordinated intervention, scientists estimate that the disease could affect up to 1.6 million hectares of current banana lands by 2040, representing one-sixth of current global production with an estimated annual value of USD 10 billion. The programme aims to reduce the potentially affected area by up to 60 percent.