Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, 27 June 2013
Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Eduardo del Buey, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the briefing.
**Secretary-General’s Travel
The Secretary-General will depart New York for Geneva on Sunday, where he will participate in the opening of the high-level segment of the annual meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations on Monday. While in Geneva, he will also participate in the launch of the 2013 Global Innovation Index of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which ranks world economies’ innovation capabilities and results.
The same day, the Secretary-General will travel to Reykjavik, Iceland, where he will meet senior Government officials, including the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He will also meet members of the Parliament and give a speech at the University of Iceland. While in Iceland, the Secretary-General will also visit a geothermal power plant and Thingvellir National Park, which is a UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] World Heritage site.
On Wednesday, 3 July, the Secretary-General will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he will inaugurate the UN-City, which gathers UN organizations under one roof. While in Copenhagen, he will also meet with senior Government officials, including Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Development Cooperation. The Secretary-General will depart Copenhagen on 5 July.
**Security Council
The Security Council voted unanimously this morning to terminate sanctions measures that had been in effect under Chapter VII since 1991, concerning Iraq’s obligations to Kuwait. The Council requested that the head of the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) promote, support and facilitate efforts concerning the return of Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and of Kuwaiti property that had been seized by Iraq.
The Security Council also voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Golan by six months, until the end of 2013.
The Council will wrap up its work for June in a session beginning at 3 p.m. today. And following this briefing, at 12:30 p.m., there will be an end-of-term press conference here by Ambassador Sir Mark Lyall Grant, the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of June.
**Iraq
The United Nations has released the latest report on human rights in Iraq, which says that, despite some progress, human rights in Iraq are under further threat from mounting violence. The report says that at least 3,238 civilians were killed and 10,379 injured in 2012, in a worrying reversal of the trend that had seen violence decline in recent years.
Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, said that the return to high casualty figures means that much more needs to be done to protect civilians. He once more urged Iraqi leaders to engage in dialogue and develop policies that address the root causes of the problem.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Roger Meece, and the representative of UNICEF in the country, Ms. Barbara Bentein, have expressed their deep concern about recent cases of rape of young girls, in the Kavumu–Lwiro axis, in South Kivu Province.
Over the past two months, nine young girls aged between 18 months and 12 years old have been admitted to Panzi Hospital in South Kivu with marks of violence on their bodies and very serious internal wounds, resulting in the death of two girls. According to the Mission and UNICEF, these abuses are said to be related to harmful traditional practices perpetrated by individuals who kidnap young children from their communities.
UNICEF and MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo] are mindful of the steps that have been taken by the Congolese authorities to arrest two suspects implicated in the cases. But they note that these steps must be accompanied by concrete measures to conduct full investigations and prosecution of all perpetrators involved in this despicable practice. The relevant authorities are urged to take the necessary steps in this regard, in line with the State’s obligations under national and international law. There is a press release on this from MONUSCO.
**Somalia
The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs visited Somalia today to reaffirm the United Nations resolve to support the Somali Government and people following the attack on a UN compound last week. This marks Jeffrey Feltman’s second visit to the country this year.
He met with President Sheikh Hassan and diplomats, as well as UN staff affected by last week’s attack. Paying tribute to colleagues who died, Mr. Feltman said that the United Nations will not be deterred by the attack and that our commitment is to stay and work together with the Somali people for a brighter future for their country.
**Deputy Secretary-General in Vienna
The Deputy Secretary-General is in Vienna today, where he spoke at the opening of an event to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the World Conference on Human Rights, which was held in the Austrian capital.
He said that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted 20 years ago at the Conference, was a turning point and that the event generated momentum for the cause of human rights.
The Deputy Secretary-General said there is still work to do today, noting the situations in Syria, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also referred to the recruitment of child soldiers, human trafficking and the persecution of people based on their ethnic or religious background or sexual orientation.
Also speaking at the event today was the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Navi Pillay described the Vienna Declaration as the most significant human rights document produced in the last quarter of a century, and one of the strongest human rights documents of the past 100 years. She said that it is essential that it is viewed as a living document that can and should continue to guide our actions and goals. Both sets of remarks are available online.
**UNICEF
While there have been steady and positive reforms in children’s rights in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, children there still face huge barriers in gaining access to justice.
That’s according to a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union, which found that across the region, fewer children are being put into prison, but that ill treatment ‑ sometimes amounting to torture ‑ takes place in all countries surveyed.
The report welcomed moves by Governments in the region, including in countries set to join the European Union, to widen the scope of reforms towards systematically protecting the rights of all children in the justice system. The full report is available online.
We have time for a few questions. Masood?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Yes, sir. On this… United States Secretary of State John Kerry is now visiting Jerusalem in order to jump-start the talks, and at the same time, Israel has authorized construction of more homes in East Jerusalem. Do you have any… has the Secretary-General got any reaction to it?
Deputy Spokesperson: Well, the construction of settlements in the occupied territories goes against international law. That’s been the Secretary-General’s position always and it continues to be so.
Question: In this… in this… in this…
Deputy Spokesperson: Microphone, please?
Question: Oh, sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. In this… I just wanted to ask you also, basically the Secretary… Secretary Kerry is there to jump-start this process; does the United Nations have any, what do you call, something to do with it, as to push this process forward, except for encouraging it, other than that?
Deputy Spokesperson: Well, the United Nations is very active there. As you know, Robert Serry, the Special Coordinator for the Peace [Process] in the Middle East, is very active in Israel and the Palestinian territories and he continues to be very active. They work on a daily basis trying to find ways to get people to talk together, trying to find ways to bring sides to the table and contribute into the momentum that other countries and other Governments are also trying to implement. Joe?
Question: Yeah, I’d just like to put on the record a request, if possible, for Mr. [Jean-Paul] Laborde, the newly appointed Executive Director of Counter-Terrorism ‑ I hope I am pronouncing his name right ‑ to come to the briefing room and take questions from the press.
Deputy Spokesperson: Well, your request is noted. Matthew?
Question: Yeah, sure. I… I wanted to ask about these… it’s pretty serious fighting in Darfur, that… that… they said that, you know, the… the… the… two tribes, Beni Hussein and another, fighting near a gold mine. Somehow, they’re… they’re… at least one of the stories, you know, quotes a UNAMID spokeswoman as saying 54 people of the Beni Hussein tribe were killed, and I am just wondering, what’s the… the… the… the story doesn’t say anything about UNAMID actually, you know, deploying or trying to take the two sides apart. What… what is UNAMID doing about this… this sort of recurrent and very deadly fighting there?
Deputy Spokesperson: Well, I can tell you that on 21 June, the joint African Union-United Nations mission observed armed Abbala moving from different locations, including West Darfur, and also reported elements of the Beni Hussein were deployed to deter possible attacks. The mission has increased the number of patrols in the El Sereif and Saraf Umra areas and is continuing to monitor the situation closely, while supporting and promoting efforts to achieve the reconciliation between the two tribes. The mission is working to verify the reports of the tribal clashes. Masood? Microphone?
Question: On this situation in India and Pakistan, in Kashmir, the situation in Kashmir, you said that you’d get back to me on that later on?
Deputy Spokesperson: Well, when we have something, we will get back to you.
Correspondent: Okay, you still don’t have anything, okay.
Deputy Spokesperson: If we haven’t gotten back to you, it is because we don’t have anything yet. Matthew?
Question: Sure, I wanted to ask you about this letter from… from the International Trade Union Conference. It’s a group of 176 million public sector employees, and they wrote to the Secretary-General yesterday, being highly critical of his labour policies. The… with… the thing that I’ve asked you about in Mexico City, the ro… what they call the roll-back of negotiating rights, and it’s… it’s a pretty big group and so I am wondering what… I… I understand that
pre… previously you said that the GA… the… these people have a pretty detailed analysis, but also given the size of the group, what’s the response of the Secretary-General to the idea that, you know, they are saying it is inconsistent with ILO [International Labour Organization] principles, with all the things the UN espouses?
Deputy Spokesperson: Well, first of all, we’ll have to find out if we have received the letter, Matthew, if you’ve said it was sent yesterday, and secondly it’s… you know, it’s… the Secretary-General does not comment on letters he receives from organizations. These are for the organization to make public.
Question: Sure, they have made it public. I mean, I pub… for it’s… it’s a public letter.
Deputy Spokesperson: Perfect. Well, then, when the Secretary-General receives it, I am sure he and his advisers will look at it.
Question: Well, let me ask you a labour question more… more internal here. It is said that the… the… the people…the… the television broadcasting conferencing engineers are… many of them are slated to… to basically be laid off on Friday. And this new TeamPeople, from all accounts, have said they are going to have a skeleton crew. Just now at the stakeout for… for… for Foreign Minister [Hoshyar] Zebari there was no boom person, so I am wondering, what’s the plan? It seems like there is going to be a reduction in service and at a time when there… you know, at least there seems to be a lot of news. What’s the… was there any minimal level of service promised by TeamPeople, and what’s the status of the people that have worked here, in some cases a decade, and now will be simply, you know, let go?
Deputy Spokesperson: I will have to get back to you on that, I don’t have the paper with me.
Question: Okay. There is… there is an…? There is a response?
Deputy Spokesperson: There should be a response; if not, we will get it for you.
[The Deputy Spokesperson later added that, following a standard procurement solicitation process, a new contract for Broadcast and Audiovisual Services at United Nations Headquarters in New York has been awarded to TeamPeople, a media talent staffing company based in Virginia. TeamPeople has broad experience in providing technical staffing to broadcasters, media operations, video production companies and conference facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. TeamPeople will assume full operational responsibilities on 1 July, and the contract will run for a period of two years with options to extend. The new contractor has sole responsibility for supplying the technicians, i.e. sound engineers, camera operators and studio technicians. The United Nations contract is with the contractor only and the United Nations is not involved in the contractor's hiring processes.]
Okay, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Have a good afternoon.
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