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
At 3 p.m. this afternoon, the Secretary-General will speak at the launch of the New Climate Economy report from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate Change.
He will stress that, despite some encouraging momentum, climate change is running faster than we are.
The trend is clear, the Secretary-General will say, with the last 19 years including 18 of the warmest years on record.
The Secretary-General will underscore how we need climate action to prevent ever greater crises, calling for all of us to act with greater ambition and urgency.
And next week, on 10 September at 3 p.m., the Secretary-General will deliver a major address on climate change.
Outside the Rose Garden on the North Lawn, he will speak to an audience of young people, business leaders, diplomats and hopefully journalists on the eve of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco and the annual gathering of world leaders for the General Assembly.
In those remarks, the Secretary-General will outline the danger, highlight solutions, and emphasize the need for greater ambition and stronger leadership in what he calls “the defining threat of our time”. More details will be available on that speech later this week.
**Guatemala
Yesterday, you will have seen a statement issued by the Secretary-General. The UN was informed by the Guatemalan authorities yesterday that they have barred Commissioner Ivan Velasquez of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) from entry into Guatemala. The Commission and its Commissioner play a pivotal role in the fight against impunity in the country. The UN Secretariat has serious concerns about the decision of the Government, which it is currently reviewing and which does not appear to be consistent with the Agreement on the establishment of the Commission.
The Secretary-General encourages the Government of Guatemala to continue to search for a solution through dialogue in the framework of article 12 of the Agreement establishing the Commission.
**Mauritania
We also issued a statement last night on Mauritania in which the Secretary-General commended the people of the country for the peaceful conduct of parliamentary, regional and municipal elections.
He encourages all parties to continue to act in a peaceful manner during and after the announcement of the results. The full statement is online.
**Deputy Secretary-General’s Travels
The Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, will travel to the Netherlands today to discuss the ongoing reform of the UN development system, development cooperation, and broader efforts to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She will meet with Government ministers, senior officials and representatives of civil society and the private sector.
On Friday and Saturday, the Deputy Secretary-General will visit Ireland. While there, she will deliver key remarks and participate in a conference marking the fiftieth anniversary of Concern Worldwide — a leading NGO [non-governmental organization] on development and humanitarian issues. She will also meet senior Government officials to discuss a range of matters, including UN development system reform, Ireland’s new development cooperation policy, peacekeeping and migration. Ms. Mohammed will also meet with civil society and youth groups to discuss domestic implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change and gender equality.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on Saturday.
**Mali
The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is wrapping up a visit to Mali today, during which he attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
During a press conference held at the UN Mission’s Headquarters in Bamako earlier this morning, Mr. Lacroix said the need for a swift implementation of the Peace Agreement was a priority expressed by the various stakeholders he met — including the national authorities, the signatories of the Peace Agreement and Malians in general — mirroring the UN Security Council’s preoccupation.
He added that the successful completion of the UN Mission in Mali’s (MINUSMA) mandate lies in a political process that moves forward and he reiterated the United Nations “total determination” to help Malians on the road to peace and stability.
During his six-day visit, Mr. Lacroix travelled to the north of the country and met with UN staff, as well as with Government officials and others involved in the peace process.
**Libya
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), in a press release, thanked the Libyan parties who accepted the Mission’s invitation for dialogue and congratulates them on reaching a ceasefire agreement to end the fighting afflicting Tripoli since 26 August. The agreement was signed under the auspices of Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Libya, Ghassan Salame.
Mr. Salame will continue to offer good offices and work with all parties to reach a lasting political agreement acceptable to all to avoid further loss of life and for the benefit of the people of Libya.
**Afghanistan
The High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, are visiting Afghanistan on a two-day mission that began today.
They are scheduled to meet senior Government officials, as well as donors, development and humanitarian partners, UN agencies, NGOs, and families affected by the conflict.
Mr. Grandi and Mr. Lowcock will also visit neighbouring Pakistan on a joint mission. More details tomorrow.
**Gaza
Today, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Jamie McGoldrick, called for urgent funding for emergency fuel for essential services in the Gaza Strip, as supplies have depleted.
Final fuel supplies of the United Nations-coordinated emergency operation for backup generators at life-supporting facilities in Gaza are being delivered and exhausted.
Within a week, the first hospital, Al Aqsa Hospital in the Middle Area of the Gaza Strip, may have to shut down. In addition, without fuel, some 300,000 people will potentially be affected by serious public health concerns as sewage could overflow onto streets.
Based on the current electricity deficit in Gaza, a minimum of $4.5 million is required to sustain these essential services until the end of the year. If new funds are not received immediately, we will be facing a potentially catastrophic breakdown in essential service delivery.
**CERF
The Secretary-General has appointed five new members to the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Established by the General Assembly in 2005, the 19-member Advisory Group provides policy guidance to the Secretary-General and advice on the use of the CERF.
**Physical Activity
A new paper authored by four World Health Organization (WHO) experts shows that more than one in four adults globally — or 1.4 billion people — are physically inactive.
The paper, published in the Lancet, shows that the global level of inactivity in adults remains largely unchanged since 2001. WHO has also launched a new Global Action Plan on Physical Activity that sets the target to reduce physical inactivity by 10 per cent by 2025 and 15 per cent by 2030. More information on WHO’s website.
**General Assembly
A reminder to all of you to remind all your colleagues — who are not resident correspondents — who wish to cover the seventy-third session of the General Assembly that today is your last chance to apply for media accreditation. To apply, please contact the Media Accreditation unit (un.org/malu).
If you have a valid UN Media pass, you do not need to apply for a separate badge to cover the UNGA.
**Swearing-in Ceremony
Also, just wanted to flag that the Secretary-General swore in Michele Bachelet as the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, and he also swore in the new Ombudswoman. These two swearings-in bring the level, the parity of women to men, I think 24 to 22 — 24 women to 22 men in the Secretary-General’s Senior Management Group.
**Questions and Answers
That's it. And I… thank you. Go ahead.
Question: Thanks, Stéphane. As we approach October, I understand Cameroon is having an election. What… do you have any sort of update on the situation in Cameroon? And is the Secretary‑General concerned about outbreaks of violence during that election?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary‑General remains… and the UN system remains concerned at the situation in the English‑speaking parts of Cameroon and encourages a political dialogue to be fully engaged, and we'll keep watching the situation. Paolo and then we'll go to…
Question: Yes. Also, the violence in Libya after the ceasefire, is still the position of the United Nation that we should have election by 10 December in Libya, or is this something that has to be considered further?
Spokesman: You know, I don't have any specific guidance on that. I know the Special Representative, Mr. Salamé, is working with all the Libyan parties to bring back a political accord so that the Libyan people themselves can choose their future. Evelyn?
Question: Yeah, I was also going to ask what's the next step on Libya? After seeing… anyway, Ambassador [Nikki] Haley, yesterday, said that the US is about ready to reveal its peace plan for the Middle East and… well, for the Palestinians, for whoever, and is the UN going to be briefed on that before it's released?
Spokesman: Well, I think the Secretary‑General has had conversations with Mr. [Jason] Greenblatt, with Mr. [Jared] Kushner not too long ago, on their work. And we look forward to the plan being shared with the Secretary‑General in due time.
Question: And is… I'm still here.
Spokesman: Go ahead.
Question: Any reaction to what the UK is saying on the Salis… on the Russians accused of the Salisbury poison…?
Spokesman: No, not anything new to what we've already said. Mr. Varma.