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 Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon and happy Friday, everyone. We’ll start with a couple of travel announcements.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
The Secretary-General will travel on 5 June to Saint Petersburg in the Russian Federation, where he will participate in the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, which begins in that city on the following day. The Forum will be a venue where the Secretary-General can talk to leaders about implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. The theme of this year’s Forum is “Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda”. The Secretary-General will travel back to New York on 8 June.
**Deputy Secretary-General’s Travels
This evening, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will depart New York for London to attend the Our Shared Humanity meetings of the United Nations Association-UK and Chatham House. Those meetings will take place on 3 and 4 June. The Deputy Secretary-General will also be meeting with senior officials and other stakeholders on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals while in London.
**Mozambique
The United Nations is supporting the Government of Mozambique, which is convening a pledging conference for recovery and reconstruction in the wake of the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclones Idai and Kenneth. Two strong tropical cyclones hit Mozambique and the Southern Africa region in the same season for the first time in recorded history. The pledging conference, which began today, is bringing together 500 representatives from Governments, international organizations, development partners, the private sector and civil society. The Secretary-General will have a message for the conference tomorrow in which he will reiterate his appeal to the generosity of the international community, noting that this is the moment to translate into concrete gestures our solidarity with Mozambique. He will also stress how the cyclones warn us about the urgency of tackling climate change.
**Madagascar
The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ursula Mueller, will visit Madagascar from 3 to 5 June to see first-hand the humanitarian situation in the country. Ms. Mueller will meet with senior Government officials and other stakeholders to discuss the humanitarian response and preparedness to climate-related challenges, which exacerbate the risks faced by extremely vulnerable people, particularly in the Grand Sud region. Madagascar has been beset by recurrent disease epidemics, including plague and measles, and vulnerability to natural disasters, in particular cyclones, and chronic food insecurity and high levels of stunting in the south of the country.
**Libya
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the number of people who have fled their homes due to the fighting in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, has surpassed 90,000, according to the UN migration agency. This week alone saw 8,000 people — half of them believed to be children — displaced. Aid workers continue to provide assistance to the internally displaced and to other vulnerable people impacted by the ongoing hostilities, with more than 47,000 people in Tripoli and surrounding areas having received help to date. Food, water and other essential items are being supplied to newly displaced families, while psychosocial support is being provided to conflict-affected children.
**Yemen
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), says that almost 4,300 Somali refugees have now returned home from Yemen since the roll-out in 2017 of an Assisted Spontaneous Return programme, facilitated by UNHCR in cooperation with humanitarian partners and authorities in Yemen and Somalia. In the latest departure, a boat carrying 125 Somali refugees departed Aden on Wednesday afternoon. The vessel arrived at the Port of Berbera in Somalia yesterday morning, bringing home men, women and children in time for the Eid holiday. With Yemen being the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and civilians facing life-threatening conditions, the situation for refugees and asylum seekers and migrants has deteriorated significantly. Somali refugees comprise 90 per cent of Yemen’s refugee and asylum seeker population, or some 250,000 people.
**No Tobacco Day
And we flagged this earlier this week, but just a reminder that today is World No Tobacco Day, which is focusing on the damage that tobacco causes on lung health. And there is plenty more information on this on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website.
**No Plastic
And I just want to flag that, here at UN Headquarters we are taking steps to curtail our own use of single-use plastics. As you may have noticed when visiting the UN cafeterias, we are switching to more sustainable alternatives. This is part of an ongoing effort to green the building and advance sustainable management and operations.
**Correction
I would like to correct something I said yesterday, when I had said that Nickolay Mladenov had been invited to the meeting on the Middle East in Bahrain. He has not received an invitation.
**Press Briefing Monday
And last, on Monday at 3 p.m., there will be a briefing here by Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Sh. A. Alotaibi, Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of June. He will brief you on the Council’s programme for the month. And with that, are there any questions before we turn to Monica [Grayley]? Yes, Carole?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Farhan, just to clarify, then, on the Bahrain conference, no one from the UN was invited? And no one is going?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't have anything in particular to say about invitations. If we have any discussions or decisions about that in the coming days, I'll let you know. But, at present, we don't have anyone who is slated to attend. Masood?
Question: Yeah. So, follow‑up on this question. So, what does it mean for the… for the Palestinian and… if they do not get the money and so forth? What does it mean?
Deputy Spokesman: For… if they do not get money for their work? We would… we've encouraged all Member States to supply the funding that's necessary for the Palestinian Authority to be able to function effectively and for the humanitarian conditions in Gaza to be improved, and we continue to do that.
Question: Also, can you… also, can you tell me about this… you were just talking about Yemen and that all the Somalis have left the area. How…?
Deputy Spokesman: Not all of them, just about 4,000 of them. There's about 250,000 of them in Yemen.
Question: Yes, sir. What I'm asking is, how does it impact this… with… with the [Donald] Trump Administration giving more aid to… arms aid to Saudi Arabia, does it affect the relations between the… does it… is it going to impact the situation in Yemen?
Deputy Spokesman: Obviously, we've encouraged all the parties in the region to do what they can to make sure that the hostilities in Yemen are ended. We're continuing with our own diplomatic work, trying to bring the parties together. You'll have seen some of the results of that in Stockholm and with the Hodeidah Agreement, but we're continuing to try to do all we can to end all hostilities throughout the country. Yes, please?
Question: Hi, this is Khalid with Al Jazeera. Sudan's Transitional Military Council has ordered… or ordered yesterday for the shutdown of Al Jazeera Media Network in the capital without providing any specific reasons. What is your reaction towards this development? Are you concerned that this may foreshadow a crackdown against the protesters in the capital, especially that the Council… the Military Council yesterday warned that the gathering in the capital has become a threat to the country's national security? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding the situations in Sudan, we may have a statement later today concerning the situation, and we'll share that once we have that. Obviously, we are concerned about some of the recent tensions. We want to make sure, in the coming days, that all the fundamental rights and liberties of the people are fully respected, and that would include freedom of expression, of course. And in that regard, of course, we want to make sure that all media are able to do their work in Sudan without harassment. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. So, the question about Kosovo again, this Russian diplomat who was previously detained and beaten in Kosovo now is declared there persona non grata. I wonder if you have any comments on that. And also, it was announced that Kosovo authorities want to withdraw his diplomatic immunity, and they sent a letter of concern on this to UN, so this raised two questions, if you received this letter and if it's legally possible to withdrawal his diplomatic immunity.
Deputy Spokesman: Regarding the question of persona non grata, I'd like to note that the doctrine of persona non grata does not apply to, or in respect of, United Nations personnel. The doctrine applies to diplomatic agents who are accredited by one State to another in the context of their bilateral relations. The United Nations is not a State, and its personnel are not accredited to the States where they're deployed, but work under the sole responsibility of the Secretary‑General. So, that's where we stand on that. And of course, regarding the question of immunity, we stand by the immunity of our personnel who are on duty, and we have done so in this case. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. There were reports today about execution of the lead negotiator of the denuclearization from North Korea, Kim Hyok‑chol. Is there any verification from the UN office in Pyongyang? And if so, does the Secretary‑General have any reaction, if this report is true, regarding the execution of this top diplomat?
Deputy Spokesman: We are, at this stage, unable to confirm these reports. We're aware of the reports that there has been an execution of an official in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, but since we do not have any way of confirming that, I wouldn't have any further comment at this time. Yes, please?
Question: Can I follow up? I'm just… sorry, Farhan. When you said you have no way, I mean, was any inquiry made, any question raised with North Korea about this?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't have any information to verify this particular report. We are aware of the report, however. Yes, please. You first and then Carla.
Question: Good morning, Farhan, thank you. I have two questions. One is now that we have a new Government in India, is there any communication between the Secretary‑General and the new Government?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we'll continue to be in touch with the Government of India. Of course, we deal with them on a large number of issues. And as I pointed out to your colleague yesterday, the Secretary‑General has been very appreciative in particular of the work India has done recently concerning climate change. Yes?
Correspondent: I have another question.
Deputy Spokesman: Can we go to your colleague and then back to you? Yes, Carla?
Question: Thank you. Is there any information at this point on the status of the Venezuelan Foreign Minister who has been sanctioned by the United States; I was told that, with the sanctioning, he cannot get a visa to come here? Can he come to the United Nations? What are the obligations of the host country under this… under this circumstance?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, under the Host Country Agreement, officials from other countries are supposed to be allowed into the country to undertake UN duties. So, as far as we're aware, the US has been upholding those responsibilities. Yes?
Question: Do you expect that they will in this case?
Deputy Spokesman: It's not a question of whether I expect. They've been doing so, so far. Yes?
Question: Deepak Arora again from the Tribune Online. Mr. Farhan, climate change and good health and well‑being are parts of sustainable development agenda. Now, recently, World Health Assembly concluded… and Taiwan was not allowed to participate in it, in any form, whether as an observer or what. Now, recently, Secretary‑General had visited Fiji and some of the Pacific Islands, and he said that climate change is "battle of my life". I was quite impressed by it, because he wants to save tiniest of the countries, you know. Similarly, we need to look at the health and well‑being of the world, you know. In that context, would you tell us what the Secretary‑General… from the Secretary‑General's office as to what efforts he would make so that Taiwan is allowed to participate in such meetings in the future? As they have… what I was surprised to learn that they have done lot of developments, like in eradicating malaria, chikungunya, et cetera, and that part of the world, many countries are facing these issues. So, if you could have more cooperation on that, that would be good and helpful in achieving Sustainable Development Goals set up.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, the decisions on the membership in the World Health Assembly are taken by the States there, and so we leave that matter in their hands. Of course, we encourage the participation by as wide a range of the peoples of the world as can be allowed. Regarding the question of Taiwan, you're aware of our stance and our adherence to the One China policy and to the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, including the resolution on China passed in 1971. And with that, I wish you all a happy weekend. Monica, all yours.