The Daily Press Briefing

Statements made by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Development
Spokesperson


Paris - April 3, 2017
In this issue:

◢  Luxembourg – Speech by Jean-Marc Ayrault at the Pierre Werner Institute (April 3, 2017)

◢  United Nations / Sexual and reproductive rights – Jean-Marie Le Guen's participation in the Commission on Population and Development (April 3, 2017)

◢  Syria / United Nations – Five million Syrian refugees according to the UNHCR (March 30, 2017)

◢  Pakistan – Killings at a Sufi shrine (April 2, 2017)

◢  UN / Democratic Republic of Congo – Extension of MONUSCO mandate

◢  UN – Treaty banning nuclear weapons

 
Luxembourg – Speech by Jean-Marc Ayrault at the Pierre Werner Institute (April 3, 2017)

Jean-Marc Ayrault, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, is taking part today in Luxembourg, together with his Luxembourg and German counterparts, in a public debate at the Pierre Werner Institute, a forum for tripartite cultural cooperation.

This debate will provide Jean-Marc Ayrault, Jean Asselborn and Sigmar Gabriel with an opportunity to talk about the future of Europe and to reaffirm their attachment to cooperation between France, Germany and Luxembourg within a trilateral, cross-border and European framework.

This meeting will involve discussions with the public and students from the French lycée, Lycée Vauban, the Lycée Athénée in Luxembourg and the German-Luxemburg high school of Schengen in Perl.



United Nations / Sexual and reproductive rights – Jean-Marie Le Guen's participation in the Commission on Population and Development (April 3, 2017)

Jean-Marie Le Guen, Minister of State for Development and Francophonie, is taking part today in the opening session of the UN Commission on Population and Development at the UN headquarters in New York. In his speech, he will reaffirm France's attachment to the respect for and the promotion of sexual and reproductive rights as fundamental rights which contribute toward achieving the sustainable development goals.

Jean-Marie Le Guen will notably stress the right of young people to make free and informed choices regarding their personal lives and in particular to have access to sexual and reproductive health services. Nearly 22 million women around the world risk their lives every year to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.

Convinced that access to family planning and safe and legal abortion services are key to empowering women, the minister of state will affirm France's support for the "She decides" initiative launched by the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden. This inspiring initiative reaffirms that women must be able to decide when they want children and how many they want.



Syria / United Nations – Five million Syrian refugees according to the UNHCR (March 30, 2017)

According to figures just released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees regarding the number of Syrian refugees, more than 5 million people, i.e. approximately one quarter of the country's population, are now refugees, mainly in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. 6.3 million people have been internally displaced, which means that more than half the Syrian population has been forced to flee their homes since the start of the conflict.

There is therefore an urgent need to reach a political solution in Syria - the only way to restore peace and stability. This is the purpose of the negotiations being conducted under the auspices of the UN, which must continue in Geneva. In the meantime, compliance with the ceasefire and access by the civilian populations to humanitarian assistance must be guaranteed. It is notably up to Russia and Iran to persuade the Syrian regime to ensure this.

The conference in Brussels on April 5, in which Jean-Marc Ayrault is due to take part, will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the international community's commitment and its determination to support the Syrian refugees and the countries that are hosting them.



Pakistan – Killings at a Sufi shrine (April 2, 2017)

France was horrified to learn of the attack on April 2 against worshippers at a Sufi shrine near Sargodha in Punjab Province in Pakistan, which left 20 people dead. It condemns this heinous act and extends its condolences to the victims' families.

Following the murder of a representative of the Ahmadi community and the attack against a Shiite mosque last week, the surge in violence against religious minorities is a cause for concern. The Pakistani authorities must do everything possible to protect these minorities and bring the perpetrators of this violence to justice.

France defends the freedom of religion and belief everywhere. It denounces all interfaith violence.



UN / Democratic Republic of Congo – Extension of MONUSCO mandate

We applaud the unanimous adoption, on March 31, of UN Security Council resolution 2348, which renews the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) for one year.

Negotiated by France, this text represents an important step at a time when the country is in the midst of a troubling institutional situation that requires the implementation of the political agreement signed on December 31, 2016, providing for the holding of elections by the end of the year. The presence of armed groups in the eastern part of the country and the emergence of new centers of violence, notably in Kasai, justify adapting the mandate and composition of the mission to allow it to meet the enormous challenges awaiting it.

In this regard, the mission's mandate now focuses on two major strategic priorities: the protection of civilians, and support for the implementation of the agreement of December 31 and the election process.



UN – Treaty banning nuclear weapons

Why isn't France taking part in the UN conference to negotiate a treaty banning nuclear weapons? What is it doing to implement its nuclear disarmament commitment under article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)?

France voted against UN General Assembly resolution 71/258 (2016) opening negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons and is not taking part in the negotiations for this treaty that were held in New York on March 27-31 and will continue from June 15 to July 7.

A treaty banning nuclear weapons is out of step with a strategic context characterized by regional tensions and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as reflected by the North Korean nuclear threat, for example. In this context, France and NATO continue to base their ultimate security on nuclear deterrence.

France also remains concerned by the fact that a treaty banning nuclear weapons would divide the States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which remains the cornerstone of the collective security system.

France has already taken concrete and substantive nuclear disarmament measures, halving its nuclear arsenal, halting nuclear tests, and irreversibly ending the production of fissile materials to produce nuclear weapons.

For France, negotiating a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT) is a priority, and the next logical step in the nuclear disarmament process, with the entry in force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). These two instruments are complementary because they make it possible to limit the qualitative and quantitative development of nuclear arsenals.

The reduction of Russian and American nuclear arsenals, which represent 90% of global nuclear weapons stockpiles, is another important priority.

We are also continuing our efforts to promote international security and stability, among other things, by combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.


France in the
United States
Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.
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