REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by spokespersons of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

UNHCR reports increase in flight of Iraqi Christians; reiterates advice on protection needs

Melissa Fleming of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said UNHCR was dismayed that on 15 December Sweden once again forcibly returned a group of some 20 Iraqis to Baghdad. Among this group – sent back on the eve of Ashura – had been five Christians originally from Baghdad.

UNHCR staff in Baghdad had interviewed three of the Christians and three Iraqi Muslims among the group - all said that they originated from Baghdad. One of the Christian men said he had escaped Iraq in 2007 after militiamen directly threatened to kill him. Fearing for his life, he travelled through several countries in the Middle East and Europe before reaching Sweden where he applied for asylum. He said his claim had been rejected three times in 2008 as he was not considered to have been personally targeted. The others UNHCR spoke to said their asylum claims had been rejected on the basis of improved
security conditions in Iraq.

UNHCR strongly reiterated its call on countries to refrain from deporting Iraqis who originate from the most perilous parts of the country, including Baghdad, Ms. Fleming said.

This forced return came at a time when UNHCR's five offices in Iraq were noting a significant increase in Christians fleeing Baghdad and Mosul to the Kurdistan Regional Government Region and Ninewa plains. Since the Baghdad church attack on 31 October and subsequent targeted attacks, the Christian communities in Baghdad and Mosul had started a slow but steady exodus. Some 1,000 families had arrived since the beginning of November in the Kurdistan Regional Government Region. UNHCR had heard many accounts of people fleeing their homes after receiving direct threats. Some had been able to take only a few belongings with them. UNHCR's offices had distributed emergency assistance and were in contact with the local authorities to ensure that the recently displaced Christians were supported and assisted.

In addition, UNHCR offices in neighbouring Syria, Jordan and Lebanon were reporting a growing number of Iraqi Christians arriving and contacting UNHCR for registration and help. Churches and non-governmental organizations were warning UNHCR to expect more people fleeing in the coming weeks. Many of the new arrivals explained that they had left in fear as a result of the church attack on 31 October. One man who had now registered with UNHCR in Jordan narrowly escaped the attack, having left the church minutes before the bombing took place. This refugee had been deported from Europe just days beforehand.

UNHCR recognized the efforts the Iraqi Government was making to try to protect all its citizens, including vulnerable minority groups such as the Christians. The Iraqi Government had reiterated its commitment to increase the protection of places of worship. While overall civilian casualties were lower this year than last, it appeared that minority groups were increasingly susceptible to threats and attacks.

In response to a question, Ms. Fleming said that over the past months there had been many deportation flights originating from Europe – from the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden – and UNHCR had spoken out on each occasion. It was not necessarily given the list of the people on the flight, but UNHCR staff waited at Baghdad Airport to try and conduct interviews. In this case, twenty deportees had been on the flight, saying they had been accompanied by as many as 60 policemen.

Asked whether UNHCR had liaised with the Permanent Missions in Geneva to obtain details on how people were being deported, and whether this was being done in conformity with the 1951 Convention, Ms. Fleming said that UNHCR country offices attempted to find out as much information as they could. Ms. Fleming also noted that all the countries in question had functioning asylum systems.

Asked whether Christians in Iraq should be given particular protection, Ms. Fleming said that there were a number of very vulnerable minority groups in Iraq. At this moment in time, UNHCR noted that an exodus was taking place within this religious group but UNHCR was equally concerned about all minority groups in Iraq. She said Christians were particularly vulnerable as a church had recently been bombed. Christians felt so threatened that there had been a marked increase in the numbers fleeing within Iraq and to neighbouring countries. While thousands had fled to neighbouring countries, many had not registered with UNHCR. It was disturbing that the current deportation had taken place at a time when the situation seemed to be particularly difficult for Christians and Christians were fleeing the country.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) added that some groups had been quoted as saying that Christians were legitimate targets for attack in Iraq. While all ethnic minorities were vulnerable, Christians therefore had reason to feel particularly worried and nervous.

Meanwhile, IOM monitors were also reporting a large wave of Christian displacement since the bombing of the Saidat al-Najat church in Baghdad on 31 October. Much of this displacement was occurring around Mosul and areas within the disputed internal boundaries, emphasizing the persistent volatility of this complex region. Key findings regarding this and other displacement trends affecting the disputed internal boundaries could be seen at www.iomiraq.net, Ms. Pandya said.

Families Displaced within Iraq’s Disputed Internal Boundaries Face Additional Obstacles

Ms. Pandya said that IOM’s latest Iraq displacement report, based on in-depth assessments of over 31,300 families displaced within the disputed internal boundaries, revealed how their needs sometimes differed from those of families elsewhere in Iraq.

Although the 2005 Iraqi constitution recognized the Kurdish Regional Government’s authority over Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, the status of Kirkuk and 11 districts in Diyala, Erbil, Ninewa and Salah al-Din remained contested. Assessments for the IOM report had been carried out in areas considered as disputed internal boundaries in a recent UN report, Ms. Pandya said.

Key findings in the report included data which showed that internally displaced persons living in the disputed internal boundaries were seven times more likely to have been displaced due to armed violence than other displaced Iraqis, twice as likely as other internally displaced to cite direct threats to life and generalized violence as their reasons for leaving their homes and had low levels of personal security.

Exacerbating their precarious situation, these families were less likely to live in rented homes (42 per cent) than the nationwide average (71 per cent). Since many of the internally displaced persons in the disputed internal boundaries were also staying in public buildings and tents on public land, the threat of eviction not only made secondary displacement more likely, it also adversely affected their feelings of personal security and their long-term ability to establish themselves in their new locations.

The report also presented data on the location, demographic composition and needs of the 978 IOM-assessed families who had returned to their homes or neighborhoods in the disputed internal boundaries. For 73 per cent of these returnee families, access to health care was a priority need and 1 in 10 of these, IOM monitors recorded a family member with a chronic illness.

Legal help was also a concern for 69 per cent of the interviewed returnee families, many of whom had been involved in property disputes. These property disputes were widespread in the disputed internal boundaries, in part due to the years of forced migration policies under the former regime. As a result, many families still claimed ownership over property they lost in the past, which was now often home to new families.

She added that the full report on the Disputed Internal Boundaries was available at www.iomiraq.net/iomsfreports.html.

Côte d’Ivoire

Ms. Fleming said UNHCR had contingency plans for the five countries neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire but the only place that UNHCR saw refugees fleeing into right now was Liberia. At this moment, 4,241 people from the Ivory Coast had been recorded in Liberia. Given the pace, UNHCR believed that it was likely that the 5,000 mark would be reached early next week if not before. People were still arriving from western Côte d’Ivoire.

There had been no further arrivals in Guinea other than the 200 people UNHCR had spoken about on 29 November. There had been no refugee movements in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali so far but UNHCR was prepared and ready in these countries with supplies and people should there be any mass movements.

The numbers UNHCR was ready for could be potentially very large. While it was very difficult to predict violence or the outcome of this dispute, it could very well result in fighting that would cause people to flee.

In response to a question as to how people fleeing were being cared for, Ms. Fleming said most had been hosted by local communities, who had opened their doors and shared their homes. UNHCR had been providing them extra bedding and supplies to alleviate the burden. So far, UNHCR was not setting up camps, although it would be in a position to do so if needed.

Asked about the borders of the five neighbouring countries, Ms. Fleming confirmed that they were all still open.

First Food Distribution Reaches Displaced in Yemen’s Northern Al-Jawf

Ms. Pandya said the first food distributions had reached a group of internally displaced people and families surviving on little food in the conflict-affected Al-Jawf governorate in northern Yemen. The distributions, carried out by IOM in cooperation with the World Food Programme were the first in a series of monthly supplies. More than 860 internally displaced and food-insecure families in the northern districts of the governorate – which to date had not received assistance –were given the food supplies.

IOM had been providing humanitarian assistance in Al-Jawf governorate since April 2010. The governorate was among the most impoverished in Yemen with the population suffering from chronic food insecurity resulting in men, women and children exhibiting health problems related to severe acute malnutrition. Health indicators in Al-Jawf revealed rates of stunting that were above 50 per cent, wasting and under-five mortality among children (76/1000) as well as incidences of pregnancy and birthing complications among women that were higher than the national averages.

The food distributions had begun in late November amid increasing insecurity in the area, Ms. Pandya said. Tensions between rival tribes and renewed fighting between the government and the rebel Houthi movement had heightened security concerns, further disrupting the livelihoods of local populations. Fighting had also complicated movement and restricted access throughout the governorate, impacting on IOM's mobility and operations. Although these had been delayed by events on the ground, the distributions had been successfully completed earlier this week.

In cooperation with the World Food Programme, which was contributing the food and financial support for the operation, IOM planned to continue these monthly food distributions throughout Al-Jawf's northern districts through the first half of 2011.

IOM was also expanding its life-saving activities in the region through the provision of mobile health services, tents, non-food items, hygiene and sanitation assistance as well as water trucking services throughout the governorate’s six northern districts. Priority was being given to the most vulnerable communities among the estimated 300,000 people in the region affected by the recurrent conflict.

International Migrants Day

Ms. Pandya said tomorrow, 18 December, was International Migrants Day. This year IOM very deliberately focused on the positives of migrants and migration, as the world has witnessed a growing tide of xenophobia over the past few years, exacerbated by the economic crisis. This had become of increasing concern to the IOM, Ms. Pandya underscored.

The situation in the past few years had led to short-sighted migration policies being adopted in many countries. The myths of migration continued to abound, notably that migrants were a drain on society and a burden on the welfare state. These myths continued despite basic hard facts, including that migration today was being driven by global, economic, social and demographic trends that cannot be ignored.

According to IOM's recently launched World Migration Report, international migrants could number 405 million by 2050 if migration continues to grow at the same pace as during the last 20 years. One of the reasons for this steep rise will be the population decline in the world's industrialized countries, an expected drop of nearly 25 per cent by 2050. This will significantly increase the demand for migrant workers at a time when the labour force in developing countries will increase from 2.4 billion in 2005 to 3.6 billion in 2040.

Migrant workers at all skills levels would be needed in all kinds of sectors. For example, the European Union Home Affairs Commissioner had recently said that the European Union workforce would shrink by 50 people in the next 50 years and that the economy of the European Union could lack anything between 384,000 to 700,000 IT workers alone by 2015, and between 1 and 2 million health sector professionals by 2020. This was at a time when an ageing population was seen across the whole of the European Union.

Studies had shown that migrants had helped crisis-ridden economies out of depression and that they contribute, by and large, more in taxes than they receive in benefits. More than one in 10 self-employed business people in the United States are immigrants.
For IOM, migration must be recognized as an integral part of the global economy, and migrants should be recognized as vital constituents of both society and economy. Recognizing this, as opposed to struggling against the inevitable, would lead to better protection of migrants, would see regular dialogue between countries and regions, and would see a better system in existence to match labour supply and demand.

PAHO Press Conference

Christy Feig of the World Health Organization said the Pan American Health Organization was holding a meeting in Washington today to discuss the issue of using a cholera vaccine in the Americas. The meeting would last the whole day. At the end of the meeting there would be a teleconference, anticipated for about 5.15 p.m. Washington time. A note was at the back of the room.

Launch of 2010 Review of Maritime Transport

Catherine Sibut-Pinote announced that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development would publish the 2010 issue of the Review of Maritime Transport on Monday. The report would not be available in hard copy by Monday but a press release with a link to the electronic version would be sent to journalists. The report showed that there was a slight increase, which however remained fragile, and it included an in-depth analysis of Asia, Ms. Sibut-Pinote said.