REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, International Organization for Migration, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Refugee Agency and World Food Programme.

Iraq

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), read out a statement by the Jacqueline Badcock, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, made in Erbil this morning (Friday 20 June 2014) and said the Resident Coordinator in Iraq was deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation for hundreds of thousands of women, children and men in Iraq who had been forced from their homes by the recent upsurge in violent conflict.

The United Nations estimated that half a million people had fled Mosul and tens of thousands have fled the governorates of Diyala and Salah ad-Din, many with few or no resources of their own to sustain themselves in displacement for very long. Some 25,000 people remained displaced within Mosul itself while 200,000 people had fled into Dohuk governorate and 100,000 people had crossed into the Erbil governorate under the Kurdish Regional Government. That came on the heels of approximately half a million people already displaced from the ongoing conflict in Anbar, Ms. Badcock had said.

Many of the newly displaced were staying in the open and urgently needed water, food, shelter and latrines. There were concerns for their protection, and there were reports of an increase in gender-based violence among the displaced. Humanitarian agencies were rapidly scaling up, and food, water, tents and other essential supplies were reaching families in need, additional staff were being mobilized, and emergency funds were being released.

The ongoing conflict and the extremely volatile environment was likely to limit humanitarian access to thousands of displaced people in areas controlled by armed groups. The Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq reminded all parties to the conflict that they must allow unfettered and sustained humanitarian access to all people in need, reported Mr. Laerke.

Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said with forced displacement in Iraq now estimated at a million people so far this year, UNHCR was also concerned about the safety of Syrian refugees at the Al Qaem camp in the west of the country.

Al-Qaem, also known as Al-Obaidi, lay in Iraq’s Anbar province some 25 kilometres from the Syrian border and 1500 Syrian refugees were housed there in tents. A further 3,500 lived outside the camp. Last night military clashes took place around one camp area, causing panic among the refugee population. The situation had calmed as of earlier this morning, Mr. Edwards confirmed.

In view of the limited access UNHCR had earlier pre-positioned kerosene, diesel fuel and flour to make bread for the two months. It was also working with WFP and UNICEF to ensure food parcel delivery was not interrupted. Many refugees had asked to return to Syria, even though large parts of Syria remained very contested. UNHCR was getting reports that many in the urban population had moved to safer communities outside Al Qaem.

Meanwhile the humanitarian needs of Iraq’s wider newly displaced population continued to mount. UNHCR’s aid operation was currently focused on the north of the country. Many of the displaced had found temporary shelter with friends and relatives, in hotels, schools, mosques, parks and unfinished buildings. An increasing number with no other options were seeking shelter in camps that were either in the process of being opened or were still in the planning stages. Twice this week, UNHCR had sent tents and other relief items with a convoy into Sinjar – a poor and remote region of Ninewa province – where some 30,000 people fleeing Tal Afar and elsewhere had gathered in recent days, Mr. Edwards said.

UNHCR and its partners had conducted assessments with close to 2,700 households in the urban areas of Erbil and Duhok. Seventy per cent of those internally displaced persons families told UNHCR they intended to return to Mosul soon because they were running out of money. Some had resorted to selling personal items to pay for shelter. Others had already left, and UNHCR colleagues monitoring checkpoints between provinces reported movements in both directions.

UNHCR continued to ramp up its response to support those and others in need. With fighting currently underway in different parts of the country, the displacement crisis could escalate further. Alongside sister agencies and non-governmental organization partners in Iraq, UNHCR was revising its requirements and would soon issue a new appeal to cover the needs of a million displaced Iraqis displaced in 2014.

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said WFP was scaling up its operations and response plan for Iraq. A budget revision and beneficiary target was being finalized. Under the current emergency response plan, WFP targeted 43,500 newly displaced people.

WFP was concerned at fuel shortages and also increased food prices in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. Long queues had been reported and if there was a fuel shortage, it may affect WFP operations. WFP’s Logistics Cluster was now looking at the possibility of procuring fuel from outside of Iraq. A flight from the Dubai Humanitarian Depot landed in Erbil on Tuesday, 17 June, carrying food assistance and relief items from partner agencies, said Ms. Byrs.

Ms. Byrs declared that ongoing assessments indicated that displaced families continued to move, often on a daily basis. Displaced people’s settlements appeared to be unorganized and some individuals reportedly concealed their displacement status, which made establishing needs a challenge. Reaching displaced people who were constantly on the move, often in insecure areas, also presented significant problems for WFP and the humanitarian community.

Yesterday, 19 June, the WFP Regional Director and Country office team took a field visit to Kalak camp to carry out initial assessments for the provision of bakeries for the regular production of bread for displaced people, Ms. Byrs noted. Regarding the financial dimension, Ms. Byrs said WFP had received confirmed contributions from Denmark, Japan, Finland, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the Ministry of Health of the Kurdistan Region of lraq had informed WHO of a serious lack of medicines and medical equipment, and had asked WHO for assistance with supplies. Ms. Chaib noted that before the crisis, medicines, vaccines and medical equipment in the Kurdistan region came from the central Government of Baghdad, but because of the recent violence, insecurity and road blocks, many convoys were unable to reach the region.

Since the crisis began, WHO had supplied the Health Directorates of Duhok and Erbil, as well as mobile clinics established all over the region, with emergency health kits, which had enough supplies to treat 20,000 people for three months. Likewise, trauma kits had been distributed that could treat 200 injured people, as well as diarrhoea kits for 200 people, said Ms. Chaib. She added that WHO faced the challenge of delivering medical supplies as quickly as possible in order to relieve the Kurd health system, which would be under stress from the arrival of these hundreds of thousands of displaced persons.

Summer was coming, and therefore WHO was also concerned about the increase in the risk of communicable disease outbreaks, because of the heat and the lack of drinking water and sanitation. A disease early warning alert and response system had been established in Kurdistan and Mosul, which would inform WHO experts, staff and partners of any outbreak, so it could respond as quickly as possible.

WHO was also working with the Kurdish authorities to ensure there were medical supplies for everyday and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, or anything concerning reproductive health. WHO has deployed a public health expert to Mosul to assess health gaps and needs for the affected populations, Ms. Chaib also announced, concluding that WHO continued to evaluate needs in order to deal with any possible demand.

Christiane Berthiaume, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said IOM had delivered emergency assistance to close to 7,000 displaced people in Iraq (6,720 to be more specific), so far. Ms. Berthiaume added that IOM had also delivered food and health kits on behalf of WFP and UNICEF, and ice boxes and air conditioning systems on behalf of UNHCR, as temperatures were above 40 degrees Celsius.

The non-food assistance directly provided by IOM consisted of mattresses, blankets, pillows, soap and similar. Emergency assistance staff were working on the ground and putting in place IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, a system which allowed IOM to identify displaced people and their needs, providing information that IOM could later share with all other humanitarian organizations.

So far IOM had been able to identify the needs of over 140,000 displaced people, said Ms. Berthiaume, but there were many more displaced people who had not yet been identified or reached, partly because of the insecurity. Of those IOM had been able to reach, it estimated that 62 per cent had taken refuge with families, friends and relatives. Others, as Mr. Edwards said earlier, had taken refuge in schools, abandoned public buildings, mosques and community centres. An estimated 20 per cent were in need of shelter, a figure that was expected to increase, said Ms. Berthiaume, because of insecurity and the limited financial means of host families.

The estimated nine per cent who were paying to stay in a hotel, and the estimated 12 per cent who were renting accommodation, were under an extra financial burden, as they were generally unable to work. Food prices had tripled and transportation prices had doubled, said Ms. Berthiaume. Furthermore, fuel was running short in the country, she said. IOM was appealing for US$15 million because it expected that needs were only going to increase, and the assistance it had managed to deliver so far would bring relief for a short period only.

Questions on the situation in Iraq

A journalist asked whether UNHCR had detected any significant cross-border movement, namely whether any displaced people were trying to leave the country. Mr. Edwards (UNHCR) responded that the main movement being seen was internal displacement.

The figure of one million people displaced in Iraq referred to the numbers displaced in the Anbar region up to the first half of the year, plus the hundreds of thousands of people who were now displaced with the latest exodus from Mosul and other areas. UNHCR was still talking about broad figures, as there was no granularity of how many people had gone into the Kurdistan region and elsewhere, Mr. Edwards added.

Mr. Laerke (UNOCHA) also answered a question on clarification of figures, saying it was difficult to get the exact figures; the numbers given in the Humanitarian Coordinator’s statement this morning were the overall figures that the United Nations was confident in. More details on the numbers of people who had been assisted would be provided by the individual agencies.

Ms. Berthiaume (IOM) also clarified the figures, stating that since the beginning of the year the United Nations estimated there were one million displaced people in Iraq – half a million from Mosul and half a million from Anbar. IOM used the Displacement Tracking Matrix to identify the displaced people and who they were. The figure of 143,000 were the people that IOM had reached, but there were many more people who IOM had not been able to reach because of insecurity and other challenges. Ms. Berthiaume confirmed that IOM had issued a global appeal for US$15 million to help people from Mosul.

Mr. Laerke confirmed that there was a Member States briefing on the humanitarian situation in Iraq taking place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva today, with a video-link to United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq Jacqueline Badcock, herself currently in Iraq. Mr. Laerke responded that the briefing was a general one on the situation in Iraq, and Ms. Badcock would elaborate on the statement he had read out previously.

A journalist asked about ‘scaling up’ and whether there was any discussion of withdrawing non-essential, or even essential, staff from the region. Were the worsening circumstances making it even more difficult to get aid to the people who needed it? Mr. Laerke responded that ‘scaling up’ had a three-fold meaning; it meant getting the right people into the right places, getting the right relief to the right people and generally mobilizing funds from the donor community to respond to the crisis. There was already a Regional Response Plan already in existence for Iraq, dealing primarily with the Anbar refugees. It asked for US$105 million and was currently 14 per cent funded. The plan was being revised to take into account the new dramatically-increased case-load of internally displaced persons into account. New figures would probably be released in the first half of next week, he added.

On scaling-up, Ms. Byrs (WFP) added that WFP was expanding its work in Irbil, and more staff, including logistical experts, were arriving at the office there. Seven trucks carrying 175 metric tonnes of food items had been received into the Irbil warehouse.

On security, Ms. Momal-Vanian (UNIS Geneva) said some United Nations staff had been relocated, to Jordan and to Erbil. Naturally there was always a balance to be reached between the need to deliver assistance and the need to protect United Nations staff. The situation was monitored on a daily basis to see whether further measures needed to be taken, she added.

Security clearly was a very major worry, Mr. Edwards added. There were real concerns about the safety of the refugees. As the press knew, conflict and war increased displacement and made it more difficult to help people. In addition, in such situations security actors at a refugee camp may no longer be present.

A journalist asked how many children were among the displaced, whether their recruitment by armed groups was a concern, and how the agencies were coping with such multiple crises as Syria and Iraq.

Ms. Momal-Vanian spoke on behalf of UNICEF colleagues, quoting a report from the UNICEF office in New York that at least half of the people displaced, an estimated 250,000, were children.

UNHCR was regarding Syria and Iraq as two separate situations at the moment, Mr. Edwards answered, saying that clearly new displacement in the region which was under immense strain was the last thing needed.

Responding to a question about a recent statement by UNRWA - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East – and the plight of Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk camp in Syria, Mr. Edwards said the Palestinians in Syria were just as much a concern as any other population group. Nine million was now the estimated population needing help in Syria, he added. The Palestinians were of course under the mandate of UNRWA, which had primary responsibility, but that did not mean that United Nations Refugee Agency did not help as much as it could.

Mr. Edwards responded to a question asking how many Syrians were in Iraq. He said it was estimated that around 200,000 Syrians had fled into Iraq since last August, most had gone into the Kurdistan region, so were no longer at the immediate borders. UNHCR was very concerned about the potential of the crisis to create further displacement.

Mr. Laerke answered another question asking how many people had been killed so far, saying he did not have an update on the number of casualties; that was not something UNOCHA did as a matter of course, rather they concentrated on the number of people who needed aid. No clear picture was emerging yet, he added.

Regarding the possibility of discussions with armed groups regarding humanitarian access, and whether any humanitarians had been in contact with members of ISIS, Mr. Laerke replied that the Under-Secretary-General had said that while in Syria there was a system of local negotiations with a broad variety of armed groups on the ground for access, no such contacts were in place in Iraq, at the moment.

Israel

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said OHCHR continued to follow closely the situation of Palestinian hunger strikers protesting Israel's ongoing practice of administrative detention. The Secretary-General and the High Commissioner had repeatedly stated that administrative detainees should be charged or released without delay. The health of a number of hunger strikers was reportedly critical and continued to deteriorate.

OHCHR was concerned that the legislative amendment on force-feeding before the Israeli Knesset could be passed as early as Monday, 23 June 2014, and that a new provision reportedly allowing for the sedation of prisoners who refused force-feeding had been introduced in the bill, said Ms. Shamdasani. The High Commissioner had written to the Israeli Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva to express her concerns that, if passed, that amendment would permit force-feeding and medical treatment of prisoners on hunger strike against their will under certain conditions, in contravention of international standards

OHCHR was closely following the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory after three Israeli teenagers went missing on 12 June in the West Bank near the city of Hebron. It expressed its solidarity with the boys' families and hoped the teenagers would be located, as soon as possible, safe and sound to be reunited with their families. Also, this morning, a Palestinian teenager was reportedly shot and killed in the West Bank, said Ms. Shamdasani, which added to the tragedy of teenagers and children falling victim to the failure to resolve the situation.

Ms. Shamdasani said OHCHR was concerned by reports, that since 12 June, more than 200 Palestinians had been detained in the West Bank in the context of security operations by Israel. Restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians had been tightened, including the banning of men from Hebron between the age of 20 and 50 from crossing into Jordan. The Israeli cabinet had also reportedly decided to impose harsher conditions on prisoners affiliated with Hamas.

OHCHR urged all actors to ensure respect for international human rights and international humanitarian law, including by avoiding punishing individuals for offences they have not personally committed or by imposing collective penalties, said Ms. Shamdasani.

A journalist asked Ms. Shamdasani whether OHCHR regarded forcible feeding as a form of torture, and also whether the Israeli authorities had made any comment on the situation. Ms. Shamdasani responded that the Israeli authorities had replied to a letter from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, dated 26 May, to say the letter had been forwarded to Jerusalem, but no substantive reply had been received. Furthermore, the OHCHR office in Ramallah had met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel to convey these concerns.

On forcible feeding, Ms. Shamdasani said the Special Rapporteur on Torture had stated that indefinite detention and the use of forced feeding were forms of ill treatment which could amount to torture. The World Medical Association had also come out very strongly against forced feeding, saying it was never ethically acceptable. Furthermore, the Israeli Medical Association itself had recommended to the Government that it should trust in medical management rather than artificial feeding and sedation amounting to forcible feeding.

Afghanistan

Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said although Afghanistan was not normally a refugee-receiving country, UNHCR was helping authorities there in the eastern province of Khost to register and assist people fleeing the current offensive across the border by Pakistan’s military against Taliban militants in North Waziristan Agency, in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

Some 6,452 people from Pakistan had fled North Waziristan into the eastern parts of Afghanistan, mostly arriving in the districts of Gurboz, Khost (Matun), Tanni, Nadir Shah Kot and Mando Zai in Khost province, Mr. Edwards said.

The newly arrived women, men and children had trekked the mountainous terrains across Pakistan’s border to seek safety. People were being accommodated with local Afghan communities for now, but Afghan hosting communities had limited absorption capacity and resources. The urgent needs include shelter, clean drinking water and sanitation, said Mr. Edwards. UNHCR was concerned that families close to conflict-affected areas would be further exposed to violence, and humanitarian access could be limited.

As an immediate response, UNHCR was providing tents and other basic relief items to the most vulnerable, while its partner agency the World Food Programme (WFP) had distributed food assistance, including sugar, rice, tea, beans and salt. Further joint assessments on the needs of the latest arrivals were being conducted.

Inside Pakistan, the Government had confirmed that over 101,000 people had been displaced internally from North Waziristan into the Banu, Dera Ismail Khan and Tank areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. As part of an UN inter-agency response, in support of the Government, UNHCR was ready to assist the displaced population inside Pakistan.

Mr. Edwards answered a question about concerns of a mass exodus of people, saying the UNHCR was always concerned about displacement. The difficulties were that the area was insecure, and very difficult to access, especially due to it being mountainous. Getting help to people there was challenging to say the least, he said. Furthermore, there were large numbers of people being displaced inside Pakistan, which was also a concern that had to be addressed. UNHCR had not yet been asked by the Pakistani authorities to help but stood ready to assist, along with its partners.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) said the 32 draft resolutions had been submitted that would be considered on 26 and 27 June. The list was available on the intranet.

The Human Rights Council was today considering the reports of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group, namely the reports of Vanuatu, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Comoros, Slovakia, Eritrea, Cyprus, Dominican Republic & Viet Nam. After that the Council would continue with its General Debate on country situations, which would likely continue on Monday 23 June.

On Monday 23 June the Council would consider various reports, and at 3 p.m. hold a panel discussion on eliminating child, early and forced marriage, which would include an opening statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Mr. Gomez. On Tuesday 24 June, a number of country-specific Special Rapporteurs would hold interactive dialogues, including the Special Rapporteur on Racism, who would present a report focusing on the glorification of Nazism. Also on Tuesday the Council would hear from the Special Rapporteur on the Central African Republic, and the Independent Expert on Côte d'Ivoire. An international dialogue on South Sudan would take place at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Mr. Gomez highlighted, with High Commissioner Navi Pillay again among the panellists.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Activities

Jean Rodriguez, for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), made two announcements. His first announcement dealt with trade facilitation in Greece, and recent improvements in the economy of Greece. UNECE, invited by the European Commission, took part in the Task Force launched in 2012 that aimed to restore Greece’s competitiveness in terms of commercial performance.

In collaboration with the Greek authorities, a Trade Facilitation Roadmap had been adopted for the period 2013 to 2015 as part of the financial agreement binding the Government with the Troïka (European Central Bank, European Commission and the International Monetary Fund). The implementation of the programme was the central element of the ongoing monitoring plan in the zone, said Mr. Rodriguez, adding that by simplifying trade procedures Greece had been able to develop a sustainable export strategy. UNECE also aimed to reinforce the position of Greek products on the food market, said Mr. Rodriguez, adding that he would have more details in the coming months. Greece’s encouraging economic evaluation would continue to be supported by UNECE until 2015, and although there was much work still to be done, the positive assessment was to be saluted, Mr. Rodriguez said.

In delivering the project, UNECE worked closely with the World Customs Organization, which provided highly specialised customs expertise, and the European Commission Task Force for Greece, which liaised with UNECE experts and Member State administrations.
Another upcoming pilot project for UNECE was the implementation in 2015 of a unique GUICHET, an operation that has already been launched in other regions.

Mr. Rodriguez also announced the meeting of UNECE Public Private Partnerships Team of Specialists from 23 to 24 June, and spoke about highlights of the programme. At 10 a.m. on Monday, 23 June, in Room XVII, there would be an all-day session on Zero Tolerance to Corruption in PPP procurement. Experts from various agencies, including Transparency International Switzerland and the World Economic Forum, would consider issues including how to develop and implement principles on zero tolerance to corruption in PPP procurement.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced that today was World Refugee Day. Copies of the United Nations Secretary-General’s message for the day were available at the back of room. The message said that the rising numbers of refugees were a stark reminder of the international community’s inability to overcome its divisions to prevent and end conflicts, Ms. Momal-Vanian said. The Secretary-General also noted that while the United Nations Refugee Agency and its partners continued to provide lifesaving assistance, humanitarian response alone was not enough and that political solutions were urgently needed.

The Conference on Disarmament would hold its last public plenary of its current session at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 24 June, Ms. Momal-Vanian announced.

The spokespersons for International Labour Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund also attended the briefing but did not speak.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/1iPS0bY