REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the UN Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the Spokespersons for the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, and the International Organization for Migration.

Boat tragedy in Lampedusa

Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), announced that the UNHCR was deeply saddened and concerned by the previous day’s disaster of Lampedusa where at least 29 people had died.

UNHCR applauded all the rescue efforts, which took place in high seas and under poor weather conditions, but the incident was a reminder after the Lampedusa tragedy in October 2013, of the need of more effective and improved rescue capacity in the Mediterranean.

Mr. Edwards emphasized that, even in January and February weather conditions, a significantly higher number of refugees and migrants were attempting boat journeys across the Mediterranean was seen – around 60 per cent.

UNHCR was additionally worried by indications that more people were attempting to reach Italy the previous night. Also 9 other people were recovered from two other near-empty dinghies off Libya. The fate of the others believed to have been on these boats was not known at the moment.

Mr. Edwards praised the efforts of Italy’s Mare Nostrum rescue operation during 2014, when at least 218,00 people had attempted to cross the Mediterranean and 3,500 lives had been lost - a number which would have been higher if not for Italy’s efforts. On the other hand, the Triton operation had a different focus, as it was run by the European Border Protection Agency, Frontex; it could not replace Mare Nostrum for proper search and rescue capacity. Without that capacity, more tragedies in the Mediterranean in the following months should be expected.

UNHCR reiterated its call for the European Union to ensure the search and rescue capacity and to provide Italy with proper support to deal with people making irregular crossings of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean had gone from being a so-called mixed migration route, to being a major route for refugees fleeing war. Mr. Edwards reported that in January, Syrians had been the largest population group arriving in Italy – accounting for around 22 per cent of the total. Mr. Edwards affirmed that the Frontex operation Triton and EASO support to Italy could not be the only form of solidarity and humanity Europe could demonstrate.

On why so many people were attempting to cross the Mediterranean, even in low season, Mr. Edwards answered that people were making these crossings in larger numbers because they were fleeing conflicts in ever larger numbers.

Asked what the Triton operation should do, Mr. Edwards stated that the problem should be addressed from start to finish: looking for why people were fleeing, what could be done to change the situation, and what could be done to deal with criminal networks involved in smuggling while at the sometime protecting the victims. Missions had to be focused on saving and rescuing lives more than just protecting border.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), quoted from a statement on the Lampedusa tragedy the previous night with the words of IOM Director-General William Lacy Swing:

“What happened yesterday shows the necessity of life-saving operations in the Mediterranean. Bigger ships, like those used in the Mare Nostrum operation, could have easily rescued and assisted these migrants.”

It had been noted that the Mediterranean casualities along with casualities from waters of Africa, Cuba, the Arabian Peninsula and South Asia, would mark one of the deadliest beginnings of the year in recent times in terms of fatalities of migrants. Comparatively, the number had increased from 41 in the beginning of 2014 to well over 200 in the beginning of this year. Mr. Millman said that that was a great concern, given that this time of the years could be considered as “the slow season” .

Data from IOM staff in Italy showed that Turkey had become a difficult place for some of the ships to leave and as a result, they had seen an increasing number of Syrians who had tried to enter Europe through Greece or had flown into Sudan to reach Libya. One could certainly expect that those routes would get busier in the weeks ahead. Traffic that would increase in the Mediterranean would only bring more bad news.

Mr. Millman read a statement of Frederico Soda, the IOM Chief of Mission in Italy:

“Unfortunately, the wars and the difficult geo-political conditions of many regions suggest that we can expect the flow of migrants and asylum seekers to Italy will still continue for some time. The boat arrivals to Europe indeed are the results of many deteriorating situations, such as the Syrian war, the Libyan crisis, the presence of Boko Haram in Nigeria or the crisis in Iraq. What happened yesterday is a further proof that sea crossing may be fatal. The Italian Coast Guard carried out a very brave rescue operation, far from the Italian coast, over 100 miles off Lampedusa in rough seas. Unfortunately, their vessels are too small to provide necessary emergency assistance on board to people who were rescued in very bad physical condition, some barely alive.”

Mr. Millman informed that the IOM would hold a conference the following year to discuss ways to face the smuggling groups head on. Collection of data, such as known smuggling routes and dossiers on what law enforcement would be doing in each country, would go into effect during this time from many organizations around the world.

On criticism addressed to Mare Nostrum that it had acted as a pull factor for migrants, Mr. Edwards said that saving lives ought to be the focus of border policies. Human lives should not become a collateral damage of any policy. While push/pull factors could be debated, the focus had to be on saving lives. Mr. Millman added that it was difficult to find the will to act, but more had to be done to face those trafficking groups head on. It was difficult to put together evidence against smugglers hundreds miles away, as prosecutors from Italy had reported. There was not always cooperation on part of some States, including Libya, which was itself in a very difficult situation.

Asked about the nationalities of the people who had died, Mr. Milman said that everyone on the boat seemed to have been from sub-Saharan Africa, but exact countries of origin were not clear.

Mr. Milman said that the chaos of Libya appeared to provide a perfect storm for criminal groups, and was acting as a magnet for gangs. Criminal groups were attracted by lawlessness. Asked why it would take a year to have a conference on cracking down smuggling, Mr. Millman said that the project was being launched now and information was starting to get compiled by various IOM office around the world.

Niger

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that violence and attacks spreading from Northern Nigeria to Niger were forcing more people to flee and hampering humanitarian assistance.

The second half of 2014 had seen a major increase of new arrivals in Diffa region. In October only, 15,000 people had crossed the border. The total estimated number now stood at 125,000 people spread out over more than 140 sites and villages.

While the population of Diffa had almost doubled, there was enormous pressure on people’s livelihoods and food stocks, in a region that had been struggling with drought for several years in a row. The Government of Niger had agreed to the opening of three refugee camps for Nigerians arriving in Diffa region.

Ms. Byrs said that the WFP had started food distributions in the newly opened refugee camp Sayam Forage, including supplementary feeding for all children under the age of five. WFP, UNHCR and UNICEF were developing a joint nutrition strategy for the camps.

One out of three displaced children were affected by Global Acute Malnutrition, compared to one out of five within host populations, both well above the emergency threshold of 15 percent. WFP was providing nutritional complements to children between six months and five years of age.

Ms. Byrs explained that a food security and vulnerability assessment in Niger by the WFP and partners in November 2014 had showed that 52.7 percent of displaced households and their host families were severely (14 percent) or moderately (38.7 percent) food insecure, and were in need of food assistance.

For 2015, WFP was planning to distribute food for all refugees in camps with an additional mixture of conditional and unconditional support (based on vulnerability) for out-of-camp host and displaced populations in sites with high concentrations of new arrivals.

WFP was seeking to reach 238,000 people in Cameroon, Chad and Niger with food assistance - food transfers, vouchers and food assistance for assets - over 12 months.

Speaking of financing, Ms. Byrs said that for its regional emergency operation in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, the WFP needed USD 50.1 million until the end of 2015. The operation had a funding shortfall of USD 41.4 million.

Libya

Rupert Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that the OHCHR was publishing today a report, which would be formally presented to the Human Rights Council in March, describing the situation of human rights in Libya during 2014. The report painted a bleak picture of increasing turmoil and lawlessness, fanned by a multitude of heavily armed groups amid a broadening political crisis. Rampant violence and fighting, including in the country’s two biggest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi, as well as many other cities and towns across the country, was badly affecting civilians in general and a number of specific groups in particular.

During 2014, civilians had been victims of indiscriminate artillery and air attacks. Unlawful killings and summary executions, including targeted assassinations, had been commonplace. Footage appearing to show a number of beheadings in Benghazi and Derna had emerged in November. A number of hospitals, schools as well as airports and other public infrastructure, had been attacked and damaged, or used for military purposes.

Mr. Colville said that a broad cross-section of society had been impacted. Children had suffered tremendously, with large numbers unable to go to school in their hometowns, and some killed or maimed at home or during attacks on schools and hospitals.

In addition to indiscriminate attacks, the report documented numerous incidents of targeted violence, with cases of harassment, intimidation, torture, numerous abductions, and summary executions of human rights defenders, civil society activists, journalists and other media professionals, as well as members of the judiciary, politicians and law enforcement officers.

The report, Mr. Colville explained, had been produced in conjunction with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). It described numerous incidents of violence against women over the previous year, including reports of threats, attacks and killings of female human rights defenders, politicians and other women in public positions. Minority groups, including Egyptian Coptic Christians, had also been increasingly targeted.

The report highlighted the extremely vulnerable situation of migrants in Libya, especially those in areas affected by the fighting, and of internally displaced people. Migrants faced arbitrary detention and very poor conditions of detention, marked by overcrowding, poor sanitation and exploitation. The number of internally displaced had soared from some 60,000 at the beginning of the year to an estimated 400,000 by mid-November. They had been displaced as a result of the fighting as well as the intentional destruction of residential properties, farms, factories and other businesses by armed groups targeting perceived opponents, for example in Warshafana and in Benghazi.

Thousands of people remained in detention, mostly under the effective control of armed groups, with no means of challenging their situation as prosecutors and judges were unable or unwilling to confront the armed groups. UN human rights staff had received reports of torture or other ill-treatment in many places of detention.
The deteriorating security environment had impacted heavily on the justice system, which was no longer functioning in parts of the country. Prosecutors and judges had frequently been subjected to intimidation and attacks, in the form of court bombings, physical assaults, abduction of individuals or family members and unlawful killings.

Mr. Colville stressed that the report highlighted the need to strengthen State institutions, ensure accountability for human rights violations and support the ongoing political dialogue. While the continuing violence had had a disastrous impact on the running of some key institutions, others continued to function but needed support, most notably the Constitution Drafting Assembly. The National Council on Civil Liberties and Human Rights, Libya’s national human rights institution which had been forcefully shut down in Tripoli, ought to be allowed to resume its work.

Asked who was responsible for the reported human rights violations, Mr. Colville said that there were many different armed groups, some of which were mentioned in the report. There was indeed a plethora of them, which was why it was hard to generalize.

In reply to a question, Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the talks scheduled to take place in Geneva this week had been postponed.

Thailand

Mr. Colville said that the OHCHR was concerned that a number of proposed amendments to the 1955 Act on the Organization of Military Courts due for consideration this week were not in line with international human rights standards. The National Legislative Assembly appointed by the Military Government in 2014 was expected to adopt the amendments on 12 February.

OHCHR was particularly concerned that the proposed amendment to section 46 would authorize military commanders to issue detention orders for both military personnel and civilians under the Criminal Procedure Code for up to 84 days with no judicial oversight. Since the May 2014 coup, military courts had had jurisdiction over civilians for specific offences, including lese majeste, security offences and violations of Orders of the National Council of Peace and Order. The proposed amendment could be applied in such cases.

Mr. Colville said that detention without judicial review breached the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand was a State party. Under Article 9, a person detained on suspicion of a criminal offence was to be brought promptly before a judge. The Human Rights Committee that oversaw the ICCPR had interpreted “promptly” to mean within a few days.

OHCHR noted assurances by the current Government of its commitment to uphold its international human rights obligations. OHCHR urged the National Legislative Assembly to revise the proposed amendments in line with international human rights standards, including the right to judicial review of detention, right to counsel and right to appeal. OHCHR called on the Government to restrict the use of military courts to military offences committed by military personnel. Under the ICCPR, Thailand had a duty to ensure that everyone had the right to a “fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law,” (article 14) and the Human Rights Committee had underlined that the military character of a trial should in no way affect those rights.

Anwar Ibrahim’s trial in Malaysia

Mr. Colville stated that the OHCHR was disappointed by the Federal Court ruling today to uphold the Appeals Court decision of March 2014 sentencing Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, to five years in prison on charges of sodomy, a crime that should not exist under international human rights law.

Mr. Ibrahim had faced a number of charges and lengthy judicial processes since his removal from the Government in 1998. There were allegations that that case had been politically motivated and the trial marred by violations of due process rights in relation to the opportunities provided to the defence, raising concerns about the fairness of the judicial process. In addition, Mr. Ibrahim had been investigated and his lawyers prosecuted under the 1948 Sedition Act for speaking about the case.

OHCHR was highly concerned by the increasing use of the Sedition Act in an apparently arbitrary and selective fashion, against political opposition, human rights activists, journalists, lawyers and university professors in Malaysia since 2014.

Mr. Colville, answering a question, stressed that the bottom line was that the charge in the case should not be a criminal one; a highly politically charged element of that case should not be ignored.

Venezuela

Mr. Colville said that the OHCHR was concerned by recently passed Resolution 008610 of the Ministry of Popular Power for Defence of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela which described the norms to be followed by the Bolivarian Armed Forces when controlling public assemblies and demonstrations, published on 23 January.

The use of the military for law-enforcement purposes should only be an exceptional way to respond to an emergency situation, when there was a need to support the civilian police. In such cases, the use of the military should only be temporary and the military should act under civilian command and control.

In line with international standards, the use of lethal force had to be the last resort, only applied along the principles of necessity and proportionality, and only in situations where it was strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. The Venezuelan Constitution (Article 68) recognised the right to peaceful demonstration and banned the use of fire arms and toxic substances in the control of peaceful demonstrations.

OHCHR urged the Venezuelan Government not to use the armed forces in the control of peaceful demonstrations, and to adhere in all circumstances to the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and its own Constitution.

Joint Mission to Central African Republic and Cameroon

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed about a visit by the Deputy Emergency Coordinator, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs and EU Operations Director to the Central African Republic and Cameroon. A media advisory was available at the back of the room. The visit would take place in Bangui and field locations, and Yaoundé and field locations, from 10 to 16 February.

The goal in the Central African Republic was to take stock of the humanitarian crisis and response, especially drawing attention to the protection and assistance needs of the hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians. In Cameroon, the plan was to raise awareness of the humanitarian situation and discuss ways of better supporting vulnerable people affected by those crises.

International Day of Epilepsy

Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), informed that the previous day was International Epilepsy Day. Epilepsy was a neurological illness that anybody could suffer at any age.

She emphasized that in the world, 50 million people were suffering from that illness. 80 per cent of them lived in developing countries. It had to be kept in mind that almost 70 per cent of cases could be treated. Three -fourths of people suffering from epilepsy and living in developing countries did not have access to needed treatment.

Epilepsy was a chronic disorder of the brain that affected people in every country of the world. It was characterized by recurrent seizures. Seizures were brief episodes of involuntary shaking which might involve a part of the body or the entire body, and were sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness and control of bowel or bladder function.

Epilepsy was defined by two or more unprovoked seizures. Epilepsy was one of the world's oldest recognized conditions. Fear, misunderstanding, discrimination and social stigma had surrounded epilepsy for centuries. Some of the stigma continued today in many countries and could impact the quality of life for people with the disorder and their families.

The most common type – for six out of ten people with the disorder – was called idiopathic epilepsy and had no identifiable cause. In many cases, there was an underlying genetic basis. Epilepsy with a known cause was called secondary epilepsy, or symptomatic epilepsy. The causes of secondary (or symptomatic) epilepsy could be: brain damage from prenatal or perinatal injuries; congenital abnormalities or genetic conditions with associated brain malformations; a severe blow to the head; a stroke that starved the brain of oxygen; an infection of the brain such as meningitis, encephalitis, neurocysticercosis; certain genetic syndromes; and a brain tumour.

Concerning the treatment, recent studies in both developed and developing countries had shown that up to 70 per cent of newly diagnosed children and adults with epilepsy could be successfully treated with anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). After two to five years of successful treatment, drugs could be withdrawn in about 70 per cent of children and 60 per cent of adults without relapses.

In developing countries, three fourths of people with epilepsy might not receive the treatment they need. About 9 out of 10 people with epilepsy in Africa went untreated.

WHO, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) were carrying out a global campaign, ‘Out of the Shadows’ to provide better information and raise awareness about epilepsy, and strengthen public and private efforts to improve care and reduce the disorder's impact.

Geneva activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Committee on Enforced Disappearances would close its session on 13 February, when it would adopt concluding observations for Mexico, Armenia and Serbia.

The Conference on Disarmament was holding a public session at the moment, summary of which would be distributed in the afternoon.

The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women would open its three-week session on 16 February, during which it would consider reports of the following States: Azerbaijan, Denmark, Ecuador, Eritrea, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives and Tuvalu. The session would take place at the Palais des Nations. A background release would be distributed later in the week.

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced that, on the occasion of the World Radio Day, an event would take place at the ITU on 13 February, from 5 p.m. The event would feature a live broadcast around the world anchored by Imogen Foulkes. More information was available at the ITU website.

Spokespersons for the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund were also present, but did not brief.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: … http://bit.ly/unog100215