REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Michele Zaccheo, Chief of Radio and Television Section of the UN Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Human Rights Council.

Yemen

Mr. Zaccheo informed the press about the statement of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Yemen, which had been issued the previous day.

Johannes Van Der Klaauw, Yemen Humanitarian Coordinator, speaking on the phone from Yemen, said that the humanitarian situation in the country remained extremely worrying and the needs were rapidly growing. Such a situation was the consequence of both the conflict and the implementation of the regime of the arms embargo. The conflict was taking a dreadful toll on civilians, more than 1,600 of whom had been killed. The current displacement figures went up to more than 400,000. More than 29,000 Yemenis and foreigners had left the country thus far.

The arms embargo and its inspection regime resulted in commercial goods no longer reaching the country. The current regime ought to be simplified and made faster, so that fuel and other life sustaining necessities could reach the country more easily. Unless additional fuel was made available within weeks, hospitals would shut down; water and sanitation facilities would halt, as everything in the country was running on generators.

The humanitarian pause was meant to provide civilians a chance to get out of the conflict zones. It also allowed humanitarians to remove the dead bodies, help the wounded and provide necessary medical treatments, and also to resupply medical and other necessities. Humanitarian agencies would also get a chance to provide life-saving assistance, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Additional supplies and personnel could reach the country during the ongoing pause.

Mr. Van Der Klaauw said that OCHA welcomed the pause as it allowed civilians to escape the zones of fighting. In order to make the maximum use of the pause, the parties of the conflict had to abide by the guarantees given. Declarations of intent had been signed, and the truce was generally holding, in spite of occasional skirmishes. Mr. Van Der Klaauw explained that this was not a ceasefire, but rather a temporary humanitarian pause. The humanitarian team was hoping to be able to feed 700,000 Yemenis and provide 500,000 Yemenis with emergency medical support.

Localized fighting continued in a number of areas and it impeded the humanitarians’ access to the population. Communication networks were also affected severely. Roadblocks prevented civilians from moving, but also humanitarian agencies delivering food and fuel.

Trond Jensen, OCHA Yemen Head of Office, speaking also from Yemen by phone, added that not all the population in need would be reached during the humanitarian pause. The goal was to reach the most vulnerable, especially those made vulnerable by the conflict and those not accessed earlier. The focus would also be on unloading stocks in places like Aden, where it had been impossible to do so earlier. An ongoing humanitarian effort was taking place in the country regardless of the current pause.

On the question why some areas, such as Aden, could not have been reached earlier, Mr. Jensen said that there was really heavy fighting in areas like Aden. The humanitarian teams were continuously negotiating with the parties to the conflict on the ground. One of the conditions in the declarations of intent was the humanitarians to be able to reach all areas of Yemen where there were people in need.

Asked with whom the humanitarians were negotiating, Mr. Jensen explained that they were in contact with all the involved parties who held key to access in all areas. Those negotiations were ongoing on access to all areas.

Mr. Jensen explained that they were hoping to reach 2.5 million people, some of them not immediately. Some of those reached would feel the impact only in the coming weeks; the focus was on the most vulnerable segments of the population. Mr. Van Der Klaauw said that OCHA hoped that the pause could be extended and would eventually turn into a ceasefire and a political agreement. An enabling environment for the activities of the humanitarian workers in the country was necessary.

Regarding controversy of Saudi Arabia’s request to be involved in the distribution of humanitarian aid, Mr. Jensen said that the United Nations was mandated to coordinate humanitarian effort. Everybody who wanted to bring in the assistance was thus asked to go through the UN.

Mr. Van Der Klaauw reiterated that the pause was largely respected, but there were ongoing localized skirmishes. Two stocks including food and non-food items existed in the country; some of it would be immediately distributed and more incoming supplies would also be disseminated.

It was specified that the humanitarian fuel requirements stood at five million litres, so the existing stocks would last for a week, after which they would need to be replenished. Fuel was used to provide electricity, run generators for houses and hospitals, and make sure transport was functioning.

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO representative and emergency coordinator were in Yemen as a part of an inter-agency mission to meet with the local health authorities and learn about the immediate needs, and to discuss how this pause could be best used. WHO was going to send in another 20 tons of medicines and medical supplies from Djibouti to Hodeida; the shipment was filled with interagency kits, diarrheal disease kits and water and sanitation kits as well as a shipment of anti-malaria medicines.

Burundi

Rupert Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stated that the High Commissionaire was very concerned about the developments over the previous two days and called on the armed forces and non-State actors to refrain from taking actions which may endanger the lives of civilians and to ensure their protection from the effects of the conflict. There was a clear risk that the instability may be prolonged or get worse if there were violent reprisals in response to what happened during the previous two days.

OHCHR had received reports of numerous attacks on private and state media, with radio and television stations destroyed and that these endangered the lives of journalists who were still inside the buildings. OHCHR called for the reopening as soon as possible of all media outlets and for the respect of the independence of journalists. There was also an urgent need to ensure the safety of human rights defenders in Burundi. Just as an example, one of Burundi’s most prominent human rights defenders, Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa had had to go into hiding after receiving death threats. Those who were inciting taking acts of massive violence were liable to be prosecuted by competent judicial bodies.

Mr. Colville added that the OHCHR was also very concerned that political instability and reports on intimidation of civilians could result in a major humanitarian crisis. The significant increase in the number of refugees fleeing into the neighbouring countries was rapidly deteriorating the conditions in some locations where large numbers of refugees were gathering in Kagunga, Tanzania.

Asked whether there was any information about the people who had been arrested the previous day, including the former Minister of Defence, Mr. Colville stated that the office on the ground was looking for where those arrested were being held and in which conditions. He said that the protesters that had been arrested one week earlier had been placed in very distressing conditions, but the OHCHR had no news about the last reported detentions.

Asked if there were fears that the skirmishes could turn into an ethnic conflict, Mr. Colville invited the media to be very careful with this issue. Just one month earlier, the High Commissioner had visited Burundi, looking into that aspect because detentions were on the rise but there was not really that ethnic element yet. Clearly it could happen given the country’s history, but there was no element of ethnic conflict yet, and it would be better to be cautious on that topic.

Karin de Gruijl, speaking for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that while the coup attempt was reported to have been foiled, the situation in Burundi’s capital remained tense with sporadic outbursts of violence reported this morning. Over 105,000 people had fled the country to Tanzania, Rwanda and the DRC. In Tanzania, the number of new arrivals had risen sharply over the previous few days, with local immigration authorities reporting that over 50,000 Burundians were living in rough conditions in Kagunga on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. There were also reports of at least 10,000 people waiting to cross the border into Tanzania.

With the rapidly increasing number of people arriving in Kabunga, the living conditions had become increasingly dire. People had managed to bring some food and could fish in the lake, but the lack of clean drinking water, latrines and shelter was acute. The local health services in the village were overwhelmed. UNHCR was now setting up a reception centre to address the most urgent needs, and fast-tracking the transfer of pregnant women, children, elderly and sick refugees to Kigoma.

In Kigoma, the authorities had made the Lake Tanganyika Stadium available to accommodate the refugees before they would go to Nyarugusu refugee camp. More than 18,000 refugees had been moved to the refugee camp to date. Refugees from Burundi also continued to stream steadily into Rwanda, although the rate of arrival had decrease over the previous two weeks, as refugees reported that authorities in Burundi had made it very difficult for people to leave the country. UNHCR would start registering Burundian refugees in urban areas the following week.

Ms. de Gruijl explained that the refugees were of both major ethnicities. There had been some anecdotes of threats based on ethnic grounds, but those were sporadic and came from both sides. Refugees were not registered by ethnicity. People were being blocked on their way to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, perhaps because roads were easier to block than paths leading towards Tanzania. The borders remained open, so the blockages were all from inside the country.

Answering another question, Ms. de Gruijl said that roadblocks were primarily manned by the police and armed groups. People seemed to be mostly fleeing because of fear and political threats. A lot of criminality was taking place, following several weeks of violence.

Bay of Bengal migrants

Leonard Doyle, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), announced that the IOM had released USD 1 million to launch operations to help migrants left in a desperate situation by smugglers in South Asia. Mr. Doyle said that the IOM had received reports of three more landings over the previous 24 hours. In Indonesia, 400 to 800 people had been allowed to shore, and they were going to receive medical assistance and protection. The boat previously pushed away from Indonesia was now on its way to Malaysia. With regard to Thailand, a landing was confirmed of 106 migrants from Bangladesh, who were now going to receive medical treatments.

Responding to a question about the involvement of the Indian Government, Mr. Doyle said that India had been invited, as the rest of the international community, to join the international meeting scheduled for the end of the month. Furthermore, with regard to Myanmar’s refusal to participate, he underlined the necessity of international cooperation for such an important and urgent issue.

On the application of the international maritime law, Mr. Doyle explained that the international law applied to all the countries’ governments and to their private and commercial ships as well.

Mr. Colville said that some 6,000 mainly Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants were believed to be still stranded at sea in precarious conditions in South East Asia and three countries were actively implementing a policy of pushing boats back to sea. Hence, the High Commissioner was urging Governments to take action to protect migrants’ lives.

Indonesia had allowed 582 migrants to disembark on 10 May, and Malaysia had also allowed 1,018 the following day, and some more overnight. At the same time, the High Commissionaire was appalled at reports that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia had been pushing boats full of vulnerable migrants back out to sea, which would inevitably lead to many avoidable deaths. The focus should be on saving lives, not further endangering them.

The High Commissioner also expressed alarm at reports that countries in the region were threatening to criminalize vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers who crossed borders irregularly. The crisis had to be responded from the premise that migrants, regardless of their legal status, how they arrived at borders or where they came from, where people with rights that had to be upheld. Criminalising such vulnerable people, including children, and placing them in detention was not the solution. The individual circumstances of all migrants and asylum seekers at international borders should be assessed, and appropriate protection provided according to international human rights and refugee law, including ensuring that principle of non-refoulement was upheld.

Mr. Colville also stressed the need for further action against the traffickers and abusive smugglers who were reportedly holding thousands of migrants out at sea in cramped and horrific conditions with little access to adequate food or water, and in some cases simply abandoning them at sea.

In 2014, the number of people leaving Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat was estimated to have climbed to around 53,000. Some 920 migrants were known to have perished in the Bay of Bengal between September 2014 and March 2015. They were predominantly Rohingya fleeing persecution from the Rakhine State in Myanmar, with an increasing number of impoverished Bangladeshi migrants taking to the sea over the last year. The High Commissioner pointed out that until the Myanmar Government addressed the institutional discrimination against the Rohingya population, including equal access to citizenship, this precarious migration would continue.

The OHCHR welcomed the announcement that Thailand would host a regional meeting on irregular migration in the Indian Ocean on 29 May to discuss comprehensive responses to ongoing crisis. They urged the participating governments to ensure that their responses would be bases on international human rights and refugee law. The High Commissioner noted that the regional meeting would also seek to address root causes and highlighted the importance of addressing the serious human rights situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which was one of the principal motivators of these desperate maritime movements.

Asked if the OHCHR had a comment on Myanmar rejecting to attend the regional meeting to address root causes, Mr. Colville stated that ASEAN was the place to address this issues because it is a regional problem, and not just of one country. The situation in Myanmar was a major driver of the flight of people, but not the only one.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), announced that the 22^nd session of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) would conclude in the afternoon after the adoption of the reports for the session, namely for the United States, Marshall Islands, Croatia, Jamaica and Libya.

In the reports regarding United States and Marshall Islands it would be possible to find the usual lists of recommendations and the preliminary positions of the States on those recommendations. Mr. Gomez said that after the adoption, which was expected at 3.30 in the afternoon, the States reviewed would deliver short statements to express their positions.

World Health Assembly

Mr. Jašarevic reminded that the World Health Assembly would start on 18 May and would go through 26 May. The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, would give a speech at 11:30 a.m. and journalists were advised to arrive long in advance as there would be additional security. There would be probably no press statement by Chancellor Merkel, but that there might be photo opportunities as she would enter through Door 14.

WHO Chief Margaret Chan would address the Assembly at 2:30 p.m. the same day and would hold a press briefing behind the Assembly Hall, which would be expected around 3:00 p.m.

Throughout the Assembly, there would be copies of the journal printed and left in Press Room I. At the end of each day there would be a press release summarizing resolutions which would be adopted.

International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

Mr. Zaccheo informed that on the occasion of 17 May, the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, UN-GLOBE – the staff group representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex staff members of the UN system – called on all UN staff members to reflect on what each one of us can do to confront discrimination towards LGBTI staff and peoples around the world. Secretary-General would also issue a statement on this occasion, and an article on LinkedIn was also expected.

Mr. Colville reminded of the ongoing major OHCHR campaign called Free & Equal. A new 2-minute video was made available for the occasion, showing regular LGBTI people making contributions to their local communities. The video also featured the UN Secretary-General, while the pop star Sara Bareilles contributed to the soundtrack.

Geneva activities

Mr. Zaccheo announced that the Committee against Torture was closing its 54^th session this morning and publishing its concluding observations concerning the implementation of the Convention against torture in the eight countries reviewed during this session. A press conference by members of the Committee would take place in Press Room I at 12:30 p.m. The countries analysed in this session were: New Zealand, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Luxembourg, Spain, Serbia, Colombia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination would close its 86^th session at 3 p.m. this afternoon, when it would publish concluding observations concerning the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in the six countries reviewed during this session. A press conference by members of the Committee would take place in Press Room I at 2:30 p.m. Reports of the following countries had been analysed in the current session: France, Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sudan, Germany, and Denmark.

Committee on the Rights of the Child would start its session the following week, on 18 May. During its session, the Committee would review reports of Eritrea, Ghana, Mexico, Honduras, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Israel and Lao.

On behalf of the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, Mr. Zaccheo said that the 2015 triple COPs were now on the last day, with negotiations continuing into the night on several issues. As decisions were adopted, a press release would be sent simultaneously in Geneva, Nairobi and Rome, either later today or tomorrow.

Mr. Zaccheo also informed that on the margins of the World Health Assembly, United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) would hold a special meeting on efforts undertaken in the health field. The meeting at Intercontinental, open to the media, would take place on 19 May. The same day, at 12:00 noon, there would be a press conference by Dr. Seita Akihiro, UNRWA Health Director & WHO Special Representative, on achieving universal health coverage for the largest refugee population on earth: Palestine refugees.

Jean-Luc Martinage, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), reminded that the new ILO report on World Employment and Social Outlook would be released on 18 May. Mr. Martinage informed the complete English PDF version of the report was available on the ILO website, along with a press release and summary in English, French, Spanish, an online summary in German, Russian and Chinese, while Arabic and Japanese versions would be available on 18 May. Mr. Martinage confirmed the presence of the Director General at the press conference, which would be held in Press Room III at 9:30 a.m. on 18 May.

Finally, Mr. Zaccheo informed that the Geneva consultations on Syria, led by the Special Envoy de Mistura, were continuing at the Palais des Nations.

The spokesperson for the World Food Programme was present, but did not brief.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: … http://bit.ly/unog150515