REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service, chaired the briefing attended by the spokespersons for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Organization for Migration, and the World Health Organization.
Syria
Michael Contet, for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE), said that, as mentioned in the note to correspondents sent out on 1 May, the UN Special Envoy for Syria would be attending the high-level meeting on Syria in Astana on 3 and 4 May as an observer and would lead the UN delegation there. A technical team from the OSE was already in Astana, engaging in the expert-level preparations underway today.
The Special Envoy was looking forward to an encouraging and positive outcome to the high-level meeting. The expected result of the meeting that the Special Envoy would like to see would include a reaffirmation of the cease-fire that had been announced on 29 December 2016, and a de-escalation in the violence on the ground that would be felt by the Syrian people. The Special Envoy had been paying very close attention to the deterioration of the situation on the ground in recent weeks and months.
As ever, the Special Envoy placed a primacy on saving civilian lives, and that is why he felt that it was key that efforts in Astana to bring about a de-escalation led to some success. In addition to a decrease in violence, he also looked forward to confidence-building measures being discussed in Astana. They were very much needed at this juncture.
All of those would provide for a better environment for the next round of intra-Syrian talks. At present the team was working hard on preparations for that at various levels. The Special Envoy would also make use of his presence in Astana to continue his efforts with all the stakeholders present there. At the moment the team was looking at a number of issues relating to the organization of the next round of talks, including dates. There were no dates to announce as of yet. The month of Ramadan was starting fairly soon, which needed to be factored into planning. The presence of the Special Envoy in Astana was a reminder of the complementarity of the Astana and Geneva processes. The success of Astana would help shape a more conducive environment for the next round of talks here. Geneva remained the main platform for the political process.
Asked about timing, Mr. Contet reiterated that the team was not yet ready to announce dates. Asked about confidence-building measures and in particular the question of detainees, Mr. Contet said the issue was part of the basket of confidence-building measures that would be discussed in the framework of the Astana meeting. It had also been discussed at a technical meeting in Tehran some weeks ago. There had been some movement in those discussions among the guarantors of the cease-fire and other parties present in Tehran, and this was something that the OSE was looking forward to seeing continue in Astana. It was a delicate matter on which it was preferable to keep conversations discreet in order to enhance the chances of success.
Regarding any evolution in the United States’ position since the US missile strike in April, Mr. Contet said that was a question to pose to the US directly. He also said the OSE was very hopeful that the Permanent Members of the Security Council and countries in the region would coalesce around supporting efforts to push the political tract in Geneva. The Special Envoy had been clear that he would be very favourable to seeing conversations between some of those players, including between the US and the Russian Federation at some point. The OSE was in regular touch with US interlocutors.
Asked about any contacts between the Special Envoy and Israel given the escalating tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah in the area, Mr. Contet said that the OSE routinely had contacts with all sorts of relevant players on issues pertaining to Syria and did not enter into the details of who they had spoken to. The OSE also took note of claims made by actors about developments on the ground. The importance of the Astana framework was that that was where the right people were around the table in order to give a chance to the de-escalation of violence. The OSE’s role was to contribute to that, to support it on a technical, and whenever possible, political level, and to feed into the political process which the OSE was bringing back to Geneva. At the end of the day, it was about saving the lives of Syrians on the ground, and the Special Envoy would do everything that he could in order to support that.
Ms. Vellucci reminded journalists that the new Executive Director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, was making an official visit to Lebanon and Syria until 3 May.
Somalia
Marixie Mercado, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said a press release on Somalia was being released now by UNICEF and would be embargoed until 11.30 a.m. today. Ms. Mercado had just come back from Somalia, where UNICEF was projecting a 50 per cent increase in the number of children who were or would be acutely malnourished in 2017, to 1.4 million. That included 275,000 severely malnourished children, who were nine times more likely to die of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and measles. The combination of malnutrition, disease and displacement was deadly for children. During the 2011 famine in Somalia, the major killers of children had been diarrhoea and measles. A severely malnourished and dehydrated child could die in a matter of hours if they did not get treatment for diarrhoea and cholera. Measles, which could be transmitted by air, could spread like fire in congested displacement camps.
Ms. Mercado said she had been in Baidoa, in the Bay region, which had had over half of the total number of cholera cases and deaths so far in 2017. As for the last count on 23 April, there had been over 28,400 cases of cholera or acute watery diarrhoea across the country, and 558 deaths. For context, there had been 15,619 cases and 548 deaths during all of 2016, so we were now coming close to double all of the cases in 2016. There had also been more measles cases reported so far in 2017 than during all of 2016.
Together with the Ministry of Health, WHO and others, UNICEF had run an emergency measles vaccination campaign in Baidoa, targeting every displaced child under five years old. Every mother Ms. Mercado had spoken to had said that her children were sick, either with diarrhoea or vomiting, or feverish. Most had never been vaccinated before because of the insecurity across the country.
The pace and the scale of displacement had risen exponentially. In November 2016, around 60 people had set up camp in Baidoa, constructing small mounds of twigs and cloth or tarp. In March 2017, around 70,000 had arrived, the vast majority of them women and children. There were now over 120,000 displaced in Baidoa, living in dire conditions. At Bay Regional Hospital, 22 of the 23 patients in the severe cholera ward were from the displacement camps.
The early funding had allowed for a huge scale-up in UNICEF’s operations. UNICEF had been able to set up 330 new nutrition centres to provide life-saving care for children. UNICEF now supported over 60 cholera treatment facilities and was able to provide temporary access to safe water to over one million people. But the needs were staggering, and the rains unfolding in parts of the country now, while they would bring much-needed relief and hope, also signalled more misery, especially for displaced children living in flimsy shelters, with little protection from the flies and the mosquitoes, and the diseases which they brought. Even if the rains came in full, the crisis would not be over for the children in Somalia.
In response to questions, Ms. Mercado clarified that the numbers she had quoted referred to the caseload for 2017: the number of children who were or whom UNICEF projected to be acutely malnourished (1.4 million, and among them, 275,000 severely malnourished). She did not have the numbers of acutely or severely malnourished children right now. The methodology for those projections was based on nutrition surveys and the numbers of children reached by UNICEF. Nutrition surveys were being conducted systematically and the next one would be conducted across the country in June. New data was expected to be available by August. That might then give a new projection. The reach - in this case, in the first three months of 2017, UNICEF had reached and treated over 56,000 severely malnourished children, some 88 per cent more than in the same period in 2016 - was also an indication of the growth in projection. Ms. Mercado agreed that the level of insecurity in the country would impact on the numbers of children that UNICEF was able to reach and on the number of children who would suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
Asked about how insecurity across the country affected humanitarian operations, Ms. Mercado said that she had visited a town around 90 kilometres away from Baidoa, and to get there, it was necessary to travel by chopper as the roads were unsafe. This was a town to which there had been no physical access for six years, and the team went there to assess needs. At one point, while they were there, the visiting team had to travel by APC (armoured personnel carrier), and had encountered minesweepers, securing the path for the them. Somalia was a complex operating environment and that had impact on every aspect of the humanitarian operation. In order to better access people, UNICEF worked with more than 180 different partners across the country and always looked at who had access where, in order to be able to get assistance, services and supplies to the people in need.
Ms. Mercado also said that UNICEF did not have an estimate on mortality at this point. Of the children treated for severe acute malnutrition, the death rate was one per cent. There was a 92 per cent recovery rate, and the rest defaulted (they did not continue the treatment). She also clarified that displacement was due to drought, as the displaced people had left their homes in search of assistance. The most important thing was to access people in their communities, so that they did not have to leave. If they were forced to leave, the goal was to provide as much assistance as possible. If the conflict escalated there could be an increase in the number of people displaced. Somalia had now seen three failed rains and the fact that the drought was occurring more often and more severely meant that people had less time to recover each time, which made them more vulnerable.
In response to final questions, Ms. Mercado said that during the 2011 famine in Somalia, 260,000 people had died, over half of them young children.
Leonard Doyle, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), introduced Muse Mohammed, IOM’s field photographer who had also just come back from a month in Somalia, where he had travelled to six different parts of the country. The images that Mr. Mohammed would show during the briefing were all available to the press via a shorthand link in an email sent earlier today. IOM would also share shortly the high-resolution images.
Mr. Mohammed said he had recently come back from Somalia, where IOM was looking at the overall needs of the Somali people, which were inter-agency needs. He had been to about six locations in north and in south-central Somalia. The images showed that people were severely affected in many parts of the country. He projected photos of dead animals and dried rivers, as well as Somalis digging for water. IDPs had told him of the struggles of leaving their homes. Many were trying to decide whether to cross into Ethiopia in search of assistance. In the north, business people were talking about how hard it was to make ends meet as people were not buying anything anymore. He had seen measles and cholera in the north and in the south of the country. Mr. Mohammed also shared photos of a hospital in Baidoa and spoke about the malnourished children, some of whom had complications such as bone deformities. It was shocking to see the amount of children under the age of five who were affected or had died. Adults and the elderly were also affected. Mr. Mohammed then shared some examples of resilience, such as those of IDPs who had managed to build gardens in IDP camps, and success stories such as the use of polyglue, a coagulant, to produce safe drinking water. All of the material Mr. Mohammed showed was available to the press.
To the question about the impact of insecurity on humanitarian operations, Mr. Mohammed added that it had taken him as long as a month to visit six locations in Somalia because of the logistical challenges involved, including the use of APCs, clearance to use UN flights, and the frequency of such flights. Some of the IDPs he had met had said that they had flocked to places such as Baidoa and Kismayo since where they had come from, groups such as Al-Shabaab had banned water trucks and there was no access there for humanitarian assistance. It was nothing like any other mission he had been to in the past.
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said 2.9 million in Somalia faced crisis and emergency food insecurity levels (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification - levels 3 and 4). The most affected areas were South-Central, Somaliland and Puntland regions. Drought-related displacement continued in Somalia with 75,360 newly displaced from 1 to 21 April 2017. This brought the total number of internally displaced people to 615,000 since November 2016. There was a massive humanitarian operation going on trying to address the health and nutrition needs of those who had been displaced. Of the overall call for donors to step up the response to the four countries where there was a famine alert, issued at the end of February, for USD 4.4 billion, Somalia accounted for USD 720 million. That call was almost 58 per cent funded for a total of USD 415 million, which was encouraging. The top donors to that increase in funding to the special projects dealing with the famine alert in Somalia were the United States with more than USD 150 million, the United Kingdom with USD 11 million, followed by the European Union and ECHO (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations).
Liberia
Referring to the WHO briefing of last Friday, 28 April, Tarik Jasarevic, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that in Liberia all samples had tested negative for Ebola and for Lassa fever. Also, the bacteriological and chemistry analysis of the urine tests had been inconclusive. Field investigation teams were collecting data to establish a possible association between any food and drinks served during funeral ceremonies to which all of the victims and sick people had been linked, and the onset of the cases. Specimens had been sent to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta for a toxicology analysis. So far 21 people had fallen sick and 12 of them had died since 23 April.
In response to questions, Mr. Jasarevic said that WHO was still treating the issue as an unexplained event as long as there was no laboratory confirmation. It was necessary to prove what the cause really was. As soon as it was known the press would be informed.
Geneva Events and Announcements
On behalf of Rolando Gomez for the Human Rights Council, Ms. Vellucci said the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review Working Group session had started on 1 May in Room XX of the Palais des Nations with the reviews of Bahrain and Ecuador. Today, 2 May, the Working Group was reviewing the human rights of Tunisia in the morning and Morocco in the afternoon. The press would receive an update later today, and should follow the meeting on the HRC Twitter feed. Mr. Gomez could be contacted for any questions.
Ms. Vellucci also said on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, there would be a panel discussion on “The media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies”, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room XXV of the Palais des Nations. The press was invited and a list of speakers was available. Two of the Palais-accredited journalists, Gabriela Sotomayor and Guy Mettan, would be on the panel.
Tarik Jasarevic, for the World Health Organization (WHO), announced a virtual press briefing on 4 May at 2 p.m., launching the fourth UN Global Road Safety Week and new guidance for safe roads, that would deal with the issue of 1.2 million people who died on the roads every year globally, with 40 to 50 per cent of those deaths being due to drivers who sped. The speakers would include Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases. Dial-in information had been provided in the media advisory on 1 May.
Mr. Jasarevic also mentioned an event taking place in Guinea on 4 May, in the presence of WHO Director-General and the Presidents and Ministers of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, who would speak about the Ebola response and the research that had been done on the vaccine for Ebola. A media advisory had been sent with the name of the contact who was traveling there and could arrange interviews.
In response to questions, Ms. Jasarevic clarified that the virtual press conference would be done from the studio at WHO headquarters for logistical reasons, and there was no room for journalists to be present physically, but they were welcome to come afterwards to do interviews.
Ms. Vellucci said the Committee against Torture (CAT), the 60th session of which was running at the Palais Wilson until 12 May, would start at 10 a.m. today the review of the report of the Republic of Korea, the last report on the agenda of this session, which it would complete on 3 May in the afternoon.
At the conclusion of its session, the Committee would publish its concluding observations on the reports of the four countries reviewed during the session, which had been, besides the Republic of Korea, Bahrain, Afghanistan and Armenia.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which had opened on 24 April its 92nd session (running until 12 May at the Palais Wilson), would hold this morning a public plenary dedicated to its working methods. This afternoon, starting at 3 p.m., the Committee would start its review of the report of Kenya, which it would complete on 3 May in the morning. The remaining reports to be reviewed this week were those of Cyprus and Bulgaria.
Ms. Vellucci acknowledged the request from the press to have press conferences whenever heads of agencies or the Deputy Secretary-General were in Geneva. Ms. Vellucci had relayed that request to the office of Ms. Amina Mohammed for next time.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog020517