REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service, chaired the briefing attended by the spokespersons the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development.
Bangladesh
Matthew Cochrane, for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said Cyclone Mora was making landfall on the south-eastern coast of Bangladesh. IFRC’s concern was that it could have a very serious impact causing widespread flooding and affecting many tens of thousands of people. The Bangladeshi Government, supported by the Red Crescent, had already evacuated about 1 million people to safety. Right in the storm’s path was Cox’s Bazaar, which was home to between 300,000 to 500,000 migrants from neighbouring Myanmar, people who had fled intercommunal violence, including 70,000 who had fled since the end of 2016 and were living in very precarious shelter conditions with limited access to services. IFRC was very worried about what the impact could be on them. There had been some anecdotal reports of the shelters having been entirely destroyed and even of communities in surrounding areas having taken it upon themselves to try to evacuate some people who were in a terribly difficult situation. The IFRC had assessment teams en route there, which might have already arrived, but telecommunication was difficult. This group of people had very little means to support themselves, as they had fled Myanmar with nothing. Despite the best efforts of organizations like the Red Crescent, UNHCR, and local communities themselves, the response to those needs had not been at the level that was needed.
Mr. Cochrane also said organizations had been speaking out for a long time about the need to improve the way they responded to disasters like this, that were eminently predictable, recurrent, and had very similar impacts. He highlighted an example of where IFRC had tried to make such improvements. In communities in Hatiya Upazila, which was located in a low-lying area prone to flooding in the coastal district of Noakhali, the Bangladesh Red Crescent had triggered for the first time a forecast-based financing approach. It was a model that had been developed with the Red Cross Climate Centre, the German Red Cross and the German Government. It was a pre-existing agreement that when specific scientific and forecasting levels were met (when a storm reached a certain area at a certain severity and when prediction models coalesced around specific impacts), then funds would be released at that point rather than waiting for the storm to hit for the impact to become apparent. Through this approach, about 2,300 families had received cash grants equivalent to 5,000 takas (about 60 euros). This way, they had resources before the storm hit so they could look for alternative accommodation to protect their livelihoods and their families. The approach was based on extensive consultation of communities over a long period of time.
It was a modest contribution but it exemplified the kind of approach that IFRC believed aid organizations and donors needed to adopt to better support people affected by disasters. IFRC believed that this kind of approach would be more cost-effective in the long term as well, although evidence of that remained to develop.
Sri Lanka
Matthew Cochrane, for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), spoke of floods triggered by the same tropical depression which had then turned into Cyclone Mora. According to the Sri Lankan Government, about 180 people were believed to have been killed, and that number was climbing. Close to 600,000 people had been affected in what was the worst flood to affect Sri Lanka since 2003.
IFRC was increasingly concerned about the threat of water-borne diseases. Dengue was endemic and many tens of thousands of displaced people were living in camp conditions that were not at the level they needed to be. There was much concern about the breeding of mosquitoes and the spread of dengue in the face of standing and stagnating water. The Sri Lankan Meteorological Office had just changed its forecast of further bad weather for the coming weekend, but it was the monsoon season and more bad weather would be coming later.
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said IOM had deployed three rapid assessment teams to Ratnapura, Galle, Matara and Kalutara districts, four of the worst-hit by the floods. Similar monsoon rains in the south-west 14 years ago, in 2003, had destroyed 10,000 homes and had killed 250 people. IOM’s indications today showed that 177 people had been killed by floods and landslides but 109 were still missing since the heavy rains on 26 May, so the fatalities of 2003 could be surpassed. Drinking water was a concern, and so were non-food relief items and shelter.
Central African Republic
Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said mass killings and other serious human rights violations had been documented in an extensive UN mapping report covering the multiple conflicts in the Central African Republic between 2003 and 2015. Many of the violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the mapping report stated, as it set out a strategy to fight pervasive impunity in the country.
The mapping report was a joint report by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and had documented patterns of serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by successive Government forces and various local and foreign armed groups, as well as international and foreign defence forces. The report, mandated by the UN Security Council, documented in detail 620 incidents, including horrific accounts of entire villages being burnt to the ground in reprisal attacks; multiple accounts of gang rapes of women and girls as young as five; extra-judicial killings; deaths following severe torture or ill-treatment in detention centres; serious violence against people on the basis of their religion, ethnicity or perceived support for armed groups; the recruitment of thousands of children by armed groups; and attacks on both humanitarian actors and peacekeepers, among other serious violations. Hundreds of thousands of Central Africans had been internally displaced or forced to flee in terrifying circumstances through the bush into neighbouring countries.
The history of the country had been marked by deep-rooted poverty, ethnic tensions, pervasive political instability, corruption and nepotism that had led to a succession of armed conflicts. Regional instability and internal conflicts in neighbouring countries had fuelled the volatile conditions in the country, particularly through the flow of arms and rebel groups across its porous borders.
While the report recognized the challenging security situation in the Central African Republic, it recommended that some steps be taken immediately to initiate transitional justice processes. There had been many peace processes following the many conflicts in the Central African Republic, but as long as impunity reigned, this terrible trajectory – with each armed group committing appalling acts of violence – may continue. In documenting the violations and abuses of the past, OHCHR hoped to galvanize national and international efforts to protect and bring justice to the victims of those crimes.
Assistant Secretary-General Andrew Gilmour was currently in the Central African Republic visiting Bangui and Bambari, and was launching the report today in Bangui. In his meetings with people from all walks of life, he had said that one call was very clear, and it was the call for justice. There would be no peace without justice, and people’s suffering and violations committed against them needed to be recognized.
In response to questions, Ms. Shamdasani said the UN had several roles in the CAR. There was a UN mission on the ground, MINUSCA, and its peacekeepers had been deployed to many of the regions and were taking active measures to protect the population. There were also human rights monitors, who were trying to go to the scene of the crimes to speak to the victims and witnesses of the violence to document what had happened. There was now a Special Court for the CAR, and the Special Prosecutor had joined a couple of days ago, so the transitional justice process was beginning. One of the key aspects of the transition had to be the disarmament of the armed groups, which was a major challenge. The people involved in the armed conflict had to know that they were being watched and that the violations were being documented, and were being attributed to the perpetrators with the view to bring them to justice.
Mr. LeBlanc added that MINUSCA was trying to keep people as secure as possible. In a recent report this week they had reiterated their call to the armed groups to unconditionally cease hostilities and engage in dialogue. The mission was trying to actively engage with civil society and religious and political leaders to reduce all tensions, and was calling on all communities to seek constructive solutions for lasting peace.
In response to further questions, Ms. Shamdasani said one of the objectives of the report was to do a preliminary documentation of the kinds of violations that had taken place between 2003 and 2015, with a view to inform the work of the Special Prosecutor and the Special Court, giving them some guidance on their prosecutorial strategy. There were hundreds of thousands of victims of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Special Court would not be able to prosecute every single individual and had to determine which were the emblematic crimes that had been committed, and where it was strategically important to go after the commanders or after the mid-level perpetrators. Secondly, the objective of the court was to inform other transitional justice processes, such as the establishment of a truth commission. ASG Andrew Gilmour had said that people were demanding justice and that an amnesty would be unacceptable. There needed to be recognition of the kinds of crimes committed. It was very important not to forget the victims of the crimes committed during this time period.
The Government had created the Special Court in 2015 to investigate international crimes. The Special Prosecutor had taken office on 26 May. The court was based in Bangui and had a national jurisdiction with international input in terms of funds and expertise, necessary for the court to become operational. There were only 200 magistrates in the CAR. The court was composed of national and international personnel, to advance the process of reconciliation and consolidation of the peace. It had already started functioning, and people had already been recruited to serve on the court. Ms. Shamdasani would get back to the press with more details on the court.
Asked about sexual abuse of children by peacekeepers between 2003 and 2015, Ms. Shamdasani said that sexual violence against children as young as five and women as old as 60 had been recorded. Those cases were often gang rapes perpetrated by as many as 20 people in front of family members. The victims had been targeted because they had been perceived or known to have social, religious or ethnic relations with people from groups opposed to the perpetrators of the crimes. The violations had been perpetrated by many different armed groups and troops. The report recorded violations perpetrated by armed groups, the ex-Séléka and the anti-Balaka, as well as armed groups supporting the Government, and by Government forces. There were also violations perpetrated by foreign armed groups, including a Chadian rebel group, the FPR, and by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), as well as a group called the Zaraguina, composed of former members of failed rebellions in the CAR and in Chad. Finally, there had been violations by international forces, UN as well as non-UN forces from various countries. In the report there were no new allegations of sexual violence by international forces that had not been disclosed previously. In 2015, there had been 22 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving MINUSCA personnel.
Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that as thousands were being displaced inside the Central African Republic with the renewed violence, there were also more refugees arriving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
To assist those who had been recently forcibly displaced, UNHCR was calling for urgent support to its funding appeal of USD209.2 million for the CAR situation which was only 6 per cent funded. Significant rebel activity in towns along the DRC border as well as rumours of possible attacks were pushing people to flee. Humanitarian access in many of these areas remained severely restricted due to the security situation. UNHCR had however been able to provide, through an inter-agency response, relief items for the newly displaced in Bria.
The recent upsurge in violence was also pushing people to cross the border into the DRC’s Bas Uele and Ubangi provinces. Some 20,575 Central Africans had fled over the past two weeks, according to estimates. UNHCR teams had met some of the arrivals while others had been reported by local authorities. Most of the new arrivals were staying close to the rivers - Mbomou and Ubangi - constituting the border between the two countries, hoping to quickly cross the border again once the situation stabilized.
In response to questions, Mr. Baloch said that funding shortages were severely hampering UNHCR’s ability to assist the displaced. UNHCR had had some stocks available in Bambari and in Bria, and was trying to move available stocks from Bangui, but insufficient funding meant that the response would be insufficient. Many of the displaced were fleeing human rights abuses and very difficult situations. UNHCR regularly highlighted the chronic underfunding all of its operations in Africa were facing.
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), added that IOM’s displacement tracking matrix monitoring the violence which had begun in Bangassou, following an attack on 13 May, showed that there were 19,000 people displaced so far since then, out of whom 13,000 were children. As of May 2017 there were 500,000 internally displaced persons in the country, a figure which had not been reached since August 2014.
Mediterranean update
Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said the total number of people crossing the Central Mediterranean since the beginning of 2017 had now passed 60,000, with close to 9,500 migrants and refugees rescued over the past week and disembarked in various Italian ports.
A total of 50 bodies had been disembarked over the past few days in Crotone, Palermo and Catania following an undetermined number of incidents, in which dozens of others were feared dead or missing at sea. The total number of dead and missing since the beginning of 2017 had now reached over 1,720.
Some 33 people had lost their lives in a particularly deadly shipwreck, including 13 women and 7 children, with dozens others feared missing. The incident had happened early morning on 24 May. As rescue operations had started, refugees and migrants had panicked and the boat had taken on water. The three-level wooden embarkation had left Libya the night before, with 700 to 900 passengers on board, including 300 persons crammed in the hold. A total of 593 survivors had been disembarked in Crotone last Saturday and were receiving help, including psychological support, as many were deeply traumatized. Most came from Sudan, Eritrea, the Comoro Islands, Egypt and Morocco.
A second shipwreck had been reported to UNHCR by survivors disembarked in Crotone on Friday. A dinghy carrying 126 people, mostly from Nigeria, Ghana, Sudan and Cameroon, had left Sabratha, Libya, late morning on 23 May. After a few hours, it had deflated and people had fallen into water. An Egyptian fishing boat had come to rescue them, but 82 people had gone dead or missing.
On 27 May, the Tunisian Coastguard had rescued a boat carrying 126 people, including 48 women, a 5-year old boy and 3 babies, and had taken them to the port of Zarzis. The body of a Nigerian woman had also been recovered from the boat which had departed from the Libyan port of Sabratha two days earlier. In close coordination with the Tunisian authorities, medical checks had been carried out by MSF upon disembarkation, and those in need had been transferred to Zarzis regional hospital for treatment.
UNHCR had also deeply worrying reports of incidents at sea during crossings. Survivors disembarked in Salerno on 28 May had told UNHCR staff that their boat had been approached by criminals who had stolen their belongings and had taken their engine off, shooting in the air on several occasions. Luckily, nobody had been wounded in the incident.
Several refugees and migrants landed on Lampedusa over the weekend had gunshot wounds. One man had told UNHCR staff that he had been shot in the leg by members of Libyan militias who had also his belongings. Another man had been shot in the arm and tortured by a trafficker to extract money from him. Many survivors had also reported having witnessed friends being fired at or killed while in Libya.
Saving lives remained the top priority. UNHCR praised the Italian Coastguard for their constant efforts in coordinating rescue operations as well as the Tunisian Coastguard and the crew of all the ships involved for saving so many lives. UNHCR reiterated its call for credible alternatives to those dangerous crossings for people in need of international protection, including accessible and safe ways to reach Europe such as family reunification, resettlement and private sponsorship.
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), added he had received information this morning from the IOM mission in Tunisia concerning the rescue of 126 people that had taken place there on 28 May. There had been three unaccompanied minors in the group, four Nigerian children with their mother, and seven pregnant women, one of whom was due to deliver today or the next day. They were suffering from scabies and would be treated in Tunisia today. The breakdown by nationality was as followed: 70 from Nigeria, 19 from Gambia, and under 10 each from Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Gabon, and Comoro Islands.
Mr. Millman also said there were considerably less fatalities in the Mediterranean this week than in 2016 at the same time, but that statistics could be volatile and that a summer of incidents in the Mediterranean was to be expected.
Libya
In response to a question regarding a video on social media showing terrible conditions of migrant African women in Libya, Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said he was not familiar with the video that the journalist had referenced, but he had seen other videos which showed events of extreme concern, including shootings and bodies left in the desert. He also said that in the past week, IOM Libya had surpassed 4,000 individuals returned to their homes as part of the Assisted Voluntary Repatriation and Reintegration (AVRR) programme in 2017. Some 901 had been returned just since 10 May. Most of them were Nigerian. There were many women and unaccompanied minors returned on those flights, including pregnant women. IOM had never surpassed 3,000 returns per year in 2015 and in 2016. Flights were scheduled for the next several days and into the rest of the season. Mr. Millman added that the Libyan coast guard had rescued over 2,000 people in 2017 so far and had retrieved more than 200 bodies of migrants who had died in transit. IOM’s work focused on monitoring the detention centres and organizing flight of stranded migrants as part of the AVRR programme.
Mr. Millman added that there was a high-level meeting scheduled today between IOM and UNHCR to discuss Libya and while he did not have the authority to speak on matters of IOM policy, he could put the press in touch with the IOM Chief of Mission in Libya, Othman Belbeisi, who was in Geneva today.
Iraq
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), highlighted a situation report published a few hours previous on the situation in Mosul, covering the past week, until the past weekend. Since the start of the western Mosul operations some three and a half months ago, a total of nearly 600,000 people had fled western Mosul. As military operations had begun to concentrate on the Old City area and nearby neighbourhoods on 26 and 27 May, the Government had requested and asked people still inside the ISIS-controlled area to get out. Many of them had done so and were going through “safe passages” out of the ISIS-controlled areas. It was believed that there were still some 180,000 people in the Old City and immediately north of the Old City in western Mosul. Along the safe passages, there were now nine assembly areas, muster points and screening sites where humanitarians were responding to those coming out. Seven of those sites were on the western side of the Tigris river and two on the eastern side. On the western side, those points included, among others, the Mosul railway station and Mosul airport. On the eastern side, the two points had been established after Iraqi security forces had built a floating bridge across the river to enable people to leave the west and go to the east.
Humanitarian partners continued to respond to the outflow of people and immediate emergency assistance was being provided in those assembly areas and screening sites, including ready-to-eat meals, water, sanitation facilities and medical support.
Since the start of the western Mosul operations on 19 February, some 2,757 people had been treated at the trauma stabilization points near the frontline areas of western Mosul, while thousands more had been referred to hospitals away from the frontline. The situation report was available online.
Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that in an effort to contain the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 145 volunteers of the Congolese Red Cross and community health workers trained with the technical support of UNICEF had been deployed across the Bas-Uele Province to deliver lifesaving information to local populations, most of whom lived in remote, hard-to-reach areas along the border with the Central African Republic. Working in close collaboration with health workers and communities was the best way to inform the public quickly about protection measures against Ebola, and to prevent propagation of the disease. Under the coordination of national health authorities, and in collaboration with the World Health Organization, UNICEF had trained volunteers and community workers on how to chlorinate water and disinfect homes to avoid the spread of the disease, as well as on the importance of hand washing and ways to adapt local burial practices to reduce contamination risks.
The DRC Government had decided to make the local health services available at no charge in the affected health zone of Likati during the epidemic in a move to encourage people to go to their local health center in case of illness. In addition, EU funds had helped UNICEF send a flight with supplies and medicines to equip the health facilities in the Likati area. It was a very hard-to-reach area and teams could only access it by motorcycle and on foot. This limited propagation of the disease, but also presented an additional challenge for bringing in medical supplies.
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that as of 29 May there were 19 Ebola cases, out of which two were laboratory-confirmed, four were probable and 13 suspected. Out of those 19 cases, there were four deaths, out of which only one was laboratory-confirmed and one was probable.
As of 26 May there were still 294 contacts under follow-up, and as many cases had already been dismissed, it was important to look into various other options. A number of diseases could be responsible, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis E, yellow fever, shigella, typhoid, dengue, and salmonella. Individual cases in the different villages could have different pathogens.
Asked about vaccination, Mr. Lindmeier said the protocol for the possible ring vaccination had been formally approved by the national regulatory authorities, and the Government of the DRC with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and with support of WHO and other partners were working on the detailed planning for the readiness for using the experimental vaccine, in order to be able to deploy as soon as possible if needed. The international vaccine deployment and cold chain shipment to DRC was not advised at this point, as there were only two confirmed Ebola cases and no new cases had been seen for a while now. There was no automatic trigger point for the ring vaccination, but the moment there would be a new case it would be looked at very carefully. The authorities, MSF and WHO and partners were in constant contact on this.
Geneva Events and Announcements
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said the World Health Assembly would close on 31 May. Several topics still remained to be tackled. Committee A still had on its agenda promoting health through the life-course and communicable diseases, including global vector control response. Discussions on progress reports on non-communicable diseases, communicable diseases and promoting health through life-course were expected. In Committee B today, there would be the report of the Commission on ending childhood obesity, as well as cancer prevention and control. This afternoon, there would be discussion on synergies between the WHO and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as well on prevention of deafness and hearing loss. On 31 May, closing reports would be discussed and there would be a speech from the Director-General (timing to be confirmed).
The WHA would be followed on 1 and 2 June by the 141st session of the Executive Board.
Tonight, two side events would take place from 6 to 7.30 p.m. In Room IX, there would be an event on “How to improve the nutritional status of adolescents” organized by the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. At the same time, a commemoration of World No Tobacco Day 2017, organized by a good number of delegations, would take place in Room XXIV.
Hans von Rohland, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), said the International Labour Conference would take place from 5 to 16 June. The President of Uruguay would be present on 5 June at 12.30 p.m. A special badge would be necessary for audio-visual journalists to have access to the floor of the Assembly Hall. No extra formalities for accredited journalists would be required to access the press gallery from the Lausanne side on the 6th floor. A media advisory would be sent today at noon, with more details on the topics of the conference.
The main topic this year would be women in the labour market. On 14 June the ILO would launch the new edition of the World Economic and Social Outlook dedicated to that topic and outlining the economic benefits that an increase in the participation of women in the workforce could bring. On 15 June there would be a World of Work Summit dedicated to the issue, to discuss innovative new measures promoting the employment of women.
Another major topic of the conference would be migrants in the labour market and ways of better governing that aspect of migration. It would be the object of a general debate, and a specialized committee would present a report on the topic. There would also be a general debate on fundamental rights at work.
The ILO also hoped to adopt a new recommendation on work at the service of peace, security and resilience in the face of disaster, revising an old recommendation from 1944. The recommendation would provide concrete ways of managing post-conflict and post-disaster situations in a sustainable way regarding the promotion of employment and decent work.
On 12 June, the World Day against Child Labour would be marked. A new report on child labour would be launched in September, ahead of the conference on child labour and forced labour in November in Buenos Aires.
Finally, a report on the labour market in the Occupied Territories would be launched, and a press release would be sent on 31 May.
The ILO would also adopt its programme and budget for 2018 - 2019.
Mr. LeBlanc reminded the press of two press conferences of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): today, 30 May at 12.15 p.m. in Press Room 1 on Nigeria, with the Humanitarian Coordinator and the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, and on 1 June at 2.30 p.m. on the Central African Republic, with the Humanitarian Coordinator, Najat Rochdi.
Mr. LeBlanc also announced a press conference on 31 May at 2.30 p.m. in Press Room 1, by the spokesperson for the Human Rights Council, Rolando Gomez, who would provide a background briefing on the 35th regular session of the Human Rights Council, which would start on 6 June.
At 10 a.m. New York time/4 p.m. Geneva time today, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen would brief the UN Security Council today in an open briefing and his presentation would be webcast on webtv.un.org.
Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), announced a press conference on 2 June at 2.30 p.m. in Press Room 1, on the publication of the World Investment Report 2017: Investment and the Digital Economy (under embargo until 7 June 2017 at 5 p.m. GMT). The speakers would be Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General, and James Zhan, UNCTAD, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise.
Mr. LeBlanc said the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), would review today the report of Cameroon. The Committee would then meet in private until the end of its session, scheduled for 2 June at 5 p.m., following which it would publish its concluding observations on all of the reports reviewed during its 75th session, those of the United States, Bhutan, Lebanon, Qatar, Romania, Mongolia, Antigua and Barbuda, and Cameroon.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) would review today at 3 p.m. at the Palais Wilson the report of Australia. It would complete its review of that report on 31 May at 10 a.m. before starting the review of the report of Uruguay at 3 p.m.
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) was holding this morning a public plenary at 10 a.m., under the presidency of Slovakia (who would ensure the presidency until 25 June).
Mr. LeBlanc mentioned an event on 31 May at the Palais des Nations in commemoration of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (29 May). At 3.15 p.m. there would be a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in Ariana Park, followed at 4 p.m. in Room XX by a panel discussion with the participation of Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Major General Kristin Lund, the first woman to head a UN Peacekeeping force (Cyprus, 2014-2016), and Marie Christine Lüssi Umuhoza, who had been saved by the Peacekeeper Captain Mbaye Diagne during the genocide in Rwanda. The moderator would be Ahmad Fawzi, Communication Advisor and Chief Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Finally, Mr. LeBlanc mentioned the Ciné-ONU screening of “A Plastic Ocean” on 31 May at 6.30 p.m. at the Maison de la Paix, ahead of World Environment Day and the Ocean Conference next week in New York.
Mr. LeBlanc acknowledged a very positive comment of a journalist regarding the collaboration between UN security and the press at the recent UNISDR conference in Mexico, and said he would transmit the comment to UN security.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog300517