REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Geneva, chaired the briefing attended by the spokespersons for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organisation, and the International Organization for Migration.

At the outset, Ms. Vellucci said that the United Nations Secretary-General had condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Spain, and had expressed his heartfelt condolences to the victims, their families, and the people and the Government of Spain.

Sierra Leone

Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that, according to the Government figures, more than 400 people had lost their lives in the mudslides that had occurred on 14 August and that several hundred people were still missing which meant that the death toll could increase. On 16 August, the Government and the United Nations Resident Coordinator had requested international support, following which OCHA had immediately mobilized a United Nations Disaster and Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) mission. The mission would be composed of seven people and its deployment would start on 18 August; a three-person team from MapAction would support the mission, as was often the case.

The UNDAC mission would support the Government, the United Nations system and other responders on the ground, in the assessment and coordination of international relief that was coming in, and also support the response efforts carried out under the leadership of the Government of Sierra Leone. A flash update on the situation in Sierra Leone had just been issued and it contained more details.

There were indications of support from individual governments which had come forward with monetary pledges and commitments to assist the Government to respond: China pledged one million dollars, the European Union had come forward with an initial € 300,000 for vulnerable families affected by the disaster, while countries such as Ireland, United Kingdom, Guinea, Nigeria, Liberia, Belgium and Switzerland had pledged different kinds of support. Those were clear expressions of international solidarity with the survivors, said Mr. Laerke, and stressed that, as it often happened in sudden-onset disasters, it was the people themselves who were the first responders - the fact that people were helping one another must not be forgotten. Finally, Mr. Laerke stressed that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) had a very strong national presence and that the national society was there to support the response.

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund, said that the main priority for the children in Sierra Leone was to prevent the spread of diseases; with this in mind, the United Nations Children’s Fund was providing emergency sanitation and safe drinking water, including by installing rain harvesting facilities and building latrines; it was also distributing infection prevention materials such as face masks, gloves and body bags, and delivering supplies as requested by the Government including medicines and tents.

Mr. Boulierac stressed that malaria was among the biggest killers of children under the age of five in the country; it was responsible for 20 per cent of child mortality, while one in ten children admitted to a hospital admissions was due to this illness. Sierra Leone was at the peak of the rainy season, the annual high point for the malaria-related deaths. More than four million insecticide-treated bednets had been distributed throughout the country in June and the United Nations Children’s Fund was working with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to distribute additional nets to the affected people. Psychosocial support was being offered to the children affected by this disaster, including though the safe spaces set up in the worst-hit areas.

The Government had decided to push the reopening of schools back to 11 September and the United Nations Children’s Fund was working with the Ministry of Education and Science to ensure that the schools, particularly those currently used to accommodate the affected people, were ready for the beginning of the school year, said Mr. Boulierac.

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organisation, explained that people living in the affected areas were particularly vulnerable to increases in outbreaks of cholera and other water-borne diseases. Cholera was always a concern during the rainy season as the country had experienced several cholera outbreaks in the past. Flooding had and could damage sanitation facilities, increasing the risks of water-borne diseases; many of those affected by the mudslides had access to safe water beforehand but not now, and the river water might not currently be safe to drink. The flooding also created breeding grounds for mosquitos and most likely caused an increase in malaria and vector-borne diseases. Trauma was a major issue for those affected by the tragedy: hundreds of lives had been lost and many families had been displaced, so psychosocial support was critical to help people manage grief and loss.

One of the World Health Organization’s key actions on the ground was to help ensure that dead bodies were managed safely and with dignity while protecting the health of frontline health workers. The organization was working with health workers on basic infection prevention control measures, supporting decontamination of the mortuary at the local hospitals and of vehicles used in the transportation, and ensuring the safe disposal of any personal protection equipment. Hand-washing stations were being made available, as engaging the communities in hygiene and sanitation would help stop the spread of any diarrhoeal disease.

The World Health Organization had put in place enhanced surveillance for acute watery diarrhoea, sensitizing health workers to recognize and report such disease, supporting the laboratories and providing cholera-testing supplies and environmental health kits for water quality assessment. Furthermore, it had assisted the Government of Sierra Leone to prepare a three-month cholera preparedness plan.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration, added that the organization had joined the emergency response and was part of the rapid assessment efforts being conducted in 16 affected communities on 15 August. With its partners, it had developed a standard shelter and kitchen set distributed to the 1,100 households with approximately 4 000 people, whose homes had been destroyed. Material for medical response was also being distributed: gloves, aprons, facemasks, chlorine, liquid soap and other items had been delivered at the Central Medical Store in Freetown. Finally, the International Organization for Migration was discussing with its donors an immediate expansion of humanitarian operations in Sierra Leone as part of the inter-agency response.

Responding to questions about the United Nations response and what could have been done to provide a more rapid response, Jens Laerke for OCHA stressed that an assessment was not a one-off action but a continuous process which was being revised along the way. Two days after the event on 14 August, the Government and the Resident Coordinator had officially requested international support and consequently, a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team had been mobilized. As for the speed of the response, Mr. Laerke said that since the onset of the disaster, OCHA was monitoring and providing remote assistance from its regional office in Dakar; the UNDAC team leader was an experienced colleague from the regional office who had knowledge and experience of the country. The in-country United Nations system, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator, was supporting the Government with the capacities available at the time, but as such disaster created immediate and huge needs, for which the United Nations was mobilizing and coming in as fast as it could.

On the arrival of the UNDAC team to Sierra Leone, Mr. Laerke said that first of its members were expected to arrive today, 18 August, from different parts of the world. The additional team being deployed alongside the UNDAC was from a non-governmental organization MapAction, whose expertise was mapping.

Answering a question on why in the case of mudslides in Sierra Leone it was taking four days to send in an assessment team. Mr. Laerke stressed that the United Nations operated on the basis of a request for international assistance issued by national authorities; the Government of Sierra Leone had done so two days after the event, and it was this request that had triggered the United Nations international response.

Christian Lindmeier, for WHO, said that through its country office in Sierra Leone, the World Health Organisation had been immediately in touch with the Ministry of Health and had already dispatched the medical kits. It was also coordinating and planning with the Government, in line with its role and the mandate, particularly concerning the cholera prevention plans, infection control, and safe burials. Very important was to socially mobilize people and to inform them about possible danger of dead bodies.

Alessandra Vellucci, for UNIS Geneva, said that the World Food Programme had responded within hours following the mudslide, and had delivered food for 7,500 survivors. There had been an immediate response by the UN system.

Joel Millman, for IOM, said that prior to the floods, through its country office and a rather large staff, the organization was supporting the Government and civil society organizations with capacity building, disaster preparedness, displacement management and data collection.

Christophe Boulierac, for UNICEF, reminded the press that child survival indicators in Sierra Leone were particularly worrying: Sierra Leone had the fifth highest child mortality in the world, extremely high maternal mortality rate, while 28.8 per cent of children under five were stunted and 13 per cent were underweight. Sierra Leone was a place where children were particularly fragile.

Mediterranean Sea Migrations

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration, in his update on the numbers of migrants in the Mediterranean, said that the arrivals to Spain had reached 9,000; by the first week of August, Spain had surpassed all of the previous year’s sea arrivals on this route while the number of fatalities so far was very close to that of the previous year’s total: in 2016, there were 128 fatalities, while 121 people had lost lives so far in 2017.

In the last three months, the Missing Migrants Project had counted a total of 41 fatalities on the Turkish/Syrian border, according to the information gathered by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Of those, 15 people had been identified, including three minors; most fatalities had occurred in Idlib province and had been caused by gunshots. It was worth highlighting that all the 41 fatalities had happened over this summer and in a single spot on the border, said Mr. Millman.

Asked about the reaction by the Spanish authorities to an increase in the number of arrivals, Mr. Millman said that Spain was now in the situation of Greece in 2015, with consistent daily arrivals. However, people were arriving to Spain in smaller vessels, in rubber dinghies which were really hard to spot on water: one such dinghy, designed for four people, carried eleven people who had paid €20 for the journey. The spokesperson stressed that the Spanish authorities were acting alone, and they were acting responsibly. If the number of arrivals increased, Spain would need additional support.

Asked about the recent declarations of three Special Rapporteurs on the deal between the European Union and Libya which could increase the possibilities of deaths at sea, as it restricted the operations by non-governmental organizations and basically pushed the European Union border south to Libya, Mr. Millman said that although this was the busiest time of the year, deaths so far in August were lower than in August last year. He recognized that there were issues of sovereignty, patrolling and humanitarian response, particularly in the case of Libya where international waters were beginning quite close to the shore. The Libyan coast guard was actively rescuing people and was not letting them drown at sea. The International Organization for Migration had heard about the migrant centres in Libya, where thousands of migrants were waiting for a chance to board a boat to Europe. The Organization did not have access to those centres often operated by smugglers and in which the conditions would worsen with the arrival of the winter, said Mr. Millman, who also stressed that the primary concern of the Organization was saving human lives.

In response to a question on the number of children among the people on the move, Sarah Crowe, for the United Nations Children’s Fund said that on average, 16 per cent on those on the move in the Central Mediterranean were children. The major concern was that children should not be sent back without proper protection measures and safe and legal alternatives in place, which the United Nations Children’s Fund was calling for, together with International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Refugee Agency. At the moment, it was estimated that almost nine per cent of those moving to Spain were children.

Mr. Millman added that on 17 August, a one-year old Cameroonian child had been rescued with her mother, which meant that there were children and family groups among those trying to reach Spain.

Yemen

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that today 18 August, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, would brief the UN Security Council, on his consultations in the region, via a video-link from Amman. The public part of the briefing would be webcast live on webtv.un.org at 10 a.m. New York time (4 p.m. Geneva time).

World Humanitarian Day

Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, recalled that 19 August was World Humanitarian Day which had been designated by the UN General Assembly to commemorate aid workers who had lost their lives, and to celebrate the spirit of humanitarianism.

In Geneva, the Day would be celebrated on 21 August, with a panel discussion in Room XX at 3 p.m., focusing on violence on health care aid workers and facilities, and its implications for the population. Michael Møller, Director-General of UN Geneva and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, would open the debate (programme).

In collaboration with the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation, a commemoration would take place to remember all fallen humanitarian aid workers.

According to the Aid Workers Security Database, there had been 158 major attacks against aid operations in 2016 in which 101 aid workers had been killed, 98 wounded and 89 kidnapped, concluded Mr. Laerke.

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Geneva, added that the social media campaign #NotATarget had been launched by the UN, to reaffirm that civilians caught in conflict were not a target and to demand that the world leaders do everything in their power to protect civilians in conflict. The campaign followed on the UN Secretary-General’s report on protection of civilians, which was launched earlier this year.

Geneva Events and Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that next week, the Conference on Disarmament would hold four public plenary sessions, two on Tuesday 22 and two on Thursday 24 August, under the presidency of Spain.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was meeting in private until the closing of its 93^rd session on 25 August at Palais Wilson in Geneva, when it would present the concluding observations on the reports reviewed during the session, namely Kuwait, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, Equator, Djibouti, Tajikistan, Canada and New Zealand.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was continuing its 18^th session with the report of Montenegro. Other countries reviewed during the session included Panama, Morocco, Latvia, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom (calendar of country reviews available here).

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog180817