REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service, United Nations Office at Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Labour Organization and the International Telecommunications Union.

Human Rights Council update

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, said that the Council was, at the time of the press briefing, holding a discussion on the integration of a gender perspective on the theme “The universal periodic review and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (Goal 5)”.

At 3 p.m., the Council would continue its dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to development, after which it would hear a number of presentations of thematic reports, including on private military and security companies, in the context of its general debate on agenda item 3.

Around midday on 18 September, the Council would begin its dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, following which it would engage in an interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in South Sudan. A related press conference would be held on 19 September in Room III with members of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, which had been established by the Council in 2016.

On the morning of 19 September, the Council would hear an oral update by the International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. Later that day, it would hear a presentation by the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, following which a press conference would be held by the President of the Commission, Mr. Fatsah Ouguergouz.

At 12.15 p.m. on Friday 15 September in Room III, Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al-Marri, the Chair of the Qatari National Human Rights Committee, would give a press conference on the blockade of Qatar.

At 3 p.m. on Friday 15 September in Press Room 1, Ambassador Willy Nyamitwe of the Republic of Burundi would speak to the press about the human rights situation in his country.

Bangladesh and Myanmar

Chris Lom, Senior Regional Media & Communications Officer, Asia and the Pacific, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), speaking by phone from Bangladesh, highlighted the dimension of the humanitarian crisis in Cox’s Bazar. Estimated new arrivals had reached 391,000 and there was no sign of the flow of people drying up, as smoke from burning villages in Myanmar’s North Rakhine State remained clearly visible from the Cox’s Bazar district.

Thousands of the new arrivals were now walking north along clogged roads towards a 1,500-acre settlement site demarcated by the Government. Located between two of the biggest makeshift settlements of Kutupalong and Balukhali, the site would help aid agencies to access over 200,000 new arrivals currently camping or living in the open on waste ground, hillsides or by the side of the road.

In those so-called spontaneous settlements, people who had arrived from Myanmar exhausted, hungry and often traumatized by the violence that they had seen were living in terrible conditions, often with no basic services. Most importantly, the lack of access to clean water meant that people would likely become ill very quickly.

It was crucial to provide coordination for agencies on the ground. That was done through the IOM-hosted Intersectoral Coordination Group (ISCG), which published a daily report summarizing the emergency response in sectors including shelter and essential non-food items; water, sanitation and hygiene; health; safety, dignity and human rights; education; and nutrition. Each sector was led by an operational aid agency, which coordinated the work of other agencies active in the sector. They in turn fed data back to the ISCG coordination unit, which used it to map emergency needs and identify resources and agencies that could meet them. The vast majority of new arrivals did not know where to look for help; it was therefore essential to communicate with them so that they could reach places that offered the aid needed. A large number of NGO partners were facilitating that process.

Support from the Government of Bangladesh, foreign governments, including Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia, and aid agencies on the ground had been received.

ISCG agencies had appealed for USD 77.1 million to fund the emergency response through year end. Several agencies, including IOM, had committed funding from their emergency reserves. The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, the European Commission and the United Kingdom had also made funding commitments but agencies faced a huge funding shortfall. That was likely to increase as people continued to arrive from Myanmar.

Tarik Jasarevic, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO was working closely with government and partner agencies to provide health services to vulnerable populations. On 16 September a vaccination campaign against measles and polio would be launched to cover 150,000 newly arrived children aged 6 months to 15 years old. WHO staff had been deployed to support the vaccination campaign and special immunization cards were being printed for affected populations.

WHO supported the Government of Bangladesh in providing medical teams to new spontaneous settlements. In the coming days, the Organization would distribute emergency medical kits to cover 100,000 people, 2 million water purification tablets and cholera kits for 20,000 people. WHO water and sanitation experts were being mobilized for deployment.

The South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund support was being mobilized to augment the health ministry’s surge capacity through additional health staff and the deployment of mobile medical teams to new spontaneous settlements.

Health sector partners were screening children for malnutrition and offering appropriate nutritional support and had provided an estimated 1,500 children with psychosocial support.

Marixie Mercado, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that the latest estimate was of 240,000 children among the refugees, including about 36,000 who were less than a year old. There were also 52,000 pregnant and lactating women.

Conditions were ripe for the spread of disease. The refugees had little protection from the rain and were often drinking dirty water. There were nowhere near enough latrines, and extreme mosquito activity had been forecast for the coming days. It was important to note that even before the crisis, half of children in Rakhine State had suffered from chronic malnutrition, meaning they were vulnerable to disease.

The major challenge now was to protect already extremely vulnerable children from disease. On 16 September, the Government of Bangladesh, helped by UNICEF with vaccines and cold chain support, would start a measles and rubella immunization campaign. The campaign would also include de-worming and vitamin A supplements. UNICEF was also supporting the Department of Public Health with water treatment plants and by rehabilitating wells, and was delivering basic hygiene kits, including soap, nappies and sanitary napkins. However, the needs were seemingly endless and the suffering was deepening. Tension was rising in both the refugee camps and in informal settlements. Much more was needed – not only in terms of funding but also of hands on the ground to help scale up the relief operation.

The initial appeal by UNICEF had been for USD 7.3 million over three months, including almost USD 3 million just for water and sanitation, but that amount had been calculated on the basis of 200,000 people and that number had now doubled.

Bettina Luescher, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that WFP had been able to provide more than 83,500 people with high-energy biscuits since the crisis had started. Together with Action against Hunger, it had provided hot meals to 95,000 people and more than 91,000 with a two-week supply of rice. In Myanmar, over the last three days, WFP, in cooperation with the Rakhine State government, had provided food to camps for internally displaced persons that had received no food in August. It was hoped that a further 50,000 people would be reached in the coming days. The main problem in Myanmar was access to all areas in Rakhine State. People were desperate. It was crucial that all humanitarian agencies be able to work there. Operations had been severely disrupted in Myanmar, where 250,000 people had already been receiving emergency aid before the outbreak of violence.

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR was increasingly concerned over the situation for an estimated 380,000 Rohingya refugees reported to have arrived in Bangladesh since 25 August. Violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State over the past three weeks had made the situation one of the fastest growing refugee crises of recent years, creating enormous humanitarian needs in an area of Bangladesh already affected by earlier refugee influxes, recent floods and not equipped to cope with large number of new arrivals.

A visit to the area during the current week by a UNHCR team, led by the Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, George Okoth-Obbo, had found people suffering real hardship and some of the most difficult conditions seen in any current refugee situation. Refugees continued to arrive daily; however, outside of the two established camps – which were already substantially overflowing – many people had received little meaningful help to date.

In response to the unfolding crisis, over the past three weeks UNHCR had emptied its warehouses in Bangladesh to assist the newly arrived stateless Rohingya refugees. Deliveries of more UNHCR aid - flown in earlier in the week - were currently underway. The first 15 of 35 scheduled trucks had arrived in Cox’s Bazar on 15 September and aid was being delivered to Kutupalong and Nyapara camps and other sites in south-eastern Bangladesh.

Distribution priority was being given to shelter materials and basic items as thousands of new arrivals were struggling to find even rudimentary protection from the elements. Many Rohingya refugee families were sleeping rough on roadsides and riverbanks. UNHCR was also witnessing remarkable generosity from Bangladeshi communities in Teknaf and elsewhere who had been welcoming refugees into their homes and sharing resources with them.

UNHCR continues to deploy additional emergency staff. Based on the numbers of arrivals and needs assessments made by field staff, UNHCR urgently required additional funds to meet the immediate needs of new arrivals and to provide protection and life-saving assistance. With the influx increasing daily, UNHCR was appealing for an initial amount of USD 30 million for the emergency humanitarian response in Bangladesh until the end of year. That number would undoubtedly have to be revised as the crisis continued to unfold.

Sanela Bajrambasic, Regional Communication Manager, Asia & the Pacific, for the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), said that ICRC, in partnership with the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, had provided essential items, including food and water, to 13,000 people in Bangladesh, particularly in the border area. It had helped to build latrines, pumps and wells, among other essential infrastructure, and had provided shelter and tarpaulin kits. It was expected that many more people would benefit in the coming days and weeks. Details of the specific funding appeals would be announced later that day.

In Myanmar, ICRC had provided assistance to some 10,000 people and continued to work with internally displaced persons in and around a number of major cities, including Maungdaw. It was now in the process of reaching out to people living in villages in Rakhine State. While ICRC was now focusing on the recent escalation of violence in that state, it had been operating throughout Myanmar since 2012 and had a permanent office in Sittwe, the capital. Rakhine State was one of the poorest states in Myanmar, having been affected by conflict and natural disasters such as flooding over the years. Prior to the recent outbreak of violence, ICRC teams had been focusing on improving access to health care and clean water and the conditions of detainees in prisons and supporting solutions for sustainable livelihoods.

In Cox’s Bazar, ICRC had been supporting people who had fled Rakhine State and also host communities since 2014, including by upgrading health facilities to help them deal with the increasing influx of new arrivals. It had also helped people searching for information on missing family members through the use of satellite telephones. A medical mobile team had been deployed near the border to handle urgent medical needs.

Matthew Cochrane, for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that IFRC was scaling up its operations in Bangladesh and Myanmar and was working closely with Bangladesh Red Cross and Bangladesh Red Crescent to present a coherent, coordinated and consolidated operation and financial ask. Quoting Deputy Regional Director Martin Faller, he said that the situation was one of the biggest man-made crises and mass movements of people in the region for decades. The needs were enormous and people were living in desperate conditions. IFRC was very concerned about their access to health services, water and sanitation and basic shelter. It was mobilizing food for 75,000 people to Cox’s Bazar in the coming days. Part of the forthcoming appeal to be made by IFRC would be for an emergency response team to provide additional medical services for displaced persons.

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Geneva, recalled that, on 14 September 2017, the Secretary-General had called again on the Myanmar authorities to suspend military action, to ensure the delivery of vital humanitarian aid by the UN agencies and NGOs and others, and had repeated his call for an effective action plan to address the root causes of the situation.

In response to questions, Ms. Mercado, for UNICEF, said that the most recent estimates were that 36,000 children below the age of 1 year, 92,000 children below the age of 5 years and 112,000 children between the ages of 6 and 18 years old were among the people arrived in Bangladesh.

Mr. Lom, for IOM, clarified that the estimates of people arriving from Myanmar into Bangladesh were made by those agencies on the ground that were members of ISCG. They spoke to communities in order to try and pin down accurate estimates, but the fact that people were on the move made such estimates all the more difficult.

Asked a question about access by humanitarian agencies to Rakhine State, Ms. Bajrambasic, for ICRC, said that it was difficult to comment on the views of the Government of Myanmar regarding the response of international organizations. While the longstanding presence of ICRC in Myanmar and its work with partners there had helped them gain access to certain areas, they still had no access to villages. Most of the work of ICRC was based in cities and in helping internally displaced persons. The situation was dire and people were looking for host communities. The needs in Myanmar were similar to those in Bangladesh, especially the need for water. As part of its core mandate, ICRC was working to help families reconnect and to provide basic essentials; it was also helping to build latrines. In general, it had been scaling up its response to the situation together with partners. Funds had been sufficient for an initial rapid response; however, those funds would soon be exhausted and ICRC would be appealing for more.

Asked for details about the vaccination campaign, Mr. Jasarevic, for WHO, said that the 150 000 children, between 6 months to 15 years old, being targeted, would be vaccinated against rubella, polio and measles. Because measles was an airborne disease, it was a big risk especially in large settlements. He was not sure where exactly the vaccination campaigns would take place, but it was likely that the spontaneous settlements would be covered also.

Responding to a question about the coordination of the response to the crisis, Mr. Lom, for IOM, said that ISCG, which was in effect coordinating the response, had been established prior to the emergency that had erupted in mi-August. Between October 2016 and August 2017, some 80,000 people had crossed over the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh. That had informed contingency planning and ultimately led to the set-up of ISCG. He added that four types of settlements existed: there were two established refugee camps run by UNHCR, but those had expanded beyond recognition. In addition, there were makeshift settlements, which had seen the arrival of roughly 200,000 people over an extended period. Most current arrivals were heading to the makeshift settlements. However, a significant proportion were heading to spontaneous settlements, which did not afford even the most basic services available in the makeshift settlements. Other new arrivals were heading towards host communities, although that number was falling while that of arrivals going to spontaneous settlements was rising. Those living in the spontaneous settlements were currently the most disadvantaged; therefore, the coordination effort was focusing on them and consideration was being given to moving them to the settlement being demarcated by the Government.

Responding to a question about funding, Mr. Lom added that the moving target of needed funding presented a challenge for agencies. The number of people arriving into Bangladesh had grown very quickly since 25 August 2017 and agencies had responded quickly with initial appeals. However, with some 20,000 new arrivals every day, needs would continue to escalate and so too would funding. A consolidated appeal would likely not be possible before the numbers started to stabilize.

Asked about the role of UNHCR in the response to the crisis, Mr. Mahecic, for UNHCR, said that UNHCR was focusing on work in the two sites approved by the Government of Bangladesh. The Assistant High Commissioner, who was currently in Bangladesh, had met with officials and discussions were under way to expand response efforts to include protection and camp management and planning, among others; experts were already on their way to Bangladesh.

Mr. Lom added that the Government of Bangladesh had refrained from referring to the people arriving from Myanmar as refugee. The situation was still fluid but involved political decisions that were outside the immediate emergency response. It was not currently possible to provide precise estimates of daily arrivals into Bangladesh, as there was no formal registration process. Mr. Mahecic, for UNHCR, added that the situation was clear-cut. It was important to refer to the situation as a refugee crisis from the outset, since refugees had certain entitlements, such as protection; moreover, States had related obligations.

Asked about the situation of children arriving from Myanmar, Ms. Mercado, for UNICEF, said that the vast majority of children arrived with their families. There were, however, some unaccompanied or separated children – over 1,100 as of the previous week – in every settlement; that number was likely to rise. Early estimates of the proportion of women and children to the total number of refugees had been 80 per cent. The situation of the men was unclear.

Responding to a question about the camps for internally displaced persons in Rakhine State, Ms. Bajrambasic, for ICRC, said that it was not clear whether the persons living in those camps were newly displaced persons, or whether they had been living there since the previous crisis. The most recent estimates were that ICRC had provided assistance to 10,000 to 15,000 people.

Responding to a comment about the absence of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the request for the Office to comment on recent declarations about Myanmar by a permanent member of the Security Council, Ms. Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the High Commissioner had spoken very clearly on the issue; however, she would pass on the remarks to OHCHR colleagues.

Asked a question about the situation in Myanmar, Ms. Bajrambasic, for ICRC, said that the lack of access made it impossible to know specifically about the reported destruction of Rohingya villages. It was hoped that access would be given at a later stage. Mr. Lom, for IOM, added that it nonetheless possible to see plumes of smoke from Myanmar, so clearly villages were being burned. It was necessary at the current stage to rely on satellite photography made available by organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Responding to a question about Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi facilitating aid efforts, Ms. Luescher, for WFP, said that in recent days the authorities of central Rakhine State had facilitated access of trucks and staff into that area. All the agencies represented on the podium were working with the authorities of Myanmar in general. Ms. Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, recalled further that the Secretary-General had indicated on 14 September 2017 that there was an open channel of communication between himself and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.

Syria

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reading out a statement from the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, said that United Nations humanitarian supplies had arrived in Deir Ez-Zor, where 93,500 people were in urgent need of assistance after being besieged by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for three years. The civilian population had faced deteriorating conditions while being deprived of their rights to humanitarian aid and freedom of movement. The supplies delivered by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent by road were essential aid items such as food, maternal health items, children’s clothes, mattresses and blankets, for some 15,000 families. It was the first United Nations aid delivery by road to that city since it had been retaken in early September 2017. The beseiged areas of the city had previously been reachable only by airdrop until the siege had been broken in early Sept; from April 2016 until then, some 309 successful airdrops had been carried out by WFP to help those in desperate need in the city. The United Nations was working with humanitarian partners to reach those in need of assistance on a regular basis as soon as security conditions allowed. Furthermore, United Nations partners were ready to conduct an interagency needs assessment mission as soon as Government approval was granted.

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the successful convoy had included five trucks of aid from UNHCR, which had reached Deir Ez-Zor after a 22 hour journey from a UNHCR warehouse in Homs. As intense fighting around Deir Ez-Zor and in Ar-Raqqa continued, UNHCR reiterated its calls for protection of civilian population, their safe passage out of areas of conflict and respect for the principles of international humanitarian law. UNHCR continued to advocate for safe, unimpeded and sustained access to all people in need across the country, in particular to more than 4.5 million Syrians trapped in hard-to-reach and besieged areas.

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that on that afternoon, a press conference would be given by the Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Mistura, who was currently in Astana.

Central African Republic

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR was extremely worried over continued violence in the Central African Republic, which had been causing massive new levels of displacement. The number of Central African refugees in neighbouring countries now stood at over half a million – the highest number of refugees seen from that country since the start of the crisis in 2013. In addition to the refugees, some 600,000 people had been forced to flee inside the country. That meant that total displacement was also at its highest level ever, at over 1.1 million. Meanwhile funding, at 9 per cent, was among the lowest of any refugee situation anywhere. Overall funding for needs in the Central African Republic stood at around USD 209 million.

New framework rolled out for the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that on the anniversary of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, a background note on the comprehensive refugee response framework had been made available in the lead-up to the General Assembly.

Hurricane Irma

Bettina Luescher, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that WFP was focusing its efforts on the eastern Caribbean: to Saint-Martin, one of the heavily damaged islands, it had sent sufficient food for 17,000 people for three days. Half of that would go to the Dutch part of the island, the Netherlands having requested the agency’s support; WFP was also in touch with the French authorities should they require assistance. Food had also been sent to Anguilla, where the people of the completely devastated island of Barbuda had been evacuated. WFP Executive Director was due to visit Cuba, which had suffered coastal flooding, power outages and damage, on 15 September 2017. WFP was prepared to assist the Cuban Government through pre-position stocks. It was working to support local governments and had launched an emergency operation for the islands of the western Caribbean, through Turks and Caicos, providing 8,500 people there with high-energy biscuits. The United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot, which was run by WFP for all agencies and NGOs on the ground, was airlifting items such as hygiene kits, tarpaulins and mobile storage units. Given the massive destruction of infrastructure on the islands, WFP had also deployed emergency telecom teams to support the humanitarian coordination operation, in which communication was essential.

Olivia Headon, for International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM, in coordination with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination, had deployed a surge team of experts in shelter and camp management, displacement tracking, and gender-based violence risk reduction to support efforts in the Caribbean islands. It had also recently begun to pre-position stocks in Panama, including moving shelter and hygiene kits to Haiti, where concerns were high regarding risks of human trafficking for children and other vulnerable people. IOM’s Protection Team evacuated 72 children from an orphanage at risk of flooding in cooperation with groups on the ground. Pre-positioned leaflets and bracelets with information on the free hotline were made available on the ground to advise and refer suspected cases of human trafficking and smuggling. The full IOM response plan for the eastern Caribbean and the sub-Bahaman region would be released later that day, together with an appeal to help address the surge capacity needed for rebuilding destroyed infrastructure on the islands.

Detention of migrants in Mexico and in the United States

Responding to a question on reports by the Committee on Arbitrary Detention and by the Working Group on Migrants, Olivia Headon, for International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM did not have operations in the United States. However, it always advocated for open detention if the detention was necessary. Other legal questions could be referred to OHCHR.

Activities of the International Labour Organization during the General Assembly in New York

Hans Von Rohland, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), said that on 18 September 2017, on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly, ILO, UN-Women and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development would launch the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) at United Nations Headquarters in New York. On 19 September 2017, also in New York, ILO would present the latest global estimates of modern slavery and child labour, based on two recent reports.

Updates on upcoming events and launches by the International Telecommunications Union

Jarle Hetland, for the International Trade Centre (ITC), said that from 25 to 27 September 2017, ITC would host the 2017 Trade for Sustainable Development Forum, which was one of the leading events focused on how voluntary sustainability standards could support trade-led development. The first two days of the Forum would take place at the International Trade Centre headquarters, and the third day would take place at the headquarters of the World Trade Organization.

On 5 October 2017, ITC would release the 2017 SME Competitiveness Outlook. It would cover the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in regional integration and would focus on Latin America and China. A press conference would be held on the topic in Room III on at 11 a.m. on 4 October 2017.

On 25 and 26 October 2017, the World Export Development Forum would be held in Budapest. It would focus on spurring trade and economic growth through inclusion, innovation and integration.

The next training session on the use of ITC databases for the press would be held during the first week of November 2017.

Geneva Events and Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that at 1.30 p.m. on Friday 15 September in Press Room 1, Ambassador Robert Wood, Permanent Representative of the United States to the Conference on Disarmament, would speak to journalists about his country’s perspectives on the Nuclear Ban Treaty in the current security context.

At 11 a.m. on Monday 18 September in Press Room 1, Dr. Dominique Legros, for the World Health Organization, would provide an overview of the global cholera situation.

From 24-29 September 2017, the first Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury would be held in Geneva. It was expected to draw some 1,000 delegates and there would be several events for the press. Switzerland was hosting the event and the President of the Confederation, who was also responsible for environmental issues, would attend. A press kit was being put together and would be made available shortly.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog150917