REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by spokespersons for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization and the International Labour Organization.

Update on the activities of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, read the following statement on behalf of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria:

“As you may already be aware, Special Envoy, Geir O. Pedersen was in Nur-Sultan (Astana) last week for the meeting organized by Iran, Russia and Turkey and hosted by Kazakhstan, in an effort to support progress that could contribute to the political process in Geneva, as per Security Council resolution 2254 (2015). While there, he announced that he would host the Astana guarantors (Iran, Russia and Turkey) in Geneva during the month of May.

In addition, the Special Envoy will continue the efforts underway this week on 3 May in Geneva where he will be hosting senior officials from Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

He will be briefing the United Nations Security Council today from New York at around 4 p.m. Geneva time. The meeting is being held in open consultation and will be webcast live via webtv.un.org.”

Responding to a question from a journalist who wished to know if the talks were due to stretch over two days, 3 and 4 May, Reem Ismail, for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, said that the plan was for the talks to be held only on 3 May.

Update on the impact of Cyclone Kenneth in Mozambique and Comoros

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), read the following statement:

“The heavy rains following Cyclone Kenneth in northern Mozambique have paused around Pemba this morning and aid workers are working as fast as they can to prepare flights to deliver aid, including medical supplies to the island of Matemo, one of the worst-hit by the Cyclone. Pemba is the logistical hub for the aid operation.

Emergency staff will also do further damage and needs assessments while they can, as more rain is expected in coming days turning the response into a start-stop operation.

According to government reports, at least 38 people have died in Mozambique and at least four have died in the Comoros following the Cyclone. The Government of Comoros has also requested international assistance.

In Mozambique, the Cyclone partially or fully destroyed nearly 35,000 houses and nearly 200 classrooms, leaving thousands without shelter and children without a school to go to. At least 14 health facilities have also been impacted.

Some 21,000 people are now sheltering in accommodation centres after their villages were wiped out by the Cyclone. OCHA staff who joined an aerial assessment a few days ago said that some villages looked like they had been bulldozed.

To support the initial response, the Emergency Relief Coordinator has released a combined USD 13 million, USD 10 million to Mozambique and USD 3 million to Comoros, to provide lifesaving food, shelter, health services and water and sanitation support to people in need, but more resources are needed to mount an adequate response.

The United Nations thanks the donors who have stepped up and provided support so far, but the USD 337 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Mozambique remains less than 30 per cent funded.”

Charlie Yaxley, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), read the following statement:

“In Mozambique, a UNHCR team arrived in the north-eastern town of Pemba on Saturday, a day after the surrounding region was hit by Cyclone Kenneth. Although the area is less populated than other parts of Mozambique, the damage and flooding along its path has been extensive.

Staff of UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency witnessed the immediate aftermath first-hand on Sunday. Several areas of Pemba city were completely flooded. In the most deprived areas, houses had collapsed and flash floods left mud and trash all over the streets.

Our teams managed to visit sites sheltering survivors of the Cyclone, including schools and churches. Although assistance is under way, people need proper shelter, food and an adequate water supply.

Children are not at present going to school. And many families have lost all their property – including plantations and livestock needed to make a living. People are eager to return home, but need comprehensive help.

In a public school visited by a UNHCR team, some 600 people were sheltering. People there were worried about the capacity of the place to host more victims of the Cyclone. Community leaders said they urgently needed food and utensils, such as plates, pans, forks, spoons and knifes. Women also asked for hygiene kits.

Moving around the streets in Pemba, it is clear that a number of houses are damaged and will need repairing. Communities are organizing themselves to clean up streets and remove the sand and debris brought by the storms. Despair is evident.

As bad weather conditions still persist, access to the most remote places remains difficult. There are reports of people who are completely isolated and in need of rescue. Other humanitarian agencies are starting to airlift food and medicines to these places, but not yet on a regular basis.

UNHCR is planning to send emergency family tents and core relief items to Pemba from Beira, where other emergency teams are still responding to the survivors of Cyclone Idai.”

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:

“WFP is working hard to support people in need in Mozambique after Cyclone Kenneth in support and under the coordination of the Government. We are working on a first phase of emergency food support for 3 months.

To date, WFP has reached more than 11,000 beneficiaries with food assistance since Cyclone Kenneth hit the northern province of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado.

As a reminder, some WFP staff were already in the region one day before the Cyclone, and the first WFP food distributions took place really quickly – at 5 a.m. on Saturday – thanks to 577 metric tons of food that had been prepositioned in Macomia. The number of people reached is expected to increase rapidly.

Two MI-8 WFP helicopters arrived on Monday 29 April and the first flights are taking place today. This morning (Tuesday 30 April) the first flight took off to Quissanga with 2.88 metric tons of high energy biscuits, one ton of food from the Government and 100 kg of health and WASH supplies for other agencies. The helicopters will work over coming days and will also reach more remote regions.

South African rescue teams will support WFP food distributions as they deploy to Ibo, Matemo and Quirimba islands.

More rains are expected in the coming days which will worsen flooding, damage to roads and render humanitarian access more challenging. In the worst affected areas, people have lost everything, including their homes and their assets such as fisheries, which is the main livelihood on the coastline, coconut trees which are a valuable assets for households. The ravages caused by the Cyclone are compounded by the impact it has on agriculture, livelihoods and the food and nutrition security situation.

Preliminary government assessments report more than 31,000 hectares of crops lost. With Cyclone Kenneth hitting at the peak of the harvest season, the short/mid/long term availability of food is worrisome.

Although Cyclone Kenneth was stronger, thanks to an alert from the Government, people living in areas at risk were evacuated beforehand and agencies such as WFP were ready to act from the first day. The area is already very vulnerable to food insecurity and WFP was already providing food distributions and nutrition support in some districts since last year.

Ibo island has been very badly affected: flying over the island, one can see that all houses have been destroyed – the island has been flattened out by the cyclone. With the rains, people have lost the food stocks they had and urgently need food, shelter and WASH.“

In additi8on to the above, Mr. Verhoosel explained that, following Cyclone Idai, WFP had requested USD 140 million for emergency assistance in Mozambique but only USD 70 million had been confirmed or pledged. WFP had also requested USD 18.4 million for Malawi of which only USD 11 million had been confirmed or pledged, and more than USD 14 million for Zimbabwe of which only USD 6.5 million had been confirmed or pledged. He wished to renew his call to the international community to support WFP and all other United Nations agencies.

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO remained in contact with the health authorities of Cabo Delgado and continued to monitor the situation on the ground. WHO was particularly concerned about malaria and cholera, which were endemic to the region, and about the risks posed by waterborne diseases. A WHO epidemiological team had been sent to the area to assess requirements and work with the local health authorities. In addition, WHO and UNICEF were sending supplies to affected areas, including tents, medical materials, water purification agents and stretchers.

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that Pemba, which had escaped the worst of the winds associated with Cyclone Kenneth, had subsequently received extremely high amounts of rainfall. Nearly 170 mm of rain had fallen in 24 hours between 27 and 28 April, and more than 250 mm between 28 and 29 April. The impact of such heavy rain had been exacerbated by the fact that it had come at the end of the wet season when the ground was already waterlogged and the rivers full. Flooding was severe, transport links had been severed and communities cut off. WMO staff on the ground in Pemba reported rainfall levels had dropped to 21 mm over the previous 24 hours and the forecast was for further improvement.

Answering a question posed by a journalist, Mr. Yaxley for UNHCR said that the agency had been able to assist in the response to Cyclone Kenneth thanks to the fact that it had a presence in Beira and that core relief materials had already been prepositioned in response to Cyclone Idai. There was, however, no specifically refugee-related aspect to the current crisis.

In response to a question from a journalist, Mr. Verhoosel for WFP said that fewer people had been affected by Cyclone Kenneth than by Cyclone Idai. Aid and assistance from other States would depend on bilateral agreements the Government of Mozambique might reach with those States. The two helicopters involved in the delivery of aid to the worst affected areas had been provided by WFP itself.

In answer to a question posed by a journalist about a possible relationship between Cyclone Kenneth and recent flooding in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal that had claimed 70 lives, Ms. Nullis for WMO said that the two weather systems involved were entirely separate. Cyclone Kenneth – which was being prevented from moving south by an atmospheric pressure system – was much further north than any cyclone that had been recorded in the era of satellite monitoring. It was not possible to confirm that Cyclone Kenneth or the severe weather in South Africa were directly linked to climate change, but their impacts were undoubtedly intensified by climate change and rising sea levels.

Tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that cyclonic storm Fani was currently intensifying in the south-eastern Bay of Bengal, with wind speeds that were the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane. It was currently moving north-eastwards along the coast of India towards Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, but the principal concern was what would happen after it had crossed those two states. The current expectation was that it would move on to Bangladesh, which was very low-lying and exposed to the risk of the storm surges that often accompanied tropical cyclones. It was currently impossible to know how intense Fani would become, but Bangladesh had a large refugee population who could potentially face very serious consequences, particularly from the storm surges. WMO was continuing to monitor the system and was providing regular updates to the United Nations Operations Centre in New York.

Flooding in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:

“Iran is suffering from heavy flooding, probably causing the worst damage in 50 years in the country. Twenty-five of the 31 provinces have been affected by heavy rains and flooding from mid-March to the end of April 2019.

At least 78 people have lost their lives and about 1,140 people have been injured, according to local authorities. It is estimated that about 365,000 people have been displaced because of the flooding. By mid-April, over 270,000 people were living in emergency or temporary shelters and collective centres.

Following a recent request from the Red Crescent Society, the World Food Programme will deliver about 350 metric tons of mixed commodities in the coming days.

Ten thousand family packages will be delivered to the Iranian Red Crescent Society to cater to the food and nutritional needs of at least 40,000 people for a period of one month. The food packages will be distributed in Khuzestan Province, the most affected by the flooding

WFP is in regular contact with the Red Crescent Society and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Additional funding is needed to support the population, as more food should be provided in the coming weeks.

Two million people are in need of humanitarian support or some sort of assistance and about 10 million people have been affected by the floods.”

Impact on civilians of fighting in Tripoli

Charlie Yaxley, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), read the following statement:

“In Libya, thousands of women, children and men have been forced to flee Tripoli’s suburbs to escape clashes that continue to engulf the southern part of the city.

Indiscriminate shelling and heavy gunfire are causing destruction and displacement. And the number of people affected is rising. More than 42,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the clashes began earlier this month. According to reports, 278 people have died and another 1,332 are injured.

It is imperative that every effort is taken to ensure that civilians are not being caught in the crossfire, and to spare civilian infrastructure.

In the most conflicted-affected areas, there is an increasing sense of desperation. UNHCR staff in Libya say people are afraid to leave their homes. Water is in short supply, power is regularly cut off and there is scarce access to food, fuel and other key basic items.

In addition to our work in trying to protect refugees and migrants in Libya in the current difficult circumstances, UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency has been moving life-saving aid and assistance to support Libyan civilians in the worst affected areas. An urgent delivery of medicines and medical equipment was this week provided to the Ministry of Health and three fully-equipped ambulances have been provided to Tripoli Central Hospital, Al Hadaba Alkhadra Hospital and the Tajoura National Heart Centre, all of which continue to provide medical treatment in extremely challenging conditions.

UNHCR, with our partner Libaid and other local organisations, has also delivered blankets, sleeping mats, solar lamps, kitchen sets, buckets and other key relief items to some 6,200 displaced people sheltering in collective shelters and urban areas in Tripoli, Azzawya, Sabratha, Garabulli and Misrata.

However, the extremely volatile security situation means access for UNHCR and other humanitarian organisations to some areas remains severely restricted.

UNHCR appeals for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all affected areas and to agree to a temporary humanitarian truce to allow for the provision of emergency services and the safe and voluntary passage of civilians out of conflict-affected areas.”

In response to a question from a journalist, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that, since 5 April when the escalation had begun, WHO had recorded 345 dead, including 22 civilians, and 1,652 injured, including 74 civilians. WHO emergency medical teams continued to provide assistance and 144 major surgeries and more than 100 minor surgeries had been conducted in the course of the previous week.

Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Yaxley for UNHCR said that a number of makeshift collective shelters had been set up in schools and other community infrastructures to take in the 42,000 persons who had been forced to flee their homes. People were fleeing for different reasons – some were escaping violence, others had seen their property damaged or destroyed – but there was an overall need for key relief items such as blankets and tents. Movement on the ground was very difficult and UNHCR was providing assistance where it could.

Asylum measures recently announced by the United States Government

Responding to a question from a journalist about measures recently announced by the United States Government under which asylum seekers would have to pay for their own asylum applications and were forbidden from working, Charlie Yaxley, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that he was unable to comment directly on the measures but seeking asylum was a fundamental human right and persons should be put in a position in which they were able to exercise that right freely.

Launch of a joint ILO/EUROFOUND report

Rosalind Yarde, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), said that on 6 May ILO and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) would be launching a joint report entitled “Working conditions in a global perspective”. The report, which constituted the first ever comparative analysis of job quality surveys, covered 41 countries including the 28 States of the European Union, China, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, the United States, the States of Spanish-speaking Central America, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. A copy of the report would be made available, embargoed until Monday 6 May at 2.00 p.m. Geneva time. The report would be presented at a press conference that morning in Press Room 1 with Manuela Tomei, Department Director of ILO WORKQUALITY, and Juan Menéndez-Valdès, Executive Director of Eurofound.

Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, reminded journalists that 30 April marked International Jazz Day.

Ms. Vellucci also drew attention to the message of the United Nations Secretary-General for the forthcoming International Day of Vesak.

Ms. Vellucci announced that the film “Samba” was due to be screened that evening at 6 p.m. at the Maison de la Paix. The screening would be followed by a debate on the role of culture in changing perceptions about migrants and migration. The debate would be attended, inter alia, by Delphine Coulin, who wrote the novel on which the film was based, and Eric Toledano, one of the co-directors of the film.

Ms. Vellucci also said that the Committee against Torture was that morning beginning its review of the report of South Africa. The afternoon would be dedicated to the replies of Germany to the questions raised by the experts the previous morning. During the course of its current session, the Committee would be considering reports from Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Germany, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Press conferences

Wednesday, 1 May at 1.15 p.m. in Press Room 1
Office of the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect & International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDRL)

The second Global Summit on Religion, Peace and Security: Building bridges, fostering inclusivity and countering hate speech to enhance the protection of religious minorities, refugees and migrants

Speakers:
· H.E. Adama Dieng, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
· Dr. Liviu Olteanu, Secretary-General, International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty

With the participation of:
· Dr. Ganoune Diop, Director, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL), General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church
· Mr. Rudelmar Bueno De Faria, Secretary-General of ACT Alliance
· H.E. Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi, Islamic scholar and religious leader
· H.E. Ammo Aziza Baroud Djibert, Ambassador of Chad to the European Union, United Kingdom and Benelux.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog300419