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 the spokespersons for the World Food Programme, the International Telecommunication Union, the Human Rights Council, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations World Food Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization.

International Telecommunication Union

Sophie Maddens, for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), announced the 19th Global Symposium for Regulators, which will take place in Vanuatu from 9 to 12 July.

“Good morning to all. We all know that there are new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data, app economy, cloud computing, the Internet of things, social media, mobile technology and business models, and this has presented regulators around the world with challenges. We at ITU, in our products and services for membership, have for close to 20 years organized the Global Symposium for Regulators, which brings together independent regulators and policy-makers from around the world to talk about the issues at hand and the shift in regulatory paradigms. One of the key deliverables of the Global Symposium for Regulators, not only does it allow for peer exchange, but we also have regulators adopting best practice guidelines that is the outcome of the debates on issues that matter and the knowledge they have been sharing. This year the Global Symposium for Regulators will be in Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 9 to 12 July and we are talking about inclusive connectivity, and again we will bring the best practice guidelines. The symposium is a closed meeting, but we will share the best practice guidelines with you after the symposium.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Maddens clarified that close to 400 attendees from more than 50 countries were expected to attend the symposium. Those included policy-makers, regulators, private sector, and academia.

Human Rights Council update

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, said the following:

“This morning at roughly 9:45 a.m. the Council exhausted the last statements by non-governmental organizations under the general debate on item 3. They are currently engaged in an interactive discussion with the new Special Rapporteur on Belarus, Anaïs Marin, whose report covers recent developments in Belarus, and that was followed by the concerned country statement. It is now in the middle of the interactive discussion. At roughly 11:15 a.m. we will hear from the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, Daniela Kravetz. Again, the report covers the latest developments in Eritrea with the concerned country statement and interactive discussion to follow.

And then at approximately 1 p.m. we will hear from the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. The three commissioners will be in Room XX to present their oral update. No written report. We will get that statement to you as early as possible. They are not scheduled to a press conference, but they are available for interviews should you want to get them for one-on-ones. That should last for a couple of hours, at least until 3 or 3:30 p.m. before moving on to the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi at around 3:30 p.m. or so. Another oral update, in fact.

Then time permitting, but it looks like it will likely happen at the end of the day around 5 p.m., we will have an oral update from the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee. Tomorrow we will either resume or start with the discussion on Myanmar, before moving on to a general debate on country situations, which is item 4. That should take up most of the day tomorrow.

And just very briefly an announcement for Thursday morning. We have a confirmation now that the Prime Minister Hu Sen of Cambodia will address the Council at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The last thing to remind you of the various draft resolutions which are being negotiated. The submission deadline is this Thursday. We have quite a number of resolutions being negotiated, somewhere between 25 to 30. Look out for those and, of course, I will point you to them. They will be on the extranet.”

Signing of an action plan to end and prevent the use and recruitment of children in Syria

Referring to the signing of an action plan on recruitment of children in armed conflict in Syria, which took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Saturday, 29 June, journalists observed that they did not know about that meeting and that in order to keep correspondents reporting about the events in Geneva, they should at least be aware of what was happening. Journalists observed that it was very strange that they had received the press release about the signing of the action plan hours after New York.

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, confirmed that on Saturday, 29 June, the Syrian Democratic Forces had signed an action plan with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, to end and prevent the use and recruitment of children under the age of 18. Ms. Vellucci explained that the signature had not been publicized for security reasons. There had been a problem of mailing the press release to Geneva journalists, for which she apologized.

Answering follow-up questions on why the Special Representative had not wanted to hold a press conference on such an important event, and about meetings between the Syrian Democratic Forces General Mazloum Abdi and other major United Nations representatives in Geneva, Ms. Velucci replied that she had no information about any other meetings. To the best of her knowledge, General Abdi had met with Special Representative Virginia Gamba and signed the action plan. Ms. Gamba had chosen not to have a press conference and to instead issue a press release with all relevant information.

Responding to journalists’ inquiry about the number of child soldiers in the Syrian conflict, and a breakdown by armed groups, Toby Fricker, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that he would follow up on the exact statistics and distribute them to journalists.

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, added that according to the latest annual report by the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, there were 224 child soldiers used by the People’s Protection Units in Syria. That figure thus only referred to the group that signed the action plan.

Hunger crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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

“The United Nations World Food Programme is scaling up an already sizable relief operation for conflict-displaced people in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, following renewed inter-ethnic violence that has forced tens of thousands more their homes. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the world’s second largest hunger crisis after Yemen, with 13 million people food insecure – 5 million of which are acutely malnourished children.

In Ebola-afflicted Ituri province, where a spike in clashes between ethnic groups has claimed at least 160 lives in recent weeks, the World Food Programme intends to triple its life-saving food and cash assistance to 300,000 internally displaced people – up from 116,000 The World Food Programme has been assisting each month as part of its ongoing relief operation in Ituri.

This senseless cruelty comes rights at harvest time, where the newly displaced have had to flee their homes in rural villages with very little or nothing. Many victims of this increase in violence are malnourished and have been forced to move numerous times. Widely dispersed, they are seeking security in urban centres and in the bush.

The crisis is compounded by the fact that Ituri is one of the two provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the grip of the country’s worst ever Ebola outbreak, which to date has claimed more than 1,400 lives. The World Food Programme helps contain the spread of the virus by providing food assistance to those who have contracted the disease and to their “contacts,” thereby limiting risky population movements.

Recent assessments show that hunger is worsening in Ituri, especially in areas that have suffered inter-ethnic conflict in recent years. The World Food Programme is planning to assist 5.2 million Congolese this year.”

Answering journalists’ questions, Mr. Verhoosel noted that the World Food Programme intended to triple the assistance to internally displaced persons in the Ituri province even though it still did not have all the funds at disposal. The organization was still looking for money to fund its operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, namely USD 155 million for the rest of the year, out of which USD 35 million was part of the organization’s response to the Ebola outbreak in the country. The organization’s global budget amounted to USD 453 million.

Mr. Verhoosel confirmed that currently there were people dying of hunger in the province of Ituri, but he could not provide exact figures. However, he did not agree with journalists’ assertion that the number of people in need had doubled. The conflict and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were obviously affecting the situation. More people were displaced and automatically more people needed food support.


Mr. Verhoosel explained that the World Food Programme had several programmes in place to provide meals to children in schools in several regions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In fact, such programmes motivated parents to send children to school because they knew they would have a proper meal there. As for the food support provided to internally displaced persons and its potential effect on inter-communal violence, Mr. Verhoosel noted that the organization had to be very vigilant in that respect.

Toby Fricker, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), added that Marixie Mercado, his colleague, who was currently in Bunia in the Ituri province, was available on her Geneva phone number to answer any questions by journalists.

Saving migrants at sea: The case of Carola Rakete

Responding to journalists’ questions about the arrest and imprisonment of German ship captain Carola Rackete for rescuing migrants at sea, Elisabeth Throssell, for the UN Refugee Agency, said the following:

“I think what was said yesterday by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson is stressing the fundamental importance of rescuing people at sea. This is something that the United Nations Refugee Agency has reiterated time and time again. What we say is that if people are in distress, boats that can help them and save them must do so. And we are not just talking about legal obligation; it’s really a basic expression of humanity to go and help people. That is the message that we stress – that saving lives at sea is of fundamental importance and therefore should not be criminalized.”

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, added that the United Nations Secretary-General had underlined on a number of occasions the necessity of welcoming and respecting the dignity of migrants.

Reacting to journalists’ follow-up question about the precedence of international humanitarian law over national laws in cases similar to that of Carola Rackete, Ms. Throssell added that while not speaking on a specific case:

“what we are saying with regard to people, boats, NGO vessels picking up people at sea, is that a centuries-old tradition of saving lives at sea and, therefore, we stress, we say, we reiterate that people should not be penalized for rescuing people at sea.”

Update on the heatwave in Europe

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), made the following statement:

“The European heatwave has passed its peak, until the next one. We really saw an extraordinary four-day heatwave in Europe. France reported a new national temperature record of 45.9° Celsius in Gallargues-le-Montueux on Friday, 28 June. Two other observing stations also reported above 45°C, the first time in modern record that the 45°C has been passed. Météo-France commented that 45,9 °C was a temperature which you would normally experience in August in Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California, which holds the record as the world’s hottest place.

Some 13 observing stations in France broke the previous national heat record of 44.1°C, which was set during the August 2003 heatwave. Numerous overnight minimum temperature records were broken. A new national average temperature record, including daytime and overnight, of 27.9°C was set on 27 June.

Spain also reported widespread temperatures above 40 degrees from 27 to 30 June. The very high to extreme fire risk continues in North Eastern Spain today. In Germany, the Deutscher Wetterdienst said that a new national June temperature record of 39.6°C was set on Sunday, 30 June. Some 243 observing stations set new June temperature records. Hungary has reported its warmest June on record; Switzerland recorded the warmest second half of June on record. Global monthly figures for June should be available later this week.

The World Meteorological Organization is not responsible for collecting data on heat-related mortality; that is the job of national health authorities. But early indications would suggest that the heat-health action plans and the massive civil protection efforts did successfully protect public health and safety.

It is the first heatwave of the summer for Europe. It certainly will not be the last in the northern hemisphere. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of people exposed worldwide to heatwaves increased by an estimated 126 million. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization, issued a report last October on global warming of 1.5°C and it contained information on heatwaves and human welfare.

I am quoting from the report: “Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5 °C and increase further with 2 °C. Limiting warming to 1.5 °C rather than 2 °C could result in 420 million fewer people being exposed to heatwaves by the end of this century.”

To follow-up on the question I got on the Antarctic on Friday, the Antarctic sea-ice extent in May was the lowest on record. A colleague of mine is currently attending the Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting in Prague and he had sent the following notes.

“Antarctic sea-ice extent has declined significantly since 2014. From the late 1970s until 2014, the extent of Antarctic sea ice increased at a statistically significant rate, reaching a maximum annual mean extent of 17.41 million square kilometres in 2014. The decrease from 17.41 million square kilometres in 2014 to 16 million square kilometres in 2017, is the roughly the size of Mongolia, the 20th largest country in the world, with Antarctica being roughly the size of the Russian Federation.”

Climate models predict that as greenhouse gas concentrations continue to increase, Antarctic sea-ice extent will decrease by about one third by the end of this century. There is an article published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which makes a very alarming reading.”



Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, added that the United Nations Secretary General would travel to Saint Lucia on 3 and 4 July. In addition to opening the regular meeting of the CARICOM, he would also speak with many people to see how they were tackling challenges posed by climate change and extreme weather. He would do the same the week after when on 9 July he would arrive in Kenya and then he would go to Mozambique. In Mozambique he would take stock of the recovery efforts in the area impacted by the recent cyclones. The Secretary-General was working towards the Climate Action Summit that he would convene in New York in September.

Answering journalists’ questions, Ms. Nullis explained that the increased number of people exposed to heatwaves was due to global population increase and due to more people living in urban areas, leading to the so-called urban heat island effect. Obviously, the problems of heatwave would be more concentrated and accentuated in a big city than in the countryside. Reacting to the question about the seeming paradox of elevated temperatures in Europe and lower temperatures in Africa, Ms. Nullis said that the heat in Europe came from the Sahara and that there had been very elevated temperatures in North Africa. It could not be expected that temperatures would decline in Africa and certainly not on long-term basis. The long-term trend in Africa and elsewhere was upwards.

Zika virus transmission

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization, read out the following statement:

“The World Health Organization has just issued a summary of the global epidemiology of the Zika virus transmission. A review of global surveillance data and over 90 scientific publications provide a comprehensive view of Zika virus transmission, global spread, and the cases of congenital Zika syndrome. A total of 87 countries have or have had evidence of mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus. An additional 61 countries and territories have evidence of established competent Aedes aegypti –the mosquito that spreads Zika--, but have not yet documented Zika transmission. Therefore, there is still the potential risk for Zika virus to spread to additional countries. It is critical to sustain efforts after the epidemic to ensure early detection and response to future epidemics.

The Zika transmission has waned, but it remains important to sustain vigilance for re-emergence and global spread. The World Health Organization is not issuing general restrictions on travel or trade with countries, areas and/or territories with Zika virus transmission. The good news is that transmission is low. The challenge is that it is therefore more difficult to know with certainty where there is and is not transmission. Most infections have no symptoms or very mild symptoms that may not get detected. It is also difficult in many areas to know where there is and is not transmission and to avoid all exposure during travel.

The World Health Organization thus recommends that pregnant women, women who may become pregnant within three months of travel, and their male sex partners check with their healthcare providers and carefully consider the risks and possible consequences of Zika infection before traveling to areas with past or current Zika virus transmission.

In particular, the updated guidance recommends avoiding areas with Zika transmission during outbreaks. It includes guidance for pregnant women, women who may become pregnant within two months of travel, and male travellers whose partner may become pregnant within three months of travel.”

The Seventh Aid for Trade Global Review 2019

Fernando Puchol, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), made the following announcement:

“The Seventh Aid for Trade Global Review 2019 will take place from 3 to 5 July at the World Trade Organization under the theme Supporting Economic Diversification and Empowerment for Inclusive, Sustainable Development through Aid for Trade. The Global Review will discuss the way Aid for Trade supports economic diversification and empowerment, with a focus on eliminating extreme poverty, particularly through the effective participation of micro, small and medium enterprises, women and youth.

Since their inception 12 years ago, the Global Reviews have been providing a platform to examine the needs for and impact of Aid for Trade programs in developing and least-developed countries. The event will be opened jointly on Tuesday, 3 July, by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and the Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen. Other speakers at the opening session will be the heads of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Finance Corporation, and the International Trade Center.

Also, the 2019 edition of the Aid for Trade at a Glance publication, which is published jointly by the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, will be launched at the Opening Session on Tuesday, 3 July. Advanced copies are available under embargo in the media newsroom of the WTO website.

Live webcast on www.wto.org will be available for all plenary sessions and viewing of the opening will be possible from Room W, as well. Media are welcome to attend the event, and UN badges will be honored to attend the event.”

Records of Human Rights information Council proceedings

Responding to journalists’ questions about the reduced coverage of the Human Rights Council, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, reiterated that the problem was two-fold: the number of sessions had increased, while the budget of the service had decreased. It was a structural problem that had lasted for four years and that the Information Service had tried to resolve in different ways. In addition to that, the current Organization’s cash flow problems it was impossible to hire temporary staff to cover the entire session of the Human Rights Council. Therefore, there would be reduced coverage by regular staff during the second and third week because the regular staff had to cover the meetings of the treaty bodies.

Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the International Labour Organization would hold a press conference in Press Room 1 on
Thursday, 4 July at 10 a.m. in Press Room 1 to launch its new database and findings, entitled “The Global Labour Income Share and Distribution.” The speakers at the press conference will be Steven Kapsos, Head of the Data Production and Analysis Unit, and Roger Gomis, Data Scientist at the International Labour Organization.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog020719