REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Human Rights Council, the Economic Commission on Europe, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration and the World Health Organization.

Syria

Adrian Edwards for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had appointed Panos Moumtzis, previously UNHCR's Head of Donor Relations, as its Regional Refugee Coordinator for Syrian Refugees.

Panos Moumtzis gave details of the task he had been given saying official data from surrounding countries and UNHCR's own registration figures indicate that around 30,000 people had fled to neighbouring countries while significant numbers of Syrians were thought to be displaced inside Syria.

UNHCR's teams in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey had been working for the past year to support the Governments and NGOs providing shelter, assistance and protection to the refugees, he said. And to date, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey had all maintained a policy of open borders for Syrians fleeing the violence, a policy which he noted UNHCR’s gratitude for.

He added that despite the difficult environment the policy and commitment of Syria to host and support 110,000 refugees registered with UNHCR, the majority from Iraq, remains unchanged. He later gave details of the status of the 102,000 Iraqi refugees, saying the number had dropped since 2010 as 67,000 had returned to their home country.

Looking first to Lebanon he said UNHCR and Lebanon's High Relief Commission (HRC) had registered some 7,000 Syrians in North Lebanon and registration was to continue in Tripoli. Additionally UNHCR and local partners estimate there are some 4,000 persons in the Bekaa valley. They were residing in Aarsal, Fakha, and Mashariie el Qaa. UNHCR was working to verify the current numbers and was carrying out distribution of food and other items, he said. In other parts of Lebanon, an additional 1,000 Syrian refugees were receiving assistance from UNHCR and partners.

In North Lebanon, the High Relief Committee, UNHCR and partners regularly distributed food and basic domestic and hygiene items to registered refugees and host families in need, and primary health care was being made available by UNHCR through public and private clinics. More serious conditions and the injured are referred to five different hospitals in the north, with the cost of care covered by the government. Some 268 wounded persons have been treated in various hospitals in North Lebanon since the beginning of the influx.

In the Bekaa, UNHCR and other UN agencies, along with local and international NGOs were providing assistance to the displaced and this included fuel, food, blankets, mattresses and hygiene kits, he said. UNHCR teams in the field were currently liaising with the authorities and assessing the needs of persons of concern and additional shelter capacities in the region.

Meanwhile in Jordan, over 5,000 Syrians had registered with UNHCR since March 2011, with a further 2,000 awaiting registration. Again, the majority were living with host families, from lrbid and Ramtha in the North, to Amman and as far south as Maan. He continued saying that UNHCR was providing assistance to urban refugees (including cash grants and aid items), and was assisting the government in renovating and running a transit facility at the Ramtha border. The centre had seen over 1,000 Syrians transit through it, and currently housed over 380 people in very cramped conditions.

As with Lebanon, local NGOs in Jordan were playing an important role in responding directly to needs, he explained, and were referring vulnerable Syrians to UNHCR for registration and community services support.

In Turkey, where the camps were being managed by the Government, almost 23,000 persons had received protection in seven camps in Hatay province since April.
2011. Some of this population had returned to Syria and today the total camp population numbers over 13,000 refugees. The Government of Turkey planned to move the majority to Kilis province, where a purpose-built container city had been prepared. The Turkish government was providing the majority of assistance to the refugees in its country, he explained, and primary health care was provided in the camps.

Inside Syria itself, Iraqi refugees had reported a significant increase in the price of basic commodities, due to inflation and the devaluation of the Syrian pound. In this environment UNHCR continued to support more than 11,000 of the most destitute refugee families through its financial assistance programme (with an average contribution of $180 per family per month) and from March the office would help meet the food needs of approximately 97,000 refugees through a cash assistance-ATM programme, he added. Together with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other national and international partners a number of basic services are also provided.

Answering questions he said refugees arriving in neighbouring countries talked of violence, and hundreds of people continued to cross the border every day. In terms of the scale of the refugee crisis, a contingency plan worked upon by UNHCR and partners had been prepared, which tried to ensure efficient delivery through measures such as pre-positioned aid, he said.

He also agreed there were unconfirmed reports some civilians had experienced problems crossing the border, though he had no details on this, and reiterated that it was important that those fleeing were allowed to do so safely. Figures on internally displaced people were unclear due to a lack of access, and the number currently being used of 200,000 was from the Syrian Red Cross.

Replying to other questions he said UNHCR was keen to separate the humanitarian from the political track, so he was unable to comment on ongoing political actions. He also underlined that this same transparent neutrality was followed through in relations with the Syrian authorities and he was not aware of any conflicts of interest in the treatment of refugee groups in and outside the country.

Ms. Momal-Vanian also read a statement made earlier by the United Nations – Arab League Joint Special Envoy Mr. Annan on his discussions with Turkish authorities and the Syrian National Council (SNC), which said he had gone to Ankara to meet Prime Minister Erdogan and had a good working dinner with the Foreign Minister. They had discussed the situation of Syria, he said, and he had briefed them on what happened since his appointment as Envoy for Syria, and they followed discussions in the Security Council. He had also indicated he was expecting to hear from the Syrian authorities on concrete proposals left with them and would know how to react once he received an answer.

Mr. Annan had said that the killing and the violence must stop. The Syrian people had gone through a lot and deserved better. He had made it clear at the beginning of his mission that his main preoccupation was the welfare of the Syrian people and the Syrian nation. The interests of the people should be put at the centre. The whole world was coming together, and was working to resolve this situation. With goodwill and determination, he was hopeful that progress would be made.

He had also taken the chance, said the statement, to meet with Dr. Burhan Ghalioun of the SNC, which had been a useful meeting with constructive discussions on his approach and what the future development of the process would be. They had promised full cooperation.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez for the Human Rights Council said today’s Council agenda started, in private, with the complaints procedure, and had now recommenced the interactive dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria. This was followed by the country situations which require the Council’s attention, where states can raise human rights issues in any other countries. After this came a panel discussion on minorities, a concept paper for which had been distributed. Time permitting, the independent expert on minority issues was also to deliver a report on this issue.

The deadline for the submission of draft resolutions was this Thursday (15 March), he added, with only one submitted so far. More were expected in the next 48 hours and they would be available on the internet as they were received.

Answering a question, Ms. Momal-Vanian confirmed an incident yesterday in Room XX, where members of one state’s delegation approached the Permanent Representative of another Member State and behaved aggressively. Security personnel were obliged to intervene, she said, and access badges had been withdrawn for two members of one of the delegations. It was a regrettable incident.

Mr. Gomez said the President had addressed the incident during the opening of the next session saying she called on all delegations to interact in a respectful manner, to promote and protect human rights, in the spirit of cooperation and genuine dialogue, and to avoid any violent action. The Bureau was awaiting the full report to be provided by UNOG Security Services on this unfortunate incident.

Answering a question, Mr. Gomez also gave details of the Palestinian point of order made yesterday on holding an urgent debate on the situation in Palestine. In response to the verbal statement the President made clear that any request for a debate must be formalized, and this had not yet happened. More details would be available if this became the case.

South Sudan

Adrian Edwards for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said thousands of Lou Nuer tribespeople from South Sudan were seeking refuge in western Ethiopia, an estimated 15,000 people since mid-February.

In Jonglei State Murie and Lou Nuer tribespeople have been engaged in deadly attacks and counter-attacks over cattle, grazing land and water points for several years, he said, and refugees are stating a fear of reprisal as their reason for fleeing following clashes between these two tribes in December and January.

In Ethiopia, the new arrivals were settling around the border town of Matar in the Gambelia region, where the local communities had been sharing their meager resources with the new arrivals, including food and water. However, the influx had stretched water and sanitation facilities beyond capacity and the World Food Programme was extending food distribution to this area to benefit both communities.

UNHCR was helping the Ethiopian authorities to set up a reception centre near Matar, where the new arrivals are being screened by the Ethiopian refugee agency (ARRA) before they are relocated to Fugnido refugee camp, where they are registered as asylum-seekers and issued with food ration cards. UNHCR had also dispatched additional staff to support the government's registration efforts in Fugnido, he said.

Chad

Jean Philippe Chauzy for the International Organization for Migration said IOM would send a road convoy carrying aid for over 1,000 displaced migrants, most of them unaccompanied children, stranded in the remote village of N'Gbouboua in the Lac region of western Chad.

The group fled the eastern Nigerian villages of Dougouri, Folkine, Koyorom and Malfahtri three weeks ago, following clashes between the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and Nigerian forces, he explained. IOM recently sent an assessment team to the village and found adults and unaccompanied minors without access to clean water or sanitation. The children were surviving by begging for food, water and other provisions from villagers.

The US embassy in Chad had agreed to provide funding for transportation and family reunification assistance. The money would also enable IOM to buy essential non-food items such as blankets, soap, sleeping mats, buckets, jerry cans, hygiene kits, toothbrushes and medicines for the migrants.

IOM was now working with the government of Chad, the International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF to mobilize support for the stranded group. ICRC had offered technical expertise on family reunification and child tracing and WFP had volunteered food rations. IOM will now work with the Chadian Red Crescent / Red Cross to establish the children's identity and locate their families.


Yemen

Jean Philippe Chauzy for the International Organization for Migration said IOM will this month organize a final air evacuation of over 250 stranded Ethiopian migrants from Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia, unless new funding to continue repatriation flights was found.

The IOM transit centre in Haradh, a town close to the border used by the migrants as a stepping stone to reach Saudi Arabia, provided accommodation and limited medical and psychosocial assistance for migrants who wish to return home and was packed to capacity with over 400 residents, including women and children.

Living conditions for the migrants in the town were described by IOM transit centre staff on the ground as "terrible" and worsening due to increasing numbers of new arrivals and depleted resources. Tensions were also rising between the migrants and the local community, he explained.

A total of 103,154 new arrivals were registered in 2011, double the number of the previous year. In February alone, approximately 12,454 new arrivals were registered, of whom 10,496 were from Ethiopia. To date, IOM had assisted more than 6,000 Ethiopian migrants to return home from. But some 12,000 stranded migrants, mostly from the Horn of Africa, remain.

Kony2012

Answering a question about the viral video campaign Kony2012, Marixie Mercado for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said she was unsure whether the makers of the film, the NGO Invisible Children, had approached UNICEF before launching the campaign. She did, however, give details of UNICEF activities to help children affected by conflict saying there were programmes in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan supporting children who manage to escape, are left behind or are captured during military operations.

In 2010 alone UNICEF programmes provided support to over 11,000 children who were formally associated with armed forces or armed groups, she added, along with some 28,000 children made extremely vulnerable by armed conflict.

Adrian Edwards for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees added that UNHCR had been raising awareness of the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army for a long time.

Weather trends

Clare Nullis for the world Metrological Organization (WMO) said the WMO had released a detailed analysis of the recent European cold snap, prepared by the organization’s regional climate centres for Europe and Asia. This included details of recorded temperatures as low as minus 40 in some places, she said. The report was now available through the website.

Next Friday was World Meteorological Day (23 March), she continued, and events planned to mark the occasion included a weather and climate forum on the Thursday (22 March) and a ceremony on the day itself at WMO headquarters. A press conference would also be held at WMO at 12:00 on the same day, she said, which discussed a new study on the global climate over the last decade.

Geneva activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said the Conference on Disarmament held a public meeting today. The speakers were Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador and Peru.

She added that a press conference was planned for this afternoon (13 March) at 14.30 in Press Room 1 on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. The speaker was the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

Jean Rodriguez for the Economic Commission on Europe said the report “No-one left behind: Good practices to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation,” was launched today (13 March) at the sixth World Water Forum in Marseille, France. It highlighted significant inequities in access to water and sanitation in the pan-European region and provides guidance on how to redress them, showcasing successful policy and practical measures that have been taken by Governments, water operators and civil society, he said.

Fadéla Chaib for the World Health Organization announced a press conference on Thursday (15 March) at 14:00 in Press Room 1 on the WHO Global Report on Mortality Attributable to Tobacco. It was the first time such a report had been compiled with figures by country, she noted. The speaker was the Coordinator of the Comprehensive Information Systems for Tobacco Control (CIC) in the Tobacco Free Initiative Department of the WHO.

She also gave details of World Health Day (7 April) saying this year’s theme was ageing and health. Information about the event was available on the website, she said, as well as facts and figures around the topic. Events planned in Geneva included a round table with Director-General of the WHO on 4 April, and a press conference the same day.