REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the UN Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the Spokespersons for World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Meteorological Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the International Organization for Migration.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed that today was the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. Information on an event to be held at the Palais des Nations today was available at the back of the room, along with the message of the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General had stated that if everyone was mobilized – women, men and young people - it was possible in this generation to end the practice that currently affected 140 million girls and women.

Dr. Lale Say, for the World Health Organization (WHO), stated that the female genital mutilation (FGM) was defined as including any procedures intentionally changing female genital organs for non-medical reasons. There were four different types of FGM, all of which were recognized as harmful to women’s health and having zero health benefits. Affected girls and women suffered physical and mental consequences, which could also have serious negative effects in pregnancy, as well as on the health of their babies. At least three million girls were at the risk of undergoing FGM every year, while the number of women who had been affected by FGM in the world was estimated at 125 million.

The practice was most prevalent in East and West Africa, parts of the Persian Gulf and some parts of Asia, but it was also spreading in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia due to migration. There were 24 countries in Africa that had criminalized the performance of FGM, and in 12 industrial countries the practice was also criminalized. More than 18 percent of FGM procedures were performed by health care professionals. Reasons for that were quite complex, including cases when a health professional was approached by family members to perform a lesser form of FGM on their daughter, in order to spare her of more severe procedures by unskilled practitioners.

Dr. Say stated that the WHO was working to provide necessary information for medical workers dealing with all health issues associated with FGM. WHO’s work was carried out at different levels, including policy, but also more importantly community and household levels. WHO was working on that problem with Member States, partners and community organizations.

Asked whether criminalization really worked as a deterrent, and how many deaths occurred yearly as a consequence of the FGM, Dr. Say responded that it was not easy to implement all laws fully, especially if they were contradicting prevailing cultural norms. Some practitioners might even not know the laws, which was why frontline workers ought to be empowered. Dr. Say reiterated that the practice was highest in Eastern and Western Africa. In Kenya and the Central African Republic, on the other hand, the rate and the frequency had declined over the previous years.

Ukraine

Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that fierce fighting in the central Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine was creating new displacement, pushing the number of registered internally displaced people in Ukraine close to one million. Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy now put the total number of registered IDPs countrywide at 980,000, a figure that was expected to rise further as more newly-displaced people were still being registered. In addition, some 600,000 Ukrainians had sought asylum or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries, particularly the Russian Federation, but also Belarus, Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Romania.

UNHCR teams reported that heavy fighting in the Donetsk region in the country’s east over the previous two weeks had resulted in massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure and in the collapse of basic services. Local authorities had begun to evacuate people from conflict areas, but many were still trapped by the fighting, including in basements and buildings under constant bombardment. The evacuations were being organised by the Government helped by local volunteers.

Mr. Edwards said that so far, more than 2,800 civilians, including about 700 children and 60 disabled people, had been evacuated from the towns of Debaltseve, Avdiivka and Svitlodar, which had seen fierce combat. Several incidents of shelling of buses carrying the evacuees had been reported. Local authorities also confirmed that evacuation transportation could not reach Avdiivka on Tuesday because of the fighting.

The Ukrainian Government was concerned that areas close to the frontline, which were also under heavy shelling, would not be able to accommodate the new arrivals. Therefore, people would have to be moved further away to central, southern and western parts of the country. Evacuees were being taken to government-controlled towns to the north of Donetsk such as Slovyansk, Sviatohirsk, Kramatorsk and Grodivka, as well as to the nearby Kharkiv region. They were being transported in cars and buses and, in the case of the most vulnerable, by train. Some evacuees were temporarily accommodated in train carriages at the railway station in Slovyansk, awaiting onwards transportation.

UNHCR teams on the ground reported that many of the recently displaced were arriving with very few belongings and without proper winter clothes. To address the most urgent needs, UNHCR had started to distribute relief items in northern areas of the Donetsk region, the main place of arrival of IDPs from the conflict areas. UNHCR’s aid had been distributed through local NGO networks in Kramatorsk, Sviatohirsk and Kharkiv. Some 2,000 of the most vulnerable new arrivals had received blankets, sleeping bags, bed linen, warm clothes and jerry cans.

The lack of access to public services previously provided by the central authorities had drastically worsened the plight of the civilian population in areas not under government control. That had been further aggravated by restrictions to the movement of people and goods. The surge in fighting had further limited the supply of urgently needed goods in the conflict areas.

UNHCR maintained its call on all parties to the conflict to refrain from any actions that might endanger the life of civilians and to adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law.

To respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and address some of the most urgent needs of the people displaced by the conflict, UNHCR would be launching on 9 February a supplementary appeal for USD 41.5 million for 2015.

Asked about the access to humanitarian aid, Mr. Edwards said that there were people living in dreadful conditions under bombardment, so the main challenge was evacuating them. This winter was a particularly bitter one in Ukraine, adding to the hardships for many people. Their access to infrastructure was severely limited. People trapped in the battle zones were often not reachable, and the priority was getting them out to safety.

Ebola

Andrew Brooks, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), speaking on the phone from Dakar, said that in September he had visited Liberia, during the peak of the epidemics, followed by a visit to Sierra Leone in November. 16,600 children as of today, were orphaned by the Ebola outbreak. The context was changing, as there was an increased knowledge and confidence among the community. There had been fears that stigma around Ebola would isolate the orphaned children, which would mean there would be thousands of abandoned children, but that had, luckily, not materialized.

Some families had taken in three to seven children, and only around 500 of the 16,600 children had had to be placed in mass care centres – and of those children 80 percent had been reunified with their extended families. Resilience of families, communities, relatives to take in the children had been impressive. Credit should be given to communities, as they had truly rallied to help out, and to Governments for taking a strong stand on supporting family not institutional care. UNICEF was providing cash support, material assistance, psycho-social support, and referring families for food assistance. The reopening of schools in Guinea – and planned re-openings in Liberia and Sierra Leone - was particularly important, as it would help children adjust and return to some normalcy and routine.

Mr. Brooks stated that the grief among children was deep and they were still fragile. As UNICEF went into communities, it was trying to make sure that community child protection practices and the packages of social services support were all in place. Moving forward, it was important to recognize that the 16,600 children were only a microcosm of a larger vulnerable group of orphans. How to support the three States and their health and social welfare systems and make them sustainable, and address a series of other vulnerabilities was a critical issue. The Ebola outbreak had only most likely exacerbated the pre-existing vulnerabilities.

On stigmatization, Mr. Brooks clarified that the stigma and the fear had not completely disappeared, but the bonds of kinship and traditional relations had proven to be stronger, which was why families had taken kids in.

Asked how many children in total in the three countries had been affected by Ebola, Mr. Brooks said that any child who lost his education had been affected by Ebola. And for younger children, Health services had been affected, including vaccinations and nutrition services. All children across the three countries could be said to have been affected one way or the other.

Mr. Brooks, answering a question, said that schools had reopened in Guinea, and had appropriate protocols in place. Reopening of schools in Sierra Leone had been announced for the end of March and in February for Liberia.

Arrest of journalist in Burundi

Ramina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that the OHCHR was concerned about the arrest and detention of Burundian journalist Bob Rugurika, the Director of the independent Radio publique africaine (RPA). Rugurika had been arrested on 20 January following RPA broadcasts which included allegations about the involvement of senior intelligence officials in the killing of three Italian nuns. On 4 February, a Bujumbura court had refused to hear a request by his lawyers for his provisional release. The journalist might face long-term imprisonment for complicity in murder, among other charges that could be considered.

Rugurika’s case raised serious concerns about the exercise of the freedom of expression in Burundi, particularly ahead of the upcoming elections. OHCHR had previously urged the Government to review the Media Law, which required journalists to reveal their sources when they reported on issues such as state security and public order. That legislation lead all too easily to infringements of freedom of expression.

OHCHR called on the authorities to ensure that Rugurika’s case would be handled in line with international due process standards and fair trial guarantees, in accordance with Burundi’s international commitments. No one should be prosecuted for legitimately exercising his fundamental right to freedom of expression and opinion. The UN Human Rights country office in Burundi had visited Rugurika in prison, had held discussions with the authorities and would continue to monitor the case, Ms. Shamdasani concluded.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ms. Shahmdasani stated that at least 300 people remained in detention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after mass arrests during the recent protests there, in Kinshasa and in Lubumbashi, the second largest city in the DRC. Of those, at least 11 were believed to be in incommunicado detention, including prominent civil society representative Christopher Ngoyi Mutamba. His family members and defence lawyers had had no news of him for more than two weeks, which raised serious due process concerns.

The UN joint human rights office in the DRC had been working with the authorities to secure the release of all those who had been illegally detained, as they entered their third week of detention without access to lawyers. OHCHR reiterated its call to the authorities to release all those imprisoned for exercising their right to peaceful assembly, for expression of their views, for their affiliation with the opposition or for disagreeing with the amendments to the electoral bill.

Ms. Shamdasani added that internet and mobile text messaging services had also been restricted for more than two weeks now, causing great disruption, particularly to vulnerable communities. OHCHR urged the Government to promptly re-establish those services and to create a space for civil society discussion, to avoid entrenching the divisions in the country ahead of the upcoming elections.

Echoing what Ms. Shamdasani said, Ms. Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), stated that since 19 January, internet usage and text messaging had been blocked across the nation. WFP Cash & Voucher activities could be compromised if mobile text messages were not reactivated. WFP in some areas used mobile phone banking services for cash transfers to vulnerable people.

She said that humanitarian needs were acute in the DRC, particularly in the east where violence was widespread. That had exacerbated levels of poverty and severe under-nutrition.

In 2015, the WFP was planning to assist 1.4 million vulnerable people. Due to funding shortages, assistance was provided on a priority basis to IDPs and refugees most in need.

An estimated 6.5 million people were subject to acute food security crisis in the country, according to findings of the December 2014 analysis of acute food insecurity. The analysis had also found that 523,000 more people were now in a situation of emergency compared to the previous IPC analysis in June 2014.

According to the IPC analysis, seven territories were in an emergency phase of food insecurity, located in the provinces of Katanga, of Maniema, of South Kivu, of the Province Orientale and of Equateur.

Nearly one million children under the age of five suffered from acute malnutrition (wasting) and 6 million children suffered from chronic malnutrition (stunting), according to the May 2014 demographic and health survey.

Currently, there were 2.7 million IDPs in the DRC and 120,000 refugees, mainly from the Central African Republic, Rwanda and Burundi. 1.5 million IDPs had returned to their areas of origin over the past 18 months, often finding homes, schools, and assets looted and destroyed.

Additionally, since end of January, it was estimated by the UN and partners that as many as 120,000 people might be driven from their homes by fighting in various locations across the country.

An estimated 30,000 new Central African Republic refugees had arrived in Equateur province in the northern DRC in December 2014. WFP was preparing to deliver food assistance, and it was already assisting about 40,000 refugees from the CAR in the three camps of Inke, Boyabu and Mole.

Ms. Byrs informed that the DRC ranked second to last, just above Niger, out of 187 countries listed on the Human Development Index.

WFP urgently required USD 18 million for the following six months to provide lifesaving assistance to IDPs and refugees in the DRC.

Drought in Central America

Ms. Byrs said that the WFP was concerned about the combined impact that a severe and prolonged drought was having on the food and nutrition security of families in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

WFP analysis indicated that more than 2 million people in Central America were affected and in need of food assistance.

The duration of the dry spell and the delay of rainfall during the first crop cycle of 2014 (the Primera) had affected the food security situation of the most vulnerable households in the affected areas of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Due to the impact of the dry spell in the Primera, especially in the Dry Corridor – a drought-prone area shared by Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua – the Governments had requested international assistance in August 2014. Guatemala and Honduras had declared a state of emergency in the affected areas. WFP had assisted the Governments in providing food assistance to the affected populations.

Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador had requested the WFP, UN agencies and NGO partners to carry out an Emergency Food Security Assessment at the end of 2014 to learn more about the long-term impact of the drought.

The EFSA reported that after losses in the Primera, families had resorted to negative coping strategies such as reducing health and education expenditures, consuming seed reserves, decreasing expenditures on agricultural inputs, begging, selling breeding livestock and selling land and migration.

The households had reported that migration of at least one family member over the two months prior to the WFP assessment ranged from 12 percent in Guatemala, 10 percent in Honduras and 5 percent in El Salvador. That did not include entire households that might have migrated before the assessment was conducted.

It was clear that significant levels of need would continue until the following Primera harvest in August 2015.

In Guatemala, the WFP supported the Government’s response to around 180,000 people. Although the Government had requested additional support from the WFP, additional resources were not available for further expansion. In Honduras, available resources also remained well below the assessed needs. WFP had reached some 56,000 people. In El Salvador, WFP had focused its response on conditional transfers of cash and vouchers. With some 85,000 people targeted, the WFP had been able to meet the needs of nearly 40,000 people. In Nicaragua, the WFP and the Government had provided food to over 270,000 people affected by the dry spell from August to November 2014.

Ms. Byrs stressed that the WFP had an urgent funding shortfall of USD 20 million for the coming three months to provide essential food assistance to the affected population.

Winterization programme in Iraq

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), informed that the IOM had begun distribution of clothing vouchers this week for 6,350 displaced families in the cities of Dohuk and Erbil, Northern Iraq. Funded by the UK’s Department for International Development, the USD 450 vouchers would enable displaced families to buy warm clothing to help them survive the winter through IOM’s agreement with Maxi Mall in Dohuk and Erbil.

Mr. Millman stated that according to the IOM’s latest Displacement Tracking Matrix, over 2.17 million Iraqis had been displaced by the current conflict since January 2014. Of the more than 462,000 displaced individuals in Dohuk Governorate, over 193,000 were in critical shelter arrangements.

Mr. Millman reminded journalists that IOM’s Iraq team was looking for funding requirements of USD 295,500,000, which had only been met at 28 per cent. It was the heart of the cold season and funding was short.

Geneva activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed that the Committee on Enforced Disappearances would close its session the following Friday, when it would adopt concluding observations for Mexico, Armenia and Serbia. Until then, the Committee would be meeting in private.

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) would hold the Eighth Part of the Second Session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, in Geneva from 8 until 13 February. Schedule, further details and contact points of UNFCCC staff dealing with the media were available at www.unfccc.int. There would probably be a meeting with the press including in Press Room III on 8 February, of which journalists would be informed.

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), announced that the WMO regional association for Africa, which grouped heads of meteorological services was currently meeting in Cabo Verde. The main theme on the agenda was how to increase Africa’s resilience to floods, as seen in Malawi and Mozambique, and to heatwaves, which were becoming more intense.

That meeting would be followed by the Third Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET), which would take place in Cabo Verde from 10 to 14 February. The conference was organized in partnership between the African Union Commission (AUC), WMO and the Republic of Cabo Verde. One of the main reasons for that meeting was to try to increase the profile on political recognition for meteorological services in Africa, many of whom were underfunded. By getting the Ministers together with the heads of national meteorological services, WHO was hoping to come up with a strategy to increase resilience capacities for climate change adaptation, but also to ring a bell and start looking at main services which were of vital importance.

In relation to that, the previous day a report on Africa for 2013 had been released. It would become an annual feature to increase the understanding and observations of the climate in Africa.

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that just several hours earlier Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Forest Whitaker, the UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, had arrived in Juba, South Sudan. They would be in a joint mission for the next two to three days and they would be visiting communities, speaking with partners and governmental officials. On 9 February, they would move to Nairobi to participate at a high-level OCHA event .

Mr. Laerke also announced a five-day mission to the Central African Republic, which would start on 10 February. During the mission, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department Director of Operations would be visiting IDPs in the field, focusing on their protection. The purpose of the visit was to assess the current humanitarian crisis in the country, which had been deteriorating since 2014.

Ms. Shamdasani informed that the OHCHR would hold a briefing on attacks of educational facilities for girls, which would take place on 9 February at 11 a.m. Announcement would be sent out later in the day.

Spokespersons for the International Organization for Migration and the World Intellectual Property Organization were also present, but did not brief.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: … http://bit.ly/unog060215