REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Michele Zaccheo, Chief, TV and Radio at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by spokespersons for the International Organization for Migration, Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations Refugee Agency, World Food Programme, World Health Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization.

Geneva Activities

A public event, 2015 Geneva Peace Talks, will take place this Friday, 18 September 2015 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 pm. Registration is mandatory and closes tomorrow - Tuesday, 15 September 2015 http://peacetalks.net. At a time when headlines are dominated by the consequences of war and violent conflicts, the 2015 Geneva Peace Talks will bring together people from different backgrounds – including a refugee living in Europe, a member of the Italian coastguard, and speakers from such countries as Syria, South Sudan and Sweden – to share their timely stories and practical solutions for resolving conflict.

The third edition of the Geneva Peace Talks, a public event organized by the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and Interpeace on the occasion of the International Day of Peace, has the theme “It’s time for peace!”. For those unable to attend the event will be streamed live on webtv.un.org and http://peacetalks.net.

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances will next meet in public at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 17 September, to discuss the Convention on Enforced Disappearances with States parties, United Nations organizations and specialized agencies, Intergovernmental Organizations, National Human Rights Institutions, non-governmental organizations and civil society. The Committee would close its ninth session next Friday, 18 September. A background release with more details can be found here.

The Conference on Disarmament would next meet in public today, Thursday 15 September, at 10 a.m. in the Council Chamber when it will hear a statement by the newly elected President of the First Committee of the General Assembly, Ambassador von Oosterom from the Netherlands. The Conference on Disarmament’s 2015 session officially concludes on Friday, 18 September.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child began its seventieth session on Monday, 14 September, at Palais Wilson in Geneva. The Committee was this week reviewing the reports of United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Poland. The reports of Brazil, Chile, Timor-Leste, Madagascar and Cuba would be reviewed next week. A background press release was available here.

Ed Harris, for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), announced that WIPO’s annual Global Innovation Index would be launched at 10 a.m. (CET) on Thursday, 17 September in London hosted by the United Kingdom Government. The Global Innovation Index ranks 141 economies around the world. Geneva press could participate in the launch by watching a live webcast of the press conference at http://www.wipo.int/econ_stat/en/economics/gii and on Twitter via #GII2015 and @WIPO.

The Special Rapporteur on Transitional Justice, Mr. Pablo de Greiff, would hold a press conference today, Tuesday, 15 September, at 3.30 p.m. in Press Room 1, on his visits to Burundi and Sri Lanka, together with his thematic report elaborating on main elements of a State policy aiming at the prevention of circles of mass violence.

The United Nations High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein would speak about the United Nations Human Rights Office report on Sri Lanka in a press conference on Wednesday, 16 September, at 10.30 a.m. in Room III. The press conference would be webcast live at www.webtv.un.org, and broadcast live through the EBU.

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a press conference on WHO and UNICEF report “Achieving the Malaria MDG Target: Reversing the Incidence of Malaria 2000-2015” for Wednesday, 16 September, at 1.30 p.m. in Press Room 1. Dr. Pedro Alonso, Director of WHO's Global Malaria Programme, and Dr. Mark Young, Senior Health Specialist, UNICEF, would be speaking. All information in the report was strictly embargoed until 17 September 2015, 01:01 CEST (Geneva), 00:01 BST (London), Ms. Harris emphasized. The new report showed the rate of new malaria cases had dropped by 37 per cent over the past 15 years and malaria mortality had fallen by 60 per cent, achieving the Millennium Development Goal to reverse the incidence of the disease by 2015. The findings would be revealed on 17 September at an event at the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, by WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan and Secretary of State Justine Greening. On the same day, the journal Nature would publish new findings from the Malaria Atlas Project – a WHO Collaborating Centre based at the University of Oxford— quantifying the effectiveness of malaria control efforts such as insecticide treated nets across Africa, noted Ms. Harris.

The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances would give a press conference on Wednesday, 16 September at 2.30 p.m. in Press Room 1 providing an update on the status of enforced disappearance throughout the world. Ariel Dulitzky, chairperson of the Working Group, would present the annual report of the Working Group, the reports on the visit to the Western Balkans, the follow-up reports on the recommendations made upon past visits to Mexico and Timor Leste as well as the thematic Study on Enforced Disappearance and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) would hold a press conference on Thursday, 17 September at 11 a.m. in Press Room 1 on the subject of the International Forum on Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development. The unique forum, to be held in Annemasse from 29 to 30 October 2015, would explore how public-private partnerships could serve as a tool to achieve sustainable development locally. The following people would be speaking: Ms. Elisabeth Laurin, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Ms. Sally Fegan-Wyles, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Director of UNITAR, and Mr. Christian Dupessey, President of the Urban Agglomeration of Annemasse and Mayor of Annemasse.

The Special Rapporteur on hazardous substance and waste, Mr. Baskut Tuncak, would discuss his annual report to the Human Rights Council in a press conference on Thursday, 17 September at 2 p.m. in Press Room 1.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was today holding a High Level Segment of the Trade and Development Board on the role of women as a catalyst for trade in development, and journalists were invited to attend in Room XVIII until 1 p.m.

Mr. Zaccheo reminded the press that from 25 to 27 September 2015, over 160 Heads of State and Government, together with leaders of civil society and the private sector, would gather at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York for the adoption of the new sustainable development agenda. The bold and ambitious agenda aimed to end poverty and promote prosperity and people's well-being while protecting the environment over the next 15 years.

Journalists were invited to attend a briefing session with Mr. Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination at the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and a senior Swiss diplomat, on Wednesday 16 September in Press Room I. A briefing in French would run from 3 to 3.45 p.m. followed by a briefing in English from 3.45 to 4.30 p.m. Journalists were requested to inform UNIS of their intention to participate. The Summit web page could be viewed here: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/.

Mr. Zaccheo also announced a special event next week to mark the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations and the International Day of Peace. A “Pianists for Peace” concert would take place at 6:30 p.m. on Monday 21 September in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations. The concert was being hosted by Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Jorge Valero, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, in collaboration with the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue and the UNESCO Geneva Liaison Office.

Children in Syria

Christophe Boulierac for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), spoke about millions of children across conflict-hit Syria who were being deprived of education. As children around the world returned to school, there were more than two million in Syria who would not be able to join them. Another 400,000 were at risk of dropping out as a result of conflict, violence and displacement. As the conflict in Syria entered its fifth year, the crisis continued to wipe out years of achievements in education. Some children in Syria had never been inside a classroom, while others had lost up to four years of their schooling.

One of the reasons why we are seeing people going on these dangerous trips is also because they are looking for better education opportunities for their children. If parents get the education they need for their children it will help them in staying in their country, said Mr. Boulierac.

In 2013 UNICEF counted 60 schools that had been attacked, some of which had been deliberately targeted. In 2015, we saw in number of times schools being attacked , although UNICEF was unable to provide precise numbers as such data collection was difficult. UNICEF urged all parties in the conflict to refrain from targeting schools, as they should be and remain a sanctuary for children.

To assist children in Syria with their education UNICEF had developed a mix of products and programs such as accelerated programmes, called ‘Program B’ and ‘Self-Learning Programme’; informal educational programmes designed for children who were out of school. Curriculum B is an accelerated learning programme designed for children to catch up on their missed education enabling them to reintegrate into formal schools. This will help them to avoid repeating grades and dropping out from school.

The self-learning programme is designed for children who are out of school. It offers a comprehensive and fast-tracked self-study course inline to the national curriculum.

Education allows a for the children to reestablish their routines, it allows a return of normalcy, said Mr. Boulierac. However UNICEF urgently needed US$12 million to fund these programmes and continue distributing the materials, and overall US$68 million by the end of the years to continue the project and provide educational support.

Responding to questions, Mr. Boulierac said UNICEF worked with a large network of partners on the ground to spread the programmes but there were some areas that could not be reached. It was estimated that one quarter of all teachers in Syria had left their positions.

Refugee crisis in Europe

Melissa Fleming, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), called for a robust, coherent Europe response to the Refugee crisis. The formal adoption of an earlier relocation proposal involving 40,000 people at the European Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday (Monday, 14 September) was a single welcome step towards addressing the current refugee situation in Europe, but it was clear that much more was still needed.

UNHCR was deeply disappointed that although a majority of Member States were in agreement with a wider relocation proposal involving 120,000 people, a final consensus on that could not be reached. Decisive agreement was needed without further delay to address the needs, as was bold action based on solidarity from all Member States. Relocation of increased numbers beyond the 40,000 could start to be implemented with countries that had expressed support. To succeed, relocation had to be accompanied by large-scale emergency reception capacity in the countries most impacted by arrivals, particularly Greece, Hungary and Italy.

A positive development in the Presidency conclusions was the support to Greece in reception and asylum, which was critical for the success of the relocation programme. In addition, UNHCR was pleased to see the inclusion of support for affected countries in the Western Balkans to implement their obligations in relation to people in need of international protection. Special support was needed for Serbia and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to support efforts to assist refugees, said Ms. Fleming.

There had been 2,000 new arrivals into Greece this week and overall there were 9,000 refugees and migrants currently on the Greek islands. Yesterday 3,500 people were brought to the Greek mainland. At least 24 people had died in the latest shipwreck off the island of Kos this morning, said Ms. Fleming and in that context, UNHCR welcomed the commitment to further strengthen Frontex sea operations.

Providing the latest figures Ms. Fleming said 5,300 people crossed the border from Greece into The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia this week, and over 5,600 entered Serbia from The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Some 10,000 people were estimated to have arrived in Hungary yesterday and in Austria a record 20,000 people entered from Hungary, with another 1,920 crossing into Austria overnight. Yesterday 4,500 people arrived into Germany, a smaller number due to the border checks.

UNHCR insisted that the management of borders needed to be protection-sensitive and consisted with European Union and international law, and that included guaranteeing the right to seek asylum. When disembarking in the European Union refugees must find a welcoming environment and immediate response to their basic needs. UNHCR urged an increase in legal channels so people did not need to take these journeys in the first place.

More information could be found in the briefing note, available here.

Answering questions about Turkey, Ms. Fleming said UNHCR had for some time now been urging the international community to look at Turkey’s contribution to the world in hosting two million Syrian refugees. Turkey had spent around US$800 million of its own money in supporting those refugees. All of the appeals UNHCR has made on Turkey’s behalf – and by Turkey itself – had gone unheard. So today UNHCR was increasingly seeing Turkey become a transit country rather than a destination but it did not have definite statistics.

Leonard Doyle, for the International Organization of Migration (IOM), said IOM feared that the lack of decision-making in Europe would lead to more deaths of migrants, refugees, unaccompanied minors and trafficked individuals in the Aegean Sea and elsewhere.

An IOM report published today showed that an estimated 72 migrants had drowned attempting to cross to the Greek islands from Turkey in September. Additionally, IOM Turkey received data from the Turkish Coast Guard indicating around 13 migrants had already have died in Turkish waters since the beginning of September, making this month the deadliest on that stretch of the Mediterranean in two years.

This morning IOM received reports of at least 22 migrants drowning in the Aegean Sea, including four children, while 211 migrants were rescued after a Kos-bound boat capsized.

IOM operated a free phone counter-trafficking hotline in Turkey and was now getting calls to that number from migrants and refugees who were on board dangerous vessels, who were calling while they were sinking. One report was that people had actually called while they were swimming, seeking help.

As the weather got colder and the dangers increased IOM feared that the lack of decisions in Europe would lead to more deaths in the Aegean. The decisions made by various Governments to put border controls in would have a very damaging effect. Most of the countries could close land borders but one country that could not was Greece, because of its vast coast line border with Turkey, where border controls were practically unenforceable. The knock-on effect of indecisions at political level and tough decisions at border levels would have a huge and burdensome impact on Greece.

The number of arrivals in Europe was now 464,876. That number was increasing all the time. Greece had seen a 1000 per cent increase in arrivals this year alone. All the data was available on the ‘Missing Migrants’ website (http://missingmigrants.iom.int) and on the excellent UNHCR Data Portal (http://data.unhcr.org), noted Mr. Doyle.

Asked at what point it would become physically impossible for people to cross the sea, Mr. Doyle said autumn was here and winter was approaching – and Balkan winters were particularly severe. People were crossing in small rubber dinghies that would have little chance on the open sea, especially when they were overcrowded and leaking.

Food aid for Syrian refugees

Bettina Luescher, for the World Food Programme (WFP), responding to questions about cuts to food aid, said WFP was extremely concerned about the situation of Syrian refugees. It was important to remember that, while despairing Syrians were now taking extreme measures to cope including returning to Syria or leaving host countries for other destinations, those in the most vulnerable situations in refugee camps were unable to move because they could not afford to buy tickets or pay traffickers.

Critical funding shortages have forced WFP to halve the level of assistance provided to almost 1.3 million vulnerable Syrian refugees in the region. In Jordan WFP had reduced the value of its food vouchers to refugees living outside the camps to $14 per person, per month. All 96,000 refugees living inside the camps continued to get $28 per person per month to meet their food needs.

In September WFP had to cut voucher assistance to 229,000 of the most moderately vulnerable people in order to prioritise those who were most in need. It was one of the hardest decisions to make as an aid worker, to tell a mother who had to feed her children that you could no longer provide them with food because there had not been any donations.

Some 638,000 refugees in Lebanon had also had their food vouchers reduced to US$13.50 per person per month. That reduction meant that most refugees were now living on around 50 cents a day.

WFP was assisting 150,00 refugees in 11 camps in Turkey. The Government of Turkey contributed US$5.50 to WFP vouchers so those refugees still received US$28 per person. Once again, WFP was deeply grateful to all of the neighbouring countries for their support in hosting Syrian refugees and urged the international community to help. WFP immediately needed US$333 million to continue providing a lifeline to Syrians affected by the conflict until the end of the year.

2015 Nansen Refugee Award

Melissa Fleming, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said for refugees in the neighbouring countries of Syria and Afghanistan education was probably one of the most valuable things to give, and there was far too little of it. Hence Ms. Fleming said UNHCR was delighted to announce that the winner of the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award for 2015 was an Afghan refugee teacher – Ms. Aqeela Asifi.

Ms. Asifi, 49, was being recognised for her brave and tireless dedication to education for Afghan refugee girls in a refugee village in Pakistan – while herself overcoming the struggles of life in exile. Despite minimal resources and significant cultural challenges, Asifi had guided 1,000 refugee girls through their primary education.

Afghanistan was the largest protracted refugee crisis in the world with over 2.6 million Afghans currently living in exile and over half of them were children, reminded Ms. Fleming. The Nansen Refugee Award ceremony would take place in Geneva on 5 October and the media would all be invited, said Ms. Fleming. More information could be found here.

Yemen

Jens Laerke, for the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said he had just received a situation report from Yemen with a lot of information which he would share after the briefing.

Mr. Laerke said damage to civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, mosques and schools continues unabated in Yemen while the depletion of medical stocks and the lack of fuel to run hospital generators further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

Yemen relied on imports for 70 per cent of its fuel requirements and 100 per cent of its medicine needs. In August, imports accounted for only 12 per cent of monthly fuel needs, a steep drop compared with 69 per cent in July. The decrease was due to embargo-related import restrictions and damage to the main ports such as Al Hudaydah, but also unwillingness of commercial shipping companies to berth in Yemen due to insecurity concerns, said Mr. Laerke.

The grim statistics on casualties showed that since the conflict escalated in March this year, 30 people had been killed and 185 injured on average each day.

Mr. Laerke noted that as of 7 September, there had been 29,826 casualties (deaths and injuries) reported by health facilities, according to WHO. The number of casualties was likely much higher than reported, as many health facilities are closing or victims never reach one.

The report also showed that Yemen had become one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists to work in. Journalists were of course civilians, and there was hardly any international media presence in Yemen now, which meant the information window for people in Yemen was shrinking by the day. At least seven journalists had been killed in Yemen so far this year compared with two in all of 2014.

The Humanitarian Situation Report can be viewed here.

Answering a question about the Special Envoy on Yemen, Mr. Zaccheo said his latest update was from the noon briefing in New York yesterday, when the spokesperson for the Secretary-General said in light of the reservations expressed by the Government of Yemen, the Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, planned to return to Riyadh in order to have further consultations with the Government of Yemen, other Yemeni stakeholders and states in the region and address outstanding concerns. It was the Envoy’s position, and that of the Secretary-General, that there was no military solution to the conflict and that all sides to the conflict must engage urgently in the search for political solutions at the negotiating table.

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council (HRC) noted that the OHCHR report on the human rights situation in Yemen would be presented to the Council on 30 September.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), said the Council opened its thirtieth session yesterday, in Room XX of the Palais des Nations, with a substantive statement by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, which was available online. The speech was followed by a debate with nearly 100 statements from States and 30 from non-governmental organisations.

The Council would hear from the Special Rapporteur on transitional justice, Mr. Pablo de Greiff, at noon today, who would present his annual report as well as a report on his mission to Burundi. Mr. Pablo de Greiff did visit Sri Lanka from 30 March to 3 April 2015, Mr. Gomez noted (after the briefing), it was not an official visit but rather an advisory visit, hence there was no written report. However, the Special Rapporteur had issued his observations here. Mr. Gomez noted that the Special Rapporteur would give a press conference today, at 3:30 p.m. in Press Room 1.

Late today the Council would hear a presentation from the Working Group on enforced disappearances of its annual report and on its missions to Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Mexico and Timor-Leste.

Today, at 3 p.m. Queen Mathilde of Belgium would give a keynote speech on gender integration at the Council’s Annual Discussion on Integration of Gender Perspective, which would also include the participation of UNOG Director-General Michael Møller and High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. The event will include a panel discussion on integration of gender perspectives, focusing on the main challenges on achieving gender balance in international UN bodies. Queen Mathilde would also participate in a side-event, organised by the Belgian permanent mission, entitled “The rights of the child and guiding principles for businesses and human rights” in Room XXIV from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Council would meet non-stop tomorrow, Wednesday 16 September, holding interactive dialogues with the Independent Expert on the Rights of Older Persons, the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries, the Special Rapporteur on Hazardous Wastes, the Special Rapporteur on Water and Sanitation, the Independent Expert on Democratic and Equitable International Order, and the Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures.

Mr. Gomez also highlighted some of the informal side events. Today the Permanent Mission of the United States was hosting an event on countering violent extremism in Room XXIII at 11 a.m. and several Permanent Missions were co-hosting an event on the safety of journalists at 12 p.m. in Room XXI. The High Commissioner and several Permanent Missions would take part in an event at 4 p.m. today titled ‘70 years of the UN in action’.

On Wednesday, 16 September, the movie I’m Not Here about the human rights of migrant domestic workers would be screened at 11 a.m. in Room XXIV as part of an event co-organized by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland. The film would be followed by a panel discussion with the film makers, and closing remarks by High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Mr. Gomez noted that the OHCHR report on reprisals would be published this afternoon on the intranet. More information about the session, including the full programme of work, can be found in UNIS background press release here.

Central African Republic

Jens Laerke, for the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the Humanitarian Coordinator Aurélien A. Agbénonci and the humanitarian community in the Central African Republic (CAR) had expressed serious concerns about the eviction of 114 internally displaced persons from the Saint Jean Gabaladja site in Bangui on September 12.

In a statement available here, the Humanitarian Coordinator said: “Any movement of displaced populations must be based on a voluntary decision by the concerned people ensuring best safety conditions and respecting the dignity of persons affected, following the rules and principles of the International Humanitarian Law and the Kampala Convention.”