REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Ahmad Fawzi, Director a.i., United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Trade Centre, and the International Labour Organization.
Geneva Activities
The flags of the Holy See and of Palestine would be raised at the Office of the United Nations at Geneva during a ceremony at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 13 October at the Allée des Drapeaux, in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted on 10 September 2015. The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Michael Møller, would take part in the event, as well as Riyad al-Maliki, Palestine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and representatives of the Permanent Missions of the Holy See and of Palestine to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would be closing its three-week session this afternoon. The Committee considered the reports of seven countries: Burundi, Italy, Guyana, Iraq, Morocco, Sudan, and Greece. Its concluding observations and recommendations on the report would be available on the website on Monday, 12 October.
The United Nations Deputy Secretary‑General, Jan Eliasson, would be in Geneva on Thursday, 15 October to deliver the keynote address at the Global Consultation Meeting on the World Humanitarian Summit. The Deputy Secretary‑General would hold a press conference at 10.30 a.m., to discuss the World Humanitarian Summit and his just concluded tour of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien would also visit Geneva next week to attend the Global Consultation on the World Humanitarian Summit.
This Year’s Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for establishing a peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war.
On Thursday, 8 October the United Nations Secretary-General appointed Maman Sambo Sidikou of Niger as his Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Global Consultation for the World Humanitarian Summit 2016
Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), announced a stake-out at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 15 October in front of the International Geneva Conference Centre. The Swiss Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter, and Under-Secretary-General O’Brien would address the press after having delivered keynote addresses at the opening session of the Global Consultation for the World Humanitarian Summit 2016.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator’s Statement on Yemen
In a statement issued on the evening of 8 October, Under Secretary-General O’Brien expressed his deep concern at the news of civilians being killed by coalition air strikes that hit a wedding party in Yemen's Dhamar Governorate, in which at least 47 civilians had been killed, and 35 injured, among them many women and children. It was reported that 4,500 civilians had been killed or injured by explosive weapons in Yemen during the first seven months of this year, which was more than in any other country or crisis in the world during the same period. International humanitarian law very clearly set out the responsibilities of warring parties to protect civilians and to take every possible measure to avoid damage to homes and other civilian structures, said the Under-Secretary-General and called for a swift, transparent and impartial investigation into this incident. Real accountability for parties to the conflict, whether they were States or non-State armed groups, was urgently needed, to ensure that the commitment under international law to protect civilians was meaningful.
Answering questions, Mr. Laerke said that the media section on the website for the World Humanitarian Summit contained resources on the Global Consultation, including statements and links to live webcasts. On Yemen, Mr. Laerke said that the call by Under-Secretary-General O’Brien for an investigation had not been addressed at any particular body. This would need to be further looked into.
European Relocation Programme starts: 19 asylum-seekers leave Italy to Sweden
Melissa Fleming, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, would give his annual end of Executive Committee press conference on Friday, 9 October at 1 p.m. in Room III.
The beginning of the relocation of refugees from Italy under the European Relocation Scheme was the first piece of progress in the Europe refugee crisis, said Ms. Fleming, recalling that the three nationalities agreed under the Scheme were Eritreans, Iraqis and Syrians. The Scheme foresaw the relocation of 160,000 persons from Italy and Greece to the participating European Union countries. This Relocation Scheme was an important step toward stabilizing the refugee crisis in Europe, but it could only work if it took place at the entry points in Europe, and if robust facilities were created above and beyond what was now available in Italy. This meant the expansion of facilities in Italy and the creation of new ones in Greece, where people could be received and assisted, registered and screened before the relocation to the participating countries. Ms. Fleming recognized that the Scheme was limited compared to the needs, but it was hoped that it would mark the beginning of the refugee crisis being managed at first point of entry in Europe. The full text of UNHCR's briefing note is available here.
7,000 persons crossing daily to Greece
Melissa Fleming, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), announced that António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, would visit Greece from 10 to 12 October. The drama on the Greek islands continued unabated, with more than 428,000 people who had made the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece. The High Commissioner would visit the island of Lesvos, where the majority seemed to be arriving, to get a first-hand look at the arrival and reception areas, and would also hold meetings in Athens.
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that due to expected worsening weather conditions, a sharp increase in the number of newly arrived migrants and refugees had been recorded in Greece, to some 7,000 a day. This was in contrast with the approximately 4,500 a day recorded at the end of September. The registration procedure for new arrivals on the island of Lesvos had again changed, with the fast-track procedure for the identification and fingerprinting of Syrians for their inclusion into the Eurodac database no longer implemented. Nationality had become an important factor in determining how quickly they could leave the island and continue their travel to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It was reported that, in contrast to the Syrians, Afghans had less money to pay for their transport, often had to work to earn the money for tickets, or had to contact friends and relatives to send them the money, and consequently spent more time transiting Greece. There were reports that more than half of all irregular Egyptian arrivals to Europe this summer were unaccompanied minors.
In response to questions raised, Ms. Fleming said that the Relocation Scheme had just started; it was significant that it had begun, already in Italy, and hopefully soon in Greece. It was a procedure that worked, it would be slow at first, but would accelerate.
Answering the question on whether the worsening weather was the only cause of a sharp increase in arrivals to Greece, Mr. Millman said that weather was the major concern, and based on the IOM experience, the number would remain stable for as long as weather conditions permitted; the pattern over the past two years pointed that the worst and colder the weather, the fewer people were willing to take the risk to cross into Europe.
United Nations agencies concerned that further delay will put 1.8 million children’s lives at risk of polio in Ukraine
Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Programme (UNICEF), said that a joint World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF press conference would take place at 1. P.m. Geneva time in Kiev, Ukraine, on polio in the country. WHO and UNICEF stood ready to support an immediate polio vaccination campaign in Ukraine. Six weeks after the polio outbreak, UNICEF and WHO had stepped up the calls for an immediate first round of nation-wide polio vaccinations. Ukraine’s Ministry of Health had confirmed two cases of polio on 1 September, found in unvaccinated children living in Zakarpatska region in South West Ukraine. If not stopped, the virus could spread throughout Ukraine and put the lives of 1.8 million children at risk. The risk of further outbreak would remain until a full-scale immunization campaign began to stop the transmission of the polio virus.
Answering questions by reporters, Olivier Rosenbauer, Communication Officer in the WHO Polio Department, said that one case of polio already constituted an outbreak, as it was assumed that at least additional 199 were infected with the virus, but did not have any symptoms and could spread the virus. The Ukrainian Ministry of Health was working hard to prepare the vaccination campaign, and WHO was supporting the authorities to launch the campaign as rapidly as possible. This was key as it had been six weeks since the confirmation of the outbreak. The internationally agreed Polio Response Guidelines could stop the polio outbreak if fully implemented.
Mr. Boulierac said that the vaccines were on the ground, all the operational practicalities and teams were in place; UNICEF and WHO were ready to support and were just waiting for the launch of the campaign by the Government of Ukraine.
Mr. Rosenbauer stressed the importance of the “all Government” approach to outbreak responses, with the Ministry of Health driving the process and a sense of ownership by governors at the oblasts level to reach the children at district levels. Still missing, was the “green light” by the highest level of State and the Government in support of the Ministry of Health. Time was absolutely of the essence: the longer the virus was allowed to circulate, the higher the risk of children being paralyzed. WHO and UNICEF were urging the political leaders in Ukraine to take ownership to deliver the vaccinations required, said Mr. Rosenbauer and noted that some political leaders still questioned the existence of an outbreak. The outbreak had occurred because of serious vaccination coverage gaps in Ukraine, which had developed over the years, and as many as 50 per cent of the children were not fully vaccinated against polio. The war was a complicating factor, but was not the main reason; the main reason was the low vaccination coverage rate which predated the war. Because of the vaccination gap that had existed for so long in Ukraine, children above the age of five would need to be vaccinated; the target population was 1.7 million children across the country, with three rounds of vaccine. The risk of international spread was relatively low because of the high vaccination coverage of 95 per cent and disease surveillance capacities and response in neighbouring countries; of concern was the spread of the outbreak to other parts of Ukraine, where half the children were not protected against the virus.
International Health Regulations in the Ebola Outbreak and Response
Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that an intersessional – working meeting of the Review Committee on the Role of the International Health Regulations (2005) in the Ebola Outbreak and Response was taking place in Geneva from 5 to 9 October. The main scope of the session was to assess the legally binding instrument and whether or not it had served the purpose to protect from, prevent, and control and provide a public health response to the international spread of the disease.
Journalists would have a further opportunity to question the Chair of the Review Committee, Professor Didier Houssin, who would update the media on the main conclusions of the meeting and outline next steps at 4.15 p.m. this afternoon in the Library Room.
World Trade Organization
Daniel Pruzin, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), announced that on Monday, 12 October, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo would speak on the occasion of 20 years of supporting the integration of least developed countries into the multilateral trading system at the WTO. On 14 October, he would attend the Arab Trade Ministers meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and on 16 October, the Director-General would meet with senior government representatives in China. Mr. Pruzin also provided information on the regular committee meetings, working groups and negotiating groups.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to launch its Review of Maritime Transport 2015
Matthew Brown, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), announced the launch on Wednesday, 14 October, of the Review of Maritime Transport 2015 report, which provided an analysis of structural and cyclical changes affecting seaborne trade, ports and shipping, as well as an extensive collection of statistical information; it was packed with a new and unique data on seaborne trade, commercial fleet capacity, shipping services, and port handling activities. A press conference on the report would take place on Tuesday, 13 October, at 2 p.m. in Press Room 1.