REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Ahmad Fawzi, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing attended by spokespersons of the Human Rights Council, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
United Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General was in Brussels today, where he was participating in the European Development Days organized by the European Commission. In Brussels, he would meet with Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. He would then travel to Saint Petersburg, where he would participate in the International Economic Forum on 16 June, an annual international conference dedicated to economic and business issues, held under the auspices of President Vladimir Putin. The Secretary-General would meet with President Putin as well as a few other officials in Saint Petersburg. On 17 June, he would travel to Athens, where he would meet President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras, among others, before going to Lesvos on 18 June. There, he would meet with refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, as well as local volunteers and authorities. He would return to New York on 19 June.
Human Rights Council
Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, updated the press on the Council’s activities. The opening of the 32nd session had taken place on 13 June, with a speech from the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The general debate following the High Commissioner’s update continued today, with some 35 speakers remaining. In the afternoon of 13 June a panel discussion to mark the 10th anniversary of the Council had been held, with a unique ensemble of panellists and in the presence of all but one former Presidents of the Council. They had all spoken of the Council’s achievements, its shortcomings, and where the Council should be looking towards in the future.
Today, after the end of the general debate on the High Commissioner’s update, the Council would hear from a series of human rights experts. First would be the presentation of a report by the Special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau. His report addressed the issue of the impact of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements on the human rights of migrants. Mr. Crépeau was arguing that while trade liberalization had led to economic growth and social welfare generally, such progress had sometimes come at the expense of the human rights of migrants. Thereafter, the Council would hear from the Special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, addressing the marginality of economic and social rights, and on his missions to Chile and Romania. At 4 p.m., the Council would hear from a second cluster of thematic rapporteurs, starting with the Special rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, addressing the right of adolescents to health and on sports and a healthy lifestyle, as well as on his missions to Nigeria and Paraguay. Then, the Special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, on the link between trafficking in persons and conflict, and on her mission to Jordan.
As announced by the Council President, Ambassador Choi today, Yasmin Sooka of South Africa, Kenneth Scott of the United States and Godfrey Musila of Kenya had been appointed as members of the three-person Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. The Commission would monitor and report on the human rights situation in the country and make recommendations for its improvement. A press release on the topic was available.
Refugees/ migrants: Unaccompanied minors
Sarah Crowe, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spoke about a new UNICEF report titled Danger Every Step of the Way, released today. The report gave testimony to children’s voices, relating the trauma and suffering that they had endured on their journeys. The refugee and migrant crisis had entered a new phase since the border closures in the Balkans and the EU-Turkey agreement. Numbers had dropped dramatically there. At the same time there was a different and alarming picture emerging on the Central Mediterranean route where the statistics for unaccompanied children were particularly worrying. Nine out of ten refugee children arriving in Europe in 2016 through Italy were unaccompanied, which was a new trend and a very worrying statistic.
When all eyes had been focused on the east, a somewhat silent tragedy had been unfolding in the Central Mediterranean. The report highlighted several children’s interviews, b-roll and video, detailing what had happened to the children. Children had been forced into prostitution, exploited and trafficked at every step of the way. They had been coming primarily from Sub-Saharan Africa, over a historically established route leading from Agadez in northern Niger, into Europe through the Central Mediterranean.
A team from UNICEF had gone out to Sicily six weeks previous to gather the striking testimonies from children.
Between January and May 2016, 7,567 minors had arrived in Italy – 92 per cent of whom had been unaccompanied. The growing numbers of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children arriving in Italy every day were at an alarming risk of abuse, exploitation and death. The children generally relied on a ‘pay as you go system’ run by human smugglers, which left them vulnerable to exploitation. Many would not survive the journey, and those who did often disappeared into forced labor, prostitution or detention. Italy offered protection to the children arriving on its shores, and the Italian Government had already registered some 11,000 children in total – including those from previous years and from 2016. Most of the children were older boys.
Whatever drove the children to leave their homes, they were entitled to protection and needed to be monitored and cared for every step of the way. There were various reasons why the children had embarked on this journey, and a lot of analysis was needed as the information was patchy. UNICEF wanted to shine a spotlight on the children who were undertaking the arduous journey and alert the world that they were children first and foremost, highlight the terrible risks they faced and the need to protect them no matter where they came from.
A total of 2,809 deaths had been recorded in the Mediterranean between 1 January and 5 June 2016, as compared with 3,770 for the whole of 2015. The vast majority had been on the Central Mediterranean route, and many had been children, according to IOM data. More details were available in the press release.
In response to questions, Ms. Crowe said that the system of ‘pay as you go’ applied largely to children from Somalia and Eritrea. There were various reasons why children were on the road and how, when and where they were being exploited. Some of the children had been very traumatized and hadn’t been able to give more details about the circumstances of the abuse they had suffered. Once they arrived in Italy, the Italian Government had asked UNICEF to support them, and on 27 May UNICEF had signed a joint declaration of intent with the Government outlining the modalities of the cooperation with the authorities, to scale up and strengthen child protection systems. The children were coming into Sicily and were processed and registered there. They were given automatic protection under Italian law. A new law was currently in the Italian Parliament to deepen existing child protection measures, and UNICEF had been involved in supporting the promulgation of this law. Children tended to abscond from the centres and were then reported as missing in the system as they continued their journey. The Italian law stipulated that no child would be detained because of their migration status.
The children were mainly boys (95 per cent), mainly aged 15 to 17, and came largely from Somalia, Eritrea, Nigeria, Gambia, with an increase in numbers from Egypt. There had been cases of organized criminality, with Nigerian girls in particular being forced into prostitution, to pay back for their journey. That had also happened to boys. The national committee of UNICEF in Italy had been involved in cracking a child prostitution ring. Such cases had been largely invisible, and with trafficking being an invisible exploitation it was hard to obtain hard data.
In response to other questions, Ms. Crowe said that the reasons for the increase in the number of unaccompanied minors was very complex – many come from countries which were deeply unstable, and insecure – Eritrea, Gambia, Nigeria, Egypt. Much greater analysis was needed. The Italian route had long been known as a route where unaccompanied children were coming from Sub-Saharan Africa. UNICEF was monitoring the situation with partners. It was an outrage that children were being exploited by smugglers in this way.
Refugees/ migrants worldwide
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), introduced Frank Laczko, Director of IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), the author of “Fatal Journeys”, a new report on 60,000+ deaths of migrants worldwide since 1996. Speaking by phone from Berlin, Mr. Laczko said that the migrants had died trying to enter countries in the North, but not only. IOM believed that the number was a gross underestimate, due to the fact, among others, that there was no central place for the families of the missing migrants to report their death or disappearance. The figures in the report were based on data coming from official sources, NGO and media reports. The majority of the known deaths had occurred in the Mediterranean region.
Since the Lampedusa tragedy in October 2013, approximately 10,000 migrants had died trying to crossed the Mediterranean by sea. In 2016, one in every 23 migrants who had tried to cross the Central Mediterranean had died or were unaccounted for. The risk of death on the route had increased even if the volume of people crossing was stable. A conference currently held in Berlin was discussing how to enable the families of missing migrants to trace and identify their loved ones, and to create a joint database to assist those families. Missing migrants tended to be a low priority for many countries around the world, being in irregular situation and hard to identify, despite the existence of an international legal framework which urged states to trace and identify missing persons. The hope was that the workshop in Berlin would come up with concrete recommendations in this area.
In response to questions, Mr. Laczko said that smugglers were taking greater risks in terms of vessels used and larger numbers of people being put on boats, which accounted for the high risk of death, even though search and rescue operations had increased since Lampedusa. A number of organizations needed to work together in terms of data gathering. The ICRC already had an initiative called “Trace the Face” to assist families of missing migrants. What was being discussed at the conference in Berlin, however, went beyond the Mediterranean and required a broad coalition of international agencies, NGOs, and others, to try to improve data collection and set up secure databases which could be accessed by families. The technology existed for missing persons but had not been applied to migrants. The International Commission of Missing Persons in the Hague had a specific project proposal which it was willing to take forward with IOM, to set-up a Europe-wide database specifically for the families of missing migrants.
In response to another question, Mr. Laczko said that “missing persons” was a broad category covering many different types of cases, whereas “missing migrants” were those who went missing en route. He also reiterated that the closure of the Balkan route did not divert the traffic to the Central Mediterranean route, which was still dominated by migrants from Sub-Saharan countries. As for the global picture, in the United States, most of the data referred to the deaths on the U.S. side of the border, of mainly Mexican nationals. The death rate was particularly high in South East Asia, where the volume of people making the crossings was lower but the death rate was similar to that in the Mediterranean. Mr. Millman added that in Latin America, social media was very helpful in connecting families with missing loved ones.
Gun violence in the United States
Rupert Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that in the wake of the mass killing of 49 people by a sole gunman in a gay nightclub in Florida, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Hussein was urging the leadership in the United States of America to live up to its obligations to protect its citizens from the horrifyingly commonplace but preventable violent attacks that were the direct result of insufficient gun control. It was hard to find a rational justification that explained the ease with which people could buy firearms, including assault rifles, in spite of prior criminal backgrounds, drug use, histories of domestic violence and mental illness, or direct contact with extremists – both domestic and foreign.
Mr. Colville said that the High Commissioner had asked the following questions: “How many more mass killings of school-children, of co-workers, of African-American churchgoers – how many more individual shootings of talented musicians like Christina Grimmie, or politicians like Gabrielle Giffords, will it take before the United States adopted robust gun regulation? Why should any civilian anywhere be able to acquire an assault rifle or other high-powered weapons designed to kill lots of people?”
Irresponsible pro-gun propaganda suggested that firearms made society safer, when all evidence pointed to the contrary. The High Commissioner had said that the ready availability of guns left little space between murderous impulses and actions that resulted in death. The journey between hate-filled beliefs and violent hate crimes was accelerated. Society – in particular its most vulnerable communities and minorities who were already facing widespread prejudice – paid a high price for the failure to stand up to the lobbyists and take the necessary measures to protect citizens from gun violence.
A new UN human rights report on the civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms highlighted the “devastating impact” of gun violence on a host of human rights, including the rights to life, security, education, health, an adequate standard of living and participation in cultural life. The report stated that women and children were frequently found to be victims of firearm-related violence, including through the use of guns to commit rape and other sexual violence, abduction, assault and domestic violence.
The report also stated that protection of human rights must be central to the development of laws and regulations regarding the availability, transfer and use of firearms. UN and regional human rights experts had long recommended that firearm control measures must include adequate background check systems, the periodic review of licenses, clear gun removal policies when intervening in domestic violence cases, mandatory training, and the criminalization of illegal sale of firearms, among others.
The High Commissioner had noted that examples from many countries had clearly shown that a legal framework to control the acquisition and use of firearms had led to a dramatic reduction in violent crime. In the United States, however, there were hundreds of millions of guns in circulation, and every year thousands of people were killed or injured by them.
The High Commissioner had said that it was particularly reprehensible – indeed dangerous – that this terrible event was already being utilized to promote homophobic and islamophobic sentiments. He had urged everyone in the United States to rally around the common cause of ensuring that the human rights, and consequentially the security, of all were strengthened in the aftermath of this horrendous incident. That was the least that was owed to the relatives of all those children, women and men whose lives had been snatched from them by gunmen from a wide variety of backgrounds in the Orlando nightclub, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, at the Methodist Church in downtown Charleston, and at so many other homes, schools, colleges and other venues across the United States.
In response to questions, Mr. Colville underlined that there had been a large amount of homophobic and islamophobic hate speech on social media following the Orlando shooting. He said that politicians needed to take a responsible position in the face of this prevalent prejudice. He also stressed that guns were the problem, notably the easy access to guns for people with a history of domestic violence and a record of mental illness.
In response to a question, Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that there were checks in place related to the resettlement of refugees in the United States, done by U.S. authorities in addition to any other checks that were part of the resettlement process. He also clarified that UNHCR had warned repeatedly of the dangers of conflating refugees with migrants and migration. Refugees were people fleeing conflict and in need of protection. There were specific vulnerabilities that refugees were associated with under international law.
In response to another question, Mr. Colville said that many countries had introduced laws limiting access to firearms, but that several Central American states, such as Mexico and Guatemala, did allow private individuals to own firearms, although perhaps not as freely as it was the case in the United States. The wide circulation of arms in a society fuelled a vicious circle, with people wanting access to arms for self-defense.
Libya
Regarding the recent killings in Libya, Mr. Colville declared that the topic had already been covered by the Special representative of the UN Secretary-General on 13 June. More details were available in the briefing note.
Guatemala
Mr. Colville said that OHCHR welcomed the significant and extremely courageous steps taken by the Guatemalan authorities in the fight against corruption and impunity over the past few weeks. On 11 June, three former ministers had been arrested and detained for their alleged involvement in money laundering and unlawful association. Two other former ministers were also the subject of arrest warrants on similar charges, in a high-profile case involving former President Molina and former Vice President Baldetti. On 2 June, the authorities had also arrested 25 people and had issued 27 additional arrest warrants for illicit contributions to the Patriotic Party’s campaign during the 2011 elections.
OHCHR hoped that the country's remarkable efforts to overcome corruption and impunity, including the reforms to the justice system currently being promoted, would set an example for other States. OHCHR’s office in Guatemala would continue to support the ongoing efforts towards reinforcing the independence of the justice system and the rule of law in the country.
Interns
In response to a question, Mr. Colville said that interns were unfortunately not remunerated at OHCHR, as part of the wider Secretariat rules.
Zika
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the third meeting of the emergency committee on Zika and the observed increase in neurological disorders and neo-natal malformations would start at 1 p.m. today and would run until 5 p.m. approximately. A virtual press briefing would take place thereafter, at 8 p.m., and the recommendations would be distributed as soon as possible.
In response to questions, Mr. Lindmeier explained that Dr. Amir Attaran had not been issued a formal invitation to take part in the emergency committee as he had declined to comply with the requirements of the mandatory confidentiality agreement. The confidentiality agreement was to hold confidential deliberations and decisions of the committee, to allow for open and unbiased discussion. Transparency of the deliberations was ensured by the report of the committee issued afterwards at a press briefing.
World Blood Donor Day
Mr. Fawzi reminded the press that today was World Blood Donor Day. WHO was calling for an increase in unpaid, voluntary blood donations in at least half of the world’s countries, in order to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients whose lives depended on it.
In response to a question, Mr. Lindmeier agreed that the lack of safe blood transfusion capacity was indeed one of the big challenges holding back blood donations around the world, along with insufficient knowledge and the stigma associated with blood donation.
Mozambique - El Niño
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), announced a new report from the Resident coordinator’s office in Mozambique with an update of the drought induced by El Niño. It was estimated that 1.5 million people in central and southern parts of Mozambique were be affected by it and in need of assistance, and 95,000 children were or were expected to become acutely malnourished over the next six months.
There was a humanitarian country team with UN organizations collaborating with the Government to respond to the growing disaster. The humanitarian response plan asked for some USD 203 million, and had only received USD 13 million as of the beginning of June. Subsequently, while in April food assistance had been given to 423,000 people, in May, only 321,000 people had been able to receive assistance, which was a highly worrying trend and a direct consequence of the lack of funding.
The people affected were mainly rural populations, farmers growing rain-fed crops, such as cassava, maize, millet, rice, and beans. The response plan focused on food and nutrition, water and sanitation, and early recovery, to try to get people back on their feet again.
In response to a question, Mr. Laerke said that OCHA was indeed afraid that many of the malnourished children might die. El Niño was a natural phenomenon, but was possible to prevent it from developing into a disaster. There could be fatalities as a direct consequence of the lack of funding.
Geneva activities
Committees
The Conference on Disarmament was holding a public plenary at 10 a.m. today in the Council Chamber, to hear delegations on the four first items of the agenda, and would hold another plenary on 16 June at 10 a.m., to hear delegations on the three other items of the agenda.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was ending this morning the review, begun on 13 June in the afternoon, of the report presented by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
After France, Sweden, Honduras and Burkina Faso – all reviewed in the week of 6 June -, other reports due to be reviewed during the session were reports from Angola and the United Kingdom.
Press conferences and other announcements
Mr. Fawzi announced a press conference by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on 14 June at 12 p.m. in Room III, on the state of the climate in 2016 (an update on the record temperatures, especially in Arctic regions, seen so far in 2016, and other extreme climate events). The speaker would be David Carlson, Director, World Climate Research Programme.
Mr. Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization, announced an International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) virtual press conference on the evaluation of the carcinogenicity of coffee, maté and very hot beverages (IARC Monographs volume 116), on 15 June at 3 p.m. The speaker would be Dr Dana Loomis, Deputy Head, IARC Monographs Section.
The IARC looked at the hazard of an item, what the carcinogenicity of that item would be, whereas the risk assessment on how it affected people under certain circumstances would be done later through studies at the WHO, so those were two different steps. Concerning the report on the monograph, the press was invited to contact IARC spokespersons directly. An embargoed press release was available.
Mr. Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, announced a press conference of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on 16 June at 11 a.m. in Room III, on the Commission’s report on the crimes ISIS was committing against Yazidis. The report and the press release would be shared with the press beforehand under embargo and eventually posted on the Commission’s website.
The speakers would be Paulo Pinheiro, Chairperson, Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, Carla del Ponte, Member of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, and Vitit Muntarbhorn, Member of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. In response to a question, Mr. Gomez said that this was the first time there had been a dedicated report on this particular issue.
Mr. Fawzi also announced an OHCHR press conference from the Working Group on Human Rights and Business on 16 June at 3.30 p.m. in Press Room 1, on State-owned enterprises (A/HRC/32/45). The speaker would be Dante Pesce, Chairperson of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the World Investment Report 2016 was available under embargo until 21 June. A press conference would take place on 17 June at noon in Press Room 1 with the main author of the report and the Secretary-General of UNCTAD. The report examined the ownership structure of multinational companies, which was particularly complex, triggering problems for Governments in the elaboration of their investment policy, in particular as related to investing in sustainable development. The report also included the main global, regional and national trends in indirect foreign investments. Several virtual press conferences would also be organized in English, French and Spanish before 21 June.
Mr. Fawzi mentioned a hip hop music video, “Sustainable Development Goals: Improve Life All Around The Globe" produced by Flocabulary in partnership with the Education Outreach Section of the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information. It aimed to teach young people throughout the world about the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals and how they could help build peace.
Mr. Fawzi ended by saying that this was the last press briefing that he would be chairing at the United Nations Office at Geneva. He congratulated Alessandra Vellucci, the new Director of UNIS since 1 June, and thanked the Geneva press corps for their support and courtesy throughout the past 14 months.