REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Organization for Migration, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Labour Organization and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, said that on 20 March the Human Rights Council would continue to discuss the human rights situation in Palestine. It would also hold general debates on the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and on racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. An interactive dialogue on the Democratic Republic of the Congo was also scheduled. On 21 and 22 March, it would consider country reports and updates on Mali, Libya, Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Burundi, Colombia, Cyprus, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti and Yemen.

In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Gomez said that Carles Puigdemont had been at the Palais des Nations on 19 March to attend a side event. NGOs registered with ECOSOC had the right to invite guests to speak on their behalf.

Syria – Update on Afrin and East Ghouta

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), made the following statement:

“UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is alarmed by a further deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Syria as fierce fighting in Eastern Ghouta, rural Damascus and Afrin in the country’s northwest causes massive new displacement.

In Eastern Ghouta alone, more than 45,000 Syrians have fled their homes in recent days. UNHCR is responding to urgent humanitarian needs on the ground, but we are today reiterating our call for the protection and safety of and full, unhindered and continuous humanitarian access to both the newly displaced and the hundreds of thous