REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by spokespersons for the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization.

Extreme weather

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that temperatures in California’s Death Valley had been peaking at 52.8 degrees Celsius for a number of days. Night-time temperatures there were not falling below 37 degrees Celsius.

The heatwave in Japan was expected to end with the arrival of a typhoon which, though, would bring problems of its own such as an exacerbation of recent flooding. In fact, parts of Honshu were expected to see between 200 and 300 mm of rainfall over 24 hours.

Despite the recent tragic wildfires in Greece, statistics showed that Mediterranean States were being less affected by wildfires than had been the case in 2017. By contrast, wildfires were breaking out in countries that did not normally experience them, such as Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Wildfires released pollutants detrimental to human health and ecosystems. WMO had the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme, which monitored carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as particulate matter and toxic gases released by vegetation fires. For example, according to GAW, wildfires in Indonesia in 2015 had burned around 3 million hectares of land and released about 11.3 teragrammes of carbon dioxide per day. By comparison, the daily release of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning in the entire European Union was 8.9 teragrammes.

The monitoring of wildfires from space had improved, thanks also to the European Union’s Copernicus atmospheric monitoring service which gave daily updates on the situation of wild fires around the globe. For example Copernicus had showed that territory surrounding lakes in the Yakutia region of Siberia, which had still been frozen at the end of May, had been affected by wildfires and currently showed a 60-square kilometre burn scar. As of 21-22 July, 50 major wildfires had been burning across North America.

The rate of wildfires was increasing in boreal (i.e., non-tropical) areas. The causes were complex: climate, drought, heatwaves and strong winds were clearly all factors, but human activity was another major cause. Furthermore, it had been established that wildfires tended to increase in years affected by El Niño events. WMO had a high-impact weather programme under which it sought to improve its forecasts of events such as wildfires.

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Nullis said that record years for wildfires differed around the globe. Indonesia had been very badly affected in 2015-2016, and the Mediterranean area in 2017. This year, the Mediterranean area was having far fewer wildfires than normal, due to lower-than-average temperatures and increased rainfall whereas Northern European countries, in the grip of a heatwave, were seeing unprecedented outbreaks.

Responding to further questions, Ms. Nullis pointed out that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had reported that the frequency and extent of wildfires in Southern Europe had increased significantly since the 1970s as a result of fuel accumulation, climate change and extreme weather events. Human behaviour had such a big impact on wildfire risk that it was vital to educate and raise awareness among at-risk populations.

Humanitarian situation in south-west Syria

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that after five weeks of sustained hostilities in Syria’s south-western governorates of Dara’a, Quneitra and Sweida, as many as 182,600 people were currently displaced from their homes and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The Government of Syria had made rapid territorial gains in recent weeks and currently only a stretch of land near the Golan area was under control of a non-State armed group while an area spanning some 200 square kilometres further south towards the Jordanian border remain under control of the ISIL-affiliated Jaysh Khaled Bin Walid group (JKBW).

The United Nations estimated that prior to the escalation of hostilities, some 55,000 people lived in the area now under JKBW control, and it was concerned by the restrictions the group was imposing on the movement of civilians trying to leave the area, although several thousand had managed to flee. Those who remained were now subject to increasing hostilities and between 21 and 23 July intense airstrikes had been reported in the area with reports of several civilian casualties, including women and children.

The United Nations was also concerned about the humanitarian situation for some 100,000 people in the Golan area who continued to face hostilities. Humanitarian relief was running out and humanitarian partners did not have unhindered access to the people in need or to the stockpiles in their warehouses. Cross-border convoys from Jordan had been on hold for over a month due to the deteriorating situation inside south-western Syria.

The United Nations was calling, as it always did, for immediate and unhindered access to everyone in need.

In answer to questions from journalists, Mr. Laerke said that he had no information about reports that ISIL-affiliated groups had taken families hostage in the city of Sweida. A suicide bombing in the city had killed 240 people and injured 170, an attack that had been strongly condemned by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Responding to additional questions, Mr. Laerke said that it appeared that government forces were closing in on the 200-square kilometre area currently in the hands of JKBW. The United Nations was also concerned that Idlib in north-western Syria could become the next major flashpoint. Throughout the course of the conflict, many thousands of opponents of the regime had moved there on the basis of local agreements with government forces. As a consequence, there had been a massive increase of IDPs in the area. If Idlib were attacked, those people would have nowhere else to go.

Syria

Responding to journalists’ questions, Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that Mr. Staffan de Mistura, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Syria, had accepted an invitation to participate in the high-level meeting of Astana guarantors in Sochi on 30-31 July. A UN expert team would be present to provide technical assistance as required, particularly on the subject of detainees, abductees and missing persons. Regarding the efforts to establish a constitutional committee, lists had been received from the opposition and the Government of Syria and were being carefully studied with a view to the Sochi statement, which spoke of the importance of including at the very least Syrian independents, experts, civil society, tribal leaders and women.

Lao dam disaster

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“As rescue operations continue in villages flooded by the collapse on Monday 23 July of the vast Saddle Dam D, part of the Xepien – Xenamnoy hydropower project in south-eastern Lao People's Democratic Republic's Attapeu province, IOM has allocated USD 75,000 to kickstart its emergency relief operations in the area.

According to the Lao authorities, the disaster was triggered by heavy rains across the region brought by Tropical Storm Son-Tinh. The storm affected an estimated 16,256 people in 11 provinces across the country.

The damage caused by the dam breach was particularly severe in 13 villages in Sanamxay district, which affected an estimated 6,351 people. Some 3,060 people are now displaced and staying in temporary emergency shelters. Twenty-six deaths have been recorded and 131 people are still missing.

The water from the flash flooding is now reportedly receding, but weather forecasters warn of more heavy rain today through Monday. Washed out roads and the destruction of 14 bridges in the area are also making road access to the remote area very difficult, while shallow water in flooded areas is also hampering access by boat.

IOM, which between 2016-2018 managed a malaria control project in the area, which borders Viet Nam and Cambodia, is working with UN partners and the Lao authorities to identify most urgent needs. According to an initial government assessment, these include food, drinking water, personal hygiene kits, mobile toilets, clothing, tents and housing repair kits. Boats to access the worst hit areas are also needed.

The initial USD 75,000 of IOM funding will go towards areas of greatest need identified by the Government and UN partners. They will likely include provision of shelter materials, tarpaulins and plastic sheets; non-food items including clothing, blankets, buckets, jerry cans, kitchen sets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and tools; and medicines.

Malaria is endemic in the affected area, but IOM Regional Health Specialist Dr. Patrick Duigan says that displaced families may be at greater risk of waterborne diseases in the aftermath of disaster. ‘Floods often wash away mosquitos and larvae, which reduces the risk of malaria for the first eight weeks or so. Then, as the area dries out, the risk of malaria will return,’ he said.”

Responding to a question raised by a journalist, Mr. Millman said that IOM was putting its global expertise in emergency response at the disposal of the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic – the Organization’s newest member State – to help it cope with the aftermath of what was a major disaster. However, IOM was also committed to helping those people restart their lives in the longer term, to which end it was reaching out to international donors.

In answer to additional questions, Mr. Millman said USD 75,000 was just a small initial sum, although he had no specific information about a larger appeal. In addition to its usual displacement tracking logistics, IOM had deployed technical experts from its regional office in Bangkok who specialized in displacement management, migration, health, and camp coordination and management.

Responding to journalists’ questions Paul Dillon, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM was pleased to be able to place the decades of expertise of its Bangkok regional office at the disposal of its most recent member State. The response was still at a very early stage and more substantial information on emergency operations should begin to emerge in coming days. IOM was also looking to the Government for guidance on how to prioritize its response. The figure of 26 deaths had come from media sources and more precise details about casualties would probably not be available until the waters had receded and emergency operations were well underway.

Bangladesh

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“IOM staff have been working round the clock this week, as monsoon downpours caused flooding and landslides in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, where almost one million people are living in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters after fleeing violence in Myanmar.

IOM health teams waded through waist-high water in some areas in a bid to reach their patients and were able to keep all but one medical facility operating despite extremely difficult ground conditions.

To ensure medical needs were met in the area where the clinic was not accessible to staff, an IOM mobile medical team worked out of a local school. In total over 1,500 medical consultations were carried out by IOM health workers on 25 July – one of the heaviest days of rain.

To ensure access to vital aid and services could continue, three teams from the Site Maintenance Engineering Project (SMEP) – a joint project between IOM, WFP and UNHCR – worked through the night of 25/26 July to prevent road collapses on a key route through the megacamp.

IOM site management staff assessed over 1,800 people affected by weather-related incidents, and supported distribution of emergency supplies including shelter, food and bedding materials.

At present, just one quarter of the funding for the joint response to the Rohingya crisis has been secured and the continuation of critical services is now under threat.

A small number of families were relocated from one of the worst affected flood areas to a newly prepared area of the camp.

IOM protection staff supported the assessment of those whose shelters were affected by the weather and helped identify extremely vulnerable individuals to ensure they received additional support, including for those who needed emergency relocation.”

Responding to journalists’ questions, Mr. Millman said that one monsoon-related death had occurred in the refugee camps in early June, in addition to four or five in the nearby host community.

Mediterranean migration statistics

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that Spain had surpassed Italy to become the leading country of destination for migrants crossing the Mediterranean. By the end of July 2018, it would have taken in as many migrants as it had in the entire course of 2017. Migrant deaths for 2018 had topped 1,500, the fifth consecutive year that that benchmark had been reached. Despite the low number of arrivals to Italy, the per capita rate of fatalities remained high. One in nineteen of the migrants who attempted to cross by the Central Mediterranean route lost their lives. By contrast, on the Western Mediterranean route into Spain that figure stood at 1 in 70.

Answering questions posed by journalists, Mr. Millman said that the dynamics of migration in the Western Mediterranean were different to those in the Central Mediterranean. On the central route the boats tended to be larger and there were many rescue vessels on hand already familiar with the region. IOM was beginning to deploy its teams on the western route but he could make no further announcements on forthcoming projects that had yet to be fully approved and funded. According to information provided by the Spanish authorities, most of the migrants coming into the country were from sub-Saharan Africa, notably Guinea, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire. That was consistent with the IOM analysis that migrants who had previously travelled into Libya to attempt the Central Mediterranean crossing were moving towards the west.

In answer to additional questions, Mr. Millman said that a meeting was due to take place between European Union representatives and humanitarian actors such as UNHCR and IOM. He understood that the event was to be held in Geneva on 30 July. He would share more information as it became available.

Return assistance to migrants in Niger

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“IOM assisted voluntary return efforts in Niger have already eclipsed figures from last year, largely fuelled by the distressing outflow of migrants across the Algeria-Niger border. The mission reports this week that more than 10,000 migrants have been assisted to date, compared to roughly 7,000 in all of 2017.

Close to 90 per cent of the more than 8,000 rescued migrants were discovered during 84 search operations near the border towns of Arlit and Assamaka.

Despite the fact that more than half of the roughly 12,000 migrants who have arrived at IOM’s six transit centres in Niger so far this year lack any form of identification, IOM has managed to process over 5,000 requests for travel documents thanks to the efforts of consulates, embassies and Nigerien authorities.

IOM assists all migrants, Nigeriens or third-country nationals, who wish to return home. The main countries of origin for those who have received voluntary assistance this year were Mali, Guinea-Conakry, Cameroon, Niger, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso.

The latest group of 391 migrants stranded at the border arrived on 13 July. Of this group, 315 were assisted and transported to the transit centre in Arlit two days later; 64 made their own way to that location and nine decided to head back to Algeria from Assamaka.”

Answering questions raised by journalists, Mr. Millman said that the IOM team in Niamey worked alongside the Nigerien authorities to cover what was an enormous area. In fact, Niger and Algeria together covered nearly a quarter of the surface area of the whole of Northern Africa. People moving south from Algeria into Niger were brought to the border on buses, then left to complete the rest of the journey by foot. It was during their journey by foot that they were most vulnerable and its was there that IOM sought to intervene to assist them and get them to safety.

Responding to additional questions, Mr. Millman said that Algeria – like Libya and other petro-economies in the region – had large numbers of legitimate migrant workers, some from as far afield as South Korea and Pakistan. The increased numbers of migrants returning south might be due to the fact that the Algerian authorities had recently made efforts to regularize the status of its migrant population and to clamp down on and expel undocumented migrants and those whose permits had expired.

Answering further questions, Mr. Millman said that one vital aspect of assisted voluntary return was to remove the stigma of failure that returning migrants might face, particularly as their families might have contracted debts to send them abroad in the first place. To that end, with the help of its partners, IOM sometimes offered returning migrants grants to open small businesses.

Unaccompanied migrant children detained in the United States

In response to questions from journalists, Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM, like all United Nations agencies, was opposed to the detention of children, it supported family reunification and called for safe, regular and secure migration. Any query regarding the more than 700 migrant children whose parents had already been deported but who were still being held in detention in the United States would be better addressed to the United States authorities. IOM was often contacted directly via social media by persons who had heard about the Organization’s Missing Migrants Project and were seeking assistance to find their loved ones. IOM worked with at least seven NGOs that were exclusively dedicated to reconnecting separated family members.

Responding to journalists’ questions, Marixie Mercado, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that the United States Fund for UNICEF was doing what it could to provide legal support for children at the border. Clearly, minors who had been forced to flee their homes required protection, and they needed to be with their families. UNICEF hoped that the best interests of the child would be paramount in US asylum policy and practice.

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the fact that more than 1,000 children had already been reunited with their families was clearly a positive step, although it was important to make every effort to reunite families who were still separated. He referred journalists to the statements made earlier by OHCHR in regard of detained migrant children. Only the United States Government could answer questions about how it was going to proceed in that regard.

United Nations 2018 regular budget

Responding to questions from journalists, Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the cash flow situation of the United Nations Organization was not as healthy as it should be, and the Secretary-General, while fully understanding that Member States had different fiscal years, wished to draw attention to the vital importance of the prompt payment of budget contributions. No sanctions were envisaged for late payment but the United Nations budget had been adopted by the Member States, and the latter were expected to meet the pledges they had made in that regard. As of mid-July, 67 per cent of Member States had paid their contributions.

Yemen

Responding to questions from journalists, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that cholera remained a source of concern across Yemen. The number of cases had decreased markedly since its peak and the latest figures showed that the incidence of new cases remained stable, The previous week, 2,500 suspected cases had been reported, as compared with 2,800 the week before. The cumulative total of suspected cases since April 2017 stood at 1,100,000. Thanks to all the efforts that had been made, the mortality ratio remained low at 0.2 per cent

WHO was sending cholera kits to all places where cases were reported. Seven WHO-chartered aircraft had delivered more than 168 tons of medical supplies to Sana’a the previous week. The risk of cholera persisted in Hudaydah and elsewhere due to the lack of access to clean water, poor waste management and the fact that many health facilities were not functioning. In fact, 50 per cent of health facilities were closed or functioning only partially, 30,000 critical health workers had not been paid regularly for more than one year and 20 percent of districts were without doctors. WHO and the World Bank had partnered in a project called the minimum service package, which aimed to equip 72 hospitals with essential life-saving health services.

Forthcoming report on breastfeeding

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that on 30 July UNICEF and WHO would issue a report on the importance of breastfeeding entitled “Capture the Moment”, The document analysed data from 76 countries with a specific focus on rates of breastfeeding in the first hour following birth. The report, in fact, noted that newborns who breastfed in the first hour of life had significantly higher chances of survival. A delay of even a few hours after birth could have life-threatening consequences.

New guidelines on the treatment of Hepatitis C had recently been issued to coincide with World Hepatitis Day, which fell on 28 July. Hepatitis B and C affected 325 million persons worldwide and were a root cause of liver cancer, which caused 1.3 million deaths annually.

Announcements

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Human Rights Committee would meet in public in Palais Wilson that day at around 5 p.m. to conclude its one hundred and twenty-third session. During the session, the Committee had reviewed reports on the implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by Bahrain, Algeria, Liberia, Lithuania, and Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The Committee had also examined the state of civil and political rights in the Gambia, in the absence of a report.

Mr. LeBlanc said that the Committee Against Torture would meet in private that day, also at Palais Wilson. On Monday, 30 July, the Committee would begin consideration of the reports submitted by Seychelles and Chile regarding the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The schedule of meetings was as follows: Seychelles: Monday, 30 July (10 a.m.) and Tuesday, 31 July (10 a.m.); Chile: Monday, 30 July (3 p.m.) and Tuesday, 31 July (3 p.m.).

Mr. LeBlanc also said that the third and last part of the 2018 session of the Conference on Disarmament would begin on Monday 30 July, to end on 14 September. The next plenary meeting was expected to take place on Tuesday, 7 August 2018.