REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Michele Zaccheo, Chief of the Radio and Television Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the World Meteorological Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Yemen

Tarik Jašarevic, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that conditions in Hudaydah, even before the escalation of the conflict, had been some of the direst in Yemen. Hudaydah had registered the highest incidences of suspected cholera cases (around 14 per cent of reported cases countrywide since the start of the epidemic in April 2017) and diphtheria (209 suspected cases). In addition, there had been 252 suspected cases of measles.

The intensification of fighting in Hudaydah endangered not only those directly affected but also the 70 per cent of the population who depended on vital supplies, including health-care supplies, that flowed through Hudaydah port. The port constituted a lifeline not only for the city but for all the northern governorates.

According to local health facilities, a total of 328 injured and 46 deaths had been recorded in Hudaydah between 13 June and 7 July. However, fighting had decreased in the city and the port remained operational.

The governorate of Hudaydah had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the country, and the current escalation of fighting would likely further exacerbate that situation. According to a survey conducted in 2018, the Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate in Hudaydah stood at 25.2 per cent and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) at 5 per cent. There were currently seven fully functioning therapeutic feeding centres in the governorate and seven in neighbouring governorates. The centres were being supported by WHO and UNICEF.

There was a narrow passage to Hudaydah with many checkpoints, but no blockade. The main pillars of WHO operations in the city were: trauma care, cholera, malnutrition, and continuity of care. The country office was working on strengthening hospital capacity to stabilize and refer trauma patients. WHO had positioned trauma supplies; essential supplies for 200,000 medical consultations; cholera treatments; and supplies for children who had SAM accompanied by medical complications. WHO had also procured 30 new ambulances for Hudaydah to improve early trauma care and the transport of patients to health facilities.

WHO had two cargo planes with medical supplies arriving in Sana’a that week with trauma kits, cholera kits and supplies for the management of severe malnutrition. In addition, 100 metric tons of supplies were due to arrive by ship from Djibouti.

WHO provided trauma supplies for 500 surgeries, both major and minor, to four hospitals in Hudaydah. WHO also provided extra patient beds and mattresses along with intensive care beds to Alolofi Public Hospital in Hudaydah. In addition, WHO was also supporting the monthly operational cost of seven ambulance vehicles to six hospitals.

WHO had deployed six surgical teams, trained five surgeons on management of vascular injuries and 60 health workers in mass casualty management. It was also providing over 100,000 litres of fuel per month to seven hospitals, and 450,000 litres of water to three hospitals. Health workers at primary health-care facilities in affected areas were being trained in psychological first aid. Finally, WHO was very grateful for a generous donation from Kuwait of USD 59 million to support its operations in Yemen.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM had received a generous contribution from Kuwait of USD 10 million, earmarked for humanitarian assistance in Yemen. The overall IOM appeal for Yemen was USD 96.2 million, while the appeal for the entire humanitarian community’s Humanitarian Response Plan was for USD 2.96 billion.

With the war in Yemen entering its third year, half the country’s population was living in areas directly affected by the conflict, and 22.2 million Yemenis – more than two thirds of the population – would require humanitarian aid during 2018. Nearly 90 per cent of all IDPs had been displaced for at least one year and 69 per cent for more than two years. A further 1 million IDPs had returned to their areas of origin but remained in dire need of aid. IOM teams on the ground had also been helping migrants caught up in the fighting. IOM called on all parties in the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and not to target any civilians, including migrants.

Responding to journalists’ questions, Mr. Jašareviæ said that 90 per cent of health-care facilities in Hudaydah were functioning although one – a dialysis centre – had been damaged by an explosion on 27 June. Health facilities and health workers should never be targeted. WHO would continue to support hospitals across Yemen but, even before the latest escalation, the health-care system in Hudaydah had been struggling to cope with shortages of fuel and medicines. The number of cases of diphtheria and cholera was decreasing, also in Hudaydah, but it was important to remain vigilant. To that end it was vital for access routes to remain open to enable WHO to preposition its supplies in the event of any outbreak. WHO was scaling up its operations in Hudaydah. In addition to the supplies that came in by sea, it also landed provisions at Sana’a airport then carried them to Hudaydah by road.

Extreme weather across the world – floods and heatwaves

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that the year had already been marked by a number of high impact weather events, including extreme heat and disastrous precipitation, and that trend was continuing.

The latest event was the catastrophic flooding in Japan, the worst in decades. As of that morning, 150 persons were known to have died but the toll was likely to rise further. The deaths and destruction had occurred despite the fact that Japan was one of the world’s best prepared countries for disaster risk reduction and disaster management. Total precipitation at many observation sites had reached two to four times the July average. One station had recorded 1,800 mm of rain. Due to the record rainfall, a large number of landslide, inundation and flood events had taken place across the country. Flood and landslide warnings were still in place, although the peak of the rainfall had passed.

The authorities were to be commended for having created a dedicated web portal with detailed information on the impact of the rains.

On a separate front, the southern Japanese Ryukyu Islands were being impacted by Typhoon Maria. It had developed the previous weekend, reaching the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane, but had since weakened to a category 3; i.e. sustained wind speeds of 175 km/h with gusts even higher. Taiwan was currently in lockdown pending the landfall of the typhoon and the Chinese National Meteorological Centre had issued a red alert and mobilized all its response teams.

In Europe, the WMO Regional Climate Centre on Climate Monitoring had issued a climate watch advisory – a product aimed at national meteorological services for them to adapt to national and local needs – with guidance on drought and above normal temperatures in Northern Europe. According to the advisory: “Due to the results from monthly forecasts we expect a continuation of the drought situation and above-normal temperatures for at least the next two weeks for Northern Europe (from Ireland to the Baltic States and southern Scandinavia).” The weekly temperature anomalies were forecast to be between 3°C and 6°C higher than normal, while precipitation was forecast to be lower. The Scandinavian countries had been issuing almost daily warnings about forest fires, which was unusual for a period so early in the year. Some parts of Northern Europe had had their driest June on record. At the same time, Southern Europe – Greece in particular – had had above normal rainfall.

California, the Los Angeles area in particular, was setting a series of temperature records: 48.9°C in Chino and 47.8°C in San Bernardino. The contiguous United States had had its third hottest June on record. In addition, many parts of the country had had well above average minimum overnight temperatures. Elsewhere in the world, a meteorological station in Oman had recorded a minimum temperature over an entire 24-hour period that had not fallen below 42.6°C, while a city in the Algerian Sahara Desert had reported a maximum temperature of 51.3°C.

No specific event could be attributed to climate change but the overall picture of meteorological events was consistent with climate change scenarios: extreme, consistent and persistent heat, and heavy precipitation.

Responding to journalists’ questions, Ms. Nullis said that the monsoon season in Thailand was beginning. However, WMO only had a global overview of weather conditions there. The Thai meteorological service was providing local forecasts for the area where efforts were continuing to rescue trapped schoolboys from a cave.

Answering further questions, Ms. Nullis said that the US authorities were very active in issuing heat warnings and advice on how to stay safe. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had forecast that the hurricane season, which could affect the US East Coast, would be more intense than normal. The Administration usually revised its forecasts in early August. There had been episodes of Saharan dust blowing across the Atlantic, which had a negative impact on air quality in the Caribbean but did help to suppress hurricanes.

Replying to another query, Ms. Nullis said that there had been severe flooding in Cote d’Ivoire in the context of the West African monsoon season. There had also been floods in East Africa earlier in the year, but the rainy season there was now over.

Michele Zaccheo, Chief of the Radio and Television Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that, according to information provided by OCHA, 112 persons had been reported dead and 78 were missing in western and central Japan. The authorities had mobilized 73,000 persons to deal with the emergency; 70 helicopters had been deployed and 3,200 temporary evacuation centres were sheltering 30,000 evacuees.

Attacks against civilians in South Sudan

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), read the following statement:

“UN Human Rights monitors have documented what appear to be deliberate and brutally violent attacks on civilians, particularly against women and children, by government and aligned forces, as well as armed youth in parts of Unity State in South Sudan.

Victims and witnesses described how SPLA and aligned forces would storm into villages in the early morning around dawn, surround the village and start shooting at fleeing civilians. The attackers would then steal cattle, loot entire households and burn down houses and food stocks.

Civilians were targeted, with the elderly, people with disabilities and very young children killed in horrific acts of violence – some hung from trees and others burned alive in their homes, the investigation found.

The investigation by UN Human Rights monitors found that between 16 April and 24 May, at least 232 civilians were killed and many more injured in attacks by government and aligned forces and armed youth on villages in opposition-controlled areas in Mayendit and Leer.

The report also documents the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, with at least 120 women and girls raped or gang-raped, including children as young as four. One 20-year-old woman was still bleeding from childbirth when she was raped. Some of those who resisted were shot dead. At least 132 other women and girls were abducted.

The brutality and ruthlessness of the attackers, as described by survivors, suggests their intent was to take a scorched-earth approach, killing or forcibly displacing people, burning their crops and homes, punishing and terrorizing them to ensure they never return. Many fled under attack by gunfire and shelling.

Some corpses seen by human rights monitors in villages on 12 May exhibited bullet wounds in their backs. According to information received, the elderly, sick and persons with disabilities who were unable to flee, were often burnt alive.

The report documents acts that constitute gross violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law – that may amount to war crimes. The investigation has also identified three individuals who may bear the greatest responsibility for the violations committed. Some 30,140 persons were internally displaced as a result of this military offensive.

OHCHR was calling on the Government to halt all attacks against civilians and to launch investigations. The perpetrators of these revolting acts against defenceless civilians, including those bearing command responsibility, must not be allowed to get away with it. There must be consequences for the men who reportedly gang-raped a six-year-old child, who slit the throats of elderly villagers, who hanged women for resisting looting, and shot fleeing civilians in the swamps where they hid. Those who ordered and facilitated these horrific crimes must be brought to account. The Government of South Sudan and the international community have a responsibility to ensure justice.

OHCHR called on the Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan and the African Union to move quickly towards establishing the Hybrid Court for South Sudan to ensure accountability for gross human rights violations.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Shamdasani said that the three individuals identified in the investigation were commanders who had been in charge of the forces involved in the incident. OHCHR had shared its findings with the Government of South Sudan, after which one of the three had reportedly been removed from his functions. There were unconfirmed reports that he had been placed under house arrest. Conflict in South Sudan had an ethnic element; however, the villagers involved in the current incident seemed to have been targeted because they were perceived as supporting the opposition. In many cases, they had opposed no resistance and appeared to have been victims of a systematic and deliberate attempt to punish them and drive them from their homes. Unfortunately, the latest attack was consistent with the existing pattern of violations in South Sudan. Violence tended to spike during the dry season as the rains often made it impossible to access more remote areas.

Update on migration across the Mediterranean

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that the number of migrants killed while trying to cross the Mediterranean had risen over the previous three weeks. Of the nearly 1,500 migrants who had lost their lives at sea in 2018, 493, or nearly a third, had been confirmed as dead or missing since 18 June. Nonetheless, the figures were still far short of those of previous years when sometimes as many as 1,000 migrants might lose their lives in a single month.

With the drop in the number of migrants arriving in Italy, Spain was on the verge of becoming the busiest passageway for migrants from Africa to Europe. Of the 16,295 irregular migrants who had entered Spain in 2018, 8,145, or almost exactly half, had arrived since 1 June. Once again, however, it was important to compare the current situation with that of recent years. In the past, migrant arrivals across the whole Mediterranean had at times been in excess of 200,000 in a single month, whereas so far fewer than 50,000 migrants had arrived first six months of 2018.

Responding to questions posed by journalists, Mr. Millman said that IOM did have a presence on the ground in Spain, including a mission in Madrid and a very active data compilation unit. However, its network in the country was not as extensive as it was in Italy where it had teams across the entire country. It also had data compilation units in Algeria and Morocco.

Answering additional questions, Mr. Millman said that, so far in 2018, 11,311 migrants had been returned to shore by the Libyan coast guard. IOM did not refer to such operations as “rescues” but as “interceptions”. Its major concern was that persons intercepted at sea should not then be recycled back into the hands of smugglers. In order to break the smuggling cycle, once migrants had been intercepted at sea they should be offered the possibility of voluntary repatriation to their countries of origin. About 30,000 had been returned since the start of 2017 under the IOM Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme. According to information at his disposal, there were currently around 8,000 migrants being held at detention centres in government controlled parts of Libya, with an indeterminate additional number in detention centres elsewhere in the country.

Information on social media suggested that NGOs were still operating at sea although circumstances had changed recently, particularly vis-à-vis the ports at which they could disembark rescued migrants. Of the 493 deaths, most had been on vessels that had departed from Libya and most of the victims were apparently sub-Saharan Africans who had been in Libya for months if not years. Most of the arrivals into Spain had departed from Morocco and Algeria although some might have departed from Tunisia.

Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR)

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that the IOM Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration programme (AVRR) had helped to repatriate 72,176 migrants in 2017, a decline with respect to the 2016 figure of 98,403. The fall was not due to less activity on the part of IOM or less interest in returning home on the part of migrants. Rather, it was attributable to an overall reduction in numbers of migrants arriving in Europe from a peak of over one million in 2015.

The vast majority of migrants who chose to return voluntarily to their country of origin fell into one of three groups: persons suffering with health-related issues, victims of trafficking who had not migrated voluntarily in the first place, or unaccompanied minors. Not many of those choosing to return were men of working age.

Under AVRR, migrants had been returned from a total of 124 countries to over 160 States and territories. The largest single host country, which had accounted for almost half of all returns, was Germany. Migration flows were from south to north so it was no surprise that the largest economy in Northern Europe should be so heavily represented. The largest single nationality of migrants wishing to return home was Albanian.

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Millman said that the largest group of returnees had been from sub-Saharan Africa, although their numbers were declining with respect to earlier years. It was no surprise that so much of the migration movement was inter-European, especially when a relatively poor country, such as Albania which was not part of the European Union, was located so close to much larger economies. The AVRR programme also covered migrants to the United States of America although he had no specific information in that regard. In many cases, including in the United States, it was easier for migrants who wished to return home to do so using their own resources rather than involving IOM in the process. For some years, voluntary returns of undocumented Mexicans in the United States had far exceeded the numbers of incoming migrants being apprehended.

Ocean forum on trade

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that UNCTAD, FAO, UN Environment, UNECE, the Commonwealth, ACP Group and IOI would shortly be holding the second Oceans Forum on Trade-related Aspects of SDG 14. The aim of the initiative was to relaunch the process that had emerged from a recent WTO ministerial meeting to reduce harmful incentives in the fishing industry. The resources saved would be deviated into investment in sustainable fishing and into combating illegal fishing, which could be catastrophic for food security. Ninety-seven percent of the world’s fishers were from developing nations and fish represented 17 per cent of the animal protein consumed in the world and 26 per cent in the poorest countries. The Forum would be held in the Palais des Nations on 16 and 17 July and would be chaired by United Nations Oceans Envoy Peter Thomson. Among those present would be Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

Announcements

Michele Zaccheo, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the sixth and final round of intergovernmental negotiations on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration had begun in New York and would continue until 13 July. Member States would review a third draft of the Compact, which reflected the different priorities and positions expressed by all delegations throughout the process and captured the common understanding of how to address international migration in all its dimensions. The Global Compact – the first agreement covering all dimensions of international migration comprehensively and holistically negotiated at the intergovernmental level under the auspices of the United Nations – would be formally adopted at the Intergovernmental Conference on Migration in Morocco in December 2018.

Mr. Zaccheo also noted that the Security Council was holding a briefing on women, peace and security in the Sahel under the agenda item: Peace and Security in Africa. The briefing would be chaired by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed and African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security Bineta Diop. For his part, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres had just met with the African Union in Addis Abeba. Finally, a high-level political forum on sustainable development was beginning that week in New York.

Mr. Zaccheo, said that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) would examine four country reports this week: Turkmenistan (Tuesday), State of Palestine (initial report, Wednesday), New Zealand (Thursday), and Cook Islands (Friday).

Mr. Zaccheo also said that the Human Rights Committee would examine three reports: Liberia (review ending on Tuesday morning), Lithuania (Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning), and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning).

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The webcast for this briefing is available here:: http://bit.ly/unog100718