REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service, United Nations Office at Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by spokespersons for the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Refugee Agency and the World Health Organization.
Ethiopia: Deteriorating humanitarian situation
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), made the following statement:
“Over 800,000 internally displaced persons are living without adequate shelter and safe sanitation in Ethiopia, resulting in a worsening humanitarian situation further exacerbated by cold, wet weather brought on by the rainy season.
Clashes last month between communities along the border of two Ethiopian regions – Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and Oromia Regions – forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
Those displaced in June added to some smaller-scale displacements that occurred in April and May.
According to data collected through IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), there were already 1,776,685 people internally displaced throughout Ethiopia – most due to drought and subsequent floods – before these latest movements.
Walking for days to find safety, many sleeping out in the open along the way, the displaced communities have few if any possessions beyond the clothes they left in, and no food or money.
The Government of Ethiopia, which has led the response since the crisis began, is racing to provide vital humanitarian services across numerous displacement sites in West Guji Zone (Oromia) and Gedeo Zone (SNNPR), the latter hosting the majority of those displaced.
Many of the displaced people are staying with relatives in local communities or in rented accommodations, while others are sheltering in collective centres like schools, government buildings and disused factories. Those staying in local communities still come to the collective centres during the day to access humanitarian services.
Thousands of people are crammed into overcrowded collective centres unfit for human habitation. Others sleep outside on dirt floors with nothing more than a tarpaulin to shield them from the cold and rain. Open-fire cooking in overly congested buildings, poor sanitation and cold weather are all contributing to a worsening environment from both health and protection perspectives.
In support of and in close coordination with the Government of Ethiopia, IOM is providing humanitarian assistance to displaced populations in collective centres and within local communities through an integrated approach focusing on core aid distribution, emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance, primary emergency health care and site management support.
‘With so many people displaced in such a short space of time, IOM mobilized response teams and resources to immediately help the Government and local communities address the rapidly-mounting humanitarian needs,’ said Maureen Achieng, IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission and Representative to the African Union, IGAD and UNECA.
‘However, the rains continue and people have very little to survive on – more support is urgently needed from the international community.’
In the past week, IOM distributed 1,000 blankets and began building 40 communal shelters to protect displaced communities from the weather. By Thursday (12/07), IOM had completed 15 of a planned 150 latrines and had started digging several more. These activities are being done in addition to displacement tracking rapid assessments, and other ongoing support.”
In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Millman said that the latest internal migration had begun in June but that no information was available on casualties resulting from the conditions in the displacement centres. It was unclear where the figure of 800,000 came from, but it was the number being used internally by IOM and was in addition to the nearly 1.8 million people cited by the Displacement Tracking Matrix as being displaced throughout the country. While it was hoped that the recent breakthrough in peace talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea would have a positive impact on the region, he could not speculate on the political origins of the clashes that had led to the current displacement of people. IOM had an excellent relationship with the Government of Ethiopia and intended to continue lending its support to it.
Yemen: Resumption of voluntary humanitarian returns
Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), made the following statement:
“After a careful assessment of the current situation in Hudaydah by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and through high-level coordination with stakeholders, a voluntary humanitarian return of 53 Ethiopian migrants was organized from Yemen.
On Thursday (12/07), utilizing IOM expertise in such complicated situations, a safe corridor was charted to move the migrants from Hudaydah Seaport; a ship with proper clearances transported the 53 migrants (48 men, 5 boys) out of war-torn Yemen to Djibouti, where IOM staff will receive them and coordinate their onward journeys.
Last month (22/06), IOM announced that its voluntary humanitarian return assistance to migrants stranded in Hudaydah would be postponed until further notice, due to ongoing military operations approaching the port city. Prior to that, IOM had to cancel a scheduled return of stranded migrants which was due to occur on the 14 June.
With the intensification of fighting near IOM’s Migrant Response Point (MRP) in Hudaydah, 22 Ethiopian migrants were evacuated on 19 June to Sana’a to be housed in one of the organization’s foster family locations for close observation and care.
Meanwhile, IOM Yemen is continuing its humanitarian assistance to fleeing and displaced populations from Hudaydah at its Migrant Response Point, which is now serving displaced Yemenis in addition to migrants.
With the support of other UN agencies, IOM has been providing the migrants with food, transportation out of Hudaydah, health care assistance, psychosocial support and cash assistance. Due to the dire need and the substantial volume of displacement, IOM has dispatched a mobile medical team to Hudaydah, in an ambulance staffed by one doctor and three nurses, to meet the emergency healthcare needs of affected populations. Five ambulances were also donated to support the population, given the shortage of medical facilities and professionals in the region.
To date, IOM has assisted over 483 Ethiopian migrants with return assistance out of Hudaydah, and 1,205 Somali refugees out of Aden Seaport.”
Mr. Millman added that he was saddened to report that the Ethiopian migrant who had been evacuated after being hit by a stray bullet in Sana'a a few days before had succumbed to his injuries.
Replying to journalists’ questions, Mr. Millman said that IOM had been as regular in its evacuations as conditions on the ground permitted. It had carried out nearly 1,700 evacuations in the past year alone and have every intention of continuing to do so. Although he was not in a position to provide any greater details, there was considerable discussion among humanitarian actors about the possibility of playing a role in the management of some facilities, such as ports and airports, with a view to delivering goods and services more effectively.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Returns to Ituri Province
Charlie Yaxley, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), made the following statement:
“After months of conflict between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in eastern DR Congo’s Ituri region, a UNHCR team has recently been able to obtain access to the area where they met some of the 150,000 people formerly displaced people who are now returning in hope of finding their homes.
Conditions are grim. In all around 350,000 people are estimated to have fled the violence, and those who have returned so far are in many cases finding that their villages and homes have been reduced to ash – making them displaced again.
Our team heard numerous, harrowing reports of barbaric violence, including armed groups attacking civilians with guns, arrows and machetes, entire villages razed, and farms and shops being looted and damaged beyond repair.
The humanitarian challenges are enormous with hospitals, schools, and other key infrastructure having been completely destroyed. UNHCR is particularly concerned about the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and who are in need of urgent medical care.
Meanwhile, conditions at displacement sites are as desperate. In many places, there is no clean water, no access to healthcare and inadequate sanitation facilities. This is particularly concerning at the displacement site near to the General Hospital in Bunia, where there is a significant and rising risk of diseases spreading. There, the rate at which people are dying has been increasing. Several people were registered dead in June, while the number of people suffering from respiratory diseases and anemia is growing fast.
For both returnees and those at displacement sites, UNHCR is providing emergency and transition shelter kits to replace houses that have been damaged or destroyed. We are also providing cash grants to meet immediate and critical needs, with priority being given to the most vulnerable. Some 1,500 families are set to receive an average of $210, depending on the family size. UNHCR is also scaling up community engagement to improve social cohesion amongst different ethnic groups.
However, our efforts continue to be hampered by severe and critical underfunding. The humanitarian appeal for the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to be among the least-funded in the world. To date, UNHCR has received just 17% of the US$201 million requested to provide protection, life-saving aid and assistance inside Democratic Republic of Congo.
UNHCR urges the international community to come forward with further funding and for urgent action to be taken to address the immediate, pressing needs of those who have been affected by the violence.”
Quoting the testimonials of three displaced women and men, Mr. Yaxley said that beginning anew in Bunia was not a feasible option for crop-growers and that, although the conditions in displacement sites were dire, looting back in the villages meant that many had no livelihoods to which to return. Moreover, the level of violence in some areas was so high that it precluded a return.
Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Yaxley said that access to the area had just recently been granted, so little data were available yet. However, approximately 150,000 formerly displaced persons were seeking to return home, though many were forced to move on again because there was nothing left of their homes and villages. It was in any case a resource-poor part of the world, and prospects were slim in the extreme. The conditions in their homes and in the displacement sites were equally unsustainable and all the usual elements of a humanitarian response were lacking.
Syria peace talks
In response to a journalist’s question, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that Special Envoy de Mistura and Deputy Special Envoy Ramzy had been active in urging key stakeholders to use the pre-existing channels to prevent further human suffering and displacement, accelerate humanitarian assistance, protect civilians and prevent further tragedy in the seven-year long conflict.
Ms. Vellucci also cited the Secretary-General that, at his press conference on 12 July, had said that the United Nations believed the solution to the conflict could only be political. And our commitment is in relation to the Geneva talks and to make sure that a political solution in line with the Resolution 2254 is found and that a constitutional committee, as it was agreed, will be put in place in a way that will guarantee its impartiality and its contribution to a future political solution in Syria. That is our commitment. That is our objective. And the message I have for all Syrians is only a political solution can guarantee the future, the reconstruction, and a democratic and non-sectarian character of the state.
Situation in Dar’a, Syria
Asked about a recent report on the health situation in Dar’a, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), citing a WHO press release of 12 July, said that WHO called for the protection of health facilities and increased access to southern Syria, where the recent hostilities had left over 210,000 people displaced and in need of urgent health services. Up to 160,000 displaced Syrians who were currently seeking safety in Quneitra were inaccessible to health partners, raising concerns for their health. WHO also called on all parties to allow the safe delivery of medicines and medical items in southern Syria and to grant severely injured patients safe passage to hospitals outside the area that could save their lives. Most of the displaced were exposed to soaring temperatures of up to 45⁰C and dusty desert winds, with limited access to clean drinking water, sanitation and adequate health care. In the past week, at least 15 Syrians – including 12 children, 2 women and 1 elderly man – had died from dehydration and diseases transmitted through contaminated water.
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, made the following statement on behalf of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Yesterday (12 July) a United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Syrian Arab Red Crescent team is conducting an inter-agency needs assessment in southern Syria. At the same time, food assistance is being delivered to 8,630 people in need in Sahwa and Kahil in Dar’a.
The United Nations and humanitarian partners are working to deliver further assistance to people in need in Dar’a, Sweida and Quneitra governorates.
The United Nations and partners require US $85 million to support 300,000 affected people with protection and assistance across south-west Syria.
The United Nations calls on all parties to ensure safe, unimpeded and sustained access to all people in need throughout southern Syrian through the most effective delivery modality.”
In response to a query, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that in the newly accessible areas, WHO had been able to deliver medicines and supplies for some 200,000 medical interventions, including for critically injured patients, and to revitalize health facilities. However, the northwestern part of Dar’a governorate and Quneitra were not under governmental control and it was in order to reach the estimated 210,000 people there that WHO was calling for increased access.
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The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog130718