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 United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Organization for Migration.

Statement on behalf of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, read the following statement:

“Today Special Envoy de Mistura chaired informal consultations with senior representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, during the Astana-format meeting in Sochi, Russian Federation.

The consultations focused on realising further progress on the implementation of the Sochi Final Statement and the establishment of a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned constitutional committee, facilitated by the UN, within the framework of the Geneva process and in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015).

The meeting saw useful exchanges on the composition of the constitutional committee, in line with the criteria outlined in resolution 2254 (2015) and the Sochi Final Statement, as well as a range of other issues related to the establishment and functioning of a constitutional committee.

The Special Envoy looks forward to holding formal consultations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, very early in September in Geneva, in order to begin to finalize the constitutional committee”

Refugees fleeing violence in Nicaragua

William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), read the following statement:

“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling for international solidarity and support for Costa Rica and other countries hosting Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers, as thousands of Nicaraguans flee mounting political tensions, violence and serious human rights violations in their country.

In recent months, the number of asylum applications by Nicaraguans in neighbouring Costa Rica and other countries has increased exponentially. Currently, an average of 200 asylum applications are being lodged daily in Costa Rica. According to Costa Rican authorities, nearly 8,000 asylum claims by Nicaraguan nationals have been registered since April, and some 15,000 more have been given appointments for later registration as the national processing capacities have been overwhelmed. UNHCR is providing an initial support to the Migration authority to increase its processing capacity from 200 to at least 500 claims daily.

UNHCR is strengthening its presence in Costa Rica’s northern border region and, together with the Costa Rican Government, other UN agencies and its NGO partners, is gearing up its response capacity to provide immediate protection and assistance to thousands of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers, both in the northern region and in the metropolitan area of the capital San Jose.

Many arriving Nicaraguans are being hosted by an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Nicaraguan families living already in Costa Rica, who are providing an initial safety net for friends, relatives and fellow citizens.

UNHCR appreciates the efforts of the Costa Rican authorities in keeping the country’s borders open to Nicaraguans in need of international refugee protection, in line with its long tradition of solidarity. At the same time, UNHCR calls on the international community to provide support to Costa Rica and other countries hosting Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers.

While Costa Rica has received the most asylum claims, Panama, Mexico and the USA have also recorded a growing trend of claims by Nicaraguans in need of international refugee protection during the first half of 2018, with a significant peak in June. The actual numbers in these countries, however, are still in the low hundreds. Meanwhile other countries such as Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are becoming transit countries.

In Nicaragua itself, UNHCR is also closely following up on the situation of more than 700 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from El Salvador and Honduras, living in the capital Managua and other parts of the country. Assistance to these refugee families is being provided through our local partners in Nicaragua.”

In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Spindler said that the numbers of Nicaraguan refugees arriving in States other than Costa Rica were still relatively low. Exact figures were still being complied, but they seemed to be in the low hundreds. For that reason, UNHCR was focusing its efforts on Costa Rica where the overwhelming majority of Nicaraguan refugees were located. No disaggregated data on the composition of the refugees arriving in Costa Rica was available but they seemed to reflect the population of Nicaragua as a whole with no particular prevalence of women and children.

Responding to a request for eye-witness accounts of the refugees’ plight, Mr. Spindler told the journalists that a 32-year-old female refugee had told UNHCR staff in Costa Rica that she had fled Nicaragua after her family had suffered persecution in the form of death threats and threats to burn down their home. The reason for the persecution lay in the fact that she and her family were related to the leader of a local rural community. She had three brothers who also wished to escape Nicaragua but had not yet done do for fear of being apprehended and killed. She herself had not managed to bring any personal assets with her on her flight and was, therefore, in dire material need.

In answer to additional questions, Mr. Spindler explained that UNHCR had no office in Nicaragua and was covering the situation from its office in Costa Rica. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had already spoken extensively about the situation in Nicaragua and UNHCR had nothing to add to those comments. In any case, the political situation was beyond the mandate of UNHCR, which could only comment on issues related to refugees and their humanitarian situation.

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, reminded journalists that the Secretary-General of the United Nations had repeatedly called for the revitalization of a national dialogue in Nicaragua with a view to finding a political solution to the country’s problems. At the noon briefing of 30 January 2018, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General had stated that discussions involving the Permanent Mission of Nicaragua were taking place, at the level of the United Nations Secretariat.

Possible statelessness as a result of changes in the Indian border state of Assam

In response to questions from journalists, William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR was concerned about the update of the national register of citizens (NRC) that was underway in the Indian state of Assam. According to official reports, some 4 million of the 32.9 million applicants had been excluded from the draft NRC lists published on 30 July. The nationality status of those excluded was not yet clear, many might ultimately be declared Indian citizens, others could risk becoming stateless. The Indian Government and the government of the state of Assam had indicated that such persons would be given a chance to file claims and objections between 30 August and 28 September 2018. UNHCR urged the authorities to ensure basic rights and access to services until a final determination was made for each individual claimant.

Although UNHCR had no operational presence in Assam it was closely monitoring the situation there through its partner networks. It called upon the Government of India to stand by its statement that persons excluded from the NRC lists would not face detention, to provide them with the support they needed to file claims and objections within the one-month window, and to continue its efforts to increase public awareness and build public confidence.

The full effects of the changes were still not clear: some of the people affected were already stateless prior; others might become so. UNHCR – which had a global mandate for the identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection of stateless persons – was waiting to see how the new law would be implemented and what its implications would be. In any case, it was appealing to the Indian authorities not to deport even those people who did not qualify for citizenship.

In response to questions from journalists, Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that OHCHR was also concerned about the situation in Assam state. The people affected were in a very precarious position and were highly concerned about their future and about possible discrimination. For that reason, OHCHR urged the Indian Government to conduct its operations in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, with full respect for human rights. It was premature to speak of statelessness but it was vital to ensure that persons affected by the changes retained access to basic services and that they were adequately informed about their situation, given access to avenues for legal redress and not disenfranchised.

ISIL killings in Syria

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

“We strongly condemn the shocking attacks by ISIL in civilian-populated areas in Sweida in southwest Syria last Wednesday. We have received reports that more than 200 people were killed and injured in multiple attacks, including suicide bombings in Sweida city and in various villages in eastern and north-eastern rural Sweida Governorate. Scores of ISIL militants also raided homes in at least eight villages in eastern and north-eastern rural Sweida, shooting and killing civilians inside their homes and abducting women and children. We have received the names of at least 27 women and children who were reportedly taken hostage from Al-Shbiki village in eastern rural Sweida, although we believe the real number is likely to be much higher. According to eyewitnesses, ISIL fighters initially took women from a handful of houses from Al-Shbiki village and used them to knock on the doors of their neighbours, then killing and abducting more civilians in their homes. Photos of some of these abducted women were later tweeted, with threats to burn them alive if the Government did not cease military operations against ISIL in western Daraa Governorate and release ISIL women and men in government custody.

We understand that these ISIL militants included many who were recently evacuated and relocated from the Palestinian Yarmouk Refugee Camp, Hajar Al-Aswad, and Al-Tadamon areas of southern Damascus as part of a government “reconciliation agreement”. The Government has reportedly used such agreements in areas it is close to capturing, in order to give armed groups the option of either reconciling with the Government or being transferred to other parts of the country that are not government controlled. While agreements putting an end to fighting are to be welcomed, the well-being of civilians must be paramount in any considerations. The transfer of armed fighters with a history of gross human rights abuses and contempt towards international law can mean an increase in the likelihood of violent attacks against civilians like the ones carried out last week in Sweida. We urge the Syrian Government not to put civilians at serious risk through such relocations.

We are also concerned that the situation in Sweida may worsen, particularly if the local communities do not trust the Government to protect them or defend their rights. We call on the Government of Syria to take all necessary measures, in line with international human rights and humanitarian law, to protect civilians from attacks. The Government of Syria has a duty to take action to prevent violent acts that may endanger the lives and well-being of civilians – including by not placing armed groups such as ISIL in their proximity. The Government also has the duty to ensure that those who commit crimes, human rights violations or abuses are held accountable according to law and in compliance with the applicable international human rights standards.”

Responding to journalists’ questions, Ms. Shamdasani said that OHCHR had conveyed its concerns to the Syrian authorities and reminded them of their obligations under international law. The fact that the Government of Syria was involved in a serious and complex war did not divest it of its duty to protect all civilians under its jurisdiction. That also meant not deliberately placing civilians in harm’s way. OHCHR remained gravely concerned about the fate of the persons taken hostage by ISIL, which was using them as bargaining chips to make outrageous demands of the Government. Many inhabitants of Sweida were extremely angry at the current situation and were threatening to take the law into their own hands if the Government took no concrete action to protect them.

Detention of activists in Saudi Arabia (OHCHR)

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

“We are concerned about the continuing arrests and apparently arbitrary detentions of human rights defenders and activists in Saudi Arabia, including women’s rights activists. Since 15 May, at least 15 government critics were detained. We understand that eight of them were later temporarily released until the completion of their ‘procedural review’. In some cases, their whereabouts are unknown and there is a serious lack of transparency in the processing of their cases. While the authorities have made statements about possible serious charges, that could lead to prison terms of up to 20 years, it is unclear whether charges have been laid in any of these cases.

Among those who reportedly remain detained are Hatoon al-Fassi, a leading voice for women’s participation in civil life in Saudi Arabia and one of the first women to acquire a Saudi driver’s license. She was detained between 21 and 24 June. Also in detention are human rights defender Khaled Al-Omair, who has not been contactable since he was taken on 6 July to Al-Ha’ir Political Prison; women’s rights activists Loujain al-Hathloul, Eman al-Nafjan, Aziza al-Yousef, Nouf Abdelaziz and Mayaa al-Zahrani. They also include al-Hathloul’s 80-year-old lawyer, Ibrahim al-Modaimeegh, and activist Abdulaziz Meshaal.

We urge the Government of Saudi Arabia to unconditionally release all human rights defenders and activists who have been detained for their peaceful human rights work, including their decades-long campaigns for the lifting of the driving ban for women. Any investigations must be held in a transparent manner, with full respect for due process rights. All human rights defenders should be able to carry out their crucial human rights work without fear of reprisals or prosecution.”

In answer to questions raised by journalists, Ms. Shamdasani said that the detention of activists and human rights defenders had already begun in May, before the driving ban for women in Saudi Arabia had been lifted. The situation was perplexing because, on the one hand there seemed to be a drive towards reforms and greater openness while, on the other, there was an apparent crackdown on the very persons who were advocating for such reforms. It seemed that, while the reforms were genuine, they had not extended to the sphere of civil and political rights, and that dissent and criticism of the Government were still deemed unacceptable. In fact, many of the persons who had been jailed had voiced criticism of government policy. OHCHR was reiterating its call to the Government of Saudi Arabia not to jail those persons for their peaceful advocacy of human rights.

Meeting between IOM, UNHCR and European Union

In response to a journalist’s question, Paul Dillon, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that a meeting had been convened by IOM and UNHCR on Monday 30 July as part of their efforts to consult with regional partners on a range of issues related to migration in and around the Mediterranean. Under the terms of the Chatham House Rule, he was unable to provide any more detailed information about what had been discussed or which European States had participated.

Announcements

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Committee against Torture would continue to meet at the Palais Wilson that day. It was due to conclude its consideration of the report submitted by Seychelles in the morning and of the report submitted by Chile in the afternoon. It had already concluded its consideration of the reports submitted by Mauritania and the Russian Federation.

Mr. LeBlanc also said that the third and last part of the 2018 session of the Conference on Disarmament had begun on Monday 30 July. The next plenary meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, 7 August 2018.