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 International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Refugee Agency, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

Syria

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that, the previous day, the Special Envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, had chaired a meeting of the International Syria Support Group’s Ceasefire Task Force in Geneva. In the morning of 17 October, the Special Envoy would brief the Security Council, in an open session, on the latest developments in the process that he was leading.

Mental Health and Australian Offshore Processing

Catherine Stubberfield, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Regional Representation in Canberra, read the following statement:

“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is urging immediate action by the Government of Australia to address a collapsing health situation among refugees and asylum-seekers at off-shore facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Australia remains responsible under International Law for those who have sought its protection. In the context of deteriorating health and reduced medical care, Australia must now act to prevent further tragedy to those forcibly transferred under its so-called “offshore processing” policy. UNHCR renews its call for refugees and asylum-seekers to be moved immediately to Australia, where they can receive adequate support and care.

In September this year, more refugees and asylum-seekers had to be medically evacuated from Nauru to Australia than in the preceding two years combined. This reflects both the longstanding poor healthcare situation under “offshore processing” and a recent worsening of conditions, rather than any moderating of stance. A number of these re-transfers have taken place in the context of court orders or legal actions more broadly. With approximately 1,400 people still held in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, some 500 have now been returned to Australia on medical grounds – this is more than a quarter of the population.

UNHCR’s monitoring suggests that even this number is significantly lower than the total with acute health needs, particularly with regard to mental health. One of the various cases brought to UNHCR’s attention in September was a suicidal pre-teenage girl. She remains on Nauru despite doctors’ advice to the contrary. Medical details seen by UNHCR record how she doused herself in petrol before attempting to set herself alight and pulling chunks of hair from her head.

In Papua New Guinea, there have been no re-transfers to Australia this year. This is despite a clear and urgent imperative for medical evacuation. Several instances of self-harm or attempted suicide have taken place in Papua New Guinea in the past month. A number of people suffering both acute physical and mental health needs, including some who UNHCR brought to the attention of the Australian Government in 2017, remain untreated.

Among 12 deaths that have occurred to date under the so-called “offshore processing” approach, half of which have been confirmed or suspected suicides, are various refugees and asylum-seekers who should have been transferred to Australia.

A young Iranian man, who had spent most of his adult life under “offshore processing,” wrote as early as 2014 to the Australian-contracted medical service provider in Nauru, expressing suicidal thoughts and asking to see a doctor. In letters now publicly released in accordance with the family’s wishes, his mother repeatedly begged for the medical care he needed. Tragically, he took his own life in June this year.

Since 2016, UNHCR has consistently and repeatedly warned of the severe, negative health impacts of “offshore processing” which are as acute as they are predictable. These concerns have been echoed by other independent bodies including the Australian Medical Association. UNHCR has repeatedly stressed the need for immediate long-term solutions outside of Papua New Guinea and Nauru. These should include comprehensive medical outreach and torture- and trauma counselling. The Australian authorities have a clear duty of care for the welfare of people transferred to these places. These critical responsibilities nevertheless remain unfulfilled.

UNHCR does not agree with the Government of Australia’s assertion that such cases are solely “matters for Papua New Guinea and Nauru,” with Australia having simultaneously designed, financed and managed the system in which these two developing and under-resourced countries participate.

Since 2013, Australia has reduced the budget available for care of “offshore” refugees and asylum-seekers by approximately half. This despite the fact that throughout the same period the population has fallen by only 7 per cent and medical needs continue to grow.

While some 1,250 refugees are expected to be relocated to the United States of America under a bilateral arrangement with the Government of Australia, there is still no solution on the table for a number of men, women and children who can no longer wait.

UNHCR has repeatedly urged that Australia should accept New Zealand’s welcome and ongoing offer to take refugees from both Papua New Guinea and Nauru. In the absence of any other alternatives, UNHCR appeals for all refugees and asylum-seekers to be immediately brought from Papua New Guinea and Nauru to Australia, to avert further serious harm and loss of life.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Stubberfield said that the Government of Nauru had requested Médecins Sans Frontières to leave the country. It was difficult to speculate as to the reasons for that decision. However, responsibility for the situation ultimately lay with Australia, which had designed the system currently in place. There had been a big reduction in the services available on the island. UNHCR was aware of a large number of refugees with mental health needs. In 2016, medical experts had determined that the accumulative presence of post-traumatic stress disorder was in excess of 80 per cent, and the situation had since worsened. It was for that reason that UNHCR was calling for evacuations.

Responding to additional questions, Ms. Stubberfield said that UNHCR expressed the hope that the Government of Australia would be responsive to the changing situation on the ground. Australia had historically given various reasons for its policy, including its intention to deter the arrival of refugees by sea. Such motivations could no longer justify the level of human suffering among refugees. She could not speculate as to why the Government of Australia had not accepted the offer of New Zealand to take in the refugees. UNHCR had for some time urged the Government to accept that offer immediately. The Government’s policy had failed on a number of measures, including to meet the basic needs of migrants over a period of more than five years. As far as she could recall, the 12 deaths mentioned in her statement had occurred since 2014. It was important to understand that figure in the context of high levels of attempted suicide. UNHCR had noted significant increases in rates of self-harm, even in the previous few months.

Responding to a question on the 1,250 refugees due to be relocated to the United States of America, Ms. Stubberfield said that approximately 100 had departed from Papua New Guinea and 260 from Nauru. The process was ongoing. However, although the bilateral agreement would benefit a large number of refugees, there was an almost equal number for whom places had not been secured under the agreement. It was clear that other solutions were needed, and Australia would have to take ownership of the situation.

Ebola in DRC

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that, the previous day, WHO had published a Disease Outbreak News alert on the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Overnight, the number of cases in North Kivu Province had reached 200, including 165 confirmed and 35 probable cases. Those 200 cases included 125 deaths. There had been an increase in the number of cases in recent weeks, particularly in the town of Beni, which was now the epicentre. The previous week, there had been 35 new cases, 29 of which had been recorded in Beni. The increase in the number of cases in Beni suggested that insecurity was one cause of the spread of the disease. Response teams had resumed work after having been forced to stop for a brief period. There had been fighting between the Government and rebel groups. Although Ebola response teams had not been targeted specifically, the violence had prevented them from reaching certain areas. The increase in the number of cases could also reflect improved reporting rates, which could be attributed to the success of community outreach work. However, local people continued to attempt to treat the disease, at least in its early stages, by consulting so-called clinics that offered a blend of traditional and modern medical techniques. The delay in seeking appropriate treatment made it more difficult to save lives.

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that 80 per cent of school-age children in the areas affected by Ebola, including the Beni and Mabalako health zones, had returned to school, one month after the beginning of term. UNICEF sought to promote education in such circumstances as a means of protecting children and re-establishing a normal life. Education was also a way of raising awareness of the disease. Children who were taught how to prevent the spread of Ebola, including by washing their hands, could share that knowledge with their families. UNICEF had equipped 365 schools in high-risk zones with hygiene and health equipment, and more than 3,500 teachers and school principals had received training on preventive measures. Around 70,000 schoolchildren had been reached as part of awareness-raising campaigns. UNICEF continued to encourage parents living in affected areas to send their children to school.

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Jašareviæ, for WHO, said that 20 health workers had contracted the Ebola virus. Vaccination had begun a week into the outbreak. It was possible that some health workers had contracted the virus before being vaccinated. It should be borne in mind that vaccinations were administered on a voluntary basis. Investigations into transmission chains remained under way. Community engagement was critical to the success of any response to an Ebola outbreak. It had been arranged that civil society advisers arrived in locations where deaths had occurred ahead of the response teams in order to engage in dialogue with families. They then remained with family members and response teams to address any concerns. Armed escorts were used only when absolutely necessary, as had recently been the case in Oicha, since the road between Beni and Oicha had been considered a red zone. However, the authorities had put in place a number of measures to facilitate the work of response teams. Another initiative was to ensure the issuance of medical certificates for every death.

Responding to further questions, Mr. Jašareviæ, for WHO, said that it was impossible to state whether any fighters had contracted the virus, as it was difficult to distinguish fighters from non-fighters in the context of armed conflicts in the country. Ebola was a threat to everyone. Insecurity had a negative effect on populations, as it increased suspicion towards response teams. As at 5 October, 56 patients had received investigational therapeutics. It was difficult to say which of those therapeutics was effective. They were currently being administered under a “compassionate use framework”. Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign that had begun on 8 August, 15,807 persons had been vaccinated.

Responding to questions on the geographical distribution of cases, Mr. Jašareviæ, for WHO, said that no newly affected areas of the country had been identified in the previous few days. There had been no new cases in Tchomia, which had previously been badly affected, for two weeks. Indeed, some people in Tchomia were now being discharged. Some people had been exposed but were not displaying symptoms and therefore might not be positive cases. At any given time, around 80 to 90 per cent of known contacts were under follow-up. Some people, however, could not undergo follow-up as they had moved away from the area in question or needed to work in order to feed their families. Fear and mistrust caused others to run away entirely.

Responding to a question on burial practices, Mr. Jašareviæ, for WHO, said that local people often wanted to conduct funeral ceremonies and burials in accordance with their traditions. In that regard, it was important to strike a balance between compliance with epidemiological standards and respect for local customs and practices. The previous day, one body had been stolen by a local community while it was being taken to the cemetery.

Nigeria

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), read the following statement:

“UNICEF welcomes the release of 833 children from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, as part of its commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children.

This is the first formal release of children from the CJTF since September 2017 when the group signed an action plan committing to put measures in place to end and prevent child recruitment following a listing in the annexes of the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report for Children and Armed Conflict for the recruitment and use of children.

“This is a significant milestone in ending the recruitment and use of children, but many more children remain in the ranks of other armed groups in either combat or support roles. We call on all parties to stop recruiting children and let children be children.”

Since the Action Plan was signed, members of the CTFMR initiated a joint field verification exercise to ascertain the presence and association of children within the command structures and ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force. As of today, a total of 1,469 children (1,175 boys and 294 girls), associated with the Civilian Joint Task Force have been identified within the city of Maiduguri.

UNICEF continues to work closely with state authorities to support the implementation of reintegration programmes for the children released today as well as others affected by the ongoing conflict.

Since 2017, UNICEF has supported the social and economic reintegration of more than 8,700 children released from armed groups, helping trace their families, returning them to their communities, and offering them psychosocial support, education, vocational training and informal apprenticeships, and opportunities to improve livelihoods.”

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that, the previous day, the Secretary-General had expressed his sadness about reports that people had died in the flooding that had recently affected Nigeria. More than 0.5 million people had been internally displaced and 350,000 were in need of humanitarian assistance.

Responding to a question on the CJTF, Mr. Boulierac, for UNICEF, said that the CJTF was a local militia that helped the security forces in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency. The group had been formed in 2013 by a number of vigilante groups based in Borno State. Many of the children involved in CJTF had performed support roles. For that reason, they tended to face less stigmatization, and experienced fewer problems in reintegration, than children who had been involved in armed groups. Stigmatization remained a problem, as it did in many similar cases around the world, and should be addressed as a matter of priority. Later in the briefing, he added that, of the 833 children, 40 per cent were aged between 11 and 15 years, although only a few were aged 11 years; and 60 per cent were aged between 15 and 18.

Venezuelan refugees and migrants

William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, was currently in Latin America visiting some of the countries that had seen the largest influxes of Venezuelan refugees and migrants. In a declaration with the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, the High Commissioner had said that he had been impressed by the efforts of Colombia to document, feed, shelter and care for thousands of Venezuelans arriving every day. He called for greater international support for the Colombian people and Government. There were nearly 1 million Venezuelans in Colombia. He had also visited Argentina. In a joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Jorge Faurie, both had agreed that the displacement of refugees and migrants from Venezuela had resulted in an unprecedented situation for the region and that a significant
proportion of Venezuelans were in need of "international protection". They had also highlighted the importance of applying the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, which extended the definition of a refugee set out in the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to include persons who had fled their country because their lives, safety or freedom was threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, mass human rights violations and other circumstances that had seriously disturbed public order. There were over 130,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Argentina. The High Commissioner would soon leave Peru for Ecuador. There were 440,000 Venezuelans in Peru. Approximately 1,250 Venezuelans arrived every day. Teams from UNHCR and its partners were on the ground to distribute water, hygiene kits for women, baby kits, health and psychological support, legal orientation and cash-based assistance for targeted beneficiaries.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM had been involved in distributing aid to Venezuelans arriving in Guyana. The initiative, carried out as part of IOM Regional Action Plan (RAP), had reached over 793 Venezuelan migrants, particularly members of the indigenous Warao tribe arriving in the regions of Barima Waini and Pomerron Supanaam. Many Venezuelans were using boats to cross into Guyana, where they were arriving without food, shelter, and other necessities. Since most of them were only fluent in the Warao dialect, communication had proved difficult. IOM had distributed lifesaving information, including guides on how to access documentation and the regularization process in Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica) and Region 2. Thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Venezuelan Support Group (VSG) and the help of the Civil Defense Commission, IOM had been able to distribute this information in borderline areas that were difficult to access. There were approximately 2,500 Venezuelans known to have moved to the area.

Responding to questions on the nature of the arrivals, Mr. Millman, for IOM, said that he would be in a position to share more detailed information on arriving Venezuelans once the results of its Displacement Tracking Matrix had been finalized. Guyana had itself experienced high levels of outward migration in the past. Sender countries often tended to be more welcoming. IOM had a presence in the area in question.

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Spindler, for UNHCR, said that the Venezuelans were leaving their country for a variety of reasons, including the socioeconomic situation, rising insecurity, human rights violations and political unrest. UNHCR had an office in Caracas and had been active in the country for many years. Venezuela used to host a large number of refugees, mainly from Colombia. Those refugees had now largely left, but some remained.

Disaster Reduction / Indonesia

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the International Day for Disaster Reduction would be commemorated on Saturday, 13 October. In his message for the day, the Secretary-General, who was currently in Palu, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, which had been struck by an earthquake and tsunami almost two weeks previously, had recalled that, in 2018, the focus of the International Day was on improving the collection of data on disasters, including comprehensive accounting on economic losses.

Climate change and food security

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that the world was going in the wrong direction. Some 821 million people went to bed without a proper meal. There were many reasons for that situation, including conflict and climate extremes. Climate extremes had a clear and direct impact on food security and affected millions of people around the world. WFP, like other organizations, was reorganizing certain aspects of its work in order to mount a more proactive and efficient response.

Gernot Laganda, Chief of Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Programmes, World Food Programme (WFP), said that a dialogue between the authors of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and humanitarian actors would take place at an event being held later that day in the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The scale of the problem at hand exceeded the scope of existing humanitarian instruments. WFP was looking at the issue from the perspective of food and nutrition security. For the first time in several decades, the number of people who were chronically food insecure was increasing. Some 821 million people were chronically food insecure, and the number of acute cases had increased by 11 million since the previous year. The number of climate disasters had more than doubled since the early 1990s. There were many more frequent and extreme weather events. Those climate shocks were a significant driver of displacements. Every year, around 22.5 million people were forced to leave their homes on account of climate extremes. In addition, there was an increasingly destructive interplay between conflicts and climate disasters. In the 10 most conflict-affected countries in the world, including Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there were around 54 million people who were affected by conflicts and climate disasters simultaneously. Humanitarian agencies were operating in a shifting risk environment. Demand for humanitarian aid was increasing. It was also important to deal with the consequences of weather extremes in a more forward-looking way, moving from an action based on crisis response to one geared towards risk management.

Mr. Laganda, for WFP, added that a number of entry points were being discussed in the context of the dialogue between climate scientists and humanitarians. WFP was bringing three innovations to the table. The first concerned climate information services, which helped countries to understand new and emerging patterns of risk and provided actionable forecasts and projections enabling organizations at the national, subnational and communal level to make better management and investment decisions. The second innovation was forecast-based financing, which involved providing humanitarian aid to people ahead of an impending climate disaster. The third was climate insurance. WFP was one of the few agencies that had managed to enroll large numbers of food insecure smallholder farmers in insurance programmes. In 2017, following dry season losses in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Ethiopia, 30,000 households had received insurance payouts. That represented an injection of private sector finance into an area otherwise dominated by private sector donor finance.

Responding to a question on forecasting, Mr. Laganda, for WFP, said that, according to current forecasts, a 2-degree warmer world would result in an additional 189 million food insecure people and a 4-degree warmer world in over 1 billion such people. That was a strong argument for early and decisive climate intervention. The 2018 report on the state of food security and nutrition in the world, which had been published some weeks previously, outlined the situation in different continents and counties. The bulk of losses and damages in food systems had taken place through drought events, mostly in Africa. The number of people who consequently had suffered from hunger had been rising, particularly in Africa and Latin America. Asia had previously been a key driver of lower rates of hunger across the world, but that trend had recently slowed markedly. There remained a great deal of work to be done in terms of implementing the array of tools available. For example, it was important to improve the quality of weather information, so that people could make better autonomous decisions on what and when to plant.

Migration in Europe

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that 44 Syrian refugees had landed safely in Zagreb, Croatia, earlier that week under the first resettlement programme undertaken in the country. Croatia had agreed to accept a total of 150 Syrian refugees directly from Turkey. Of those, 149 had arrived. He assumed that one more would arrive before November. He was not sure whether more refugees would be resettled in Croatia.

Mr. Millman also said that an investigation was under way into the deaths of three migrant women found with their throats slit near the border between Greece and Turkey. In a separate event, there had been a shipwreck off the coast of Turkey. There could have been as many as 34 people on board. Four bodies had been retrieved, and one person was known to have survived. That information had been confirmed in a statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior of Turkey.

Chikungunya disease in Sudan

Responding to question on Chikungunya disease, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that Sudan was currently experiencing an outbreak of the disease. According to government statistics, as at 3 October 2018, 14,495 cases had been recorded. Children aged under 5 years represented 6.7 per cent of those cases. No deaths had been reported. The first case had been recorded on 31 May 2018, in Red Sea state, and the outbreak had since spread to Kassala and Al Qadarif, in early August. By late September, three additional states — the Northern state, River Nile and South Darfur — had reported 14 cases. The mosquito that carried the virus was present in 16 of the country’s 17 states, the one exception being Khartoum.

Freedom of the press

Responding to a question on the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General had made detailed comments on the case in question. The Spokesperson had recalled that the Secretary-General had repeatedly emphasized the importance of a free press and had noted a worrying increase in violence against journalists, particularly against women journalists. The Secretary-General’s position was clear: a free press was essential for peace, justice and human rights for all. He had reiterated his call to all Governments to strengthen press freedom, including by guaranteeing justice and accountability for crimes committed against journalists. The UN had also called upon the Saudi authorities to cooperate fully with the Turkish authorities in the ongoing investigations.

UNCTAD announcements

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that, on Monday, 15 October, at 9.30 a.m., James Zhan would present the latest Global Investment Trends Monitor. On Wednesday, 17 October, at 2.30 p.m., the new Director of the Division on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities would participate in an event on the commodity market and present a new study on coffee in West Africa. On Monday, 15 October, at 10 a.m., at the Palais des Nations, Room IX, UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant would participate in a discussion on reducing the economic losses caused by disasters as part of the International Day for Disaster Reduction.

Geneva announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Human Rights Committee had postponed its consideration of the situation in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which had been due to take place at the current session in the absence of a report. The country had committed to presenting a report within three or four months and participating in the consideration of that report at the Committee’s following session. The following week, the Committee would consider the reports of Belize and Bulgaria.

Press Conferences

Tuesday, 16 October at 12:30 p.m., Room III
Permanent Delegation of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
The Role of AGFUND International Prize in promoting the UN agenda for Sustainable Development
Speakers:
H.E. Mr. Adel Essa AlMahri - Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Geneva
Mr. Nasser Al Kahtani/ AGFUND - Executive Director
Mr. Abdullatif AlDwaihi /AGFUND-Communications Director
The 2017 prize winners :
*Dr.Mastaqur Chowdhuri - Vice chairman of Brac - Bangladesh
* Mr.Yogendra Mandal - Executive Director of Jeevan Bikas Samaj
*Dr.Sunitha Krishnan - Founder of Prajwala - India
*Ms.Marie Lichten Berg - Director of international partnerships Planet Aid

UNFPA
Wednesday, 17 October at 11:00 a.m., Room III
Launch State of World Population Report 2018 - The Power of Choice: Reproductive Rights and the Demographic Transition
Speaker: Ms. Monica Ferro, Director, UNFPA Geneva