REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights the United Nations Refugee Agency and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

World Post Day

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that 9 October was World Post Day, on which occasion the Secretary-General had issued a message, stating that the 2018 observance of the Day highlighted the postal sector’s value not just for delivering the mail, but for delivering good. Resilient postal systems offered support during natural disasters, financial services to hundreds of millions of people and essential information in times of crisis.

World Mental Health Day

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that 10 October was World Mental Health Day, on which occasion the Secretary-General had issued a message, stating that the 2018 observance of the Day focused on young people. One in five young people would experience a mental health problem in 2018. Half of all mental health conditions started by the age of 14 years. Most cases, however, were undetected and untreated. Poor mental health during adolescence had an impact on educational achievement and increased the risk of alcohol and substance use and violent behaviour. The United Nations was committed to creating a world where, by 2030, everyone everywhere had someone to turn to in support of their mental health, in a world free of stigma and discrimination.

Bangladesh

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that WFP was planning to step up support in Bangladesh; in that connection, it welcomed a recent contribution of USD 22.25 million from the United Kingdom that would help meet the immediate food and nutrition needs of Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, as they faced the dangerous monsoon season. The contribution would support a wide variety of activities within the WFP response, including in-kind food assistance to over 680,000 refugees, e-vouchers for some quarter of a million refugees, and essential nutritional support. An innovative e-voucher programme allowed refugees to purchase a variety of food items at specially designated shops. In addition, the host Bangladeshi community would benefit from programmes that supported women and their families with a grant for entrepreneurship activities. The contribution would also WFP to continue the provision of logistics, telecommunications and engineering common services for the entire humanitarian community. In Cox’s Bazar, WFP provided food assistance to over 860,000 refugees per month. WFP urgently needed USD 66 million to continue assistance through to March 2019.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that over 100 Rohingya women had formed a first-of-its-kind committee to ensure women and girls had a direct pathway and communication channel to United Nations managers without having to go through male leaders in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camps. Almost a million refugees now lived in Cox’s Bazar after atrocities in Myanmar in late August 2017 had sent more than 700,000 of the Muslim minority fleeing across the border to villages and camps in Bangladesh, where over 200,000 Rohingyas were already living after escaping earlier violence. The committee included both recent refugees and those who had arrived amid earlier waves of violence in Myanmar. Education levels and religious conservatism varied significantly between individuals, families and communities, but most Rohingya women did not read or write and many were discouraged from leaving family shelters. Few had much experience of speaking out in public, and most relied on male family members or community leaders to raise concerns on their behalf. Members of the female committee were to be involved in each sub-sector of the camp – health, protection, camp management and development, and water, sanitation and hygiene. The women were being trained to act as representatives and take any concerns, complaints or suggestions directly to the IOM sector heads. Two of the goals in the near term were to raise awareness about gender violence and forced or early child marriage. In one case, the committee had intervened successfully to prevent an arrangement where the groom was only 15 years old and the bride likely much younger. Efforts were being made to ensure 50 per cent participation by women in the Cash for Work programmes in the camps by the end of 2018; the committee women also had plans to make soaps and handicrafts at the community centre and sell them.

Responding to questions from members of the press, Mr. Millman, for IOM, said that the women who made up the committee were self-selected from the community organizations in Cox’s Bazar. IOM was aware of the disparity in the power arrangements between older and younger family members, between the literate and non-literate and between males and females; all such factors were being taken into consideration. Since the beginning of the emergency situation one year previously, IOM had been aware of the sex exploitation and trafficking in the surrounding community and there had been concerns that sex tourism would grow there. Women without the protection of a male family member were at risk; in fact, it was understood that that concern was often the reason for early marriage, which made the issue all the more sensitive.

Mr. Verhoosel, for WFP, added that the role of women was increasingly seen as important, including in cases of war and displacement, where they were often relied on for initiatives such as the previously mentioned grant for entrepreneurship activities offered by WFP.

On a separate issue, freedom of expression, Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), gave the following statement:

“The Digital Security Act was yesterday signed into law in Bangladesh, despite wide-ranging concerns that its content and scope could seriously impede the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the rights to liberty of the person and to due process of law. The Act could have a severe impact on the work of journalists, bloggers, commentators and historians but also penalizes the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression by any other individual, including on social media.

The law contains vague provisions that would impose long prison sentences of up to 7 years or a fine for online speech that disturbs law and order – so a very vague provision –, affects religious feelings or ruins communal harmony. Provisions linking to digital offences under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act carry penalties of up to 14 years’ imprisonment. Any kind of propaganda or publicity against the “Spirit of The War of Liberation”, the national anthem or the national flag is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years on first offence and/or a fine of 10 million Bangladesh Taka (nearly 120,000 USD). Both of these offences carry life imprisonment for repeat offenders.

The Act gives the police wide powers of search and arrest without warrant. Many of the offences in the Act are unbailable. This is of particular concern given that due process can often take a very long time in Bangladesh. The Act also provides broad powers to the Government to restrict and intercept digital information.

The law as it stands does not meet Bangladesh’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including provisions to respect and protect the right to be free from arbitrary arrest under article 9; to protection from interference with privacy and correspondence under article 17, and to freedom of opinion and expression under article 19.

During its universal periodic review by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 20 September, the day after the Act was initially adopted by Parliament, the Government of Bangladesh agreed to recommendations relating to the freedom of expression and to bringing national legislation into compliance with its international obligations. However, despite pledges to revisit the problematic provisions of the Act, it was signed into law yesterday.

We call on Bangladesh to urgently revise the Digital Security Act, to ensure that it is in line with international human rights law and that it provides for checks and balances against arbitrary arrest, detention, and other undue restrictions of the rights of individuals to the legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression and opinion. We stand ready to assist the Government.”

Responding to questions about the missing Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, Ms. Shamdasani, for OHCHR, said that a press release on the case would be issued shortly by several Special Rapporteurs. The apparent enforced disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was of serious concern. If reports of his death and the extraordinary circumstances leading up to it were confirmed, it would be truly shocking. OHCHR called for cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia to conduct a prompt, impartial and transparent investigation into Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance, in line with their obligations under international national criminal law, and to make the findings public. The fact that several recent cases in Saudi Arabia in which human rights defenders had been imprisoned did not change the obligation of both Turkey and Saudi Arabia to launch an investigation into the apparent forced disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi. Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, added that on 8 October 2018, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General had commented that a number of recent violent acts committed against journalists indeed gave cause for concern.

Venezuela

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

“We are deeply concerned at the continuing detention of 59 Colombian nationals who have been held without charge in Venezuela for more than two years now. The detainees, who were picked up in separate security operations in late August and early September 2016, are detained in one cell at La Yerguara detention centre in Caracas. Conditions there are reported to be dire, with the detainees having insufficient access to food, water and medicine.

Many of the 59 men are believed to be sick. One prisoner, William Estremor, who was reported to have been seriously ill for several days, was, according to his lawyer, taken to a hospital emergency department on Monday. He was then reported to have been transferred to a small infirmary at premises in Caracas of the national intelligence services. We do not have a current update on his condition.

We urge the Venezuelan authorities to ensure this detainee receives the necessary medical care and that across the prison system, inmates are guaranteed access to adequate medical treatment and medicines.

The 59 Colombians were detained during security raids known as Operations for the Liberation of the People – OLPs – which the Government said were designed to break up criminal gangs and bring criminals to justice. The 59 were accused of being Colombian paramilitaries but to date, no evidence or charges have been brought against them and in November 2017, a Venezuelan judge ruled that they should be unconditionally released.

We call on the Venezuelan authorities to comply with this ruling and to free them.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Shamdasani said that the persons detained included regular and irregular migrants who had been working in the construction industry. It was possible that even larger numbers had been detained than those known. The State of Venezuela had an obligation, not just under international law, but under domestic law, to comply with the 2017 Venezuelan court ruling that had called for the detainees’ release. Failure to do so might well amount to arbitrary detention under international human rights law and had thus been referred to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Responding to questions about Fernando Albán, Ms. Shamdasani said that the State of Venezuela had an obligation to ensure the safety and personal dignity of detainees in its care; apparently, that had not been fulfilled in the case of Mr. Albán. OHCHR had expressed concern about his death and about the fact that he had not been brought before a judge within 48 hours of his arrest, as per Venezuelan law. It called for an independent, transparent investigation into his death, about which there were conflicting reports. At its most recent session, the Human Rights Council had mandated OHCHR to prepare a report on the human rights situation in Venezuela to be submitted the following year. OHCHR was already in contact with the Permanent Mission and had been requesting, but had not yet received, access to the country, which would allow for a more thorough analysis of the situation.

In response to a question about prison conditions in Venezuela, Ms. Shamdasani said that overcrowding was rife, the infrastructure was infested with rats and insects, not all inmates had access to light and there was limited access to food and water, including drinking water. In addition, many inmates reportedly suffered from illnesses and were not provided with adequate medical attention, putting not only their physical integrity but their very lives at risk. Violence and, in some cases, riots had broken out in a number of places. While it was not clear that conditions had worsened since President Maduro had accused the Government of Colombia of attempting to assassinate him, conditions were already appalling beyond belief.

Mediterranean statistics

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that in September 2018, virtually all the arrivals from North Africa to Italy, which was under 1,000 for the first time in five years, were from Tunisia – a trend that had been growing throughout 2018. That meant that almost no one had arrived from Libya in September. Although the numbers from Tunisia were growing, they were within the range of those seen on that route for many years. Not only was that route a busy one, it was also a lethal one: just over the past weekend, six people were believed to have drowned off the coast of Tunisia, with one reported as drowned and five still missing. In 2018, there had been a total of 16,000 to 17,000 arrivals from Libya. IOM had taken nearly 13,000 back to their countries of origin. In September 2018, IOM had returned more people from Libya as the number who had managed to arrive in Italy; the totals for the year were nearly equal.

Mr. Millman went on to say that more activity was being reported in Cyprus, linking to Lebanon and Turkey. The total number of irregular migrants having arrived in Cyprus in 2018 was 525. The irregular migrants entering Greece mainly represented three nationalities: Syrian (6,099), Iraqis (4,006) and Afghans (3,716). Through the end of August 2018, the total number of arrivals in Greece was around 14,000, whereas in recent years, there had been some 20,000 new arrivals on a daily basis. Lastly, over 700 irregular migrants from Cameroon, where political strife had recently been reported, had arrived in 2018, almost 600 of them since the end of March; other sender countries included Sierra Leone, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Millman said that IOM kept an enormous database on irregular migrant deaths. On the Spanish route, close to 400 irregular migrants had died, most of them sub-Saharan Africans but also some Moroccans and Algerians. Usually, the poorer a migrant’s country of origin, the less safe the route he or she took to Europe. Eritreans accounted for more deaths than any other nationality, but it was unclear whether that was because they took the least safe routes or because they were Christians travelling through Muslim countries and suffered more attacks for that reason. Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), added that in September 2018, UNHCR had published a report according to which the number of refugees and migrants travelling through the Mediterranean had decreased, but that the number of refugee and migrant deaths had increased, to some 1,600 persons.

Responding to questions about Cameroon, Mr. Millman said that it was as yet unclear what had led to the migration from Cameroon; IOM typically used a displacement tracking matrix to find out such information but had not yet done so for Cameroon. Babar Baloch, for UNHCR, added that according to the findings of UNHCR, owing to ethnic tensions in Cameroon, some 26,000 Cameroonians from the anglophone regions of the country had arrived in Nigeria. UNHCR was supporting the Nigerian Government in providing those refugees with assistance; more arrivals were expected if tensions continued.

Responding to questions about the contribution of the United States of America to IOM projects, Mr. Millman said that the United States was one of the Agency’s leading donors. The State Department almost entirely funded a project based in Amman for asylum-seeking Iraqis who claimed to have worked for the United States Government in some capacity and were seeking resettlement.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that the international community must not wait for political or diplomatic progress to alleviate the suffering of the civil population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Despite some improvements in 2018, humanitarian needs across the country remained high, with chronic food insecurity and malnutrition being widespread. More than 10 million people – 40 per cent of the population - were undernourished and required humanitarian assistance, with one in five children stunted owing to chronic malnutrition. Funding was necessary to support vulnerable people, especially women and children, who were suffering. WFP operations in the DPRK for 2018 were only 37 percent funded. Some donors might have concerns about supporting programmes there, but they should not: humanitarian issues were too pressing to wait for political issues to be resolved. It was especially urgent considering that any donation received today would take at least six months to reach the people who needed it, given the time it took to purchase and transport food. Indeed, a number of transport companies refused to work with DPRK because they were not familiar with the Security Council resolutions relating to the country, which in no way applied to humanitarian aid and associated services. WFP services targeted the most vulnerable children under five, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women. WFP aimed to assist 650,000 women and children every month. They were given fortified cereal and biscuits with micronutrients. Fortified food was produced with imported cereal at 11 WFP-supported factories in the DPRK and then distributed. Aid was subject to regular monitoring, for which WFP required access to various parts of the country; WFP appealed to the DPRK to continue granting such access. WFP needed USD 15.2 million over the next five months to avoid further cuts. All WFP activities carried out in the country remained strictly within the parameters of Security Council resolutions. He recalled, lastly, that 16 October was World Food Day.

Responding to questions from the press, Mr. Verhoosel said that while the United States of America remained the leading WFP donor worldwide, none of its funds were earmarked for the DPRK. As for the transport of imported cereal, most commodities arrived by ship. WFP had plans to expand certain programmes within the DPRK, but to do so, it urgently needed additional funds.

Report reveals that refugees bear the cost of massive underfunding

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), gave the following statement:

“Funding for the world’s forcibly displaced and stateless people is becoming increasingly squeezed, with barely more than half of needs being met, and worsening hardship and risks for many refugees, other displaced people and the communities they live among. This is according to a new report released today by the Donor Relations and Resource Mobilization Service of UNHCR. With 68.5 million people forcibly displaced worldwide as of the start of this year, funding by governments for refugee and other displacement situations has seldom been more pressured. Based on contributions to date we expect funding for 2018 to meet just 55 per cent of the $8.2 billion that is needed. This compares to 56.6 per cent in 2017 and 58 per cent in 2016. In short, donor funding is falling increasingly behind as the number of forcibly displaced worldwide has grown.

And the consequences for refugees and internally displaced people in particular are becoming all too real. In situation after situation we are seeing increases in malnutrition, health facilities being overcrowded, housing and shelters becoming increasingly unliveable, children either in overcrowded classrooms or doing without school altogether, and growing protection risks because of shortages of personnel to deal with unaccompanied children or victims or sexual violence.

Six refugee and displacement situations globally are particularly badly hit. These include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria and Somalia situations.

UNHCR expresses particular thanks to donors of flexible funding whose critical support has been essential to mitigating the impact by allowing us to direct funds where they are most needed.

The Burundian refugee situation at present is the lowest funded of any situation globally. At present just 28 per cent of the US$206 million needed has been received. The impact on the 400,000 refugees in neighbouring countries is acute.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, limited funding is affecting the ability of humanitarians to provide livelihood activities, especially to young people, and access to education and health. Minimum standards in food distributions, nutrition, health and other basic needs are often hard to meet.

Inside Afghanistan, the lack of funding is affecting UNHCR projects in 60 locations. These projects include assisting some 132,700 Afghan families with rehabilitation and construction cash-for-work, provision of solar panel home lightening systems, and other kinds of support.

In South Sudan, without enough funds the food pipeline for refugees is being frequently interrupted. High rates of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) rates are reported in asylum countries, compounding pre-existing protection challenges faced by the South Sudanese refugees prior to their flight in particular for women, children and youth.

In Syria, some 5.6 million Syrian refugees in the region and another 6.2 million displaced inside the country are directly affected by the funding shortfall. UNHCR’s requirements of US$1.968 billion for the Syria situation are currently only 35 per cent funded.

Lastly, in Somalia, failure to support refugees and host communities risks a deterioration in humanitarian conditions, a perception of lack of support to host communities, and could precipitate returns before the Government of Somalia is ready to receive and absorb them.”

Responding to questions from the press, Mr. Baloch said that most of the funding received was tightly earmarked for certain operations. Even if analysed globally, available funding for those in need amounted to cents, not dollars. Consequently, UNHCR placed a priority on meeting basic needs, such as shelter, food and health. Despite such efforts, malnutrition was on the rise, especially in South Sudanese refugees, and assisting the world’s refugees was generally becoming more difficult.

Announcement of the 139th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

Thomas Fitzsimons, for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), said that the 139th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union would be held at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG) from 14-18 October 2018. Participants would include some 700 members of Parliament. The umbrella theme of the Assembly, “Placing science at the heart of parliaments, policy-making and peace”, would be discussed at the general debate. Also under that theme, a panel discussion on misinformation, or “fake news”, would be held, with the participation of members of Parliament, journalists and academics. During the Assembly, the IPU would launch, in partnership with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a groundbreaking report on violence against women in European parliaments. The report corroborated an IPU study in 2016 that found that 82 per cent of women members of Parliament had experienced some form of gender-based psychological violence. Marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, there would be a special session in partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the presence of prominent politicians including Anwar Ibrahim (Malaysia) and Fawzia Koofi (Afghanistan). The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which had been supporting both Anwar Ibrahim and Fawzia Koofi for many years, would meet to consider what actions to take to defend other persecuted members of Parliament. A closing press conference would take place on Thursday, 18 October, at 1.15 p.m. in Press Room 1 at the Palais des Nations.

Responding to questions from the press, Mr. Fitzsimons said that many cases involving Venezuelan opposition members of Parliament were being followed up by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which was expected to meet on Wednesday, 17 October. A request to the Venezuelan authorities for a fact-finding mission had been reiterated; more information would likely be available following the Committee’s meeting. The report on violence against women in European parliaments would be formally launched on Tuesday, 16 October, at 11 a.m., during a session with members of Parliament; the report would be made available under embargo on Monday, 15 October. IPU would endeavour to facilitate meetings between journalists and IPU experts or participants in the Assembly. Delegations from both South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were expected to attend.

Announcement of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention – which was serviced by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) – was taking place during the current week in Astana, Kazakhstan (10-12 October). The Meeting came at a time of building momentum for water cooperation worldwide, with Chad and Senegal having joined the Convention in 2018. Over 400 representatives, including ministers, of around 90 countries, international organizations, NGOs and academia from all world regions were expected. It illustrated the growing political attention being paid to the strengthening of transboundary water cooperation in a period of increasing water stress. Key topics would include climate change adaptation, the status and benefits of transboundary water cooperation worldwide, and a high-level workshop taking place on 9 October aimed at building the capacities of ministers and other high-level officials for financing water cooperation. The workshop was co-organized by ECE and Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and Switzerland, in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, the International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the European Investment Bank and the World Bank.

Geneva announcements

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that, on 9 October 2018, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was holding a day of general discussion on a draft general comment on article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, with a focus on the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications and other provisions of article 15 on the relationship between science and economic, social and cultural rights. That day would feature the last public meetings of the sixty-fourth session, which would end on 12 October. The Committee would issue concluding observations on a total of six State party reports.

Mr. LeBlanc said that on the morning of 9 October 2018, the Human Rights Committee was concluding its consideration of the report of Belarus, which it had begun on the afternoon of 8 October – the first day of its 124th session. On the afternoon of 9 October, it would begin considering the report of Sudan. Over the course of its 124th session, which would conclude on 2 November 2018, the Committee would consider the reports of Belarus, Sudan, Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize and Bulgaria, in that order.

Press Conferences

UNCTAD
Tuesday, 9 October at 2:30 p.m., Press Room 1
Presentation of the World Investment Forum: Investing in Sustainable Development 22- 26 October - Palais des Nations
Speaker: James Zhan – UNCTAD – Director – Division on Investment and Enterprise

UNISDR
Wednesday, 10 October at 10:30 a.m., Press Room 1
Report launch: “Economic losses, poverty and disasters 1998-2017”
Economic losses from disasters have been increasing over recent years, with USD2.9 trillion worth of damage registered between 1998 and 2017. Extreme weather events fuelled by climate change, account for a growing percentage of these losses. In the build-up to International Day for Disaster Reduction on October 13, UNISDR and partner CRED (the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters) release new findings and explain the relevance of economic loss to disaster risk management.
Speakers:
Debarati Guha, Professor, Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL).
Ricardo Mena, Chief, Supporting and Monitoring Sendai Framework Implementation Branch, UNISDR
Moderator: Jeanette Elsworth, Senior Public Information Officer, UNISDR