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 Labour Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Food Programme and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, read the following statement on behalf of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria:

“Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen was in Ankara on Monday where he held valuable talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuþoðlu and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal in the effort to continue to rally support for UN Security Council resolution 2254, concerted backing for the UN efforts and the active facilitation of a Syrian-owned and -led political process in Geneva, including the constitutional committee.

Over the weekend, Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said on Twitter he had a good exchange of views over the weekend in Egypt with the SG of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry. Discussions revolved around regional developments and the reaffirmation of support for a UN-facilitated political solution in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254.

The Special Envoy is travelling back to Geneva today, continuing with his intensive consultations with key stakeholders, building confidence towards the full implementation of Security Council resolution 2254.”

Responding to a question on the possibility of a Geneva press event with Mr. Pedersen, Ms. Vellucci said that a request would be transmitted again to his Office.

Nigeria

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), read the following statement:

“The UN and our humanitarian partners in Nigeria are launching today a three-year Humanitarian Response Strategy covering 2019-2021 which, for 2019 alone, seeks US$848 million in funding.

This Response Strategy is being launched together with the Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan and in support of the Government of Nigeria.

This year, aid groups in Nigeria are seeking to reach 6.2 million vulnerable people who have been hit the hardest by the decade-long crisis between non-state armed groups and Government forces in and around Nigeria's north-eastern Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

A recent upsurge in violence has displaced over 80,000 civilians who have sought refuge in crowded camps or in towns in Borno State. In total, 1.8 million people are internally displaced in the north-east due to this protracted crisis which is characterized by massive abuses against civilians including killings, rape, abduction, child recruitment, and burning and pillaging of homes and entire villages.

The destruction of livelihoods and infrastructure in the north-east is widespread. As a result, some 1.7 million people are food insecure in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states; nearly 370,000 children are severely, acutely malnourished; two-thirds of health facilities have been damaged; and around 900,000 children are effectively out of school.

The response strategy is designed to address these urgent needs: Food security assistance alone accounts for nearly a third of the funding required, followed by nutrition, health, and water & sanitation projects. Nearly $50 million is required for emergency education.

Last year, the response plan asked for $US 1 billion and donors provided $700 million of that which enabled humanitarians to bring relief to more than 5.5 million people.”

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

“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with the UN Development Programme and other partners, is today launching the 2019 Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP), an appeal for US$135 million to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the worsening Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin region.

With more 250,000 children, women and men already uprooted from northeast Nigeria, surging militant attacks targeting civilians and are forcing thousands more to run for their lives each day. Young girls, old women and aid workers continue to bear the brunt of this escalating violence.

Nigerian refugees continue to arrive in very remote and impoverished communities in neighbouring countries. An estimated 30,000 have fled the city of Rann over the weekend alone to seek refuge across the Cameroonian border.

Thousands have also fled to neighbouring Chad in recent weeks. The hostilities have strained humanitarian operations there and forced aid workers to pull out from some locations. The destruction of livelihoods and infrastructure is widespread.

The escalation in the conflict has thwarted people’s intention of returning to their homes. Some refugees that attempted to return to their homes and communities have become displaced multiple times inside Nigeria or have become refugees a second time in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The newly launched aid appeal aims to broaden the humanitarian response towards a longer-term approach - to support those forced to flee and the communities hosting them. Refugee hosting communities are already living below the poverty line and in dire need of aid themselves with their ability to help the displaced being stretched to the limit.

The 40 UN agencies and humanitarian organizations that joined the 2019 Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP), will cater for the needs of a quarter million Nigerian refugees and 55,000 of their hosts in Niger, Cameroon and Chad.”

Responding to questions on the appeal, Mr. Laerke, for OCHA, said that the USD 848 million sought in funding in 2019 was less than the sum sought in 2018. However, the same number of people were being targeted through the appeal. The adjustment was based on an improved assessment of the situation. The humanitarian country team estimated that over 800,000 of the 6.2 million people targeted lived in areas that were difficult to reach, on account of either their remoteness or active hostilities. In absolute terms, donations were continued to increase year on year, but the needs, too, continued to increase. Since early December 2018, some 260 aid workers had been withdrawn from three locations in Borno State, namely the villages of Kala Balge, Kukawa and Monguno.

Responding to a series of questions on the events in Rann, Mr. Baloch, for UNHCR, said that, over the weekend, 30,000 refugees had fled the city to seek refuge in Cameroon. The situation had begun with the militant attacks in Rann on 14 January. Previously, the Cameroonian authorities had returned some 9,000 refugees from the same area. Cameroon was part of the Multinational Joint Task Force, and its military had previously entered Rann to secure the city. As far as he understood, the Multinational Joint Task Force had left the area, and Boko Haram had since vowed to return. The population seemed to have fled the city as a pre-emptive measure. Inside Cameroon, UNHCR was working with the Cameroonian authorities to assist those at border points and reiterated its call to keep the borders open.

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that, in north-east Nigeria, 1.7 million people were dependent on food assistance. That number could rise by a further 1 million, to 2.7 million in total, if further support was not secured before the lean season. WFP needed USD 107 million for 2019. On 14 January, some of the facilities used by Médecins Sans Frontières and other humanitarian actors had been set on fire, which would hamper their work.

Responding to further questions, Mr. Baloch, for UNHCR, said that, to his knowledge, Boko Haram militants had gone on a rampage on 14 January, destroying humanitarian facilities. People were arriving in the extreme north of the territory of Cameroon. UNHCR did not have access to the locality of Rann and some other parts of Borno State. Some 80,000 people had been displaced by the recent attacks, 30,000 of whom had arrived in Cameroon. It was possible that more still would arrive. The new wave of refugee arrivals remained in Cameroon. UNHCR had appealed to the Cameroonian authorities not to return the refugees and was working with them to assist that population. UNHCR had not received an update on the number of arrivals in Chad, which had stood at 6,000. Owing to security concerns, UNHCR was working with authorities to move them to a refugee camp within Chad.

Israel / Occupied Palestinian Territory

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

“We are deeply concerned about the protracted and extremely violent attack on Palestinians in the West Bank village of Al Mughayyir last Saturday (26 January), during which a 38-year-old Palestinian father of four, Hamdi Taleb Na’asan, was shot in the back and killed.

The monitoring by our staff in the West Bank suggests that the killing took place after a group of up to 30 Israelis - some of them armed - from the nearby Israeli outpost of Adei Ad first of all attacked Palestinian farmers in their fields, and then descended on the village itself where they used live ammunition to shoot at the villagers and their houses.

The confrontation led to six villagers being shot with live ammunition, leaving three of them in a serious condition. It is unclear whether any settlers were also injured, and if so how many.

Although Israeli security forces were stationed near the village and were immediately alerted to the attack, witnesses informed our staff – who visited the village yesterday – that it took some two hours before they intervened.

When Israeli security forces did finally intervene, the main focus of their action appears to have been to disperse the Palestinian villagers using teargas. Three more Palestinians were injured by live ammunition after the intervention of the security forces. However it is not clear at this point whether they were shot by settlers or by soldiers. In total, 20 villagers were injured during the course of the day.

This violence took place in the context of a surge in settler violence in the West Bank, which has reached its highest levels since 2015. According to OCHA, the average number of violent incidents instigated by settlers per month increased by 57% in 2018 compared to 2017, and by 175% in comparison to 2016.

Israel as the occupying power, is obliged under international humanitarian law to protect the Palestinian population from such attacks. Those responsible for settler violence must be brought to account.

The Israeli security forces have opened an initial probe into the killing of Mr. Na’asan, and we welcome this. We urge the authorities to ensure there is a full investigation into his killing and the injuries caused to others, and that it is independent, transparent and effective.”

Responding to questions, Mr. Colville, for OHCHR, said that there had recently been a number of incidents in Al Mughayyir perpetrated by settlers from the outpost in question. OHCHR staff had visited the village many times. On 14 October, settlers had cut down and vandalized 120 olive trees belonging to Palestinians from the village. On 24 November, they had entered the village, sprayed graffiti on the walls and punctured car tires. On 18 December, they had cut down and vandalized at least 80 olive trees belonging to Palestinians from the village. Similar incidents had taken place in other villages across the West Bank. OHCHR had considerable concerns about the relative impunity that the perpetrators enjoyed. Under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, the authorities had an obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish any harm, whether caused by Israeli government officials, security forces or private individuals. He believed that some prosecutions had taken place, but the efforts being made to prevent settler violence were far from adequate. It was disturbing that, in the incident in question, the security forces had taken a long time to intervene and, when they had finally done so, their primary aim had been to prevent Palestinians from responding.

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that WFP was facing a severe funding shortfall in Palestine, which had already begun to affect the poorest people in Gaza and the West Bank. WFP needed to prioritize its operations based on available funding. As at 1 January 2019, some 27,000 people in the West Bank no longer received assistance, and the rest received only 80 per cent of what they previously had.

Venezuela

Responding to a question on Venezuela, Rupert Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that OHCHR had updated numbers on the current situation. In total, just over 40 people were believed to have been killed, including at least 26 people who had died after allegedly being shot by security forces or members of pro-Government armed groups during the demonstrations that had taken place over the period 22–25 January. At least five additional people had allegedly been killed by security forces during illegal house raids in poor neighbourhoods, which usually took place a few hours after the protests. At least 11 people were reported to have been killed during lootings that had taken place in or around the protests. Reportedly, one member of the Bolivarian National Guard had been killed during a protest in Monagas. With regard to detentions, it was believed that at least 850 people, including 77 children, had been detained for protesting during the period 21–26 January. At least 696 people had been detained across the country on 23 January alone, which was the largest number of detentions recorded in a single day in Venezuela for at least 20 years. OHCHR had received reports of violations of due process for detainees and had started to receive reports, as yet unverified, of the possible ill-treatment of detainees.

Responding to further questions, Mr. Colville, for OHCHR, said that sanctions, such as those imposed on the State-owned oil company, always ran the risk of having an impact beyond their intended targets. It would be regrettable if the sanctions in question made the situation even worse for the people of Venezuela. The High Commissioner was considering a visit to Venezuela, but it remained a distant prospect for the time being. The Government had extended an invitation to her, but OHCHR usually conducted a preliminary visit to countries in which it did not have a presence in order to ensure that all the necessary elements were in place.

Responding to a question on the Government’s legitimacy, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS), said that Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, had repeatedly emphasized that the Secretary-General did not have the authority to grant recognition to Member States or their leaders. The Secretary-General offered the support and mediation of the United Nations in order to resolve the crisis.

Responding to questions on the humanitarian situation, Ms. Vellucci, for UNIS, said that the United Nations had colleagues on the ground and remained focused on the people of Venezuela. Any humanitarian action should, as a matter of principle, be independent of political, economic, military or other objectives. The United Nations continued to address the humanitarian situation through the existing Development Assistance Framework, which focused on health, nutrition and the needs of those who had already left the country. All actors should commit to inclusive, credible and political dialogue to address the protracted crisis and humanitarian needs.


Joining the discussion, Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that an agency could not conduct activities in a country unless it had been invited to do so by its Government.

WFP and FIFA

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:

“Ensuring that children have the chance to lead healthy, productive lives generates a lasting impact that can positively shape the future of a nation. Schools provides the perfect setting as a means of achieving this goal, something that both FIFA and the UN World Food Programme understand.

The two organizations have agreed to strengthen the collaboration between two complementary programs: The FIFA football in schools program and WFP’s School feeding program.

FIFA’s new Football for Schools Programme aims to make football more accessible to both boys and girls around the world by incorporating football activities into physical education curriculums (or as an extracurricular pursuit), thereby contributing to the education, development and empowerment of children.

WFP’s school feeding programme runs in more than 100 countries, and helps to ensure that every child has access to education, health and nutrition by providing children with meals while in school – an important foundation for sport and physical education.

Drawing extensively on the country networks and logistical expertise of the school feeding programme, WFP will assist with the distribution of up to 11 million footballs to schools in territories of FIFA’s 211 member associations, reaching more than 700 million children.

By incentivizing children to enrol in and stay in school, the WFP school meals program sets children up for a more successful future through improved health, education and productivity outcomes. Combining these demonstrated benefits with the unifying and empowering influence of football as a universal sport, school feeding and football in schools together can provide millions of children a greater chance of realizing their potential.

The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and the Executive Director of WFP, David Beasley, met at the World Economic Forum to finalize the cooperation between these two programmes. In Q3 of this year, FIFA and WFP will run the first round of pilot programmes.”

Responding to a series of questions, Mr. Verhoosel said that his organization would support the initiative only in countries in which it had rolled out its school feeding programme. One of the first countries would be Jordan, which hosted many refugees. WFP was already very active in the country. FIFA would provide the footballs, and WFP would deliver some of them. The footballs would not display any brand names, and no FIFA sponsors would be linked to the initiative.

WIPO announcement
Edward Harris, for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said that, that week, WIPO was launching a flagship report on artificial intelligence. The report was the first edition in the “Technology Trends” research series. The trends addressed in the report included the massive recent upsurge in artificial intelligence innovation. The analysis was based on patent data, scientific literature, business information and contributions from leading experts in the field. Francis Gurry, WIPO Director-General, would speak at the press conference scheduled for 9 a.m. on 30 January in Press Room 1. The embargo on the material would expire on the morning of Thursday, 31 January, and a panel discussion with industry leaders, including representatives of market leaders, would be held on that day.

ILO announcements

Rosalind Yarde, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), said that, on 5 February, a major conference on universal social protection would be held at ILO headquarters from 9 a.m. to 6.15 p.m. It had been organized by the Global Partnership for Universal Social Protection. Universal social protection prevented poverty, reduced inequality and was the key to sustained inclusive economic and social development. The event would bring together ministers, policymakers and civil society representatives, including Michelle Bachelet,, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, ILO Deputy Director-General Deborah Greenfield and representatives of, inter alia, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Commission and the World Bank.

Ms. Yarde also said that, on 6 February, ILO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) would publish a joint report on universal child grants. An embargoed copy would be made available on 4 February. Between 6 and 8 February, a conference on universal child grants would take place. More information would be made available shortly.

Ms. Yarde added that, on 13 February, ILO would release its World Employment and Social Outlook trends for 2019. There would be a press briefing on 11 February.

Responding to a question on the concept of universal child grants, Ms. Yarde said that, as 385 million children were currently living in extreme poverty, and not all children enjoyed social security coverage, many countries were exploring the possibility of introducing cash transfers. The upcoming conference represented an opportunity to explore that possibility in greater detail.

Press Conferences

Tuesday 29 January at 12.00 a.m., Room III

UNRWA

UNRWA announces its needs, challenges and prospects for 2019

Speaker:
• Pierre Krähenbühl, UNRWA Commissioner-General

Wednesday 30 January at 11.00 a.m., Press Room 1

WIPO

Launch of WIPO’s first Technology Trends Report series- subject: Artificial Intelligence

This groundbreaking report focuses on:
• technologies and trends, comparing patenting activity to scientific publications;
• top players from industry and academia across different technologies and application fields;
• geographical distribution of AI patent protection; and
• existing AI policies and future prospects.

The analysis is based on patent and scientific literature data. It is complemented by business information as well as by contributions from leading experts in the field.

Speaker:
• Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General

Thursday 31 January at 10.30 a.m., Press Room 1

WHO

Ahead of World Cancer Day (Monday 4 February), WHO will brief on its new drive to eliminate cervical cancer globally, as well launch new cancer pain control guidelines

Speakers:
• Dr Princess Nothemba (Nono) Simelela, Assistant Director-General for Family, Women, Children and Adolescents, WHO
• Dr Etienne Krug, Director, Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention, WHO