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 World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Trade Organization, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the World Meteorological Organization, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Syria

Ms. Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, read the statement of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Syria:

“The Secretary-General is following with great concern the intensifying hostilities in the de-escalation area of northwestern Syria involving Syrian Government forces and their allies, armed opposition forces, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. He is alarmed by reports of aerial attacks on population centers and civilian infrastructure resulting in hundreds of civilian dead and injured and over 150,000 newly displaced persons.

On 5 May, three health facilities were reportedly hit by airstrikes, bringing the total to at least seven struck since 28 April. Nine schools have reportedly been hit since 30 April, and schools in many areas have been closed until further notice.

The Secretary-General urges all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians. He calls for an urgent de-escalation of the situation as the holy month of Ramadan begins and urges the parties to recommit fully to the ceasefire arrangements of the memorandum signed on 17 September 2018. He urges the Astana guarantors to ensure that this takes place.”

Ms. Vellucci informed that the International Syria Support Group's Ceasefire Task Force would convene on Wednesday, 8 May, but there would be no media opportunities.

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

“We are alarmed that the military escalation in northern Hama and southern Idlib provinces in Syria since 29 April has placed in serious danger hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have been surviving there for years. Those fleeing the hostilities are at high risk and continue to face serious protection concerns along the way.

Credible reports suggest that Government and allied forces have intensified attacks within the “demilitarized buffer zone” in southern rural Idlib and northern rural Hama. This military campaign may lead to a response from other armed groups, including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham -an Al- Qaeda affiliate group- creating a volatile situation that may provoke further violence and displacement.

The intensification of the violence has already taken a heavy toll on civilians. According to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office, at least 27 civilians have been killed and 31 injured since 29 April including many women and children. In particular, a series of ground-based attacks and airstrikes have been recorded to have been carried out against civilian infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, causing severe damage.

We call on all parties to the conflict to respect the international humanitarian law principles of distinction, precaution and proportionality and to ensure the full protection of civilian objects.

Yesterday, 6 of May, Government forces started to advance on the ground and captured villages from the non-State armed groups in northern Hama. Additionally, non-State groups carried out counterattacks in Latakia.

Just on the 30 of April, five civilians were killed and 21 injured in six different attacks in residential areas of southern Idlib and northern rural Hama. One of the bombardments hit a medical facility and another hit the vicinity of an intermediate school.

The intensified military offensive has further resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of people who were repeatedly displaced and had to move further north towards northern and eastern rural Idlib and northern and western rural Aleppo seeking safety - but extremely vulnerable to attacks en route.

On 1 May, three civilians (a woman and her two boys) were killed and two other civilians injured as a result of airstrikes and ground-based attacks that hit near their vehicle in Abdeen town as they were fleeing the hostilities in al-Hbeet, heading towards northern Idlib.

UN Human Rights Office further received credible reports about displaced civilians fleeing the hostilities in Idlib that are being prevented by the non-State armed groups from entering the areas under their control in Afrin district in western rural Aleppo.”

Answering a question on the number of health facilities bombed and the number of displaced people, Ms. Shamsadani informed that at least 11 health facilities were verified to have been bombed.

Jens Laerke, for the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), asked for caution when counting displaced people, as some of them had moved numerous times. Since September 2018, at least 333,000 people were estimated to have been displaced.

Yemen

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

“A World Food Programme-lead mission and a small technical team of Red Sea Mills Company employees have accessed the Red Sea Mills on Sunday, 5 May.

The technical team will remain at the site to clean and service the milling equipment in preparation for the milling and eventual distribution of the wheat.

We will need to send more workers and technical experts to the mills in due course and send supplies to the team now working at the site.

In order to do this, we need continued safe access to the Mills, which lie close to sensitive frontline areas

We are very relieved and pleased that this mission was able to go ahead. Today wouldn’t have been possible without the support of other UN agencies particularly OCHA and UNDP who accompanied WFP staff and the RSM workers to the site

An assessment carried out following the 26 February mission to the mills concluded that around 70 percent of the wheat may still be salvageable.

However, the flour yield will be lower than normal due to the hollow grains (caused by weevil infestation) that will be sifted out during milling.

More than 2 months have passed since that assessment and the wheat will have most likely further deteriorated in quality particularly given the hot weather conditions.

The plan is to leave this small technical team of Red Sea Mills employees at the Mills to begin cleaning and servicing the milling machinery and fumigating the wheat.

This process will take several weeks. Phase two of the recovery operation would then begin: milling the wheat into flour and transporting it to Yemen’s most food insecure communities.

We lost access to the Mills in early September 2018. When we lost access there was 51,000 metric tons of wheat, enough to feed 3.7 million people for 1 month.

The level of need in Yemen remains huge. Now that we have a team in place at the Mills it is vitally important that we as quickly and efficiently as possible get the wheat to the people who need it most

In March the World Food Programme distributed food to more than 10.6 million people in Yemen, the largest number ever reached in a single month. We are scaling up to support 12 million people in urgent need of food in the coming months WFP Operations in Yemen are the biggest for WFP in the world.

Yesterday, 6 May, WFP Deputy Executive Director Amir Abdulla travelled to Yemen to undertake a three-day mission. He first travelled to Aden, where he met with the Internationally Recognized Government of Yemen Prime Minister and other senior officials.

He then travelled to Sana’a where he met the UN Special Envoy to Yemen
Martin Griffiths, later he met the de facto Minister and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. He will have further meetings today with WFP’s Yemen team as well as the de-facto Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. He is due to fly out on Wednesday.

The focus of the discussions featured around the humanitarian situation in Yemen,
the progress of the scale-up of operations to reach 12 million people each month
and the need to ensure the accountability of our operation.”

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“Some 3,000 migrants continue to be held in two temporary detention sites in Yemen's Aden and Abyan governorates. Among those detained are Ethiopian nationals, many practicing Muslims, who are embarking on thirty days of Ramadan fasting while detained.

The International Organization for Migration has been providing clean water and emergency food at the 22nd of May Stadium in Aden where nearly 2,500 migrants are detained.

On 21 April, authorities in Yemen began detaining nearly 5,000 irregular migrants in two sports stadiums and a military camp in the Aden, Abyan and Lahj governorates. The detainees predominately are Ethiopians, who entered Yemen to seek livelihoods and opportunities on the Arabian Peninsula.

On Friday, 3 May, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix teams confirmed that 2,473 migrants remain under detention in Aden’s 22nd May Stadium. Of those, the DTM determined 873 are children.

Since last week’s headcount, more people have been brought to that site. An estimated 500 migrants are also being held in a second sports stadium in Abyan.

At the stadium in Aden, IOM is combatting the spread of communicable disease by providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health services. Between 26 April and 5 May, IOM has conducted over 1,800 health consultations and rehabilitated 30 latrines.

In recent days, more than 1,400 people detained at the military camp in Lahj reportedly were released. IOM is making efforts to confirm the locations and wellbeing of all migrants released in Lahj, particularly because some had been suffering from acute watery diarrhea. At Lahj’s Ibn Khaldoon Hospital, IOM is treating more than 70 former detainees with AWD in its newly-opened diarrhea treatment centre. Tragically, since Wednesday, 1 May, 14 migrants have perished from the illness.”

A question was asked on whether the information provided today on detained migrants in Yemen was new or an update on the earlier reported situation. Mr. Millman for IOM said that he provided updated and more detailed information on the situation which had already been reported. Mr. Millman stressed that detention of people in such situation was not something that the IOM supported.

Malta

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

“We call on the authorities in Malta to reconsider the terrorism charges laid against three teenagers who were arrested on 28 March following the docking of the El Hiblu I commercial vessel in the country.

The charges relate to an incident that occurred at the end of March, when some 100 migrants attempting to flee Libya were rescued in international waters by a commercial vessel that was en route to Libya. The vessel reportedly rescued the migrants and initially informed them that they would be taken to Europe but then turned around to head back to Libya. The migrants protested in desperation and the ship was steered again toward Malta. The accused, aged 15, 16 and 19, have been charged under Maltese laws for allegedly hijacking the ship and forcing it to go to Malta. Some of the charges are punishable by life imprisonment. We understand that the three are due to appear in court on 20 May.

While the circumstances around the captain’s decision to finally steer the ship to Malta are disputed, we are deeply concerned by the severity of the charges. In spite of the fact that two of them are minors, all three of the accused were held in the high-security division of an adult prison after they were reportedly interrogated by the authorities without being appointed legal guardians or placed in the care of independent child protection officials, responsible for ensuring their best interests.

We have made our concerns clear to the Maltese authorities about the treatment of the three young migrants and what we believe to be exaggerated charges against them, and urged them to reconsider the charges.

Once again, we urge the European Union and its Member States to implement a common, human rights-based response to maritime migration from Libya. States need to ensure sufficient search and rescue resources in the Mediterranean Sea, and to guarantee that non-governmental search and rescue organisations can perform their life-saving activities without being criminalised. States must ensure that all rescued migrants can disembark swiftly in a port of safety where their rights are respected and make it clear that no returns should take place directly or indirectly to Libya.

Libya, very clearly, is not a safe port. A State’s forcible return of migrants who have been rescued at sea to Libya violates the core legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returns where there are substantial grounds for believing that a person would be at risk of serious human rights violations or other irreparable harm.

UN human rights reports have detailed systematic human rights violations against migrants in Libya, including unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, torture and inhuman detention conditions, alarming rates of malnutrition, sexual and gender-based violence including gang rape, slavery, forced labour and extortion. A December 2018 report documented 1,300 migrants’ accounts of the “unimaginable horrors” they suffered. Those who were intercepted while attempting to flee by sea were then delivered straight back into the pattern of violations and abuses they had escaped, including indefinite detention, trafficking, starvation, severe beatings, and squalid conditions where many develop serious medical issues.

We understand that many of the migrants who arrived in Malta on the El Hiblu I were dehydrated and exhibited clear signs of torture and ill-treatment, including several children. It is unclear whether they remain in the Initial Reception Centre, where most of them were being held initially. We urge the Maltese authorities to ensure the proper care and protection of these individuals, including by releasing them to non-custodial Open Centres where their vulnerabilities and protection needs can be best assessed.”

Responding to a question, Ms. Shamdasani could not provide information on the nationalities of the three migrants. She informed that the OHCHR was working with the Maltese authorities to clarify the charges, and that there was an organization in Malta representing the three migrants in court.

Myanmar

Journalists asked for an OHCHR comment on the release of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar. Ms. Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said it was definitely good news although those journalists should never have been arrested and convicted in the first place. Ms. Shamdasani reminded of the OHCHR report published in September 2018, which described a very dire situation on the situation of media freedoms in Myanmar and included a series of concrete recommendations. No positive progress had been observed since then. OHCHR remained concerned about the flaws in the judicial process which led to the arrest of those two journalists in the first place.

Gaza

A journalist raised the issue of the attack by the Israeli Army against the building hosting offices of the Anadolu Agency in Gaza. Ms. Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), did not have specific information from the colleagues in the region on whether they managed to investigate the incident.

United Arab Emirates

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

“We call on the Emirati authorities to investigate the circumstances around the death of Alia Abdulnoor. Ms. Abdulnoor passed away in Tawam hospital in Al-Ain on 4 May 2019. She suffered from terminal cancer and was reportedly denied proper treatment, held in degrading conditions – which could amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

When Ms Abdulnoor´s cancer – in remission since 2008 – resurfaced in 2015, her family repeatedly appealed to the authorities to release her on health grounds, permissible under the Emirati law. Calls by UN human rights experts* for her release and to let her “live her final days in dignity” were ignored.

Ms Abdulnoor was arrested by State security in July 2015. She was reportedly held in secret detention and solitary confinement subjected to physical and psychological humiliation and forced to sign a written confession obtained under torture. Ms Abdulnoor was charged with “financing terrorism” based on the Anti-Terrorism law of 2014. In February 2017, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison where the Federal Appeal Supreme Court upheld the conviction.

We call on the authorities to fully investigate the credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Ms. Abdulnoor and to bring to justice all suspected perpetrators. We urge the authorities to provide adequate medical care to all prisoners, review the cases where there are allegations of torture, and to review counter-terrorism and cybercrime laws to bring them in line with international human rights norms.”

Namibia

A journalist asked about the declaration of a state of emergency in Namibia and whether the authorities had reached out to UN agencies. Mr. Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), responded that the WFP was aware of the situation; he would follow up with the WFP team on the ground and revert.

WHO Strategy on Snakebites

Dr Bernadette Abela-Ridder, Team Leader, Neglected Zoonotic Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO), informed that the WHO was launching a strategy on snakebite envenoming. The executive summary was available on the WHO website. On 23 May, in a side event of the World Health Assembly, the WHO would unveil the full strategy and would look for support from partners. Many sectors were affected by snakebites, and especially people working in agriculture were at risk; 40 percent of all snake casualties were children. On 21 May at 6 p.m., the WHO would host viewing of a documentary on snakebites at the Biotech campus.

A fact sheet and an overview of the strategy on snake bites would be sent out following the briefing.

Eliminating Trans Fats

Fadela Chaib, also for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that she had sent out a press release on a meeting between the WHO and the International Food and Beverage Alliance, which discussed aligning on global trans-fat elimination targets, reducing salt, sugar and saturated fats in processed foods. Dr Francesco Branca, a WHO expert, was available for interviews, and more information could be requested from WHO communications officer Paul Garwood.

Question was asked about journalists access to a WHO contact in Venezuela. Ms. Chaib said that she would follow up and revert.

Conference on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Crisis

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), informed about the conference on sexual and gender-based violence in humanitarian crisis, which would take place in Oslo on 23-24 May, co-hosted by the UN. Mr. Laerke read the following statement:

“Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a heinous and appalling crime that is triggered and exacerbated in humanitarian crises across the world.

The impact of SGBV is devastating for survivors and their communities – physical consequences include injuries, unwanted pregnancies, fistulae, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and death. Survivors often face social rejection that increases their vulnerability to further abuse and exploitation. Due to these risks, SGBV remains highly underreported.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by sexual and gender-based violence. Men and boys are affected too.

SGBV is a global challenge, but it is not inevitable and can be prevented.

Greater focus is needed on working with governments to support them in fulfilling their obligation to improve policies and legal frameworks, train military and legal personnel, and on engaging with non-state armed groups to uphold international humanitarian law, especially in protracted crises.

Despite its criticality, protection from SGBV remains severely underfunded at less than 1 percent of global humanitarian funding.

The Conference on Ending Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Humanitarian Crises, the first ever of its kind, will take place on 23-24 May in Oslo.

The conference is hosted by the Norwegian Government together with the governments of Iraq, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, United Nations entities OCHA and UNFPA, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

All States are invited to attend at ministerial level together with a broad range of civil society organizations and influential individuals including the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege.

The aim is to strengthen collective responsibility and seek increased funding and political commitment to prevention and an effective response.

The conference is open to the press. Please see media advisory below in English, French and Arabic.”

UN Secretary-General’s Visit to Geneva

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, informed about the upcoming visit of the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to Geneva. Mr. Guterres would be arriving on Wednesday, 8 May and departing on Friday, 10 May. The primary purpose of the visit was to participate in the meeting of the UN Chief Executive Boards for Coordination, which would be hosted by the ILO on 9 and 10 May.

On Wednesday, 8 May, the Secretary-General would also participate in the inauguration of the Allée de Centenaire at the International Labour Organization, and on Friday, 9 May, he would be a guest of the special session of the General Council at the World Trade Organization.

Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, was arriving to Geneva today to attend a meeting of the UN Sustainable Development Group on 8 May, and would then join the CEB meeting on 9 and 10 May.

Rosalind Yarde, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), confirmed that a commemorative tree planting ceremony would take place in front of the ILO tomorrow, 8 May, from 6:30 p.m, in the presence of UN Secretary-General, ILO Director-General and Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis. Short remarks would be delivered after the ceremony. No time was envisioned for media questions during this short ceremony.

Fernando Puchol, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), said that the UN Secretary-General would arrive to the WTO on Friday at 3 p.m. and address the General Council in the CR Building. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and General Council chair Sunanta Kangvalkulkij of Thailand would deliver welcome remarks.

As this was a General Council meeting, the General Council rules fixed by WTO members would apply, which meant that: journalists, photographers and camera teams with UN or WTO press badges may come to the lobby of the CR to take photos, film and speak to delegates; photographers may enter the meeting room and take photos up until the start of the meeting, i.e. when the WTO General Council chair gaveled the meeting open; once the meeting started, photographers would be escorted out of the room; photographers would be allowed to take photos in the centre aisle of CR as well as from the back of the room; no TV cameras would be allowed in the meeting room other than UNTV.

Exceptionally, the speeches of the UNSG as well as the welcome remarks of the WTO DG and General Council chair would be live webcast on the WTO website (www.wto.org). Photos would also be made available on the WTO website. UNTV would be providing footage and streaming of the speeches.

Today, Mr. Puchol concluded, the General Council was meeting in regular session and WTO spokesperson would be briefing the media from 5 p.m. in room PCR at the WTO.

Ms. Vellucci informed that the Secretary-General had opened an Instagram account @antonioguterres and invited journalists to follow him.

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Denis McClean, for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), said that the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction would be meeting in Geneva the following week, 13-17 May, including two preparatory days. Over 5,000 participants had registered to attend. UN Member States would be represented in high numbers, including countries which had recently experienced extreme weather events, such as Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and India.

The Fourth World Reconstruction Conference, which would meet on the preparatory days - 13-14 May, would focus on inclusion and recovery. One of the leading keynote speakers would be the chairman of the Nepal reconstruction authority, who would talk about progress made over the previous four years in building back Nepal, following the April 2015 earthquake, which was probably the largest recovery project after an earthquake in the world. More than 600,000 people in Nepal had been included in the banking system for the first time, so that they could receive help for reconstructing their homes.

Another part of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction would be the Second Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference on 13 and 14 May. The Sendai Framework acknowledged that early warning systems were critical to saving lives and limiting damage. Recent events from Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique showed that there were still large losses of life with extreme weather events even with advanced warning.

The Global Platform itself would start on 15 May with a press conference at CICG 1:30 p.m. with Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, accompanied by other speakers, who were yet to be confirmed.

The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction would also be launched. The era of responding to one risk at a time was over; what we learned from the climate change was that the disaster risk was now systemic. “The very survival of human on the planet is at stake,” the report said. There would be several high-level ministerial round tables. As usual, Sasakawa Awards would be given to celebrate excellence, achievement and reducing disaster risks.

Mr. McClean took the opportunity to remind correspondents that the Office had been established twenty years earlier, while the name had been modified.

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference, co-organized by the WMO and UNDRR, would take place at the WMO headquarters, while the rest of the conference would take place at the CICG. The Early Warning Conference would be opened by the WMO Secretary-General and the Special Representative of the SG for Disaster Risk Reduction. It would be live-streamed. The focus would be on the fact that when hazards hit, they did not hit in isolation; a coordinated, multi-hazard approach was needed to deal with them. The conference would discuss what could be done to make sure the warnings be better and better coordinated, so that they could reach all people in danger who needed it the most. What had happened in India recently was a good example of a coordinated, consistent approach, which would need to be replicated. A technical mission to Mozambique would be returning soon and would report to the conference.

On the question on preparedness for disasters, Ms. Nullis said that the issue would certainly be covered. Infrastructure was indeed very important. A lot of effort and money had been invested in making infrastructure in Mozambique more resilient, for example, but that had still not been suficient. A lot still needed to be learned on how to make infrastructure in coastal areas more resiliente, especially in the current era of climate change.

Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting

Ms. Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), also informed that the Ministerial segment of the Arctic Council, chaired by Finland, was taking place this week in Finland, and the WMO Secretary-General was participating. WMO had been supporting activities of the Arctic Council as meteorological cooperation was one of their priorities. Climate change was taking place in the Arctic faster than elsewhere and affected people around the globe. The impacts were becoming more and more apparent. A new report being released by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, composed of Scandinavian states, provided far more details on emerging threats, such as melting ice, with models predicting collapse of some important subsistent fisheries in the Arctic, and a biological effect of contaminants transported into the Arctic by winds and ocean currents.

In a response to a question, Ms. Nullis said that the WMO had an observer status at the Arctic Council since 2017. The assessment released today had science speaking for itself: climate change was happening there faster than anywhere else in the world, and its impact was being seen.

Geneva Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Committee against Torture was beginning this morning the review of the report of the United Kingdom, whose replies to the questions raised by the experts this morning would be heard tomorrow afternoon.

Ms. Vellucci informed that the Conference on Disarmament would hold its next public session on 14 May at 10 a.m. This would be the beginning of the second part of the Conference’s 2019 session.

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that the pace, problems and promises offered by rapid technological change would be the central discussion point for ministerial representatives meeting in Geneva from 13 to 17 May to explore the benefits of science and technology for sustainable development.

They would be joined by eminent scientists, leading innovators and technology thinkers for the 22^nd annual session of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) at the Palais des Nations.

They would discuss the sustainable development implications of science, technology and innovation (STI), including information communication technologies, at a time when rapid technological change offered unprecedented opportunities to deliver on the SDGs.

Ms. Huissoud also informed about a parallel event on Tuesday, 14 May at 9 a.m. with solar pioneer Bertrand Piccard, UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant and the Ethiopian State Minister for Science and Technology Shumete Gizaw, who would discuss the role of start-ups in addressing today’s most pressing development challenges.

Ms. Huissoud added that after the short debate, six dynamic start-ups would share their innovative solutions to sustainable development challenges and discuss their proposed technologies designed to change the way power is delivered in developing nations and across the world.

Press Conferences

Tuesday, 7 May at 2:30 p.m. in Press Room 1
UNCTAD
Presentation of the Programme of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (13-17 May, Palais des Nations)
Speakers:
· Shamika Sirimanne, Director, Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD
· Angel Gonzalez-Sanz, Chief, Science, Technology and ICT Branch, UNCTAD

Wednesday, 8 May at 11:45 a.m. in Press Room 1
OCHA
Update on the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, with a special focus on Gaza
Speaker:
· Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator for occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)

Wednesday, 8 May at 4:15 p.m. in Room III
OCHA
Update on the humanitarian situation in the Sahel
Speakers:
· Mbaranga Gasarabwe, United Nations Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Mali
· Bintou Djibo, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Niger
· Metsi Makhetha, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Burkina Faso

Friday, 10 May at 9:30 a.m. in Room III
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and UN-Habitat
Launch of IDMC/NRC Global Report on Internal Displacement 2019
Speakers:
· Alexandra Bilak, IDMC Director
· Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC
· Graham Alabaster, UN Habitat

Friday, 10 May in Room III (Time to be confirmed)
Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (UNEP) / FAO
Clean Planet, Healthy People: Main Outcomes of the meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, 29 April-10 May. Presentation of actual decisions
Speakers:
· Joyce Msuya, UN Under-Secretary General & Acting Executive Director, UNEP
· Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary (UNEP), Basel, Rotterdam & Stockholm Conventions
· Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary (FAO), Rotterdam Convention
· Paul Rose, Explorer and Broadcaster

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog070519