REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Michele Zaccheo, Chief of the Radio and Television Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the World Health Organization, International Organization for Migration, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs & Education Cannot Wait, Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

United Nations

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was in Japan yesterday, 29 August, where he had participated in the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama.

Today, 30 August. Mr. Guterres was arriving in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, to express his solidarity and lend support to the population, authorities, and health professionals working on the Ebola crisis.

30 August is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance. In his statement, the Secretary-General said:

“Enforced disappearance can be misperceived as an issue of the past, but many cases remain unresolved and new ones continue to arise. The Committee and the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, the key United Nations mechanisms established to address this matter, receive new cases daily, many in the context of the fight against organized crime and terrorism.

Without due process and safeguards, abuses in the criminal justice system are much more likely, and when coupled with a culture of impunity, it can also increase the likelihood of enforced disappearances.

These disappearances have a profound impact on the lives of those searching for the victims. Uncertainty as to the whereabouts and fate of a friend, family member or loved one causes great psychological distress. We must end this suffering.

Steps towards accountability can help the healing process. Successful prosecutions of enforced disappearance cases have contributed to uncovering the truth, delivering justice and deterring repetition of this atrocity. These cases confirm that it is possible to put an end to this horrific practice.

We must also step up our efforts to protect human rights defenders, environmental activists, journalists and leaders of social movements. Women are particularly vulnerable.

I call on States to do more to prevent enforced disappearances and bring to justice those responsible. To this end, I call on countries to cooperate fully with UN mechanisms. I also urge all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify or accede to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

On this International Day, let us pledge to do more together to end this grave violation of human rights.”

The Secretary-General also congratulated the people of Timor-Leste on the twentieth anniversary of the 1999 Popular Consultation, which had put the nation firmly on the path of independence.

Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reaches 3,000 cases

Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), read the following statement:

“Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reaches 3,000 cases. WHO is calling for the full force of all partners to respond and increase their presence in the field to stop Ebola and address one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros will travel this weekend to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to accompany United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on his mission to the country, along with senior officials from WHO, including Dr. Moeti, Director of the WHO Regional Office for Africa. Dr. Mark Rayan is already in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dr. Tedros and Mr. Guterres will travel to the country to show the support of the United Nations family and WHO work in the field.

The outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018. As of 27 August, there have been 2,997 cases of Ebola, with 1,998 deaths and 893 survivors. Most of the cases are in North Kivu province. In the past ten weeks, an average of 80 people per week are sickened by the virus.

More than 200,000 people have been vaccinated against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with health and frontline workers in Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi. More than 89 million screenings within the country and at international borders have helped control the spread, by identifying and providing care to anyone with symptoms.

On 29 August, Ugandan health officials announced confirmation of another case in the country: a nine years old child who had crossed over from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The girl had arrived to Uganda to seek help and care, so it was an imported case from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Uganda.”

Answering questions, Ms. Chaib explained that the nine years old girl who had tested positive for Ebola at the Congolese-Ugandan border was a Congolese national and that she, together with her mother, had sought medical treatment in Uganda. The girl had presented at the border with visible Ebola symptoms and had been placed in the Ebola treatment centre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO was working with Congolese authorities were working on tracing the contacts.

On 10 September, Suicide Prevention Day, WHO recalls that every 40 seconds someone loses their life to suicide

Fadila Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), recalled that 10 September was the Suicide Prevention Day. This was a very important subject for the WHO which will release the latest data on suicide around the world at the press conference on 4 September.

The data contained the report are broken down by age, sex, country income level, and region. The report also aims to raise awareness of what can be done, by all of us, to help prevent suicide. WHO will also be releasing a guide for pesticide registrars and regulators on preventing suicide; pesticide poisoning is one of the commonest methods of suicide in certain parts of the world, said Ms. Chaib.

10 September will also mark the start of a month-long public engagement campaign, “40 seconds of action” which will culminate on World Mental Health Day on 10 October, which this year will focus on suicide prevention.

“Every 40 seconds someone loses their life to suicide”, WHO spokesperson recalled.

By end of August 909 people died in the Mediterranean

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

“Deaths recorded on the three main Mediterranean Sea routes through almost eight months of 2019 are at 909 individuals – or about 58 per cent of the 1,562 deaths confirmed during the same period in 2018.

A thousand deaths will probably occur this year, which will be the sixth year in a row that has happened, but this will be low compared to previous years when there were as many as 5,000 deaths in some years.

On 27 August, a boat carrying more than a hundred migrants capsized off the coast of Al-Khums, Libya. The Libyan Coast Guard intercepted those on board and brought to shore 64 survivors, who reported that several people had drowned before the rescue took place. The remains of ten people later were recovered from the sea, including those of a Moroccan family (mother, father, and two children aged 4 and 12) and a Somali man. At least 30 people remain missing, according to the testimonies of survivors.

Just a day later, the ship Mare Jonio, from the non-governmental organization (NGO) Mediterranea - Saving Humans, rescued nearly 100 people from a deflating boat off the coast of Libya, including 22 children under the age of ten and eight pregnant women. According to survivors interviewed by NGO staff, six people had drowned before they were rescued. Their bodies were not recovered.

In the Western Mediterranean, police authorities in Gibraltar recovered the remains of a young North African man off the coast of Punta Europa, in the Gibraltar Strait, on 28 August. He is believed to be one of the four people who went missing last week, when a boat carrying 11 migrants capsized off the coast of La Línea de la Concepción, Cádiz, Spain. Three others remain missing.”

Nearly 17,000 migrants returned voluntarily from Greece in the past three years

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

“The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported today (30/08) that 16,954 third-country nationals chose to return voluntarily from Greece to their country of origin over a three-year period from June 2016 through 28 August 2019. They chose to return to their countries with the IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme, which is one of the organization’s biggest programmes.

Migrants from Pakistan (4,292) topped the list of 83 nationalities returning voluntarily with IOM assistance, followed by those from Iraq (4,187), Georgia (1,972), Algeria (1,308) and Afghanistan (1,295). A total of 3,666 returning migrants were residing on the North-Eastern Aegean islands.”

1,781 documented deaths of migrants in 2019, more than half in the Mediterranean

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

“2019 is the sixth year of IOM’s efforts to systematically record deaths on migration routes worldwide through its Missing Migrants Project. Since January 2014, the project has recorded the deaths of 32,741 people, including 1,781 in 2019 through 28 August, of which almost 50 per cent were deaths in the Mediterranean.

Most recently, several tragic deaths were recorded in the European continent linked to vehicle accidents.

On 23 August, a Bangladeshi man died in a vehicle accident in North Macedonia on the Gevgelija-Skopje highway near Negotino. Two days later, an Afghan woman died in the Kupa river in Croatia when a van in which she was travelling with 11 others fell into the river during a police chase. Authorities report that police officers tried to stop the van around 3:00 AM near Slatina Pokupska. Instead of stopping, the driver sped away. According to police, the driver fled, leaving the van to sink into the river with 12 people inside.

On Tuesday, 27 August, six men were killed and ten were injured in a car crash on a road near Loutra, a village close to Alexandroupoli, Greece. According to authorities, survivors are from Egypt and Pakistan. They crossed the Turkey-Greece border via the Evros river and were planning to reach the city of Thessaloniki.

In Thailand, a minivan with nine migrants from Myanmar on board was passing through Ko Kha district on 6 August. The driver, a Thai, fell asleep. The vehicle ran off the road, hitting a tree. Tragically, two men lost their lives, while the other seven passengers and the driver were injured.

IOM continued to monitor the deaths in the Americas, where at least 529 people have lost their lives in 2019, compared with 413 recorded through this point in 2018 – an increase of roughly 28 per cent.

In Texas, remains of eight migrants had been found on the United States-Mexico border, bringing the total to 266 this year in 239 days of the year.”

Mr. Millman stressed that the average of one death per day on the United States-Mexico border had been holding for several years, regardless of what the policy seemed to be either in Mexico or in the United States. “It is a very dangerous route and thousands of people are using it - consequently, hundreds die.” Mr. Millman stressed.

Responding to questions on voluntary returns from Greece, Mr Millman said that the highest number of returnees was from Pakistan, followed by Iraq, Georgia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Iran, Morocco, Bangladesh, Egypt, and India. All those people had various motives to migrate and to return. Iraqi for example were among the most numerous participants in the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme. Returns to Georgia were third-highest, which could be explained by the country’s proximity to Europe.

One of the most important causes of death on the Mexico-United States border, Mr. Millman continued, were the elements: migrants crossed the border routinely during three of four months a year when temperatures routinely soared over 100°F and there were dehydration deaths all the time. There were also reports of snakebite deaths and dozens of people were dying in the Rio Bravo, or the Rio Grande as it was known in the United States.

The increased number of migrant’ deaths in traffic accidents indeed demonstrated that migrants were travelling in unsafe conditions, said Mr. Millman. Dozens of deaths in the last 18 months had usually occurred when an overloaded car tried to escape the police.

IOM was paying close attention to Brexit and the uncertain legal situation of citizens of 27 European Union Member States, Mr. Millman said and noted the legal and regulatory complexity of the issue. The IOM's Brussels office was following the developments closely and liaising with the European Union. It would not be the first time the organization would have to grapple with such an issue, as it was conducting similar work in Venezuela or with the Rohingya in Bangladesh. The United Kingdom was a high-income country in which migrants were working in sophisticated jobs, but “this would not change how the IOM looked at that quandary. We will discuss with our Member States, but we cannot do more than that,” Mr. Millman concluded.

Emergency education for 1.5 million children in 29 crisis countries

Yasmine Sherif, Director of the Education Cannot Wait, said that as a global fund for education in emergencies, which had been established at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) served the entire United Nations system where it could impact the delivery of education in displacement, armed conflict and natural disasters.

Its purpose was to raise resources and the political commitment, help implement the United Nations Secretary-General reform on the new way of working, and bridge the humanitarian and development nexus. The fund worked, in an inclusive manner, with Governments, civil society organizations, and local authorities.

It was heart-breaking to hear about migrants, refugees, and displaced, said Ms. Sherif who stressed the need to find solutions grounded in international law but also in financial investments and in working together.

The fund was just over two years old and had just released 2018 annual report. Of the targeted US$1.8 billion by 2021, the fund had so far mobilized close to US$500 million; £90 million had been pledged by the United Kingdom in the wake of the G7 Summit in Biarritz; and more funding was expected during the United Nations General Assembly week.

Education in emergencies was seriously underfunded, with only about 2.2 to 2.4 per cent of humanitarian funding allocated for the purpose. Through the fund’s advocacy and political support, this percentage had been increased to 4.3 per cent during the last year. At the end of 2018, the fund operated in 18 countries while currently, the investments were ongoing in 29 crisis countries, which reflected well the speed at which the operation was moving.

“It is, what we say, humanitarian speed, with development axis, made possible by new ways of working and bringing the humanitarian and development actors together,” Ms. Sherif stressed.

Significant investments were being made in the Sahel, where the needs were among the greatest in the world today, in Burkina Faso, in Niger, or in Cameroon, where some children have not gone to school for two years as a part of a tactic of warfare.

The fund was working with the Government in Afghanistan, bringing girls back to school; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, making sure that displaced children did not have to wait for the conflict to come to an end before they get an education.

So far, over 1.5 million children and adolescents in 29 crisis countries had been reached and of those, half were girls and 40 per cent were refugees and internally displaced children. This was particularly important since – as was well explained by the recently released United Nations Refugee Agency report – half of the refugee children did not attend school.

“Without education, not a single one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will be achieved – education is a foundational sector,” emphasized Ms. Sherif.

Responding to questions, Ms. Sherif explained that the fund, set up at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, had become operational in 2017. It was the facilitator, a catalyst for action by United Nations agencies, civil society organizations, governments, and private sector to work together and no longer in separation.

Its analysis of the root causes of serious underfunding of education in emergencies had shown that although many United Nations Member States were committed to the cause, the operations were done through structures that were not designed to deliver education in emergencies. The fund, therefore, aimed to improve coordination, optimize the existing system, and link it up and align with the reform programme rather than operate through parallel structures.

Expanding on the fund’s activities in the Sahel, Ms. Sherif said that an investment had been launched in Burkina Faso and Niger as well as in surrounding countries including Cameron. Of the £90 million announced by the United Kingdom at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, 30 million were earmarked for the Sahel. The fund had calculated that an investment of US$ 115 to 120 per child per year was needed to ensure inclusive and quality education in that region, which meant that it was very cost-effective. In Sweden, for example, the cost was $ 11,000 per child annually.

Ms. Sherif further emphasized that quality and inclusive education must provide mental health and psychosocial service, simply because 99 per cent of children and youth in armed conflict were traumatized. There could be no education without addressing the impact of human suffering. It required inclusiveness and gender equality to ensure that no girl was left behind, that she was brought to school, that teachers were trained in gender equality and sensitivity, and that curriculum reflected not only literacy and math skills but peace and rights, critical thinking, using technology, arts, to prepare the children for the 21^st century.

Launch of Gavi 2021-2025 Investment Opportunity

Frédérique Tissandier, for Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), read out this statement:

“Gavi has had an enormous impact since its inception. Gavi has supported a whole generation of children, over 760 million of them, from potentially fatal infectious diseases while preventing over 13 million deaths, including more than 7.5 million in the 40 Gavi-supported African countries.

We have achieved this impact by employing a unique model. Gavi works as an Alliance, incorporating the leadership of implementing countries; the technical skills of UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank, CDC and research agencies, manufacturers and civil society organizations.

By working together, we have been able to achieve more than we ever could alone.

This unique public-private partnership model also means we are able to shape vaccine markets so vaccines become both more cost-effective and more available to the world’s poorest countries. For the 11 basic vaccines recommended by WHO, Gavi pays US$ 28, compared to a US public price of over US$ 1,100.

And, importantly, at the core of this Alliance model are the implementing countries themselves which co-finance vaccines.

For the next strategy, we need predictable financing to allow manufacturers and implementing countries to forecast demand over a five-year period. This helps to drive value for money and maximize the impact of every dollar invested in the Vaccine Alliance.

The total we will be asking for is at least US$ 7.4 billion to fund Gavi’s activities from 2021-25.

Guided by the principle of leaving no one behind with immunization, Gavi will expand its portfolio of vaccines from six in 2000 to 18 in the 2021-2025 period through the introduction of new vaccines, including Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis boosters, Hep B birth dose, multivalent meningococcal, routine Oral Cholera Vaccine, and Rabies.

In collaboration with GPEI, Gavi will work to insure the world against polio re-emergence through the implementation of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) across its portfolio of countries.

Gavi will also set aside US$ 150 million to fund a global stockpile of Ebola vaccine once a vaccine is prequalified by the WHO (expected next year).

In 2021-2025, Gavi will ensure that 65 million doses of vaccines against cholera, yellow fever and meningitis are available to respond to, and avoid the further spread of epidemics.

In addition to Gavi’s investment, developing countries are set to make the largest investment in their own vaccine programmes in history, more than doubling the amount invested in the 2016-2020 period. A total of US$ 3.6 billion will be invested by developing country governments in their own vaccine programmes over the period.

Sustained investment is needed to secure prosperity for the next generation, prevent resurgence of diseases and protect from frequent outbreaks made worse by climate change, urbanization and conflicts. 1.5 million people are still dying every year from vaccine-preventable diseases, while climate change, conflict and urbanization are combining to make it easier for outbreaks to spread.

The replenishment process will culminate in a special event hosted by the UK government, which was Gavi’s largest donor for the 2016-20 period, in summer 2020.”

Responding to questions, Ms. Tissandier clarified that Gavi was currently in the 2016-2020 strategic period and then pointed to linkages between climate change and war and outbreaks of diseases, such as measles or cholera, especially in fragile countries in which immunization coverage was low. One such country was the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was experiencing not only Ebola but measles and cholera outbreaks as well. To strengthen routine immunization in the country, Gavi would start a vaccination campaign in September 2019 which will seek to vaccinate 18 million children.

Because the best way to prepare for an epidemic was to strengthen routine immunization, Gavi focused on routine immunization and on stockpiling vaccines for cholera and measles outbreaks and epidemics.

The application for the licensure of the Ebola vaccine was with WHO at the moment, which was necessary to enable Gavi to procure this vaccine through the United Nations system.

A journalist remarked that although there were only a few cases of polio in Africa, billions and billions of dollars of efforts were spent to eradicate the disease. Ms. Tissandier said that in the next investment period, Gavi will allocate US$ 900 million for inactivated polio vaccine.

First United Nations Trade Forum: SDGs and Climate Change

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that the First United Nations Trade Forum: SDGs and Climate Change, to take place in Geneva from 9 to 13 September will focus on climate change. The Third Oceans Forum will take place on 10 September, 5^th BioTrade Congress: Linking Trade and Biodiversity will be held on 12 and 13 September, and the event on the circular economy will take place on 11 September.

Geneva press conferences

Tuesday, 3 September 2019 at 12:00 p.m. in Room III

OHCHR / The Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen

Second Report of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen

Speakers: Kamel Jenoubi, Chair of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen, Melissa Parke, International Expert, and Charles Garraway, International Expert

Tuesday, 3 September 2019 at 2:30 p.m. in Press Room 1

UNCTAD

Presentation of the first UN Trade Forum: SDGs and Climate Change, 9 to 13 September 2019 at the Palais des Nations

Speaker: Pamela Coke-Hamilton, UNCTAD, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities

Wednesday, 4 September 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in Room III

Human Rights Council (HRC)

Human Rights Council, 42^nd regular session (9-27 September 2019)

Speaker: Ambassador Coly Seck (Senegal), President of the Human Rights Council (13th cycle)

Wednesday, 4 September 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in Room III

OHCHR

Press Conference with Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, one year after she took office.

Wednesday, 4 September 2019 at 1:00 p.m. in Room III (Webcast live)

OHCHR / Human Rights Council / Commission of Inquiry on Burundi

The members of the Commission of Inquiry will present their conclusions and written report on human rights violations committed in Burundi since May 2018 which will be presented to the Human Rights Council on 17 September.

The press conference will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org

Speakers: Doudou Diène, President of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi and Françoise Hampson, Member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi