REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service, United Nations Office at Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by spokespersons for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the UN Geneva SDG Lab, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Update on activities of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria

Jenifer Fenton, for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, read the following statement:

“On Monday, the Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Geir Pedersen briefed the Security Council on the agreement to launch a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, credible, balanced and inclusive Constitutional Committee facilitated by the United Nations in Geneva. He welcomed the positive reaction from all Council members, and he plans to convene the Committee in one month. The agreement on the Constitutional Committee is significant – it is the first concrete Syrian-Syrian political agreement to implement a key part of Security Council resolution 2254. It commits government and opposition nominees to sit together face-to-face for the first time, with civil society at the table. Nearly half of the civil society list are women, and the Office of the Special Envoy expects to have around 30 per cent women in the overall 150.

The Constitutional Committee is mandated to prepare and draft for popular approval a constitutional reform. It may review the 2012 Constitution, including in the context of other Syrian constitutional experiences, and amend the current Constitution or draft a new one. The future constitution of Syria belongs to the Syrian people and them alone. It is the Syrians alone who must draft and popularly approve a new constitution.

The United Nations will facilitate, in accordance with the mandate from the Council, something both parties welcome.

The safety and security of all nominees and their affiliates has been guaranteed and must be upheld. The names of the 150 members will be released by the United Nations when they confirm their participation.

Mr. Pedersen is fully aware that the Constitutional Committee is only the first step among many in the political process. It alone cannot resolve the conflict. He stressed to the Council the need for a nationwide ceasefire, and for large scale action on detainees, abductees and missing persons, and the need to build a positive dynamic step by step, between Syrians and between Syria and the international community.

Mr. Pedersen noted his intention to travel to Damascus in coming weeks and to continue consultations with SNC. His Office in the United Nations has released the terms of reference and rules of procedure, and the link to those documents is available on the OSE Twitter feed.”

In answer to questions from journalists, Ms. Fenton said that all 150 members of the Constitutional Committee were expected to come to Geneva. Their names would be made public before they travelled. The intention of the Special Envoy was that the first meeting would be held on 30 October. Information about how decisions would be taken and approved was set forth in the terms of reference and rules of procedure, which had been agreed by all parties.

Migrants on the Greek Aegean Islands and migration across the Mediterranean

Elizabeth Throssell, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), read the following statement:

“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is today calling on Greece to urgently move thousands of asylum-seekers out of dangerously overcrowded reception centres on the Greek Aegean islands. Sea arrivals in September, mostly of Afghan and Syrian families, increased to 10,258 - the highest monthly level since 2016 – worsening conditions on the islands which now host 30,000 asylum-seekers.

The situation on Lesvos, Samos and Kos is critical. The Moria centre on Lesvos is already at five times its capacity with 12,600 people. At a nearby informal settlement, 100 people share a single toilet. Tensions remain high at Moria where a fire on Sunday in a container used to house people killed one woman. An ensuing riot by frustrated asylum-seekers led to clashes with police.

On Samos, the Vathy reception centre houses 5,500 people – eight times its capacity. Most sleep in tents with little access to latrines, clean water, or medical care. Conditions have also deteriorated sharply on Kos, where 3,000 people are staying in a space for 700.

Keeping people on the islands in these inadequate and insecure conditions is inhumane and must come to an end.

The Greek Government has said that alleviating pressure on the islands and protecting unaccompanied children are priorities, which we welcome. We also take note of government measures to speed up and tighten asylum procedures and manage flows to Greece announced at an exceptional cabinet meeting on Monday. We look forward to receiving details in writing to which we can provide comments.

But urgent steps are needed and we urge the Greek authorities to fast-track plans to transfer over 5,000 asylum-seekers already authorized to continue their asylum procedure on the mainland. In parallel, new accommodation places must be provided to prevent pressure from the islands spilling over into mainland Greece, where most sites are operating at capacity. UNHCR will continue to support transfers to the mainland in October at the request of the government.

Longer-term solutions are also needed, including supporting refugees to become self-reliant and integrate in Greece.

The plight of unaccompanied children, who overall number more than 4,400, is particularly worrying, with only one in four in a shelter appropriate for their age.

Some 500 children are housed with unrelated adults in a large warehouse tent in Moria. On Samos, more than a dozen unaccompanied girls take turns to sleep in a small container, while other children are forced to sleep on container roofs. Given the extremely risky and potentially abusive conditions faced by unaccompanied children, UNHCR appeals to European States to open up places for their relocation as a matter of priority and speed up transfers for children eligible to join family members.

UNHCR continues to work with the Greek authorities to build the capacity needed to meet the challenges. We manage over 25,000 apartment places for some of the most vulnerable asylum-seekers and refugees, under the EU-funded ESTIA scheme. Some 75,000 people receive monthly cash assistance under the same programme. UNHCR is prepared, with the continuous support of the EU and other donors, to expand its support through a cash for shelter scheme which would allow authorized asylum-seekers to move from the islands and establish themselves on the mainland.

Greece has received the majority of arrivals across the Mediterranean region this year, some 45,600 of 77,400 – more than Spain, Italy, Malta, and Cyprus combined.

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

“The recent spate of Mediterranean Sea tragedies along all three migratory routes have brought the number of confirmed fatalities in 2019 to 994 men, women and children. An incident off Morocco this past weekend remains not fully accounted for. IOM is trying to confirm reports of as many as 40 migrants lost in that shipwreck.

Fatalities this year will thus top 1,000 and 2019 will mark the sixth straight year IOM has recorded at least 1,000 deaths in the waters separating Europe from Africa and the Middle East – a period during which at least 15,000 victims have lost their lives in Mediterranean crossings.

IOM Spokesperson Leonard Doyle said, “Amid a rising tide of anti-migrant sentiment in our politics worldwide, this shocking figure of nearly 1000 deaths is due in some measure to a hardening attitude and outright hostility towards migrants fleeing violence and poverty. This carnage at sea pains us all. It also shames us all.”

On Monday, IOM’s Missing Migrants Project reported that as of 29 September, 659 migrants or refugees have perished on the Central Mediterranean route linking the coasts of Africa to Italian territorial waters, or almost two thirds of the total number of Mediterranean deaths recorded thus far in 2019. Another 66 victims have been reported on the Mediterranean’s Eastern route, linking Turkey and Syrian coasts to waters off Greece and Cyprus. IOM reported another 269 deaths in the waters between North Africa and Spain.

These data, tragic as they are, are the lowest number recorded since 2014. However, as shown in the link above, this drop is linked mostly to the reduction in the number of people attempting the crossing, rather than an improvement on the safety of this route. The Mediterranean Sea crossing remains the deadliest known migration route worldwide, indicating that safe alternatives are urgently needed for migrants seeking a better life.

The confirmation at 1,000 recorded Mediterranean Sea deaths at this point marks the latest IOM has reported 1,000 fatalities in the six years since IOM launched its Missing Migrants Project. In three of the past five years (2015, 2016, 2017), IOM recorded 1,000 Mediterranean Sea deaths before the 18th of April. In the other two years, 2014 and 2018, the 1,000 mark was reached, respectively, in July and June.

Missing Migrants Project researchers noted that over 2,300 deaths on the Central Mediterranean route have been recorded since the start of 2018, despite a drastic drop in the total number of migrants and refugees on that corridor. So far in 2019, barely 7,000 migrants arrived in Italy via this route, in addition to the 23,370 in 2018, plus nearly another 7,000 intercepted at sea and returned to Libya.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Throssell said that, irrespective of any other considerations, unaccompanied children remained the chief concern of UNHCR as they were particularly exposed to exploitation. There had been a spike in arrival numbers over the summer months, with a weekly average of 2,000 arrivals; 3,164 people had arrived in the week of 23–29 September alone. Most of the newcomers were Afghans, Syrians, Congolese and Iraqis. The effect of the increase had been to worsen what was already a difficult situation. People blocked in the migrant camps on the islands were frustrated and angry, and it was vital to address the severe overcrowding, authorize transfers to the mainland and provide new accommodation. The onset of winter could only make the situation worse. Some families were living in tents without adequate clothing or bedding. UNHCR acknowledged the challenges the Greek authorities were facing and welcomed the fact that the Government was committed to alleviating the pressure. UNHCR remained on hand to support transfers, if the Government so requested. It was also important to find longer term solutions. Greece needed support, solidarity and funds from other European States, particularly those not on the continent’s external borders, who needed to shoulder their part of the burden.

Mr. Millman explained that, in 2019, Afghans accounted for over 50 per cent of all arrivals and Syrians for 35 per cent. According to information from IOM staff, most of the Afghans were long-term migrants who had come not from their own country but from Iran. The new arrivals also included a significant proportion of Palestinians, although it was unclear whether they were from Gaza, the West Bank or the diaspora. There were also some from Caribbean and Latin American States, including two from Peru. It was not uncommon to see reduced numbers of Caribbean and Latin American migrants on the Eastern Mediterranean route. For example, migrants from the Dominican Republic were rarely absent from the nationality lists of intercepted migrants submitted monthly to IOM by the Hellenic Coast Guard.

Mr. Millman went on to say that one reason for the popularity of the Eastern Mediterranean route, also with migrants from Africa and the Americas, might lie in the fact that people of many different nationalities could enter via Istanbul without a visa. Two years previously, Cameroonians had been an important component of migrant inflows into Greece. Wherever they were from, migrants would use social media to learn about possible easy access points to Europe then beat a path to that location

Answering a further question, Mr. Millman said that the reason for the significant presence of Syrians among the migrants was not entirely clear but the causes behind earlier waves of migration out of Syria did not appear to be being replicated.

Mr. Millman also pointed out that, in addition to the Mediterranean, other parts of the world were becoming increasingly dangerous for migrants. As of 1 October 2019, IOM had recorded 596 deaths of migrants along migratory corridors in the Americas alone.

Refugee movements in South East Asia

Elizabeth Throssell, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), read the following statement:

“Refugee movements in South East Asia dropped sharply over the 18 months between January 2018 and June 2019, but the threats for those fleeing violence and persecution are higher, according to a report released by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Bangkok today.

Rohingya remained the largest refugee group on the move in this region. Nearly 18,000 were registered as new arrivals in Bangladesh during the period covered by the report. Most of these refugees arrived in early 2018, following the peak of displacement in late 2017 when an estimated 700,000 Rohingya fled from Myanmar.

Another 1,597 refugees and asylum-seekers embarked on dangerous maritime journeys in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea during the same 18-month period. At least 15 of them drowned or went missing. Both the data on deaths at sea and the scope of the maritime movement are based on available data from various sources. But these figures are be very conservative, given that the mixed maritime movements are by nature clandestine. This makes data verification so much harder.

In previous years, smugglers were to blame for the majority of deaths. People were beaten to death or shot or deprived of food and water. Since early 2018 the primary cause of death or disappearance at sea has been a result of shipwrecks or boats in distress getting lost at sea. Many of these boats set sail without experienced crews and were not built, equipped or maintained for long sea journeys.

Refugees’ testimonies gathered by UNHCR in 2019 also highlight the physical abuse by smugglers, often inflicted to extort ransoms from relatives or to enforce order and prevent demands for water and food during the irregular journey. Women and girls, especially those travelling on their own, were particularly at risk of rape and abuse. Of the refugees who had fled by land or sea more than 20 years ago, more than half said their journey was difficult but not life-threatening, but all those who had fled over last five years said they feared for their lives and described their journeys as hazardous, dangerous or very dangerous.

Meanwhile, across the rest of the region, small numbers of refugees have engaged in secondary movements from their initial country of asylum to another country. Physical threats, inability to meet basic needs, fears of deportation, tensions with the host community or lack of education opportunities were most commonly identified by refugees as triggers for their secondary displacement.

UNHCR is calling on all countries in this region and beyond to expand opportunities for solutions through safe and legal pathways. Such measures can help reduce the likelihood that refugees will risk desperate and dangerous journeys or be forced into the hands of criminal smuggling networks to find protection or reunite with their families.

It is critical that States in the region support efforts to ensure a more coordinated and predictable regional response for rescue at sea and disembarkation, in line with the commitments made in the 2016 Bali Declaration.”

Statement on Libya

Safa Msehli, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“Three months after the airstrike on the Tajoura detention centre that tragically killed 53 migrants and left over 130 injured, vulnerable migrants returned from sea continue to be taken to this facility. The bombed detention centre remains operational to this day, despite urgent and persistent calls to close Tajoura, especially due to its proximity to a military location.

While we welcome the Libyan government’s plan to close the three detention centres: Tajoura, Misrata and Souq Al Khamis, this plan needs to be transformed immediately into action to avoid further tragedies like Tajoura from recurring.

The International Organization for Migration renews its urgent call for the end of arbitrary detention in Libya, in a gradual orderly manner, that guarantees the safety of all detainees. Alternative solutions must be established and adopted as a matter of urgency to put an end to the intolerable suffering of thousands of migrants.

IOM continues to provide a safe and dignified way from which migrants wishing to return home can benefit. The Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme has managed to provide return assistance to over 47,000 vulnerable migrants wishing to leave Libya since 2015. Some 7,200 stranded migrants so far have left this year, of those 27 had been kept in the Tajoura facility just since the July airstrike.

So far this year, over 6,200 migrants were rescued at sea and returned to Libya. Many of them were placed in arbitrary detention while others were released into areas where armed conflict continues and where these migrants – and as many as 100,000 others in urban areas – remain vulnerable to further risk of kidnapping and trafficking at the hands of smugglers.

On Sunday 29 September, 71 migrants were returned to Libyan shore after spending more than two days floating in a rubber dinghy when their craft’s engine failed. This incident and several tragic shipwrecks recorded this year highlight the need for increased search and rescue capacity in the Mediterranean, disembarkation at safe ports and, in the absence of state-led search and rescue operations, the lifting of sanctions on NGOs that conduct lifesaving work in the Mediterranean.”

Responding to journalists’ questions, Ms. Msehli said that the 71 migrants had been taken to the disembarkation point then released. IOM did have access to most detention centres in Libya where it provided humanitarian and emergency assistance. Despite the difficult security situation in Libya, IOM continued to run its voluntary humanitarian return programme, thanks to which migrants had been returned to 32 different States across Africa and Asia.

Cholera outbreak in Sudan

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan had officially declared a cholera outbreak in Blue Nile state on 8 September. Since the declaration, a total of 215 cases had been confirmed, in Sinnar state and White Nile state. WHO was working with the Federal Ministry of Health, United Nations agencies and partners to prepare and respond to potential cholera outbreaks in six other at-risk states (Blue Nile, Kassala, Gedaref, Gezira, Khartoum and River Nile).

More than 36,000 cases of cholera and/or acute watery diarrhoea had been recorded between August 2016 and March 2018. Lessons from that earlier outbreak had been incorporated into the response plan for the current situation. WHO had supported the establishment and functioning of three cholera treatment centres in Blue Nile state and six isolation centres in Sinnar. WHO was deploying surge capacity and experts in Blue Nile state, monitoring water quality at the community level and improving infection prevention and control at health facilities level.

At the request of the Federal Ministry of Health and with international partners, WHO would support, jointly with UNICEF, an oral cholera vaccination campaign funded by GAVI. The aim was to cover 1.6 million people in eight localities in the two states which had confirmed cholera cases. The vaccination would be for everyone above the age of 1, including lactating and pregnant women. The first round of vaccinations was expected to start in mid-October.

WHO needed USD 10-15 million to contain the outbreak in the coming three to six months, covering the two states with confirmed cases and the six at-risk states. It intended to address health, safe water, safe food, clean environment, safe nutrition and safe access to quality care services.

Sudan had a weak health infrastructure and a weak safe water and sewage system. Re-occurring floods had further polluted water sources. Those factors increased the risk of cholera and other diarrheal diseases.

Answering queries raised by journalists, Mr. Jašareviæ said that there had been 8 reported deaths among the 215 confirmed cases. The term often used to describe outbreaks such as the present one was “acute watery diarrhoea”. That condition could be caused by a number of pathogens, one of which was cholera. The important thing was to respond to all such events in the same way: access to clean water as a preventive tactic and treatment with oral rehydration salts or IV fluids, depending on the severity of the case. Following tests, the Federal Ministry of Health had declared a cholera outbreak and the use of the oral vaccines was being rolled out.

Launch of the first World Report on Vision

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the first World Report on Vision was due to be issued for World Sight Day, which fell on 10 October. A press conference would be held at the Palais des Nations n Press Room I at 2 p.m. on 8 October, and the Report itself would be officially launched on 9 October. The Report examined the global scale of eye conditions and vision impairment, the obstacles and opportunities for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and the forces driving the increase in the projected number of people with eye conditions that would lead to an increased number of people with vision impairment and blindness if action was not taken. The report would be available under embargo from Wednesday 2 October.

Sharp drop in alcohol-related deaths drop in Russian Federation

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that a recent study showed a sharp fall in alcohol-related deaths in the Russian Federation due to a set of strict alcohol control measures put in place by the State since 2003. More information were available with WHO experts.

Ebola in Tanzania

Responding to a question put by a journalist, Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO continued to engage with the Tanzanian authorities at the highest levels on possible Ebola cases in this country. The WHO position had not changed: any suspected cases of Ebola needed to be sent to reference laboratories for verification. In particular, WHO recommended countries that did not have a long experience of Ebola to double check samples in laboratories.

Presentation of the SDG Lab

Nadia Isler, Director of the SDG Lab, said that the Lab had been created two years previously as part of the Office of the UNOG Director-General. Its mandate was to leverage the unique expertise available in Geneva and Switzerland to support and accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She was pleased to announce the first concrete outcome of that process: the Building Bridges Week, due to be held in Geneva from 7–11 October.

The Week was a unique opportunity to leverage the concentration of players, expertise and investment capacity for the SDGs. Thanks to the convening power of the United Nations and partnership with other key stakeholders, the SDG Lab was, in fact, building bridges between the finance and the development communities for more capital to flow to the SDGs.
The Building Bridges Week would consist of over 30 events taking place all over Geneva with an overarching focus on growing sustainable finance. One important highlight was a high-level Summit on 10 October, hosted by the President of Swiss Confederation. The Week aimed to achieve three overarching outcomes: (1) Build dialogue and collaboration between the development and finance communities; (2) See the Swiss financial industry move towards more and more aligned investments with the SDGs; (3) Launch a week on Finance and SDGs to take place annually in Geneva.
A press conference on the Building Bridges Week would be held on Monday 7 October, at 10 a.m. at Palais Eynard in the Vieille Ville of Geneva. Speakers would include the UN Geneva Director-General, Tatjana Valovaya, and the Mayor of Geneva, Sandrine Salerno, among others.
WTO trade forecasts and Public Forum

Fernando Puchol, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), said that WTO had revised trade forecasts for 2019 and 2020. With slower export and import growth across all regions and at all levels of development in the first half of 2019, world merchandise trade volumes were now expected to rise by only 1.2 per cent in 2019, substantially slower than the 2.6 per cent growth forecast in April. The projected increase in 2020 was now 2.7 per cent, down from 3.0 per cent previously.

Mr. Puchol also announced that the WTO Public Forum 2019 would open on Tuesday 8 October under the theme “Trading Forward”. The four-day Public Forum included over 100 sessions organized by NGOs, governments, academics, other international organizations and the WTO secretariat. The high-level sessions would consider how countries, businesses and traders could best adapt to a changing world, what young people could expect from global trade, the increasing importance of services in global trade and how WTO could respond to a rapidly changing world.

The Forum would open on Tuesday at 10.45 a.m. with a session moderated by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo. The Forum would also include the launch – on 9 October – of the 2019 edition of the World Trade Report entitled “The Future of Trade in Services”. The Report considered how trade in services had evolved since the establishment of WTO in 1995 and the entry into force of the GATs. Embargoed copies of the report would be available before the end of the week.

Over 3,300 people had registered for the 2019 Public Forum, which in 2018 had been attended by just 2,200 people. That meant that it would take time to get into WTO premises, especially on opening day. As usual, United Nations badges would be honoured and journalists would not have to queue to get a specific Public Forum badge. No press room would be available during the event so shared work spaces would be at a premium. All Public Forum sessions were on the record and audio of the sessions would be made available on the WTO website. Plenary debates would be webcast live in the three official WTO languages.

World Cotton Day

Ivy Zhang, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), said that World Cotton Day would be celebrated at WTO headquarters in Geneva on 7 October. The event – which was being held at the initiative of the cotton four (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali) – stemmed from the official application of those States for the recognition by the United Nations General Assembly of 7 October as World Cotton Day. The Day would also serve to shed light on the challenges faced by cotton industries around the world, particularly in least-developed countries.

The WTO Secretariat was hosting the event with support from the secretariats of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). Other international organizations, non-governmental organizations, research and academic institutions and the private sector would also be attending.

The high-level opening on 7 October would be attended by the WTO Director-General and by the Presidents of Burkina Faso and of Mali. A press conference in the afternoon would also be attended by the WTO Director-General, the two Presidents and three Foreign Affairs/Trade Ministers from cotton four States. The conference would begin at 5 p.m. in Room W.

The event would also feature thematic sessions organized by UNCTAD/ITC, WTO, FAO, UNIDO and ICAC. Other activities included a fashion show, cotton exhibitions, display booths, a pop-up store, a photo contest, a reception and livestreaming of cotton celebrations around the world. The event would be webcast live.

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that UNCTAD was working with WTO and ITC on a new joint initiative to help countries and producers develop cotton by-products in Africa. Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe already had national action plans. The list of countries for the next phase was Benin Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Answering a question from a journalist, Ms. Zhang said that she was aware that the United States of America would organize an exhibition for World Cotton Day but she was unable to say who would be on the country’s official delegation.

UNCTAD announcements

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development was due to take place from 7 to 11 October on the theme “Mining in a changing climate”. Topics to be examined included: strategic minerals like Coltrane or rare earth; how to protect communities and biodiversity; how to manage artisanal and small-scale mining; how to manage coal mine closures; gender transformative tools – empowering equality through resources; global tailings – green mine of the future and repurposing mine tailings; and taxation. A number of companies would be represented at the event including Rio Tinto, Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Glencore, Shell and Vale.

Ms. Huissod also announced that the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting would meet on 1 November. The main focus of their deliberations would be SDG 12 (Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns). The experts would specifically consider the SDG’s target 12.6 (encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle) in the light of indicator 12.6.1 (the number of companies publishing sustainability reports).

The experts would have at their disposal concrete examples of how reporting was done in Russia, Guatemala, South Africa, Belarus and Colombia.

Geneva announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that a series of thee exhibitions had been organized to mark 100 years of multilateralism in Geneva (1919–2019). An exhibition entitled “War and Peace” would open at the Martin Bodmer Foundation Museum and Library on 5 October and run until 1 March 2020. An exhibition under the title “100 Years of Multilateralism in Geneva” would open on 8 October at the United Nations Museum in Geneva and stay open until 30 April 2010. The third exhibition, “150 years of the International Review of the Red Cross”, would open at the Humanitarium of the International Committee of the Red Cross on 17 October and also run until 30 April 2020. Journalists were kindly invited to the vernissage of Bodmer Foundation’s exhibition on Friday 4 October at 6:30 pm, and of the UN exhibition on 8 October at 12:30 p.m.

Press conferences

Wednesday, 2 October 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in Room III
UNHCR
Announcing and introducing the winner of UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award 2019
Speaker:
• Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Monday, 7 October 2019 at 12:45 p.m. in Room III
UNHCR
Special Press Conference on Statelessness
Speakers:
• Maha Mamo, formerly stateless refugee and advocate for the rights of stateless people
• Cate Blanchett, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
• Carol Batchelor, UNHCR Special Advisor on Statelessness