REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, the Director of the United Nations Information Service, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the International Labour Organization, the Human Rights Council, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Children’s Fund.

Pakistan

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the joint mission by the Pakistani Government and the UN, which had visited sixteen districts in Sindh province, found that more than 5.4 million people were affected by the flooding, with 1.8 million displaced. The total number of temporary settlements was estimated to be 6,000. More than 6,000 schools had been damaged by the floods in 2011 and 1,363 education facilities were currently being used as relief sites. Sixty-seven per cent of food stocks have been destroyed and only 24 per cent of the affected population could access markets. More than 72 per cent of the crops had been damaged or destroyed in the 16 districts visited by the mission, while 32.6 per cent of livestock had been lost or sold. At least 5 million surviving animals were at risk, lacking feed and shelter and facing increased exposure to debilitating diseases and worm infestations. Baluchistan was also affected by the flooding, but the situation there was unknown as of yet.

The UN had launched its $357 million Rapid Response Plan on 19 September to assist the people and Government of Pakistan. Receiving the funds to respond to the situation was challenging, but they were urgently needed as the contingency stocks used by the humanitarian community needed to be replenished.

Adrian Edwards of the UN Refugee Agency said that UNHCR teams were distributing tents and other emergency aid to families displaced by the flooding in southern Sindh, which had been particularly hard hit. UNHCR had delivered 2,000 tents and 2,000 kits containing jerry cans, blankets and sleeping mats, as well as 4,000 plastic sheets to be used for basic shelter. Many of the families displaced by the floods continued to live in makeshift shelters. The distribution of the emergency supplies had so far focused on the southernmost districts of Badin and Thatta, with 1,000 tents, 1,000 non-food kits and 2,000 plastic sheets going to each location. Eight thousand more tents, as well as non-food kits and plastic sheets, were currently being trucked from UNHCR’s warehouse in Peshawar in north-western Pakistan. The journey took several days. The supplies were headed to the districts of Sanghar, Mirpur Khas, Tando Allah Yar and Tando Muhammad Khan in Sindh. UNHCR field staff described these areas as being under water.

In Badin and Thatta UNHCR had been working with its partner agency, the National Rural Support Program, a Pakistani aid group which was delivering the items and establishing small tent villages of less than 100 families. The scarcity of dry land on which to pitch the tents remained a challenge. Families UNHCR staff had spoken to said they preferred to stay near their livestock. Since Sunday about 1,000 tents and non-food kits had been distributed.

On behalf of the Protection Thematic Working Group, UNHCR recently led a rapid protection assessment in Sindh province. Focus group discussions had been conducted with nearly 6,000 women, men, girls and boys, as well with community leaders and local authorities. A similar assessment would start this week in Balochistan. The assessment report for Sindh revealed difficulties in accessing assistance faced by vulnerable groups such as female-headed households, disabled persons and minorities. There were also problems of child/family separation, missing family members and loss of civil documentation such as national identity cards, which may hinder access to some types of assistance. The findings also revealed a rise in and exacerbation of existing protection problems such as domestic violence, child labour and exploitation.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said that IOM was this week distributing the last of 21,000 emergency shelter and non-food relief item kits that it had pre-positioned in Pakistan’s Sindh province at the beginning of the year in anticipation of the 2011 monsoon. Some 18,000 of the kits, each of which included two plastic tarpaulins, two blankets, a kitchen set and a bucket – enough to meet the needs of 126,000 people – had now been distributed or handed over to local implementing partners for distribution to vulnerable families in the worst flood-affected districts of Sindh. But with the stocks almost empty new funds were urgently needed. IOM was appealing for $14.6 million to procure and distribute emergency shelter and non-food items to another 553,000 people over the next three months.

Yemen

Marixie Mercado of the UN Children’s Fund said that UNICEF partners had verified that four children had been killed and 18 injured by live ammunition in the latest round of violence in Yemen on 18 and 19 September. Reading out a UNICEF statement delivered to the Human Rights Council during yesterday’s discussion on Yemen, Ms. Mercado said that: “Yemen is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster. Malnutrition in Yemen is among the highest in the world, and today it is increasing, especially among the children displaced by conflicts in the North and South of the country. Vaccination programs are under threat, as electricity and gas shortages compromise the viability of vaccines, especially in rural areas. The likelihood of outbreaks of deadly diseases such as measles increases by the day. Children have lost out on almost two months’ worth of schooling because of the civil unrest, and this in a country that struggles to offer basic education to two thirds of its children is a tragic development indeed. UNICEF calls upon all partners to prevent this humanitarian disaster from happening.’’

Mr. Chauzy said that the events over the past days had further complicated IOM’s effort to evacuate some 3,000 Ethiopian migrants who had been stranded on the Yemeni-Saudi border in extremely difficult conditions for several months. About 1,500 of these migrants were receiving meals daily from an IOM feeding centre supported by WFP. An IOM clinic in Haradh also hosted about 200 of the most vulnerable people, including women and children, some of whom were victims of exploitation and trafficking. Since the start of its humanitarian evacuation operation for migrants stranded in Haradh late last year, IOM had assisted over 5,000 irregular migrants to return home. However, evacuation operations were now being slowed due insecurity and a lack of funds. IOM called on donors to provide some $2.5 million to facilitate a resumption of evacuation operations for all those in need of help.

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Secretary-General had yesterday issued a statement in which he expressed grave concern about the escalation of violence in Yemen and called “on all sides to exercise restraint and desist from provocative actions.” The Secretary-General further urged “all political players to engage closely with UN Special Adviser Jamal Benomar who was currently in Sana’a to continue his good offices, working closely with the Gulf Cooperation Council”.

Horn of Africa

Mr. Chauzy said that IOM and UNHCR were working on the infrastructure at the Ifo 2 extension to ease overcrowding at the Dadaab Refugee complex. IOM was also continuing to extend assistance to people, notably by relocating Somali arrivals to sites with appropriate infrastructure. More information was available from the note at the back of the room.

Human Rights Council

Cédric Sapey of the Human Rights Council said that the Council, which was slightly behind schedule, was continuing its interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on Sudan, to be concluded at about 1 p.m. today. The Council would then hold an interactive dialogue on the oral report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Belarus.

At about 3 p.m. the Council would take up its half-day discussion on the rights of indigenous people, hearing presentations of the reports by the Special Rapporteur and the expert mechanisms. This would be followed by a panel on the role of languages and culture in the protection of the well-being and identity of indigenous people.

The Council would start considering UPR reports tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Human Rights Committees

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Committee on the Rights of the Child had opened its three-week session yesterday. It was examining the report of Italy today, before examining that of the Republic of Korea tomorrow, that of Syria on Thursday, and that of Iceland on Friday.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, for its part, was examining the report of Spain today.

The Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families would meet in closed meetings for the rest of the week, before making public its concluding observations on the three reports examined during this session (Argentina, Chile and Guatemala).

ILO Agenda

Hans von Rohland of the International Labour Organization said that the “ILO Global Dialogue Forum on the Needs of Older Workers in relation to Changing Work Processes and the Working Environment in Retail Commerce” would take place from 21-22 September in Geneva.

ILO Director-General Juan Somavia would take part in the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund this weekend (speech to be made available to journalists). Mr. Somavia would further deliver an opening speech at the meeting of the G-20 Labour Ministers on 26-27 September in Paris.

Press conferences

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people would give a press conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Press Room 1. This would be followed, at noon in Room III, by a press conference by the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica on the celebration of the International Day of Peace, featuring the singers Miguel Bosé and Juanes.

On Thursday, 22 September the Economic Commission for Europe would launch the “European Forest Sector Outlook Study 2010-2030” at a press conference to take place at 11 a.m. in Press Room 1.

Geneva Activities

The Information Service would shortly distribute the programme for an event on the occasion of the International Day of Peace, to be marked tomorrow. Organized by, among others, UNOG and the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica and Spain, the event featured singers Miguel Bosé and Juanes.

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the guided tour of WIPO’s new building for the press with award-winning architect Stefan Behnisch would take place this afternoon at 2.30 p.m. Interested journalists were invited to arrive in the lobby of the new building shortly beforehand. The formal inauguration of the new building would take place on Monday, 26 September at 5 p.m., coinciding with the opening day of the WIPO Annual Assemblies.

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the briefing would be followed by a flag-raising of Libya’s new flag in the Allée des Drapeaux at 11.30 a.m. upon the request of Libya. Journalists were invited to attend.