REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization.

Yemen

Ravina Shamdasani for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said her office condemned the continuing attacks on civilians in Yemen, particularly in Taiz, where it was reported that more than 20 people had been killed by shooting and shelling since Thursday last week. The continued use of disproportionate force by part of the Government’s security forces, despite commitments made to investigate serious human rights violations, was extremely disappointing.

The killings must stop immediately, she said, and all sides must halt the use of violent force. She then called on the Yemeni authorities to cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Office and grant immediate access for staff to assess the situation on the ground. The Human Rights Council had requested a report for its next session in March.

Marixie Mercado for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said her figures showed that three children were killed and seven injured in Taiz in recent days, bringing the total number of children killed to 138, the majority due to live ammunition. The youngest victim found so far was three months old, killed on 1 December, and in total 568 children had been injured.

Elisabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) added that the Yemen Humanitarian County Team comprising United Nations agencies and international and local NGOs, had urgently called for the protection of civilians in Taiz after 22 people had been killed and 83 injured in intense fighting since 1 December 2011.

She added that despite a ceasefire agreement, agreed on 4 December, violence continued. It was reported that heavy shelling and street fighting had damaged civilian neighbourhoods and forced many residents to flee their homes.

Furthermore the statement from the OCHA country team had called upon all armed actors involved in the conflict in Taiz to ensure the safety and protection of all civilians in accordance with universally recognized principles of human rights and international humanitarian law, said Ms. Byrs.

The country team had also reported access to basic social services had been increasingly limited and schools and hospitals had been occupied or come under attack by armed forces and armed groups, she said. This had directly affected more than 100,000 children who now had limited or no access to schooling or health facilities.

Boat tragedies in Mediterranean

Melissa Fleming for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said the Moroccan Royal Navy had rescued a vessel with more than 60 people onboard from their waters. Of these 53 people were rescued, while four were found to have died. Among the passengers were children under the age of ten, and women, some pregnant. The dead included a Congolese woman and her daughter, who UNHCR identified at the morgue. They were both registered refugees.

Separately, two sailing boats with around 80 people onboard and of different nationalities (mostly Afghans) departing from Greece, were rescued by the Italian coastguard on Monday after a week at sea. They were found dehydrated and with no food and water left.

UNHCR had also been informed that a boat that left from the Libyan coast over the weekend was rescued by the Maltese Armed Forces overnight. Forty-four people were reported to be onboard. Many were believed to be Somali. Additionally the Libyan coast guard had reported that up to four hundred people were rescued from boats off the Libyan coast in recent days.

From these reports it appeared that migrants and refugees were once again attempting to use Libya as a transit route to Europe, said Ms. Fleming, when in years gone past it was rare to see boats attempting to make the perilous crossing during the winter.

UNHCR 60th Anniversary Ministerial Conference

Melissa Fleming for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said a media advisory on the largest conference on refugees and stateless people in UNHCR's 60 years history would be sent today, ahead of the start of the event tomorrow (7 December). Speakers on the first morning included the Secretary-General (by video message), the American Secretary of State, the President of Switzerland and the former Finnish president, she said.

Volker Türk, Director of the Division of International Protection at UNHCR explained the meeting was of all Member States, and so not limited to signatories to the 1951 and 1961 refugee and statelessness conventions. The commemoration of the anniversaries of both these conventions was very important, he added, as they embodied what the international community had tried to achieve on these issues over the last 60 years in providing safety and protection. These conventions had saved literally millions of lives, he said, and would continue to do so. This could be seen just this year, for example, in the Horn of Africa and North Africa, showing displacement is at the forefront of international events.

There were 148 countries that were party to either both or one of the Conventions, though not signing the Conventions did not mean that Member States did not have obligations, continued Mr. Türk. He cited Pakistan as an example, as the country had hosted millions of Afghan refugees, despite not being a signatory. UNHCR hoped to achieve renewed support through the Conference for the world’s forcibly displaced and stateless. Some 35 states had indicated that they would be making pledges of policy, and a number of countries were expected to accede to one or more of the stateless conventions.

Answering a question he added that if a country had proclaimed formal reservations to parts of the treaty, as was their right, then refugees may face limitations on their day to day life in a host country, such as the right to work. This could prove a hindrance to getting out of camps and into a productive life.

Asked about Brazil’s non-recognition of Haitians fleeing the 2010 earthquake, he said that the Conventions allowed for refugee status to be awarded due to persecution or violence, and did not refer to natural hazards. That said, in the case of Haiti some countries had given temporary shelter to these people, though this was at their own discretion. One of the challenges of the future would be dealing with displacement as a result of climate change as no current international convention would cover that, he added.

Asked about a possible convention to deal with internally displaced persons, he said it was not officially on the agenda of the 60th Anniversary Conference but he was sure that some countries would want to discuss the issue. He answered another question saying that it was important for the international community to see refugee protection as a mutual trust, rather than focusing on particular countries performance on the issue. And among challenges for the future in this area would be an increase in violence, such as gang-related violence, urbanization and difficulties in returning refugees home due to protracted situations.

Horn of Africa

Elisabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Somalia, particularly the south, was suffering from torrential rains and this was making delivery of humanitarian assistance more difficult.

Meanwhile, response to the appeal for funds had been positive, with 80 per cent funding, although this was not a time for complacency because more would be needed for the future as the crisis was far from over.

Operations in Kenya were also suffering from an unstable security situation and heavy rainfall, she said.

The launch of the OCHA humanitarian appeals for 2012 would be held on 14 December at 14:30 in Room III by the Secretary-General of OCHA, accompanied by the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid. Details of the appeals would be released under embargo on Monday, she said.

Syria

Melissa Fleming for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees was asked about the population of Syrian refugee camps on the border with Turkey and said that the camp was run by the Turkish Government and UNHCR had been very satisfied with their treatment of those seeking help. On the issue of the impact of Arab League sanctions on Iraqi refugees in Syria, she said that the UNHCR was still able to provide services to this group, though some effects were being felt.





Human Rights Day

Ravina Shamdasani for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that to mark Human Rights Day, on Friday (9 December), the Deputy High Commissioner would be speaking to bloggers, journalists and experts from Egypt, Guatemala, Mexico, Tunisia and Uganda about the new possibilities of technology, including social media, to promote and defend human rights. The event would start at 10:00 in Room XX of the Palais des Nations.

Gaza

Fadéla Chaib for the World Health Organization (WHO) responded to a question on assistance to residents of Gaza, saying that the WHO worked with both parties to enable the evacuation of those in urgent need of medical aid, such as women in labour and or those with cardiovascular problems or suffering from cancer.

Geneva activities

The Seventh Review Conference of the Convention on Biological Weapons continued its general debate today. An informal meeting would also be held this afternoon to hear non-governmental organizations. Starting tomorrow, the conference would hold sessions on the review of questions of implementation of various articles of the Convention. This process would continue until next Wednesday (14 December) and would be followed by the drafting of the final document from the conference.

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced a press conference by the Israel Mission entitled “UNHCR & UNRWA: Uniform application of refugee principles for Middle East Peace”, on Thursday, 8 December 2011, at 10:30 in Room III. The Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs was to attend.

In addition the High Commissioner for Refugees was to brief journalists immediately after the closing session of the Ministerial conference, Thursday 8 December 2011, at 18.00 in Room III.

Finally, Keith Rockwell of the World Trade Organization was to brief journalists on the Eighth Session of WTO's Ministerial Conference (in Geneva, 15 to 17 December), on Wednesday 7 December 2011, at 11:00 in Press Room 1; the press conference was later rescheduled for 4.00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Fadéla Chaib for the World Health Organization (WHO) said a media alert on the release of the Global Malaria Report 2011 was to be issued tomorrow and a press conference was to be held on Tuesday (13 December), attended by the Director of the WHO’s Global Malaria Programme.