REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, the Director of the UN Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency.

World Environment Day

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the message of the Secretary-General on today’s World Environment Day 2012 was available at the back of the room in both English and French. This year’s theme, “Green Economy: Does it include you?”, underscored the need for everyone to play their part in keeping humankinds’ ecological footprint within planetary boundaries. Mr. Ban’s message underlined that Rio+20 was our opportunity to deepen global commitment to sustainable development and urged governments, businesses and all members of society to make the holistic choices that will ensure a sustainable future.

The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, would today be receiving several hundred school children from the Geneva region who have participated in a contest on sustainable development. The award ceremony would take place at 3.30 p.m. this afternoon in Room XX of the Palais des Nations.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on World Environment Day the international community should remember that, in a world where more people than ever were on the move, there was an urgent need to include migration and migrants into efforts to develop a green and sustainable development agenda. With more than 214 million international migrants and 740 million internal migrants worldwide, migration was a megatrend of the 21st century, with consequences that would durably impact political, social and economic systems and change the composition of nation states. Integrating migration into a new sustainable development agenda was essential to ensure migrants contributed their knowledge and skills in key areas such as poverty reduction, health, education, the environment and gender equality. Migrants were already playing a significant development role through the transfer of knowledge and skills and because they developed transnational networks, businesses and investments that were essential to the well-being of societies. Furthermore, migration remained a possible adaptation strategy for populations affected by environmental degradation and climate change, said Mr. Chauzy.

One year on, Somali exodus continues amid conflict and poor rains

Andrej Mahecic of the UN Refugee Agency said that a year ago this June, desperate Somali refugees began pouring into neighbouring countries, driven from their homes by conflict, human rights abuses and the worst drought in decades. This latest chapter had been another stark reminder of the Somali population’s tragic and prolonged suffering spanning more than twenty years. Facing violence and starvation, tens of thousands had sought survival in refugee camps in the region. Most walked through the desert for days, weeks at times, and arrived exhausted, sick and emaciated, often carrying their weak and dying children or the few belongings they had.

Today, many challenges remained. Continuing conflict and poor seasonal rains were still forcing people to flee their country although at lower levels than seen last summer. In the first four months of 2012 some 20,000 Somalis had sought refuge in neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen (on average UNHCR had been registering about 40,000 Somalis every month during the summer last year).

This May, the Dollo Ado camps in Ethiopia, which were already hosting more than 150,000 refugees, had seen a significant increase in new arrivals, from less than 980 in the first half of May to more than 2,000 in the second half. The newcomers said they were fleeing increased physical insecurity and dwindling food resources. Specifically, they cite fear of being caught in military operations, forced recruitment, poor rains, and crop destruction by caterpillars as reasons for leaving Somalia. We are working with the Ethiopian authorities to identify a site for a sixth camp in this already crowded and environmentally fragile area.

Meanwhile, at Dadaab in Kenya, more than 460,000 refugees continued to live in a precarious security environment. The threat of improvised explosive devices, shootings, kidnapping and banditry remained high. Deliveries of assistance and activities in the camps were continuing regardless. In Dadaab UNHCR had also witnessed acts of incredible solidarity during the emergency. Refugees had lived there for years and the host community generously assisted the new arrivals and shared whatever resources they had.

Throughout the past year the priority and toughest challenge for UNHCR and its partners had been to reduce the unprecedented mortality and malnutrition rates among Somali arrivals. Despite life-saving medical care and therapeutic feeding programmes in the Dadaab and Dollo Ado refugee camps, many of the newly arriving children had been beyond help – dying within hours or days of arrival. At the peak of the influx last summer, the estimated death toll had been as high as 17 deaths per 10,000 people every day.

At the onset of the crisis UNHCR and its partners had set up critical nutrition programmes in reception and transit centres and in the camps. Combined with mass vaccinations and other public health measures, these massive efforts have been saving lives over the past 12 months. Mortality and malnutrition rates began to drop from record highs in September last year, but it had taken another six months before they had fallen below the levels usually seen in an emergency (i.e., less than 1 per 10,000 per day). Today, Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado camps were reporting an average crude mortality rate of below 1 per 1,000 per month and an under-five mortality rate of 2.2 per 1,000 per month. In Kenya’s Dadaab refugee complex the crude mortality rate was 0.2 per 1,000 per month, and 0.6 per 1,000 per month for children under five years of age, said Mr. Mahecic.

Another vital achievement had been the reduction in the high malnutrition rates unseen in decades. Malnutrition was especially alarming among refugee children - in June and July last year more than half of Somali children arriving in Ethiopia were acutely malnourished. That rate was somewhat lower among those arriving in Kenya, but equally disturbing - between 30 and 40 per cent. Even the most experienced UNHCR staff said they had not seen anything like it since the 1998 famine in southern Sudan or the 1999 nutrition crisis in Brazzaville.

The results of the most recent mass screenings showed a sharp reduction of malnutrition among under-fives in Dadaab (seven per cent). In Dollo Ado, the malnutrition levels among children had also stabilized with all camps showing a positive trend. In the older Melkadida and Bokolomayo camps, acute malnutrition rates had fallen to 15 per cent. UNHCR was currently preparing a follow-up survey in the newer Kobe and Hilaweyn camps and expected to see significantly reduced levels of general acute malnutrition. Massive water, sanitation and hygiene programmes went hand-in-hand with these efforts and were integral to the vast improvements in the health conditions of the Somali refugee population.

The neighbouring countries had been bearing the brunt of the Somali displacement throughout the latest emergency in the Horn of Africa. Pressure was huge on the host communities as the Somali crisis continued to affect the entire region. They needed continued international support. Some 300,000 people had fled Somalia last year alone. Today, more than 980,000 Somalis lived as refugees in the neighbouring countries.

Refugees arriving in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State cite daily bombings, difficult escapes, food scarcity

Mr. Mahecic said that over the past three weeks an estimated 35,000 refugees from Sudan's Blue Nile state had sought asylum in South Sudan, many of them citing harrowing experiences along the way. Refugees continued to describe aerial bombardments and ground fighting between Sudan Armed Forces and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (North) forces, as well as growing conflict-induced food shortages. Unconfirmed accounts spoke of escape routes being blocked.

Refugees also described being forced to flee several times within Blue Nile state before making it to South Sudan. Sheikhs (traditional chiefs) reported that they had hosted displaced tribes in their villages until distant bombings came closer and became a daily occurrence, prompting them to flee. They said that bombings had taken place at night and in the early morning, forcing people to take cover in dry streams, caves, and dense forest. Village leaders also described journeys lasting several weeks because the elderly and the very young who suffered swollen feet and legs could not keep up.

The large number of new arrivals was adding pressure to an already difficult humanitarian situation in this part of South Sudan, said Mr. Mahecic. The most critical challenge for aid agencies was to provide enough clean water for all refugees and to prevent disease. Partner humanitarian agencies were trucking water to refugee sites, while five rigs were operational and drilling efforts were continuing. UNHCR was working with the local authorities to identify more sites with reliable water sources to ease pressure on existing refugee settlements. Difficult road conditions were slowing the delivery of assistance.

UNHCR had been sending emergency supplies to South Sudan by air and by road since December. This included 10,000 family tents, more than 52,000 plastic sheets and over 100,000 sleeping mats. Based on current stocks in the regional warehouse in Nairobi, the UN Refugee Agency was prepared to respond to the needs of an additional 50,000 refugees.

Including the new arrivals, South Sudan was currently hosting some 150,000 refugees from Sudan. Over 105,000 of these were in Upper Nile State, while a further 47,000 are in settlements further west in Unity State.

African migrants and asylum-seekers in Israel

Asked for comments on the violence directed against African migrants and asylum-seekers in Israel, Mr. Chauzy said that the IOM was concerned about the terminology used by the Israeli authorities. This terminology gave a security connotation to the phenomenon of mixed migration which included both asylum-seekers and people seeking work in Israel. These conditions required restraint and the avoidance of political discourses that could further aggravate an already polarized situation.

Mr. Mahecic said that UNHCR had been speaking to people who had crossed the Sinai and arrived in Israel. Some people among these groups may deserve international protection but in this region, and in others including the Gulf of Aden, one was often speaking about illegal migration. When it came to refugee issues, the question for the UN Refugee Agency was access to fair and transparent procedures in establishing whether people were in need of international protection or not.

Agenda of the International Labour Organization

Hans von Rohland of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said that the Director-General of the ILO would open tomorrow’s plenary meeting of the International Labour Conference with an address on the state of the global economy at 10. a.m.

On Friday, 8 June several guests of honour would participate in the International Labour Conference. H.E. Mr. Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, President of the Republic of Tunisia, was scheduled to address the conference at 11 a.m., His Royal Highness Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, Prince of Asturias, at 12.15 p.m., and H.E. Mr Michael Chilufya Sata President, Republic of Zambia, at 3 p.m. Places on the sixth floor have been set aside for journalists.

Also on Friday ILO was organizing Special Decent Work Forum entitled “Be outraged”. The forum would run from 1.30 to about 2.30 p.m. in Room XI at the ILO and involved personalities such as Stéphane Hessel, the author of Indignez-Vous!, and Sir Richard Jolly from the University of Sussex.

A journalist noted that according to the International Trade Union Confederation employers were blocking discussions of major human rights and labour law violations in many countries on the priority list. Mr. von Rohland responded that the ILO was concerned that this situation was preventing the completion of an important part of the work of the International Labour Conference. However, this was an ongoing discussion. The groups of the Committee were meeting today to overcome the stalemate and the Committee would discuss the next steps. The plenary of the International Labour Conference was only expected to adopt the Committee’s report on Thursday, 14 June. The Office would of course continue to assist in finding solutions to the issues dealt with, but the ILO was under the impression that the members of the Committees – workers, employers and Governments – were intent on advancing discussions.

Stakeouts and press conferences

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that Mr. John Ging, Director, Coordination and Response Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, would give a stakeout following the Syria Humanitarian Forum which was taking place at the Palais des Nations this morning. The stakeout would take place around 1 p.m. this afternoon, close to the entrance to Room XX. This would be followed by a stakeout by Mr. Claus Sorensen, Director-General, European Commission Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.

Later today, at 3 p.m. in Press Room 1, Mrs. Kelly Clements, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, would brief the press on the support of the U.S. Government to Syrian humanitarian needs.

Tomorrow, 6 June, the World Health Organization would give a press conference on gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection, at 10 a.m. in Press Room 1. Journalists would be briefed by Dr. Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan, Scientist, WHO, Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Dr. Carmen Pessoa Da Silva, Medical Officer, WHO, Department for Infection Control and Publications.

After that, at 11 a.m. in Press Room 1, the UN Environment Programme would launch the GEO-5, the UN's Most Comprehensive Assessment of the Global Environment.

On Thursday, 7 June the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change would give a press conference at 10.30 a.m. in Room III.

On Friday, 8 June would take place the 20th round of the Geneva International Discussions, to be followed by a series of press conferences in the late afternoon.

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the UN Conference on Trade and Development said that the Secretary-General and the Director of the Africa Division would present the Economic Development in Africa Report 2012 on 12 June in Room I. There were ongoing environmental concerns and how Africa could build on its situation in its transition towards a green economy. The report was embargoed until 5 p.m. GMT on 13 June.

Conference on Disarmament

The Conference on Disarmament was continuing its cycle of thematic discussions on each agenda item. This morning the Conference was discussing the prevention of an arms race in outer space.

Committee on the Rights of the Child

The Committee on the Rights of the Child was continuing its sixtieth session. This morning it was pursuing the examination of the report of Australia. From tomorrow morning until Thursday noon, the Committee would discuss the reports presented by Greece on its implementation of the Convention and its two Optional Protocols. On Friday the Committee would review the last report scheduled for review at this session – Algeria’s report on how it was implementing the Convention.