REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Yvette Morris, Chief, TV and Radio Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the International Labour Organization, the International Organization of Migration and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Schools in Syria

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), briefed on education in Syria, saying the New Year offered little chance for children’s education in the country because schools remained targets of conflict.

Continued conflict and the recent closure of some schools in Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zour governorates and parts of rural Aleppo in Syria were believed to have disrupted education for 670,000 children of primary and lower high school age, Mr. Boulierac said.

Between January and December 2014 alone there were at least 68 attacks on schools across Syria, according to UNICEF data, reported Mr. Boulierac. Although there were conflicting reports about the exact scale of the current school closures, the attacks reportedly killed at least 160 children and injured 343. The real numbers were likely to be
higher, and there were indications that some attacks may have been deliberate, he said.

By the end of 2014 the conflict in Syria affected more than eight million children, 5.6 million children inside the country and 1.7 million children living as refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and other countries in North Africa.

UNICEF repeatedly called upon all parties to the conflict to uphold their responsibility to protect children, schools and other civilian infrastructure from the conflict, a call which was repeated with even greater urgency as a new year began with children in Syria still facing the most terrible threats to their safety, wellbeing and their education, said Mr. Boulierac.

Answering a question from a journalist, Mr. Boulierac said the 68 attacks on schools in Syria between January and December 2014 killed 160 and injured 343 children. That assessment was probably an underestimate due to the difficulties in getting accurate data in Syria, mainly because of access.

Responding to a question about the total number of children out of school in Syria, Mr. Boulierac said the latest UNICEF Education Sector analysis, carried out in partnership with the Syrian Ministry of Education estimated that between 2.1 and 2.4 million children in Syria were out of school and/or not attending school regularly.

A journalist asked who controlled the three governorates where schools had been forced to close. Mr. Boulierac replied that the Islamic State was believed to have control in the areas where these schools are located, such as Raqqa while it also had a presence in the rural parts of Deir-ez-Zour. Although the Islamic State had ordered the closure of schools in those governorates (affecting the education of an estimated 670,000 children of primary and lower high school age) UNICEF was not necessarily reporting that the Islamic State had full control of all three governorates, he clarified, since the situation on the ground kept changing.

Responding to another question about reasons for the school closures, Mr. Boulierac said in December the Islamic State issued a decree ordering education in areas under its control to be stopped, because it wanted to change school curricula. The Islamic State had asked teaching authorities at schools in areas under its control to develop new curricula. The insecurity was another reason for school closures, he added.

Answering a question about reports of retaliation against teachers and school staff, Mr. Boulierac said he did not have precise information on that. More generally, UNICEF reported that teachers had also been targeted in the school attacks that took place in Syria in 2014.

Migrant Ghost Ships on the Mediterranean

Joel A. Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM staff in southern Italy had been reporting on the “Ghost Ship” trend and meeting with rescued migrants.

IOM confirmed that a ship called Blue Sky M, carrying 736 people, came to shore on New Year’s Eve in Apulia. A second ship called The Ezadeen, a Sierra Leonean flagged ship, came to shore in Calabria on Saturday 3 January, with 359 Syrian refugees on board.

Initially IOM and others reported prices of US$1,000 to US$2,000 per passenger, but now IOM staff, having spoken to a number of the survivors found that passengers paid between US$4,000 and US$6,000 to the smugglers, who were based in Turkey. Media reports had quoted prices as high as US$8,000 per person, which IOM was unable to verify.

IOM was alarmed about the situation, and concerned about the end of the Mare Nostrum rescue-at-sea operation, as migration was continuing in high numbers through the winter, in very dangerous conditions. We may see more of such arrivals in the weeks ahead, said Mr. Millman.

Mr. Millman noted that this morning [Tuesday 6 January] five migrants coming from Algeria were found dead off the coast of Spain, although they were not thought to be travelling on a large ship. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2,000 people were rescued from small crafts off the coast of Sicily. Although the majority were Syrians, smaller groups of migrants from Libya and other countries continued to attempt the same passage.

There were more details in the press release, Mr. Millman said.

A journalist asked for the total number of arrivals on the two ships. Mr. Millman replied IOM’s figure was 1,100, but it was possible that smugglers or crew could be mixed in with the migrants. At least one crew member, the skipper of the first ship, was found hiding among the migrants. A recurring problem was of people slipping away from the reception centres making it difficult to accurately confirm numbers.

Was there a risk of a major crash as a result of smugglers setting auto-pilot courses for the Italian coastline and then abandoning migrant ships, asked a journalist. IOM was very concerned about that risk, said Mr. Millman, recalling an Egyptian group of smuggled migrants sailing from Egypt whose boat was scuttled not far from Malta killing 500 people. Any boat put on automatic pilot and sent towards the Italian coast was at huge risk of crashing, he added.

The European Union was looking at the situation, and the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Citizenship made a statement about it on 2 January, said Mr. Millman, but nevertheless now Mare Nostrum had ended patrols were not as extensive, although commercial and other vessels were required by international law to respond to distress calls.

Were the vessels using so-called ‘flags of convenience’ asked a journalist. Mr. Millman replied that IOM wasn’t sure. However, in at least one case the cattle hauler vessel had been decommissioned, so there were questions about which maritime authorities were flouting laws to allow decommissioned vessels back on the sea. There were increasing reports of large ships on open waters with small groups of migrants being boarded little by little, to make up a cargo of hundreds of people. In that case, those large ships were not leaving ports that were policed or where registry or insurance could be checked.

Where had the crews of the two large ships gone, asked a journalist. Mr. Millman replied that IOM did not know. It was known that the first ship was in Greek waters for a few days but did not seek rescue by the Greek navy, presumably because Italy was the promised destination. Italian prosecutors and Interpol had taken up the case and were looking for the crews, he added.

A journalist asked about the call by IOM Director-General William Lacy Swing for a ‘multinational taskforce to focus on the smuggling of vulnerable people and loss of life’. Mr. Millman confirmed that Director-General Swing had referred to the very effective multinational task force launched quickly to tackle Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, and similarly for the Ebola response, and believed such a taskforce was within the means of the international community.

Geneva Activities

Yvette Morris, Chief, TV and Radio Section at the United Nations Information Service Geneva, announced that the Committee on the Rights of the Child would start a three week session on Monday 12 January during which it would consider 12 country reports: Cambodia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, the Gambia, Iraq, Jamaica, Mauritius, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkmenistan, Tanzania and Uruguay. A background release would be issued on Thursday.

Carla Drysdale, for the International Labour Organization (ILO) announced that a report entitled "Women in Business and Management: Gaining Momentum", a study by the Employers' Branch of the ILO, would be launched on Monday 12 January. The report highlighted the business case for gender diversity and the obstacles women still faced as well as recommendations for moving forward. It also underlined the fact that women’s participation in the labour market was increasingly significant for economic growth and development. A media advisory with more details would be sent out today, said Ms. Drysdale, and embargoed copies of the report and associated material would be distributed to Geneva correspondents.

The spokespersons for the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs attended but did not brief.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog060115