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 the Spokespersons for the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Egypt

Rupert Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stated that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said he was deeply disturbed by the death of at least 20 people during clashes between security forces and protestors in Egypt since the previous Friday. He urged the Egyptian authorities to take urgent measures to bring an end to the excessive use of force by security personnel.

At least 20 people had been killed in the Cairo suburb of Matariya, in Alexandria and in downtown Cairo during protests commemorating the fourth anniversary of the 2011 protests in Egypt that had led to the ouster of then-President Hosni Mubarak. Reports indicated that at least 97 people had also been injured in Cairo, al-Sharkiya, Monofia, Giza, Minya and Kfarel Sheikh. The death of a leading female activist, Shaimaa Al Sabagh, had been captured on video and in photographs posted on the Internet, after she had apparently been shot from behind during a peaceful protest in central Cairo.

Mr. Colville read from the statement of the High Commissioner, who said: “I have in the past urged the Egyptian authorities to take urgent measures to ensure that any excessive use of force by security personnel is promptly investigated, alleged perpetrators are put on trial and victims have access to justice and compensation”. He strongly supported Egypt’s National Independent Fact Finding Commission’s recommendation to the General Prosecutor to publicly release the results of all investigations.

Hundreds of people had died during protests against successive governments since January 2011, and there had been very little in the way of accountability. The lack of justice for past excesses by security forces simply encouraged them to continue on the same path, leading to more deaths and injuries, as had been the case in recent days.

Dozens of people had also been arrested over the weekend. Since the promulgation of a law in November 2013 which placed wide restrictions on protests, thousands of people had allegedly been detained for participating in demonstrations.

The High Commissioner stressed that all those who had been detained for protesting peacefully had to be released. The long-term stability of Egypt was only possible if fundamental human rights were respected. Otherwise, people’s grievances would fester and feelings of injustice would grow, creating fertile ground for further social and political unrest. It was in the interests of all sides to engage in meaningful dialogue and to make efforts to find peaceful solutions to Egypt’s many problems.

High Commissioner Zeid also condemned the murder of two policemen who had been shot at a checkpoint near the Pyramids on 25 January, and the death of a security officer during a clash between protestors and security forces in Matariya the same day.

Asked about the release of Hosni Mubarak’s son from prison while the three Al Jazeera journalists and a number of protesters were still imprisoned, Mr. Colville responded that those were all different cases, which could not be necessarily compared. The High Commissioner had made his position on the journalists and the protesters quite clear in the past. The case of Mubarak’s son was rather complex.

Answering a question on whether there were any parallels between protests in Syria in March 2011 and in Egypt now, Mr. Colville said that he would not make such a parallel and reminded that the largest, most violent violations had taken place in Egypt a year earlier, when at least 693 people had been killed. Based on all the photos and footage from the latest demonstrations, it should be quite easy to identify who was responsible for the killings.

Given that several hundred citizens, police officers and armed forces had been killed in terrorist attacks over the previous years, the Government of Egypt was clearly concerned about further terrorist threats. How that translated into the Government’s response against peaceful demonstrations in Cairo, Alexandria and elsewhere was a different matter.

Ukraine

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), introduced UNICEF Representative in Ukraine, Giovanna Barberis, who spoke from Kiev over the telephone. Ms. Barberis noted that the recent shelling in Mariupol, which had killed two children and injured seven, was as a shocking reminder of the price being paid by children and families in the ongoing violence. An estimated 1.7 million children had been affected by the conflict. UNICEF had called the international community for funds to enable urgent scaling up of the humanitarian response.

Ms. Barberis explained the psychological damage done to the children as they had been missing school and had been at risk for various diseases due to the lack of hygiene and vaccines. Damaged infrastructure, water shortage and little access to medical facilities in those areas of fighting had put children’s lives in danger.

A particular group of 1,000 children that had taken refuge in around 12 bomb shelters in Donetsk was said to be the most vulnerable due to the lack of sanitation, improper living arrangements and limited water and food supply. Because of the lack of governmental and rebel group control over that area, UNICEF was working on creating a distribution of aid supplies, but the complicated access and renewed fighting in the area would cause the distribution to be irregular. Parents were in shelters with the children in order to protect them. Humanitarian agencies would work together to send supplies over to aid those children during rough winter conditions. UNICEF had already delivered hygiene supplies to those bomb shelters and had distributed a good amount of education kits in IDP supplements. UNICEF would call for an immediate end to violence and continuously urged all parties to the conflict to protect children.

Answering a question, Ms. Barberis commented on the risk of a polio epidemic in Ukraine, reporting that barely 50 per cent of 7.9 million Ukrainian children were properly vaccinated. An estimated 1.5 million children under five have not been vaccinated against polio. The disease was indeed a threat to the conflict-affected areas. UNICEF had mobilized some resources and would work with the Ministry of Health on a polio immunization campaign.

Asked who had been responsible for the latest shelling, Ms. Barberis made it clear that that was not UNICEF’s prerogative to determine the origin of the shelling; it was primarily focused on the well-being of the children.

Ms. Barberis said that there had also been reports on child recruitment into armed groups, but UNICEF did not possess any concrete information on the matter.

Mr. Colville provided the latest casualty figures, based on OHCHR data. He informed that as of 26 January, a total of at least 5,187 people had been killed and 11,550 wounded since the start of the fighting in April 2014. On 26 January, at least 17 people had been killed and more than 60 wounded.

Asked on who was responsible for the latest shelling in Mariupol, Mr. Colville said that it was difficult to draw conclusions at this stage without proper investigation. Allegedly, the intended target of the shelling in Mariupol was a Ukrainian forces check point, located a few hundred meters from the residential area.

Ms. Momal-Vanian referred journalists to the briefing by the Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, to the Security Council the previous day.

South Sudan

Mr. Boulierac said that in South Sudan, one of the largest demobilizations of children from armed groups was starting today. It was taking place in the village of Gumuruk, in the State of Jonglei, in the east of the country.

This demobilization included some 3,000 children, who would gradually quit the armed fraction COBRA, commanded by David Yau Yau. Today, at Gumuruk, the first part of the demobilization involved 280 children, who would give up their weapons and uniforms. A ceremony would take place in the afternoon, to be supervised by the National South Sudan Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, and the concerned faction itself. The event and the entire process were supported by UNICEF.

Mr. Boulierac informed that currently more than 12,000 children were used by armed forces and groups on both sides of the conflict.

Children who were released from use in armed forces and armed groups needed a long-term reintegration support. Many had never been to school and they might face major difficulties in reintegration with their families and communities. Some had been fighting for up to four years and many had never attended school. The reintegration would therefore be a long and challenging process. There was also the potential that they would face some discrimination when they returned and there was a risk that some of them would return to conflict.

Psychosocial support, education and skills training provided by UNICEF and partners would be essential elements in the children’s reintegration. First, those children would be received in an interim care center. UNICEF support them with immediate interim care – food, shelter, clothing and basic health. UNICEF was also supporting counseling and psychosocial support. There would also soon be education and skills training programmes in place to help with the integration of the children.

After they were registered, UNICEF would begin to trace their families, which would be challenging, given that 1.9 million people had been displaced from their homes in south Sudan.

Mr. Boulierac added that UNICEF was also working to reduce the chances of discrimination by supporting an additional 3,000 girls and boys in the communities to which the released children would return. The additional children receiving support would be those considered most vulnerable to recruitment and other protection risks. That would also help to prevent the child soldiers being recruited again and reduce the likelihood of them getting involved in armed violence.

UNICEF estimated the costs for the release and reintegration of each child was approximately USD 2,330 for 24 months. So far, UNICEF had received EUR 1.6 million from the IKEA Foundation – a first and critical contribution to funding for the release and reintegration programme. Other donors included the EU and the German and United Kingdom National Committees for UNICEF.

UNICEF was appealing for an additional USD 10 million in support.

Côte d’Ivoire

Mr. Boulierac stated that the national police confirmed that at least 21 children had been kidnapped since December 2014, and most of their bodies had been found with signs of mutilation. Those kidnappings had taken place in different regions of the country, out of which three in Abidjan.

UNICEF strongly condemned those kidnappings and was deeply concerned about the discoveries of mutilated bodies. Those were unacceptable acts, which constituted serious violations of the rights of the child, and the Ivorian authorities had to take all measures necessary to quickly find individuals who had committed those crimes, and to bring them to justice.

UNICEF was also calling on the Government to take all measures to inform the population, including children, on how to reduce the risks, and to reinforce the national alert system and investigations into the cases of missing children. UNICEF was also reminding parents that they ought to redouble their efforts to protect their children and that the communities had to actively engage so that all the children in the country could grow up and develop in safety.

Mr. Boulierac stressed that Côte d’Ivoire remained vulnerable to various forms of violence, abuse and exploitation, in particular physical maltreatment, sexual violence, and dangerous work. UNICEF would continue to support the Government in the process of strengthening the national system of the protection of children, through the application of the National Policy on Protection of Children.

Central African Republic

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that the Senior Humanitarian Coordinator for the Central African Republic, Claire Bourgeois, had in a press release called for increased protection of displaced communities after a visit in Batangafo in the north of the country.

In Batangafo, there were now more than 30,000 IDPs and a continuous influx of newly displaced people. People were running from continuous violence perpetrated by armed groups in the area.

After visiting the overcrowded displacement site in Batangafo, the Senior Humanitarian Coordinator had stressed the urgent need to restore State authority in the town and ensure the safety and protection of the civilians who were at risk of further violence. At the same time she commended the humanitarian work organised by NGO partners, in particular the Danish Refugee Council and Médecins sans Frontières Spain.

Mr. Laerke stressed that the CAR continued to face a humanitarian crisis of major proportions. Nearly a million people had been displaced and 2.7 million people, over half of the population, were in dire need of immediate assistance.

Iraq

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), stated that the humanitarian situation of Iraqis recently displaced to the southern governorates of Najaf, Kerbala and Babel was reaching critical levels.

WFP was assisting 50,000 displaced families in Basrah, Thi Qar, Qadissiya, Missan, Wassit, Muthanna, Najaf, Kerbala, and Babel.

Despite the dangers and challenges posed in accessing this area, WFP had been present in southern and central Iraq since the start of the country’s crisis in 2014. WFP thanked the local governments of Najaf, Kerbala and Babel for their continued cooperation with WFP to alleviate the suffering of displaced Iraqis and helping the WFP provide them with food.

Many displaced people now lived in unoccupied public buildings, mosques known as Husseineya, which local authorities had provided as shelter, or with host communities. The majority of the families who had moved to the area said that they had spent the little savings that they had on transportation to get there.

Ms. Byrs said that many were unable to find refuge in the crowded northern Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which hosted close to 50 percent of internally displaced Iraqi families, while others said that it was too expensive to live in the North.

During the assessment, the WFP team had met many displaced families who struggle to feed their families or know where their next meal would come from. During the assessment, WFP staff had met officials from the three southern Governorates, including the First Deputy to the Governor of Najaf, the head of the provincial council of Kerbala and the Deputy Governor of Babel, to discuss food assistance to displaced people.

WFP delivered large amounts of food each year in the form of monthly food parcels that contained items such as wheat flour, cooking oil, rice and pasta, offering families nourishing meals. Others still on the move received immediate response rations that included canned food.

Ms. Byrs reminded that the WFP provided food assistance to all of Iraq’s 18 Governorates, reaching a total of 1.4 million displaced Iraqis in 2014. In northern parts of Iraq, WFP had begun in November to provide hungry people with food vouchers enabling them to buy and choose food for themselves. Food vouchers, because they were spent in local shops, supported the local economy, and strengthened local markets.

Google/WikiLeaks

Asked to comment on Google’s handing of all the electronic communications of the members of WikiLeaks to the US Government, Mr. Colville said that OHCHR had issued an important report in the summer of 2014 on the issue of privacy in the digital age.

WHO Executive Board

Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), informed that this morning, the main subject of the WHO Executive Board was the election of two regional directors, for Africa and for Europe. Two press releases would be published later in the day, and a press conference would take place with the new Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti, of the Republic of Botswana, at 3 p.m. today. It was the first time a woman had been elected as Regional Director for Africa. She would replace Dr. Luis Sambo, and start her term on 1 February 2015 for five years. The Regional Director for Europe, Zsuzsanna Jakab of Hungary, had been re-elected for a second five-year mandate, which would also start on 1 February.

The Executive Board also focused on reforms today, with discussions on the engagement of the WHO with non-state actors, directing working methods of governing bodies, the WHO reform, and the overview of the implementation of that reform. The results of the second international Conference on Nutrition, which had taken place a few weeks earlier in Rome, had also been discussed. An updated agenda was available on the WHO site.

A question was asked about criticism against the African Regional Director in the management of the Ebola crisis, with claims of incompetence. How were applications to the post put forward?; Were they proposed by States or selected on the grounds of their individual competences? Ms. Chaib said that candidates were proposed by their respective countries, and then nominated by the Regional Council. For Dr. Moeti, it was in Cotonou, Benin, in November 2014, that she had received endorsement by the 47 States in the WHO African region, who had been given a choice between several candidates. The same procedure had been applied for Zsuzsanna Jakab, who had been nominated by the Regional Committee for Europe in September 2014. Both candidates were now endorsed by the WHO Executive Board in Geneva.

Geneva activities

Asked about a possible press conference on the ongoing Libyan talks at the Palais des Nations, Ms. Momal-Vanian said that no press briefing was planned for the moment, and the political talks were continuing. On Wednesday, another meeting would bring together representatives of municipalities and local councils from across Libya.

Ms. Momal-Vanian, speaking on behalf of the Human Rights Council, informed that the Universal Periodic Review Working Group was reviewing the human rights record of Turkey this morning in Room 20; the meeting had started at 9 a.m. and would last until12:30.

In the afternoon, the Working Group would adopt its reports on reviews earlier this session for Kenya, Armenia and Guinea-Bissau; those reports would be sent to the media prior to their adoption.

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed that the Conference on Disarmament, under the Presidency of Mexico, was holding plenary sessions on 27, 28 and 29 January.

Committee on the Rights of the Child was meeting in closed sessions this week in order to adopt concluding observations prior to the closure on 30 January. The concluding observations would be available early the following week.

On behalf of the Interparliamentary Union, Ms. Momal-Vanian announced a press conference which would take place in Press Room I at 2 p.m. today, when the IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong would speak on his mission to Syria and Lebanon.

Another press conference would take place in Press Room I on 28 January at 10 a.m. by the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed that the launch of new ILO report: An Employment-Oriented Investment Strategy for Europe would take place in Press Room I on 28 January at 11 a.m. Speakers would be Raymond Torres, Head of ILO Research, who would present the analysis of the three-year investment plan put forward by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in late 2014. The report would be under embargo until 28 January at 3 p.m. Geneva time.

Catherine Houissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), announced a press conference on the 18^th issue of the New Global Investment Trends Monitor, which would take place in Press Room I on 28 January at 2:30 p.m. The speaker would be James Zhan, UNCTAD’s Director of the Division on Investment and Enterprise.

Mr. Boulierac informed that the Launch of the 2015 Humanitarian Action for Children, plus an update on the situation of children in Syria and in Ebola affected countries would be presented in Press Room I on 29 January at 10:30 a.m. Speakers would be Afshan Khan, Director, Office of Emergency Programmes, who had just returned from Syria and Lebanon), and Peter Salama, UNICEF Global Ebola Emergency Coordinator.

The representative of the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Refugee Agency also attended the briefing, but did not brief.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: …http://bit.ly/unog270115