REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the International Organization for Migration, the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.
Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry on Gaza
Rolando Gomez, for the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) announced the resignation of the Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict. Mr. Gomez said the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Joachim Ruecker of Germany, received a letter from Professor William Schabas the previous night indicating his resignation as chair and member of the Commission of Inquiry on the Gaza conflict with immediate effect. That letter followed one sent to the HRC President on Friday 30 January by the Permanent Mission of Israel in which they asked for Professor Schabas’ dismissal from the Commission of Inquiry due to what they referred to as a conflict of interest.
The President accepted the resignation of Professor Schabas and thanked him for his work over the past six months as Chair of the Commission. The President respected the decision of Professor Schabas and appreciated that this way even the appearance of a conflict of interest would be avoided, thus preserving the integrity of the process.
The HRC President noted the Council’s decision requesting the Commission of Inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. He also noted that the Commission was now in the final phase of collecting evidence from as many victims and witnesses as possible from both sides.
The report of the Commission of Inquiry was scheduled to be presented to the HRC at its upcoming session on 23 March 2015. The President was now in discussions with the remaining two members of the Commission of Inquiry regarding the appointment of a new Chairperson. Ambassador Ruecker underlined the need to remain focused on the substantive work of the Commission in the interest of the victims and their families on both sides, said Mr. Gomez, noting that all letters and communications referred to were available on the HRC Extranet.
Ukraine
Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein today urged all sides to halt the dangerous escalation in the fighting in eastern Ukraine. He called on States and all those with influence in the region to take measures to ensure full compliance with the Minsk accords, which had a direct bearing on the human rights situation in the east of the country.
Bus stops and public transport, marketplaces, schools and kindergartens, hospitals and residential areas had become battlegrounds in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, in clear breach of international humanitarian law which governed the conduct of armed conflicts. The death toll now exceeded 5,358 people, and another 12,235 had been wounded since mid-April last year. In just the three weeks up to 1 February, at least 224 civilians had been killed and 545 wounded.
Any further escalation would prove catastrophic for the 5.2 million people living in the midst of conflict in eastern Ukraine, said Ms. Shamdasani. In particular, there had been a high civilian death toll from the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas in both Government-controlled territory and in areas controlled by the armed groups.
In the single most deadly incident involving civilians, at least 31 people were killed and 112 wounded in Mariupol, following two attacks by multiple launch rocket systems. “The protection of civilians by all parties to the conflict must be of the utmost priority” High Commissioner Zeid said.
The High Commissioner also expressed concern about the implications of the harsh winter months on civilians in conflict-affected areas, with shortages of food and water and power cuts. The prolongation of the conflict would make the humanitarian situation untenable for millions of people who were trapped there.
The public declarations by representatives of the armed groups, rejecting the ceasefire agreement and vowing to scale up the offensive were extremely dangerous and deeply worrying. They added to the terrifying predicament of the civilians who were trapped in the areas, and the total breakdown of law and order. The High Commissioner urged all States with influence to work together to ensure that parties to the conflict immediately ceased hostilities and abided by earlier ceasefire decisions.
Ms. Shamdasani also reported on worrying developments in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in particular with regard to multiple violations of the rights of Crimean Tatars. Last week the premises of ATR, the only television channel broadcasting in the Crimean Tatar language, were raided by armed, masked men in unmarked military clothing. The Deputy Head of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Mr. Ahtem Ciygoz, was detained and now faces up to 10 years in prison for creating “mass disturbances”. More than 20,000 people had been internally displaced from Crimea to mainland Ukraine since the March “referendum”, which followed the takeover of the peninsula by so-called self-defence forces almost a year ago. Subsequently Russian legislation and citizenship were introduced in Crimea, recalled Ms. Shamdasani.
The Human Rights Mission in Ukraine would issue its next report on the situation in the country, including Crimea, at the beginning of March, noted Ms. Shamdasani.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights absolutely condemned the detention of Deputy Head of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Mr. Ahtem Ciygoz, and the sentence of 10 years he faced was clearly excessive, said Ms. Shamdasani in answer to a question.
High Commissioner visit to United States
Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said High Commissioner Zeid today began the first official visit by a United Nations Human Rights Chief to Washington D.C. to meet senior United States administration officials and Members of Congress since 2007. The High Commissioner would also hold meetings with State Department and other United States Government officials, including National Security Adviser Susan Rice, to discuss a wide range of overseas and domestic issues. He would also meet with around eight senior members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. On Thursday, at 10 a.m. EST High Commissioner Zeid would deliver an address at a public event at the Holocaust Museum in Washington. He would also attend two round-table events with Civil Society organisations.
The High Commissioner would hold a press conference at the end of his visit, at 10 a.m. on Friday 6 February, at the Georgetown Law Center, in Washington D. C.
Malawi Floods - humanitarian assistance
Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), briefed journalists about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Malawi caused by the heavy flooding. Heavy rains were forecast countrywide for the coming days and the situation looked set to get worse, given that the soils were already saturated, said Ms. Byrs.
WFP continued to scale up assistance to reach 370,000 people affected by floods. WFP had moved 1,530mt of food to reach approximately 230,000 people in the seven districts of Chikwawa, Mulanje, Zomba, Phalombe, Nsanje, Machinga and Mangochi, and further aimed to scale up assistance to other flood-affected districts to reach an additional 160,000 people.
The flood-affected areas were still cut off from markets and other food supplies and the crops field were suffering greatly, said Ms. Byrs. Additionally, damage to crops was expected to have long-term consequences on food security.
Regarding logistical challenges, Ms. Byrs said it had been very difficult to reach the worst-hit areas because many roads and bridges had been damaged or washed away. A WFP helicopter arrived in Malawi on 23 January to support delivery of food and other humanitarian relief cargo to the areas that remained inaccessible. WFP hoped to receive another helicopter, some four-wheel drive cars, and boats, but that depended upon contributions received in support of logistics efforts.
There were concerns about sanitation and hygiene risks in the camps, said Ms. Byrs. There had been reported cases of scabies among flood-affected populations, along with increased cases of malaria and diarrhoea. Cases of malnutrition had also been seen in camps and were expected to rise steadily.
Ms. Byrs emphasized that it was important States honoured the donations they had pledged, because without that assistance WFP would not be able to purchase food assistance or anything else. WFP urgently required US$17.5 million to purchase approximately 26,000mt of different commodities and to augment its logistics operation.
So far, WFP had received pledges amounting to US$10.2 million.
Boko Haram in Nigeria
Responding to a question from a journalist, Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service, read out a statement by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this weekend in Addis Ababa welcoming the decision of the African Union to join forces to stop the advancement of Boko Haram. “The murderous campaign waged by Boko Haram demands stronger and more coordinated action from us all,” the Secretary-General said. “Regional and international efforts must focus on protecting communities in northern Nigeria and across borders. More than one million internally displaced people and refugees must be able to return home,” he added.
WHO Executive Board – Ebola Response
Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said today was the final day of the Annual Meeting of the WHO Executive Board. Ms. Chaib said she would disseminate more details to journalists this afternoon, including the closing statement of WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.
As recommended by the Special Session of the Executive Board on Ebola, held on 25 January, WHO was happy to announce the appointment of Dr. Bruce Aylward as the Special Representative for Ebola Response at the grade of Deputy Director-General, with immediate effect and for the duration of the outbreak, reported Ms. Chaib. Dr. Aylward would be responsible for all aspects of coordination at all three levels of the organization and its response to the current outbreak. He would be working closely with Dr Tshidi Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, and with Dr Keiji Fukuda, who led WHO work on preparedness, and Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, who led the Ebola-related work streams on health systems recovery and research and development. Dr Aylward would also work more closely with the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and other partners and players to support the Ebola affected countries to control the epidemic.
In respect to questions, Ms. Chaib confirmed that following the adoption of a resolution during the Special Session of the Executive Board on Ebola on 25 January, the Board requested the Director-General to commission an interim assessment of all aspects of WHO’s response to be carried out by a panel of outside independent experts who would produce a report to be presented to the sixty-eight World Health Assembly in Geneva in May 2015. The interim assessment would help guide the future work of the WHO in responding to emergencies and outbreaks including reform of the structures and management systems which would allow WHO to fulfil its mandate in such critically important work. The assessment was only interim, as an overall assessment would be carried out when the target of zero Ebola case was reached, noted Ms. Chaib.
Measles Outbreak in the United States
Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), in response to a question, spoke about the measles outbreak in the United States. Ms. Chaib said the United States had been very successful at achieving high rates of vaccination with two doses of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines. However, compared to the past 25 years, the current outbreak in the United States was quite large, said Ms. Chaib, adding that hopefully it would raise awareness of the need for parents to get their children vaccinated on time, and maintaining the high levels of immunity necessary to keep measles outbreaks small and self-limited, not only in the United States but in other countries in the Americas region.
In countries with lower vaccination coverage and larger gaps in immunity, measles outbreaks were much larger and lasted longer. Healthcare workers in the field sometimes encountered resistance among certain groups. Better-educated parents with misinformation on the importance of vaccines may also resist vaccination, said Ms. Chaib. If children were not fully vaccinated every year, diseases that had become uncommon, such as measles, would quickly reappear as we were seeing now.
WHO recommended two doses of the measles vaccine to ensure immunity and prevent outbreaks. The measles vaccine had been in use for over 50 years: it was safe and effective, said Ms. Chaib. It cost approximately US$1 to immunize a child against measles. The measles vaccine was often incorporated with rubella and/or mumps vaccines in countries where those illnesses were problems but it was equally effective in the single or combined form.
Asked how many lives had been saved by the measles vaccine over the last 50 years, Ms. Chaib responded that millions of children had been vaccinated and millions of children had been saved from that serious disease due to the cheap, effective and proven vaccine. It was important to raise awareness among parents and healthcare workers about the importance of vaccinating, because it not only saved the life of their child but could also in a non-immune environment save the lives of adults who had immune problems, as measles could be very serious for adults.
In response to a question about measles in India, Ms. Chaib said she would circulate information after the briefing, as well as more detailed statistics.
Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), also responded to the questions from journalists, stressing that measles was a disease that required a continued focus on social mobilization. All UNICEF’s efforts in terms of social-mobilization in Ebola-affected countries were also important in fighting measles and other diseases.
Ebola vaccine
The vaccine trials in Liberia were being run by the Liberian Government thanks to the partnership with the US NIH where they planned to test both leading candidate vaccines and compare both with a placebo group. A smaller ‘Phase II’ trial was taking place first which would test the acceptability, tolerability and the immune response in the trial currently taking place.
In Guinea a ‘ring vaccination trial’ would take place based on the approach which had been used to eradicate the smallpox virus. In other words, when a case of contamination was discovered, the person contaminated and a ring of people around them would be vaccinated, to see if that prevented further cases occurring.
In Sierra Leone a different approach would be taken, known as a “step wedge study”. Teams would vaccinate in one place, then a few weeks later vaccinate in another place, then another place and so on. The idea behind the process was that there should be fewer cases in the place where the first vaccinations took place, and show whether the vaccine was truly protective or not.
Ms. Harris emphasized that it was important to note that the vaccine was a preventive measure, not a cure or a drug treatment. It would be a tool to prevent outbreaks of Ebola, however, in the future.
Answering a question about why the vaccines were not being tested in other countries that had previously experienced Ebola infections, such as Senegal or Mali, Ms. Harris stressed that the vaccine at the moment was experimental, there was no evidence whether it worked and protected against Ebola. They just knew it was safe and stimulated a response in the immune system of the people who received it. That was why the trials were ongoing in the countries that had epidemics, it was the only way to find out if a vaccine worked. You could not ethically give a vaccine to someone then tell them to go out and test whether they catch Ebola or not. Currently, everybody involved in the trials was a volunteer and understood they had volunteered to be part of a scientific trial. Trials had been carried out with animals, with non-human primates which had a very good reaction when exposed to Ebola and did not catch it, said Ms. Harris.
If the results were good and it was seen that the vaccine was effective, it could then be scaled up and proposed to other countries, and provided to people who needed it.
A journalist asked whether, since the Ebola epidemic was in decline, it would be difficult to get enough volunteers to participate in the trials and make them credible. Ms. Harris responded that the trials had to take place in communities where there was active transmission of the Ebola virus. It was true that, happily, the virus was declining but it did not mean that doing a Phase Three trial was more difficult. In Guinea, the ‘ring vaccination trial’ would move from where the cases occurred and could be more flexible and more responsive to where the cases occurred. In Liberia very large trials were planned to be based in clinics and hospitals. In Sierra Leone they planned to focus on health care and front line workers, mainly in the western areas where there were still tremendous levels of transmission.
Responding to a question about the number of volunteers, Ms. Harris said the Liberians planned to involved 30,000 volunteers by way of a ‘three-arm study’ with 9,000 to 10,000 in each group. The numbers in Sierra Leone and Guinea changed because of the change in the epidemiology.
A journalist asked who was running the trials and which pharmaceutical companies were involved in the trials. Ms. Harris replied that the chimpanzee cold virus type was being produced by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the rVSV type was being produced by MERC-NewLink Genetics, and the third vaccine, in the pipeline, was being produced by Johnson & Johnson.
Ebola Response – schools reopening in Liberia
Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) informed journalists that, following the reopening of schools in Guinea on 19 January, Liberia was preparing to reopen its schools. The Government of Liberia recently announced that it expected academic activities to resume on 16 February. UNICEF and its partners were supporting the process by assisting the Liberian Ministries of Education and Health in ensuring the best possible security conditions for the return.
UNICEF and its partners were assisting in developing safety protocols in schools, for example equipping every school with hand washing equipment at the school entrance and in every bathroom; ensuring upon entry to the school and on a daily basis that the temperature of every child, teacher and employee was normal; and ensuring that every school had enough water, given that only 45 per cent of schools previously had access to water. Additionally, UNICEF and partners were raising awareness on the protocols which called for establishment of isolation areas; that student, teacher and employees’ families’ contact information were all referenced; and that a reference system for local health centres was in place.
UNICEF had also procured thousands of school kits for prevention and infection control thanks to financing from USAID, said Mr. Boulierac. The kits included buckets, thermometers, chlorine, brooms, cleaning clothes, rubber boots and gloves. UNICEF had distributed the kits to thousands of schools in 98 school districts, using helicopters, trucks and barges, with help from 20 local non-governmental organizations that were able to cover short but difficult distances to access rural schools.
Mr. Boulierac reminded journalists that UNICEF supported community ownership of the Ebola response. Social mobilization efforts were critical, briefed Mr. Boulierac. UNICEF supported community ownership of the response, which meant working with communities to familiarize them with the protocols and help them adopt behaviours that would protect them and others from Ebola and keep schools as safe as possible. That included raising awareness through women’s associations, teachers, community members and religious leaders. Ultimately, the defeat of Ebola would be achieved with the communities themselves, understanding Ebola and acting accordingly. Supporting the response by communities was a major focus of UNICEF’s contribution, through social mobilization, and dialogue with community and religious leaders.
Mr. Boulierac emphasized the importance of the schools reopening. Prior to the crisis, school attendance in primary education in Liberia was 34 per cent, so already very low. The longer a child stayed out of school the less likely he or she was to return; without access to education, children were less resilient and more vulnerable to the various protection risks common in times of crisis; and children who were out of school were more likely to be involved in worst forms of child labour. Schools were also an important part of the Ebola Response, through awareness-raising.
Mr. Boulierac also spoke briefly about education in Guinea, where schools reopened on 19 January. Citing an incomplete survey, Mr. Boulierac said UNICEF knew that 500,000 children had already returned to school, and that number was increasing quickly. He would share a more complete estimate as soon as it was received.
Central African Republic
Geraldine D’Hoop, for the International Organization of Migration (IOM), briefed on how the European Union and USAID were backing IOM to find durable solutions for displaced persons from the Central African Republic. A year ago, in January 2014, more than half of the population of Bangui - or 400,000 people – fled their homes following the outbreak of large-scale violence in and around the capital of the Central African Republic to more than 100 different displacement sites.
One year on and IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, which covers Bangui, Boda, Kabo and Moyenne Sido, still listed 42 displacement sites hosting 64,405 people. Through the Displacement Tracking Matrix IOM continued to track displacement and return dynamics, as well as return intentions and reasons for continued displacement in Bangui and beyond.
IOM’s European Union-funded Community Stabilization and Early Recovery programme focused on the third and fifth districts – both of which are areas of high displacement and high return, said Ms. D’Hoop. Supporting the durable return of IDPs was one of the main objectives of the project, she noted. More details were in the briefing note.
World Humanitarian Summit Regional Consultation in Budapest
Geraldine D’Hoop, for the International Organization of Migration (IOM), said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing this morning addressed the World Humanitarian Summit Regional Consultation in Budapest. In his address Director General Swing emphasized IOM’s long-term collaborations with the United Nations Refugee Agency, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the European Union.
Mr. Swing called for a global mobilization of resources and concerted action by all organizations involved in the eradication of humanitarian emergencies resulting from the smuggling of migrants worldwide. Mr. Swing called for greater accountability and transparency. He also called for greater engagement with the private sector, Diasporas and other less traditional sources. Mr. Swing emphasized the need to restore humanitarian space and for the World Humanitarian Summit to establish a global consensus to protect humanitarian workers. Ms. D’Hoop noted that the World Humanitarian Summit Regional Consultation was being live-tweeted by @IOM_News and others.
Geneva Activities (Gisella)
Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director, United Nations Information Service Geneva, announced that the Conference on Disarmament would hold a public meeting this week on Wednesday 4 February from 3 p.m. in the Council Chamber.
Ms. Momal-Vanian also announced that the Committee on Enforced Disappearances which opened its eighth session at Palais Wilson in Geneva on Monday, would continue reviewing the report of Mexico today. At 3 p.m. this afternoon it would review the report of Armenia. The review of Armenia would continue at 10 a.m. on Wednesday 4 February, and at 3 p.m. that afternoon a review of Serbia would commence, concluding at 10 a.m. on Thursday 5 February.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will hold a press conference on Wednesday, 4 February at 2 p.m. in Press Room 1 to announce the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s concluding observations on Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Turkmenistan, Sweden, Mauritius, Gambia, Tanzania, Jamaica, Uruguay, Colombia, Iraq and Switzerland. The speakers will be Committee Chairperson Kirsten Sandberg, and Committee Members Gehad Madi, Jorge Cardona and Renate Winter.
The spokespersons for the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Refugee Agency attended but did not brief.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog030215