REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Ahmad Fawzi, Director, a.i, of the UN Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Trade Organization.

Iraq

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), informed that the WFP was rushing food assistance into Iraq’s Anbar governorate as tens of thousands of people continued to flee fierce fighting in the Ramadi district.

Some 25,000 people had received emergency food assistance on 21 May in Habbaniya, west of Baghdad, and supplies for 15,000 additional displaced people were en route for Amiriyat Al Fallujah. In the previous week, the WFP and its partners had provided emergency supplies to more than 45,000 people in locations across the affected area.

Since the Ramadi crisis had started on 10 April, the WFP and its partners had assisted more than 208,000 people with three-day emergency food packages.

Ms. Byrs explained that the three-day ready-to-eat rations were designed to meet the dietary needs of people on the move. Each ration included canned meat, tahini, canned beans and fish, dates and bread. WFP was pre-positioning emergency food supplies with partners for distribution in order to assure a continuous rapid response if needs should increase in the coming days.

On 21 May, the WFP had completed distributions of monthly food rations to 28,500 people who had cooking facilities in Amiriyat Al Fallujah. Those family food parcels included wheat flour, sugar, cooking oil and rice. WFP had carried out distributions to people fleeing the Ramadi conflict in Baghdad, Babil, Kerbala, Diyala, Wassit, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, as well as to the newly displaced in eastern Anbar governorate.

Ms. Byrs added that in 2014, the WFP had reached 1.8 million displaced and conflict-affected people across Iraq’s 18 governorates and was aiming to provide monthly assistance to about the same number in 2015. WFP urgently needed USD 108 million to continue its operation in Iraq until October 2015. WFP would start running out of food and money for its voucher programme in areas with functioning markets in the coming months if no new contributions were received. Due to significant funding shortfalls, WFP had since April reduced the size of monthly family food rations it provided to displaced families outside camps. Families who depended almost entirely on assistance because they live in camps would still receive full rations.

Answering a question on the thousands of displaced people that were fleeing Ramadi and found themselves near Baghdad, Ms. Byrs said that the WFP was providing food assistance to people in At Miriat al Faloudja, but also in Abania west of Bagdad, Babel, Kerbala, Diala, Wasit, Herbil, and Soulamanya. Mr. Adrian Edwards of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) added that aid was going on with relief items being distributed and collective shelters organized.

Asked about Syria, Ms. Cécile Pouilly, of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that the OHCHR was not present in Syria, but they received information from credible sources which said that about one third of the 200,000 people in Palmyra had fled the city over the last few days. There were also reports that Government forces were preventing civilians from leaving and therefore putting them at risk. It was hard to tell how many exactly were left in Palmyra now.

Yemen

Mr. Fawzi said that a conference on Yemen was being planned at the Palais des Nations on 28 May. As many Yemeni parties as possible had been invited. The Secretary-General had urged the parties to come without preconditions. The lists of invitees and participants were still being worked on by the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and his team. The conference was expected to open on 28 May, but the exact time would be decided at a later date. It was not clear whether the opening would be public. Media access and media briefings would be then discussed with the Special Envoy. The conference was expected to run for four to five days. More information would be provided as soon as it was available.

Cécile Pouilly, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), gave an update on the situation in Yemen: between 26 March and 20 May, 1,037 civilians, including 130 women and 234 children had lost their lives, and 2,453 civilians had been injured. There had been massive destruction of civilian infrastructure, particularly in Aden and Sada’a. Although the humanitarian pause between 12 and 17 May had provided some respite, there were still reports of ground combats and shelling and millions of people remained in need of humanitarian assistance.

Following the pause, violence had resumed in Yemen including airstrikes in Aden, Sada’a, Dhale and Sana. Reports suggested that Sada’a and Sa’ana had been most affected by airstrikes, while Taiz, Aden and Dali were witnessing ground fighting. Many facilities had been affected by airstrikes and by armed clashes. Moreover, Ms. Pouilly informed that facilities had deteriorated considerably: the general shortage of food and fuel meant that prisoners lacked sufficient food, electricity, water, proper sanitation facilities and health care. Shortage of fuel had also affected waste management.

The Secretary-General called for all sides to engage in the upcoming consultations in good faith. Giving the number of casualties for the previous four weeks, the OHCHR urged all parties to adhere to their obligations under the International Humanitarian Law and to take all possible measures to ensure the protection of civilians. They urged also an extension of the humanitarian pause as a first step towards a permanent cease-fire and an end of hostilities by all parties in the conflict.

Leonard Doyle, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), informed that the IOM was releasing an appeal asking for USD 84 million for a six-month period for the conflict which had affected 22 governorates in Yemen. More than 1,850 people had been killed, more than 7,390 injured and 550,000 people had been displaced, of whom 28,700 had gone abroad. 20,000 more had gone to the Horn of Africa from Yemen, including Somalis, migrant workers and Yemeni civilians. IOM was requesting non-food items, shelters, and 40 million for camp coordination and management, 5,8 million for water and sanitation, 5,9 million for health, 3 million for displaced people, and 2 million for assistance to migrants.

On the number of people killed in Yemen between 26 March and 20 May, Ms. Pouilly answered that they were only reporting on civilian casualties, which were reported by the staff and corroborated.

On the humanitarian pause, there were reports of ground combats and shelling, which had killed people although the humanitarian assistance had been made possible with fewer obstacles.

Asked whether the High Commissioner was calling for all the parties to participate in the Yemen conference, Ms. Pouilly said that obviously the Office called for an end of the conflict. The High Commissioner for Human Rights obviously wanted an end to the conflict, which was why they had called for people to attend the conference; wide participation and consultations were needed if they wanted to ensure an end to the conflict.

Mr. Doyle reported that an incident had occurred in the Aret camp, a migrant response center, in which five migrants had been killed, and two others injured, one of whom was in a critical condition. That followed the death, a few days earlier, of a migrant who was working as a volunteer with the local community.

Asked about civilian infrastructures hit by the airstrikes, Mr. Doyle answered that the IOM did not have any detailed information on that.

Burundi

Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that the cholera epidemic declared by the Tanzanian Government the previous week in the Kagunga area of Lake Tanganyika, in the country’s West, where many of the refugees were, had become a new, worrying, and growing additional complication with refugees still fleeing.

Mr. Edwards informed that 31 people had died from the disease so far, including two locals and 29 refugees. The deaths had been in the port of Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika, in the nearby villages of Kagunga and Nyarugusu, and among people being transported by ferry from Kagunga to Kigoma.

The epidemic was still worsening. 3,000 cases had been reported and numbers were increasing at 300 to 400 new cases per day, particularly in Kagunga and nearby areas. At such a rate, further cases could be expected over the coming days and until the situation could be brought under control. Preventive water and sanitation measures were essential, and the first two days of treatment were especially important, to rehydrate people.

UNHCR was working with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and leading a team response of UN agencies and NGO partners to respond to the outbreak with emergency health, water and sanitation measures. Those included additional supplies of safe water and airlifting medicines, medical supplies, personal protective gear, water supply equipment and other related items for the refugees and for governmental health facilities.

Paul Spiegel, also for the UNHCR, said that the situation was serious because many of the refugees were on a peninsula in Kagunga, and it was difficult for them to get off it. Some refugees were able to walk, but others could not. Some were moving by ship to a stadium in Kigoma. Water and sanitation facilities were inadequate, and people were being moved as soon as possible. So far 15,000 refugees had been moved to the Nyaragusu camp. Doctors without Borders had come in and brought in a lot of their cholera treatment kits and expertise; IFRC and the Red Cross were also coming. Because of the complications of moving those people, transporting water to the peninsula was difficult. It was hoped that within the coming five to seven days, a turnaround would be seen.

Asked about the risks of moving people to a camp, Mr. Spiegel said that the fact was that there was no good solution. The problem was that more and more people were coming from Burundi to the small, overcrowded peninsula. A decision was made to move people to the camp in Nyaragusu, where there were established facilities. It was a difficult decision, but probably the best under the current circumstances.

Children were dying of cholera and older people were also affected, Mr. Spiegel stressed. The majority had died in Kagunga, some on ships. Some nationals had also succumbed to cholera. Cholera was endemic in the area, and given insufficient water and large concentration of people, there were ripe conditions for the outbreak.

Mr. Edwards confirmed that the situation was indeed worsening. Developments in Tanzania were further complicating the situation. The number of refugees in the region stood at 100,000 and growing. UNHCR was issuing an appeal for additional help to donors today.

On the question whether Burundian authorities were providing any help, Mr. Edwards said that there were cases of cholera on the Burundian side of the border as well. UNHCR was working with the Ministry of Health there.

Mr. Spiegel said that the UNHCR had waited until the Tanzanian Ministry of Health had confirmed cases of cholera. Mr. Christian Lindmeier of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that on 16 May two samples from the camp had tested positive, and then additional 13 samples on 17 May.

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that UNICEF estimated that of the 64,000 refugees in Tanzania, 60 per cent were children. They were particularly vulnerable to cholera, so many children's lives were in danger. In collaboration with the UNHCR and NGOs, on the field there were social protection teams specially trained to protect children, evaluating and guiding them. Those teams were providing special protection to the hundreds of unaccompanied children that were in the area.

Kagunga was the most difficult area. A mini plant had just been installed to pump water from the lake and recycle 5,000 liters of water per hour. In addition, a cholera treatment unit had been established and UNICEF contributed by giving medicines and equipment. In a joint effort with the UNHCR, latrines had been installed. Also first aid materials had been distributed and good hygiene practices were being promoted.

Asked for more details about the supplies that UNICEF was bringing into the field, Mr. Boulierac said that ten health and nutrition officers were on the ground and diverse types of supplies were delivered by boat and by truck to fight cholera and malnutrition. That included water purification tablets, zinc, vitamin E, antibiotics, vitamin biscuits and buckets. Mr. Lindmeier added that the WHO deployed two epidemiologists as well as medicines and supplies for more than 60,000 people within the first 24 hours after the confirmation of the first cases. Additional health staff were also being sent to support the Tanzanian health authorities.

At the moment, no vaccination campaign was planned, Mr. Spiegel said, because during an outbreak it was not as effective as before it. First of all, the people would be moved from the area and after one or two weeks the UN agencies and their partners would be considering a vaccination campaign.

Hungary

Ms. Pouilly, for the OHCHR, expressed concern about the questionnaire on immigration and terrorism sent out by the Hungarian Government to every citizen over the age of 18. The OHCHR was shocked by the Prime Minister’s introductory message, which suggested a link between migration and terrorist attacks, including the attack which had taken place in Paris in early January.

OHCHR was also worried by some of the leading questions, which actively promoted hostility towards migrants. The OHCHR reminded the Hungarian authorities that they had the duty to combat xenophobia and discrimination under international human rights law. Migration policies should be principled and evidence-based and started with the premise that all migrants, regardless of their legal status, were entitled to enjoy their human rights.

OHCHR was also worried by the Prime Minister’s recent call for a debate on a possible reintroduction of the death penalty. Any attempt to reinstate the death penalty in Hungary would be a terrible step back in the global fight against the use of capital punishment.

Asked why the OHCHR was picking on Hungary, Ms. Pouilly stated that the Prime Minister’s initiative was extremely shocking. It was the OHCHR’s role to remind people that there should be no link between the two topics, and to fight against discrimination.

Saudi Arabia

Ms. Pouilly announced that a delegation would be visiting Ryad on 24 May to formally introduce a new project coordinator. He would be conducting training sessions, workshops, and activities to raise awareness of human rights in Saudi Arabia, based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which had been signed in 2012 between the OHCHR and the Government, represented by the Saudi Human Rights Commission. The OHCHR had been already organizing a number of activities in 2014, but a presence on the ground was going to able the OHCHR to step up the pace. And the goal of that project was to increase awareness and understanding of human rights.

Ms. Pouilly explained that although the MOU had been signed in 2012 the programme of activities only started in 2014 as it took time to identify the actual needs of both the Saudi Human Rights Commission and of civil society. The next step would be to send a staff member on the ground.

Asked about women attending the workshop, Ms. Pouilly informed that they had already attended training sessions in 2014 and 2015.

Answering a question on the content of the programme, Ms. Pouilly said that the OHCHR would work with the Commission on the method and mechanisms to document and monitor the human rights situation. They were also going to train the civil society organizations and human rights activists. A number of activities were planned, including workshops on how to incorporate human rights in schools..

Mali

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that in the Timbuktu region, in northern Mali, armed groups and armed individuals had attacked and displaced thousands of civilians, looted their houses and pillaged their shops and livestock. OCHA’s authorities on the ground had estimated that over the previous two weeks over 27,000 people had had to leave their homes and villages because of this violence. The displaced people were currently staying in temporary shelters or with host families, in larger population hubs in the region or on the south bank of the Niger river, and they were in urgent need of food, water and non-food items.

Humanitarian organisations in the region were pre-positioning relief items and distribution of food aid had already begun. Assessments were also ongoing but insecurity in the district of Gourma Rharous - where over 15,000 of the displaced were reportedly scattered in different locations - had prevented access to that area. OCHA was coordinating with national and local organizations to try to gain or facilitate access to deliver aid through local partners.

Asked about the identity of the armed people and the roots of this situation, Mr. Laerke explained that the attacks were taking place above all in small villages in the bush, and that they were protracted by different non-state identities, among whom pro-government and separatist forces, and individuals considered criminals. That situation was indeed going on since 40 or 50 years earlier for a very complex mix of reasons and claims, but the violence had reached a worrying peak in the previous two weeks.

Migrant sea crossings

Mr. Edwards, for the UNHCR, said that the UNHCR welcomed the landing today of more than 200 people who had been stranded at sea off the coast of Rakhine State, in Myanmar. Following their disembarkation, they had been taken to a reception centre in southern Maungdaw, where they were receiving immediate assistance.

UNHCR had set up the reception centre in collaboration with local authorities. Mr. Edwards said that they were working closely with partners to assist the Myanmar Government in ensuring that the needs of people, such as water, food, and medical assistance and protection, were met.

It was estimated that up to 2,000 people were still stranded on boats in the Bay of Bengal. UNHCR hoped that the recent positive development would have been followed by other disembarkations in Myanmar and across the region, where at least 1,500 people were still believed to be at sea. That needed to happen before the coming monsoon rains. As previously emphasized, the priority was to save lives by getting people safely off these boats as soon as possible.

Since the announcement, made on 20 May, that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand would work together to assist people in distress at sea, UNHCR had been talking to governments about support they could provide. Mr. Edwards reported that UNHCR had shared recommendations on the way forward, which included meeting emergency humanitarian needs and jointly finding medium-to-longer term solutions.

UNHCR had already beefed up its response in Indonesia’s Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, where most of the rescues had taken place. More than 1,800 Rohingya and Bangladeshis had arrived since 10 May and the UNHCR had deployed staff from Bangkok, Jakarta, Medan and Kupang to assess their protection needs. So far, their teams had registered close to 600 Rohingya asylum-seekers at two sites.

Mr. Edwards said that out of the more than 300 Rohingya registered at the Kuala Cangkoi site in Aceh province, half were unaccompanied children. UNHCR had conducted a rapid assessment of their needs and was working to trace their families in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

More than 400 people who had been rescued on 20 May off the green boat featured prominently in the media were now at a site in Bayeun, Aceh. UNHCR was setting up protection mechanisms and mapping partners’ activities and would start registering asylum-seekers shortly.

In Malaysia, where over 1,100 people had arrived since 10 May, UNHCR had offered its assistance to the Malaysian authorities and was awaiting a response.

Asked about how the Rohingyas were received in Myanmar and on the Government’s behaviour, Mr. Edwards said that this week could be considered an initial breakthrough, and that in the region the main priority had to be considered saving lives, and that the collaboration with the Government would continue in order to find successful solutions. On that, a meeting had been scheduled in Bangkok at the end of the following week.

In response to a question that investigated the issue of their return to Myanmar, Mr. Edwards underlined that the position of the UNHCR had always been the same: the return had to be voluntary and conducted in safe conditions. In that region, a lot of work had to be done to solve this specific problem. Mr. Edwards underlined the importance of a comprehensive approach in South East Asia.

To a question posed on whether the Rohingyas’ could ask for the status of refugees – being stateless, Mr. Edwards replied that it was possible, and common indeed, to be both stateless and a refugee.

Asked about how many countries in the region had signed the Refugees Convention and how many had not, Mr. Edwards answered that it was not relevant since the refugee condition was a human right, part of the international law which was applied to every country without distinction. The asylum was then an obligation for every country, signer or not.

With regard to the effort of arresting the smuggling networks, Mr. Edwards explained that it was not a country-by-country based problem, but an international issue since those networks were transnational organizations and international criminals which could be defeated only through cooperation.

World Health Assembly

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the plenary had elected 12 members of the Executive Board. The first reports on Committee A and Committee B on budget and conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories had been approved. Antimicrobial Resistance, air pollution, and Ebola had all been discussed today, and discussions would continue into 25 May.

Today, from 12:30 in Room XII, the cancer prevention and control technical briefing would take place.

Regarding Ebola briefings, Mr. Lindmeier said that there were a lot of new texts being introduced at the moment, so it was unlikely that these would be introduced to the Committee before 25 May. Press would be informed in due course.

Mr. Lindmeier said that so far, no Permanent Mission or Minister of Health had expressed an interest in holding a briefing.

Geneva activities

Mr. Fawzi announced that the Committee on the Rights of the Child was today considering a report submitted by Ethiopia. Reports scheduled for the following week were those of the Netherlands, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Israel.

The Conference on Disarmament would be resuming its 2015 session the following week and would hold a first public meeting on 27 May. The meeting was scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m.

Mr. Fawzi informed that, on the occasion of the 70^th anniversary of the United Nations, an exceptional humanitarian concert, featuring the world-renowned pianist Khatia Buniatishvili and the UN Orchestra, under the leadership of its Artistic Director Antoine Marguier, would take place at the Victoria Hall in Geneva on 13 June at 8 p.m. All of the proceeds from the concert would go to the benefit of Syrian refugees in Jordan, in cooperation with the UNHCR. A press conference featuring Ms. Buniatishvili, Mr. Marguier and a UNHCR representative would take place at Club Suisse de la Presse, Route de Ferney 106, 1202 Geneva on Thursday, 28 May at 11:00 a.m.

Silke Staab, for UN Women, announced that the new flagship report “Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016 – Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights” was now available. Copies of the Executive Summary were at the back of the room. The report documented multiple ways in which current economic policies were failing women in poor and rich countries alike. The report provided key elements for providing new policies, to show how the economy would look like if the economy worked for women. In that case, women would be economically independent, their life choices would be unconstrained by gender stereotypes and they would be paid the same as men for the same work. Women could also have an equal say in resource distribution, which was different from the reality in 2014, where women were less than six percent on corporate and international boards. Such a gap was not inevitable, and the report indicated policies which could help correct the existing discrepancies. The full report was available online. There were possibilities of interviews with UN Women representatives while in Geneva.

Sarah Bel, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said that the Africa Economic Outlook 2015 – yearly report containing projection and analysis for 54 countries in Africa was being published. Overall, there would be 5.5 % growth in Africa in the coming years. Human development levels had increased since 2000. But there were several elements challenging development in Africa, including demographic boom, political insecurity and climate change pressures. The report focused on how to reduce inequalities and increase competitiveness in all territories. The report would be under embargo until 25 May, when it would be officially released.

Melissa Begag, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), informed that on 25 May,
Director-General Roberto Azevêdo would visit Singapore to meet with senior government representatives. He would deliver a public lecture organized by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, entitled: "WTO 20^th Anniversary - Building a Stronger Global Trading System." He would also deliver the keynote speech at a regional workshop for parliamentarians co-organized by RSIS and the WTO. On 28 May, DG Azevêdo would meet with Brazil's Minister of Agriculture Katia Abreu and Members of the Brazilian Congress at the WTO in Geneva.

The Trade and Development Committee would meet at 10 a.m. on 28 May.
On 29 May, the Trade and Development Committee would hold a session on aid for trade at 10 a.m. The Negotiating Group on Rules would hold an informal meeting at 10 a.m, and the Dispute Settlement Body would meet at 3 p.m.

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), informed that a press conference on crisis in north-east Nigeria would take place in Press Room 1 at 12:15 p.m. Speakers would include Robert Piper, UN Assistant Secretary-General, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel; George Okoth-Obbo, Assistant High Commissioner (Operations) at the UNHCR and a high-level UN official from Nigeria.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: … http://bit.ly/unog220515