REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Michele Zaccheo, Chief, United Nations Television & Radio, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by spokespersons for Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Refugee Agency and International Organization for Migration.

United Nations

The United Nations Security Council was meeting in New York on Tuesday 5 January, on Syria and other matters, said Mr. Zaccheo. On Monday evening, the Council had issued a statement on the attack on the Saudi Diplomatic Premises in Iran - this and other statements on the situation in Saudi Arabia were available here.

Yemen peace talks and Syria peace talks

Asked about an update on the Yemen peace talks, Mr. Zaccheo said that Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Special Envoy for Yemen, was traveling to the region on Wednesday 6 January, and confirmed that the talks were currently scheduled to begin on 14January; the location was still to be confirmed. The first stop for the Special Envoy was Riyadh, and he would meet with other stakeholders at other locations.

Answering questions about the Syria peace talks, Mr. Zaccheo said that the process was scheduled to move ahead on the established dates. Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, was in the region at the moment, he was in Riyadh today 5 January and was expected to travel to Teheran later, as announced by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

A journalist asked about the response of the parties to the invitations to participate in the peace talks. Mr. Zaccheo said that the planning for the intra-Syrian talks was going on as scheduled, and that a planning meeting would take place in Geneva on Wednesday, 6 January.

In response to a question concerning the impact of the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran on the peace talks on Syria and on Yemen, Mr. Zaccheo reiterated that the Special Envoy on Syria was in the region at the moment, while the Special Envoy on Yemen would be travelling there shortly; this indicated the United Nations’ commitment to keep the political process on track, he said.

Geneva Activities

In Geneva, the next Committee to meet would be the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Monday, 11 January, while the Conference on Disarmament would open its 2016 session on 25 January.

A press briefing would take place on Thursday, 7 January at 9.30 in Press Room I, during which the media would have an opportunity to meet the new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, who had taken the office on 1 January 2016, said Mr. Zaccheo.

Conflict in Yemen takes a terrible toll on civilians, OHCHR concerned about humanitarian situation in Taizz

Rupert Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that 8,119 civilians had been killed between 26 March and 31 December 2015 in Yemen. The number of civilian casualties in December doubled compared to November. Airstrikes had continued into the New Year, with around 11 strikes taking place in the capital Sana’a on Sunday 3 and Monday 4 January, and further airstrikes reportedly being carried out in the early hours of this morning 5 January. OHCHR was very concerned about the alleged use of cluster bombs by coalition forces in Hajjah Governorate, and had documented the use of cluster sub-munitions in several other districts.

Of particular concern was the humanitarian situation in Taizz, which was the scene of violent clashes for more than eight months, virtually without interruption. Strict control of all entry points into the city by the Popular Committees Affiliated with the Houthis had resulted in limited access to essential items and made conditions extremely difficult for the civilian population. The Yemeni prison system was heavily impacted by the conflict, and over 40 prisoners had reportedly been killed and some ten others injured as a result of airstrikes or indiscriminate shelling of prison facilities since 26 March.

More information in the press briefing note here.

Asked whether the number of people killed and wounded in the conflict included the fighters, Mr. Colville said that OHCHR overall casualties figures focused on civilians.

Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), answered the question concerning refugees from Yemen, saying that more than two and a half million people were internally displaced in this country, and that 167,000 had fled to neighbouring countries, mainly Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Despite violence, people from other parts of the world kept arriving to Yemen: in 2015, more than 7,000 people had arrived from the Horn of Africa, said Mr. Edwards. He confirmed that UNHCR partners were on the ground, meeting people on the beaches and bringing them to places where they could receive help, but all this work was affected by a precarious security situation on the ground in Yemen.

A journalist asked about casualties following one month of violent clashes and shelling of Taizz, and Mr. Colville said that Taizz was one of the cities with highest number of casualties, but specific numbers were not available at the moment. He reiterated the special protection accorded to hospitals under the international human rights law and international humanitarian law and said that preventing the supplies from reaching hospitals might amount to an international crime.

On attacks by cluster ammunition, and the origin of such ammunition, Mr. Colville said that dates of attacks were not entirely clear, they occurred in July in one of the districts, and there were also reports of attacks in September and in October. It was not known who the manufacturer of the cluster ammunition was, OHCHR was in possession of photos of the cluster ammunition found and those would be shared with anyone inquiring into those issues.

Responding to the question on the ceasefire in Yemen and the impact of violations on the peace talks starting on 14 January, Mr. Colville said that report of ceasefire violations were being received within minutes of the entry into force of the ceasefire, which was not well maintained across the country.

Refugees and migrants continue to arrive to Greece from Turkey at the rate of 2,500 per day

Joel Millman, for the International Organization of Migration (IOM), said that updated statistics on the migrant arrivals in 2015 had been released. More than one million people had arrived by sea, with 3,771 fatalities. Migrants and refugees continued to enter Greece from Turkey at the rate of 2,500 a day, and the fatalities were continuing as well.

Further information here.

Executions in Saudi Arabia

Concerning the execution of 47 persons in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Zaccheo drew the attention of the media to the statement by the United Nations Secretary-General, while Mr. Colville confirmed that the High Commissioner for Human Rights had specifically interceded in the case of Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr, as had the Secretary-General, but without success. Mr. Colville could not confirm whether the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings had issued a statement, but said he would check.