REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Ahmad Fawzi, Director a.i. of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing attended by spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the World Health Organization.
Geneva activities
Mr. Fawzi said that the date of the next public meeting of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) would be announced at a later stage, as the delegation of China had asked the CD on 2 February to move the date of the usual public meeting for the following week, as the celebration of the Chinese New Year fell on 9 February. The 2016 session had begun under the Presidency of Nigeria (until 21 February); the CD would also be successively chaired by Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland and the Republic of Korea.
Mr. Fawzi also announced that on 5 February in Room III at 11:30, Peter Sutherland, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration, would give an update on current UN initiatives on refugees and migration.
On 8 February, at 2 p.m. in Room III, the Human Rights Council’s Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic would be launching a new report titled “Out of sight, out of mind: Deaths in detention in the Syrian Arab Republic”. In the Syrian Arab Republic, massive and systematised violence – including the killing of detainees in official and makeshift detention centres – had been taking place out of sight, far from the battlefield. Mr. Fawzi said that the focus of the report was the killing of detainees, on all sides of the conflict, occurring between 10 March 2011 and 30 November 2015. The speakers at the press conference would be Paulo Pinheiro, Chairperson of the Commission, and Carla del Ponte, one of the Commission’s members. The report would be shared with the under embargo shortly before the press conference.
Jean Rodriguez announced that the Geneva Press Club would hold a press conference on 10 February at 11 a.m., on the topic of road traffic fatalities. The speakers would be Jean Todt, United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for Road Safety and President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), and Christian Friis Bach, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. With the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals, the international community had committed to halve road traffic fatalities by 2020, which would require accrued efforts from all stakeholders and countries.
Jessica Hermosa, for the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that an informal heads of delegation meeting – the Organization’s first high-level meeting for the year, to be attended by its entire membership – would be tentatively scheduled for 10 February, ahead of the first General Council meeting slated for later in the month. The Dispute Settlement Body would hold a special meeting on 12 February to discuss China’s dispute with the European Union regarding steel fasteners, and Director General Roberto Azevêdo would be meeting with Mr. Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, at the WTO on 8 February. In response to a question, Ms. Hermosa said that there had been a decision at the last ministerial meeting in Nairobi regarding cotton and that she would share details on this.
Other announcements
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, would begin a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka on 6 February, at the invitation of the Government.
During his visit, the High Commissioner would discuss a range of current challenges and opportunities for strengthening the rule of law and protection of human rights in Sri Lanka, including reviewing the implementation of the recommendations made in his report to the Human Rights Council, and in its subsequent Resolution 30/1 on “promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.”
Syria
Mr. Fawzi summarized the expected activities of the Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, as follows: the Special Envoy would meet with members of the newly established Syrian Women Advisory Board to the Special Envoy. The Special Envoy had always stressed the importance of engaging with Syrian Women and Civil Society organizations. Security Council Resolution 2254, clearly encouraged “the meaningful participation of women in the UN-facilitated political process for Syria.” Several Civil Society groups would be invited to Geneva on a rotational basis in order to give the opportunity to as many organizations as possible to share their views with the Office of the Special Envoy.
The Special Envoy would also meet Qadri Jamil and a delegation of political figures who had participated in meetings in Moscow and Cairo.
And finally, the Special Envoy would be briefing the Security Council in closed session by video conference from Geneva, at the request of the President of the Council.
On temporary accreditation, Mr. Fawzi said a note had been circulated to the effect that, given the temporary pause in the Intra-Syria Talks, journalists with temporary accreditation could access the Palais des Nations until close of business (5 p.m.) today, Friday 5 February 2016. Once the Intra-Syria Talks resumed, journalists wishing to return to the Palais des Nations to cover the meetings would be readmitted on the basis of the accreditation they had initially received. Questions, if any, could be directed to the Accreditation Unit of the United Nations Information Service by calling +41 22 917 43 59 or writing to accreditation-media@unog.ch.
Zika and Women’s rights
Cécile Pouilly, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that the High Commissioner was asking for the upholding of women’s rights as an essential part of the response to the Zika health emergency. Laws and policies that restricted access to sexual and reproductive health services in contravention of international standards should be repealed and concrete steps should be taken so that women could have the information, support and services they required to exercise their rights to determine whether and when they became pregnant. Managing the spread of Zika was a major challenge to the governments in Latin America. However, the advice of some governments to women to delay getting pregnant ignored the reality that many women and girls simply couldn’t exercise control over whether or when or under what circumstances they became pregnant, especially in an environment where sexual violence was so common.
In situations where sexual violence was rampant, and sexual and reproductive health services were criminalized, or simply unavailable, efforts to halt this crisis would not be enhanced by placing the focus on advising women and girls not to become pregnant. Many of the key issues revolved around men’s failure to uphold the rights of women and girls, and a range of strong measures needed to be taken to tackle those underlying problems. Upholding human rights was essential to an effective public health response and this required that governments ensured women, men and adolescents had access to comprehensive and affordable quality sexual and reproductive health services and information, without discrimination. Health services should be delivered in a way that ensured a woman’s fully informed consent, respected her dignity, guaranteed her privacy, and was responsive to her needs and perspectives.
Ms. Pouilly also introduced Lucinda O’Hanlo, the OHCHR’s Women’s Rights Advisor. In response to a question, Ms. Pouilly underscored that comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services included contraception (including emergency contraception), maternal healthcare and safe abortion services to the full extent of the law. In countries like El Salvador, where abortion was criminalized in all instances, OHCHR was asking for a change in the law. About a quarter of women in the country had experienced physical or sexual violence within the past year, meaning that in many cases, pregnancies were beyond the women’s control.
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
For the World Health Organization (WHO), Tarek Jasarevic reminded the press that 6 February was the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. He said that a new WHO expert in this area would be available for any in-depth interviews. He specified that female genital mutilation (FGM) comprised all procedures that involved partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons, and said that it was a violation of the human rights of girls and women, with no health benefits, harming girls and women in many ways. He added that more than 125 million girls and women had been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and Middle East where FGM was concentrated. FGM was mostly practiced on young girls between infancy and age 15. WHO was finalizing the first "Guidelines on the Management of Health Complications from Female Genital Mutilation", to be launched in 2016, aiming to support health care professionals in their care to girls and women that had undergone FGM.
Arbitrary detention – Julian Assange
Christophe Peschoux, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefed the press on the opinion issued by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in regards to the detention of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Working Group had considered that Mr. Assange had been arbitrarily detained by Sweden and the United Kingdom since his arrest in London on 7 December 2010, as a result of the legal action against him by both Governments.
In a public statement, the expert panel had called on the Swedish and British authorities to end Mr. Assange’s deprivation of liberty, respect his physical integrity and freedom of movement, and afford him the right to compensation.
The Group had considered that the various forms of deprivation of liberty to which Julian Assange had been subjected - initial detention in Wandsworth Prison in London, followed by house arrest and then confinement at the Ecuadorean Embassy - constituted a form of arbitrary detention. The Working Group maintained that the arbitrary detention of Mr. Assange should be brought to an end, that his physical integrity and freedom of movement be respected, and that he should be entitled to an enforceable right to compensation.
The experts had also found that the detention was arbitrary because Mr. Assange had been held in isolation at Wandsworth Prison, and because a lack of diligence by the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office in its investigations had resulted in his lengthy loss of liberty. Five years later after the investigation had been launched, it was still preliminary and no charges had been filed, but Mr. Assange remained deprived of his freedom. The full opinion as well as a summary were made available.
In response to a journalist’s question, Mr. Peschoux specified that the dissenting opinion had come from Mr. Tochilovsky (Ukraine), and could be found in the materials that had been made available. Only four of the Group’s members had issued an opinion, as the remaining member was of the same nationality as Julian Assange and had recused herself. He mentioned that the group usually decided by consensus and that it was highly unusual for a decision to be made on the basis of a majority opinion.
In response to another question, Mr. Peschoux said that a detention could be legal and still be arbitrary. He mentioned that the case was unusual and complicated, and that the members of the Group were working pro bono, with a heavy workload, which is why it had taken so long to issue the opinion. He clarified that this was an opinion and not a court ruling, and that the Working Group was the United Nations’ highest authoritative body to address disputes between individuals in detention and authorities detaining them. The opinion was legally binding to the extent that it was based on international human rights norms which had been ratified by States.
Mr. Peschoux said that according to the Working Group’s conclusions, Mr. Assange should be able to enjoy his freedom of movement. He also clarified that the deprivation of freedom of Mr. Assange had been triggered by a preliminary investigation initiated by a Swedish prosecutor five years previous. A normal preliminary investigation should have led to the gathering of sufficient evidence in order to file formal charges. On the basis of those charges, the Swedish authorities could have decided that Mr. Assange needed to be detained as the judicial proceedings continued. But five years later, the investigation was still preliminary and no charges had been filed. Still, a European and international arrest warrant had been issued. He had been detained for 10 days in London and then kept under house arrest for some 550 days, before seeking asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy. The Working Group had taken into consideration the entire period of deprivation of freedom of Julian Assange, starting with his initial detention, and had decided that given the thin legal basis of his deprivation of freedom, he had been detained arbitrarily.
In response to another question, Mr. Peschoux said that there was a procedure for States to contest decisions of the Working Group. States wishing to do so had two months to file new information, and if this information was of nature to call into question the grounds of the decision, the decision could be revised. He specified that the implementation of decisions depended on the good faith commitment of States to honor their obligations under the treaties they had ratified. Even if the question of compensation was outside of the purview of the Working Group’s responsibility, there could be a new court action initiated by Mr. Assange, with the possibility of an enforceable right to compensation.
Israel
Cécile Pouilly, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), expressed concern at the rapidly deteriorating health of Mohammed Al-Qiq, a Palestinian journalist who was on hunger strike in Israel to protest against his administrative detention and the ill-treatment he was alleging since his arrest on 21 November 2015.
Mr Al-Qiq had been on hunger strike for over 70 days and was reportedly in a very dangerous condition. His doctors had informed him of the possibility of irreversible damage to his health. On 4 February, the Israeli High Court had decided to suspend his administrative detention until he regained his health and was able to leave hospital, at which point the order could be applied again on the basis that he became a security threat. OHCHR was reiterating its concerns at the situation of Palestinian administrative detainees who were held without charge or trial by the Israeli authorities, often on the basis of secret evidence, for periods of up to six months which were extendable indefinitely. Once again, OHCHR was calling upon the Israeli authorities to end their practice of administrative detention and to either release immediately or promptly charge and prosecute all administrative detainees, with all the judicial guarantees required by international human rights law and standards. OHCHR was also urging the Israeli authorities to investigate all allegations of ill-treatment in an independent, prompt and thorough manner.
In response to a journalist’s question, Ms. Pouilly said that OHCHR had shared its concerns several times and maintained that individuals could not be administratively detained for indefinite and extendable periods of time as this was a violation of their rights. Five hundred and twenty-seven Palestinians were in administrative detention as of the end of November 2015, according to numbers from the Israeli prisons service.
Migrants
William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR was concerned about the conditions of refugees and migrants in Calais and Dunkerque, in particular children. Some 4,000 refugees and migrants were reported to be living in the Calais “jungle”, and almost 2,500 in Grande-Synthe, on the edges of Dunkerque. UNHCR was specifically concerned about the living conditions of children, in particular unaccompanied and separated children, and would welcome the establishment of structures responding to the protection needs of children. Options for simplifying child protection procedures, especially for children with relatives in another State, should be urgently explored.
Mr. Spindler reported that UNHCR was pleased to note the various measures taken by the French authorities to provide emergency assistance to the refugees and migrants in Calais and Grande-Synthe to address the urgent humanitarian needs. These measures included the establishment of a temporary accommodation center in Calais (“Centre d’Accueil Provisoire (CAP)”), and the voluntary relocation of refugees and migrants to accommodation centers (“Centres d’Accueil et Orientation (CAO)”) throughout the country. As of early February, more than 700 people were hosted in Calais and 2,431 people had chosen to go to one of 92 accommodation centers in France.
According to Mr. Spindler, the refugees and migrants living in Calais and Dunkerque would benefit from the intensified provision of information and legal advice. The key would be to strengthen the coordination among all actors for the provision of assistance, as well as accurate and objective information, including to people residing in accommodation centers. In response to a journalist’s question, Mr. Spindler mentioned that many of those gathering in Calais and Dunkerque wanted to cross over to the United Kingdom. UNHCR was trying to give them information regarding the possibility to apply for asylum in France. The conditions in all the makeshift camps were unsanitary and generally appalling. Children were very vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, with people smugglers being present in those sites. Women were also at risk. UNHCR was advocating for a solution to be found, acknowledging that the situation was complex and would require the intervention of several players.
In response to another question, Mr. Spindler said that between 29 January and 2 February, 5,600 people had arrived at the Turkish border. UNHCR did not have confirmation of how many people were on the Syrian side of the border but was following the situation very closely.
In response to a journalist’s question, Ms. Pouilly said that OHCHR was strongly condemning the words of a Swiss politician insulting refugees and migrants, which were stigmatizing and could spur xenophobic violence. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had reviewed Switzerland in 2014 and had expressed concerns about racist stereotypes propagated by members of populist political parties and far-right media.