REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the Human Rights Council and the World Food Programme.

Central African Republic: Airlift of food in Zemio owing to the difficult situation in the region

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), made the following statement:

“Le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations Unies a lancé une opération de transport aérien visant à fournir des denrées alimentaires vitales à 18 000 personnes à Zémio, une ville située à 1 000 km de la capitale Bangui. La région est au bord d'une grave crise alimentaire et nutritionnelle due à une combinaison d'insécurité et de problèmes d'infrastructure et de transport, ce qui réduit considérablement l'accès humanitaire à la région.

L’opération comprend huit rotations aériennes de 4,5 tonnes métriques chacune - pour un total de 36 tonnes métriques - qui permettront à des milliers de produits vitaux comme les céréales, les légumineuses, les sels, les huiles et les super-céréales d’être distribués à Zémio. Jusqu'à présent, six des huit rotations du pont aérien ont été effectuées et 26 des 36 tonnes métriques prévues ont été expédiées. Les denrées restantes seront acheminées par avion aux familles. C’est le cas en ce moment même (mercredi 27 février 2019) et, à compter d'hier, les quantités déjà disponibles sur place sont en cours de distribution. Du personnel supplémentaire a été déployé depuis Bangui pour soutenir le partenaire et accélérer le processus de distribution.

L'arrivée d'une assistance alimentaire vitale par avion survient à un moment crucial pour des milliers de personnes, car la violence accrue a limité les mouvements à Zémio et aux alentours, entraînant la perte de leurs réserves de nourriture, beaucoup n'ayant pas eu accès aux marchés et / ou à leurs fermes. Dans le même temps, des ponts brisés et des bacs hors d’usage ont rendu impossible l’acheminement normal des fournitures par voie terrestre jusqu’à Zémio.

C’est la première fois que le Programme alimentaire mondial livre des produits alimentaires par avion à cette échelle en République centrafricaine depuis janvier et mars 2018.

La République centrafricaine souffre d’une crise persistante et complexe qui a des effets dévastateurs sur la vie de millions de personnes. Selon l’Évaluation nationale de la sécurité alimentaire publiée en janvier dernier, près de 2,1 millions de personnes, soit près de la moitié des 4,7 millions d’habitants que compte le pays, souffrent d’insécurité alimentaire.

Le Programme alimentaire mondial a besoin de 87 millions USD sur un budget total de 145 millions de dollars pour fournir une assistance vitale à environ 1 million de personnes en 2019. À ce jour, en janvier, le Programme a touché près de 600 000 bénéficiaires en République centrafricaine.”

In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Verhoosel said that, while airlifts were very expensive, they had been deemed necessary given the situation in Zemio and the fact that access to the town by road was more or less impossible. The cost of the airlifts was currently being covered by the annual budget of WFP. The airlifts would cease later that week and, in the coming weeks, WFP would re-evaluate the situation with regard to security and access. Most of the people in Zemio were internally displaced and living in camps. According to a recent national nutritional survey, the global acute malnutrition rate among children aged 6 to 59 months was 7.1 per cent. The 2 per cent emergency threshold for severe acute malnutrition was being exceeded nationally and in 10 of the 16 prefectures in the country.

Asked whether the situation in Zemio had deteriorated, he said that the very poor security situation had been exacerbated by logistical issues, as access to the town via Obo by land from Uganda was no longer possible, and a ferry that WFP had been using was currently being repaired by engineers from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic.

Yemen: Update on the Red Sea Mills

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), made the following statement:

“The WFP assessment team gained access yesterday to the Red Sea Mills for the first time since September 2018.

We have sent samples of the wheat to labs to test the quality and are waiting for the results. Some of the wheat is infested, which is something we anticipated. We need to fumigate the wheat. We did not see any evidence of water damage to the wheat, which is a good sign. The silos show evidence of damage from the fighting, but there is no serious structural damage. There is one silo with WFP wheat that shows evidence of serious fire damage, which is the silo that was hit in late January. The generators at the Red Sea Mills appear to be in good condition.

Tuesday’s visit was a great first step. We need sustained access to the mills in order to fumigate the wheat and then start milling it. To do that we need safe and unconditional passage to the mills for WFP staff and the mill workers. It will take weeks of sustained access to the mills to get the facility back to normal operations.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Verhoosel said that the wheat in storage at the mills was enough to feed 3.7 million people for one month. Since WFP had lost access to the mills in September 2018, it had found alternative means of carrying out its operations, including by using Hudaydah port and mills in Oman.

Early indications were that the wheat was infested with weevils. The process of fumigation was safe, though further assessments would be needed to determine how much of the wheat was still usable.

The parties to the conflict in Yemen were discussing potential demilitarization. It was hoped that negotiations would continue and that positive results would be seen on the ground. The most recent statistics concerning severe acute malnutrition dated back to December 2018. A photograph had been taken of the mills the previous day and could be circulated if desired.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, said that the high-level segment of the Council was continuing in room XX, with 25 names inscribed on the list of speakers for that day. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Government of South Sudan had been added to speak at 3.20 p.m., and the Deputy Commissioner of Human Rights of Nicaragua had been added for 4 p.m. The Human Rights Commissioner of Mauritania had been removed from the list.

The general segment, which was an extension of the high-level segment at the ambassadorial level, was scheduled to begin at 4.15 p.m. The list of speakers comprised representatives of 15 States, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic which were recently added. At 5.15 p.m., States would be given an opportunity to exercise their right of reply.

At 6 p.m., in room XXIV, there would be a screening of “The Subversives”, a documentary on the life of Theo van Boven, who had played a key role within the United Nations human rights system and in the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

On Thursday, 28 February 2019, reports would be presented by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The presentations, which would be clustered, would be followed by interactive discussions.

Syria

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, was in New York and would be briefing the Security Council the following day. It would be his first briefing since he had assumed his position. The briefing was scheduled for 4 p.m. Central European Time, or 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, and would be webcast live on United Nations Web TV.

Earlier that week, on the margins of the Human Rights Council, Mr. Pedersen had met with the Secretary-General and had held bilateral meetings with the Foreign Minister of Norway and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

India/Pakistan

Responding to a question about the tensions between India and Pakistan, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, recalled that, the previous day, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General had indicated that the Secretary-General was following the situation very closely and reiterated an urgent appeal to the Governments of India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation did not deteriorate further.

Press conferences

Wednesday, 27 February at 2 p.m. in Press Room 1

U.S. Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations

Press Conference during the high-level segment of the Conference on Disarmament

Speaker:

Ambassador Robert Wood, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament

Thursday, 28 February at 1.30 p.m. in Room III

Human Rights Council / Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic

Publication of report by the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on the human rights situation in the country covering the period between July 2018 and mid-January 2019, and the latest developments in the country on the human rights front.

Speakers:

Paulo Pinheiro, Chairperson, Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
Karen Abuzayd, Member of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
Hanny Megally, Member of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic

Friday, 1 March at 9.30 a.m. in Room III

OHCHR

Sharing of the main findings of the Special Rapporteur on torture’s report on the relationship between corruption and torture or ill-treatment, the predominant patterns of interaction between the two phenomena, and their systemic root causes.

Speaker:

Prof. Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

Wednesday, 5 March at 1 p.m. in Press Room 1

OHCHR

Sharing of the main findings of the report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to the Human Rights Council. The report explores examples of restrictions imposed on expression on account of religion or belief.

Speaker:

Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog270219