REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Health Organization.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council, said that the forty-second regular session of the Human Rights Council had opened on Monday 9 September, with an important update from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, on the activities of her Office and on global developments in human rights. Today’s meeting had begun at 9 a.m. with a presentation by the High Commissioner of a written report on the human rights situation in Nicaragua, followed by a statement by that country and an interactive discussion.

At 11.30 a.m., an address would be given by Mr. Kureishi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, followed by Mr. Amadou Ba, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Senegal. At 11.45 a.m., the High Commissioner and the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen would present the report on the situation in Yemen that had been launched on Tuesday 3 September, with a longer supplementary report published online on Monday 9 September.

The general debate, during which speakers would react to Ms. Bachelet’s update, would take place in the afternoon from 2 p.m., with a break at 3 p.m. for a statement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Barbados. Given that there were already 130 Member States on the list of speakers for the general debate, it was unlikely that any non-governmental organizations would speak until the following day.

On Wednesday 11 September, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence would present their reports, followed later in the afternoon by the reports of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons and of the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the right to development.

At 12 p.m., the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic would hold a press conference on its latest report on the human rights situation in that country, to be presented to the Human Rights Council on 17 September.

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Gomez said that no requests had been received for a special session or an emergency debate on the situation in Kashmir, although some side-events on the subject were being held by non-governmental organizations.

Response to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas

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

“With a team of 15 experts on ground, WFP is supporting the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA,) the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and partners to identify the most urgent needs and provide support in the vital areas of food, telecommunications and logistics.

WFP has delivered storage units, generators, prefab offices and satellite telecoms to Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island, where it is establishing a logistics hub. This hub will facilitate the arrival, storage and dispatch of relief material, ensuring a coordinated humanitarian response on the island.

WFP and the Ericsson Response team are setting up satellite telecoms to restore connectivity at Marsh Harbour port and at the airport for humanitarians supporting the emergency response.

WFP has distributed over 1,500 ready-to-eat meals, with food also reaching people affected in the hard-to-reach Little Abaco.

WFP sent two vessels with humanitarian cargo to Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island. The ships offloaded 13,800 individual ready-to-eat meals and relief material from WFP and partners and other agencies and organizations.

According to recent assessments, immediate food needs have been largely met thanks to humanitarian actors on the ground Under this new scenario, WFP will focus its assistance on logistics and telecoms support to the relief efforts.

Ninety percent of housing and infrastructure on Abaco Island is damaged or destroyed with many homes still without power.

The Government of the Bahamas, with the support of military and civilian aircrafts and boats, has evacuated an estimated 5,000 people from the affected islands.

The assessment teams including WFP staff continue to reach isolated areas. Although some areas of Grand Bahama and Abaco islands are becoming accessible, reaching other affected areas continues to be a major constraint.”

Mr. Verhoosel added that WFP was grateful for the speed of the response from both the public and the donor community, including the United States Agency for International Development, which had committed US $1 million in the few days since the hurricane had struck.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“As search and rescue operations continue in Abaco and Grand Bahama, islands in the Bahamas devastated last week by Hurricane Dorian, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is moving quickly to mobilise resources to assist rehabilitation efforts. Yesterday (09/09), IOM started the distribution of 1,000 tarpaulin coats in Marsh Harbour – the largest urban centre in Abaco. The tarps will be used as a temporary fix for roofs torn by the violent Category 5 storm.

In places like Marsh Harbour, the devastation is particularly startling. Communities such as The Mudd and Pigeon Pea, where 70 per cent of informal housing in Abaco existed, and where an overwhelming majority of Haitian migrants resided, has been decimated.

"The Mudd is gone," said IOM's Brian Kelly, who is now leading the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team in the area. “They [the Haitian migrants] are in a very tough situation, just as many of the Bahamians. A lot of people are facing very difficult circumstances and we're going to help out as much as we can."

On Sunday (08/09) IOM participated in an assessment mission to Abaco, along with representatives from UNICEF, UNDP and Mission of Hope. The team visited most of the emergency shelters on the island.

"According to official reports, approximately 76,000 people were affected by Dorian. Thousands of people have been evacuated from the affected areas; about 860 people are being housed in emergency shelters in Nassau.

IOM is preparing to roll out its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and support the coordination of emergency shelters and household repair solutions, among other responses.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Verhoosel said that it was difficult to give exact numbers of people affected or those who had left the islands. The rough estimates were based on pre-impact assessments conducted in specific areas and the known impact of the hurricane. WFP had been positively surprised by the support efforts made by other actors, such as ships near to the coast. The most recent assessment indicated that food supplies, including those provided by other agencies, were currently adequate to cover needs for the coming weeks, which was why WFP was focusing on logistics and telecommunications to help all involved.

Mr. Millman added that, although there was no clear information available, it was unlikely that the Bahamas’ role as a stepping stone in informal migration from other countries would be halted by the hurricane and so the onward movement of migrants was likely to continue.

Cox’s Bazar

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

“This week, the impact of heavy monsoon rains in Cox’s Bazar is the most severe of this year, impacting the host community as well as the camps with flooding and landslides.

Around 4,500 people in Cox’s Bazar have been affected this week. It’s particularly bad today, I was in contact with my colleagues on the ground a few minutes ago, they told me today is the worst.

WFP is mobilizing hot meals and emergency distributions of high energy biscuits for affected refugees. We are on standby to augment our rapid response and are proactively reaching out to site management agencies to get more details of floods and landslides across the camps.

We are gathering more information regarding the impact on the host community and are on standby to provide food assistance if needed.

WFP is working with our engineering, logistics and Disaster Risk Reduction teams to identify access constraints and needs and will mobilize our support for quick recovery activities.”

Impact of peer-to-peer awareness-raising in Senegal

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that a new IOM report, entitled Migrants as messengers - The Impact of Peer-to-Peer Communication on Potential Migrants in Senegal, produced in cooperation with partners including the Government of the Netherlands, was being released today. It reported on the effectiveness of methods used to communicate to potential migrant groups the dangers of irregular migration. Given the prevalence of misinformation that reached potential migrants, it was a huge challenge to get accurate information through to them. The results of the assessment showed that 19 per cent of the thousands of potential migrants surveyed were better informed and 25 per cent were more aware of the risks than they had been in the past, thus validating IOM’s approach of empowering trusted migrant voices to educate their peers.

Fatalities on migration routes within Africa

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that the latest records published by IOM’s Missing Migrants Project showed that, since 2014, over 7,400 migrants, a rate of 1,300 per year or 25 every week, had died in transit across Africa, before they even could embark on the perilous sea journey from North Africa. Over the previous five years, 7,435 migrants had died, 607 of them since the beginning of 2019 alone. Those figures showed how difficult it was to capture the full extent of the tragedy.

In answer to questions from journalists, Mr. Millman said that the figures considered only those persons in transit; migrants who remained in the same city for more than two or three weeks were not taken into account. Migrants travelling clandestinely, who had to evade police controls and border crossings, were at particular risk of death from traffic accidents, medical problems, dehydration and starvation. The current year’s figure of 607 over eight months was slightly lower than those of previous years, possibly because of the sharp reduction in numbers attempting Mediterranean crossings from Libya.

Xenophobic attacks on migrants in South Africa

Responding to questions from journalists, Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM was closely monitoring the situation in South Africa, where migrants were being targeted in xenophobic attacks. Assisting with voluntary return was one of IOM’s core missions but he had no information on any requests received.

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR had raised its concern regarding the recent attacks. It had received calls for assistance from affected refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia, who were too afraid to return to their homes because of the violence. He noted that South Africa had recently adopted a National Action Plan to combat xenophobia, racism, and discrimination, which UNHCR hoped would help the country avoid such tragic incidents in the future.

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the United Nations Secretary-General had condemned the acts of violence against foreigners and destruction of property and businesses owned by foreigners as soon as the attacks had begun. He had said it was very important that all political leaders should clearly and openly reject the use of violence. He had applauded South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s unequivocal condemnation of the violence, as well as his call for strengthened accountability of the perpetrators.


Rwanda MOU on refugees and asylum seekers in Libya

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), read the following statement:

“The Government of Rwanda, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the African Union have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up a transit mechanism for evacuating refugees out of Libya.

Under the agreement, the Government of Rwanda will receive and provide protection to refugees and asylum seekers who are currently being held in detention centres in Libya.

The evacuations represent a lifeline for those desperate people who are trapped inside Libya and UNHCR has been constantly working to move desperate refugees and asylum seekers out of harm’s way in a similar arrangement to that with Niger, which had seen thousands of people being evacuated from Libya.

A first group of 500 people, predominantly from the Horn of Africa, will be evacuated, including children and youth at risk. After their arrival, UNHCR will continue to pursue solutions for the evacuees.

While some may benefit from resettlement to third countries, others will be helped to return to countries where asylum had previously been granted, or to return to their home countries if it is safe to do so. Some may be given permission to remain in Rwanda subject to agreement by the competent authorities.

Evacuation flights are expected to begin in the coming weeks, and will be carried out in co-operation with Rwandan and Libyan authorities. The African Union will provide assistance with evacuations, strategic political support with training and coordination, and help to mobilise resources. UNHCR will provide protection services and necessary humanitarian assistance including food, water, accommodation, education and healthcare.

UNHCR urges the international community to contribute resources for the implementation of the agreement.

UNHCR has evacuated more than 4,400 refugees and asylum seekers out of Libya to other countries since 2017, including 2,900 through the Emergency Transit Mechanism in Niger.”

In answer to questions from journalists, Mr. Baloch said that there were currently nearly 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Libya, of whom approximately 5,000 were being held in the particularly harsh conditions of detention centres. UNHCR was advocating for them all to be released and was working towards evacuation for those in the overcrowded departure facilities. It was very difficult to give them the protection they needed in such a situation and the offer of humanitarian evacuation was a lifeline for those desperate people. When the idea had originally been raised, the President of Rwanda had said the country would take 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers. The first group of 500 would be evacuated in the coming weeks. On arrival in Rwanda, they would be taken to reception facilities to be registered and the status of those asylum seekers whose status had not yet been determined would be assessed. Rwanda was a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and had that morning signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UNHCR and the African Union to offer humanitarian assistance to those desperate refugees.

Launch of global media competition on labour migration

Rosalind Yarde, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), said that the fifth Global Media Competition on Labour Migration would be launched on Thursday 12 September 2019. The aim was to highlight quality reporting in all forms of media on labour migration, addressing the challenges and opportunities, but also exploring the human stories behind them. It was supported by, inter alia, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Federation of Journalists. Entries could be submitted in any language, with translations of those not in English, French or Spanish, by 31 October 2019 and there would be four winners, who would receive either a cash prize of US$ 1,000 or a fellowship on the training course on fair recruitment offered by the ILO International Training Centre in Turin, Italy.

United Nations Trade Forum: Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that the second day of the United Nations Trade Forum would begin with discussions on economy, climate change and harmful fish subsidies as related to the oceans. The Prime Minister of St. Lucia had spoken at the Conference the previous day to report on her visit to the Barbados in the wake of hurricane Dorian, a subject that would also be addressed by Prime Minister of Barbados, who was to give the sixteenth Raúl Prebisch Lecture at 4 p.m. today in room XVIII. She would speak on behalf of the small island developing states, which contributed just 1 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, but, as had been seen, suffered almost 100 per cent destruction when hit by hurricanes.

The UNCTAD Commodities and Development Report, which also looked at climate change, would be launched on Wednesday 11 September, rather than the following Monday 16 September as originally planned, with a press communique to be issued mid-morning.

The outcome of the United Nations Trade Forum would be presented at a time to be announced on Friday 13 September.

World Health Organization announcements

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO would give a press conference at 12.30 p.m. on Friday 13 September in press room 1 to mark the first celebration on 17 September of World Patient Safety Day, decided by a resolution of the World Health Assembly adopted in May 2019. Every year, 2.6 million patients died due to patient safety issues in low- and middle-income countries. That meant that every minute, 5 people died from errors of all sorts while receiving health care. Most of those deaths were avoidable. Dr Neelam Dhingra-Kumar, Coordinator, Patient Safety and Risk Management Unit, would speak at the event.

Mr. Jašareviæ also announced that the World Health Organization and the European Commission would co-host a Global Vaccination Summit on 12 September 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. The one-day event would bring together around 400 people, including political leaders, high-level representatives from the United Nations and other international organizations, health ministries, leading academics, scientists and health professionals, the private sector, social media influencers, and non-governmental organizations. The goal was to propel global action against vaccine-preventable diseases and against the spread of vaccine misinformation. The opening remarks would be given by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, with a video message from Ms. Henrietta Fore, Director General of the United Nations Children’s Fund, in the presence of WHO Director General Tedros.

He further stated that the WHO Regional Office for Europe was to publish its first-ever report on progress towards achieving health equity in the Region. If no urgent action was taken, the Region might fail to reach the critical Sustainable Development Goal 10 of reducing inequality within and among countries. The report, embargoed until 12 midnight on 10 September, was being previewed at a press conference in London.

Lastly, he noted that WHO Director General Tedros would be travelling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the end of the week to meet with Mr. Alex Azar, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America, who was leading a delegation from his country to meet with the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and health responders to gain first-hand information about the outbreak of Ebola virus disease.

Geneva announcements

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, announced that a remote media briefing would be held on Wednesday 11 September at 3.15 p.m. in anticipation of the Climate Action Summit to take place during the week of the United Nations General Assembly. The briefing would hear from the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, Luis Alfonso de Alba, the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister, Isabella Lövin, and Mr. Laurence Tubiana of the European Climate Foundation. Secretary-General António Guterres had called on all leaders to come to the Climate Action Summit in New York on 23 September with clear, concrete and ambitious plans to address the worsening climate emergency. He urged Governments, business and civil society to step up their efforts on a range of key areas to reduce carbon emissions enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, including a call for no new coal-fired plants from 2020 onwards and an end to subsidies on fossil fuels.

Mr. LeBlanc said that, in support of the Summit, the United Nations Information Service in Geneva would promote the organization’s Act Now campaign, aimed at encouraging individuals to reduce their carbon footprint, at an event organized by the city of Geneva on 14 and 15 September at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc in Geneva. Red, of the Angry Birds, would be a special guest at the event.

He also said that the United Nations Information Service would also be present at Balexert centre, Geneva, on 18 September to promote small actions that members of the public could take to lead to big benefits for the environment.

Mr. LeBlanc also said that the Committee on the Rights of Children had opened yesterday its 82nd session (9-27 September) during which it had planned to review reports from Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mozambique, Panama, Georgia, Republic of Korea, Portugal. On Monday, 16 September, afternoon, the Committee would celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Convention.

Mr. LeBlanc said the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was concluding this morning its review of the report of Kuwait and would begin this afternoon the review of the report of Iraq.

Mr. LeBlanc further said the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families would conclude tomorrow, 11 September, its 31st session and issue its concluding observations on the three reports reviewed during this session – ie the reports of Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Colombia.

Finally, Mr. LeBlanc recalled that the Conference on Disarmament had already held its last public plenary meeting and adopted its annual report to the General Assembly. The official closure date of the 2019 session of the Conference was next Friday, 13 September. The first part of the 2020 session would take place from 20 January to 27 March, the second part from 25 May to 25 July and the third part would run from 3 August to 18 September. Algeria would chair the Conference at the beginning of its 2020 session.

Press conferences

Wednesday, 11 September 2019 at 12:00 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 mid-January to end July 2019, as well as 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


Thursday, 12 September 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in Press Room 1
UNHCR
Global Refugee Forum (17-18 December 2019)

Palais correspondents interested in the first-ever Global Refugee Forum, being held at the Palais des Nations on 17 and 18 December 2019, are invited to a special informational briefing by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
The Global Refugee Forum is a world meeting on refugees being hosted jointly by UNHCR and the Government of Switzerland. It follows last December’s UN General Assembly affirmation of a new Global Compact on Refugees. With more than 70 million people forcibly displaced worldwide its aim is to generate a strengthened global response to new and existing refugee situations through wide-ranging commitments and pledges.
The purpose of this briefing is to help interested media in understanding the new Global Refugee Compact and the relevance of the first Global Refugee Forum. Daniel Endres, UNHCR Director who is leading the GRF planning will be the principle speaker.

Speakers:
· Daniel Endres, Director of Global Refugee Forum, UNHCR
· Perveen Ali, Head, Global Refugee Forum Coordination Team, UNHCR

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog100919