POINT DE PRESSE DU SERVICE DE L'INFORMATION (en anglais)

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the UN Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the International Trade Centre, the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration.

Displacement in the Central African Republic

Karin de Gruijl, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that an upsurge in violence in the Central African Republic had triggered fresh displacement inside the country and across the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since January, an estimated 30,000 people had fled their homes and found refuge in other parts of the CAR.

Much of the recent violence had been associated with seasonal movements of livestock and clashes between herders and the local and agricultural populations and the anti-Balaka. Some herders had turned to ex-Seleka militias for protection. In addition, recent military operations forcing ex-Seleka forces out of public buildings in Bria, a town east of Bambari, had prompted reprisal attacks by ex-Seleka on nearby villages. Civilian populations had been caught in the middle and seen their villages, houses and belongings burnt down. People who had arrived in Bambari had been totally destitute and distraught. The majority were women and children and some had been hiding in the bush for weeks.

Ms. De Gruijl said that the UNHCR had distributed relief items including blankets, jerry cans and kitchen sets to more than 1,170 recently displaced families in Bambari. In Batangfao, 800 families had received those emergency kits. With the precarious security situation, the humanitarian needs were enormous. Most of the local authorities were absent and many public buildings in Bambari were controlled by ex-Seleka forces. More robust police and gendarmerie presence was urgently needed to protect civilians and to prevent further killings and displacements.

Across the border, in the DRC, the UNHCR had registered more than 19,000 refugees who had arrived in Bosobolo territory in the north of Equateur Province as a result of new violence in Ouaka Prefecture since December. Many refugees said that they had fled expected violence by ex-Seleka as a consequence of the disarmament operation in Bria. UNHCR and its partners were on the ground to set up a new refugee site in the area of Bili, away from the border. Newly arrived refugees currently lives in spontaneous settlements on the shore of the Oubangui River, in makeshift shelters with very limited access to health care, clean water and food. Children had no access to education. Due to the proximity of the border, refugees were exposed to alleged infiltration of armed elements.

UNHCR teams had received alarming reports of sexual violence by armed elements from CAR. On 9 February, three refugee girls had been kidnapped by armed elements who had crossed into the DRC close to Dula and taken them back to the CAR. One girl who had managed to escape said that they had been raped, while other girls were still missing. Relocation of the refugees away from the border was crucial and the UNHCR called on all partners and the Congolese authorities to deploy all the necessary efforts to allow that transfer to take place urgently.

Ms. de Gruijl specified that the overall number of refugees from the CAR was 451,000, mostly in Cameroon, Chad and the DRC. There were some 442,000 internally displaced persons in the CAR, most of whom had been displaced since the upsurge of violence in December 2013.

Asked about who was mainly going across into the Congo and who was responsible for the girls being raped and snatched, and who was responsible to protect them, Ms. de Gruijil said that in the Central African Republic and particularly the area near Bombari there were hardly any local authorities left, so both militias had free reign. They were fighting among themselves and the civilian population had been trapped in the middle. The majority of the refugees arriving in the DRC were Muslim but there were also some Christians.

Regarding security inside the Democratic Republic of Congo, there was an enormously long border and it was also one of the most remote areas of the DRC, where bridges were broken. There were no roads, no facilities, and even the local hospital which was supposed to cater for these refugees had only 15 beds and no equipment. For that reason, the UNHCR had proposed to move refugees away from the border, to facilitate assistance by establishing them in one camp and to make it more difficult for armed elements to infiltrate and snatch the girls.

Nauru/Cambodia refugee relocation

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that the IOM had announced that, following the request of Cambodia, Nauru and Australia, it would develop a programme aimed at facilitating the relocation and integration of refugees from Nauru to Cambodia. IOM had communicated that decision to the Governments of Cambodia and Australia, who had in 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Settlement of Refugees currently living in Nauru. IOM believed that the initiative would help improve access to services for all refugees in Cambodia.

Mr. Millman specified that some 400 foreign nationals had been living in the Nauran community since the Government of Nauru had begun making refugee status determinations in mid-2014. A further 800 foreign nationals were currently living in Nauru, awaiting refugee status determination.

It was unclear how many would choose to move to Cambodia if offered the opportunity, but, after a lengthy consultation process, the IOM had decided to offer support to any foreign nationals living in Nauru who freely and voluntarily made a decision to relocate to Cambodia. Services could include pre-departure orientation, language training, arranging transport to and reception in Cambodia, and working with partner organizations and local authorities to help new arrivals find work and access services.

IOM had set out several conditions before agreeing to become involved in the relocation process. Those included, inter alia, the possibility of family reunification for those who sought it, the right to live and work anywhere in Cambodia, sufficient funding for all aspects of the programme to allow them to establish self-reliance, efficient provision of recognized legal documents that would allow them to access health care, educational and employment opportunities. The Government of Cambodia had given assurances that it would cooperate with the IOM in fulfilling those conditions.

Mr. Millman stressed that the IOM would not be involved at any time in discussing relocation options. Any decisions to move from or remain in Nauru was one for the foreign nationals themselves and for the Government determining their eligibility for the programme.

Asked what family reunification meant, Mr. Millman said that nobody in Nauru had yet asked for it, but family reunification could refer to third or fourth family members, who could ask to be brought together. IOM hoped that receiving Cambodian nationality would also be offered as a free option. The entire international community was looking at the entire issue with great care.

Answering further questions, Mr. Millman explained that the refugees in Nauru were mostly Afghans and Sri Lankans. It had to be verified how voluntary their relocation would be. It ought to be established how many actually wanted to move.

Ms. De Gruijl recalled the UNHCR statement from September 2014, when the Agency had expressed its concern over Australia’s agreement with Cambodia for the relocation of refugees from Nauru. The High Commissioners had stressed that refugees “were fleeing persecution or the life-threatening effects of armed conflicts, and they were entitled to better treatment than being shipped from one country to the next.”

Statelessness in West Africa

Ms. de Gruijl stated that the UNHCR and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were holding a ministerial conference this week to end statelessness in West Africa. The event would take place in Abidjan the following day and would aim at finding regional solutions to prevent, reduce and ultimately eliminate statelessness in West Africa.

The objective of the Conference was to promote a comprehensive West Africa regional strategy to identify stateless people and to put in place measures to prevent and reduce statelessness, as part of UNHCR’s global campaign to eradicate statelessness by 2024.

More than 750,000 people did not have a nationality or were at risk of becoming stateless in West Africa. Statelessness could affect hundreds of thousands more in the region. It could be caused by ineffective civil registration and when children were not registered at birth, leaving them unable to establish their nationality. In some countries, women could not pass their nationality to their children, or there were discriminatory criteria on the basis of race and ethnicity that prevented certain groups from acquiring or transmitting nationality. Significant migration, the lack of safeguards in nationality laws against statelessness at birth or later in life and the impracticability of some naturalization procedures compounded the phenomenon.

Ms. de Gruijl said that others who were stateless or at risk in West Africa included former refugees and stranded migrants of Liberian origin in the region, some people of Mauritian origin in exile in Mali and Senegal, undocumented children, and the people living in a legal limbo on disputed territories such as Bakassi peninsula between Nigeria and Cameroon.

Deprived of a nationality, stateless people were denied a range of fundamental human rights. They were often unable to obtain identity documents, and might be detained simply because they did not have any proof of nationality. They were unable to travel or get married, and could be denied access to education and health services. Finding a job was often impossible, as was buying and selling land or borrowing money. The psychological impact of being without a nationality was also significant, as stateless people felt as if they did not exist and were unable to fully participate in the everyday life of their communities.

Asked about Mauritanian refugees in Senegal, Ms. De Gruijl said they had been there for a long time, for logistical reasons or because they did not want to go back. Children were often not registered while parents were in exile. The problem had to be addressed before it perpetuated and affected next generations.

Egypt/Libya

Answering questions, Mr. Millman explained that there was no direct IOM involvement in the relocation of Egyptians from Libya over the previous five days, but the Egyptian Government had asked the IOM for help in relocating 200-300 persons. It was not many, but it was certainly a start.

Asked what the most pressing problems were for Egyptians in Libya, Mr. Millman said that there had been Egyptians in Libya for several generations. It was difficult to verify who was a citizen as many people had lost their identification documents.

On Tunisia, Mr. Millman said that there was an agreement with the Tunisian Government to keep the border open for a few days to evacuate a first group of people from Libya. IOM was asked to look after them and handle the logistics in Tunisia. In Libya, IOM was working with the Libyan Red Crescent.

World Export Development Forum

Jarle Hetland, for the International Trade Centre (ITC), informed that this year’s World Export Development Forum would be held in Doha, Qatar on 20-21 October, to be hosted by the Qatar Development Bank.

The theme of this year’s event would be sustainable trade, and would pick up on decisions taken by the General Assembly shortly before and how the Sustainable Development Goals will affect businesses – and especially businesses in developing countries.

Other topics that the ITC would be looking at included SME competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship; SME access to finance, diversification through trade and investment, trade in services; regional integration; how women could be better integrated into the global economy; future for regional integration; in the era of mega trade deals; a common standard on halal.

Mr. Hetland said that the ITC was hoping to announce more training workshops for press corps on how to use ITC Trade Data. They should be available in French.

Geneva activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Conference on Disarmament was holding a public session on nuclear disarmament at the moment. Another public session was scheduled for the morning of 26 February.

The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was examining the report of Denmark today. The following day, it would consider the report of Kyrgyzstan, to be followed by Eritrea and the Maldives.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had opened its session the previous day, and was considering the report of Paraguay this morning. In the afternoon, it would consider the report of Tajikistan, and on 26 February the report of Gambia.

The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee was holding a session this week.

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed that the following day at 9:30 a.m. in Press Room I, the President of the Human Rights Council would meet the press to discuss the upcoming session.

Hans von Rohland, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), announced release of the "Motherhood Pay Gap" Report on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. The report also took stock of what had been achieved since the landmark Beijing Conference 20 years earlier. A press conference would take place in Press Room I on 4 March at 10 a.m, and the speakers would be Shauna Olney, Chief, Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch at the ILO, and Kristen Sobeck, ILO Economist and Wage Officer.

Mr. Hetland informed that the ITC would mark the International Women’s Day slightly later this year. ITC would be showing a film at the UNOG Cinema on 16 March called “A small section of the world.” It was a documentary about a group of women coffee producers in Costa Rica and their struggle and success in starting to produce coffee after their men had left the village. The film was directed by Lesley Chilcott, who co-produced “An Inconvenient Truth” among others. The theme song had been written and performed by Alanis Morissette.

The screening would be followed by a debate with among others, Lesley Chilcott, UNOG DG Michael Møller and ITC ED Arancha González. ITC was looking into a possibility of having a small screening and a separate meeting with Lesley Chilcott. Journalists could contact Mr. Hetland if they wished to meet her.

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), informed that the WHO would brief journalists about urgent health needs in the Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan and Syria, which were all facing humanitarian health crises. The briefing would take place in Press Room III at 1:30 p.m. Speakers would be the WHO Country Representatives from Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan and Syria – Dr. Michel Yao, Dr. Jaffar Hussain, Dr. Tarande Constant Manzila and Dr. Elisabeth Hoff).

The Head of WHO Convention Secretariat Dr. Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva from Brazil would discuss the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control, on 26 February at 2 p.m. in Press Room I. Dr. da Costa e Silva would highlight the achievements made under that public health treaty which had been ratified by 180 parties so far. There would be a brochure to highlight the achievements.

For the International Ear Care Day on 3 March, there would be a briefing on 2 March at 10:30 a.m. in Press Room I in order to quantify for the first time the risks, in particularly to young people, when exposed to high levels of sound from personal music devices, concerts, night clubs, sporting events other recreational activities. The briefing would also draw attention to ways to make listening safe.

The Ugandan Minister of Health Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye was in Geneva today, as he had attended the previous day’s briefing on policies on safe injections. He would be available for interviews from 6 p.m.

A regular meeting on Ebola vaccines would start today to assess the development and the large scale of deployment of vaccines when needed. Agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, CDC, manufacturers, regulators and countries would be involved in discussions on vaccine trials and medical measures that had to be taken to end that disease. The meeting would continue until 26 February.

When asked about a new WHO report on sugar intake, Mr. Jasarevic said that the exact date and time for the launch of new sugar guidelines was still to be decided.

Spokespersons for the United Nations Development Programme, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Children’s Fund were also present, but did not brief.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: … http://bit.ly/unog240215