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

Ahmad Fawzi, Director a.i. of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by spokespersons for the United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Refugee Agency, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Organization for Migration, World Health Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, World Trade Organization, and World Meteorological Organization.

New York Activities

Mr. Fawzi recalled that the United Nations Secretary-General had concluded a tour of the Middle East during which he had met with King Abdullah of Jordan, Prime Minster Netanyahu of Israel, and President Abbas of Palestine. The Secretary-General would hold a press conference in New York today, 23 October at 11.30 a.m. (New York time).

The Secretary-General Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, would brief the United Nations Security Council in open session today, 23 October at 4 p.m.

Geneva Activities

The Human Rights Committee was now concluding the consideration of a report by the Republic of Korea and would meet in private this afternoon. The two remaining reports for this session - Iraq and Benin - would be considered next week.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women starts its four week session on Monday, 26 October, at the Palais des Nations, said Mr. Fawzi. The Committee would consider reports by eleven countries, in the following order: Russia, Portugal, Liberia, Slovenia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Malawi, Madagascar, Timor-Leste, and Slovakia. A background release with the programme of work is available here.

At 2 p.m. today, 23 October, the World Health Organization (WHO) was briefing on outcomes and recommendations of the meeting of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization. The SAGE had met from 20 to 22 October to review the best available scientific evidence on development and use of vaccines, including those for use against Ebola virus, poliovirus and malaria.

Leonard Doyle, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), announced the launch of the World Migration Report 2015: Migrants and Cities: New Partnerships to Manage Mobility, at a press conference today, 23 October at 12 noon. The report was under embargo until 27 October.

Christian Lindmeier, for World Health Organization (WHO), said that the International Agency for Research on Cancer would issue its report on red meat on Monday, 26 October 2015.

Isabelle Valentiny, for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), drew the media’s attention to the “Lead poisoning prevention week”, which would take place next week, and would focus on eliminating paint containing the harmful metal by 2020.

Jessica Hermosa, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), mentioned two key events featured in the World Meteorological Organization schedule next week: the launch of World Trade Report 2015, “Speeding up trade: benefits and challenges of implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement”, on Monday, 26 October, and the Joint Symposium 2015 on Public Health, Intellectual Property and TRIPS at 20: Innovation and Access to Medicines; Learning from the Past, Illuminating the Future, which would take place on Wednesday, 28 October.

Ms. Hermosa also announced sessions of several of the committees during the week, including the Committee on Safeguards, Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices, Committee on Trade and Development and Negotiating Group on Rules.

Mr. Fawzi said that tomorrow, 24 October at 10 a.m. the doors of the Palais des Nations would open to the public in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. Mr. Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, and Alexandre Fasel, Swiss Ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, would greet the first visitors. This would be followed by a stakeout during which the Director-General and Ambassador Fasel would take questions. At 12 noon, there would be the inauguration of the “Rebirth” sculpture in the Ariana Park, during which the Director-General, Ambassador of Italy, the Ambassadors of Italy and Switzerland and Maestro Michelangelo Pistoletto would speak. Children would unveil the sculpture.

The United Nations Open Day in Geneva detailed programme is available here.

More than three million children in Sudan need humanitarian support

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), introduced UNICEF representative in Sudan, Mr. Geert Cappelaere, and said that although Sudan was not in the headlines right now, the indicators on the situation of children were particularly worrying.

Geert Cappelaere, the United Nations Children Fund Representative in Sudan, said that despite being in the spotlight some ten years ago, Sudan had unfortunately gone off the radar, not because the situation had improved, but because it was competing with so many other emergencies and was not receiving the attention it deserved. Sudan was host to one of the largest humanitarian crises today, with more than three million children suffering. Today, 23 October was the World Polio Day, and UNICEF would announce that 99.9 per cent of the work in eradicating polio was done; significant part of the remaining work was in Sudan, stressed Mr. Cappelaere, noting the three areas in the country where the population was not accessible because of the conflict: the State of Blue Nile, the Jabal Marra, and the Nuba Mountains in the Kordofan State. In those three areas, there were more than 200,000 of children under the age of five who had been deprived from essential humanitarian assistance and vaccination for the past four years. Without the vaccination, there was a chance of emergence of polio very soon, warned Mr. Cappelaere.

UNICEF welcomed the commitment by the Government of Sudan to the cessation of hostilities for two months, and by the Sudan Revolutionary Front for six months, which would allow the vaccination of children. Mr. Cappelaere called upon the parties to put this intention of cessation into practice today. The war in Sudan did not catch attention, but it continued to have devastating impact on children. UNICEF had just concluded a household survey in collaboration with the Government, which had pointed to some positive news: the mortality of children under the age of five had decreased by 18 per cent since 2010; however, in North Darfur, one of the States most affected by the conflict over the past decade, the under-five mortality rate had increased by 30 per cent over the last five years. Acute malnutrition was a big problem in the country, with more than 16 per cent of children suffering from global acute malnutrition. In the conflict affected states, that figure had gone up to almost 20 per cent. Mr. Cappelaere recalled that emergency level was 15 per cent global acute malnutrition. UNICEF reiterated the call upon the Government and rebel forces to stop the fighting, and also called upon the international community to put Sudan back on their agenda, because the country required sustained investment: the UNICEF programme was only 30 per cent funded, said Mr. Cappelaere who appealed on the international community not to turn their back on the children in Sudan.

Answering questions concerning the ceasefire and the activities UNICEF would put in place once access to the populations was assured, Mr. Cappelaere said that, in spite of the commitments to the cessation of hostilities that the parties continued to express over the past three to four years, this had never translated into the effective agreements and the access to the population in need, including for vaccinations. Not only words, but deeds and translation of intentions into actions were very much needed. UNICEF intended to first implement the simple but critical polio vaccinations, and hoped that this could be followed by other vaccination campaigns and other live-saving and protection activities. Small-scale support efforts in those areas were ongoing by non-governmental organizations, but lack of access to most areas made it hard to fully understand the situation of children. No reports of polio outbreaks had been reported, but a massive measles outbreak had affected the areas this year, concluded Mr. Cappelaere.

Devastating flooding affects 25,000 Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf camps

Melissa Fleming, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that heavy rains and flooding had caused widespread damage to five camps providing shelter to some 90,000 of the most vulnerable Sahrawi refugees in south-west Algeria’s arid Tindouf region. UNHCR was already assisting some 25,000 people whose homes and food supplies had been damaged or completely destroyed. The number of people in need could increase as the rains, which had begun last Friday, were forecast to continue until at least Sunday. There were no reports of casualties.

Ms. Fleming also introduced Mr. Amin Awas, the Director of the Middle East and North Africa Bureau at the UNHCR, who was focused on the situation in and around Syria, and who would brief on the preparations for winter and the situation in Tindouf camps.

Amin Awas, Director, Middle East and North Africa, the United Nations Refugee Agency, said that the Western Sahara was indeed a forgotten crisis which had unfortunately been brought into the news today by a disaster: 25,000 persons had been displaced, their homes damaged, livelihoods destroyed, their schools, dispensaries, and hospitals wiped out. The Sahrawi refugee issue was there for 40 years and was the longest standing refugee caseload; even before this crisis had struck, UNHCR was criss-crossing Europe and the world trying to muster the support for the Sahrawi people, as the support for the camps and the essential service had been spiralling down for years, and was now at 20 per cent. The Sahrawi refugees lived in one of the harshest areas of the world, stressed Mr. Awas, and said that today UNHCR was planning to airlift the humanitarian supplies from Ghana and was awaiting governmental approval. UNHCR called upon the international community to extend their support as there was an urgent need to airlift tents, plastic sheeting and other life-saving items, and to provide food, potable water, electricity and hygiene. The international community should come forward and contribute to the cause of the Sahrawi refugees and their existence in this time of crises.

Asked about the funding for the Sahrawi refugees and a possible emergency appeal for the crisis, Mr. Awas said that the Algerian Government had been providing the support, and clearing of some areas and public buildings in the camps had already started. For the last three or four years the funding for the Sahrawi refugees had been reduced, and adequate funding to keep this population going had not been assured, said Mr. Awas, hoping that the international community would generously respond to this crisis.

Syrian and Iraqi refugees

Ms. Fleming said that in the coming weeks, 15 million displaced Syrians and Iraqis would face another winter away from home, which would be particularly tough for the tens of thousands of people living in poorly insulated garages, basements or unfinished buildings, animal stalls or other flimsy makeshift structures. For many Syrians, this would be their fifth winter in exile as the war gripping their country dug deeper. Today, the refugees were more vulnerable than ever: with their savings long gone, jewellery and other valuables sold off, and increasing number mired in debt just to cover basic needs. They were skipping meals, begging, pulling the children out of school and resorting to high-risk or degrading jobs. In Iraq, 3.2 million internally displaced persons uprooted from their homes by fighting since the start of last year would face their first or second winter away from home.

The UNHCR briefing note provided details of the programme in the affected countries.

Mr. Awas said that the 15 million displaced persons in Iraq and Syria were two separate but related emergencies: about 4,2 million refugees in the immediate neighbouring countries of Syria, another three to four million internally displaced persons in Iraq, and six to seven million internally displaced persons in Syria. There were people in Syria and Iraq, who had not left their homes, but because of the loss of livelihoods, access to services and links with their families, were as vulnerable as internally displaced persons and refugees, said Mr. Awas. Of those 15 million, 3.2 million would be receiving assistance from UNCHR and its partners during the winter. The winter programme would cost 237 million dollars to provide thermal blankets, warm clothing, stoves, kerosene for heating, tarpaulin, insulation kits for buildings and tents, and winterized tents. Mr. Awas called upon the donors to provide support to the World Food Programme because children and youth needed food particularly in winter months. Mr. Awas said that 44 per cent of the items had already been purchased and positioned in place, 40 per cent were in the pipeline, while the shortfall was 16 per cent. Distributions were starting in higher places and plateaus above 500 m altitude in Lebanon, Turkey and Northern Iraq and were moving towards lower areas as the winter progressed.

Mr. Awas said that despite all the work done over the past several years and the good intentions of the governments, there had been casualties, with a number of people and children froze to death, and the most vulnerable - the old, the young and the infants - afflicted by diseases.

Answering the questions concerning overall funding shortfall for the region, Mr. Awas said that currently it was about $66 million. Having learned valuable lessons in the region, UNCHR had started winterization programme early and the only thing hampering putting all needed items in the pipeline or the storage in the neighbourhoods or camps was slow funding that was coming to UNHCR or its partners.

A correspondent asked whether the figure of 7.6 million people internally displaced in Syria was still accurate, about new displacement around Aleppo and whether it would prompt new arrivals to Europe. Mr. Awas said that the latest assessment of the number of internally displaced persons inside Syria was reduced to 6.3 million, as some people had moved either to neighbouring countries or Europe, and others were not accessible. The fighting on the ground continued, including around Aleppo and there were movements of internally displaced persons; it was estimated that 30,000 had been displaced over the past several days. Airstrikes were one of the contributing factor to the dynamic of displacement. The latest fighting did not seem to contribute much to the exodus of Syrians from the country, said Mr. Awas, who stressed the need to achieve peace and cessation of hostilities in Syria.

Answering questions on contingency planning to respond to any displacement caused by the possible fall of Aleppo, Mr. Awas said that continuous contingency planning and scenario building was ongoing, it changed almost daily to ensure that the international community was prepared. The number of people displaced was now in their millions, and the contingency plans were considering this, and also the number of people who might be uprooted.

In Iraq, it was very difficult to reach people displaced by or in the areas under ISIS control, those areas of Central Iraq were most challenging; the population had developed local coping mechanisms, and where possible, UNHCR was supporting local partners. In some places, there were local monitoring networks which reported on the humanitarian situation of communities in those areas. About a million persons went to northern Iraq and were accessible; in central parts of Iraq about one or two million were affected and of those, about half a million or 750,000 persons were considered extremely vulnerable.

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that WHO had issued a statement in which it expressed concern about health of refugees and migrants as winter set in. Any time people were living in overcrowded conditions there were risks of respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases. The countries caring for refugees and migrants had declared sufficient capacity to provide care. WHO was closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to support the countries with any emergency supplies and health workers surge capacity.

Burundi

Rupert Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefed on the situation in Burundi, Yemen and Cambodia. He also said the increasingly violent situation in the Republic of the Congo had left four people dead. Additional information was available in the briefing note.

OHCHR expressed concern about the rapidly worsening security and human rights situation in Burundi, where at least 198 people had been killed since 26 April 2015; one third of them - 63 people - in the last three weeks alone. OHCHR was particularly shocked by a deadly incident on 13 October, when at least nine civilians had been reportedly summarily executed in the Bujumbura neighbourhood of Ngagara, by police forces belonging to the API Unit (Appui pour la Protection des institutions, the Police Unit in charge of protecting state institutions). Among the killed were a well-known cameraman of the National Radio and Television of Burundi (RTNB), his wife, their two children and an IOM staff member living in the same compound, Evariste Mbonihankuye, who had been shot dead despite wearing his United Nations identification badge. Despite previous reports of attacks against humanitarian personnel, this was the first time a humanitarian worker was killed by security forces since the beginning of the crisis, said Mr. Colville. OHCHR welcomed the establishment by the Attorney General of Burundi of a commission of enquiry to investigate the Ngagara incident. He called for the investigation to be transparent, impartial and in line with international and national human rights standards. OHCHR also urged the authorities to issue clear instructions to all members of their security forces that acts such as this would be punished with the full force of the law.

Leonard Doyle, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that IOM’s Chief of Staff was in Burundi to express the support to the families, and the outrage of the organization at the coldblooded murder of a staff member. Mr. Doyle reiterated that there was a climate of fear in the country and said that all must insist that the climate of impunity ended, the full force of law be applied and for the investigation be transparent and independent.

Responding to questions, Mr. Doyle said that IOM respected the integrity of the investigation and recalled that in the last decade or so, four heads of international agencies had been killed in various circumstances in Burundi. The climate of fear and impunity must be tackled. Security regulations for staff had been strengthened. Mr. Colville added that the investigation was underway and that it appeared that the killing had been an act of vengeance.

Yemen

Mr. Colville said that on 21 October in Taizz, at least 15 civilians had been killed and 73 injured as a result of indiscriminate shelling by the Popular Committees affiliated with the Houthis. The attacks targeted a number of residential areas in Taizz, in which clinics, schools and homes had been hit. OHCHR was concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the town, greatly exacerbated by checkpoints set up by the Popular Committees affiliated with the Houthis on the periphery of Taizz city in April, and the tightening of the restrictions on the movement of civilians.

Members of the Popular Committees affiliated with the Houthis had taken control of the eastern route into Taizz and had blocked the main supply routes from Sana’a, Aden, Ibb, and Lahj. Additionally, violent clashes have blocked off supply routes from Hudaydah. Taizz’s civilian population was bearing the brunt of the siege as they struggled to meet their most basic needs, including potable water, the price of which had soared by 300% in the past week. The health situation was deteriorating and with the closure of the Yemen International Hospital, the largest hospital in the city, smaller private hospitals with limited capacity were overwhelmed with casualties caused by the fighting. The conflict in Yemen was talking a terrible toll in civilians: between 26 March and 16 October 2015, the OHCHR Office in Yemen recorded 7,655 civilian casualties, including 2,577 killed.

Cambodia

OHCHR noted the decision by Cambodia not to proceed with the planned return of 13 Montagnards with refugee status back to Viet Nam this month, as their return to Vietnam would constitute refoulement and risked exposing the refugees to human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest and torture. Mr. Colville said that the Cambodian Government had announced on Tuesday that it would extend a deadline for the return of the refugees until 10 January 2016, and called on the Government to ensure that the rights of these 13 individuals would be fully protected. Cambodia should comply with its obligations to register and consider all the remaining asylum claims of Montagnards who have left Viet Nam claiming religious, political and other persecution, more than 200 of whom had arrived in Cambodia over the past year.

European Refugee and Migration Crisis

Melissa Fleming, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), briefing about concerning and credible testimonies received by UNHCR of abuse of refugee and migrant women and children who are moving across Europe. So far this year, over 640,000 refugees and migrants had arrived in Europe by sea. Of these, some 34 per cent were women and children. In addition to the reported risks and abuse they faced during the journey before arriving on European shores, women and children were also confronted with numerous risks in their onward movement through Europe.

Reports of violence and abuse were coming from many sites, including from overcrowded reception sites, where thousands of people queued, slept in unlit places at night and without separation for women and children. Also along the routes were sites where refugees and migrants gathered, and slept in parks, train stations, roadsides. There were very disturbing testimonies of children engaging in survival sex to pay smugglers to continue their journey, either because they had run out money, or because they had been robbed. Those were unaccompanied children, and there were many unaccompanied children among the refugees and migrants. UNHCR was also concerned about the detention of children in some countries along the route, in some instances together with adults, which posed a great risk to them.

UNHCR called upon all concerned national authorities in Europe to take measures to ensure the protection of women and girls, including through providing adequate reception facilities along the way. It also asked authorities, as a matter of urgency, to find alternatives to the detention of children. UNHCR was also working to prevent and address immediately family separations, which had become a phenomenon in the chaos at the borders, and to support lost children.

Responding to questions related to the abuse and how widespread it was, Ms. Fleming said that UNHCR had received a sufficient number of testimonies to make the agency go public and express concern. UNHCR planned an assessment in partnership with non-governmental organizations. Smugglers were the perpetrators of incidents in which children were forced to perform sexual acts in exchange for the onward journey. Exploitation was mainly at the hands of criminal gangs and persons trying to exploit vulnerable refugees for their personal gain; there were no reasons to believe that perpetrators were part of the refugee population. Children must be offered protective environment, including in detention centres where they might be subjected to exploitation and abuse, stressed Ms. Fleming and underlined that subjecting children, in particular traumatized children to detention, was inhumane.

Smuggling was a shady network and no one had a clear picture of it and what happened to people who run out of money along the way, said Ms. Fleming. Many people ran out of money or had been robbed, and were stuck, for example in Belgrade, where they slept in parks; those people were particularly susceptible to exploitation. This was happening in every single country along the route, stressed Ms. Fleming.

On Syrians fleeing Aleppo because of Russia’s bombardment, Ms. Fleming confirmed internal displacement, but said that no significant movement across the border had been witnessed.

Mr. Doyle expressed IOM’s support for the UNHCR statement on sexual abuse and exploitation of women and children, and said that it was known that wherever there were emergencies, there were those who trafficked people and exploited minors.

Turning to the figures on migrant flows, Mr. Doyle said that this week, the IOM in Greece had recorded the highest migration inflows since the beginning of 2015. Despite deteriorating weather conditions, approximately 48,000 refugees and migrants had crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands over the past five day, at the rate of about 9,600 arrivals per day.

The press release is available here.

Category 5 Hurricane Patricia to make landfall in southwestern Mexico tonight; 2015 the hottest year on record

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that a warning had been issued about the Hurricane Patricia, which strengthened at an incredible rate in the past 24 hours and was a top Category 5 hurricane. This was now the strongest ever hurricane to hit the northern East-Pacific Region. Patricia was expected to make a landfall tonight, 23 October in southwestern Mexico between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, with 295 km per hour winds - twice the speed of an airplane taking off.

Ms. Nullis also said that 2015 was going to be the hottest year on record: January to September was by far the hottest on record, September smashed all heat records, and El Nino had developed unexpected strengths. This trend was expected to continue.