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

Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service, chaired the briefing attended by the spokespersons for the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Syria

On behalf of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE), Ms. Vellucci said that the intra-Syrian talks had resumed as planned this morning. The delegation of the Government of Syria had arrived at 10 a.m. today for a bilateral meeting with the Special Envoy as planned. The Special Envoy was looking forward to engaging with the delegations throughout the week.

Asked about the alleged use of crematoria to hide evidence of executions in Syria, Ravina. Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said there was clear evidence of serious human rights violations going on in detention facilities in Syria, including specifically in Saidnaya military prison, and the High Commissioner had raised concerns about this in the past. There were numerous reports of torture and other ill-treatment, as well as denial of food, water and medical care. Many prisoners had reportedly died as a result of untreated illnesses or injuries. On the specific issue of crematoria OHCHR had not yet been able to confirm.

Asked about a comment from the Secretary-General, Ms. Vellucci said that, asked about this issue on 15 May, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General had placed the emphasis on the issue of accountability. The UN had repeatedly received reports of atrocities being committed during all these years of conflict. The issue of accountability was a critical one. The General Assembly had voted to put forward an accountability mechanism, for which staff was currently being recruited. The Spokesperson had also said that all those reports of suffering should redouble the focus and efforts of the Syrian parties sitting around the table in Geneva to come to an agreement.

Yemen

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that with over 11,000 cases of diarrhoea reported so far across the country, of which over 250 cases were confirmed for cholera, Yemenis were staring at yet another public health crisis in the making. Over 130 deaths had occurred so far, of which some were confirmed to be due to cholera. As of today, 25 per cent of the cases were from Sana’a. One third of the cases were estimated to be children.

Yemen was a very dangerous country for children. Cholera was spreading in a country where the basic social services were collapsing as a result of over two years of conflict. This included health systems and water supply provisions, as well as solid and liquid waste management, in addition to the economic crisis and deteriorating living conditions. Those were all contributing factors to the rapid spread of cholera.

Today in Yemen, 2.2 million children were malnourished, including 462,000 severely acutely malnourished. One in two children under five were stunted. Severe acute malnutrition was almost 200 per cent higher in 2016 than in 2014.

Hospitals and treatment centres were struggling to cope with the large number of patients coming in from all corners of the country. Children, who were the most vulnerable, were seen sprawled on the floor, twisting with discomfort.

To make matters worse, there was a shortage of doctors and nursing staff, many of whom had not been paid for months on end. There was also a shortage of medicines and fluids.

UNICEF and partners were working on both the curative – providing health centres with diarrhoea disease kits, oral rehydration salts and water treatment tablets - and also, preventive tracks - disinfection of water sources in affected areas and promoting preventive safe hygiene practices.

Health authorities, UNICEF and WHO, along with existing health and WASH partners, were trying their best to respond to the crisis, but the outbreak was more aggressive than the previous wave in October 2016 had been.

In response to a question about the differences between cholera and acute watery diarrhoea (AWD), Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said the main difference was that AWD could be acquired from many different sources, whereas cholera was related to the bacteria vibrio cholerae, which spread much faster and therefore was much more dangerous. However, the symptoms and ways in which it could kill a vulnerable person were similar. Mr. Boulierac added that in a country with such high rates of severe acute malnutrition, cholera was more lethal for vulnerable children as it spread more rapidly.

Ms. Vellucci added that there were about 7.6 million people in Yemen living in areas at high risk of cholera transmission, which was a very high number.

William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that hostilities in the Hostilities in the Red Sea governorate of Taizz, south of Al Hudaydah, had displaced almost 50,000 people since the start of 2017. This was in addition to the three million who had been uprooted since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen, of whom two million remained displaced and one million had provisionally returned home to precarious conditions.

UNHCR field teams had returned in the past week from emergency distributions in Taizz’s embattled district of Mokha, one of the worst affected areas in the governorate where humanitarian access had been challenging due to ongoing clashes and movement restrictions imposed by parties to the conflict

UNHCR had managed to secure access to Mokha for the third time this year. The latest UNHCR aid distribution in Mokha would cover more than 6,200 people with emergency assistance, adding to the 69,857 already reached since the start of this year. Another 17,745 people had been reached in Hudaydah in the same period.

Taizz governorate had been a flashpoint in the conflict, generating 27 per cent of internally displaced people in Yemen, and also hosting another 303,672 displaced people. Many who had attempted to flee hostilities in Taizz had been displaced elsewhere across the governorate.

In Mokha, UNHCR teams had observed worsening conditions for both those displaced by conflict and the local communities hosting them. Many people were living out in the open in harsh conditions and without adequate shelter, protection and material assistance.

In Hudaydah, UNHCR field teams had also observed a huge spike in humanitarian needs. Displaced people were now living on the streets with some taking shelter on pavements, and others most vulnerable including female and child-headed households turning to negative coping strategies to enable their survival such as through begging and child labour, which was now rampant across the governorate.

UNHCR had warned late April that an intensification of conflict in Al Hudaydah would lead to large-scale displacement of up to an additional half a million people, further increasing needs and vulnerabilities in a high-need area which was already host to a sizeable displaced and conflict affected population and suffering from critical levels of food insecurity.

With Hudaydah host to more than 109,000 displaced individuals, many were reporting anxiety about reports of possible intensifications in hostilities in the governorate, unsure of how and where they would flee.

In anticipation of any further intensification in hostilities, UNHCR was leading efforts with humanitarian partners to respond to additional displacement under different scenarios. UNHCR was pre-positioning supplies to respond to affected people and in the event of anticipated displacement, would help establish, multi-sector service hubs along major displacement routes to offer respite to people fleeing violence.

UNHCR would also provide mobile core relief kits, essential protection services, emergency shelter and household assistance at the final destinations of the displaced in the form of shelter materials, vouchers, financial assistance or cash subsidies for rent, depending on needs.

With UNHCR’s current supplies at critical levels, millions remaining displaced across the country, UNHCR was appealing for urgent support to respond to current and anticipated displacement. UNHCR’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen was only funded by less than a quarter to date.

Mediterranean rescues

William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that reports emerging from the sea rescue effort between Italy and Libya suggested around 20 men, women and children were missing and feared dead after rescuers had been able to pluck some 500 survivors from the Mediterranean Sea over the past weekend.

Information gathered by UNHCR in Italy indicated that the survivors were rescued from four rubber boats on 14 May by the SeaEye NGO and a merchant vessel called Ohio in the Central Mediterranean Sea. UNHCR was gathering more information from those rescued and about the circumstances of the rescue efforts.

Among the 20 feared dead it was reported that some had been crushed by other people in the boat, while others had drowned at sea. The victims included a child, women and some men - mostly from Nigeria, Ivory Coast and reportedly from Bangladesh. Seven bodies had been recovered and taken with the survivors to Trapani.

With this latest incident, it was estimated more than 1,350 people were now missing or dead in the Mediterranean Sea. Over the past few weeks alone, over 95 people had lost their lives.

UNHCR reiterated its call for credible alternatives to those dangerous crossings for people in need of international protection, including accessible and safe ways to reach Europe such as family reunification, resettlement and private sponsorship.

Saving lives had to be the top priority. With continued horrifying reports of smuggler abuse, action was needed before people were caught and exposed to horrendous abuses at the hands of smugglers and before they boarded unsafe boats to cross the Mediterranean Sea. That also meant redoubling efforts to solve conflicts, especially in Africa; and making better use of development resources.

Asked whether some of the sea rescues were in fact interceptions by the coast guard, Mr, Spindler said that in practice there was little difference between interception and sea rescues as none of the vessels were seaworthy. In some cases there were rescue operations in response to a distress call and the maritime centre in Rome organized the search and rescue operation at sea. However, when the Libyan coast guard stopped people leaving Libyan waters, it was an interception but one could argue that it was also a rescue as the vessels were not seaworthy. Most often it was impossible for the boats to make their way to Italy by themselves without being intercepted/ rescued.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), added that much coercion went on in pushing the migrants onto the boats and rescue was the appropriate word in almost every instance.

Liberia

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that laboratory testing had confirmed that the bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis was likely the cause of the illness and the deaths associated with the wake and funeral in Sinoe, Liberia on 21-22 April. This bacteria could cause meningitis, which was an infection of the brain and could be found in the spinal fluid, but it could also cause meningococcal septicaemia, which was an infection of the blood. In this case, the bacteria had been found in blood samples, and it had caused meningococcal septicaemia. That explained partly why some symptoms that would be caused by meningitis had not been seen.

The public health authorities were now looking at the next steps to prepare the health system for future outbreaks.

Neisseria meningitidis had been identified in 13 clinical samples from 13 people, and one person based on clinical signs. So, there were confirmations now for 14 people, 11 of them had died and three had survived.

In response to a question, Mr. Lindmeier said that there had been no post-mortem done on the religious leader whose wake had been attended by the victims.

Ebola

Mr. Lindmeier said that according to national authorities, the National Laboratory of the Democratic Republic of Congo had confirmed two cases as positive for Ebola, among 20 suspect cases (including three deaths). Currently there were 400 contacts under surveillance in four different areas. Five new samples had been collected to be analysed soon. Teams of epidemiologists and other technical medical staff from the Ministry of Health had already arrived in Likati on 14 May and were now carrying out further investigations.

Asked whether it was the same type of Ebola as the one in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Mr. Lindmeier said that the Democratic Republic of Congo cases belonged to the Zaire subtype and he would check what the others had been in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and get back to the press.

Asked whether the outbreak had been contained, Mr. Lindmeier answered that it seemed to be a very rural outbreak in a very specific zone, but surveillance was highly important. Contact tracing had started immediately, as well as the case management. Mr. Lindmeier insisted that every effort had to be made to contain the outbreak. At that point however, apart from potential additional cases, it seemed fairly contained.

Asked whether WHO had taken decision regarding vaccination, Mr. Lindmeier said WHO and partners were still completing epidemiological investigations to better understand the extent of the current outbreak and who was potentially at risk. If the investigation turned out to be pertinent, then ring vaccination as used in the Phase III clinical study in Guinea would be recommended. Preparations had accelerated to ensure that vaccines and equipment were available on the site, should it be decided to use vaccination.

Central African Republic

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein had expressed grave alarm over the expanding attacks by armed groups against the civilian population in several parts of the Central African Republic in recent months, as well as attacks against United Nations peacekeepers in the southeast of the country.

High Commissioner Zeid had said he was particularly disturbed by the increase in targeted killings of civilians since the fighting between rival groups had begun in November 2016.

Many of the areas where the attacks had taken place had previously remained largely unaffected by violence and insecurity, and the related human rights abuses.

“The hard-earned relative calm in Bangui and some of the bigger towns in CAR risks being eclipsed by the descent of some rural areas into increasing sectarian violence, with defenceless civilians – as usual - paying the highest price,” the High Commissioner had said.

The resurgence of violence had also had a serious and direct impact on humanitarian actors. During the first quarter of 2017, more than 45 incidents targeting humanitarians had been recorded across the country, making the Central African Republic one of the highest-risk countries for humanitarian aid. Half of the population of the Central African Republic was dependent on humanitarian aid. The press release listed many incidents that the Human Rights Division in the CAR had recorded in various parts on the country – in central CAR, in the east, in the south and the south-east. Over the past weekend, in Bangassou, in the south, armed men (presumed to be anti-Balaka) had used heavy weapons to attack the base of the United Nations mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). They had also attacked the Muslim neighbourhood of Tokoyo, where numerous civilians had been killed and others wounded, although the exact death toll remained unclear.

The High Commissioner called on the leaders of armed groups to cooperate with MINUSCA and Government authorities to bring to justice those of their fighters who had been involved in human rights violations and abuses. “I remind those who commit, order, command or fail to prevent attacks against civilians, humanitarian workers and UN peacekeepers that they may also be subject to prosecution for war crimes,” he had said.

In response to questions, Ms, Shamdasani said there was no comprehensive death toll. Based on investigations that had been conducted on the ground, where human rights officers had been actually able to visit the sites where the violence had taken place, it had been documented that more than 121 civilians had been killed between March and May. In addition to that, there had been the attacks in Bangassou over the past weekend. The human rights officers had not been able to enter the area because of insecurity and had not been able to verify, but credible reports indicated that possibly many more than 20 had been killed. In Alindao, there had been reports from credible sources that about 56 civilians had been killed there, however, OHCHR had not been able to verify that.

Regarding the Special Criminal Court, it was preparing to start its work and the Government of the CAR had been very cooperative in its establishment and in moving forward the reforms and justice processes. The situation was very volatile in the country and there was a lack of police as well as military presence, which was why there were pockets of violence erupting in places where there had previously been no violence. In terms of arrests and prosecutions, much remained to be done.

In response to further questions, Ms. Shamdasani said that there was a very complex situation on the ground, which went beyond the religious divide. There were many factions of the ex-Séléka that had split up, and some of them were conducting joint attacks on civilians with the anti-Balaka. There was also an ethnic dimension: Fulanis had been attacked on the basis of their ethnicity and not their religion. Finally, there was a lot of economic deprivation and much competition for the scarce resources that were there, and the absence of State security officials in many parts of the country was creating a power vacuum.

OHCHR had also had reports of intoxicants being administered child soldiers but would get back to the press with more specific information. Ms. Shamdasani would also check regarding the financing of the militias using money from illegal diamond mining.

Ms. Vellucci added that MINUSCA had reinforced its presence in the town of Bangassou with peacekeepers and the deployment of an attack helicopter, as it continued to secure some of the strategic areas of the city. A press statement from the Security Council had also been shared on 15 May about the attacks against MINUSCA and civilians in the CAR. She would get back to the press with more information from MINUSCA.

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), gave some more details on the situation this morning in Bangassou, saying there had been violent attacks and displacement. The number of displaced persons there had now reached an estimated 7,000, including some 2,000 to 2,500 people who had been taken out of the Tokoyo mosque on 15 May and had gone to the cathedral. The UN was expecting to have a humanitarian flight come in today with aid for the displaced, but the flight had been postponed. Humanitarian organizations remained in place and were responding with whatever aid and relief items they had available. Shops in the Tokoyo district had been looted overnight and it was still a very volatile situation.

It was estimated that between 25,000 and 35,000 people in total were in need of humanitarian assistance, so it was crucial that the airstrip remained open so the aid could come in.

The first assessment showed that the priority needs were people’s safety and security, and in terms of aid, food and water, which needed to be brought to people.


OHCHR partnership with Microsoft

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), announced a landmark five-year partnership between OHCHR and Microsoft. Microsoft would provide a grant of USD 5 million to support the work of OHCHR. This represented an unprecedented level of support from a private-sector organization. A press release about this had been sent out earlier today. Microsoft had also made available a web feature story which Ms. Shamdasani would share with the press later, and which explained how the money would be used. A particular area of focus for the partnership would be the development and use of advanced technology designed to better predict, analyse and respond to critical human rights situations. The partnership built on a longstanding relationship between OHCHR and Microsoft, based on two shared ideas. The first was a commitment to ensure that technology played a positive role in helping to promote and protect human rights. The second was the recognition of the need for the private sector to play a bigger part in helping to advance the cause of human rights globally.

One of the examples of the technology that Microsoft was developing with OHCHR was called “Rights View”. It was an information dashboard that would allow OHCHR staff to aggregate large quantities of internal and external data on specific countries and types of human rights violations in real time. This would facilitate analysis, help OHCHR’s work on early warning and provide data to guide responses to emerging human rights crisis. The tool would be powered by cloud computing and big data analysis.

Microsoft would also work with OHCHR to build awareness of the role that companies could and should play to drive respect for human rights, and to promote more responsible business conduct across the world. Microsoft would also work with OHCHR to promote broader adoption and implementation of the UN guiding principles for business and human rights. Moreover, Microsoft had undertaken to provide support for human rights advocacy and outreach campaigns in key areas such as freedom of expression or data protection and privacy, and in direct support for the development and promotion of corporate principles for tackling discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex individuals.

The High Commissioner had said that the private sector had an essential role to play in advancing human rights, and this partnership with Microsoft demonstrated how we could join forces in a constructive way.
OHCHR wanted to stimulate a race to the top when it came to human rights, and to look how engaging more significantly with the private sector would help to foster better practices, but always keeping OHCHR’s option to speak out when needed. That had been very clear with Microsoft.

Ms. Vellucci added that the Secretary-General had said in Beijing on 15 May that the global partnership for development was evolving: “We are seeing dramatic changes in the constellation of partnerships for the 2030 Agenda. […] The field of actors must expand far beyond Governments to include other stakeholders. Businesses have a key role to play.”

In response to a question regarding the existence of a conflict of interest clause in the agreement, Laurent Sauveur, for OHCHR, said that as many other UN entities, OHCHR was using a wide range of Microsoft products, however, the acquisition of those product was guided by UN-wide enterprise agreements between Microsoft and the UN Secretariat, which followed its own strict rules and was carried out independently of any non-commercial agreements. When it came to the pro-bono agreement, as the USD 5 million were a mix of cash and pro-bono services, it clearly stipulated that it would not give the company any advantage in the procurement process.

In response to further questions, Mr. Sauveur said all UN Secretariat staff at a certain level provided a UN financial disclosure reviewed by the UN Ethics Office. Regarding the notion of data privacy, it was very clear that Microsoft was developing a technology but would not have access to OHCHR data.

Mr. Sauveur also confirmed that OHCHR received very little funding from the private sector. In 2016, OHCHR had received less than USD 1 million from the private sector out of a total of USD 129 million in voluntary contributions. It had been six or seven years that OHCHR had realized it needed to broaden its donor base but had been limited by the capacity allocated to this area. OHCHR was happy with this partnership to see it had managed to secure a collaboration that was very beneficial for the cause and would help advance the human rights agenda. It was the start of a journey and OHCHR would like to build upon this success and encourage other partners to follow suit. OHCHR’s capacity dedicated to private sector engagement was equivalent to a couple of people at best and OHCHR would like to strengthen this area. Mr. Sauveur also confirmed that technology was included in the USD 5 million granted by Microsoft. The grant would consist in an annual instalment which, for the first year, would be made up of three-fourths cash and one-fourth services, and that composition would be reviewed on an annual basis. The technical support received by Microsoft would be looking essentially at connecting a series of data bases where human rights information was being located. For now, security of the systems was not in the scope of the development but might be discussed further down the line.

Asked about whether OHCHR had done a due diligence of Microsoft’s supply chain to check whether it met human rights criteria of the UN and the core labour standards on its global operations, Mr. Sauveur said that when entering into a partnership with any private sector entity, a multi-layered due diligence was conducted, in line with the Office of the Secretary-General’s guidelines and the UN Global Compact. An external company looked at a database of in-depth controversy reports of over 6,000 public companies, and had looked at the track record of Microsoft. OHCHR also had other sources such as NGO data and regular media reports. A process was in place within the organization for the vetting and analysis of the data. There was then formal approval by the leadership of the organization.

Cyberattack

In response to a question, Ms. Vellucci said that fortunately no UN systems had been affected by the recent global cyberattack, but the issue required the utmost vigilance as such an attack could be repeated. She also said that the IT service of the UN had developed a compulsory training for staff to know how to behave on IT-related questions, and in the face of an attacks. The training applied to the whole UN Secretariat.

Geneva Events and Announcements

Mr. Boulierac reminded the press of a press conference on 17 May at 2.30 p.m. in Press Room 1 by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In the run-up to the G7 (Sicily, 26-27 June), UNICEF was launching a new report to call on world leaders to adopt a plan of action for children on the move.

The report – embargoed until 00.01 GMT on 18 May - ’A Child is a Child: Protecting children on the move from violence, abuse and exploitation’, presented a global snapshot of refugee and migrant children, the motivations behind their journeys and the risks they faced along the way. There would be new data and multimedia content with testimonies from refugee and migrant children. The speaker would be Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), announced a press conference on 17 May at 10 a.m. in Press Room 1, on the World Health Statistics 2017. WHO would publish that day the World Health Statistics 2017, containing data and analysis from 194 countries on progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, including a range of mortality, disease and health system indicators, including life expectancy, illness and death from key diseases, health services and treatments, financial investment in health, and risk factors and behaviours that affect health.

The new report was available to interested journalists upon request, and reporting on its contents would be embargoed until 12:00 Central European Summer Time on 17 May. The speakers at the press conference would be Dr Christopher Dye, Director, Strategy, Policy and Information, WHO, and Dr Gretchen Stevens, Technical Officer, Mortality and Health Analysis, WHO.

Ms. Vellucci said the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which had opened on 15 May its 75^th session by electing to its presidency Renate Winter of Austria (in replacement of Benyam Dawit Mezmur of Ethiopia), would review this morning at 10 a.m. the report submitted by the United States under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. This afternoon at 3 p.m., the Committee would review the report submitted by the United States under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The other reports which would be reviewed during the session would be those of Bhutan, Lebanon, Qatar, Romania, Moldova, Antigua and Barbuda, and Cameroon.