PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS) chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Mine Action Service, the International Federation of the Red Cross, the International Organisation on Migration, the World Health Organisation and the World Metrological Organisation.
Update on the response to Kakhova Dam destruction
Saviano Abreu, Head of communications in Ukraine, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), speaking from the Kherson region, said the current situation was dramatic. Today, four boats were being used to deliver assistance to 500 families who had been affected by the floods, caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. They had already been impacted by the consequences of the war and were now faced with the new catastrophe of flooding. Today, OCHA was bringing lifesaving water and food, and there was another convoy planned to deliver to areas in Dnipropetrovska oblast which were facing severe water shortages. 200,000 people in the Nikopolska region had already been cut off from water, but there were more than 700,000 people who had the potential to face water shortages. The flood waters were receding from 600 square kilometres to under 200 square km of flooding. The water levels were receding, but this did not mean this was the end of the disaster; the long-term consequences were starting now.
Responding to questions, Mr. Abreu, said OCHA had requested access from the Russian Federation across the trans-Atlantic crossing but had yet to receive assurance, and this was why the response was only on the side which was controlled by Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war in February 2022, OCHA had requested access to Russian-controlled areas, but this had not been granted. Negotiations were still ongoing. Mr. Abreu said landmines were a huge concern in Ukraine and was a key issue in the southern part of the country. When the flood waters receded water passed over existing landmines making the situation much more difficult. Mr. Abreau said mines were an ongoing issue, and OCHA was working with the government in demining efforts.
Abigail Hartely, Chief of Policy, Advocacy, Donor Relations, and Outreach section for the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), noted how the position of landmines could shift with fast moving water and they could get buried in sediment. This was a challenge, but the Ukrainian services had done a good job of de-mining.
WFP pushes into new areas of Sudan as emergency operations expand
Abdirahman Meygag, World Food Programme (WFP) Sudan Country Director, speaking from Port Sudan, said WFP continued to strengthen operations across Sudan and provide emergency food support to over 1 million people, in 14 out of 18 states. WFP was expanding its support to reach up to 5.9 million people across Sudan over the next 6 months. Last weekend, WFP provided 5 tonnes of nutritional assistance to children who were evacuated from Khartoum, and distributed emergency food to 300 children and their caretakers. In the Khartoum State, there was continuous food distribution for a further 24,000 residents. WFP planned to support 500,000 people in the Khartoum State, and distributions would continue in Karari and other locations. The agency was rapidly scaling up to support civilians fleeing Khartoum and arriving in Wad Madani, Gezira State and various towns across River Nile and Northern State. WFP completed emergency food nutrition distributions for 32,000 people in Shendi, River Nile State and for 8,000 people in Wadi Halfa, Northern State on the Egyptian border. Distributions in Atbara, Elmatama, and Berber, River Nile State and Gezira State were ongoing and plans to provide aid in Merowe and Dongola, Northern State were underway.
In Darfur, food aid and nutrition supplements had been provided to over 375,000 people throughout the region. Plans were underway to test the corridor from Kosti in White Nile State to Nyala in South Darfur State. The first cross-border movement of commodities from Egypt to Sudan had been a success. This was another corridor which humanitarian workers could use in the future. WFP was also providing telecommunications services to all United Nations agencies in Sudan. The attacks were making it challenging for WFP to support those affected by the conflict; they called on all parties to enable to safe delivery of humanitarian access. Humanitarian aid had been looted, including over 40,000 tonnes of food, as well as equipment, amounting to over 89 million USD. WFP was extremely concerned that the conflict would undermine the current planting season, which was expected to begin in June. The agency required 407 million USD for the rest of the year to scale up operations, to feed 5.9 million people.
Responding to questions, Mr. Meygag said WFP was providing support in 14 of 18 states in Sudan, Darfur was the fastest deteriorating region in the country. Tribal and ethnic dimensions, as well as conflict between the two parties, was taking place in the region. WFP required 407 million USD to feed 5.9 million people for the remainder of the year.
Mr. Meygag said more than 150,000 people were crossing the border from Western Chad, and the need was tremendous there. WFP was appealing to the international community to provide assistance to Darfur, as well as neighbouring countries such as Chad. The situation was deteriorating and the number of those affected was increasing, including children. It was estimated that the nutrition level of more than 2 million people would be affected. As the situation continued, that number would likely increase.
Killing of the Governor of Sudan
Jeremy Laurence, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said The High Commissioner was appalled by the killing of the Governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abdullah Abbakar, on 14 June, just hours after he was arrested by the Rapid Support Forces in El-Geneina, capital of West Darfur, where the conflict had taken on an ethnic dimension. All those responsible for this killing needed be held to account, including those who bore command responsibility. OHCHR were deeply concerned by the rise in hate speech in West Darfur as it could further inflame tensions. They called for justice and accountability for extrajudicial killings and all other violations which had occurred during the ongoing conflict. OHCHR also appealed for immediate cessation of hostilities in El-Geneina and throughout Sudan and the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Chad and El-Geneina, as well as safe passages for civilians out of all conflict areas.
The full statement is available here.
Mr Gómez reminded the media of the statements issued earlier in the week, one on behalf of the UN Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, on the killing of the Governor in West Darfur, through which they strongly condemned the heinous act and called on the perpetrators to be brought to justice. This was preceded by a statement from the Secretary General, who expressed his deep concern about the situation in Darfur and reaffirmed the United Nations' commitment to supporting the Sudanese people.
Responding to questions, Mr. Laurence, said the current situation in Sudan was not only based on ethnicities; it was a complicated matter. There were ethnic dimensions to the conflict which was a grave concern to the UN. There were other issues at stake here.
Casualties in Sudan
Responding to questions, Carla Drysdale for the World Health Organization, said two months on, the violence continued to make the delivery of health care increasingly difficult. Casualties as of the 14th of June 2023, from the federal Ministry of Health, were 11,704 injured, and 1703 deaths. 24.7 million people needed humanitarian aid, and 18.1 million people had been targeted for humanitarian aid as per the revised Humanitarian Response Plan launched in May 2023. 4 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women were acutely malnourished. More than 100,000 under-five children with severe acute malnutrition with medical complications needed specialized care at stabilization centres. WHO had sent 170 metric tonnes of medical supplies worth 1.6 million US dollars, including for trauma and injuries, chronic diseases, and infectious diseases using all the possible means. These supplies were crucial to addressing the urgent healthcare needs of the affected population and supporting the efforts of healthcare providers and organizations in Sudan, but limited access and insecurity continued to hamper efforts to save lives.
Responding to further questions, Ms. Drysdale said the risk of worsening malnutrition was imminent with the prevailing limits of access to local markets. Approximately one third of people were already facing hunger before the fighting. Stabilising was a step in the right direction towards lifesaving. Child Psychological wellbeing was in a critical situation. WHO were worried about these children and was doing everything they could to help them. Peace was the ultimate solution; they needed access.
The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention meeting and the National Director's Meeting
Abigail Hartely, Chief of Policy, Advocacy, Donor Relations, and Outreach section for the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), shared information on two meetings happening next week. From Monday to Wednesday, 19 to 21 June, the overview of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention intersessional meetings would take place. Delegates would reflect on achievements, and assess how the Oslo Action Plan was being implemented. In the second half of the week, UNMAS would hold the 26th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors in the United Nations, at the WMO. The overarching theme of that meeting was “Mine Action Cannot Wait,” underscoring the urgency of the work. There would be an opening ceremony that would include remarks from the Deputy State Secretary of Switzerland, and the Director-General of UNOG. Due to restrictions in capacity of the WMO, not all media could be present, but access to the building could be arranged. The UNMAS Communications Officer would be in Geneva next week and would be able to connect the press with national directors from various countries. On Wednesday, 21 June, a related press briefing would be held from 10:30am to 11:30am.
Responding to questions, Ms. Hartley said the conference would not be webcast, but all the sessions would be recorded and uploaded, with the link shared. Afghanistan had not registered to participate in the meeting. Ms. Hartley said she had been in Afghanistan in January, and the biggest obstacle to demining there was a lack of resources from the international community. The de-mining programme in the country had 10,000 deminers a year ago and now there were 3000. The security situation had drastically improved due to the new regime, however the finances were not in place to make the most of this opportunity.
Ms. Hartley said the first meeting of the Convention would focus only on anti-personnel mines. The second day would focus on other topics. Unfortunately, about 4 per cent of the total contributions to mine actions went to victim assistance. UNMAS was constantly advocating for an increase in this allocation. Ms. Hartley said journalists would be able to connect with any national directors they wished to meet. All the press briefings would be in person, held on Wednesday at 10:30 am – 11:30am. The UNMAS director would be present at the press conference.
A report had been issued on land mine uses in Ukraine which alleged that Russia and Ukraine had both used mines including landmines and rockets. Ukraine would be urged in the session to investigate the use of anti-personnel mines, and to ensure they were not used again, and that the treaty was fully respected. The next steps would depend on Ukraine’s response to the first request.
Clampdown on civil society ahead of election in Cambodia
Jeremy Laurence, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urged the Cambodian Government to act swiftly to enable a conducive environment for a free and fair general election next month, saying he was deeply concerned by the curtailing of civic space ahead of the poll. The National Election Commission earlier this year disqualified the Candlelight Party and Khmer United Great Nation Party from running for election, while long prison sentences had been handed down against other opposition figures. Heavy fines were imposed on other political actors, such as Son Chhay the Vice-President of CLP, who was ordered to pay over USD 1 million in fines. This week, the Prime Minister said the Government would amend the election law to bar anyone who boycotted the vote, from running as a candidate in future elections. “The Paris Peace Agreement and international human rights treaties were the guarantors of peace, prosperity and a better future for Cambodia,” said Türk.
The full statement is available here.
Tragic shipwreck in Greece
Jeremy Laurence, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, called the appalling loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea a horrific tragedy. 78 people were known to have died and up to 500 were missing, among them large numbers of women and children. This event underscored the need to investigate people smugglers and human traffickers and ensure they were brought to justice. The High Commissioner reiterated his call to States to open up more regular migration channels, enhance responsibility-sharing, ensure arrangements for the safe and timely disembarkation of all people rescued at sea, and establish independent monitoring and oversight of migration-related policies and practices.
Dimitris Chaliotis, a volunteer for the Hellenic Red Cross who was part of the rescue operations, , speaking from Greece, said the numbers of casualties resulting from the wreck were high. Many people had lost their lives and many were missing. The Red Cross was trying to provide survivors with first aid and psychological support. These people were in shock and in a bad condition. These situations often happened in the area, and while devastating, unfortunately, were common.
Jessie Thomson, head of the delegation in Greece for the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFCRC), speaking from Hungary, said hundreds of people around the world were in deep sorrow due to the tragedy. This was one of many incidents seen in Greece in the recent months and years. The Hellenic Red Cross had been on the scene from the very first moment, assisting survivors of the shipwreck, providing aid, relief support, food and psychological support. They were also helping connect those in search of loved ones. Since 2014, the Central Mediterranean has become the world’s deadliest migratory sea route with more than 26,000 lives lost, with the actual number of fatalities expected to be much higher. Since the beginning of the IFRC’s partnership with SOS Mediterrané, more than 3500 people have been rescued, including over 1110 children. There needed to be urgent action to prevent other such tragedies, including through establish safe pathways for those in search of protection. States needed to urgently establish search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and governments should co-operate to ensure appropriate and meaningful support for survivors.
Responding to questions, Mr. Laurence said it was still early days and it would be premature to point the finger at anyone. There needed to be a thorough investigation into the events which unfolded during the course of the tragedy. It was hoped that answers could be reached, and lessons learnt from the experience. They did not know the full extent of what had transpired, despite reading multiple reports. The 78 lives lost was probably a gross underestimate. There were possibly 100 children being in the hold. Only time and a thorough review of what happened, would provide answers.
Mr. Chaliotis said there were many people who had been affected from exposure to the weather conditions, including sunburn and dehydration, as well as trauma symptoms. Many people had been sent to the hospital for intensive care treatments and 27 people remained in hospital, for further care.
Mr. Laurence of OHCHR reflected on the statement from the High Commissioner, who said that experience taught that adopting a tougher line on irregular migration would not deter departures, but instead would result on more deaths at sea. It would be far better for countries to provide safe regular pathways to migration rather than see increased deaths.
Responding to questions, Paul Dillon, for the International Organisation on Migration (IOM), said such irregular journeys were often facilitated by smugglers, and IOM called for concerted action to dismantle the criminal networks, who were profiting from the desperate dreams of migrants and refugees, and who were profiting from dangerous journeys such as these.
Responding to further questions, Mr. Laurence said there was a need to investigate people smugglers and human traffickers and ensure they were brought to justice. They were aware than nine suspected people smugglers had been arrested. It was essential that accountability was reached. Mr. Chaliotis said most of the people were originally from Libya and Syria. Mr. Laurence said it would always start at the national level, and all the relevant states involved in this tragedy. It was a responsibility that should be shared between the origin, transit and destination countries.
Mr. Gómez referred to the statement by the Secretary-General, who expressed his
deepest condolence as to all those perished in the tragedy, and said this was the time for Europe to define an effective migration policy for these types of situations to ensure they would not happen again.
53rd Session of the Human Rights Council
Pascal Sims, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the United Nations Human Rights Council would kick off its 53rd session on Monday 19 June in Room 20 of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Over the next four weeks, the Council would address more than 30 thematic human rights issues such as casualty recording, genocide prevention and racism. In addition, around 40 countries would be the subject of discussions – including Ukraine, Sudan, Iran, Venezuela, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
The 53rd session of the Council would begin with a presentation by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, of his annual report. On the first day of its 53rd session, the Human Rights Council would hold interactive dialogues on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan; the human rights situation in Sudan; and the situation of human rights in Eritrea. The latest updates on this 53rd session, would be shown online in the programme of work. Mr. Sims invited journalists to use and monitor the hashtag #HRC53 on social media, to follow the latest news about the session.
Responding to questions, Mr. Sims said the High Commissioner would present his report around 10am on Monday. The meeting on Sudan would start at 3pm, the High Commissioner, the designated Expert and the Sudanese Ambassador in Geneva would present.
New WHO report, Left Behind in Pain: unequal access to morphine for pain relief
Dr Kiusiang Tay-Teo, Technical Officer, Department of Health Products Policy and Standards for the World Health Organisation (WHO), said today WHO published a new report which described the status of access to morphine for medical use, titled “Left Behind in Pain”. The report highlighted that access to morphine for medical use, and strong opioids was persistently lacking, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This meant millions of people continued to suffer severe pain that could have been prevented if they had adequate access to morphine. The report found that the global distribution of medical morphine was unequal and did not correspond to medical need. At least 80 per cent of people from low-and-middle income countries did not receive morphine or other strong opioids despite medical need. Pain was a major public health problem globally. Morphine was an essential medicine which had been on the WHO model list of Essential Medicines since its first edition in 1977. For all these reasons, the report called for urgent actions from all stakeholders to improve safe access to morphine for medical use.
Read the full statement and download the report here.
Responding to questions, Dr. Tay-Teo said that a certain amount of caution around addition when it came to opioids including morphine, was good for public health. Such a position should not undermine the benefits of opioid use, including people receiving morphine for chronic non-cancer related pain. When international guidelines were followed, when morphine was distributed safely by a professional it was very manageable. The focus of the report was about safe access.
European State of the Climate report and WMO roundup of extraordinary climate records
Clare Nullis for the World Metrological Organisation (WMO), said the WMO would issue a report on Monday, on the State of the Climate in 2022, in conjunction with a number of partners. The press release had been sent out under embargo. There was not a press conference planned in Dublin, but if interviews were required media should get in touch. The report was for 2022, but a lot of the extreme events were continuing this year. This afternoon, a roundup would be posted on the new climate monitoring report which had been received. May 2022 was one of the warmest May’s on record, for the third consecutive month. Green house gas concentrations had surged. Already in May, global ocean surfaces temperatures hit record highs and in June, this was off the charts. Information would be provided on the WMO website.
Announcements
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said the Secretary-General had called for the immediate global action towards net zero emissions which he said needed to start with the polluted heart of the climate crisis, the fossil fuel industry. There was a special event on Haiti taking place at UN headquarters in New York later today, at 4pm New York time. Titled " Saving lives addressing the food security needs of Haiti,” this would be webcast live, and feature heads of UNICEF, the World Food Programme and several other speakers.
There would be several press conferences this week including on Monday, 19 June 2023 at 2 p.m., for a joint report of the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, 20 June 2023 at 9:30 a.m., would be the Ukraine Backgrounder ahead of the international donors’ conference in London. At 1 p.m. the same day, there would be the HRC - Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel Launch of the Commission’s latest report. Finally, on Thursday, 22 June 2023 at 1:30 p.m., there would be a press conference on the Special Rapporteur’s health’s HRC53 report focused on Digital innovation, technologies and the right to health.
Mr. Gómez said today was the International Day of Family Remittances. Over 50 per cent of remittances were sent in rural areas, where 75 percent of the world's poor and food insecure lived.
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