REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Yvette Morris, Chief of Radio and Television Section at the UN Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Meteorological Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

Four years of conflict in Syria

Hanaa Singer, representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Syria, said that, flying over northern Syria, one could see a chilling image: a group of children, assembled in a public square for a screening, not of cartoons or action movies, but of videos showing, in full, excruciating detail, the execution of human beings.

Such an event, in Al Raqqa, was just one example of the evolving ways in which children had become the hapless victims of the complex and vicious conflict engulfing Syria and, more recently, much of neighbouring Iraq.

The impact of the crisis in Syria had gone beyond a single country and had spread around the region. Today, UNICEF estimated that nearly 14 million children across the region were suffering from the escalating violence sweeping Syria and much of Iraq.

In Syria alone, there were 5.6 million children impacted by the conflict, the majority of whom had been displaced. Some children had been displaced multiple times, in addition to two million who had been forced to flee the country. Overall, the total number of children in need of humanitarian assistance was 15 times more than what it had been in 2012.

Ms. Singer specified that one in every five schools in Syria could not be used because it had been destroyed, damaged, was sheltering the displaced or was being used by the different parties to the conflict. More than 50,000 teachers had either been killed or had fled the country. 2.6 million Syrian children were currently out of school.

Water availability was now only half of what it had been when the conflict had begun four years earlier. Water had been used as a weapon of war by being systematically cut off in the previous few months in a number of areas in Syria like Aleppo, Idleb and Damascus. Only one third of Syria’s hospitals functioned, while 50 per cent of medical personnel had been killed or fled the country. Every aspect of Syria’s children’s lives had been impacted sometimes overnight. It was the daily violence that the children suffered that was horrifying, Ms. Singer stressed. Everywhere she went in the country there were stories of destruction, suffering, loss, fear and lack of certainty of what the next day would bring.

At the same time, there were stories of children who refused to give up on their dreams, determined to have a better future. For example, going to school - the most basic of rights for every child - had become the magical remedy for Syria’s children. It gave them motivation to wake up in the morning, and a chance to live a few hours of childhood.

The war had not robbed children of their ability to dream yet, but time was running out. The determination of those children had become an inspiration for humanitarian workers working on the ground to continue.

In a country which had become one of the most dangerous places for humanitarian workers and civilians alike, UNICEF insisted to stay and deliver with a team of over 150 staff members. UNICEF vaccinated children against measles and polio, provided clean water and education material and gave children the chance to reconnect with their childhood through recreational activities like drama, arts and music.

Still, Ms. Singer said, that was far from enough. There was so much work to do and it had to be done together. Politicians of the world had to join forces to put an end to that horrific cycle of violence in Syria to limit the painful repercussions for countries around the world. More active engagement was needed with all groups and those who had influence over Parties to the conflict. Parties to the conflict had to remove obstacles preventing the humanitarian community from reaching some two million children enduring the toughest conditions of war.

More had to be invested in learning and education, remedial education and vocational training to equip the young people with skills to support their livelihood. More investment in adolescents and youth had to be made to engage them in community-based activities. More had to be invested in services for vulnerable children, including survivors of violence, that provide psycho-social care and support to help children’s inner healing. Hope ought not to be lost and the world should not give up on Syria and its future generations.

On a question about how UNICEF was working with the Islamic State (IS) over access to those areas, Ms. Singer said that UNICEF did not directly deal with the Islamic State. Through polio vaccination, via facilitators and mediators, more than 2.9 million children had been reached across the country, and more than 800,000 children had been vaccinated with measles vaccines. Polio was a success story. Some deliveries were done by local non-governmental organizations and local workers. Ms. Singer explained that the Islamic State refused to talk to the United Nations, but UNICEF was continuously trying to have access through different partners, and most success had been achieved in the field of vaccinations. Other state and political parties could talk to the IS in order to provide access for humanitarian agencies and at least provide a protective environment for children.

Asked about the number of child soldiers used by the IS, Ms. Singer said that there was no estimate at the moment.

On the humanitarian freeze in Aleppo, Ms. Singer said that it was beyond her mandate. It was very difficult to work in Syria, and everybody was so tired of the conflict, that any breathing space was welcome.

Answering a question about evacuating children from critical areas, Ms. Singer said that it was a dangerous move, as it could lead to a separation from their families.

Dr. Rick Brennan, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that there was still a huge scale of humanitarian need and there were still same problems in delivering help to the population. More than 200,000 people had been killed, more than one million injured, but those figures did not capture other health consequences, such as women having complications from unsafe deliveries. Direct targeting of health facilities was a major issue, with more than half of such facilities having sustained some damage. Such actions certainly contravened international humanitarian law. Great solidarity and admiration for the resilience of the Syrian people was expressed, but the international community was currently unable to fix the problem and was instead asking for safe access to those in need. WHO, with and through partners, had been able to distribute 13 million treatments across the country in 2014, but that was still insufficient to meet the very compelling needs of the population.

Asked for an update on getting aid into the Islamic State controlled areas, Dr. Brennan said that it was a dire situation. WHO worked with 58 local NGOs, most of which currently also lacked access to IS-controlled areas. Only a few civil society groups were still functional in those areas. There were increasing health needs, but the supplies arriving were falling well short of those needs. Dr. Brennan stressed that the WHO was not negotiating with the IS. Other channels for getting access into the IS held areas were being explored.

Dr. Brennan said that a number of monitoring mechanisms was used, including the Syrian Red Crescent and 58 humanitarian partners. Local focal points and involved medical students were monitoring distribution. Nonetheless, that system was not working fully in the IS controlled areas. The health system was being decimated there; all the factors contributing to poor health were very prevalent in those places. Additionally, such factors were compounded by the fact that there was very limited access. The general sense was that there was an increase in incidence of infectious diseases and more complications from other diseases and child birth. Conclusions could also be extrapolated on mental health issues.

Answering another question, Dr. Brennan stated that the IS did not want to speak to the agencies. It could be engaged at a local, practical level to try to facilitate access, but there was no consensus agreement as such.

Answering a question on whether there was any agreement between OCHA and IS members on fulfilling humanitarian goals, Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), explained that there was no agreement, but UN agencies were often negotiating with small armed groups at the local level, all in order to facilitate access to the populations who were most in need.

Asked if OCHA was getting access in the countryside of Aleppo by negotiating with Al Nusra, Mr. Laerke explained that UN agencies had crossed the lines to provide the population with basic necessities, but for reasons of security OCHA could not provide further details.

Mr. Laerke spoke about the joint statement issued today by Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict; Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme; Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees; Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner-General, UNRWA; Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF; and Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict.

The appalling crisis in Syria was entering a fifth year. It was a crisis that continued to exact an unconscionable human cost and a crisis that the international community had failed to stop. More than 200,000 people had been killed. Children and young people were subject to and surrounded by violence, despair and deprivation. Women and girls, and men and boys in detention, were at particular risk of sexual violence. More than 12.2 million people in Syria needed life-saving aid and 3.9 million refugees had fled across borders seeking safety and security.

UN leaders had expressed their horror, outrage and frustration as they had watched the tragedy unfold. As humanitarian leaders, they were committed to continuing to do their best to help all those caught in the middle of this war - people who were vulnerable, besieged and had nowhere to go.

World leaders had to put aside their differences and use their influence to bring about meaningful change in Syria; to press the parties to end indiscriminate attacks on civilians; to secure the lifting of sieges where more than 212,000 people had been trapped without food for months; to enable delivery of vital surgical and other medical supplies; to end the collective punishment of civilians by cutting off of water and power supplies; and to avoid the complete collapse of the education system.

The people of Syria, and people around the world, wanted the suffering to end. “What does it take to end this crisis?”, UN leaders asked. The future of a generation was at stake, as well as the credibility of the international community.

Einar Bjorgo, for UNITAR's Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT), informed journalists about a press release on the new report “Four years of human suffering in the Syria conflict as observed through satellite imagery”. The report illustrated the hardship faced by the civilian population, including impact on local economies through shut-down of markets, destruction of power supplies, destruction of schools and hospitals, indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations, internally displaced and refugee populations, cultural heritage and humanitarian access.

UNOSAT’s diverse analyses had been provided to the requesting UN entities. By using satellite technologies, UNOSAT was able to generate timely and objective information, often over areas where no other impartial information sources existed. The report was UNITAR’s contribution to the UN call to put an end to the hostilities, as it depicted with no uncertainty the terrible human suffering to which the people of Syria were exposed.

The report would be available to the public on 18 March at 5 p.m. at the following link: www.unitar.org/unosat/syria-four-years-report.

Iraq

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that the WFP had brought food to over 1,6 million people in Iraq since 1 February 2015 and was continuing to increase activities directed towards people displaced by the conflict.

The humanitarian situation in the cities of Samarra in Salah al-Din and Al-Baghdadi in Anbar was worsening. Thousands of people were in desperate need of basic humanitarian assistance such as food, clean water and medicine. Food and water were priority needs. WFP and humanitarian partners were on a standby in order to help as soon as the access and security situation cleared up.

WFP was sending 3,000 ready-to-eat-food rations, which was enough to feed 15,000 people for three days, to the besieged city of Al-Baghdadi in the Anbar Governorate. They were due to arrive on 15 March. Logistics teams on the ground had identified a safe route through Kerbala to reach Al-Baghdadi.

Ms. Byrs said that, as people were fleeing fighting in Tikrit, WFP had sent ready-to-eat food rations to Samarra and Tuz city to the north in Salah al-Din governorate, which was enough to feed 50,000 people for three days, as well as other emergency supplies for other humanitarian agencies.

On 4 March, the WFP had sent to Samarra 5,000 ready-to-eat food rations, enough to feed 25,000 people for three days. Security allowing, the WFP would start distributing monthly family food rations in the coming days and had identified two partners on the ground.

Ms. Byrs pointed out that a recent WFP food security survey conducted by phone showed that conflict had disrupted supply lines in many parts of Iraq’s central governorates, affecting the public distribution system and pushing up basic food prices.

Ms. Byrs specified that the WFP urgently required USD 45 million to continue its Emergency Operation in Iraq until June.

Answering a question, Ms. Byrs stressed that the WFP was ready with food stocks and warehouses in order to deliver, in the event of the retake of Mosul and if the Islamic State made a push on Aleppo. Logistics details would be provided subsequently.

Sendai conference on disaster risk reduction

Jean Rodriguez, for the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), stated that it was important to remember that water-related disasters were the most economically and socially destructive of all natural disasters. Since 1992 floods, droughts and storms had affected 4.2 billion people, or 95 per cent of all people affected by disasters, and caused USD 1.3 trillion of damage, or 63 per cent of all damage.

According to Munich Re in 2014 the heavy rains that had led to major floods in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, had triggered damage estimated at USD 3.6 billion. In 2014, nearly 82 per cent of the State of California had experienced extreme or exceptional drought conditions, which had led to an estimated toll on the State’s agricultural industry of USD 1.5 billion in direct losses, and USD 2.2 billion in total economic losses.

With climate change, Mr. Rodriguez stated, such episodes would only increase.

The UNECE Water Convention could help in that regard. Since 2010, following the elaboration of the Guidance on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change, the Water Convention had been coordinating a programme of pilot projects and a global platform for testing new methodologies and sharing experience on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in trans-boundary basins. UNECE Guidelines on Sustainable Flood Prevention had also been elaborated under the Convention

The lessons learned from those pilot projects were shared through the annual workshops of the Global Network of Basins Working on Climate Change Adaptation, established by UNECE in cooperation with the International Network of River Basins (INBO) in 2012. The Global Network currently involved 14 member basins, including from outside the UNECE region, such as the Chu-Talas, Danube, Dniester, Neman, Rhine, Mekong, Niger, Sava, Congo and Senegal Basins. A collection of good practices and lessons learned would be published in 2015.

Mr. Rodriguez said that other areas where UNECE work helped were housing and land management and standards and regulatory frameworks for disaster risk reduction. In that regard, UNECE was launching an ambitious collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and with standards-setting organizations to make standardized guidelines supporting disaster risk reduction (DRR) more readily available and accessible to authorities, policymakers, small and medium-sized enterprises, non-governmental organizations, universities and local communities.

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), announced WMO presence at the Conference on disaster risk reduction starting in Sendai the following day. The WMO’s main points would be the need for better multi-hazard early warning systems and better coordination between the alert authorities and the disaster management teams.

WHO’s Dr. Brennan stated that two to three previous decades had seen a substantial increase in number of crises due to natural, technological or man-made disasters, with huge population displacements. Interest in developing disaster risk reduction had been consequently growing, so that the probability of those events and their impact could be reduced.

The field of disaster risk reduction had progressed remarkably since the framework adopted in 2005, and the conference would release a new agenda for the global community to reduce disaster risk for the ten years ahead.

WHO had been concerned that health issues in all sectors had not been placed in risk reduction policies and activities to date. Health consequences were really the most impactful from disasters: deaths, illness, disabilities, major disruptions in health services. That was why the WHO was very pleased about that coming conference and that the central place given to health.

Dr. Brennan referred to a “comprehensive safe hospitals framework”, particularly in many disasters, but also observed in conflicts. Disasters could lead to as many as 50 per cent of health facilities damaged, just in that time when those services were needed the most.

WHO was providing guidelines on how to ensure the hospitals and all facilities remained safe and functional in the face of disaster. That was a major step forward and 79 countries had already taken measures in that regard. Very strong guidelines would be given to countries on how they could make the health system more resilient in the face of disaster.

Dr. Brennan emphasized that, when being in a disaster zone, one could see too often the devastating impact of such crises on health infrastructures as well on health systems. For example, 800 medical staff had been infected by Ebola, which had caused a major disruption in health services. That was an example of why a comprehensive hospital framework would be really needed, not only for infrastructures but also the services which had to continue during the crisis.

Asked about services which fed into health facilities, Dr. Brennan said that the general principle on any approach to disaster risk reduction had to be multi-sectoral. WHO was working with sectors which were responsible for maintaining infrastructures water and sanitation supplies, transport and communications. The comprehensive safe hospitals framework had to be understood as a tool which would help engage other sectors and ensure that their roles were maintained, that the functionality of health systems would continue including the supply chain of medicines and so on. It was a comprehensive framework, consistent with other disaster risk reduction strategies.

Cyclone Pam

WMO’s Ms. Nullis said that the current cyclone in the South Pacific, known as Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam, was directly hitting the sparsely populated islands of Vanuatu. At the moment, Pam was category 5, which was the highest category, meaning that wind speeds exceeded 249 km/hr. The WMO regional specialised meteorological centre in Fiji was monitoring Pam and reported that at that moment there were gusts of about 320 km/hr.

Ms. Nullis explained that the strength of cyclones was measured in hectopascals. In comparison, Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest cyclone ever recorded, had been 895 hectopascals strong. Cyclone Pam was one of the strongest, reaching 905 hectophascals. It was expected that the following day Pam would track to the west of the Fiji group of islands, but a direct hit was not expected, even though there would be heavy rains in Fiji.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), stated that this morning at the Human Rights Council there would be a presentation of thematic reports by the High Commissioner. The reports included topics such as linguistic minorities, countering terrorism, fostering a domestic environment of religious tolerance, peace and respect, among many others. The list of reports had been shared with journalists the previous night. Following the report, there had been a presentation of the report from the Joint Inspection Unit titled “Review of Management and Administration of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights”.

A general debate on “Item 3” regarding the promotion and protection of all human rights (civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights), including the right of development was continuing throughout the day today. Over 60 States and approximately 70 NGOs would take part in the debate.

The following week would see the start of the discussion on country reports. On 16 March, at 9 a.m., Marzuki Darusman would present his report on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). It would be followed by an interactive discussion with States. Then, the Eritrean Commission of Inquiry would present an oral update, followed by the Special Rapporteur for Iran and the Special Rapporteur for Myanmar.

On 15 March, the Syrian Commission of Inquiry would present its 9^th report, published on the Human Rights Council website the previous month, and an oral update on the evolution of the crisis in Syria over the previous four years. The Syrian Commission would hold a press conference in Room III on 17 March, but the precise time was yet to be decided.

Another press conference would take place on 16 March at 3p.m, when the Special rapporteur on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) would address the press, in Room III.

The deadline for submission of resolutions would be 19 March.

Answering a question on the so-called confidential list of names given to the Human Rights High Commissioner by the Syrian Commission of Inquiry, Mr. Gomez explained that even though the list had been in the hands of the High Commissioner, it would still be up to Syria Commission of Inquiry to decide when/if it would publish it. Mr. Gomez stated that the main message would be accountability, as Syrians had been documenting gross violations of human rights for the previous four years. There was a possibility for the Security Council to consider an ad hoc tribunal for Syria, something that had been repeatedly recommended by the ICC over several reporting periods.

Myanmar

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stated that the OHCHR was concerned about the arrest of more than 100 students and other protestors following their participation in demonstrations in Latpadan, in the southern Bago Region of Myanmar on 10 March. While a number of protestors had been subsequently released, most of those arrested were reportedly detained in Tharawaddy prison. Around 60 of them had been charged under various laws, including article 18 of the Law on the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession.

OHCHR was also concerned about reports that the police had used excessive and disproportionate force against the protestors.

Ms. Shamdasani said that the OHCHR noted that the Government had formed an inquiry into another incident involving the dispersal of protests in Yangon on March 5, OHCHR still called on it to investigate the handling of the 10 March protests. Any use of force by the authorities might only be exercised in a manner that was strictly necessary and proportional to the seriousness of the offence.

OHCHR urged the Government to unconditionally release all those detained for the exercise of their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and to amend the laws that place unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on people’s rights, particularly the Law on the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession.

The students had been marching to Yangon from central Myanmar’s Mandalay Region since 20 January, calling for amendments to the National Education Law, which they claimed overly centralized decision-making power on education, was restrictive on the formation of student unions and did not provide for the teaching of ethnic minority languages.

Death penalty abolition in Suriname and Côte d'Ivoire

Ms. Shamdasani said that the OHCHR welcomed the adoption by the Parliaments of Suriname and Côte d’Ivoire of laws to eliminate capital punishment from their countries’ penal codes, respectively on 3 March and 9 March 2015. OHCHR hoped that those laws would shortly be signed and promulgated by the Presidents of both countries.

The decision in Suriname followed its commitment during its previous Universal Periodical Review, in 2011, to support the recommendations calling for the abolition of the death penalty. Suriname had had a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in place since 1927. OHCHR hoped that Suriname’s initiative would have a positive impact on the other countries in the region which had de facto moratoria, but still maintained the death penalty in their legal frameworks.

In Côte d'Ivoire, capital punishment had been abolished in the new constitution adopted in 2000, but had remained in the penal code until now.

OHCHR encouraged both Suriname and Côte d'Ivoire to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aimed at the abolition of the death penalty.

Geneva activities

Ms. Morris said that the Conference on Disarmament would its next public meeting on 17 March under the presidency of Morocco.

The Human Rights Committee would start a session on 16 March, during which it would discuss reports of Russia, Cambodia, Ivory Coast, Cyprus, Croatia and Monaco. Russia would be discussed on 16 March in the afternoon, to be followed by Cambodia, Ivory Coast and Cyprus in the course of the week. A background release had been distributed the previous day.

Ms. Nullis announced that on 16 March, the WMO would issue the last update on El Niño. Also the following week, WMO would send a detailed media advisory for the World Meteorological Day, which would be on 23 March.

Ms. Nullis stated that, during the current and the following week, the WMO would be issuing new videos with weather reports for 2050, based on climate change scenarios for the Seychelles, Cuba, Ghana, Chile, Nigeria, Italy and Madagascar. Two series had already been done and they had been very popular. All the videos were available on the WMO website.

Mr. Laerke said that Peter de Clercq, UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, today presented the Haiti Transitional Appeal for 2015-2016 to international donors and partners in Geneva. The appeal called for USD 401 million in funding. At a press conference, Mr. de Clercq highlighted the specific transitional character of the two-year appeal which aimed at bridging humanitarian response with development programming and building resilience in vulnerable communities.

Informing the journalists about a high-level conference on dementia to take place in Geneva on 16-17 March, Ms. Chaib said that dementia was a significant global challenge, with 47 million people living with it worldwide. It was set to triple by 2050. In recognition of that global challenge, the WHO was hosting a first international conference, which would bring together some 70 ministers of health. A press conference would be held on 17 March in the Library Room of the WHO at 3:30 p.m, and it would be webcast. Dr. Chan and Secretary of State of Health of the UK would address the journalists. A media advisory should be sent shortly, with all the details; a provisional list of participants and the agenda would also be available soon.

Ms. Morris informed that UN Information Service had learned of the passing of two former ACANU journalists Sari Rauber and AP photographer Donald Stampfli. Condolences were extended to their families. President of ACANU said that he would subsequently provide any information on funeral services.

Mr. Rodriguez said that 21 March would be the International Day of Forests. On that occasion, UNECE would organize a conference on Forests for Food – Food for Forests, which would take place in Room XIV on 20 March from 2:30 p.m.
The keynote speech would be delivered by Hans Hoogeveen, Director-General Agriculture at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation of the Netherlands. Ivan Valentik, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Head of the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation would also speak.

Moderator of the Forests for Food Roundtable would be Janusz Zaleski, Deputy Director General of the State Forests of Poland, while the moderator of the Food for Forests Roundtable would be Kaitlin Yarnall, Deputy Creative Director of National Geographic Magazine. The Forests for Food roundtable would discuss how forests contributed directly and indirectly to the food and beverage industry. The Food for Forests roundtable would discuss how our eating habits and food production impacted the forests in the UNECE region and beyond, the relationship between agricultural expansion and deforestation, and possible solutions to prevent deforestation and increase food security.

An exhibition, Learning from Forests, hosted by the Polish State Forests, would be opened in Salle des Pas Perdus at 6 p.m.

Spokespersons for the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Refugee Agency were also present, but did not brief.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog130315