REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service, chaired the briefing attended by the spokespersons for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, the Human Rights Council, the United Nations Refugee Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Organization for Migration and the World Health Organization.

Syria

Michael Contet, for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE), said that the Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, was on his way to New York today. In New York, he would report on 8 March to the Security Council on the outcome of the round of talks that had concluded on 3 March. In particular, he would be outlining to the Council the elements he had presented in his press stakeout on 3 March in Geneva, namely the fact that the political process of the talks had a clear agenda moving forward, including the three baskets of issues derived from Security Council resolution 2254, as well as the additional basket of issues related to counter-terrorism, security, governance and confidence-building measures. Those baskets would be addressed in parallel.

While in New York, Mr. de Mistura would also brief the Secretary-General. On the basis of the guidance he would receive and the consultations he would have there, he would soon announce how he would go about the next round of the intra-Syrian talks. His intention was to have the invitees back in Geneva later during the course of the month.

In response to questions, Mr. Contet said that the Special Envoy was in contact with US administration officials and was still finalizing the programme of his visit to the US, which had been decided only very recently, as initially, the Special Envoy was to brief the Security Council by VTC.

Asked when the parties would reconvene in Geneva, Mr. Contet said that the intention was to invite them back in the course of the month of March and that the Special Envoy was working towards that. Once stock had been taken of the latest round, with the briefing to the Security Council, all eyes would be on the next round and OSE would be working to prepare it.

Mr. Contet also reaffirmed that there was a clear complementarity between the processes underway in Astana and Geneva, and that Astana could make an immediate difference in the reality on the ground because of the involvement of the conveners of that meeting. In Geneva, there was a different framework for the political process which was held at a different level, but it had been clearly highlighted by the Special Envoy that those two processes were complementary. Astana also helped shaping an environment more conducive to the success and progress of the political talks in Geneva. The OSE was looking forward to continued progress on the Astana track.

In response to further questions, Mr. Contet said that the Special Envoy was in constant contact with the Secretary-General, and reiterated that he would meet with the Secretary-General in New York to report on the talks and obtain guidance on the steps ahead. In response to a final question, Mr. Contet underlined that the Special Envoy had what he needed to go ahead on the aforementioned agenda for the talks.

Hungary

Cécile Pouilly, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR was deeply concerned at a new law which had been voted this morning at the Hungarian Parliament and which foresaw the mandatory detention of all asylum seekers, including many children, for the entire length of the asylum procedure.

In practice, it meant that every asylum-seeker, including children, would be detained in shipping containers surrounded by high razor wire fence at the border for extended periods of time.

The new law violated Hungary’s obligations under international and EU laws, and would have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who had already greatly suffered.

UNHCR had already expressed serious concern about the physical barriers Hungary had already erected, together with legislative and policy obstacles, making it nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to enter the country, apply for asylum and receive international protection.

Under international and EU laws, the detention of refugees and asylum-seekers could only be justified on a limited number of grounds, and only where it was necessary, reasonable and proportionate. That required authorities to consider whether there were less coercive or intrusive measures to achieve those goals, based on an assessment of the individual’s particular circumstances. Alternatives to detention should always to be considered first. Failure to do so could render detention arbitrary. Children should never be detained under any conditions as detention was never in a child’s best interest.

In response to questions on the issue of possible sanctions, Ms. Pouilly said that UNHCR would not be directly involved in any sanctions, and it would probably be up to the European Union to make any decisions on this. She said that the fact that UNHCR was going on record repeatedly regarding the situation of refugees and asylum-seekers in Hungary was a way of sharing UNHCR’s concerns. UNHCR had discussed its concerns on a number of issues, including the situation in the transit zones and the detention of asylum seekers, with Hungarian Ministries. However, UNHCR had not been given a chance to comment on the bill that had just been adopted, and would continue its advocacy work. In 2015, there had been some 177,000 asylum applications in Hungary. In 2016, that number was down to 29,000, and for the first two months of 2017, the number of asylum applications in Hungary was 912. There were 4,748 recognized refugees registered in Hungary. The main nationalities among them were: Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

Ms. Pouilly also said that up till now, asylum seekers had been allowed to stay in open reception centres all over the country. The Government had already erected a razor wire barrier along the entire border with Serbia and now, only 50 asylum seekers were allowed to enter the country per week, at two crossing points. They went through transit zones. With the new law, all people who had entered would be moved back to the transit zone and would be confined to the containers. This was extremely worrying, especially thinking about children being detained. All the asylum seekers who were already inside the country would be taken back to the transit zones, not just the newcomers wishing to apply for asylum.

In response to further questions, Ms. Pouilly said that between 1 January and 5 March, 1,021 people had applied for asylum. There were at least 34 unaccompanied children in the transit zone at the border. She also said that ten days ago UNHCR had issued a new report on the routes to Europe, showing that people continued to move across Europe. UNHCR was concerned about the situation of the children whose fate was unknown. There was a lack of legal pathways to access Europe and because of the closed borders, people resorted to smugglers, which made them, and especially children, event more vulnerable and harder to track.

Asked about a recent decision of the European Court of Justice regarding humanitarian visas, Ms. Pouilly said that she would get back to the press on that after the briefing.

United States

Asked about the new executive order on immigration and refugees signed by President Trump, Ms. Pouilly, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR had released a statement on 6 March, stressing the fact that there was still urgent need for resettlement. UNHCR was trying to work with the US administration constructively to find solutions. It was really crucial as the US had been a key partner for UNHCR in terms of resettlement, and there was a humanitarian imperative to keep giving protection to people in need who fled war and persecution. As the High Commissioner had stressed, what was of concern to UNHCR was the level of anxiety of those who were about to be resettled, and now saw their lives on pause and were left wondering what would happen next.

In response to questions, Vannina Maestracci, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that the executive order said that people scheduled to travel to the US for resettlement would still be able to do so until the order came into force on 16 March. She also said that during his recent visit to the United States, High Commissioner Filippo Grandi had met with the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he had done a Congressional briefing on Syria, and had also met with House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, the Acting Deputy Secretary of State, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Refugee Council, InterAction and others. Ms. Maestracci also said that resettlement concerned only 1 per cent of refugees. Even at 50,000 places, the US resettlement programme was still be the largest in the world. UNHCR would like to see other countries offer more places for resettlement. Resettlement aided the most vulnerable, such as victims of torture, women and girls at risk, or people in need of medical attention. For refugees, the current situation meant a longer waiting period and facing uncertainty while living in very difficult situations for many years. The vast majority of the world’s refugees were living in developing and middle-income countries.

Leonard Doyle, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM recognized the importance of people in destination countries to feel safe, and the primacy of security for all countries in the world. At the same time, the resettlement of refuges was of crucial importance to the world as was a foundation stone of humanitarian law. The executive order as issued had relaxed some portions and that was to be welcomed. More generally, IOM was concerned that the bedrock of migration management, which was that it should be safe, orderly and secure, and within that, more harmonious outcomes could be achieved, should not be lost in a global climate which was increasingly xenophobic. To that end, IOM applauded the UN’s TOGETHER campaign, and underlined that well-managed migration led to positive outcomes. Nation States had the absolute right to see to their security, but that should be done in a balanced way.

Ms. Vellucci added that the TOGETHER campaign was the overarching campaign welcomed by Member States at the Summit on Refugees and Migrants on 19 September 2016. It would run until the next summit on refugees and migrants in 2018. More information on the campaign were available with UNIS.

Asylum seekers in Germany

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that the Family Assistance Programme (FAP) in Germany was designed to allow 35,000 almost exclusively Syrian families in the Middle East, principally in Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq, to have their documentation started and vetted by German consular officials with the assistance of IOM in the countries where they were seeking refuge now, with the intention of joining family members who had already obtained asylum in Germany. With IOM’s assistance, the first 15,000 people had met the standards in terms of documentation and were preparing to leave. Some 25,000 families had already been able to join their relatives in Germany. The purpose of the programme was to vet people who would probably be granted refugee status if they could get to Europe, and to make sure they could get there without risking their lives.

In response to questions, Mr. Millman said that many people were risking their lives because safe migration was not yet a priority of the Governments of the countries that were the principal destinations of migrants. There were many people already qualified for asylum, sometimes just because of a family connection. In this case, those who were able to provide documents to the German authorities in Turkey demonstrating close family members who had already received asylum in Germany, would obtain asylum if they arrived in Germany. But over the past years, thousands had died just trying to prove that they would be accepted. So the Family Assistance Programme was a good way to save lives.

A similar programme in Central America had been designed to assist vulnerable youth in the Northern Triangle countries with family members residing legally in the US, to work with IOM on their paperwork and get them into shelters and into the United States, in order to protect them. Those were healthy developments and there should be more of them.

In response to a final question, Mr. Millman said that IOM Turkey had moved 15,000 Syrians through the process. From all the countries in which Germany was running the programme, 25,000 families had already been resettled since the beginning of the programme in October 2016.

Mediterranean update

Mr. Millman said that there had been over 50 new deaths in the Mediterranean since the last press briefing on 3 March. There had also been a shoot-out among rival smuggling gangs on the coast in Libya, leaving 22 dead and over 100 wounded. Those who had been killed had been sub-Saharan Africans and from IOM’s understanding, they were migrants. More than 140 bodies had been recovered on beaches on the Libyan coast so far in 2017, and close to 3,000 people had been rescued by the Libyan coast guard at sea.

Mr. Millman also said that among the people who had landed in Italy in late February/March 2017 there had been 62 Syrians. For all of 2016, there had been around 200 Syrians who had made that trip. The arrival of 62 Syrians could be an indication that that traffic had come back through North Africa.

Ukraine

Olivia Headon, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that IOM was seeking USD 25 million to assist conflict-affected people in Ukraine in 2017. Three years into the conflict-related crisis in Eastern Ukraine there were acute humanitarian needs, including access to shelter, work, essential services, and even food and water.

IOM had launched a programme to reach over 180,000 people in critical need. Since April 2014, an estimated 9,700 people had been killed in the fighting in Eastern Ukraine and a further 1.6 million people had been registered as internally displaced.

“Many of the people who need urgent help are trapped in villages along the contact line without fuel for heating and cooking, hot water, food, or basic necessities,” IOM’s Chief of Mission for Ukraine, Manfred Profazi, had said. In addition to tangible aid (including hygiene products, blankets and coal) IOM planned to further support internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their host communities through self-employment training and grants. Some families would receive cash to help them pay their bills as commodity prices had skyrocketed. IOM would also help refurbish social infrastructure, host community events, and provide psychological assistance to build morale and mutual trust among conflict-affected communities.

In situations of mass displacement there was a hugely elevated risk of human trafficking. Traffickers knew the market and cynically moved in to exploit vulnerable people who were desperate to provide for their families. IOM was working with communities both to prevent it from happening and to assist victims. Finally, IDPs and conflict-affected people would be provided with accurate information on their rights and how to travel safely, via IOM-supported hotlines.

Iraq

Cécile Pouilly, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that this week, UNHCR had opened Chamakor, its latest camp in the Mosul area, to manage the spike in displacement triggered by the recent Iraqi offensive to recapture the western parts of Iraq’s second city.

Capacity was rapidly filling in camps to the east, while those to the south were full. Over 195,000 were currently sheltering in the 21 camps built by UN agencies and the Government around Mosul, and there was currently space available for up to 109,000 new arrivals in existing camps.

UNHCR was building two additional camps near Mosul (Hasansham U2 to the east, and Hammam Al-Alil 2 to the south) for another 39,000. It was also erecting 19 tented halls in the Government-built Hammam al-Alil camp to serve as reception centres and transit area, and was examining expanding capacity in camps north of the city. The biggest challenge remained finding suitable land to build new camps.

Chamakor, east of Mosul, had received its first 200 residents on 6 March. More arrivals were expected today and through the week. It was ready to immediately receive 6,600 people. Hunger and insecurity had been cited as key factors in the decision to flee by newly displaced families, who had told UNHCR of armed groups attacking areas recently retaken by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), causing sustained civilian casualties.

The newest arrivals were in a desperate condition, visibly traumatized, hungry and dehydrated. Many had arrived without shoes and wearing soaking clothes, having walked long distances to reach safety at Government checkpoints. Some had left relatives behind, hoping to be reunited once they were able to find safer exit routes from west Mosul. Families recounted surviving on one meal a day - flour and water, sometimes supplemented by bread or tomato paste - over recent weeks.

Currently there were 211,572 Iraqis displaced by the fighting in Mosul, with over 50,000 added since the beginning of the latest operations in west Mosul, launched on 19 February.

Somalia

Ms. Vellucci said that from Kenya, where he was making a visit, the UN Secretary-General had travelled to Mogadishu in Somalia for an emergency visit, in order to focus on the issues of famine and cholera. In a tweet today, he had said “People are dying. The world must act now to stop this.”

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien had arrived in Mogadishu on 6 March and was in Somalia to assess the impact of a very severe drought, which had left the country on the brink of famine. Approximately half of the population, 6.2 million people, were in need of assistance. Nearly 3 million people were unable to meet their daily food requirements, and they needed urgent life-saving relief. Of those, almost 1 million children under five might be acutely malnourished over the course of the year, including 185,000 who might be at risk of death if they did not receive immediate medical treatment. Drought-related acute watery diarrhoea and cholera was on the rise.

There were already very worrying similarities with the situation in 2011, when a famine in Somalia had killed an estimated 260,000 people. In the worst-affected areas, mainly rural communities, crops had been wiped out and livestock had died, while communities were being forced to sell their assets and borrow money and food to survive, just as it had been the case in 2011. However, with early action today and timely funding, working together, it was possible to prevent this from becoming a full-blown humanitarian disaster.

The humanitarian country team in Somalia had launched, on 18 February, an operational plan for the prevention of famine. This was a prioritized set of emergency measures from the humanitarian response plan, which needed to be implemented. The amount sought for this famine plan was USD 825 million, in order to reach about 5.5 million people by June 2017. Some initial response from the donor community to this very urgent call for action had already been seen. About USD 100 million had already been directed to the response to prevent a famine in Somalia.

The drought was affecting the entire Horn of Africa. In northern Kenya, about 2.7 million people were in need of assistance, and at least 5.6 million people in Ethiopia. It was critical to act early and obtain donor support upfront. Overall, for Somalia, Ethiopia and northern Kenya, about USD 2 billion was required.

In response to a question, Mr. Laerke clarified that in addition to the almost USD 100 million that had been contributed, there was an additional nearly USD 157 million in pledges. What was critical was a timely distribution of the funds. He also said that the situation was a creeping disaster. There was very little time left to stave off the famine. Action was needed immediately. It was imperative that funding was obtained in order to immediately scale up the response. The organizations were on the ground and had access to the areas which needed to be reached. Cholera was on the rise and so was malnutrition. The operations needed to be scaled up with the backing of the donors today.

Bettina Luescher, for the World Food Programme (WFP) said that together with its partners, WFP had reached 1.5 million people in February. WFP had cargo planes flying into several locations, doing daily rotations to bring food to people. WFP also did cash operations in many places where markets were still functioning, where there still was food on the shelves in the markets. WFP gave people cash or vouchers to buy food. WFP had transported nutritious products for children and for nursing mothers all over the country. Displaced people were coming into the capital, Mogadishu, where WFP was operating 20 soup kitchen centres and serving meals to nearly 100,000 people every day. WFP also had food trucks, going for example from Mogadishu to Baidoa two days ago, with 600 metric tons of food. Food distributions were taking place today with partners in several IDP camps. The humanitarian community in Somalia was working very hard to stave off a catastrophe. The important thing was to get funding, and that WFP aid workers could go to all the places they needed to go.

Ms. Luescher also added that in terms of planes, WFP was using Fokker 27, HS 748, and Antonov 26. Their capacity was between five and six metric tons of cargo. Smaller planes had to be used as they went to rugged areas with short runways and unprepared airstrips. Smaller planes could get in and out, and be offloaded quickly, which was important for security reasons. With early scale-up and intense work, the hope was that famine could be prevented.

Ms. Luescher clarified, in response to questions, that Somalia and Nigeria were the countries in Africa where the concern was that there could be famine if people could not be reached. WFP had a much wider reach in Somalia than it did during the famine in 2011. WFP had been preparing for this situation, bringing in food into various locations and alerting donors. Everything was being done so that famine would not happen.

Ms. Luescher also said that in a situation where people did not have access to food on a regular basis, their immune system became weaker and they contracted diseases like cholera more easily. This was especially true for children.

In response to questions, Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the fact that there was a risk of famine and malnutrition in Somalia would weaken the system of already vulnerable populations like children and women of child-bearing age or pregnant women. In 2016, there had been around 15,000 suspected watery diarrhoea cases, among them 531 deaths. In 2017, as of 5 February there had been around 4,000 cases including 57 deaths. Less than half the population had access to basic health services and less than 45 per cent of pregnant women had access to assisted deliveries. One out of seven children died before their fifth birthday. WHO had been preparing for this scenario for months and had assisted the authorities to set up surveillance sites all over the country, to quickly detect cases of life-threatening diseases. WHO had also pre-positioned emergency medical kits for cholera and for malnutrition.

Ms. Chaib clarified that the symptoms of cholera and of acute watery diarrhoea, as well as the treatment, were the same. WHO labelled the cases as cholera cases only when they were laboratory-confirmed but was taking action in the same way for diarrhoea and cholera. Ms. Chaib also said that WHO had provided 1,400 basic inter-agency emergency health kits (IEHK) for distribution and use in 669 primary health care facilities, which represented 73 per cent of all health facilities in Somalia, and 36 hospitals in 12 of the most affected regions. Each basic kit contained enough medicines to treat 1,000 patients for three months for common diseases. The 1,400 basic kits would allow to treat over 1.4 million people.

Human Rights Council 34^th session

Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), said that the Council was currently in the middle of an interactive discussion with the Special Rapporteur on truth, justice and reparation, Pablo de Greiff. He had presented a report earlier today on addressing the participation of victims in transnational justice measures, as well as on his mission to the United Kingdom. The Council was also having a discussion with the Special rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, who had presented a report spelling out his vision for his upcoming mandate, as well as a report on Denmark.

At 12.30 or 1 p.m. today, the Council would hear from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children, Marta Santos Pais, as well as from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui, whose report included a focus on the impact of armed conflict on girls, and challenges related to the deprivation of liberty.

At approximately 5 p.m. today, the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joseph Cannatacithe, would brief the Council on his report on intelligence oversight. The Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, would present her report including a thematic study on illegal adoptions. She would also present a report on Georgia.

On 8 March, at 9 a.m. the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights would present his Office’s annual report to the Council, highlighting OHCHR’s activities, and on the recent developments on the human rights front around the globe. The statement would be shared with the press ahead of time, and the Council would hear reactions from States on 9 March.

After the High Commissioner’s remarks, the Council would resume with left over agenda items from 7 March, and then would move on to the Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, John Knox, addressing the issue of biodiversity and human rights, as well as his report from his recent mission to Madagascar. The thematic report would describe the importance of ecosystems, services and biodiversity for the full enjoyment of human rights. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, would address the use of pesticides in agriculture as well as missions to Paraguay and Poland. In the report, written in collaboration with Baskut Tuncak, UN Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes, the experts explored the negative consequences that pesticide practices had had on human health, the environment, and society, which were underreported and monitored in the shadow of a prevailing and narrow focus on “food security”.

Ms. Elver and Mr. Tuncak would hold a press briefing on 8 March at 3.30 p.m. in Press Room 1 to present the report to the media.

Mr. Gomez said that the Council would hold a panel discussion on the issue of access to medicines on 8 March from 3 to 6 p.m. Panellists would include Ruth Dreyfus, former President of the Swiss Confederation, who was the Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and co-Chair of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the access to medicine, Michael Kirby, a former member of the Commission of Inquiry on the DPRK, who was also a member of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the access to medicine, Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director-General of WHO, Anthony Taubman of the WTO, and others. In response to questions, Mr. Gomez said that there were no advocacy groups or private sector organizations on the panel.

Mr. Gomez also announced a press conference on 13 March at 2 p.m. in Room III with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Tomás Ojea Quintana, who would present his first report to the Human Rights Council since his appointment in August 2016, along with members of the Group of Independent Experts on the DPRK, Sara Hossain and Sonja Biserko.

In response to questions, Mr. Gomez said that security for all participants at the Council was always a key issue.

Geneva Events and Announcements

Ms. Vellucci said that the Conference on Disarmament was holding this morning a public meeting, starting at 10 a.m.

Ms. Vellucci announced that the Committee on Enforced Disappearances had opened on 6 March its 12^th session, which would run until 17 March, electing to its Presidency Yuji Iwasawa of Japan. The Committee would finish this morning its review of the report of Cuba, started on 6 March in the afternoon. This afternoon at 3 p.m. it would review the report of Senegal.

The Human Rights Committee would finish this morning its review of the report of Bangladesh and would start this afternoon its review of the report of Serbia.

Ms. Vellucci said that on 8 March, International Women’s Day, a number of events would take place at the Palais. Heads of four sports federations, including the Fédération Equestre Internationale, the World Archery Federation, the International Hockey Federation and the International University Sports Federation, as well as the Director-General of the International Olympic Committee would announce their intention to join the International Gender Champions network, which already counted more than 120 leaders form the diplomatic and international community.

A round table event would take place in Room XIX with Marisol Casado, International Triathlon Union President and Member of the IOC Commission on women in sports, Linda Kromjong, IOE Secretary-General, Member of the ILO Board and International Gender Champion, Majken Gilmartin, Eir Soccer / Global Goals World Cup - Play for Change CEO, Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor, UNHCR External Relations Division Director and Myrian Baverel, Olympic Taekwondo medalist and World Taekwondo Federation Committee Chair. There would also be a coaching session for 50 students from the Geneva area, led by Inter Campus, a social programme run by the Inter Milan Football Club. In the evening, at 6 p.m. the Spring edition of Geneva Mix & Mash would bring together the international and local Geneva communities at the Brasserie des Halles de l’île with 11 agencies showcasing their work on women’s issues. At 6.30 p.m. the Jet d’eau would be lit up in turquoise, the color of the International Gender Champions.

Ms. Vellucci also announced the launch of the International Constructive Institute, a Danish initiative. The Institute was supported by UNOG Director-General, Michael Møller, and aimed to help reporters to strengthen their knowledge and help them regain trust and give access to information which would allow them to have a more positive and constructive approach to international issues. A fellowship programme was open to journalists. A note with more information would be sent by email.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog070317