REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by spokespersons for the United Nations Children’s Fund and the International Organization for Migration.

Secretary-General‘s visits to Europe

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the United Nations Secretary-General was travelling to London for the annual meeting of the United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination, at which he would deliver a strong message on the need to improve the approach of the United Nations system to preventing and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace. He would also be meeting with senior British government officials including Prime Minister Theresa May, and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

On 14 May 2018, the Secretary-General would travel to Vienna for consultations with the Austrian Government and to address the R20 Austrian World Summit on 15 May. He would continue to Brussels for discussions with the European Union and would leave for New York on 16 May.

Security Council visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that a delegation from the United Nations Security Council had made an official visit to Bangladesh over the previous weekend, going to Cox’s Bazar and meeting with the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka. The members of the delegation were now in Myanmar, where they had met with Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian and military authorities, and were about to travel to the Rakhine state.

Impact of pre-monsoon rains on Rohingya child refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh (UNICEF)

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), made the following statement:

“The pre-monsoon rains have started in Cox’s Bazar, which is one of the most flood-prone areas of Bangladesh. On the night of 26 April, a storm damaged shelters and affected several families in refugee camps. Yesterday, during intense winds before the rains, and during the storm, many children were seen sitting on top of their family’s shelters in an attempt to keep the plastic roof tops from blowing away. We estimate that more than 100,000 people, including approximately 55,000 children, are at risk due to floods and landslides. It’s possible that this figure could go up to 200,000 people depending on the intensity of rains.

During monsoon season, which lasts from June to September, the overall health and well-being of Rohingya refugee children is affected. Increased risk of infectious disease, poor water and sanitation hygiene, and injury impact children whose immune systems are already weakened by acute malnutrition.

The monsoon rains could have a devastating impact on water and sanitation. A recent mapping of 7,727 tube wells showed that almost half (47 per cent) of tube wells and almost one in three (30 per cent) latrines are at risk of being affected by flooding and landslides. UNICEF is prepositioning emergency water and sanitation supplies, replenishing its stocks of hygiene/dignity kits, dislodging and building latrines.

Because of the monsoon, children are at risk of being cut off from life-saving medical services. In case of flooding, the number of people suffering from acute watery diarrhoea is likely to increase. UNICEF and partners are preparing to support an estimated 10,000 people, more than half of whom (55 per cent) are children, with treatment for acute watery diarrhoea over the next three months.

UNICEF is constructing five additional diarrhoea treatment centres. One has already opened, two others will open later this week and the final two will open at the end of May. We have also prepositioned medicines and supplies. At least 3 out of 24 health facilities supported by UNICEF in the camps and makeshift settlements are at risk of flooding. This could affect between 25,000 and 30,000 people, more than half of whom are children.

We have set up 10 health facilities, supporting around 250,000 beneficiaries. Working with the Bangladesh Government and the WHO, we are also planning to reach almost 1 million people from 6 to 13 May for the second round of oral cholera vaccination.

The nutrition status of Rohingya child refugees could also be affected, given the specific risks they are facing during this season. UNICEF will work to ensure that all children with severe acute malnutrition are accurately identified and fitted with RED identification bracelets to ensure community-based management of acute malnutrition. UNICEF and partners have admission capacity for 35,000 children aged 6-59 months specifically for severe acute malnutrition treatment.

We have established mobile nutrition teams as part of mobile medical units to provide integrated health and nutrition support to camp-based populations in remote areas. We have also prepositioned essential nutrition supplies in large stock including therapeutic formulas, ready-to-use therapeutic feeding, and amoxicillin.

Children are also at risk of becoming separated from their families due to flooding and mudslides. UNICEF and partners have strengthened their key protection mechanisms in the affected camps. The physical infrastructure of the child-friendly spaces in the flood plain areas are being reinforced.

Work around the prevention of family separation, a very real risk in the camps, continues. This includes explaining to communities what families should do if a child goes missing and securing 250,000 plastic, waterproof identification bracelets. We have also identified points where families can report missing children and trained community volunteers that could be positioned to support separated and unaccompanied children.

Finally, children are at risk of being cut off from important recreational and educational facilities. UNICEF has reinforced the physical infrastructure of the learning centres we support both in the camps and in the makeshift settlements. Out of its 795 learning centres, 220 are at risk. This could affect around 23,000 children.

We need 10 million USD to fund our Monsoon plan. So far, we have raised 5.9 Million USD.”

Joel Millman, for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), made the following statement:

“As heavy rains again lashed Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar this week, UN Migration Agency medical staff helped others to gear up for monsoon and cyclone emergencies with the launch of a first aid training program designed to reach hundreds of safety volunteers.

This week’s first aid training saw 35 of IOM’s site management staff trained in emergency first aid. The participants, whose regular jobs involve coordinating and helping refugees access services in the camps, will now pass on their newly-learned first aid skills to around 650 members of safety volunteer units - teams of refugees being trained in emergency response.

Five mobile medical teams are also being trained to provide primary lifesaving health care services to the refugees, when ground conditions during the monsoon restrict access to medical facilities.

Most of the refugees are living in basic shelters made of bamboo and plastic sheeting. Heavy monsoon rains and the constant threat of cyclones will create additional mental stress for a population that has already suffered immensely from ethnic cleansing in Myanmar.

As part of IOM’s emergency preparedness plan for the medical mobile teams, 46 doctors, nurses and paramedics have received training in psychosocial first aid. This will help them to offer people emergency emotional and mental health support during the difficult months ahead.

But IOM is also warning that more funding will be needed in order to continue to deliver life-saving medical services during the monsoon. IOM medical staff already treat almost 80,000 cases a month in the refugee and host communities, and the health challenges posed by the monsoon will almost certainly see those numbers increase.

Without additional funding, deaths will occur which likely could have been prevented with appropriate care. If the lack of funds also restrict IOM’s disease monitoring services, the ability to rapidly detect and respond to communicable diseases such as diphtheria and measles will also be drastically reduced, putting refugees at increased risk of a major outbreak.

‘We cannot underestimate the devastating impact and potential loss of life that will occur if we have to reduce our medical services at this critical time,’ said John McCue, IOM’s Senior Operations Coordinator in Cox’s Bazar. ‘The moment to act to reduce the risk of major health emergencies is now and we need financial support to be able to do that.’”

Responding to a question from a journalist, Mr. Millman said that the financial support so far received by IOM was considerably less than one third of the amount that was needed.

Mediterranean migrant deaths (IOM)

Joel Millman, for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said that, for the entire month of April, no more than 7,087 migrants and refugees had been registered as arrivals on three Mediterranean routes – the eastern route, from Turkey to Greece, the central route, from North Africa to Italy, and the western route, from North Africa to Spain. That figure was remarkably low compared to those for recent years; on several occasions in 2015, for instance, more than 7,000 people had crossed the Mediterranean in a single day. However, the numbers of deaths on the western route were alarmingly high, with 217 known fatalities in 2018 up to 29 April, which was nearly equal to the total of 224 for the whole of 2017.

Commenting on figures quoted in an article published by the New York Times the previous weekend and widely shared on social media, which stated that 1 in every 14 people who had attempted the sea crossing from Libya to Italy in 2018 had died, he said that his organization’s data did not support that claim. IOM figures indicated that deaths for that route in 2018 stood at 1 in 37, compared to 1 in 56 in 2017 and 1 in 72 in 2016.

Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria

Answering a question from a journalist, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, had travelled the previous day to Washington D.C. to meet with senior United States officials, with whom he had had in-depth discussions on Syria. The Special Envoy had then gone to New York to meet with senior United Nations officials. Mr. de Mistura would travel to Brussels to participate in the Laeken Dialogue 2018, on “A critical conversation between Asia, Europe and the United States: fixing the cracks and finding the next fault lines in the global order”, at which the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva would represent the Secretary-General. The Special Envoy would attend the opening ceremony, to be hosted by their Majesties, the King and Queen of the Belgians. The Special Envoy would also hold discussions on the margins of the Dialogue with key high-level government officials.

Responding to another question from a journalist, Ms. Vellucci added that the Special Envoy’s meetings in the United States of America had included discussions with Mr. James Matiss, Secretary of Defense, Mr. John Bolton, National Security Adviser, and Ms. Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the twenty-fifth World Press Freedom Day would be celebrated on 3 May 2018 at the United Nations Office at Geneva, with a panel discussion organized in cooperation with UNESCO on "Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law". Panel members would include Mr. Noel Curran, the Director General of the European Broadcasting Union, Ms. Elisabeth Laurin, the Permanent Representative of France, Mr. Walid Doudech, the Permanent Representative of Tunisia, Ms. Nina Larson, the President of the Association of United Nations Correspondents, and Ms. Natalie Prouvez, the chief of the Rule of Law and Democracy section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ms. Vellucci also said that the Committee against Torture would begin its review of the report of Qatar that morning, 1 May, and would conclude it the following afternoon. During the session, the Committee would also review the reports of Czechia and Tajikistan.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination would that morning conclude its review of the report of Nepal. At 3 pm, it would start reviewing Mauritania’s report.

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The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog010518