REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Corinne Momal-Vanian, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by spokespersons of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said IOM had today launched an urgent appeal for an initial USD 11 million to assist people fleeing Libya and reaching the Egyptian and Tunisian borders. The money would also allow the evacuation of third-country nationals still in Libya - a country which had hosted hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, many of whom were still there. Meanwhile, hundreds of Nigeriens had crossed Libya’s southern border with Niger, where IOM was providing assistance for the migrants at its reception centre in Dirkou. Given the migration implications of the situation in Libya, notably for Egypt and Tunisia, the requested funds must be received urgently, Mr. Chauzy underscored.
In response to a question, Mr. Chauzy said that hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants had been residing in Libya without being registered with their consulates, making it a prime objective for IOM to assist these migrants. IOM had also focused its activities on Libya’s neighbouring countries, while some Member States had also requested help in assisting their nationals. In fact, the money IOM appealed for would notably be used to organize a sea evacuation from Benghazi to Alexandria, where non-Egyptian third-country nationals could be assisted. Because of the situation in Libya, especially in and around Tripoli and while local staff were present, IOM operations in the country had been curtailed, while those in the neighbouring countries were being beefed up. At least 15,000 people had left Libya through the Eastern border with Egypt as of yesterday, Mr. Chauzy said, in response to another question.
IOM needed the money to ensure that they could deliver on the request from its Member States to assist their nationals, Mr. Chauzy underscored. He added that Bangladesh, Moldova, Montenegro, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam had all requested IOM help with the evacuation or repatriation of their nationals.
Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme (WFP) said WFP teams were on the ground on the Libyan border with Egypt and Tunisia together with colleagues from other agencies to assess the immediate needs of the returnees and refugees arriving in the border area. Logistics and programme teams had been sent to Tunisia in preparation to dispatch high energy biscuits in the border area, and for contingency planning to provide food assistance to civilians inside Libya if and when the security situation allowed. The people arriving at the border had told WFP staff and other humanitarian aid workers that they had had nothing to eat for the last 24 hours. They had also reported severe food shortages in other parts of Libya.
Ms. Casella said that Libya was a net food importer and underscored that the food supply chain was at risk of collapsing. WFP did not currently have food assistance programmes inside Libya as its operations inside the country were limited to a logistics and technical team, which organized the delivery of food to WFP's operations in Chad. The operation, which had started in 2004 with the escalation of the Darfur crisis, had not been affected so far, as WFP had not had any ships arriving during the conflict period and because the ships underway had been diverted to Port Sudan. WFP was providing food to about 260,000 people a month along the eastern border of Chad, Ms. Casella underscored.
Melissa Fleming of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said UNHCR was reviewing the situation in Egypt and Tunisia and was deploying teams there, assisting the people coming across the borders. The vast majority of people were Egyptians or Tunisians, although other nationals also crossed the border. UNHCR was concerned about the large numbers of people who wished to flee but were trapped, particularly in Tripoli, where there has been a barricade around the city.
Ms. Fleming said that UNHCR was focusing its relief efforts on neighbouring countries, which were believed to be bearing the burden of caring for people who crossed the borders. Governments had been showing incredible generosity and humanitarian spirit and the people, particularly in Tunisia, had been hosting people in their homes. However, the situation would go beyond the numbers that people could manage to host. UNHCR was working with the Tunisian Government to establish a camp, flying in ten thousand tents and other basic materials that would arrive tomorrow.
UNHCR called on Governments around the world to support Egypt and Tunisia, as well as European Governments, who were predicted to receive large numbers of people, and to maintain high humanitarian spirit and generosity in the face of the violence and tragedy that the people in Libya were facing.
Christy Feig of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the situation was precarious. While WHO has been receiving incomplete reports and its office had been evacuated, it was working with the Arab Medical Union and the Relief Agency of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate to move medical supplies from Egypt into Eastern Libya. So far, 10 Trauma A and Trauma B kits, each of which could treat 100 interventions, had been sent to Libya. Trauma A kits contained the medicines for treating trauma, while Trauma B kits provided the supplies needed, such as needles and bandages. Surgical kits that could treat 500 were also being sent, and WHO was working with its regional office in Cairo to get more of these together as needed. WHO staff were also working on assessment on the border, Ms. Feig underscored.
Côte d’Ivoire
Ms. Fleming said that with fighting in Abidjan and western Côte d’Ivoire this week UNHCR had seen a sudden and worrying rise in cross border displacement into eastern Liberia. Until mid-week, UNHCR was seeing around 100 people crossing the border daily. But over the past 24 hours alone, the numbers coming across have swollen to 5,000 people. UNHCR had teams currently on their way to assess the situation. With these new arrivals, the number of refugees in Liberia was now approaching 45,000 people. Meanwhile in Abidjan, UNHCR had seen displacement in several neighbourhoods and its teams were attempting assessments today.
As of today, UNHCR's most immediate concern was for the 39,000 internally displaced people in western Côte d’Ivoire. Insecurity had meant that UNHCR had not been able to operate in this part of the country for several days now. Work on a camp for displaced people in Duékoué – which was aimed at relieving pressure on the Catholic mission where 9,000 people had found refuge for the past two months – had been placed on hold, said Ms. Fleming.
Even without the latest fighting UNHCR believed the risk of displacement in western Côte d'Ivoire remained substantial. A joint assessment mission with its partners last week found reports of attacks on travelers by armed roaming groups and organized gangs. The Duékoué-Man axis had been particularly dangerous. Several villages had been attacked and houses razed after being looted in attacks in December and in January. Parts of Duékoué city had also been burned, leaving people with nothing to return to. With 23,000 internally displaced persons, Duékoué had been host to the highest number of displaced people in the region.
Several people told UNHCR of armed men entering their villages on motorcycles and shooting at villagers, killing some. UNHCR had also encountered groups who had been displaced repeatedly. In one village, attacked in December, the entire population had fled and sought refuge in religious institutions or with families or friends in Duékoué, Ms. Fleming said.
Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that English and French press releases on the humanitarian situation in Côte d’Ivoire and the consequences for health, education and economy were at the back of the room.
UNECE Agenda
Jean Rodriguez of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said that the annual meeting of the Inland Transport Committee would start on 1 March. In the afternoon of that day, a discussion would be held on dangerous, inflammable, chemical and similar products, as UNECE was mandated by the Economic and Social Council to establish global norms on this subject. Participating in the round-table discussion were experts from UNECE and transport associations. Journalists were welcome to attend.
Turning to the agenda of the UNECE Executive Secretary, Mr. Rodriguez said that after delivering the opening speech of the Inland Transport Committee meeting on Tuesday morning, Jan Kubis would meet the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Bulgaria. On Wednesday and Thursday, 2 and 3 March, the Executive Secretary would participate in the 2011 Bratislava Global Security Forum and hold bilateral meetings with the Slovakian Transport and Environment Ministers.
WTO Agenda
Ankai Xu of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that on the afternoon of Monday 28 February the Rules Negotiation Group would meet in informal meetings, and the TRIPS Council would meet from Tuesday through Wednesday. On Thursday 4 March intellectual property negotiations would be held.
Turning to the agenda of the WTO Director-General, Ms. Xu said Pascal Lamy would next Monday meet Michel Jarraud, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, and Michèle Alliot-Marie, the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. On Tuesday 1 March, Mr. Lamy would meet Radhouane Nouicer, the Tunisian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frank Belfrage, the Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, as well as Lene Espersen, the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Michel Barnier, the Commissioner for Internal Market and Services of France. The WTO Director-General would meet Luis Almagro, the Uruguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, before having a meeting with Giorgio Napolitano, the President of the Italian Republic, on Thursday 3 March.
Human Rights Agenda
Corinne Momal-Vanian said that the Human Rights Council had this morning opened a Special Session on “The situation of human rights in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya”.
On Monday, the Council would open its sixteenth regular session, on which a background release had been issued yesterday. A list dated 23 February of the dignitaries addressing the Council as part of the High-Level Segment was available from the OHCHR extranet, and a more up-to-date list would hopefully become available today. It was expected that the first speakers would include the Vice-President of Colombia as well as the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, Australia, Jordan, the Maldives, Mexico and Tunisia. Following the High-Level Segment, which ended on Wednesday, the Council would hold an interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded the review of Serbia’s report this morning, said Ms. Momal-Vanian.
Other
Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Conference on Disarmament would exceptionally hold a public meeting at 11 a.m. on Monday to hear an address by the President of the General Assembly, the Austrian Foreign Minister and the Bulgarian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was likely to be extended into the afternoon to hear from other dignitaries, and some would also address the Conference on Tuesday. The Director-General of UNOG, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, would meet next week with several of the visiting dignitaries.
Available at the back of the room was a press release by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on an event to be held on Monday 28 February from 3 to 4.30 p.m. in Room XVI on climate change diplomacy, with Ambassador Patricia Espinosa, the Secretary of Foreign Relations of Mexico and the President of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change COP16. Journalists were invited to participate in this event, after which they were given the opportunity to ask questions. Further information could be received from the UNITAR contact persons indicated in the press release.
Ms. Momal-Vanian announced that the annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board was available and that a press release would shortly be sent to journalists, under embargo until 11 a.m. Geneva time on 2 March.
Ms. Momal-Vanian said that on 28 February Joseph Deiss, the United Nations General Assembly President, would brief journalists on his activities related to the Human Rights Council, the Conference on Disarmament and the General Assembly Thematic Debate on Disaster Risk Reduction. For the latter part, Mr. Deiss would be joined by Margareta Wahlström, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction.