REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the World Food Programme.

Syria

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said convoys carrying food for 75,000 people were delivering rations to people in the besieged neighbourhood of Al-Wa’er in Homs city. Following extensive negotiations among all parties to the conflict, a first convoy carrying 8,500 family food rations was delivered on 15 January to the besieged neighbourhood of Al Wa’er in Homs to support 42,500 civilians.

The remaining 6,500 family rations, which would support 32,500 people for one month, would be delivered in two additional convoys over the coming days, which would also deliver vital non-food items, said Ms. Byrs.

Ms. Byrs briefed that over the past month, the Al-Wa’er neighbourhood had witnessed an intensification of shelling and heavy clashes which prevented all access for humanitarian deliveries. In addition, as heavy snowstorms hit Syria and the region from early January, concerns grew over worsening humanitarian conditions in the besieged area, home to an estimated 250,000 residents.

On 12 January, WFP distributed heating fuel to an orphanage, bringing 2,500 litres of heating fuel to a recently opened SOS Shelter that accommodated 27 children of different ages; the youngest being an 18 month old girl and the oldest 13 years old. The shelter was opened recently to anticipate the increasing number of children who had lost their parents because of the ongoing conflict, said Ms. Byrs.

WFP was urgently seeking US$214.5 million for its operations in Syria and the region. Out of that, US$112.6 million was needed for WFP’s Syria Response to meet food assistance needs for the next four months. US$101.9 million was required for the next three months for food assistance in the region.

In 2014, WFP food assistance reached a record number of people, close to six million in Syria and in the region monthly. Giving a breakdown of the monthly highs in terms of food assistance, Ms. Byrs said the largest figure for WFP food distribution in Syria was in August 2014 when it helped 4.1 million people. In December WFP reached 3.7 million people, and in November reached 1.8 million refugees in the region. WFP planned to target 4.2 million people each month, however, weather and fuel shortages were impacting efforts.

ISIL child soldiers

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), responded to a request for comment on a video purportedly posted by ISIL / Islamic State showing a boy of ten years old shooting dead two supposed Russian spies. Ms. Shamdasani said both OHCHR’s Iraq and Syria teams had documented in the past really extreme violence and violations committed by ISIL including the use of children in armed conflict and had condemned those violations. Ms. Shamdasani said the teams were still in the process of establishing the authenticity of that latest video, but OHCHR certainly condemned the use of children in any kind of armed conflict. It was not only forbidden under international law but was also morally repugnant.

Malawi and Mozambique Floods

Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said heavy rains over the past few weeks had led to severe flooding in Malawi, which had now displaced more than 100,000 people and reportedly killed at least 48 people. The Malawian President declared a State of Emergency on 13 January.

The floods had caused extensive damage to crops and livestock; people’s homes had been flooded and roads and other infrastructure had been affected by the flooding, said Mr. Laerke.

At the request of the Government and the UN system in Malawi, OCHA was deploying, arriving today, an eight member strong United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team to support the national response. The UNDAC team consisted of specially trained emergency managers who were made available free of charge by governments and various organizations to support assessment and coordination, information management and incoming relief. The UNDAC team in Malawi was led by an OCHA staff from South Africa and was expected to stay in-country for three weeks.

The Government, UN and its humanitarian partners had been providing some assistance to flood-affected communities already. However, some areas had been inaccessible due to the flooding which had hampered efforts to respond to people’s live-saving needs. The Government was establishing emergency operations centres in different locations in the south of the country and increasing preparedness in the north where more rain was expected in coming weeks.

Turning to Mozambique, Mr. Laerke said the country, located south of Malawi, was also experiencing severe flooding with thousands of people affected. Parts of the Zambezi River were above alert level and the bridge over the Licungo River had been impassable, which was very significant as it effectively cut off the north of the country. The Government of Mozambique had issued a red alert for the central and northern regions, activating national response partners. The Government and national partners were providing assistance to affected communities and the UN stood ready to provide support should it be requested, added Mr. Laerke.

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said WFP was gearing up its response to the disaster declared by the President of Malawi in flood-affected districts of the country. Working with the Government and with other humanitarian partners, WFP was moving to flooded areas stocks of food from its regular programmes that would be replenished once the crisis was over.

Ms. Byrs announced that WFP was planning an airlift of more than 100 metric tons of High-Energy Biscuits from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai, enough to meet the immediate food needs of some 77,000 people. Ready-to-eat food would be prioritized for the most vulnerable people, particularly children, who had been displaced from their homes and had no access to food or cooking facilities.

Access to the hardest-hit areas to assess the situation had been extremely difficult as the floods had washed away many roads and bridges. The worst affected areas were in the south of the country, particularly the districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje.

Malawi was one of the poorest countries in the world and had one of the highest rates of stunting among children worldwide, recalled Ms. Byrs, noting that in Malawi more than 40 per cent of children were stunted, meaning they had low growth for their age, as a result of undernutrition. WFP was working together with UNICEF and other UN agencies to assist vulnerable children.

A Government-led agriculture and food security humanitarian cluster had been activated to help coordinate the response. Initial estimates suggested that as many as 20,000 households, or 110,000 people, had been displaced. Many more were likely to require assistance. With more rain forecast, there was concern that those numbers may rise.

Responding to questions, Mr. Laerke said the more than 100,000 displaced people were located mainly in the south of the country. Mr. Laerke said OHCHR had received reports that at least 48 people had lost their lives, and was aware of media reports that as many as 57 people had been killed, but said it was difficult to verify assessments in such a precarious situation. With the UNDAC team being deployed today, said Mr. Laerke, OCHA hoped to get more information in the coming days and during the course of the UNDAC deployment, which was expected to last for three weeks. Answering a question on Mozambique, Mr. Laerke said he had an as-yet unverified figure that the floods had affected 50,000 people.

Bangladesh

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the deepening political violence in Bangladesh, resulting from the failure by the two major political parties to resolve their differences peacefully, was very disturbing. OHCHR was concerned about the potential for the violence, which had already led to deaths, injury and disruption, to spiral, as seen in the run up to the 2014 elections.

The current unrest began on January 5 when the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) called on its supporters to launch a transport blockade to mark the anniversary of last year’s elections, which were boycotted by the opposition, said Ms. Shamdasani. The Government meanwhile imposed a ban on demonstrations and prevented the Chairperson and other senior members of the BNP from participating in the protest.

Since then, over a dozen people had reportedly been killed and hundreds injured in clashes between supporters of the two parties, as well as with security forces. A number of key opposition leaders had also been arrested.

Particularly disturbing was the rampant use of arson attacks on vehicles. A crowded public bus was set on fire on Tuesday, burning to death four people, including one child. The same day, a senior BNP advisor was shot at and his car set on fire. Yesterday, another person was killed when a bus was reportedly set ablaze in Kaliakoir, about 50 kilometres north of Dhaka, reported Ms. Shamdasani.

OHCHR urged all political parties to show restraint and to bring an immediate end to the violence. OHCHR also called on the authorities to ensure the prompt, impartial and effective investigation of all killings committed – irrespective of whether they were committed by State or non-State actors, said Ms. Shamdasani.

The Government should also ensure that the arrest and detention of key opposition leaders by law enforcement agencies was not arbitrary, and that all measures taken to restore law and order were conducted in line with the parameters set by international human rights law, including respect for the freedoms of peaceful assembly, movement and speech.

Flogging of Saudi Arabia blogger Raif Badawi

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), answering a question, said both before and after the statement issued by the High Commissioner on Thursday, OHCHR had been engaging with the Saudi Arabian authorities.

Nigeria

William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said UNHCR was very concerned about the return to Nigeria from Niger on 14 January of hundreds of refugees in a joint operation organized by the Governor of Borno State in Nigeria and the authorities in Niger. According to information received by UNHCR, the refugees were transported in nine buses to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in Nigeria. Another 11 buses were currently parked in the town of Gagamari in Niger’s Diffa region, waiting to take more refugees back to Nigeria. Given the volatile security situation in Borno state and the recent attacks by Boko Haram insurgents, UNHCR was concerned about the nature of the returns and had asked the authorities to stop the operation until there were proper safeguards and a legal framework between Nigeria, Niger and UNHCR.

Refugees fleeing the brutal conflict in north-east Nigeria continued to arrive in Niger and Chad telling harrowing tales of killings and destruction, briefed Mr. Spindler. UNHCR teams said that refugees told them about the extreme violence they suffered or witnessed during the attacks on the town of Baga on 3 and 7 January. A woman, who ran away from Baga with her five children and her husband, said she saw insurgents run over women and children with their cars, shoot at people and use knives to cut their throats in the street. She estimated that hundreds had been killed in Baga. The terrified family managed to escape at night before reaching Maiduguri, from where they took a bus to Niger.

In all, some 13,000 Nigerian refugees had arrived in western Chad since the attacks on Baga earlier this month. UNHCR and the governmental commission Nationale d’Accueil, et de Réinsertion des Réfugiés et des Rapatriés (CNARR) had registered over 6,000 refugees so far. Dozens of refugees continued to arrive every day, many by canoe over Lake Chad to areas such as Ngouboua and Bagasola, some 450 kilometres north-west of the Chadian capital N’djamena. Including the latest influx some 16,000 Nigerian refugees have arrived in Chad since May 2013. UNHCR was concerned that refugees from Baga and the surrounding area were choosing to flee over the lake into Chad as that may indicate that the overland route into Niger was blocked by insurgents.

UNHCR teams in Chad reported that they had identified 104 unaccompanied children, who had been separated from their families while fleeing the attacks in Baga. They had been placed in foster families while waiting to be reunited with their own, said Mr. Spindler.

At the same time, UNHCR had started the relocation of some 2,000 refugees who were stranded on the Lake Chad’s islands of Koulfoua and Kangalam, to the newly opened site of Dar Es Salam, near Bagasola. The site, which currently hosted some 1,600 refugees was located 70 kilometres from the border with Nigeria and would be able to accommodate up to 15,000 people.

The attacks on Baga had also pushed some 572 people to flee to Niger’s Diffa region, with some of them having first crossed through Chad before reaching Niger, said Mr. Spindler.

Since the state of emergency was declared in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states in north-eastern Nigeria in May 2013, an estimated 153,000 people had fled to the neighbouring countries. To date, UNHCR had registered over 37,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, some 16,000 people had arrived in Chad, and the authorities in Niger estimated that more than 100,000 people, both Nigerian refugees and Niger nationals, had arrived from the war-torn north-east of Nigeria. In 2015 alone, the violence had led to an exodus of 19,000 people.

Responding to a question from a journalist, Mr. Spindler said UNHCR was trying to ascertain the nature of the returns, and did not know whether they were voluntary or not. Given the situation in Nigeria at the moment, any returns to the country were of great concern, he said. Answering another question, Mr. Spindler noted that all the information they had about the situation in Baga came from accounts given by the refugees. One survivor had spoken about seeing hundreds of dead bodies, he said. UNHCR was interviewing refugees and seeking information about what happened to them and about their protection needs.

Libya

William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in Libya, an upsurge in fighting since the start of the year across several towns and cities in the east, including Benghazi, had sparked more displacement. Many people had had to flee for a fourth or fifth time, making numbers hard to estimate. Nonetheless, in Benghazi alone the local council was reporting that around 90,000 people there were unable to return home.

The displacement had been centred around Benghazi, Derna, and near the Gulf of Sidra in Ben Jawad and Ras Lanuf. That was just one of the areas of Libya seeing people in mass flight. Across the country UNHCR estimated that approximately 400,000 people were displaced. In addition, Libya was host to nearly 37,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of different nationalities whose humanitarian conditions were increasingly precarious.

Near Tripoli in the west, NGOs and the local council estimated some 83,268 people were living in settlements, schools and abandoned buildings. Many were unable to access education for their children, lack of health care and limited ability to access cash for food.

Most people had been displaced for over three to six months with increasing numbers being hosted in public facilities such as schools. As their cash savings dwindled they were unable to pay for housing rentals. The winter months were especially tough as temperatures in Tripoli, Benghazi and the Southern towns were below 10 degrees Celsius.

In south-west Libya, internally displaced people from the town of Awbari faced difficulties in their daily lives as services had been severely disrupted by ongoing fighting between rival tribal groups. The current fighting meant that schools, hospitals and markets remained completely inaccessible. Shortages of fuel, electricity, water and food were being reported by local crisis committees and NGOs, who said that 18,492 people from Awbari were currently displaced in six towns.

Answering a question on the Libya talks in Geneva, Ms. Momal-Vanian noted that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) had issued a press release yesterday evening stating that the United Nations-facilitated Libyan Political Dialogue had concluded its first round. The participants were expected to return to Geneva next week for a second round of dialogue, with details to be confirmed.

Socio-economic impact of the Ebola Epidemic

Sarah Bel, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said a new study on the socio-economic impact of the Ebola disease in West Africa published by UNDP showed that Ebola would have a lasting impact on the economies and people of the countries worst affected – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The report called for an immediate effort to revive local economies, and prevent them from collapsing.

Clement San Sebastian, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), elaborated on the findings of the report, briefing that all sectors of the economy in the three countries had been impacted but food production had been hit particularly hard, reducing the supply of agricultural commodities. In Liberia, despite the decline in demand, rice prices increased by 41 per cent, and the price of cassava, an imported grain eaten as an alternative to rice, had increased by 63 percent while the price of fufu (a cassava-based staple food) had more than doubled.

Job losses, rising food prices, agricultural disruptions and sharp drops in the use of health and education services were likely to increase poverty, child and maternal mortality, and facilitate the spread of HIV/AIDS and Malaria, particularly for the rural poor, the report also found. Mr. San Sebastian reported that the economy in Liberia could experience negative GDP growth for the first time since the war ended 11 years ago, reaching negative 1.8 per cent, while in Sierra Leone, forecasts for 2014 were cut from 11 per cent to four per cent.

In Sierra Leone, all sectors had experienced a decline in employment as a result of the Ebola outbreak. Per capita income in the country fell by US$71 between January and October, he said. Overall domestic revenues based on original projections for 2014 fell by 10.39 per cent. In Liberia, revenue collection fell short of the pre-Ebola forecast by around US$10 million, forcing the Government to adjust its targets downwards from US$41.7 million to US$26.3 million for September 2014.

Across the three countries, around five million children were out of school due to Ebola, and lack of open schools, coupled with the death of parents and relocation of households had increased the vulnerability of children.

Mr. San Sebastian said the report called for an immediate effort to revive local economies, combining social safety nets for the most vulnerable, such as cash transfers, emergency jobs and cash-for-work, with an economic support package that included financing for micro-enterprises and building skills among the local workforce. It also recommended supporting food production and investing in infrastructure and social services, including better health systems.

Anniversary of the Kobe Earthquake

Denis McClean, for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) briefed on the twentieth anniversary tomorrow (17 January) of the Kobe earthquake in Japan which killed 6,434 people. The UNISDR Head Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom would attend a commemoration tomorrow in Kobe, which had special significance this year for a number of reasons. UNISDR was taking opportunity to remind people that earthquakes were the most deadly natural hazard. In the twenty years since the Kobe Earthquake two million people had died in natural disasters and almost half of those were earthquakes. Five of the most deadly earthquakes of the last 100 years had occurred in the last ten years, noted Mr. McClean. Those catastrophic events over a short period of time conveyed a strong message about risk and exposure in the twenty-first century driven by population growth and urbanization.

Mr. McClean said experts had been involved in intense and long-running discussions in Geneva this week on a new global framework for disaster risk reduction which it was hoped will be adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, from 14 to 18 March. There were more details in the briefing note said Mr. McClean, adding that Ms. Wahlstrom was available for interviews next week upon request.

Human Rights Council – Universal Periodic Review

Rolando Gomez, for the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) announced that the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review session would open on Monday 19 January for two weeks. A detailed background press release in English and French had been issued, and media advisories for each of the 14 States to be reviewed would continue to be issued. The group of States to be reviewed by the Universal Periodic Review Working Group during this session are (in order of scheduled review): Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Guinea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Spain, Lesotho, Kenya, Armenia, Guinea-Bissau, Sweden, Grenada, Turkey, Guyana and Kuwait. The meetings would take place in Room XX at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, and as usual be webcast live. The statements would also be available on the Human Rights Council extranet, noted Mr. Gomez. Ambassador Joachim Ruecker of Germany, President of the Human Rights Council, would chair the session.

Human Rights in Eritrea

Rolando Gomez, for the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) highlighted that a press release had been issued today announcing that the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea would visit the United Kingdom from 24 to 31 January to hold meetings and collect testimonies and accounts on the human rights situation in Eritrea.

The Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea was established by the Human Rights Council during its twenty-sixth session in June 2014, recalled Mr. Gomez, adding that the Commission would present oral updates on its work to the Human Rights Council in March 2015, and a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in June 2015.

Geneva Activities

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service Geneva, announced that the Conference on Disarmament would start its 2015 session next Monday, 17 January, and was expected to hold its first public meeting of the year at 10 a.m. on Tuesday 18 January. A background press release had been issued.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child continues its three-week session next week, scheduled to review the reports of Jamaica, Uruguay, Colombia, Iraq and Switzerland. The Committee was holding its public meetings in dual chambers, and a detailed programme of the meetings was available in the background press release.

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) would hold a press conference today, Friday 16 January, at 2 p.m. in Press Room 1. It would be an embargoed background briefing on the launch of the Global Status Report for Non-Communicable Diseases 2014. The embargo would be lifted at the start of official launch of the report in Geneva on 19 January at 11 a.m. Dr Kwok-Cho Tang, WHO Coordinator for Health Promotion and Dr Shanthi Mendis, WHO Coordinator for Chronic Diseases Prevention & Management and lead author of the report, would be speaking.

On Monday, 19 January, there would be three press conferences, noted Ms. Momal-Vanian. The first was hosted by the International Labour Organization and would take place at 10 a.m. in Press Room III. It would be an embargoed media briefing on the ILO World Employment and Social Outlook - Trends 2015 Report. Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General and Raymond Torres, Head of Research, ILO, would be speaking. The report was under embargo until 11:01 p.m. GMT on Monday 19 January.

Jean Rodriguez, for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), announced a press conference for Monday, 19 January, at 11.00 a.m. to present the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015, published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Alfredo Calcagno, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Head of the Macroeconomic and Development Policies Branch within the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, and José Palacin, Senior Economic Affairs Officer within the Development Policies and Cross-Sectoral Coordination Unit of UNECE would be speaking. Mr. Rodriguez noted that the report was under embargo until Monday, 19 January at 11 a.m. Geneva time.

Mr. Rodriguez noted that UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach was today in Brussels for meetings with the European Union Commissioners for Transport and the Environment. He also informed journalists that the UNECE Group of Experts on Gas would meet from 20 to 21 January in Room VII of the Palais des Nations to discuss the sustainable management of natural gas. Natural gas provides almost a quarter of today’s global primary energy supply, said Mr. Rodriguez, adding that forecasts showed an increase in the share of natural gas in the energy mix for many years to come. The UNECE Group of Experts on Gas provides a forum for multi-stakeholder dialogue on ways to promote the sustainable clean production and consumption of gas in the UNECE region, said Mr. Rodriguez. Their four tasks are developing best practices on reducing gas leaks along the value chain, on the role of natural gas in increasing the uptake of renewable energy and on liquefied natural gas; and to make recommendations on removing barriers to the use of natural gas in transportation.

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced a third press conference for Monday 19 January, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at 2 p.m. in Press Room 1. The briefing would provide an over view of the United Nations contribution to Expo Milano 2015 which would take place from 1 May to 31 October 2015, with the theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. Mr. Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General for Forestry at the FAO and Commissioner-General for United Nations participation at Expo Milano 2015, would be speaking.

The spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Parliamentary Union and the International Organization for Migration also attended but did not brief.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog160115