REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Ahmad Fawzi, Director a.i., United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by the spokespersons for the Human Rights Council, the International Organization for Migration, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization.
Geneva Activities
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement condemning the air strikes that reportedly hit the Red Sea port of Mocha, killing as many as 135 people, Mr. Fawzi informed. The Secretary-General expressed his deep condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims, and wished the swift recovery of the injured.
The Secretary-General stressed that there was no military solution to the conflict in Yemen and added that its continuation would only bring more human suffering and destruction.
Addressing the General Assembly today, he condemned the disregard for human life by all parties and called all sides to immediately cease conflict and resolve their differences through peaceful negotiations, facilitated by the UN envoy. He reminded that any intentional attack against civilians was considered a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child was reviewing today a report on Cuba, before it closes its session on 2 October.
The Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights was today considering reports on Guyana, Iraq, Morocco and Sudan.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) would release a report on Trade and Development. A press conference was scheduled for Thursday, 1 October, at 11 a.m., with UNCTAD’s Secretary-General.
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonović would brief journalists on the situation in Ukraine, immediately after the interactive dialogue on that country, outside Room XX. Mr. Simonović was in Ukraine last week.
The 30th session of the Human Rights Council opened today with a general debate on racism. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Simonović, would present today a periodic report on Ukraine, followed by a debate. Both Ukraine and the Russian Federation would participate in the discussion.
The Council would also discuss the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Cambodia and maybe Sudan, if time was left. On Wednesday, 30 September, the Council would present country reports on the Central African Republic, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Iraq, Myanmar (oral update), South Sudan (oral update) and Yemen. The Council would also discuss the activities of the Islamist militants Boko Haram. Finally, the Council would consider 32 resolutions (all available on the extranet) on Thursday (1 October) and Friday (2 October).
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) would celebrate the 25th edition of the International Day of Older Persons on 1 October with a panel discussion and an interactive exhibition (Hall des Pas Perdus). Visitors would be able to learn how to age well and discover how they would look when they reach 80 years old. This year’s theme was “Durability and inclusion of all ages in the urban environment”. A round-table from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., in Room XI, would gather experts from UNECE, International Labour Organization (ILO), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and non-government organizations.
A study in 56 countries found that it was expected that the number of people over 65 years old would increase by 15% in 2013, by 20% in 2030 and by 24% in 2050. The number of centenarians could quadruple.
See details about the event here.
The World Health Organization (WHO) would release tomorrow a major report on ageing, embargoed until 16h:00 GMT. The report would highlight the steep rise in the number of people over 60 years old. The WHO would also release tomorrow guidelines on HIV, focusing on the complexity of the issue and on treatment.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) would release a report on 1 October at 11 a.m. on trade and development. The report would recommend a bolder economic policy program for both developed and emerging countries, with the aim of helping to boost the global economy, fight stagnation, stabilize financial markets, discourage the proliferation of speculative flows and promote investment in developing countries. The report would be presented by UNCTAD’s Secretary-General, and was embargoed until October 6th at 7 pm.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would hold its 42nd Session in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 5-8 October 2015. The Panel would elect its new Bureau, including the Chair of the IPCC, and a new Task Force Bureau on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI). A press conference with the new Chair would take place shortly after the election of the Chair. That was expected to be in the evening (Central European time) of Tuesday 6 October, but it could be later. Details on the IPCC event here.
Two thirds civilians in Yemen killed by airstrikes, according to report
Mr. Colville, for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), informed that in the two weeks from 11-24 September, 151 civilians (including 26 children and 10 women) had been killed and 151 injured in Yemen. That took the total number of civilian casualties in the six months since 26 March to 7,217, including 2,355 killed and 4,862 wounded.
A High Commissioner’s report on Yemen to the Human Rights Council found that two-thirds of reported civilian deaths had allegedly been caused by coalition airstrikes, which were also responsible for almost two-thirds of damaged and destroyed civilian public buildings. On Sunday, Jordan’s Foreign Minister described his government’s absolute rejection of the parts of the report concerning possible violations of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition forces.
The High Commissioner regretted that statement, Mr. Colville said, noting that the report contained a number of examples of possible violations and abuses by both sides of the conflict.
The numerous alleged violations and abuses described in the report were verified or cross-checked, and members of the High Commissioner’s team in Yemen have taken considerable trouble, at great risk, to verify as many incidents as they can, said Mr. Colville.
Yesterday, a wedding party in Wahijah, in Taizz Governorate, was hit by a coalition airstrike reportedly killing as many as 130 civilians. OHCHR’s staff in Yemen was seeking to confirm those reports. If the numbers were as high as suggested, that would be the single deadliest incident since the start of the conflict, according to Mr. Colville.
Mr. Colville reminded that all parties involved in the conflict in Yemen, including Saudi Arabia and other members of the coalition, were obliged to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, which included the obligation to respect the principles of distinction, proportionality and to take all precautions to protect the civilian population.
Answering questions about that incident, Mr. Colville said that the spokesperson for the coalition forces denied having hit civilians attending the wedding, but the Yemeni government in exile had spoken publicly of a mistake (by the coalition forces). The day before (27 September), according to Mr. Colville, another airstrike allegedly killed at least 28 civilians in the Haja governorate, but that information had to be verified.
Asked whether the United Nations was giving up on peace negotiations, Mr. Fawzi said the UN was not, and that it was working very hard to try to persuade all parties to accept a ceasefire.
Bettina Luescher, for the World Food Programme (WFP), added that 10 out of 22 governorates in Yemen were facing food insecurity at emergency level. One in five people were severely lacking food. That’s one step below famine, she said. She stressed humanitarian organizations needed to be able to move freely and safely to provide assistance, and reminded that Yemen had one of the highest child malnutrition in the world. Since the conflict began, WFP had reached 5.3 million people with food assistance.
Read the press release on Yemen issued by the OHCHR here.
Central African Republican (CAR)
Mr. Colville said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was extremely concerned about the recent outbreak of violence in Bangui, following the gruesome killing of a young Muslim motorcycle-taxi driver last Saturday. Private properties, religious premises and the offices of international humanitarian organizations had also been looted. Mr. Colville stressed this was a huge setback for the preservation of law and order, and for the fight against impunity, which had been and remained a chronic problem.
During his recent mission to CAR (1-4 September), the High Commissioner called for concrete measures to end cycles of impunity and violence. According to Mr. Colville, impunity had been at the core of the country’s problems. People who allegedly committed grave violations of human rights and abuses were not being arrested or charged. One of the main reasons was the lack of enough jails in the country.
Mr. Colville said the CAR government had been trying to empty the camp right by the airport in Mboko, where 10,000 people were sheltered. People were coming back in significant numbers and the situation was very fragile. He called attention to the rapid increase in tensions between the Muslim and Christian communities and explained that tensions were not solely religious, but also ethnic.
Asked whether UN peacekeepers were able to establish some kind of control and what were the ramifications of the renewed violence in next months’ elections, the spokesperson for the UNHCR said there had been shooting in the capital today in the area of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (Minusca) headquarters. Minusca vehicles had been targeted. It is a very difficult situation. The fear is that there could be an escalation, he said.
Mr. Colville said that the election would not be easy in view of the difficult situation on the ground. It is very worrying. We just hope it calms down very quickly, he said, adding that there was a risk of the situation getting worse.
See the press release issued by OHCHR on the Central African Republic here.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was also concerned about the situation in the Central African Republic. It feared that the situation could represent a return to the dark days of late 2013 and 2014, when thousands were killed and tens of thousands were forcibly displaced by inter-communal conflict. It was estimated that 27,400 people had been displaced, including 10,000 who were sheltering at the Mpoko site near the airport, which was already hosting about 11,000 people. Shooting was happening today and access to thousands of displaced people was very difficult, said Leo Dobbs, spokesperson for the UNHCR. If the situation remained volatile, extra food supplies would be needed, besides shelter and basic aid, he added
Mr. Fawzi cited figures from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), showing that in total more than 380,000 people were displaced in the CAR, and another 474,000 had fled to neighbouring countries. Additionally, about 2.7 million people – over half of the population - were in need of assistance.
Read the press release issued by the UNHCR here.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) condemned violence and the weekend looting of its office in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). The resurgence of violence in Bangui resulted in the killing of at least 36 people since Saturday (26 September) and 100 wounded. IOM’s office, a two-building compound where 76 staffers used to work until last Friday, was completely looted. Four IOM vehicles were stolen. Two female staffers – one from Germany and the other from the United States – had to be evacuated by US Marines from the private residence they shared. The attackers were heavily armed and had recruited youngsters to help in the attack.
See the press release issued by the IOM here.
Escalating tensions in East Jerusalem and West Bank
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was also concerned by clashes and escalating tensions in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank, due to a wave of protests against restrictions of access imposed by the Israeli authorities on Palestinians worshippers wishing to enter the Al Aqsa Compound. See the press release issued by the OHCHR here.
The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog290915