REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Ahmad Fawzi, Director a.i. of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by spokespersons for the United Nations Mine Action Service, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Refugee Agency, International Organization for Migration, World Health Organisation and World Trade Organization.

United Nations

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, arrived in Paris today to attend COP21. On 8 December, Mr. Ban would travel to Finland for its 60^th anniversary of joining the United Nations where he would meet the President, Parliament Speaker, and the Foreign Minister, and visit asylum seekers' reception centre with the Minister of Interior of Finland. The Secretary-General would return to Paris on 9 December to attend the conclusion of COP21.

On 3 December, the Secretary-General had held a press encounter in New York, in which he had covered major issues of the day, including climate change, refugee crisis and violent extremism, and had announced recent UN appointments:

Mr. Ban had appointed Mr. El-Ghassim Wane of Mauritania as the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, to replace Mr. Edmond Mulet, who had been sworn in on Thursday, 3 December as the Secretary-General’s Chef de Cabinet. Dr David Nabarro of the United Kingdom had been appointed Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on the 2030 Agenda. Dr Nabarro had worked previously on food security and the emergency Ebola response; in this role, he would galvanize action on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda, deepen integration of climate commitments into the 2030 Agenda, and oversee special initiatives such as Every Woman Every Child.

Geneva Activities

Mr. Fawzi announced a press conference by the Permanent Mission of Greece on Monday 7 December at 12 noon in Room III. Dr Lefteris Kretsos, Secretary General of Media and Communication, Hellenic Republic would brief on Greece at a crossroads: the current situation and challenges ahead.

The Human Rights Council would hold an organization meeting on Monday 7 December, at 3 p.m. in Room XX, during which it would appoint its new Bureau and discuss its programme of work for 2016, announced Mr. Fawzi.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was today considering a report by Turkey, which was the last report scheduled for this session and the last country to be considered by a treaty body this year. Both this Committee and the Committee against Torture would conclude their work next week.

The Committee on the rights of the child would hold its next meeting from 11 to 29 January 2016.

The African Union was convening its Africa Forum for Dialogue on Wednesday 9 December at 9 a.m. in Room XIX, Palais des Nations, which would focus on inclusive and sustainable industrialisation in Africa. Speakers would include Jean-Marie EHOUZOU, Permanent Representative of the African Union Commission in Geneva, Li Yong, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, and others.


Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that Philippe Lazzarini, Deputy United Nations Special Coordinator and Resident Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, would brief on the situation of Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities, and the priorities of the country team in responding to displacement from Syria at a press conference on Wednesday 9 December at 9.15 a.m. in Press Room 1.

Fadela Chaib, for World Health Organisation (WHO), briefed on the WHO’s new Safe Childbirth Checklist and Implementation Guide which targeted the major causes of maternal and newborn complications and deaths.

Ms. Chaib announced that on Monday 7 December at 10.30 a.m. in Press Room 1, WHO would pre-brief the press on its World Malaria Report 2015, to be launched in Brussels. The report offered an in-depth analysis of trends in malaria control and elimination at global, regional and country levels. Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, would present key findings from the report, summarize progress towards international targets, and highlight the challenges that remain.

WHO would launch its report on health and the Sustainable Development Goals on Tuesday 8 December at 3 p.m. in Press Room 1, said Ms. Chaib. The report would present the progress made in the achievement of health-related Millennium Development Goals from 2000 to 2015. It would identify successes and challenges, and set out priorities for the health sector in relation with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The global conference on rabies, organized by WHO and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), would take place on 10 and 11 December at Maison de la Paix, Ms. Chaib announced.

Catherine Huissoud, for United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), announced that the UNCTAD Handbook of Statistic 2015 would be launched on Tuesday, 8 December in Press Room 1. Ms. Huissoud mentioned an increase in trade of services, a stagnation in trade of goods and a decrease in foreign direct investment, and the publication of studies about investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Madagascar.

Jessica Hermosa, for World Trade Organization (WTO), announced the schedule for next week, and a press briefing on the General Council, which would take place at the WTO on Monday, 7 December.

Global Humanitarian Appeal 2016 to be launched in Geneva on 7 December

On the occasion of the launch of the Global Humanitarian Appeal 2016, OCHA would hold a press conference on 7 December 2015 at 1.45 p.m. in Room III. Speakers would be Stephen O’Brien, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus, International Council of Voluntary Agencies Chair and President of Mercy Malaysia. The Appeal would be launched at 3 p.m. at Maison de la Paix in Geneva.

Increasing number of people victims of improvised explosives devices, says the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

Bruno Donat, Chief of the Geneva office of UNMAS, recalled the Secretary-General’s message that “antipersonnel landmines have no place in our world” and invited the countries that had not yet done so to accede to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Mr. Donat congratulated Mozambique for having completely removed the threat of anti-personnel landmines in the country and said that UNMAS in Geneva would lead and coordinate the mine action area of the UNHCR-led Global Protection Cluster. The very first international meeting of directors on National Mine Action Programmes and the United Nations advisors would take place from 16 to 19 February at the Palais des Nations, he said, adding that the meeting would contribute to the World Humanitarian Summit to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23 and 24 may 2016.

Alan MacDonald, UNMAS Programme Director in Somalia, briefed the media on the mine situation in Somalia and the support UNMAS extended to Somalia with the launching of their humanitarian mine clearance and explosive remnants of war programme.

Asked about the UNMAS office and its activities in Syria, Mr. Donat said that a small team had been deployed about three months ago upon the request of the United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator. The team was currently undertaking assessments, and UNMAS had opened the office in Gaziantep, Turkey, and was embedded in OCHA. The mine action sector would need about $20 million for an effective response to mine-related emergencies.

Asked about the number of mines victims, Mr. Donat said that UNMAS was assisting increasing numbers of victims of improvised explosive devices, and added that UNMAS was coordinating on behalf of the United Nations the updating of the policy of assistance to victims of mine action.

OHCHR concerned about widespread and systematic prosecution of Sunni Arab communities in ISIL-liberated areas in Iraq

Cécile Pouilly, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), expressed concern at reports of increasing human rights violations and abuses committed against Sunni Arab communities in parts of Iraq that had been reclaimed from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Reports indicated that Iraqi security forces, Kurdish security forces and their respective affiliated militias were responsible for looting and destruction of property belonging to the Sunni Arab communities, forced evictions, abductions, illegal detention and, in some cases, extra-judicial killings, she said. Sunni Arab communities also faced increasing discrimination, harassment and violence from other ethnic and religious groups, wich accused them of supporting ISIL. OHCHR was particularly concerned about the situation of some 1,300 Sunni Arab Iraqis stuck near Sinjar in the no-man's-land between Kurdish security forces and ISIL.

Meanwhile, gross human rights violations continued to be documented in ISIL-controlled areas. Individuals suspected of disloyalty or of not conforming to the ideology of the group continued to be targeted, and there were reports of kidnappings and the burning and beheading of civilians. Some 16 mass graves containing the bodies of individuals murdered by ISIL had been discovered in Sinjar, said Ms. Pouilly, urging the Government of Iraq to investigate all human rights violations and abuses, including those committed against the Arab Sunni communities, to bring the perpetrators to justice and to ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies.

Further information in the press briefing note.

Responding to questions, Ms. Pouilly confirmed that authorities had been contacted and stressed that the situation of Sunni Arabs was actually worsening; as important political figures were being targeted, there were indication of specific groups being persecuted and harassed. It was a community that was being neglected and that was why OHCHR raised this concern with the authorities, including with the Iraqi government.

Asked whether there were elements of an organized persecution that would point to genocide, Ms. Pouilly said that persecution was widespread and systemic, which gave rise to serious concerns.

Responding to questions, OHCHR confirmed that 16 mass graves had been discovered only recently in Sinjar, and it was expected that more information about the graves, including the number of bodies, would be available soon.

Getting information was a real challenge, said Ms. Pouilly, explaining that OHCHR received information from several sources, including from ISIL-controlled areas, and that they strived to double and triple check those information before using them publicly.

Fighting in South Sudan forces thousands to flee – Caitlin

Andrew Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), briefed on the fighting in South Sudan, which forced thousands of people to flee into eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Edwards said that the recent fighting between local groups, known as the “Arrow Boys”, and the South Sudanese army in the Western Equatoria region of South Sudan has displaced over 4,000 people into a remote region of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. He reported that two UNHCR teams had registered 3,464 newly arrived refugees in areas near the border in DRC’s Dungu Territory.

Additional information in the briefing note.

UNHCR meets with South-East Asian States on humanitarian response to mixed maritime movements in the region

UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner Volker Türk was in Bangkok where he was meeting with South-East Asian States on humanitarian responses to mixed maritime movements in the region, said Mr. Edwards. An estimated 250,000 people had travelled along the routes of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in the last two years; over 1,100 were believed to have died at sea during the same period, with hundreds more found buried in unmarked mass graves. UNHCR hoped that today’s meeting would help set up a regional mechanism to coordinate efforts not just on law enforcement but also on locating and rescuing boats in distress, facilitating passengers to land and providing reception facilities in accordance with States' international obligations.

Refugee and Migrant Crisis

Itayi Viriri, for International Organization for Migration (IOM), briefed on the resettlement of the 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada, saying that the refugee processing operation had started today in Lebanon, while processing in Amman, Jordan, had started on 29 November. The First planes would head to Canada as soon as the processing of some 300 refugees was completed; so far, 85 families had been processed in Lebanon. Further information here.

Turning to the situation on the border between Greece and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Viriri said that with the exception of 4,000 Syrian refugees, no person had crossed that border since Wednesday 3 December. At the moment, IOM and other agencies were not allowed near the border. The situation there was quite tense with some 3,500 persons stuck on the Greek side of the border, and an additional 3,200 were expected to join them soon. See here for additional information.

In Italy on 3 December, some 2,000 migrants and refugees had been rescued from eight rubber vessels and three fishing boats in the Channel of Sicily, by the Italian Navy, Médecins Sans Frontières and others. In November, 2,170 persons had arrived to Italy, compared to 9,000 in 2014.

Answering question, Mr. Viriri said that some of the migrants stranded at the border were actually returning to Athens, and that some 200 had returned since the fights broke out there on Wednesday, 3 December.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog041215