REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service, chaired the briefing attended by spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, and the International Labour Organization.

South Sudan: Grave Security and Humanitarian Situation

Ms. Vellucci, reading a statement on behalf of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that humanitarian partners were deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Juba, where recent fighting had had a devastating impact on the civilian population. Preliminary estimates indicated that at least 36,000 people had been displaced by the fighting and were seeking shelter in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) protection of civilian sites and many other locations across the city. Most of the affected people were women and children.

Ms. Vellucci further informed that access to those in need was limited by the ongoing fighting and insecurity. It was imperative that civilians be allowed to move freely to places of refuge, and that humanitarian staff and their assets be protected to allow immediate, safe and unhindered access to those in need. The humanitarian situation was grave and the needs were immense.

Cecile Pouilly, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that the OHCHR was extremely concerned at the rapid deterioration of the security and human rights situation in South Sudan. Since 7 July, the capital Juba had experienced repeated clashes between soldiers loyal to President Kiir and those backing Vice President Machar. So far, according to Government figures, at least 272 people had been killed, including 33 civilians.

In spite of the call for calm by the two leaders in a joint press conference on 8 July, and a brief lull on 9 July, heavy fighting had resumed in Juba on 10 and 11 July, with both sides blaming each other for the escalating violence.

OHCHR was deeply concerned at reports of civilians being prevented from seeking refuge in the UNMISS premises, and, in some cases, being shot at while trying to do so. OHCHR was also deeply worried at reports that UN compounds and “protection of civilians” sites had been directly caught in the fighting and apparently, at times, directly targeted. According to UNMISS, eight people had been killed, and 59 injured, in or around “protection of civilians” sites between 10 and 11 July. OHCHR also strongly condemned the killing of two peacekeepers and several injured the previous day. Attacks against civilians and UN premises and personnel might constitute war crimes.

Ms. Pouilly added that another hugely worrying development was that there were indications the violence had started to spread to other States. Armed clashes had reportedly erupted in Mundri, Lainya, Kajo-Keji and Yei, in Central Equatoria State, as well as in Torit, in Eastern Equatoria State.

OHCHR welcomed the ceasefire declared by President Kiir and Vice President Machar the previous day, and called on both leaders to exercise their leadership and make a concerted and genuine effort to stop their respective forces from fighting each other, as well as to do their utmost to ensure the protection of the civilian population.

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the movement of WHO staff in Juba was being restricted by military forces. Mothers carrying children had been seen fleeing and trying to reach protection of civilians compounds. Several days earlier, the WHO had managed to supply the Juba Teaching Hospital with essential medicine and body bags. Medical kits would be distributed to partners on protection of civilians sites, and the WHO was mobilizing additional human and financial resources.

Mr. Jašareviæ informed that South Sudan was already among the countries with one of the highest maternal mortality rates, which stood at 730 per 100,000 births; in other words, 8 to 10 women died daily because of pregnancy-related complications, while more than 100,000 new-born children died yearly. The life expectancy in South Sudan was 55 years. Progress had been made in prenatal care and maternal and neonatal mortality rates had been reduced in recent years, but they were still very high.

Out of the USD 7.5 million which the WHO needed for health interventions in South Sudan, only USD 4.3 million had been received thus far. The health cluster as a whole was only 28 percent funded, said Mr. Jašareviæ.

Leo Dobbs, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that the UNHCR was calling on all armed parties to ensure safe passage for people fleeing the fighting, and was urging neighbouring countries to keep borders open to people seeking asylum.

UNHCR condemned the violence in Juba, but welcomed efforts by the two sides to implement a ceasefire and hope it would hold. The UNHCR office in Juba reported a tense calm overnight with no reports of more population displacement. OCHA had reported that the fighting had displaced some 36,000 people. Inside South Sudan, some 7,000 internally displaced people had sought shelter in UN bases in Juba. Providing them with food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation facilities would remain a critical challenge so long as the security situation remained bad.

UNHCR was also worried about the situation of some 9,000 urban refugees, who had told UNHCR about their security concerns as well as difficulties in getting food and water. Other refugee-hosting sites across South Sudan were reported to be calm. Meanwhile, some borders had been affected, such as the Uganda-South Sudan crossing, where security was tightened on the South Sudan side. That has led to a significant decrease in the number of new arrivals coming into Uganda over the weekend. Those who had managed to cross had reported indiscriminate attacks against civilians, with buses from Juba to the Uganda border being stopped and robbed.

Mr. Dobbs informed that in western Ethiopia’s Gambella region, the UNHCR had stepped up border monitoring with Ethiopia’s refugee commission. Emergency preparedness was in progress in Kenya, Sudan and other neighbouring countries in case of a major influx. There had not been any big influx at the Kenya-South Sudan border, although over the weekend, the UNHCR had received 36 individuals from Eastern Equatoria state. UNHCR had stepped up border monitoring and awaited more news.

All of UNHCR staff in Juba were accounted for. They had been advised to remain in a safe location and to avoid any movement outside, as Juba remained extremely tense, and the airport had been closed.

Itayi Viriri, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), for his part, said that the IOM had condemned the violence that had broken out in Juba days after the country’s fifth anniversary of independence and welcomed a ceasefire declared by the warring factions the previous day. IOM had called on both parties to urgently restore security by immediately disengaging their forces and engaging in dialogue. The IOM and its humanitarian partners had to be allowed to continue their lifesaving work in a secure environment with unrestricted access to some 1.61 million internally displaced persons in desperate need of humanitarian aid and support.

The exact scale of civilian casualties and population displacement caused by the fighting was still unclear, as aid agencies did not yet have full access to affected populations due to ongoing insecurity.

Answering a question, Ms. Vellucci reported that the Secretary-General had announced that he would discuss the situation in South Sudan with the Security Council today, 12 July. [Later on, UNIS clarified that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Løj, was also expected to brief the Security Council on South Sudan at consultations on 13 July.] On the previous day, the Secretary General had also said that he was consulting with his team and concerned organizations on his participation in the 27^th African Union Summit in Rwanda the following month.

On whether UN agencies were ready to step up humanitarian aid when needed, Mr. Jašareviæ said that his colleagues were not able to go out at the moment. Once the situation had improved, the response would be scaled. UNHCR staff in Juba were also currently locked down, said Mr. Dobbs. An emergency-preparedness programme was in place in South Sudan, as in all locations with UNHCR field presences. Ms. Vellucci informed that the security perimeter had been strengthened at the protection of civilian sites. Mr. Viriri added that the IOM staff were in safe locations, but it was hoped that they would be able to get out today and reach newly internally displaced.

In response to another question, Ms. Pouilly said that it would need to be established whether the crimes committed were war crimes, which would need to be done by a relevant tribunal. The reports the OHCHR had showed that at least one of the compounds was in the vicinity of the fighting and in some instances it seemed to have been directly targeted.

Ms. Pouilly reminded that several years earlier, the previous High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, had made strong statements against impunity in South Sudan. The two leaders had been asked to take historic responsibility for justice. OHCHR was now worried about ethnic strife, but this morning it appeared that the ceasefire was holding.

On whether the UN peacekeepers could get out of their bases and provide protection for civilians, Ms. Vellucci stated that the situation was extremely fluid and the UN was doing what it could to protect both staff and civilian population. The peacekeepers would take whatever measures needed to defend the civilians. The previous day, the Secretary-General had demanded that the Security Council impose an immediate arms embargo on South Sudan, enact additional targeted sanctions on leaders blocking the implementation of the agreement, and fortify the UNMISS. Attack helicopters were desperately needed to protect civilians, the Secretary-General had stated.

Responding to a question, Mr. Dobbs clarified that all neighbouring countries had their borders open. UNHCR was asking them to keep them open. The UNHCR was not seeing as much movement in the rest of South Sudan as was the case in Juba.

Syria: Situation in Aleppo

Ms. Vellucci, reading a statement on behalf of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the UN remained deeply concerned about increased fighting in and around Aleppo city. Since 7 July, the intensification of hostilities between the Government of Syria forces and non-state armed groups had rendered the Castillo road impassable, the only access in and out of eastern Aleppo city. An estimated 300,000 people residing in eastern Aleppo city depended on the road, which allowed the flow of humanitarian supplies, commercial goods, and civilian movement. Given the history of the tensions in the area, most people in eastern Aleppo city relied heavily on humanitarian assistance. Price increases had already been reported in eastern Aleppo city.

Ms. Vellucci added that the humanitarian community was also particularly concerned about the spread of hostilities throughout the city, putting the lives of thousands of civilians at risk as distressing reports continued of aerial bombardment and shelling on civilian locations in both western and eastern Aleppo city. The UN reiterated the call on all parties to the conflict to take all measures to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access to all civilians living in Aleppo city, as required under international humanitarian law. Very importantly, that included enabling the rapid, safe and unhindered evacuation of all civilians who wished to leave.

Ms. Vellucci, in a response to a question, said that the Special Envoy should be back in Geneva later in the week. The Task Forces would meet as usual and a stake-out on the humanitarian situation should be held afterwards.

Asked about the Russian Foreign Minister’s comments on the lack of progress regarding the next round of Syrian talks, Ms. Vellucci did not commented but stated that 1 August remained the target date for the commencement of the next round. The Special Envoy and his team were working hard towards this end. The Special Envoy’s position was not to have talks just for the sake of them; the idea was to ensure there would be some substantive progress.

Mediterranean Arrivals: Update

Mr. Viriri stated that at the moment, 238,220 persons had arrived to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea in 2016, most through Italy and Greece. So far, 2,942 migrants and refugees had died making those crossings. On a positive note, there had been no reports on drownings on the eastern Mediterranean route since March. Over 2,200 migrants and refugees had been rescued and brought to land in Italy since 6 July.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: High Commissioner Zeid’s Visit

Responding to a question, Ms. Pouilly informed that the High Commissioner Zeid’s programme of visit was being finalized and would be sent out before the visit.

Cambodia: Murder of Kem Ley

In a response to another question, Ms. Pouilly said that OHCHR strongly condemned the killing of the activist Kem Ley in Phnom Penh. The Government had been asked to carry out an investigation, and one suspect had been reportedly arrested. All facts needed to be established, stressed Ms. Pouilly. The Cambodian authorities ought to take protection measures to ensure that such crimes not happen again. It was important that people in Cambodia had a chance to participate in pre-electoral debates.

Venezuela: Humanitarian Crisis

Question was asked on whether UN agencies were providing aid to Venezuela. No further information could be provided immediately, but it was agreed that a dedicated briefing would possibly be organized shortly.

Geneva Events and Press Conference

Ms. Vellucci informed that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was meeting today to consider the report of Albania. Later in the week, the Committee would look into the reports of Turkey, Uruguay and Mali.

The Human Rights Committee was holding a public session this morning to discuss the draft General Comment 6, on the right to life.

Hans von Rohland, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), informed that the ILO would launch a report on labour provisions in trade arrangements, in Press Room 1, on 18 July at 11 a.m. The report would set out an increasing number of labour provisions in trade agreements impacting the world of work and also how they impacted trade flows. The report would be under embargo until noon on 18 July.

Later today, a press release would be issued on the G20 Labour Ministers’ meeting in China, said Mr. von Rohland. The ILO Director-General was in Beijing, where he had addressed the meeting.

Today, at 12 July at 2 p.m. in Room III, UNAIDS would hold a press conference to launch a new report on HIV prevention gaps. The report will contain further analysis of UNAIDS data, which unveil some concerning trends in HIV prevention. The report will also outline a number of solutions to stop new HIV infections and reach the ambitious targets for 2020 as outlined in the 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS and the new UNAIDS Strategy. The speaker would be Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog120716