The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) sounded the alarm on Tuesday about the “crisis of uncertainty” that is developing in Niger following last month's military takeover.
UNHCR Representative in Niger, Emmanuel Gignac, warned that the ongoing political situation could develop “humanitarian consequences,” with aid and protection services unable to reach scores of vulnerable displaced people.
Speaking in Geneva Mr. Gignac said that although attacks by non-state armed groups existed before the 26 July military takeover, especially near the Mali and Burkina Faso borders, since then, they have “led to further displacement.”
According to UNHCR, Niger is home to over 700,000 forcibly displaced people: 350,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, and 350,000 internally displaced people.
“In the past 30 days…we observed an additional 20,000 new internally displaced people," the UNHCR spokesperson said.
Additionally, population movements continue around the country's borders, albeit on a “modest scale”, with more than 2,500 people seeking asylum in Niger in the first two weeks of August, coming from Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
Mr. Gignac expressed concern over the effects of sanctions imposed on the country by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which do not include any exemptions for humanitarian aid.
He explained that the sanctions kicked in at a “fragile” time of the year – the so-called “période de soudure”, which marks the transition between agricultural seasons and before the rainy season fully sets in.
According to UNHCR, already high food and commodity prices surged further after sanctions were introduced and appear set to continue rising due to the closure of borders with ECOWAS countries.
Mr. Gignac stressed that the agency’s stocks of essential items for about 5,000 families are only expected to last for three to five months.
Calling for a lifting of sanctions for humanitarian aid, he pointed out that lack of access to food and “the scarcity of goods in general” will lead to a number of protection risks. These include “early marriages, sexual violence, trafficking and exploitation”.
In July, UNHCR reported 255 protection incidents including kidnapping, gender-based violence and domestic violence. The UN agency's teams witnessed a 50 per cent increase in such incidents between 26 and 31 July, compared to previous weeks.
The UNHCR representative underscored that Niger had been “a hub” for asylum-seekers and a migration route towards North Africa and Libya in particular, and that these people are “in need of international protection.”
Moreover, the security situation, fuel shortages and disruptions to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) have seriously impacted aid workers’ mobility, keeping them from reaching those most in need, he said.
The agency’s $135.7 million appeal for Niger remains only 39 per cent funded.
STORY: Protection crisis in Niger - UNHCR
DURATION (TRT): 03'34''
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 AUGUST 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FORMAT: HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Wide shot of panel.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger: “It is a political crisis. It's not a humanitarian crisis per se. It could develop into or have humanitarian consequences. It is already starting to have some. And until such a time there is a solution, this crisis will continue to create uncertainties.”
- Attendee behind screen.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger: “We're concerned by attacks by non-state armed groups, which existed, of course, before the 26 July coup. Whether or not they've increased, it's too early to say that. There has been some important attacks in the course, I mean, post 26 July, and they've, of course, led to further displacement.”
- Mid shot of attendees at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger: “It is a crisis about uncertainty. So that's why it's very difficult to say what will happen. It's not that we have witnessed a massive movement of people and then, you know, we're trying to see how it will evolve, etc… And we're trying, we know, we're assessing the needs that we're able to already call for specific… so we're more here to call for a lifting of, or exceptions, of sanctions for humanitarian aid.”
- Wide shot of attendees.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger: “Clearly, it is coming at a time we call in French or in Niger “période de soudure” , which is this transition between one agricultural season and the other, and right before the rainy season sets in. And that's always been a fragile period.”
- Side view of attendees.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger: “The fact that people don't have access to, as they used to have to food commodities and the scarcity of goods in general will lead to a number of protection risks that will develop. You know, we're talking about early marriages, sexual violence, trafficking and exploitation.”
- Close shot of attendees typing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger: “In the past 30 days, I think we observed an additional 20,000 new internally displaced people. That's an example. At a lesser scale, about two and a half thousand refugees, mainly from Mali and Burkina, some from Nigeria, also have been entering the country seeking asylum.”
- Close shot of attendee behind screens showing panellists.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger: “We’re of course concerned about the future when the situation is uncertain. Niger, until now, was a hub for refugees from, as I said, Mali, Nigeria mainly, but also Burkina. It's also a migration route towards North Africa and Libya in particular. And we do have asylum seekers or people in need of international protection.”
- Wide view from above and behind panellists.
- Mid-view of attendees.
- Mid-view of attendees.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.