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PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE

3 October 2023

Situation in the Karabakh region and Armenia

Dr. Marthe Everard, Special Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director to Armenia, speaking from Yerevan, said that Armenia, a small but resilient country, was copying with a sudden, massive influx of ethnic Armenian refugees from across the border. More than 100,000 had arrived so far. A huge depot explosion had left at least 170 dead and 200 with terrible burns.

The new arrivals needed urgent emergency assistance. The Armenian Government was doing everything it could – providing free transport to refugees to anywhere in the country and booking rooms in hotels and guest houses – but the scale of the crisis was too large. In the short-term, besides shelter, there were urgent health needs for the most vulnerable, including treatment for chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Infectious diseases, including respiratory infections like COVID-19 and flu, needed to be monitored and treated. There were ongoing measles outbreaks in Armenia. Mental health and psychosocial support were also critical.

Dr. Everard stated that in the medium to long-term, WHO would support the extensive efforts of the Armenian Government to provide accessible and affordable access to health services to all affected by this event. This included supporting the integration of more than 2,000 nurses and over 200 doctors into the Armenian health system. WHO had offered full support to the health authorities and the Minister, as they worked together to deliver emergency health assistance to very vulnerable population. WHO Regional Director, Dr. Hans Kluge, would arrive to Yerevan on 4 October to further support WHO’s work and speak to the Ministry of Health.

Marco Succi, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team leader of the rapid deployment team, speaking from Stepanakert/Khankendi, said that the ICRC teams were working to help those people who had stayed behind. After a mass-scale population movement, very few people had remained in the area, so ICRC teams were using loudspeakers to alert the remaining residents that they could provide them with help. Mr. Succi provided an example of Susana, an elderly cancer patient, who had been left all on her own, who was then reached by the ICRC and evacuated by the ambulance to Armenia.

Mr. Succi informed that the ICRC had evacuated over 200 wounded and sick patients, as well as remains of 229 people who had died during the conflict and the depot explosion. Dignified burial of the dead remained a priority of the ICRC. Bringing essential food and supplies to the area was also of paramount importance.

Responding to questions from the media, Mr. Succi said that the city was now completely deserted, and no more than a few hundred people were believed to be left there. The escalation had a major impact on both people who had left the region and those who had stayed because the essential services had been disrupted. The priority now was to find those in extreme need of medical treatment, the elderly, or the mentally disabled people. ICRC had 20 to 25 people working in the city. Mr. Succi reminded that before the recent escalation of hostilities, the movement people and goods into and out of the region had been severely restricted. ICRC remained available to act as a neutral intermediary and transport people if asked to do so. He reminded that the ICRC maintained a confidential dialogue with the parties and rarely went public with its comments.

Also answering questions, Dr. Everard specified that the WHO Europe Director would be arriving the following day and would meet with the health authorities and burn victims. He would also be bringing in additional medical supplies. Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said that the recent mission to the Karabakh region of the UN team, led by the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, was aimed to assess the situation on the ground and identify the humanitarian needs of both the people remaining and those who were on the move. More information is available here.

Humanitarian situation of South Sudanese returnees from Sudan

Mary-Ellen McGraoarty, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director in South Sudan, speaking from Juba, stated that the humanitarian situation along the border was at a critical juncture and there was a hunger emergency looming. People arriving to the border had harrowing stories of escape, including robbery and sexual violence. By the time they would arrive at the border, their resources had been depleted; 90 percent of families were reported to have gone for multiple days without eating. Almost 300,000 people had so far crossed from Sudan into South Sudan over the past five months. Families seen crossing today were much more vulnerable and food insecure than those who had arrived in the early days of the conflict. A large majority of those arriving were South Sudanese. Transportation was complicated and access was difficult, especially in the rainy season. The already difficult situation was rendered even more difficult by the heavy rains. Some 4,000 people from the local host communities had also been displaced by the floods. Currently, there were around 12,000 people in transit centers waiting to be transferred, informed Ms. McGraoarty.

WFP was helping the arrivals with all it had available, including food and immediate health screening. Many of the returned had been living in the urban areas of Sudan for years and were now returning to mostly rural areas and did not have the necessary skills. Those people needed longer-term support to rebuild their livelihoods. As many as 7.4 million of people in South Sudan had been estimated to be food insecure even before the current conflict in Sudan and the influx of impoverished returnees. This year, WFP had received less than half of the funding it needed; that meant half of the food assistance needed, and people were getting smaller rations, of less than 300 grams per days. WFP was pulling people back from the edge of hunger; barely saving lives was not enough, and durable solutions were needed, stressed Ms. McGraoarty. Success stories could be seen when people were given resources they needed.

Answering questions, Ms. McGraoarty said that for the coming six months, WFP needed USD 526 million. In addition to South Sudanese returnees, there were also some Sudanese refugees. Local communities had been largely welcoming and sharing with the arrivals what they had.

Further information about the WFP activities in South Sudan can be found here.

Human Rights Council

Pascal Sim, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), said that this morning the Council was considering the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports of Israel, Liechtenstein, and Serbia, to be followed by a general debate on the UPR, Palestine and other occupied territories as well as on the Vienna Programme of Action. On 5 October, the HRC would discuss several subjects related to the human rights of people of African descent. The Commission on Ethiopia would issue another paper today. Mr. Sim informed that the deadline to submit draft resolutions would be on 4 October. There had been no requests for a special session or urgent debate on Armenia, said Mr. Sim in a response to a question.

Announcements

Thomas Fitzsimons, for the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), informed that the forthcoming 147^th IPU Assembly would take place in Luanda, Angola from 23 to 27 October. The theme would be “Parliamentary Action for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.” A new IPU President would be elected, and so far, candidacies had been received from four female African parliamentarians. IPU would launch several new products, including on youth participation in parliaments. More information is available here.

Speaking on behalf of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Ms. Vellucci informed about the Youth Climate Dialogue taking place on 4 October at 9 am, at the Palais des Nations, in Room XVII in hybrid format. The event would provide high school students with a platform to exchange and learn from each other about climate change, its impacts, in various parts of the world, and propose different solutions.

UNITAR 60^th anniversary photo exhibition, displayed on the Rotonde du Quai du Mont-Blanc in Geneva from 2 to 27 October, would have an opening ceremony at 4 pm on 6 October, with participation from the Executive Director of UNITAR, UNOG DG, Mayor of Geneva and President of the Swiss Diplomatic Club.

Ms. Vellucci informed that on 4 October at 10:30 am, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) would present its Trade and Development Report 2023. Speakers would be Rebeca Grynspan, UNCTAD Secretary General, and Richard Kozul-Wright, Director of the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies. The report would be under embargo until 12 noon the same day.

On 5 October at 11 am, there would be a press conference by OCHA to provide an update on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. Speaker would be Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

Finally, Ms. Vellucci said that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was concluding this morning its review of the report of France. This afternoon, it would conclude its review of the report of Qatar.

Bi-weekly press briefing - 03 October 2023

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