The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing 17 July 2020
/
1:26:08
/
MP4
/
824.8 MB
Press Conferences | OHCHR , UNICEF , UNHCR , OCHA , WHO , WFP , IOM
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing 17 July 2020
Human Rights Council
Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), speaking on behalf of the Human Rights Council, said the Council would take action today on the remaining ten draft resolutions and appoint four new human rights experts - on toxic wastes, freedom of expression, the right to health, and human trafficking. At the end of the day, the Council would adopt the report of the forty-fourth session.
More information on the forty-fourth session of the Council can be found here.
Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the number of people in the world who needed humanitarian assistance had more than doubled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the global lockdown of economies and societies. At the beginning of the year, humanitarians had targeted some 110 million people; today, they needed to reach 250 million people with assistance in 63 countries.
In late March, the Global Humanitarian Plan for COVID-19 had been launched, asking for USD 2 billion; the Plan had been updated in May, asking for USD 6.7 billion, and today it was being updated again, seeking USD 10.3 billion. The main portion of the Plan referred to non-health aspects, such as food, water, and sanitation. There had been a huge increase in the number of starving people; the number could reach 270 million by the end of the year. Until now, USD 1.7 billion had been received for the COVID-19 response, which was generous, but it did not even cover the initial ask from March. Business as usual would not work under the current extraordinary circumstances. The largest donors so far had been the United States, Germany, the European Commission, Japan, and the United Kingdom, explained Mr. Laerke. The world should support those most vulnerable and affected not only because this was the right and humane thing to do, but it was also in their self-interest.
Full press release can be read here.
Marixie Mercado, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), informed that UNICEF’s updated global coronavirus appeal now stood at USD 1.9 billion, up from USD 1.6 billion in May. It covered 155 countries and territories, including the 63 countries in the Global Humanitarian Response Plan. As of mid-July, UNICEF’s USD 1.6 billion appeal was about half funded.
Projections showed that 6,000 children could die from preventable causes every day over the next six months as a direct and indirect result of COVID-19-related disruptions in essential services. At least 30 measles vaccination campaigns could be cancelled, which could result in new outbreaks. Close to 1.2 billion students around the world were affected by school closures, which could further deepen the global learning crisis. Ms. Mercado informed that for every three months of continued lockdowns, there could be an additional 15 million cases of domestic, gender-based violence, at a time when a lot of countries were reporting drops in services provided for addressing gender-based violence. In brief, the pandemic was indeed a child-rights crisis.
Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said the WFP accounted for about a half of the Global Response Plan. The hunger pandemic was at our door and we all needed to act now; the costs of inaction would grow exponentially unless the right combination of relief and recovery assistance was implemented swiftly. It was estimated the number of acutely food insecure people in countries affected by conflict, disasters or economic crises could increase from 149 million (pre-COVID-19) to 270 million before the end of the year if assistance was not provided urgently.
WFP-FAO early warning analysis of acute food insecurity hotspots identified some 25 countries whose populations were particularly at risk from acute food insecurity under the effect of several drivers, exacerbated by the fallout from COVID-19. Those countries were concentrated in Africa (occupying a swathe from West through Central to East Africa while a number of countries in Southern Africa were also affected); also of concern were countries in Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh); the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen); and parts of Latin America. WFP was scaling operations to provide assistance to 138 million people who were currently facing hunger, said Ms. Byrs.
Shabia Mantoo, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that UNHCR was part of the Global Response Plan; UNHCR’s portion remained at USD 775 million, 47 per cent of which was covered thus far. The world’s almost 80 million displaced people were among the most exposed to the threats of the virus, stressed Ms. Mantoo.
Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), informed about today’s press conference at 5 p.m, which would be attended by Dr. Tedros and Mark Lowcock, the UN Humanitarian Chief. The two speakers would address a series of both health and non-health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of the Global Response Plan.
Answering a question on a WHO mission in China, Ms. Chaib said this was an advance, exploratory mission of two experts from the WHO; one was an expert on animal health and another was an epidemiologist. WHO had an office in Beijing which provided them support. They were currently setting a scope of the mission, which would, among others, look into the zoonotic origins of the virus.
COVID-19 and temporary basic income
Sarah Bel, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), informed that UNDP would be launching on 23 July a new report that would call for the immediate introduction of a Temporary Basic Income for the world’s poorest people to slow the current surge in COVID-19 cases by enabling people to stay at home while making sure they had the means to buy food and pay for health and education expenses. The report would present the evidence that the measure was affordable and calculate costs for a time-bound, guaranteed basic income to almost three billion people living below or just above the poverty line in 132 developing countries.
UNDP would organize a press briefing with the senior economist - the author of the report - on 21 July at 3 p.m. Geneva time, when the embargo on the already shared materials would be lifted.
Mozambican miners in South Africa
Paul Dillon, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that thousands of Mozambican miners were returning to work in neighbouring South Africa for the first time since borders had closed in March due to COVID-19. Five hundred miners screened for the virus by their hiring agency had received health checks at an IOM-operated cross-border Occupational Health Centre created to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, a condition which disproportionately affected mine workers.
IOM advocated for the health-proofing of global mobility systems and saw the integration of migrants into post-pandemic planning as a key to global socio-economic recovery efforts.
South Africa’s gold and platinum mines alone employed roughly 45,000 migrant workers and their skills were considered essential to the resumption of economic activity there.
The agreement between the two countries to allow the flow of properly screened migrant labour across the border by mainstreaming COVID-19 testing was an example of what could be accomplished when governments were encouraged to discuss and plan together for the resumption of cross-border mobility, said Mr. Dillon.
Use of force in Mali
Elizabeth Throssell, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stated that amid continuing tensions in Mali, where there had been a series of anti-government protests in recent weeks, OHCHR urged the authorities to ensure that security forces refrain from resorting to unnecessary or excessive force in policing demonstrations or otherwise interacting with protesters.
OHCHR was particularly concerned in light of events in the capital, Bamako, on 10 July and over the weekend when special forces (Force spéciale antiterroriste - FORSAT) were reported to have fired lethal ammunition during clashes with demonstrators. The announcement by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta that there would be investigations into the violence was welcome. In line with its mandate, the MINUSMA Human Rights and Protection Division had launched a fact-finding mission to examine allegations of serious human rights violations perpetrated in connection with the protests. OHCHR called on all sides to exercise utmost restraint and use peaceful means to deal with their grievances, which had been triggered by a variety of factors, including the outcome of delayed parliamentary elections, alleged endemic corruption and weak governance, heightened insecurity and violent extremism in different parts of the country.
Full press briefing note is available here.
Rhéal LeBlanc, for the UN Information Service, added that the UN Mission in Mali was working closely with the ECOWAS mediation mission headed by the former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
Political and civil rights in Belarus
Elizabeth Throssell, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that the OHCHR called on the Belarusian authorities to ensure full respect for the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and of association. According to information from various NGOs and media sources, over 300 people, including a dozen journalists covering the protests, had been detained by police during protests on 14-15 July.
The demonstrations in Minsk and several other towns had followed the refusal of the electoral commission to register two opposition candidates for the presidential election on 9 August.
Belarus had the duty to facilitate peaceful assemblies and to uphold the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including by those who might be expressing dissenting views and support for opposition candidates, stressed Ms. Throssell. Journalists wanting to cover the protests should not be prevented or obstructed in their work, and subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention.
OHCHR called for all those detained simply for exercising their human rights who were still in detention to be released, and for fair trial and due process guarantees to be met in relation to any criminal or administrative proceedings that might be instituted against them.
Press briefing note can be read here.
Parliamentary elections in Syria
Responding to a question, Jenifer Fenton, for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE),
stated that the upcoming elections, this coming weekend, would be held under the current framework, and the UN would not engage. The Special Envoy would brief the Security Council on 23 July, informed Ms. Fenton. Security Council resolution 2254 clearly establishes a framework in which elections administered under UN supervision are to be held in accordance with new constitutional provisions that provide for free and fair elections, with all Syrians, including members of the diaspora, eligible to participate.
Statelessness law in Ukraine
Shabia Mantoo, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that the UNHCR welcomed a new statelessness law in Ukraine that had come into effect this week. The law would give thousands of people who lacked a nationality a chance to work legally, study and access healthcare among other rights and opportunities, and would ultimately provide a pathway to citizenship, once they were recognized as stateless. It was expected to benefit an estimated 35,000 people in the country who were either stateless or whose nationality was undetermined, including people who had been residing in Ukraine for many years, but had not been able to acquire Ukrainian citizenship or any other nationality due to a lack of documentation or ties to post-Soviet countries. UNHCR stood ready to support authorities in the implementation of the law and had offered its assistance to Ukraine’s State Migration Service, providing training to key staff in their regional departments as well as to legal practitioners. UNHCR would also raise awareness among concerned populations on the possibility to apply for statelessness status.
Full press release is here. More on UNHCR’s work to end statelessness globally here.
Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Responding to questions, Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said the Ebola outbreak in the Equateur Province was continuing. The outbreak had been declared in Bandaka on 1 June, and had now spread to six new health zones, with 56 recorded cases. As of 12 July, there had been 20 deaths in the Equateur Province. WHO’s message was that it would not allow COVID-19 to distract it from its work on Ebola. Some USD 2 million had been mobilized to respond, which would be enough for a wide range of activities for another few weeks. More than 12,000 people had been vaccinated since the beginning of June; most vaccinators were from the local population. This was the eleventh outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, and the WHO was applying lessons learned in the past, said Ms. Chaib.
Geneva announcements
Rhéal LeBlanc, for the UN Information Service (UNIS), reminded about the Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July. On that occasion, the UN Secretary-General would deliver the annual lecture at 3 p.m. Geneva time, which could be watched live at webtv.un.org.
The Human Rights Committee, which was pursuing its 129th session online, would hold today two public meetings to the review (second reading) of its General Comment 37 on Article 21 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Teleprompter
All right.
Good morning, everyone.
Welcome to this press briefing of Friday, 17th July.
Apologies for the slight delay.
Let me see, just a quick update on the Human Rights Council, which as you know is ending today.
So it will be closing its 44th session at the end of today.
This morning it will resume action on the remaining 10 draught resolutions and after considering these draught resolutions, the Council President will announce the appointment of four new human rights experts on toxic wastes, freedom of expression, the right to Health and Human trafficking.
And afterwards the Council will adopt it's session report and conclude it's session.
Rolando will be sending you updates and details throughout the day.
And we have Sarah Bell would like to also give do a short announcement.
So if we can unmute Sarah.
And we're launching on Thursday, 24 July, so next week, a new report that calls for the immediate introduction of the temporary basic incomes from for the world Paris people to slow the current surge in COVID-19 cases by enabling those people to stay at home while making sure they have the means to buy food and pay for health and education expenses.
The report brings the evidence that this measure is affordable and calculate the cost for a time bound granted basic income for almost 3 billion people living below adjustable the poverty line in 132 developing countries.
With the pandemic now spreading at a rate of more than 1.6 million new cases per week, particularly in developing countries where 9 out of 10 workers are informal workers and should not have to choose between the disease and hunger, the temporary basic income is a measure that could protect the most vulnerable.
So we're really talking about millions of people.
We organise A briefer with a senior economist.
We use the offer of the report on Tuesday, 21st July at 3:00 PM Geneva time.
I've sent you yesterday the report, the press release and the media advisory and obviously everything is under strict embargo till Thursday.
Thank you.
Good.
Thank you very much.
Sarah, are there any questions for Sarah in the room or online?
I don't see any.
So thank you, Sarah for being with us this morning and I'm sure you'll stay on the line if there should be any other questions.
Now we're going to move to the next item of the agenda.
We have a number of spokespeople from various humanitarian organised agencies this morning in Slark from Ocha, Maliksi Mercado from UNICEF, Elizabeth Beers from WFP, Fidela Chaheb from WHO and Shabby Aman 2 from UNHCR to give you a bit more information or their perspectives on the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan, which was announced yesterday.
So I will turn the floor to Jens for more details on that.
Thank you, Rial, and good morning, everyone.
The number of people in the world who need humanitarian assistance has more than doubled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect of the global lockdown of economies and societies.
At the beginning of the year, humanitarians targeted some 110 million people.
Today we need to reach 250 million people with assistance in 63 countries.
More people have become vulnerable and they need more aid.
The urban poor, vulnerable women and girls threatened by gender based violence, people with disabilities, older people, hungry people, children and adolescents.
In late March, we launched the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19.
We asked for $2 billion for the immediate emergency response.
We updated the plan in May and the request jumped to 6.7 billion U.S.
dollars.
We are updating it today again seeking $10.3 billion.
So this is the plan and it deals with the need for basic health services including immunisation, mother and child health care, malaria prevention and control and so on.
But the main portion of the plan is for non health support, for example, food security, nutrition, water and sanitation, livelihoods, shelter and protection including against gender based violence.
We are seeing a huge increase in the number of starving people, which could reach some 270 million by the end of the year.
The plan has a 500 million envelope for famine prevention.
We have up to now received $1.7 billion, which is a generous amount, but does not even cover the initial ask for March of 2 billion.
All countries are hurting economically and in fact, donors have overall given more to humanitarian response in the first half of 2020 than they have in any previous year.
But we need a recognition that a business as usual response will be hopelessly inadequate in these unique circumstances.
Rich countries are wisely protecting their own economies with enormous relief packages.
But it is dangerously short sighted not to invest to protect the world's most vulnerable people as well.
The risk is otherwise that we are going to see multiple new crises on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic.
No one on this planet will be safe from the virus till everyone is safe from it.
We know that food shortages and starvation lead people to move and they ferment conflict, which is also a perfectly exportable problem.
So again, we are urging the world to show generosity, not only because it's the humane thing to do, but also because it's in their self-interest.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Jens.
We're going to go to other UN agencies for their perspective on this plan as well.
Why don't we go to Fidela Saeb from The Who, if we can unmute Fidela.
Good morning.
Bonjour, Good morning.
Vasi, please go ahead.
New Zealand Buzon Boyer Sumata Nevitation who la Conference the Press do Doctor Tedros Georgie Sesra Larzumon Devolu Asupplan Humanitar The Reponza COVID iztora gujuan par Monsieur Mark Lowcock Kiva Parlez dines desaspe no sanitaire Li as a plant of jeans and local doctor Tedros vasofocalize SU lefek to set a pardemido COVID diznaf IUDZ Fe cerio seor laci the population who service the sante d'autil zombies Juan E comprise pure lent eruption.
They compound the vaccination contr de melody key perf pregnier they.
They say it is on the cap shell is on phone and sequence of the problem.
The programme present important the du Villas de Paludismo a daughter Zeta Boncion de de Sante.
Dr Buzenvit.
I'll confirm the pressure Doctor Tedros de Monsieur Mark Lewcock Ojordwi a diseter Dr Tedros si by parley the Lamportons.
The professional de Sante don't allude to count Lew COVID dizziness, merci.
Merci beaucoup Fadella, Don't conference the press.
The doctor rasted at remedy.
Sankar Persona No Shabia.
Man 2 from the refugee agency is with us in room 3.
So I give her the floor and then we'll move on to our other agencies online.
Shabia.
Good morning, everyone.
Just to say UNHCR is an integral part of the global humanitarian response plan and advocates for timely, sustained and flexible support by government, private sector and individual contributors for the latest iteration of the plan.
Unhcr's portion of this response plan has not changed since the earlier update of the plan released in May and it remains at 745,000,000 U.S.
dollars.
This sum comprises all additional COVID-19 related needs for refugees, internally displaced and stateless people globally.
Today, 428.2 million U.S.
dollars has been pledged, covering 57% of Unhcr's appeal and we are grateful to our donors for the strong support.
But with coronavirus now present in every country, including those that host large refugee and displaced populations, the world 79.5 million refugees and forcibly displaced people are among the most exposed and vulnerable to the ****** of the virus.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Shabia.
Let's move on to UNICEF with Marik Simmertado, who is joining us online.
Could we unmute Marik C.
Good morning.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Good morning, Marik C please go ahead.
Good morning everybody.
UNICEF's updated global coronavirus appeal is now $1.9 billion, up from 1.6 billion in May.
It covers 155 countries and territories, including the 63 countries in the Global Humanitarian Response Plan.
As of mid-july, our $1.6 billion appeal was about half funded.
I have 3 numbers and some emerging data from UNICEF country offices on how COVID is affecting children now in ways that will have lasting or irreversible impact on child mortality.
Projections issued by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in May show that 6000 children could die from preventable causes every day over the next six months as a direct and indirect result of COVID-19 related disruptions in essential services.
The data from the first four months of 2020 already show a substantial drop in the number of children completing 3 doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
This is as we said, as we said with WHOI think 2 days ago, this is the first time in 28 years that the world could see a reduction in DTP three coverage, which is the marker for immunisation coverage.
We know that at least 30 measles vaccination campaigns were or are at risk of being cancelled and this of course could result in further outbreaks in 2020 and beyond.
Second, on learning, the latest UNESCO estimates show that over 1.1 billion or close to 1.2 billion students in 150 countries continue to be affected by school closures.
Apart from causing mental and psychological distress to school closures risk hardening already inherent in inequalities and access to learning.
And to deepen the global learning crisis, the children already furthest behind the children most in need of learning will bear the brunt.
Finally, a statistic from UNFPA on violence against girls and women.
They estimated that for every three months the COVID lockdown measures continue, there could be an additional 15,000,000 cases extra cases of gender based violence.
According to UNICEF last Global Situation report, 35 out of 68 reporting countries reported an increase in gender based violence such as intimate partner violence against women or adolescent girls or online harassment and bullying of adolescent girls.
And 15 out of our 6 out of 65 reporting countries reported a service coverage drop of over 25% in gender based violence services, including clinical care, psychological support services or referral pathways to respond to this violence.
These numbers and what we are seeing now from reporting from UNICEF, reporting country offices, show that this pandemic is a child rights crisis, and we appeal to donors to continue to support us in helping respond, recover and protect children.
Thank you.
Thank you, Marixi from UNICEF and we will hear from Elizabeth Biers from the World Food Programme and then take your questions.
OK, good morning.
WFP accounts for about half of the total amount of the global humanitarian response plan.
WFP needs $4.9 billion + 500 million special provision for famine prevention.
This indicates the severity of food insecurity threatening the world.
The hunger pandemic is at our door and WFP must act now and we must all act now.
If if not, we would be dangerously short sighted.
The cost of inaction against the food security and other consequences of the pandemic will grow exponentially unless the right combination of relief and recovery assistance is implemented quickly and at scale.
Today.
This global report in fact, coincides with a new report FAOWFP report, Early Warning Analysis of acute food insecurity hotspots.
The hotspots report identifies some 25 countries whose population are particularly at risk from acute foot insecurity under the effect of several drivers exacerbated by the fallout of from the COVID-19.
These countries are concentrated in Africa, East Africa, southern Africa and of course in also in Asia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Middle East, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, and of course Latin America.
WFPNFAO call for urgent action to prevent multiple food crises resulting from the secondary impact of the pandemic.
We must, as I said, we must act now.
Three months ago, the Director of WFP, David Besley, told the Security Council that we run the risk of a famine of biblical proportion.
Today, our latest data tell us that since then, millions of the world's very poorest family have been forced even closer to the the abyss.
Livelihoods are being destroyed at an unprecedented level.
Now to prevent the worst, WFP scaling up its operation to provide food assistance to 138 million people who face desperate level of anger.
I will stop here.
You have more details in the notes.
Thank you.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
So we've heard from several humanitarian agencies that have a stake in this global response plan.
Let's take some questions.
I see we have Catherine Fiancon on the line.
Could we on mute, Catherine?
Yes, good morning.
Do you hear me?
Yes.
Hi, Catherine, go ahead.
Yes, I have.
First of all, I would like to to ask if the representative of the office of the Special Representative for Syria could maybe brief us.
There are a parliamentary elections that are going to be held Sunday.
It has been a long time that we haven't heard anything from the office and it would be very interesting for us as they are Geneva based, maybe they could brief us about the situation in Syria and evolution of the talks.
Now to come back to the response plan, I have a question for Fidela.
Good morning.
Fidela, I'd like to to ask you about the rise of cases of COVID-19 and also the cases, the situation of the rise of cases in Yemen and Syria, particularly in Yemen.
I don't know if you have some elements to share with us.
And now that I have the opportunity to talk to you, I would like also to ask you a question about Ebola cases in DRC.
And we, we assist to a rise of cases of Ebola and apparently there are also funding problems.
So thank you for the love for your answers.
Catherine, do you want Catherine, do you want me to respond in French or English, English, so you can share with the colleagues?
OK, thank you.
So maybe let's start with your last question, Ebola.
Ebola outbreak in DRC in Ecuador province continues to grow causing major concern as W2 and partners are experiencing very critical money shortages to respond to this outbreak.
The as you know, the this outbreak was declared 4th of June in Bondaka area in Ecuador province and now it has spread to six new health zones.
We have 56 cases recorded.
Maybe just to give you some more details, out of this 56 cases, 53 are confirmed by laboratory and three are probable.
As of 12 July, we have 20 deaths in the equator region.
It's it's difficult to respond to an Ebola outbreak in the middle of an ongoing COVID-19.
But WHO message is that we will not let COVID-19 distract us from tackling this Ebola and let it spread further.
It's important we know how to control it and it's very important not to not to respond because of money or because we are distracted by COVID-19.
This Ecuador province outbreak is very is quite different from the others because the cases are scattered across remote areas in densely forest rainforest.
In Ecuador, W2 has mobilised less than two million U.S.
dollar to respond.
This money will help us carry our intervention for a few more weeks and after that we we are short of money.
We need this money to key services, for example, health, education, community engagement, vaccination, testing, contact tracing, treatment, etcetera.
Just to add some information, we have vaccinated some 12,000 people.
This is remarkable because if we remember the last outbreak we had in the quarter privacy in 2008, it took us two weeks to start vaccination for this one, the outbreak that started 1st of June, in four days we were able to start vaccination and we have vaccinated so far 12,000 people.
And what is also to be noted as most of the vaccinate vaccinators are from local population.
This will add trust to the, to the work we are doing there.
And we, we have some 26 lab technicians who are also from the region.
So this is also a good thing because the investment we have made to, to work with local population is paying off.
So this is what I can tell you about Ebola, Catherine.
OK.
Thank you.
Other questions on the global response plan, Stephanie Nabbe is on the line.
I can also respond about Syria.
Maybe she asked about Syria and Yemen.
Can we, can we stay on the global response plan?
And then I, I have also Jennifer Fenton will come on to talk about Syria so we can come back to that.
Stephanie Nabbe, Can we unmute her, please?
Stephanie, are you?
Can we unmute Stephanie Nebae, please?
Can you hear?
Me now.
Sorry.
Can you hear me now?
Yeah, sorry.
Yeah, go ahead.
My question for Fidela is rather is not on the response plan directly.
It has to do with the China mission.
So I can defer if necessary, but I'm sure others would be interested in her answer to that.
Thank you.
Sorry, we will come back to Fadela to answer a question on Syria, but also she'll we take note of the question on the China mission.
She can answer that at the same time.
Ahmad Arun, can we unmute Ahmad Ahmad, go ahead.
Good morning, Real.
I don't know if you.
Good morning.
Yes, we hear you.
Please go ahead.
I need just a clarification from Fadila about the press conference for Doctor Tadros today.
Did, did you send the invitation already or you will send it later?
Because I didn't understand actually I didn't receive anything.
Thank you.
Fadila, do you want to just answer that quickly?
Yeah.
We are running a little bit late in sending the invitation, but I can confirm we will have a press conference with Doctor Tedros, Mike Ryan, Maria Van Berkov and a special guest, Mr Mark Lowcock to talk about the the global humanitarian response plan for COVID-19 at 5:00 today.
The invitation will be sent to you.
But just to confirm, we will have a press conference.
Thank you.
Thank you.
OK, let's go to Lisa Schlein.
Can we unmute Lisa?
Lisa, Hello.
Yes, I believe I'm unmuted.
Thank you very much.
This is about Ebola.
Since Fidel already dealt with it, I believe I can sort of follow up on Catherine's question.
OK.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
Thank you, Fidela.
When the outbreak occurred on June 1st, shortly after that Michelle Yao spoke and he seemed to be fairly confident that WHO and partners would be able to get the epidemic under control fairly quickly, mentioning the new tools that you have, the vaccines and the therapeutics and so forth.
Well, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have happened.
What went wrong?
Does it all have to do with money or are there other elements involved in it?
And then you said that that local people were involved in that and vaccinating others and that's good and that would add to Community Trust.
So my question to turn it around is, is there community mistrust and are you taking action in order to gain their confidence?
Thank you.
Thank you, Lisa.
As you as you know, Ebola is a complex disease and every outbreak is is unique.
What I can tell you is we have learned a lot of lessons from responding to all this outbreak of Ebola.
Just for you to know, this is the 11th outbreak of Ebola in this country, In DRC, in some part of Ecuador province, we are experiencing some community resistance.
This is why it's very important to mobilise communities to understand what we are doing and how important is to work together to put an end to this outbreak.
And it's also important to raise awareness about surveillance, how we are treating people who are sick.
And it's very important also to know that in this part of DRC the population is highly mobile.
We are talking here about the population of over 1,000,000 people.
And it's it's also a very known trading hub on the Congo River.
And as you know, even despite all our work, there is also a lie a lot of fear and stigma surrounding the Ebola virus.
It's complicating the, the response.
This being said, everyone at The Who, Ministry of Health, partners, NGOs, on the on the field are working to control this, this outbreak.
It's challenging, it's difficult, but it's not impossible.
We know how to do it.
We we face it similar or more difficult outbreak and we were able to put an end to it.
So it's a little bit more complicated as many other people are distracted by COVID-19 or lack of money, but we it's feasible.
Thank you, Lisa.
Sorry, Lisa, you have a follow up question.
Hi, thanks.
Yes, I do very, very quickly for you.
Fidela, how much money do you actually need?
And then on the global response plan would be people who spoke earlier, please send us their notes.
It would be much appreciated.
We only received Elizabeth.
So how much you said that you're poor, you're always poor.
How much money do you need for Della?
Thank you for this question, Lisa.
I don't have the figure that we are requesting.
If I have it in the course of the day, I will share it with you.
But what I can tell you is we have less than two million U.S.
dollar in our account and this money will last for a few more weeks.
So we are calling to our donors to show generosity in order not to be able, in order to be able to control this outbreak in Equator events.
Thank you.
Thank you for that.
Nick, did you have a question on the plan?
Hi, Yeah, fiance, you've got 1.7 billion so far.
Is that the total response to the entire appeal?
I mean your entire appeal is $40 billion at this point.
So is that 1.7 billion just for COVID or is that also for the for the total response?
And if not, what have you got for the response?
Secondly, I mean, your ask seems to be going up by about $4 billion every couple of months since it's quite clear that globally we haven't seen this COVID crisis peaking.
Presumably you're going to be asking for billions more.
And yet, you know, you're getting small change from the international community.
How do you expect to kind of break this this gap?
Yeah, thank you Nick and and thanks for pointing out these two different funding numbers.
The 1.7 billion that we have received is against the global humanitarian response plan for COVID-19.
So that is particularly for the COVID response overall, including all the pre-existing humanitarian needs covered by response plans of various sorts, we have received about almost 9 billion, 9 billion and that is what I said that is actually around a record for fundraising for the first half of a year.
That is all fine and generous, but it does not take into account the unique new situation we are we are seeing right now.
And that kind of feeds a bit into your other questions.
No, we have not perhaps seen it peak completely, but we are seeing very strongly the effects on people that are not necessarily health related.
So you have the pandemic in itself and the response to that, the urgent emergency health response to that, that's very important.
But then you have and that is the majority of the 10.3 billion we're asking for now is the related needs that arise from the response to the first crisis.
So the effect of the lockdown and other measures taking which have led to a global lockdown of economies and and and societies are having a huge disproportionate impact on people that were already vulnerable and in humanitarian situations.
That's what brings us to the overall number of people globally more than doubling in terms of them needing humanitarian aid.
The numbers are indeed going up and it's quite a big step from one to the next.
And it's only three, 3-4 months since we started, started this.
That is of course a reflection of of what what I just mentioned.
Now will it go further up?
Well, that's highly likely because it is still, it is still out there ravaging.
We are not seeing globally just the numbers of the COVID cases in and of themselves going down, quite the opposite.
And it may still hit harder with even harder secondary effects in these vulnerable countries, 63 of which are covered by this plan.
Now, will the world pay?
I don't think the world wants to see the actual consequences, the tragedies that will pan out if we do not do something right now.
We have been saying we have received money from you, this generous.
Thank you for that.
The wealthy economies, not least in the G20, have and rightly so, thrown the rule book out the window and given themselves to save their own people and economies, huge amounts of money, huge amounts of money.
So it should be.
It will be very wise for them to not be stingy when it comes to saving the most vulnerable countries of the world.
Why is the humane thing to do?
But secondly, it will be a, an approach that will prevent other related crisis from coming back to bite them at a later stage.
So with a relatively modest amount investment in these countries now you can prevent or mitigate future crisis in terms of people movements, multiple famines and so on in the future.
I think the, the, the, the call for funding, it's not new, but it is unique situation and we are trying to speak frankly directly to these very wealthy, wealthy nations who are dealing with their own problems as as as they should, but should expand that to other countries as well.
They are meeting right now.
We know over the next coming couple of days starting today the G20, they are meeting, we have the European 27 meeting in Brussels for the budget for the next seven years or so.
And there are huge monies at stake there as well.
So we're asking them do not forget this relatively modest amount in your discussions because it is in your in your own interest in the long run to support now could you just give us a rough guide to where the 1.7 billion you've received has come from?
So the 1.7 billion we have received so far, the a little more than 1/3 of that has come from the government of the United States.
12% of what we have received is from the government of Germany, 9% from the European Commission, almost 7% from the government of Japan, 6% from the government of the United Kingdom.
So those are the top donors to that appeal.
Thank you very much.
Jens.
We have a question online from Ben Parker, the new humanitarian.
Could we unmute Ben?
Please go ahead, Ben, question for question for Jens.
The appeal hopefully the document hopefully explains that the UN agencies are asking for things beyond what is contained in the GHRP.
So for example WFP is asking for 5 billion more or less and it's not all in the GHRP, but what I'm asking is how much of the GHRP is UN is for the UN and how much is for the NGOs?
The breakdown by of the 10.3 billion, would that be possible?
Yeah.
So thank you, Ben.
So of the overall 10.3, let me see if I have the should have the numbers here, but about 8 billion comes from our requests which comes from individual country teams in the 63 countries.
Those individual country teams consist of UN agencies and NGOs.
So those individual requests and you can see them in the annex of the of the of the appeal are included NGO requirements.
Supplementary to that there is an envelope of 300 million to NGO.
So on top of what is in those plans, also in addition to the to the requirements that are that are ground based in the individual country plans is the request of about 1 billion for the WFP, which is mainly to provide the global supply and transportation system to make the whole thing happen.
If you'd like to be able to move relief items and goods and also personnel.
And they have done a tremendous job up to now.
They have literally move thousands of people around the world, both from the NGOs but also from from the UN agencies.
And then as a new thing, in this one there is also a particular envelope, 500 million to combat famine.
So I hope that explains some of the numbers.
Thank you Yens and all the spokespersons from the various humanitarian agencies for for these explanations and additional details.
We're going to have to I think close on the on the response plan because we have to move ahead.
But of course, Yen Malik, Si Fadela and Elizabeth and and Shabia remain at your disposal.
If you have additional questions on the response plan, let's just go to Jennifer Fenton, I think is with us.
Yes, hello, Jennifer.
If we can unmute Jennifer, maybe you could answer the question of Catherine regarding the legislative elections in Syria?
Hi.
Yes, good morning.
Security Resolution 2254 clearly establishes a framework in which elections administered under UN supervision are to be held in accordance with new constitutional provisions that provide for free and fair elections with all Syrians, including members of the diaspora, eligible to participate.
While a new constitutional framework for elections is of core importance, free and fair elections also require that there is a sustained, safe, calm and neutral environment for all voters and candidates.
The upcoming elections would be under the current constitutional framework.
The UN was neither mandated nor requested to engage for further updates, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Mr Garrow Peterson, will brief the Security Council next Thursday, July 23rd.
Thank you.
Very good.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Jennifer.
And for that reminder of the special invoice briefing to the Security Council next week, we note that then we had a question from Stephanie for Fadella on the mission to to China.
If you have an update on that, I believe Can we unmute Fadella please?
Go ahead, go ahead, Fidela.
Stephanie just said she has a question about the China mission.
She has a more precise question.
Or is it just that she wants an update about the mission?
I thought it was about an update on the mission.
Stephanie, if you are there, could we unmute Stephanie so she can repeat her question clearly for Fadela?
Thank you.
Yes, Fadela, just wanting an update as to whether now they've been there a week now, are they still in quarantine, Are they, have they advanced in their negotiations, are they staying there or are they returning to Geneva?
Do you have any more information on the composition or plans of the wider mission, please?
Have they, have they, you know, will they be having access in Wuhan etcetera?
Thank you.
I don't have an update for you, Stephanie, beyond what was said during the different press conferences of Doctor Ted Ross.
We may, you may want to ask at the pressure today, maybe think again.
This is an advanced mission to prepare scientific plans with the Chinese counterpart for the future international mission to work on the zoonotic source of the disease.
The objective of this mission This advanced mission is to review the work that is ongoing to better understand the animal host for COVID-19 and to uncertain how the this is jammed from animals to humans.
The experts will look, but what research has has already been done as well as what is known about the initial cases identified in December last year.
The team would develop with the Chinese colleagues the scope and terms of reference for a future LED international mission from WTO.
As I said, this is an advanced mission.
This is a preparatory mission and we are not expecting our experts to carry carry out any field investigation at this stage, including not to go to Yohan.
So this is what I told you, it's already known.
There is nothing new.
But I invite you if you want to ask your question today at the briefing.
Thank you, Stephanie.
Thank you Vadela, we have Byram from Anadolu online.
Waiting to ask a question.
Could we unmute Byram please?
Good.
Morning.
Hello, Vadela.
You said a team went to China for the mission.
My question is that we are talking about the team, but is that enough for only two experts to go to China for such an important mission?
Thank you.
Thank you, Byram, for this question.
It's a team of two people, 2 experts from WHO, One is expert on animal health and one is an epidemiologist, investigator.
Don't forget Byram, that we have a big office in, in Beijing.
So they are not alone.
So they, they also work with our office in, in Beijing.
This is an advanced mission, as I said.
And when we will send a, a bigger another mission, maybe other specialists will be identified.
It's important now to to have the scope of the research and after that they, W2 and their counterpart in China will identify experts in other fields that may be required to undergo bigger investigation.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Fadela.
OK, we're going to move ahead with our agenda.
I'm a bit conscious of the time.
Let's go to Elizabeth Throssell from OHCHR.
Do we have Elizabeth Throssell with us?
Yes, I see her.
Can we unmute her, please?
I.
Think I'm unmuted?
There you go.
We hear you, Elizabeth.
Welcome.
You have some information to share on the protests in Mali and Belarus as well.
Please go ahead.
Good morning everyone.
Amid continuing tensions in Mali, where there has been a series of anti government protests in recent weeks, we urge the authorities to ensure that security forces refrain from resorting to unnecessary or excessive force in policing demonstrations or otherwise interacting with protesters.
We're particularly concerned in light of events in the capital Bamako last Friday and over the weekend.
When special forces, they force special anti terrorist force that are reported to have fired lethal ammunition during clashes with demonstrators.
The Human Rights and Protection Division of the UN Mission in Mali Manusma has confirmed that at least 14 protesters, including one woman and two boys, were killed and 154 others injured during the protests.
At least 200 people were arrested.
All had been released by the evening of the 13th of July, pending trial.
Among them were three leaders of the Muvomo do San Juan, Hassan Blamon de Force Patriotique.
Now this is a coalition of political parties, religious leaders and civil society organisations formed in the aftermath of a rally on the 5th of June, during which protesters called for the President's resignation as well as the dissolution of Parliament and the Constitutional Court.
The announcement by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita that there will be investigations into the violence is welcome.
It's essential that all alleged human rights violations and acts of violence committed during the demonstrations are the subject of prompt, thorough, transparent and independent investigations and that those responsible are held to account.
In line with its mandate, the Minuzma Human Rights and Protection Division has launched a fact finding mission to examine allegations of serious human rights violations perpetrated in connection with the protests.
We know that many of the demonstrations taking place across the country were peaceful, but there were incidents of protesters destroying and looting private and public properties, including ransacking part of the National Assembly building.
One group occupied the premises of the national radio and television station, taking it off air.
We call on all sides to exercise utmost restraint and use peaceful means to deal with their grievances, which have been triggered by a variety of factors, including the outcome of delayed parliamentary elections, alleged endemic corruption and weak governance, heightened insecurity and violent extremism in different parts of the country.
We're also concerned that since the demonstrations on the 10th of July, there's been a proliferation of fake news and messages online inciting violence, which risk heightening tensions.
Further, the Malian National Human Rights Commission noted on the 13th of July that it had been denied access to demonstrators in custody.
Amid this volatile situation, we remind the authorities of their obligations to support and not impede the work of the National human rights Institution and civil society organisations, which play an important role regarding the promotion and protection of the human rights of everyone in Mali.
We call on the country's state institutions as well as political actors to respect democratic principles and safeguard human rights and the rule of law.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Elizabeth.
And also a small update from our UN mission in Mali reported yesterday that a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States had arrived in Bamako yesterday.
The delegation is headed by former Nigerian President Good Luck Jonathan, who has been appointed by EE was to lead mediation efforts in Mali.
They've met already with the President Cato upon arrival and we're engaging with all stakeholders to help find a solution to the crisis.
So the UN mission in Mali is working closely with the delegation and continues its intensive good offices efforts.
I see we have some questions.
Freddy Mulongo is Compu.
What levancy levancy Julie pros Russia don't you enter the responsibility Kelso mechanism kemet and plus low MSI think savoir SUA de PLUS and PLU ogibli and Tandy not a mordon down the PE African poor la prevention control the the COVID business.
Good.
Morning, Liz.
Question regarding Mali, I'd like to have your reaction also about the fact that the social media and messaging have been partially blocked in Mali since Friday, July 10.
Do you have any reaction on that?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Catherine.
Yes, we have reports that social media has been partially blocked.
We find this anywhere that this happens can be, can be seriously worrying because it is very important that people are able to access information.
But at the same time, as I highlighted, there are also concerns that there has been a lot of fake news being disseminated on social media and a lot of messages online inciting violence, and that has caused us deep.
Concern.
Thank you, Liz, for that.
We have Lisa Schlein as well, who would like to ask you a question.
I think can we unmute Lisa, please, Lisa, go ahead.
Thank you real good morning, Liz.
Pretty much what Catherine is talking about regarding the fake news.
I'm I'm not really clear on who who is behind the fake news.
What is it that they are actually saying you speak about grievances.
I don't know what these mainly the is it just general grievances by the population as a whole or by the warring parties?
If you could kind of give a more elaborate view of what is happening there and who's behind the fake news, What are they saying?
Thank you for that, Lisa.
With regard to the fake news, there's clearly been a proliferation, so there will be a whole variety of people behind it.
I think in many ways it's important not to actually repeat what kind of fake news is being put out there.
But suffice to say that it is something that the human rights and protection division of Menusa has highlighted and is very concerned about precisely because there are these tensions and in in risks inflaming tensions.
Further.
With regard to the grievances, I think we can see that they're they're sort of multiple and overlapping.
We make and made reference to the fact that there was the delayed parliamentary elections, there was the outcome of the elections that caused some grievances among some sectors.
There's also generalised concern over what is seen as endemic corruption and weak governance.
And then at the same time, as we have reported previously, it's the situation in in for example, central Mali where there is ongoing violence.
You may recall that we put out a press release at the end of June when we were talking about almost 590 civilians are being killed so far this year in central Mali amid a deteriorating situation.
And at the time we were talking about how this is being almost instrumentalised by the different groups that are there using local communities, pitting them against one another.
Some some information that I got just this morning with regard to that, It points to this ongoing insecurity in that part of Mali is that over these past few days on on the 11th of July, members of of a Pearl armed group reportedly killed a 50 year old man during an armed attack on a village.
On the 13th of July there was another attack by an armed Pearl group that killed 1 doggone man.
On the 14th of July, there was some other attacks carrying on where I think 4 farmers were killed in one area and three in another.
So this really points to, to the ongoing insecurity that is spreading across Mali that you have, particularly with regard to, to these two communities.
These are just isolated incidents, but, but they paint a picture, which we reflected in our, our press release last month of the fact that civilians are really caught up in what is a deteriorating security situation.
So I think what we're seeing, as I've said, is these different types of grievances coming together.
And precisely because it is such a tense situation, we are calling that that people exercise restraint and the people really try to to resolve their their differences through dialogue.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Catherine Fencon, you have a follow up question on Mali.
Can we unmute Catherine please?
Yes, I suppose you hear me.
Yes, please go.
Ahead first, first thing that I wanted to to say is yes, I perfectly understand that in case of speech of hate on on social media that it is dangerous.
But I, I don't think that it is a reason to to block the access to information and to block the access to social media That is still going on by the way.
And I would like to have your reaction on the fact also that you have a Malian politician and his name is Sumalai Sisi and he has been kidnapped since the 20 of June.
Do you have any reaction on that?
Are you in contact with people that are following the case in Mali?
Thank you.
I suppose you still have an office there, no?
Yes.
I mean, we have the Human Rights and Protection Division, which is part of Menosma.
Catherine, with regard to the specific kidnap, I don't have details about it, but what I can do is I can contact colleagues to see if we have any information with regard to it, please.
Thank you.
Going going back to to your first point exactly, the the whole point is that shutting down of the Internet can be extremely risky and also can can have unintended consequences on populations, which is why for us it is such an important issue to flag.
It is very difficult as you're highlighting the way that hate speech, fake news can be spread on social media.
But that is why we have made it very clear that it is so important that there are not blanket Internet shutdowns, because these can have really very wide-ranging and negative consequences.
So precisely exactly what you're saying that that the fact that there's fake news is not of itself a justifiable reason to to shut down huge swathes of the Internet.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Why don't we go now to your other item on Belarus?
Go ahead.
Thank you.
Well, at the end of a week which has seen further mass arrests during demonstrations in Belarus, we call on the authorities to ensure full respect for the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
According to information from various NGOs and media sources, over 300 people, including a dozen journalists covering the protests, were detained by police during protests on the 14th and 15th of July.
The demonstrations in Minsk and several other towns followed the refusal of the Electoral Commission to register 2 opposition candidates for the presidential election, which is due on the 9th of August.
Since the end of May, several 100 people, including human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers, as well as passersby, have been arrested during peaceful gatherings across the country, often by riot police.
Using unnecessary or excessive force.
Demonstrators have been calling for free and fair elections.
Belarus has the duty to facilitate peaceful assemblies and to uphold the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including by those who may be expressing dissenting views and support for opposition candidates.
In addition, journalists wanting to cover the protests should not be prevented or obstructed in their work and subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention, given the important role they play in imparting information on matters of public interest and thus the right to access such information.
We call for all those detained simply for exercising their human rights who are still in detention to be released and for fair trial and due process guarantees to be met in relation to any criminal or administrative proceedings that may be instituted against them.
We remind the authorities that undue restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, useful assembly and association may undermine the credibility of the upcoming electoral process.
Thank you.
Thank you, Liz.
Are there any questions for Liz from the room?
Yes, Nick, please go.
Ahead.
Not on this issue.
I'm sorry.
Not on this issue a different.
One on another issue, but for Liz.
Liz on but on a different review.
OK.
Please go ahead.
Liz, we've been getting seeing a lot of reports coming out recently about forced sterilisation of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
There's even an article in Foreign Policy magazine which calls this part of a technologically sophisticated form of genocide.
What's OHCHRS assessment of this?
I, I'm aware of that there have been reports like that.
I think precisely because it is such a, a, a profoundly disturbing report that that I would need to, to get back to you on that to, to have a considered opinion.
Is it is something that you're proactively from the OHCHR is proactively following up on.
Well, we're we're aware of of the various reports coming out concerning both the Uyghurs and other situations.
So colleagues are aware of those.
OK.
And I see we have Gabriela Sotomayor, she would tells me she has a question for you on Mexico.
So if we could unmute Gabriela.
Gabriela, good morning.
Yes, good morning.
Thank you, Real.
Hi, Liz, I have a question on Mexico.
The government of Mexico approved a budget cuts to the National Institute for Women for in Mujeres is the name in Spanish by 75%.
So it is a scandal with ten women murdered every day in Mexico.
That is the, the, the more or less the situation.
And during the COVID, it's millions, millions of women that have been complained about violence and harassment and sexual violence, etcetera.
So what is your opinion on that on that?
Well, Gabriella, I, I, I don't have specific information with regard to the budget cuts for, for this institute.
But as you know that we have spoken out about the whole issue of femicides in Mexico and other parts of the world.
It is, it is a deeply disturbing issue.
And also on the, on the the ramifications of the COVID pandemic on women generally.
We, we have spoken about that, we have produced briefing notes on that policy documents.
It is a hugely important issue precisely because of the gender dimension of COVID, how it is impacting women and indeed how the the whole issue of domestic of intimate partner violence, actual violence against women such as femicide, which you've flagged appears in, in many countries to have been on the increase.
So it is a hugely important issue.
I will check to see what is the situation with regard to the Mexican Institute because I don't have those that data to hand.
But as I said, femicide is something that we have highlighted and flagged and we have called for for all those instances of femicide to to be thoroughly investigated on the perpetrators, held to account.
Clearly, as you're saying that it is continual battle to make sure that the the killings of women because they are women are highlighted and and treated seriously, as seriously as they as they demand to be.
Thank you.
Gabriella, you have a quick follow up question please and then we'll take the last question from Stephanie.
Very quick.
Yeah, Yeah, you can look at it, really look deep into Mexicans in Mexico situation because famous sites are on the rise and the government is on denial, absolute denial, I mean absolute denial.
So I would appreciate if you look very deep into this problem in Mexico.
Thank you.
Liz takes note of that and we'll get back to you with more information if she has that.
Let's go to Stephanie Nebbe.
Yeah, thanks, Liz.
I can you hear me?
Yes, go ahead.
Can you hear?
Me.
Thank you.
Liz.
I wondered, today's the last day of the Human Rights Council session.
There was, there was some statements sort of on both sides about Hong Kong a few weeks ago.
There have been calls from NGOs and special rapporteurs for a special session on Hong Kong.
What is the office's and the **** Commissioner's position on that?
And have there been any new damash since then that the new national security law was imposed?
And you know, growing concerns about that, about the potential for arrests and, and people being sent to mainland for for trial, you know, many arrests.
Sure, Stephanie.
I mean, we have spoken sort of publicly about our concerns over what is happening in Hong Kong.
So I think our concerns there are well known.
It is something that we continue to monitor precisely because it is such a serious situation.
OK.
Thank you very much, Liz, for being with us this morning.
I haven't forgotten about Freddie Malongo's question for Fidela, so maybe you can take this and then we'll move to Shabia Mantu from UNHCR.
If you want to join me on the podium Shabia Fidela, can you ask could you on the the Freddie's who le de confinement on Afrique Ilerisco support a *****?
Merci Freddie investor question Pasco the situation so particular the Pi notes for second the quinia pain solution keeper company ratuli PE secular Ms face he confederate recommendation or or zetamon or or zootorite sanitary national.
He has his authority, the Metron Plas le museum sanitaire ilia deschos con musee pasos various mayor deschos con con tribune the premiere of the show say limitedly the contact on 20%.
It's all affected.
It is what fair garden distance physique Dongua and Metra is cibuzzed donde Sondra will have remote soil population.
It is a mask the mask and Luis NEPA La La panacea nila solution Don Primo nufus on the recommendation general opaido limit from difficulty may shock situation a unique lesita dua important plus avec la de la population the power explicate population or restriction Maison Plas.
Merci bucu fidela.
Let's move on now to Shabia Mantu, who joins us again from UNHCR to talk about the new Ukrainian stateless law.
Good morning everyone.
Again, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes a new statelessness law in Ukraine which came into effect this week.
The law will give thousands of people who would lack a nationality a chance to work legally, study and access healthcare, among other rights and opportunities, and it will ultimately provide a pathway to citizenship once they are recognised as stateless.
The law, known as Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine concerning recognition as a stateless person, was signed by the President this week after being adopted by Parliament on 16th of June.
The measure is an important step towards ending statelessness in the country.
It formally establishes a statelessness determination procedure which is expected to benefit an estimated 35,000 people in the country who are either stateless or whose nationality is undetermined.
These include people who have been residing in Ukraine for many years, many since the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, but have not been able to acquire Ukrainian citizenship or any other nationality due to a lack of documentation or ties to post Soviet countries.
With the introduction of the procedure, recognised stateless people will now be able to regularise regularise their stay by obtaining temporary residence permits.
They will then have the right to freedom of movement, to work and to access education and health services.
Crucially, the law will pave the way for their naturalisation as citizens.
After five years of permanent residence in Ukraine, they will then be eligible to apply for naturalisation.
The law was drafted by Members of Parliament in close collaboration with the State Migration Service, the Ministry of Interior, and in consultation with other government entities, experts from civil society and UNHCR.
UNHCR has been advocating for the introduction of a statelessness determination procedure since 2013, when Ukraine acceded to two statelessness treaties, the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
UNHCR stands ready to support authorities in the implementation of the law and has offered its assistance to the Ukraine's State Migration Service, providing training to key staff in their regional departments as well as to legal practitioners, including from the state-run free legal aid centres.
UNH SO will also raise awareness among concerned populations on the possibility to apply for state listener status.
Worldwide, statelessness flights the lives of millions of people, leaving them without access to basic rights and official recognition.
Some 4.2 million stateless people are reported by 76 countries, but we believe the actual number to be significantly higher.
In 2014, UNHCR launched a global I Belong campaign aimed at ending statelessness within a decade.
Since then, 95 government, civil society and international and regional organisations have made commitments to tackle state listeners, a major cause of human rights deprivations for millions of people worldwide.
In addition to supporting the efforts of the government to address statelessness, UNHCR in Ukraine provides assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and conflict affected people and also supports the search for solutions.
Almost 1.7 million people have been affected by the conflict, including 734,000 who are internally displaced.
UNHCR has been supporting national authorities and civil society and responding to the needs of those displaced, providing legal, material and social assistance, including as part of the COVID-19 response.
UNHCR focuses its activities on strengthening their rights and freedoms, improving their living conditions and providing the long term solutions.
Thank you.
Thank you, Shabby.
Peter, you have a question.
Morning should be.
I was just wondering if these people in the stateless people in Ukraine, do they come from any particular former Soviet Republic or any particular area of the former Soviet Union?
Thank you.
Thanks for your question.
I don't have so detailed information on their profiles, but we do know that these are people who, who came to Ukraine from different regions, but basically you have been staying there sometimes for generations.
So they might have children or even grandchildren, but they're not documented.
But I don't have, I mean, a breakdown of specific regions, but we, I mean, these are based on estimates based on our work with affected communities.
But I mean, we, we also know that people at risk of state listeners, in addition to those that have that have come from, from countries of the former Soviet republics, they're also people from marginalised communities or people released from detention without identification documents.
So it's it's a bit of a mix of people.
OK.
I see we have a question from Lisa.
Can we unmute Lisa Shine, please?
Lisa, go ahead.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah.
OK.
Good morning, Shabia.
How are you?
I'm curious to know what the status of the Tatars in Crimea are.
I mean, they they were citizens of Ukraine, I believe, not stateless, but what has happened to them since Russia took over the peninsula?
Hi, Lisa, thanks for your question.
I mean, for this statelessness determination procedure and sort of the work that we're doing with stateless populations.
These are people who who, who are undocumented or who don't have nationality.
So I wouldn't really have an update on on Ukrainian citizens or people from specific regions, But the law is more in relation to people who don't, who just whose nationality is undetermined.
And they could be, you know, a mixture of ethnic backgrounds and profiles.
Thanks.
Quick follow up question from Lisa.
Can we unmute?
Please.
Yeah, thanks.
Hi, I'm sorry, that's maybe you can do a little more digging on that because it's not really satisfactory answer.
I'm sorry.
You know, the, the Tatars were stateless for generations and then they became citizens of Ukraine.
And now they're, I don't know whether they're in the state of limbo now that they're in Crimea, which has been taken over by the by Russia.
Have they become Russian citizens, which is, I don't know, would that even be desirable for them?
Or do they remain Ukrainian citizens?
Or have they become stateless again?
I mean, it, it maybe.
I know it's a curious question, but it yeah, it would be interesting to know.
OK, let's see what Sabia can tell us and.
Thanks, Lisa.
No, I take note of your question and I understand what you're referring to, but I just, I can look into it.
But I, I mean, as far as I understand in terms of the, the 35,000 people that were briefing about these people all across the country who, who are have basically no documentation or you know, can include various profiles.
But you know the situation for you people who've been naturalised and and recognised as as citizens.
I mean, that shouldn't diverge, but we can come back to you and then I take note of your question and we can follow up.
Great.
Thank you very much.
Sabia, I don't see any other questions for you.
So let's move right along to Paul Dillon from the International Organisation for Migrations.
Paul, thank you very much for being patient.
And we have a little bit of, it's been a long briefing this morning.
So thank you.
Please can we unmute Paul?
Hi.
Can you hear me?
Yes, Paul.
Yeah, we hear you.
Please go ahead.
Good morning.
Yeah, and thank you for your patience as well.
I wanted to give you an update from Mozambique, where thousands of Mozambique and minors are returning to work in neighbouring South Africa for the first time since the borders closed between the two countries in March due to COVID-19.
500 miners screened for the virus by their hiring agency have received health cheques at an IOM operated cross-border occupational health centre created to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, a condition which disproportionately effects mine workers.
Now the first group are in quarantine in South Africa for 14 days.
An additional 3000 will be screened at the centre in the coming weeks.
IOM has decades of experience assisting its member states with a range of health and border management issues.
The organisation advocates for the health proofing of global mobility systems and sees the integration of migrants into post pandemic planning as a key to global socio economic recovery efforts.
South Africa's gold and platinum mines alone employ roughly 45,000 migrant workers and their skills are considered essential to the resumption of economic activity there.
Cross-border coordination between the two countries to allow the flow of properly screened migrant labour across the border by mainstreaming COVID-19 testing is an example of what can be accomplished when governments are encouraged to discuss time together for the resumption of cross-border mobility.
And it's hoped that thousands of migrant workers in Mozambique, including those in the agricultural sector with contracts in South Africa, will soon become part of the same process.
Now, the health check process at the clinic in Rossano Garcia has also been adapted to address the public health concerns related to COVID-19.
Prevention Measures there include multiple hand hygiene stations, physical distancing and the wearing of masks to protect those staff and patients, all of whom receive detailed information about COVID-19 as part of the process.
Since opening in 2018, the clinic's programme has evolved to include tests for diabetes, hypertension and there's a voluntary HIV screening process offered as well.
Efforts to facilitate mobility by integrating these public health measures into border management is also evident in IO Ms work with long haul truckers at the Rossano, Garcia and Machakanda border crossings.
Since early June, IOM facilitators have engaged with close to 7500 cross-border truck drivers.
Providing COVID-19 prevention messages in local languages with a focus on practical tips for hand washing and physical distancing for people on the move.
Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Paul, I don't see, let's see, Lisa Schlein.
Can we unmute Lisa please?
Yeah, Paul, good morning.
Do you, do you have figures on how many on, on the COVID situation in Mozambique, how many people are infected and have died and are are you indicating that none of the minors are infected by COVID-19, which would be great news?
And what is the the system for they're up to taking care of them if they do get infected.
How many minors are there actually in total?
Well, the total number of of minors in Mozambique is right between 25 and 28,000.
So it's a significant economic driver with you know, significant remittances obviously being returned to Mozambique.
Now in terms of the the process as mentioned, the the screening is conducted by the hiring agency and when they're screened as, as, as virus free, they are then taken into South Africa and quarantined there by the hiring agency for 14 days I should mention.
Very good.
Thank you very much.
Paul, I don't see any other questions.
So thank you very much for being with us this morning and again for your patience for since we've been going on for a little while, OK, we've come to the end of our agenda.
I just have a couple of announcements for you.
A reminder really that tomorrow, as you all know, is Nelson Mandela International Day, 18th July.
The we have distributed to you the Secretary General's annual message in various languages in which he says that of course, this year we mark this day at a time when the ****** of the COVID-19 pandemic endangers everyone, everywhere and especially the most vulnerable.
In the face of these challenges, world leaders need to recognise the vital importance of unity and solidarity as COVID-19 is exposing deep inequalities and we need to fight this pandemic of inequality through a new social contract for a new era.
And this is precisely going to be the topic of the Secretary General's Nelson Mann Lecture that he will be delivering tomorrow for the Nelson Mandela Lecture Series, which is held annually.
Former former lecturers have included our former former Secretary General Kofi Annan, former presidents of the United States like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and other even Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and many other Nobel laureates.
So it's going to be a major speech by the secretary general, which is going to be entitled tackling the inequality pandemic, a New social contract for a new era.
He's going to be taking direct aim at the severe and systemic forms of inequality that are being exposed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He will be outlining the ****** that these inequalities pose to the well-being and future of people everywhere.
And he will put forward concrete recommendations for a more equitable, just and sustainable way forward through a new social contract and a new global deal.
And I just a reminder as well, if you we, we've sent a few messages about this, but New York is organising another briefing today at 5:15.
I know it's not an ideal time given that The Who press conference will be taking place at 5:00.
But for those who can, Pedro Conseil Sao, the economist and Director of the Human Development Report Office at the UN Development Programme, we'll be doing a background briefing on the key elements of the Secretary General's lecture.
So if you wish to participate this afternoon around 5:15 and you haven't received the link, please contact me and I will forward it to you.
And just a reminder as well that the Human Rights Committee, which is in it's 129th session, is today holding a public meeting, one from 12:30 to 2:30 and then from 4:00 to 6:00.
It's public meetings are devoted to the review of its general comment #37 of on Article 21 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
And that is all that I have for you today.
I don't see any hands raised so on that, thank you very much for being with us.
Next week Alessandra Bellucci will be back while I head off on holidays, so I will see you in a couple of weeks.
Thank you very much and have a good weekend.