Order of the International Court of Justice on Myanmar

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that in a statement issued on 23 January, the United Nations Secretary-General welcomed the Order of the International Court of Justice, indicating provisional measures in the case of The Gambia against Myanmar on the alleged breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Secretary-General strongly supported the use of peaceful means to settle international disputes and trusted that Myanmar will duly comply with the Court’s Order.

Elizabeth Throssell, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), welcomed the Order by the International Court of Justice that Myanmar must take “all measures within its power” to protect the members of the Rohingya group from all future acts that might amount to genocide”. The High Commissioner for Human Rights had repeatedly expressed serious concerns about the situation of the Rohingya and had called for the full protection of their human rights and genuine accountability for the serious violations and abuses they had endured. OHCHR called on Myanmar to immediately and unconditionally implement the Courts’ measures, which were binding under international law. The proceedings before the Court were vitally important, opening up a path towards judicial determination of Myanmar’s possible responsibility as a State under the Genocide Convention for the acts of persecution and severe repression of the Rohingya. 

More information in the OHCHR press briefing note.

Asked when genocide determination would be made, Ms. Throssell said that was the process under the International Court of Justice. The conclusions of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, mandated by the Human Rights Council, were very important. Its successor, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, also mandated by the Council, was compiling individual criminal cases for prosecution in a court of competent jurisdictions. In doing so, it would draw appropriately on the material handed to it by the fact-finding mission. OHCHR had several different mandates concerning the Rohingya and its work on this and on human rights in Myanmar would be best served if the Office could establish a presence in the country.

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Secretary-General would transmit the notice of provisional measures to the Security Council for their assessment. He stressed that the Member States were expected to abide by the Court’s decisions and take measures to implement them.

Violence against the migrant caravan in Central America  

Responding to questions about the excessive use of force by the Mexican National Guard against the migrant caravan, Elizabeth Throssell, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that any use of force to either detain or disperse migrants should be avoided. All migration policies must respect human rights and have the protection of the rights of people on the move as their main objective. People in a State territory came under the jurisdiction of that State and their human rights could not be “outsourced”, for example by sending them back or to a third country. The use of force must be in line with international law and guidance, in line with principles of necessity, prior warning and proportionality.

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that Mexico had the sovereign right to decide who entered its territory, in line with international law. He also stressed that under international law, any person in need of international protection should be allowed to enter and apply for asylum. UNHCR was present in the region to identify people fleeing violence and prosecution who needed international protection. This was a situation of mixed movement and the Agency stood ready to support governments in the region to respond to this movement in line with their international obligations.

Disappearances in Mexico

According to the Mexican Government, there were 60,000 disappearances in the country, of which 5,000 had occurred in this year alone, a journalist noted. Under the new Government, 35,000 people had been killed in 2019.

Responding, Elizabeth Throssell, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), expressed concern by the “horrific number” of disappeared persons, which reflected the difficult security situation and continued human rights challenges. The policy shifts of the current Government had increased the attention to the topic of disappearances. The creation of the National Commission and the National Registry of Disappeared Persons were positive steps in line with the law on disappearances, drafted in collaboration with OHCHR.

OCHA condemns deadly attack on a village in the disputed Abyei area

Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Gwi-Yeop Son, had condemned a deadly attack on the Kolom village in the disputed Abyei area between Sudan and South Sudan that had left 32 people killed, 25 people injured, three children missing, and 19 houses torched. She had called on all parties to refrain from any acts that could increase tensions and the risk of violence. Humanitarian organizations on the ground were providing healthcare assistance, including emergency surgical operations, to the survivors of the attack. More on the humanitarian situation in Sudan here.

Human Rights Committee decision on climate change a wake-up call: UNHCR

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), welcomed the ruling of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in the case of Teitiota v. New Zealand and the determination that people who fled the effects of climate change and natural disasters should not be returned to their country of origin if essential human rights would be at risk on return. This was a landmark decision with potentially far-reaching implications for the international protection of displaced people in the context of climate change and disasters, Mr. Mahecic stressed. It also underscored the importance of countries taking action to prevent or mitigate against harms associated with climate change, which in future could otherwise force people to leave, triggering international obligations. More details here.

Andrew Harper, Special Advisor on Climate Action at the United Nations Refugee Agency, said that the decision could be summed up as: “If we do not more to prevent then we have the obligation to protect.” The Committee had reiterated the need for robust international and national efforts to increase the resilience and to prevent displacement because, ultimately, no one wanted to leave their homes or their communities. UNHCR was working with States to mitigate the impact of what was already happening.

Responding to questions, Mr. Harper said that it was impossible to anticipate how many people could be displaced by climate change and stressed the vulnerability of people in Small Island Developing States, Asia and Africa. The ruling stressed the inadequacy of the current action and urged States to do more. UNHCR was calling for urgent international action to prevent and mitigate climate-induced displacement – to scale up efforts on adaptation and resilience, put in place early warning systems and work with the States and communities to assist them to adapt to the changing world. International human rights law and international humanitarian law could be applied in this context, which was important as it meant that international and regional mechanisms could be activated to provide the necessary protection to people in need.

UNHCR seeks international support for the refugee response in Ethiopia

Andrej Mahecic, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the Agency and its partners were appealing for robust international support for refugee operations in Ethiopia with the launch of funding appeal for US$658 million to assist over 735,000 refugees and more than half a million Ethiopian hosts in 2020. International support and solidarity were vital to ensure the implementation of the wide range of rights granted to refugees by Ethiopia during the last three years. The country had a long history of hosting refugees and was currently home to 750,000 refugees from 26 different nations. This included over 329,000 South Sudanese and 190,000 Somalis. More in the briefing note.

Desert locust outbreak in Eastern Africa worst in decades

Answering questions, Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund had released $10 million to help scale up the response to the devastating desert locust outbreak in East Africa, the worst in decades. The desert locust was among the most dangerous migratory pests in the world - a small swarm could travel 150 km and eat the equivalent of food for 35,000 people in a day. More in the press release.

Elizabeth Byrs, for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), said that in Kenya, WFP was feeding refugees in camps and at the moment did not have information about the areas affected by desert locust.

Civilians under fire as fighting in Idlib, Syria intensifies

Asked about the worsening situation in Idlib, Syria, Elizabeth Byrs, for the United Nations World Food Programme(WFP), confirmed the extreme levels of fighting in North-West Syria since the renewal of hostilities in mid-December. WFP was scaling up its operation to provide emergency assistance to more than 126,000 internally displaced persons through its cross-border from Turkey. In December 2019 alone, more than 3,000 had been displaced from Idlib, 80 per cent of them were women and children.

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the United Nations was extremely concerned about the safety of 3 million civilians in and around Idlib as fighting intensified. United Nations humanitarian agencies on the ground were doing their utmost to assist the civilians and the United Nations was urging the parties to the conflict and those who had influence over them to ensure the protection of civilians.

Novel coronavirus outbreaks

In response to questions, Tarik Jašarević, for the World Health Organisation (WHO), said that according to the Chinese authorities, there were 830 confirmed cases including 25 deaths. The information, conveyed by China to the WHO under the International Health Regulations, had been received after the meeting of the Emergency Committee the previous evening. It was still too early to draw any conclusions about the severity of the novel coronavirus, Mr. Jašarević stressed. As with MERS, which had been around since 2012, a specific treatment and specific vaccine for the novel coronavirus were not yet available, but other treatments could be used to treat the patients. More on the novel coronavirus outbreak here.

International Day of Education

Vincent Defourny, for the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said that the celebration of the International Day of Education was focused on the Futures of Education Initiative. The Day also highlighted the centrality of education to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: education was a cornerstone of Sustainable Development Goals; if we failed on education, the entire structure of development would fall. More: here.

Geneva announcements

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that Geir Pedersen, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, was in Moscow to meet with the Russian Foreign Minister and the Minister of Defence and would travel to Damascus the following week. The next briefing to the Security Council was scheduled on 29 January.

Responding to questions about a Libya Conference in Geneva, Mr. LeBlanc said that Ghassan Salamé, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, was calling for a meeting of the military 5+5 committee to translate the current truce into a more permanent ceasefire. Such a meeting was expected to happen in the coming week but dates had not yet been confirmed.

In his message on the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the United Nations Secretary-General said that on this day, we commemorate the victims of the Holocaust by pursuing truth, remembrance and education, and by building peace and justice around the world. The programme of activities for the commemoration of this day included a solemn ceremony at the Palais des Nations, which would feature a testimony by Paul Sobol, Auschwitz survivor on 27 January; the “Second Generation”, a conversation between the descendants of Nazi officers and resistance fighters at Uni Mail, University of Geneva, on 29 January; and a photo exhibition “Lest We Forget” featuring one hundred close up portraits of Holocaust survivors.

On 3 and 4 February in Room XXVI, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will hold the first Illicit Trade Forum.

On 28 January, Tatyana Valovaya, UN Geneva Director-General and the Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament would address this body at10 a.m.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child continued its eighty-third session.

The list of upcoming meetings and press conferences at UN Geneva can be found here.

The webcast of this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog240120