Thank you for being with us at this press briefing from Geneva on Friday, 28th of August.
I will immediately start with Jennifer Fenton on behalf of the Office of the Special Employ for Syria for her update on the talks.
I have just a brief announcement today.
The small body of the Syrian Constitutional Committee is meeting here again today, having arrived a short while ago.
The intention is that they will also meet again tomorrow, Saturday.
It is planned that they should arrive at roughly the same time that they did today, to begin around 10:00 AM.
As a special envoy has noted, there is a clear agenda for this session and the discussions have been constructive.
As Mr Peterson said, useful points have been raised.
The Special Envoy mentioned that he will try to provide an update on the work of the Constitutional Committee when he next can.
Thank you very much, Jennifer, I see already a question from William.
First of all, can you please send us that statement you already told journalists?
And second, are we expecting a press conference tomorrow and how we going to enter the UN premises tomorrow?
As a journalist, I don't have yet a schedule of media activities for tomorrow.
I, I will let you know arrivals and departures should be roughly along the same line that they are today.
And Barry, don't worry if if there is a press conference and as Jennifer said, it's not confirmed yet, but we will make sure that you can enter the pallet for regular journalists regularly accredited for the year.
You have your budget problems to see how we organise this for the temporary accredited press, but we will do it if needed.
Other question to Jennifer, let me see on the chat.
Jamie, you have the floor.
I just wanted to know, I'm understanding that there may be.
I'm sorry I tuned in a little bit late.
You guys are right on time today.
The is there going to be a statement today at 1300 at door 15 that you're aware of?
That one maybe is for Alexandra.
I couldn't hear you clearly, but I think that you were asking if there was a statement that would be released today and any media activities.
I don't yet have that information, but if there is, I will make sure to notify the media here and circulate any comments.
That's what you wanted to know, Jamie, we couldn't hear you very well.
I think it's the case because the flag has gone down.
So any other question for Jennifer in the room or online?
Yes, No, I just wanted to know like what the cover, I mean is UNTV going to cover door 15 if there's a statement at 1:00, we'll make sure that anything that Mister Patterson has to say is available to you in multimedia as well as transcript form.
You, you NTV of course would if if that was the case, Robin.
Yeah, the meetings could go on into Sunday or possibly into next week.
And secondly, what happens to the the four delegates that that tested positive?
I mean, do they do they now have to stay in isolation in Geneva?
Regarding the meeting, I only have a schedule through tomorrow, which I noted that it's planned that the Constitutional Committee small body should be here tomorrow working beyond that, I don't have any scheduling information.
Regarding your question to the four persons of the committee who tested positive.
You know, at this time, as I've noted previously, we only release information as is deemed necessary for public health or other critical measures.
Thank you very much, Jennifer.
OK, so that I think concludes our request for the floor.
We oh, sorry, I didn't see in the room.
If there are any progress have been made in this negotiations, we need we need more information about this.
Yes, I I appreciate this.
Just noting that the nature of these meetings is confidential and Mr Peterson has noted that they are constructive and important points have been raised.
So thank you very much, Jennifer and we will keep you informed of all developments.
As Jennifer said, as usual, arrivals, departures and if there is any press activity on the talks, I turn to my left.
Shabia, you have a point on COVID and Nicaraguan refugees for HCR.
Thank you and good morning everyone.
Yesterday we're going to be briefing on Nicaraguan refugees in Costa Rica and the effects of COVID-19.
So more than 3/4 of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers in Costa Rica are going hungry, eating only once or twice a day.
As a result of the socio economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR is concerned that this could drive returns in adverse conditions.
Before the pandemic hit and thanks to local effective integration initiatives in Costa Rica, only 3% of refugees were eating once a day or less, but now this is quadrupled to more than 14%.
This is according to a humanitarian assessment conducted by UNHCR in July and August aimed at supporting Costa Rican authorities addressed the needs of more than 81,000 Nicaraguans who have sought international protection in the country.
The majority of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers in the country, 63%, now report eating only one only two meals a day.
Refugee hosting communities are facing similar conditions, and the economic contraction in these countries will make it even more difficult for refugees and their hosts to recover.
Costa Rica generously hosts nearly 80% of all refugees and asylum seekers from Nicaragua, or some 81,000 people, and it's among ten countries worldwide that received the most new asylum claims last year.
With a large proportion of forcibly displaced people in Latin America reliant on the informal economy, especially as they begin their integration into the communities that host them, COVID related quarantine measures are now impacting livelihoods and driving food insecurity.
Only 59% of refugee families in Costa Rica are reporting steady work related income streams as at the end of July, and this is a staggering decrease from 93% before the before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
So this now leaves many also at risk of eviction and homelessness.
1/5 of Nicaraguan refugees surveyed in Costa Rica said they now do not know where they will live in the next month.
The hardships faced by Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers, including loss of livelihoods, eviction and hunger, have also been reported elsewhere in the region, including in Panama, Guatemala and Mexico.
21% of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers who were surveyed said at least one member of the household is now contemplating a return to Nicaragua, and this is mostly due to a lack of income or food.
And this is also despite the risks they reported to have led.
And more than 3000 asylum claims in Costa Rica have also been withdrawn today, and this is primarily by Nicaraguan nationals.
UNHCR continues to provide impartial information to those considering whether to return, where the social and political crisis has driven more than 102,000 people to seek protection abroad.
In the face of this worsening situation, UNHCR is working together with governments and partners to ensure that asylum seekers and refugees for whom return is not an option receive the support and assistance they need in host countries.
Since the start of the pandemic, UNHCR has stepped up its cash assistance programmes throughout Central America to support forcibly displaced people in vulnerable conditions, and in Costa Rica it has assisted over 1200 vulnerable and at risk families through its partnership with the Costa Rican Social Security system.
UNHCR is also ensuring health coverage for 6000 asylum seekers with serious and chronic conditions.
In Panama, UNHCR is also supporting nearly 700 people with cash assistance and has helped dozens of families with rent payments or mediation to avoid evictions.
But a severe lack of funding is hackering the ability to address urgent humanitarian needs.
UNHCLS operation in Costa Rica, whose financial requirements for 2020 standard 26.9 million U.S.
dollars is only 46% funded to date.
UNHCR continues to support efforts by states to address the needs of people forced to flee in the region as part of a framework for comprehensive protection and solutions known as the MERPS MIRPS.
It's also calling on member states of the MERPS to step up coordination and support in the face of these new COVID related challenges.
Thank you and good morning to you.
Shabi, I am sorry, I may have missed some of the numbers you gave.
So if I repeat apologies, how many, how many refugees actually you were talking about are at risk?
And you seem to indicate that they're not getting any or or much much assistance.
Is it mainly because of the cash flow problem that they're not being held?
How many refugees are actually at risk?
And could you elaborate a bit upon the situation of COVID in Costa Rica, especially among the Nicaraguan refugees, how they may be affected by that?
And one last thing is you said that many of the Nicaraguan refugee asylum claims have been withdrawn.
Is it that they've given up on Costa Rica and they're planning to return home, thinking that this might be a better solution for them?
Many thanks for your questions.
So the, the issue is that the numbers of people at risk or basically from this humanitarian assessment we conducted, we found that it was basically more than 3/4 of Nicaraguan refugees in the country that are basically going hungry.
So if this is what you mean at risk, these are people who are eating only once or twice a day.
So this is a very, you know, very minimal critical kind of level of, of food insecurity, but that we're sort of looking at.
And, and what's driving that is basically the the socio economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because a lot of refugees across the region are reliant on, on the informal economy, but also day-to-day jobs, which now they, they can't do in the face of the situation and in the face of national responses that we're seeing in many countries, but also in the region where movements are difficult.
And so basically the socio economic conditions are driving this hunger that we're we're observing and, and these sorts of humanitarian issues.
Your next question about the impact of, of COVID, I don't have, I don't have figures on the specific numbers of, of how you know, how many Nick Greg ones have been affected.
I can, I can follow up, but I'm also not sure that we have a comprehensive picture of that.
But but obviously that's also another pressing concern is obviously the the direct impact of the the health crisis and then also the secondary consequences, which are also impacting day-to-day lives, not just hunger, but also driving, keeping them at risk of eviction.
You know, they're now unable to pay their rent as well, in addition to a lack of food.
So it's a whole host of of of concerns and your your third question about why our asylum claims being withdrawn, we don't have a clear picture of that, but it could be that.
I mean, we're seeing from the assessment that we've done is that, you know, families are reporting that they're considering these returns back to to Nicaragua where maybe, you know, what's driving them is, is this pressing socio economic condition, the desperation, the hardship, the poverty that they're enduring.
So we need, we need to have a better, you know, we need some more analysis and a clearer picture of why those asylum claims are being withdrawn.
But that's just the data that we have.
And it points as part of the bigger picture that we're seeing sort of a pressing humanitarian situation there for for refugees driving premature returns, but also affecting day-to-day lives.
I have it a technical issue, so you have to bear with me because I have to operate with my phone.
Ashley, recently, not too long ago you reported that there were 42,000 Nicaraguans in Costa Rica.
I'm just wondering you give 80 sorry 84,000 Nicaraguans in in refugees in Costa Rica.
I'm wondering now you're giving the #81,000.
Does that mean that that all of those have returned or are they are those is that difference the precisely the number of those who decided to withdraw their request for for asylum?
I also wanted to know about assistance that the UN agencies may be providing to these refugees and asylum seekers.
And and then regarding the movement out of Nicaragua, I'm wondering what sort of numbers you have of any movement out of Nicaragua of people who maybe sort of in either in the process of of asking for asylum or that you expect to be asking for asylum?
Thank you for those questions.
So, so basically a whole host of questions here, but the first one in regards to the numbers.
So the the data they have since April 2018 today is that there are 81,000 in the country.
And indeed we've seen I think 3000 asylum claims being withdrawn.
I don't have the exact period of when those claims were withdrawn, but that that would bring the number to 81,000.
But we can definitely come back to you, Paula, on that if we want specifics.
So I can come back on that question with regards to the data and the claims.
And then your second question was about if I maybe not chronological order, but about what, what assistance is being providing, being provided to them.
So we're working in Costa Rica, but also in the region to assist, OK, to assist people who are vulnerable and that includes cash assistance programmes to support those who are particularly vulnerable.
Also working with the national partners to ensure health coverage for those again, with serious and chronic conditions.
And then also helping with with shelter assistance in the form of rental payments or mediation, as as I mentioned earlier.
So there's a, there's a couple of different interventions seeking to kind of address these critical humanitarian needs.
And we're obviously working with other humanitarian partners and governments obviously in Costa Rica, but also in the region.
But we are looking to obviously to be able to, to do more.
But that is Hanford by sort of the funding issues that we are appealing for more support to support those interventions.
And your third question about movements outside of Costa Rica, I don't have, I mean, I'm not really sort of receiving information on, on if there are secondary movements out.
It could be the case or maybe not.
But we know that because of COVID, the situation there, it's obviously mobility is quite difficult.
I'm not sure if it's going to drive secondary returns.
But we are very aware of the fact that it's actually causing refugees to contemplate some refugees to contemplate returns back to Nicaragua.
But I'm not so sure about secondary movements.
But again, we can we can see if we have any further information on that.
I'll give you the floor and then we'll go to OHCHR.
Can Lisa be unmuted, please?
Shabi, on on the numbers, you said 81,000 refugees, Are they all Nicaraguan refugees or are they refugees from different countries?
Because you say that more than 3/4, I believe, of the refugees and Nicaraguan refugees are at risk of being hungry.
So if if you could be precise about how how many of the refugees who are these 81,000?
The 81,000 refers to Nicaraguan refugees and also the 3/4 of those going hungry.
We're referring specifically to Nicaraguan refugees in Costa Rica.
OK, I think Paula is not asking for the floor anymore.
So let's thank Shabia for your for you want to ask a question to her or to Rupert, to both of them.
The New York Times on August 14th OK the New York Times on August 14th said Greece was abandoning immigrants at the sea for the Turkish Coast Guard to rescue and recently new reports are coming from eastern Mediterranean Asian sea in the same.
In addition to all these, Human Rights Watch was stated that Greece has committed violations not only FTC but also on the land against asylum, security and immigration immigrants.
So do you have any information on that?
And what do you, what's your call to Greek authorities?
Shavia, I'll give you the floor, but I will remind you also that Paul Dillon is on the line for IOM, just in case.
Paul, you wanted to add something.
Shavia, thanks very much for your question.
I can direct you to a statement we put out from Greece on the 24th of 21st of August.
Sorry, but isn't in terms of the reports about pushbacks and for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers.
So I'm happy to to send that to you afterwards.
Paul, I can't see I I really have a problem with my computer, but if do you want to have do you want to add anything to that?
Don't see Paul asking for the floor.
So, OK, unless you have something Rupert.
I mean, I think obviously UNHCR and IOM are better placed than we are because they have people on the ground in the in the regions.
And I send to Rupert, whom I welcome back in this room for a couple of.
Nice to be back in the room.
First time since March begin with disturbing death threats to the Nobel Prize winner Doctor Denis Mcquaig in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The **** Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Bachelet, has today expressed deep concern over the death threats directed at Doctor Mcquaig and she's calling for swift action to investigate who is behind these threats and bring them to justice.
Doctor Mcquaigy, who founded and runs the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, has won international recognition, including the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, for his decades of work helping thousands of women victims of sexual and gender based violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He's been a determined advocate against the use of **** as a weapon of war and for increased protection of women in general.
He's also been a strong and consistent voice calling for those responsible for sexual violence to be brought to justice.
And he was a staunch supporter of the 2010 Mapping Report produced by the UN Human Rights Office, which chronicled hundreds of serious human rights violations and abuses that occurred in the eastern DRC in the decade between 1993 and 2003, in many cases identifying the groups and entities believed to be responsible for perpetrating those crimes.
Dr Mcquaig has received death threats in the past and he survived a major assassination attempt in October 2012 when 5 armed men invaded his home, killed his bodyguard and friend Joseph Bisimana, and held his family at gunpoint.
The recent alarming search of threats against Doctor Mcquaigy, which have been conveyed by social media and in direct phone calls to him and his family, followed his condemnation of the continued killing of civilians in eastern DRC and his renewed calls for accountability for human rights violations and abuses.
His life seems to be at serious risk.
As the **** Commissioner said this morning, Doctor Mcquaigy is a true hero, determined, courageous and extremely effective.
For years he helped thousands of gravely injured and traumatised women when there was nobody else to take care of them and at the same time he did a great deal to publicise their plight and stimulate others to grapple with the uncontrolled epidemic sexual violence in the eastern DRC.
The **** Commissioner has welcomed the public commitment of President Shikhadi to ensure Dr Mcquaidy's security and called on him and his team to be provided with comprehensive protection by the Congolese authorities so that the indispensable work they performed day after day at Panzi Hospital can be guaranteed.
She has also called for an effective, prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the threats made against him.
It's essential those responsible are brought to justice and the truth is known both as a means to protect Doctor Mcquaigy's life, but also as a deterrent to others who attack, threaten or intimidate medical workers and human rights defenders who, like him, work for the benefit of the Congolese people, often in exceptionally difficult circumstances.
The **** Commissioner has also underscored the need for all relevant DRC authorities to openly condemn the threats and in order to tackle the problem in the longer term.
She urged the authorities to adopt the draught law on the protection and regulation of the activity of human rights defenders in a form that is fully consistent with international standards.
Attacks on human rights defenders are an endemic problem in the DRC.
The **** Commissioner is also calling on the authorities to reinforce their efforts to prevent further human rights violations and abuses in the eastern part of the country and to take concrete steps to establish transitional justice mechanisms and processes that grant thousands of victims of successive successive conflicts their right to justice, truth and reparations.
Thank you very much, Rupert, for this briefing and I see you already, Peter, I would like to ask you a question.
Hi, Rupert, About Doctor Mcquaig, you've said you want a full investigation into who might be making these threats.
But obviously if the threats have been made, do you have any clues as to what type of groups are making these threats or what type of people is it?
Are they political groups?
Are they in individual citizens groups?
Can do you have any clues about that that you can elaborate on?
It's, it's difficult to say at this point precisely who's behind these death threats, but it seems they may be connected to the conflict in the **** plateau of South Kivu, which is pitted the Penya Mulengi community against three other communities, the Baful Bafuliru and and Yindu and Babembe communities.
And that that conflict between those groups is characterised by the involvement of multiple armed groups, both local and foreign, organised in ethnic based alliances.
But as I said, to absolutely pin it to that scenario we can't do at this point.
But just prior to the outbreak of recent threats against him, Doctor Mcquiggy had condemned an attack on civilians from the three communities that are opposing the Banyo Mulengi.
The threats also may be connected to his repeated calls for accountability for past and present grave human rights violations in the Eastern DRC.
Yeah, on, on Peter's question, I mean, continuing on that, if you could perhaps elaborate a bit more on that.
I mean, he's, he's a great person and great humanitarian.
Is, is any of the work that he is doing involved with the kinds of threats that that are being made against him?
I mean, are the, the, these unknown people who are making these threats upset about the work that he is doing?
And are are you satisfied that the security he's receiving is actually good enough, strong enough to protect him?
The threats appear to be more linked to his advocacy.
So he's, you know, very robust positions he's taken on accountability, on protection of women as a result of what he's seen over 2 decades in in Panzi Hospital.
But so it doesn't appear to be linked to the actual medical work with the women or the it's more comprehensive than medical work.
It's socio psychological and so on help for for the women who've been sexually assaulted and raped and so on.
In terms of protection, you know, this is a difficult part of the country.
It's a very, very violent region.
So that's part of our call to the authorities that they absolutely make sure they do provide really comprehensive physical protection to Doctor Mcqualey and to the rest of his team so that they can continue their vital work on which so many women depend.
I was just wondering whether you can say whether he has any protection at all right now to your knowledge, any bodyguard or any anyone to protect him?
And I had a question on Wisconsin as well after that if possible.
Yes, I believe he does have protection.
And you know, as I said initially, the the president has has spoken out publicly in support of him.
It's a question of how effective that protection is.
And and you know, obviously you need really 24 hour protection if we look back to what happened in 2012 and these are men breaking into his family compound.
So, you know, pretty serious protection is essential.
Our office, the, the in, in the DRC, there's something called the UN Joint Human Rights Office.
So that's sort of it's, it's independent in some ways, but it also answers to MONUSCO and to the office of the **** Commissioner.
And they have, they have people in Bukavu in, in all the hotspots.
And our Bukavu people are in contact with him and his team every single day.
And so, but obviously we can't provide the physical protection that has to be done by the authorities and MONUSCO is also providing protections.
I I hope you heard the end of the sentence from Rupert.
That we are closing the door.
Yeah, MONUSCO is also providing providing protection.
I was wondering if you have any comment on the latest events in Wisconsin and specifically about this issue of the self styled militia groups whose call to arms appears to have spurred the killing of demonstrators in Wisconsin.
How concerned are you about what's happening there and the broader gun control issues behind that incident?
I mean, perhaps taking a step back to the origin of it and, and the case of the shooting of Jacob Blake, which is, I think, a painful reminder of how African Americans continue to be exposed to differentiated and heightened risk when engaging with law enforcement bodies in the United States.
And this really tragic episode reaffirms the need for urgent action to eradicate linkages between structural racism and policing.
You know, from the from the images available that we've seen at this point, the police appears to use force against Jacob Blake.
That would seem to be excessive, and it does not appear that the law enforcement officers abided by the international standard for the intentional use of lethal force with a firearm.
It also seems highly possible that the force used against Blake could be discriminatory in nature.
On the issue of vigilante and the 17 year old who's been arrested, charged with killing two people and injuring others.
We would see this as you know, yet another unfortunately example of the insufficient and LAX gun control measures in the United States, which is something we've spoken about several times before.
You know it, it it should be inconceivable that you have a 17 year old running around with a, with an automatic rifle in a position to to ***** people in this way in such a tense situation.
We've issued several calls to ban ******* rifles and adopt other measures to control civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms in order to pretend, sorry, pre empt such killings such as these or prevent such killings.
And we produced 2 reports actually in 2016 and 2019 on the civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms, highlighting the devastating impact of gun violence on our host of human rights, including the right to life, as in this case, a security person, education, health, an adequate standard of living and participation in cultural life.
And in our view, the dreadful events of the past few days in Kenosha are not only recurrent but highly preventable.
And we would offer our sympathy to the family of Jacob Blake and wish him wish him up for recovery, although that doesn't necessarily look probable at the moment.
And on and on that point yesterday, the spokesperson of the Secretary General also said that what's important is that the case be fully investigated.
You say the incident shows the urgent, the need for urgent action Do.
See any sign that this administration is taking that urgent action and how do you assess the response in terms of of the administration, in terms of the growth of vigilante activity?
Well, of course, this is a long running problem.
It's not just under this administration, but you know, we've had repeated episodes this year and of course the, the, the appalling killing of George Floyd and, and, and many others.
So it's, it's just continues and continues.
So the although it's perhaps heartening to see, there really is a serious movement now to to stop this and to change this.
It's hard to see that'll be successful when when guns are so readily available, especially ******* rifles such as this.
And, you know, I think, you know, there had been apparently a joint statement by the law enforcement agencies in Kenosha and Wisconsin following the killing of George Floyd, you know, showing they, they recognise there was a problem.
But despite the actions and commitments that the the local police departments made, the reforms clearly haven't been delivered and the expected results aren't happening.
And these killings are continuing.
So there's clearly a huge amount of work to be done within individual police departments and, and with individual police officers to to change the situation.
And it's it's obviously not going to happen overnight, but one would hope with the amount of attention given to to all these cases this year, that the message would start to to philtre through to the local police forces and that that commanders would really take a grip on their men and women and try to prevent any more such incidents.
I'd like to ask you, President Trump and all the people surrounding him during this three day convention have been saying essentially that there is no systemic racism in the country.
And they also seem to be blaming the victims rather than the perpetrators in regard to the violence that is occurring.
In fact, having initially treated the 17 year old kid who killed those people with kid gloves, being nice to him because he was white and barely mentioning the victim, Jason Blake.
And and then along with that, the sending of troops into this situation.
It happened in in Oregon before.
And I'm wondering whether you think this is inflammatory, whether it exacerbates the situation rather than calming the the nerves and bringing it under the control, whether they are going after the peaceful protesters.
You, you know, maybe the looters too, but lots of peaceful protesters.
Well, I think it's, it's clear, you know, the authorities need to handle, you know, the situation is so tense and so sensitive that the authorities have to handle it in a, in a, in a intelligent and sensitive fashion and just just sort of putting up brute force against protesters who are protesting legitimately against, you know, against really appalling events.
So that's, that's not going to help the situation clearly.
And it, it, you know, we've been through all that with Portland and, and I don't want to see it again.
And I think clearly there are systemic problems in the United States.
I think it's widely recognised and that's what the whole Black Lives Matter movement is about.
And it's why, you know, many, many people who aren't part of that movement initially, you know, are now speaking out very much in support of this of these issues in the US.
And it's, it's a large proportion of the population that is really, really responding, I would say positively to and recognising that there are chronic problems in terms of race, race on many levels, but most most obviously at the moment in terms of the police reactions to, to African American citizens very often, you know, doing, doing nothing wrong.
Thanks a lot for taking my question.
Last weekend, the Brazilian President, Zebu so Now told a journalist that he wanted to smash his face, to punch him.
And just so you know the context, it was after being questioned over suspicious payments into his wife's bank account by a former aide of one of his sons.
Could you please comment on that?
What message could you send to leaders to both on Arrow and also to journalists that are trying to do their job in Brazil?
Yeah, I think, you know, obviously leaders play a very important role in setting, setting an example.
And threats of violence, you know, even if they're not carried out in, in reality by very prominent figures, can unfortunately lead to real violence by their supporters, by people who who see that as a kind of green light.
So we would urge all presidents and prime ministers and other, you know, important leaders, including President Bolsonaro, to be careful what they say.
And of course, journalists are entitled to ask all good questions.
You know, I mean, one hopes journalists will ask sensible questions too, but, and, and, and not not be unnecessarily aggressive in their questioning, but they have a right to ask questions and they have a right to ask penetrating questions.
And they must be protected under international law.
They have freedom of expression and freedom of opinion like anybody else, and they play a vital role for the rest of society in that respect.
And actually this gives me the opportunity to inform you that **** Commissioner Bachelet will join forces with the President of the Swiss Confederation Simulator Somaruba to hold and I will speak at AUN General Assembly side event as a prologue to the forthcoming General Assembly.
This event will be held on Tuesday, 1st of September at from 11:00 to 1:00 AM to 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in room 20.
It's an event on the theme of Journalists at Risk, Let's protect media Freedom.
And it will be an occasion for many journalists, including President of Akanu, to discuss the challenges that the current situation faces they are faced with in many parts of the world.
So you are invited to to join for this event, which is, as I said, the joint event with Chr and Switzerland.
But there is a mandatory registration if you want to be in the room.
And I think you have received the invitation.
So please follow the link.
Otherwise you'll be able to follow the discussion on UNTVI.
Understand there are more question on this for you, Gabriella, Jamil and Bianca again.
And I know, I know you have another point, another briefing point, but I think these hands up on this issue of Brazil.
Gabriella, yes, thank you very much.
Hi Alessandra, nice to see you and nice to see you.
My question is on, on the, on USA, do you think there is a, a, a state policy to ***** and **** African descent who are suspect of, you know, any kind of misbehaviour?
No, I don't think that at all.
But I think, you know, I think you have a problem with the culture within certain security forces, particularly the police forces in certain areas.
And then, you know, you have other police forces who do their job really well and, and are sensitive to the, the difficulties within their communities and so on.
So I, I, you can't generalise and I think, you know, state policy.
No, I think, I think if there was a state policy, we'd know about it.
You know, the United States is, is a pretty open society and there are, you know, clear rules and so on and so forth.
So no, I think that's going too far.
But there's a real problem with the culture in in some police forces.
OK, Jamil and then maybe we we let Bianca and Gabriel I I believe these are follow-ups to your first to your further questions.
But let then Rupert give his second briefing and then we'll see we have we have time for more questions.
Yes, thank you Alessandra.
Good that you had a line on this.
I will follow up on Bianca's question because this is this was not a one off action by President Bolsonaro.
Article 19, for example, has reported over 21 incidents of attacks by Bolsonaro in only in only three months.
Journalists Without Borders also compile constant attacks by Bolsonaro and his sons against the press.
Leaders is on Bolsonaro himself this behaviour regarding journalists.
How would you interpret this?
Not on world leaders, on Bolsonaro himself?
Thank you, Jamil, and apologies actually, because you did ask about this incident a couple of days ago and I didn't respond.
Look, you know, we've talked about this before and I know you want to only focus on President Bolsonaro, but it is an issue that is is alive in other countries and it's an issue we've addressed, for example, in in the United States.
So, but, but let's separate the two.
This was a specific mention of violence.
In other cases it's attacks on, on the journalists, fake news and so on and so forth.
Now journalists aren't perfect and they can be criticised and, and some rotten reporting sometimes and so on and so forth.
So it's perfectly legitimate to criticise media or to oppose their to, to respond if you like to, to reporting that you feel is unfair or inaccurate or whatever.
But there should be limits to that.
You know, it's not simply a question of blanket accusations of media of of lying and falsehoods and so on.
And of course, in the case of actually speaking violently suggesting violent actions against journalists, that's another issue altogether.
And and incitement to violence and incitement to hatred are prohibited under international law.
So whether it reaches that point would be open to a debate in, in, in these kind of cases.
But President Bolsonaro and indeed all people in positions of responsibility need to be need to be alive to the fact that their words can lead to actions by others that can harm people physically as well as harming them in terms of their professional career and so forth.
But it isn't that it isn't solely a phenomenon in Brazil.
So that's why I am I am broadening it out to to include some other countries much more to say on this.
So I, I mean Bianca Granbrella if you have something very specific, but and we've covered it.
If there's nothing more specific you want to ask, I think we can go to the next Bianca.
In fact, my question is about the event on 1st of September.
Just to understand, can we watch live on UNTV or are you going to send the material?
No, it's a live streaming on UNTV as usual, webtv.un.org.
It's physically room 20 if you want to come.
But as you know, because of the COVID measures, the number of space in the room is limited.
So in that case, you would have to register.
And we will see when, when the numbers of people that we can put in the room is attained.
We we won't be able to accommodate more people, but it will be live streamed.
Unfortunate clash is a bit with this.
Yeah, we remind you that I am.
I, in fact, the issue is that the President of Switzerland will visit the UN office at Geneva on that day on the occasion of this event, but she will also meet with the Director General and we have a certain number of meetings and I am, I have to move the briefing at 11:00.
We've already said that, which indeed clashes with this event.
I hope that you will be able to maybe split those who can, who are not alone.
Unfortunately, that was the only time we couldn't do that much about it.
So yes, that will be a little bit clashing, I'm afraid.
But the untv.un.org will carry the debates on video on demands after the the event has taken place.
And we've not yet announced, but I'm told that there will probably be a press event press conference after this event.
So you will have a chance to, to speak that to, to participate also in a, in a press briefing with the President of Switzerland.
We haven't announced it yet because we didn't have confirmation, but I know already it's coming.
So that's, that's about it.
You want to ask, You want to talk about the second point, Go ahead.
So we're very concerned by reports of excessive use of force by security forces at a Madagascar gaol on the 23rd of August.
That's last Sunday, when 22 inmates were killed and eight injured during a mass escape.
Prison break out occurred amid concerns the country's squalid and overcrowded detention facilities are a hotbed for the spread of COVID-19.
Security forces opened fire on inmates attempting to escape from the Faraf Anjana prison in the country's southeast.
Reports said 88 inmates out of the total of 380 in the prison escaped.
41 inmates were recaptured and 25 remain on the one on the run.
We remind the Malagasy authorities that the use of force must strictly comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and non discrimination.
This is the 7th prison outbreak prison escape in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic.
As with many other gaols, the conditions at Pharafanjana are deeply troubling.
The prison is overcrowded, conditions are generally unhygienic, food is poor, and the inmates lack proper access to healthcare.
Our office has previously engaged with the authorities to express concerns about the conditions in the country's gaols and the resultant dangers of overcrowding during the pandemic.
States have a duty to protect inmates physical and mental health and well-being as set out in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of prisoners, which are also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
At the start of the pandemic, the **** Commissioner had called on all states to reduce the population of overcrowded prisons.
She'd specifically urged release of at risk groups such as pregnant women, people with disabilities, elderly prisoners, those who are sick, minor and low risk offenders and people nearing the end of their sentences and others who could safely be reintegrated into society and to apply non custodial measures at the pretrial stage if possible.
We will continue to work with the authorities in Madagascar to ensure that they conduct thorough, prompt, independent and impartial investigations into the circumstances of the killing of these 22 people and the injuries to the others during the escape, and including allegations of excessive use of force by state security forces.
You see, Gabriella, your hand is up again.
Something tells me it's not on Madagascar.
We going to have again press conference with Miss Bachelet, your mic.
When did we have the last time?
We had the last one beginning of the year, didn't we?
I mean, I think the coming weeks are going to be tricky.
You've got the Human Rights Council coming yet again very soon and then the General Assembly of course, which is very occupied with in New York.
So I can't see it in the very near future, but maybe we could look at towards the end of the year.
By then, she'll have been in the job more than more than two years, so that would be a good moment.
I was wondering who, who are these people who are trying to escape?
I mean, trying it, it seems as though are they mainly criminals or is there a problem with political inmates?
I mean, are, are some people imprisoned for their political beliefs, their opposition to the government, or are are the escapees mainly criminals?
And also you had a description of the prison population.
In a sense, it seems to be very wide-ranging from in terms of the kinds of people who are there.
And I'm just wondering, you know, whether a lot of people are there who shouldn't be there.
No, I was making the kind of general point we've made about prisons globally in, in relation to COVID-19.
In this particular prison, I don't have a breakdown, but I, I believe it's just a normal prison.
I don't believe there's any particular link to political prisoners or anything like that.
But I think you, you know, you've got a large number of people in a crowded space living in fear of the pandemic.
And this, you know, appears to be really growing anxiety and pressures generated by COVID-19 in prisons such as this one, where the conditions are already bad and where the crowding is still there.
Now, you know, the, the government is aware and we've had, you know, the president of, of, of Madagascar has had embarked on trying to make changes to the prison system with the main objective of, of decongesting the prisons.
But clearly more, more remains to be done than the fact that there's been seven such escapes.
They apparently the fact that it happened the weekend is a factor because there's less bit less security in the prisons at weekends.
So a mix of that, the less security the the real boiling fear of of COVID-19 seem to have contributed to this.
But that doesn't explain why 22 people ended up dead.
Thank you very much, Rupert, and thanks for this extensive briefing.
I will still will still have now the other briefings.
Thank you, Claire, for your patience.
She's going to brief us on behalf of WMO on Hurricane Laura.
And just to remind you that Paul Dillon is also connected, talk to us about displaced people in Chad and spokesperson of FAOILO Ankta WHO and WTO are also connected if you have questions.
The Gulf Coast of the United States is assessing the damage inflicted by Hurricane Laura, which intensified very, very rapidly within 24 hours from a Category 1 to a strong Category 4 hurricane.
It made landfall of maximum sustained winds of 241 kilometres an hour, and in terms of wind speed, it was the strongest storm tide to hit the state of Louisiana since 1856.
Laura is the first major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico during August since Harvey in in 2017.
Fortunately, Harvey stuck around for quite a long time.
Laura, you know, hit and dissipated fairly, fairly rapidly, but just to stress, it was a big storm.
It generated more accumulated cyclone energy, which is how we measure these things, than all the other named storms during August.
So, so far, it's the 7th named stall to landfall in the United States this season.
The others were relatively minor and it's obviously by far the most intense and dangerous hurricane so far this season.
We've only, and this is important, we've only just entered what is traditionally the most intense period of the season.
And this is a quote from a gentleman called Eric Blake.
He's a senior hurricane specialist with the US National Hurricane Centre.
We work quite closely with him.
We still have a long way to go with climatology saying that we have about 70% of strong activity in the season still left.
The forecasts issued by the US National Hurricane Centre were extremely accurate and this needs stressing.
The predictions where Laura would make landfall were within about naughty .6 miles 87 hours in advance.
So that really is, you know quite some quite some feat.
So the accurate forecasts, together with what seems to have been very effective disaster management response seems to have kept the death toll to a minimum, although obviously casualty figures are still coming in.
And just a reminder that about 20 people died from this storm in the Dominican Republic and Haiti before it developed into a hurricane.
I'll send you briefing notes with a few more facts and figures on on the the strength of this this storm, it's now weakened to a tropical depression, but obviously there is still widespread spread flooding left, left behind.
We yesterday issued a new update on the El Nino La Nina.
And in that, we said there is a 60% chance of La Nina forming between September and November.
The absence of El Nino, which tends to suppress hurricane activity, is one of the factors in this very, very active season.
It's not, it's not the only factors.
There are other things at play as well, including weaker trade winds, weaker wind shear, you know, the whole atmospheric conditions.
To answer the question that we always get, what about the relationship with climate change?
It's difficult to link anyone particular individual storm or cyclone to climate change.
But we do expect to see more powerful storms in the future as a result of global warming, and that's basically the laws of physics.
Storms feed on warm water.
Higher water temperatures mean higher sea levels, which in turn increases the risk of flooding during **** tides.
And so the circle goes on.
Warm air holds more atmospheric water vapour, which enables tropical storms to strengthen and unleash more heavy rainfall.
There's no clear evidence that climate change is going to increase the overall number of tropical cyclones, hurricanes.
But what we do expect from the climate change scenarios is that the intensity of these storms is likely to increase.
And the this is according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global proportion of tropical cyclones that reach very intense category four and five levels will likely increase due to anthropogenic.
So that's human caused warming over the next century.
So with that, I will leave you and I will send you the briefing guys.
I think if my memory serves me right, yesterday when I was reading, I read your press release on the El Nino, La Nino, and you said that La Nino, well, that usually creates cooler temperatures.
But this was not happening this time.
Therefore, the threats of the wildfires and the heat and so on and so forth.
Could you explain why La Nina is not doing what it has been doing in the past and the impact upon what is happening at the moment in California and elsewhere in terms of the heat and the wildfires?
So firstly, La Nina hasn't yet developed what we said in the press release that there is a 60% chance of it developing between September and November.
Yes, it does tend to have a cooling influence.
And if you look at the map that we included in the press release, you will see that there are cooler sea, you know, sea surface temperatures in certain parts of the world, most, you know, in the in the tropical Pacific, most particularly around around Indonesia, Australia.
And the signal from La Nina, which is naturally occurring, is not as strong as the signal from from, from climate change, from human induced global warming.
So sea surface temperatures are very warm.
Generally there are, you know, there are specific cold patches because of La Nina, but generally sea surface temperatures are above average.
The wildfires that we're seeing in California, number of reasons, obviously we've seen very, very, very **** temperatures there, very dry soils and what triggered the particular wildfires was a lot of very dry lightning.
So, you know, there was no rain to extinguish the, the, the, the, the flame.
So any naturally occurring event that we get now, such as El Nino, La Nina, you have to set it against the backdrop of of climate change and that is the new norm.
Thank you, Claire, I don't see any other hand up.
Our last speaker is Paul Dillon for IOM.
Oh, sorry, There's one in the room.
I keep looking at my computer and not the journalist in the room.
I don't have the exact breakdown.
As far as I know the vast majority and it might be more than 20, the majority were were in Haiti and that was that was from from flooding.
But as I said, that was when Laura was still a tropical storm.
So it was nowhere near as strong as as what hit Louisiana, luckily for Haiti.
Thank you very much, Claire.
So let's go to our last speaker with Paul, Paul Dillon for IOM.
Yes, I just wanted to update you about events in Chad.
Over 360,000 people are now internally displaced in the area of Chad that borders Cameroon, Nigeria.
And Niger, according to new figures.
Published by Iowans Displacement Tracking Matrix A 22% increase in the number of displaced persons since April.
Amidst COVID-19, the Lake Region is facing a double security and environmental crisis.
Since 2015, the region has been the has been the target of repeated attacks by non state armed groups conducting an insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin which includes Cameroon, Nigeria and and Niger.
Millions of people in those countries to flee their.
Recurrent security attacks and incursions by non state armed groups since the beginning of the year prompted the charity and government in March to declare the departments of Fuli and Kaya 2 of Lake Chad's Borderlands departments as war zones, complicating the forced displacement.
In response to these security issues, the lake region is experiencing the highest rainfall in nearly 30 years.
Roughly 400 millimetres of rainfall has been recorded, which has sparked flash floods of villages and and fields.
Between the 8th of August and the 16th of August, 11,764 persons were displaced in Fulikaya and Mamdi, one of the highest numbers ever recorded by in such a short period.
Among them, 36% were displaced as a result of flood and 64% due to the worsening security situation in that area.
It's a worrying trend as the displacement is recurrent.
Protracted due to the deterioration.
Of security and environmental situations and it involves large numbers of people.
IOM in Chad is providing emergency humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations, including more than 2500 transitory and semi permanent shelters for nearly 13,000 people and more than 2700 non food items including things like hygiene kits, sleeping mats, clothes and basic cooking equipment for over 14,000 persons in the lake region.
3/4 of the displaced persons IOM identified live in displacement sites, most of which are made from straw and and metal structures, and many of them sleep in the open without adequate protection from the ongoing continuing bad weather.
With limited access to amenities such as a water, hygiene installations, health services and COVID-19 protective equipment.
Obviously much more is needed immediately, especially for families now facing heavy rainfall without proper housing.
It's raining at the moment in Germany, Germany, and we understand the waters are rising there as well.
So it's a very serious and ongoing situation.
Yeah, actually I'm sorry, it's not, it's not about some about this, but it's it's rather just going back to Nicaragua.
Actually, there, there are estimates that some, the up to potentially 10% of the population in, in Costa Rica consists of Nicaraguans, including possibly 400,000 migrants who have settled in the country.
I'm wondering if you may have any further information on movements amongst these migrants, given the, the, the lockdown situation, the impact that it's having on their livelihoods.
And so yeah, any, any information, any stats or other information as well on movements potentially back to Nicaragua?
I, I believe this question was asked a little earlier and I apologise because I, I had audio problems and I, I couldn't hear the, the back and forth on it.
I can't validate what you're what you're saying, but I'll certainly make some calls to the region and either myself or somebody closer to the story we'll be getting back to.
Before the end of the day today, thank you very much, Paul.
I don't see any other question, but I'm looking at the room this time.
I see nobody and not on Internet.
So thank you for your briefing.
A few announcements for you, a couple of press conferences on Monday, 31st of August at 2:00 PM in this room.
The UN Refugee Agency is going to launch the report on refugee education, which is titled Coming Together for Refugee Education.
This is strictly embargoed until zero GMT on 3rd of September and the speakers will be Sajid Malik, director of resilience and solution, Mamadoubian Balde, deputy director of resilience and solutions and Rebecca Telford, head of education, the three of them with HCR on Tuesday.
As I said, we have this event in the morning, we have the briefing, we have the event in the morning organised by OHCHR and the Swiss presidency.
And then at 3:00 PM in this room again, a hybrid press conference by the World Intellectual Property Organisation for the launch of their Global Innovation Index 2020.
The title which is titled Who will Finance Innovation?
And the speaker will be the director general of Y Book, Mr Francis Gurry.
This is again, there's an embargo on this report.
It's embargoed until Wednesday 2nd of September at 11 AM CEEST.
And then on the Conference of Disarmament, I remind you that the conference has planned to hold on Tuesday, 8th of September at 10 AMA public meeting devoted to the new types of weapons of mass destructions.
I think that's all I have for you.
Just a reminder that tomorrow, 29th of August, is International Day Against Nuclear Tests.
We have sent you the message of the Secretary General where he says that the nuclear menace is once again on the rise.
A complete ban on nuclear testing is an essential step in preventing the qualitative and quantitative improvement of nuclear weapons and in achieving nuclear disarmament.
And there is more on the website of this International Day.
And on the 30th of August, international Community commemorates the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
And we have also sent you the message of the Secretary General on this day.
So if there are no other questions.
And I'm looking now both at the room and on Internet and I don't see any.
I wish you a very good weekend.
We will keep you informed on what's happening with the Syrian Constitutional Committee in case there should be any press events, including during the weekend on Saturday.
