UN Daily News Issue DH/7230 Friday, 26 August 2016

Transcription

1 For updates and alerts, visit UN NEWS CENTRE at UN Daily News Issue DH/7230 Friday, 26 August 2016 In the headlines: UN teams bring aid to besieged Syrian people despite extreme challenges Greece facing serious challenges, needs EU help to manage refugee crisis UN agency chief UN agencies urge efforts to halt Gaza's 'dedevelopment' trajectory UNESCO chief condemns killing of journalist in Brazil UN chief looks forward to peaceful, credible presidential election in Gabon UN expert urges Iran to halt executions of 12 individuals for drug-related offences UN teams bring aid to besieged Syrian people despite extreme challenges 26 August In the first full, completed, cross-line delivery via road in August, inter-agency convoys have reached some 75,000 people in al- Waer in Syria s Homs province with life-saving humanitarian assistance, the United Nations humanitarian arm has reported. While [we welcomed] convoy, the level of access to besieged areas in August was wholly unacceptable, Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the UN Information Service said, on behalf of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at the regular press briefing in Geneva. Much more progress [is] required to reach all besieged and hard-toreach areas considering the very high level of needs. [We continue] to call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to the millions of people in besieged and hard-to-reach locations across Syria, she stressed. A convoy with essential humanitarian supplies for 75,000 people enters the Al Waer neighbourhood of Homs, Syria, on 25 August Photo: OCHA/Al Jundi The humanitarian delivery, undertaken through two convoys on 23 and 25 August, comprised of food, health, nutrition and non-food items for populations in the besieged town al-waer. Concerning relief for Aleppo, Jessy Chahine, a spokesperson for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria said that the UN was working day and night on the preparation of its humanitarian mission but awaited the concurrence by all parties in order to make sure that the mission could move towards both east and west Aleppo. Similarly, Joel Millman, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), informed journalists that the organization was delivering supplies to Aleppo under its whole of Syria programme. For information media - not an official record

2 UN Daily News August 2016 He noted that on 22 August, despite security precautions one truck carrying IOM aid had been targeted, destroying the cargo of humanitarian supplies inside and injuring one aid worker. Pause in fighting desperately needed to save lives: UNICEF chief Meanwhile, in a statement issued today, Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UN Children s Fund (UNICEF) has said that the agency is at the ready to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance, including medicines, vaccines and nutritional supplements but underscored the desperate need for a pause in fighting to actually deliver them. Pointing out that since early July, more than 100,000 children remain trapped in eastern parts of Aleppo city, he expressed: Every child there everyone affected needs an immediate pause to the fighting in Aleppo, and every second of every minute counts when it comes to protecting and saving the lives of children. Situation in Darayya critical Additionally, a statement issued by the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria has said that the situation in Darayya is extremely grave and that it is tragic that the repeated appeals to lift the siege in place since November 2012, and cease the fighting, have never been heeded. The statement noted that Staffan de Mistura had been made aware overnight of an agreement to evacuate residents, both civilians and fighters, starting today. It clarified that the UN was not consulted or involved in the negotiation of the agreement. According to the statement, Mr. de Mistura has appealed to the co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and co-sponsors of the cessation of hostilities and other ISSG members to ensure that the implementation of this agreement and its aftermath is in full compliance with international humanitarian law and protection standards. The respective taskforces on a ceasefire and on humanitarian issues, created by the ISSG, have been meeting separately since early this year on a way forward on the crisis. Russia and the United States are the co-chairs of ISSG, which comprises the UN, the Arab League, the European Union and 16 other countries. The statement added that a UN humanitarian team is reaching out to all parties, including the local population. It is imperative that people of Darayya are protected in any evacuation that takes place, and that this takes place voluntarily, the statement noted. The world is watching, it concluded.

3 UN Daily News August 2016 Greece facing serious challenges, needs EU help to manage refugee crisis UN agency chief 26 August Greece still faces great challenges in managing its refugee crisis, particularly if European Union countries do not step up their relocation and family reunion programmes, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said during a recent visit to the country. The challenges are very serious, and we need to continue to address them together, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a news release, citing living conditions, security in refugee sites, and overcrowding on islands. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (centre) talks with a Syrian family at the Lagkadikia site in Northern Greece. Photo: UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis Greece s shores were the gateway to other EU countries for more than 856,000 refugees and migrants last year, according to the High Commissioner s Office (UNHCR). Flows have slowed significantly this year, but some 50,000 people remain in the country, with a small number still arriving daily. Although conditions in reception centres are slowly improving, many people still live in overcrowded and inadequate sites as they await solutions for their future. The visit, his second since becoming UNHCR chief at the start of the year, came a month ahead of the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants to be held in New York on 19 September In Greece, he stressed the need for EU member states to speed up legal options such as family reunification and relocation through the bloc s official relocation programme, the news release said. So far 3,054 refugees have been relocated from Greece to other EU member States, while another 3,606 are scheduled to depart in the coming months. Still, support lags as member states have pledged only 8,003 spaces out of 66,400 committed. I will continue to advocate for these programmes to be bigger and accelerated, Mr. Grandi said. It can and must work. Unaccompanied children a high-priority concern On Wednesday, Mr. Grandi met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, and then visited a shelter for unaccompanied children run by Praksis, a Greek NGO supported by UNHCR. Unaccompanied children in Greece are a high-priority concern for UNHCR. Some 1,472 are on a waiting list for a safe shelter. UNHCR has so far provided 345 temporary shelter spaces for children alone. Another 245 spaces are planned. High Commissioner Grandi called the Praksis centre a model for care of unaccompanied children. It is home to 21 boys aged seven to 17 from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. They receive round-the-clock care, and some attend a neighbourhood school. All arrived in Europe without their parents or relatives, and several spent time locked in detention centres in Greece or living in the streets before coming to the shelter. It felt terrible. It is very difficult not knowing if my family was alive It felt terrible. It is very difficult not knowing if my family was alive, Waris, a 14-year-old boy from Baghlan, Afghanistan, said of his journey. He fled to Europe four months ago. Though the boy set out with his family his father,

4 UN Daily News August 2016 mother, and three younger brothers they were separated at the Iran-Turkey border when shots were fired. Waris continued onward through Turkey and to Greece alone, at the urging of a human-smuggler. Since he arrived, Waris has not been able to reach his parents or siblings, and worries that they may have died. But in the past few days my lawyer found my uncle in the United Kingdom, and we will do family reunion. So now I can look forward, he said. Mr. Grandi also visited a three-generation Syrian family who fled Aleppo in February, after their home and bakery business were bombed. One family member was killed and another kidnapped. Half the family will be relocated to France, while the others await reunion with their father in Germany. We lost everything in our home country, so we are looking forward to being somewhere safe, said 58-year-old Mohamed Wafa Barri, the family patriarch. UN agencies urge efforts to halt Gaza's 'de-development' trajectory 26 August Marking the second anniversary of the 2014 ceasefire which ended the most devastating round of hostilities in Gaza, heads of United Nations agencies there have called for a greater flow of material and funding to address humanitarian needs and boost economic prospects for Gaza's 1.9 million residents. Old industrial area in North Gaza, where scrap metal is recycled and debris from the Gaza war is turned into low-quality cement and building-blocks. Photo: World Bank/Arne Hoel We must reverse Gaza's de-development trajectory and address the needs of a population that has gone through three rounds of conflict, nine years of an Israeli blockade and the consequences of the Palestinian internal divide which, combined, have affected every aspect of their daily lives, Robert Piper, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a news release today. The United Nations considers 'de-development' a process by which development is not merely hindered but reversed. The release added that the UN operational agencies working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, constituting the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Palestine, issued a new report which outlines the collective progress made in the last two years as well as some of the remaining challenges in the recovery and reconstruction efforts following the 2014 hostilities. The fighting left at least 1,400 Palestinian and six Israelis civilians dead. Another 11,200 Palestinians were injured and an estimated 100,000 people rendered homeless. Children and women accounted for over 60 per cent of all fatalities and injuries in Gaza. Mr. Piper, who is also the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said that accountability for violations of international law by duty bearers on both sides during the war also remained elusive, denying victims and survivors the justice and redress they deserve. The news release also added that according to UN estimates, about half of the homes which suffered partial damages and a third of those destroyed have been rebuilt. Additionally, all of the 78 hospitals and clinics, and the 252 schools that were damaged have been repaired and that the reconstruction of health and education infrastructure that were fully destroyed is ongoing. The progress has been made due to ongoing efforts by Palestinian government, UN agencies, non-government organizations,

5 UN Daily News August 2016 international donor community, private sector and above all, the households themselves. While progress is unequivocally underway, repairing the damages from the 51-day hostilities cannot be our only measure of success, given that humanitarian and socio-economic indicators were already so dire before 2014, noted Mr. Piper. A vast majority of the people living in Gaza were affected by the significant damage to infrastructure which compounded upon an already frail economic situation. In particular, progress remains especially slow in the productive sectors including agriculture, owing to funding gaps and restrictions of movement on persons and goods and there are concerns for the 65,000 people who remain displaced and in temporary shelter awaiting their homes to be rebuilt. Addressing economic recovery requires much greater financial investments and serious policy changes, including a lifting of restrictions on both imports and exports, highlighted Mr. Piper. Recalling that in October 2014, donors pledged $3.5 billion to support Gaza, but according to the World Bank, only an estimated 40 percent had been disbursed by April this year. The agencies noted that funding for the remaining reconstruction work and serious investments in the productive sector is crucially lacking, further hindering people's ability to lift themselves out of crisis. The stakes are high if we are to prevent hopelessness and a re-escalation of violence, Mr. Piper warned on behalf of the UNCT in Palestine. All parties must come together to chart a clear course towards a just and final peace - including achieving a full lifting of the blockade, while ensuring Israel's legitimate security concerns, and establishing two states living side by side in peace and security, he said, recalling the words of the UN Secretary-General at the October 2014 Cairo international conference on Gaza's reconstruction. UNESCO chief condemns killing of journalist in Brazil 26 August The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom has condemned the killing of João Miranda do Carmo, an online journalist in Brazil, and called for an investigation into the incident. I condemn the murder of João Miranda do Carmo, Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said in a statement issued on 24 August. I call on the authorities to investigate this crime and bring its perpetrators to justice so as to protect journalists' ability to continue contributing to informed public debate, she added. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Mr. do Carmo owned and edited SAD Sem Censura, a local news website. On the evening of 24 July, he was shot at his home in the city of Santo Antônio do Descoberto in the country's Goiás state. UNESCO's chief regularly issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States in 1997, entitled Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.

6 UN Daily News August 2016 UN chief looks forward to peaceful, credible presidential election in Gabon 26 August On the eve of the presidential election in Gabon, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today encouraged all Gabonese to vote responsibly and urged the candidates and other political stakeholders to abstain from any acts of incitement and maintain a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the election. The Secretary-General calls on all Gabonese to exercise their civic duty responsibly and looks forward to the holding of the poll in a peaceful and credible manner, Mr. Ban s spokesman said in a statement. The candidates include President Ali Bongo, seeking a second sevenyear term, and Jean Ping, a former chairman of the African Union Commission. UN Photo/Staton Winter Commending the Government of Gabon and the Autonomous and Permanent National Electoral Commission (CENAP) for the timely preparations for the election, Mr. Ban further welcomed the deployment of regional and international election observers in Gabon and stressed the importance of the free and responsible participation of the media, the spokesman said. The Secretary-General urges all political stakeholders, in particular the candidates, to exercise restraint, abstain from any acts of incitement or the use of inflammatory statements, and maintain a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the election, the spokesman said, adding that Mr. Ban also called on all candidates to contribute to the integrity of the electoral process by addressing any complaints through established legal and constitutional channels. UN expert urges Iran to halt executions of 12 individuals for drug-related offences 26 August The United Nations rights expert on the situation of human rights in Iran has called on the Government to immediately halt the execution of 12 individuals, all of whom have been reportedly sentenced to death for drug-related offences. The executions are reportedly scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, 27 August, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a news release today. It is regrettable that the Government continues to proceed with executions for crimes that do not meet the threshold of the most serious crimes as required by international law, especially the Heroin seizures in Iran. Photo: UNODC International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is State party, Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, said in the news release. According to OHCHR, one of the sentenced, Alireza Madadpour was arrested in November 2011 after 990 grams of crystal meth were found during a raid on a house he cleaned. He was tried by the Revolutionary Court located in Karaj city, near the country s capital Tehran.

7 UN Daily News August 2016 The UN human rights office added that Mr. Madadpour s state-appointed defence lawyer never met him and the trial lasted only 20 minutes. Furthermore, Mr. Madadpour s request for pardon and retrial were not granted. It is also troubling that courts continue to issue death sentences in trials that not only breach international fair trial standards but even domestic due process guarantees, stressed Mr. Shaheed. The news release also said that Mr. Madadpour and the 11 other individuals were transferred to solitary confinement in Karaj Central Prison on 24 August in preparation for the execution. Executions for drug-related crimes not a deterrence Noting serious concern regarding the Iranian authorities' continuing reliance on drug-related executions as means to deter crimes, the UN rights expert stressed that various Government officials have gone on record to acknowledge that executions have not been effective in the prevention of drug-related crimes. According to the release, the Special Rapporteur also renewed his call on Iran to immediately institute a moratorium on executions and to restrict use of the death penalty for the most serious crimes. He also repeated his calls on the Iranian authorities to adhere to international standards guaranteeing fair trial and due process for those facing the death penalty. Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)