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STORY: GENEVA / YEMEN DROWNINGS
TRT: 1:27
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 JANUARY 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior UN in Geneva, Palais des Nations
2. Wide Shot, Press Briefing
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Millman, IOM Spokesperson:
“IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, are outraged and saddened at the drownings of at least 30 refugees and migrants off the coast of Aden, Yemen, earlier this week.”
4.Med Shot, journalist
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Millman, IOM Spokesperson:
“The vessel is believed to have been operated by unscrupulous smugglers who were attempting to take refugees and migrants to Djibouti, while also trying to extort more money from these refugees and migrants. The boat capsizes amid reports of gunfire being used against the passengers.”
6. Med Shot, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) William Spindler, UNHCR Spokesperson:
“Prolonged conflict and insecurity in Yemen, exposes vulnerable refugees and migrants to a heightened risk of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, detentions, trafficking and deportation.”
8. Med Shot, journalist
9. SOUNDBITE (English) William Spindler, UNHCR Spokesperson:
“Yemen is one of the most dangerous places in the world, it’s in the middle of a terrible conflict, on the verge of famine, with a cholera epidemic, and so on, and yet refugees and migrants continue to arrive”
10. Various shots, journalist
United Nations humanitarian agencies expressed “outrage” and “sadness” today as they confirmed the death by drowning of “at least 30 people” off the coasts of Yemen earlier this week.
The deaths came as an over-packed boat run by smugglers capsized off the coast of Yemen while ferrying refugees and migrants back from the war-torn country towards the Horn of Africa.
The spokesperson of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Joel Millman told reporters in Geneva today (26 Jan) “IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, are outraged and saddened at the drownings of at least 30 refugees and migrants off the coast of Aden, Yemen, earlier this week.”
Survivors of the incident reported that the boat was overcrowded, with at least 152 Somalis and Ethiopians on board. The vessel had departed on 23 January from a location known as Al Buraiqa near Aden and was headed across the Gulf of Aden toward Djibouti. IOM said that 101 passengers were Ethiopian citizens, and 51 were Somali.
Millman said “the vessel is believed to have been operated by unscrupulous smugglers who were attempting to take refugees and migrants to Djibouti, while also trying to extort more money from these refugees and migrants. The boat capsizes amid reports of gunfire being used against the passengers.”
IOM and its partners have been providing emergency assistance to survivors, including medicine, food, water and psycho-social support.
The spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) William Spindler said that the UN agencies have long tried to warn against the dangers of these crossing, in an effort to discourage African migrants from going to Yemen in the first place.
He said “prolonged conflict and insecurity in Yemen, exposes vulnerable refugees and migrants to a heightened risk of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, detentions, trafficking and deportation.”
UNCHR has led an intensive regional information campaign in Ethiopia and Somalia, among other countries, warning of the dangers and risks inherent in crossings to and arrival in Yemen.
Spindler underscored “Yemen is one of the most dangerous places in the world, it’s in the middle of a terrible conflict, on the verge of famine, with a cholera epidemic, and so on, and yet refugees and migrants continue to arrive,” adding that it is “ important that people are aware of the risks.”
Some 87,000 people are estimated to have attempted the crossing in 2017.
