REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which provided information about new documents and upcoming meetings in Geneva, World AIDS Day, the Humanitarian Appeal 2006 and other topics. Spokespersons for the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the United Nations Development Programme participated in the briefing.

New Documents and Upcoming Meetings in Geneva

Mrs. Heuzé said there were a number of new documents in the press room relating to upcoming events. They included the message of the Secretary-General to the Alliance of Civilizations High-Level Group and to the sixteenth session of the World Tourism Organization. There was also the message of the Secretary-General on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which would be delivered in Geneva this afternoon by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva; the message of the Secretary-General on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (2 December); and the message of the Secretary-General on the International Day of Disabled Persons (3 December).

Mrs. Heuzé said from 6 to 8 December, the Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission would be meeting in Geneva. There would be a briefing at the end of the session.

From 5 to 7 December, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, which was working on a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous populations, would be meeting in public at the Palais Wilson.

Also at the Palais Wilson, from 12 to 16 December, the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families would be meeting. A day of General Discussion would be held on 15 December on protecting the rights of all migrant workers as a tool to enhance development. The Committee's meetings were held in public.

In conclusion, Mrs. Heuzé said that on 7 December, the State of Food and Agriculture report would be launched in Geneva by FAO. The theme of the report this year was “Poverty and agriculture: can trade work for the poor ? ” The report would be launched uniquely in Geneva. The key speaker will be Mr. Hartwig de Haen, Assistant Director-General, FAO.

World AIDS Day

Mrs. Heuzé said the message of the Secretary-General on the occasion of World AIDS Day - 1 December - was available in the press room. In the message, the Secretary-General said that in the course of the past decade, the world had made considerable progress in the fight against AIDS, and it had also made considerable promises. The time had come to keep these promises.

Patrick McCormick of the United Nations Children's Fund said World AIDS Day would be commemorated on Thursday, 1 December at 4:30 p.m. at the World Ecumenical Centre. The Deputy Director of UNAIDS would open the ceremony, and there would be performances by children, testimonial speakers by two speakers who were HIV positive, and a candle lit procession among others. The theme of the commemoration this year was "keep the promise".

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said the WHO Director-General would address WHO staff around noon on Thursday on the occasion of World AIDS Day. He would speak about role of WHO in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The theme this year was "Stop AIDS: keep the promise". The Director of the AIDS Department would be going to Lesotho where he would launch, along with the authorities in the country, a national plan to fight HIV/AIDS. In Lesotho, one in three persons was HIV positive. There would be a press release issued both in Geneva and Lesotho.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said as part of its set up to distribute food, WFP employed large numbers of truck drivers, and it was sometimes sadly joked that HIV/AIDS travelled by truck. Drivers were always on the road, and there were always poor young girls trading their bodies for money. This meant that truck drivers contributed a lot to the spread of HIV/AIDS. This year, WFP had started a pilot project in Malawi, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Swedish International Development Agency and WFP partners, to inform drivers about how HIV/AIDS was transmitted, and to provide medication for sexually transmitted diseases. In Malawi, one adult in seven was HIV/AIDS positive and this had a disastrous effect on the economy. Every day, WFP had 5,000 trucks travelling in more than 80 countries.

Humanitarian Appeal 2006

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the Humanitarian Appeal 2006, the complete consolidated appeals for 2006, would be launched on Wednesday, 30 November in New York for around 20 countries around the world. Jan Egeland, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, would be giving a press conference in New York after the launch. Persons in Geneva wishing to following the events tomorrow could do so in Room F-3, door two, third floor, starting 3.45 p.m.. A media advisory was available at the back of the room as well as a press release from New York.

Mrs. Heuzé said on 10 January 2006, an important meeting would be held in Geneva for donor countries concerning the Humanitarian Appeal which would be launched tomorrow by the Secretary-General in New York.

Pakistan after the Earthquake

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the situation in Pakistan was very difficult and it was now compounded by the weather. Rains and the snow were blocking roads or making them unsafe and helicopters were not able to fly. The winter race was continuing but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The weather was already claiming victims and more had to be done to avoid further casualties.

Jennifer Pagonis of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said winter had officially started in Pakistan with the weekend's rains and snow. The first cold-related deaths had been reported in the earthquake zone - two children died of pneumonia and a man of hypothermia in the villages of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Many more deaths could be expected as temperatures dropped below freeing point, especially in the higher elevations. Bad weather continued to hamper aid delivery to the remote high-altitude villages. On lower elevations, UNHCR was preparing the ground for more people forced to leave their homes in the upper valleys because of the bitter cold.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said some of IOM's helicopter flights taking essential shelter kits to communities living above 5,000 feet in Pakistan's earthquake affected areas had to be suspended on Sunday and Monday due to storms while more bad weather was expected throughout the week. Operation winter race was crucial for the people of the region

Other

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said an update on avian influenza with information about a new case would be issued later this afternoon. There would also be a press release about the WHO mission in China which visited the province affected by avian influenza. On the yellow fever outbreak in South Kordofan in Sudan, according to the latest figures, there were 730 cases, including 131 deaths. WHO had a six-person team which would be arriving in South Kordofan soon, and a WHO member was in Khartoum helping the Sudanese Ministry of Health with the vaccination campaign. The 1.7 million vaccination doses requested by Sudan had arrived over the weekend.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said the first anniversary of the tsunami was coming up on 26 December. WFP was still continuing its work in southwest Asia to help 1.5 million tsunami victims in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. WFP would soon be able to conclude its operations for tsunami victims in the Maldives and Somalia, and it had already concluded its work with tsunami victims in Myanmar and Thailand in the middle of 2005.

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development said a group of experts would be meeting from 30 November to 2 December to discuss the technology of information and communication and the development of tourism in developing countries, especially electronic tourism.

Jean Fabre of the United Nations Development Fund said a report on human development in central Asia would be launched on 7 December. It concerned Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The region was rich with resources, like oil, but it was also rich with problems and risks, including drug and human trafficking. There would be a briefing for the launch. The report would be launched in Geneva, Moscow, Copenhagen and each of the five central Asian countries.

Jennifer Pagonis of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said that at UNHCR's annual pledging conference which was held in Geneva yesterday, the agency had received firm funding pledges of $ 354.3 million from donors for its operations in 20006 - a decrease of about 12 per cent compared to $ 405.4 million pledge the previous year. UNHCR had a $ 1.22 billion budget for 2006 to assist some 19.1 million people of concern to the refugee agency around the world. The decrease in contributions pledged in advance this year was mainly due to the exchange rate fluctuations, particularly the strengthening of the dollar. The unprecedented number of major natural disasters in 2005 may also have put a strain on donors' humanitarian budgets. The amount pledged counted for around 30 per cent of UNHCR's 2006 budget.

Ms. Pagonis said in Sudan, UNHCR was organizing "go and see visits" for two delegations of Sudanese refugees to go to their regions of origin in southern Sudan to help them decide whether the time was right to go home. Ms. Pagonis said South Sudan had lacked many services even before the war, and fighting had destroyed most of the infrastructure that did exist.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said IOM's ninetieth Council was starting today at the Palais des Nations. IOM today would be launching a new initiative with the private sector called the business advisory board review. It would collaborate with the private sector to come up with better programmes on migration issues. A press release should be issued shortly. The main theme of the Council session was policy coherence on migration.