REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Organization for Migration.

Secretary-General’s activities

Ms. Heuzé said that the Secretary-General had participated yesterday in the 14 July parade in Paris as guest of honour. On 13 July, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had invited the Secretary-General to the launch of the Mediterranean Union in Paris. On the margins of the Summit, Mr. Ban had met with several heads of State that were also participating, including the Presidents of Egypt, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria, as well as the Prime Minister of Israel.

Mr. Ban is now visiting Berlin, from 15 to 16 July, where he planned to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Heuzé said. In a follow-up to yesterday’s meeting with the President of Cyprus, the Secretary-General also planned to meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, during his stay in Berlin.

Situation in the Sudan

In response to a journalist’s question concerning the recent decision by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against the Sudanese President, in particular with regard to fears of reprisal and measures to protect United Nations personnel on the ground, Ms. Heuzé said that measures had indeed already been taken. The joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) had yesterday requested the evacuation of all non-essential civilian personnel, and those staff were now progressively being relocated. The Secretary-General expects that the Government of Sudan will fulfil its obligation to ensure safety and security of all UN personnel, as it remains very important to ensure the continuation of UN Peacekeeping operations in the country.

Geneva Activities

Turning to the activities in Geneva, Ms. Heuzé said that the Human Rights Committee was continuing its work and had this morning resumed its review of the report of Ireland, which it had started considering yesterday.

In addition, the fifty-seventh meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was taking place at the International Conference Center in Geneva, Ms. Heuzé noted. The ivory trade was at the top of the agenda for that meeting. The Secretariat of the Convention had also announced yesterday that China had reached the required verification standards and could therefore now be designated as an ivory trading partner.

Situation of the Roma in Italy

Mr. Rupert Colville of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the Special Rapporteur on racism, Doudou Diene, the Independent Expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge Bustamante, had issued a joint press release in which they had expressed their concerns over the stigmatization of the Roma in Italy. The statement had been issued as a press release by OHCHR and the Information Service and was available on their websites.

Other

Ms. Fadela Chab of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that this Thursday, 17 July, the WHO Coordinator for Water Supply and Sanitation would present in Geneva the latest UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Report for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation. Véronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted that they would launch the report at the same time in New York.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that IOM had launched a public information campaign on remittances to generate awareness amongst Bangladeshi labour migrants working overseas and their families at home on legal and safe methods for sending home money. Some 800,000 Bangladeshis had left the country for employment overseas last year and that figure could exceed 1 million this year. Remittances were one of Bangladesh’s largest resources of foreign exchange earnings. In 2007, they had grown by 33 per cent, reaching a total of almost $8 billion. The new campaign was pas part of IOM’s ongoing project “Remittance Payment Partnership” and was supported by the United Kingdom. The campaign would end at the end of September. By promoting legal remittance channels, the information campaign was expected to reduce risks and optimize the benefits of remittances.

Answering questions on the availability of such services to everyone, especially in far away regions, Mr. Chauzy said that it was for this reason that IOM was collaborating with the Universal Postal Union (UPU), as post offices and postal services were often available in the most far away regions. In addition, a conference on this topic would take place during the twentieth-fourth Universal Postal Congress, being held on 28 July 2008 at the International Conference Center in Geneva.

Turning to other activities, Mr. Chauzy also said that IOM was also participating in a project in Angola to address the needs of demobilized ex-civil war combatants. The project was aimed at empowering agricultural production in order to help communities and families and to reduce rural exodus.

Further, in Colombia, the IOM was also collaborating with the authorities and other partners in peace and reconciliation effort activities. An official ceremony had taken place in the province of Medellin, during which the remains of persons that had been found in mass graves had been reburied, after their formal identification and return to their families. The IOM had facilitated the families’ travel to the city of Medellin, Mr. Chauzy said.