REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Health Organization and the International Organization for Migration.

Horn of Africa

Christian Lindmeier of the World Health Organization (WHO) Horn of Africa team said that the Stamp Out Cholera campaign led by the Ministry of Health was launched today in Mogadishu to raise awareness of the disease amongst the Somali population. It aimed to ensure that households had at least one person that knew how to prevent the condition and what to do in case of illness, he said.

Although cholera was endemic in the country the last major outbreak was in 2007, where 67,000 cases were reported. And although chlorinating the water and efforts to improve sanitation had improved the situation in recent years and prevented a serious outbreak, the large surge of people into Mogadishu this year had increased the risk of communicable diseases.

In this context about 60,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) and cholera had been reported in south-central Somalia since January 2011, with 75 per cent of all cases being children under five years old. However, in November alone 63,300 cases were reported, with women and children most vulnerable.

In Djibouti, cases of AWD were up in November compared to October, though a downward trend was now being seen and he hoped this would continue. WHO had received five diarrhea treatment kits, in addition to existing supplies, that would cover any treatment gap for the moment, he said. In addition, a treatment centre was now ready in Djibouti City which would relieve strain on the local hospital. WHO was holding a case management refresher course onsite, and similar training was needed across the country in order to iron out inequalities in treatment, he said.

Regarding weapons-related injuries, he said that on 6 December a carful of explosives exploded near the former Egyptian embassy in Mogadishu which killed two people and injured five others. This brought the total from January 1 to the end of November of 7,641 casualties from weapon-related injuries that were treated in the three major hospitals in the city, with 97 related deaths.

Kenya

Jean-Philippe Chauzy for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that teams in Kenya had completed the erection of 8,315 tents providing shelter to 30,000 Somalis displaced by drought who could not be accommodated at the heavily over-crowded Dadaab refugee camp. The tents had been pitched on an extended site at IFO 2, close to Dadaab which was currently hosting more than 383,000 Somali refugees, he said.

Three thousand of the must vulnerable Somalis would now be relocated to the newly-erected tents at IFO 2 extension before the end of the year by IOM, and their relocation to proper tents would not only provide better protection from the weather but will reduce their vulnerability to illnesses and snake bites, he said. It would also mean they would receive more systematic humanitarian aid and services.

Meanwhile, IOM, in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and the Ethiopian government’s Administration for Refugees and Returnees Affairs continued to relocate displaced Somalis in Ethiopia.

Cuban shipwreck

Jean-Philippe Chauzy for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the Organization had helped to voluntarily repatriate a group of 62 Haitian migrants rescued after a shipwreck off the Cuban coast in early December.

At least 29 fellow migrants drowned in the tragedy when their overloaded boat succumbed in the treacherous waters close to the Cuban coast, he explained, and they were brought ashore near Banes in Holguin province where Cuban doctors provided medical and psycho-social care. The Cuban authorities reported that the rescued Haitians were so traumatized that they wanted to get back home as soon as possible.

Many would-be migrants took the enormous risk of attempting the 600-mile crossing to the US and the dream of a better life, he said, however many of the boats headed instead for neighbouring Caribbean islands such as the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands, some 130 miles away.

The voluntary repatriation was conducted under an agreement between IOM, Cuba and Haiti, he said.

Haiti

Addressing a question, Ms. Momal-Vanian said the United Nations had maintained its force (MINUSTAH) in Haiti, even following the elections, as part of a slightly-revised mandate to support the Haitian authorities.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy for the IOM added that almost two years after the Haitian earthquake more than 500,000 people were still living in camps, down from 1.5 million in 2010. He added this reflected the enormous challenges faced by IOM and other agencies of getting the homeless back to their neighbourhoods into safe housing.

One of those challenges was to identify land that was suitable and free for relocation and reconstruction as land ownership issues could not be solved by the international community and should be addressed by the relevant Haitian authorities. He added that despite on-going relocations from areas such as the Champ de Mars in the capital, the needs of the displaced should not be overlooked.

Mexican migration

Jean-Philippe Chauzy said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was to carry out a project to examine migratory routes in six Mexican states and document access to education for children of internal agricultural labour migrants.

The results of the study would be used to gather information on the coverage of the country’s basic education programme for migrant children who moved with their parents as they followed planting and harvesting seasons, and determine where it should be extended.

The project also aimed to reinforce and build upon the efforts made by federal and state governments to provide education and social services to this largely vulnerable group of the migrant population in Mexico.

It was estimated that there were some 3.5 million Mexican agricultural labourers in the country, of which 760,000 were migrant children and adolescents, he said.

International Migrants Day

Ms. Momal Vanian said that Sunday (18 December) was International Migrant’s Day and read an excerpt from the Secretary-General’s message which said human rights were not a matter of charity, nor were they a reward for obeying immigration rules. Human rights were the inalienable entitlement of every person, including the world’s 214 million international migrants as well as their family members.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) answered a question on the killing of two Senegalese migrants in Florence, saying it was yet another regrettable illustration of the anti- migrant and xenophobic climate found among some segments of society.

He added that those feelings were being exacerbated by the economic downturn and rising unemployment, with migration becoming a catch-all issue used to mask public fears and uncertainties. He underlined that many countries had a tendency to minimize the valuable contributions migrants make to societies and economies.

Geneva activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced the Seventh Review Conference of the Convention on Biological Weapons had postponed to this morning yesterday’s scheduled meeting on the Plenary Session report on work done on the text of the Convention. The Drafting Committee would then meet to present the draft final document of the session on the closing day next Thursday (December 22).

She added that today (16 December) at 11:30 in Room III, the United Nations Children’s Fund would hold a press conference on the children's nutrition crisis in the Sahel region. Speakers included the Regional Director of the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office.

Catherine Sibut-Pinote for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that on Monday (19 December) at 11:00 in Room 1, a press conference would be held on the state of the world economy on the occasion of the publication of the 2011 Handbook of Statistics with details from a number of national statistical offices, notably France.