REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Yvette Morris, Chief of TV and Radio Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Telecommunications Union and the Economic Commission for Europe.

Ebola

Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), reminded the journalists about the press conference this afternoon at WHO Headquarters at 2 p.m. to discuss results of the meeting held on Thursday on the access to and funding for potential vaccines for Ebola. The Speaker would be Dr Marie-Paule Kieny. The transcript would be provided after the conference.

Ms. Chaib said that today, the first Ebola case had been confirmed in Mali. It was a two-year old girl who fell sick on 20 October in Kayes, 600 km away from Bamako. She had been transferred to the hospital after her treatment in a paediatric centre on 21 October. The little girl had been travelling with her grandmother to Guinea. WHO did not know all the details of the journey but the result had been confirmed positive for Ebola from a national laboratory.

The local authorities had identified 43 persons who had been in contact with the little girl and her grandmother, including 10 health care personnel who had taken care of the girl in the paediatric centre before her transfer to the hospital. Those contacts were under control and the paediatric centre had been disinfected.

On 19 October WHO had deployed a team to Mali and Côte d’Ivoire in order to prevent the spread of Ebola in the neighbouring countries. In the next 24 hours, WHO would reinforce its team and send experts to Mali in order to support the team which was already in the country. The local WHO office had been asked to develop a structure in order to help the local health care system.

An updated situation report would be distributed later in the day.

Asked for an update on Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ms. Chaib said that the latest suspected case had been identified on 10 October and had tested negative twice. Also, everyone who had been in contact with the suspected case had been followed and were now cleared. However, before confirming that the Ebola epidemic had been eradicated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO would have to wait for two periods of incubation to pass, which meant 42 days.

Ms. Chaib clarified that the Ministry of Health of Mali had notified WHO about the first case on Thursday night. The little girl had seen a doctor on 20 October and had been admitted to hospital on 21 October.

Answering a question, Ms. Chaib said that WHO had experts including specialists in logistics in Mali since 19 October and WHO was looking into reinforcing this team by sending a social mobilization expert, clinical management and an epidemiological expert shortly.

On a question about whether the US had asked the help of WHO to treat its Ebola case, Ms. Chaib responded that they had not asked for help but WHO was working closely with the Center for Disease Control.

Asked about the kind of treatment patients who had recovered had been receiving in Liberia or Sierra Leone, Ms. Chaib said that indeed many people were eventually recovering. A lot, of course, depended on whether they received early treatment and enough hydration.

On the question of bilateral help that some countries were providing to West Africa, Ms. Chaib responded that there were indeed cases where the affected countries were discussing directly with potential donor countries. WHO had thus far organized some 700 missions to the countries affected by Ebola. There were currently three WHO personnel on the ground, and four more would arrive over the weekend. Listing some of the most significant donors, Ms. Chaib said that Cuba had 165 personnel on the ground, and had promised another mission; China was to send a mobile laboratory, and so were Canada and Russia. Ugandans were also on the ground, having previously had experience with Ebola. Other countries, such as Germany, Japan and Thailand, were in negotiations with the WHO on ways to help.

Ms. Chaib said that she would check and revert on the contribution of Israel to the fight against Ebola.

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that UNCIEF was continuing to airlift supplies into the countries affected by Ebola. Flights were scheduled to arrive in Monrovia today and on 27 October and would include deliveries of supplies consisting of 5,976 Ebola protection kits - buckets, soap, gloves and garbage bags, as well as pharmaceuticals and nutrition items.

Meanwhile, four flights carrying supplies were arriving in Freetown in the coming days. The first was scheduled to land on 25 October, with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) stretchers and coveralls. Another flight would land on 26 October, carrying tents, coveralls, soap and other hygiene supplies. Finally, two flights were scheduled to arrive on 28 October with material including tents and coveralls.

UNICEF was also increasing its stock of body bags, bringing it up to 20,000 for adults and nearly 5,000 for children. Those would be supplied to the affected countries in anticipation of their respective needs.

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that the preliminary results of a joint Rapid Food Security Assessment in Liberia by WFP, FAO and the Government highlighted the probability of high pre- and post-harvest losses at the end of the farming season, market disruptions, price increases for basic commodities and challenges in reaching remote places due to poor road networks.

Should the Ebola epidemic last another 4-5 months, when farmers began to prepare their land, WFP would be seriously concerned that planting for the 2015 harvest could be affected. The impact of Ebola was likely to constrain food access in affected communities for months to come.

Ms. Byrs stressed that the spread of Ebola was disrupting food trade and markets in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the region. So far the impact on food prices had been mixed. WFP was gearing up to prevent that health crisis from becoming a food and nutrition crisis. WFP was also revising requirements to respond to the increased demand from governments and health partners to establish Ebola treatment and care facilities. WFP would procure and transport material to build additional facilities in the affected countries.

So far, WFP had delivered more than 13, 000 metric tons of food to 776,000 people in the three countries.

The UN Humanitarian Air Service, managed by WFP, had transported 1,130 passengers and more than 11 metric tons of light cargo for 40 organizations - NGOs, UN agencies, donors, the diplomatic community and government partners.

In October, WFP Guinea was targeting 186,000 people in areas of widespread and intense transmission across the country. The previous week in Liberia, WFP had distributed 2,430 metric tons of food to about 144,600 people in eight counties. WFP had increased its October distribution target in the country by 35 percent and aimed to reach 270,000 people this month. In Sierra Leone, WFP had started constructing Forward Logistics Bases in Port Loko, Makeni and Kenema. The required equipment for the establishment of the bases had arrived in the country. They would be completed in approximately three weeks.

Ms. Byrs specified that the WFP’s current Emergency Operation had a total requirement of almost USD 93 million with a funding shortfall of 48 percent. For its Special Logistics Operation, WFP still required 87 percent of the USD 87 million.

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), specified that out of the total requested USD 988 million needed for the overall Ebola response, USD 488 had been provided thus far.

Iraq

Mr. Laerke stated that the humanitarian needs in Iraq were immense, and more resources were urgently needed to address the needs of 5. 2 million people across Iraq, which was a conclusion of a joint mission by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and OCHA.

On 23 October, the United Nations had launched the third revision of the Strategic Response Plan, which aimed to address the protection and humanitarian needs of 5.2 million people across Iraq through 2015.

Included in that were 1.8 million people displaced since January 2014, 1.5 million within communities hosting many of the displaced, and 1.7 million living in conflict areas outside Government control.

Mr. Laerke explained that the USD 2.2 billion multi-sectorial plan covered the provision of assistance in non-food items - shelter, protection, health, food, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and logistics until the end of December 2015.

To date, more than USD 600 million had been contributed to the 2014-2015 Iraq Strategic Response Plan, including a major contribution by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in July. An additional USD 1.6 billion, however, was now needed for activities over the following 15 months, and early contributions were essential with the onset of winter.

Approximately 800,000 people were in urgent need of emergency shelter assistance and 1.26 million were in need of some form of winterization assistance.

Ukraine

Adrian Edwards, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that UNHCR was rushing to help the most vulnerable people in Ukraine in preparation for winter. Ongoing fighting in the East and the breakdown of basic services continued to drive more people from their homes. The need for humanitarian aid was increasing particularly around Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev, and in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzia regions. The estimate of Ukraine’s internally displaced population had risen to 430,000 people, which marked an increase of over 170,000 since the start of September. 90 percent of the displaced were from Eastern Ukraine, and were concentrated in Donetsk and Kharkiv, as well as in Kiev and other cities in the Dnieper River basin.

In all those areas emergency humanitarian assistance had been distributed and targeted the most vulnerable. UNHCR was planning to distribute additional winter clothes and blankets over the coming weeks as well as to provide 400,000 square meters of reinforced tarpaulin sheets for roof repairs in the east of Ukraine. While most of the displaced were staying in rented accommodation, between 14,000 and 18,000 were living in collective shelters. With the onset of winter, UNHCR prioritized ensuring that those shelters were weather-proofed. UNHCR planned to refurbish 40 of those shelters.

Mr. Edwards said that in the previous two weeks Ukraine had taken important steps to protect and assist displaced people with new government resolutions on registration and assistance. In the previous week some 16,000 families had been registered. UNHCR was looking forward to the establishment of a central agency and full and timely registration of the displaced.

On 20 October, Ukraine’s Parliament had passed a law on the rights and freedoms of internally displaced people. The law extended specific rights to internally displaced people and provided protection against discrimination, forcible return and assistance in any voluntary return. The law also simplified access to economic and social services. UNHCR hoped that rapid implementation of the legislation would help displaced people to find safe shelter, jobs and proper access to services. The law obliged the Government to start developing a policy on integration of internally displaced people, which was expected to lead to better planning for those in need.

In the Russian Federation, meanwhile, over 200,000 Ukrainians had applied for refugee status or temporary asylum since the beginning of the year, according to the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation. In addition, approximately 180,000 Ukrainians had applied for some kind of legal stay in Russia, such as temporary or permanent residence permits. Most Ukrainians in Russia were staying with family, friends or had found private accommodation. The Russian authorities had adopted several regulations to facilitate the temporary stay of Ukrainians who had arrived in their territory. UNHCR hoped that equal treatment would be afforded to refugees from other countries.

Mr. Edwards said that, as of the end of September, over 6,000 Ukrainians had sought refuge in the European Union. That compared to about 900 over the whole of 2013. The EU country with the largest number of Ukrainian asylum seekers was Poland with 1,632, followed by Sweden (841). In addition, 581 Ukrainians sought asylum in Belarus in 2014.

In response to a question on the reliability of figures of Ukrainians in the European Union, Mr. Edwards stated that at present there were no specific numbers other than the official figures. The registered IDP count was much smaller than the actual one. Unfortunately, UNHCR did not have reliable figures. The improvements in registration resulting from the new law would hopefully result in more specific numbers.

Responding to a question on the status of the cease-fire, Mr. Edwards stated that it was difficult to comment on the cease-fire, but that there was continued fighting and displacement, primarily from the east of the country or along the Dnieper River.

On a question as to whether the Russians had downgraded the number of Ukrainian displaced persons, Mr. Edwards stated that the of number of people seeking protection status was far lower than the total number who had entered Russia. Mr. Edwards stressed the importance of distinguishing those who were seeking protection in Russia and those who were there for other reasons.

Syria

Ms. Byrs said that the humanitarian situation in Syria continued to deteriorate and more and more people were becoming destitute. There was an increasing population in the north and the northeast. WFP had distributed food to more than 3.9 million people in September, while the number in August had been 4.1 million.

WFP had resumed moving food to the Al Hasakah Governorate in northern Syria over the border with Turkey. The border had last been opened in September. The humanitarian conditions in this Governorate had significantly deteriorated over the previous months. Families from Kobane had sought refuge in Al Hasakah, and had been assisted with food rations which did not need cooking. In addition, WFP had been assisting more than 380,000 Iraqi refugees in the Nauru camp.

Answering a question on the decision of the Lebanese authorities not to allow any further Syrian refugees into the country, Mr. Edwards said that the UNHCR acknowledged that Lebanon was still the country which hosted proportionately the highest number of Syrian refugees. UNHCR would wait to see the details of the Government’s decision before taking a stance.

Kyrgyzstan

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that OHCHR called on the Kyrgyz Parliament and authorities to refrain from passing draft legislation that would embed in law discrimination against people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). The proposed law would also violate fundamental human rights, including the rights to liberty, security and physical integrity and to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Those rights were protected by human rights treaties ratified by Kyrgyzstan.

UN human rights mechanisms had previously expressed concerns about discrimination and violence against LGBT people in Kyrgyzstan and the lack of a response from the Kyrgyz authorities. The draft law added to those concerns and might lead to further violations. The adoption of that law would also go against the commitments made by Kyrgyzstan during its Universal Periodic Review in the UN Human Rights Council in 2010, when it had accepted recommendations to review compliance of its national legislation with provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on non-discrimination, in particular with regard to women, and minorities, and on the basis of ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

The UN had documented that similar laws elsewhere had had negative impacts on human rights, including increased attacks and discrimination against LGBT individuals, notably children and youth. The law would also likely have a negative impact on national public health responses, in particular among people who lived with HIV and those most at risk of contracting HIV, as well as on access to information about reproductive rights of women.

Ms. Shamdasani said that everyone was entitled to equality before the law, without any discrimination, and it was the State’s responsibility to protect all individuals from discrimination. OHCHR thus urged the authorities not to pass this law.

OHCHR was also concerned about another bill currently going through Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, which risked creating a difficult environment for the operation of civil society groups. OHCHR was closely following developments on that draft law and called on the authorities to take measures to ensure that Kyrgyz national legislation fully complied with international human rights standards.

Libya

Ms. Shamdasani stated that OHCHR was deeply concerned by reports of threats and intimidation directed against the national human rights institution of Libya, the National Council for Civil Liberties and Human Rights (NCCLHR), based in Tripoli.

According to the reports, a number of worrying incidents had occurred on 13 and 14 October. A staff member had received a threatening phone call from someone claiming to represent brigades affiliated with Operation Libya Dawn. The staff member had left Tripoli immediately. Others associated with the Council had also been threatened by people claiming to be affiliated with Operation Libya Dawn. A group of armed men had visited the premises of the Council requesting the hand-over of keys and official stamps. Council staff had refused the request. In a separate visit, armed men had sought to question a number of senior staff members of the NCCLHR who had not been there at the time.

OHCHR called upon all parties to immediately desist from such intimidation and threats, and to allow the Council to carry out its activities in an independent manner free of harassment or other hostile action. Independent National Human Rights Institutions were instrumental in the protection and promotion of human rights at the national level, and were the cornerstone of the national protection system.

OHCHR also reiterated its call for those found responsible for human rights violations and abuses to be held to account under international and Libyan law.

Mexico

Ms. Shamdasani said that OHCHR was concerned about the continued enforced disappearance of 43 students in the town of Iguala, in the Mexican State of Guerrero. The students had last been seen on 26 September being taken by the municipal police, which had been reportedly acting in collusion with a local criminal gang. During the operations, six people had been killed, including a 15-year-old child and three students, and at least 17 people had been injured.

OHCHR noted that the President of Mexico had deplored this grave human rights violation and welcomed that Mexican authorities had activated mechanisms to search for the disappeared students. Fifty-two people had been arrested in connection with the students' disappearance, including at least 36 local police officers, and security forces. Investigators and technical resources had been deployed to Iguala and the region. The Ministry of Interior and the Attorney General had established a direct dialogue with families, students and NGOs. OHCHR commended the establishment by the Federal Congress of a Special Commission to follow up on the investigation.

OHCHR regretted that those mechanisms had not yet been successful in finding the missing students and urged the authorities to step up their efforts to find them.

Ms. Shamdasani added that OHCHR was also concerned that several mass graves - nine according to official figures - had been discovered on the outskirts of Iguala. OHCHR urged the Mexican authorities to conduct effective, prompt and impartial investigations so as to identify those who had been buried in the mass graves and bring those responsible to justice. OHCHR expressed its deepest solidarity with all the victims and their families and loved ones.

OHCHR also urged the Government to recognize the competence of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive communications from victims, according to article 31 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. The UN Human Rights Office in Mexico was following closely those cases and was ready to provide any assistance that might be required.

Answering a question, Ms. Shamdasani acknowledged that those who had ordered the crime remained at large. OHCHR was asking the authorities to ensure that those accountable were brought to justice.

International Conference "Development of Cooperation in the Aral Sea Basin to Mitigate Consequences of Environmental Catastrophe"

Jean Rodriguez, for the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said that the Executive Secretary, Mr Christian Friis Bach, would be on mission in Urgench, Uzbekistan, from 27 to 30 October, in order to participate at the International Conference "Development of Cooperation in the Aral Sea Basin to Mitigate Consequences of Environmental Catastrophe".

The conference would be organised by the Uzbek Chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and would aim to discuss the support of international organizations and donors to the Third Aral Sea Basin Programme approved by IFAS Member States. The Programme was a regional action plan to alleviate the environmental and socio-economic consequences of the Aral Sea disaster and to facilitate progress towards integrated water resources management and sustainable development in the Aral Sea Basin.

The Programme covered four areas: integrated water resources management; environmental protection; socio-economic issues and institutional and legal strengthening of water management in the region. It was expected to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, improve preparedness to address new challenges, including climate change, and foster integrated water resources management at the national, river-basin and regional levels.

Mr. Bach would sign a letter of intent with the Chairman of the Executive Committee of IFAS that would indicate continued UNECE support in areas such as water quality conservation, safety of dams and management and exchange of information on water resources and the environment.

ITU Plenipotentiary Conference

Sanjay Acharya, for the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), stated that the Plenipotentiary Conference was still underway in Busan, Republic of Korea. It had opened earlier in the week in the presence of the President of the Republic of Korea, Ms. Park Geun-hye. Mr. Archarya noted that during in his video message, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed “the importance of this conference concerning the future of information of telecommunication technologies and the strategic direction of ICT as a vital sector of the global economy.”

On Thursday, the Plenipotentiary Conference had endorsed Houlin Zhao of China as ITU’s next Secretary-General as he had won 150 votes out of the 152 countries that had voted. Prior to this, Mr. Zhao had been elected ITU Deputy Secretary-General at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, in 2006, and re-elected for a second four-year term at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2010. Before becoming Deputy Secretary-General, he had served as Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) from 1999 to 2006, first elected at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Minneapolis, United States, in 1998, and re-elected at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2002. From 1986 to 1992, Mr Zhao had been a senior staff member in what was then the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee, and from 1993 to 1998 in the TSB.

Earlier today, Malcolm Johnson of the United Kingdom had been elected Deputy Secretary General of ITU with 104 votes out of the 168 countries voting. Elections for the position of Director of the ITU Industry Bureau were due to take place next week and the election for the position of the Director of the Radio Communications Bureau and the Development Bureau had not been contested.

The United Arab Emirates announced that it would host the following ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2018.

Chikungunya Outbreak in France

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that on 21 October, WHO had been notified by the National IHR Focal Point for France of four cases of chikungunya, locally-acquired infection in Montpellier, France. The cases had been confirmed by tests conducted by the French National Reference Laboratory for arborviruses on 20 October. That was the first time that locally-acquired transmission of chikungunya had been detected in France since 2010.

The four cases of chikungunya infection had occurred within the same family, with the onset of symptoms between 20 September and 12 October. The patients lived in Montpellier near someone infected with chikungunya who had come from Cameroon. The cases had no history of travel out of their district of residence in the 15 days prior to the onset of symptoms.

French public health authorities had implemented the following public health measures: vector control aimed at preventing local transmission; provision of information about the awareness of the cluster, the signs and symptoms of the disease, when and where to seek care, and how to prevent infection; advice to health care practitioners on clinical case management; assessment of the risk of infection through blood and tissue donations. Most patients would recover fully.

Mr. Lindmeier explained that chikungunya was a viral disease that was rarely fatal and was transmitted to humans by infected mosquitos. Symptoms included high fever and headache, with significant pains in the joints, which could persist for several weeks. The symptoms appeared between four and seven days after the patient had been bitten by an infected mosquito.

Geneva activities

Ms. Morris wished everyone a happy United Nations Day. Sixty nine years ago the UN Charter had entered into force.

She said that the Human Rights Committee would now be meeting in private until the end of the session on 31 October, primarily to adopt its concluding observations on the reports reviewed since the beginning of the session: Sri Lanka, Burundi, Haiti, Malta, Montenegro and Israel.

The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was considering a report by Ghana today. Scheduled for the following week were the reports submitted by Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Mr. Rodriguez announced that the 20^th session of the Committee on Environmental Policy (CEP) would work on preparing the 8^th Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference, including deciding on the two themes for the Conference. Also, the CEP would review the environmental performance of Montenegro and Serbia, as well as consider the progress made in the environmental monitoring, assessment and reporting activities, and developments in a number of cross-cutting activities.

In addition, the CEP would consider the opening and promotion of the ECE multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) beyond the region, and the practice of submission of national implementation reports under the MEAs.

Mr. Rodriguez also reminded that a session on Global Governance and the role of women, twenty years after the Beijing conference would take place at Club Suisse de la Presse on 27 October, from 12:15 till 1:45 p.m. Speakers would be Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, President of the NGO Committee of the Status of Women Geneva, General Secretary World YMCA, and Monika Linn, Director, Development Policies and Cross-Sectorial Coordination Unit at UNECE.

On behalf of the Human Rights Council, Ms. Morris reminded that the Universal Periodic Review session would begin on 27 October and would last until 7 November, during which 14 States would have their human rights records reviewed. Background press releases and media advisories should be consulted for further information.

Ms. Morris, speaking on behalf of the World Trade Organization (WTO), said that there would be a photo opportunity for the accession of Montenegro and New Zealand to the Government Procurement Agreement during a meeting of the Committee on 29 October, starting at 10 a.m.

The Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property would hold a meeting on 29 and 30 October, to be followed by a briefing on 30 October at 12 noon in Press Room 1 of the Palais des Nations.

Mr. Boulierac said that a press conference on the impact of the economic crisis on child well-being in rich countries (Innocenti report Card 12) would take place in Press Room 1 on 27 October at 10 a.m. The speaker would be Yekaterina Chzhen, Social and Economic Policy Specialist at UNICEF. The briefing and shared materials were embargoed until the official launch of the Innocenti report Card 12, which would take place in Rome on 28 October, at 11 a.m.

Mr. Laerke said that a press briefing following a joint UN OCHA/Organization of Islamic Conference mission to Iraq would take place in Room III on 27 October at 11:15 a.m. Speakers would include Hesham Youssef, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Organization of Islamic Conference, and Rashid Khalikov, Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Geneva.

The spokespersons for the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration and were also present, but did not brief.
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