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 on the official visit by the King and Queen of Spain to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, the International Meeting on the Question of Palestine to be held in Geneva on 8 and 9 March, the Tenth Session of Governmental Experts of States Parties to the CCW, the upcoming meeting of the UNCC's Governing Council, International Women's Day, the Human Rights Commission, the thirty-second session of the Standing Committee on Nutrition, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, human rights and other issues. Spokespersons for or Representatives of the Standing Committee on Nutrition, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Organization for Migration participated in the briefing.
Official Visit by King and Queen of Spain to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva
Mrs. Heuzé said that King Juan Carlos 1 and Queen Sofia of Spain would undertake an official visit to the United Nations Office at Geneva on Monday, 7 March. A note to correspondents would be available shortly on the visit, providing details about the photo opportunities and about special security measures concerning the parking area of the press. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, would welcome the King and Queen of Spain at 10:30 a.m. on Monday at Door 4 and there would be a photo opportunity which was open to all. The photo opportunity of the royal couple's meeting with the Director-General would be restricted to a pool. Mr. Ordzhonikidze would be hosting a luncheon for the King and Queen at his residence at the Villa La Fenêtre at 12:50. It would be attended by the Heads of United Nations Funds and Programmes based in Geneva.
The King and Queen of Spain would visit the World Health Organization at 4 p.m. on Monday where they would be met by the Director-General of WHO Dr. Lee Jong-wook. For further information, journalists could contact Yvette Morris concerning the royal visit to the Palais des Nations or Fadela Chaib concerning the visit to WHO. On Tuesday, 8 March, the King and Queen would visit the International Labour Office where they would be welcomed by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. Corinne Perthuis could provide more information on the ILO part of the visit. The King and Queen would also visit the International Museum of the Red Cross, and from there they would go to the International Committee of the Red Cross where its President Jakob Kellenberger would host a luncheon in their honour. Around 4 p.m., the royal couple would go to the Palais Wilson where they would be welcomed by High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour. José Luis Díaz could provide more details on press arrangements for that part of the visit.
International Meeting on Question of Palestine on 8 and 9 March
Mrs. Heuzé said the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People would convene a United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine on 8 and 9 March 2005 at the United Nations Office at Geneva. The theme of the Meeting was "Implementing the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – The role of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society". A background press release was available and the Information Service would be providing coverage of the open sessions. There would be a consultation held with civil society on 10 March at the Palais.
Tenth Session of Governmental Experts of States Parties to CCW
The Tenth Session of the Group of Governmental Experts of the States Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW) would be held from 7 to 11 March at the Palais des Nations in Geneva under the chairmanship of Ambassador Gordan Markotić of Croatia. These Governmental Experts dealt with issues concerning Explosive Remnants of War and Mines Other than Anti-Personnel Mines as well as on the possible options to promote compliance with the Convention and its annexed Protocols. A background press release was available.
Meeting of UNCC Governing Council
Mrs. Heuzé said that the Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission would hold its fifty-fifth session from 8 to 10 March under the Presidency of Ambassador Tassos Kriekoukis of Greece. A background press release was available, and a roundup would be issued on 10 March.
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was continuing its work which would conclude on 11 March. This morning, the Committee would be concluding its consideration of the report of Bahrain, and this afternoon, it would start its review of the report of Azerbaijan. On Tuesday, 8 March, the Committee would hold a general debate on multiculturalism. The other countries whose reports had been considered by the Committee during this session were Lao People's Democratic Republic, France, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Australia and Ireland.
International Women's Day
Mrs. Heuzé recalled that Tuesday, 8 March, marked the International Day of Women. The International Labour Office, which usually coordinated the commemoration of that day, was organizing an international film festival from 4 to 10 March. The programme of the festival was available and entrance was free. ILO would also hold a round table on 8 March with the participation of the film directors Claire Denis (France) and Pamela Rooks (India).
Human Rights Commission
The Director said that the Human Rights Commission would open its sixty-first session on Monday, 14 March at 10 a.m. A press kit in English and French on the Commission was available in the press room and it included among other things copies of the provisional annotated agenda as well as a list of the reports and documents available so far. The Documentation Centre would be happy to answer any questions from journalists about the documents of the Commission.
Thirty-second Session of the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition in Brazil
Roger Shrimpton, Secretary of the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition which has its offices at WHO and which includes representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the World Health Organization, said the thirty-second session of the Standing Committee on Nutrition would be held in Brasilia from 14 to 18 March. The reason why the Standing Committee had decided to brief the press about it was the opinion of the Standing Committee that it was time to stop talking and do some action. The human dimensions of hunger and malnutrition had to be made more visible. Of the 10 million children who died every year, half of them had died because they did not grow up properly because of lack of food. The number one Millennium Development Goal concerned poverty, hunger and malnutrition. It was believed that the poverty related Millennium Goal would be achieved, but the hunger and malnutrition goals would not be achieved unless something changed about the way the world dealt with them. The message of the session in Brasilia was that the eradication of hunger and malnutrition was a key factor to achieve the rest of the Millennium Development Goals. There would be around 1,000 persons participating in the meeting, including 200 international experts from around the world. An embargoed press release datelined Geneva and Brasilia was available in the press room.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Simon Pluess of the World Food Programme said that in the east of the Democratic People's Republic of the Congo, WFP's distribution programme in Ituri was still suspended because of the killing of UN peacekeepers. Some 52,000 newly displaced persons were at risk after being cut off from urgently needed food aid. It was not clear when the distribution programme could restart again.
Damien Personnaz of the United Nations Children's Fund said that UNICEF was very worried that all the international humanitarian staff had suspended their operations in Ituri. The displaced persons were already in a very vulnerable state and it was feared that if the food was cut off for more than one week to 10 days, some people would just start dying. Available was a pres release.
Human Rights
José Luis Díaz, Spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that a statement from the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the end of his visit to Japan would be available shortly. The visit had focused on the abduction of Japanese nationals by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. While the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had in 2002 acknowledged carrying out some abductions, various discrepancies remained. The Special Rapporteur called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to respond effectively and expeditiously to claims that there were still abducted Japanese nationals who were alive in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The Special Rapporteur also made a number of other recommendations.
Mr. Díaz said that journalists yesterday had received a statement from the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. He recalled that on 19 February, another statement had been issued by the Special Rapporteur in which he requested again that he visit Ecuador very quickly in order to look at the ongoing crisis in the judiciary in Ecuador. The Government of Ecuador had now agreed to a visit by the Special Rapporteur this month and he would report to the Commission on Human Rights on his visit. As soon as the exact dates of the visit were available, he would inform journalists.
Mr. Díaz said that another press release which journalists would receive this morning concerned a meeting by representatives of national institutions, Governments and civil society from throughout the Arab region who would meet in Cairo from 6 to 8 March to discuss establishing or strengthening national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights. The three-day international conference on the building of national human rights protection systems was being convened by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the National Council for Human Rights of Egypt and the United Nations Development Programme, in cooperation with the League of Arab States. Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Mehr Khan Williams would open the conference along with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, and League of Arab States Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
Asked if a briefing would be held concerning the start of the Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Díaz said he was working on that and hoped to announce a briefing next week.
Other
Dick Thompson of the World Health Organization said that since a WHO team had arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where there was an outbreak of pneumonic plague near a diamond mine in the north of the country, it had carried out a careful analysis of the situation. The assessment now was that there were 57 cases, including 16 deaths. Yesterday, three new suspected cases were identified. This indicated that there was ongoing transmission in the area. There were still no cases of bubonic plague, which probably meant that there was no animal vector involved. It was possible that in the future that the mine might serve as another focal point for future outbreaks. A number of activities were being carried out by WHO, including upgrading the laboratory so that a more reliable assessment of cases would be possible, upgrading communications, and training persons in diagnostic tests and in hospital infection control so that the clinic did not become a source of infection.
Simon Pluess of the World Food Programme said the lack of resources for humanitarian aid was threatening stability in western Africa and WFP was again renewing its call for help. Further progress would only be possible if the people in the region did not lack the basics of shelter and food. WFP's programme for 2005 and 2006, which covered the needs of 1.5 million persons in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, had only received 10 per cent of the $ 155 million needed. Rations had already had to be cut.
Damien Personnaz of the United Nations Children's Fund said that UNICEF was today calling on all the parties in the conflict in Nepal to help facilitate the transport of vaccines, Vitamin A and de-worming drugs which had been held up in the recent transport shutdown in the country. A press release was available.
Gary Fowlie of the International Telecommunication Union said that he just wanted to clarify a fact from a World Bank report which was picked up by the media. The report said that 77 per cent of the world's population lived within signal of a mobile phone, but it was mistakenly picked up as saying that 77 per cent of the world's population had access to a mobile phone. So the nature of the digital gap was changing in terms of access, but Governments and the private sector still had to work together to address the problems.
Since they were speaking about the digital divide, the Director said that the launch of the digital solidarity fund would be held at the Intercontinental Hotel on 14 March in the presence of the Presidents of Nigeria and Kenya and a number of Ministers. She would put more information in the press room when she received it.
Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said that UNCTAD's Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues would be meeting at the Palais des Nations from 7 to 11 March. The investment policy reviews of Brazil, Algeria and Egypt would also take place within the Commission's work.
Ron Redmond of the High Commissioner for Refugees said that David Lambo, Director of UNHCR's Bureau for Africa, would brief journalists at 3 p.m. on Monday, 7 March to update journalists on international efforts unveiled a year ago at the African Dialogue conference which was held in Geneva to find solutions for at least 2 million refugees and up to 5 million internally displaced people in nine African countries.
Mr. Redmond said UNHCR urged the Malaysian Government to continue to demonstrate its strong humanitarian commitment and cooperation with UNHCR despite some conflicting media reports which had worried UNHCR. In Côte d'Ivoire, UNHCR had been limiting movements of UNHCR's staff in western and northern Côte d'Ivoire following clashes on Monday between pro-government militias and rebels near the western town of Man. The fighting and subsequent tensions around the Zone of Confidence had caused some disruption to a UNHCR census of Liberian refugees which began in the rebel-controlled north on 21 February.
Samar Shamoon of the World Intellectual Property Organization said WIPO would be holding a press briefing on Wednesday, 9 March at 11:30 a.m. on the performance of the international patent system in 2004.
Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that concerning Cyclone Percy which had hit the Cook Islands on 26 February, this was the fourth cyclone to hit the area this year. On 2 March, OCHA had sent two UNDAC emergency teams to the Cook Islands, but they would only arrive there on 6 March because of the distance. The very primary reports said that there was heavy damage to the built structures on the Cook Islands.
Ms. Byrs said that UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland would be in Geneva on 17 and 18 March for an internal meeting with OCHA's humanitarian coordinators. She would try to set up a briefing with him on one of those two days, especially as he was presently visiting Darfur.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said that IOM Director-General Brunson McKinley yesterday concluded a three-day official visit to Mexico during which he met with senior government ministers. During his meetings, he discussed IOM programmes currently underway in Mexico, including the counter trafficking project. In Indonesia, IOM and the Indonesian National Police had today signed a Memorandum of Understanding which would establish the first ever medical recovery centre for victims of trafficking in Jakarta.
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