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 International Women's Day, the UN International Meeting on the Question of Palestine, the Secretary-General's upcoming visit to Europe and the Middle East, the Secretary-General's meeting with the Security Council on the appalling situation in Darfur, Geneva activities, human rights and other issues. Spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Economic Commission for Europe, the World Health Organization, the High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Organization for Migration participated in the briefing.

International Women's Day

Mrs. Heuzé extended her congratulations to all the female journalists and spokespersons at the briefing on the occasion of International Women's Day. She also drew the attention of journalists to an initiative by the Swiss Committee for UNICEF which had gathered hundreds of signatures which were published in the Swiss papers today against female genital mutilation.

The message of the Secretary-General on the occasion of International Women's Day was available in the press room in English and in French. Also available were copies of the programme of the events coordinated by the International Labour Office for the commemoration of International Women's Day in Geneva. Journalists could also find copies of the press kit on the theme of this year's International Women's Day which was "gender equality beyond 2005: building a more secure future".

United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine

The Director said that a two-day UN International Meeting on the Question of Palestine opened at 10 a.m. this morning in Room XVI at the Palais des Nations. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, would read out the message of the Secretary-General. Copies of the Secretary-General's message were available in English and in French. The theme of the meeting was implementing the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory and the role of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society.

Secretary-General Visit to Europe and Middle East

The Director said the Secretary-General would be travelling to Spain this week where he would deliver the keynote address on a global strategy for fighting terrorism to the International Summit Democracy, Terrorism and Security. The Secretary-General would elaborate on the United Nations strategy to fight terrorism. The meeting was being organized by the Club de Madrid and was being held under the patronage of King Juan Carlos of Spain. Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze would be participating as part of the Secretary-General's delegation. The Secretary-General would also be visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories next week.

Secretary-General Discusses Appalling Situation in Darfur with Security Council

The Director said the Secretary-General had yesterday met with Security Council members at his request because he was worried that the United Nations was not moving fast enough to deal with the appalling situation in Darfur. In a statement after the meeting, the Secretary-General said that there had been a lot of efforts on the humanitarian side, and by the African Union on the security side, which were in the right direction. But they were not enough. He kept getting reports which showed that the killing and raping and burning were still going on. A press release which was issued following the meeting was available in the press room.

Geneva Activities

Mrs. Heuzé said the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was today holding a general discussion on multiculturalism. As usual, a press release would be issued at the end of the meeting.

The Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission would today be opening its fifty-fifth session under the Presidency of Ambassador Tassos Kriekoukis of Greece. The Governing Council would conclude its work on 10 March in the afternoon and there would be a concluding press release as well as a press briefing around 5 p.m.

The Director said the Spokesperson for the World Intellectual Property Organization had asked her to remind journalists that there would be a briefing by Francis Gurry, WIPO's Deputy Director-General, on 9 March at 11:45 p.m. on the performance of the international patent system in 2004.

Human Rights

José Luis Díaz of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that journalists would shortly receive a statement by High Commissioner Louise Arbour on the occasion of International Women's Day. The High Commissioner in her statement would be picking up on some of the themes which she raised during her statement to the Commission on the Status of Women in New York last week, including the continuing and disastrous effect of gender discrimination and other human rights violations on women's human rights. The High Commissioner cited as an example the prevalence of HIV/AIDS infection among women and how human rights violations had an impact on infection rates.

Mr. Díaz reminded journalists that the King and Queen of Spain would be visiting the Palais Wilson this afternoon starting 4 p.m. A note to correspondents on this subject was available.

The Commission on Human Rights was starting its annual six-week meeting on Monday, 14 March, and Mr. Díaz proposed that he organize a briefing with Eric Tistounet, the Secretary of the Commission. It would not be a political briefing as it was not the role of the Secretariat to speak on the political aspects of the Commission's work; that was up to the Member States. However, the Secretary would brief journalists about what the Commission expected to do and how the session would run, including practical arrangements on resolutions. It was agreed that the briefing would be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, 10 March.

Other

Catherine Sibut-Pinot of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said UNCTAD's Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues was meeting this week at the Palais des Nations. There would be a press conference on 9 March at 2:45 p.m. in press room 1 with the Egyptian Investment Minister. He would be speaking following UNCTAD's investment policy review of Egypt.

Jean Michel Jakobowicz of the Economic Commission for Europe said that available was a press release on promoting sustainable development through education. The UNECE was due to launch its regional strategy on promoting sustainable development through education in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on 17 and 18 March. On another subject, there would be a press conference on 10 March at 11 a.m. on the Outlook for Europe's forest sector.

Ian Simpson of the World Health Organization said that there would be a briefing by Sir Michael Marmot, Chairman of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and Dr. Tim Evans, Assistant Director-General, Evidence and Information for Policy at WHO, on 14 March on the launch of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. This was an important initiative which would look at the social factors which contributed to ill health linked to poverty, poor housing, poor access to information, poor access to water, marginalization and other factors. The briefing would be held at 3 p.m. in Room III.

Jennifer Pagonis of the High Commissioner for Refugees said in Pakistan, Afghan refugees continued to suffer from bad weather. UNHCR had distributed 1,000 tents to Afghan refugees in the Balochistan region of Pakistan who had been made homeless by heavy rains and flooding. The severe winter conditions had also forced the Government of Pakistan to extend the deadline for the completion of the census of Afghans living in Balochistan until the end of the week. Despite the weather, repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan had resumed yesterday after a suspension since December for the winter period. A total of 122 Afghans had left the northern city of Peshawar to return home, while hundreds more refugees had registered to depart as soon as possible from Karachi and Balochistan.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said that available at the back of a room was a press release on how WFP was commemorating International Women's Day. This year, the annual Catherine Bertini prize was being launched, named for the former Executive Director of WFP. The prize would be presented to a WFP regional office which carried out important activities relating to women.

Mrs. Berthiaume said WFP was worried about the situation in Sudan where it was realizing that the shortage of food would be more serious that it originally expected. An expert had been chosen to identify the regions where the population would be in a vulnerable state because of a combination of factors including a poor harvest and an increase in the prices of food. To date, WFP had only received 10 per cent of the funds that it had requested for Sudan for 2005.

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that on 18 March at 9:30 a.m., Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency Relief Coordination, would help launch the global report of the Norwegian Refugee Council at the Swiss Press Club. Copies of the embargoed press release and report would be available before the press conference.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said that IOM had put out a press release on International Women's Day. It was available at the back of the room.

Ms. Pandya said the role of internal migration in economic growth and poverty reduction would be discussed at an international conference organized by IOM in the Chinese city of Lanzhou from 14 to 16 March. IOM's Deputy Director General, Ndioro Ndiaye would be attending the tenth meeting of the Regional Conference on Migration which would be meeting in Vancouver, British Colombia on 10 and 11 March. The overall objective of the conference was to exchange information, share experiences and best practices and carry out consultations to promote regional cooperation on migration issues.


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