REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing. Spokespersons for United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the United Nations Children’s Fund participated in the meeting.

Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism

Ms. Heuzé said Secretary-General Kofi Annan had yesterday voiced disappointment over the failure of the General Assembly's committee on legal affairs to reach agreement on a draft comprehensive convention on terrorism. The Secretary-General said he intended to consult with the chairman of the Sixth Committee and representatives of member states to see if there were ways for him to assist their efforts to agree on and conclude the convention during the General Assembly's 60th session, which ends next September, as agreed by heads of state and government at last September's UN World Summit.

In his statement Mr. Annan urged all member states that had not yet done so to become parties to the existing 13 conventions on different types of terrorism. He voiced the hope that the Assembly would expedite adoption and implementation a strategy to promote comprehensive, coordinated and consistent responses to terrorism, developed from the elements he identified at an international meeting last March in Madrid. Further information was available on the United Nations News Center page at the Documentation Centre.

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Today was the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. In a statement already distributed in English and French, the Secretary-General had said: “The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery was an opportunity to recognise that despite centuries of struggle, slavery has not been completely eradicated from this world. Numerous forms of slavery persist, such as forced labour and bonded labour, child labour, and slavery for ritual or religious purposes. The world is also now wrestling with a new form of slavery- trafficking in human beings, in which many vulnerable people are virtually abandoned by legal and social systems into a sordid realm of exploitation and abuse.”

Meetings in Switzerland

Ms. Heuzé said that a number of press releases had been issued this week, on meetings that had just concluded or would take place next week, in particular a meeting from 5 to 9 December, of the States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, which will meet to discuss Codes of Conduct for scientists to strengthen barriers against biological weapons in order to have a common approach to weapons of destruction, in particular biological weapons.

The Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances had adopted its conclusions, and a General Observation on amnesty and impunity laws. A press release was also available. The Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission will hold it’s fifty-eighth session from 6 to 8 December, and a press release was also available, Mrs Heuzé said.

Adolf Ogi, the Special Advisor of the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace was currently in Magglingen to finalise preparations for the Second Conference on Sport and Development, which will be held from 4 to 6 December. This Conference is the culminating event of the International Year of Sport and Physical Education 2005. More than 400 participants from 60 countries, including high-ranking decision makers and top athletes were expected to attend. A press kit was available. Mr. Ogi has also recently been the recipient of an International Peace Prize from the International Society for Human Rights of Switzerland, for his contribution towards increasing the access of youth to sport and development.

World Health Organization

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization, in response to a question on the recent WHO strike, said a work stoppage had been held for one hour on Wednesday 30 November. Discussions between the Staff Association and management were continuing.

In response to a question on whether the ILO had the competency to intervene in such a situation in the context of an international organization, Corinne Perthuis, speaking for the ILO, said it had no such competency, and had no comment to make. The international conventions on the right to work did not contain an explicit reference to the universal right to strike, but it was included implicitly. She could provide official texts of the conventions later this afternoon.

Ms. Chaib said a decision announced yesterday that the WHO would cease to hire smokers had been motivated by principles, as the WHO could not ask its Member States to respect the International Anti-Tobacco Treaty, and not apply it to its own personnel. Current employees who were smokers were encouraged to stop smoking. The WHO application form included a question as to whether the applicant was a smoker, and whether they would stop smoking. The WHO would not, however, investigate its employees to discover whether they were smokers.

Other

Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, would visit Zimbabwe next week, Ms. Heuzé said.

Jean-Michel Jakobowicz, speaking for the UNECE, said the UNECE would formally adopt a bold reform today, and it was one of the first United Nations departments to adopt such a wide-ranging reform. A number of activities would be abandoned, and a number of new ones would be taken up. A press release was available. Another press release was also available on the industrial accident that had taken place recently in China, explaining how two of the Conventions of the UNECE, one on industrial accidents, the other on cross-border water courses would have been useful in the context of this accident. Another release was available on how the UNECE, together with the OSCE, had facilitated a landmark agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the Ukraine to clean up the river Dniester.

Speaking also as Editor-in-Chief for UN Special, Mr. Jakobowicz also announced that 5’320 answers had been received to a survey aimed at international civil servants that had been published in the magazine in June. A report on the survey would be launched in Geneva on Tuesday 6 December at 11:30, and a press release would be issued. A copy of the report would be addressed to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and United Nations Administration would take it up in order to potentially make changes.

Christiane Berthiaume, speaking for the World Food Programme, said with regards to Sudan, there was a conference currently underway with donor countries on the Consolidated Appeal for that country for 2006. The WFP believed that humanitarian needs in 2006 would remain very high, and its work in Sudan was one of the most important operations for next year. In total, there would 5.6 million people who would need food aid, including 2.5 million in Darfur. The planned budget would be 653 million USD for food only, and in total would be 787 million USD. These were only approximate figures, she noted, as only once the harvest was in would it be possible to estimate the situation fully. A large number of refugees wished to return home, and the WFP would give these people the equivalent of 3 months food. Aid would also be focussed on the communities as a whole and to help people to return home and rebuild their lives.

It was also important for the WFP to receive funds to stock food, as the dry season was starting, and once the rainy season started it was very difficult to move food around the country. Further, 93 million USD were required just to repair and remove land-mines from roads, and it was important to make the roads usable so that the South of the country could build an economy once again. The harvests should be comparatively better this year.

Ron Redmond, speaking for UNHCR, said after the weekend’s snow, temperatures were climbing again in northern Pakistan’s quake zone. No mass movements had so far been noted from the upper valleys, but the Government in the North West Frontier Province had warned that 100’000 to 200’000 more people could come down from higher elevations as winter set in. According to the Government, there was a total of 502 camps, with 187’506 people in the two provinces. The planning figure for the next six months was for up to 250’000 people who could enter camps after descending from higher elevations. Winterisation activities had started two weeks ago, with the distribution of blankets and plastic sheets; the distribution of kerosene stoves would start shortly.

UNHCR was concerned that a controversial European Union directive on asylum procedures adopted yesterday by the 25 Member States in Brussels on Thursday 1 December could lead to a serious downgrading of asylum standards in the European Union and beyond. UNHCR also welcomed that the Government of Colombia had committed an amount equivalent to 2.2 billion USD for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons for the period 2005-2010.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy, speaking for the International Organization for Migration, said the weather had improved slightly in Kashmir-administrated Pakistan and in the North West Frontier Province, and this had caused the resumption of aid assistance, in particular the provision of aid to populations above a certain elevation. Particular focus had been on the Neelum valley. The means of bringing in aid were being diversified: half was brought in by road, so it was important to keep the roads open, and the Pakistani Army was particularly helpful in this regard. When roads were impassible, the IOM was continuing to bring in tents in four-wheel drive trucks and jeeps, as well as by horse and by mule. Helicopters were also being used. Materials were also being brought in to help people build shelters.

Elizabeth Byrs, speaking for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said 100’000 temporary shelters had been built to date. About 400’000 tents had been distributed, and there were still about 80’000 tents in the pipeline, but the majority of all tents were not winterised, and OCHA was working to adapt them to winter conditions. Current priorities were plastic sheets and corrugated metal sheets, both of which were necessary for insulation. Blankets were also necessary, even though over 3 million had been distributed, and one million remained in the pipeline, but the need for blankets had only been met by 28%. OCHA was therefore making extraordinary efforts to promote other emergency shelter options, such as 'Operation Winter Race'. To date, between the efforts of the Military, individual households, and the humanitarian community, approximately 100,000 emergency shelters have been built. Responses to the Appeal were slowly increasing, and had reached 160 million USD in contributions, and a further 64.5 million USD had been promised. The Appeal was currently 29% financed.

Damien Personnaz, speaking for UNICEF, said there was an unprecedented cholera epidemic in Sao Tome and Principe, with to today’s date 715 cases, with 17 deaths. Two weeks ago there were only 320 cases, and 9 deaths. It was only on the island of Sao Tome, and 30% of the cases were children under 14. The Government was very concerned by the situation, which could become significantly worse. The Ministry of Health had asked UNICEF staff to act as doctors in the hospitals.

The Karthala volcano in the Comoros Islands had been erupting for the last two weeks, Mr. Personnaz said, and had caused the flight of between 180’000 and 250’000 people from the southwest area to other areas of the island. There was a cloud of toxic dust and smoke that was surrounding the entire island, and this was very dangerous, not only to breathe, but had also contaminated drinking water to a significant extent. Approximately 250’000 people were without drinking water, and it was very difficult to move water to certain areas. UNICEF had so far provided 280’000 litres over two days, and would probably have to continue to do so.