REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which also heard from Spokespersons for the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Disarmament
Ms. Heuzé recalled that the Conference on Disarmament had held two meetings per day since the beginning of the week. Yesterday, the Conference had heard the United States present a draft Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT). The draft had been made available to the press at the same time that the members of the Conference had received it. Press releases were available summarizing the statements made during the thematic discussion. The discussion would continue this morning and on Monday, 22 May 2006, in the afternoon. The two following days – Tuesday and Wednesday, 23-24 May 2006 – would be devoted to a seminar on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty organized by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). The seminar would take place in the Council Chamber.
Secretary-General’s programme and statements
Ms. Heuzé said that nuclear disarmament was also high on the agenda of the Secretary-General’s meetings during his current visit to Asia, which included visits to the Republic of Korea, Japan and China. Yesterday, the Secretary-General had reiterated his frequently voiced criticism of the international community for twice failing last year to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – at the NPT review conference in May and the World Summit in September. The text of the Secretary-General’s speech at the University of Tokyo, as well as a summary of the Secretary-General’s press conference in Tokyo yesterday, were available in the Press Room. The Secretary-General was today in China where nuclear disarmament would also be on the agenda, along with other issues.
Ms. Heuzé drew attention to the Secretary-General’s statement yesterday in which he “noted with great satisfaction” that, as of 12 May 2006, 21 States had expressed their consent to be bound by Protocol V to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which addressed the threat posed by explosive remnants of war. As a result, the conditions for the entry into force of this important instrument had now been met and the Protocol would enter into force in six months, on 12 November 2006. The Secretary-General had congratulated the States parties that had expressed their consent to be bound by the Protocol, and called upon those States who had not yet done so, to do so as soon as possible.
Ms. Heuzé recalled that at the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Governments had asked the Secretary-General to convene an Internet Governance Forum, which would be mandated to discuss the main public policy issues related to Internet governance. On 17 May 2006, the Secretary-General had established an Advisory Group to assist him in convening the Forum. The Advisory Group would hold its first meeting on 22 and 23 May 2006 in Geneva. A list of the 46 members of the Group, which included representatives of government, the private sector and civil society, was available in the Press Room. Nitin Desai, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for WSIS, was Chairman of the Group. Further information was available on the Forum’s website (www. igfgreece2006.gr).
Geneva activities
Ms. Heuzé said that the two Committees that had met in Geneva from 1-19 May 2006 were in the process of releasing their conclusions. The preliminary conclusions of the Committee Against Torture had been made available in the Press Room at 10:00 a.m. this morning. The President of the Committee and the Rapporteur on the report of the United States would brief the press at 11:30 a.m. this morning. Interpretation would be provided for the briefing. The Committee and Economic, Cultural and Social Rights had been invited to send a representative to the briefing to present its conclusions but had been unable to do so. Its conclusions would probably be available on Monday, 22 May 2006.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child was continuing its session. Press releases were available summarizing the discussions of all the Committee’s meetings, in both chambers. Today, the Committee would be considering reports by Uzbekistan and Tanzania. There would be no country reports on Monday, 22 May 2006. On Tuesday, the Marshall Islands and Mexico would be presenting reports; and on Wednesday, Lebanon and Turkmenistan. The Committee had also reviewed a number of reports – from Iceland, Italy, Qatar and Turkey – on the application of the optional protocol on to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Press releases were available on the Committee’s consideration of these reports.
World Health Assembly
Fadéla Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) drew attention to a number of documents available in connection with the Fifty-Ninth World Health Assembly, which would open on Monday, 22 May 2006. First, there was a media advisory, already issued on 9 May 2006, providing guidelines and information for the media, as well as a list of all of WHO’s media staff. Second, there was an advisory on the media arrangements for the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to the Assembly, which would provide photo and video opportunities. Third, there was a note on all the media opportunities that would take place during the Assembly.
Ms. Chaib drew attention to the opening of the Assembly at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, 22 May 2006, and the speech of Dr. Lee Jong-wook, Director-General of WHO, at 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. The Director-General would then give the floor to William Sargeant, Chair of the International PolioPlus Committee for Rotary International, and Mwakazi Johnson, a young HIV activist from Kenya. Among the other opportunities during the course of the week were a very interesting technical briefing on Tuesday, 23 May 2006, on “Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness”, which would include the participation of a number of ministers of health; the keynote speech of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday; a media briefing by Dr. Lee at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 24 May; a media briefing on the 25th Anniversary of the International Code of marketing of breast milk substitutes at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 24 May; on that same day, discussions on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories in Committee B; a technical briefing on combating counterfeit drugs on Thursday, 25 May, at 1:00 p.m.; and, on that same day, a media briefing, with the participation of Dr. Lee, on “Global Health Workforce Alliance” at 2:15 p.m. Further opportunities were listed in the note for the media. A summary press release would be issued at the closure of the Assembly on Saturday, 27 May 2006.
Human Rights
Victor Fernandez of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Lousie Arbour had been visiting Cambodia during the past week and that her visit would end today. This morning the High Commissioner had issued a statement in Phnom Penh saying that an independent, professional judiciary was of capital importance for the consolidation of democracy in the country. Mr. Fernandez highlighted two points in the High Commissioner’s statement. First, she had said that no country had a perfect human rights record but that the most promising sign of eventual progress was the capacity to acknowledge shortcomings. Second, she had noted that “an independent, professional judiciary with recognized integrity would not only be essential in protecting fundamental rights and freedoms but also facilitate the resolution of a number of difficulties evident in Cambodia, including impunity, conflicts over land and corruption”. During the visit, the High Commissioner had been granted an audience with His Majesty, King Norodom Sihamoni, and had met with Prime Minister Hun Sen and senior members of his Government. She would travel to Atlanta this weekend to co-chair the Human Rights Defenders Policy Forum at the Carter Center. The High Commissioner would visit Guatemala from 24 to 27 May 2006.
Health issues
Ms. Chaib of WHO informed journalists that a case of polio had been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this week, the first since 2000. The case involved a two-and-a-half year old girl from the Bas Congo province, on the Angola border, a peaceful province where more than 90% of the children had been vaccinated against polio. The onset of paralysis had occurred on 27 February 2006 and the case had been reported on 10 May 2006. The Ministry of Health had immediately launched an investigation and an international team had been deployed. Genetic sequencing indicated importation from Angola, following importation into that country from India in 2005. A mop-up campaign of vaccination would be conducted in the region around 9 June 2006. Ms. Chaib recalled that in the period 2003 to 2006, 23 polio-free countries had been infected with polio virus imported from the few remaining reservoirs of indigenous virus. After massive immunization campaigns, only six of those countries reported cases of imported polio in 2006 (Somalia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Yemen). The DRC had now joined this list.
Jean-Luc Martinage of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that IFRC was launching a preliminary emergency appeal for a total amount of CHF 1,2 million (US$ 957,000) to support the Angola Red Cross Society for a period of six months in responding to a cholera outbreak affecting 11 provinces throughout the country. The outbreak had already claimed more than 1,200 lives. The rapid spread of cholera threatened tens of thousands of people and had to be addressed immediately. It was clear that unsatisfactory sanitation conditions had fuelled the waterborne disease, which spread quickly. Further information was available in a press release at the back of the room.
Jean-Pierre Le Calvez, Head of Communications of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), made a brief presentation on the work of GAVI and informed journalists that he and his colleagues were available to facilitate their access to information on health systems and vaccination programmes in the poorest countries in the world. GAVI’s mission was twofold, to raise funds to finance health systems and vaccination, and to develop and strengthen health systems in the world’s poorest countries. In six years, GAVI had been able to raise US$ 6 billion.
Other
Jenifer Pagonis of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the number of refugees from Sri Lanka arriving in southern India had now reached over 1,000, with reports of more arrivals on the way. These refugees had told UNHCR that they had fled because they were scared of the rapidly deteriorating security situation. The refugees were housed and received basic assistance in camps run by the Indian government that already housed some 60,000 refugees that had arrived since the start of Sri Lanka's twenty year civil conflict. Ms. Pagonis said that the latest outflow was a complete reversal of what had happened in 2005, when UNHCR had helped more than 1,000 Sri Lankan refugees return home from the camps in southern India. There continued to be generalised insecurity in the north and east of Sri Lanka and the level of violence had sharply increased in April. UNHCR was now working closely with the government, UN sister agencies, NGOs and other partners to verify the number of displaced people who had returned home, following stabilization in some parts of the district.
Ms. Pagonis said that seven leaders of an indigenous group recently forced from their ancestral lands by one of Colombia's irregular armed groups, had fled with their families to neighbouring Panama because of continuous threats and fears for their safety. On Tuesday, the group of 47 people arrived on three small boats in the Darien region of Panama's Pacific coast after a difficult crossing on rough seas. A UNHCR official who had been in Panama on mission this week had secured the agreement of the Panamanian Ministry of Government and Justice to allow the group to stay and seek asylum in Panama. The asylum seekers were members of Colombia's Wounaan indigenous group. In early April, hundreds of Wounaans had fled their ancestral homes after two of their leaders had been killed in the space of 48 hours. UNHCR’s office in Panama would provide the new-comers with legal and humanitarian aid as needed. UNHCR had repeatedly expressed concern about the disproportionate impact of the conflict on Colombia's indigenous communities and warned that some smaller groups might face extinction as a result of widespread displacement from their ancestral lands.
Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) drew attention to the conclusion of the eighth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development. Several issues had been the subject of discussion this week, including the need for developing countries to have and maintain the necessary infrastructure. One of the initiatives of the Commission was to establish a network of existing centres of excellence to share innovations among countries and to combat the brain drain facing many countries. The Committee would adopt a number of recommendations this afternoon and the outcome of its deliberations would be submitted to the Economic and Social Council.
Sanjay Acharya of the International Communication Union (ITU) recalled that 17 May 2006 had marked the first World Information Society Day, as well as World Telecommunication Day. The theme for the observance had been “promoting global cybersecurity”. In this context, ITU had launched a global cybersecurity portal as a global online reference source of national cybersecurity initiatives and websites around the world. ITU had also conducted a global opinion survey to assess trust of online transaction and awareness of cybersecurity measures. Preliminary results were announced on 17 May 2006 but the survey would remain open for a while longer. These initiatives were connected to the plan of action of the World Summit on the Information Society.
Mark Oliver of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that WMO would be hosting a symposium on multi-hazard early warning systems for integrated disaster risk management on 23-24 May 2006. The goal of the symposium would be to produce recommendations for combining existing early warning systems for specific hazards in a cost effective manner to cater for all natural hazards. A press release on the symposium would be available on Monday, 22 May 2006, and Mr. Oliver could be contacted for interview requests.
Mr. Oliver said that 30 countries had participated in Exercise Pacific Wave, a tsunami exercise, on Wednesday, 17 May 2006. WMO’s global telecommunications system had been used to transmit messages from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii to the meteorological services involved. No problems had been reported so far.
Mr. Oliver informed journalists that typhoon Chanchu had been downgraded form typhoon status once it had crossed the Chinese mainland. Mr. Oliver could be contacted for interview requests with WMO’s tropical typhoon experts. Mr. Oliver concluded by saying that on 22 May 2006 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States would release its hurricane predictions for the North Atlantic this season. WMO would be making information available in this regard.
Aurélia Blin of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that next week there would be negotiations of the Dispute Settlement Body and the Council for Trade in Services. The Director of the Services Division would give a briefing at the end of the meeting of the Council for Trade in Services late Wednesday afternoon, 24 May 2006, at WTO. The programme of the Director-General for the coming week included a trip to Paris next week for a ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He would take advantage of the opportunity to have meetings with a number of trade ministers. On Friday, 26 May 2006, the Director-General would travel to Luxembourg for the National Catholic Day.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) drew attention to a press release on a meeting of the IOM Director General’s Business Advisory Board that had taken place in Cairo, Egypt, on 17 May 2006. The Board, which had 16 members, had been established in December 2005 to promote a partnership between the private sector and IOM on mobility policies and practices. Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, a leader in the worldwide campaign to eradicate trafficking in persons, had addressed the meeting. The Board had adopted a declaration highlighting key migration issues of interest to the private sector, and setting forth key messages on migration that required urgent attention by the international community, including during the forthcoming High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development on 14-15 September 2006 in the United Nations General Assembly. French and Spanish versions of the press release would be available on IOM’s website in the afternoon.
Ms. Heuzé added that in addition to the High-Level Dialogue of the General Assembly in September, a series of activities would take place beginning in June 2006 to highlight a report prepared by special commission on the issue of international migration that would be discussed at the High-Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council from 3 to 5 July 2006. Migration would therefore be high on the agenda of the international community in the coming months.
Mr. Chauzy drew attention to IOM’s press briefing notes, which highlighted four issues. ANGOLA: An agreement had been signed between the Angolan government and IOM to strengthen cooperation on providing displaced populations and recently returned vulnerable persons better access to basic health and sanitation. AFGHANISTAN: In Afghanistan’s northern province of Faryab, 125 women (all widows or vulnerable women) no longer had to struggle to survive after being helped by an IOM programme to learn new skills and start businesses. KOSOVO: A documentary following the story of two trafficked Kosovan girls, which is part of an information campaign aimed at raising awareness on the risks of human trafficking and addressing the stigma and discrimination faced by victims, was being shown in the Kosovan capital, Pristina. PERU: Ministers from 24 countries with high levels of emigration had signed a declaration emphasising the need for increased collaboration on migration policies and the need to respect existing legal frameworks on migration issues after a meeting in the Peruvian capital, Lima, this week.