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 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Human Rights Council
Ms. Heuzé said that the Human Rights Council had begun this last day of its inaugural session with a meeting at 9:00 a.m. Yesterday, two important texts had been adopted. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance had been adopted by consensus, and a resolution on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples had been adopted by a roll-call vote of 30 in favour to 2 against and 12 abstentions.
Yesterday, the Council had also agreed on a set of proposed dates for its next sessions, as follows: 18 September – 6 October 2006, 27 November – 8 December 2006, and 12 March – 6 April 2007.
Ms. Heuzé said that a press briefing with the President of the Human Rights Council would be organized during the course of the afternoon. The time of the briefing was still to be confirmed. Some members of the Council would also be holding press briefings, including, for example, Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, Permanent Representative of Austria, on behalf of the European Union, at 12:30 p.m. Ambassador Blaise Godet, Permanent Representative of Switzerland, would also be having a press briefing at the Swiss Press Club at 1:30 p.m. to discuss Switzerland’s views on the Council’s first session.
Human Rights
José-Luis Diaz of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that it had been announced in New York yesterday that the Secretary-General had appointed three Commissioners to the Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste that would look into the facts and circumstances relevant to the violent incidents that took place in the country on 28 and 29 April and from 23 to 25 May, as well as other related events or issues which contributed to the crisis in Timor-Leste. The Commission was established by the High Commissioner.
The mandate of the Commission, which would be going to Timor-Leste in early July, included clarifying the responsibility for the events and recommending measures to ensure accountability for crimes and serious violations of human rights allegedly committed during the period. The three Commissioners appointed were Paulo Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil, Zelda Holtzman of South Africa and Ralph Zacklin of the United Kingdom. Mr. Pinheiro would chair the Commission. The Commissioners would be passing through Geneva to prepare for their deployment to Timor-Leste. Mr. Diaz said that he would find out whether they would be available to brief the press upon their return.
Economic and Social Council
Ms. Heuzé recalled that the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) met every other year in Geneva but that last year, instead of meeting in Geneva as scheduled, ECOSOC had met in New York. To resume the normal pattern, ECOSOC would be meeting this year, as well as next year, in Geneva.
This year, from 3 to 5 July, the High-Level segment of ECOSOC would be focusing on employment since the major economic growth observed in many regions did not seem to be resulting in the creation of more productive employment opportunities. The subject would be addressed through a plenary debate, as well as roundtables. The press would be provided with all the materials necessary to follow these debates.
Ms. Heuzé recalled that the launch of the World Economic and Social Survey 2006, which would be presented to ECOSOC on Monday, would take place in Geneva today. Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, would launch the Survey in a press briefing at noon in Room III. The report and related documents were embargoed until 12:30 p.m.
The principal launch of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Progress Report 2006 would also take place in Geneva. Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown launch the Report in a press conference on Monday, 3 July, at 12:30 p.m. Hard copies of the Report would probably be made available to the press today, if a sufficient number of copies were received. Otherwise, it would be distributed electronically. Press releases on the report would be available toward the end of the afternoon.
A number of other important press conferences would take place next week. Further details would be made available next week.
Ms. Heuzé announced that Olave Huslid would serve as liaison between the press and the ECOSOC secretariat. He could be reached at the following coordinates: tel. 022 917 1328, Room C.319, or e-mail ohuslid@unog.ch.
Corinne Perthuis of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said that as the issue of employment would be addressed during the High-Level segment of ECOSOC, ILO would be present at the Palais des Nations next week, coordinating its press activities with Ms. Heuzé’s team and Mr. Huslid. A series of backgrounders on related issues would be made available to the press, beginning this afternoon with a backgrounder on what was needed to create decent employment opportunities. Other issues addressed would include the issue of migration and employment of youth. Ms. Perthuis said that ILO’s information staff would be based in Room C.203 and would be available to arrange encounters with experts. She said that she would look into the possibility of a press briefing with Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of ILO, next week.
Geneva activities
Ms. Heuzé said that two important meetings would be taking place in parallel to the ECOSOC session next week. The Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on UN System Wide Coherence would be meeting in Geneva on 4 and 5 July. She would try to arrange a press briefing with one of the three co-chairs of the Panel, as had been done the last time the Panel met in Geneva at the beginning of June.
Also taking place under the chairmanship of the Director-General, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, was a tripartite meeting between the United Nations Office at Geneva, the European Council and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Meetings of the three organizations rotated between Geneva, Strasburg and Vienna, with the current meeting taking place in Geneva. The subject of the meeting was how post-conflict reconstruction efforts contribute to peacebuilding – a subject matter very much in the spirit of the mandate of the newly established Peaceabuilding Commission. The meeting was closed, but Ms. Heuzé said she would see whether a press briefing could be organized. A press release would be issued.
Palestine
Simon Pluess of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that WFP was deeply concerned that the recent kidnapping of the Israeli soldier and the subsequent incursion into Gaza might exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, especially with the increased border closures imposed by Israel. The non-payment of government workers, which affected around 1 million people, and the outbreak of avian influenza, which had decreased the availability of poultry, also threatened food security. It was WFP’s view that it was in everyone’s interest to avoid an escalation of the humanitarian crisis.
Another worry was the fact that electricity was being cut off, directly impacting the majority of the population. Without the use of refrigerators, perishable food items and medicines were affected. Water supply was also a major health concern as water pumps did not work without electricity. Bakeries could not produce bread – a major element in the Palestinian diet – without electricity. The restrictions on movements and the closure of border crossings were also having a serious impact. The population’s coping strategies were being pushed to the very limit, with many families living on just one meal per day. As a result, WFP had this month begun to increase its food aid to 600,000 people. But with the random closure of border crossings, WFP was not able to get enough food into Gaza. The current supply of wheat flour would only suffice to cover the current caseload of 160,000 people for about 10 days.
International migrations
Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) drew attention to a new report on remittances to Least Developed Countries, jointly published by IOM, the government of Benin and the UN’s Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and the Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). The reports was available on IOM’s website and hard copies would be made available in Press Room 1 this afternoon. While remittances to LDCs continued to represent one of the main sources of external finance, and effectively contributed to poverty reduction, the report highlighted the need for governments to set up programmes and policies to encourage migrants to remit through formal channels and to invest at home. The report would be introduced at a press conference on Tuesday, 4 July, at 10:00 a.m., in Room III, with Mr. Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for UN-OHRLL and Mme. Ndioro Ndiaye, Deputy Director General, IOM.
A second press conference would be held on Thursday, 6 July, at 3:00 p.m., also in Room III, focusing on how national and international postal services could maximize the development impact of remittances to LCDs. Speakers would include Mr. El Hadj Gley, Director General of the Tunisian Postal Service, Mr. Jean-Luc Demierre, Head of international postal relations of the Swiss Postal Service, and Ms. Ndioro Ndiaye, Deputy Director General of IOM. Further details were available in the press briefing note.
Mr. Chauzy drew attention to a report and action plan regarding the political rights of Nepalese internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees that was being released by IOM today, following an assessment trip to Nepal. The action plan examined issues associated with displacement and migration (internal and external) in the context of the proposed Constituent Assembly elections, which would begin the process of drafting a new democratic constitution for Nepal. The action plan was the product of IOM’s Political Rights and Enfranchisement System Strengthening Project (PRESS), funded by USAID.
Finally, Mr. Chauzy mentioned that the Government of Pakistan had today awarded the ‘Sitara-I-Eisaar’ (Star of Sacrifice) to IOM in recognition of its untiring service rendered during relief operations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and NWFP following the October 2005 earthquake; and that governmental and non-governmental organizations were today meeting in Port au Prince, Haiti, in a bid to raise awareness of the characteristics of human trafficking and migrant smuggling in Haiti and in the region. Further information was available in the briefing note.
Ron Redmond of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that UNHCR was making available today a document that contained several observations and recommendations for the upcoming High-Level Dialogue of the United Nations General Assembly on International Migration and Development, to be held in New York on 14 and 15 September 2006. The purpose of the dialogue was to identify appropriate ways and means of maximizing the benefits of migration for development while minimizing negative impact. Given that migration movements sometimes included people in need of international refugee protection, UNHCR believed it could make an important contribution to efforts to manage this phenomenon where it involved people who fall within its mandate.
Among the observations and recommendations made, UNHCR urged that the meeting reaffirm the international community's longstanding recognition of the specific rights and needs of refugees, including the fundamental obligation of states to refrain from returning them to countries where their life or liberty would be at risk. UNHCR also underlined the importance of ensuring that the rights of all refugees and migrants were upheld. The core UN human rights instruments were universal in their application and generally applied to citizens and non-nationals alike, including those who have moved in an irregular manner. Further information was available in the briefing note and the document itself, containing the observations and recommendations, was available at the back of the room.
Other
On Timor-Leste, Mr. Redmond said that Dili was reported to be a little calmer today following an incident-free night. The protesters who were in Dili earlier in the week had left and were reportedly on their way back to the eastern regions of the country. Over recent days, a number of displaced people had been subject to intimidation and aggression by provocateurs and UNHCR protection officers continued to visit areas affected by the unrest. While the rapid response of Australian forces had helped contain hostilities, the feeling of insecurity among the displaced remained high, and there was no sense yet that people were ready to return to their homes. A critical element of UNHCR's protection strategy is ongoing and close liaison with international military and police forces for the physical protection of displaced people in the 56 makeshift encampments around Dili.
Ms. Heuzé said that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had asked her to announce to a press release on the nutritional status of children in Timor-Leste. Timor Leste would also be the subject of a press conference of the International Committee of the Red Cross at 2:00 p.m. in Press Room 1.
Mr. Redmond said that UNHCR was concerned about an Uzbek refugee who was arrested by Kazakh security agents on June 24 in Almaty. The Uzbek refugee, who had been living in the country for seven years with his family, had been in prison since his arrest and UNHCR had had no access to him. The refugee had managed to call his wife, who had said he reported that Uzbekistan had allegedly asked for his arrest. Kazakhstan would decide about his deportation within 10 days. UNHCR urged Kazakhstan as a signatory to the 1951 Convention on refugees to continue its commitment to meeting its international obligations.
Mr. Redmond said that amendments to two international maritime conventions – the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (the SOLAS Convention) and the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (the SAR Convention) – would enter into force tomorrow, 1 July 2006. The amendments addressed the obligation of ships to rescue persons at sea, including migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees. Further details were contained in the press briefing notes.