REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the International Organization for Migration.

Secretary-General/Sudan

Ms. Heuzé said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a joint press conference yesterday in Khartoum with President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan following a meeting between the two, announced the start of renewed peace talks on Darfur on 27 October in Libya. The Secretary-General was in Libya now where he was meeting with Libyan authorities. Available in the press room was the transcript of the joint press conference in which the Secretary-General also said that the Darfur negotiations would be under the lead of the African Union and UN Special Envoys, who would continue to work in close coordination with the countries of the region. Mr. Ban said he urged and expected all parties to declare their serious commitment to cease all hostilities immediately; achieve a political solution to the Darfur crisis; create a secure environment in Darfur conducive to negotiations; and participate in and commit to the outcome of the negotiation effort.

For journalists who were following the situation in Sudan, also available in the press room was the transcript of the Secretary-General’s press conference in El-Fasher the day before.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ms. Heuzé said the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was worrying because of renewed fighting in the east of the country. Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes yesterday continued his visit to the country. In South Kivu Province, he visited a hospital where he heard “stories that go beyond the imagination” from women who had been raped and then shot or stabbed in their genitals. Calling such sexual violence a “societal cancer”, Mr. Holmes stressed the importance of helping the victims and punishing those who committed such crimes. Today, Mr. Holmes was scheduled to travel to North Kivu Province, where fighting had displaced more than 10,000 civilians in the past 10 days. Available was a press release with more details of Mr. Holmes’ visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This morning, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) issued a press release about how it was helping to protect civilians in the area.

Ron Redmond of the UN Refugee Agency said thousands of Congolese continued to flee the latest round of fighting between government forces, renegade troops and rebels in North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
An estimated 25,000 to 35,000 Congolese refugees spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the town of Bunagana in Uganda's western Kisoro province bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNHCR was also receiving reports from its staff in the North Kivu province that thousands of Congolese had fled the town of Sake and its surroundings west of Goma due to intense fighting. Columns of displaced were heading towards Muganga camp for internally displaced people, some 15 kilometres from Goma, and towards Goma itself. There were several camps and makeshift sites in the Mugunga area hosting at least 35,000 displaced people. The number continued to rise daily. The conditions were desperate, with the displaced sheltering in flimsy huts made of leaves and sticks, in overcrowded school buildings and under the open sky. UNHCR again urged all parties to the conflict in North Kivu to refrain from attacks on the civilian population and on the displaced in particular.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said WFP was very concerned about the fighting in North Kivu which was affecting the distribution of food aid to tens of thousands of displaced persons. The roads were dangerous and food was being moved by helicopter when possible, but stocks were low in the area.

Human Rights Council

Ms. Heuzé said the sixth session of the Human Rights Council would open at the Palais des Nations on Monday, 10 September. The session would continue until 28 September, when it would be suspended and then resume from 10 to 14 December. The background press release would be available shortly, as well as the draft timetable and annotated agenda. The President of the Council was meeting with the African Group today about the timetable and agenda, and as soon as they finalized the details, the background release would be issued. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour was expected to address the Council on Thursday, 13 September. If journalists wanted to set up interviews, they could contact Rolando Gomez of the Information Service on 9172326.

In response to a question, Ms. Heuzé said she did not think there would be any briefing today on the Council, as the meetings of the Bureau were still ongoing.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Heuzé said the Universal Postal Union had asked her to remind journalists that UPU launched at its headquarters in Bern on 6 September four UN stamps on humanitarian mail. Two press releases were available in English and in French.

There would be a press conference at noon on 10 September, organized by UNICEF, on female genital mutilation in Egypt, Ms. Heuzé said.

Hurricane Felix

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said a Flash Appeal for Nicaragua was being prepared after the passage of Hurricane Felix. OCHA had a strong permanent presence to prepare for natural disasters in Nicaragua and preparedness and prevention seminars had been organized there for months. The UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team was still in Honduras to continue its assessment in the aftermath of Hurricane Felix.

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said Hurricane Felix had left more than 34,000 persons affected in Nicaragua and had damaged 8,441 houses. These figures were likely to increase as the rescue brigades reached communities isolated by the rain and swollen rivers. UNICEF had sent blankets and supplies worth $32,971 as an immediate response for those affected by the hurricane. The first urgent aid package included four mobile water chlorination units. UNICEF was also coordinating with the Ministry of Education to organize the emergency shelters, implement educational bridges to stop the school year from being interrupted, and to evaluate the school infrastructure.

Jean Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said following the passage of Hurricane Felix through Central America, the Nicaraguan Government reported that the hardest hit area had been the north-western region. The IOM offices in Nicaragua and Honduras were coordinating with the national and local authorities and UN agencies and stood ready to work with their partners to provide the most urgent needs, namely shelter and drinking water.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as a result of the flooding and rains, a large part of the water distribution system was affected in the areas suffering from the floods. This had affected the distribution of clean drinking water. This situation was very worrying for UNICEF as it could lead to the spread of diarrhoea and other diseases that were a threat to children and grownups already suffering from malnutrition. UNICEF was continuing to distribute rehydrating salts as well as water purification tablets which it had in stock in large quantities. The priority right now was to repair the water system.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said WFP was evaluating the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea where 33 districts were affected by the floods and rains. Villages had lost their crops, stocks and animals. WFP was distributing food aid in the most affected areas, and was working with the local authorities to ensure that the needs of all, especially young children, were covered. The floods had affected the cereal bowl of the country and the damages were serious. The price of grains had already risen sharply.

Other

Ms. Heuzé said the Secretary-General on 5 September announced the appointment of Staffan de Mistura of Sweden as his Special Representative for Iraq, replacing Ashraf Jehangir Qazi who had become the Secretary-General’s new Special Representative for Sudan.

Ron Redmond of the UN Refugee Agency said after wrapping up a visit to Syria, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Erika Feller, was in Lebanon to look closely at the conditions of refugees in the country and to discuss, in particular, the situation of some 40,000 Iraqi refugees with Lebanese senior officials.

Jean Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said IOM’s latest Emergency Needs Assessment on the extent of internal displacement inside Iraq showed that eleven out of fifteen central and southern governorates were now severely restricting the entry and registration of internally displaced persons. Those restrictions, according to the report, had been imposed mainly for security reasons and because mass displacement was putting an extra burden on already over-stretched local resources and capacities. As a result, the plight of internally displaced persons had worsened as an overwhelming majority could no longer access assistance and basic services.

In Peru, IOM was this week distributing tents and relief supplies, including mattresses, blankets, sheets and kitchen sets to victims of the earthquake that struck the Department of Ica on 15 August