REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Marie Heuzé, the 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 International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development and the UN Refugee Agency. Also present were Spokespersons from the International Labour Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Sixty-Second Session of General Assembly
Ms. Heuzé said the sixty-second session of the General Assembly opens today in New York. A press kit on the session had been put in the press room at the end of last week. It contained the provisional agenda and a background release as well as other documentation about the General Assembly and the President of the session, Srgjan Kerim. The background release talked about the functions and powers of the General Assembly, and also noted the sustained effort over the past years to revitalize the work of the Assembly and to make it more focused and relevant.
The annual general debate, which traditionally featured statements by dozens of Heads of State and Government as well as Ministers, would begin on 25 September. On 24 September, there would be a high-level event, organized by the Secretary-General, entitled “The Future in Our Hands: Addressing the Leadership’s Challenge of Climate Change”. Also available was a press release on the climate change meeting, which included a list of Spokespersons of the different UN agencies who could be contacted by journalists.
Secretary-General Concerned about Upsurge of Fighting in Darfur
Ms. Heuzé said the Secretary-General said in a statement yesterday that he was deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in fighting in Darfur. The timing of the violence was particularly troubling as it could create conditions that were not conducive to the success of the upcoming political negotiations due to begin in Libya on 27 October. He said the most recent fighting took place in Hashkanita, Northern Darfur, on 10 and 11 September when, according to reports of the African Union Mission in Sudan, aerial bombardments involving helicopter gunships and ground military clashes apparently caused the deaths of a number of civilians. The Secretary-General strongly urged all parties to show restraint and cease all military action in order to create a positive atmosphere for the envisaged political negotiations, scheduled to begin on 27 October in Tripoli (Libya).
Security Council to be Briefed on International Tribunal to Try Assassins of Former Prime Minister Hariri and 22 Others
Ms. Heuzé said for those interested in the Middle East and the situation in Lebanon, the UN Legal Counsel, Nicolas Michel, would on 19 September brief the Security Council on a report of the Secretary-General detailing all steps undertaken so far and identifying further steps to be taken to set up an international tribunal to try those allegedly responsible for the Beirut bomb attack of 14 February 2005 that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others. The report included progress updates on the selection and recruitment process for international and Lebanese judges, the Prosecutor and the Registrar, the preliminary budget and other details. Journalists interested in more details could request it from her secretariat.
Tenth Anniversary of Anti-Personnel Mine-Ban Treaty
Ms. Heuzé said the UN agencies, funds and programmes that jointly provided mine action services had issued a statement applauding the progress made in the struggle against the scourge of landmines since the Anti-Personnel Mine-Ban Treaty was adopted 10 years ago. They said the steady decline in casualty rates, the return of formerly mined areas to productive civilian use, and the destruction of tens of millions of these indiscriminate weapons were encouraging, adding that the Treaty was a testament to what could be achieved when the international community worked collectively to tackle a grave humanitarian and development challenge.
She noted however that Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had estimated at a press conference earlier this year that up to 20,000 people each year were killed by landmines, some dating from conflicts that had long ended.
Geneva Activities
Ms. Heuzé said Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, was today meeting in Geneva with the Secretary-General of the Club of Madrid, Fernando Perpina-Robert of Spain. The Club of Madrid was an association of former Heads of State and Government who hoped to strengthen democracy worldwide, harnessing the political and practical expertise of its members. The Club of Madrid, which was established in 2001, had Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile, as its President. Other members include Gro Harlem Brundtland, former WHO Director-General, and Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Conference on Disarmament was holding an informal meeting this morning.
The Human Rights Council was this afternoon holding public informal consultations and journalists could listen in to the meeting, but there would be no press releases.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child yesterday opened its forty-sixth session and this morning, it was taking up the initial report of Croatia on how that country was implementing the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Floods in Uganda and Ghana
Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the heaviest rain in 35 years had been falling over eastern and central Uganda since July, leading to widespread flooding in several regions. As the rains were expected to continue until November, the situation could get worse. Some 300,000 people were affected by the flooding, and many had lost their homes. In the worst affected areas, families had lost 90 per cent of their first harvest season, and planting of the second season crops had been delayed. As the new harvest could not be expected before February, this meant that there could be food insecurity. The Government of Uganda had confirmed that priority needs included shelter, food assistance, clean drinking water and sanitation, mainly for the displaced people. There was difficulty to access victims, and a threat of waterborne diseases. A Flash Appeal was being finalized and the humanitarian community was working to increase capacity and ensure adequate resources.
Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said she would soon be sending to journalists a press release about the situation in Uganda vis a vis the floods. WFP was launching an appeal for $ 65 million to feed up to 1.7 million people in Uganda until March to starve off hunger from victims of severe floods, refugees, and populations displaced by conflict and civil strife. The situation was complicated because in Uganda, in addition to the floods, in the east of Uganda, there was a problem of drought, the ongoing peace process meant that displaced persons were returning to their homes, and there were refugees arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo. WFP was appealing to donors for money, among other things, to be able to use helicopters to deliver the food to the affected populations, including 300,000 people affected y the floods. These were the worst floods which Western African countries had seen in 10 years. In Togo, WFP was distributing food aid to victims of the floods.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said following a request from the Ugandan Government for urgent assistance to help at least 300,000 people affected by floods in the east of the country, IOM was working to set up an operational base in the affected district of Soroti to provide essential relief items.
Ms. Byrs said concerning the floods in Ghana, the flooding in Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions had killed 32 people and affected 260,000 others. The Government of Ghana had declared a state of emergency in the three inundated regions. A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team had been deployed to Ghana to support the emergency response operations in the affected areas. A three–day joint assessment mission had also begun in the affected areas. Crops had also been damaged, there were problems of access to the victims and there were also fears about a possible outbreak of waterborne diseases. A Flash Appeal was being finalized.
Information sheets and maps concerning the affected areas were available at the back of the room, Ms. Byrs said. She recalled that in 1999, there had been serious floods in Ghana that had caused the displacement of 290,000. At the same time last year, there was some flooding, but much less than that of this year.
Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said UNICEF had immediately provided supplies for 75,000 people of oral rehydrating salts, covers and other supplies in Ghana.
Other
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said the Inter-Agency Appeal to support the health needs of more than two million displaced Iraqis in neighbouring countries would be launched this afternoon at WHO. UNHCR, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP and WHO were participating in the appeal. She had spoken to journalists a few weeks ago about a meeting held in Damascus on the situation of displaced Iraqis in neighbouring countries and the appeal was a follow-up to it. An invitation to the appeal was available now and a press release would be issued later. The agencies were asking for a little more than $ 84 million to cover the needs of the displaced Iraqis for one year.
Ms. Chaib said the first anniversary celebration of UNITAID, Together to Heal, would be held at WHO on 20 September. Journalists were invited to attend the celebration, which included a number of addresses. The invitation was also available at the back of the room.
Catherine Sibut-Pinot of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development said copies of a new embargoed report entitled Economic Development in Africa- Reclaiming Policy Space, Domestic Resource Mobilization and Developmental States, was available at the back of the room. The report and the accompanying press release were embargoed until 26 September. There would be a press conference on Monday, 24 September at 11:30 a.m. The report said that making greater use of domestic resources could help African countries achieve sustained and higher economic growth and over the long term would reduce over-dependence on donor funding and on the rules that applied to it.
Jennifer Pagonis of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR had named as this year's Nansen Refugee Award an advocate for boat people in Malta. Dr. Katrine Camilleri was a 37-year old lawyer with the Jesuit Refugee Service. The Nansen Award was given annually to an individual or organization for outstanding work on behalf of refugees.
In Slovakia, Ms. Pagonis said UNHCR had signed an agreement with the Slovak Aliens and Border Police and the Bratislava-based Human Rights League for monitoring activities along Slovakia's land borders and at its airports. The main purpose of the monitoring, which would be carried out through regular missions funded by UNHCR, was to ensure that asylum seekers had access to EU territory and to asylum procedures.
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 improved security in Anbar governorate and parts of Baghdad had resulted in a decrease in the number of recently displaced families. IOM, which was leading emergency distributions among displaced and vulnerable populations inside Iraq, had assisted more than 320,000 people since late February 2006. Since 2003, the Organization has helped five million IDPs and vulnerable people by providing emergency food and water supplies and implementing community assistance projects in health, education, sanitation and income generation.