REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
UN Geneva Press Briefing
HIGHLIGHTS OF REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), chaired the briefing, which was also addressed by Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration.
Bangkok Climate Change Conference
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that delegates from 163 countries were participating in negotiations on climate change that had begun yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand, and would conclude on 4 April. The aim of the conference was to further negotiations on a new agreement to reduce emissions, which was expected to be concluded in 2009 at a major summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. The agreement would succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expired in 2012. The Bangkok conference was expected to lay out a work plan for the negotiations and to further efforts regarding emission reduction targets for developed countries. In a video message to the conference, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had urged participants to be ambitious. “The world is waiting for a solution that is long term and economically viable,” the Secretary-General said. “A solution based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. A solution that strikes the delicate balance between globally inclusive action and the need to eradicate poverty. A solution that advances green economic growth, including in developing countries, and sufficiently-funded, large-scale adaptation measures.” The statement was available in the Press Room.
Geneva activities
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that pressed for time to suitably conclude the work of its seventh session, the Human Rights Council had decided at the end of the day Friday to suspend its session and to reopen it briefly today, 1 April, in order to hear closing statements and to adopt its report to the General Assembly. The closing session had begun at 10:00 a.m.
Summarizing the outcome of the seventh session, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that the Council had adopted 36 resolutions, a third of which had been put to a vote. The Council had decided to create a new mandate, that of independent expert on access to drinking water and sanitation. The Council had requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake two new studies, one compiling relevant existing legislations and jurisprudence concerning defamation of and contempt for religions, and the other on the relationship between climate change and human rights. The Council had also requested its Advisory Committee, to which it had elected 18 members on 26 March, to recommend new measures to promote the realization of the right to food. Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier recalled that the Advisory Committee would hold its first session from 4 to 15 August.
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier recalled that at its eight session, which would begin on 2 June and last for two or three weeks, the Council would examine the first report of its working group on the Universal Periodic Review. The first two sessions of the working group would take place on 7-18 April and 5-16 May 2008.
Finally, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier reminded journalists that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) would have a press briefing tomorrow, Wednesday, 2 April, at 11:00 a.m., on the annual Economic Report on Africa 2008. UNCTAD economist Janvier Nkurunziza would conduct the briefing, in Press Room I.
World Health Day
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) recalled that World Health Day was observed on 7 April, marking the founding of WHO and providing an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year. This year, World Health Day would focus on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change. WHO had selected this theme in recognition that climate change was posing ever-growing threats to global public health security. Health hazards from climate change were diverse and global in nature, ranging from higher risks of extreme weather events to changes in the dynamics of infectious diseases. Many of the leading killer diseases were sensitive to climate conditions, and their incidence and spread were likely to be affected by changing weather patterns. To mark the Day, a press conference would be held on Monday, 7 April, at 10:00 a.m. (TBC), with Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, Dr. David Heyman, Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment, and Maria Neira, Director for Public Health and Environment of WHO. A press release and 20-page issue paper would be circulated at the press conference, which would be held in Room III.
Other
Ruppert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that a press briefing would be held on Friday, 4 April, at 2:00 p.m., on the subject of “laws that discriminate against women”. The briefing would follow a discussion on this subject that would take place in the Council Chamber in the morning of that day, to be opened by Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights. The discussion would focus on possibly setting up a special mandate or special procedures on laws that discriminate against women. The report, on which the discussion would be based, was available on the OHCHR website. Mr. Colville drew attention to sections of the report that dealt with specific laws on specific subjects, including for example the age of marriage, nationality, polygamy, grounds for divorce, and succession and inheritance. The speaker at the briefing would be Dr. Fareda Banda, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, who had written the report.
Veronique Taveau of UNICEF reminded journalists that a telephone media briefing on a new report on the global response to the impact of HIV and AIDS on children would take place on Thursday, 3 April 2008, at 10:00 a.m., New York time, or 4:00 p.m. Geneva time. The media advisory was being redistributed as the list of speakers in the briefing had changed. Also included in the advisory were the telephone numbers to be dialed.
Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that following concerns over the impact of rising food and energy prices on the populations of the poorest countries, the Executive Director of WFP, Josette Sheeran, was today arriving in Ethiopia for a two-day visit. She would then proceed to Kenya. Today, she would speak on the subject in Addis Ababa at a conference of the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa, attended by African ministers of finance and economy. In Ethiopia, Ms. Sheeran would also meet with people affected by rising prices, as well as food merchants, to see how the situation had evolved since her first visit to the country one year ago. The objective of her visit to Kenya would be the same, to evaluate the impact of rising prices on the population. Ms. Berthiaume drew attention to a comprehensive media backgrounder on the impact of rising food prices. She highlighted the situation in Somalia, which was of particular concern to WFP. Rising prices were exacerbating an already difficult situation, with 750,000 people having fled the capital since the beginning of 2007 due to fighting. Merchants in the city of Baidoa, say that the price of sorghum, the basic food of Somalis, had doubled between February and March. The same applied to rice. In collaboration with UNICEF, WFP was conducting an evaluation among families of displaced persons in Baidoa in order to identify children suffering from malnutrition. UNICEF was providing each child with a mixture enriched with maize and soy and the families of each child with food rations for one month. The number of people in Somalia requiring aid from WFP had risen to 2.1 million. In order to be able to provide the required aid, WFP was in need of USD 10 million between now and July.
Jennifer Pagonis of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that UNHCR's repatriation operation for Burundian refugees in Tanzania, begun in 2002, had reached the 300,000 mark in March – a significant milestone. At the peak of the crisis, which started in the early 1990s, nearly half a million Burundians had fled violence in their country and found shelter in neighbouring Tanzania. In addition, many other refugees had returned home on their own, bringing the total number of refugees returning to Burundi to 389,000. Another significant factor was that the refugee population in the camps in northwestern Tanzania in March had fallen below the 200,000 mark for the first time in 15 years. As the camp-based refugee population continued to decrease, UNHCR was working with the Tanzanian authorities to consolidate the existing refugee camps. In 2007, the number of camps had been reduced from 11 to five and the same process was expected to continue this year.
Ms. Pagonis drew attention to an item in the briefing notes on a new law in Panama, which would give many refugees who had been in the country since the Central American wars of the early 19802 the chance to apply for permanent residency. UNHCR always welcomed such developments that allowed refugees to integrate into the countries where they had been living for many years.
Finally, Ms. Pagonis said that High Commissioner António Guterres was on the second day of a three-day visit to Tajikistan. Yesterday, he had met with President Emomali Rahmon as well as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Labour and Interior. He had had fruitful discussions on the integration of some 1,000 Afghans who have been refugees in Tajikistan for up to 20 years. Today, Mr. Guterres would be visiting projects outside Dushanbe, and tomorrow he would be returning to attend the opening of vocational training projects at a refugee training centre in the capital.
Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that although most of the curfews and movement restrictions in Baghdad and southern Iraq had now been lifted, allowing some of IOM’s operations to resume, IOM still could not access some particularly vulnerable groups.
IOM had pre-positioned emergency food items for distribution to two main hospitals in Baghdad's Sadr City but delivery was being impeded by continued insecurity and truck movement restrictions. Similarly, food baskets had been prepared for distribution to the neighbourhoods of Qadimiya and Shulla which were still under curfew. In addition, IOM was procuring food and non-food items for immediate distribution to hospitals in some of Iraq's southern governorates including Basra, Wassit, Qadissiya and Thi Qar. IOM staff reported that a lack of food, fuel, medicine and water was a major concern even though shops had been allowed to open. What commodities were available had seen prices rise anywhere between 50-600 per cent. Shops had also been damaged in the violence, forcing merchants to delay trading until repairs were completed.
Meanwhile, IOM and partners were again monitoring internal displacement in the south and Baghdad. However, any new displacement appeared to have been limited by violence, roadblocks and curfews. In the latest update of the IDP working group, which brings together various humanitarian organizations, the number of IDPs in Iraq had now gone up to 2.8 million. The update highlighted that more than one million of the IDPs were without adequate food and shelter, and about 300,000 were without access to clean water and basic services. More than 1 million were without regular income or employment. The update highlighted an urgent need for emergency food distributions to IDPs and host communities unable to access rations through the public distribution system.
Finally, Ms. Pandya drew attention to an item in the briefing note on a new IOM programme in Italy aimed at engaging West African women migrants in the development of their countries.
HIGHLIGHTS OF REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), chaired the briefing, which was also addressed by Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration.
Bangkok Climate Change Conference
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that delegates from 163 countries were participating in negotiations on climate change that had begun yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand, and would conclude on 4 April. The aim of the conference was to further negotiations on a new agreement to reduce emissions, which was expected to be concluded in 2009 at a major summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. The agreement would succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expired in 2012. The Bangkok conference was expected to lay out a work plan for the negotiations and to further efforts regarding emission reduction targets for developed countries. In a video message to the conference, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had urged participants to be ambitious. “The world is waiting for a solution that is long term and economically viable,” the Secretary-General said. “A solution based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. A solution that strikes the delicate balance between globally inclusive action and the need to eradicate poverty. A solution that advances green economic growth, including in developing countries, and sufficiently-funded, large-scale adaptation measures.” The statement was available in the Press Room.
Geneva activities
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that pressed for time to suitably conclude the work of its seventh session, the Human Rights Council had decided at the end of the day Friday to suspend its session and to reopen it briefly today, 1 April, in order to hear closing statements and to adopt its report to the General Assembly. The closing session had begun at 10:00 a.m.
Summarizing the outcome of the seventh session, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that the Council had adopted 36 resolutions, a third of which had been put to a vote. The Council had decided to create a new mandate, that of independent expert on access to drinking water and sanitation. The Council had requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake two new studies, one compiling relevant existing legislations and jurisprudence concerning defamation of and contempt for religions, and the other on the relationship between climate change and human rights. The Council had also requested its Advisory Committee, to which it had elected 18 members on 26 March, to recommend new measures to promote the realization of the right to food. Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier recalled that the Advisory Committee would hold its first session from 4 to 15 August.
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier recalled that at its eight session, which would begin on 2 June and last for two or three weeks, the Council would examine the first report of its working group on the Universal Periodic Review. The first two sessions of the working group would take place on 7-18 April and 5-16 May 2008.
Finally, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier reminded journalists that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) would have a press briefing tomorrow, Wednesday, 2 April, at 11:00 a.m., on the annual Economic Report on Africa 2008. UNCTAD economist Janvier Nkurunziza would conduct the briefing, in Press Room I.
World Health Day
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) recalled that World Health Day was observed on 7 April, marking the founding of WHO and providing an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year. This year, World Health Day would focus on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change. WHO had selected this theme in recognition that climate change was posing ever-growing threats to global public health security. Health hazards from climate change were diverse and global in nature, ranging from higher risks of extreme weather events to changes in the dynamics of infectious diseases. Many of the leading killer diseases were sensitive to climate conditions, and their incidence and spread were likely to be affected by changing weather patterns. To mark the Day, a press conference would be held on Monday, 7 April, at 10:00 a.m. (TBC), with Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, Dr. David Heyman, Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment, and Maria Neira, Director for Public Health and Environment of WHO. A press release and 20-page issue paper would be circulated at the press conference, which would be held in Room III.
Other
Ruppert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that a press briefing would be held on Friday, 4 April, at 2:00 p.m., on the subject of “laws that discriminate against women”. The briefing would follow a discussion on this subject that would take place in the Council Chamber in the morning of that day, to be opened by Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights. The discussion would focus on possibly setting up a special mandate or special procedures on laws that discriminate against women. The report, on which the discussion would be based, was available on the OHCHR website. Mr. Colville drew attention to sections of the report that dealt with specific laws on specific subjects, including for example the age of marriage, nationality, polygamy, grounds for divorce, and succession and inheritance. The speaker at the briefing would be Dr. Fareda Banda, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, who had written the report.
Veronique Taveau of UNICEF reminded journalists that a telephone media briefing on a new report on the global response to the impact of HIV and AIDS on children would take place on Thursday, 3 April 2008, at 10:00 a.m., New York time, or 4:00 p.m. Geneva time. The media advisory was being redistributed as the list of speakers in the briefing had changed. Also included in the advisory were the telephone numbers to be dialed.
Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that following concerns over the impact of rising food and energy prices on the populations of the poorest countries, the Executive Director of WFP, Josette Sheeran, was today arriving in Ethiopia for a two-day visit. She would then proceed to Kenya. Today, she would speak on the subject in Addis Ababa at a conference of the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa, attended by African ministers of finance and economy. In Ethiopia, Ms. Sheeran would also meet with people affected by rising prices, as well as food merchants, to see how the situation had evolved since her first visit to the country one year ago. The objective of her visit to Kenya would be the same, to evaluate the impact of rising prices on the population. Ms. Berthiaume drew attention to a comprehensive media backgrounder on the impact of rising food prices. She highlighted the situation in Somalia, which was of particular concern to WFP. Rising prices were exacerbating an already difficult situation, with 750,000 people having fled the capital since the beginning of 2007 due to fighting. Merchants in the city of Baidoa, say that the price of sorghum, the basic food of Somalis, had doubled between February and March. The same applied to rice. In collaboration with UNICEF, WFP was conducting an evaluation among families of displaced persons in Baidoa in order to identify children suffering from malnutrition. UNICEF was providing each child with a mixture enriched with maize and soy and the families of each child with food rations for one month. The number of people in Somalia requiring aid from WFP had risen to 2.1 million. In order to be able to provide the required aid, WFP was in need of USD 10 million between now and July.
Jennifer Pagonis of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that UNHCR's repatriation operation for Burundian refugees in Tanzania, begun in 2002, had reached the 300,000 mark in March – a significant milestone. At the peak of the crisis, which started in the early 1990s, nearly half a million Burundians had fled violence in their country and found shelter in neighbouring Tanzania. In addition, many other refugees had returned home on their own, bringing the total number of refugees returning to Burundi to 389,000. Another significant factor was that the refugee population in the camps in northwestern Tanzania in March had fallen below the 200,000 mark for the first time in 15 years. As the camp-based refugee population continued to decrease, UNHCR was working with the Tanzanian authorities to consolidate the existing refugee camps. In 2007, the number of camps had been reduced from 11 to five and the same process was expected to continue this year.
Ms. Pagonis drew attention to an item in the briefing notes on a new law in Panama, which would give many refugees who had been in the country since the Central American wars of the early 19802 the chance to apply for permanent residency. UNHCR always welcomed such developments that allowed refugees to integrate into the countries where they had been living for many years.
Finally, Ms. Pagonis said that High Commissioner António Guterres was on the second day of a three-day visit to Tajikistan. Yesterday, he had met with President Emomali Rahmon as well as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Labour and Interior. He had had fruitful discussions on the integration of some 1,000 Afghans who have been refugees in Tajikistan for up to 20 years. Today, Mr. Guterres would be visiting projects outside Dushanbe, and tomorrow he would be returning to attend the opening of vocational training projects at a refugee training centre in the capital.
Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that although most of the curfews and movement restrictions in Baghdad and southern Iraq had now been lifted, allowing some of IOM’s operations to resume, IOM still could not access some particularly vulnerable groups.
IOM had pre-positioned emergency food items for distribution to two main hospitals in Baghdad's Sadr City but delivery was being impeded by continued insecurity and truck movement restrictions. Similarly, food baskets had been prepared for distribution to the neighbourhoods of Qadimiya and Shulla which were still under curfew. In addition, IOM was procuring food and non-food items for immediate distribution to hospitals in some of Iraq's southern governorates including Basra, Wassit, Qadissiya and Thi Qar. IOM staff reported that a lack of food, fuel, medicine and water was a major concern even though shops had been allowed to open. What commodities were available had seen prices rise anywhere between 50-600 per cent. Shops had also been damaged in the violence, forcing merchants to delay trading until repairs were completed.
Meanwhile, IOM and partners were again monitoring internal displacement in the south and Baghdad. However, any new displacement appeared to have been limited by violence, roadblocks and curfews. In the latest update of the IDP working group, which brings together various humanitarian organizations, the number of IDPs in Iraq had now gone up to 2.8 million. The update highlighted that more than one million of the IDPs were without adequate food and shelter, and about 300,000 were without access to clean water and basic services. More than 1 million were without regular income or employment. The update highlighted an urgent need for emergency food distributions to IDPs and host communities unable to access rations through the public distribution system.
Finally, Ms. Pandya drew attention to an item in the briefing note on a new IOM programme in Italy aimed at engaging West African women migrants in the development of their countries.
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