REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for and Representatives of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the UN Refugee agency, the World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Telecommunications Union, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and UNAIDS.

Secretary-General’s Programme During Geneva Trip

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be in Geneva next week. On Tuesday, 19 May, at 10 a.m., the Secretary-General will address the plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament, the first plenary of the second part of the Conference’s 2009 session, which will conclude on 3 July. This will take place in the Council Chamber. The Secretary-General will deliver the keynote speech in the plenary of the World Health Assembly around 3 p.m. on the same day in the Assembly Hall. He will also participate in a high-level meeting, convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), with representatives of some 20 pharmaceutical companies, to ensure that developing countries will have access to vaccines. At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Secretary-General Ban will hold a press conference in Room III with Margaret Chan, the Director-General of WHO.

Geneva Discussions

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Geneva Discussions will take place on 18 and 19 May at the International Labour Organization building. However, all the related press conferences will be held at the Palais des Nations in Room III. The press conference by the three co-chairs of the Geneva Discussions will be held at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 19 May. This will be followed by press conferences by the United States at 4.45 p.m., the Russian Federation at 5:15 p.m., and Georgia at 5.45 p.m.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Committee against Torture is today concluding its forty-second session and will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of the Philippines, Chad, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Chile, Israel and Honduras, which it reviewed during the session, towards the end of the day. Members of the Committee will hold a press conference today at 12:30 p.m. in Room III.

Myanmar

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said Secretary-General Ban yesterday said he was gravely concerned about the news that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been moved to the Insein Prison to face criminal charges. The Secretary-General believed that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was an essential partner for dialogue in Myanmar’s national reconciliation and called on the Government not to take any further action that could undermine this important process. As he had said repeatedly, the Secretary-General believed strongly that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all those who had a contribution to make to the future of their country must be free to be able to do so to ensure that the political process was credible.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, also expressed serious concern yesterday regarding the unlawful detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy, and called for her unconditional release.

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said copies of the two statements were available in the press room.

Mr. Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said High Commissioner Navi Pillay would issue later this morning a press release in which she would deplore the news that the Myanmar authorities are pressing new charges against Aung San Suu Kyi and call on them, not only to drop the current set of charges, which appeared to be based on an event which was beyond Aung San Suu Kyi’s control, but also to release her immediately from her existing detention which was illegal, even under Myanmar’s own laws. The illegal circumstances surrounding both these latest charges and her previous extended house arrest were untenable and unacceptable. It had been hoped that Aung San Suu Kyi would be released when her current detention order expired at the end of May. It was already continued for one full year longer than the maximum five years permitted under Myanmar’s own law. The Myanmar authorities were claiming that Aung San Suu Kyi had breached the conditions of her detention, but they had broken both their own laws and their international human rights obligations and she should not have been detained in the first place. There would be more details and quotes in the press release.

Question

A journalist said she had heard that Taiwanese journalists would not be allowed into the Palais des Nations next week to attend the World Health Assembly and asked if Geneva had received instructions from Headquarters in New York on this. Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the journalist had received wrong information. Taiwanese journalists would be accredited to the World Health Assembly and would be allowed to come to the Palais des Nations to participate in the meetings of the WHA.

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk

Margareta Wahlstrom, Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Hyogo Framework for Action, said on 17 May in Bahrain, in the presence of the UN Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk would be launched. Bahrain is hosting the event. The report had a sub-title “poverty and risk and a changing climate” which introduced what the report was about. Available was a press release at the back of the room. It was embargoed until 17 May. A full press kit was also available in electronic form. This was the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s first global report on disaster risk, looking not at disasters per se but at the causes of disasters and the main risk drivers. The report argued that poor people were the ones who suffered most from risk. Poor people in both rich and poor countries would continue to be the most vulnerable populations and pay the highest cost of disasters. The report was a UN collaborative effort, and partners included WMO, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme which had all contributed their expertise and data to make this analysis possible.

Mr. Wahlstrom said this was not an issue for disaster managers, if they were going to make rapid and substantive progress on a safer future on things that were doable, and not always very costly, the ones they really needed to engage were senior decision makers, Ministers of Finance, Ministers of Development and Planning, and the people themselves. Another issue was that while they knew a lot about climate change already, they did not know enough about the impact of climate change at the local level, in local communities. This was another priority.

Carine Van Maelle of the World Meteorological Organization said WMO was carrying out a lot of work right now to help sectors to adapt to climate change. A workshop in West Africa had been held and resulted in recommendations for the agricultural sector. A press release on these had been sent out. Another workshop would start in Australia next Monday, 18 May. And from 31 August to 4 September, the World Climate Conference-3 would be held in Geneva. A media advisory would be issued next week and the full press kit would be available on 30 June.

Pakistan

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund introduced Martin Mogwanja, acting Humanitarian Coordinator and UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. Mr. Mogwanja said concerning the humanitarian crisis situation in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, there had been an agreement between the Government and certain militant groups in the area to establish Sharia law in seven districts of that province. This agreement broke down on 25 or 26 April, and the Government resumed military operations to ensure that the Government administration could be effective in those areas. The re-start of the military operations and the resistance by the armed militants resulted in an intensive fighting across seven districts in the North West Frontier Province. The wide-spread fighting resulted in a massive civilian movement. As of yesterday, the humanitarian community in Pakistan estimated that 835,000 had moved from these districts. These numbers were in addition to an existing internally displaced person caseload from earlier fighting from October and November of 2008 of 565,000. This meant that there were 1.3 million internally displaced persons in a small area in North Western Pakistan. They were registered. They also estimated that there could be tens of thousands of other internally displaced persons who had moved to other parts of Pakistan who were not registered and counted in these numbers. Around 90,000 persons were living in 12 new camps for internally displaced persons. The internally displaced persons were being provided with the basics necessities, both food and non-food items. The situation in the camps was currently acceptable. However, they were all concerned that they were moving into the summer season. Already the peak temperature was 43 degree centigrade and it was expected to get higher in coming months. The camp management was trying to establish areas of shade to allow some relief from the heat. They were also concerned about certain diseases which were common at this time of the year, including malaria, diarrheas and acute respiratory infections.

Mr. Mogwanja said the humanitarian community remained extremely concerned that the continued displacement of these persons over the coming weeks and months would require a massive response programme from the humanitarian community and the Government to ensure that there was no increase in disease or malnutrition among this population, and that children could return to schools and adults could be engaged in some kind of appropriate economic activity. This required planning which was being undertaken right now. A major appeal would be launched next week to the international community requesting funds to continue to respond to the displaced populations. The appeal would be consistent with another appeal from the Government of Pakistan. They were also concerned that if the fighting continued, it would be impossible for the internally displaced persons to consider returning home.

Mr. Mogwanja said the situation in the conflict areas was not known. Due to the security considerations, brought about by the fact that specific threats had been made by the armed militants against national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) threatening those who continued to work in the conflict areas, thus all the NGOs and humanitarian workers had left the conflict zone. They only received secondary reports from those coming out of these zones who said that the circumstances were very difficult; supplies of electricity had been cut which often meant that the water system was not functional. Also the monetary system was not functioning as banks had been closed. Food supplies were very limited because there was no means of distribution. With regard to safe corridors, the humanitarian community was considering this, but it was very difficult to make the necessary contacts and obtain the necessary guarantees of safety and security.

William Spindler said High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres was presently in Pakistan, visiting UNHCR supported camps for internally displaced persons. He expressed surprise at the speed with which the displacement was unfolding. Every hour thousands of new internally displaced persons were arriving at the registration sites to be registered. According to the latest figures received this morning, more than 987,000 had been officially registered as internally displaced persons since 2 May. Of those, only 80,000 were staying in camps and 907,000 were staying with host families or in rented accommodation. The numbers were in
addition to more than 550,000 registered displaced persons who fled their homes after earlier fighting in the north-west since last August. High Commissioner Guterres noted that if massive support was not mobilized immediately, the internal displacement crisis in Pakistan could have enormous destabilizing impact on the affected populations. He said that he has no doubt that hundreds of millions of dollars would be needed for the overall relief effort to help the internally displaced and affected communities in Pakistan. UNHCR had been fast to respond to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in north-west Pakistan. UNHCR already had a major presence in Pakistan after decades of helping Afghan refugees, and it had started distributing aid from stocks in the country as soon as the dimensions of the current crisis became clear. UNHCR had helped establish new camps for the displaced as well as reception and registration centres.

Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme said in terms of food assistance, as of last night, WFP numbers concerning people who had been fed from the new influx was 780,000 persons. By next week, there should be 21 humanitarian hubs established throughout the area, up from 15 right now.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said IOM was providing 30,000 non-food items kits to assist vulnerable displaced families as part of the on-going coordinated humanitarian response to the mass displacement in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas and North West Frontier Province. The assistance, which consisted of locally bought fleece blankets, quilts, sleeping mats, jerry cans, buckets, mosquito nets and soap would be trucked to Peshawar for distribution by IOM and UN partner agencies. To address the issue that the vast majority of the people were living amongst host families, IOM would be dispatching 5,000 all-weather tents to provide additional shelter for the internally displaced persons who were currently living in the homes of friends and relatives, often in cramped and unsanitary conditions. Primary health care assistance would also be provided to internally displaced persons living in host communities as well as psychosocial support.

Paul Garwood of the World Health Organization said the health situation remained not extremely serious at the moment with regards to the internally displaced persons. There were diseases detected from its early warning system, including acute respiratory infections and acute diarrhea. The general health situation of the populations in the camps was under control right now with no immediate threat. But the situation could explode in the short or medium term. The water and sanitation facilities were not up to the mark in these areas, so preparedness was crucial in this respect. Main needs now were water and sanitation measures in the camps. Additional female health care providers were needed, and the scaling up of emergency health care level at the local hospitals was also necessary. Ambulances were also needed.

Somalia

Mr. Spindler of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR was deeply concerned about the week-long clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu that had claimed many civilian lives and sparked a
new wave of displacement. The latest fighting, some of the heaviest seen in Mogadishu this year, had so far claimed the lives of more than 135 people and 315 injured, while dislocating an estimated 30,000 people. Hospitals in central Mogadishu were reported to be overwhelmed by the large number of casualties in need of urgent medical attention. Reports from UNHCR partners in the capital said that some people had been trapped in their homes for days, unable to flee because of the raging street battles. Those who were able to escape spoke of indiscriminate
nightly bombings of residential areas and the targeting of civilians. Some witnessed many people dying, including children and the vulnerable who were unable to leave the conflict area. Among the newly displaced were families that had recently returned home following a period of relative peace in Mogadishu. The rate of displacement was rapidly increasing as the conflict escalated.

In response to a question, Mr. Spindler said UNHCR had national staff present in Somalia and it was also working through Somali aid agencies. Some relief efforts were going on, but he emphasized the difficulties of working in a place like Somalia, where the violence was a major obstacle to any humanitarian effort.

Ms. Casella of the World Food Programme said WFP had 200 staff members in Somalia and was feeding 45 per cent of the population, 3.5 million persons. There was a definite humanitarian presence in Somalia.

Sri Lanka

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, chairing the briefing in replace of Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier, said that Secretary-General Ban on Wednesday spoke by telephone with President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka. He reiterated his concerns about the protection of civilians there. The Secretary-General decided to send his Chef de Cabinet, Vijay Namibia, to Sri Lanka to underscore his message and to help to resolve the humanitarian situation there.

Ms. Byrs said the loss of civilian life and the situation of civilians who were trapped in the conflict zone in Sri Lanka was unacceptable. The remaining civilians were still being used as human shields by the LTTE, facing increasing danger in the now tiny conflict zone. It was also unacceptable that the army continued to use heavy weapons. The UN repeated its appeal to the Sri Lankan authorities and to the LTTE to allow humanitarian agencies free access in the conflict zone. The UN also urged the fighting parties to respect international human rights laws. At least 50,000 remained trapped in the conflict zone. As of 15 May, the 2009 Appeal for Sri Lanka was 39 per cent funded; $ 60 million out of the $ 155 million that was requested.

Ms. Casella of the World Food Programme said WFP remained deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation for people trapped in the conflict zone. No major shipment of food had reached the conflict zone since 1 April. Small portions had been brought in, but they only totaled 150 metric tons, which would feed 60,000 for five days. WFP was deeply concerned about this situation. Three times, WFP had tried to deliver food by ship since 12 May, but the ships had not been able to offload.

Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking in response to a question on whether there were war crimes being committed in Sri Lanka and whether there would be a UN investigation, said on 13 March, High Commissioner Navi Pillay flagged her concerns that there was a strong possibility that war crimes and or crimes against humanity had been committed already in Sri Lanka, quite possibly by both sides. Nothing they had seen since then had caused them to change their minds. To the contrary, thousands more civilians were believed to have been killed or injured, heavy shelling of areas inhabited by civilians had continued, and more evidence had emerged about the LTTE forcing civilians to stay against their will in the conflict zone and shooting at or even killing some who tried to escape. The murderous attacks on the clinic and other parts of the conflict zone over the past week or so had drawn strong criticism from the Secretary-General and others, as well as a number of Governments. Also last Friday, three Special Reporters called for an independent commission of inquiry. There had to be some sort of accountability for what was going on in Sri Lanka. There had to be clarity and there could not be impunity.

A journalist asked if the Human Rights Council might call a Special Session on what was going on in Sri Lanka. Mr. Colville said responsibility for shelling was always a difficult issue, because it was not always easy to tell where the shell came from. There were allegations and counter allegations, and those were exactly the kind of things that something like a commission on inquiry would need to look into. He did not wish to make specific charges. There were discussions going on concerning some sort of session or event on Sri Lanka, but journalists would have to wait and see what they had to announce.

Ms. Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said IOM staff was working around the clock to install another 900 tents and install water and sanitation on 100 acres of newly cleared land at the Menik Farm camp for internally displaced persons outside of Vavuniya. Another influx of internally displaced persons from the conflict zone was expected to arrive imminently, around 2,000 persons. IOM had already put up 2,400 tents and built 1,400 emergency shelters at the camp which was housing at least 125,000 people who fled the conflict. Four IOM paid primary health care centres were now operational, each serving 10,000 persons. The needs of the people in the camps were enormous, and they were not receiving the enormous amount of aid that they needed.

Paul Garwood of the World Health Organization said WHO continued to support a referral hospital outside the conflict zone, which had only a 15-bed capacity at the moment. WHO was providing medicines and equipment for increased surgery capacities of the health facilities providing care for the internally displaced persons?

Influenza A H1N1

Mr. Garwood of the World Health Organization said as of 6 a.m. GMT today, 34 countries had officially reported 7,520 cases of Influenza A H1N1 infection, and of those 65 people had died. This marked an increase of one new country, Belgium, from the day before, as well as 1,023 within the past 24 hours. WHO had been delivering three million anti-viral doses to 72 countries and to six WHO regional offices. This started on 5 May. All deliveries had been completed except for seven countries: Burkina Faso, Niger, Cuba, Pakistan, People’s Republic of Korea, Honduras and Indonesia, and these would be concluded on 18 May. Also from various regional stockpiles which WHO regional offices already had, the African Regional Office was delivering anti-virals to 42 countries and that should be completed by 18 May. Also in the Americas region from Panama, they had seen 12 major countries of that region receive anti-virals and another 11 countries expected to receive it in coming days. Now WHO was assessing what to do or how better to use the five million dose replenishments that Roche had provided to WHO.
World Health Assembly

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization reminded journalists that there would be no briefing today on Influenza A H1N1. During the World Health Assembly next week, there would probably be one set up, but they would inform journalists when.

Ms. Chaib said a media advisory would be available shortly. The World Health Assembly would be held from 18 to 22 May, five days instead of nine days. This had to be formally approved by the General Committee which would meet at 10 a.m. on the first day of the Assembly. On Monday, 18 May, from noon until 2 p.m., there would be a high-level consultation on H1N1 in Salle XVII. She did not have the list of participants in that yet. It was open to the press. In the afternoon, around 2:30 p.m. or 3 p.m., Director-General Margaret Chan would address the plenary in the Assembly Hall. Her statement would be made available.

Other

Sanjay Acharya of the International Telecommunications Union said at 11 a.m. in Geneva on Monday, 18 May, the ITU World Communication and Information Society Award would be presented. Following the award ceremony at ITU, a press briefing would be held at 12:15 at ITU.

Catherine Sibut-Pinote said that on 18 and 19 May, the first UNCTAD Public Symposium: The global economic crisis and development - the way forward, would be held. The debate in the first plenary would centre on the impact of the economic crisis on developing countries in the fields of trade, investment, food security and employment. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, would open the debate, and also sitting on the podium would be Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Anders Johnsson, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Guy Ryder, Secretary-General of the International Trade Union Confederation, and Celine Charveriat, Director of OXFAM International in Geneva. A summary of the debate would be available at the end of the meeting. On 19 May, a press release would be issued as well as a study on the impact of the financial crisis on investment.

Michael Bartos of UNAIDS said 17 May was the International Day against Homophobia. It marked the day in 1990 when World Health Assembly removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders. To mark this day, the Executive Director of UNAIDS issued a statement today drawing attention to the failure to respond to HIV adequately amongst men who have sex with men and transgender populations. He notes that efforts to reverse the crisis of HIV in these communities must be evidence informed, granted in human rights, and underpinned by the decriminalization of homosexuality. Also UNAIDS and its co-sponsors had been working on an Action Framework which they were releasing today to scale up their efforts in relation to neglected efforts in relation to men who have sex with men and transgender populations.