REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Meteorological Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) who briefed with the Permanent Representative of the International Organization of Francophonie to the UN in Geneva.

Visit of the Secretary-General to Geneva

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Unitd Nations Secretary-General would be travelling to Geneva, Switzerland, where he would speak to students at the University of Geneva on 24 May 2018. His speech would focus particularly on the disarmament agenda. He would then continue to Le Mont-Pélerin for a retreat with his Special Representatives.

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Vellucci said that the Secretary-General welcomed the opportunity to speak to young people about the priorities of his mandate and looked forward to having a real dialogue with the students on the need for disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament. He would be accompanied by Ms. Nakamitsu, the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

Ebola in DRC

Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had, on Thursday 17 May, reported one confirmed case of Ebola virus disease in the town of Mbandaka. The risk of disease spread had therefore been reassessed to ‘very high’ at national level and ‘high’ at regional level because of the air and river connections between the area and Kinshasa, but the risk at international level was still ‘low’. The figures from the Ministry of Health showed a total of 45 cases, of which 14 had been confirmed, 10 were suspected cases and 21 were probable cases. Eleven of the cases reported in Bikoro had now been confirmed as positive. So far there had been 25 deaths, but there were no reports of new infections in health personnel; of the health staff previously reported as confirmed cases, one person had died.

A second shipment of vaccines had arrived in the country, bringing the total number available there to 7,500 doses; it was hoped that vaccination could begin as soon as possible. The WHO Emergency Committee, composed of 11 international technical experts – four women and seven men – from various parts of the world, nominated by Member States, was convening on the afternoon of 18 May to advise the WHO Director-General whether the outbreak now constituted a public health emergency of international concern. If that was the case, the Committee, chaired by Professor Robert Steffen of the University of Zurich, would convene again within three months to be updated on developments.

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that experience from previous outbreaks of the virus had shown that community engagement provided the best chances of containing its spread. Hundreds of community workers were being deployed to in Bikoro and Mbandaka health zones to raise awareness among local people of how best to protect themselves against the disease and to provide information on the forthcoming vaccination campaign, including through radio stations and religious institutions. Local platforms had been set up in 300 villages as focal points for discussion and action. Fifty schools in areas affected in Mbandaka and 72 in Bikoro had been provided with hand-washing points and thermometers, and staff were being encouraged to monitor the health status of their students, to try to prevent any disruption of education. UNICEF had provided supplies of water and sanitation equipment, of which 80 tonnes had been brought from Sierra Leone and distributed to health centres and communities in the region affected.

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), made the following statement:

“Tomorrow (19/05), IOM, the UN Migration Agency, is supporting the deployment of teams of epidemiologists and medical staff from the Ministry of Health and the National Programme of Hygiene at Borders (PNHF) in Kinshasa to 16 points of entry along the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) borders. This deployment is part of an effort to prevent and control the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, supporting the World Health Organization (WHO).

The DRC Ministry of Health, who are leading the response, announced an outbreak in the Equateur Province on 8 May. In recent days, Ebola cases have been confirmed in larger urban areas, making the risk of the disease spreading further even greater, due to heavier density of population and higher population mobility.

The essential deployment of these border health officials was made possible through USD 75,000 reallocation of funds from the Government of Japan and a release of internal emergency funds totalling USD 100,000. Border health officials will set up infection prevention and control measures at priority border crossings, travel routes and congregation points. A referral mechanism is being developed and will be used to help sick travellers. IOM and partners will also communicate about health risks at border crossings to ensure travellers take precautions against the disease.

IOM also plans to monitor flows at major border crossing points and key congregation points to quantify cross-border and internal movements, and obtain the demographic and movement profiles of travellers. In addition, IOM will assist the facilitation of cross-border coordination and information sharing with neighbouring countries to ensure surveillance and operational readiness for early detection, investigation and response to potential cases of Ebola.

IOM hopes to carry out population mobility mapping of the Bikoro Health Zone, neighbouring Health Zones and the whole Equateur Province to help the humanitarian community know which locations are the busiest points that people travel through and should have health measures strengthened, including risk communication, health screenings and setting up of infection prevention and control measures, among others.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy, IOM DRC Chief of Mission, said that “The country has proven experience in containing Ebola and the humanitarian community has learned from previous responses. Helping combat the spread of Ebola over international borders will only be possible with further funding from donors.” To that end, IOM is appealing to donors for USD 1,000,000 to carry out population mobility mapping and cross-border coordination and support surveillance, health screening, risk communications and infection prevention and control activities at key border areas.”

Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Jašareviæ said that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was leading all the operations and coordinating the work of the partners involved. WHO had about 50 staff in the field but the overwhelming majority of responders, including the vaccination teams, those working on contact tracing and personnel in health centres were Congolese. The vaccination campaign, using the single-dose vaccine that had already been extensively tested in Guinea and elsewhere and had been shown to have no undesirable side effects, would target the 100-150 contacts of each of the known cases. Health workers and responders, such as those helping with safe burials contact-tracing, were also at higher risk and so would be vaccinated.

Experienced vaccination teams would be arriving from Guinea in the coming days, but the logistical challenge was immense. There would be six flights per week between Kinshasa and Mbandaka but the flights onward to some areas could only be made by helicopter, with a far smaller carrying capacity. Because of the newly confirmed case in Mbandaka, the campaign now needed to cover three locations. The vaccine required very cold storage conditions of -60˚C to -80˚C and so large refrigerators and fuel supplies for generators were being sent to the area. It could, however, be kept for up to two weeks in ice boxes at between 2˚C and 8˚C.

Although vaccination was a very welcome tool, it was only one of the essential response measures, which included infection prevention and control, such as safe burial practices, and the establishment of laboratory capacity. The 300,000 doses of vaccine made available had been donated by the manufacturers, thus facilitating the use of funds given by governments and organizations to cover operational costs.

Funds from many sources had already been released. If a public health emergency of international concern was declared, WHO would issue recommendations to all countries concerning the risk of the virus spreading at international level. Exit screening had already been put in place in Kinshasa, and it was understood that some countries were implementing entry screening, but WHO would advise against the imposition of any travel restrictions and hoped that there would be no unnecessary interference with international traffic with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Guatemala killings of human rights defenders

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), made the following statement:

“We are concerned about what appears to be a deteriorating climate for the defence of human rights in Guatemala. Over the past 10 days, three human rights defenders working with indigenous and peasants’ rights organizations were murdered.

On 9 May, Luis Marroquín of the Comité de Desarrollo Campesino (Codeca), a civil society organization working on peasant and indigenous peoples’ rights, was killed in the town of San Luis Jilotepeque Jalapa. On 10 May, Jose Can Xol, a community leader of the Comité Campesino de Desarrollo del Altiplano (CCDA), was murdered in the community of Choctún Basilá in Cobán, Alta Verapaz. And on 13 May, another CCDA member, Mateo Chamán Paau, was murdered in the community of San Juan Tres Ríos, Cobán, Alta Verapaz.

The two latter communities, Choctún Basilá and Tres Ríos, are involved in processes to secure land rights and have been working with the Government on an agreement to address more than 50 land conflicts in the country. Other members of these organizations have also suffered threats and attacks in recent months, which have been documented by the UN Human Rights Office.

We call on the authorities to promptly investigate these murders and other attacks and threats against human rights defenders, and to ensure that those found responsible are held accountable. We also urge the State to adopt all necessary measures to ensure a safe, enabling environment for human rights defenders to carry out their work free from threats and attacks.

We share the deep concerns about the protection of indigenous peoples who claim rights to land, as expressed by UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz during her visit to Guatemala earlier this month, when she met with representatives of the two organisations to which the murdered human rights defenders belonged.

We have also observed with concern smear campaigns against independent journalists and media, judicial officials, civil society organizations, human rights defenders and other actors involved in the fight against past and present corruption and impunity.

We call on the Government to address these issues as part of its efforts to strengthen the rule of law, the protection of the rights to freedom of expression and judicial independence, and the fight against impunity and corruption. We trust that the Government will honour its commitment to advance with the adoption of a Public Policy on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, with the participation of civil society at local and national levels. We also reiterate the High Commissioner’s call for the Government to strengthen the inter-institutional “Unit on Analysis of patterns of attacks against human rights defenders”.

Our Office in Guatemala will continue to monitor these cases, support victims and provide advice to relevant State institutions as well as civil society.”

Violence against women and girls in Sudan

Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), made the following statement:

“Discrimination and violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls in Sudan has been brought into stark focus by the case of Noura Hussein Hammad Daoud, who last week was sentenced to death by a Sudanese Court. Hussein was convicted of fatally stabbing the man she was forced to marry, who subsequently allegedly raped her. We have received information that Hussein’s forced marriage, rape, and other forms of gender-based violence against her were not taken into account by the Court as evidence to mitigate the sentence, and that the most stringent guarantees of a fair trial and due process were not fulfilled in this case. Since her case has drawn international attention, we are acutely concerned about her safety and that of her lawyer and other supporters. We urge the authorities to ensure full protection for Hussein’s physical and psychological integrity during her detention, as well as full respect for her rights to a fair trial and appeal.

In trials leading to the imposition of the death penalty, scrupulous respect for fair trial guarantees is particularly crucial. The Special Rapporteur on summary executions has argued that the imposition of the death penalty against clear evidence of self-defence constitutes an arbitrary killing, particularly where women have been charged with murder when defending themselves. We call on the authorities to fully take into consideration Hussein’s claim of self-defence against the attempt by the man to rape her, after he had reportedly already raped her on a previous occasion with the help of three other people.

We understand that Hussein was given 15 days to appeal the decision. In such circumstances, the right to have a conviction and sentence be reviewed by a higher tribunal is of particular importance. It is essential that the principles of fair trial and due process be observed in the appeal phase of this case. A review that is limited to the formal or legal aspects of the conviction – without any consideration of the facts – is not sufficient under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Sudan has ratified.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UN Human Rights Committee – two authoritative independent expert bodies on international human rights law – have expressed serious concern about the situation of women’s human rights in Sudan. In particular, the CRC has emphasized the negative impact of early and forced marriage on women and girls’ health, education and social development. In addition, despite the recent reform of the Criminal Code [article 149 of the Sudanese Criminal Act (1991) was amended in 2015], domestic violence and marital rape are still not criminalized. Better protection of women’s human rights and the criminalization of marital rape could help save many lives, and prevent terrible outcomes like that in Hussein’s case. We stand ready to work with the Government of Sudan on bringing such laws in line with human rights standards.

Hussein’s tragic case is an opportunity for Sudanese authorities to send a clear message that gender-based violence will not be tolerated in the country.
We will remain in contact with Sudanese authorities in relation to her case.”


Release of children from armed groups in South Sudan

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that 210 children, including 3 girls, had been released by armed groups in South Sudan on 17 May 2018. That had brought the total number of children so released to 806 since the beginning of the year and more were expected to be in the coming months.

The children had been formally disarmed and given civilian clothes. Under a UNICEF programme, they would receive both counselling and social support, and they and their families would benefit from food assistance for three months. However, it was known that another 1,900 children were still serving in armed groups in the country, and UNICEF urged all parties to ensure their release.


Arrival of 7,000 Central African Republic refugees to Northern Democratic Republic of the Congo

William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), made the following statement:

“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is alarmed at new displacement in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 7,000 Central African Republic refugees have arrived in under a week into a situation of little help and desperate need.

The refugees, most of them women and children, are concentrated in the remote village of Kanzawi in DRC’s northern Bas-Uele Province. They fled violence in south-eastern Central African Republic.

The refugees crossed the river by pirogue after walking 7 kilometres. At the village of Kanzawi, where they sought refuge, there is security, due to the presence of armed forces and no protection incidents have been observed. UNHCR’s interventions to provide basic relief items are limited, due to the lack of funding. The most basic needs of the refugees are water, food, shelter and sanitation.

The speed of arrivals and the very limited humanitarian presence in the area mean that people urgently need increased support.

Critically, UNHCR’s own capacity for an emergency response is severely stretched, with our DRC operation funded at US$1.6 for every US$10 needed.

The refugees have reported fleeing fighting between two Anti-Balaka groups in the area of Kouango, just across the border. It is the latest in a series of refugee movements into northern DRC. In less than a year, the number of CAR refugees in DRC has grown from around 102,000 to more than 182,000, not including the latest arrivals.
UNHCR is particularly worried about the situation of elderly people, pregnant women and others with specific needs. There is only one water source in Kanzawi village, forcing people to drink from the river. Most of the refugees are sleeping in the open, others in public buildings.”

Rare tropical cyclone in Gulf of Aden and new climate outlook for the Arctic Protests

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that cyclonic storm Sagar was travelling through the Gulf of Aden at wind speeds of between 75 and 85 km per hour. It had already had impacts in Yemen and was likely to make landfall in Northern Somalia on Saturday 19 May. It was an extremely rare event in a very arid area, and exceptionally high rainfall was expected. Flash floods had already been reported in Somalia, leading to transport links being cut. Djibouti was also expected to be impacted.

WMO had just held a Pan-Arctic Regional Climate Outlook Forum. While such events were held regularly for more populated areas of the world, the realities of climate change and the resultant increase in both shipping and tourism activities in the Arctic had led WMO organize one for the Arctic region in recognition of the need to improve weather forecasts and climate predictions related to sea ice. In relation to climate change, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had just released figures showing that April 2018 was the 400th consecutive month with temperatures nominally above the twentieth-century average for the world.

Seventy-first World Health Assembly

Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the 71st annual World Health Assembly would take place from 21 to 26 May 2018 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Documentation for the Assembly was available on the WHO website in six languages, with information on technical briefings and side events. The Director-General would address the Assembly at midday on Monday 18 May. The result of the election of the new Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region would be formally announced on Monday 28 May. A special mass participation event, “Walk the Talk”, to mark the Organization’s seventieth anniversary, would be held on Sunday 17 May, with the participation of Ethiopian runner Haile Gebresalassie and several other well-known personalities.

Responding to a question from a journalist, Ms. Chaib said that, while it was not currently possible for the authorities of Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly because of a lack of consensus on their participation, they received all WHO information related to its technical work and the international health regulations.

Conference on fake and substandard drugs

Henri Monceau, Permanent Representative of the International Organization of la Francophonie to the UN in Geneva, said that the International Conference on Access to Quality Drugs and Medical Products in Francophone Africa, to be held on 22 May 2018, would address a highly sensitive issue that led to the deaths of hundreds of millions of people each year. On average, 1 in every 10 drugs sold, and up to 7 in 10 in some countries, were either fake or of low quality. The trade was extremely difficult to eradicate - the World Economic Forum estimated that it was worth more than US$ 150 billion per year, equal to one tenth of the annual turnover of the whole pharmaceutical industry – and so a holistic approach was needed. The high-level segment of the Conference would bring together about 40 national delegations, 20 international organizations and representatives of civil society and the pharmaceutical industry to adopt a declaration drawn up by Benin, Rwanda and Morocco.

Mr. Joy Backroy, for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said that ensuring quality access to quality retroviral drugs and diagnostic capacity was essential. Governments and heads of State had committed their countries to doing so for at least 90 per cent of their population, working towards the UNAIDS goal of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Responding to a question from a journalist, Mr. Monceau said that the fight against fake drugs involved not only regulation, with, for instance, the planned establishment of the African Medicines Agency, and repression, through the work of the World Customs Organization and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), but also the promotion of local production, as currently only 3 per cent of the medicines consumed in Africa were produced in the continent. Local pharmaceutical industries were being built up in countries such as Morocco and Côte d'Ivoire. Traditional practitioners were one focus of awareness-raising campaigns, but intellectual property rights for traditional medicines that might prove to be effective drugs also had to be addressed.

107th session of the International Labour Conference

Hans von Rohland, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), said that the International Labour Conference would be held from 28 May to 8 June 2018. In the run-up to the Conference, a press briefing would be held on Thursday 24 May 2018 on possible new standards to fight violence at work. Mr. Rohland later asked for the complete information on the Conference to be included in the present summary.

“107th session of the International Labour Conference (June 2018)

The International Labour Conference will hold its 107th Session at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 28 May to 8 June.

More than 4,000 worker, employer and government delegates from the ILO's 187 member States will tackle a wide range of issues. Plenary sessions will be broadcast live on www.ilo.org .

1) First discussion on possible new standards to fight violence at work

• Long before the recent wave of media stories on sexual harassment and the #MeToo Movement, the ILO and its members decided to move towards the adoption of a new Convention and/or Recommendation – on harassment and violence at work.

• This year’s International Labour Conference will hold a first discussion on possible new standards to fight violence and harassment at work. Once there is a consensus among the ILO’s members – governments, employers and workers – about the scale of the problem and how it should be addressed, a second discussion in 2019 is expected to lead to the adoption of a possible new standard.

• One of the key issues to be discussed is the scope of the application of the possible new standard. Does it include cyberbullying, which may go beyond the workplace, for instance when commuting or at home? Does the world of work extend beyond the physical workplace, for example when a worker is taking an off-site training course?

• There will be a press briefing on violence at work with an ILO expert on Thursday 24 May at 10 am in room 1

Kindly note that committee sessions are not accessible to journalists without prior authorization. Requests should be sent to newsroom@ilo.org at least 24 hours in advance so that the request can be put to the chairs and co-chairs of each committee, who can decide to grant or refuse access.

2) DG report: “The Women at Work Initiative: The push for equality”

- This year’s report of the Director-General is called “The Women at Work initiative: The push for equality”.
- The Women at Work Initiative is one of seven major initiatives aimed at equipping the Organization to take up successfully the challenges of its social justice mandate in the future..

- The report insists on the need for new and innovative approaches to promote gender equality - despite the progress that has been made over the last decades.

- The report especially addresses the obstacles to gender equality and proposes avenues to give a new push for equality.

- This years’ report also coincides with the first discussion on much-needed international labour standards to guide the fight against violence and harassment at work which particularly affects women.

The report was available online.

3) Future of Work initiative

On 30 May, from 13.00 to 14.30 there will be a presentation in room 16 at the Palais on the ILO’s Future of Work initiative and progress of the work of the Global Commission on the Future of Work on 30 May. The Commission will produce a major report by early 2019 – it is chaired by the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven.

4) Celebration ahead of World Day Against Child Labour

Since World Day Against Child Labour falls after the end of the ILC (12 June) it will be marked at the conference on 4 June with a series of events.

This year, the theme is “Generation Safe and Healthy”, shining a spotlight on the global need to end child labour and improve the safety and health of young workers.

A panel discussion featuring Noble Peace prize winner, Kailash Satyarthi, will be organized, as well as an event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Global March Against Child Labour. More information will be provided closer to those events.

5) World of Work Summit: Jobs for peace and resilience

A World of Work Summit will take place on June 7th. The theme for this year is: “Employment and decent work for peace and resilience: How we make it happen”.
The event will bring together panellists representing governments, the social partners, international organizations and civil society. The list of panellists will be available later.

The panel discussions will be structured around the following 4 themes,:

1. Why are employment generation and decent work so important for sustaining peace?

2. What do recent experiences on the ground tell us about the contribution of decent work to addressing the needs of the people affected, particularly women and young workers?

3. How can employment promotion interventions make the most contribution to conflict prevention, peace and resilience building?

4. What strategic partnerships can contribute to the peace-building sustainable development agenda; and how do you see the role of the ILO?

The event will highlight the importance of employment and decent work in responding to crisis situations by creating immediate job opportunities, skills development and local development and so contributing to peacebuilding programmes.

High-level visits: President of Ireland, Michael O’Higgins, and President of Central African Republic, Faustin Archange Touadera will attend the World of Work Summit on 7 June

6) Social dialogue

- Social dialogue between governments, employers and workers will be the key to shape a future of work that benefits everyone: this is why the ILC will hold further discussions on social dialogue and tripartism, under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization adopted in 2008.

- To promote social dialogue, the ILO has launched a campaign to boost universal ratification of the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No.144).

7) Effective ILO development cooperation

- The world of work continues to undergo profound changes. For some they offer new opportunities, for others they represent a decent work deficit. Peace, inclusion and social justice, anchored in the ILO’s Constitution, are still – nearly 100 years since the foundation of the ILO – the source of inspiration for shaping the future of work that we want.

- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) incorporates decent work as a global aspiration and a universal goal, applicable to all member States, regardless of their economic, social or political status. The ILO must therefore offer development cooperation relevant to all country settings and tailored to constituents’ demands and needs in order to maximize its impact.

- This is the changing and challenging scenario in which the ILC will approach an important discussion on effective development cooperation in support of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and the SDGs.

8) Application of standards

- The Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the ILC is expected to adopt conclusions on 24 individual cases related to issues arising from the implementation of labour rights. This discussion will be based on the annual report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations which is an independent body composed of legal experts charged with examining the application in law and practice of ILO Conventions and Recommendations by ILO member States.

- The Committee will also discuss standards related to working time based on a general survey “Ensuring decent working time for the future”. Working time, rest and the organization of working hours and rest periods (working time arrangements) are central to the employment relationship. The regulation of working time is all the more important given the transformations currently taking place in the world of work

9) The situation of Palestine workers

- The ILO DG’s annual report, entitled The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories, highlights the impact of political and economic trends on employment in Gaza and the West Bank.

- The report submitted to the ILO’s International Labour Conference also details the multiple restrictions on economic activity arising out of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

- The findings of the report are based on a mission that involved in-depth discussions and a number of field visits to the occupied Arab territories and Israel in March this year. Since 1980, the Director-General has been mandated to present an annual report to the International Labour Conference on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories, including the occupied Syrian Golan.”


PRESS CONFERENCES

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) would hold a press conference on Wednesday 23 May at 11.00 a.m. in Press Room 1 prior to the publication the following day of a Special Issue of the Commodities at a Glance Series : the Shale Gas. The speakers would be Janvier Nkurunziza, Chief, Commodity Research and Analysis Section, Alexandra Laurent, Statistician, Commodities Branch.

Ms Vellucci also reminded correspondents that The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2018 was going to be launched by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and Chief Economist Mr. Elliot Harris at a press briefing on Friday 17 May at 11.00 am in New York (5 p.m. in Geneva). The related documentation had been sent to Geneva correspondents.