REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, chaired the briefing which also heard from Spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Food Programme, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration and World Trade Organization.

Nepal

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier indicated that a UN technical assessment mission will be on the ground in Nepal from 10-16 December, which was in support of the Secretary General’s commitment to respond promptly to Nepal’s request for assistance in the peace process. The team will plan for a full-fledged UN mission to support the peace process. It will be led by Ian Martin, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Nepal.

Darfur

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier drew attention to the statement of the Secretary-General on the situation in Darfur. The statement says the Secretary-General is “deeply concerned about the worsening security situation in Darfur and its consequences for the wider region, including Chad and the Central African Republic. He is alarmed by the devastating impact the violence is having on the civilian population in the region, and strongly condemns the recent attacks and destruction of dozens of villages in North Darfur.” Moreover, the Secretary-General “deplores the fact that the escalating violence is cutting off almost one million people across Darfur from desperately needed humanitarian relief” and “appeals to all parties in the strongest terms to immediately cease hostilities and stop all attacks against civilians”. Copies of the statement were made available in the Press Room.

Human Rights Council

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said yesterday the Human Rights Council, which will conclude its third session today, held a discussion on the expert advice body due to replace the Sub-Commission on Human Rights. This week, the Council also debated the modalities for the Universal Periodic Review that it had to approve by June next year, as well as the review of the special procedures mandates and other mechanisms, including its complaints procedure. Before closing its current session later today, the Council will take action on nine draft resolutions and decisions put before it. All the drafts were made available as well as a chart listing the draft texts.

The Chief of the Press and External Relations Section recalled that this week the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Luis Alfonso De Alba of Mexico, appointed Christine Chinkin of the United Kingdom as the second member of the high-level fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun. Ms. Chinkin will be led by the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1884, Desmond Tutu. More information was made available in a press release.

The Chief of the Press and External Relations Section recalled that the Human Rights Council would be holding a special session next Tuesday, 12 December, on the human rights situation in Darfur. In this connection, two draft texts were made available – one draft resolution sponsored by the European Union and one draft resolution sponsored by the African Group.

Human Rights

José Luis Diaz of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reminded journalists that this Sunday, 10 December, was Human Rights Day. The theme of this year’s observance was the fight against poverty as a matter of obligation that States and institutions had. The messages of the High Commissioner and that of the Secretary-General were available. The central message of the Day was that poverty was the most grave human rights challenges that the world faced daily. Poverty was the cause and result of multiple human rights violations and affected developed and developing countries. In the debate about poverty one important aspect was often overlooked - that all countries had undertaken through a number of agreements to address the different elements that go into making poverty. One such element was discrimination and exclusion. Another important focus was that there were resources and know-how available to tackle the issue of poverty and make it history.

Horn of Africa Floods

Michael Bociurkiw of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced that UNICEF had today launched an appeal in the amount of 24.2 million USD to address the immediate needs of those affected by the floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Across the three countries, it was estimated that 1.5 million people had been directly affected. With more rain on the way, the number of those directly affected could reach upwards of three million by the end of December. Outbreaks of cholera had been detected and incidents of diseases such as malaria, was feared to increase dramatically as a result of flooding and subsequent stagnant water.

Adding to this, Fadéla Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the WHO continued to be deeply concerned by the health situation of people living in the flood affected areas in the Horn of Africa. The flooding is expected to continue, putting people's health at major risk. A combination of displacement, living in crowded conditions, lack of clean, safe water and the destruction of sanitation systems, were putting between 1.5 to 1.8 million people at risk of infectious diseases, such as cholera, measles, malaria as well as nutrition deficiencies. According to Dr. David Okello, Representative of WHO in Kenya, "The floods are expected to continue until at least the end of December if not into early next year. We are already experiencing a serious situation where people are dying from diseases related to the water and sanitation situation. Malaria will become a very serious problem in the weeks to come."

Asked whether the WHO had planned any vaccination campaigns in the Horn of Africa given the high risks of disease as a result of the floods, Ms. Chaib said the biggest concerns at the moment were for malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections. The WHO was discussing with the Government of Kenya to begin a campaign of immunization against measles.

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the widespread flooding had already affected an estimated 444,000 Somalis along Juba and Shabelle riverine areas. According to the worst case scenario up to one million people could be directly affected by the flooding in the coming weeks. The magnitude of the flooding could have severe consequences. It was recalled that in August this year, some 1.8 million Somalis were already identified as being in need of assistance at least until the end of this year.

In terms of Kenya, Ms. Byrs said over 700,000 people had been affected by the floods, the majority of whom remained unreachable. Floodwaters from Garissa had reached Rhoka village and populations were moving to higher ground. The current worst hit area was Mnazini Ndera location where there were no boats for evacuation. The Kenya Red Cross was using small canoes to evacuate those marooned. However, the canoes were not completely safe to use on the Tana River as it was infested with hippopotamus and crocodiles that could easily turn over the canoes. Ms. Byrs added that five United Nations agencies – WFP, UNICEF, UNHCR, FAO and OCHA – had approached the international donors in Nairobi for assistance for three months.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme (WFP) said the WFP on Wednesday carried out its first relief flights to transport emergency aid to the victims of the flood in the district of Jamame, which included 1.7 tonnes of vegetable oil for the villagers in Arare, who were particularly affected by the disaster. WFP had also been assisting in the construction of the villages as per its food-for-work programme.

Jennifer Pagonis of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said today UNHCR would begin, with the help of the United States military, an emergency air drop of 240 tonnes of urgently needed relief supplies to thousands of refugees in the Dadaab refugee camps in northern Kenya. After a break of some five days, heavy showers had started falling again in Dadaab causing new flooding. Some parts of the camps are inaccessible and the fresh rains have led to the further deterioration of roads within the camps. UNHCR had moved 7,000 of the most affected refugees from Ifo to Hagadera camp, some 20 kms away and moved a further 7,000 people to higher ground.

Philippine Floods

Ms. Byrs of OCHA said approximately 2.2 million people overall had been affected in the Philippines by the floods and over 330,00 houses had been totally or partially damaged. The estimated value of damage to properties amounted to approximately 31 million USD. The United Nations Country Team in the Philippines was now finalizing a CERF [Central Emergency Response Fund] request for around 2,7 million USD and was planning to issue a flash appeal next week. Meanwhile, a United Nations inter-agency assessments mission continued.

Mr. Bociurkiw of UNICEF said, according to the latest figures from the Government of the Philippines, at least 570 people had died as a result of the floods, and almost 2,000 injured and more than 700 missing. The number of people severely affected of over two million came from 1,788 villages in 1,342 municipalities. A UNICEF assessment team who visited Albay province reported that 30 per cent of the affected 600,000 persons were children. Moreover, 90 per cent of the schools in the province were completely destroyed, roughly 490 schools.

Anna Nelson of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that a new storm was headed for the Philippines – Tropical Storm Utor, which was intensifying and could reach typhoon strength, and expected to make landfall in the next 25 to 36 hours – just over a week after Typhoon Durian slammed into the country. The International Federation had dispatched a water and sanitation expert to assess needs in Albay and a 14-person assessment team was currently on the ground and expected to report back. The emergency appeal launched for the Philippines earlier this week was now about 76 percent covered.

Viet Nam Floods

Ms. Byrs of OCHA said, as a result of the flooding in that country, 73 people had died, 16 were missing, and 1,370 were injured. Additionally, over 35,000 houses have been totally damaged, more than 180,000 partially damaged, some 760 schools damaged and 813 boats/ships sunk. As of yet no call for international assistance had been made, although assessments were still being undertaken and results being analysed. Meanwhile, at the local level the Disaster Management Working Group (United Nations, government and international non-governmental organizations) was meeting regularly.

Ms. Nelson of the IFRC said the International Federation had also launched an emergency appeal for Vietnam, which was hit by Durian on Tuesday. They were seeking almost three million Swiss francs (2.5 million USD) to support close to 100,000 people affected by the storm. Durian, which was downgraded to a tropical storm after it left the Philippines, killed 73 people in Vietnam, left 1,370 injured, and tore the roofs of 170,000 homes. Some 35,000 houses collapsed and almost 22,000 small fishing boats sunk. Several districts in Quang Nam province, a mountainous area home to around 150,000 people, were still not accessible because of flooding according to the Vietnam Red Cross, which had been delivering relief assistance to affected people this week and helping to repair homes.

Chad

Ms. Chaib of the WHO said the situation in Chad, which had been gradually deteriorating since the beginning of 2006, had taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. In the eastern region, which had been hosting more than 234,000 Sudanese seeking refuge from the conflict in Darfur since 2003, the rebellion had also displaced an estimated 63,000 Chadians in 2006. As a result of increasing levels of insecurity, United Nations non-essential staff had had to withdraw from Abéché in eastern Chad, including those working for the WHO. This withdrawal had left refugee and displaced populations and local communities facing a potential health crisis. Ms. Chaib added that the WHO had appealed for 2.6 USD for Chad for next year.

Ms. Pagonis of UNHCR reported that the situation in eastern Chad remained extremely volatile, with ongoing military movements as well as inter-communal tensions. Most staff had been relocated from the northern areas to Abeche with some 100 humanitarian workers still waiting to be relocated from Guereda. In total, more than 400 international and local humanitarian staff had been relocated from eastern regions since November 26th. In the north, contingency plans were in place so the six refugee camps could be autonomous for a month. The situation also remained precarious in south-eastern Chad around Goz Beida and Koukou and along the border with Sudan with regular reports of inter-communal tensions, attacks on refugees and displaced Chadians, villages being re-attacked, cattle theft and intrusions of cattle herds on cultivated fields.

Angola

The UNICEF Spokesman announced that the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department (ECHO) had today made another donation to UNICEF Angola to assist the Government to stem a countrywide resurgence of cholera. The first reported cases of cholera were in Luanda in February this year. Since then, according to Government statistics, there have been 62,300 cases and a total of 2,584 cholera-related deaths registered in 16 out of 18 provinces in Angola.

Uganda

The UNHCR spokesperson said UNHCR teams which reached the south-western Ugandan town of Kisoro to check on reports of an influx earlier in the week of some 12,000 refugees fleeing fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, reported many had returned home with only about 4,000 left in the district. Additionally, some 950 refugees had moved to a site at Nyakabanda just south of Kisoro where UNHCR was working with the Ugandan Red Cross.

Activities in Geneva

The Sixth Review Conference of the States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention will conclude its work today, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier announced. There would be an open plenary meeting this afternoon. At 5:30 this afternoon, the President of the Conference, Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan, would hold a press conference in Press Room 1.

Other

Michael Bociurkiw of UNICEF reminded journalists of the scheduled press conference on Monday, 11 December at 11:00 a.m. in Salle III to launch the annual State of the World’s Children report. The press conference would be held by Philip O’Brien, Regional Director of UNICEF in the Geneva Office, Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro, General Secretary of World YMCA, and a junior ambassador for UNICEF from Germany. The embargo for the report was 00.01 hours, Monday, 11 December. An executive summary, also under embargo, was also made available.

Jennifer Pagonis of UNHCR drew attention to a press release issued earlier in the day concerning UNHCR presenting its budget of 1.06 billion USD for 2007 to donor countries at an annual pledging conference in Geneva on Monday, 11 December.

Responding to a question, Ms. Pagonis said 1.06 billion USD was not much to ask for when some 21 million people were coming under UNHCR’s mandate. The largest programmes for 2007 were going to be in Chad, Afghanistan, Liberia, Kenya and Tanzania. UNHCR only received less than three per cent of its budget and the remaining 97 per cent had to be raised. There would be supplementary budgets throughout the year, including for Iraq.

Jean Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that a new study by IOM, Harvard Medical School, Syiah Kuala University and the Indonesian Ministry of Health had revealed for the first time the extremely high levels of conflict-related trauma among civilians in Indonesia’s Aceh province. The Psychosocial Needs Assessment in Pidie, Bireuen and Aceh Utara Districts in Aceh evaluated the particular psychosocial and mental health needs of people affected by the 29-year conflict between Indonesia’s security forces and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). It was not designed to catalogue or identify groups or individuals responsible for causing the trauma. The report concludes that Acehnese civilians displayed extremely high levels of combat-related trauma comparable to that of Bosnian civilians following the Balkan war or Afghans after nearly three decades of conflict.

Turning to Central America, Mr. Chauzy announced the holding of a two-day event in San Jose, Costa Rica bringing together female ministers members of the Central American Council of Women Ministries (COMMCA), IOM counter trafficking experts, and the Central American Network of NGOs combating violence against women to launch a regional effort to fight the trafficking of women in the region.

Mr. Chauzy also announced that a study carried out by the IOM office in Santiago found an increase in human trafficking for sexual exploitation, and confirmed that Chile was a country of origin, transit and destination for trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The IOM spokesman also announced that the Russian version of the IOM Handbook on Establishing Effective Labour Migration Policies in Countries of Origin and Destination was launched at a regional workshop on labour migration in the CIS region organised in Moscow by the IOM, ILO and OSCE.

Ms. Nelson of the IFRC announced that the World Disasters Report press briefing would take place on Wednesday 13 December at 2 p.m. in Room III.

Ms. Anoush der Boghossian of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said next week the WTO would be holding its General Council meeting on Thursday and Friday, 14 and 15 December. Next week, on 11 December, the Dispute Settlement Body would also be meeting. The Director-General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, was currently attending the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, which had been postponed due to the floods. There he will meet with the UNDP Administrator, Kemal Dervis, and the Foreign Trade Minister for Sweden over the next days.