REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which also heard from Spokespersons for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization.

Secretary-General’s Programme in London

Ms. Heuzé said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today was chairing the Quartet meeting on the Middle East in London. The meeting had already started and was scheduled to conclude soon. It would be followed by a meeting of the Quartet with the Foreign Ministers of Norway, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. The Secretary-General would then hold a bilateral meeting with the United States Secretary of State. A press conference was expected by the end of the morning. A final communiqué would be issued in London and would be sent to journalists as soon as it was available. [The final communiqué was sent to journalists in Geneva as soon as it was issued in London.]

The Secretary-General would hold other bilateral meetings this afternoon before flying to New York.

Activities of the Director-General of UNOG

Ms. Heuzé said Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, was today delivering at statement on “Working Toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” at the Assembly Hall at 1:15 p.m. He was also delivering a statement at a meeting organized by Green Cross International on “Defining Water Needs for Fully Exploited Resources: a Necessary Step for Israeli-Palestinian Reconciliation” in Room VIII at 4 p.m.

The two statements by the Director-General would be available in the press room shortly.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Heuzé said the Committee against Torture was meeting at the Palais Wilson from 28 April to 16 May. The Committee this morning was reviewing the report of Algeria, and on Monday, 5 May, it would consider the report of Costa Rica. The Committee had already reviewed the reports of Australia and Sweden this week.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was also meeting at the Palais Wilson from 28 April to 16 May. The Committee was meeting in private today, and would consider the report of Benin on 5 May. It had already considered the report of France this week.

Press releases on the work of the two Committees were as usual available in the press room in English and in French.


Freedom of the Press

Ms. Heuzé said on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, Secretary-General Ban had issued a message in which he noted that sixty years ago, the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared in article 19 that the right of everyone to freedom of opinion and expression “includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. As the rapid pace of globalization had strengthened the development of a free, pluralistic, independent and professional media, the significance of this right had never been more evident. The Secretary-General’s message underlined that when information flowed freely, people were equipped with tools to take control of their lives. When the flow of information was hindered -- whether for political or technological reasons -- the capacity to function was stunted. A free, secure and independent media was one of the foundations of peace and democracy. Attacks on freedom of the press were attacks against international law, against humanity, against freedom itself -- against everything the United Nations stood for. The Secretary-General said he was therefore all the more alarmed at the way journalists were increasingly being targeted around the world, and dismayed when such crimes were not thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.

The message of the Secretary-General was available in the press room in English and in French. The
message of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on this occasion was also available.

Killing of Save the Children Head of Mission in Chad

Ms. Heuzé said United Nations Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes has strongly condemned the killing of Pascal Marlinge, the Head of Mission of Save the Children in Chad. His statement was available in the press room.

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said yesterday in the Chadian capital N’Djamena, an emergency meeting had been held, bringing together representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the diplomatic community and others to express solidarity with the family and colleagues of Mr. Marlinge. This new killing followed many other casualties among humanitarian workers in Chad in recent years. In order to protest the deterioration of the situation in eastern Chad and in solidarity with the family and colleagues of the victim, the representatives of the humanitarian community in Chad decided to recommend a suspension of humanitarian activities in the country on 2 and 3 May, except for emergency operations. At the end of the day, it was the recipients of this aid that became the victims.

Jennifer Pagonis of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR was very saddened by the killing of Mr. Marlinge in eastern Chad. This shocking incident underscored the highly insecure environment that humanitarian workers faced in delivering protection and assistance to more than 240,000 refugees from Sudan’s Darfur region in 12-UNHCR run camps in eastern Chad and 180,000 Chadians, displaced in their own country by inter-ethnic violence.

UNRWA

Matthias Burchard of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said UNRWA was facing a situation where rising food prices and pressure on the refugees it served were increasing. This was placing severe financial burdens on the agency. UNRWA was facing a shortfall of over $ 117 million for its General Fund. For this reason UNRWA had recently been in touch with its major stakeholders to convey to them the severity of this situation. The Agency, its staff and refugees, whom UNHCR served, were grateful for the increased funding several donors had made available in the past two years. This however would not offset the world wide price hikes, and UNRWA hoped that they would respond positively to the request to reduce this shortfall.

Eighty-eight per cent of UNRWA’s 29,000 local staff provided direct services in health, education, social relief, infrastructure and micro-credit. In addition, UNRWA was providing emergency relief in the West Bank and Gaza. Its appeal for this year was 52 percent funded, leaving a gap of $ 115 million. Here also soaring food prices, transport and fuel costs were forcing UNRWA to reduce what it could give. This was at present only approximately 50 percent of the necessary daily caloric intake. One reason was that the cost for UNRWA’s food parcel had increased in the last two years by 235 per cent. UNRWA was providing emergency and regular food aid in the West Bank and Gaza alone to nearly 1 million refugees.

Turning to the situation in Gaza, Mr. Burchard said UNRWA had received fuel supplies allowing the resumption of its food aid distribution. However, the haphazard supply was making it near to impossible for any planning. Today, again, UNRWA had to fear running out of fuel. For example, in March, Gaza only received 23 per cent of the benzene and 40 per cent of diesel from what it got in August last year, and this was already at severely reduced rates. The entire civilian population was affected by this. The streets of Gaza were virtually empty of cars. Public transportation had stopped, with all the consequences for public life in this urban society. UNRWA’s schools, providing education to nearly 200,000 children, were struggling to upkeep this essential service. Apart from all the other hardships, it was particularly heart wrenching that education – once the trump card of Palestine refugees, proudly referred to also by its donors, was now reduced to who could still walk to school.

UNICEF

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said in Burundi, after seven months of contacts and negotiations, UNICEF, along with the support of the Government and the UN Mission in Burundi and other partners, had been able to remove 232 children who had been living in the conflict zone between rival factions of the FNL and the national liberation forces. The children had been in camps in Randa and Buramata. Among these children and young adults, aged between 15 and 20 years, there was only one girl. The children had been taken to a demobilization centre in Gitega. Upon their arrival the children had asked for clothes, food and health care. The process to identify these children and return them to their families, if that was possible, had already started. Some had left their families up to five years ago. The children were being questioned about how they were recruited. UNICEF’s demobilization programme in Burundi started in 2004, and had so far enabled the reunification of 3,000 former child soldiers to their families. There were still up to 1,000 child soldiers in Burundi, and recruitments of children continued.

On the situation in Zimbabwe, Ms. Taveau said available was a press release in which UNICEF deplored the actions of those who involved innocent children in Zimbabwe’s current crisis. There were more details in the press release.

World Health Organization

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization reminded journalists of the WHO consultation from 6 to 9 May on the revision of pandemic influenza preparedness guidance which would be held at the International Geneva Conference Centre. WHO had not revised its guidelines on pandemic influenza since 2005. There had been scientific advances since then, such as the development of H5N1 vaccines and greater experience with clinical treatment of H5N1 cases. Also, legal developments such as the entry into force of the new International Health Regulations would influence how Member States and WHO responded to potential and actual pandemic influenza threats. As soon as the final agenda was approved, she would email it to journalists. The meeting would be starting on Tuesday, 6 May at 9:30 a.m. Some documents with more details were available on the WHO website.

In response to a question about a news story quoting Walter Pasini, the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Medicine and Tourism, saying that persons traveling to China to attend the Olympics should carry antivirals with them, Ms. Chaib said WHO distanced itself totally from this statement. Dr. Pasini did not work for WHO but for a WHO Collaborating Centre, and his views could not be construed to represent those of WHO. WHO categorically denied that it had ever made any kind of recommendation to this effect or that there would be any need or justification, in any context, including going to the Olympics in Beijing to carry or use antivirals or to wear masks.

Ms. Chaib said WHO had set up a Working Group to help China during the Olympics, not only on epidemiological surveillance but also on food safety and air pollution. WHO was developing guidelines on mass gatherings. This was not the first time it had done so as in the past, WHO had carried out work on these issues at the request of governments during the last Olympics.

In response to a question on enterovirus in China, Ms. Chaib said that a statement on this had been put on the WHO website yesterday. According to the statement, as of 29 April, a total of 1,884 cases including 20 deaths of hand, foot and mouth disease due to enterovirus had been reported among infants and young children in China. The deaths had happened in Fuyang city in Anhui Province in China. Public heath experts predicted that the number of cases would continue to increase and would peak around June and July. Chinese health authorities had put in place targeted prevention and control measures in Fuyand city and Anhui Province. Many countries in the Western Pacific region had implemented heightened surveillance for hand, food and mouth disease and for severe complications in children.

Other

Janaina Borges of the World Trade Organization said next week, WTO’s General Council would meet on 7 and 8 May. There would be a meeting of the Accession Working Party on membership negotiations for Azerbaijan on 6 May, and a meeting of the Accession Working Party on membership negotiations for Serbia on 8 May. Concerning Director-General Pascal Lamy, he would be meeting with the Minister of Economic Development for Azerbaijan on 6 May, and the Deputy Minister of Economy of Serbia on 8 May. On 9 May, Mr. Lamy would participate in the Conference on Trade and Climate Change in Copenhagen.