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 the International Labour Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

Secretary-General in Geneva

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived yesterday in Geneva. He met yesterday with High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and with the regional heads of the field presences of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In the afternoon, he went to Montreux where he met with his Special and Personal Representatives and Envoys.

This morning, Mr. Ban met with Francis Gurry, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and addressed the WIPO staff at their headquarters.

At 11:30 a.m., the Secretary-General would be participating in the opening ceremony of the Human Rights Council and Alliance of Civilizations Room (Salle XX). He would then attend the reception hosted by the King and Queen of Spain, and would have a private audience with the King and Queen and with José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, President of the Government of Spain.

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that interested journalists could watch the live transmission of the opening ceremony in Salle XIX. The embargoed statement of the Secretary-General to be delivered at the opening ceremony was already available in the press room. Journalists should have received the programme of the Secretary-General this morning.

On Wednesday, 19 November, before the departure of the Secretary-General from Geneva, he would visit the International Labour Organization.

Corinne Perthuis of the International Labour Organization said the Secretary-General would be at ILO from 10 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. on 19 November. He would address the Governing Council of the ILO to brief them about last weekend’s G-20 summit on financial markets in Washington, D.C., which the Secretary-General attended.

Ms. Perthuis reminded journalists that at 3 p.m. today the Governing Council would appoint the Director-General. The serving Director-General, Juan Somavia was the single contender. The Governing Council would meet with José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, President of the Government of Spain, around 4 p.m.

Discussions on Georgia

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the discussions on Georgia would resume at the Palais des Nations on Wednesday, 19 November. Photographers and television cameras would be able to take pictures or film the arriving delegations at Door 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. For the moment, there was a plan for the co-presidents of the discussions to address journalists between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. As soon as she had any more details, or a more specific time for the press conference, journalists would be informed.

Third Internet Governance Forum

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the third meeting of the Internet Governance Forum would be held from 3 to 6 December 2008 in Hyderabad, India. A background press release was available.

Markus Kummer, Executive Coordinator, Secretariat of the Internet Governance Forum, would brief journalists about the meeting on Friday, 21 November at 12:30 p.m. in press room 1.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier reminded journalists that the Committee against Torture and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would issue their concluding observations and recommendations on the reports which they had reviewed during their sessions on Friday, 21 November.

Questions

In response to a question on what the criteria was for receiving invitations for the opening ceremony of Salle XX and how much the Spanish artist had received for his work, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Spanish side had handled all the invitations, not the United Nations. As for the salary of the Spanish artist, again questions should be addressed to the Spanish side as they had paid him.

In response to another question on why a press conference related to the opening ceremony had been cancelled, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that it was because the schedule of the speaker was too busy.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said clashes between the CNDP and the FARDC resumed on 16 November in Rwindi, about 20 kilometres south of Kanyabayonga, Rutshuru territory, leading to new population movements towards Lubero, Butembo. Some 25,000 internally displaced persons gathered around the base of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Bambu, about 80 kilometres north of Goma. According to MONUC these people remained without assistance as there were currently no humanitarian actors in this region. Cases of diarrhoea were also reported, with three cholera-related deaths. The total number of cholera cases was not available. Vitshumbi area that hosted more than 3,300 internally displaced persons also remained inaccessible and nutrition and sanitation had been identified as some of the most urgent needs.

Ms. Byrs said in Kibati, three schools were occupied by the military and four by internally displaced persons. Convoys with MONUC escorts for the transportation of food for the internally displaced persons in Kiwanja and Rutshuru were being organized. For the moment, the situation remained very difficult.

Ms. Byrs said available was a press release about the release of a new IRIN film entitled “Forced to Flee” which was focused on the tragedy of displacement. It was shot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Philippines.

Véronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said the clashes which were continuing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had forced most of the schools in Rutshuru to shut down, and now 150,000 children were not going to school. Most of these children were displaced, while others belonged to the region, but they were all deprived of going to school because of the insecurity and risks. The situation remained tense and very volatile. A vaccination campaign against measles was still going on, but there were some areas where access was very difficult, if not impossible.

Ms. Taveau said that according to information she had received from Goma this morning, in Ishasha village north of Goma, 127 cases of cholera had been reported, and these cases were multiplying very quickly because of the lack of hygiene and sanitation. Again, access to some areas was not possible. It was imperative for humanitarian actors to have access to be able to help those in need. Displaced persons were particularly vulnerable to cholera and measles, especially children who were already suffering from malnutrition. For the past two weeks, because of the fighting, 85 per cent of the 310 schools in the territory had been shut down, and the schools themselves were now occupied by internally displaced persons and by the Congolese army. UNICEF was distributing teaching material to 40,000 children in 24 schools in Goma.

Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme said today, WFP was starting distributions of a 20-day ration to more than 56,000 people in three camps around Goma. The other three camps in the Goma area would receive food after that distribution was concluded. WFP was also today distributing rations to 25,000 displaced persons in Kitchanga and 11,000 in another area; both areas were controlled by Laurent Nkunda’s rebel group. WFP was also carrying out distributions today to 93,000 internally displaced persons and their host families in Rutshuru and another area. In cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, WFP was due to start distributions for 50,000 people in two other areas. All these distributions were contingent on the security situation remaining calm and the provision of escorts by MONUC. Also, even in the places where the security situation was calm, the road conditions were a major challenge because of heavy downpours. WFP was also setting up a new logistics hub in the Grand North of North Kivu. Available was a video news release that was shot by WFP in Goma. Interested journalists could contact her.

In response to a question on the number of persons who had fled the Kivus to other countries and the number of internally displaced persons in the Kivus, William Spindler of the UN Refugee Agency said there was no finalized figure for refugees, but at least a few thousand had crossed into Uganda. As for internally displaced persons in the Kivus, they were using the estimated figure of 250,000 displaced by the recent fighting. In the whole of the Kivus, there were more than 1 million persons displaced by previous fighting.

2009 Humanitarian Appeal

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the 2009 Humanitarian Appeal was being launched on Wednesday, 19 November. Available at the back of the room was the embargoed press release, an embargoed fact sheet with figures, and the embargoed statement by the Secretary-General. The launch to donors would be held from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Salle XVIII. It was a public meeting and journalists were welcome to attend and hear the statement by John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Mr. Holmes would also brief journalists at 4 p.m. along with Hilde Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Elisabeth Rasmusson, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Resident Coordinator for Kenya in press room 1. Journalists were requested to respect the embargo.

Honduras and Haiti

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the flash appeal for Honduras was suffering in the same way as the flash appeal for Haiti. The flash appeal for Honduras requesting $ 17 million was only 10 per cent funded. The flash appeal for Haiti for $ 107 million was only 33 per cent funded. More assistance was needed in Honduras and Guatemala, notably in the food sector. Access remained difficult due to bad road conditions and many communities remained isolated. There had been damage to the agricultural sector, with many crops destroyed.

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said available was a press release. UNICEF was very worried that only 10 per cent of the flash appeal for Haiti had been funded. The affected population in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially women and children, urgently needed help and were not receiving it. Help was especially needed in Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador and Costa Rica. UNICEF’s Director-General was calling on donor countries to finance these flash appeals.

Other

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said that at 11 a.m. on Thursday, 20 November, on the occasion of the International Day of the Child, there would be a press conference on UNICEF’s education for development programme. Also at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, 21 November, there would be a briefing about the Third Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children, which would be held next week in Rio, Brazil.

Charlotte Griffiths of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe said this week was UNECE’s energy week. All the events were taking place in Salle XII. The Committee on Sustainable Energy was focusing on “Investing in Energy Security Risk Mitigation”. The energy situation was still an issue. Three basic objectives or drivers lay at the core of the energy policies of UNECE countries: enhancement of energy security, promotion of economic efficiency, and protection of human health and the environment. Despite the current global financial crisis, economic slow down and price vulnerability in world energy markets and oil being at around $55 per barrel, investing in future energy sources to meet the growing global demand for energy still remained a major preoccupation for Governments, the energy industry and all other stakeholders concerned. Last year, UNECE’s Energy Security Dialogue showed how global energy security could be increased most effectively by investing in energy technology and infrastructure. On Wednesday, 19 November in Salle XII UNECE would hold a continuation of this Energy Security Dialogue in a Special Session entitled “Strategic Alliances for Energy Security”. A press release was available with more details. UNECE was also releasing on 19 November its new energy publication “Investing in Energy Security Risk Mitigation”.

Gaelle Sevenier of the World Meteorological Organization said the next time journalists got on a plane flying out of Geneva, it was very possible that they would get on one of 250,000 modern planes which transmitted to earth data on the climate and weather. These planes were participating in a WMO programme called Aircraft Meteorological Date Relay (AMDAR). From 17 to 21 November, members of this programme would be meeting in Malaysia to discuss how this programme can be spread to other regions of the world. The programme used both commercial, military and private planes which automatically transmitted climate and weather data to national meteorological services.

Ms. Sevenier said information on the weather and climate was vital to help farmers make decisions on planting their crops. WMO and two of its partners were organizing a workshop starting today and until the end of the week on agriculture, forestry and fishing in Orlando, Florida. A press release would be sent to journalists later.

Tamar Gabelnick of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research said the Landmine Monitor Report 2008 would be globally released at a press conference hosted by the United Nations Institute on Disarmament Research on 21 November at 11:30 a.m. in Salle III. There was a media advisory at the back of the room. A media kit would also be available. This was the tenth annual report published by the International Campaign to Ban landmines and it contained information on 121 countries and areas with respect to ban policy, use, production, transfer, stockpiling, mine clearance, mine/ERW risk education, casualties, victim assistance and international support for mine action.