REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Economic Commission on Europe, the High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization and the International Organization for Migration.

Niger

Elisabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted a joint United Nations/Nigerien Government announcement that the majority of Nigerien village residents are at risk of a food and nutritional crisis. According to the announcement, 6,981 villages are at risk, she said, with particular concerns over infant and maternal malnutrition. The drought-affected region of Tilabery in the west of the country was also mentioned as worrying. Ms. Byrs explained that although the food situation in Niger had improved in 2011, the crisis of 2010 had reduced the ability of rural populations to cope.

The country now had a cereal deficit of 519,639 tonnes, she added, and a need for over 10 million tones of fodder for livestock.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Elisabeth Byrs (OCHA) said additional resources of $5.5 million were urgently needed to continue the work of NGOs and United Nations agencies regarding cholera in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and maintain the most urgent cholera responses in the western provinces into 2012. In July the Central Emergency Response Fund had allocated $4 million for the programme, and currently the appeal was 61 per cent covered with $443 million received of the $721 million requested, she said.

South Sudan

Melissa Fleming for the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said fighting in the southern areas of Sudan continued to drive refugees into neighbouring South Sudan and the UNHCR was working to move these refugees away from the border and into safer areas due to security concerns.

She said in Unity State the UNHCR was receiving between 60 to 200 refugees per day, despite last week’s air strikes which hit a refugee camp in Yida. Despite this insecurity her office was continuing to provide services, however heavy rains and the recent discovery of land mines were hampering efforts to move refugees.

Thousands of refugees are also passing into Sudan’s Blue Nile State, she explained, with around 1200 passing the border each day. This points to an insecure situation in the entire border area for civilians, said Ms. Fleming, and the UNHCR was calling for all parties to respect the protection of civilians in this growing conflict.

Responding to questions, she said although the source of the recently discovered landmines was unclear, they were thought to be new, though it was possible rains and drought could have brought old ordnance to the surface. Some 350,000 people have arrived in South Sudan since its independence.

Somalia

Elisabeth Byrs (OCHA) said access to people in need in Somalia was still being impeded by insecurity, particularly in Mogadishu and its surrounding areas. The humanitarian community was concerned by the increased military actions and urge all parties to the conflict to take all necessary measure to safeguard civilians, she said.

Furthermore, she explained, military action in the South was discouraging internally displaced persons who wanted to return to their homes and take advantage of the rainy season to start planting their crops. Heavy rains in parts of the Lower Juba region were also causing problems, she said, worsening road conditions and severely affecting the movement of people and persons in the region.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia would issue a communiqué at 12:00 noon Geneva time today in Nairobi on the famine in Somalia, she added.

Yemen

Melissa Fleming for the High Commissioner for Refugees said the UNHCR’s Yemen country team was seeing the highest number of monthly arrivals from Somalia and Ethiopia since starting to compile data in 2006. In last month alone 12,000 people arrived in Yemen, she said, with the month before having set the previous record.

Between 2006 and 2008, Somali refugees accounted for the bulk of arrivals, she added, though this had now changed, with the number of Ethiopians increasing six-fold since 2006. Sailing patterns had also changed, she explained, with more people now crossing the Red Sea than the Horn of Yemen. Arriving refugees continue to say conflict, insecurity and drought had fuelled their flight and they arrive unaware of the increasing instability in Yemen, the conditions of which then restrict their movement in the country. Lack of economic opportunities and fear of persecution are also cited as reason for leaving, she said.

The fighting in Yemen is increasing the challenges faced by UNHCR in trying to assist these newly-arrived refugees, said Ms. Fleming, as they have to be taken on long convoys. It is reported that many decide not to wait for this transport help, and set off on foot through conflict-affected areas, she said. She also drew attention to a worrying increase in abduction, extortions, kidnapping and sexual assaults, particularly of Ethiopian migrants (who are thought to have some money for their onward journey) which is believed to be the work of gangs profiting from a reduced police presence in Yemen.

Gaelle Sevenier for the World Food Programme (WFP) added that Yemen was now second only to Afghanistan in terms of food insecurity, with the entire population thought to be affected. The deterioration of the political situation had left many unable to provide for their families, she said, and so increasing numbers were now suffering from hunger. She added that the country imports more than 90 per cent of basic foodstuffs, such as grain and bread, which have seen a price increase of 50 per cent. The combination of these pressures means the WFP expects to therefore feed 3.5 million people suffering severe food insecurity, she explained.

The price of petrol has also increased, and the WFP logistic programme has distributed petrol and diesel to UN agencies and NGOs, Ms. Sevenier explained. She continued by saying that many regions were still inaccessible for security reasons, though the programme had managed to distribute aid to 116,000 people that were not previously able to be reached. The Executive Board of the WFP had agreed an additional budget of $32 million for the project, providing the necessary contributions were received.

The 11th MSP of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

Kerry Brinkert for the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention announced that the Eleventh Meeting of the States Parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention would take place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 27 November to December 2. The formal diplomatic meeting of the 158 states to have accepted the Convention is to be the largest multilateral meeting ever to be held in Cambodia, and will see 1,000 delegates attend from over 100 countries, he said.

Twenty years after the beginning of the anti-landmine movement, it was hoped that some significant announcements could be made at the meeting, including Nigeria tabling a declaration of completion of its mine clearance obligations, Norway’s announcement that it was on the verge of completing its accession process and an announcement from Turkey that it had completed the destruction of all its stockpiled anti-personnel mines.

Answering questions he said the number of mines remaining in Cambodia was unclear, but the country was achieving a better understanding of the areas affected, and expected to clear those in the next ten years. He also agreed that the amount of funds going to landmine survivors to assist in their rehabilitation falls short in terms of what is required and drew attention to the launch of the International Land Mine Report 2011 next week in Bangkok, which would give a better depiction of the state of funding than he could at this time.

He also commented on a question about the implications of remaining unexploded cluster munitions, saying countries party to the Convention would need to address this issue, alongside any remaining landmine problem. He added that Convention countries were practically-minded and would establish priorities based on humanitarian needs, rather than the type of ordnance involved.

Côte d’Ivoire

Jumbe Omari Jumbe for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said due to improving security in the country the IOM was assisting in the return of internally displaced persons to their land and plantations in the western parts of the Côte d’Ivoire. About 75,000 people had taken refuge at the Catholic Mission in Duékoué when fighting was at its worst, he said, of which 2,892 remained. It is these people that are being supported in returning, he said, with a first convoy of 500 individuals leaving two days ago, and more planned over the next few days.

However, stumbling blocks to return remain, said Mr. Omari Jumbe, including the demolition of housing during conflict, the presence of armed men and the occupation of land by others in the interim period, though the IOM is facilitating assistance. Around 17,000 people are still displaced in the country, he added.

Angola

Jumbe Omari Jumbe (IOM) said a large-scale voluntary repatriation of Angolan refugees previously living in Zambia and the DRC has begun, with the eventual aim of repatriating 52,000 people.

Disaster Reduction and Climate Change

Dizery Salim for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) said that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon planned to tomorrow recognise the appointment of the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the first UNISDR global champion, during the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali. The award was in recognition of his work in making disaster risk reduction a national priority following the Asian tsunami which hit his country in 2004, she said. As part of his new role Mr. Bambang Yudhoyono would continue to advocate and promote the importance of disaster risk reduction, particularly in the areas of school and hospital safety, she added.

Ms. Salim continued saying the meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting in Kampala, Uganda would today finalise a special report on “Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation.” Governments must now agree on a summary for policy makers, she explained, following which the full document would be presented for acceptance. A press conference from Kampala this afternoon would be accessible online, she added.

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed that the IPCC report should be available online this afternoon.

Geneva activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Activities had this morning begun consideration of the report of Turkmenistan, which will continue until Monday morning. The reports of Cameroon and Argentina will then follow. The Committee had examined the reports of five countries during this session, with Estonia and Israel having already submitted their reports this week.

The Committee against Torture yesterday held a public meeting at which it particularly addressed the issue of complaints received from individuals. In this context it recommended that Senegal either offer Mr. Habré (the former President of Chad) refuge on its territory, or extradite him to Belgium. The Committee concludes its four-week session on Friday, November 25. Reports considered: Morocco, Djibouti, Paraguay, Germany, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Belarus, Madagascar.

Ms. Momal-Vanian also announced a press conference for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on 21 November 2011 at 11:00 in Room III, to showcase the release of the Annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, in advance of the international climate conference in Durban. In attendance would be the WMO Deputy Secretary General.

She also said the opening press conference for the 31st International Conference of Red Cross Red Crescent was planned for 21 November 2011 at 14:30, also in Room III, on the topic of “Contemporary humanitarian challenges in armed conflict, other situations of violence and natural disasters.” Attending would be the Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, among others.

Fadela Chaib for the World Health Organization (WHO) said a media note would be sent on Monday about the selection of the next Director-General of the WHO. The mandate of the current Director-General expires in June 2012, she said, and those wishing to fill the post needed to have by now informed Member States and the members of the Executive Board of their candidacy. The list of candidates would be published on the website on Monday, and then in January 2012 the members of the Board would examine candidates during their meeting, and interview those they put on a shortlist. They would then nominate a candidate to be confirmed by the WHO Assembly in May.

Jean Rodriguez of the Economic Commission on Europe announced the creation yesterday by the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations of two working groups as part of a tripartite initiative from the US, Japan and the EU on norms for electric vehicles. The groups would look at two aspects, he said, the problem of security (as well as electric shocks) as well as considering emissions. The work of these groups would eventually allow the World Forum to adopt a new regulation on electric vehicles to be in force by 2014, he said, and would officially begin work after being confirmed under the appropriate agreement after March next year.

He also gave details of a meeting next week (21-25 November) in Room IV of the Working Group on Ageing, bringing together representatives from countries most touched by the impact of an ageing population, particularly Western, Eastern and Central alongside Russia. Experts will discuss issues such as active participation in the labour market by ageing persons, the problems of continuing education in careers and health and transport considerations. A key highlight would be a presentation on Tuesday morning by the Director of the German Centre of Gerontology, he said. The meeting was to be held in preparation for a ministerial meeting in Vienna in September 2012, he explained, which would sit within the framework of the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing.

Ankai Xu for the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday 22 November 2011 there would be a briefing on the Government Procurement Agreement by the Chair of Committee on Government Procurement at 14:30 in Room B, at the WTO. On Wednesday 23 November at 10:00 would be the 5th High-Level Symposium on Global Health Diplomacy, organized by the Graduate Institute, also at the WTO and on the same day in the afternoon an Information Technology Agreement Committee meeting.

Meanwhile on Monday 21 November the WTO Director-General planned to meet the Minister of Trade and Investment of Nigeria and on Wednesday 23 November speak at 5th High-Level Symposium on Global Health Diplomacy.