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 of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Economic Commission on Europe, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization.

South Sudan

Melissa Fleming for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said her office was increasingly concerned about 20,000 refugees on South Sudan’s conflict-hit northern border with Sudan. While ongoing military confrontations in the border area of Jau had not hit the Yida refugee settlement located several kilometres away, fears of attack had sent some refugees fleeing into the bush, she said.

The escalating insecurity had also affected humanitarian access and the flow of aid, causing assistance at Yida to be disrupted repeatedly. However, UNHCR continued to work with partners in Yida to provide emergency services such as food, water and health care for the refugees, who had fled Sudan's Southern Kordofan region in recent months.

In the midst of this between 60 and 110 people continued to arrive in Yida every day, she added and there were fears that the fighting could spread to Yida, which was hit by air strikes in November. UNHCR was speeding up efforts to relocate the refugees away from the volatile border and to new sites that could offer more safety and assistance further inside South Sudan, she said. And following reports of ordnance laid across the borders, the UN Mine Action Centre was doing mine surveys and clearance to ensure safe passage.

Meanwhile in the eastern part of South Sudan, refugees were still arriving at a rate of 650 per day after fleeing Sudan‘s Blue Nile state.

Sahel region

Marixie Mercado for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that an estimated 1,025,000 children in eight countries across the Sahel region of Africa faced severe and life threatening malnutrition during the coming year, and many others would need some kind of supplementary feeding to stop their condition getting worse. The biggest caseload was in Niger she said, while other countries and regions where children were expected to require specialist treatment in clinics were Chad, northern Nigeria, the north of Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and northern Senegal

Malnutrition rates had already passed emergency thresholds in some part of Chad and Niger and poor rains meant the lean season could begin early. It was therefore critical to make sure health facilities and workers had the supplies they needed. However, a catastrophe could be averted with early concerted action, she said, and UNICEF had begun releasing emergency supplies as it looked at upgrading its capacity to respond. To do this it urgently needed an initial $65,700,000 in additional funds primarily for nutrition, health interventions and supplies but also provision of clean water and emergency education.

Elisabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that overall, regional production in the Sahel region was down by 8 per cent compared to that of last year, but up by 4 per cent from the average of the last five years.

In addition, the return of migrant workers from Cote d'Ivoire and Libya further reduced the financial capabilities of households as families needed to feed those who often returned with nothing. All of these situations meant her office was very attentive to the needs of the region and financing for 2012 would be crucial and necessary to meet nutritional needs, she said.

At the end of 2011 the OCHA appeals for Sudan and Chad reached 63.6 per cent and 56.6 per cent respectively, she said, though those for the Central African Republic (CAR), Niger and West Africa were struggling to reach 50 per cent. And with a sharp deterioration of the food situation expected in 2012, rapid assistance was necessary for the already vulnerable populations facing food insecurity in the coming months.

As such, several countries in the region, such as Niger, Ivory Coast, Chad, Liberia, CAR, Sudan and South Sudan, were preparing to launch their appeal for humanitarian assistance in 2012 and the United Nations emergency response fund (CERF) had allocated $6 million to UNICEF, WFP and FAO for emergency action on food insecurity in Niger.

Ms. Byrs added that the UN Emergency Coordinator was in Sweden today where there would be an announcement on a major contribution by the Swedish to the Horn of Africa appeal.

Yemen

Gaëlle Sévenier for the World Food Programme said Yemen was one of the countries most affected by food insecurity in the world and as a result of the political crisis most of the population were having trouble finding food. More than half of children were suffering chronic malnutrition and stunted growth, she said. In addition, the country now faced a deteriorating humanitarian situation with rises in the price of food and fuel, a growing level of poverty and a collapse of social services. In 2012 WFP planned to provide food assistance to 3.5 million people, at a cost of $230 million.

Reviewing 2011, she said the WFP successfully launched a pilot programme of cash transfer to the benefit of 10,000 households in Yemen and given food packages to families to encourage them to send their daughters to school and stave off early marriage. On the other hand, budget deficits forced the programme to reduce their plans by nearly 50 per cent.


Lebanon

Ms. Momal-Vanian gave an update on an incident in Lebanon involving United Nations saying that today (9 December) a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle traveling on a road at the southern outskirts of the city of Tyre was targeted by an explosion in which five peacekeepers were injured.

They were treated at the location and were later evacuated for further medical treatment. UNIFIL's forensics and investigation teams were at the location of the explosive attack, working in close cooperation with their counterparts in the Lebanese Armed Forces to determine all the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, she explained.

Bahrain

Ravina Shamdasani for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that at the request of the Bahraini government a delegation would be sent next week for discussions on establishing an open and democratic society in the country. The delegation looked forward to engaging with the government, member of the opposition and civil society and victims of human rights violations in the country. Following the completion of the mission the delegation would submit concrete recommendations to the High Commissioner on the way forward.

Answering questions, she said that the delegation would focus on human rights as the office’s core mandate. The aim of the visit was to listen to the many groups involved and take a holistic view of the many recommendations already made to Bahrain through the UPR, human rights bodies, the commission of inquiry and special rapporteurs.

Thailand

Ravina Shamdasani for the OHCHR said there were concerns over the trials and long sentences of those guilty of lese-majesty and the chilling effect this was having on freedom of expression in Thailand. Such harsh criminal sanctions were neither necessary nor proportionate, she said, and violated the country’s international human rights obligations.

She urged the Thai authorities to amend its laws, and in the meantime to issue guidelines to the police and prosecutors to stop arresting and charging people under these vaguely worded laws. She added that there were also concerns over the length of time accused people were being held in pre-trial detention and the matter was being pursued with the Government by the regional office in Bangkok.

Health workforces

Jumbe Omari Jumbe for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said there was a conference held in Belgium today entitled “Ensuring Tomorrow’s Health: Workforce planning and mobility.” The conference was to discuss a study of the health sector in 25 countries which showed that health related development goals would not be met as a result of a severe shortage of health workers, particularly from developing countries, though shortages were seen across the board, he added.


Meningitis

Alison Brunier for the World Health Organization (WHO) said this month Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad introduced a new meningitis vaccine called MenAfriVac which had been designed to specifically eliminate Group A meningitis which been a problem in Sub-Saharan Africa for over a century. Each country was vaccinating members of the population aged one to 29 (at highest risk), which would account for 22 million people. It was expected that this campaign would be completed in a couple of weeks, she said.

Introduction of the vaccine in the other 19 countries of the “African Meningitis belt” would happen between now and 2016, she added. It was planned that in 2012 these countries would include Benin, Sudan, Senegal and Ghana. Overall it was expected that by 2016 around 300 million people could have been vaccinated, potentially protecting 450 million people in total.

Biosafety

Gregory Härtl for the World Health Organization (WHO) answered a question on the developing of deadly viruses in laboratories saying that knowing better how viruses function was of value to preparation and response activities in the future.

However, the WHO had a public health obligation to ensure that science was used responsibly and that anything done with science contributed to public health safety rather than exacerbating public health difficulties. Research on deadly viruses was generally undertaken at biosafety level four, he added, and as far as he was aware all necessary precautions were normally taken in these facilities.

Health and human rights

Michelle Funk for the World Health Organization (WHO) took the opportunity of Human Rights Day to urge countries to implement a new project called “Quality Rights” which aimed to improve the quality of mental health services and put an end to human rights violations of those with mental health conditions. She said that in mental hospitals around the world people were exposed to abuse, violence, and inhuman living conditions such as overmedication to keep them docile or restraint without food, water or human contact. While in the community the mentally ill were often excluded from health services, housing, work and education leading to poverty, morbidity or mortality.

The aims of the project were to improve the quality of human rights in institutions to end these abhorrent conditions, build the capacity of people with mental health conditions and those around them to understand and promote human rights, set up civil society organizations to lobby for change and reform national policy and legislation in line with human rights standards, she said. Some countries already implemented the programme, she said, including Spain, Panama and Greece it would start in India early next year.

Helena Nygren-Krug, also for the WHO, added that health should be better recognized as a fundamental human right. Vulnerable groups were often at risk of health inequalities in accessing services, she explained, such as pregnant women, often as part of overarching societal inequalities.

Haiti

Jumbe Omari Jumbe for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that a study on Haitian migrants in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) confirmed that the economic downturn that began in 2008, which prompted a drop in tourism and lowered the demand for unskilled labour, increased general resentment on the part of the general population leading to the discrimination and sometimes hostile treatment of Haitian migrants.

Interviews conducted with 350 Haitian migrant households demonstrated the characteristics of a migrant community in transition that was becoming a settled community and a permanent component of the TCI population through property and business ownership. The study therefore recommended carrying out urgently needed legal changes pertaining to nationality, residency and voting rights and building capacity to tackle existing problems, he explained.

World Mountain Forum

Harald Egerer for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said the World Mountain Forum opened today in Verbier, Switzerland and would close on Sunday (11 December).

The forum was organized to highlight the key role of mountains in our ecosystem, he said, where they serve as water towers and habitats though were perhaps not as recognized as they should be. Mountains weare particularly vulnerable to changes in our climate and regular reports of glacial melting should remind us of the need to act now, he said.

There were a range of stakeholders taking part in discussions and he explained that on Sunday (11 December) the forum would use live streaming to connect conservation experts, local governments, the private sector, United Nations and government officials in the Himalaya, Andes, Canadian Rockies and Alpine Arc to discuss new approaches in mountain conservation.

The Forum in collaboration with UNEP would also launch a new public private partnership initiative that would support sustainable mountain development efforts around the world.

The Rio +20 Summit next year would take on the green economy challenge and because of their importance to poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and economic growth, mountain ecosystems also had a special role in the green economy transition, he explained.

Famous mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears said his recent studies taken him to mountains across the world and he believed that the needs of the mountains were being ignored, despite being a main source of water for swathes of the world population.

Durban

Jumbe Omari Jumbe for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that the IOM Director General addressed high-level negotiators at the Durban Climate Change Conference to urge them to pay greater attention to the consequences of climate change on human mobility.

One year after the Cancun agreements, which called on governments to take action on climate change induced displacement, migration and planned relocation which meant having the right institutional, legal, administrative, financial and operational structures to manage climate-driven migration, little tangible progress had been made, he said.

In his address the Director-General reminded leaders that the most serious consequence of climate change and environmental deterioration would most likely be in terms of population displacement, Mr. Omari Jumbe said.


Geneva activities

The Seventh Review Conference of the Convention on Biological Weapons held its next public plenary session next Thursday, said Ms. Momal-Vanian. Its substantive work continued in the Plenary Committee, which would present the results of the article by article review of the Convention on Thursday. The Drafting Committee would then be responsible for developing the final document of the session to be adopted at the closing session on Thursday December 22.

Jean Rodriguez for the Economic Commission on Europe (ECE) said that on Monday and Tuesday next week (12 and 13 December) there would be a Global Trade Facilitation Conference which would bring together the five regional United Nations Economic Commissions to address issues on a global basis. The conference looked at the latest trends, opportunities and technologies for Single Window and information exchange in global trade, efficient strategies, business models, policy approaches, how to develop strategic priorities for more efficient and secure cross-border trade, transport and issues of tax.

He continued saying the international conference on Europe-Asia transboundary water cooperation would be held from 15 to 16 December 2011 at the Palais des Nations. The conference was held in the framework of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and was planned to promote dialogue and cooperation on the management and protection of transboundary waters along the border of the two continents. Over the two days many countries from around the world were to present updates on recent developments in trans-frontier projects, he said.

Ankai Xu for the World Trade Organization (WTO) said next Thursday (15 December) at 11:00 there would be a ministerial-level meeting of the Government Procurement Committee, followed by a press conference. This would probably be at 13:00 in CICG, though this was to be confirmed. At 15:00 on the same day the 8th Ministerial Conference would hold its Opening Session, she said.

On Friday (16 December) there would be a conference Plenary Session at 9:00 and the accession of the Russian Federation at 15:30. On Saturday (17 December) 2011 the accession of Samoa at midday, Montenegro at 14:30 and the closing session of the conference was to begin at 19:30.

The WTO Director-General would on Sunday (11 December) be in Beijing, China to attend a High-level Forum on the 10th anniversary of China's Accession to the WTO and from Thursday 15 December to Saturday 17 December would be in Geneva to attend the 8th Ministerial Conference mentioned above.

Jumbe Omari Jumbe for the IOM said there would be a press conference on Wednesday (14 December) on migrant health at 14:00 in Press Room 1, to mark the International Migrants Day on Saturday (18 December).

Ravina Shamdasani for the OHCHR reminded those attending that tomorrow was Human Rights Day and said the campaign launched to promote it received eight million hits across social media

Gregory Härtl for the WHO said the World Malaria Report 2011 website was now accessible and a press conference would be held at the Palais des Nations on Wednesday at 14:00 for its launch. There was also a virtual press conference at 16:00 for journalists outside Geneva.