POINT DE PRESSE DU SERVICE DE L'INFORMATION (en anglais)
Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which also heard from the Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.
Commission on Human Rights
Mrs. Heuzé said the Commission on Human Rights had officially concluded its sixty-second and last session yesterday afternoon. A number of Member States had proposed to hold a briefing at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 29 March in Room III to discuss their positions concerning the draft international convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance and the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples which had been pending before the Commission and which had been transferred to the Human Rights Council that would open its first session on 19 June 2006.
The participants in the briefing included Ambassador Alberto Dumont of Argentina, Ambassador Francois Roux of Belgium, Ambassador Juan Martabit of Chile, Ambassador Juan Antonio March of Spain, Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert of France and Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico. Federico Andreu-Guzman, the Deputy Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists, and Patrizia Scannella of Amnesty International in Geneva would also be participating.
Statements by the Secretary-General
Mrs. Heuzé said available in the press room was the message of the Secretary-General to the Arab Summit which was being held today in Khartoum, Sudan. The message would be delivered by Ibrahim Gambari, the Under-Secretary-General for political affairs.
At the request of journalists, also available in the press room was the reaction of the Secretary-General to the news that the President of the General Assembly, Jan Eliasson, had been appointed Foreign Minister of Sweden, effective 24 April. The Secretary-General said Mr. Eliasson “has important work to do here,” but added, “I am very pleased that he has been designated Foreign Minister.” The United Nations expected that Mr. Eliasson would be able to perform both jobs and he would continue to work with the same commitment and energy to implement the United Nations reform agenda.
WHO AND UN News Alert Systems
Mrs. Heuzé said her colleagues would explain to journalists how to use the UN and World Health Organization news alert systems. The WHO system had been in existence for several months, and the UN system for almost two years, but it would be good to reacquaint journalists with them.
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said that WHO offered a simple way for journalists and the interested general public to receive an alert every time it posted new updates on its website. A press release had been issued last October on how to have access to the RSS “really simple syndication” programme and she was putting copies of it at the back of the room because it explained how to use the programme.
Jeff Thomas of the World Health Organization said RSS offered feeds for the latest media releases and announcements and disease outbreak news such as avian influenza and polio. He demonstrated how to subscribe to the programme.
Rolando Gomez of the UN Information Service in Geneva said the UN News Centre page was more or less a wire service of the UN. It was very centralized and could provide journalists with all the news they needed. Journalists could subscribe to the email news alert on the web page and he explained how to do it.
Humanitarian Appeals for Africa
Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that today, the United Nations was launching a $ 92 million appeal for food and nutritional needs in the Sahel. This new request covered the four Sahelian countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The appeal revised the 2006 Consolidated Appeal for West Africa, originally launched in November 2005, which requested $ 145 million. The new request covered 22 projects in the areas of agriculture, food, nutrition and health by seven UN agencies. More details were available in the press release at the back of the room.
Ms. Byrs said Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, would visit East Africa from 30 March to 7 April. Mr. Egeland would visit Uganda, Sudan, Chad and Kenya. He would hold a press conference in Kampala, Uganda on 1 April; in Khartoum, Sudan on 6 April and in Nairobi, Kenya on 7 April. In Nairobi, Mr. Egeland would launch the regional appeal for the Horn of Africa.
Damien Personnaz of the United Nations Children’s Fund said available was a donor update on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire. Only 17 per cent of the $ 7 million requested had been received. This was a grave concern for UNICEF because it meant that only 20 per cent of its programmes for 2006 would be carried out which could have grave consequences for the health of women and children. Security was also a problem in Côte d’Ivoire.
Jean-Luc Martinage of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the International Federation had issued five emergency appeals totalling 20 million Swiss francs ($ 15.4 million) to support vulnerable people in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burudi. All the East African countries found themselves, to varying degrees, in a similar critical situation due to insufficient rains and subsequent crop failures. The International Federation, working with its member national societies in the region, estimated that more than 11 million people were in desperate need for assistance. A press release was available with further details at the back of the room.
Simon Pluess of the World Food Progrmme said WFP would have to feed some 50 million people in Africa this year. Due to an acute shortage of donations, WFP already had and in the future would have to again deplete its own resources. WFP urged donors to fill this gap. In 2005, WFP allocated over $ 100 million from its immediate response account to respond to the crises in Darfur, Pakistan and Niger. But there was only $ 20 million left in this account, and this was a record low. A press release was available with more details.
Other
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization reminded journalists that there was a press conference at 1 p.m. today on progress on global access to HIV Antiretroviral Therapy: A Report on "3 by 5" and Beyond.
Ms. Chaib said an update would shortly be put up on the WHO website on avian influenza in Egypt. In Cambodia, a three-year-old girl died on 21 March of avian influenza. Seven other persons were under observation, three of whom had tested negative to the H5N1 virus.
Catherine Sibut Pinote of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development said on Friday, 31 March at 2:15 p.m., UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, and Lakshmi Puri, Director of the Division on International Trade in goods and services, and commodities of UNCTAD, would speak to journalists about the launch of the Trade and Environment Report 2006. The press conference would be held in Room III.
On Thursday, 30 March at 2:30 p.m., Ms. Sibut Pinote said there would be a press conference on the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2006, published by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The press conference would be held in press room 1.