POINT DE PRESSE DU SERVICE DE L'INFORMATION (en anglais)

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Trade Organization and the International Organization for Migration.

Travel of the Secretary-General

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that on 24 May, the Secretary-General had been at the University of Geneva to launch the Agenda for Disarmament. On 25 May, he was in Mont Pèlerin, Switzerland, to meet with his Special Envoys and Special Representatives. The Deputy Secretary-General was also participating in the meeting.


Request of the State of Palestine to accede to UNCTAD

Jonathan Fowler, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), made the following statement:

“The State of Palestine's envoy to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Khraishi, has officially submitted a letter from President Mahmoud Abbas seeking membership of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

As part of the UN Secretariat, rather than a specialized agency, UNCTAD's responses to all major international issues are based on consultations with the global secretariat of the United Nations and, following the State of Palestine's request, it has begun these with UN headquarters in New York.”

Mr. Fowler said that, according to the rules of procedure, the members of UNCTAD were those States who were members of the United Nations or members of the specialized agencies or members of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The State of Palestine was a member of UNESCO and had submitted its request on that basis.

In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Fowler said that he could not speculate on the implications the request might have in connection with the funding of UNCTAD. There was no applicable voting procedure in place for membership. The situation was unprecedented, given that the only other entity with observer status at the United Nations was the Holy See, which had been among the founding members of UNCTAD and therefore had never gone through a membership process.

Asked how the State of Palestine stood to benefit from becoming a member of UNCTAD, he said that the entity had global coverage. It had a special unit working on the State of Palestine irrespective of the membership situation. It was important to remember that while the State of Palestine had acceded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and UNIDO, UNCTAD had different procedures because it was not a specialized agency; it was still processing the membership request.

Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), made the following statement:

“Children continue to be at risk and are affected by the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), making it essential that their health and wellbeing are prioritized in the response.

Schools are crucial for engaging children and their communities in the fight against Ebola. UNICEF is scaling up prevention efforts in schools across all three affected health zones. This includes on-going efforts to install hand washing units in 277 schools and supporting awareness raising activities reaching more than 13,000 children in Mbandaka, Bikoro and Iboko.

UNICEF is also concerned about the wellbeing of children with family members who have contracted the disease. Children whose parents or caregivers die of Ebola or who live in isolation because they had contact with an infected person, need psychosocial support to help them cope.

Previous Ebola outbreaks have demonstrated the need for social workers to identify and assist vulnerable children. Twenty-two psychosocial agents trained by UNICEF and its partners are providing assistance to families that are affected by the Ebola outbreak, while UNICEF is also supporting 23 children and their families who have relatives infected with Ebola by supplying household kits and food rations.

UNICEF continues to work closely with communities to promote behaviors that help stop transmission, such as safe burials and handwashing. The children’s agency is engaging in dialogue with community leaders, conducting outreach campaigns and supporting door-to-door awareness raising campaigns. In Mbandaka, 706 community actors were identified and are being deployed for Ebola prevention communication and community social engagement.”

Mr. Boulierac said that a colleague in the field had reported that in Mbandaka, many people were well aware of the risk of Ebola. Social engagement in rural areas needed to continue and be scaled up.

In response to questions from journalists, he said that there were currently no official figures available regarding cases of Ebola in children. As well as being at risk of contracting the disease, children who lost parents to Ebola faced psychological trauma and potential stigma as a result. Agents had been trained to provide psychosocial support to children and to identify affected families.


Tarik Jašareviæ, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that as of 23 May, there had been 52 reported cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – 31 confirmed, 13 probable and 8 suspected. Of those 52 cases, 22 had resulted in death. The official figures, provided by the Ministry of Health, had decreased because some suspected cases had tested negative. As of 24 May, 154 people in Mbandaka had been received the Ebola vaccine. The vaccination programme did not involve mass immunization; rather, it was targeted at those people who were at the highest risk. Once they had been identified, they were provided with information and their consent was obtained. It was hoped that the programme would soon be rolled out in Bikoro.

People with suspected cases of Ebola were currently being treated at the isolation unit in the hospital in Mbandaka. MSF was building a 20-bed treatment centre outside the city. The reports of three people having left the isolation centre were not unprecedented; it was natural for people to want to remain at home during their illness. It was therefore very important to redouble efforts to engage with the community and ensure that everyone understood how Ebola was transmitted. Keeping a sick person at home reduced their chances of survival and put the whole family at risk of the disease. Ebola was spread through exposure to the bodily fluids of an infected person. Two of the people who had left the isolation centre had later died; they had been buried according to the relevant protocols.

In response to questions from journalists, Mr. Jašareviæ said that WHO took the position that people should be informed about the disease. People who fell sick should attend the isolation unit, where rehydration treatment and antibiotics might increase their chances of survival. Those people most at risk were health workers and the family members of sick people. The incubation period for Ebola was between 2 and 21 days, with an average of between 4 and 7 days. A person became infectious once they began to experience symptoms of the disease. As of 25 May, 628 contacts had been identified and were being followed up. Work was ongoing in that regard.

Asked to give more details about the immunization programme, he said that for each confirmed case of Ebola, there would be approximately 150 contacts who would be eligible to receive the vaccine. The vaccine was not mandatory. The programme had been rolled out for health workers and members of the community on the same day. There were 7,560 doses of the vaccine available in the country and 300,000 at the disposal of WHO in total.

Asked about the funding promised by some Western countries to tackle the outbreak, he said that WHO had increased its funding appeal to US$ 57 million. The Strategic Ebola Response Plan had so far received €300,000 from Italy, US$ 800,000 from CERF, US$ 1 million from GAVI, US$ 1 million from USAID, US$ 4.1 million from the Wellcome Trust and UK DfID, a total of around US$ 7.3 million. Firm funding pledges had been received from Germany, ECHO, DfID, Norway and the African Development Bank.

Yemen

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, had released a statement highlighting his extreme concern about the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

Over the past few weeks there had been an escalation in conflict, growing restrictions on humanitarian action and a reduction in essential commercial imports. These factors were compounding the world’s worst humanitarian crisis at a time when millions of Yemenis faced acute food insecurity and a possible resurgence of cholera or watery diarrhoea.

Some 8.4 million people were severely food insecure and at risk of starvation. If conditions did not improve, a further 10 million people would fall into this category by the end of the year.

Mr. Lowcock had called on the Government of Yemen, with the support of the Coalition, to take active steps to boost commercial imports of food, fuel and humanitarian supplies through all Yemen’s ports. The humanitarian agencies stood ready to increase their delivery of assistance to the people of Yemen. They had the resources to do this, following pledges of more than US$ 2 billion from 40 donors in April.

Yemen/Oman: Tropical Cyclone Mekunu

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that following Tropical Cyclone Mekunu, which had hit the Yemeni island of Socotra, there had been initial reports of 2 confirmed casualties and 17 people missing. Rescue workers were still trying to reach some parts of the island. The Government of Yemen had declared a disaster in Socotra and called for international humanitarian assistance.

Asked to comment on the potential impact on the ground of the United Nations Security Council resolution on the link between hunger and conflict, Mr. Laerke said that recognition of the link at such a high level was a welcome development. Yemen was a case in point in connection with that issue and time would tell whether the resolution would have an effect there.

Asked to respond to reports that the United States was sending Special Forces into Yemen, he said that further militarization of the conflict was not in anyone’s interest.

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), confirmed that Tropical Cyclone Mekunu had intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea and was approaching the coast of Oman and Yemen. It had hit Socotra, which was a UNESCO heritage site, causing dramatic flooding there less than a week after Cyclone Sagar had caused flash floods and casualties in Yemen, Somalia and Djibouti.

WMO’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) New Delhi, operated by the India Meteorological Department, had forecast that Mekunu would make landfall near Oman’s port city of Salalah during the night of 25-26 May. It would be the equivalent of a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir Simpson scale, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 160-170 kilometres per hour.

Models predicted that the expected cumulative total rainfall between 24 May and 28 May would be approximately 200-400 mm over coastal areas of south Oman and southeast Yemen, possibly reaching up to 500-600 mm in some parts of south coastal Oman. Over interior areas of Oman, it could be around 200-250 mm. Annual average precipitation in those areas was about 130 mm. Waves were reaching between 10 and 13 metres in height and fishermen had been advised not to venture into the West-Central Arabian Sea until 26 May.

Above average sea surface temperatures in the Arabian Sea were contributing to the development of tropical cyclones. It was rare but not unprecedented for them to strike the Arabian Peninsula.

In response to questions from journalists, Ms. Nullis said that Oman was well prepared for the impact of the cyclone. In Yemen, while Socotra was already feeling the impact, the other areas where the worst rainfall and flooding was expected were sparsely populated.

Funding requirements for Ethiopia

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), made the following statement:

“The UN in Ethiopia is today highlighting critical response priorities and funding gaps in the Ethiopia Humanitarian and Disaster Resilience Plan (HDRP) following a review of the humanitarian situation in the country by the Government and key UN and NGO partners.

The gap analysis shows that US$280.4 million is urgently required to ensure the response for the coming six months.

Humanitarian partners are focusing on the need to further scale up response to over 1 million people displaced by conflict over the last 12 months. Incidents include an upsurge in conflict since early September 2017 in the border areas of the Oromia and Somali regions in which more than 1 million people - mainly pastoralists - have been displaced. In addition, more than a quarter of a million people were displaced to the Gedeo zone (in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region) from West Guji (Oromia) following violence along the regional boundary last month.

The humanitarian effects of these conflict incidents come on top of two years of back-to-back drought from which Ethiopians have yet to recover.”

Mr. Laerke said that according to the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie, the Government had shown leadership in seeking durable solutions for the many displaced people, but there was a high need for an expanded response for people in the areas where they currently remained displaced. The prioritized interventions included delivering emergency health and nutrition services, expanding water and sanitation facilities, improving access to education and ensuring improvements in basic living conditions.

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr. Laerke said that the overall response plan for Ethiopia was seeking almost US$ 1.7 billion and was currently 34 per cent funded. For the urgent priority needs over the coming six months, US$ 280 million was needed. A comprehensive humanitarian response was required, with a particular focus on nutrition and health services. Many of those displaced were pastoralists, who would require both short- and longer-term assistance.

Outlook on the hurricane season

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had issued its outlook for the 2018 hurricane season, which would run from 1 June to 30 November. It was predicting a near-normal or above-normal season with between 10 and 16 named storms and between 5 and 9 hurricanes, of which between 1 and 4 might develop into major hurricanes. The first storm of the season would be named Alberto.

World Health Assembly

Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the daily summary of update taking place at the World Health Assembly on 25 May would be circulated between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. The Assembly would likely run over its planned finishing time of 1 p.m. on 26 May. Topics on the agenda for 25 May included the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, assistive technologies and progress reports on promoting the health of refugees and migrants and on human organ and tissue transplantation. Delegates would also discuss WHO's 5-year strategic action plan on polio transition. Countries needed to take ownership and put in place surveillance systems to ensure that the disease did not return. As at May 2018, only 8 cases due to wild poliovirus had been reported globally, from just 2 countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On 24 May, World Health Assembly delegates had called for action to be stepped up in the global fight to beat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including urging participation by heads of state and government at the Third United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs on 27 September 2018. Each year, 15 million people aged between 30 and 70 years died from an NCD and the current levels of decline in risk of premature death from NCDs were insufficient to meet the NCD target included in the Sustainable Development Goals.

A high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on ending tuberculosis would also take place in September 2018. TB had caused 1.7 million deaths worldwide in 2016, including 0.4 million among people living with HIV.


World No Tobacco Day

Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that 31 May was World No Tobacco Day. At 9.30 a.m. on 29 May a press conference would be held in Room III focusing on the strong connection between tobacco use and cardiovascular disease such as stroke and heart attack. The speakers would be Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director, Department for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, Dr Kerstin Schotte, Medical Officer, Department for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, and
Dr Vinayak Prasad, Project Manager, Tobacco Control.

World Environment Day

Speaking on behalf of UN Environment, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that 5 June was World Environment Day. This year the theme was “Beat Plastic Pollution”. On 27 May, an event would be held on the promenade in front of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne to clean up the lake and a swim would symbolize the race against plastic pollution. Since the first event of its kind in 2005, 110 tons of plastic had been recovered from the waters and shores of Lake Geneva.

UNCTAD announcements

Jonathan Fowler, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that the briefing on the launch of the report on African migration had been postponed and attempts were being made to reschedule it in the coming days.

On 6 June, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations would attend the launch of the report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the policy recommendations they contained.

OCHA announcement

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), announced that at 12.30 p.m. on 28 May in Room I there would be a press conference with the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Central African Republic.

UNICEF announcement

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that a photo exhibition featuring newborn babies was on display in the Salle des Pas Perdus at the Palais des Nations, Geneva. The exhibition was intended to draw attention to the fact that every day, 7,000 newborn babies died from preventable cause and a further 7,000 babies were stillborn.

IOM announcement

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), announced that on 28 and 29 May, IOM’s headquarters would be hosting a High-level Panel on Migration in Africa. The former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, would be in attendance.

WTO announcements

Daniel Pruzin, for the World Trade Organization (WTO), said that on 28 May the Dispute Settlement Body would hold its regular monthly meeting. Items on the agenda included the Airbus dispute, an EU statement on compliance, a statement by the United States of America on China’s technology transfer policies, a second request from the Republic of Korea for the establishment of a panel on US antidumping and countervailing practices and first requests from the United Arab Emirates and the United States regarding trade measures in Pakistan and India respectively.

On 29 and 31 May, trade policy review meetings would be held for Guinea and Mauritania. The Director General would be in Paris for the OECD Annual Ministerial Gathering and would participate in the informal meeting of trade ministers on 31 May.

In Geneva, at 6 p.m. on 28 May, a farewell ceremony would be held for departing appellate body member Ricardo Ramírez Hernández. The Mexican Mission would be hosting drinks after the ceremony.

On 13 and 14 June, a Global Forum on Inclusive Trade for Least Developed Countries would take place at WTO, hosted by the Enhanced Integrated Framework, the global partnership set up to help build trade capacity in LDCs. Representatives from more than 40 least developed countries would be in attendance.

Announcement on the Conference on Disarmament

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, announced that on 29 May, the Conference on Disarmament would hold its public plenary meeting under the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Asked to comment on criticism of the fact that the Syrian Arab Republic was due to take up the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, Ms. Vellucci said that the Conference was not an organ of the United Nations nor a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, but an intergovernmental body serviced by the United Nations. It had been established in 1978 by the first Special Session on Disarmament of the United Nations General Assembly as the single multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament of the international community. The rules of procedure of the Conference stated that the presidency rotated among the members and the order was based on the English names of the membership. Only the member States of the Conference had the power to change those rules. The Conference on Disarmament had produced great results in the past and it was important that institutional intergovernmental bodies such as the Conference remained inclusive spaces for participation and discussion. The “Agenda for Disarmament” launched by the UN Secretary-General on 24 May should be one of the driving forces to advance the cause of inclusive disarmament.

Other Geneva events and announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Committee on Enforced Disappearances would hold the final public meeting of its current session on 28 May, with Member States, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations.