REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the biweekly press briefing, which provided information on a statement by the Secretary-General on Rwanda, a visit of Terje Roed-Larsen to the Middle East, the Security Council resolution referring the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court, the annual session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, the activities of humanitarian agencies following the earthquake in Indonesia, World Health Day and an update on the outbreak of Marburg disease in Angola, among other issues.

Spokespersons of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Health Organization (WHO), the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) participated in the briefing.

Africa

Ms. Heuzé opened the briefing by informing journalists that the Secretary-General had issued a statement stating that he was encouraged by the announcement yesterday in Rome by the Forces démocratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) “by which the FDLR has renounced the use of force, condemned the 1994 Rwanda genocide, and has accepted to voluntarily disarm, return peacefully to Rwanda and to also cooperate with international justice mechanisms.” Ms. Heuzé said that the Secretary-General called on the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to “take every action necessary to cooperate in order to ensure the voluntary disarmament and peaceful return to Rwanda of FDLR combatants in the DRC” and that he had directed the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to do everything possible within its means to facilitate this process. It was believed that between 13,000 and 15,000 FDLR fighters were in the DRC and that MONUC would ensure their safe transportation to the border where Rwandan authorities would insert them into their national demobilization and reintegration programme. MONUC hoped that the repatriation would help improve relations between the Governments of Rwanda and the DRC, as well as lead to a significant improvement in humanitarian aid access in the areas where these Rwandan fighters were based.

Ms. Heuzé recalled that today was the disarmament deadline for militiamen in the Ituri district, in the north-eastern part of the DRC. The UN Mission in the DRC had stated that reports appearing yesterday in newspapers in Kinshasa, claiming that an extension had been granted, were wrong. The deadline of 1 April remained in place.

Middle East

Ms. Heuzé then informed journalists that the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559, Mr. Terje Roed-Larsen, was in Egypt today and would be continuing to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon for discussions with senior government officials and others related to the implementation of the resolution in preparation for the Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council in mid-April. In Damascus and Beirut, Mr. Roed-Larsen would deliver personal messages of the Secretary-General to President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria and to President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon, respectively.

Human Rights

High Commissioner for Human Rights:

Jose Luis Diaz, Spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), informed journalists that the High Commissioner welcomed the Security Council’s adoption yesterday of resolution 1593, in which it decided to refer the situation prevailing in Darfur since 1 July 2002 to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). As the High Commissioner had said before the Council on 16 February, what was most urgently needed were concrete measures to bring the current violence to an end and restore security and dignity to the people of Darfur. Referral to the ICC was one such measure and the best means by which to halt ongoing violations and prevent future ones.

Ms. Heuzé added that the Secretary-General’s statement on the Security Council’s resolution was available in the Press Room.

Commission on Human Rights:

David Chikvaidze, Media Liaison Officer for the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights, informed journalists that the Expanded Bureau of the Commission on Human Rights had held its fourth meeting of the Session this morning. Matters of housekeeping, including time management, had been discussed.

In the morning, the Commission was meeting in closed session for the 1503 procedure. In the afternoon, the Commission would continue its consideration of agenda item 11 (civil & political rights). Mr. Alejandro Salinas, Chairman-Rapporteur of the Third Consultative Meeting on the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Violations of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, would introduce the report of the Meeting contained in document E/CN.4/2005/59 – on the OHCHR web site.

On Monday, the Commission would continue its consideration of agenda item 11. It would hold interactive dialogues with: Mr. Leandro Despouy, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Mr. Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Mr. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution; Mr. Stephen Toope, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; and Ms. Laila Zerrougui, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Turning to upcoming events, Mr. Chikvaidze said that there would be two press conferences on Tuesday, 5 April, the first by Mr. Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture, at noon, and the second by Mr. Leonard Despouy, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, at 3:00 p.m. Both would take place in Press Room 1.

The day before, on Monday, 4 April, Mr. Despouy would hold a public briefing from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Room XXIII.

In response to a question from the previous briefing, D. Chikvaidze said that the resolution relating to the future of the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples was not an issue over which the Chair of the Commission on Human Rights had any sway in either direction. It was up to the co-sponsors to move the process forward and work to resolve the differences currently existing over this issue, including among the different indigenous groups.

A journalist requested that Mr. Chikvaidze convey the request that Mr. Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, hold a press conference at UNOG. Another journalist strongly suggested that Special Rapporteurs schedule their press conferences before, not after the presentation of their reports to the Commission.

Health

Ms. Heuzé said that the Secretary-General’s statement on the occasion of World Health Day (7 April) had been made available in the Press Room yesterday.

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the observance of World Health Day would coincide with the launch of the World Health Report 2005, entitled “Make every women and child count”. The main launch would take place in New Delhi on 7 April. In Geneva, the report would be launched with a press conference on Tuesday, 5 April, at 2:00 p.m. in Room III. A third launch would take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York, at the noon briefing of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on 5 April. The report (under embargo until 7 April) would be available this afternoon in Press Room 1 in English and French; a summary and a statistical overview would be available in English, French and Spanish; and a press release would be available in English and French. Efforts would be made to have the summary available in all six official languages as soon as possible.

Ms. Chaib informed journalists that an update on the outbreak of Marburg disease in Angola had been posted on WHO’s website at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday. As of 31 March, 132 cases had been reported, including 127 fatalities among which were 12 health care workers. This was the largest number of fatalities ever recorded during an outbreak of this rare disease. The previous highest death toll occurred from 1998 to 2000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), when 123 people died.

WHO and the Ministry of Health had dispatched mobile surveillance teams established and were investigating rumours of additional cases. A mobile field laboratory provided by the Canadian National Microbiology Laboratory had become operational today. A dedicated isolation facility, operated by Médecins sans Frontières, was also in place. Additional staff and experts would be arriving over the weekend, including a medical anthropologist.

WHO had also dispatched a further 500 kg of personal protective equipment and other supplies to assist in the immediate improvement of infection control in hospitals and the protection of front-line staff. To facilitate real-time coordination of response operations, WHO has despatched mobile communication field kits, which should greatly expedite the flow of information.

Responding to a question from a journalist, Ms. Chaib said that the outbreak was containable, especially since although it was in the same family as Ebola, it was not transmitted as easily.

In response to another question, Ms. Chaib said that there had been rumours of travellers carrying the disease to Portugal, Italy and DRC but it had subsequently been confirmed that the cases in Portugal and DRC were not Marburg. In the case of Italy, nine people who had come in contact with an infected person were being kept in isolation.

Earthquake in Indonesia

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
announced that Jan Egeland, Emergency Relief Coordinator, would hold a press conference on Wednesday, 6 April, at 2:00 p.m. in room III on the post Tsunami situation and the launch of the Mid Term Review.

With regard to the earthquake in Indonesia, Ms. Byrs said that coordination of relief efforts for the islands of Simeulue and Nias were in place. Aid materials were arriving in large quantities. However, the movement of goods to Nias had been delayed after an airplane had slipped off the end of the runway in Sibolga, the logistics hub for Nias. As a result, other aircraft had had to be diverted to Medan as a transfer point.

Turning to the overall situation in Simeulue, Ms. Byrs said that the damage there was more extensive than originally thought. About 80% of buildings on the island had been damaged and some villages had been completely destroyed. Earlier estimates of 17 people dead and another 177 injured were sure to increase. The original estimate of 12,000 people displaced from their homes in the capital city of Sinabang was also likely to rise. Many bridges had been damaged and required emergency repair. The airport and port facilities both needed repairs in order for relief goods to be delivered. In addition, communication systems were urgently needed for the airport and government. No injuries had been reported following the fire that broke out two days ago in Sinabang but 150 buildings had been destroyed. The fact that electricity was not expected to return in Sinabang for another week posed a significant problem.

Describing the relief efforts underway in Simeulue, Ms. Byrs said that boats were arriving with aid, although they were being hampered by bad weather and high sea swells. Two ships from the NGO CARE had arrived carrying approximately 220 metric tons of non-food items. Another vessel from Save the Children was delivering 400 MT of supplies. OCHA was deploying a team to Simeulue to assess how it could best support coordination efforts. Water purification systems were expected to arrive and a ship carrying five bulldozers had arrived. The same ship would be used to maintain a shuttle service between Banda Aceh and Simeulue.

Ms. Byrs said that the situation in Nias was largely the same. Motorbikes were being used for transportation since the roads were impassable for larger vehicules. Thus far, it was estimated that 25 to 30 percent of structures in Nias had been damaged or destroyed. In the south, it was estimated that up to 20,000 might be displaced. Nineteen trucks from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had arrived with relief supplies. There were currently a sufficient number of medical personnel on the island, including 11 medical NGOs who had provided 23 doctors and other personnel. Doctors were also being provided by the Ministry of Health and the military, among others. What was really needed were more medicines, medical equipment, crash kits and a contingency plan for the hospital which was destroyed.

Ms. Byrs said that the region posing the biggest problems at the moment was Singkil District on the west coast. Access by road from Medan to Singkil was not possible due to damage to the roads. Access was thus urgently needed by air or sea. OCHA was exploring the possibility of accessing the area by helicopter. Reports had been received that there were 2,000 homeless in the district. The actual number was likely to be higher. There was no real estimate of the number of casualties. Approximately 10 deaths had been reported but the number was likely to be higher.

Ms. Byrs concluded by recalling that the Government of Indonesia had so far not considered it necessary to request international assistance. The Government had, however, accepted bilateral assistance from a number of countries. Japan had dispatched an 11-member medical team for 14 days to the affected area. Japan had also provided tents, blankets, sleeping mats and generators. Singapore had sent three Chinook helicopters and a Hercules C-130 transport plane. Australia had sent an additional two Hercules planes and the Russian Federation had deployed an IL76 with medical teams and a field hospital.

Asked by a journalist to summarize the priority areas on which relief efforts were focusing, Ms. Byrs said that in view of the fact that the hospital in Simeulue was 40% damaged and the one in Nias completely destroyed, medicine and medical equipment were of high priority, along with water purification systems and heavy machinery to remove the debris from the buildings that had been damaged.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that a boat from WFP had delivered 300 tons of food aid to Nias today. The supplies would suffice to feed 20,000 people for one month. Distribution would begin this weekend, in collaboration with the NGOs on the ground. Today, a helicopter from WFP was conducting a reconnaissance flight over Nias to identify other places on the island where boats could deliver supplies. WFP helicopters had also undertaken 156 medical evacuations from Nias to the hospital in Sibolga, where WFP’s air base was situated. The helicopters were now able to focus to a greater extent on bringing food supplies to Simeulue.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed that trucks carrying more than 121 MT of desperately needed relief supplies had arrived in Nias this morning from the Sumatran ports of Belawan and Sibolga. At the request of the Government, IOM was making available a fleet of 40 trucks to distribute relief items around Nias.

Other

Ms. Berthiaume of the World Food Programme (WFP) drew attention to a press release stating that shootings, attacks on drivers and thefts of WFP-contracted trucks carrying critically needed food aid were seriously threatening the ability of WFP to deliver food aid to Darfur. The attacks were part of a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Darfur that was contributing to a climate of fear. Many drivers were now refusing to move through sections of the road corridors to the three Darfur states. WFP had protested the attacks in the strongest terms.

Marie-Helene Verney of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees informed journalists that a new French version of UNHCR’s web site had been launched yesterday at www.unhcr.fr. She mentioned briefly that in Liberia, after more than fifteen years of civil war, the twin process of return and reintegration of refugees was in full swing. More than 10,000 Liberian refugees had been returned home with UNHCR assistance since the agency started its voluntary repatriation programme in October 2004. In south Sudan, UNHCR and its partners were launching a series of new community projects next week to help rehabilitate communities and prepare the way for reintegration of the many thousands of displaced people and refugees who might return this year. Further details were available in a briefing note at the back of the room.

On behalf of Damien Personnaz of UNICEF, who had to leave the briefing early, Ms. Heuzé drew the attention of journalists to a press release highlighting UNICEF’s appeals for fear to be banished from Nepal’s classrooms. The new school year normally began on 15 April, but some schools in conflict-affected areas had been turned into barracks, been bombed and attacked, creating fear and violence that “eating away at the education system in Nepal”.

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