REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which provided information about the Secretary-General's activities in Moscow and his upcoming visit to Geneva, new measures relating to the UN reform plans, and other issues. Spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Office, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration participated in the briefing.

Secretary-General's Activities in Moscow

Mrs. Ponomareva-Piquier said that Secretary-General Kofi Annan had yesterday attended the sixtieth observance of the "Victory in the Great Patriotic War" (1941-1945) in Moscow and had had a luncheon with other world leaders hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Secretary-General also took part in a meeting, at the principals' level, of the Quartet dealing with the Middle East. In a statement issued after that meeting, the Quartet emphasized that this was a hopeful and promising moment for both Palestinians and Israelis, and that they deserved the full support of the international community in helping them with the hard work and difficult decisions required in order to make positive use of this opportunity. The Quartet expressed its full support for its Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement, James Wolfensohn, and stressed the urgent need for Israelis and Palestinians to coordinate directly and fully on withdrawal preparations.

After his meeting with the Quartet, the Secretary-General spoke to journalists and a transcript of his comments was available in press room 1.

Still concerning the Middle East, Mrs. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General had informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Alvaro de Soto, of Peru, as UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and as his Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. De Soto, most recently the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Western Sahara, replaced Terje Roed-Larsen. De Soto assumed his functions immediately and accompanied the Secretary-General to the Quartet meeting in Moscow.

Secretary-General's Upcoming Visit to Geneva

Mrs. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General would be arriving in Geneva today. On Wednesday, 11 May, the Secretary-General would be chairing a mini-summit with the Presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon on the Bakassi Peninsula. The complete schedule of the Secretary-General's visit to Geneva was not yet available. The mini-summit would start between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. at the Palais. After it concluded, the Secretary-General and the Presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon would speak to journalists. Available shortly would be an updated background note on the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.

Measures Relating to the UN Reform Plans

Mrs. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General's Chief of Staff, Mark Malloch Brown, had sent a letter to all UN staff on Friday, 6 May in which he informed them of the Secretary-General's decision to form two high-level committees to reinforce the ability of the United Nations Secretariat to face new challenges and to implement internal management reform recommendations, as well as on a new board to assess the performance of senior managers. The Policy Committee would consider issues requiring strategic guidance and decisions and identify emerging issues. The Management Committee would deal with internal reform and management-related issues. The Secretary-General would chair the two committees.

Geneva Meetings

Mrs. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would be concluding its three-week session on Friday, 13 May. The Committee was meeting in private this week as it prepared its conclusions and observations on reports which it had considered during this session.

The Committee against Torture was also continuing its session. This morning, it was reviewing the initial report of Albania.

Human Rights

José Luis Díaz, Spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, responding to a question on when the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would issue its conclusions, including on China, and if a press conference with the Chairperson of the Committee would be possible, said the Committee usually released its conclusions on its last day, which was Friday, 13 May, in the afternoon. Usually copies of the conclusions were put in the press room shortly after they were
released. He should have an answer later today on the request for a briefing by the Chairperson. [The secretariat of the Committee subsequently indicated that a press briefing would not be possible.]

Other

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said that available was a note for the press in English and in French on websites providing information on vaccine safety which had been recognized for complying with good information practices. Vaccines were one of the greatest achievements in medicine and public health and they helped prevent more than 2 million deaths annually. WHO had initiated the Vaccine Safety Net Project in 2003 and today 23 sites providing information on vaccine safety had been determined to meet the credibility and content criteria. Ms. Chaib said that in preparation of the World Health Assembly, which would be starting on Monday, 16 May, and which would include a debate on vaccination strategies, copies of an information kit on new vaccination strategies would be available in the press room this afternoon.

Ms. Chaib said Denis Aitken, Director of the WHO Director-General's Office, would be meeting with journalists on Wednesday, 11 May at 2:30 p.m. in Room III to outline the main issues before the World Health Assembly.

Luis Cordova of the International Labour Office reminded journalists that at 11:30 a.m. today, ILO would have its two main experts on forced labour speak to journalists in Room III to present ILO's new Global Report on Forced Labour. The press conference and the report were embargoed until 13:00 GMT on Wednesday, 11 May.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was one of the major forgotten crises in Africa. Since 1998, nearly 4 million persons had died and millions others had been displaced. According to International Crisis Group, up to 1,000 persons died every month because of the political and humanitarian crisis in the country. Members of armed militias burnt villages, destroyed crops and raped women. Because of the insecurity, access to the millions of displaced persons to provide food aid was very difficult. WFP had received just over half of the $ 161 million it had appealed for to respond to the needs of 2.4 million persons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 2005.

Damien Personnaz of the United Nations Children's Fund said UNICEF was alarmed by a cholera outbreak in Sao Tome and Principe and had rushed medical supplies to the island where nearly 80 per cent of the population was at risk of the deadly disease. Available was a press release on this subject. UNICEF had already provided nearly
$ 53,000 worth of medication, oral rehydration salts and other accessories. A massive media and communication campaign was also underway to scale up environmental sanitation efforts. Cholera was spread through contaminated water and food and severe, sudden outbreaks were usually caused by contaminated water supplies. Fatality rates might be as high as 50 per cent if the community was unprepared and if treatment was given too late.

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that a seminar would be held in Havana, Cuba from 1 to 3 June entitled the "Seminar for National Authorities: Risk Management Policies, Systems and Successful Experiences in the Caribbean". Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, would be participating in the seminar which was being held under the auspices of the Association of Caribbean States, OCHA, the UN Development Group and the Government of Cuba. Available was a note with further details about the seminar. On 31 May, Mr. Egeland would address the tenth meeting of the Special Committee on Natural Disasters organized by the Association of Caribbean States, together with a senior representative of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

Brigitte Leoni of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said that the Havana seminar would seek to integrate the "Hyogo Framework for Action: 2005 – 2015" which would strengthen the capacity of disaster-prone countries to address risk and invest heavily in disaster preparedness. The Hyogo Framework for Action was agreed upon at the Kobe Conference last January.

Jennifer Pagonis of the High Commissioner for Refugees said that the refugee influx from Togo into neighbouring Benin and Ghana had slowed dramatically since the weekend. There were signs that in Ghana, refugees were beginning to return home. In contrast, there were no returns noted in Benin. UNHCR was focusing on improving living conditions in the two camps set up in Benin.

Ms. Pagonis said UNHCR remained concerned about 5,000 Rwandan asylum seekers in Burundi who were living in makeshift conditions along the two countries' common border. The Rwandans said that they had fled to Burundi because of fears over the recent start of local "gacaca" tribunals looking into the Rwandan genocide. UN agencies including UNHCR and non-governmental organizations were providing emergency humanitarian assistance to the thousands gathered at the border.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said in Zambia, IOM and UNHCR had today resumed the voluntary repatriation of Angolan refugees from camps and settlements in northwestern and western Zambia to Angola's eastern province of Moxico. Working with UNHCR and the Angolan and Zambian Governments and with funding from the United States and ECHO, IOM planned to return some 34,500 Angolans from Zambia this year.

In Afghanistan, Ms. Pandya said the IOM office in Kabul had launched a new programme that was providing employment opportunities and improved infrastructure to residents of vulnerable communities in Afghanistan's northeastern province of Badakhshan.

ACANU

Jan Dirk Herbermann, the President of the United Nations Correspondents' Association (ACANU), on behalf of the ACANU Committee, complained about the stake-out press event with the Secretary-General and the two Presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria scheduled for Wednesday after the mini-summit. He said it was very important to have a proper press conference with the Secretary-General in Geneva.

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