REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also addressed by Spokespersons for the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme and the UN Refugee Agency. Representatives from the International Organization for Migration and the FIFDH [Festival International du Film sur les Droits Humains] also participated in the briefing.


Srebrenica

Ms. Heuzé recalled the announcement of the International Court of Justice in The Hague yesterday through which it acquitted Serbia of committing genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Balkan war of the 1990s, but found it guilty of failing to prevent genocide in the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims in the town of Srebrenica. The ruling also said Serbia violated its obligation by failing to transfer Ratko Mladiæ, who was indicted for genocide and complicity in genocide, for trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Copies of the ICJ ruling were made available.

Secretary-General’s report on Chad and the Central African Republic

The Director highlighted the report of the Secretary-General issued last Friday in which he proposed to establish a 10,900-strong force to protect civilians and prevent cross-border attacks along the border in Chad. The report, which will be discussed today by the Security Council, was the result of the findings of the second technical evaluation mission that visited the country from 21 January to 6 February. Copies were made available in the Press Room.

Chad

Jennifer Pagonis of the United Nations Refugee Agency announced that today UNHCR was issuing a 6.2 million USD supplementary appeal to fund protection and assistance programmes for tens of thousands of internally displaced people in eastern Chad. The latest appeal was in addition to UNHCR’s 2007 annual budget of 69.3 million USD for some 220,000 refugees from Sudan's neighbouring Darfur region in 12 camps in eastern Chad, and another 46,000 from the Central African Republic (CAR) in the south of the country. The new appeal included a planning figure of up to 150,000 internally displaced by the end of 2007.

Responding to a question, Ms. Pagonis said there was a very difficult working environment in Chad where there was a great deal of uncertainty as to what would happen next in the very volatile setting. As of yet no humanitarian agency had evacuated from the region.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said WFP was planning to provide assistance to as many as 110,000 displaced persons in the eastern part of Chad. The agency was also working to pre-position as much food assistance as possible ahead of the upcoming raining season. To meet the needs of the 220,000 refugees and 110,000 IDPS, over 3,700 metric tons of food had to be pre-positioned.

Mozambique

Wivina Belmonte of UNICEF reported that late last week marked the beginning of a “duel emergency” in Mozambique given the continuing flooding along its coastal areas caused by Cyclone Flavio and the added problem of the cyclone itself. At least 160,000 people have been displaced as a result of the disaster, more than half of whom were children. UNICEF was working to disperse much-needed humanitarian goods including tarpaulin sheets, fresh water and information about cholera. There were also 80,000 mosquito bed nets en route to the affected areas. Providing victims with safe water, with a safe place and to keep them safe from harm were the priority areas for UNICEF.

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that there would be a donors briefing in Mozambique today to respond to the needs of those affected in the country. Following a request made to the CERF [Central Emergency Relief Fund] Secretariat last week a total of 7.6 million USD was approved for the humanitarian needs of those affected by this catastrophe.

Christiane Berthiaume said WFP would be drastically augmenting its operations in Mozambique to assist the victims of Cyclone Flavio. During the first two weeks of the disaster the agency had distributed some 450 tons of food to 68,000 victims.
The goal of the Programme is to provide 1,000 tons of food during the next two weeks to 140,000 people. The raining season was expected to last four more weeks, raising the threats of additional flooding. WFP needs 18.7 millions USD to help the victims with humanitarian assistance.

Madagascar

Ms. Byrs of OCHA said ever since 24 December last year Cyclone Bondo, as well as tropical storms Clovis, Enok and Favio, had struck various regions of Madagascar. In the meantime, this year’s rainy season had brought heavier rains than normal to most of the island. These conditions had contributed to heavy flooding in large, populated and cultivated areas throughout the country, resulting in over 90,000 hectares of agricultural land destroyed. In addition, Madagascar was already dealing with a food insecurity problem which has been prevailing in the southern province of Tulear as a result of inadequate rains ever since September 2006. Some 200,000 beneficiaries were currently receiving food aid. Food security will be a major concern for the country for the next months. Ms. Byrs also reminded journalists of the appeal launched on 20 February by the Malagasy Government to the international community to assist in meeting needs defined through various assessments. It was noted that some 32,700 people have thus far been affected in the country and over 7,800 left homeless. In the capital city of Antananarivo alone some 18,000 have been affected by the disasters.

Somalia

Ms. Berthiaume of WFP recalled that on Sunday a boat chartered by WFP – the MV Rozen - was hijacked by a group of men off the coast of Somalia. The boat had just unloaded 1,800 tons of food at Bossaso and Berbera in Somalia. Puntland authorities this morning arrested four men whom they say were part of a group that hijacked a WFP-contracted ship off the north eastern coast of Somalia. At present, the boat is still under the control of the hijackers. It is reported to be surrounded by five of the Puntland authorities’ police boats. Latest reports indicate the ship is now sailing southwards. The vessel was hijacked on Sunday morning (25 February) off the northeastern coast of Somalia in the region of Puntland, with six Sri Lankan and six Kenyan crew members on board.

Activities in Geneva

This morning, the Conference on Disarmament was holding a meeting for which six speakers were inscribed: Australia, Germany (on behalf of the EU), Turkey, Japan, Argentina (on behalf of the Latin American countries) and Canada.

Ms. Heuzé said the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was continuing with its work today when it was continuing its consideration of the report of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Yesterday the Committee concluded its consideration of the report of India and this afternoon it will begin discussing the report of Liechtenstein.

International Women’s Day

While noting the beginning of the two-week session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York yesterday, Ms. Heuzé drew attention to the remarks made at the opening meeting by the Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, who encouraged the Commission on the Status of Women “to take bold steps to improve the lives of girls everywhere”. The session, which was devoted to the elimination of discrimination and violence against women and girls, will culminate just after the observance of the International Women’s Day being marked on 8 March.

Hans Von Rohland of the International Labour Organization informed journalists of a round table event being organized by the ILO on the occasion of International Women’s Day at which two distinguished guests will be featured: Anousheh Ansari, entrepreneur and first private space explorer; and Rabiatu Serah Diallo, General Secretary of the Confédération Nationale des Travailleurs de Guinée, and active campaigner for workers’ rights. The event will take place on 8 March at ILO headquarters at 9:30 in the Governing Body Room. Also in observance of the Day the ILO will be releasing a new report entitled “Global Employment Trends for Women” which will be released on Tuesday, 6 March under an embargo of 7 March at 11:00 pm (Geneva Time).

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization indicated that WHO would be observing the Day by posting a video message on its website by its Director-General, Margaret Chan, who will be highlighting the theme of gender and health. Additionally, WHO will be posting feature stories on its website to mark the occasion.

Other

Ms. Byrs of OCHA announced that HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia had made a 266 thousand USD donation through a Saudi Charity, to Indonesia's flood victims. The donation was made by Prince Alwaleed through Kingdom Foundation to help alleviate suffering and devastation in the flood affected areas of Indonesia. The donation was made via OCHA and was being administered by the Emergency Response Fund to provide water and sanitation, health kits and nutritional support. The aid also comprised of food items, tents, generators, clothes, blankets and medicine.

Concerning Zambia, Ms. Berthiaume announced that WFP was preparing to cut the vital food aid rations it currently provided to around 500,000 of the most vulnerable people in Zambia over the coming weeks – because of a critical shortage of funds. WFP needed 29 million USD to fund its operations across Zambia until the end of 2007. But with food stocks dwindling, WFP had already begun reducing some rations and was planning for a series of massive cuts to its aid operations. A vulnerability assessment mission is currently underway to ascertain the extent of the flooding in the worst-affected areas in the East, West and Northwest and give a clearer picture of the number of people affected and in need of assistance.

Jennifer Pagonis of UNHCR reported that on Saturday, more than 300 people fleeing violence in southern Colombia crossed the San Juan River and arrived in the small northern Ecuadorian border town of Chical. The group, from the Colombian village of Tallambi, lived on the opposite bank of the river. A large number of Awa indigenous people were among the newcomers. UNHCR deployed a team of humanitarian workers to Chical on Sunday and was distributing emergency items and food rations in coordination with partner organizations. So far, the agency registered 315 people, more than half of them children.

Concerning Tanzania, Ms. Pagonis said the number of people helped by UNHCR to return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Tanzania since the repatriation started in October 2005 passed the 25,000 mark on Friday. The 25,000th returnee arrived by ferry at the Lake Tanganyika port of Baraka in South Kivu province in eastern DRC along with a group of 484 other returnees. On Saturday, they were transported to their home regions, some up to 130 kms from Baraka.

Ms. Chaib drew attention to a new WHO report showing that neurological disorders, ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer disease, from strokes to headaches, affect up to one billion people worldwide. The report – “Neurological Disorders: Public health challenges” - reveals that of the one billion people affected worldwide, 50 million suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer and other dementias. The report will be launched in Brussels today at 6:30 p.m. at the European Commission Parliament and will be preceded by a press conference in Brussels at 2:00 p.m.

Michael Williams of the United Nations Environment Programme announced that there would be a press launch tomorrow, 28 February, at 11:00 a.m. in Press Room 1, of a technical assessment of some 40 proposals made by the CITES [Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora] to change trade laws on wildlife rules. An embargoed press release would be made available at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning in advance of the press launch. The CITES held its conferences every three years at which wildlife trade laws, including bans and the use of export permits to manage trade, were negotiated. The next meeting will take place in June in The Hague.

Brigitte Leoni of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction reminded journalists of the press conference being held on Thursday, 1 March, at 11:00 am in Press Room 1 at which Sálvano Briceño, Director of the ISDR Secretariat, would present ISDR’s new on-line game to teach children how to build villages and houses integrating disaster risk reduction measures.

Mark Oliver of the World Meteorological Organization reminded journalists that the Secretary-General of the WMO, Michel Jarraud, would brief them at 11:30 am in Room V on WMO’s upcoming conference in Madrid on secure and sustainable living and the benefits of water, planet and weather services. Mr. Jarraud would also be in Paris on Thursday, 1 March, for the official launch of the International Polar Year.

Ms. Heuzé introduced Michele Klein Solomon of the International Organization for Migration who briefed journalists about an expert workshop held in Bangkok from 22 to 23 February which addressed migration and the environment.

Ms. Heuzé introduced Leo Kaneman and Yaël Hazan of the FIFDH [Festival International du Film sur les Droits Humains] who informed journalists that there would be a press conference tomorrow, 28 February at 11 a.m. at the Club Suisse de la presse in Geneva to announce the programme for this year’s International Human Rights Film Festival taking place from 8 to 17 March in Geneva.