REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which also heard from Spokespersons for and Representatives of the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Organization for Migration. A spokesperson from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was present but had no announcements to make.

Geneva Activities

Biological Weapons Convention: Experts Meeting; Launch of Implementation
Support Unit

Ms. Heuzé announced that Experts from States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) would be meeting in Geneva next week, from 20 to 24 August, at the Palais des Nations. In conjunction with that meeting would be the launch, on Monday, 20 August, of the BWC Implementation Support Unit to assist States Parties in their efforts to strengthen the implementation of the Convention and reduce the threat posed by biological weapons. Further details could be found in the press release on the Experts Meeting which had been sent to journalists, and the note to correspondents on the Implementation Support Unit that was available at the back of the room.

Richard Lennane of the Office for Disarmament Affairs, and Head of the BWC Implementation Support Unit, said next week’s Meeting of Experts on the Biological Weapons Convention would look at elements of national implementation of the Convention, improving law enforcement cooperation among national institutions, and looking at ways to control individuals or groups within countries of getting a hold of biological weapons. The process was part of the result of the Sixth Review Conference, which ended in December 2006 quite successfully. Ambassador Masood Khan was chairing the group of experts and would brief the press on Monday at 2:30 p.m. in Press Room 1. The briefing would also address the new Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit, which was a direct result of the Sixth Review Conference process. On Monday, the new Unit would be launched at a reception at 5:30 p.m. to be hosted by the Director-General of United Nations Office at Geneva, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, and the newly appointed High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sergio Duarte. Journalists were invited to attend. The Meeting of Experts would gather a host of participants including technical experts, government ministers, as well as Interpol specialists.

Responding to a question on the new Implementation Support Unit, Mr. Lennane said its role was to help States parties to help themselves to improve their own controls against biological weapons. The Unit would coordinate those national efforts, share information and provide technical assistance, among other things. The Unit was an effort to magnify and focus the States parties’ own activities to make them more efficient and coordinated.

Asked whether the increased fears regarding global terrorism had led to more openness on the part of countries towards coming fully on board the Convention, Mr. Lennane said that one feature of the Sixth Review Conference had been the recognition of new threats, including threats of terrorism. That meeting had focused minds, and had increased the flexibility or willingness of States parties to cooperate and to find a common approach.

Commemoration Ceremony for Iraq Staff

Ms. Heuzé said that, to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the tragic attack on United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, in which 22 colleagues had lost their lives, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Iraq, a commemorative ceremony would be held today in the Salle des Pas Perdus, in front of the Assembly Hall at 11.45 a.m. UNOG Director-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze would lead the commemoration in which a minute of silence would be observed and a wreath would be laid in tribute to those UN staff.

New Permanent Representatives of France and Germany

Ms. Heuzé informed journalists of the appointments of two new Permanent Representatives to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Yesterday, 16 August, Jean-Baptiste Mattéi, the new Permanent Representative of France had officially presented his credentials to UNOG Director-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze, and at 11 a.m. today Reinhard Schweppe, the new Permanent Representative of Germany, was scheduled to do so. A biographical note in French and English was available for Ambassador Mattéi, and later this morning a bio note on Ambassador Schweppe would be issued.

Floods in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that, following the severe flooding caused by heavy seasonal rains since 5 August, the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had invited UN agencies based in Pyongyang – the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, WHO and the UN Resident Coordinator – for assistance, and to participate in a needs assessment in the North Hwanghae Province on 14 August. The situation was serious and expected to worsen. According to the assessment, 10 per cent of the population in North Hwanghae Province had been displaced, 70 per cent of arable land had been affected by the floods, and 50 per cent of the health clinics had been destroyed. The team had identified immediate needs as food, shelter and medicines, and had noted that temporary health facilities were being set up. An OCHA situation report on the floods in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was available at the back of the room.

Fadéla Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) said stocks of essential medicines in 11 of the 22 health clinics in the area had reportedly been flooded and their medical supplies lost. Medical supplies in the city warehouse had also been partially destroyed. There had been no reports of disease outbreaks so far, and temporary health facilities had been created to address the health needs of displaced persons. WHO was taking part in the joint UN field assessment mission.

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said she had spoken with UNICEF's representative in Pyongyang this morning. Over 350,000 people had had their houses destroyed or damaged, with 221 reported dead. Beyond the immediately affected population, an initial estimate of 100,000 hectares had been destroyed or seriously damaged, risking food insecurity and child malnutrition. UNICEF had already responded by providing pre-positioned supplies of essential medicines for waterborne diseases and water kits for some 5,000 families. UNICEF was also working with the Ministry of Education to support the resumption of classes next month in the affected areas. A news note was available at the back of the room.

Simon Pluess of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that, following the joint UN assessment undertaken on 14 August, the Government had requested several specialized WFP rapid assessment teams to assess flood damage and emergency food needs in the flood-affected areas. Several WFP teams had left this morning to assess sites in eight counties in the South Hamgyong and North Hwangae provinces. WFP was prepared to begin an initial emergency feeding operation covering some 320,000 persons affected by the floods. WFP had 4,000 tons of pre-positioned food stocks in the country for immediate use. It was important to realize that the provinces affected by the flood were the major agricultural areas known as the "rice bowl" of the country. In addition, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had been, even before the floods, a food-deficit country.

Asked about the possibility of an appeal for the victims of the flood, Elisabeth Byrs of OCHA said the Resident Coordinator in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was in close contact with the authorities who would inform the United Nations of the findings of an ongoing assessment which would serve as the basis of such an appeal. There was a donors meeting on Friday in New York chaired by OCHA, which was coordinating the initial United Nations response, Ms. Heuzé added.

Responding to a question over concerns of widespread starvation, Mr. Pluess said there was hope that the international community would act quickly to avoid such a situation.

On a question regarding sanitation and clean water supplies, Ms. Chaib said it was expected that there would be a high risk of water- and food-borne disease outbreaks such as diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery.

Earthquake in Peru

Regarding the earthquake registering 7.9 on the Richter scale that had struck Peru on 15 August, Ms. Byrs of OCHA noted that, since then, there had been hundreds of aftershocks. Early data had revealed Cañete, Chincha and Pisco to be the most damaged cities, but there were still areas that had not been accessible for an assessment, such as Nazca and Palpa. So there was still no complete picture of the damage. So far, national and local authorities had confirmed 510 dead and 1,000 wounded, with over 16,679 homes, 4 hospitals and 4 churches, and 2 schools destroyed, but those figures would certainly climb in coming days. The Government and the Peruvian National Civil Defence Institute had immediately deployed assessment teams to the provinces of Ica and Chinca.

So far, the Government had not requested international assistance, Ms. Byrs said. The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team was on standby. In terms of emergency assistance funds for the quake, OCHA and UNDP had each provided $100,000; WFP had donated $500,000; UNICEF had given $500,000; and the International Federation of the Red Cross had provided $250,000. Other humanitarian non-governmental organizations were also providing assistance.

On a follow-up, Ms. Byrs reminded journalists that a donors meeting was taking place in Lima today at 9 a.m. (4 p.m. Geneva time) after which more information would be known about a proposed emergency appeal for the victims of the earthquake. A press note was available.

Mr. Pluess said the WFP had provided $250,000-worth of urgently needed food supplies to assist the victims of the earthquake. The food was drawn from food stocks for WFP development operations in Peru and would be distributed through the national programme for food assistance. WFP also stood ready to provide up to 230 tons of high-energy biscuits from its subregional emergency hub in Ecuador. While the majority of known deaths and injuries had taken place in the Ica province, there was still no full account in neighbouring Chincha, Ghaneitae and Pisco provinces. Many survivors would need immediate assistance until the local infrastructure and distributions systems were restored. The prepositioned food stocks had enabled WFP to act within 12 hours' time, although road conditions were hampering those efforts.

Ms. Taveau said that, in response to the earthquake, UNICEF had already distributed water purification tablets, oral rehydration salts, and water containers with a total capacity of 10,000 litres. A further 100,000 units of rehydration salts were expected to arrive today in Panama. Also distributed had been prevention and education materials to teach families how to handle safe water, to prevent conjunctivitis and skin diseases and the importance of food hygiene practices, among others. UNICEF had donated $200,000 for assistance in the response phase, and would allocate $300,000 for reconstruction. Press releases were available in English and Spanish. A dedicated website had been set up containing information on UN damage assessments and efforts to help quake victims: http://www.onu.org.pe/publico/infocus/sismoperu_eng.aspx.

Floods in South East Asia

Ms. Chaib of WHO said that in India, Bangladesh and Nepal tens of millions of people continued to be affected by the Monsoon floods. Bangladesh had been the hardest hit; the death toll there had risen to more than 600, with more than 61,000 people suffering from diarrhoea, 15 of whom had died. Bangladesh had requested WHO's assistance in providing intravenous rehydration serums, and antibiotics, for emergency care. The needs remained huge in Bangladesh and Nepal, but the overall situation appeared to be improving slowly. WHO was continuing to provide assistance to the three countries to monitor cases of diarrhoeal disease. Fortunately, WHO had prepositioned tons of medical equipment in all three countries before the onset of the floods, which had certainly helped to soften the impact on those affected.

Ms. Taveau said that UNICEF was deeply concerned about the continuing threat from hunger, disease and malnutrition for the millions of children and women affected by the flooding in South Asia. The death toll continued to climb in India and Nepal, where rainfall over the last few days had caused even more floods and landslides and cut off road links in many districts. Across the subcontinent, including Pakistan, some 2,800 people had lost their lives already and nearly 50 million people had been affected by what had been described as the worst flooding in years. Relief and recovery efforts were well under way in all the affected countries, but the incidence of diarrhoeal and other waterborne diseases continued to rise. A news note was available at the back of the room.

Other

William Spindler of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that this week UNHCR had stepped up the pace of voluntary returns of Sudanese refugees from Uganda to South Sudan by opening a new major return corridor through the town of Nimule, on the southern tip of Sudan's border with Uganda. The new route linked the refugee settlements in Uganda with Eastern Equatoria State in Sudan. Uganda hosted one of the largest populations of Sudanese refugees. Some 70 per cent of the 160,000 Sudanese refugees living in a string of 11 camps in Uganda originated from Sudan's Central and Eastern Equatoria States. The first convoy through Nimule had arrived on Wednesday, 15 August, carrying 133 Sudanese refugees from Kyangwali and Kiryandongo settlements in Uganda's Hoima district.

Responding to a question, Mr. Spindler said that, in total, 157,000 Sudanese refugees had so far returned to Sudan since the launch of the voluntary repatriation to Sudan in December 2005. Of that figure, some 66,500 had returned home with UNHCR assistance from five countries bordering Sudan, namely the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Jemini Pandaya of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), recalling the ordeal of the child victims of trafficking in Haiti who had been kept in a rogue crèche awaiting illegal international adoption, reported that the 48 children who had been rescued last week had been found in conditions of extreme neglect by officials from Haiti's Social Well-Being and Research Institute. Most had been suffering from malnutrition, severe diarrhoea, dehydration, and skin diseases. One government official had revealed that during an unannounced visit made a few days before the rescue, the children had been hidden in the basement, frightened and filthy. Officials now believe there were about 100 children there in urgent need of medical assistance.

Jacques Seurt, Head of the IOM Mission in Côte d’Ivoire, recalled that, following the 2002 crisis in Côte d’Ivoire and the coup d'état that cut the country in two, major population displacements had ensued, which UNFPA estimated at some 700,000 people in 2005. That was the last reliable estimate. IOM had been providing assistance to the displaced since 2003, in particular in the west of the country, where IOM ran the country's only centre for displaced persons, in Guiglo. Since the March 2007 peace accord, there had been a number of spontaneous returns, which IOM was helping to facilitate. Today, half of the 700,000 displaced were thought to have returned home, many with IOM help. But more resources were needed, in particular to furnish returnees with the basics that they would need to restart their lives and to ensure durable and sustainable returns. IOM urgently needed an additional $1.5 million to carry out its programme of peace consolidation, return and reintegration of communities throughout the territory of Côte d’Ivoire in 2007.

Ms. Chaib of WHO announced a number of press conferences. A joint virtual press conference would be held by experts from WHO and the Centre for Disease Control today on researches into the origin of Marburg disease in a mine in Uganda, at 3 p.m. Next week, a press conference would be held to launch the World Health Report 2007, "A Safer Future". Speakers would include Margareth Chan, Director-General of WHO, Mike Ryan, Director of WHO's Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response Division, and Guenael Rodier, Director of WHO's International Health Regulations Coordination Programme. The briefing would be held on Thursday, 23 August, at 1.30 p.m. in Room III.