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 was also attended by Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organization.

Security Council and Sudan/Western Sahara

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Security Council yesterday extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan for another year, urging all parties to comply fully with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a 21-year civil war between north and south Sudan. The Security Council also extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) by one year, until 30 April 2010.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Committee on Migrant Workers was this morning holding a roundtable on the right to freedom of association for migrant workers, on the occasion of Labour Day. The Committee was this afternoon concluding its two-week tenth session and would be issuing its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia and the Philippines on how they implement the provisions of the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. A roundup press release would be issued.

The Committee against Torture yesterday afternoon heard the response of Chad to questions raised by Committee Experts on the second periodic report of that country on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This morning, the Committee would hear the response of Nicaragua to questions raised by Committee members on 30 April, and this afternoon, it would consider the periodic report of New Zealand.

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will meet at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 4 to 22 May 2009 to examine measures taken by Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, Cambodia and the United Kingdom to comply with the standards of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. At the opening meeting, the Committee would elect a new Chairperson and Bureau for two years. A background press release was available.

Influenza A (H1N1)

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier, responding to a question on swine flu or Influenza A ( H1N1) as it was now being called, said the Secretary-General was in close contact with WHO Director-General Margaret Chan and supported her call against any restrictions on travel and closing borders. The latest recommendation from WHO placed no restrictions on travel, however, if someone was travelling to one of the regions affected and had any questions, they could call the helpline on 022 9176100. She said no discussion or decision had been taken about banning meetings and conferences.

The UN Deputy Secretary-General Asga-Rose Migiro was today holding a town hall meeting in New York with staff to give an overview of the situation and the UN’s preparedness to address the potential pandemic. She would be accompanied by representatives from the UN Medical Services Division and WHO experts. The meeting would be webcast and there would also be a transmission by video conference in Room XVII starting 4 p.m.

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said that the latest figures, as of 7 a.m. GMT today, were that 11 countries had officially notified WHO of 331 cases and 10 deaths from Influenza A (H1N1). The breakdown was as follows: Austria, one case; Canada, 34 cases; Germany, three cases; Israel, two cases; Mexico, 156 cases, including nine deaths; Netherlands, one case; New Zealand, three cases; Spain, 13 cases, including one case of a person who had had contact with a traveler ; Switzerland, one case; Great Britain, eight cases; the United States, 109 cases, including one death confirmed by the CDC.

The main sources of information on the Influenza A (H1N1) would be given at the daily 5 o’clock briefing. A media alert would be sent out . The Director of the Initiative of Vaccine Research , Dr Marie- Paule Kieny would brief on the development of a pandemic vaccine.

Thomas Abraham of the World Health Organization said across the world, there were a large number of cases with influenza-like illnesses and symptoms. WHO’s effort has been to look at all the date and zero in on the cases that were actually caused by this new virus. The figures that they just read out were laboratory-confirmed cases of infections caused by this new virus. The Director-General of WHO had been talking to pharmaceutical companies to find out about stocks of antivirals, and to try to assess the possible demand for antivirals. They were trying to assess what was the best way to ensure that countries, especially poorer ones , would be able to get access to antivirals if, as and when they needed it. These were discussions that were ongoing. In 2005 and 2006, Roche had made a combined donation of about five million treatment courses of Oseltamivir. Three million of these courses were for a rapid response stockpile, which would have been used had they used containment operations. Two million of the courses were distributed to various regions. WHO was distributing some of these drugs to developing countries which WHO determined to be most in need so that they had a stock available for treatment. A portion was also being made available to the Mexican Government, but he did not have exact figures right now.

Responding to a question, Ms. Chaib said travel restrictions were not recommended because in the current situation, the virus was found in a number of locations. From an international perspective, travel restrictions would help very little if at all. WHO’s travel advice was that people who were ill were urged to delay travel; and returning travellers who became ill should seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities. These steps were taken in response to all diseases, not just Influenza A (H1N1).

Answering another question about criticism from Mexico about a delay in reaction from WHO, Mr. Abraham said there were cases of influenza all the time. Once WHO knew that this illness was caused by a new influenza virus – the virus was identified by US Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention. The WHO Strategic Operation Centre (SHOC) was activated and went into action. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan was on a flight to Washington D.C. and she was informed as soon as she landed . She cancelled all her engagements, spoke with the Mexican Minister of Health, went to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, spoke to United States officials, and was in constant contact with WHO Headquarters. The Director-General flew back on Saturday, 25 April in the morning, and by Saturday evening, she had made a public statement saying that the world faced a potential pandemic virus. They were still working on preparing an accurate and well document account on what happened and they would provide it as soon as it was available.

As of now, there was no Emergency Committee Meeting scheduled, Mr. Abraham said. As far as the change in the name by which WHO was referring to the virus, the naming of diseases and viruses was hard. They always tried to avoid any kind of stigmatising, to avoid any kind of panic, and to be really clear in communications about this. When they started out, they referred to it as swine influenza because technically this new virus was determined to be a swine virus. However, this was not a disease, that as far as they could determine, was being transmitted from pig to man. Also they had found no evidence so far of pigs being infected with this new virus. WHO was very concerned about reports that pigs were being culled, and that people who would normally eat pork were hesitating to do so. In order to avoid all these medically unnecessary responses to the name swine influenza, WHO had decided for the time being to call it by another name, which was technically accurate, Influenza A (H1N1).

Myanmar, One Year after Cyclone Nargis

Veroniqe Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said available was a news note at the back of the room with lots of figures highlighting UNICEF’s response to the cyclone in key areas. Cyclone Nargis ravaged through Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, leaving 140,000 people dead, 2.4 million severely affected and 800,000 displaced. UNICEF worked with the Government and NGO partners to address the health needs of nearly 300,000 women and children of whom two thirds were under five years. UNICEF efforts resulted in 90 per cent coverage of measles vaccination for children. Some 27,800 malnourished children had received the necessary help and support. Around 1,400 schools had been repaired or reconstructed. Out of 1,400 cases of unaccompanied children who were registered, more than 500 had been reunited with their families. A lot still remained to be done, especially with regards to resources. In response to the UN Appeal launched last year for Myanmar, which covered needs until the end of April, $ 477 million had been requested and only 66 per cent had been covered. UNICEF and its partners were continuing to help the people. Mal-nutrition and water and sanitation were still critical elements. More details were available in the news note.

Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme said WFP had delivered food aid to over 1 million people since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar last year. Some 76,000 had been supported through food for work. Now, one year on, they were beginning to make the shift from emergency assistance to relief. The really important thing was to help people to rebuild their lives. So far, 112 kilometres of food paths had been built, 30 kilometres of dykes constructed and 18 ponds renovated. A lot still needed to be done. The WFP country Director had pointed out that deeper and longer term economic assistance and investment would be needed before the poorest communities could begin to recover their own livelihoods and assets and grow food for themselves.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said available was a news letter with a summary of the IOM response to the Cyclone Nargis emergency at the back of the room. There were still some funding requirements to help people resume their working and economic lives and to provide durable shelters for people affected and to rehabilitate primary healthcare centres.

Sri Lanka

William Spindler of the UN Refugee Agency said a second team of UNHCR emergency experts was scheduled to arrive today in Sri Lanka. The team of four included specialists on community services, protection and other essential field functions. They followed the earlier deployment of five UNHCR experts to Sri Lanka’s north in February and March. UNHCR and its partners had mounted a massive humanitarian operation in support of the Government to assist about 171,000 internally displaced persons who had fled the conflict zone.

Mr. Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said IOM was also ramping up its response to the crisis in the Vavuniya area. Public health specialists were being deployed as they spoke now in Vavuniya and around it. New tent shipments were coming in from China and Dubai to complement the temporary shelter assistance that IOM was providing. The needs of the internally displaced persons were enormous in terms of shelter, healthcare and water and sanitation. There were more details in the briefing notes.

Ms. Casella of the World Food Programme said WFP was currently feeding more than 190,000 people in internally displaced persons and welfare centres and villages in northern Sri Lanka. The vast majority, some 175,000 displaced persons, were located in Vavuniya and 11,000 were in Jaffna. Some 3,000 others were in hospitals in the area receiving food assistance. A shipment of more than 1,000 metric tons of food and non-food items was at this moment on its way to Jaffna. This will be enough to feed 100,000 persons for 20 days. Two smaller ships, each carrying 30 metric tons of food, had entered into the conflict area in the past two days, thanks to assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Responding to a question on how many civilians remained trapped in the conflict area, Mr. Spindler of the UN Refugee Agency said that the UN, based on satellite images, believed that between 50,000 to 80,000 persons remained trapped. But he stressed they were not present in the conflict area and these were just estimates.

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier, responding to another question, said John Holmes, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, had visited Sri Lanka for three days, culminating the visit with a press conference at Headquarters on 29 April in which he said that the United Nations had asked for an additional humanitarian pause, but the Government had not accepted it. The Government had agreed to the creation of a small technical mission, but it would not allow the minimum humanitarian pause that the Organization deemed essential to ensuring the safety of its personnel, Mr. Holmes said.

Human Rights Council: Universal Periodic Review, Brazil, Fact-Finding Mission to Gaza

Rolando Gomez of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the fifth session of the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review would be held in Geneva from 4 to 15 February during which the next group of 16 States would have their human rights records examined under this new mechanism. The fifth group of States to be reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review are (in order of review): the Central African Republic, Monaco, Belize, Chad, Congo, Malta, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Chile, Viet Nam, Uruguay, Yemen, Vanuatu, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Comoros and Slovakia. The background press release was already available. The meeting will take place in Room XX – The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations chamber - at the Palais des Nations, marking the first time the Universal Periodic Review Working Group is to meet in this new room.

Mr. Gomez said the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi of Nigeria, completed a five-day official visit to Brazil yesterday. In Brazil he met with President Lula and with Federal and State officials and with various representatives of civil society; he also visited a number of social projects. A press release was sent at the beginning of the week and it had more details.

Concerning the fact-finding mission to Gaza, the mission, which was established by the Special Session of the Human Rights Council in January, would convene in Geneva from 4 to 8 May to hold a wide range of discussions. The members of the fact-finding mission were Christine Chinkin, of the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London; Hina Jilani, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders and current advocate in the Supreme Court of Pakistan; and Retired Col. Desmond Travers of Ireland, who was a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations; and Justice Richard Goldstone of South Africa, who was the former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, who would lead the mission. The mission would meet with concerned countries in Geneva, civil society representatives and UN agencies. This was the first time they were meeting collectively, rather than in a virtual meeting. A press encounter would be held towards the end of next week. The mission planned to leave for the region from Geneva. He would provide journalists with more details as soon as he had them.

Responding to a question, Mr. Gomez mentioned that Justice Richard Goldstone had previously stated at his press conference in early April upon his appointment that he was hopeful the mission would be able to conduct its work freely based on the positive signals he had thus far received from the concerned parties.

Other

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said the Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission would hold its first session in Geneva from 4 to 8 May. The main theme of the Commission will be "creating an environment conducive to productive capacity-building". From 4 to 7 May, the World Investment Conference, which was organized by UNCTAD and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, would also be held in Geneva.
There would be presentations and discussions on the recently conducted investment policy reviews of the Dominican Republic and Nigeria on Tuesday, 5 May.

Ms. Sibut-Pinote said also on 5 May but in Bamako, Mali, a document on “Framing the National Trade Development Strategy of Mali” would be launched. A press release would be issued following the launch at a press conference in Bamako.

Janaina Borges of the World Trade Organization said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy would participate in the Second Regional Review on Aid for Trade – Latin America and the Caribbean, on 7 and 8 May in Jamaica. On 4 May, Mr. Lamy would be meeting with Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Trade in Geneva. A trade policy review for the Solomon Islands would be held from 6 to 8 May at WTO headquarters. There were also meetings of the Safeguards Committee, the Subsidies Committee and the Anti-Dumping Committee next week. More details were available in the notes.