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 attended by spokespersons for and representatives of the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Meteorological Organization and the International Organization for Migration.

Secretary-General in Trieste

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was today in Trieste, Italy where he was attending a meeting of the Middle East Quartet. Following the Quartet meeting, he would read out a communiqué at a press conference, as per usual practice. The text of the communiqué would be sent to journalists as soon as it was available.

Also in Trieste today, the Secretary-General would meet with members of the League of Arab States’ follow-up committee on the Arab Peace Initiative. He would also attend a meeting of the G-8 Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan. That gathering would look at the situation in Afghanistan from a regional perspective. It would touch on themes such as cooperation in border management and countering illicit drug trafficking.

The Secretary-General would return to New York this weekend.

Director-General in Kazakhstan

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said on 1 and 2 July, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, would represent the Secretary-General at the Third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, Kazakhstan, where he would deliver the Secretary-General's message for the event at the opening session. The Congress was being hosted by the President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, and would bring together spiritual leaders from a large number of countries and different faiths to discuss the role of religious leaders in building a world based on tolerance, mutual respect and cooperation.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Conference on Disarmament this morning was holding a public plenary. It was meeting for the last time under the Presidency of Argentina, and then Australia would take over as President. The Conference was continuing the discussion on two draft decisions presented by Ambassador Roberto Gacia Moritan of Argentina, President of the Conference on Disarmament, namely a draft decision on the appointment of chairs and special coordinators and a draft schedule of activities for the Conference on Disarmament, the working groups and the special coordinators, up to the end of the 2009 session. A press release would be issued as soon as the meeting concluded. This came following the adoption of the programme of work of the Conference on 29 May.

The second part of the 2009 session of the Council would be concluding on Friday, 3 July. The third and last part of the 2009 session would be held from 3 August to 18 September.

Ms. Ponomarev-Piquier said the sixth round of the Geneva International Discussions on Georgia would take place at the International Labour Organization Headquarters in Geneva on Wednesday, 1 July 2009. After the meeting, a series of press conferences would take place in the Palais des Nations, in Room III. At 4:30 p.m., the three Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions: Pierre Morel, Special Representative of the European Union; Johan Verbeke, Special Representative of the Secretary-General; and Charalampos Christopoulos, Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office would speak with journalists. This press conference would be followed by another by Georgia at 5:10 p.m. and then by the Russian Federation on 5:40 p.m.

Question

A journalist asked about an official complaint by a senior official from a UN agency through the Director-General’s office to the Office of Internal Oversight concerning a smear campaign against an Ambassador accredited to Geneva who was Head of a major international agency based in Geneva. The letter was submitted on 4 June. What was the status, and was the person, who worked at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and was being investigated, suspended or was he still working.

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said she would have to check on this.

Responding to a question on whether a briefing could be organized today by someone from the office of the Director-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said she would have to see if that could be arranged.

Third Session of Negotiating Body on Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products

Ms. Chaib of the World Health Organization said the third session of the intergovernmental negotiating body on a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products would be held from 28 June to 5 July at the International Geneva Conference Centre.

Vijay Trivedi of the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control said the intergovernmental negotiating body was the product of the first health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO. It was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2003 and came into force in 2005. The treaty negotiations provided for instruments for implementation of the treaty. This was the first protocol that was being negotiated under this particular treaty on illicit trade and tobacco products. Apart from this, four guidelines have also been adopted for operationalization of the treaty. The first two sessions of the intergovernmental negotiating body took place last year. Between the second and third sessions, the secretariat was mandated to carry out some intersessional work, including elaboration of expert papers on some of the important topics that were discussed during the second session, including provision for a track and trace mechanism for international tracking and tracing of illicit trade in tobacco products; the possibility of banning trade through Internet sales; and also the issue of duty free sales. Apart from that, the parties also requested legal opinion on the scope of the protocol and the relationship that this protocol would have with some of the other international legal instruments including the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. These information documents, and the revised Chairperson’s text, which was available at the back of the room and was the main negotiating document for the third session of the intergovernmental negotiating body, would be before the third session.

Influenza A H1N1

Ms. Chaib of WHO said she had been checking on the possibility of holding a briefing on a vaccine for Influenza A H1N1 but that would not be possible because there was a meeting that would be held in Geneva on 7 July of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE Committee) to discuss what was known about the vaccine. The one-day meeting would be held at the International Geneva Conference Centre, and at the end of the day, they would try to arrange a press briefing. Therefore, it was a bit premature to hold a briefing now.

Ms. Chaib said as soon as the latest update on figures of victims of Influenza A H1N1 were available today, she would send them to journalists by email.

Pakistan

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the focus of humanitarian activities in Pakistan continued to be the needs of the displaced persons living in camps, schools and with host communities. The influx of large numbers of internally displaced persons in certain camps had created the need for suitable land to establish new camps as well as a corresponding need to decongest some existing sites. The crowded camps affected the living conditions of the internally displaced persons. The completion of timely and adequate “summarization” or shading tents against the heat was also proving to be a challenge due to the intense summer heat and the large number of internally displaced persons. The Appeal for Pakistan was only funded by 36 per cent and they urgently needed more funding. There were more details in the briefing notes.

William Spindler of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR staff in north-west Pakistan were reporting that displaced people were visiting their areas of origin on a ‘go and see’ basis, to harvest crops, check on livestock and generally assess the possibility of
returning home. There were local media reports of widespread returns of internally displaced persons to their areas of origin but UNHCR staff said there was no
discernible large scale movement out of the camps. UNHCR and other agencies were working with the government to develop a return framework to ensure it was voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable. As part of this process, UNHCR this week conducted a rapid survey among 4,200 displaced families in Yar Hussain camp in Swabi District. The
families were primarily from Buner district. While the data was still being analysed, initial findings suggested most people wanted to return home but were concerned about security conditions. They cited ‘improvements in security conditions’ and ‘restored peace’ as preconditions to their return. Meanwhile, an average of 1,800 people (or 300 families) per day continued to arrive at Jalozai camp, Nowshera district, which was being expanded as other camps in the North West Frontier Province were full. There was more information in the briefing notes.

Paul Garwood of the World Health Organization said WHO was sending a high-level mission to Pakistan during the next week. It would be led by the Assistant Director-General for health action crises. One of the major aims of the mission would be to respond to the increased need for additional funding resources for the health sector in Pakistan.

Somalia

Ms. Byrs of OCHA said the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated $ 4.2 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to alleviate overcrowding and provide humanitarian relief and services in Somalia refugee camps in Kenya. The three camps in Dadaab in eastern Kenya were hosting 270,000 Somali refugees, three times the number they were intended to hold.

Mr. Spindler of UNHCR said UNHCR was gravely concerned about spiralling violence and the worsening displacement crisis in Somalia. Ongoing fighting between government
forces and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam, which erupted on 7 May in several north-west areas of Somali capital Mogadishu, was leaving a trail of civilian casualties, destruction and renewed displacement. According to records of local Somali hospitals, more than 250 civilians had been killed and at least 900 wounded since last month. UNHCR estimated that since the start of the fighting in May more than 160,000 people had been forced to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere within Somalia or in neighboring countries. Between 19 June and 22 June alone, an estimated 26,000 were displaced from Mogadishu due to heavy fighting. The deteriorating security situation had sharply reduced deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian aid to the displaced in and around Mogadishu. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Kenya, the number of refugee arrivals continued to rise. Since the beginning of the year, some 38,000 new
refugees arrived in Kenya, virtually all of them Somalis. Sheltering more than
280,000 people, Dadaab was the largest refugee complex in the world.

Anna Schaaf of the International Committee of the Red Cross said ICRC was very concerned about the humanitarian consequences of the heavy fighting in Mogadishu over the past six weeks. ICRC supported the two main hospitals in Mogadishu. Since 7 May, they had received more than 1,500 wounded persons, which was far more than the usual capacity. ICRC had been providing more medical supplies for that. ICRC was also working closely together with the Somali Red Crescent Society on the ground and this week had been able to distribute the most urgently needed items such as blankets, tarpaulins, kitchen sets and clothes to 60,000 persons on the outskirts of Mogadishu who had recently fled their homes. It was estimated that there was now 500,000 persons just on the outskirts of Mogadishu. The situation was very worrying.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said in Kenya, new funding from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund would help IOM provide emergency relocation assistance to 12,700 Somali refugees who were currently sheltered in overcrowded camps in Kenya’s north-eastern region of Dadaab.

Other

Catherine Sibut-Pinot of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said today a press release would be issued on a study on the steel and iron market. On Monday, 29 June they would publish the latest trends on international regulation of investment. On Tuesday, 30 June, the Trade and Development Board would hold its forty-seventh executive session, focusing on Africa. There was a document on food security in Africa which was available, as this issue would be discussed by the Trade and Development Board. A media alert would also be sent out.

Lisa Munoz of the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday, 30 June, there would be a press conference in Room III of the Palais held by the WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud; the Director of MétéoSuisse, Daniel Keuerleber-Burk; and the Head of the World Climate Conference 3 High-level Sub-committee, Jose Romero. They would be briefing on progress for the World Climate Conference 3 which would be held from 31 August to 4 September at the International Geneva Conference Centre. They would also discuss efforts to create a global framework for climate services. Invitations were available at the back of the room.

Mr. Chauzy of IOM said IOM has to date resettled 50,000 Myanmar refugees since 2004 in the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries. The Myanmar refugees were resettled from remote camps on the Thai-Myanmar border. In Colombia, there was a newly-created Welcome Home Referral and Opportunity Centre for Returnees in the capital Bogota, to help Colombian migrants returning to their country in a highly vulnerable situation.