REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Food Programme.
Geneva Activities
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Conference on Disarmament was holding a public plenary this morning starting 10 a.m.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was meeting in private this week, and on Friday, 28 August, it would issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Peru, the United Arab Emirates, Poland, China, Greece, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Chile, Chad, the Philippines and Ethiopia which it considered during the session.
Secretary-General’s Activities
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to travel on Thursday, 27 August to Austria. From Austria, he planned to go to Norway and Switzerland. In Austria, the Secretary-General would commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna International Centre and would meet with Vienna-based UN organizations and staff. He would deliver the keynote address at the Opening of the Political Symposium of the European Forum Alpbach. He would also meet with the Federal President and Foreign Minister of Austria and with the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein.
The Secretary-General would then go to Oslo, Norway for an official visit where he was scheduled to meet on 31 August with the Norwegian Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. From Oslo, the Secretary-General would travel to Svalbard, in the Arctic Ocean, to see firsthand the impact of climate change in the Arctic. Over the course of his two-day trip, he would visit polar research stations and the Global Seed Vault, get the latest updates on issues relating to the thinning ice and make his way to the Polar Ice Rim.
The Secretary-General's last stop would be Geneva, Switzerland, where he would participate on 3 September in the opening of the high-level segment of the World Meteorological Organization's Third World Climate Conference, which would be held at the International Geneva Conference Centre.
Influenza H1N1 and Lead Poisoning
Gregory Hartl of the World Health Organization, answering a question on when the briefings on Influenza H1N1 would resume, said they would resume as soon as possible. They did not have a specific date yet. It might be this week, but more probably, it would be next week.
Asked if the WHO website had any background information on lead poisoning and how common it was in various countries, in light of the related story in China, Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said she would need to check this. She was sure that WHO had information on lead poisoning, but specifically on the latest cases in China, no. She would get back to the journalist on this.
A journalist said there was a recent case in Chile confirming a human passing H1N1 to poultry. He asked if there had been other similar cases and if WHO or authorities were investigating them. Mr. Hartl said the first instance they had seen was in Turkey. H1N1 had been passed from humans from pigs, so it was not completely excluded that something like this would happen. It did happen from time to time. What was important was to be able to track the spread of it if it did indeed spread once it went back into animal populations. So far, there had been no indication in any of these instances that it spread beyond the initial herd.
World Climate Conference - 3
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said she would now give the floor to the World Meteorological Organization Spokesperson to provide more information about World Climate Conference - 3, which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would be attending on Thursday, 3 September.
Carine Van Maele of the World Meteorological Organization said World Climate Conference - 3 would take place from Monday, 31 August to Friday, 4 September at the International Geneva Conference Centre. On the first three days, there would be an expert segment, and then the high-level segment would be held on Thursday and Friday, 3 and 4 September. Fifteen Heads of State and Government would be attending the Conference, as well as around 1,500 participants from 150 countries, most of them at ministerial level. She wanted to underline that this Conference was mainly to bring together policy-makers and decision-makers with scientific experts to take practical steps to adapt to climate variability and change. The detailed programme of the expert segment would be available on the www.wmo.int/wcc3 website later today.
Ms. Van Maele said the WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud would hold an opening press conference at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, 31 August, and he would probably be joined by WMO President Alexander Bedritsky. It would be a 30 minute press conference. There would be daily briefings during the Conference at 12:15 p.m. A number of reports would be launched during the Conference, including the World Economic and Social Survey of the United Nations which would be launched on 1 September. To address the public’s increasing needs of information beyond existing weather bulletins to plan ahead and make decisions in light of climate change, weather presenters from all regions would meet at the World Climate Broadcasts Forum to be held at the World Climate Conference-3. Weather presenters from the European region would meet on 1 September, and then on 2 September, weather presenters from all over the world would meet. The World Wildlife Fund would launch the Artic Feedbacks Report.
The high-level segment would be opened at 9 a.m. on Thursday by the Minister of the Environment of the Swiss Confederation, since Switzerland was the host country. The Heads of State and Government would arrive, and then there would be a photo opportunity at 9:25. The high-level segment would open at 9:30 a.m. The preliminary timetable of the high-level segment was available.
Asked what time Secretary-General Ban would be talking and if he would give a press conference during the visit, Ms. Van Maele said that the Secretary-General would speak just after 9:30 a.m., after the opening statement by the Minister of the Environment of the Swiss Confederation.
A journalist asked how this Conference was linked to the Copenhagen process. In response, Lisa Munoz of the World Meteorological Organization said the Climate Change Convention had two chapters or approaches to adapt to climate change, mitigation and adaptation. WMO contributed to both approaches as it was Member States of WMO who were responsible for the national statements on carbon dioxide reduction and so on. The Conference was focused on adaptation to climate variability and change, and complimented the negotiations on mitigation and reduction of carbon dioxide. The outcome of the Conference would be presented to the Copenhagen process.
Asked if delegates from developing countries were coming on their own expense or if WMO was helping them, Ms. Munoz said that this Conference was entirely funded by extra-budgetary funds, to which several countries had contributed. The participation of least developed countries was facilitated through these funds.
Yemen
Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the insecurity in Yemen caused by fighting between Yemeni government forces and Al Houthi groups had made it difficult for the humanitarian community to access the affected population and obtain accurate information on numbers, locations and needs of the displaced population. Yemeni officials said that approximately 119,000 persons from Sa’ada Government in the northwest of Yemen were currently displaced. Humanitarian agencies estimated that their number may reach 150,000, including those displaced by fighting in the governorate of Amran. The fighting started at the beginning of August in Yemen. Humanitarian organizations had raised concerns regarding their access to populations in need, the protection of civilians and the security of humanitarian staff. The Government of Yemen had established the High-level Inter-Ministerial Relief Committee, led by the Minister of Health. There were a number of health concerns as many of the health facilities were non-functional and public health activities, including immunization, were not being provided to the population. The risk of disease outbreaks, such as measles, diarrhoeal and other communicable diseases, was high. Also the international displaced persons were at risk of heat strike and severe dehydration as they were living in Haradh valley without shelter and access to water. Sa’ada airport was open only to humanitarian aircrafts.
Ms. Byrs said the Central Emergency Response Fund had allocated a rapid response grant of $ 1.2 million on 14 August. The humanitarian community was preparing a Flash Appeal to help 150,000 internally displaced persons up to December 2009.
Andrej Mahecic of the UN Refugee Agency said the escalation of fighting between Al Houthi rebels and the government forces in northern Yemen over the past few days was worsening what was already a dire and complex humanitarian emergency. UNHCR was especially worried about the situation in Sa’ada city, the provincial capital of Sa’ada governorate. The UNHCR team in Sa’ada city reported that there was no water and no electricity in the city since 10 August. There was also a shortage of fuel and it was becoming increasingly dangerous and hard for the people to reach the market to get food. Registration had been suspended due to the security situation. In the neighbouring Hajjah governorate, UNHCR was continuing to register internally displaced people and distribute aid items including tents, plastic sheeting, blankets and jerry cans.
Mr. Mahecic said UNHCR was assisting the Yemeni Red Crescent and the provincial authorities in Hajjah governorate to set up a new camp near Hajjah. Yemeni authorities had informed UNHCR of their intention to open a new IDP camp in Amran governorate. UNHCR was preparing shipments of new aid for Yemen.
Miranda Eeles of the United Nations Children’s Fund said there was a statement yesterday from the Executive Director of UNICEF Ann Veneman, who appealed for gaining secure access to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to affecting populations in Yemen, saying children could not be the innocent victims of the conflict. As in most conflicts, children and women in Yemen were the most affected by the escalation of fighting and access to basic services like safe water, adequate sanitation, nutrition and proper health care were severely constrained. With 72 children out of 1,000 live births dying before their fifth birthdays, Yemen had one of the highest under-five mortality rates in the Middle East and North Africa region. Mal- nutrition rates were also high. The conflict was exacerbating an already difficult situation for children in Yemen.
Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme said access to the affected populations was a particular concern for WFP. It was planning to airlift this week, from Dubai, high-energy biscuits intended for the newly displaced. They would be airlifted to the capital of Yemen, but getting them to the affected people was still a concern. A distribution of a full ration to 10,000 displaced persons in Hajjah had now begun. WFP was continuing to explore the possibility of access by road to the displaced populations.
Kenya
Ms. Casella of WFP said she wanted to highlight a weather-related humanitarian emergency, in light of what her colleagues from the World Meteorological Organization were talking about earlier. WFP helped people to adapt very frequently to increasing numbers of humanitarian emergencies caused by severe weather. In this case in Kenya, it was drought. There had been a near total failure of the annual-long rains in many parts of Kenya. This meant that in many parts of the country, there had now been three or even four executive failed rains. This was causing a great problem. This morning, WFP had announced that it would have to increase its caseload for general food distribution from 2.6 million to 3.8 million persons in Keya due to this situation. The main maize harvest was projected to be 28 per cent less than the average. Food prices remained high, while the price of livestock had plummeted because pasture and water for livestock was dwindling rapidly. WFP would also expand its school meals programme by 100,000 to reach nearly 1.2 million children across the worse affected areas. Schools were closed now but WFP was still distributing the meals to children who otherwise might not be eating.