REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was attended by Spokespersons for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Labour Office, the World Health Organization and the UN Secretariat for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.


Haiti

Ms. Momal-Vanian said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday said that the overall picture of the situation in Haiti remained still sketchy and the facts, as far as was known, were grim. On the overall casualty figures, there were varying estimates and he believed that it would take many days before they could make even an educated guess as to the death toll. He feared it could be very high. Clearly, this was a major humanitarian disaster. For MINUSTAH, the provisional figures for casualties as of yesterday were four policemen, 19 soldiers and 13 civilians dead. Between 150 and 160 persons remained missing. Seven survivors and 13 bodies had already been removed from the UN headquarters building, the Christopher Hotel. An eight survivor, an Estonian staffer, had been rescued from the rubble of the Hotel yesterday. The Secretary-General said the large scale of the international response to the disaster was most heartening. Rescue teams had reached the capital and the Secretary-General said the first 72 hours of the operation to save victims were critical.

The Secretary-General said the priority remained emergency search and rescue. People remained alive under the rubble, and they must save as many lives as they could. The needs were huge. The needs were immediate: above all medical supplies, food, water, tents, shovels and heavy equipment. He said he had spoken with Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States and had requested the United States Government to provide helicopters and engineers and medical supplies and medical items, as much as they could provide. The UN would also ask for transport helicopters and other critical assets from many other international partners.

There had been a number of other update briefings on the latest developments in Haiti yesterday in New York, Ms. Momal-Vanian said. A flash appeal would be launched today in New York for Haiti.

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said regarding coordination and logistics, according to the preliminary reports of its 13-person UN Disaster and Coordination (UNDAC) team in Port-au-Prince and one expert in the Dominican Republic, they had set up an operations centre in MINUSTAH’s logistics base, which was next to the airport. They had set up at the airport a reception unit for the aid which was arriving. The Government of Haiti had also set up an operations centre, in constant liaison with the UNDAC team in the MINUSTAH base. There were more details in the notes. Every morning at 7 a.m., there was a general briefing with the Interior Minister in the centre with the United Nations. UNDAC and the Iceland and US Search-and-Rescue teams had set up a reception centre at the airport to assist with coordinating the many incoming teams and humanitarian aid.
Two air bridges were being set up between the Dominican Republic and Port-au-Prince. One by the humanitarian organizations and the second, a shuttle, by the peacekeeping force.

Ms. Byrs said according to the provisional estimates of the UNDAC team, 10 per cent of the buildings in Port-au-Prince had been destroyed, leaving around 300,000 persons without shelter. A helicopter survey carried out by MINUSTAH estimated that in certain areas of the capital, destruction affected 50 per cent of the buildings. Full damage assessments would take days to complete in Port-au-Prince and in other affected urban areas such as Jacmel and Carrefour. The population of Port-au-Prince was estimated to be around 2.8 million, with 3.5 million living in areas affected by strong shaking from the earthquake. The first priority for the humanitarian response was urgent search-and-rescue assistance, including teams with vital heavy-lifting equipment, and medical assistance and supplies. There were 17 rescue teams already on the ground and six others on the way. The number of mobile hospitals on their way coming in was sufficient and they did not need more for the moment. This was to ensure that the airport was not overwhelmed, and could change in a few days. But there was a need for doctors, surgeons, medical teams, nurses and medicines. For the Government, they considered shelter for the people living on the streets as a priority. There were plans to use the football stadium as a shelter. There was a problem with removing the bodies of the victims on the streets. The morgues were completely full. Many of the roads of Port-au-Prince were completely destroyed, and there was a problem driving around the capital and reaching all the different parts. Lack of fuel and lack of support for off-loading relief goods were major constraints. The port was not operational. The Central Emergency Revolving Fund had already allocated $ 10 million and was in the process of allocating another additional $ 20 million.

Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme said people were unable to cook in Port-au-Prince, so what they needed right now was ready to eat food. WFP was aiming to reach initially 2 million people affected by the earthquake with an emergency operation that would start by calling for 14 million daily humanitarian rations, which would be enough to feed 2 million people for about 30 days. WFP had established a logistics hub in the Dominican Republic. WFP was a logistics cluster lead. In the WFP emergency appeal, which would be going out later today, the majority would be for food assistance for an expected six months. The emergency operation would include the logistics portion, getting the port functioning, and also the air operation. WFP was now acquiring two helicopters to send immediately to Haiti. So far, WFP had received about $ 20 million in donations, the majority coming from the United States. There were additional pledges coming in. The private sector had already provided $ 2 million. There was a huge flow of individuals who were donating through the WFP website and that was heartening. Yesterday, a distribution by WFP and the International Organization of Migration took place and food and non-food items were provided to about 4,000 survivors who had gathered in the Prime Minister’s compound. Today, WFP and IOM would continue to carry out distributions. Partner non-governmental organizations in Port-au-Prince had reported that some warehouses had been looted, but they had no confirmation or details. In an emergency, looting was not unusual. [Following the briefing, WFP received word that their food stocks were still in the warehouses and had not been looted]. WFP were trying to get new food stocks in the locations where they needed them, and they would have to re-stock, but it was also important to stock with food which was appropriate for this kind of emergency. The people could not cook, and they needed ready to eat meals. WFP was discussing with its partners the possibility of setting up collective kitchens.

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said one of the principal concerns of UNICEF and its partners was identifying and reuniting children who had been separated from their parents, and finding extended families of those who had become orphans. This was essential for the protection of children. There were no figures available yet. Almost 50 per cent of the population of Haiti was below the age of 18, and a disaster like this made the children very vulnerable. There were Haitian children on the streets of Port-au-Prince who were hungry, thirsty, afraid and traumatized. UNICEF and its partners were trying to register children who were on the own, look for their families, and help them as soon as possible. They were mobilizing all their resources and cargo planes were being sent from a number of places around the world to bring water purification tablets, latrines, shelter materials, covers and hygiene kits. Their teams were working non-stop. Available at the back of the room was an appeal by UNICEF goodwill ambassador Mia Farrow to help Haiti’s children.

Paul Garwood of the World Health Organization said WHO had carried out an initial assessment of the health needs. It was not a surprise that they were seeing that the immediate health concern now was the trauma wounds and the crash fractures, requiring urgent assistance. The major displacement of people was a threat and risk for health, especially without access to proper medical care. There had been reported cases of rape in the community, so there was a need to implement clinical guidelines to manage these raps. The need to ensure the delivery of emergency obstetrics care was crucial. Then of course there was mental health and it was an area of concern. In terms of coordination, it was a critical issue for WHO, which was a health-cluster lead, and it was receiving strong support from all the health cluster members. In terms of dead bodies, the scale of this disaster had over whelmed all capacities, particularly in terms of body bags, so there was an urgent need for more body bags to handle these bodies.

Andrew Maskrey of the International Strategy of Disaster Reduction said ISDR had one staff member on the ground who had been working with President Clinton for several months now, but most of the information he would give now was from ISDR partners, scientific and technical organizations in the Caribbean region. The initial assessment of the earthquake showed that they were talking about an earthquake which probably had a recurrence period of several hundred years. This kind of earthquake was extremely challenging even when occurring in developed contexts, let alone in Haiti. There had been different figures on the number of buildings which had collapsed. From their scientific partners, an analysis of satellite images indicated approximately 30 per cent of buildings affected in Port-au-Prince, and probably a larger percentage to the southwest. The main cause of building collapse was extremely poor construction standards.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said there would be a second distribution of food and non-food items today in Port-au-Prince for about 8,000 people. Yesterday, there was a successful distribution of food and non-food items for about 4,000 people. The assistance they were providing was from a stock that they had since 2009 of non-food items. They had enough to help 10,000 families, but obviously there was an urgent need to replenish and to increase the stock. There was a movement of people towards the Dominican Republic. IOM had an office in the Dominican Republic and there had been a 10 per cent increase in the number of Haitians trying to cross the border. It was still a trickle. At other borders, there was no evidence of increased movement for the time being. There were more details in the briefing notes.

Marie-Francoise Borel of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said there were two IFRC planes carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance landing this afternoon in Port-au-Prince, if they were not re-routed to Santo Domingo. The first one was carrying the Norwegian Red Cross field hospital, that was 10 metric tones, and the second was carrying tarpaulins, blankets and kitchen sets, which was 12 metric tones and sent by the Spanish Government.

Marcel Izard of the International Committee of the Red Cross said ICRC teams were able yesterday to go around Port-au-Prince and found five hospitals which were still working at a reduced capacity. ICRC had been able to give them some medicine but it was obviously not enough. The ICRC cargo plane which left yesterday Geneva time was still in the air. ICRC had also been able to visit the main prison in Port-au-Prince. The prison had broken down and all the 4,000 inmates had left. There were a few dead, but most had left the prison. As for the family relations website that ICRC established two days ago, there were already 13,000 names on the website. Among them were several hundred Haitians in Haiti informing their families outside that they were in good health.

Corinne Perthuis of the International Labour Office said ILO had two programmes in Haiti. ILO, since the first moment, received calls from its partners wanting to donate money to Haiti. ILO had decided to receive this money and channel it to workers in the textile workers as one of the programmes dealt with this sector.

Andrej Mahecic of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR welcomed the decision by the Governments of the Dominican Republic, the United States and Canada to temporarily halt returns of Haitians following the devastating earthquake. UNHCR would like to encourage other States to follow this positive example.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said the Conference on Disarmament would be opening the first part of its 2010 session next week, and the first public plenary would be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 19 January. The Director-General of UNOG, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, who was also the Secretary-General of the Conference, would address the Conference. The background press release was available in the press room.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women would open its forty-fifth session next week, scheduled to run from 18 January to 5 February, during which it would consider the reports of Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Malawi, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Egypt, Botswana and Panama on how those countries were implementing their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The background press release was available in the press room.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child was continuing its session. Today, the Committee was meeting in private, and next week, it would take up the reports of Tajikistan, Ecuador, Israel, El Salvador, Norway and Liechtenstein.

Ms. Momal-Vanian said the State of the World's Indigenous Peoples report was sent out to journalists yesterday. It was a thorough assessment of how indigenous peoples were faring in areas such as health, poverty, education and human rights. It revealed alarming statistics underscoring that indigenous peoples all over the world continued to experience disproportionately high rates of poverty, health problems, crime and human rights abuses.

Director-General’s Activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian said the Director-General of UNOG, Mr. Ordzhonikidze, was right now delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the General Assembly of Green Cross International, which would also be addressed by Mikhail Gorbachev, Founding President of Green Cross International, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, Chairman of Green Cross France. In his remarks, the Director-General would touch in particular on the Copenhagen Climate Conference, the linkages between climate change and other areas such as sustainable development, and peace and security, as well as the upcoming Millennium Development Goals Summit.

Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights on Uganda, the Death Penalty

Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today urged the Ugandan Government to shelve a “draconian” draft bill on homosexuality that was due to be put before the Ugandan parliament later in January, saying it would bring the country into a direct collision with established international human rights standards aimed at preventing discrimination. Ms. Pillay welcomed recent statements by the President and other senior members of the Government, suggesting it might intervene to stop the private member’s bill from becoming law. The so-called ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill,’ tabled by one member of parliament but believed to be supported by a number of others, prohibits any form of sexual relations between people of the same sex, as well as the promotion or recognition of homosexual relations as a healthy or acceptable lifestyle in public institutions. “The bill proposes draconian punishments for people alleged to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered – namely life imprisonment or, in some cases, the death penalty,” Ms. Pillay said. “It is extraordinary to find legislation like this being proposed more than 60 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – as well as many subsequent international laws and standards – which made it clear this type of discrimination is unacceptable.” The draft bill also included a provision that could lead to a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone who failed to report within 24 hours the identities of any lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered individual they knew – including members of their own family – or who overtly supported the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people. The High Commissioner said the bill clearly breached international human rights standards, as it was “blatantly discriminatory,” adding that, if passed, the bill would have “a tremendously negative impact on the enjoyment of a range of fundamental human rights by homosexuals, lesbians and transgendered individuals, as well as on parents, teachers, landlords, human rights defenders, medical professionals and HIV workers.” The High Commissioner said she was “encouraged” by the fact that a number of Ugandan civil society organizations were actively opposing the bill, and by the recent statement by President Museveni, reported in the Ugandan press, which appeared to suggest the Government would intervene to prevent the draft bill from becoming law. “This is the only responsible course of action for a government to take in such circumstances,” she said. She also urged the Government, once it has dealt with the current bill, to begin the process of repealing existing Ugandan laws that criminalize homosexuality, albeit with less severe punishments. “To criminalize people on the basis of colour or gender is now unthinkable in most countries,” Ms. Pillay said. “The same should apply to an individual's sexual orientation. International human rights standards strongly suggest that the State should not dictate the nature of private consensual relations between adults.”

On the death penalty, Mr. Colville said that there was good news and bad news. On the good news, the High Commissioner today warmly welcomed Thursday's announcement by Mongolia's President Tsakhia Elbegdorj of a formal moratorium on the death penalty. Mongolia announced that it would formally institute a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and replace it with a 30-year prison sentence. People currently on death row would have their sentences commuted accordingly. The President said Mongolia would aim for total abolition and called on legislators to take steps to this end.

On the bad news, Mr. Colville said Sudan had yesterday executed six Sudanese accused of murdering 13 policemen during clashes over a forced eviction in Khartoum in May 2001. The six men were sentenced to death in November 2006. A stay of execution was granted by the Supreme Court of Sudan in early December last year, but it expired on 6 January. OHCHR strongly condemned these latest executions in Sudan and reiterated that under international law, the application of the death penalty could only take place in a very strictly defined set of circumstances. One of these was that the sentence of death could only be issued after a trial in which the minimum fair trials standards were respected. Following their conviction and sentencing the Government’s attention was drawn to various reports that the men had been detained without access to legal counsel for five months following their arrest, and that they confessed to murder under torture. Hours before the execution took place, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the United Nations Mission in Sudan sent an urgent letter to the Government requesting that no execution take place. Regrettably this appeal was ignored. The latest executions highlight the growing number of executions that have taken place in Sudan in recent times, many of which were carried out after trials which failed to conform to by international fair trial standards.

Other

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development said a number of interesting briefings would be held next week. On 19 January, there would be a briefing on the 2009 figures for foreign investment at 11:30 a.m., following the regular briefing in Room III. On 20 January, at 11 a.m., there would be a press conference on the launch of the World Economic Situation and Prospects report, which was published by UN DESA and which UNCTAD had contributed to. And on 21 January, there would be a press conference at 2:30 p.m. on commerce and biodiversity. Journalists had received a press kit this morning on the subject and the seminar on “Redefining Sustainability in the International Agenda: Inspiring Greater Engagement in Biodiversity Issues” which would be held on 20 and 21 January.

Andrej Mahecic of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR had begun registration of 100,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in northern Republic of Congo. These refugees fled ethnic conflict in the Equateur province in November last year.