REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by spokespersons and representatives of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration.
Geneva Activities
Ms. Momal-Vanian began by announcing a series of press briefings being held at the Palais des Nations next Monday, 26 April. At 10:15 a.m., in Press Room 1, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would hold a press conference on “invisible victims: the plight of civilians in Colombia”, with the head of the ICRC delegation in Colombia, Christophe Beney. In Room III, at noon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Executive Director of the Spain-United States Chamber of Commerce would be on hand to discuss the winner of this year’s Empretec Women in Business Award 2010. And, at 2.30 pm in Press Room 1, UNOG Chief Librarian Pierre Le Loarer and Sigrun Habermann-Box, Chief of the Library’s Registry, Records and Archives Unit, would talk about the inscription of the Archives of the League of Nations in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
With regard to upcoming meetings, Ms. Momal-Vanian said that next week the Committee against Torture would open its forty-fourth session at Palais Wilson, which would run until 14 May. During its session, the Committee would examine the reports of France, Cameroon, Jordan, Switzerland, Syria, Liechtenstein and Austria, as well as the replies of Yemen to the provisional concluding observations issued by the Committee at its previous session. At the start of its session, which would be opened by the outgoing President Claudio Grossman of Chile, the Committee would elect a new Bureau. The consideration of reports would begin Tuesday morning, with France.
The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families would also open a one-week session at Palais Wilson on Monday, Ms. Momal-Vanian said. On Monday afternoon and the morning of Tuesday, 27 April, the Committee would examine the initial report of Algeria. At the beginning of its session, the Committee was also scheduled to elect a new Bureau. The outgoing President was Abdelhamid El Jamri of Egypt. Also at this session, the Committee would hold a first reading of a draft general comment on migrant domestic workers and discuss activities for the commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention.
Turning to the agenda of the Director-General, Ms. Momal-Vanian reported that UNOG Director-General and Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, would today meet with the three regional groups of the Conference on Disarmament to brief them on the Nuclear Security Summit, in Washington D.C., which he had participated in last week with the Secretary-General, and to underscore once again the urgent need for the international community to take certain measures to decisively advance the multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation agenda.
Statements of the Secretary-General
In connection with nuclear issues, Ms. Momal-Vanian drew attention to the statement by the Secretary-General on the occasion of the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster (26 April), which had been sent out this morning in English and Russian. In his message, the Secretary-General noted that one of the most important global lessons of the Chernobyl disaster was the importance of strengthening the safety and security of nuclear material and facilities. In that regard, he welcomed the renewed commitment of world leaders to that issue, at the Nuclear Security Summit meeting last week.
New Treaty Body on Pollution Registers Meets in Geneva
Jean Rodriguez of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said that this week, from 20 to 22 April, the governing body of the 2003 Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Register Transfers had held its first meeting at the Palais des Nations. The Protocol was attached to the Aarhus Convention but was independent from it, as it was open to States that were not members of the Aarhus Convention to join. UNECE Executive Secretary Jan Kubis, in opening the first meeting, had underscored the importance of the Protocol in establishing a new international benchmark for securing public access to information on threats posed to the environment by toxic emissions. There were currently 23 members to the Protocol, including the European Union, with Austria being the last country to ratify. A press release was available.
Jeremy Wates, Secretary to the Aarhus Convention and its Protocol, said the decisions taken by the parties to the Kiev Protocol were crucial ones, as they would establish the framework for activities under the Protocol for many years to come. In addition to routine business, including a programme of work for the next four to five years, some innovative decisions had been taken. In particular, the compliance mechanism put in place yesterday allowed for any member of the public, or a non-governmental organization, to trigger a review of compliance by the parties. The compliance mechanism, to be made up of independent experts, would act as a check to ensure that States parties’ were observing their commitments.
Asked if the complaint mechanism would work, Mr. Wates noted that the parent convention, the Aarhus Convention, had a similar one and, over the past five years some 49 communications had been submitted to it, bringing to light cases of non-compliance. So the mechanism did work. The Aarhus Convention sought to ensure the rights of the public to have access to environmental information, to participate in environmental decision-making and to seek access to justice in environment matters. The Kiev Protocol, was more targeted: it required its parties to establish national registers containing information on the releases or emissions and transfers of a wide range of pollutants from a similarly wide range of activities. There were 86 pollutants involved, including the main greenhouse gas emissions, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants, among others.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Award, 2010
Sanjay Acharya of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said the winners of the 2010 World Telecommunication and Information Society Award had been announced last night by the ITU Secretary-General at the closing session of the ITU Governing Council. The award had gone out to three eminent personalities who had contributed to the ongoing digital revolution: Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Tun Abudul Razak; Chairman and CEO of China Mobile, Wang Jianzhou; and Robert Khan, one of the early pioneers of and continuing contributors to the evolution of the Internet. This year, the award ceremony would be held in Shanghai, in conjunction with the World Expo, on 17 May. A press release was available.
World Intellectual Property Day
Samar Shamoon of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said Monday, 26 April, they would celebrate World Intellectual Property Day. The theme of this year’s celebrations was “linking the world”. A press release was available in the press room downstairs.
Also next week the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property would meet, from 26 to 30 April. Documents for the meeting were on the website (www.wipo.int). All were invited to an opening reception for the meeting on Monday, April 26 at 6 p.m. in the main building, where the Director-General would say a few words to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Convention establishing WIPO, to commemorate the tenth World IP Day, and to launch a new WIPO logo.
Stopping Preventable Diseases: Regional Immunization Weeks
Dan Epstein of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that tomorrow WHO was starting three regional immunization weeks, kicking off simultaneously in the Americas, in the Eastern Mediterranean and in Europe. The immunization weeks sought to immunize kids and parents; they promoted awareness of immunization; and they included several national and cross-border activities and launches with the objective of immunizing kids, preventing disease and saving lives. In Europe, there was concern about a stalling momentum in meeting the 2010 goal to eliminate measles and rubella. Many western European countries were below the recommended 95 per cent [vaccination level] and there were ongoing measles outbreaks in some of those countries. Measles cases had also been imported to the United States, Canada and the Americas from European countries. The European goal this year was to put together efforts in 44 countries. The European Union was also assisting WHO in the Americas on the border of French Guyana and Suriname, and between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where WHO had activities aimed at reaching the poor, those in the border areas, and in the slums.
In the Eastern Mediterranean there were 5,500 children every day that were not fully immunized, so there was a backlog of about 2 million children in 2009 that had not received the basic DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) vaccines. Mr. Epstein underscored that it was estimated that 25 per cent of deaths of children under five years old in this region were due to diseases that could have been prevented by a vaccine. There were also a large number of child deaths in that region due to pneumococcal disease and to diarrhoea caused by rotavirus, for both of which there were now vaccines. In the Americas, the United States National Infant Immunization Week and the Mexican National Infant Immunization Week were starting in a joint effort on the border between the two countries, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where they would be working along the border to reach kids under five as well as pregnant women, elderly people and isolated populations everywhere.
In terms of achievements in vaccinations, WHO was looking forward to celebrating the 35-year anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, Mr. Epstein observed. They were also on track, with some “stumbles” here and there, to polio eradication. In that connection, there was a campaign, also starting tomorrow, to stop a polio outbreak across west and central Africa, targeting 78 million children in 16 countries, as well as millions of children in India and Pakistan.
The other concern was a small polio outbreak in Tajikistan, which Mr. Epstein said underscored the importance of these immunization campaigns. They were investigating that outbreak and were currently waiting for confirmation from the Tajik health authorities that seven children had been paralysed by polio. That was significant, as it would be the first importation of polio into the European region, of which Tajikistan was a part, since Europe was certified as polio-free in 2002. Three campaigns were being planned in that border area already to address the situation.
With regard to the Tajikistan outbreak, Sonia Bari of the WHO Polio Eradication Initiative, said that three WHO technical experts had been sent to the country to assist and three more would be arriving on Sunday. Planning was already going on for three large-scale vaccination campaigns targeting 164,000 children under five. Surrounding countries were also being asked to step up their surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis, which was a sign of polio, and to look into their immunization rates in the surrounding areas to ensure children were adequately protected. WHO had already received $500,000 from Rotary International towards the costs of the campaign.
Responding to questions, Ms. Bari said that, with regard to the origins of the Tajikistan outbreak, genetic sequencing was ongoing right now. Before that was finished, they could not tell where it had come from. Routine immunization coverage in Tajikistan was around 87 per cent; but in all countries there were sub-pockets of children, including in remote rural areas, who were less well vaccinated than others. Geographically, Tajikistan was close to two polio-endemic countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan – but experience had shown that the virus could travel far and geographical proximity was not necessarily the determinant.
In terms of achieving eradication goals in view of these outbreaks, Ms. Bari said that there was a sense of optimism, in particular because in the endemic countries, where WHO had struggled long and hard, they were seeing signs that they had never seen before. Particularly in Nigeria, which had been the bane of polio eradication, immense progress had been made. Last year at this time Nigeria had 193 cases of polio, this year at the same time there were 2. There had also been incredible local ownership and management of the programme there, which had brought a sea change. Going by experience, if they stopped transmission in the endemic areas, then importations had no source. Ultimately, it was about progress in the endemic areas. Outbreaks could be stopped with high quality vaccination campaigns. As an example, Albania had suffered an importation in 1996, which had been stopped by a series of swift campaigns.
A disease outbreak news alert on the situation in Tajikistan was being issued this morning. Asked when polio eradication could be achieved, Ms. Bari said they were on track. They were closer than they had been before. In two polio-endemic states in India, for example, for the first time in history there had been no new cases of type one polio for the past four months. In the next few years, she was confident that there would be good news.
Providing complementary information on the vaccination campaign in Tajikistan, Christiane Berthiaume of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said UNICEF, in cooperation with the Tajik Government and its partners, would supply polio vaccine to immunize 1.1 million children aged five years and under in Tajikistan. There would be three rounds of polio immunization, at a total cost of $614,000 for the 3.3 million doses. The vaccine was currently in UNICEF’s Copenhagen warehouse and would be flown to Dushanbe on Monday, 26 April.
Assistance to Children in Pakistan and China
Ms. Berthiaume said that UNICEF was working to provide nutritional support for 6,000 newly displaced children in the North West Frontier Region of Pakistan who were suffering from severe malnutrition. UNICEF urgently needed $4.5 million to assist those children, as well as to deliver health services and supplies, including immunizations and anaemia prevention, for 54,000 children and women returnees in the Swat Valley, and water and sanitation services for 160,000 people in overcrowded camps for the displaced throughout the hot summer.
In China [following the recent earthquake], UNICEF would help the local authorities to establish “child friendly spaces” to provide a range of psychosocial support for affected children. Ms. Berthiaume said that UNICEF had dispatched 150 school tents to the earthquake zone, as well as blankets and warm clothing for the children, noting that it had snowed in the area this week and there had been violent winds.
Rise in Child Malnutrition in Somalia
Nicole Engelbrecht of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the rate of child malnutrition in Somalia had risen significantly, according to data collected by the Somali Red Crescent Society from clinics they ran and ICRC supported. According to that data, the rates of child malnutrition had more than doubled in some regions, especially in southern and central Somalia. ICRC had launched a new outpatient therapeutic feeding programme to address the problem and had also provided supplementary food to children in areas where it provided general populations and displaced persons with food, benefiting about 5,000 children. A press release was available at the back of the room.
Asked for rates of child malnutrition, Ms. Engelbrecht said it depended on the area. In some areas of central Somalia it was up to 30 per cent. But it was very difficult to have reliable data. These estimates were mainly based on the identification of cases at clinics ICRC supported. For example, in central and southern Somalia, the Somali Red Crescent had identified 115 cases in February, and in April the number of cases had gone up to 350. It was quite alarming. Although it was a recurring situation at this time of year – the peak of the dry season – it was going beyond what they had seen before. There was no food available in the markets; prices were extremely high; and goats and sheep had already perished and now the camels were getting weak.
Ms. Engelbrecht said that this trend appeared to be linked to the rise in food prices and the lack of availability of foodstuffs. In terms of measures taken, in March, ICRC had distributed and supplied two-months of food rations to 60,000 people in central Somalia and provided 4,800 children with supplementary food rations. They did not have an overall number of the children in need.
Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme (WFP) noted that WFP and ICRC worked in collaboration, but worked in different areas of the country. WFP and ICRC operational space in Somalia did not necessarily overlap.
United Nations Refugee Agency
Melissa Fleming of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced that yesterday the United Nations General Assembly had renewed Antonio Guterres’s mandate as High Commissioner for Refugees for another five years. A press breakfast with the High Commissioner would be arranged to go over some of the major issues and trends that he would be addressing in his second term.
Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ms. Fleming said UNHCR was alarmed at the large number of women that continued to be affected by sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the first three months of this year, United Nations data showed that 1,244 women had been sexually assaulted, which averaged out to almost 14 assaults per day. There had been similar numbers last year, so the situation was not getting any better. Moreover, it was feared that the real numbers could be much higher, as many survivors remained silent about their trauma. UNHCR was very disturbed by the lack of justice and prevailing impunity for sexual violence. Survivors should be helped to report incidents without fear of reprisals.
In many cases, women were raped when they ventured out of their villages or camps to collect firewood, water and other essentials, Ms. Fleming noted. UNHCR was trying to mitigate that exposure of women, by providing fuel-efficient stoves and firewood. In addition, UNHCR was providing legal services, counselling and medical assistance. There had been cases that had been tried and sentences handed down, but, unfortunately, that represented just a tiny fraction of what was needed as compared with the vast scale of the problem.
Asked about the potential impact of the request by Democratic Republic of the Congo President for United Nations peacekeepers to be withdrawn, Ms. Fleming said that there was both testimony from women that they felt safer when United Nations peacekeepers were around, as well as evidence that such incidents were reduced in areas where there was a United Nations peacekeeping presence.
Update on Displaced in Northern Yemen
More than two months after the ceasefire and a month after the officially declared end of the conflict in the north part of Yemen, Ms. Fleming said that an estimated 7,000 displaced Yemenis had now visited their home areas to assess destruction and damage to their farms and other properties. However, UNHCR estimated that only a quarter of those people would decide to stay on in those towns and villages, owing to continuing concerns about security, including ongoing fighting, the presence of landmines and a prevailing lack of basic services and shelter. A further concern was that there was a huge gap in funding for assistance to those displaced in Yemen.
Haiti
Ms. Momal-Vanian drew attention to a press conference given yesterday in Port-au-Prince by Edmond Mulet, the Chief of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). A summary on the Mission website set out clearly the priorities for the Mission in the upcoming months.
Also of interest was the launching yesterday in New York of a new online portal to promote the efficient use of the more than $9 billion in aid pledged to Haiti, at the donors’ conference on 31 March. The initiative was part of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) support to the Haitian Government and partners to address the challenges linked to the management of external aid. UNDP said that the portal would help hold donors to their promises and ensure transparency and accountability of the use of their funds.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that one of IOM’s priorities in Haiti before the onset of the rainy season was the clearing of drainage canals in Port-au-Prince. There were some 875 temporary shelter camps in Port-au-Prince, which were vulnerable to flooding. The good news was that IOM had now cleared five kilometres of priority canals in the heart of Port-au-Prince, significantly reducing the risk of flooding in the Cite Soleil, Delmas and Petionville areas. A press release was available.