REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and Public Relations Sections of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for and representatives of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the International Trade Center, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children's Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization.

Raid on Gaza Aid Flotilla

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, had expressed his shock yesterday at the deadly military interception on boats loaded with relief supplies headed for Gaza, calling on Israel to fully explain its actions.

“I condemn this violence”, Mr. Ban has said from Kampala, Uganda, where he was presiding over the first review conference of the International Criminal Court, said Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier. “It is vital that there is a full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place,” he has said, adding “I believe Israel must urgently provide a full explanation.”

The full declaration of the Secretary-General has been sent out yesterday and Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, has also issued a press release on the same subject yesterday, said Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier.

Matthias Burchard, Head, Representative Office of Geneva and Liaison Office Brussels,
United Nations Relief and Works Agency said that the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, had also stated during his press conference in Kampala, Uganda, that he had instructed his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Commissioner-General, Filippo Grandi, to actively engage on the ground in urging restraint and ensuring that no further harm was done and to coordinate with all relevant parties.

Over the last 24 hours, both had been actively engaged with all parties on the ground to try to calm the situation and called for restraint, said Mr. Burchard. They had also issued a joint statement yesterday in which they had expressed their shock by the reports of killings and injuries of people onboard boats carrying supplies for Gaza, apparently in international waters. They also condemned the violence and called for it to stop and said that they were in contact with the Israeli authorities to express their deep concern and to seek a full explanation.

Mr. Burchard said that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was profoundly shocked by these events and that it was extending its condolescenses to the families of those that were killed and wished a speedy recovery to all those who had been injured.

Turning to the general situation in Gaza, Mr. Burchard said that the situation had not improved at all since Operation Cast Lead in 2009. Last week, the amount of goods that had been able to enter Gaza had been only 19 per cent of the average numbers of truckloads entering each week to Gaza in June 2007.

It was important to keep in mind that it was not an issue of arguing whether this was a humanitarian crisis or not, said Mr. Burchard. Some were stating that there was no such crisis, but there was ample evidence pointing towards it stemming from several evaluations, visits from delegations and United Nations reports on the situation in Gaza.

Answering to a journalist’s asking for a breakdown of the trucks that had been able to enter Gaza lately, Mr. Burchard said that it would be misleading to look at trucks independently. Last week, two truckloads of cement had been allowed to enter Gaza to finish United Nations housing projects, which had been frozen since 2007. But this represented about 25 tons of cement coming in, while the need was for 1 million tons. Further, shoes and clothes did not enter Gaza last week but 540 trucks carrying food, hygiene and agriculture products had been able to enter. However, the overall fact was that access to Gaza was severely restricted and only confined to basic humanitarian goods.

Answering another question on what were the reasons that were being given by Israeli authorities for not letting basic essentials into Gaza, Mr. Burchard answered that the Israeli authorities never ever gave any reason for not letting trucks enter into Gaza.

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, had also issued a statement on this event. The statement was available in the press room.

Claire Kaplun of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the Human Rights Council had decided this morning to hold this afternoon an urgent debate on the raid. The outcome of the debate would probably be a resolution. A draft resolution has been tabled this morning by Pakistan, on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Sudan, on behalf of the Arab Group and by Palestine.

Paul Garwood of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that WHO renewed its calls for greater access to Gaza for necessary medical supplies, medicines, spare parts and particularly staff needed for training health professionals in Gaza, as well as repairing faulty equipment.

There were currently hundreds of items of equipment that have been waiting to get into Gaza for up to a year now, procured either by WHO or other partner organizations, said Mr. Garwood. These items included X-rays, CT Scanners, laboratory equipment and other support items for basic elements, such as elevators for hospitals. It was impossible to maintain a safe and effective healthcare system under the conditions of siege that had been in place now since June 2007.

It was not only enough to insure that supplies, such as drugs and consumables, were able to enter the Gaza Strip. Medical equipment and spare parts had to be available and be properly maintained, said Mr. Garwood. Several medical professionals were also unable to leave the Strip because they did not get the permissions to undertake training outside of Gaza.

Continuing disruptions to power, water and sanitation services were further greatly impacting on the delivery of healthcare and consequent health conditions of Gazans, added Mr. Garwood.

Committee on the Rights of the Child

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that the Committee on the Rights of the Child had considered the report of Grenada yesterday. The consideration of the report of Guatemala, which had also been planned for yesterday, has been cancelled because the delegation had been unable to travel to Geneva due to air traffic disruptions caused by volcano eruptions in Latin America. The consideration of the report of Guatemala would be considered at an upcoming session of the Committee.

Tomorrow, the Committee would consider the reports of Argentina and Belgium and those of Colombia and Tunisia on Friday, said Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier.

Conference on Disarmament

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that the Conference on Disarmament had opened the second part of its 2010 Session and would meet in plenary at 10 a.m. this Thursday.

World Environmental Day

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said that World Environmental Day 2010 would be celebrated this Saturday, 5 June from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Ariana Park of the Palais des Nations, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Place des Nations and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The programme would include educational activities for children, guided tours in Ariana Park, an organic market, information stands, round tables, musical performances and much, much more, said Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier.

Julie Marks of the United Nations Environment Programme said that they would be issuing a series of media announcements in the lead-up to World Environment Day. They were also issuing two reports this week: one on environmental impact assessment of consumption by the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management and another one which makes the case for repairing damaged and degraded ecosystems.

On Thursday in Baku, Azerbaijan, one of the three city hubs for World Environment Day 2010 in Europe, the United Nations Environment Programme would announce the commitment together with the Government of Azerbaijan for the billion tree campaign. On Saturday in Genua, Italy, United Nations Environment Programme would announce together with the City Council of Genua a commitment for the city to become climate neutral.

Gaelle Sevenier of the World Meteorological Organization said that they would also participate in the days’ event with a roundtable with several scientists on climate change, volcanoes and daily weather forecasts in the Ariana Park from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Impact of Economic Crisis on Least Developed Countries

Natalie Domeisen of the International Trade Center (ITC) said that they were continuously monitoring the impact of the economic crisis on Least Developed Countries. Today they had issued a new report on the terms of trade for Least Developed Countries with developed countries and emerging economies.

Willem van der Geest, Lead Economist, International Trade Center said that through the monitoring of the impact financial crisis on the Least Developed Countries they had observed that this group of countries had lost 43 per cent of their export earnings, when comparing the boom period of 2008 to the bust period of 2009.

The factsheet they were issuing today looked at exports and imports, in order to understand the trade performance of the 49 Least Developed Countries during the crisis. They had particularly sought to identify whether this loss of earnings was in any sense compensated by lower prices for goods they were importing, said Mr. van der Geest.

The factsheet showed that during 2009, Least Developed Countries’ terms of trade had showed average declines ranging from minus 17 per cent to minus 36 per cent, compared to 2006, said Mr. van der Geest. While trade flows with the emerging economies, such as China, had proved more resilient than with developed economies, the Least Developed Countries terms of trade had deteriorated significantly with all partners.

While in 2007 and the first half of 2008, Least Developed Countries had made some considerable gains, these had been completely eroded during 2009, said Mr. van der Geest. Overall, the terms of trade had regressed to levels of 2004. The overall picture for Least Developed Countries remained that they were growing and exporting more but were nevertheless lowering their export-earnings.

The export-levels which might be reached by Least Developed Countries in coming years might not afford these countries to buy the same level of imports, said Mr. van der Geest.

UNHCR Funding Gap for Afghan Refugees in Iran

Andrej Mahecic of the United Nations Refugee Agency said that UNHCR was calling for US$ 18 million to meet an anticipated shortfall this year in its requested funding for Afghan refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

UNHCR, whose programmes for Afghan refugees were in partnership with the Iranian government, had assessed comprehensive budget needs at US$ 36.8 million this year, said Mr. Mahecic. However, to date only around a fifth of that sum had been received.

Voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Iran had slowed considerably in recent years in the face of poor security and economic conditions in Afghanistan. Only 6,000 people had returned in 2009 and 3,600 in 2008. More than a million registered Afghans remained in Iran, with 97
per cent living in urban or semi-urban settings and creating strain on health, education and other local infrastructure, said Mr. Mahecic.

Iran, which was facing its own economic difficulties amid the global downturn, had hosted two generations of Afghan refugees but had received little international support, said Mr. Mahecic. Refugees had benefited from basic health and education services and usually had been able to earn a living - albeit only informally until work permits had been issued to registered refugees last year.

Given the recent slower pace of returns, UNHCR had broadened its programme in Iran to better support services pending repatriation. However, at present UNHCR had funds to implement only 22 per cent of identified needs across education, health, and livelihood support, as well as boosting water systems, latrines and other infrastructure in the refugee settlements and in urban settings with high refugee concentrations, said Mr. Mahecic. The figure of US$ 18 million that UNHCR was requesting was to meet the anticipated gap in the funding.

Many refugees in Iran were feeling the effects of rising inflation and struggled to pay food and medical costs. UNHCR believed the situation would worsen when Iran’s new five year national economic policy, expected to begin in 2010, takes effect. The new policy would see the removal of subsidies for electricity, water, other utilities and basic commodities like food. While the government would provide a safety net of cash grants for Iranians, this would not be extended to refugees, said Mr. Mahecic. Vulnerable refugees in particular would therefore need extra support.

In addition to the one million registered Afghan refugees in Iran, there were some 48,000 Afghan refugees in Iraq. Since 2002, UNHCR had helped more than 860,000 refugees to repatriate to Afghanistan. In addition, a million Afghans had returned home spontaneously since that time.

Tropical Storm Agatha

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that Tropical Storm Agatha that has hit Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador was the first tropical storm of the current season. Rainfalls were still expected in these countries in the coming 48 hours.

The tropical storm had brought heavy rainfalls which had caused landslides. In Guatemala, this situation had been worsened by the ashes of volcano Pacaya, said Ms. Byrs.

The United Nations, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and local authorities were working together to respond to the situation. An estimated 110,000 persons have been affected, said Ms. Byrs.

Ms. Byrs said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stood ready to support, had put a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team on standby and had provided a list of available emergency relief goods ready to be shipped to the region from the Brindisi warehouse.

Situation in Haiti

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that the Camp Management and Camp Coordination cluster had registered some 125,000 families and close to 540,000 individuals on 150 sites, of which one-third were in the regions outside of Port-au-Prince, and the rest in Léogane, Grand Goâve, Petit Goâve, and Jacmel.

This registration exercise aimed at identifying the needs of the displaced, said Mr. Chauzy. It was also aimed at better targeting humanitarian aid to those who needed it most and at identifying camps that were at risk of flooding and landslides during the hurricane season. Some 62,000 persons were currently living in camps at risk of flooding and 54,000 in camps at severe risk.

IOM was also conducting outreach campaigns together with United Nations partners and the Haitian Government to disseminate information regarding displacement to safer places, said Mr. Chauzy.

DRC/Children

Christiane Berthiaume of the United Nations Children's Fund said that they had issued today a Humanitarian Action Update report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo saying that armed conflict, violence against civilians, rape, forced recruitment of children into armed forces and major population movement continued to affect large areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Almost 1.9 million persons were still displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of which 50 per cent were children, said Ms. Berthiaume. In addition to the ongoing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, conflict had broken out in the Equateur province, displacing almost 200,000 persons.

The United Nations Children's Fund’s response to the situation targeted health, education, hygiene, water and immunization, but without additional funds they would not be able to respond to the most urgent needs of children and women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said Ms. Berthiaume.

A United Nations Children's Fund vaccination campaign had already covered more than 400,000 persons among which 85,000 children under five years of age and almost 43,000 pregnant women in three provinces of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the current funding gap was especially a constraint to immunize an additional 80,000 children under the age of one and more than 16,000 pregnant women.

Ms. Berthiaume said that United Nations Children's Fund had appealed for US$ 133 million for 2010 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but only US$ 20.5 million had been received to date.

Angola/Impact of Remittances

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that IOM had issued a report which examined the social and economic impact of remittances sent by Angolans living in Portugal and South Africa and suggested ways to maximize their development effect in Angola.

The report showed that for 16 per cent of the households, remittances constitute 100 per cent of monthly income. As regards remittances' utilization, 67 per cent of respondents said they were used to meet basic household necessities, buy consumables and pay for utilities. A further 14 per cent said they used a portion of remittances for business purposes; and only 1 per cent of the respondents claimed to invest part of the remittance funds in agricultural activities.

The study concluded with three major recommendations in order to establish links with Angolans living abroad, and enhance remittances' developmental impacts in Angola, said Mr. Chauzy.

World Health Organisation Emergency Committee

Gregory Hartl said that the Emergency Committee would be meeting today starting at 2 p.m., during which the Committee would be looking at the current epidemiological situation around the world. Key to their discussions would be whether or not to move to the post-pandemic level with regards to H1N1.

Women Deliver Conference

Anne Wittenberg of the United Nations Population Fund said that the Women Deliver Conference would take place from 7 to 9 June 2010 in Washington, D.C. This would be the largest ever conference on maternal and reproductive health.

Mercury Talks

Julie Marks said that next week in Stockholm from 7 to 11 June, Governments would meet to begin preparing a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the serious effects of mercury and its compounds.

This would be the first of five sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on Mercury, said Ms. Marks.

WMO Agenda

Gaelle Sevenier of the World Meteorological Organization said that the World Meteorological Organization would participate in the upcoming international conference on polar science that would start on 8 June.

Further the World Meteorological Organization Executive Council would meet from 8 to 18 June in Geneva, said Ms. Sevenier.