REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which also heard from Spokespersons for the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Food Programme, and the International Organization for Migration.

Secretary-General Starts Tour, Arrives in Vienna

Ms. Heuzé said the Secretary-General had arrived in Vienna Thursday on the first leg of a trip that would also take him to five Asian countries and would conclude at the end of May. This morning, the Secretary General was delivering the keynote address at the Fourth Summit of the Heads and State and Government of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean. The main focus of the Secretary-General’s statement was the rising number of unemployed youth worldwide. He said that young people aged 15 to 24 were only a quarter of the world’s working population, but they made up half of its unemployed. Some 7 per cent of adults were employed in the European Union, yet more than 18 per cent of the young lacked jobs. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 15 per cent of the young were unemployed, compared to 5.6 per cent adult workers suffering from unemployment. He said there was a need to address these distressing trends.

The Secretary-General said youth employment in Latin America required a reduction in the dramatic gaps in educational attainment among different groups: youth from poor, rural and indigenous backgrounds lagged far behind their peers in terms of schooling. This translated into more restricted access to decent jobs and higher levels of unemployment for those groups.

Ms. Heuzé reminded journalists that the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council which would be meeting at the Palais des Nations from 3 to 28 July would have the issue of "Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work for All" as its main theme. There would be a new report by the International Labour Organization on this issue.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Heuzé said the Committee against Torture was today continuing its consideration of the report of the Republic of Korea this afternoon. Next week, the Committee would be meeting in private to prepare its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports which it had reviewed this session. The conclusions would be released at the end of the session on Friday, 19 May.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was meeting in private today after postponing a discussion on a draft general comment on the issue of discrimination and its affect on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. On Monday, 15 May, the Committee was scheduled to hold a day of general debate on the right to social security.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child would be meeting at the Palais Wilson from 15 May to 2 June. The Committee, which met in two chambers to help reduce its backlog of reports, would be considering the situation in El Salvador, Belgium, Latvia, Italy, Canada, Turkey, Czech Republic, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Tanzania, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, Iceland and Colombia. A background press release had been issued in English and in French and it had more details.

Ms. Heuzé reminded journalists that the International Law Commission was continuing its session at the Palais des Nations which would conclude on 9 June. The list of the members of the commission and the order of the day were available at the back of the room and the Information Service would be happy to set up interviews with the members at the request of interested journalists.

Concerning disarmament, Ms. Heuzé said that at 3 p.m. this afternoon, there would be a press conference on the results of the Permanent Committee on the Ottawa Convention which was concluding its meeting today.

The Conference on Disarmament would start the second part of its 2006 session on Monday, 15 May. The first plenary would be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 16 May. The Conference was planning to hold open plenaries on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week.

Tuberculosis

Ms. Heuze said the Secretary-General had appointed Jorge Sampaio, the former President of Portugal, as his first Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis. Mr. Sampaio’s immediate task would be to encourage world leaders to strengthen their commitment to tuberculosis control. Some 5,000 people died of tuberculosis every day, and more than eight million new cases were detected annually. Mr. Sampaio would work closely with the Stop TB Partnership and the WHO in carrying out this crucial mission for global health.

Human Rights

José Luis Díaz of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said available at the back of the room was a statement by High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. In it, the High Commissioner warned that the region was on the brink of a humanitarian and human rights crisis, and she called on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to respect core international human rights standards.

“The rising number of lives lost, whether as a result of targeted killings or suicide attacks, homemade missiles or artillery fire, is unacceptable,” the High Commissioner said. “Civilians, particularly the most vulnerable such as children, women and the elderly, should not pay the price for the neglect of human rights and humanitarian obligations”. The High Commissioner also noted with concern that various UN agencies were drawing attention to the risks of a humanitarian crisis for the Palestinian population as a result of the cuts in international aid to the Palestinian Authority. She went on to say that as the occupying power, Israel bore responsibility under international humanitarian law, particularly under the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, for the welfare of the Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territory. The High Commissioner called on the Palestinian Authority to do everything in its power to maintain law and order, prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, investigate attacks that had taken place, and bring to justice those responsible.

Mr. Díaz said journalists could expect a statement later this afternoon from the High Commissioner’s Office on the one-year anniversary of the events in Andijan, Uzbekistan, and a note on the High Commissioner’s visit to Cambodia.

Asked about the High Commissioner’s upcoming visit to Cambodia, Mr. Díaz said she would be leaving on 14 May to assess first hand the general situation of human rights in Cambodia. She was not going to be looking specifically at the "Khmer Rouge" trials, but she would be having talks with officials from the Extraordinary Chambers to try Khmer Rouge leaders. She was also expected to meet King Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen. The Office had had an office in Cambodia for quite a long time now, since 1993. It was a follow-on presence from the previous UN transitional authority in Cambodia. The High Commissioner would visit her office there, and she would have talks with a number of civil society representatives, including representatives of the political opposition.

The High Commissioner would hold a press conference in Phnom Penh on Friday, 19 May. Mr. Díaz said from Cambodia, she would be going to New York, and then to Guatemala.

A journalist asked if she could expect the High Commissioner to get information from her office in Iraq and issue a statement similar to the one on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. Mr. Díaz said the Office’s representative in the region was part of the human rights section of the main UN mission in Iraq. This human rights section put out regular reports. He would check exactly when the next report was due. As for the timing of any statement, if it was felt that a statement from the High Commissioner would be useful and constructive, then she would issue one.

Horn of Africa

Damien Personnaz of the United Nations Children’s Fund said there would be a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, 15 May in Room III. Rima Salah, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, who had just return from the Horn of Africa, would launch a Child Alert report on the Horn of Africa, documenting the current situation of children affected by the drought across Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti. The embargoed report and fact sheets on each of the countries were available under embargo. Also attending the press conference would be Keith McKenzie, UNICEF’s Special Advisor for the Horn of Africa Crisis.

Ms. Heuzé reminded journalists that the High Commissioner for Human Rights had yesterday spoken about the situation of human rights in some countries in the Horn of Africa, and on Monday, 15 May, Jan Egeland, the under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, would also speak to journalists about the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa, so this would give journalists a comprehensive view of the crisis in that region.

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said at noon on Monday, Mr. Egeland would speak to journalists about his just concluded trip to some countries in the Horn of Africa and on the response to the UN’s humanitarian appeals for 2006.

Sudan and Chad

Jennifer Pagonis of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR moved nearly 500 Chadian refugees yesterday from unsafe areas along the Chad-Sudan border to a new refugee camp in Shalaya in Sudan’s far western region of West Darfur. Of the estimated 5,000 refugees in Habila, 3,700 had told UNHCR that they wanted to be relocated to the new camp. Since the beginning of the year, some 13,000 Chadians had fled military and bandit activity along the border between Chad and Sudan and had taken refuge inside Sudan.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said nearly 500 Chadian refugees who had fled to border towns within Darfur since December last year, were yesterday voluntarily transported to safety by IOM to a refugee camp further inland.
At the request of and funded by UNHCR, IOM would over the next month assist 5,000 out of a caseload of 10,000 Chadian refugees currently in border areas who were in need of urgent relocation. The 5,000 would be moved from the border town of Habila to a new and purpose-built camp at Um Shalaya, about 60 kms eastwards in West Darfur.
Since late 2005, Chadian refugees have been arriving in border towns within Darfur seeking refuge from increasing insecurity in Chad. UNHCR estimated there were at least 13,000 Chadian refugees in the border areas.

Cholera in Angola

Damien Personnaz of the United Nations Children’s Fund said since he had spoken about the outbreak of cholera in Angola earlier this week, almost 500 new cases were being reported daily. The Government was reporting a total of 32,324 cases, including 1,189 deaths. While the epidemic had reached a peak in some provinces, in other parts of the country it was still at an early stage. Some 35 per cent of the cholera victims were children under the age of five. Available was a press release with more details.

Other
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said the Minister of Health of Djibouti had yesterday confirmed that a two-year-old girl, who lived in a village near the border with Somalia, had tested positive for H5N1. Three persons who were living close to the girl were under observation but had not yet tested positive. Djibouti had asked for technical assistance from WHO which would be sending some aid, including personal protective equipment kits for doctors and other health workers and boxes of Tamiflu. WHO was also considering sending a team to Djibouti.

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said torrential rains had caused floods in south and central Suriname since 1 May. Around 22,141 persons were severely affected. Authorities expected the situation to worsen because heavy rains were forecast until the end of the week. Disaster preparedness and response mechanisms were reportedly extremely limited in Suriname. The President of Suriname had requested assistance from the UN and the international community. Available was a fact sheet with more details.

Aurelia Blin of the World Trade Organization said on Monday, 15 Monday, the General Council would meet in the morning at 10 a.m., and a press release would be issued in the afternoon. There would also be a briefing. On 17 May, there would be a meeting of the trade policy review of Uruguay and the dispute settlement body. On 19 May, the trade policy review of Uruguay would continue, as well as an informal meeting on agriculture negotiations. Next week, the Director-General Pascal Lamy would participate in the General Council on 15 May.

Sanjay Acharya of the International Telecommunication Union said the first World Information Society Day would be celebrated on 17 May. A special event would be organized by ITU at the International Conference Centre in Geneva from 11 a.m. At that time, the first World Information Society Award would be presented to President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Professor Muhammad Yunus, Managing Director of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said WFP was launching an urgent appeal for Tanzania for more than $ 16 million to feed more than 500,000 persons in the country. The food shortages in the country were caused by the drought. A press release was available with more details.

Ms. Berthiaume said on 21 May, WFP would be organizing a world march against hunger entitled “march the world”. Around 360 marches were being organized in more than 100 cities around the world. The march would start in each country at 10 a.m. and would continue for around 6 kilometres. The main aim of the march was to sensitize people to the food shortages around the world. There were 850 million hungry people around the world and this was too much because the world produced enough food to feed them all. It was a problem of mobilization and lack of political will. Lots of people would march in Africa. There were three marches scheduled in Switzerland, including in Geneva.

Jennifer Pagonis of the UN Refugee Agency said Australia yesterday tabled legislation dealing with unauthorised boat arrivals under which all such arrivals – whether on the Australian mainland or in its excised territory – would have their asylum claims processed off-shore in another country. Australia said it was readying an existing site on the Pacific island of Nauru. UNHCR had previously voiced its concerns over the off-shore processing proposal, including that if it did not meet the same high standards as Australia set for its own processes, this could be tantamount to penalising for illegal entry. UNHCR would have fuller comments on the legislation after it had read it thoroughly.

Ms. Pagonis said a year after hundreds of Uzbeks were forced to flee Uzbekistan following a military crackdown in the city of Andijan, many had now been resettled in various countries. Of an initial group of 439 transferred last July by UNHCR to a temporary refugee centre in Romania, only 80 remained and were scheduled to depart over the next few months to final resettlement countries. In Syria, a group of 43 Palestinians, including 25 women and children, who had remained behind on the Syria-Iraq border on Tuesday when 244 other Palestinians were allowed entry into Syria, had now also been granted entry.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said IOM had launched an appeal supported by UNHCR and the Zambian Government, which would allow for the repatriation of more than 12,000 Angolan refugees from Zambia this year.