REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which provided information about the fight against terrorism, the situation in Sudan, violence in Guinea, flooding in Mozambique, the situation of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, Geneva activities, human rights and other issues. Spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization, the UN Refugee Agency, and International Organization for Migration participated in the briefing.

Fight Against Terrorism

Ms. Heuzé said that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would launch a new online Counter-Terrorism Handbook in New York this afternoon. The UN Counter-Terrorism Online Handbook, one practical outcome of that Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted last year by the General Assembly, illustrated the UN system-wide resources and activities in the field of counter-terrorism. It was designed as a tool to better assist Member States to utilize those resources to enhance their own efforts at countering terrorism within the framework of the Global Strategy. The Handbook would also provide specific focus on areas such as financing of terrorism; promoting education, tolerance and dialogue; protecting nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological materials; assisting victims; preventing travel by terrorists; providing training to law enforcement entities; assisting with drafting of anti-terrorism legislation; defending human rights; and protecting key infrastructure. The full text of the Handbook was available online (www.un.org/terrorism/cthandbook) and a press release was also available.

In addition, Ms. Heuzé said that Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of UNOG, had participated in the 2007 Tripartite "Plus" high-level meeting, held on 14 February in Vienna, on the theme of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The UN, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the three members of the Tripartite, met also with high-level representatives of other partner organizations, including NATO, the European Commission, the International Organization for Migration and the International Committee of the Red Cross. All organizations had agreed that the Strategy provided a common framework for their work and acknowledged the importance of adopting an integrated and comprehensive approach to combating terrorism. It had been stressed that regional organizations looked to the UN to set priorities in the fight against terrorism, and participants had expressed the hope that regional organizations would cooperate with the various working groups established by the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force. Participants had also welcomed the Counter-Terrorism Handbook, prepared by the Task Force, as a very useful practical step. A joint communiqué will be released today.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Heuzé drew attention to the opening of the 70th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination next week on Monday, 19 February. During the three-week session, the Committee would hear from Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, India, Israel, Liechtenstein and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on how those countries were implementing their obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. A background press release on the session was available in French and English.

José Luis Díaz, Spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), announced that the first meeting of the Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture would be held at Palais Wilson next week. The Subcommittee was a panel established following the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. That group would be able to carry out unannounced visits to places of detention around the world in countries that had accepted the Optional Protocol. To date, 32 countries had done so. At the first meeting, the Subcommittee would focus on establishing its methods of work. Mr. Díaz observed that this had been a project long in the making, as the idea for a system of preventive visits had first been put forward by a Swiss lawyer, Jean-Jacques Gautier, in 1980. Gautier's concept had been adopted at the European level, but this would be the first global system. The new system was also broader than the ICRC's mandate, as Experts could visit all places of detention or places where people were deprived of their liberty. The Experts would be able to speak to detainees confidentially, and they did not have to announce their visits long in advance. A background note, detailing the membership of the Subcommittee, a summary of the Optional Protocol and a list of parties to the Optional Protocol would be available this afternoon. He would also try and arrange a press conference.

In addition, Ms. Heuzé said that the Governing Council of the UN Compensation Commission would hold its sixtieth session in Geneva next week from 20 to 22 February. The Compensation Commission had been established by the Security Council in 1991 to process claims and pay compensation for losses resulting from Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. That work had now been almost completed. A background press release was available in French and English and a round up press release would be issued at the end of the session.

Activities of the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General would next be travelling to Berlin for a meeting of the Quartet on 21 February and then would travel to Vienna, Ms. Heuzé said.

Guinea

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the UN Central Emergency Response Fund had allocated $2.3 million to assist victims in Guinea, in particular the estimated 1,400 wounded. On 12 February, the President of Guinea had declared martial law, and over 110 deaths had been reported by the National Crisis Committee since 10 January. The main constraints in Conakry currently included lack of surgical kits as well as difficult transportation to and from hospitals. Access to and information concerning the situation in the provinces was also very limited. Four food warehouses had been looted – two belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP), in Kankan and Labé; and two belonging to Government partners. Nearly 1,000 metric tons of food, representing some $750,000, had been lost. In addition, international commercial flights to and from Guinea had been suspended since last weekend and all relief air operations had also been suspended. Of the 572 persons registered in hospitals and clinics from 9 to 13 February, 60 had died, 205 had been hospitalized and 307 had been treated and released.

Murielle Gras of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that ICRC had yesterday issued a press release urging restraint by all parties involved in the violence in Guinea. ICRC had established a presence on the ground, and had worked with the Red Cross of Guinea to evacuate the wounded. From 10 to 12 February, the Red Cross of Guinea had assisted some 405 wounded, 52 of whom had to be transported to hospitals. ICRC intended to reinforce its team on the ground, and starting tomorrow would be sending medical personnel and medical supplies.

Sudan

Ms. Heuzé noted that yesterday, in Cannes, at the France-Afrique Summit, the Presidents of Sudan, Chad and Central African Republic had adopted a declaration to support the continued engagement of the UN and the African Union to find a durable solution in the Sudan.

Mr. Díaz of OHCHR confirmed that the high-level mission to Darfur was in Chad, and that they would not be visiting other countries in the region. They were expected back in Geneva early next week to continue their work here. Mission members would speak to journalists once they had presented the report to the Human Rights Council.

Responding to a question about President Bashir’s refusal to grant visas to the Human Rights Council Mission and Jan Eliasson’s role, Ms. Heuzé confirmed that the UN's special envoy tasked with re-energizing the peace process in Darfur, Jan Eliasson, was in Sudan for a joint mission of the UN and the African Union. They had had a discussion with the Sudanese Authorities about the issue, and the Secretary-General had said yesterday that he was very disappointed with the outcome.

Marco Jimenez of the ICRC announced that Jakob Kellenberger, President of ICRC, had been in Sudan since yesterday evening. During his weeklong stay he would visit El Fasher, Nyala and Gereida, in southern Darfur, where ICRC had taken over responsibility for providing food relief to some 24,000 internally displaced persons living in camps. President Kellenberger would be meeting with Government representatives in Khartoum. A press conference on the trip would be held next Friday, 23 February at ICRC headquarters.

Mozambique Floods

Simon Pluess of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that according to the National Institute for Disaster Management some 86,000 had been forced to flee their homes owing to flooding in Mozambique. Some 37,000 people were in accommodation centres and in immediate need of assistance, and 49,000 were in resettlement centres established after the 2001 floods. WFP had started a rescue and food delivery mission with a helicopter in central Mozambique. Two deliveries had been made on Thursday and today another delivery would be made. So far, about 10,000 people hit by the floods had been receiving WFP food aid. Floodwaters in several districts had reached the levels of the catastrophic floods that had taken place in 2001. The good news was that the water level at major dams was receding. It was estimated that, in the worst-case scenario, some 285,000 people could need food and other assistance over the coming months.

Miranda Eeles of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) pointed out that, of the estimated 86,000 displaced by the floods in Mozambique, half were children. UNICEF was part of three multi-sectoral teams investigating the camps of the displaced. UNICEF had already sent an initial shipment of emergency supplies last week, but there was still urgent need for food, tents, education materials, hygiene supplies, water treatment materials and jerry cans.

Other

Yesterday in New York the Security Council had unanimously adopted resolutions extending the mandates of two UN peacekeeping missions, Ms. Heuzé said. The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was extended by two months, and the one in Haiti was extended by eight months.

Mr. Díaz said that OHCHR had issued a statement on behalf of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, deploring the fact that the Government of Myanmar had extended the detention of Tin Oo, a leader of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi's party.

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a press conference today on the outcome of the third meeting of experts on pandemic flu vaccines. Participating would be Marie-Paule Kieny, Director of the WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research, and Ian Gust, professor of microbiology at Melbourne University and President of the expert meeting. The Conference was scheduled for 4 p.m. in press room 1. A press release would also be available.

Ron Redmond of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that late yesterday, UNHCR had received confirmation that the death toll had risen in a human smuggling incident that had occurred in the Gulf of Aden on Monday. Some 107 bodies had so far been found along the Yemen coastline. Five people also remained missing of the 240 passengers on two of the four boats from Somalia that had approached the Yemeni coastline on Monday. One boat capsized and a second smuggling vessel forced all its passengers into the sea after the first boat capsized. The 235 people on an additional two smuggling boats in the convoy made it to shore safely. Over the last month, UNHCR has recorded the arrival of 1,776 Somalis and Ethiopians on 20 boats. With the latest casualties, at least 136 died making the hazardous journey and many are still missing. The Somalis said they had fled their homes during and following the end of recent hostilities between government forces and the Islamic Courts Union.

Mr. Redmond also announced that the registration of Afghans in Pakistan ended yesterday, 15 February, with over 2.16 million Afghans registered in the four-month government exercise to provide official documentation to Afghan citizens in Pakistan. All registered Afghans above the age of five receive registration cards valid till December 2009, recognizing them as Afghan citizens temporarily living in Pakistan.

Jemini Pandya International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported a bleak prognosis on Iraqi displacement in 2007, with almost 18,000 individuals displaced in the past three weeks in the 15 central and southern governorates of Iraq. IOM estimated that as many as an additional 1 million people could be displaced this year in a country where pre-2006 displacement figures had already reached about 1.4 million.

On human trafficking statistics, IOM results of research carried out in Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine estimated that some 225,000 people had fallen victims to the crime, Ms. Pandya said. The full report was available online at http:www.iom.int/jahia/ webdav/shared/mainsite/activities/regulating/report_iomfinal_pdf.pdf.