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 of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Food Programme, the World Trade Organization and the International Organization for Migration. Spokespersons from the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees were also present.

Secretary-General: Quartet Statement

Ms. Heuzé said that available in the press room in English was the statement issued by the Middle East Quartet in Lisbon yesterday, which the Secretary-General read out during the press conference held at the meeting's conclusion. In it, among other things, the Quartet had emphasized the need to find ways to sustain Palestinian economic activity and the importance of creating circumstances that would allow for full implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access, particularly in view of the impact of crossings on the Palestinian economy and daily life.

Geneva Activities

Economic and Social Council

Ms. Heuzé noted that the Economic and Social Council had resumed its general debate consecrated to various subjects yesterday, taking up the issue of the review and coordination of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010, adopted in Brussels in May 2001. Press releases for the morning and afternoon meetings were available in French and English.

This morning the Council was discussing coordination, programme and other questions, Ms. Heuzé said, in particular its long-term programme of support for Haiti. In that connection, copies of a report of the Economic and Social Council Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti had been placed in the back of the room. The Advisory Group, which had been led by Canada, presented a number of recommendations and observations on the reconstruction of Haiti. Also this morning, the Council was scheduled to consider its proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009, and the report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Guinea-Bissau.

Human Rights Committee

Ms. Heuzé said that the Human Rights Committee was this morning resuming its discussion on a revised General Comment on article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to a fair trial and equality before the courts and tribunals.

Ms. Heuzé recalled that the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee would be made public next Friday, 27 July. The Committee would issue conclusions on the situation in States parties which had presented reports during the course of the session – Zambia, Sudan, and the Czech Republic – as well as on the situation in Grenada, which the Committee had reviewed in private in the absence of a report.

Foreign Minister of Spain to Visit UNOG

Ms. Heuzé announced that Spain’s Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos would pay an official visit to the United Nations Office at Geneva next week. The Foreign Minister would arrive at 10.45 a.m. on Tuesday, 24 July. A programme of the Foreign Minister's activities in Geneva was available from the Information Service upon request and included a guided tour of the Palais, a visit to Room XX, the renovation of which is being funded by Spain, and a meeting with Director-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze.

New Permanent Representative of United Arab Emirates

Obaid Salem Saeed Nasser Al Zaabi, the new Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations Office at Geneva, would today present his credentials to Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Ms. Heuzé announced.

Deteriorating Situation near El Geneina, West Darfur

José-Luis Diaz of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said OHCHR had received reports from human rights officers in the Sudan of a marked deterioration in the situation in a village called Bir Dagig, located about 30 kilometres north of El Geneina in West Darfur. The problem in the area appeared to have been sparked by accusations from a neighbouring Arab community that the villagers had stolen their livestock – a charge the residents of Bir Dagig denied. A number of human rights abuses were said to have been committed in the village, mostly by armed men in military uniform, since 1 July. But the population of Bir Dagig had complained of abuses, particularly against women and girls, since January 2007. The Government had initially deployed extra police to the village, only to withdraw them completely in April 2007.

The Government has also dispatched senior officials to attempt to resolve the issue through negotiations with both communities, Mr. Diaz said. And it pledged to the UN that it would open investigations into both the livestock theft and the human rights abuses and would deploy a permanent police presence to Bir Dagig.

That has still not been done, and the human rights abuses and intimidation persisted, Mr. Diaz underscored. There was concern that this was symptomatic of the inability or unwillingness of the Sudanese Government to protect civilians. In two visits to the village since 1 July, human rights officers of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan had documented forced abductions, beatings and acts of gender-based violence. On 18 July, UN personnel had been on the ground in Bir Dagig but had had to withdraw due to insecurity in the village. They had personally witnessed the arrival of armed men who surrounded the village centre and had demanded money in compensation for the alleged theft of the livestock. The community, with an estimated population of 4,500 that included villagers as well as displaced persons, had said it did not have the funds to pay. OHCHR was concerned now about possible further violence given the presence of the armed men.

The High Commissioner urged the Government of Sudan to act immediately on pledges it had made to re-establish a permanent police presence in Bir Dagig and to provide effective protection to civilians living in the village and the surrounding area, Mr. Diaz said. She also urged the Government to fulfil its responsibility and its stated commitment to investigate complaints of livestock theft and human rights abuses and to bring to justice in fair trials perpetrators of human rights abuses in Bir Dagig.

Sigma Huda

Mr. Diaz said that the High Commissioner of Human Rights, aware of reports that Sigma Huda, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, was in ill health, trusted and expected the Bangladeshi authorities would provide Ms. Huda with adequate medical treatment while in detention. The High Commissioner also echoed the Secretary-General's statement on this issue, urging that the Authorities observed all fair trial standards in respect of Sigma Huda and all those currently undergoing judicial proceedings in Bangladesh.

El Niño/La Niña Update

Carine Richard-Van Maele of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that today WMO was publishing it most recent update on the El Niño/La Niña phenomena, which was under embargo until 3 p.m. GMT. Copies were available in English and French in the back of the room, and a Spanish version would be available soon. Also available were copies of the publication "Climate in the Twenty-First Century", which summarized the consequences of El Niño/La Niña. In addition, there was a schedule of all WMO major media events this year to date.

Rupa Kumar Kolli, a WMO Expert, presenting the conclusions in the El Niño/La Niña update, indicated that a La Niña was more likely than not to develop in the second half of 2007. At present there was a neutral condition in the tropical Pacific Ocean, but there were indications that cooler conditions were prevailing over the eastern part of it. The conditions in May and June had been unsteady, and had presented a slight reversal of the trend towards a La Niña, but now things appeared to be on track for its development. If it did occur, however, it was likely to be a weak La Niña event; and the possibility remained that neutral conditions would continue. Development of El Niño during the remainder of the year was considered very unlikely.

La Niña, which was basically prevailing cold conditions in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, was a planetary-scale climate anomaly that was known to have a variety of impacts in terms of precipitation, temperature and likelihood of severe weather across the globe. Historical data indicated that La Niña conditions were frequently associated with stronger Monsoons and flooding over the Asian Monsoon region, with dryer than normal conditions over Africa, and with a higher frequency of hurricanes in the Atlantic, Mr. Kumar Kolli said. Typically, a La Niña condition lasted for from 9 to 12 months, which meant that if it were to develop at the end of this year it would likely peak around Winter 2007/08.

Gaza Blockade

Simon Pluess of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that, while security had returned to Gaza's streets and Palestinian Authority employees in Gaza had received some salary payments, life remained bleak. Poverty and unemployment were rising and Gaza's agricultural and industrial sectors were suffocating as a result of the lack of non-food imports and exports. Many farmers were unable to export their produce and consequently prices of locally produced fruits and vegetables were very low, while, on the other hand, prices of imported goods were high, as shop owners tried to compensate for the decrease in customers.

Without cement and other building materials – which were currently not entering Gaza – there could be no repair work done on buildings and, in particular, no maintenance work could be done on sanitation and health facilities in the area. That put people at risk of falling sick, Mr. Pluess said. Also, it meant that factories were closing due to shortages of raw materials and markets, leaving thousands of people out of work. The purchasing power of the population in Gaza since the beginning of the crisis had been heavily affected by the loss of income linked to border closures, with some 80 per cent of the Gaza population now dependent on aid from WFP and UNWRA. WFP stressed that food aid alone was not sufficient: Gazans had to regain their ability to produce and buy food, as well as to cook it, and to attend to other basic needs, including health, hygiene, education and shelter, or people would be forced to reduce their food intake in favour of other basic needs.

Other

Jana Borges of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that, on the Doha negotiations, next week members would discuss the Agriculture and Non-Agricultural Goods draft texts for the first time. The Agriculture group would meet next Tuesday, 24 July, and the Non-Agriculture group on Wednesday, 25 July. Both would be informal sessions, but briefings would be given to the press after each session, with the times to be confirmed. The Trade Negotiations Committee would meet on Thursday, and following it WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy would hold a press conference at 1 p.m.

With regard to accession negotiations, the Ukraine working party was meeting on Monday, 23 July; and the Russian working party was meeting on Wednesday, 25 July. Those meetings would be informal, Ms. Borges said, but a press conference by Chief Negotiator Maxim Medvedkov and Working Party chair Stefan Johannesson would be held on the Russian accession process on Thursday, at a time to be confirmed.

Finally, Ms. Borges said that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body would meet next Tuesday at 10 a.m. Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, 25 and 26 July, it would hold a second hearing of the "Airbus Panel". A video recording of the non-confidential session of the proceedings would be shown at the WTO on Friday, 27 July. The screening was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in Room W. No audio or video recording equipment would be permitted at the screening.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that the Senegalese Government and IOM had launched an information campaign aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of irregular migration, in a bid to prevent young Senegalese from leaving their homes and falling prey to smuggling networks. In recent years Senegal had become a major departing point for irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa trying to get to Europe by boat. The campaign would not only seek to raise awareness on the issue, but also to inform people about legal ways of migrating. Nearly 32,000 irregular migrants had arrived on the coast of the Canary Islands last year, with many other migrants drowning at sea in the attempt.