REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons and representatives of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund and the International Organization for Migration.

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Corinne Momal-Vanian said the Committee had opened its session yesterday. This morning it would begin consideration of State parties reports, starting with Burkina Faso. Usually one day was allotted to the examination of each State party report.

She said yesterday a change in the programme of the Committee had been announced. The Bahamas, whose report was scheduled for examination today, had been unable to send a delegation to this session. The next report considered by the Committee would therefore be that of Tunisia on Thursday.

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Corinne Momal-Vanian said the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had also opened its session yesterday. The current session was primarily dedicated to discuss the Committee’s methods of work. On Thursday, the Committee would a general debate on the topic of accessibility.

Press conference by the Inter-Parliamentary Union

Corinne Momal-Vanian said the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) would hold a press conference on Wednesday, 6 October, at 3 p.m. in Room 3 on the last report of the Committee on the Human Rights of MPs, presented at the one-hundred twenty-third IPU Assembly. Senator Rosario Green of Mexico, President of the Committee, Senator Sharon Carstairs of Canada, and Senator Philippe Mahoux of Belgium would be present on that occasion.

Sustainable Water Management and IAEA Environmental Programmes

Corinne Momal-Vanian said a media advisory of the International Atomic Energy Agency had been sent to the Geneva press corps on the meetings that were held this week at the Palais des Nations on the topic of “Meeting the challenges of sustainable water resources management”.

Pakistan

Adrian Edwards of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said although international attention had now largely moved on from the crisis in Pakistan, the situation remained critically difficult in some areas and for some populations, including those who fell under UNHCR's traditional areas of concern.

In Sindh province, in the south, flooding was still happening. Since mid-August floods there had to varying degrees affected almost a third of the province's 30.4 million residents, and around 1.6 million people are still displaced. Manchar Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in Pakistan and lies in western Sindh, had overflowed in the past two weeks, creating further displacement and new pressures on already overcrowded camps. UNHCR had assisted some 192,800 displaced persons in Sindh with tents, plastic sheeting, and other relief items, Mr. Edwards said.

Most of UNHCR's core populations of concern, the 1.7 million refugees and 1.1 million conflict-displaced, were in other regions of Pakistan, namely Baluchistan and Khyber Phaktunkhwa. Nonetheless, they too had been affected by the flooding and by the diversion of resources to the wider flood-affected population, said Mr. Edwards.

Mengesha Kebede, UNHCR representative in Islamabad, added that this disaster continued to dislodge populations. It started off with a 150,000 people being displaced in Baluchistan and now well over 600,000 Baluchs had been displaced. Also, because of the flooding in Sindh, an additional 600,000 people had moved into Baluchistan. What had started as a 150,000 people displacement now was a 1.1 million displacement in Baluchistan alone. This challenge must be understood, Mr. Kebede said, adding that although attention might have shifted, the emergency remained.

Mr. Kebede said before the floods had hit, Pakistan had been facing a humanitarian situation with 1.1 million conflict-displaced persons being assisted by the humanitarian community. That problem had become secondary because of the sheer magnitude of the floods. But now that the floods had started receding, that problem would start surfacing again, requiring the attention of the international community as the conflict in the federally administered regions continued. The situation in Pakistan continued to be complex, Mr. Kebede underscored, as the country hosted 1.7 million Afghan refugees, which was by far the largest refugee population in the world.

Marixie Mercado of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said over the course of September schools had opened up as families had returned to their villages. As of the end of the month, 2,800 schools were still serving as temporary shelters for over 660,000 people, around 85 per cent of this population in Sindh, plus the almost 10,000 schools that had been damaged by the flooding. At present, many thousands of children who attended school were being accommodated in other, already crowded buildings or temporary learning centers.

Ms. Mercado said UNICEF was calling attention to education because it was among the least-funded sectors in the humanitarian appeal, with only 9 per cent of the 81 million USD received. Yet it was perhaps one of the most critical sectors to help children recover from an emergency. To date UNICEF had set up 460 out of the planned 1,000 temporary learning centers and provided extensive emergency education supplies and furniture. It was also using schools as an important way of providing basic but lifesaving information on hygiene and health care, but far more needed to be done, said Ms. Mercado. The needs were great and the opportunities for improving the quality of education, and reaching children who have never gone to school, were great.

Ms. Mercado said the initial funding appeal for Pakistan did not include a focus on education, but the revised appeal which had been put out recently did include that component.

Nigeria Lead Poisoning

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the joint UNEP-OCHA mission had concluded its mission in Nigeria’s North-Western Zamfara State. According to Doctors Without Borders, 400 children had died as a result of lead poisoning in that state since March 2010. The joint mission had found that the poisoning was far from over in Zamfara State. Samples of drinking water, both for humans as for cattle, had been taken in the villages of Abare, Bagega, Dareta, Kersa and Sunke. Results showed that the levels of lead varied strongly, depending on whether they were taken close to resource extraction sites or not. Drinking water taken from public wells failed to meet World Health Organization/Nigerian standards for lead limits. Ms. Byrs said one river had been poisoned, extremely high air mercury levels had been found and the soil was highly poisoned by high lead levels.

Doctors Without Borders was caring for over 1,500 children in four clinics. However, people were often reluctant to report lead poisoning as they attributed the symptoms to Malaria or because mothers, typically caring for up to 10 children, could not leave their family behind to care for a single child. Due to the rainy season street conditions were also difficult and complicated access to villages. Ms. Byrs said it was essential that actors on the ground responded fast and in a coordinated manner. The report of the joint UNEP-OCHA mission was available in Press Room 1.

International Day for Disaster Reduction

Brigitte Léoni of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) introduced Dizery Salim who would work with her and sometimes brief journalists at the briefings.

Ms. Léoni said on the occasion of the one-hundred twenty-third IPU Assembly, ISDR would launch tomorrow a new brochure on the reduction of catastrophes as an instrument to realize the Millennium Development Goals. That brochure explained how ISDR was working with MPs and what had been done with a view to reducing disasters.

Ms. Léoni said next Wednesday, 13 October, was the International Day for Disaster Reduction. Several events would be organized throughout the world. The theme selected was “Making cities resilient”, which was related to a campaign launched last May in Bonn. On that occasion, all citizens and Mayors had been invited to join the ISDR in this endeavour. Today, more than 120 Mayors had agreed to respond to one of the 10 points and measures suggested in the context of this campaign. Ms. Léoni said a press conference would be held on the International Day for Disaster Reduction at the Palais des Nations.

Ms. Léoni said a cocktail ceremony would be held at the Ariana Museum in presence of the Mayor of Geneva. United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction Margareta Wahlström would, for the first time ever, launch an appeal to the private sector to help cities in facing challenges related to disasters. The Geneva press corps was invited to attend that event, Ms. Léoni said, underscoring that Wednesday 13 October also marked the ISDR’s 10 years of existence.

UNCTAD activities

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said this Friday, at 11.30 a.m., a press conference would be held on the launch of the information economy report. The report was under embargo until 14 October at 7 p.m. Geneva time, but the press kit would be made available today. It included two releases and notably one on how Governments can help the poorest populations to develop their economic activities by using modern information and communication technologies. The press conference would be held by the Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD and the expert responsible for the report. Journalists would also receive the third version of the investment policy monitoring on Thursday or Friday, Ms. Sibut-Pinote said.

Lucas Assuncao of UNCTAD added that UNCTAD would hold an Expert Meeting on the “Green Economy: Trade and Sustainable Development Implications” at the end of the week. The conference would address two main topics, namely the green economy and the institutional framework necessary - in the United Nations system and countries and regions - to address and move forward with the concept of sustainable development. The green economy was not yet a consensus in the multilateral scene and UNCTAD attempted to shed some light on it by addressing what the definition and trade implications of the green economy could be.

Mr. Assuncao said the Expert Meeting promised to be quite a lively debate as the heads of the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and UNCTAD, and several renowned speakers would be present. The detailed programme and a backgrounder on issues related to the green economy were available at the UNCTAD website. The Geneva press corps was welcome to attend the meeting and there could also be a press conference with the heads of agencies on Thursday, Mr. Assuncao said. He added that journalists would receive further information by email.

New WHO Guidelines

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said a media alert had been sent this morning to announce the launch of guidelines to simplify treatment of mental and neurological disorders on Thursday, 7 October, from 9 a.m. onwards, in the World Health Organization's Executive Council Room. The Intervention Guide targeted nurses, doctors and health professionals who worked in primary health settings with people suffering from mental and neurological disorders. Representatives of over 30 Permanent Missions, more than 10 non-governmental organizations, and Experts from associations and United Nations agencies would be present.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan would open this event at about 9 a.m. on 7 October. Electronic copies of her speech and a press release would be made available. Between 10.30 and 11 a.m. media professionals had the opportunity to interview the author of the report, Mr. Shekhar Saxena, Director of the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Professor Graham Thornicroft from the Institute of Psychiatry in London, as well as other Experts in the India room. Ms. Chaib said the press release would probably be sent tomorrow and copies of the report could be made available in Press Room 1.

Responding to a question, Ms. Chaib said millions of people suffered from mental and neurological disorders. About 75 per cent of those living in developing countries had no access to any form of treatment and diagnostic. The report was thus intended to help staff in clinics and primary health centers with treating people suffering from mental and neurological disorders.

OCHA-World Customs Organization agreement

Ms. Byrs said a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the World Customs Organization and OCHA to facilitate assistance in the case of emergency. More details were available in the briefing note at the back of the room.

Burundian Refugees

Adrian Edwards of UNHCR said this morning a convoy carrying some 240 Burundian refugees from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo had crossed the border back into Burundi, marking the start of a new series of voluntary returns in one of the world's longest-running refugee sagas.

The refugees who had returned today were among some 10,000 expected to go back to Burundi over the coming months at a rate of one convoy per week. Most refugees were from the western Burundian provinces of Bubanza, Bujumbura rural, and Cibitoke, or from the southern province of Bururi. Once home, the refugees would benefit from UNHCR's reintegration programs including healthcare, education and shelter kits, said Mr. Edwards.

This particular return was the first that UNHCR had been able to facilitate from South Kivu province where insecurity had until now prevented repatriations. The refugees there, 15,000 in total and mainly in the Uvira and Fizi regions, were the remnants of the tens of thousands of Burundians who had fled ethnic clashes in their homeland in 1972 and later in the 1990s. Of those in South Kivu, 10,000 had told UNHCR they wanted to go home. Of the remaining 5,000, many were hoping to settle permanently in Democratic Republic of the Congo, and UNHCR was working with the government to address their integration needs.

Mr. Edwards said including the refugees in South Kivu there were 16,500 Burundian refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and close to 80,000 in other countries surrounding Burundi. Over the past six years more than half a million had returned home voluntarily, most with UNHCR support. Others had been integrated where they are. Tanzania, for example, had granted citizenship to 162,000 of them.

Mr. Edwards said Burundi was itself a refugee host country with some 41,000 Congolese refugees in four camps. Two thousand of these had requested the help of UNHCR in returning to DRC this year and UNHCR hoped to begin repatriations later this month. This two-way voluntary repatriation programme – Burundians in one direction, Congolese in the other – had come about as a result of the tripartite agreement between UNHCR, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, signed on 11 December 2009.

Global Handwashing Day

Marixie Mercado of UNICEF said over 80 countries and 200 million children and adults would celebrate Global Handwashing Day on October 15, including with attempts to break the previous Guinness World Record for handwashing. This was an initiative by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap and brought together Governments, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, and important people.

Proper handwashing was important, effective and affordable in saving children’s lives, Ms. Mercado said. Every year, diarrhoeael disease and acute respiratory infections killed more than 3.5 million children under the age of 5. Washing hands with soap at the right time helped to reduce diarrhoeal disease by 40 per cent, said Ms. Mercado. A media advisory and some key fact sheets were available at the back of the room.

Human Trafficking

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said for the fifth year in a row IOM supported South African authorities which this week conducted the fifth annual Human Trafficking Awareness Week. This year’s slogan was “Human Trafficking is Real” because trafficking in human beings was not always taken very seriously in Africa and as victims often did not receive the support they needed. People were sensitized about the free helplines, where victims could receive assistance, and several types of sensitization materials would be distributed. Sensitization was very important as it helped South Africans accept the existence of human trafficking.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy said training would be given by IOM to 16 non-governmental organizations in Senegal to contribute to a unified approach to caring for young victims of human trafficking.

Zambia Diaspora Survey

Mr. Chauzy said a number of highly qualified Zambians were living abroad and the Zambian Government was thus attempting to include this Diaspora in its development policies. IOM had therefore developed an online survey to strengthen communication between members of the Zambian Diaspora and the Government. This helped the Government implement programmes and policies where Zambian expatriates could contribute more efficiently to key development sectors such as health.

Haiti

Paul Garwood of WHO brought to attention the new WHO report “Nine Months after the Earthquake in Haiti”. As of today, of the 2 million people affected by the earthquake, 1.3 million remained displaced in over 1,300 spontaneous settlements across the country. To meet health needs 21 organizations, including non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies, were covering 266 sites of these sites, providing health care, which so far had prevented any major disease outbreak occurring in Haiti. A disease early warning system had also been implemented across the country, free medicines and medical supplies had been provided to all non-governmental organizations and health facilities.

While there had been generous funding support for the health sector, the WHO saw just 55 per cent of the funding it had requested provided. Without increased and continued funding support there would be concerns over supplies of medicine to ensure the continuation of the disease early warning system, ensure that health services could be restored. The WHO was also concerned that there had been a downsize of existing non-governmental organizations in Port-au-Prince and other affected areas which was resulting in health care gaps. The detailed report was available at the back of the room and interviews with people in Haiti could be organized.