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 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the World Trade Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Intellectual Property Organization and UNAIDS.

Secretary-General

Corinne Momal-Vanian said the Secretary-General would be in Switzerland next week. In Geneva, Mr. Ban would open the 2011 Consolidated Appeal Resource Mobilization Conference and address the Human Rights Council as well as the Conference on Disarmament. The Secretary-General would further deliver remarks on the occasion of the first meeting of the Accountability Commission for Women’s and Children's health, co-chaired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and President Kikwete of Tanzania. As announced earlier, Mr. Ban would meet with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders while in Geneva. He would also meet with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne before attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In response to a question, Ms. Momal-Vanian said that after meeting with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders the Secretary-General would address the press at Door 4. The daily programme of the Secretary-General would be sent to journalists early on Tuesday and Wednesday as per usual practice.

Mexico/Migrants

Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay was drawing attention to the fate of a group of around 40 migrants, who were been missing since they had been abducted in Mexico in mid-December. Ms. Pillay was also deeply concerned by death threats received by a prominent human rights defender who had been assisting other migrants in the same group. The migrants had been abducted in highly questionable circumstances in Decmeber. Since then there had been no trace of them.

According to human rights groups closely involved in the case, interviewed by OHCHR staff in Mexico, on 16 December a group of some 250 migrants from Central America had been travelling on a north-bound freight train through southern Mexico, when it was stopped in a joint operation by police and migration officials who had detained 92 of the migrants. According to some accounts, military personnel were also involved.

A somewhat confused picture has emerged about what happened next. It seemed that round 150 migrants were able to get back on the train. Around 30 minutes later, the train was reportedly boarded by unidentified gunmen who assaulted and robbed some of the migrants, and then abducted around 40 of them, including at least ten women and one child.

Two days later, some of those who had escaped being detained or abducted managed to reach a migrant shelter called run by Father Alejandro Solalinde. Mr. Solalinde, a well-known defender of migrants’ rights, informed the authorities and publicly denounced the kidnapping. Since then, he had received multiple death threats.

The High Commissioner urged the Mexican authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation of the alleged ill-treatment and abuse of the migrants by the Federal Police and the National Institute of Migration staff who had conducted the original joint operation, as well as the circumstances surrounding the subsequent abduction of the migrants, and the threats received by Father Solalinde and his colleagues. The Mexican authorities needed to ascertain whether or not any state officials, including those working for the state-owned train operator, had been complicit with the criminal organization that carried out the abductions and extortion, both in this and other cases.

In recent years, the human rights of migrants have been drastically deteriorating in Mexico, which had also been suffering a wider wave of crime and violence, resulting in over 15,200 violent deaths in 2010 alone.

In line with its international obligations, the High Commissioner was calling on the Government of Mexico to make all necessary steps to ensure that all state officials working with migrants fully respected their rights, and that human rights defenders like Father Solalinde and police and judicial officials investigating these acts were effectively protected. OHCHR recognized that the Government was facing a tremendous challenge as it confronts the exceptionally violent and well-armed organized crime gangs in Mexico. Nevertheless, the protection of migrants, and of the brave and committed people working on their behalf, should not be neglected in the process, Mr. Colville underscored.

Côte d’Ivoire

Mr. Colville said that as of 13 January, according to the human rights division of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire, there had been 13 new killings, bringing the total number of deaths to at least 260 since mid-December. The one woman among these victims had been beaten to death with machetes, while other bodies had been found with wounds, one had his throat slit and another had been battered to death.

There had also been new cases of disappearances reported during the week, including a 17-year-old girl, bringing the total number of disappearances to 68. In the same period, a total of 23 cases of sexual violence had been reported, of which 19 were in Duekoué, particularly in the quartier of Togehi. In Abidjan, a young member of the RHDP, President Ouattara’s party, had reportedly been gang-raped by eight members of the Republican Guard seeking information on other members of the RHDP. On a more positive note, the 63 members of the RHDP who had been detained on 4 January had been released.

The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire continued to receive calls to its Call Centre, having registered 218 calls this week on cases of arbitrary detention, summary executions and other violations. On Wednesday this week, a second attempt had been made to visit the alleged third mass grave reported earlier this month, but the mission had been blocked by hostile villagers at the location where the grave was alleged to be situated.

Andrej Mahecic of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that with serious instability continuing in Cote d’Ivoire, UNHCR was pleased to note the constructive cooperation of the surrounding countries towards refugees. Guinea and Liberia had formally declared that they would recognize people fleeing Cote d’Ivoire as refugees on a prima facie basis. In Europe, meanwhile, a number of countries had halted returns, including those of failed asylum seekers. UNHCR was this morning issuing a return position to governments worldwide, urging them to follow suit and suspend all returns to Cote d’Ivoire pending improvements in the security and human rights situation.

Since the elections on 28 November there had been numerous incidents of violence and reports of serious human rights violations, including against women, children and displaced people. Abductions, disappearances, extrajudicial executions and acts of sexual violence had been reported in Abidjan and throughout the country, Mr. Mahecic underscored. Currently some 18,000 people remained displaced internally in western parts of the country, and around 30,000 refugees in neighbouring Liberia, while in Guinea UNHCR had registered 340 refugees so far. The number of people arriving in Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso is significantly smaller and below the level that would trigger an emergency response by UNHCR.

Border Communities stretched by Guinean Returnees from Côte d’Ivoire

Jemini Pandya said a joint IOM-UNHCR assessment had found that there were 887 Guineans in Beyla, Sinko and Soumailasso. Their presence, and that of 159 Ivorian refugees who had also crossed the border, was stretching community and social resources to their full.

As a result, IOM had been asked by local authorities in Beyla to urgently help the 887 stranded Guineans to reach their home communities in Guinea.

IOM, which had included transport assistance for up to 3,000 returnees and refugees in Guinea as part of a broader USD 3.5 million initial appeal in response to the Cote d'Ivoire crisis, was currently assessing transport possibilities for helping the returnees reach home communities. However, road and vehicle conditions in the area were extremely poor.

The joint assessment to gauge numbers of arrivals and what assistance was needed and by whom, found more than 70 entry points on the Guinea-Cote d'Ivoire border. It was likely that more people would cross into the area in the coming weeks if the stalemate continued in Cote d'Ivoire.

Meanwhile, IOM had so far helped 133 Ivorian refugees move from a transit camp at Bossou in south eastern Guinea to the Kouankan 2 refugee camp over 180 kilometres away at the request of UNHCR. Of the refugees assisted, 67 of them were unaccompanied minors ranging between 11 and 16 years of age.

Information gleaned on the ground seemed to indicate that the children had initially travelled to Liberia with their families but had been sent on to Guinea by their parents for linguistic reasons in case the children could continue their education while displaced. With an estimated 10 refugees arriving at the Bossou transit centre on a daily basis, IOM expected similar operations to continue in the coming weeks.

Southern Africa Floods

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that an emergency situation prevailed in southern Africa, notably in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. In South Africa alone over 6,000 people had been displaced and 40 had lost their lives to flooding, thunderstorms and tornadoes, according to official figures. It was feared that flash floods hit, as almost every year in the past, and metrological services had registered an unusually high pluviometry, as compared to recent years. 12,000 persons were also affected in Namibia and all neighbouring countries, including Madagascar, were on alert.

Authorities were planning to open two spillway gates of Lake Kariba on 22 January, which may result in rising water levels and possibly flooding further downstream. Also, the Zambezi river was currently at 3.01 meters, compared to the average level of 1.19 for this time of year, while the Okavanga river was at 7.37 meters instead of the usual 4 meters. Preparations must be made for the displacement of millions of people, as floods could result in water-borne diseases and a rise in malaria and cholera cases, Ms. Byrs underscored.

The United Nations, the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations had established a regional task force to exchange information, and States were currently updating their contingency and emergency plans. Unless preventive measures were strengthened over the next six weeks, the risk of a major disaster was real. United Nations agencies were stepping up their efforts and worked through the regional task force as well as an inter-agency coordination office. While the situation was currently under control, the floods may have major impacts on harvests and food security. In South Africa alone, the floods had already caused damages of several millions of Dollars. More information was available in the note at the back of the room.

UNAIDS condemns killings of transgender people in Honduras

Sophie Barton-Knott of UNAIDS said that UNAIDS, in a statement released on Monday, had expressed concern over the killings of five individuals from the transgender community in Honduras and urged the Government to thoroughly investigate the killings. All forms of discrimination, including transphobia, blocked access to HIV prevention programmes and impacted the quality of care for people living with HIV.

Since this statement had been issued, UNAIDS learned that there had been another killing, prompting it to issue on updated press note later today. Journalists could also receive further information from UNAIDS representatives in Honduras, said Ms. Barton-Knott.

UNAIDS and IOM Sign Agreement to Improve Access to HIV Services for Migrants

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today IOM's Director-General William Swing and UNAIDS Exexutive Director and Michel Sidibé would be signing an agreement between the two organizations. It was hoped that this cooperation would make a difference to overcome HIV-related challenges that were faced by many migrants. Hopefully the agreement would also integrate the human rights of migrants and mobile populations into national and regional HIV responses in a bid to ensure universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

The two organizations would focus on enhancing the social protection of migrants affected by HIV under the agreement, on stopping violence against migrant women and girls and removing punitive laws, policies and practices that are related to HIV and mobility and that block any response to AIDS among these populations.

Work would also be undertaken to strengthen the technical support aimed at helping Governments and civil society to reduce vulnerability to HIV among migrant and mobile populations. One practical aspect was that the two organizations would continue cooperation on research to deepen the understanding of HIV and population mobility.

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Ms. Momal-Vanian said a ceremony would be held on Thursday 27 January at 5 p.m. in the Assembly Hall to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The ceremony notably included a video message from the Secretary-General, an address by a Holocaust survivor and musical interludes by the Germany Radio Orchestra, the Bayreuth Zamir Choir and the Jerusalem Oratorio Chamber Choir.

Conference on Disarmament

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Conference on Disarmament would open its 2011 session next week. The first public meeting would take place on Tuesday morning and the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, would address the Conference on Wednesday at 3 p.m. A background release had been issued yesterday.

Forthcoming Press Conferences

Ms. Momal-Vanian said Alicia Victoria Arango Olmos, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Colombia, and Katharina Kummer, the Head of the Secretariat of the Basel Convention, would give a press conference today at 11.30 a.m. in Room III on the conclusion of a host country agreement with Colombia.

On Monday 24 January, the disaster figures for 2010 would be released in a press conference by Margareta Wahlstrom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Debarati Guha-Sapir, the Director of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. The press conference would start at 10 a.m. in Press Room 1.

Another press conference would be held on Monday to appoint Iker Casillas as UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and to launch “Score the Goals”, a joint UN comic book about the Millennium Development Goals, featuring ten football Goodwill Ambassadors. Participating would be Iker Casillas, the goalie of Spain’s national soccer team, UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan and Wilfried Lemke, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. The conference would take place at 5 p.m. in Room III.

An expert from the World Meteorological Organization would speak about the publication of a La Niña Update in a press conference on Tuesday 25 January at 9.45 a.m. in Press Room 1.

Human Rights Agenda

The Committee on the Rights of the Child held a closed meeting this morning before holding informal meetings with State parties this afternoon. Next week, the Committee would review the reports of Belarus, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Ukraine, said Ms. Momal-Vanian.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, for its part, today examined the report of South Africa. Next week it would review the reports of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Belarus.

Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Human Rights Advisory Committee would today conclude its sixth session, which was in particular dedicated to preparing the studies requested by the Human Rights Council. The Advisory Committee would submit the reports on these subjects to the Human Rights Council, which would meet next March. The Advisory Committee had also looked into draft declarations on the right of peoples to peace and on the right of peoples and individuals to international solidarity. A press release would be issued today.

Claire Kaplun of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the Universal Periodic Review Working Group would start its tenth session meeting on Monday, during which it would examine the human rights situation in ten countries.

UNCTAD Agenda

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi would meet Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández Reyna in a private meeting next Wednesday. The contact details of Mr. Fernández Reyna’s press staff could be distributed to journalists interested in interviews.

Sibut-Pinote announced that the 2011 Global Commodities Forum, held on 31 January and 1 February, would be expanded to agricultural products, unlike last year’s Forum which had been primarily dedicated to energy and minerals. The Forum was aimed at establishing a discussion platform for discussions among all people working in the relevant markets, which were volatile and had witnessed price increases recently. Participating at the Forum would be Ministers from Peru, Mongolia and Tanzania, as well as the Minister of Petrol and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, among others. UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi and WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy would also be present at the opening session. A press release with further details would be issued today and the programme would be available on Tuesday.

WTO Agenda

Anoush Der Boghossian of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said the Dispute Settlement Body would meet on Tuesday. On Thursday, intellectual property negotiations would be held and meetings on Russia’s membership to the WTO would take place (continuing into Friday). On Friday, the rules (anti-dumping) negotiating group would gather.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, for his part, would meet on Wednesday with the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, before attending the World Economic Forum in Davos from Thursday to Saturday.

WIPO Agenda

Samar Shamoon of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said that the Sixth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy would be held in Paris on 2-3 February, addressing the question of building respect for intellectual property in a balanced and sustainable way. Participating would be a number of high-level speakers -- including Pierre Lelouche, France’s Minister of Foreign Trade, and Eric Besson, the country’s Minister of Industry, Energy and the Digital Economy – as well as attendants from international organizations, the industry and consumer groups.