REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which provided information about the draft outcome document for next month’s summit on United Nations reform and the implementation of the Millenium Goals; official ceremonies in the Palais des Nations and the Palais Wilson; natural disasters and preparedness for these; the situation in Niger; and the progress of the visit to China of High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Louise Arbour. Speaking were representatives of UN/ISDR, the ILO, UNHCR, OCHA, the WFP, the ICRC, the IOM, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Representatives of WHO and of UNICEF were also present, but made no statement.
General Assembly
On 26 August, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the President of the General Assembly, Jean Ping, created a “core group” to advance the work on the draft outcome document for next month’s summit on UN reform and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals which will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 14 to 16 September 2006. This group, made up of approximately 30 countries and regional groups, held its first meeting yesterday. A list of members of the group was available. The project for the draft outcome document covered the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, the fight against terrorism, disarmament, non-proliferation, the strengthening of human rights, including the adoption into international norms and standards of the emerging concept of responsibility for protecting populations against genocide.
Secretary-General
The Secretary-General had welcomed the completion of the new draft constitution of Iraq, and urged all Iraqi communities and political entities to continue to work together in a spirit of national reconciliation, through a fully inclusive and transparent political process in the period leading up to the national referendum on the new constitution. The text of this message was available, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said.
Geneva
The next meeting of the Conference on Disarmament was on Thursday 1 September at 10 a.m., under the Presidency of Peru, His Excellency Manuel Rodgriguez Cuadros. No speakers were currently on the list, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said.
In the context of a trip to Switzerland, the French Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, will officially unveil on Monday 5 September at 5 p.m. at the Geneva headquarters the Gobelins tapestry titled “Peace”, created in 1930 for the Palais des Nations, but never officially handed over. A short ceremony will take place in the hall opposite the Council Room, in the presence of the Director-General of the United Nations in Geneva, Sergei Ordzhonikidze. Following this ceremony, the Minister would unveil a plaque in the French Room highlighting that the Room was decorated in 1936 by the Frenchman Jules Leleu, and restored by France in 2004. In this context, the Minister of Culture will officially bestow on the Palais des Nations two Sèvres vases, given by France for the decoration of the French Room, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said.
In the context of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, an exhibition of photographs, entitled “We the peoples… Families and development”, created by the German artist Uwe Ommer, will be formally opened on 6 September at 11 a.m. at the Palais Wilson, but the exhibition will be shown along the quai Wilson until 24 October 2005. The Director General and representatives of the Administrative Council of the Town of Geneva will be present at the opening.
A press conference linked to the 60th anniversary would also be held in room III on Monday 5 September and will focus on the “Diplomat for a Day” event. Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Blaise Godet, Ambassador of Switzerland, Ms. Martine Brunschwig Graf, President of the Geneva State Council and Mr. Christian Ferrazino, Administrative Counsellor will participate.
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier also reminded the assembled journalists of the Press Conference on 1 September with Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD on the launch of the 2005 Trade and Development Report in Room III at 2:30 p.m.
Human Rights
Praveen Randhawa said High Commissioner Louise Arbour was in China for her first visit as High Commissioner. Yesterday, she took part in the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Beijing Women’s Conference. A statement of her remarks was available on the Organization’s website. She also met, along with other personalities taking part in the commemoration, Chinese President Hu Jintao. The High Commissioner also met with the Vice-Chairman of the National People’s Congress. Today, along with the Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, the High Commissioner opened the thirteenth Annual Regional Workshop on Human Rights for the Asia-Pacific Region.
The High Commissioner met with the Minister for Justice, Wu Aiying, and visited a community correctional facility in Beijing. Tomorrow, she was scheduled to sign, with the Chinese authorities, an agreement or memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation, focussing on helping China to create the conditions for the ratification of the ICCPR, and implement recommendations of the CESCR. In response to a question on whether the High Commissioner was aware of the closing down of a human rights NGO by the authorities before her arrival, and whether she was meeting with NGOs during her visit, Ms. Randhawa answered that Ms. Arbour was scheduled to meet with NGOs later in the week.
Other
Sálvano Briceño, Director of UN/ISDR, speaking in the context of the flooding in Central Europe and Switzerland, and of the storm in Mississippi, said even the richest countries were not spared by such catastrophes, and it was an opportune moment for the media to pass the message that it was important for all to be prepared for future catastrophes, as these would have ever more impact because of increased vulnerability due to urban growth and population growth. People needed to be better prepared, and there should be more education and awareness-raising on this subject. People needed to be aware of the importance of early warning systems, and how they could participate, and that there were programmes for preparing for natural catastrophes in which they could participate, as well as simulation exercises.
He also noted that the media had not portrayed to its fullest extent the devastation due to the flooding that had taken place in Bulgaria and Romania, which was something that had never taken place in those countries. There were rural areas that were entirely devastated, and there was no catastrophe insurance as there was in the United States. In response to a question regarding whether the States affected by the hurricane in the United States had prepared sufficiently for the event, Mr. Briceño responded that a technical report must be waited for on this topic, but it was clear that there were many ways to enhance awareness about people’s own safety and behaviour, how their houses were built, and how city development was done. He was sure the United States was a country, like Switzerland, that had an enormous amount of preparation, but there was always room for improvement, even in the most developed countries. Efforts for disaster preparedness should be continuous and constantly renewed. Switzerland, he noted, was one of the world’s most prepared countries, but this was not to say that it could not do more.
A press release would be available later in the morning on this topic.
Corinne Perthuis, speaking for the International Labour Office, said that in June, the International Labour Conference had discussed the Convention on Fishing, which had not been voted upon. In this context, a new brochure was available which presented how the Conventions of the ILO were discussed and implemented and covered all subjects of ILO Conventions over the last 75 years. This booklet was entitled Rules of the game: a brief introduction to International Labour Standards. By the end of June 2005, the ILO had adopted 185 Conventions and 195 Recommendations, and this booklet would be a useful tool. It would be possible to have a further meeting to elaborate the themes of the Conventions.
Jennifer Pagonis of UNHCR said the High Commissioner, Antonio Guterres, was visiting Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya today on the second to last leg of his 10-day mission to Sudan, Chad and Kenya to review the situation concerning refugees in the region. Kakuma camp houses some 66,000 refugees from southern Sudan. This morning, Mr. Guterres met representatives of 5,000 southern Sudanese refugees who have arrived in Kakuma since the signing of the peace accords in January. They told Mr. Guterres they had fled militia fighting that had continued after the peace agreement was signed. The High Commissioner will return to Nairobi later today and on Wednesday will meet with government officials before returning to Geneva.
Elizabeth Byrs for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said a Flash Appeal was being launched today for Malawi. On 16 August 2005, the United Nations had warned donors of the situation in the region. An Appeal for 88 million USD was being launched today to cover needs until March 2006. The Appeal was a two-track approach, and included 51 million USD for food, nutrition, education and protection; and 37 million USD for agriculture. The aim was to help 4.2 million people, 34 per cent of the population, who currently faced a chronic situation of food insecurity. The two-track approach included food and emergency nutrition supplies to the most vulnerable, and the second, longer-term track is intended to increase local farm production. The appeal was launched now, and it was hoped that the funds, or at least promises of funds, would be received by mid-September in order to ensure an improved situation by March 2006.
Simon Pluess for the World Food Program, also on Malawi, noted that this was a very smart appeal, as it aimed to respond immediately to needs, and also to ensure that the harvest would help the poor. Without this second track, the likelihood of another crisis next year would be dramatically higher. It was an unprecedented opportunity for the international community to assist a responsible African Government that was trying to deal with its own problems and problems that threatened the lives of its citizens. On Niger, he said, for the first round of three general distributions, WFP, the Government and the NGO community had to get enough food for over a million people dispatched. Food had already been provided to a significant number of people, including to some 230 thousand people through rations given to mothers who had accompanied their children to child nutrition centres. Distribution currently focussed on providing assistance to the most stricken villages. The current appeal was for 57 million USD, and there was concern as no new donations had been received over the last two weeks, and there was less than 50 per cent of the funding, and donations were now urgent.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy for the International Organization for Migration said that in Liberia, the Organization continued to proved assistance for Internally-Displaced Persons who wished to return to their places of origin, and to date had registered more than 25,000 people for assistance, and had provided return assistance to more than 12,000 people. In Pakistan, the Organization had opened a model shelter home for women victims of human trafficking in Islamabad, which was the first of its kind in Pakistan, which country was a source, transit and destination country for trade in human beings. In Costa Rica, the IOM office in San Jose had jointly convened a two-day inter-agency meeting to discuss and implement better coordination mechanisms for all counter-trafficking initiatives in the region.
Annick Bouvier, speaking for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said today was the International Day for the Disappeared, on which a press release had been issued yesterday. This was one of the gravest humanitarian problems linked to armed conflict, the fate of the disappeared, and the sufferings of their families. A Press Point would be held on Friday on the humanitarian situation in Colombia, and the Head of the ICRC’s delegation to Colombia would be in Geneva on Friday. He would be present on Friday 2 September in Press Room 1 in the Palais des Nations at 2 p.m.