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 was attended by Spokespersons for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Economic Commission for Europe.

Secretary-General Condemns Assassination of Lebanese Journalist

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General was shocked and dismayed to learn of the assassination of Gibran Tueni, a tireless advocate of a sovereign Lebanon and free press. This tragic assassination was the latest in a vicious campaign against Lebanese citizens, journalists, political leaders and their right to freedom of expression. The Secretary-General strongly condemned this cold-blooded murder and extended his deepest sympathies to the families of those killed and injured. The Secretary-General reiterated his call for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559. He said the perpetrators and instigators of this and other attacks must be brought to justice to ensure an end to impunity.

Second Part of Mehlis Report on Assassination of Rafik Hariri

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said Security Council members yesterday received the second report issued by Detlev Mehlis’s International Independent Investigation Commission, which was transmitted to the Council by the Secretary-General. In a letter accompanying the report, the Secretary-General noted that efforts to gain the cooperation of the Syrian authorities had only recently begun to bear fruit, after delays which had had an impact on the Commission’s work. The report recommended that the mandate of the Investigation Commission should be extended by a period of six months to enable the investigation to continue. The President of the Security Council,
Emyr Jones Parry of the United Kingdom, said a draft resolution would be tabled today, and its contents depended on the reaction of members of the Security Council to the presentation of the report by Mr. Mehlis.

Myanmar

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General had commended the call by ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations), made during its 11th Summit in Kuala Lampur, for Myanmar to “expedite” both its political reform efforts and its release of political detainees, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Secretary-General welcomed ASEAN’s announcement that it would send Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar as an ASEAN envoy to Myanmar “to learn first-hand whether Myanmar is making steps toward democracy”. He commended Myanmar for its decision to accept the envoy. The Secretary-General also took this opportunity to congratulate the ASEAN leaders for signing the “Kuala Lampur Declaration” which paved the way for the formation of an ASEAN Charter and would provide the bloc with both a legal and institutional basis.

Sixth Ministerial Conference of World Trade Organization

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the message of the Secretary-General to the World Trade Organization’s Sixth Ministerial Conference, which was being held in Hong Kong, was available in the press room.

Ethiopia and Eritrea

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said she had told journalists last week that the Secretary-General had decided to send the head of the United Nations peacekeeping Department, Jean-Marie Guehenno, and the United Nations Military Advisor, General Randhir Kumar Mehta, to Ethiopia and Eritrea to review and assess the situation on the ground and to see what steps could be taken to improve the situation. They had arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday and had conducted a series of meetings and briefings. The UN officials had arrived in Asmara yesterday. The crisis erupted after Eritrea asked that staff of certain nationalities of the United Nations Mission should leave the country.

Geneva Meetings

The Working Group on the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples was meeting from 5 to 16 December in Room XVI at the Palais de Nations. The meetings of the Working Group were open.

The third session of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was meeting at the Palais Wilson from 12 to 16 December. On Thursday, 15 December, the Committee would hold a Day of General Discussion on protecting the rights of all migrant workers as a tool to enhance development. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge Bustamante, would be participating in the discussion. The participants in the General Discussion would discuss the protection of the human rights of migrant workers and members of their families and its impact on development in the country of origin and in the country of employment. A press release would be issued at the end of the Day of General Discussion.

Aid to Earthquake Survivors in Pakistan

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said a document with updated information about the relief operation in Pakistan was available at the back of the room. Funds to the UN appeal for Pakistan were slowly coming in, and had now reached $ 209.2 million. The appeal was for $ 550 million. That meant that the appeal was so far funded at 38 per cent. If the UN counted the $ 22.7 million of pledges that had not yet been received, then the funds would reach
$ 232 million; and if uncommitted pledges were also counted, then the appeal would be funded at 42 per cent.

Elizabeth Byrs said a strong earthquake struck Hindu Kush area of north eastern Afghanistan early Tuesday, shaking the ground for hundreds of miles and bringing frightened survivors of October's devastating quake out of their tents across the border in Pakistan. No information on damage caused by the earthquake was available yet. However, there were reports of landslides. The roads to the Upper Neelum Valley and the Lower Neelum Valley had not been cut off, but drivers carrying humanitarian aid were told to take special care while driving.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, Jan Vandemoortele, today released an assessment of shelter security for the victims of the earthquake living below 5,000 feet. The results of the survey, which was compiled by UN agencies, IOM, the Pakistan Government and non-governmental organizations, painted a difficult winter scenario for those affected by the earthquake. A total of 3,004 households were surveyed, and the survey found that a total of 74 per cent of families were living in shelter that was deemed inadequate. The survey listed among urgent needs 2.4 million blankets, 170,000 additional plastic sheets, and 200,000 tarpaulins. The results of the survey had sparked a new urgency and the Pakistan Government and the international aid community had agreed to focus emergency relief on those living below 5,000 feet starting 15 December.

Jennifer Pagonis of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said the overnight earthquake in the Hindu Kush area of northeastern Afghanistan, which was 6.7 on the Richter scale, was felt in Afghanistan, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury to refugees or earthquake victims.

State of the World’s Children 2006

Damien Personnaz of the United Nations Children’s Fund said that UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2006 was being launched on 14 December. It dealt with children who were excluded and invisible. The report dealt with hundreds of millions of children who were suffering from severe exploitation and discrimination and had become virtually invisible to the world. UNICEF said millions of children disappeared from view when trafficked or forced to work in domestic servitude. Others, such as street children, lived in plain sight but were excluded from fundamental services and protections. The embargoed report and press release were available.

Sudan

Jennifer Pagonis of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said UNHCR’s official voluntary repatriation of refugees to South Sudan was to begin on 17 December from Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya. The number of refugees going home this week would be no more than 150, but this official movement was symbolic of refugees’ desire to re-establish themselves in their homeland and UNHCR’s desire to help them do so. There were two movements of refugees planned, one by air and one by road. The returnees would be given basic household goods to help them survive at home, as well as two weeks’ worth of food to last until the UN’s World Food Programme was able to distribute a larger supply to the returnees inside South Sudan in January.

Other

Jean-Michel Jakobowicz of the Economic Commission for Europe said UNECE was holding its Second Regional Implementation Meeting on Sustainable Development at the Palais des Nations on 15 and 16 December. The meeting would focus on energy for sustainable development; industrial development and linkages to energy for sustainable development; and air pollution/atmosphere and climate change and linkages of energy for sustainable development. Aleksi Aleksishvili, Chair of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and Finance Minister of Georgia, would deliver a keynote address. A press release would be available shortly.

Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said the IOM office in Dhaka as organizing a one-day workshop to launch a new programme to strengthen prevention and protection activities and to prosecute those who organized and benefited from trafficking in human beings in Bangladesh. The two million dollar USAID/Bangladesh funded project would be implemented by IOM in close collaboration with the Bangladeshi Ministry of Home Affairs.