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 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Food Programme.

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier reminded journalists that this was the last briefing in 2005 and that the first briefing in 2006 would be held on Friday, 6 January.

United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia

The UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia said that the military situation in and around the Temporary Security Zone remained tense and potentially volatile. Ethiopian troops had however started, under the oversight of the UN forces, to return to their positions as they were on 16 December 2004, in accordance with Security Council demands. However, the decision taken by the Eritrean Government to forbid its airspace to the UNMEE helicopters was maintained, and restrictions continued to be made on the movement of UN forces in certain areas of the Temporary Security Zone.

Oil-for-Food

The Secretary-General had written to Paul Volcker, chair of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Programme to agree to Mr. Volcker’s request to extend the Commission’s follow-up operations until the end of March 2006, Ms Ponomareva-Piquier said.

Tsunami recovery efforts

The UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, Eric Schwartz, yesterday gave a press conference at UNHQ in New York, to highlight the anniversary of the event which killed almost 220,000 people in only a few minutes a year ago. The humanitarian community had drawn up a balance sheet of the reconstruction efforts, which should take another 5 to 10 years, emphasising the need to continue to draw attention to the situation, despite already demonstrated generosity. A summary of the press conference was available in the Press Room.

Other

A summary of the press conference given yesterday in New York by the Under-Secretary-General for Management Christopher Burnham, was also available in the Press Room.


Pakistan

Ron Redmond, speaking for UNHCR, said the winter cold had hit northern Pakistan’s quake zone. Mountain villages were now minus 10 degrees centigrade at night, and it was quite cold even in the valleys. There were 107 staff members and 39 mobile teams working on the ground to boost the winterisation campaign with a new round of aid distribution in camps for quake survivors. This included 250,000 additional blankets, 77,000 plastic sheets, and other winterisation materials in addition to what had already been distributed. Stoves and other items were also being distributed. Despite these efforts, people would inevitably try to stay warm with candles and stoves inside their tents, which would increase the risk of fire. UNHCR was working with the authorities to find safe ways of providing heating in the camps, and the camp management mobile teams were spreading the message of fire safety in the camps.

Another concern was that more people from the upper valleys might come down as temperatures dipped, and UNHCR was working with the Government to expand existing sites and build new ones to accommodate up to 50,000 more arrivals. There were currently 37 planned camps, with 57,742 people, and 335 spontaneous camps with almost 127,000 people. Living conditions in the spontaneous camps remained particularly an ongoing concern.

In response to a question on a survey of people living in and near the valleys which stated that they were not getting their shelter needs covered, Mr. Redmond said that the winter would not be easy to get through, and it would be very difficult, as there were risks of respiratory diseases, dirty water, fires, etc. It would be a very difficult winter. However, UNHCR was confident it would, for the most part, get people through the winter, and saving lives would be paramount.

Zambia

Simon Pluess, speaking for the World Food Programme, said the WFP, UNHCR and the Government of Zambia had appealed today to donors to provide urgent funds to feed 82,000 Angolan and Congolese refugees in Zambia. For the time being, WFP had nothing in its pipeline that would allow it to feed this refugee population beyond the end of this month. If no contributions came in, the food ration would have to be cut by 50 per cent in January. The refugee population was living in camps in quite remote areas of Zambia, and entirely depended on WFP’s food aid. Such a dramatic decrease in the allowance would have drastic consequences, such as increasing morbidity, mortality and stunted growth, as well as social problems including the increase of sexually-transmitted diseases.

There was an effort to find a lasting solution for the refugees in Zambia. In Western Zambia, for example, the Government provided land to refugees, enabling them to farm and increase their food security. WFP and the Government were also working on a pilot project aimed at encouraging drought-resistant cassava production.