REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons and Representatives for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, InforSud news agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the World Trade Organization and the UN Refugee Agency.

Secretary-General’s Activities

Ms. Heuzé said the Secretary-General had offered his warm congratulations to Dr. Srgjan Kerim of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on his election as President of the 62nd session of the General Assembly starting in September. The Secretary-General assured Dr. Kerim of his full support and cooperation during the transition period and throughout his tenure. Available was the Secretary-General’s statement and Dr. Kerim’s acceptance statement.

Ms. Heuzé said the Secretary-General would be participating in the G8 summit in Germany next month. On his way there, he was scheduled to make an official visit to Spain and to participate in the meeting of the Organization of American States’ General Assembly in Panama. The Secretary-General had written to the Heads of State and Government of the “Group of Eight” to draw attention to two key areas – achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and efforts to address climate change – where he said the G-8 leadership would be critical. On climate change, he urged world leaders to be ready to discuss its critical dimensions and warned that the cost of inaction would exceed the cost of taking early action. A special effort was needed to devise and implement a long-term global framework to tackle climate change that addressed the needs of all countries, he said in that letter.

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Brigitte Leoni of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said climate change affected disaster risk reduction and for the first time, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had spoken about disaster risk reduction and had decided to place this subject high on the priority list of the United Nations. The first session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction would be held at the International Geneva Conference Centre fro 5 to 7 June. The Global Platform was expected to be the main international forum on disaster risk reduction. The meeting would assess the progress made in disaster risk reduction policies since the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction took place in Kobe in 2005. The Global Platform would be chaired by John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. The Secretary-General would address the participants in a video message. There would be a press conference on 5 June at 1:15 p.m.

Ms. Leoni said this year, for the first time in human history, more people would be living in cities than in rural areas. Growing urbanization combined with climate change exposed hundreds of millions of people, in particular those living below the poverty line, to more disasters. Eight out of the 10 most populated cities in the world were already prone to earthquakes and six of those cities were also vulnerable to storm surges and tsunamis. This increased the number of potential victims of natural disasters. Available was a media advisory and other documents on the Global Platform with more details.

Daniel Wermus, Director of InfoSud news agency and Media 21 Global Journalism Network, said the Media21 Global Media Network Geneva was holding a two-week journalist workshop from 4 to 18 June on tracking climate change and enhancing global awareness through informed reporting. Some 30 editors and journalists were expected to attend. The programme was being organized in partnership with the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and others. Available was a press release with more details.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Heuzé said the new Permanent Representative of Costa Rica, Laura Thompson, on 22 May presented her credentials to Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva. A press release was available.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child was this morning reviewing the initial report of Sudan on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution. A press release would be issued at the end of the meeting in English and in French.

Ms. Heuzé said the Economic Commission for Europe had asked her to announce that an ECE press release was out today on whether the UNECE would establish a more just system to protect victims of accidental water pollution. A UNECE workshop on “transboundary accidental water pollution, liability and compensation: challenges and opportunities” had been organized in Budapest n 21 and 22 May to discuss the perceived difficulties in carrying out the obligations of the Protocol on Civil Liability which affected this issue.

Sudan

Ms. Heuzé said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had sent a report to the Security Council detailing the proposed hybrid African Union (AU)-United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force for Sudan’s Darfur region. The next step would be for the proposal to be presented to the Sudanese Government. The hybrid force was expected to comprise about 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers and represented the third and final phase of the process to replace the existing AU mission in Darfur, known as AMIS.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, in consultation with the Secretary-General, appointed General Martin L. Agwai of Nigeria as Force Commander of AMIS. The Secretary-General welcomed this decision and looked forward to Gen. Agwai’s close cooperation with the United Nations. Gen. Agwai had been Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Services since June 2006 and was Chief of Army Staff from June 2003 to May 2006. Prior to that, he served with the United Nations as Deputy Military Advisor from November 2002 to June 2003 and Deputy Force Commander of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from November 2000 to November 2002. Available in the press room was a biography of Gen. Agwai.

Ms. Heuzé said the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme had signed an agreement for $5.3 million to allow Sudan to reinforce the capabilities of police in Sudan and to improve the capabilities of the police, the penitentiary system and the judicial system in the south of Sudan.

Yvon Edoumou of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said available was a press release about a meeting which was held yesterday between the United Nations Experts Group with high-level representatives of the Government of Sudan to identify practical steps to improve the human rights situation in Darfur.

Palestinian Refugees

Matthias Burchard of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said a press release had been issued late yesterday afternoon on how calm had taken hold in the Nahr el Bared camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. This was broken again late last night when clashes started between the Lebanese army and the fighters of Fatah al Islam which lasted for several hours. The Lebanese army used artillery and shelled the camp heavily. Since the early hours of this morning, it was calm again. The situation remained tense and UNRWA was bracing again as the fighting could resume. UNRWA called on both parties to use the utmost restraint, to protect civilian lives and to respect humanitarian work. UNRWA had been handing out, together with its partners and other UN agencies, food supplies as much as possible, especially to those who had fled the camp. At the moment, from the overall population of the camp of 31,000, it was estimated that about half had left. Karen Koning AbuZayd, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, had been in the United States and was now heading for Beirut to oversee UNRWA’s emergency operation. More details were available in the press release.

Mr. Burchard clarified that UNRWA did not administer the Palestinian refugee camps in any part of the Middle East. Rather, they were administered by camp committees. In Lebanon, the Lebanese army provided security around the camps.

In Gaza, Mr. Burchard said Israel had carried out 10 air strikes in the last 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, resulting in several injuries. Most of the strikes were targeted at the Hamas security forces and their military bases in the Gaza strip. Israel was present in three areas in Gaza at the moment, trying to create a security zone to hinder rockets being fired into Israel. UNRWA was continuing to provide its services throughout Gaza as the situation allowed. UNRWA was calling on Israel to use the utmost restraint and to respect the proportionality of the use of force in firing into densely populated areas.

Human Rights

Yvon Edoumou of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said High Commissioner Louise Arbour was today concluding her trip to Africa. She would be holding a press conference in Kigali in a few hours time before leaving.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there was a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the North Kivu province. Since November 2006, the situation of relative calm in the province had ended, and there had been clashes, which had caused the displacement of civilians. In the last six months, 260,000 persons had become displaced and the clashes and the displacements were still continuing. It was estimated that at this rate, and by the end of the year, there would be another 330,000 displacements. United Nations agencies and their partners were preparing contingency plans to cover the needs of the expected 590,000 internally displaced persons in North Kivu. OCHA was very worried about the protection of the internally displaced population, who suffered from murders, torture, arbitrary detention and looting during the clashes. At the moment, the United Nations was helping 180,000 internally displaced persons. Efforts to help the rest of the displaced persons were needed urgently. An appeal for $ 687,000 to help the displaced persons was only covered by 19 per cent and the rest of the appeal amount, as well as increased funds for the new expected displacements, were needed.

Chad

Anna Schaaf of the International Committee of the Red Cross said it looked like ICRC would be spending more than 40 per cent of its budget in Africa. As it was Africa Day today, she wanted to talk to journalists about the situation in Chad where a very grave humanitarian crisis was ongoing. Today, ICRC would be releasing a news item on the situation in Chad, which would include information on ICRC’s distributions in eastern Chad of food, seeds, tools, and essential household items to 67,000 displaced persons. The rainy season was coming and soon this area and others in Africa would no longer be accessible by road.

Afghanistan

Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said WFP condemned a number of armed attacks on trucks carrying food aid and the looting of the food in the south and west of Afghanistan. WFP had lost 500 tons of food with a value of
$ 350,000. The last attack on 23 May was the twentieth such attack in 12 months.
Truck drivers were increasingly hesitant to drive trucks in these areas because of the insecurity. The Afghan Government was conscious of the seriousness of the situation and wanted to improve it, but this was easier to say than to implement.

Other

Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said World No Tobacco Day was commemorated on 31 May. The theme this year was "Smoke-free inside: Create and enjoy 100 per cent smoke-free environments". On this occasion, WHO was launching new recommendations on protection from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke and there would be a press conference on 29 May at WHO at 11:30 a.m. Also on 29 May at 3 p.m. in press room 1, there would be a press conference on medication against tuberculosis.

Corinne Perthuis of the International Labour Organization said ILO would hold its ninety-sixth International Labour Conference at the Palais des Nations from 30 May to 15 June. The details on the Conference would be announced next week. She wanted to invite journalists to a lunch with the Director-General of ILO, Juan Sommavia, on 30 March at 12:30 p.m. at the eighth floor restaurant to discuss the main themes before the Conference. Journalists were asked to put down their name as soon as possible if they were interested in attending the lunch.

Anoush der Boghossian of the World Trade Organization said next week, there would be agriculture negotiations held on 30 May. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy had meetings in Geneva next week, with Henri Malosse of the European Economic and Social Council on 29 May, and with Jose Brito, Minister of Economy of Cape Verde on 30 May.

Jennifer Pagonis of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR’s office in Rabat had re-opened after a demonstration by some 20 refugees in front of the office was dispersed in a peaceful manner by the Moroccan law enforcement officials late Thursday night. The UN system in Morocco asked for the peaceful intervention after various negotiations with the demonstrators to end their sit-in failed.

Ms. Pagonis said UNHCR appreciated that the Italian Coast Guard and Navy had stepped up their efforts to locate a boat, crammed with more than 50 people and reported missing 80 nautical miles south of Malta since 22 May. UNHCR recalled that migrants had survived aboard boats adrift in the Mediterranean for over two weeks and it appealed for the search and rescue efforts to continue.

In Malawi, Ms. Pagonis said UNHCR staff was rushing to install additional facilities for 3,000 refugees at Dzaleka refugee camp following a government order to close the only other refugee camp in the country.

The notes of the International Organization for Migration on new special housing and livelihood projects in Indonesia marking the Yogyakarta earthquake anniversary; IOM’s rapid response teams wrapping up life saving winter operations in Pakistan; Colombians to work in the Canadian food industry and others were distributed.