REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
Marie Heuzé, the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which also heard from Spokespersons for and Representatives of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the Meningitis Vaccine Project, the International Labour Office, the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the UN Refugee Agency.
New Statements by the Secretary-General
Ms. Heuzé said available were a number of new statements by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In one statement, the Secretary-General wholeheartedly welcomed that G8 leaders had agreed on a strong and early action to combat climate change. He said he was greatly encouraged by their commitment to a multilateral process within the UN framework. The Secretary-General had placed great diplomatic efforts in getting the G8 leaders to acknowledge the central role of the United Nations and its Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the forum for climate change negotiations. The Secretary-General said the acceptance by the leaders of their responsibility to act on emission reductions and eventual cuts was to be commended, as was their stated intention to conclude the negotiations on a post-2012 agreement by 2009.
In another statement, the Secretary-General said he was shocked and dismayed at the remarks attacking Israel attributed to H.E. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on 3 June, in which he said repeatedly that the world could witness the “destruction of the Zionist regime” soon. The Secretary-General pointed out that the State of Israel was a full and long-standing member of the United Nations with the same rights and obligations as every other member. He reminded that under the United Nations Charter, all members had undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. The Secretary-General had repeatedly made his views clear on this issue.
The copies of both statements were available in the press room in English and in French.
Geneva Activities
Ms. Heuzé said the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, had yesterday participated in an ILO/FAO event at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction under the theme “Planning for Livelihood Recovery”. The event was held at the Geneva International Conference Centre. The remarks delivered by the Director-General at the event were available in the press room.
Ms. Heuzé said the Committee on the Rights of the Child was today concluding its forty-fifth session at the Palais Wilson. It would issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Slovakia, the Maldives, Uruguay, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Guatemala, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Monaco, Norway and Sweden which were reviewed during the session. A roundup press release would be issued shortly in English and in French.
The Human Rights Council would hold its fifth session from 11 to 18 June. Ms. Heuzé recalled that journalists had been briefed on the main issues before the Council yesterday by Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico, the President of the Council. A note to correspondents would be issued with details about coverage. For the duration of the Council, the cyberspace on the third floor would be reserved for francophone journalists participating in the training programme on human rights organized by INFOSUD. These journalists would also be participating in the briefings next week.
The next plenary of the Conference on Disarmament would be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 12 June.
Lebanon
Matthias Burchard of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said in the UNRWA camps in Lebanon, in Nahr El Bared, the fighting continued overnight. According to UNRWA’s Director in Lebanon, Richard Cook, who had spent the day in the camp yesterday, it was a very volatile situation. It was too risky for any substantial provision of services other than life saving services, which the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society were trying to provide as they could under the circumstances. Both organizations were warning of the worsening of the situation for the remaining 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants in the camp. There was a lack of food and medicine, and electricity was only sporadically provided. There was a lot of rubble in the streets and damage both inside and outside the camp. Unexploded ordnance was a big problem. ICRC and the Palestine Red Crescent Society were trying to negotiate a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to leave, or at least for the departure of the remaining sick and elderly persons and children. UNRWA’s installation in the camp had been damaged. It still had six staff members in the camp. In total, 29,000 persons had left the camp and the surrounding area.
Mr. Burchard said that in Beddawi camp, where most of the refugees had fled, the situation was calm now, and there was now a good supply of food and medicine after initial problems. UNRWA’s health clinic and mobile clinic, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society hospital were running double shifts. UNICEF was providing recreational material. UNRWA was providing food, medicine, mattresses, pillows, covers, hygiene kits, psychological care, transportation and schooling to the refugees in the camp.
UNRWA on 4 June had called for $ 12.7 million for its operation in Lebanon, and there had been pledges so far for $ 3.5 million from the United States and $ 700,000 from Germany. UNRWA was using its emergency reserves and needed to urgently restock and it urged donors to be forthcoming.
Human Rights
José Luis Díaz of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in response to a question about the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Sigma Huda, said the Office had asked for a clarification from the authorities in Bangladesh on what exactly was happening with the Special Rapporteur. The Office had been told that the Special Rapporteur had been prevented from leaving Bangladesh. She had been scheduled to attend the Human Rights Council session which was opening on 11 June. The Office had been informed there was a court case against her, and it would like to know what that case implied, and why those proceedings or any charges against her would prevent her from fulfilling her functions as Special Rapporteur. The Office was waiting for the answers and information from the authorities in Bangladesh.
Asked if Special Rapporteurs had any immunity, Mr. Díaz said the question of immunity and privileges of experts on mission was covered in the UN convention on privileges and immunity. It would cover them for work that they carried out while on mission, including travel. It was difficult for the Office to make any sort of determination on this particular case because they did not have any information yet and they were waiting for answers before going any further.
Meningitis Vaccine Project
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said an embargoed press release had been sent out yesterday on a new Meningitis vaccine. Today, the Director of the Meningitis Vaccine Project would speak about this new Meningitis vaccine.
Marc LaForce, Director of the Meningitis Vaccine Project, a partnership with the World Health Organization, said epidemics of Meningitis had been a problem in Sub-Saharan Africa for more than 100 years. These epidemics occurred annually, then every 10 or 12 years, there were major epidemics which swept across the entire area. The last of these epidemics was in 1996-1997 and caused over 200,000 reported cases of Meningitis, with over 25,000 deaths. Virtually all of the cases of this disease in Sub-Saharan Africa were caused by one serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus). This was the only place on earth where this occurred. African Ministers of Health asked for help from WHO after the last epidemic and a partnership was developed – the Meningitis Vaccine Project - with funding from the Gates Foundation. The goal was to eliminate epidemic Meningitis as a public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa through the development of a new vaccine. Currently, Africa used polysaccharide vaccine to combat epidemics of Meningitis, but these vaccines were effective only for a couple of years. The new vaccine engendered an immune response that was much stronger and had a much more lasting effect.
Mr. LaForce said the new meningococcal conjugate vaccine trial, in 12- to 23-month-olds in Mali and The Gambia, showed that the vaccine was safe, and that it produced antibody levels almost 20 times higher than those obtained with the marketed polysaccharide (un-conjugated) vaccine. It was believed that this new vaccine would remain effective from 10 to 20 years. If this new vaccine was introduced in large scale, it could bring an end to these Meningitis epidemics in Sub-Saharan Africa. Next year, the new vaccine would be introduced in Burkina Faso on a large public health scale, and assuming that there were no problems, that would allow it to be introduced in Meningitis-belt countries from 2009 to 2019.
Other
Hans Von Rohland of the International Labour Organization said the International Labour Conference was continuing at the Palais des Nations and was today discussing a global report on discrimination which was released last month. Next week, on Monday, 11 June, the Crown Prince of Bahrain would address the Conference at 11:30 a.m. and at 3 p.m., the President of Poland would speak. On 12 June, the Prime Minister of Jamaica and the President of Senegal would address the Conference. 12 June was also World Day against Child Labour and an embargoed press release was available, which spoke about ILO and five international agricultural organizations launching a new landmark global partnership to tackle child labour in agriculture.
Anoush der Boghossian of the World Trade Organization said there would be a press conference at 1 p.m. on 11 June by the G20 Group, including eight Ministers. On 11 and 12 June, there would be trade and environment negotiations, which were part of the Doha negotiations. The trade policy of the Central African Republic would be reviewed on 11 and 13 June. As for the Director-General, he was participating in the working session on the growth of the world economy at the G8+4 meeting in Heiligendamm in Germany. He had meetings with a number of Ministers and other senior level officials in Geneva next week, and the details were available in the schedule at the back of the room.
Samar Shamoon of the World Intellectual Property Organization said the fourth session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda, which was looking at ways to enhance the development dimension in WIPO’s work, would meet in Geneva from 11 to 15 June. The Committee would put its end result before the WIPO General Assembly at the end of September.
Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said for the past few days, hundreds of Sudanese refugees had been fleeing from Darfur into the Central African Republic. UNICEF was working with the UN Refugee Agency and other partners. According to the latest figures, 434 families, mainly women and children, had fled from Darfur and had arrived in an area some 80 kilometres away from the border with Sudan. Another 1,000 persons were on the way into the Central African Republic, and dozens were arriving daily, accompanied by some domestic animals. A first assessment mission had gone to the area on 28 May and a second assessment mission was ongoing to check out the needs further.
Ms. Taveau said an important agreement to demobilize child soldiers in the Central African Republic would be signed next week in an official ceremony. The agreement concerned the demobilization of 400 child soldiers.
In Somalia, Ms. Taveau said UNICEF, which was always concerned about child soldiers, had received information from the Transitional Federal Government, saying that in an operation in Mogadishu, child soldiers who had been taken by the Islamic Courts Union had been discovered. UNICEF was asking the Transitional Federal Government for more details on what was happening to the child soldiers and was requesting direct access to them.
In conclusion, Ms. Taveau said available was a press release about Japan doubling its donation to UNICEF to $ 9.25 million for the reduction of child mortality in Nigeria.
William Spindler of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR was extremely concerned at what seemed to be an increasing trend in the number and seriousness of racist attacks against asylum seekers, refugees and other foreigners in Ukraine. At the same time, a number of incidents of police violence against people seeking protection in Ukraine had been reported. UNHCR first voiced concerns over what appeared to be xenophobic acts in Ukraine in 2001. Since 2005, UNHCR had been receiving on a regular basis first-hand reports of racially motivated incidents, unprovoked attacks, beatings, verbal insults and other acts of xenophobia against refugees and asylum seekers in different regions of Ukraine. There were also regular media reports of attacks and harassment of foreigners in Kyiv, including members of the diplomatic community. UNHCR acknowledged the important steps taken by the Ukrainian authorities to address this problem. It encouraged the authorities to increase their efforts to put an end to these attacks and to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice as a matter of urgency. UNHCR was working together with other UN agencies, the diplomatic community and human rights organizations in Ukraine to counteract xenophobia and racism.