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 also attended by Spokespersons for and Representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.

Zimbabwe

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General deeply regretted that, despite the repeated appeals of the international community, the Government of Zimbabwe had failed to put in place the conditions necessary for free and fair run-off elections. The circumstances that led to the withdrawal of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai from the Presidential elections represented a deeply distressing development that did not bode well for the future of democracy in Zimbabwe. The campaign of violence and intimidation that had marred this election had done a great disservice to the people of the country and must end immediately. The Secretary-General strongly supported the statement of the Chairman of the African Union and the Southern African Development Community that conditions did not exist for a run-off election to be held at this time and that they should be postponed. The United Nations was prepared to work urgently with the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to help resolve this political impasse. The Secretary-General’s envoy, Assistant Secretary-General Haile Menkerios, remained in the region to assist. Copies of the statements by the Secretary-General and by the President of the Security Council on the situation in Zimbabwe were available in the press room.

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said available in the press room was the message of the Secretary-General on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June. Also available were some press kits on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report 2008. The report was embargoed until noon New York time on 26 June.

Conference on Disarmament

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Conference on Disarmament would be concluding the second part of its 2008 session at the end of the week on 27 June. The Conference, presided over by the United States, was meeting now in the Council Chamber. The Conference was also expected to hold a public plenary at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 25 June, to hear a statement by Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. The third and last part of the 2008 session of the Conference would be held from 28 July to 12 September.

Press Conference on La Nina

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier reminded journalists that at noon today in Room III, Rupa Kumar Kolli, Chief of the World Climate Applications and Services Division at the World Meteorological Organization, would brief journalists about the La Nina Update report

Human Rights

Yvon Edoumou of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour would be visiting Pakistan this week – her last official mission overseas before finishing her four-year mandate on 30 June. She was travelling to Pakistan on Wednesday, 25 June and would spend three full days in the country meeting with top government officials, members of civil society and other interlocutors to discuss a range of human rights issues.
Pakistan would be the 55th different country to receive an official visit by Louise Arbour during her four years in office. This would be her first visit to Pakistan.

In response to a question, Mr. Edoumou said the High Commissioner would be discussing with the authorities in Pakistan previous commitments which they had made to various human rights mechanisms. The issue of the independence of the judiciary would also be raised.

In response to a question on Zimbabwe, Mr. Edoumou said the High Commissioner fully supported the statement by the Secretary-General on the situation in that country. She had also made her position very clear, that it was an unacceptable situation in terms of democracy and that people should be allowed to exercise their right to vote.

International Labour Organization

Corinne Perthuis of the International Labour Organization said there was a problem with the working breakfast on Thursday, 26 June, at the restaurant on the eighth floor to introduce ILO’s new year-long campaign starting this month on gender equality at the heart of decent work. There was another event at 10 a.m. on the same morning which created a conflict. She proposed that it now be held on Friday, 27 June, at 9:30 a.m.

Ms. Perthuis said the XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work would be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 29 June to 2 July. The Congress was held every three years. The last time, it had been held in the United States.

Sameera Al Tuwaijri, Head of the Safety and Health at Work Sector of ILO, said the theme of the XVIII Congress on Safety and Health at Work was “Occupational Safety and Health is a Societal Responsibility.” ILO wished to highlight that safety and health at work was not an individual’s or an entity’s responsibility but it was everyone’s task and job to take responsibility for their own health, be they workers or employers or the Government. One of the highlights of the Congress was that for the first time in its history since 1953, there was going to be a one-day Summit preceding the Congress. The Summit would include some 50 world leaders on occupational safety and health representing the tripartite structure of ILO. They would debate a document called “The Seoul Declaration” on occupational safety and health, aimed at raising the profile of occupational safety and health as a human right.

Ms. Perthuis said that Ms. Al Tuwaijri was available for interviews before she left tomorrow for Seoul, and ILO would arrange a press briefing by her upon her return.

World Health Organization

Dick Thompson of the World Health Organization said four years ago, WHO created the World Alliance for Patients Safety. Since then, the Alliance had taken a number of steps to improve safety of patients. On Wednesday, 25 June, the Alliance would be releasing a checklist for major surgeries. There were 234 million major surgeries taking place annually. Preliminary studies showed that using this check list increased adherence to best standards from 36 to 68 per cent, and in some situations, up to 100 per cent, thereby reducing complications which could result from surgical errors. The checklist would be launched in Washington, as it was connected to a Lancet paper.

A report on clean drinking water and sanitation was being released on Thursday, 26 June and copies under embargo were available at the back of the room. The report “Safe Water for Better Health” gathered existing evidence and provided country-by-country estimates of the burden of disease linked to problems with water, sanitation and hygiene. The report said it was estimated that one tenth of the global burden of disease could be prevented by improving water, sanitation and disease.

Annette Pruess-Usten of the WHO, the author of the report, said the report provided for the first time a country-by-country picture of the disease burden that was caused by water, sanitation and hygiene. The report showed the preventive opportunity of water, sanitation and hygiene as almost all of this burden was readily preventable by measures that had proven to be efficient. In 35 of the most affected countries, even more than 50 per cent of the disease burden could sustainably be prevented by improved water, sanitation and hygiene. The report prevented the argument to countries on why to invest in better water, sanitation and hygiene. For one dollar of investment, there were eight dollars in return of benefits, including productivity gain, better education as it prevented days lost by pupils attending schools, and the cost to the healthcare agencies and to individuals.

United Nations Children’s Fund

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund presented Sarah Crowe, who was responsible for communications for UNICEF in the South-East Asia region. Ms. Crowe had just concluded a mission to India and she would talk about how the food crisis was affecting children in India.

Sarah Crowe of UNICEF said for many years, she had covered sub-Saharan Africa, and had only been in South-East Asia for eight weeks. When she arrived in South-East Asia, she saw the reality on the ground, in comparison to just the statistics, as to the underlying causes of child malnutrition. The reason why India counted was because there were more children being born in India than in any other country in the world. The situation on the ground was very alarming. India alone had the highest child malnutrition in the world, 46 per cent at the best of times, higher even than in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past eight years, 150,000 farmers had committed suicide, the country had seen enormous climate changes, including late monsoon rains and huge areas of drought and food shortages. On top of this, there was the global crisis and the increase in food prices. This was a storm that was targeting children. Scheduled Tribes and Castes were still discriminated against in India on the ground, and this had created very high rates of child malnutrition. So in India, there was already a food crisis in place. According to estimates, 1.5 million children in India, on top of the 46 per cent that already suffered from malnutrition, could now suffer increased levels of malnutrition.

Ms. Taveau reminded journalists that at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 25 June, Hilde Johnson, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, would brief journalists on her visit to Ethiopia and speak about drought and its consequences on children. The briefing would be held in Room III.

UN Refugee Agency

Ron Redmond of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR continued to press for the immediate and unconditional release of a UNHCR staff member who was abducted over the weekend in Somalia.
Hassan Mohamed Ali, also known as Keynaan, was abducted by unknown armed men on Saturday night from his home near Afgooye, some 30 kilometres west of Mogadishu. Ali Keynaan established telephone contact with a relative on Sunday night and said he was in good condition. But no other information had been received with respect to his abductors, their motives or his whereabouts. Ali Keynaan was UNHCR’s head of office in Mogadishu. The abduction would force delays in the delivery of aid to people who were already desperate, and affect the continuation of humanitarian activities in the Somali capital.

Mr. Redmond said President Rafael Correa this weekend opened Ecuador’s first Government Refugee Office along the border with Colombia. Ecuador had the largest refugee population in Latin America, coming mostly from neighbouring Colombia. The new office of the Directorate General for Refugees was the first of its kind outside the capital, Quito.

In Geneva, the 2008 annual consultations between UNHCR and its non-governmental partners would begin on Wednesday, 25 June, bringing together some 200 non-governmental organizations for three days of talks on a variety of issues ranging from the protection of refugee women and children at risk to the monitoring of refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants in detention. In total, 360 delegates were expected to attend the consultations at the International Conference Centre in Geneva. Also a photo exhibition, "Do You See What I See?" would be launched at the Palais des Nations by Mr. Guterres on Wednesday.

International Organization for Migration

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said in Myanmar, IOM Yangon had now received over 100 tonnes of medical supplies and other emergency relief goods valued at over $ 2 million to help survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the Irrawaddy delta on 2 May.
IOM relief operations, which were now coordinated from three hubs in the three delta townships of Bogale, Pyapon and Mawlamyinegyun, included distribution of relief items including tarpaulins, rain ponchos and mosquito nets, as well as the deployment of mobile medical teams providing direct medical aid. In light of the extent of the damage, under a new UN funding appeal expected to be launched in July, IOM would be seeking further funds.

In Mozambique, IOM's Southern African Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme had released a thrilling new drama to radio stations throughout Mozambique to raise awareness of the dangers of irregular migration and trafficking. Last week, Mozambican President Armando Guebuza signed into law three bills designed to criminalize human trafficking. Radio was the most popular source of entertainment and information for rural communities, which were the most vulnerable to human trafficking in Southern Africa.

Mr. Chauzy said in Sri Lanka, IOM had trained 300 police and immigration officials in a nationwide series of counter-trafficking training workshops funded by USAID. The one-day workshops, which IOM developed in close cooperation with the Sri Lanka Police Department, the Attorney General's Department and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, were designed to help law enforcement officials to identify victims of trafficking, to pursue trafficking cases and to successfully prosecute traffickers.

According to IOM’s latest Migration Research Series report, there was no evidence that irregular migration from West Africa to the Maghreb and Europe was growing at an alarming rate. The report sought to dispel several misconceptions on this issue. Whilst over the past 15 years, there had been an undeniable increase in regular and irregular migration of West Africans to the Maghreb and Europe, the report stated that trans-Saharan and trans-Mediterranean migration from Africa to Europe was not as massive as was commonly perceived.