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 meeting which was also attended by Spokespersons for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Programme, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Trade Organization.
UN Financial Situation
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General’s latest report to the General Assembly on improving the financial situation of the United Nations has been issued. In the report, the Secretary-General says that “the financial position of the UN remains fragile”. The Secretary-General says “The financial indicators for 2008 are mixed,” referring to the four main factors that determine the UN’s financial strength – assessments issued; unpaid assessed contributions; available cash resources; and the UN’s outstanding debt to Member States. As of 24 October, 133 Member States had paid their assessments to the UN regular budget in full, seven more than on 31 October last year. Of the $756 million that remained outstanding at 24 October for the regular budget, 94 per cent was owed by a single Member State and 6 per cent by the remaining Member States. “Clearly, the final picture for 2008 will largely depend on the action taken by those countries in the coming few weeks,” Mr. Ban says. The report of the Secretary-General is available.
Director-General Concludes Meetings with Regional Groups
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, has concluded his series of meetings with regional groups, which she spoke to journalists about some weeks ago. A press release would be issued later today.
Geneva Activities
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was today issuing its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports which were considered during its forty-second session before concluding the session. The recommendations were not available yet and a round up press release would be issued whenever they became available.
The Committee against Torture was this morning considering the reports of China, including the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, in Room XII. This afternoon, the Committee would be back at the Palais Wilson to conclude its review of the report of Kazakhstan, which started yesterday. The Committee would conclude its consideration of the reports of China on Monday, 10 November. Also next week, the Committee would review the reports of Montenegro, Belgium and Kenya.
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was today concluding its review of the report of Kenya. Next week, the Committee was scheduled to review the situation in Kosovo based on a report presented by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, and the reports of the Philippines and Angola.
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said next Tuesday, 11 November, there would be a press conference at 11:30 a.m. in Room III on the inauguration of the Room XX, the new home of the Human Rights Council. Speaking in this press conference would be Mr. Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Javier Garrigues, Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Vice-President of the ONUART Foundation, and Juan Antonio March, former Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Vice-President of the ONUART Foundation.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the Secretary-General was deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and, in particular, by the fighting which began two days ago between a mixed group of Coalition of Patriots in the Congolese Resistance (PARECO)/Mayi-Mayi militia and the National Congress in Defense of the People (CNDP) in the Rutshuru area. He was also worried by the reported attack by the CNDP this morning on positions of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in the Nyanzale area. The Secretary-General called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of forces to positions held prior to the resumption of fighting on 28 August. He urged the armed groups involved in the ongoing fighting to support the current efforts to find a political solution to the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and to avoid activities that resulted in the further displacement and suffering of the civilian population. The Secretary-General continued to work closely with the leaders of the sub-region to assist in finding a comprehensive and lasting solution to this crisis. Mr. Ban was currently in Nairobi, where he would attend a regional summit on the subject.
Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the situation in North Kivu remained tense while the humanitarian situation was unfortunately deteriorating quickly. Ms. Byrs said Goma and Grand Nord remained relatively clam. However, fighting in Nyanzale area, as well as Kiwandja was reported on 6 November. This renewed fighting led to further access restrictions, cutting many off again from humanitarian relief. The total number of newly internally displaced persons or persons who were already displaced and had to flee again in North Kivu Province after September 2008 was estimated at approximately 253,000 persons. This applied particularly to the figures provided for the area of Rutshuru and Kiwanja. These internally displaced persons added to an existing estimated internally displaced population of 800,000 from previous hostilities. The distance between the CNDP and the FARDC in Kibati was narrowing, increasing protection risks for the estimated 65,000 internally displaced persons that were currently installed in this camp.
In Province Orientale, Ms. Byrs said that in Dungu, the entire population of the city of 57,000 inhabitants and 6,000 internally displaced persons had fled due to LRA attacks on 1 and 2 November. A vast area of 10,000 square kilometres, from the western edge of Garamba National Park to the border with Sudan, had been depopulated. Access to Dungu was restricted due to insecurity on roads coupled with poor infrastructure.
Ms. Byrs said she had spoken before about rapes which were used as a weapon in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to CARE non governmental organization which has been following this situation, it estimated that more than 3,500 cases of sexual violence had taken place in North Kivu between January and September 2008. These were the figures gathered by the Joint Initiative on Sexual Violence and CARE. It was estimated that with the ongoing violence and fighting, the figures for sexual violence would also increase. A problem was that rapes were not systematically reported as raped women were rejected by their families, communities and villages, so these were only estimates.
Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said the main worry of UNICEF’s team in Goma today was the cases of cholera which were increasing. In the camps for internally displaced persons in Goma, the cases of cholera had doubled in a few days. UNICEF was continuing to reinforce distribution of clean water and of water purification tablets and was installing more latrines. Diarrhoea was the third largest cause of death of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The second priority for UNICEF was measles and a vaccination campaign was starting today in Kibati to vaccinate 13,000 children. The aim was to vaccinate up to 73,000 in the coming days. Measles and pneumonia were the two main causes of death of children, especially among children under the age of five.
Ms. Taveau said the third priority for UNICEF was the forced recruitment of children in the affected zones. It was difficult to get information as UNICEF was not directly on the ground, but according to information received by UNICEF, children of 14 to 17 years had been forcefully recruited in the militias to participate in the fighting and girls had been recruited as sex slaves. UNICEF was sending messages via radio to all the armed groups to stop recruitment and to immediately release children who had been recruited. The fourth priority for UNICEF was children who had been separated from their families and were at risk of exploitation. Yesterday, a distribution of high-energy biscuits had been organized in Kibati camp, where newly arrived families arriving had not had anything to eat in many days. The last priority for UNICEF was education as schools were closed, and many had been destroyed. UNICEF would build emergency classrooms and distribute school supplies when schools reopened.
Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme said the food distribution which WFP and CARITAS began on 5 November was expected to conclude today after reaching 135,000 persons in six internally displaced camps in and around Goma. In addition, 65,000 displaced persons received food assistance in a distribution organized by WFP and the International Committee of the Red Cross which should conclude today. WFP staff on the ground were also continuing assessments. WFP remained quite concerned about the situation in Oriental Province, which was not receiving the same level of attention as that given to North and South Kivu. There were an estimated 200,000 internally displaced people there and WFP was drawing attention to that concern.
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said there were three priority concerns for WHO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: re-establishing functioning of and access to health services; re-establishing the disease early warning system; and conducting an extraordinary measles and polio immunization campaign accompanied by distribution of Vitamin A and mebendazole. Italy had informed WHO that it was increasing its humanitarian support for health action in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by providing additional supplies that now allowed to treat up to 180,000 people affected by the ongoing insecurity. Some 31 tons of medicines and other desperately needed health supplies would be flown from Italy. Some 10 tons had already been flown over and distributed in the affected areas. Norway was also providing 30 tons of supplies, sufficient to treat 150,000 persons for one month. WHO had also sent a team of epidemiologists and logisticians to the region to help other UN agencies and other partners implement their operations in the country.
In response to a question, Ms. Chaib said last week, there had been 330 cases of cholera reported in east and north Kivu and 11 cases of measles. She did not have the latest figures. Cholera was endemic to the region.
Ron Redmond of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR fully supported the Secretary-General’s call for an immediate halt to fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo amid growing concerns over tens of thousands of displaced civilians. UNHCR hoped today’s talks in Nairobi would lead to an immediate end to hostilities because the humanitarian needs in North Kivu were enormous. UNHCR remained extremely concerned about the security of some 65,000 internally displaced Congolese civilians in the Kibati camps in the northern outskirts of Goma. UNHCR feared that the civilian population, already in a desperate humanitarian situation, could be caught in the crossfire should fighting resume in the area. UNHCR again appealed to all sides in the conflict to respect the civilian character of the camps, to respect humanitarian principles and to ensure the safety of civilians and those trying to help them. There was also a risk of militarisation in the camps. UNHCR and other agencies were rushing to get life-saving assistance to internally displaced people as quickly as possible in an extremely volatile environment characterized by widespread human rights abuses and general lawlessness. UNCHR was also looking into the possibility of opening another camp west of Goma in case the situation at the two Kibati camps became untenable.
Floods in Honduras and Guatemala
Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Tropical Storm Paloma, previously tropical Depression 17, had formed and affected new areas in Honduras. The number of persons affected by floods in Honduras had increased to almost 320,000. The Flash Appeal for Honduras was 8.8 per cent funded and urgent support was needed to avert a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation. The humanitarian situation was constantly evolving. The floods had killed 60 persons to date. Of those affected, 70,000 were in need of shelter.
In Guatemala, Ms. Byrs said the number of affected persons had also increased and had now reached 150,000. Rains were expected to continue until the end of the month. The priority needs were for water and sanitation, health, food security and protection of the vulnerable population.
Other
Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said WHO has welcomed a General Assembly resolution to ban smoking and tobacco sales at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The resolution, passed on 3 November, noted the harmful impact of second-hand smoke, which could lead to disease, disability and death. It called for a ban on indoor smoking and the sale of tobacco products at Headquarters, and also recommended a similar prohibition at all UN premises, including regional and country offices.
Emilia Casella of the World Food Programme said WFP was welcoming today a $ 12 million contribution from the Government of India that would be used to provide fortified biscuits made from Indian wheat for 1.2 million school children in Afghanistan. The biscuits, which were being produced in New Delhi and Amritsar, would be shipped to Afghanistan through Pakistan, which marked a major transportation breakthrough, opening a new route for humanitarian assistance from India to Afghanistan. WFP was extremely pleased with this development.
Brigitte Leoni of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said nominations were now open for the 2009 Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction. Nominees should be individuals and institutions from around the world who had contributed to building the resilience of nations and communities to natural hazards through innovative practices and outstanding initiatives.
Leyla Alyanak of the United Nations Population Fund said on 5 November, UNFPA issued a media advisory to let journalists know that there would be a press briefing for journalists on 12 November at 9:30 a.m. in press room 1 to release the State of the World Population report. Copies of the advisory were available. The report would be launched in a number of cities worldwide. The main launch would take place in London, and there would also be a press conference in Bern at 3 p.m. on the same day, jointly with the Swiss development agency. The theme of the report this year was culture, gender and human rights.
Janaina Borgese of the World Trade Organization said the Trade and Finance Expert meeting would be held on 12 November. The goal of the meeting was to examine this issue and the impact from the financial crisis and to find ways to alleviate the situation if it was to deteriorate. There would be a technical briefing on 10 November at 1 p.m. at WTO. On 12 November, Director-General Pascal Lamy would hold a press conference at WTO after the meeting. The Dispute Settlement Body was meeting on 10 November. On 13 November, there would be an informal meeting of the industrial goods negotiation.
Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the United Nations Development Fund had asked her to announce that available in the press room was a press release on the sale of ivory which had raised more than $ 15 million for the conservation of elephants in Africa. There would be a press conference on this subject at noon today in press room 1.