REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by spokespersons for and representatives of the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations Development Programme, the Mont Blanc Meetings, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Devleopment, the International Strategy of Disaster Reduction, the United Nations Environmental Programme and the World Trade Organization.

Afghanistan

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the United Nations announced yesterday that it would temporarily relocate some of its staff as part of increased security measures following the deadly attack in the Afghan capital last week that killed five UN staff members and injured several others. “Effective immediately, the United Nations is taking additional steps to reduce risks to its national and international staff serving in Afghanistan. This is in light of the 28 October attack against UN staff in Kabul as well as further ongoing threats,” the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement. “Although details of the new measures cannot be made public, it is expected that they will involve short-term relocations for some staff while additional security is being put in place,” the statement added. Some 600 out of the roughly 1,100 international UN staff in Afghanistan would be temporarily relocated, either to safer locations within the country or outside the country. The UN has around 6,000 people working across the country in total. “We are not talking about pulling out and we are not talking about evacuation,” Kai Eide, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNAMA, told reporters in Kabul yesterday. “We’re simply doing what we have to, following the tragic event last week, to look after our workers in a difficult moment while ensuring that our operations in Afghanistan can continue.”

Sexual Abuse and Exploitation by UN Peacekeepers

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said according to the latest information from the Department of Field Support, from the start of January this year, troop contributing countries have reported that 33 military personnel implicated in cases of sexual abuse and exploitation during UN peacekeeping have been disciplined and punished. The punishments included dismissal, forced retirement, withdrawal of officer’s commission, various lengths of imprisonment and outright dismissal. Last year, two military personnel received similar disciplinary action and there were fifteen such cases the year before. Additionally, over the past three years, disciplinary action was also taken against twenty military personnel for cases involving other forms of misconduct, such as negligent loss of firearms, traffic-related violations and fraud or theft. Some of the cases involved peacekeepers who served in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sudan. When allegations of misconduct were substantiated against any military or police serving in UN peacekeeping, the UN repatriated the individuals concerned and then banned them from participating in future peacekeeping operations.

Report of Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said the General Assembly yesterday endorsed the report of the United Nations investigation which found that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were guilty of serious human rights violations during the conflict in the Gaza Strip at the start of the year. After two days of debate in the Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, 114 Member States voted in favour of a resolution endorsing the report’s findings and its recommendations for further action. Eighteen States voted against the resolution and another 44 countries abstained. The probe, led by Justice Richard Goldstone, a former war crimes prosecutor at the UN war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, found that both sides committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity, during the conflict in December 2008 and January 2009. The four-member fact-finding team called for a number of measures, including the referral of the report to the Security Council, since neither the Israeli Government nor the responsible Palestinian authorities had so far carried out any credible investigations into alleged violations. General Assembly President Ali Treki, speaking to journalists after the resolution was adopted, said that “this vote is an important declaration against impunity. It is a call for justice and accountability.”

Geneva Activities

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said there would be three meetings held next week relating to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW). The Third Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War to the CCW would be held on 9 and 10 November at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Eleventh Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II would meet on 11 November. The Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the CCW would convene on 12 and 13 November. The background press releases on the three meetings were in the press room.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was today considering the report of Poland. On Monday, the Committee would review the report of Madagascar.

Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said she had stated at the last briefing that the Committee against Torture had postponed the consideration of the report of Spain to another session, but in fact it was only postponed by one week, and it would now be reviewed on 12 and 13 November. Today, the Committee was concluding its consideration of the report of El Salvador, and on Monday, 9 November, it would take up the report of Azerbaijan.

The Geneva Discussions would be held at the Palais des Nations on 11 November, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said. As usual, at the end of the day, there would be three consecutive press briefings, the first by the three co-chairs of the meeting, the second by the delegation of the Russian Federation and the third by the delegation of Georgia. She had no exact times for the press conferences yet.

World Health Organization

Gregory Hartl of the World Health Organization said an update had been put up on the WHO website on farm animals, because there had been a few incidents accumulating of having found H1N1 in various kinds of animals. Basically, the message was that this did not change WHO’s overall assessment of the virus. Also, today, they would be posting the normal weekly update which would say that they were continuing to see high levels of activities in large parts of the northern hemisphere, certainly in north America, and in increasing areas of Europe, including eastern Europe and Ukraine.



Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization said the Women and Health: Today’s Evidence, Tomorrow’s Agenda report would be launched on Monday, 9 November. Embargoed copies of the report and the press releases were available. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan would launch the report on Monday, 9:40 a.m. at WHO and journalists were invited. A press conference would be held from 11:30 to 12:15.

Kenya

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said while most of Kenya continued to suffer from the effects of the prolonged drought, parts of the country had been pounded by torrential rainfall that had left an estimated 5,000 people along the Indian Ocean coast and the north-eastern region displaced and forced to seek shelter in schools and in homes of host families. Six persons have been killed by floods and landslides. The floods had disrupted transportation of humanitarian aid for refugees. There were fears that up to 750,000 people in Kenya could be affected by the flooding and landslides caused by El Nino weather phenomenon. The Government of Kenya, supported by humanitarian agencies, had developed national and field level food preparedness and response plans. The contingency plans included pre-positioning of relief items such as food, water treatment chemicals and mosquito nets in flood-prone areas.

Andrej Mahecic of the UN Refugee Agency said UNHCR was asking donor countries for $2.8 million to help more than 300,000 refugees in two camps in Kenya threatened by flooding. UNHCR had already begun to make engineering improvements in the two camps. Much of the money would be used to pre-position essential items such as fuel, blankets, plastic sheets, and to respond to possible outbreaks of disease. UNHCR feared that the looming El Nino phenomenon may now threaten the mostly Somali refugees in the two camps, which in any case usually were flooded for three months every year.

Yemen

Ms. Byrs of OCHA said a United Nations cross-border assessment to Al-Mandaba, Alb from 26 to 29 October had provided a clearer picture of humanitarian needs in the immediate border region. The situation for people living in this region was particularly precarious. It was estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 internally displaced persons were sheltered in the area, with 140 to 210 new persons arriving daily. The assessment mission confirmed the feasibility of launching an immediate humanitarian response to provide life-saving support to compliment assistance delivered by the Government and other agencies. Contingency planning would now begin, in case of a further deterioration of the situation. The situation in Sa’ada and its neighbouring governorates remained tense and volatile, with frequent operational obstructions delaying the provision of humanitarian assistance. The supply route to Sa’ada town through Al Jawf into Kittaf Al-Boqa’a, which had been closed for nearly three weeks in October, blocking twelve trucks with relief items from WFP and UNNHCR, opened again on 31 October. Provisions had been sent to replenish depleted stocks. Since 26 October, the Yemeni Government had allowed the provision of humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons living in host communities in Amran Governorate, after an initial suspension of aid. A total of 110,623 internally displaced persons had been registered by humanitarian actors as of 31 October and the registration process was still continuing. As the conflict continued and winter approached, the situation for internally displaced persons was becoming increasingly challenging. The internally displaced persons in some locations were reported to be living under plastic sheeting in open areas, with no proper shelter and in unhygienic conditions. The draft 2010 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan was under review and would be published as part of the Global Launch of the 2010 Consolidated Appeals Process on 30 November 2009.

Mr. Mahecic of UNHCR said he had spoken recently about the first convoy that went in. The second convoy was about to go in. The cross border operation was continuing. The findings of the assessment mission estimated that there could be around 3,500 to 4,000 people in that area, and that was why they would be moving new aid for this particular group.

UN Refugee Agency

Mr. Mahecic of UNHCR said UNHCR was stepping up assistance to people displaced by military operations in South Waziristan, Pakistan, and would shortly distribute tents to families staying with host communities in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts of the North West Frontier Province. Since September, UNCHR had been distributing relief items such as kitchen sets, jerry cans, quilts and sleeping mats to displaced people from South Waziristan. UNHCR was also supporting the registration of displaced people from South Waziristan which was being carried out by the provincial Social Welfare Department, with help from UNHCR0s local NGO partners. Some 350,000 people had now registered in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Mahecic said more than 16,000 civilians had fled ethnic violence in the north of the country, crossing the Oubangui River into neighbouring Republic of Congo to find safety after their villages were burned. The violent dispute was between the Enyele and Munzaya tribes over farming and fishing rights in the village of Dongo in Equateur province. In total, 60 persons had been killed and the deadly clashes had spread to surrounding villages, several of which were burning. The fleeing civilians were staying in public buildings or with host communities across 11 villages alongside the Oubangui River. A UNHCR team was now visiting them and the initial assessment was that they needed shelter, food and household items.

In conclusion, Mr. Mahecic said in support of the Sri Lankan Government’s return plan, which had so far allowed 90,000 internally displaced persons to return to their villages in Sri Lanka’s north and east regions, UNHCR was distributing relief items such as sleeping mats, bed sheets and hurricane lamps to the returnees. It was also carrying out protection monitoring in the return areas, verifying the return conditions, and was providing returning families with a shelter grant to help them rebuild their homes and restart their lives. In addition to its overall assistance programmes, UNHCR was providing five demining flail machines to help accelerate humanitarian mine clearing operations in former conflict areas.

Fourth Edition of Mont Blanc Meetings

Adam Rogers of the United Nations Development Programme said the Fourth Edition of the “Rencontres du Mont-Blanc”, the Mont Blanc Meetings, would take place in Chamonix on 9 and 10 November on the theme of feeding the planet: what role can the social economy play.

Thierry Jeantet, the President of the Mont Blanc meetings, said the meetings brought together the directors of cooperatives, mutuals, associations and foundations working in various fields. The role of the meetings was to highlight the profile and role of a social economy around the world, and to facilitate the exchange of concrete projects between social economy actors. A press kit was available at the back of the room.

Ruth Stegassy of the Mont Blanc meetings, responding to a question, said the first morning would be devoted to listening to various experts who would explain not only the different causes of the food crisis, but also the links and articulations between them. There were strong links between the political, economical, environmental, social and cultural sectors.

Other

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development said UNCTAD’s thirteenth African Oil, Gas, Minerals, Trade and Finance Conference would be held from 10 to 13 November in Bamako, Mali. The theme of this year’s conference was “Natural resources development: capturing value from information”. Over 400 participants from more than 30 countries were expected to attend the meeting. A background press release was available.

Ms. Sibut-Pinote said UNCTAD’s seventh Debt Management Conference would be held from 9 to 11 November in Geneva. The conference would discuss the effects of the global recession on the debt burdens of developing countries, and the difficult choices many nations increasingly faced over whether to devote scarce resources to servicing debts or to stimulating their economies and providing health and social services to their populations. A background press release was available.

Jean Rodriguez of the UN Economic Commission for Europe said the Fifth Session of the States Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Water and International Lakes (Water Convention) would be held at the Palais des Nations from 10 to 12 November. The full programme of the meeting would be sent to journalists, including the list of participants.

The Executive Secretary of ECE, Jan Kubis, would be in Kazakhstan on 14 November to meet with the Foreign Minister, Mr. Rodriguez said.

Brigitte Leoni of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said more than 90 experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change would meet from 9 to 12 November in Panama to discuss a new report by the IPCC on disaster risk and climate change adaptation. A briefing with the authors of the report would be organized before the Copenhagen meeting in December.

Nalini Basavaraj of the United Nations Environmental Programme said the secretariat of the Basel Convention was announcing the availability of its press kit for the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Basel Convention. The press kit was embargoed until 13 November. The anniversary event would be held on 17 November in Basel. A press briefing would be held on 13 November at the Palais.

Janaina Borges of the World Trade Organization said there would be a briefing on Monday, 9 November at 11 a.m. on the Seventh Ministerial Conference logistics. Pascal Lamy, WTO’s Director-General, would be in Singapore on 10 and 11 November to attend the APEC summit. Copies of the WTO schedule and the agenda of the Director-General had more details and were available in the press room.