REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing which was also attended by Spokespersons for the United Nations Environment Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Meteorological Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.

Turkey

Andrej Mahecic of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that three humanitarian airlifts containing tents and blankets had arrived in Eastern Turkey, despite a small delay to the third after a problem with an aircraft. A fourth flight was scheduled in the next 24 hours.

The total response amounted to 4,000 tents, 50,000 blankets and 10,000 sleeping mats, he said, with the items loaded onto trucks, most likely for distribution in the heavily affected area of Ecris, some 25 kilometres east of Van. According to Turkish sources around 600 people lost their lives in the earthquake and its aftermath, with 4,000 others injured. Plans are being put in place by the Turkish government to relocate some of those affected, he added.

The focus of the operation for the UNHCR was to not only help with the immense shelter needs of the survivors, he explained, but to safeguard the wellbeing of around 2,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly of Iranian or Afghan origin, in need of food, water and warm shelter in the area. Three distribution points had been set up, with need increasing every day.

New registrations of refugees or asylum seekers were being moved away from Van while the team was otherwise engaged, he said, and relocation of those already registered was being offered on a voluntary basis, though many had already left in the face of freezing conditions.

South East Asian rainfall

Clare Nullis of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that according to the Tokyo Climate Center of the Japan Meteorological Agency, the four-month total precipitation from June to September 2011 was between 120 and 180 per cent of the normal for most meteorological observation stations over the Indochina Peninsula.

The four-month total amounts to 921mm (134 per cent of the normal) at Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, 1,251mm (140 per cent) at Bangkok (the capital of Thailand), 1,641mm (144 per cent) at Vientiane (Laos) and 835mm (107 per cent) at Phnom-Penh (Cambodia). It was unusual that heavier-than-normal rainfall continued through the rainy season over the entire area of the basins, she added.

In general, the Asian summer monsoon over the Indochina Peninsula lasts from around May to around October, and brings the rainy season. In 2011, precipitation over the Indochina Peninsula continued to be above normal from June to September, which caused floods over a wide area in the basins of the Chao Phraya River and the Mekong River. The flood had caused serious damage over the Indochina Peninsula especially in Thailand said Ms. Nullis.

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that although the humanitarian situation in flooded South-East Asia was showing some signs of improvement, it was still very serious, particularly in Viet Nam and Cambodia.

In Cambodia, three quarters of the country was still impacted by flooding, affecting 1.2 million people, she said. Rural areas had been worst affected, and the concern for the immediate future was food security. The Red Cross, the Cambodia government and NGOs continued to bring regular deliveries of aid, with USD$4 million of UN emergency funding provided for the operation.

In Viet Nam, 330,000 people were affected in one way or another in the Mekong Delta, she said, and the flooding was set to continue. The evaluation from the United Nations country team had shown the priorities should be temporary shelter and household items, water, sanitation, emergency health, she explained, and the local authorities, the Red Cross and NGOs continued to provide assistance.

Horn of Africa

Insecurity along the Kenyan-Somali border continues to decrease humanitarian space said Ms. Byrs of OCHA, adversely affecting distribution of relief for thousands affected by drought. Insecurity was likewise high in Mandera and Wajir, located in northeastern Kenya.

In Djibouti the number of vulnerable people suffering from drought-related effects had increased from 146,000 to 210,000 people, she said. Of these, 120,000 were in rural areas, 60,000 in urban areas and 30,000 refugees. The combination of ongoing drought, elevated staple food prices, high unemployment and increased rural-to-urban migration is worsening the food security situation at the household level, she added, saying prices for key staple foods, including sugar, wheat, and rice, had risen as much as 12-40 per cent above last year’s prices nationwide.

Currently 53 per cent of the amount requested to help the country had been received, but more help was needed, she explained.

Gaëlle Sévenier of the World Food Programme (WFP) said short, heavy rains in the Horn of Africa were having both positive and negative effects. They were good for farmers but caused many people to be displaced and unable to raise their crops or look after livestock. In addition, there was an increase in illness, particularly among the displaced families, who were already weak. In Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia the bad weather conditions were also causing problems with the arrival of deliveries to ports, such as Mombasa, a problem not only for the Horn of Africa, but Central Africa also.


WHO membership

Fadéla Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) responded to a question on the application for WHO membership, saying United Nations members automatically become WHO members by accepting the agency’s constitution. Others could apply by sending a letter for consideration by the Health Assembly through the Director General, at least 30 days before the opening of the session.

Tibet

Ms. Ravina Shamdasani for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) replied to a question on a press release issued by a group of United Nations Special Rapporteurs and experts in relation to human rights restrictions on Tibetan Buddhist monasteries by saying her office regretted the tragic loss of life and called on the concerned authorities to work to defuse tensions on the issue and prevent further such cases.

North American storms

Clare Nullis of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the US National Weather Services had reported that the rare early-season winter storm that affected the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast over the weekend broke record snowfall totals for October.

Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit, with snowfall totals of up to 32 inches. New York’s Central Park recorded 2.9 inches of snowfall during the storm. This was the first time since records began in 1869 that an inch or more of snowfall has been recorded during the month of October, she concluded.

Environmental changes

Ms. Isabelle Valentiny of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said a new report had been launched in Nairobi on Tuesday entitled “Keeping track of our changing environment from Rio to Rio + 20.” It detailed the changes in environment noted by the programme over the last two decades, she said.

Key findings were highlighted by Ron Witt, the Regional Coordinator for Europe from UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment, who said the report was a framework for the United Nations assessment of the state, trends and outlook of the global environment.

It highlighted gaps in existing data collection, he added, as well as underlining that urban populations had grown hugely, the number of cities with more than ten million people had doubled, global carbon dioxide emissions had increased by more than a third since 1992 and over 80 per cent of these emissions came from just 18 countries. Biodiversity had also declined according to several measures, he explained.

On a more positive note the rate of population growth had dropped, the number of slum-dwellers had declined and greater efficiencies were being achieved in the use of resources alongside an increase in the production of renewable energy. In addition land and water worldwide was now better protected, he said.


Seven billionth baby

Gaëlle Sévenier of the World Food Programme (WFP) said the seven billionth member of the world population, reportedly born yesterday came into a world where resources were under pressure from the size of the world population, the rising price of foodstuffs, growing urbanization and climate change.

The World Food Programme had tools to tackle some of these issues, she said, including supporting small owner-farmed agriculture, reinforcing access to urgent food aid and assistance in accessing food stuffs through cash grants in urban areas.

It was particularly important to ensure that infants had adequate nourishment in the first 1000 days of its life, she said, and to give them the right start. But looking to the future, climate change could increase the number of people affected by hunger by between 10 and 20 per cent by 2050, with 80 million additional persons potentially affected by malnourishment, she explained.

Egyptian returnees

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said a new survey showed many Egyptians returning from Libya needed support with reintegration. Most were semi-skilled adult males who had previously supported dependants through remittances, he said, and the return of this around 200,000 people was having a severe impact on food security. The assistance most requested was financial help to start private enterprises, driven by the need for immediate income.

Dominican Republic

Jean-Philippe Chauzy (IOM) also said 50 frontline government officers had begun a training programme in child protection as part of an effort to improve inter-agency efforts to safeguard child migrants and victims of trafficking. The Dominican government had collaborated with and taken pointers from Mexico on the approach, which was being taught to officials serving on the four main crossing points with Haiti.

Street Children

Ms. Ravina Shamdasani of OHCHR announced a two-day Expert Consultation on street children that started Tuesday. It was attended by those with experience of life on the streets, she said, including a well-known British composer. For the first time the OHCHR would partner with a private company, Aviva, following a mandate received from the Human Rights Council to engage with a range of stakeholders.

Kuwait

Jean-Philippe Chauzy (IOM) said a meeting took place yesterday between the IOM Director and the Kuwaiti ambassador in Geneva to discuss the country’s donation of USD$500,000 to the IOM’s global humanitarian activities.

Geneva activities

The Committee on Human Rights would complete its work this week, said Ms. Momal-Vanian, and would hold a press conference on Thursday at 13:30, in Press Room 1 to present its concluding observations on reports submitted during the session by Iran, Jamaica, Kuwait and Norway.

The Committee against Torture this morning began consideration of the report of Morocco, which would continue tomorrow afternoon. This afternoon came the report of Djibouti, tomorrow morning, Paraguay and Friday morning, Germany. Next week: Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Madagascar, Belarus and Greece.

On Tuesday 1 November 2011 at 11:15 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was planning to hold a press conference on their Human Development Report (HDR) 2011 - Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All, added Ms. Momal-Vanian. Speakers included Ms. Jeni Klugman, Lead Author of the 2011 HDR and former Director of the UNDP Human Development Report Office in New York and Mr. Adam Rogers, Senior Strategic Communication Advisor, UNDP.