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 of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Universal Postal Union and the International Organization for Migration.
Activities of the Secretary-General
Ms. Heuzé announced that the Secretary-General was in Brussels today for the opening of the First Global Forum on Migration and Development, which was being held from 9 to 11 July. The Global Forum was established by the UN General Assembly's High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, held in September 2006, and Belgium had offered to host the inaugural meeting. In his opening address to the Forum, the Secretary-General said that Belgium had proposed a Forum agenda on the basis of input from over 100 Member States. The Secretary-General hoped that the Forum would develop closer collaboration with the entire United Nations system, through the entities of the Global Migration Group. In that connection, Mr. Ban had asked Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, to explore ways of building synergies between Global Migration Group members and the Forum process.
Copies of the Secretary-General's address were available in French and English in the press room.
Yesterday, the Secretary-General was in Portugal, which currently held the European Presidency, Ms. Heuzé said. There, the Secretary-General had met with the Portuguese President, Anibal Cavaco Silva, with whom he discussed the Middle East, Darfur, Timor-Leste, and the Alliance of Civilizations. He had also met with former President Jorge Sampaio, the High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations.
Economic and Social Council
Ms. Heuzé said that the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) had not yet reached agreement on a Ministerial Declaration for its high-level segment. Yesterday, the President had announced that he would make an announcement at the beginning of the afternoon today on the outcome of the negotiations.
Today, ECOSOC was concluding its coordination segment, dedicated to the theme of the role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all. This afternoon, ECOSOC would begin its operational activities of the United Nations for international development cooperation segment, which would run till the end of the week, Ms. Heuzé said. In that context, it was scheduled to hold a high-level interactive panel discussion on the contribution and effectiveness of the UN development system. Tomorrow, Wednesday, 11 July, the Council would hold a dialogue with the Executive Heads of the UN funds and programmes – which included the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Food Programme.
For those involved in humanitarian affairs, Ms. Heuzé highlighted that ECOSOC's humanitarian affairs segment would be held over the course of next week, from 16 to 20 July.
Human Rights Committee
Ms. Heuzé recalled that the Human Rights Committee had opened its ninetieth session yesterday at the Palais Wilson. This morning, the Committee would review the third periodic report of Zambia. This afternoon and tomorrow morning, it would consider the third periodic report of submitted by the Sudan on how the country was fulfilling its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Human Rights
José-Luis Diaz of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that the High Commissioner was in Indonesia, a visit she had started yesterday and which would continue through the end of this week.
Stoning in Iran
Mr. Diaz said that the High Commissioner was deeply concerned by reports out of Iran that a man was stoned to death near Tehran last week. OHCHR was still trying to get information directly from the Government about that reported execution of a man thought to be named Jafar Kiani. He and his companion, a woman named Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, had reportedly been imprisoned for more than 11 years on a charge of adultery. OHCHR had been following this case very closely since it had first been learned that the couple was set to be executed by stoning on 21 June. That execution had been stayed after representations and efforts from the international human rights community, including OHCHR. The execution, however, had now apparently gone ahead despite Iran's moratorium on executions by stoning – a moratorium that had been in effect since 2002.
Stoning is in clear violation of international law, Mr. Diaz said. International law also limited the death penalty to the most serious, violent crimes. Iran was a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stated that, in countries which had not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death could only be imposed for the most serious crimes. The Covenant went on to say that no one should be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment – which OHCHR believed to include stoning. A fuller statement from the High Commissioner on this event would be issued. The High Commissioner was calling on the Iranian authorities to stop the execution of the woman involved, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, and all such executions in Iran.
Asked to respond to the execution in China of the Federal Drug Administration Chairman, Mr. Diaz said that OHCHR was against capital punishment in any case, under any circumstances. The case in Iran was particularly serious because the manner in which it was done – stoning – was in clear violation of international law, and also went against Iran's own moratorium on such types of execution.
As to whether OHCHR was tracking executions of officials in various countries and the reasons behind them – for example, to prevent thorough investigation into abuses by States in cahoots with corporations – Mr. Diaz said that OHCHR was not studying that issue specifically. He would check whether the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions was looking into that issue in particular. OHCHR's position was that, in addition to its general opposition to the death penalty, it was particularly grave and serious -- and a violation of international law -- if, in the case of countries in which the death penalty was legal, that sentence was carried out without observing due process, including a fair trial and other guarantees.
World Population Day
Ms. Heuzé said that tomorrow, Wednesday, 11 July, was World Population Day. The theme this year was men as partners in maternal health. A press release containing a statement by United Nations Population Fund Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, was available in the press room.
Situation of Children in Lebanon
Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said available at the back of the room were a backgrounder and a media release – under embargo until 12.01 p.m. GMT tomorrow, 12 July – with an updated assessment of the situation of Lebanese children one year after the Summer 2006 war. The 34-day war, which had begun almost a year ago, on 12 July 2006, had killed more than 1,100 people in Lebanon, injured more than 4,000, and had forcibly displaced 900,000. What was particularly hard to judge were the invisible scars children bore and the long-term effects of the war. UNICEF, along with its intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, had to date assisted some 500,000 children affected by the conflict. Keeping children healthy had been UNICEF's priority, including through providing safe drinking water, emergency health and hygiene kits, and essential paediatric medicines, measles and polio vaccinations.
UNICEF also provided psychological support for children, putting in place mobile teams that could reach the remote villages in southern Lebanon, and training 400 social workers and 2,000 teachers to provide psychosocial support, Ms. Taveau said. UNICEF also supported 10 Youth Information Centres for adolescents, to promote alternatives to violence through dialogue and vocational training. Finally, it was important to highlight that, among its many other activities, UNICEF and its partners had carried out a yearlong information campaign on the risks of cluster bombs and unexploded ordnance. Over the past year it was estimated that 240 people had been injured or killed in cluster bomb explosions, including more than 70 children, and that threat continued.
Pakistan Floods
Ms. Taveau said that, according to the latest official figures, it was now estimated that some 2 million people in Pakistan had been affected by the flooding there, and between 100,000 and 200,000 had been rendered homeless. Two teams, led by Pakistan's Natural Disaster Ministry with participation by UN experts, were currently on the ground assessing the situation in the most devastated areas. An official assessment from those teams was expected on Friday.
Jennifer Pagonis of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said UNHCR and its partners were stepping up interagency relief efforts in the flood-affected refugee-hosting areas of Pakistan as the waters started to recede. By the end of this week, UNHCR expected to have transported more than 250 tonnes of emergency supplies from its stocks in Peshawar to Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. In all, 1,600 tents, over 3,000 plastic sheets, 5,000 sleeping mats and 3,000 jerry cans were being distributed in Baluchistan, benefiting Afghans and Pakistanis alike. More shelter and household items would be distributed through Islamic Relief, Mercy Corps and the local authorities to mixed communities in Dhadar, Bolan and Kharan districts.
Situation in Gaza
Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that the opening up of humanitarian access to the area had meant that the situation had stabilized somewhat in the Gaza Strip for the moment as far as access to essential foodstuffs and medicines was concerned. However, the current situation was further worsening the already heavily aid-dependent situation of residents in Gaza, further crippling their autonomy. Currently, 80 per cent of Gazans received assistance of some kind.
While noting the possible beneficial effects of Israel's release of funds to pay the salaries of Gazan and West Bank officials last week, Ms. Berthiaume highlighted that, owing to the closing of the crossing points to all but humanitarian convoys, the price of goods had increased to such a degree that it would seriously undercut those benefits. The flow of humanitarian aid to the area was augmenting every day, and Hamas had shown its commitment to keeping that humanitarian corridor open.
Hunger in Nepal
The WFP was launching a $49 million appeal to respond to the needs of 1.2 million vulnerable people in Nepal, in particular owing to the war that had ripped the country apart for 11 years, leaving over 13,000 dead and displacing some 200,000 persons, Ms. Berthiaume said. For the last six months the situation had greatly improved, but it was important that those that were most vulnerable also reaped the peace dividend. The civil war had left areas of the country, in particular in the west, without infrastructure – no refugee camps, no health centres, nothing. WFP's priority was to bring assistance to those living in the extreme west and centre west of the country, as a matter of urgency. Unfortunately, that was made more difficult by the total lack of roads, and all assistance had to be airlifted in by helicopter.
Other
Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that, in connection with the 2007 ECOSOC humanitarian affairs segment, OCHA would be hosting a side event on "Addressing HIV in Humanitarian Action" on Friday, 13 July. The panel discussion would examine why and how HIV needs should be addressed in a humanitarian situation. The event would be opened by John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and chaired by Mukesh Kapila, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on HIV/AIDS and Acting Director of Policy and Planning at the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). In addition the panel discussion, OCHA would be launching the joint OCHA Integrated Regional Information Network/IFRC publication "Our World: AIDS and Childhood in Southern Africa". The event would be held on Friday, 13 July from 1.15 to 2.45 in Room XII of the Palais des Nations. A Media Advisory was available.
On Tuesday, 17 July, at 3 p.m. OCHA Head John Holmes would hold a press conference, the "Media Review 2007", to look at the state of UN humanitarian operations and activities of the past six months, and the level of funding of various United Nations appeals. Ms. Byrs said the press conference would be held in Room III.
Ms. Pagonis of UNHCR announced a press conference for the launch of UNHCR's Iraq Supplementary Appeal on Thursday, 12 July at 3 p.m. in Room III. Speaking would be Radhouane Nouicer, Director of UNHCR's Bureau for the Middle East and North Africa.
Rhéal LeBlanc of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) said that the quadrennial Universal Postal Congress would be held from 13 August to 3 September 2008 in Nairobi, co-hosted by the Government Kenya. UPU Director General Edouard Dayan was travelling to Nairobi next week to finalize the oversee details of the preparations. The Universal Postal Congress was the supreme authority of the Union, and brought together plenipotentiaries of all 191 of its Member countries to consider all aspects of the postal service worldwide. At the Congress, Members would adopt a new (Nairobi) Global Postal Strategy, which would serve as a road map for the UPU for the next four years. To ensure that the Global Strategy would also take account of regional particularities, UPU had organized a series of seven regional round tables in run up to the Congress. The first regional round table had been held on 21 June in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and the second would be held in Nairobi next week.
The UPU had defined three major foci for its Nairobi Strategy: the growing need for interconnectivity; the need to further develop the global postal network – physically, electronically and financially; and the development and regulation of the postal sector. The UPU strategy would also highlight the essential role the postal sector played in regional and global economies, thereby contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. An example of that was the development of financial services and money transfers throughout the world even in remote locations where there were no banks, Mr. LeBlanc said.
Mr. LeBlanc also drew attention to a UPU project in Liberia for the reconstruction of that country's postal service, which had been totally destroyed by the civil war there. Currently there were some 160 post offices in Liberia, staffed by 350 employees. UPU had sent a consultant to the country last year to draw up a framework plan, and the consultant would travel to Monrovia next week for a two-week visit to coordinate the launch of the new plan at the principle branch in the capital. Emphasizing the importance of the project, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had said that ensuring secure postal service was key to the country's economic development and recovery.
Jemini Pandya of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that today IOM was beginning the start of its operation to help Sudanese internally displaced persons (IDPs) return from Khartoum by air. A flight carrying nearly 100 IDPs would leave Khartoum today for Yambio in Western Equatoria. The maiden flight would be followed in coming weeks by a further 15 rotations from Khartoum to destinations in Western and Central Equatoria, returning a total of 1,600 IDPs to those two states. A joint IOM-UN Mission in Sudan press release on the subject had been issued today.
IOM had a number of stories concerning groups of migrants it was assisting to return home, Ms. Pandya said. Fifteen Malian migrants rescued at sea in mid-June by a Spanish fishing vessel would tomorrow be flying home after Libya had asked IOM to assist them in returning to their home country. IOM had also helped a group of 63 stranded Gambians who had been rescued by the Moroccan Royal Navy while trying to reach European shores, following their request for voluntary repatriation. Voluntary return assistance had also been provided to a group of 120 Haitian migrants who had washed ashore in Cuba in May.
Finally, Ms. Pandya observed that the South American countries attending the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Brussels – which was being opened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today in Brussels – were presenting the Caracas Declaration to the Forum. The Caracas Declaration, adopted at the VII South American Conference on Migration last week, stressed that human aspect of migration had to be at the centre of all migration policies and programmes, emphasized the positive aspects of migration, and underscored the need to promote cooperation between sending and receiving countries to increase development and reverse poverty and social exclusion, the root causes of economic migration.
Ms. Heuzé wished to underline the importance of such regional interventions in the global migration debate, and the fact that Latin America was so active in this area. Similar contributions from Africa and Asia had been sought, but had not been forthcoming. Latin America was something of a pioneer in this area, in taking a coordinated and responsible approach to immigration.
At the end of the briefing, Ms. Heuzé announced the holding of the First Meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Economic Commission for Europe's Ministerial Conference on Ageing, which would be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva this week from 12 to 13 July. Population ageing had become an increasing concern for Governments in the ECE region, for whom the years of the "demographic bonus" of a record high of working-age populations were coming to an end. A press release was available in the press room.