Press Briefing: United Nations Vienna 2006 - A Preview

UNIS Viennna organized its annual preview press briefing today, at which spokespersons of the Vienna-based United Nations organizations and agencies provided representatives of the media, permanent missions and NGOs with an overview of key events and plans for the year 2006. The speakers were Richard Murphy, Chief, Advocacy Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); Daniela Rozgonova, Spokesperson and Chief of Public Information, Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO); Roland Schoenbauer, Spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); and Marc Vidricaire, Spokesperson and Director of Public Information, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The briefing was moderated by Sonja Wintersberger, Associate Information Officer, UNIS.

Moreover, information on highlights in 2006 for the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Environment Programme - Vienna Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) was distributed, and representatives of these entities attended the briefing to answer questions.

Ms. Wintersberger drew attention to key themes for UNIS in 2006, including the follow-up activities to the 2005 World Summit, on which UNIS was and would keep providing information to the media and NGOs, as well as the observation of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 2006. Events planned by UNIS for the coming weeks included a press briefing on Sport for Development and Peace, the launch the International Narcotics Control Board annual report and a public lecture on "A World Without Nuclear Weapons", with the CTBTO Executive Secretary in Budapest, Hungary.

On behalf of UNCITRAL, OOSA and UNSCEAR respectively, Ms. Wintersberger drew attention to the  signing ceremony for the new UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, to take place during the 39th session of UNCITRAL; to the Outer Space Scientific and Technical Subcommittee session starting on 20 February, at which the topics of telemedicine, space-based disaster management and near-Earth objects would be discussed; and to the 50th anniversary of UNSCEAR in 2006.

Mr.  Murphy drew attention to the upcoming session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, at which alternative development would be a key issue, and the session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in April 2006, to discuss issues including technical assistance to Member States, implementation of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Convention against Corruption, as well as enhancing UN capabilities in the prevention of terrorism. Reports that would be launched by UNODC in 2006 included a World Cannabis market study, the first in this area; the World Drug Report, and the first human trafficking report, which was planned for the second half of the year, which would positively address the current lack of information on human trafficking patterns, encouraging the international community to focus greater attention and resources on the issue.

Ms. Rozgonova provided a current overview of the status of the CTBT, with 176 signatures and 129 ratifications, while 11 Annex II States had so far not ratified. Two sessions of Preparatory Commission would take place in 2006, in June and November respectively. A symposium in August/September would mark the 10th anniversary of the CTBT, examining the relevance of science and scientific achievements in relation to the Treaty.

Mr. Schoenbauer introduced the two major issues to by addressed by UNHCR in 2006 as being firstly the fight against intolerance towards refugees and asylum-seekers, who were often  victimized a second time after fleeing their country; and secondly, a stronger involvement in helping the world's estimated 25 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). On the topic of Darfur, Mr. Schoenbauer said that UNHCR was very concerned about the deteriorating security along the Sudan/Chad border, and that strong political solutions were definitely needed to stop this humanitarian catastrophe. In Austria, UNHCR would launch a new unusual tool to raise awareness for refugees: a free interactive internet game to help children aged 13 plus experience what it was like to be a refugee.

Mr. Vidricaire drew attention to the upcoming IAEA Board of Governors meeting on 6 March, prior to which the IAEA Director-General would report to Member States on the implementation of resolutions relating to Iran. In April, the IAEA would mark the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Mr. Vidricaire emphasized the role of the IAEA in areas other than nuclear safeguards, including assisting developing countries in using nuclear technologies for healthcare, in particular to respond to the cancer crisis in developing countries. For this purpose, the IAEA would using its Nobel Peace Prize fund to train technicians in developing countries in using nuclear technologies in health services. In September, the IAEA Member States would be holding their General Conference, which would mark the beginning of twelve months during which the IAEA would celebrate its 50th anniversary, culminating with the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the IAEA statute in July 2007.

The briefing was followed by a questions and answers session.

On a question on how the possibility of the United Nations taking over the work of the African Union in the Darfur crisis would affect UNHCR's work, Mr. Schoenbauer said whoever brought security back to the invisible victims of violence in Darfur was welcome.

In response to a question on the current situation in Iran, Mr. Vidricaire responded saying Iran was meeting its basic legal obligations in terms of safeguards, but had failed to report some of its past activities over previous years, and  that the equipment for voluntary cooperation had been removed. This implied that the IAEA could only monitor and verify declared sites in Iran. In response to a follow-up question on suggestions that Iran would take the IAEA to the international Court of Justice over its right to enrich, Mr. Vidricaire answered that the IAEA had never questioned Iran's legal right to enrich, but had asked for suspension as a confidence-building measure.

In response to a question on whether there was any "movement" from the 11 Annex II States that had yet to ratify the CTBT, Ms. Rozgonova said that though the Preparatory Commission was receiving signals on what was happening internally in those countries in relation to the ratification process, nothing concretely could be confirmed. She expressed the hope of reducing  the number of states that had yet to ratify down to a single digit number in 2006.

In response to a question on why UNSCEAR meetings were closed to the public, UNSCEAR secretary Malcolm Crick answered that this was a matter he was discussing with the members of the Committee, as most topics being discussed by the Committee were no longer of a restricted nature.

The briefing was attended by around 20 representatives of international and local media, including Austrian Press Agency APA, Wiener Zeitung, ORF Austrian radio, Reuters, Hungarian News Agency, Al Hayat, Sekkai Nippon, Bulgarian national radio, Tages-Anzeiger, and Le Figaro; as well as representatives of NGOs and Permanent Missions.