DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon. The guest at our briefing today will be the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, who was just sitting in on the fourth high-level meeting between the United Nations and regional organizations, which over the past hour has been wrapping up its two-day conference here in Conference Room 6.

**Secretary-General Sees Regional Group Meeting as a Step

  Towards ‘Culture of Prevention’

The Secretary-General addressed that meeting of the heads of the regional organizations just now as it was closing, and he highlighted several main areas in the field of peace-building, on which the United Nations system and regional organizations have found broad agreement. He said he hoped that the meeting would move the international community another step forward in its journey from a "culture of reaction" to a "culture of prevention".  We have copies of his statement available in my office, although it was made in a closed session.

**Rwandan President Kagame Meets with Secretary-General, Security Council

Rwandan President Paul Kagame met with the Secretary-General this morning at 9 a.m., before the two of them addressed an open meeting of the Security Council on the Great Lakes region of Africa.

In his statement, which is available in my office, the Secretary-General commended Presidents Kagame, and Joseph Kabila, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the statesmanship they showed in meeting last week in Washington to discuss the challenges facing both their countries and the entire area.

He also mentioned one step that would serve as an important confidence-building measure, as the United Nations moves to help the parties carry out the disengagement plan signed in Harare in December. He said the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in the Congo (MONUC), Major-General Diallo, is currently discussing with the authorities in Kigali and in the Congo the withdrawal of Rwandan forces and their allies from the town of Pweto in Katanga. He said the United Nations is ready to deploy a team of observers to the town once all the arrangements are in place.

In a report to the Security Council next week, the Secretary-General said he will propose a revised concept of operations for United Nations deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Should the Council approve the revised concept, the United Nations mission would be able to help the parties further in drawing back their forces from the confrontation line.

President Kagame, in his comments to the Security Council, stressed the need to take advantage of the recent changes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he pointed to what he considered to be the three core issues to be addressed: the need for an inter-Congolese dialogue; the continuing question of the former

Rwandan armed forces and Interahamwe militia linked to the 1994 genocide; and the withdrawal of foreign forces from the Congo.

**Secretary-General Congratulates New Israeli Leader

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman concerning the Israeli elections:

“The Secretary-General wishes to congratulate the leader of the Likud Party, Ariel Sharon, upon his election yesterday as Prime Minister of Israel.

“He sincerely hopes that under the leadership of Prime Minister Sharon, the new Israeli Government will continue the search for peace, building on what progress already has been achieved. At a time of tension and uncertainty in the region, the Secretary-General calls on all sides to exercise every restraint and to spare no effort to end the violence that each day claims yet more victims.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his personal readiness and commitment to assist the peace process in any way possible. He also sends his best wishes to Ehud Barak for the future.”

**Update: ECOWAS High Ministers Expected Monday at Headquarters

A ministerial delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is not coming to New York this week, as previously reported, but now are expected to be here next Monday, 12 February. We will keep you informed about when the Security Council session, which had been originally for Friday, will take place.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Sierra Leone, Sama Banya, is scheduled to give a press conference in this room at 11 a.m., tomorrow.

**Note from Kosovo: Transitional Council Discusses

  Mitrovica and Presevo Valley

The Kosovo Transitional Council today discussed the situation in Mitrovica and the Presevo Valley, with many members expressing support for the Joint Declaration signed between the United Nations Mission (UNMIK), the Kosovo

Force (KFOR) and Kosovo Albanian leaders.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative, Hans Haekerrup, said the United Nations Mission and KFOR were determined to protect communities on both sides of Mitrovica and continue building a secure environment for all of Kosovo.  There's a press release and briefing notes from Pristina available upstairs.

**Note from East Timor: National Council Endorses Draft Firearms Regulation

In Dili today, East Timor's Transitional Cabinet endorsed a draft regulation which would set up a way to regulate the production, possession and sale of firearms, ammunition and explosives. The draft regulation will now be submitted to the National Council for its consideration. If you want more on that, see the briefing notes from Dili.

**UNEP Scientist Warns of Increased Global Warming

A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) scientist issued a warning of increase in global warming to the delegates of the twenty-first session of the UNEP Governing Council in Nairobi.

Svein Tveitdal, of UNEP’s Norwegian information centre, said that there is new evidence that the ongoing rise in global temperature may be responsible for the release of carbon gases trapped in the Arctic permafrost. The release of these carbon gases can only aggravate the greenhouse effect.

The slight melt in the permafrost is already having an impact on roads, buildings, pipelines and other infrastructure in the arctic areas. Mr. Tveitdal said that an increase of just 3 degrees Centigrade can reduce the load capacity of permafrost by as much as 70 per cent. See the press release for more on that.

**Update on United Nations Plan of Action for India

We announced yesterday that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was due to issue a plan of action for earthquake victims in India today.  We have been informed that it will be issued tomorrow.

**Press Releases Available Today

There are several press releases out today that we would highlight for you.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that deadly medicines are on the increase.  An editorial in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization says that worldwide several hundred patients, many of them children, have died after taking contaminated medicines and that the number of substandard medicines on the world market is on the rise.

The WHO also announced today a European Ministerial Conference on Young People and Alcohol, to be held in Stockholm  from 19 to 21 February.  New reports on the use and impact of alcohol on the health of young people will be launched at the Conference. 

And finally, the World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed the arrival of emergency aid from the United States destined for Afghan refugees in Pakistan and the internally displaced within Afghanistan.

**‘Age of Longevity Conference’ at Headquarters Tomorrow

Tomorrow, a conference on how communities prepare for the “Age of Longevity” will be held here at Headquarters -- where we have a lot of longevity [laughter]. The conference was organized by the International Council for Caring Communities with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), the United Nations Programme on Ageing and the Department of Public Information, and it will discuss the impact of longevity on community development, finances, tourism, technology and rebuilding after earthquakes.

**Secretary-General Joins Henry Kissinger to Discuss Spirituality

The Secretary-General will join former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for a conversation on how spirituality affects their lives.  That will take place at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan from 7:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. this evening.

**Spokesman's Response to Broadcast Correspondents

I raised your complaint yesterday about broadcast booths being shut and locked, the locks having been changed without your being informed. United Nations Security apologizes; the change of the locks was part of a routine security upgrade. You should have been notified in advance. Security says they'll do better next time.

**Memorial Service for Victims of Helicopter Crash in Mongolia

The Secretary-General will address a memorial ceremony tomorrow morning for the four United Nations victims of the helicopter crash in Mongolia that took place on 14 January. The ceremony will take place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber from 11 to 11:45 a.m.

**Memorial Mass for Information Chief of Iraq Programme

Finally, as I mentioned in Monday's briefing, you may wish to make contributions in lieu of flowers for John Mills' memorial mass on Friday of this week. Checks should be made out to the Breukline Institute and left for the attention of Miss Lorraine Diahy, at St. Boniface Church in Brooklyn Heights, where the memorial service will take place. Should you not be able to attend the mass, but would like to make a contribution, just give your checks to one of us in the Spokesman's Office and we'll take it down to Brooklyn Heights on Friday.

That's all I have for you. Are there any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question: The Secretary-General had been in contact with the parties involved in the Israeli election throughout most of the week. Has he spoken with anyone since the outcome?

Spokesman: That's a good question. I don't have that information now. I'll have to see. I did check on the phone calls the Secretary-General had made by mid-morning today and there were none.

Question: In his address to the Security Council this morning, did the Secretary-General mean that the United Nations was ready to deploy a team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo right now? What is the actual time-frame?

Spokesman: I can't say specifically. As you know, for some time we've had excess capacity of military observers in Kinsasha waiting to be deployed. I suspect we could move rather quickly, but let me double check that before I put that firmly on the record. [He later confirmed that the United Nations felt it could deploy quickly.]

Question: What's the purpose of the Sierra Leone Foreign Minister’s visit? Will he address the Security Council?

Spokesman: I don't know.  We'll have to see if we can find out from the Sierra Leone Mission.

* *** *