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

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

I thought you all would have left in disgust by now.  I am sorry.  We have a statement on the Middle East that held us up.  Anyway, here it is. 

**Secretary-General Statement on Middle East

The Secretary-General has been monitoring closely the steady escalation in Israeli-Palestinian violence.  He is increasingly concerned that it threatens to get out of control, with unpredictable consequences.

The Secretary-General wishes to reiterate his strong conviction that the only way out of the current crisis is through the resumption of political negotiations.  In his view, security measures alone will not halt the growing violence.

Having talked with several regional and international leaders over the past few days, the Secretary-General would like to see urgent steps taken to control the situation.  There should be parallel confidence-building measures and a resumption of security cooperation.

The Secretary-General insists on the need for a halt to all violence, and full implementation of the Sharm El Sheikh understandings.  Israel should end its six-month-old blockade on Palestinian areas, and transfer to the Palestinian Authority all outstanding revenues.  The Secretary-General believes that these steps could serve as a basis for getting the parties back to the table.

**Secretary-General on China

If you were around early this morning, you heard the Secretary-General come in and make some remarks to you on his arrival at the Secretariat entrance.  He said he was relieved and happy at the resolution of the dispute between the United States and China following last week's plane collision.

He said, "I'm extremely happy that this issue has been resolved, because we were all concerned that the longer it got drawn out, the more likelihood, the possibility, that positions would have hardened in both countries and complicated, and perhaps harmed, the relationship that has taken so long to put together. Now that it is over," he added, "I hope we can go back to business."

The Secretary-General said he would be in touch with the Chinese leadership, and that he had already contacted the White House and Secretary of State Colin Powell to congratulate the work of the United States foreign policy team.  We have his comments available in my office.

**Security Council

The Security Council started consultations about half an hour ago.  They are going over the plans for a possible mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in that region.

They are also expected to review the format of the meeting to be held on

27 April between Council members and members of the bureau of the Economic and Social Council.  At that meeting, delegates from these two United Nations bodies are expected to discuss the coordination of conflict management.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) reports that the Secretary-General’s Special Representative Kamel Morjane and the Mission Force Commander, General Mountaga Diallo, were in Goma yesterday to review with officials of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) difficulties delaying their verification exercise in Kalemie.

The RCD leadership promised to lift all "technical and administrative" obstacles in order to let United Nations observers do their work in the best possible conditions.

The two sides confirmed the arrival of 100 Moroccan troops as the first group of a contingent of 380 men to be deployed to Kisangani between 15 and

16 April.  Morjane and Diallo also plan to visit Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), to finalize the deployment of extra military observers in areas where the MLC is expected to withdraw.

The United Nations Mission also said the verification of the disengagement of government troops will start tomorrow in Kananga, one of the four sector headquarters.

**Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs in DRC

In a statement to the press in Kinshasa today at the end of a six-day visit, Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, noted that the scope of the humanitarian needs in the country is far greater than the resources available to international organizations and local non-governmental organizations  in the country.

He went on to say that humanitarian workers do not have access to the most vulnerable segment of the population because of poor infrastructure and lack of adequate security.  He added that he has obtained an agreement in principle to put into place a mechanism of dialogue between the Government and humanitarian actors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  We have the text of his statement in my office.  It is in French only.

**Kosovo

The United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) reported that a Serb representative today returned to a committee finalizing the so-called legal framework for provisional self-government for Kosovo.

As you'll recall, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica in his meeting with Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Hans Haekkerup, that took place last week, agreed to urge the Kosovo Serbs to participate in that process.

**Yugoslavia Tribunal

Tomorrow at The Hague, the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia will hold an extraordinary plenary session to modify the rules of procedure and evidence to prepare for the arrival of short-term

"ad litem" judges, whose addition to the Tribunal was approved by the Security Council.

You'll recall that the Council approved the idea of having judges added to the court on a short-term, ad hoc basis, in order to expedite the Tribunal's proceedings.  Discussions at tomorrow's session will include arrangements for the "ad litem" judges and the use of senior legal officers for pre-trial management.

We have further details in today's weekly press briefing notes from the Tribunal, in which the Tribunal officials also reiterate the legal obligation of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to transfer former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague.

**Food Shortages in Kenya

A group of 42 leading humanitarian and developmentagencies involved in life-saving emergency operations in Kenya announced that food shortages are once again creating a desperate situation.  They say after years of drought, more than 4 million vulnerable people in Kenya are still facing starvation, yet the international community is not responding adequately to appeals for food.

They urge governments and donors to support the Government of Kenya and the World Food Programme's $89 million appeal for food, launched in February 2001.  So far, there are very few pledges to the operation and the World Food Programme fears that food will run out this month.  We have their joint press release if you are interested.

**Drug Pricing Workshop

In her closing remarks at the Workshop on Differential Pricing and Financing of Essential Drugs in Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said, “the price of drugs matters -– it matters to poor people, and it matters to poor countries”.  She went on to say that she thought there was a strong case for the establishment of a new international health fund to give political prominence and priority to health issues such as HIV/AIDS.

The workshop, organized jointly by WHO and the World Trade Organization, looked at ways to reduce the prices of pharmaceuticals in low-income countries and increase financing so that the world’s poorest people can obtain medicines necessary to fight diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.  We have a press release and the text of Dr. Brundtland’s remarks.

**Press Releases

Press releases today.  One from Habitat on the launch by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria of Habitat’s campaign for global governance.  And the second is an embargoed press release on the conservation of Europe’s dolphins and porpoises.  Does Europe have dolphins?  I guess so.

**Press Conference Tomorrow

At 11:15 a.m. tomorrow, Ambassador Bagher Asadi of Iran, who is the Chairman of the Group of 77, will be here to brief you on the ongoing negotiations on global environmental issues, particularly climate change.

**DPI Announcement

And finally, I have been asked by the Department of Public Information (DPI) to announce two more World Chronicle Programmes.  Number 823 featuring Richard Wyatt, the Acting Chief of the European Commission Delegation to the United Nations, will be shown today at 3 p.m., and then 824 featuring Jane Connors of the Department of Economic and Social AffairsDivision for the Advancement of Women in the United Nations.  That will be shown also today at 3:30 p.m.  Both will be seen on channel 3 or 31.

That’s all I have for you.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Concerning the Secretary-General's statement relating to Israel and Palestine.  What leaders did he speak to and by what means?  Just by

telephone or?

Spokesman:  He had conversations, the most recent ones that I am aware of starting last weekend, with Prime Minister Sharon, Yasir Arafat of the Palestinian Authority and possibly King Abdullah of Jordan but I will have to double check that.  There was a string of conversations he had but with those two principals, Sharon and Arafat, I can confirm those conversations took place last weekend.

Question:  You said there have been several regional and international leaders, meaning outside the region.  Can you be more specific about that?

Spokesman:  I can’t give you those details now.  I'll have to ask if I can release more information to you.

Question:  And can you characterize the response to the Secretary-General's pleas to at least Mr. Sharon and Mr. Arafat?

Spokesman:  I think these steps he is asking to be taken will have to be based on mutual agreement, so he is really asking the principals in this conflict to begin talking about what they can do.  He has made a specific suggestion to the Israelis of what he thinks they could do, that is, involving releasing these outstanding revenues and lifting the blockade.

Question:  The United Nations' biggest role in the Middle East in the last year was the Sharm El Sheikh agreement.  The Secretary-General was there.  Does the United Nations now consider that a dead agreement in light of the continuing violence?

Spokesman:  Well, he continues to mention it, and he mentions it in this statement here, so he clearly doesn't think it's dead.  I am not sure that his participation in this Sharm El Sheikh meeting would be the most significant thing that he has done in the Middle East in the last year.  That was probably the arrangement on the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. 

However, leaving aside that historical point, he thinks Sharm El Sheikh was a useful understanding and he encourages, and repeatedly encourages, the parties to get back to those security meetings.  He says in this statement that the security meetings alone are not enough and that they need to take confidence-building measures.  He makes specific suggestions where the Israelis could start if they wanted.

Question:  Sorry if I missed a wire in this but why now?  Why is this statement coming out now?  Did something specific happen today that this is in response to?  And in the perceived absence of United States leadership now in the peace process, does the Secretary-General see a greater role for him or this Organization in mediating between Israel and the Palestinian Authority?

Spokesman:  I think he is doing whatever he can and waiting to see what the principals are going to work out.  He has felt that a wider format than just the United States as the single mediator is good.  At Sharm El Sheikh he was pleased to see that the Europeans were brought in and key Governments, Egypt and Jordan. He thinks broadening the dialogue will be helpful.

On the current situation, it isn't just today's developments.  Today we had news that the Israelis went into a Palestinian refugee camp where they felt there had been points from which mortar and other firing had taken place against nearby Israeli settlements.  They went in with tanks.  They destroyed a number of buildings.  Two Palestinians were killed.  But if you read the wires over the last week, you see these incidents are escalating.  He says that there is a threat that this could get out of control.  They need to do something dramatic to stop or halt the spiraling violence.

Question:  It seems that there is a particular frustration really with the Israelis in all of this.  It seems to be them who the Secretary-General wants to take the action.  He sees them as causing the problems at the moment.

Spokesman:  He has said these are two things Israel can do but Israel is not fighting this battle alone.  Clearly, unless the Palestinians and the Israelis come to some understanding on how to de-escalate the tensions, then things are just going to continue to get worse with unpredictable consequences.

Question:  Al Sharpton went to the Sudan this week and he made sure that this slave holding society would get back to us here.  How does the United Nations permit this situation?

Spokesman:  Permit what situation?

Question:  This slave traffic society in the Sudan that we are getting this image back to us in the last few days.  How does the United Nations permit this situation?

Spokesman:  Well, first of all, the United Nations doesn't have the means to immediately stop anything that is going wrong anywhere in the world.  We don’t have a police force.  But there has been significant pressure brought on the Sudan through the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.  There have been reports on the slave activity in the Sudan.  I think there is a considerable degree of international opposition to this.  The crescendo of voices speaking out against it

is getting significant.  But, in the end, it is up to the Sudan to take the situation under control.

Question:  Does this have nothing to do with the threatening of world peace that the Secretary-General is bound to denounce through the Security Council?

Spokesman:  I would say that this is a matter that is being dealt with within the Commission on Human Rights primarily.  It is receiving a lot of attention.  We hope that the Sudan will respond to the growing international pressure to do something about it.

Question:  On the China plane incident, the Secretary-General thanked President Bush and then said in particular, Secretary of State Colin Powell.  I know it was early in the morning  Was he trying to say anything by that?

Spokesman:  No, he said "and the foreign policy team".  He said he had spoken to the White House.  That was Condoleeza Rice, the National Security Adviser, and then he hopes also, if he hasn't done so already, to get through to the Chinese authorities to convey his pleasure to them too that the matter is being resolved.

Question:  Washington insiders would claim that there are two different factions in the Bush administration:  the hardliners and the pragmatists, represented by Colin Powell.  Is Secretary-General Annan trying to thank

Mr. Powell and hope that his star doesn't wane in the Bush administration? 

Spokesman:  I don’t think he feels that what was accomplished here in coming to some kind of understanding was the work only of the State Department.  The State Department may have been in the lead.  There has been plenty of analysis of factions not only in the United States but in China that may have contributed to prolonging the standoff but now it is over.  He wants to say thanks to both sides for their efforts to bring the standoff to an end.

Question:  About the Middle East, as part of his conversations with

Messrs. Arafat and Sharon, did the Secretary-General offer his services or any other United Nations personnel as mediator to help broker an agreement or negotiations?

Spokesman:  No, but he has in the region Terje Roed-Larson who is his coordinator who is in daily contact with the Israelis and the Palestinians and doing whatever he can to try and calm things down and move things in the right direction.  I am not aware that he made any additional offer.

Thank you very much.

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