DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
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 Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon. Thank you for coming.
**Middle East
I'm going to start with the Middle East. This morning, the Secretary-General, as he was coming into the building, was asked about the latest round of diplomacy concerning the situation in the Middle East.
He said there were discreet contacts going on between governments and that people of goodwill are at work on the issue. He added: "I think it is important that we all recognize that all these issues are linked -- the violence, the economic deprivation and the political process. And we need to tackle them flexibly”.
Concerning his meeting yesterday with permanent representatives from the Arab Group, the Secretary-General said that the ambassadors said the Security Council “should take some action, should take initiatives that will help galvanize the parties to recognize that they have to work to stop the violence and begin to improve the situation and engage in the dialogue”.
The full text of the Secretary-General's remarks is available in the Spokesman's office.
As for activities on the ground, today in Tel Aviv, Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Terje Roed Larsen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. The meetings came after yesterday's incident in Gaza when Hansen was stopped for over one hour at an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza, as we reported to you yesterday.
Afterwards, Larsen said he had been assured by Foreign Minister Peres that “the policy of the Government of Israel was to facilitate the work of the United Nations, and humanitarian workers in general”. An open dialogue will continue on this issue. Shimon Peres said he had designated a high-level Foreign Ministry official to work with UNRWA in the days ahead.
Also last night, as we reported yesterday, Larsen met with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. The meeting was described as “extremely positive”.
**Beirut
Still from that region, we have in our office upstairs a statement issued this morning in Beirut by Steffan di Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Southern Lebanon, following his meeting with President Emile Lahoud to discuss the recent overflights of Lebanese airspace by Israeli Air Force jets.
In the statement, di Mistura said the two overflights recorded today over Beirut were the 342nd violation of Lebanese airspace by Israel since 1 August 2000.
He added: “These are clear (and loud) violations of the Blue Line, and of Security Council resolutions 425 and 1337, and they are particularly unhelpful at this time of tension in the region. Such actions cause unfair concern among the population and should be stopped”.
The full text of this press release, with Mr. di Mistura's statement, is available in my office.
**HIV/AIDS
Also this morning, here in New York, as the Secretary-General was entering the building, he told reporters that the twin pillars of prevention and care need to be dealt with in a strategy on HIV/AIDS, and he added, "Availability of the drugs alone is not sufficient".
Responding to a question from a reporter on the agreement yesterday that resulted in the dropping of a lawsuit by 39 pharmaceutical companies in South Africa, the Secretary-General said, although all people affected by AIDS may not receive the needed medicines immediately, the availability of drugs would increase. He said that in South Africa, where about 10,000 people are receiving the needed medication now, perhaps 100,000 might obtain the needed drugs by a year from now, rising over time to about 400,000.
He added, "We also recognize that we are going to need an additional infusion of money, a real international global fund to help strengthen the health systems of these countries for our attempt to help them to be actually effective".
The full text of his remarks is available in our office.
**Secretary-General
Continuing with the Secretary-General, and following up on a -– I think it was Edie's -- question, today I am in a position to talk about the Secretary-General's trip to Moscow, on an official visit, between 15 and 17 May. Although the programme is being finalized, I can tell you that he is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. He will also meet members of Parliament in a visit to the State Duma.
The Secretary-General will be arriving in Moscow from Brussels, where on 14 May he will be addressing the third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The conference was convened by the General Assembly in 1997 in response to the marginalization of LDCs. It will review the implementation of international support measures in the areas of development assistance, debt, investment and trade. As you know, there are 48 LDCs, in other words 48 least developed countries, with a combined population of more than 610 million, or 10.5 per cent of the world’s population. [After the briefing, he issued a correction: There are now 49 LDCs. The General Assembly added Senegal to the list of LDCs last week.]
If you want more information on the conference itself, you can look on the Web site of UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. UNCTAD is also launching its flagship publication, the Trade and Development Report. It's being distributed today under embargo until next Tuesday. Copies of the report will be at the documents counter, along with press releases with material that is also under embargo until 24 April. For more information on this report itself, you can contact Tim Wall at 963-5851.
**Security Council
The Security Council began its closed consultations today with a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi on the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC); that report, you'll recall, came out as a document Wednesday and it is on the racks.
Earlier today, more than 120 Moroccan troops arrived in Kisangani, after having being waiting since Sunday in Bangui, the capital of the nearby Central African Republic. This is because of obstruction to their deployment by the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy.
The Moroccans were met by large cheering crowds of about 100,000 people. We understand that they threw flowers in the air and chanted. I think they said things like "bon courage". There was a great mood -- and they were also greeted by UN Force Commander Lieutenant General Mountaga Diallo. Their arrival brings the total number of UN troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to about 600.
Following the briefing on the DRC, the Council will receive an oral briefing by Yuliy Vorontsov, the Secretary-General's High-level Coordinator on Iraq, who reports to the Council every four months on Iraq's compliance with its obligation to return all Kuwaiti or third-country nationals.
During the past four months, Ambassador Vorontsov has continued to visit countries and international organizations aimed at resolving the issue of the returns of Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, but Iraq has still refused to meet with him. The issue was also raised at the Arab Summit last month in Amman, Jordan, where the Secretary-General brought up the matter in his meetings with Arab leaders.
**Afghanistan
We have several developments concerning Afghanistan to share with you.
The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention will field a donors assessment mission to Afghanistan starting Monday, and this will go on for 13 days. The team will include four representatives from the United Kingdom, two each from the United States and Germany, and one each from Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and the European Commission. They will visit former poppy-growing villages and opium markets in four provinces (Kandahar, Kabul, Helmand and Nangarhar). The purpose of the mission to assess the potential for a sustained reduction in opium poppy cultivation in Taliban-controlled areas.
Meanwhile, Francesc Vendrell, Personal Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the Special Mission to Afghanistan, has just concluded a two-day visit to Kazakhstan, undertaken at the invitation of the Kazakh Government. Vendrell’s discussions with the President and Foreign Minister exchanged various ideas on how to move towards a comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan and ways in which Kazakhstan might assist the Secretary-General in the exercise of his good offices.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced a donation by the United States of some $6 million for demining activities in Afghanistan, where an estimated 150 to 300 civilians are injured or killed by explosives every month.
**Climate Change
I have here a reminder, just to remind you of the formal climate change consultations tomorrow, Saturday. It will offer the first opportunity since talks broke down last November in The Hague, for governments to share their views on the way forward. Chairman Jan Pronk, of the Netherlands, has invited 40 key countries, 25 of which will be represented by ministers. The talks are closed to the press, but there will be a very short photo-op at 1:30 p.m., for which you should arrive between 1 and 1:15. There will also be a press briefing at 6 in the evening, for which you must bring your press credentials. For more information, please contact Klomjit Chandrapanya this afternoon, and she can be reached at
963-9495.
**Memorial Mass
This afternoon at 5, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan will attend a memorial mass in honour of the late President of United Republic of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. The mass will take place here at 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues. The Secretary-General will deliver remarks at the memorial mass, remembering Nyerere as a man of profound humanity and integrity, who believed in the equality of all men as his philosophy in life. Embargoed copies of the Secretary-General's remarks are available in our office.
**Secretary-General
Sunday will be the tenth anniversary of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and, to mark the occasion, Danuta Hübner, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, will deliver a message on behalf of the Secretary-General.
The message will highlight the Bank's accomplishments over the past decade, and will note the importance of the International Conference on Financing for Development, which is to be held next year in Mexico, as an opportunity for strengthening cooperation between the UN and international financial institutions.
Embargoed copies of the Secretary-General's message are available in our office upstairs.
**Signings
This morning, the Republic of Korea became the ninetieth country to sign the Cartagena Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
And this afternoon, New Zealand will deposit the Instrument of Ratification for the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. That is in relation to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks -- a long title.
**Press Conferences
At 1:30 this afternoon, Bedrich Moldan, Chair of the ninth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, will be briefing you, here in this room, on what has been going on so far at the meeting, and provide a summary of the multi-stakeholder dialogue and high-level segment, which ends today.
And at 2:15 this afternoon, the Division for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is sponsoring a press conference by non-governmental organizations on their reaction to governments' talks on energy, climate change and the Kyoto Protocol. Speakers will include representatives from the Third World Network, the World Information Service on Energy, Earthlife Africa and Greenpeace International.
I will not go through it, but we also have available in our office upstairs the weekly feature "The Week Ahead," covering activities for next week.
**Questions and Answers
Are there any questions? Edie?
Question: When was the last time the Secretary-General was in Moscow. Was the Millennium Summit the only time he met with President Putin?
Deputy Spokesman: I will have to look into that to make sure. I have a recollection, but I'd like to check the exact facts for you. [After the briefing, he said that the Secretary-General last visited Moscow on 27 to 29 January 2000. During that same visit, he met, for the first time, with then Acting-President Vladimir Putin. They did meet, as well, at the Millennium Summit of September last year.]
Question: Do you have an update on the Channel 7 story on the fake I.D.? Is there a concern on your part, over people sneaking in or other threats?
Deputy Spokesman: I can tell you a bit about it. The United Nations Legal Office was contacted by the New York Police Department earlier this week. It was about the possible existence of a UN identification card with UN markings on it. The legal officer was shown a copy of that card, which had a UN emblem on it but was clearly not a legitimate UN identification card. We called the New York Police Department to inform them of that -- that it was not a legitimate I.D. card. And that is the extent of our involvement in this story. For any further details, on the action of the police, I would suggest that you talk to them.
Question: But what's your take on it -- that it was people who did it just to show off to their friends, or to sneak into the building?
Deputy Spokesman: We don't even know who did it. We don't know the individuals or the one individual -- I don't know. Of course it's of concern if a UN I.D. card is a fraud. But we don't have any other indications beyond what I just told you.
There's nothing else? I wish you all a very happy weekend and hope that you don't have to work too much. Thank you.
* *** *