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 the noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon.
** Security Council
The Security Council is holding a public meeting today to discuss the report of the independent expert panel on the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Secretary-General is there.
The Chairperson of the independent panel, Safiatou Ba-N’Daw, introduced the report. As of this morning, 27 speakers were listed to take the floor. Among them, the DRC Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu, Uganda's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amama Mbabazi and Patrick Mazimhaka from the Rwandan President’s Office.
The meeting will go on into the afternoon.
The Council is expected to discuss the sanctions on Liberia tomorrow morning. Following that, in the afternoon, they will go to Pocantico Hills, north of New York City for a retreat.
During the retreat, they will hold discussions on the Great Lakes region of Africa, and in particular, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Secretary-General will be present throughout the retreat which will last from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning.
** Liberty Bell and AIDS Teleconference
The Secretary-General has been named this year's recipient of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal for his role in promoting peace, social justice and economic development. He will receive the award at Philadelphia's Liberty Hall -- where the US Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were adopted -- on the 4th of July.
The award was established following the bicentennial celebration of the US Constitution in 1987, and has recognized achievement among civic, government and business leaders.
The award includes a cash prize of $100,000, which is raised privately, and which the Secretary-General intends to donate to the global fund that he has proposed to deal with the fight against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The Secretary-General's donation would be the first to the Global Fund, which is expected to cover a portion of the seven to ten billion dollars required annually to deal with AIDS worldwide.
Following up on his “HIV/AIDS: call to action”, launched at the African Summit held in Abuja, Nigeria, last week and reaffirmed in his speech at the Council on Foundations in Philadelphia last Monday, the Secretary-General has convened a teleconference of the UN system tomorrow.
All the heads of UN agencies directly involved in the UN’s fight against AIDS will be telling him and the Deputy Secretary-General of the actions they have taken to fight the disease. In a nutshell -– the Secretary-General will make sure that all agencies are in the same war footing against the disease.
During the meeting they will also review latest developments for the establishment of the Global Fund.
** World Press Freedom Day
To mark the holding of World Press Freedom Day today, the Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), issued a joint statement that calls a free press "one of the most essential components of a democratic society".
The joint statement says that free media have an indispensable role to play in rooting out racism and xenophobia, and urges the international community to defend "the right to receive and impart information free from censorship, through any media and regardless of frontiers."
We have copies of the message in my office if you’re interested.
At Headquarters this morning, the Secretary-General opened an event in honour of World Press Freedom Day in Conference Room 2 by saying that, where a free press is imperilled, muzzled or banned altogether, every other freedom is limited. He added, "Where their rights are denied, no one can be free."
UN Missions also participated in recognizing the importance of a free press today. In East Timor, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, observed the day by attending the inauguration in Dili of the new offices of a local magazine, Talitakum. In a speech, Vieira de Mello asked all journalists in East Timor to adhere to the highest standards of professional integrity, and to refrain from hate-mongering and from biased news coverage.
And then, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), organized three panel discussions with local human rights activists and journalists, which were aired on the Mission's radio station.
** Yugoslav Authorities Serve Milosevic with Warrant
The Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia today informed the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that it has served the indictment and arrest warrant by the Tribunal on former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
The Government said it had served the indictment on Milosevic today, one day after it received a letter from the Tribunal's registrar, Hans Holthuis, noting the Government's obligation to serve the arrest warrant on the accused personally.
We have copies of that letter in my office.
The Tribunal welcomes today's action, which is a positive step in the right direction, it says, and hopes that it will pave the way for the prompt transfer of Milosevic and all other indicted persons living in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
** Kosovo
The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, today denied reports published in the Belgrade media that work on the Legal Framework for elections in Kosovo has been completed, without including the concerns of Kosovo's Serbs.
The reality, Haekkerup said, is that he has been meeting continuously with Kosovo's political representatives, and will try to take stock of progress on the Legal Framework by the end of this week and then try to finish the work. The UN Mission in Kosovo, he said, has been trying to protect minority interests and still wants to include some Serb-proposed recommendations in the final draft.
We expect to have a press release on that in the course of the afternoon.
** Abuja
In Abuja, Nigeria, a meeting to review progress in implementing the November 2000 cease-fire agreement for Sierra Leone was concluded around midnight last night with a series of decisions on all the major issues in the peace process at this time.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, attended the one-day meeting, which gathered [representatives of] the government of Sierra Leone, the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
They concluded that the cease-fire has largely held since the signing of the accord last November 10, and discussed the way forward.
A press release is being prepared by the UN mission in Sierra Leone, which will highlight agreement reached on 12 points on such issues as the return of equipment, which the RUF agreed to do by 30 May.
** Afghanistan
As we had flagged for you yesterday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ruud Lubbers met with the Taliban "Foreign Minister" Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil in the Afghan capital of Kabul today to press his appeal for a truce, but the Taliban did not agree to halt the fighting.
Lubbers’ next stop is Pakistan, where he will visit newly arrived Afghans, as well as meet various government officials and Pakistan's Chief Executive, Pervez Musharraf.
** Lebanon
Steffan di Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for southern Lebanon, met this morning with the Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud to give him a copy of the Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN mission in Lebanon.
They had a cordial and friendly exchange of views on the situation in the south as well as on the Secretary-General’s report.
Later in the afternoon, di Mistura met with Ambassador Mohamed Omran of the United Arab Emirates to discuss the implementation of the $50 million pledge by the UAE towards demining activities in southern Lebanon. It is believed that more that 100,000 active mines remain in the south.
** SG Luncheon
The Secretary-General is having lunch today with the Council of American Ambassadors, an organization of present and former US Ambassadors, and he’ll take the occasion to thank the gathered diplomats -- and to pay particular tribute to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke -- for their help in resolving the question of unpaid US dues to the United Nations.
He told the ambassadors that he was deeply gratified to hear President George W. Bush and members of his administration promise to support the United Nations' work on issues from HIV/AIDS to conflict in Africa and the Middle East.
We have copies of his remarks in my office.
** WHO Sleeping Sickness Initiative
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), today announced a major step forward in combating sleeping sickness in Africa. The pharmaceutical company Adventis has committed $25 million over five years to support WHO’s activities in fighting the disease. The project will involve drug donations, disease management and control and research and development. Dr. Brundtland said, “As we increase surveillance, treatment and research, there is now reason to hope that we can better control this disease.”
Sleeping sickness affects a half million people in sub-Saharan Africa and some 60 million are at risk in 36 countries. Only about 10 per cent of those suffering from the disease receive proper treatment.
We have a press release upstairs.
** Sustainable Development Conference Announced
The Commission on Sustainable Development, acting as the first Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, concluded its meeting yesterday.
It made decisions on the format and focus, as well as recommended dates for the Summit and its preparatory process. As you know, the Summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the recommended dates are from 2 to 11 September 2002, with the participation at the level of Heads of State from
9 to 11 September.
For more information, you can contact the Information Department.
** Signings
Paraguay will become the 93rd country to sign the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. That will happen this afternoon.
** International Bridges Project
The Department of Public Information has gathered school administrators from around the world here today as part of what they call International Bridges Project. They will be discussing human rights based education.
We have more information in my office, if you’re interested.
** Press Releases
FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, today launched the first two publications in the ethics in food and agriculture series. “Ethical issues in food and agriculture” looks at building an ethical framework for food and agriculture. And the second, “Genetically modified organisms, consumers, food safety and the environment” explores the claims and counter claims on the safety of genetically modified foods.
Both publications are available on the FAO Web site, and we also have a press release in my office.
** Press Conferences
And finally, at 1:15 today, in this room, Leonard She Okitundu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will come here to talk to you about the situation in the DRC.
That’s all I have.
** Question and Answers:
Question: The award for the Secretary-General by Philadelphia: what are the criteria for granting this award, and is it customary for a non-American to be chosen?
Spokesman: I think we have more information in my office. I wouldn’t want to guess. It’s not my award. I think we might have something in writing concerning the criteria and the past recipients of the medal. You could check with me after the briefing. [The award requires civic and governmental achievement and has been given to a number of non-Americans.]
Question: What does it actually say in relation to choosing the Secretary-General?
Spokesman: For him, it is for his role in promoting peace, social justice and economic development.
Anything else?
Question: The SG did not speak at the beginning of the Council debate on the Panel’s report on the DRC. Various African Ministers said that they felt the report should just be stopped right then, rather than the Panel’s work extended. The SG does approve –- does he not -– of extending the Panel’s work?
Spokesman: First of all, it’s not his report. It’s the Panel’s report. The Security Council asked for the report; asked him to form the panel. He did that. They gave the report [through him] to the Council. I think it’s then up to the Council to decide whether they want the Panel to continue. I don’t think the Secretary-General would interfere with the Council’s decision-making process on that matter.
Question: I may have missed something. As to the review of the future set-up in Kosovo, is there any indication of the contents since there is this diatribe about how it is made and how it will proceed, etc?
Spokesman: The process of establishing the legal framework for elections is ongoing and what we are reporting on today was the concern expressed in Belgrade that the views of the Serb minority had not been adequately taken into account. And the Special Representative was responding, saying “no, the process isn’t over and we’re very concerned about minority rights, and we’ll take into consideration some of the specific ideas of the Serb minority”. Apart from that, I’m not aware that the process has been public. As to the evolution of the nature of the framework, of how, or what it is going to look like, I don’t think so.
Question: Some people might think the Secretary-General was ahead of himself in thanking the United States for settling the arrears question since no cheque has yet been put in the mail. What information do you have about when this $582 million is going to show up?
Spokesman: The only official thing I’m aware of is a letter the United States Government sent to all other delegations explaining the legislative process in Washington, and promising that the money would be forthcoming soon –- I think that’s the word that they used. That letter was several weeks back. I’ll have to get the date for you, or the United States Mission could, perhaps, give you the date.
For we laymen here in New York, interpreting the legislative process in Washington is a bit difficult. So, I think, we kind of rely on the US Mission to interpret how things are going and I believe their view still is that the payment would be forthcoming soon. And we can only hope that will be the case.
Thank you very much.
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