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.

**Secretary-General in Moscow

Good afternoon.  I’ll start with the Secretary-General’s programme in Moscow, which is quite a busy day.  I’ll try to summarize it for you.  The day started this morning, when the Secretary-General went to Manez Square in Moscow, where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  From there he went to the Duma, or, the Lower House of Parliament, for a meeting with the Speaker, Guennady Seleznev.  They discussed the role that Parliamentarians can play in support of the United Nations.  The Secretary-General briefed them on the Legal Framework for Kosovo.  The Secretary-General also outlined his views on the Middle East.  They also discussed Chechnya and in the course of that discussion, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Dimitry Rogozin, outlined the possible legal framework for a settlement in Chechnya.

As the Secretary-General was meeting with the Speaker of the Lower House, Mrs. Annan met separately with women members of the Duma for a presentation on how women Parliamentarians advance women’s interests in Russia.  At mid-day, she had a private lunch with Liudmila Putin, wife of the President.  They talked about AIDS, education and children.

The Secretary-General then had talks with Russia’s Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov.  The Foreign Minister expressed Russia’s support for the goals set at last year's Millennium Summit and for the United Nations itself.  The Minister also went into some detail on a subject that, in the meetings held yesterday, they had not touched, which was the United States proposal to build an anti-ballistic missile system.  The Minister said he was leaving for Washington tomorrow and laid out Russia’s views on this subject.  They then touched briefly on a number of issues including Georgia, Nagorny Karabakh, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  They also discussed Iraq and the latest policy reviews on the “oil for food” programme taking place in the different capitals.  On the Balkans, they exchanged views on the legal framework for Kosovo and the security situation in the region as a whole.

In the programme we gave you in advance of the Secretary-General’s visit to Moscow, there was a meeting scheduled with the Minister for Civil Defense and Emergency Situations, Sergei Shoigu.  That meeting did not take place because the Minister had to go because of an emergency, being the Minister of Emergencies, to Siberia, to deal with a grave flood situation there.

The Foreign Minister and the Secretary-General then gave a press conference.  The transcript is not here yet but as soon as we have it we’ll make it available to you. (The transcript was later announced as available.)  The Foreign Minister said that “Russia highly appreciates the personal contribution of the Secretary-General to the strengthening of the role of the United Nations”.  He also said that “Russia will support the candidacy of Kofi Annan for a second term as Secretary-General”.

In the afternoon the Secretary-General joined his wife’s programme for a meeting with representatives of AIDS/Infoshare and the Women’s Information Network.  These are two non-governmental organizations promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS in Russia, where, according to some sources, close to one million people are infected with the disease, most between the age of 18 and 25.  Mrs. Annan then went to the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, where she was awarded an honorary degree, and she accepted the tribute “on behalf of all the artists of the world, especially women artists”.

The Secretary-General then, in the afternoon local time, met with Russia’s Prime Minister, Mikhail Kassianov.  They had an extensive discussion on the turnaround in the Russian economy and the growth in the private sector.  In that context the Secretary-General talked about the Global Compact.  The Secretary-General then left for the Federation Council of the Upper Chamber of Parliament.  He met with the Chairman, Egor Stroev, and other Parliamentarians.  They discussed the Balkans, globalization and terrorism, among other issues.  Not in the programme and rather a surprise, the Chairman awarded the Secretary-General the Peter the Great Prize in a ceremony attended by many of the 100 members of the Federation Council.  The Secretary-General told the press afterwards that he thanked the Chairman very much, on behalf of the United Nations and all the staff who work for the Organization, because, he said, “I think that through me he was honouring them, the staff”.

The Secretary-General was then rejoined by his wife for a visit to the United Nations staff in Moscow.  That was the end of the programme for today.  In about an hour or so, the Secretary-General and his delegation will be leaving Moscow for Geneva with a stopover in Amsterdam.  The stop in Amsterdam is just for the night and then they proceed tomorrow morning to Geneva.

**Security Council

Here in New York, the Security Council this morning heard a briefing, in closed consultations, from Joachim Hütter, Director of the Asia and Middle East Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.  This briefing was on the Secretary-General's interim report on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was issued about two weeks ago.  That report, you'll recall, noted that the strength of the Force would be reduced through attrition and normal rotations to some 3,600 military personnel by the first part of next year.

Yesterday, shortly after noon, the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement on Ethiopia and Eritrea, which noted that the arms embargo placed on the parties would expire today, 16 May.  Under the current circumstances, the Council said, it would not extend the sanctions measures, described in Resolution 1298(2000) of last year, beyond today.  Accordingly, the sanctions expired at a minute past midnight.  No Council meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.  The next scheduled meeting is on Friday, when the Council expects to hold an open meeting on East Timor.

**Security Council Mission to the Great Lakes

Still on Security Council news, the 12 ambassadors making up the Security Council mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa arrived a short while ago in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Upon arrival, French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, who is leading the mission, told journalists they were travelling to the Great Lakes region to help parties move the Lusaka Peace Process forward.  And he added that the Security Council's presence underscores the importance of the region to the United Nations.

Thursday in Johannesburg, the delegation will hold separate meetings with the facilitator of the Inter-Congolese dialogue, Sir Katumile Masire; with former President Nelson Mendela, facilitator of the Burundi Peace Process; and with President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.  In the afternoon, the Security Council delegation will fly to Kinshasa.

**Sierra Leone

Still on the African continent, the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) agreed on an immediate recommencement of the disarmament process in a one-day meeting held at the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) Headquarters in Freetown.  An agreement was also reached on the release of all child combatants and abductees starting on 25 May.

The meeting examined the key issues relating to the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of combatants.  The two parties reached agreement on the simultaneous disarmament of the government-backed militia, the Civil Defence Force (CDF) and RUF combatants, which will begin on 18 May in the Kambia and Port Loko districts.  There’s a press release from UNAMSIL in our office with more details.

**Kosovo

In news regarding Kosovo, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pristina reports today that some 550 ethnic Albanians fled into Kosovo to escape fighting from the Presevo valley today, bringing to more than 3,000 the number who have fled since Sunday.  UNHCR also reported that ethnic Albanians were trickling in from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  Some 20 had crossed into Kosovo today, bringing the total to more than 9,000 since early May.

**Lebanon

In Abu Dhabi today, the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, met the chief of staff of the United Arab Emirate's armed forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, to discuss the Emirate's cooperation with the United Nations and Lebanon in demining southern Lebanon.  The Emirate pledged $50 million in financial support for demining activities under the United Nations umbrella.  In a statement to the press, Mr. de Mistura expressed gratitude for this substantial contribution, which will help to restore normal living conditions to southern Lebanon a year after Israel's withdrawal.  On 21 May, the United Nations, the Lebanese Government and the donor community will participate in a conference on demining Lebanon, beginning with the south.  That is to take place in Beirut.

**Rwanda Tribunal

Today in The Hague, Florence Hartmann, spokeswoman for Tribunal Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, responded to recent media reports concerning members of the prosecution team for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda whose contracts were not renewed.  “Ms. Del Ponte”, Ms. Hartmann said, “has begun to restructure the investigation teams based in Kigali to make them more efficient”.  She added, "The Prosecutor did not renew some contracts and we were accused of racism, but the decision was only on the basis of efficiency".  She also added that the first person who did not have his contract renewed was an American of European descent, and said that the Prosecutor will continue to hire new people, including Africans, on the basis of competence.  Further details are available in the weekly press briefing from The Hague, which we have in our office.

**East Timor

From East Timor, the news is that two of the three newly-appointed international Electoral Commissioners arrived in Dili today.  Michael Maley of Australia and Bong-Scuk Sohn of Korea will shortly be joined by Charles Rose of India.  The two East Timorese Commissioners that will, together with these three, make up the team of five electoral commissioners, will be appointed in the coming days. 

Mr. Maley is the Director of Research and International Services at the Australian Electoral Commission and served as Deputy Chief Electoral Officer for the 1993 elections in Cambodia.  Mr. Sohn is a member of the Election Commission of the Republic of Korea and served on the Electoral Commission for East Timor’s Popular Consultation in 1999.  And Mr. Rose is the former Secretary of the Election Commission of India and was the United Nations Electoral Officer in Cambodia.  The Commission will certify election results and transmit them to the Secretary-General through his Special Representative in East Timor.  The briefing news from Dili has more details on that.

**UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today released initial results of a poll taken between December 2000 and February of this year based on face-to-face interviews with 15,200 children, between nine and 17 years of age, in

35 countries in Europe and Central Asia.  The preliminary results show that about 60 per cent of children face some sort of violence or aggressive behaviour in their families and almost half feel they do not have basic information on HIV/AIDS.  Despite this, most children feel happy most of the time and believe their lives will be better than that of their parents.  One of the most poignant facts to come out of the poll is that children feel they have the right to be loved.

The full results of the poll will be presented to the General Assembly Special Session on Children, which as you know will be held here in September.  UNICEF has a press release with more detail, which is available in our office.

**ECLAC

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), has just issued a new report which says the sharp decline in the United States’ economy will slow the region’s growth rate this year.  Current projections indicate that this year’s annual regional growth will reach 3.0 per cent, down from 4.0 per cent last year.  Exports from the region are expected to rise by only 5 per cent this year as compared to last year’s rise of 20 per cent.  Foreign Direct Investment is also expected to fall by $10 billion.  We have a summary of report in our office, but the full text in Spanish is available at the Commission’s Web site.

**International Day of Families Observed

The International Day of Families, which fell yesterday and we talked about it here with you, will be observed here at Headquarters tomorrow.  There will be a panel presentation at Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium on the theme “Families and Volunteers: Building Social Cohesion”.  This will be followed by a question and answer period.  The programme starts at 10 in the morning.  Details of the programme and a background note are available at the documents counter on the third floor.

**Press Releases from UNEP and WHO

Addressing the Third Conference on the Least Developed Countries today, Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), stressed the importance of making linkages between the environment and development policy as a necessary pre-condition in the fight against global poverty.  The full text of his remarks is available on the racks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today in a new report that an extra $400 million per year would make quality medicines and treatment available to at least 70 per cent of the world's 8 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases each year.  The report estimates that $1 billion per year is needed to control TB in the

22 highest-burden countries but there is still a $300 million annual shortfall in funding.  The press release is also available upstairs.

**UNCA Event

And finally, I have an announcement by the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA).  They’ve asked me to remind you of a press conference this afternoon on the fourth annual Hip-hop Appreciation Week.  This will be at the UNCA Club at 4:30 this afternoon.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  I apologize for coming in late.  Relating to Secretary-General’s trip to Russia and the comments by Foreign Minister Ivanov on a second term, did you make a statement earlier that’s available upstairs?

Answer:  Since we did not receive the full transcript yet, I have just the transcript of the portion where the Foreign Minister makes the statement “Russia highly appreciates the personal contribution of Secretary-General Annan to the strengthening of the role of the United Nations and Russia will support the candidacy of Kofi Annan for a second term as Secretary-General”.

Question:  Also on the trip to Russia and regarding the legal framework, as you put it, for the possible resolution of conflict in Chechnya, are there any details on that?

Answer:  I don’t have any details, sorry.

Question:  The 3,500 refugees that fled into Kosovo.  Is that a total?

Answer:  No, I said 550 fled into Kosovo to escape fighting in the Presevo valley area.  This brings the total, since Sunday, to 3,000.