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

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.

You are all busy with the events of the morning, so I'm going to start with that.

**Second Term

This morning, the General Assembly approved by acclamation a second term for Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General, for a five-year period beginning on 1 January 2002.

After the members of the General Assembly rose in unison to signal their approval of his second term, the Secretary-General addressed them and said he was sustained by a profound feeling of gratitude for the confidence they had placed in him and the encouragement and support he had received from so many quarters.

He added, "Wherever I have travelled in these past four years, and whatever issues I have tackled, I have been inspired by the sacrifices that the staff of the United Nations make, every day, on behalf of the peoples we serve."

He said he had sought to equip the United Nations to adjust to change and rise to new challenges; to assess the failures of its recent past unflinchingly; to speak out to defend those who cannot speak for themselves; and to make universal human rights the touchstone of his work.  He added, "Whether, or how far, I have succeeded in these aims is not for me to judge.  I do know, however, that the task is far from done."

The Secretary-General then renewed his oath of office, swearing to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions entrusted to him.

The Secretary-General was accompanied today by his wife Nane, his daughter Ama, and other relatives, as well as by friends, including some dating back to his days in Macalester College in Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1961.

We have his speech available upstairs, along with the statement by General Assembly President Harri Holkeri that followed his re-election.  Holkeri said that today's decision was a clear testimony of the continued support for the Secretary-General's ideas and actions, and he thanked him for accepting the responsibilities of the job for a second time.

The resolution appointing Kofi Annan for a second term was adopted by acclamation.  It was introduced by the President of the Security Council, Ambassador Chowdhury of Bangladesh, who said Annan had excelled in his office.

After the vote, members of regional groups spoke, as well as the host country and the Group of Arab States.

Kofi Annan is the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations and began his present term in 1996.

An updated biography including his work during the past four-and-a-half years is available on the UN Web site.

**SG and the Press

After he was elected to a second term, the Secretary-General spoke at the second floor stakeout, and we will shortly have a transcript of his comments to the press in that stakeout area.

Asked about the agenda for the next term, he said that reform and the search for excellence would be an ongoing process, and he thanked the press for their cooperation with him over the past few years.

**Milosevic -- ICTY

In the early hours of this morning in The Hague, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic arrived at the detention unit of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), one day after the Serbian authorities transferred him to the Tribunal.

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued yesterday afternoon, welcomed the decision to transfer Milosevic, saying, "It is a day few had imagined, but many had hoped for.  It is a day that will be remembered not for vengeance, but for justice.  It is a victory for accountability over impunity."  He hoped the day would provide some comfort to the victims of the Balkans wars and "some sense that even the most powerful leader can be brought to justice, and face the consequences of his actions."

Copies of the Secretary-General’s statement are available upstairs in our office as well as on our Web site.

The Tribunal's President, Judge Claude Jorda, hailed the transfer as "a new and irreversible step in relation to the international community's resolve to fight against impunity."  He emphasized the need that Milosevic be afforded a fair and expeditious trial in accordance with the highest international standards.

Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who gave a press briefing at The Hague just a few hours ago, said the transfer was only the beginning of the criminal proceedings, with a great deal of work still to be done to bring the case to a just conclusion.

We have a press release from the Tribunal with more information.

The Tribunal has informed us that Milosevic is scheduled to have his first appearance before the court next Tuesday.

Slobodan Milosevic was indicted, along with four other Yugoslav leaders, in 1999 on four counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including deportation and murder, that occurred in Kosovo.  However, prosecutors have said they are considering adding other indictments, which have yet to be filed, for crimes committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Croatia.

**Security Council

Meanwhile, here in New York, the Security Council is currently meeting in closed consultations.

Today Council members are expected to hold a public meeting for a wrap-up discussion on the work of the Council this past month under the Presidency of Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury.  This is the first time a wrap-up session will be held in public.  The Secretary-General is expected to be in attendance.

Also today, they are expected to adopt a Presidential Statement on the situation in Burundi, and a resolution to extend the operations of the UN mission in Western Sahara by five months.

This afternoon, at 3 p.m., Council members will gather in closed consultations to be briefed on the latest developments in Somalia by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast.  After that briefing, Council members will resume their discussion of the Iraq oil-for-food programme.

**UNHCR Note

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees today confirmed that the seven North Koreans who had sought help at the UNHCR office in Beijing departed for a third country.

UNHCR said that it hoped the incident, which has highlighted the problems of North Koreans, will lead to a renewed dialogue with the Chinese authorities so the refugee agency can properly address the plight of North Koreans in China -– especially those who left for refugee-related reasons    

**Lebanon

Today in Beirut, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, Staffan di Mistura, said he had received a commitment from the Israeli Defence Minister that, effective immediately, there would be a suspension of all overflights by Israeli planes over the cities of Beirut, Tyre, Sidon, Tripoli and deep inside the territory of Lebanon, and that there would be no more sonic booms over such cities.  

Di Mistura made the announcement to the press following a meeting this morning with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.

The Personal Representative told journalists that yesterday he had met in Israel with Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, as follow-up to the Secretary-General’s recent visit to the region.  The meeting, which was also attended by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, was described by Di Mistura as “frank”.

The full text of Di Mistura’s statement is available in the Spokesman’s Office upstairs.  

**Global Fund for AIDS and Health

Going back to the special session on AIDS, for all those who enquired about making contributions to the Global AIDS and Health Fund, the United Nations Foundation has set up a special account to receive contributions.  The Foundation will hold these contributions in readiness until the Fund is fully operational.  We have a fact sheet available upstairs with details of how to make contributions by cheque or wire transfer, and a mechanism to contribute by credit card via the Internet.  These are some of the details in that fact sheet. 

**Refugee News

Today’s UNHCR briefing note also contains reports on efforts under way to assist the more than 60,000 people who have fled their homes in the Central African Republic following a failed coup attempt last month; the repatriation of Somali refugees from Ethiopia, an update on population displacements in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the status of the Liberian passengers of a ship that docked in Nigeria after a four-week odyssey along the coast of West Africa.  These are all included in the briefing note.

**Kosovo Note

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, today appealed to international donors for resources for the “safe and sustainable” return of Kosovo Serbs.

**Rwanda Tribunal

A press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda says that in Arusha, Tanzania, today, Siméon Nshamihigo pleaded "not guilty" to three counts of genocide, extermination and violations of the Geneva Conventions.  He made the plea in his initial appearance before a judge following his transfer to the Tribunal on 25 May.

As I said, further details are in the press release from the Tribunal.

**Press Releases

Other press releases, just to bring to your attention:  South Korea will ensure a tobacco-free 2002 World Cup.  This important public health policy will be formally confirmed by Han Seung-soo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, during an official visit to the World Health Organization in Geneva on Tuesday.  This first-ever tobacco-free World Cup will join many other tobacco-free events supported by the World Health Organization.

More details in the media alert issued by the WHO.

The UN Environment Programme says that voluntary actions by industry, Governments and organizations are leading to a small but significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.  A study by the World Energy Council says that by 2005, the reduction could be 3 per cent of the 200 emission figures.

Details are available in the press release.

**Budget

Today, Germany and Viet Nam were added to the list of Member States which have paid their full contributions to the 2001 regular budget.  Germany made a payment of more than $101 million and Viet Nam more than $2 million.  We now have 92 Member States paid in full for this year.

**Peacekeeping

Also available upstairs in a fact sheet with the updated figures on the

15 UN peacekeeping operations around the world.  The fact sheet is in the form of a background note the Department of Public Information has prepared in English and French.

**Press Conferences

This afternoon, at 12:45, Dr. Reyadh Al-Qaisy, Iraq’s Under-Secretary of State, will be here to brief you on the situation in his country.  That press conference, originally scheduled for this morning, has been rescheduled for

12:45 p.m. and it will be here in Room 226.

**Week Ahead

And finally, as every Friday, we have available in the Spokesman’s Office the Week Ahead which will tell you some of the events due to take place in the course of next week.

Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Milosevic’s lawyers are saying his transfer to The Hague is illegal.  What is the UN’s opinion on that?  Also, do you think it will have any impact on the proceedings against him?

Spokesman:  I don’t think it will be appropriate for me to go into any comments on issues regarding the transfer from Serbia to the Tribunal.  The only comment I think is appropriate is that all States are obliged to cooperate with the Tribunal by providing evidence and transfer of suspects.  And, of course, any cooperation by any State is most welcome as it helps the work of the Tribunal.

Question:  Could you explain the possibilities of (Israeli planes) not flying over Lebanon?

Spokesman:  These flights are being undertaken by the Israeli military; and the Israeli Defence Minister has confirmed that there will no longer be sonic booms, and they will not be overflying the cities that I have mentioned to you. Those are Israeli flights, and there is a commitment now by the Israeli Defence Minister that this will no longer be happening.

Question:  (inaudible)

Spokesman:  There was a meeting.  Following up on the Secretary-General’s visit to the region, the Secretary-General’s representative for Southern Lebanon met yesterday with the Israeli Defence Minister.  At that meeting he (Defence Minister) made that commitment which was then today communicated by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Staffan di Mistura, to President Lahoud of Lebanon.

And we have upstairs a statement with the details on that.

Thank you very much.  Have a pleasant afternoon, and a nice weekend.  Thank you.