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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-General in Geneva

The Secretary-General spent the weekend in Geneva, where this morning he addressed the opening of the High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which this year focused on Africa.

"This could be a turning point in Africa's history," he said, referring to the adoption of a new Africa recovery plan at the recently concluded Organization of African Unity Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, at which African leaders also committed themselves to forming an African Union, along the model of the European Union.

"Africans . . .are now much less disposed to blame their troubles on outsiders and more determined to take responsibility for their own future," he added.  "If they do, they are surely entitled to the international community's support."

On the subject of trade talks, he said that in order to restore momentum to open markets, there should be a "true Development Round" of global trade negotiations, giving genuine priority to the concerns and interests of developing countries.  "The greatest danger in times like these," he said, "is that people will listen to the sirens of protectionism."

The full text of the Secretary-General's speech is available in my office.

The Secretary-General spent the whole morning in the ECOSOC session, which was also addressed by World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn and others.  We have the texts of a number of the speeches that were given this morning.  If you ask us for them, we'll run them off for you.

He then had three bilateral meetings before lunch, with the Foreign Minister of Morocco, Mohamed Benaissa, the Chairman of the Group of 77, Ambassador Bagher Assadi of Iran, and the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Dr. Alwi Shihab.

After lunch, he went to the International Labour Organization (ILO), where he convened a high-level panel on the Youth Employment Network, made up of leaders from private industry and civil society who create job opportunities for young people.  The Network was one of the key initiatives to emerge from the Millennium Summit and is designed to address the fact that there are an estimated 66 million unemployed youth today, which is up 10 million from 1995.

He and the ILO Director, Juan Somavia, then gave a press conference.  In it, the Secretary-General welcomed the talks under way now between India and Pakistan but said he preferred to wait for a full report before commenting conclusively.

He also gave a full response to a question about his message to the G-8 Summit which he will attend on Friday of this week, including the need to support the global fight against AIDS, poverty reduction and constructive efforts to deal with climate change.

**Climate Change

Multilateral negotiations on climate change formally resumed this morning in Bonn, Germany, following an agreement last night to begin work on resolving outstanding issues immediately, before the Ministerial meeting on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change begins on Thursday of this week.

Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk, who is the President of this session of climate change talks, said he hoped that as many outstanding issues as possible would be resolved before the Ministers meet.  He said, "We are here to negotiate. It is crucial that we bring four years of work to completion.  The public is waiting to see results."

The President then announced that, over the next few days, four working groups will deal respectively with the issues of finance and technology; flexibility mechanisms; land use and forestry; and with procedures and mechanisms relating to compliance.  The negotiations will be based on the report of the first part of the Conference and on a consolidated negotiating text which has been prepared by the President.

**Small Arms

As part of the official programme of the Small Arms Conference, government delegates are listening to statements by 42 representatives of non-governmental organizations this morning.  The presentations cover themes such as injuries and health, vulnerable populations, impacts on communities and development, humanitarian and human rights concerns, and also domestic controls.  Twelve representatives from the firearms community group are also scheduled to take the floor.  The list of participants is available in my Office.

After working on it over the weekend, the Conference President, Ambassador Camilo Reyes of Colombia, this morning circulated a revised version of the Programme of Action.  Today it is available in English only.  We have copies in my office.  Other language versions are expected to be out tomorrow. 

Ambassador Reyes will hold a press conference at 12:45 here in room 226 to give you more details on the document and to take your questions.  [See correction below:  The time of the event was 1:15.]

And now some conference statistics.  During the Ministerial segment last week, the Conference heard statements from 143 speakers, including one Vice-President, two Deputy Prime Ministers, 38 Foreign and other Ministers, and

23 Deputy Ministers.  Of these, 131 speakers spoke for their countries, four for regional groups and eight for United Nations agencies and inter-governmental organizations.

**CAR

The Secretary-General has appointed General Lamine Cissé, former Minister of Interior of Senegal, as his Representative in the Central African Republic and head of the United Nations Peace Building Support Office in that country (BONUCA).

General Cissé is in New York this week for briefings with different Secretariat senior officials.  He is expected to take up office in Bangui at the end of this month.  For his installation, he will be accompanied by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to the Central African Republic, General Amadou Toumani Touré.

Lamine Cissé succeeds Cheik Tidiane Sy, who resigned last May.

The letters between the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council on Lamine Cissé’s appointment are out on the racks today.  He's not to be confused with our own Lamin Sise on the thirty-eighth floor.

**Afghanistan Report

The Secretary-General, in a report to the Security Council on the humanitarian implications of sanctions imposed on the Taliban, which is out on the racks today, says that the current sanctions regime has had adverse humanitarian effects.  However, he adds, the effects have been limited, and are greatly exceeded by other factors, including the continuing conflict in Afghanistan and the unprecedented drought.

The clearest direct effects of the United Nations sanctions, he says, are in the reduced ability of the Ariana national airlines to operate and maintain the safety of its planes.  He says that a simple technical solution has been developed to certify the requests by Ariana Airlines for exemptions from the aviation sanctions, which he says should be implemented immediately.  The report also includes an examination of the ways in which the sanctions have contributed to deterring investors from Afghanistan.

**Sierra Leone Special Court

The Secretary-General, in a letter to the President of the Security Council which is available on the racks today, notes his recent efforts to obtain sufficient funding and pledges for the operation of a Special Court for Sierra Leone.  You'll recall that the Secretary-General had said he would proceed with establishing such a Court only after he had received contributions to finance the first 12 months of its operation and pledges sufficient to fund the next

24 months.

In his letter, the Secretary-General says that the Secretariat last month presented to interested States revised estimates for the Court's funding needs, amounting to some $57 million for its first three years of work, including about $16.8 million for the first year.

As of 6 July, the Secretariat has received indications of contributions in funds for the Court's first year amounting to about $15 million, and pledges for the following two years for approximately $20.4 million.  The Secretary-General accordingly says he intends to circulate a letter to countries that have made pledges, asking them to deposit contributions for the Court's first-year costs to a Trust Fund within 30 days.

He adds that once the Court is established, "Member States have a responsibility to ensure that sufficient resources are available to secure the completion of proceedings against those indicted."

**Statement on Colombian Abduction

We have the following statement, attributable to the Spokesman, concerning an event in Colombia:

"Mr. Alan Jara Urzola, former Governor of the Colombian Department of Meta, was abducted while riding in an official United Nations vehicle with the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia yesterday.  The former Governor, along with UN personnel, were present at a ceremony marking the inauguration of the bridge of Reconciliation in the village of Lejanias, in the southern Department of Meta, near the Demilitarized Zone established for peace talks between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  The UN vehicle was clearly identified with diplomatic plates and was stopped at a checkpoint by armed individuals who identified themselves as FARC guerrillas.

"The Secretary-General strongly deplores the abduction of Mr. Jara and extends his deepest sympathies to his family.  He protests the forceful entry into a United Nations vehicle and demands that the FARC release Mr. Jara immediately.  The Secretary-General underlines that this type of violation of UN personnel and its vehicles jeopardizes the ability of the Organization to carry out its duties in Colombia."

**Rwanda Tribunal

Today in Arusha, Tanzania, the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Adama Dieng, said that the contracts of three defence investigators for the Tribunal, which had recently expired, would not be renewed, while the contract of a fourth investigator would be suspended.

The first three defence investigators are either on the list of suspects for genocide maintained by the authorities in Rwanda, while the fourth is currently under investigation by Tribunal Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte for crimes allegedly committed during the 1994 genocide.

The details of the cases of each of the four investigators are provided in a statement issued today by the Tribunal, which is available in my office.

**Security Council

There are no consultations of the Security Council today.

Tomorrow, the Council expects to hold consultations on Burundi, on which it will receive a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast.

**AIDS

After attending the Annual Meeting of the Organization of African Unity held last week in Lusaka, Zambia, Stephen Lewis, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for AIDS in Africa, met with President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya this morning in Nairobi.

Their discussions covered the Global AIDS and Health Fund and the importance of African representation on its governing body, the desperate situation of orphans in Kenya, and the new legislation in Kenya allowing for the manufacture or import of generic anti-retroviral drugs.

President Moi also agreed to speak to and visit one or more Presidents in the subregion to discuss his country's legislation on anti-retroviral drugs.

President Moi is a member of the core group of African leaders determined to keep the momentum going in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  As part of his three-nation tour, Stephen Lewis will be visiting Rwanda this week and Nigeria next week.

**Kosovo

Over the weekend in Kosovo, the United Nations Interim Administration (UNMIK) and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) helped manage the arrival of a large Serbian convoy consisting of 10 buses with more than 300 people and five trucks of aid supplies that arrived on Saturday and completed its aid deliveries yesterday.

The aid was delivered without incident, but the UN Mission, in today's briefing notes from Pristina, notes the need to provide notification in time to make all needed security arrangements.  Because notification of the convoy was not received until 12 July, KFOR had initially halted a first attempt by the convoy to enter Kosovo last Friday, in order to allow time for security arrangements to be put in place.

**Budget

Budget news -- we haven't had payment in a while.  Mexico became the 96th Member State to be paid in full for the year 2001.  That's for the regular budget dues, with a contribution of more than $3 million.  We are slightly behind last year at this time, when there were 100 fully paid up Member States.

**Press Conferences

1:45 today:  Congressman Bob Barr of the United States will discuss the US position at the Conference on Small Arms.

And I'm told that the press conference that I already announced -- by Ambassador Camilo Reyes -- I think I said it was at 12:45.  This is a correction: It will be at 1:15.

The United Nations Correspondent's Association (UNCA) has asked me to announce that there will be a press briefing tomorrow morning at 11:00 in the UNCA lounge on the racism conference, "Many issues, many voices -- an NGO perspective."  So I assume it will be many NGO voices that will be giving the press conference.  11:00 a.m.:  overview of the racism conference.

That's all I have for you.

**Questions and Answers

Yes, Ronnie?

Question:  Have there been communications between the Bush Administration and Hans Corell, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, regarding the possibility of withdrawing the United States' signature from the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

Spokesman:  The United States did ask the UN Legal Counsel how it could withdraw its signature from the ICC statute.  I'd have to ask the legal department what their response was.  [After checking with Hans Corell, the Spokesman announced that the legal department says it was never approached by the Bush Administration for advice on how to withdraw its signature from the ICC statute.]

Question:  What is the status of the tribunal for Cambodia?

Spokesman:  The Cambodian legislature approved a second piece of legislation.  The first one had gone through all the various steps up to the last one, which is a signature by the King, when the King objected to an inconsistency between the legislation and the Constitution.  [After the briefing, correspondents were informed that the Constitutional Court of Cambodia, not the King, had sent the legislation back to the legislature.]

The legislation was redrafted, it's just cleared the lower house.  I think it must go to a constitutional court; it goes back up the chain again to the King.  I saw that the King made a comment last week that he would not interfere in this process now.  So we welcome this second attempt to come up with this legislation and actually get it approved.  Once it's approved, we need a Memorandum of Understanding with Cambodia to govern the UN's role in this special court.  We had an agreement with Cambodia a year ago on both the Memorandum of Understanding and the legislation, but it's been through a rather complicated internal process.  So once we get the Memorandum of Understanding, which can't be completed until this legislative process is completed, then we can go ahead with setting up the court.

Question:  Isn't there concern over the Cambodian Government not coming through with what they promised, as well as the United States renouncing a treaty that it signed, which has perhaps never happened before?

Spokesman:  Those are two separate questions.  On the Cambodia issue, we're pleased that they have been consistent in their efforts to get legislation adopted.  We know it's not been easy; it was a rather complicated legal and political issue for Cambodia.  We hope that this time around, it's going to go right through to the end. 

On the United States signature on the ICC, I believe that was done in the final hours of the Clinton Administration, with the rationale of keeping the United States in the process for the ICC.  I think that's an internal matter whether it's the first time or the tenth time that the US has done this.  The Secretary-General has said he hopes that the US position on the ICC would permit the planning on the statute to go ahead, and we hope the US would not try to discourage other Member States from ratifying the court statute, so that it could eventually come into effect. 

We always get concerned when the United States withdraws political support from some important initiative, because the US role in the Organization and in the world is so predominant, so powerful.  We can only hope in this case that the US will continue to support efforts to establish the court and not withdraw its signature from the treaty.

Richard?

Question:  Can we have more audio and more lighting?

Spokesman:  I think the main lights are on.  I hope you've noticed the new microphones in the ceiling.  Can you push my microphone up?

Question:  When did the United States tell Mr. Corell about its views?

Spokesman:  I don't have the exact date.  I can't really say, weeks, maybe months.  I'm not quite sure.  I'll try to get the details on that for you from the legal department after the briefing.  [See correction regarding this matter above.]

Edie?

Question:  As I understand the Secretary-General's letter, he's not actually gotten the amount of money he's requested for Sierra Leone . . .

Spokesman:  He's a little shy.

Question:  Will he accept that and go ahead with the process of starting to plan for the court?

Spokesman:  I think so.  I think he would now like to see if he could actually get the money in the bank, for the first year.  From those who have indicated a willingness to pledge, if he can get within spitting distance of the amount he needs, I think he'd be willing to go ahead.  But of course, his conditions were money in the bank for the first year, pledges for the next two years.  I think if there aren't reasonable commitments within close proximity of what is needed, he will not go ahead.

Question:  Have the families of the abducted Israeli soldiers made an appeal to the Secretary-General directly to see the videotape and, if so, has there been a response?

Spokesman:  To my knowledge there has not been an appeal.  Let me double-check with the thirty-eighth floor to make sure that there was no correspondence that came in over the weekend.  But the Secretary-General told Prime Minister Sharon that he would welcome the families coming as part of the official Israeli delegation, should Israel decide to view the edited videotape, as we offered. 

Question:  Is there a timetable for the internal inquiry into the handling of the tape?

Spokesman:  No.  I think it's too early to give a specific timetable.  Joseph Connor, Under-Secretary-General for Management, is putting together a team of a half-dozen or so individuals.  As I mentioned last week, the terms of reference have been approved by the Secretary-General.  The work is getting started now.  Once Mr. Connor gives me any indication that he's seeing the end of this effort and can predict a date he'll be finished, I'll give it to you.  But remember, the Secretary-General asked him to do this investigation as quickly as possible. 

Question:  Is Mr. Connor himself going to go to the Middle East?

Spokesman:  I don't know whether that would be necessary.  I haven't spoken to him yet.

Question:  And the Israeli Defence Minister will apparently see Mr. Annan on Sunday -- will that be at the residence?

Spokesman:  We haven't announced that meeting, but I do understand that the Defence Minister of Israel has asked to see the Secretary-General and I believe it's next week.  Whether it's at the residence or not, I don't know and I don't have the precise date. 

Question:  Did any video shot by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) get distributed to any of the agencies?

Spokesman:  I'm not aware of that, but I don't think, given the fact that we're about to investigate everything that happened, and when it happened and how it happened, we should say any more about what we think happened.  The Secretary-General wants Mr. Connor to establish the facts as quickly as possible.  Let's see what his report says.  Bob?

Question:  Given that the Secretary-General's report indicates the arms embargo has not really diminished the level of fighting in Afghanistan, is there anything new from the Security Council regarding action on the proposal for a special monitoring mechanism?

Spokesman:  No, there's nothing new on the monitoring mechanism. 

Thank you very much.

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