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.

This is a private briefing for Associated Press.

Good afternoon.

**Security Council/Kosovo

In an open meeting of the Security Council, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, this morning briefed on recent developments in Kosovo.

In the remarks, which we made available to you in advance, he focused on preparations for the November 17th elections in Kosovo and the hand-over to a provisional self-government.  He also briefed on efforts to engage minority communities, particularly Kosovo Serbs, in public life, efforts to improve law and order, and implementation of confidence-building measures to bridge the inter-communal divide.

Mr. Guéhenno welcomed the decision by four Kosovo Serb parties to submit certification applications for the elections and urged the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to unequivocally encourage participation in the elections.

The situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continues to be of great concern to the UN mission in Kosovo, and Mr. Guéhenno noted the mission’s efforts to reduce the influence of ethnic Albanian armed groups operating from Kosovo. 

Mr. Guéhenno also mentioned that the number of refugees arriving in Kosovo from FYROM outweighs the number returning to Skopje.  And, on the border closure by FYROM, he said the UN mission was making representations to the FYROM authorities.

Earlier today, Hans Haekkerup, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo, called the border closure unacceptable and unreasonable.

**Security Council/East Timor

This afternoon, starting at 3:30 in Conference Room 7, the Singapore Mission has invited the members of the Security Council to hear from a number of experts about developments in East Timor.

The meeting, conducted under the "Arria formula," will give Council members a chance to hear from David Malone of the International Peace Academy; Nancy Soderberg of the International Crisis Group; Sidney Jones of Human Rights Watch/Asia; and Shep Forman of New York University's Center on International Cooperation.

The Singapore Mission also says that, when the meeting wraps up -- at around 4:30 or 5:00 -- there will be an opportunity in the area outside Conference

Room 7 for press to talk with the experts who are addressing the Council.

**International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

The Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Carla Del Ponte, today unsealed an indictment against a retired Croatian general, Ante Gotovina, who was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during and after a major 1995 offensive in the Krajina region.

Mr. Gotovina was accused, along with another Croatian general, Rahim Ademi, who voluntarily turned himself in at The Hague yesterday, and who will be tried for offences allegedly committed in September 1993 in Croatia's Medak Pocket.

General Ademi had his initial appearance before the Tribunal today, and declared himself to be not guilty of all charges against him.

Mr. Gotovina, who was aware of his indictment prior to the action today to unseal it, is still at large, and the Prosecutor expects the Government of Croatia to take immediate action to apprehend him.

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

**Mission to Liberia

A UN mission is in Liberia this week to undertake a preliminary assessment of the potential humanitarian, social and economic impact on the Liberian population of possible additional sanctions.

The three-member mission, represented by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, was dispatched at the request of Security Council resolution 1343 (2001) on Liberia.

A panel of experts is in the process of identifying potential areas of additional sanctions.

Meanwhile, there is a letter on the racks today from Liberian Foreign Minister Monie Captan concerning the Security Council Sanctions Committee's decision not to grant a waiver of the travel ban to allow two Liberian ministers to travel to Freetown to attend the World Cup qualifying soccer match between Liberian and Sierra Leone, earlier this month.

**Electoral Assistance to Fiji

In the wake of yesterday’s General Assembly approval of the establishment of a United Nations Electoral Observer Mission to Fiji, the Department of Political Affairs has set up a mission to monitor the general elections and the immediate post-election environment in that country.  The elections are scheduled to take place from the 25th of August to the 1st of September.

The Mission will be made up of about 40 international staff taken from Member States and the Secretariat and who, along with monitors from the Commonwealth and the European Union, will monitor the polling process across the country.  They will also monitor the counting of votes from the 3rd to the 8th of September.  The observers will also be deployed in the field for five days after the announcement of the results to observe the acceptance of the results by the local population.

This will be the first time since 1994 that the United Nations will be involved in this type of Mission.

**Oil-for-food Programme

The Executive Director of the Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan, has informed the Chairman of the Security Council 661 Sanctions Committee and the Permanent Representative of Iraq that some excess funds that are held by the "oil-for-food" programme for administrative costs will be transferred for the purchase of humanitarian supplies.

Mr. Sevan, in identical letters to the Sanctions Committee and Iraq, said that $75 million in excess funds in the account designated for UN administrative costs would be transferred for humanitarian purchases.

This is the second time such a transfer has been made, following a transfer earlier this year of $52 million from the account for administrative costs to one for humanitarian purchases.

**Climate Change Conference

The Conference of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, meeting in Bonn, late yesterday afternoon formally adopted the decision on implementation of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, which had been agreed to last Monday at the high level segment of the meeting.  The President of the Conference, Jan Pronk, said negotiations would now go forward on the basis of the political integrity of the text.

**“Say Yes for Children” Campaign

Messengers of Peace Muhammad Ali and Michael Douglas have joined many other celebrities in signing the “Say Yes for Children” pledge supporting action for children.  The campaign was launched in April and has gathered more than

3.2 million pledges, which will be presented at the United Nations Special Session on Children in September.  Ali and Douglas have also agreed to appear in television spots promoting the campaign.  The Secretary-General and Nelson Mandela are among the world figures who have already appeared in the TV spots.

We have more information in a press release from the United Nations Children's Fund.

Is there a question in the House?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Fred, in Fiji, this was the first time there was this kind of electoral mission since 1994.  Where was that?

Spokesman:  I'd have to look that up for you.  But we've been providing assistance but not actually doing the observing since 1994.

Thank you very much.

[Immediately following the briefing, the Spokesman's Office announced that the last United Nations electoral observer missions had been in 1994 in South Africa and Mozambique.]

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