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.

Thank you very much for coming.  I think today we will have the record for short briefings.  We only have five notes for you, so you can have an early lunch.

**United Nations Finances

We start with a note on United Nations finances.  One hundred and three Member States have so far paid their regular budget contributions in full for this year.  However, some major contributors have paid none, or only part, of their dues, and as a result, the United Nations' cashflow situation is extremely precarious, with a projected cash deficit of $75 million by the end of this month.  This projected deficit will force us to cross-borrow from peacekeeping accounts in order to pay staff salaries by the end of this month.

We are anxiously awaiting payment of past due amounts in connection with regular budget assessments, in order to avoid further cross-borrowing and to repay the amounts owed to peacekeeping as quickly as possible.

These overdue amounts are from this year's regular budget contributions, and are distinct from the amounts yet to be paid as part of the pending United States arrears payment of $582 million.  We understand that that payment has not yet received full approval by the United States Congress.

**Security Council

There are no meetings of the Security Council scheduled for today.  However, tomorrow, the Council will meet in closed consultations to receive a briefing on Liberia and another on the situation in Angola from Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Danilo Turk.

I would also like to bring to your attention that out on the racks is a letter from Ambassador Nasser al-Kidwa, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, addressed both to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council.

**International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

A Bosnian Serb who is accused of commanding units involved in the summary executions of Bosnian Muslims in the Srebrenica enclave in 1995 will make his first appearance tomorrow before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Vidoje Blagojevic is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for his alleged acts as a colonel in command of the Bratunac Brigade during the seizure of Srebrenica.  He was transferred to the Tribunal's custody late last week and will appear tomorrow morning before Tribunal Judge Liu Daqun.

**Kosovo

Following reports in the Serbian media that a refrigerated truck containing bodies had been found at the bottom of Radonijicko Lake, near the city of Djakovica in Kosovo, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has conducted an investigation and confirmed that there is no evidence of any such truck.

The United Nations Police Missing Persons' Unit and a fully-equipped Kosovo Force (KFOR) diving team participated in the exercise, and said that nothing at all was found.

United Nations police have also regularly investigated reports of places in Kosovo where Serbs are being illegally held, and have not uncovered any evidence to support those reports.

More information in a press release from Kosovo, which is available in our office.

**Signings

Today, Ecuador became the ninth country to sign the 2001 International Coffee Agreement. 

And finally, there are no press conferences scheduled for today or tomorrow.

Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  How much does the United States owe this year and who were the other major countries that haven't paid?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, as you know, we have available every fortnight the status of contributions to the regular budget, which is available in our office.  The current one is updated as of 15 July.  The United States arrears, which are of course the current year plus previous years for the regular budget, are

$463 million.  This regular budget arrears account for 64 per cent of all regular budget arrears.  

Question:  Could you put this whole thing into perspective?  How bad is it compared to other years?

Deputy Spokesman:  This time of the year we usually have a cash flow problem -- in the summer time.  This, of course, is of great concern given the amount that we will be in deficit -- $75 million.  It is affecting the payment of salaries but also of other bills that the Organization has to pay, forcing, therefore, the Department of Management to borrow from the peacekeeping accounts. 

Question:  Is it any worse than previous years? 

Deputy Spokesman:  It's the kind of situation we have always faced at this time of year -- the summer time.  And, of course, it is a situation that should not be happening, because payments are due at the beginning of the year.  We always hope that we will be overcome this situation, but, as years go by, we repeatedly find ourselves in it.

Question:  Regarding the letter from Al-Kidwa, I believe it's about the sixth or seventh letter that's been sent.  Are you drawing our attention to it this time because you think that some action is likely to be taken on it?

Deputy Spokesman:  No.  I only did it because I know that you knew that he had met with the Council President yesterday.  And this letter circulated today -- I mean, came out as a document today.  There are so few people in the building that we -- as we normally do when there are letters and documents related to the Council on issues that attract your attention -- thought we would bring it to your attention.  It is already out as a document, so you can have the full text there.

Question:  Is the Secretary-General going to get involved in this at all -- this funding issue -- the money in arrears?

Deputy Spokesman:  The Department of Management and Under-Secretary-General Connor are in contact with Member States on this, and will continue to be so.  He presents the Fifth Committee, early in the fall, with a presentation on the financial situation of the Organization.  He has done it annually and will do so in the next few weeks.  But, he is in regular contact with Member States. 

Question:  You said 109 paid in full.  How does that compare with last year?

Deputy Spokesman:  I said 103.  And we have about two or three less than last year.  We can get in our office the exact numbers for you.  We have less Member States that have paid in full by this time this year, as compared to last year.  But not a big difference.  Only two or three or four Member States.  [The Deputy Spokesman later informed that 108 Member States were paid in full at this time last year.]

Question:  What implications does it have for peacekeeping operations if you are borrowing from that budget to pay peoples’ salaries here?

Deputy Spokesman:  I don't have the exact numbers available here to give you an answer regarding numbers.  But of course, it's one of the challenges for the Department of Management to make sure that this cross-borrowing will not negatively affect peacekeeping operations -- so that they can run.  Unfortunately, they have the experience, gained throughout the years, to do that.  Because, as I've said, the situation has been happening every year.  The key here is for the contributions to come so that we don't have to do that.

Thank you very much.  Have a good afternoon.

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