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.

Good afternoon.  Thank you for coming.  We have a short but good briefing for you to begin your weekend.

**Statement on Afghanistan

I'll start with a statement attributable to the Spokesman on Afghanistan.

“The Secretary-General remains concerned at the continued detention of eight international and 16 national staff of Shelter Now International by the Taliban.  He regrets that, contrary to customary international law, consular access and legal representation for the detainees have been denied.  This gives a signal that could have severe consequences on critical humanitarian assistance at a time when Afghans are suffering the combined effects of war, extreme poverty, massive displacement and severe drought.

“The Secretary-General appeals to the Taliban for a speedy solution in line with international norms and obligations.”

**Statement on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

I have another statement attributable to the Spokesman, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo: 

“The Secretary-General is encouraged by the substantial progress that has been made by the Congolese parties in organizing the preparatory meeting for the Inter-Congolese dialogue, with the facilitation and strong support of Sir Ketumile Masire and his team.  He hopes that the preparatory meeting, which is scheduled to begin on 20 August in Gaborone, Botswana, will successfully pave the way for the actual Inter-Congolese dialogue.

“The Secretary-General wishes to take this opportunity to express his full support for the appeals of the Facilitator to the Congolese parties that women should be more fully represented in their delegations to the preparatory meeting as well as the Dialogue, and that gender issues should be included in its agenda.” 

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

Yesterday afternoon, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a United Nations helicopter, which was flying from Goma to Kalemie in the east, was fired on by unknown personnel, and was hit 14 times by rounds from rifles.

The helicopter, which was carrying United Nations military observers, continued flying to Kalemie, where it landed safely, with no injuries to personnel.

The United Nations Mission condemned the attack and is investigating the incident.

**Security Council

There are no scheduled meetings of the Security Council for today.

On Monday morning, the Council will hold a public meeting on the Middle East, including the question of Palestine.

After yesterday morning's consultations, and this is for the record, the Council President, Alfonso Valdivieso of Colombia, spoke to journalists to express the Council's strong condemnation of last Friday's attack by the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) on a civilian train in Angola, which killed more than 200 people.

Ambassador Valdivieso also expressed the Council's concern at the continuing fighting in Liberia and called on the Government of Liberia to pursue all peaceful avenues to end the fighting, which has severe humanitarian consequences.

**Secretary-General Report on Missing Kuwaiti and Third Country Nationals

Out on the racks today is the Secretary-General's latest report on the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third country nationals.

The report covers the activities of his high-level coordinator on the issue, Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov.

In the conclusion to the report, the Secretary-General writes that it is regrettable that the Government of Iraq "is still unwilling to cooperate with Ambassador Vorontsov on the grounds that it rejects resolution 1284".

The Secretary-General goes on to say that the high-level coordinator will not be able to achieve what he is mandated to do until the Government of Iraq "substantially" changes its attitude.

**East Timor

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said today that the campaign for the upcoming 30 August Constituent Assembly elections was proceeding peacefully and that the East Timorese people deserve praise for embracing the political process with energy and determination.

At a press conference held in the capital city, Dili, Vieira de Mello noted that more than 100,000 East Timorese had taken part in Civic Education events designed to raise awareness of the electoral process, and that more than half of all eligible voters had turned out to check their personal data on the electoral rolls.

He said that “the East Timorese have developed an allergy, a zero tolerance, to violence and coercion, and those guilty of attempting this will be judged on election day".  He also added that his recent visits to many East Timorese districts with political party leaders had revealed how the population is holding them -- the political party leaders -- accountable to the pledges they made in the Pact of National Unity.

More details on this and other news from East Timor in the briefing notes from the Mission over there.

**UNHCR

And the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has begun to provide shelter materials to the residents of Iran's Golestan province, where some 1.2 million people have been affected by heavy rains and flooding, reportedly the worst that the region has seen in 200 years.

The UNHCR staff in Mashad, in eastern Iran, today loaded five trucks with 200 tents and 2,000 plastic tarpaulins, to be delivered to the provincial capital, Gorgan.

More details in today's briefing notes from UNHCR, which also expresses the agency's alarm that some 60,000 people remain displaced within the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and its readiness to help those who wish to return to their homes to do so once conditions permit.

**International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

A Bosnian Serb who surrendered voluntarily on Wednesday to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia will make his initial appearance before the Tribunal next Tuesday, 21 August.

The suspect, Dragan Jokic, has been indicted for crimes against humanity and war crimes for his alleged role in massacres conducted against Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995. 

For more details, please look at the press release from the Tribunal.

**Racial Discrimination

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning concluded its 59th session, after examining reports on efforts by the Governments of Italy, China, Trinidad and Tobago, Cyprus, United States, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, Ukraine and Egypt to implement the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Further, the Committee examined the situation of the implementation of the Convention in Mali and Liberia, whose periodic reports were seriously overdue.

The Committee’s next session is scheduled for March 2002.

We have a press release upstairs with more details on this session, which of course took place in Geneva.

**WHO Press Release

Still on press releases, we would like to bring to your attention one issue today by the World Health Organization (WHO) when they announced a research proposal to study the link between air travel and venous thrombosis.  The project would take approximately two and a half years to conduct and cost approximately $10 million.  The proposal is currently being submitted to various potential funding sources.

Pending the results of this study, the WHO recommended that common sense measures should be followed by airline passengers.  These measures include reducing alcohol intake, drinking adequate fluids, wearing loose clothing and performing leg exercises while seated.

**Thailand

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) warned today that its recommendations for flood control in Thailand, made some 12 years ago, have largely gone unheeded, and the Government needs to revisit those recommendations given the recent heavy rain and associated landslides in the north.

The Commission had recommended efforts to halt the deterioration of forest cover, the deployment of flood warning systems and the creation of central flood authorities.

More information in a press release from ESCAP, which we have in our office.

**The Week Ahead

      And finally, I wish to bring to your attention that we also have available upstairs our regular feature, The Week Ahead.

And for next week, I would like to highlight that the Secretary-General will arrive in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, on Sunday to begin an official visit to that country.

On Monday, in Oslo, the Secretary-General will meet with the King and Queen, as well as the Prime Minister of Norway.  He is also to deliver a speech on global governance at the University of Oslo.

      On Tuesday, he will meet with members of Parliament and the President of Parliament, before leaving for Stockholm, Sweden, on a private visit.

Do you have any questions for me?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  In the Afghan statement, when the Secretary-General refers to a "signal" in terms of humanitarian assistance, could we interpret this as possibly relooking at the possibility of cutting off humanitarian assistance?

Deputy Spokesman:  No, I don't think so.  I think we are talking more of the conditions of people to work there that, indeed, might have a consequence on the humanitarian aid that is so needed over there.

Question:  When will a speaker's list of Monday's meeting be available and what time will that meeting begin?

Deputy Spokesman:  The meeting, if I'm not mistaken, is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.  The speaker's list -- I know it's already open.  I heard there were some 40 countries already listed.  But we don't have it in our office yet.  It would be available most likely on Monday, right before the meeting starts.

Thank you very much, have a pleasant lunch, and a very good afternoon, in spite of the rains that we are expecting here.  Thank you.    

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