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.

**East Timor/SECCO

Good afternoon.

This morning, the Security Council held a private meeting to hear a briefing on East Timor from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi.

Annabi informed the Council about the preparations for the 30 August elections to the Constituent Assembly, with the campaign so far proceeding in a peaceful and orderly fashion.  Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello has declared that campaigning will end next Tuesday, two days prior to the elections, and that the final results are to be announced by the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday, 10 September.

A high turnout is expected, with more than 400,000 voters registered, and 819 polling stations and 248 polling centres to be in operation on election day.

The Council President will speak to reporters briefly after this meeting concludes.

This afternoon at 4:30, the Council will hold consultations on the Middle East, including the question of Palestine.

And tomorrow, the Council will hold consultations on Burundi, on which it will be briefed by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Danilo Türk.

**UNSCO Report

This morning the United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process issued its semi-annual report on the Palestinian economy.

In this report, the United Nations Office focuses on the impact of the security and political crisis during the fourth quarter of the year 2000 and how it has dramatically affected economic indicators for the whole year.

The picture painted in the report is a bleak one.  The factor most responsible for negative developments in the fourth quarter, and consequent effects on annual development, is the combination of movement restrictions and border closures imposed by Israeli authorities in response to crisis and confrontation.

The gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP) of the Palestinian economy decreased by 7.6 per cent for the year.  Before the start of the current crisis, the International Monetary Fund had forecast a growth of 6 per cent.

During the fourth quarter of last year, the United Nations Office estimates that economic activities in the West Bank and Gaza dropped by 51 per cent, corresponding to an income loss of $671 million.  A corresponding drop in employment, combined with continued population growth, led to a 4.1 per cent drop in per capita income.

According to the report, even if political resolution is reached quickly and brings with it a full lifting of movement restrictions and resumption of normal economic life, genuine economic recovery will take years and will require substantial resources and sustained policy attention from all stakeholders in Palestinian economic and institutional development.

In the next couple of weeks, the United Nations Office will publish another report which will look at the impact on the Palestinian economy of the current crisis for the period 1 October [2000] to 30 June [2001].

We have the executive summary of this report available in my office.

**IDPs

Out on the racks is the report to the General Assembly of the Secretary-General’s Representative on Internally Displaced People, Francis Deng.

In his report, Mr. Deng points out that in the eight years since the General Assembly first considered this issue, some positive steps have been taken, notably the creation of frameworks for meeting the needs of IDPs and in particular, the increased visibility of the issue.  Nevertheless, he points out, the problem remains acute.  It is estimated that 20 to 25 million people in 40 nations find themselves uprooted from their homes and may lack basic needs within their own country.

Although Mr. Deng is encouraged to note the positive developments in the last eight years, especially in the international community’s commitment to deal with the problem, he says that “the crisis of internal displacement is as acute now as it was eight years ago . . . and as an understanding of the issues has increased and deepened, so has the challenge of responding.”

**ILO/Ukraine

Ten years after their country gained independence, tens of millions of Ukrainian workers continue to work without pay, according to a new survey by the International Labour Organization (ILO) of more than 1,800 factories.

The ILO reports that many workers are put on "administrative leave" for many months, or are uncompensated despite showing up for work.  At the same time, the ILO survey of Ukraine shows that one out of every seven workers faces "very unsafe" labour conditions, while two out of every five workers hasn't received any pay over the past three months.  Employment has shrunk by one-third since 1991, the survey finds.

The survey has also found another unique feature to Ukraine's economy:  women account for a majority of all those who are employed.

A brief summary of the findings of the ILO survey is in my office.

**Kosovo

The Blace border crossing between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Kosovo remains blocked by demonstrators on the FYROM side for the sixth straight day, forcing the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to ration fuel.

As a consequence of the blocking, which the Mission has called "unacceptable," the number of daily returns of FYROM refugees from Kosovo remains low.  An estimated 53,000 FYROM refugees remain within Kosovo, while another 60,000 are estimated to be displaced within FYROM itself.

There is more information in the Pristina briefing notes.

**Afghanistan

The United Nations weekly update for Afghanistan, which is out today, says that another 2,300 Afghans were repatriated home last week, bringing the number of refugees who have returned since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees voluntary repatriation programme began six weeks ago to nearly 11,000.

Convoys leave four times a week from Pakistan to relatively stable destinations in southern, central and eastern Afghanistan, and all convoys are escorted by UNHCR.

**InternationalDay of Slavery

Today is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

August 23 was chosen in commemoration of the Obis-Cayman insurrection, which took place on this day in Haiti in 1791.  That event is considered by UNESCO as a historic factor in originating the process which led to the abolition of slavery.

We have upstairs a message issued on this occasion by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura.

**Press Releases

Some press releases to highlight.  First, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that an eight-member team will visit Iraq from the 27^th to the 31^st of this month to complete preliminary work for a study on non-communicable diseases and congenital malformations.

The study will look at a potential link between environmental and other factors and any increase in these diseases, in particular cancer and kidney disease.  The team will include experts on cancer and other non-communicable diseases, congenital malformations, and occupational and environmental health.

A second press release, from the Office for the High Commissioner for Refugees, today named actress Angelina Jolie as Goodwill Ambassador.  High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers said, “She can help give a voice to refugees, many of whom live in the shadows of forgotten tragedies.”  Since March, Ms. Jolie has visited refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Cambodia and

Pakistan and the journal of her visit to Africa can be found on the Web site of the United States Association for UNHCR.

We have no press conferences today and none scheduled for tomorrow yet.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  On Afghanistan, the Secretary-General's report talks about a comprehensive approach.  What exactly did he mean?

Spokesman:  Let me get guidance on that if you don't mind.  [He later said that following nearly a year of discussions, the Secretary-General decided the UN approach was too fragmented and piecemeal and that an overall framework is needed.]

Question:  About WHO going to Iraq, did the Iraqis ask for them?  Do they do this regularly?

Spokesman:  I think this is a continuation of a survey.  I know that at one point Iraq had complained that WHO had not made this mission in a timely way as they indicated they would, so I assume Iraq favours the carrying out of this survey.

Question:  I understand the Taliban permitted the Red Cross to visit the detainees.  Do you have any information?

Spokesman:  No, the reports we saw were that a Taliban official said that the Red Cross could now visit these aid workers, but the same press reports said that -- well, that's as of a couple of hours ago -- that the Red Cross said that they had not yet officially heard from the Taliban.

So we're still waiting for those details to be clarified, and I have nothing to add and I cannot officially confirm what has been reported.

Question: In reference to the slavery item that you mention, is the Department of Public Information going to do a follow-up on that?

Spokesman:  I don't know, I'll have to ask them for you to see what, if anything, they do.  This is not a day that is on the list of commemorative days approved by the General Assembly.  It's a UNESCO-designated day, so I'm not sure DPI would necessarily have a parallel programme.  I'll ask for you and tell you after the briefing.  [He later said that this is uniquely a UNESCO event.]

Question:  Very few people know about it.

Spokesman:  As I understand it, it was a historically significant uprising and I think that's why UNESCO has recognized it.

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