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, and Jan Fischer, Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly.

Briefing by the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon.  Our special guest at the briefing will be Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Emergency Relief Coordinator.  He will be joining us shortly.

**Afghanistan

You may have seen, a few moments ago, that the Secretary-General issued a statement on the military strikes on Afghanistan.  He made the statement himself before UNTV, and the text will be distributed by our Office. We will now go with the statement.  The Secretary-General said:

"Immediately after the 11 September attacks on the United States, the Security Council expressed its determination to combat by all means threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.  The Council also reaffirmed the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.  The States concerned have set their current military action in Afghanistan in that context.

"To defeat terrorism, we need a sustained effort and a broad strategy that unite all nations, and address all aspects of the scourge we face.  The cause must be pursued by all the States of the world, working together and using many different means -- including political, legal, diplomatic and financial means."

The Secretary-General continued, "The people of Afghanistan, who cannot be held responsible for the acts of the Taliban regime, are now in desperate need of aid.  The United Nations has long played a vital role in providing humanitarian assistance to them, and it is my hope that we will be able to step up our humanitarian work as soon as possible."

The Secretary-General concluded the statement, "It is also vital that the international community now work harder than ever to encourage a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan.  The United Nations is actively engaged in promoting the creation of a fully representative, multi-ethnic and broad-based Afghan Government."

Two United Nations offices came under attack by angry demonstrators in the western-Pakistani city of Quetta today.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was stoned and the office of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Quetta was burned.  Five United Nations vehicles were also burned.

Damage was also reported at the office of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan in [Quetta].  No casualties among United Nations staff reported. Demonstrations were also reported from the northern city of Peshawar.

The UNHCR said it was not immediately clear whether the first strikes against targets in Afghanistan have triggered new population movements.  Some reports from Afghanistan spoke of more civilians fleeing the cities of Kabul, Jalalabad and Kandahar.  But it was not clear whether they were trying to find safety in surrounding villages or whether they were headed towards the borders.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said it was continuing aid efforts to the best of its capability.  Some 180 metric tons of aid was delivered today in Kabul. A food distribution is planned for Herat tomorrow.

Over the weekend, donor countries pledged some [$700 million] in response to an emergency appeal issued by the Secretary-General, which outlined the need for $584 million to respond to the needs of potentially 7.5 million vulnerable people inside Afghanistan and 1.5 million new refugees.  Mr. Oshima chaired the meeting and can tell you more about it once we get to him in a little while.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says that, in terms of human development, Afghans have an average life expectancy of about

40 years, a mortality rate of 25.7 per cent for children under five years old, and an illiteracy rate of 64 per cent.

**Security Council

Here in New York, this afternoon at 5 o'clock, at the request of the United States and the United Kingdom, the Security Council will meet in closed consultations to discuss threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.  During this meeting, the representatives of those two countries will brief Council members on the latest developments in Afghanistan.

Earlier, at 3:30 p.m., the Council’s 1373 Counter Terrorism Committee will hold its second meeting.

The Committee’s Chair, Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom, as well as the members of the bureau, will then brief non-Council members at 6 o'clock.

**Georgia

I now have a statement attributable to the Spokesman, and that is on Georgia:

“The Secretary-General was shocked to learn today that a United Nations helicopter carrying nine passengers and crew was reportedly shot down in the western part of the Kodori Valley in Georgia.

“Four military observers, two local staff and three Ukrainian flight crew from the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) were on board the helicopter.  The helicopter took off on patrol from Sukhumi airport at 8:55 this morning, local time.  The reported attack occurred at about 9:20.  Both the Abkhaz authorities and the Commonwealth of Independent States' peacekeeping force informed the United Nations mission that the helicopter had been shot down by a missile near the village of Amktel.

“A United Nations search and rescue team has been dispatched to the site, but its arrival has been delayed by fighting in the area, which has intensified recently between Abkhazian forces and armed partisan groups in the Kodori Valley.

“The Secretary-General is awaiting additional information before commenting further.”

And I just have been given a note on Georgia, that the United Nations team has reached the site of the wreckage and has confirmed that there are no survivors.

**Sudan

The World Food Programme (WFP) over the weekend expressed grave concern over a series of heavy bomb attacks on the southern Sudanese village of Mangayath, where aid workers have been assisting thousands of people seeking refuge from a new round of intense fighting.

On both Friday and Saturday, the WFP reported that a total of 15 bombs had been dropped into the area where WFP teams were distributing food.  The WFP had been forced to suspend food distribution temporarily after the Friday attack, but resumed it the following day, although the area once again came under attack.

Despite the insecurity in Mangayath, WFP teams are continuing to attempt to distribute relief food, and are sending food today.  We just received reports from the WFP that, while their food distribution was going on today, another 15 or so bombs dropped in the Mangayath area.

A press release with more details is available from the WFP.

**International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded its Assembly session last Friday in Montreal, Canada, by adopting resolutions to increase safety in civil aviation following the tragic events of 11 September.  Among them was a resolution calling for a ministerial conference at the earliest possible date to develop measures for preventing, combating and eradicating acts of terrorism involving civil aviation.

The resolution also called for a full review of international air safety conventions, and the organization later this year will study the applicability of domestic flights to international security standards and the issue of locking cockpit doors during flights.

A press release from the organization is available upstairs.

**Disarmament

In a note to the General Assembly on nuclear disarmament, which is out on the racks today, the Secretary-General notes the declarations made last year by world leaders to strive for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, but, he adds, "The pace of implementation of these declarations remains disappointingly slow".

The Secretary-General also remains concerned at the continuing impasse in the Conference on Disarmament, and calls upon all the member States of the Conference to enhance their efforts to overcome their divergence of views and reinforce the credibility of the Conference.

**Children

I am approaching the end of the briefing.  The Secretary-General, in a report on protection of unaccompanied and separated refugee children that is out on the racks today, says that many of the needs remain unmet of children under 18 who have been separated from both their parents.

He discusses the need for community-based strategies to deal with those children's needs, and urges all States to accede to and ratify the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, dealing with children in armed conflict and with the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

This morning, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia signed both those Optional Protocols.

**Press Conferences

Today, at 1:15 p.m., the Department of Economic and Social Affairs is sponsoring a press conference on the launch of the Report on the World Social Situation.  The speakers will be John Langmore, Director, Division for Social Policy and Development; Sergei Zelenev, Chief, Social Analysis and Policy Unit; and Professor Andrea Cornia from the University of Florence in Italy.

As of now, we have no press conferences scheduled for tomorrow.

I will now take your questions before we move on.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Has the attack on Afghanistan been approved by the United Nations?

Associate Spokesman:  The attack has taken place in the context of the resolutions adopted at the Security Council.  And that's the way the States that have conducted it have also set their military action.

If there are no further questions, we should first go to Mr. Oshima to gain more time.  [And then to Jan’s briefing.]

Briefing by the Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly

**Election of Non-Permanent Members of Security Council

Good afternoon.  Today at 10 the General Assemblymet to elect the five non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term.  As you know, there are three vacant seats in the African-Asian groups, one vacant seat in the Latin American and Caribbean group and one vacant seat in the Eastern European group.

I just managed, before going down to the briefing, to hear the results of the first round of the elections, and in that round Cameroon received 172 votes, Guinea received 173 votes and the Syrian Arab Republic received 160 votes.  Belarus received 53 votes, Bulgaria 120 votes, the Dominican Republic 60 votes and Mexico 116 votes.

As 118 votes are required, the General Assembly President declared Cameroon, Guinea, Syrian Arab Republic and Bulgaria elected, while the Dominican Republic and Mexico will go on to a second round, which is taking place as we are speaking.

For your information I have made available upstairs a list of non-permanent members of the Council over the entire history of the United Nations, if anybody is interested.  (It can also be found in document A/56/100/Annex iv.)

**Debate on Measures to Eliminate Terrorism

On Friday, I gave the number of States and observers that were expected to speak during the plenary on terrorism, with the proviso that there might be additions to the speakers’ list.  Actually, one country was added, so we ended up with 167 Member States and four observers.

In his closing remarks, the President of the General Assembly said, among other things, that "during our debate, Member States shared the view that the international community should resolve to fight terrorism as a phenomenon separate from any religion or ethnic group.  In this regard, the dialogue among civilizations was stressed.  Also, some delegates suggested a high-level conference on international terrorism, while some others called upon the international community to address the root causes of terrorism.  At the same time, the need for a clear definition of terrorism was raised for our further consideration."

Mr. Han Seung-soo also requested the Sixth Committee (Legal) to expedite its work and submit its report to the General Assembly as soon as possible, preferably by 15 November 2001.

**Trip by President to Seoul, Republic of Korea

Tomorrow, the General Assembly President will travel to Seoul to deal with his responsibilities as Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and to prepare for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, which, I think, is scheduled for 20 October.

Do you have any questions for me?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Any comments on the attacks by the President?

Spokesman for the President:  I think there will be a statement by the General Assembly President this afternoon.

Question:  Is there any possibility of getting a background briefing on the work of the Sixth Committee (Legal) before they commence on 15October?

Spokesman for the President:  That is definitely something that I will take up with them.  The discussions that will start next Monday in the Sixth Committee are complicated and I do not have the technical expertise to give you a briefing on that.  You probably have a lot of questions you'd like to ask and I'll definitely contact people from the Sixth Committee and see if they can be available here, either as a separate briefing or perhaps as guests at the noon briefing.

Question:  Will the statement this afternoon reflect the view of the President, or the view of the Assembly?

Spokesman for the President:  It will probably be the view of the General Assembly President, but it is still being worked out as we are speaking.

Thank you very much.  Have a pleasant afternoon.

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