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

Spokesman for the Secretary-General

**Opening

Today, we will have Olara Otunnu (even though he is not here just yet), the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, to talk to you about Afghanistan.  I wonder if you might also want to ask him about Burundi, given the kidnappings of schoolchildren on two different occasions this week.

**Afghanistan

On Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, is back at United Nations Headquarters.  He will be briefing the Secretary-General this afternoon about his two-week visit to the region.

His deputy, Francesc Vendrell, is winding up a visit to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where he was pursuing contacts with Afghan parties and individuals. Among the Afghan leaders he had hoped to meet with was Afghan President Berhanuddin Rabbani.

On the ground, the United Nations Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan is sending word out to Afghan civilians to exercise special care in moving about inside the country.  In particular, it warns civilians about existing minefields. It also warns Afghans against touching unexploded ordnance.  In his briefing in Islamabad today, Dan Kelly, the Manager of the Programme, said that the coalition force is being cooperative and is providing some information on locations of strikes, which may contain unexploded ordnance.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said the immunization of a planned 5.4 million children in Afghanistan had proceeded without major disruptions, although health teams did encounter difficulties in accessing two districts in the Mazar-i-Sharif area, for reasons still unspecified.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that, although borders remained officially closed in the countries surrounding Afghanistan, some progress was being made in efforts to help those who had managed to make it into Pakistan.  The UNHCR hoped to start relocating recently arrived Afghan refugees in Pakistan in newly established sites as early as this weekend.

And in Iran, the UNHCR is readying relief supplies, which are to be part of a humanitarian aid convoy scheduled for early next week for the north-west Afghanistan town of Herat.

Finally, the World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday it trucked in    3,452 tonnes of food -- the largest one-day shipment to date.  The WFP said its monthly target is 52,000 tonnes.  The WFP said it was optimistic that it can make the target, and attributed this to the dedication and courage of their Afghan staff who are still working under extremely difficult conditions.

**Security Council

After brief consultations on Kosovo earlier this morning, the Security Council had a formal meeting to adopt a presidential statement which “welcomes the progress made in preparing the Kosovo-wide elections on 17 November”.  Council members also welcomed “the helpful role played by the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Governments of the FRY and the Republic of Serbia in recommending Kosovo Serb participation in the elections”.

A short while ago, the Security Council started a public meeting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  It is being chaired by the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Percival James Patterson. 

In his address to the Council, the Secretary-General said that he recently recommended that the United Nations mission in the DRC enter its third phase by deploying to the eastern part of the country, but for that to succeed “the parties must live up to their responsibilities”.

He reiterated some of his major concerns, including the cessation of hostilities in the east and the need to create conditions on the ground that will facilitate the disarmament and repatriation of former combatants.

He described the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as being at a turning point.  “At stake”, he said, “is the reunification of the country after years of war.”

The Chairman of the Lusaka Political Committee, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Angola, João Bernardo de Miranda, and the President of the Security Council also spoke.

The Council is now continuing its discussion of the DRC in a private meeting.  At the end of that session, Council members are expected to hold another formal meeting to adopt a resolution on the DRC.

The full text of the Secretary-General’s speech is available upstairs, as is the list of officials from the Lusaka Committee taking part in the meeting.

**Dialogue on Civilizations

The Secretary-General this morning addressed the General Assembly on the Dialogue among Civilizations that has been taking place this year, and argued that, if anyone ever doubted it, “11 September made the need for such a dialogue crystal clear”.

He added, “We need look no further than the composition of this great Assembly to know -– as an unmistakable, incontrovertible fact of life –- that there are many ways of living, many beliefs, many cultures.”

He noted the growing interest in such a dialogue over the past year, from academic institutions to all people searching to find common ground, and particularly thanked Iranian President Mohammed Khatami –- who also spoke this morning -– for launching the Dialogue within the United Nations.

We have copies of the Secretary-General’s speech upstairs.

**SG to GA Saturday

We are also rather unusually putting out copies of the Secretary-General’s speech to the General Assembly tomorrow morning, embargoed until 5 o’clock this evening, New York time.  So, you will actually be able to report on that speech before it's given.  But if you are going to do it after he delivers the speech, please check against delivery.

**Climate Change

On climate change, the International Conference on Climate Change in Marrakesh is wrapping up its work today.

In about an hour’s time, the 167 delegations will be meeting in the final plenary to adopt their decisions, which are still being negotiated as we speak.

We will have a press release as soon as the Conference had ended.

**ICTY

Yesterday evening, the authorities in Serbia arrested two brothers, Nenad and Predrag Banovic, and transferred them to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where they face indictment for crimes against humanity allegedly committed at Bosnia’s Karaterm detention camp.

The Banovic brothers arrived at The Hague early this morning, where they were admitted to the Tribunal’s detention centre.  They are accused of involvement in beatings, torture, killings, sexual assault and other forms of abuse carried out against mainly Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim inmates at Karaterm.  We have a press release with more information.

We also have a press release from the Tribunal out today, which details the charges against a former Bosnian Serb Army corps commander, Dragomir Milosevic, charged with crimes against humanity for the sniper attacks that took place against civilians in Sarejevo in 1994 and 1995.  The indictment against Milosevic -– who is not related to the former Yugoslav President -– was unsealed by the Tribunal last week.

**WTO Meeting

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization, told the meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Doha, Qatar, today that it was up to the members to ensure that the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights -- better known as TRIPS -- did not stand in the way of access to medicines in the poorest countries.  She said, “The issue of patent protection for pharmaceutical products is an area where a fine balance needs to be struck between providing incentives for future inventions of new medicines and ensuring affordable access to existing medicines.”  She added that millions would be affected by the Ministerial Declaration on intellectual property and public health issues.

Yesterday, we issued embargoed copies of the message of the Secretary-General, which was delivered today by Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  We have copies of Brundtland’s statement available in my Office, as well.

**Webcast of General Debate

We have been informed by the Information Technology Division that Live Webcast of the General Debate of the General Assembly (from 10 to 16 November) will be provided on the United Nations Web site.  The Live Webcast can be accessed from the UN Web site at the following address:  www.un.org/webcast/ga/56/

In addition, Live Webcast and archived video of today's General Assembly debate on Dialogue among Civilizations can be accessed at:  www.un.org/webcast/ga/yeardac

**Beirut Press Release

We have available upstairs a press release from the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut, announcing the first meeting on Monday of the International Support Group on demining in Lebanon.

The meeting will be chaired by Lebanese Defence Minister Khalil Haraoui and in the presence of the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, Staffan di Mistura.

**Press Releases

Press releases today:  we have a press release from UNICEF announcing the gift of decorative glass sculptures from Romania.  The President of Romania, Ion Iliescu, will present the sculptures to Executive Director Carol Bellamy at a ceremony in UNICEF House at 11 a.m. tomorrow. 

And the general conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today decided, for the first time in eight years, to a slight increase in the agency’s budget.  The budget for 2002-2003 will total $651.8 million, which was an increase of about $1.8 million over the previous budget.  Director-General Jacques Diouf had requested an increase of about $38 million, but this was not accepted by the membership.  We have details in the press release.

**Press Conferences

Press conferences:  At 12:30 p.m. in this room, or as soon as we finish,   we will resume the discussion we began yesterday with the Department of Public Information (DPI) and United Nations Security about security arrangements governing press coverage of the general debate.

And then at 3:45 p.m. Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, will brief you on his recent visit to Myanmar.

And then press conferences for Saturday through Monday will be posted on our Web site this afternoon.

And we have The Week Ahead for you that you can pick up in my Office.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  There is scary news this morning regarding possible terrorist attacks on the United Nations.  What is your reaction?

Spokesman:  I wouldn't say it is scary news.  I think everyone is on higher alert since 11 September -- the United Nations has developed a comprehensive security plan, it's now in full operation.  And, of course, as always, we rely heavily on the host country both in the planning of our security and in supporting our security.  That's all I have to say about security arrangements at the present.

Question:  Regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we were told  that without a successful inter-Congolese dialogue, there will be no reason to move ahead.  It seemed to me that you just mentioned that the Secretary-General  is going to move to a different [inaudible].  Should we presume that the

inter-Congolese dialogue was successful? 

Spokesman:  The dialogue got off to quite a good beginning in Gaborone.  It did not quite reach or fulfil expectations in Addis Ababa because of budgetary and other problems.  But it's our assessment that all the parties remain committed to the dialogue.  But I don't think the setback, if you could even call it that, of Addis is a setback to the peace process as a whole.  That's our reading of the political situation. 

Question:  This afternoon, the Secretary-General is meeting President Glafcos Clerides of Cyprus.  I wonder if you can tell us what is the purpose of the meeting and what the Secretary-General will be telling President Clerides.

Spokesman:  It will be a friendly chat.  (Laughter.)  I'm not going to talk about the substance of the meeting before it takes place.  And the President, I think, is going to speak to you afterwards -- so you'll be getting his read-out of the substance of the discussion. 

Question:  Fred, how would you compare the security measures for this General Debate with previous high-level gatherings like the Millennium Summit or UN 50?

Spokesman:  I think that, as the Assistant Chief of Security told you in closed meeting yesterday, the measures being taken now are similar to the ones taken for the Millennium Summit.  But, as I just said a minute ago, since

11 September, we are all on a higher level of alert and we have done everything we can to plan a thorough and comprehensive set of security arrangements for the Building that we think are suitable to the challenge of the times.

Question:  When is President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan giving a press conference?  We have been hearing conflicting reports that it will be tomorrow or Sunday.

Spokesman:  Just check with my Office.  We have booked that press conference for tomorrow and I don't have the specific time right now.  [It is 10 November at 4:30 p.m.]

Question:  Fred, can you fill us in any further now on the Secretary-General's meetings over the next two or three days with heads of State?

Spokesman:  We are still waiting for finalization of the Sunday programme -- there's something that is hanging in the air for late Sunday.  Saturday is finalized, and we will get both to you in the course of the afternoon as soon as we sort out this latest glitch for Sunday afternoon.

Question:  Once again, is there anything further to report on progress towards scheduling a proposed international conference on Afghanistan?

Spokesman:  The aid conference.  My understanding is that the governments involved had reached agreement on a date and an agenda, but they will have to announce it.  We won't announce it.  So, I think you will have to wait for the announcement from the governments.  I don't know when it might come.

Question:  There was a report this morning that the Secretary-General will be going to Ground Zero with President George Bush of the United States, on Sunday.  Is that correct?  Is he taking any other heads of State with him?

Spokesman:  You will have to ask the Americans what their plan is.  But yes, my understanding is that the President has invited the Secretary-General to accompany him, and I believe it is Sunday.  But as I said, the Sunday programme is not finalized and we will tell you a little later today.

Jan?

Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly

Good afternoon.

In the General Assembly, the plenary on Dialogue among Civilizations continued this morning, starting out with statements by the General Assembly President and, as Fred mentioned, by the Secretary-General and by President Khatami, the initiator of the Dialogue.  In his statement, Dr. Han Seung-soo said, among other things, that, “We find ourselves at a critical juncture of history. Along with the advent of the age of globalization, terrorism has now surfaced as the major threat to international peace and security.  Terrorism represents the very embodiment of intolerance and hatred.  All great civilizations and religions in history preach tolerance and compassion.  Thus, dialogue among civilizations, by promoting tolerance, undermines the basis of terrorism, and thus contributes to global peace and security.”

As of this morning, there were 28 speakers left on the speakers’ list.  The Assembly is expected to adopt draft resolution A/56/L.3 at the end of the debate.

Before delivering his statement this morning, the President met with the Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, and then with a group of Palestinian journalists who are here on a DPI training programme. In the afternoon, he will meet the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Wolfgang

Hoffmann, and with the Permanent Representative of Tunisia.  In the course of the next week, the President will have more than 40 meetings with heads of State or government, foreign ministers and other representatives, and with heads of United Nations agencies and programmes.

A couple of practical matters:  Version No. 6 of the speakers’ list did not include the Seychelles, so you should add that country after Estonia on the last day of the General Debate.  It may actually be the first time that all Member States are scheduled to speak.  My colleagues in the library are checking at the moment, but so far they have not found a year when all Member States spoke.  [Research revealed that it was indeed the first time all Member States were scheduled to speak.]

Regarding the statements, to the extent that statements are made available electronically, you will find them under “Plenary” on the General Assembly’s Web page un.org/ga.  Yesterday, Mr. Roth suggested that we squawk it when a statement becomes available.  We will try to do that, but instead of squawking every

15 minutes or so, I would suggest once an hour on the hour so that you can listen out for it.

I will be here over the weekend, but I expect to be running around quite a bit, so please leave messages on ext. 6855 and I promise to get back to you as soon as possible.

Do you have any questions for me?  Thanks.

* *** *