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

**Plane Crash

The Secretary-General is distressed at the heavy loss of life from the air crash in Queens this morning.  He could see the smoke from his office window.

He expresses his profound sympathy to the families of the passengers and crew who were on that flight.  And he encourages UN staff to remain calm and go about their work normally as we await further information from the US authorities.

At 10 o’clock this morning, United States law enforcement officials stopped all vehicles and pedestrians from entering this building.  Those restrictions have now been partially lifted, with delegates, staff and press allowed to enter at the 46th Street gate.  Scheduled meetings are now proceeding as planned.

**Afghanistan -- Political

The Secretary-General chaired a high-level meeting of the “Six plus Two” group on Afghanistan, and his Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi briefed the group on his recent mission to the region.  A provisional list of participants was made available to you before the meeting.  All representatives spoke except for Pakistan, whose Foreign Minister was not able to cross the street into this building, as the compound was closed.

An eight-point joint declaration was issued by the Foreign Ministers and other senior representatives of the six neighboring countries of Afghanistan –- China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan –- along with the United States and Russia.  Among the points was the group’s reaffirmation of their full support of the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and their pledge of continued support to efforts of the Afghan people to find a political solution.

They also agreed that there should be the establishment in Afghanistan of a broad-based, multi-ethnic, politically balanced, and freely chosen Afghan administration.  They welcomed efforts to create such an administration by Afghans from both within Afghanistan and from among the Afghan diaspora.  The ministers also welcomed the central role of the United Nations in assisting the Afghan people in developing a political alternative to the Taliban regime. Please see the declaration for the entire text.

Both the Secretary-General and his Special Representative, in remarks to reporters after the meeting, spoke of the need to bring together as soon as possible the various Afghan groups to discuss the formation of such a government.

Mr. Brahimi is expected to brief the Security Council in an open meeting on Afghanistan tomorrow morning.

**Afghanistan -- Humanitarian

Yesterday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, issued a statement echoing the “Six Plus Two” and calling on all combatants in Mazar-i-Sharif to take every necessary measure to ensure full respect for the rights of non-combatants and those outside of combat, including civilians of the various minority groups.

In Islamabad today, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office said a new security assessment mission from Termez to Hairaton is planned to take place over the next few days.  The mission will determine whether it will be safe to send in emergency aid on barges from Uzbekistan as planned later this week.  The aid is urgently needed in northern Afghanistan, which is in the middle of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.  After three successive droughts and two failed harvests, widespread famine conditions already exist in much of the region.

According to reports from Mazar, recently, including over the weekend, some elements looted UN and NGO offices, including food warehouses.  In this regard, UNICEF called upon all involved parties to respect the neutrality of the organization and its staff, and to return the supplies and equipment, essential to continuing our efforts to save lives.  Please see the briefing notes from Islamabad for more details.

**Security Council

The Security Council held consultations this morning on the threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.  They agreed on the text of a resolution to be adopted at a public meeting on the same issue, which started just a few moments ago.  The public meeting is at ministerial level.  Ministers of foreign affairs from all Council members are present.  The meeting is being chaired by the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Percival James Patterson. 

The Secretary-General was the first speaker.  In his address, he said that the fight against terrorism must begin with ensuring that the 12 legal instruments on international terrorism adopted under UN auspices are signed, ratified and implemented without delay.  The Secretary-General also called for the strengthening of global norms against the use or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as any types of weapon that “pose grave dangers through terrorist use”.

The Secretary-General noted that like war, “terrorism is an immensely complicated phenomenon with multiple objectives and causes, a multitude of weapons and agents, and virtually limitless manifestations.  The only common denominator among different variants of terrorism is the calculated use of deadly violence against civilians for political purposes.”  That common denominator provides the UN with a common cause and a common agenda, he stated.  And he concluded:  “our success in terrorist acts thwarted and lives saved, but I am confident that the unity born of 11 September can be sustained in the months and years ahead.”

**ICTY

Prosecutors for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia confirmed today that they have filed new charges against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, for genocide and other crimes allegedly committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The details of the indictment will not be made available until it is confirmed by a judge on the Tribunal.

Meanwhile, earlier this morning, Miodrag Jokic, a former Vice Admiral of the Yugoslav Navy, surrendered himself to the Tribunal at The Hague and was transferred to its detention unit.  Jokic has been indicted by the Tribunal for crimes allegedly committed in Dubrovnik, Croatia in 1991.

**Sierra Leone

The UN Mission in Sierra Leone started the second phase of its weapons destruction exercise in Freetown today, in which it destroyed more than

7,600 weapons that have been recovered by the UN peacekeepers during the disarmament process.  The weapons are being destroyed by machines into small pieces that can then be converted into productive tools, including hoes, sickles, shovels, axes and garden implements.  We have a press release on that.

**Lebanon

The International Support Group (ISG) for mine action in Lebanon held its first meeting today at UN House in Beirut.  The meeting was chaired by the Minister of National Defence, Khalil Hrawi, in the presence of the Personal Representative of the Secretary General for Southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, ambassadors and diplomats representing more than 20 countries.  UN agencies and NGOs were also represented.  De Mistura explained that the purpose of the ISG was to share information on the main demining projects such as the Operation Emirates Solidarity, and avoiding overlapping of operations. 

**CTBT

The Conference on the Comprehensive Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT) is in its second day today, with 41 speakers inscribed to speak.  The Conference yesterday elected Miguel Marin Bosch, Mexico's Vice Minister for Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United Nations, as its President, and opened up a three-day debate on the CTBT, at the end of which it hopes to issue a final document. Yesterday, 37 speakers –- including 21 Foreign Ministers -– spoke, with many issuing strong calls for States to ratify the Treaty.

The Secretary-General yesterday noted that 13 of the 44 States whose ratification is required for the Treaty’s entry into force have yet to ratify it, and he implored them to do so, saying, “We have a precious but fleeting opportunity to render this troubled world a safer place, free of the threat of nuclear weapons.  We must not pass it up.”

**Press Releases

The Environment Programme, the UN Environment Programme that is, announced today that this year’s Sasakawa Environment Prize will be awarded to Huey Johnson of the United States, here in New York on the 19^th of November.  The prize has been awarded annually since 1984 to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the management and protection of the environment.  Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of UNEP, said Johnson had “emphasized and clearly demonstrated that the problems we face both environmentally and socially, require a global and systematic approach”.

**Budget

We got some more money from the United States today.  $475 million made towards their peacekeeping arrears.

**Press Conferences

And press conferences to announce, right after this, at 12:30, Renato Ruggiero, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, will hold a press conference here.  And we’ll post tomorrow’s press conferences on the Web site.

That’s all I have for you.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  How much does the United States still owe?

Spokesman:  We’re revising those figures.  No, there was an error in the 31 October numbers, and they said they would give us the corrected numbers.  We’ll probably have them right after the briefing.  But, we had said that at the end of October it was about a billion and a half dollars.  [He later announced that as of today the total amount owed by the United States was $1,069,594,052.]

Question:  Can you take us through the tick tock of what the decision was, how it was made, and what the consideration was as to who got in and who didn’t?

Spokesman:  Those decisions on restricting access to the building were taken by the US authorities.  I can’t tell you if it was New York City Police, or United States Secret Service, or a combination of the two.  There was a fleeting consideration of evacuating the building, but that was quickly abandoned.  We continued to stay in touch with the United States authorities concerning their assessment of whether or not this plane crash might have been the result of foul play or just an accident.  I don’t think we know yet, but I think the line of thinking now is leaning more towards accident than foul play. And, as a result, I think you also see a lifting not just of the restrictions placed on the UN building, but on airports, bridges and tunnels in the metropolitan area.

Question:  Was there anybody who missed their spot in the General Assembly or the CTBT because of the restrictions?

Spokesman:  I don’t know that.  I already mentioned that the Pakistani Foreign Minister was unable to make it to the “Six plus Two” meeting because of the restrictions.

Question:  How would you describe the atmosphere?  We have the Security Council about to start a meeting on terrorism, delayed, while you heard a loudspeaker announcement in the chamber.  Has that ever happened before?

Spokesman:  I don’t recall that having happened before. I think we’re all a little on edge, and I think that’s why the Secretary-General is urging everyone to just stay calm and go about their business until there’s serious reason to think that anyone might be at risk.  And, at this moment, we have no such reason to think that.

Question:  Was there any information about threats to the building?

Spokesman:  To my knowledge there were no threats received this morning.

Question:  Who would make the final call on any evacuation, now, or in the future?

Spokesman:  It’s our call.  The Chief of Security Mike McCann would take the decision in consultation with Joseph Conner and the Chief of Staff.

Ok.  Jan?

Spokesman for President of General Assembly

**General Assembly

General Assembly President Han Seung-soo joins the Secretary-General in his condolences to the families of the victims of this morning’s air crash in Queens.  His thoughts are with them in this sorrowful moment.

The General Debate started Saturday morning at 9 with opening remarks by General Assembly President Han Seung-soo, a speech by the Secretary-General and then Brazil, which by tradition is always the first country to speak.  Over the weekend, we heard 23 heads of State, seven heads of government, 1 crown prince, 22 foreign ministers and 3 heads of delegations.  Over the next five days, we expect to hear 14 speakers per meeting until Friday afternoon when there will only be 8 speakers.  All 189 member States are scheduled to speak and if they all do, it would be a ‘first’ for the General Assembly and for the General Debate.

I have some changes to speakers list no. 6, that’s the one you all have: Spain was scheduled for late morning Sunday but switched with Gabon and will now speak towards the end of this afternoon.  The Maldives will speak after Ireland in the afternoon instead of Saudi Arabia.  The United Arab Emirates will be the last speaker in the morning, and Bangladesh the last speaker in the afternoon. There is a fresh speakers list on the Web site every day on un.org/ga.  It is a list for that day only, I should specify.

**World Trade Centre Memorial

On Sunday, the President participated in a memorial service at the World Trade Centre site, commonly known as “ground zero”.  He was invited by President Bush.  Despite having seen footage from the site, the President was shocked and deeply saddened by the enormity of the destruction.

**NGO Committee -– Status of Women

This morning, the President presided over the plenary, and at 11:30 he participated in a reception and luncheon hosted by the NGO Committee for the Status of Women.  In his speech he said that we must work hard to end all forms of gender inequality.  He will spend most of the afternoon in ten meetings with foreign ministers and heads of organizations.

**General Assembly Texts

I don’t know what your experience was over the weekend, but apart from two or three statements I think my colleagues on the third floor were able get hold of the statements and the texts in a very timely manner.  You will also have noticed that the statements are posted on the UN Web site almost in real time. At 11:30 this morning, for instance, when the representative of Austria began speaking, 7 of the previous 8 statements were already on Web site.  So I think that is well done by the people that have been slaving away at the Web site.

Do you have any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  When are the Dominican Republic scheduled to speak in the GA?

Answer:  Not for today.  And I can tell you afterwards when they are scheduled.

Question:  What happened to Egypt this morning?  They were supposed to speak.

Answer:  They were listed to speak, I am not sure.  I think that Senegal is speaking instead.  Whether they have swapped or not, I don’t know, but they are supposed to be swapping.  But I have not been able to confirm that Egypt will be speaking on the day that Senegal was supposed to speak.

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