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

Briefing by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon. Sorry for this delay.

**Today’s Guest

The guest that we'll have today at the briefing is Dr. Desmond Johns, the Director of the UNAIDS New York office.  He will be talking about the new “AIDS Epidemic Update 2001”, which was launched today in Moscow by Peter Piot, the Executive Director of UNAIDS.  This new report says the rate of HIV infections in Eastern Europe is rising faster than anywhere else in the world.  We have a joint press release upstairs from UNAIDS and the WHO with details of this report.  But, of course, you'll get it first hand from Dr. Johns when he joins us up here.

**Secretary-General’s Trip

I'll start the briefing with a note on the Secretary-General's visit to Washington.  The Secretary-General this morning met with US President George W. Bush at the White House for a review of humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan and of progress on the political front as the Afghan parties meet in Bonn to try to reach a power-sharing arrangement.  The Secretary-General encouraged a more active sharing of information between the UN and the coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan, to increase the security for the international humanitarian aid effort.

The Secretary-General also raised the subject of the UN Conference on Financing for Development, to take place in Monterrey, Mexico, next March, and he urged President Bush to attend it.  They also discussed the World Trade Organization meetings at Doha, Qatar, which agreed to launch a new round of global trade talks, and the UN Conference (or rather the Summit) on Sustainable Development which is scheduled for Johannesburg next September.

Also present at that meeting were Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, UN Ambassador John Negroponte, and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

The President and the Secretary-General were then joined, on the UN side, by Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme; Ruud Lubbers, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees; and Kenzo Oshima, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.  The Secretary-General and his three senior humanitarian officials briefed the President and his delegation on the UN’s humanitarian work in Afghanistan. 

At a press availability after that meeting, President Bush praised the work of the Secretary-General and what he called “his wonderful team” for their efforts

to keep Afghans from starving.  The Secretary-General replied that the job was not always easy, and although the food was getting into Afghanistan, secondary distribution to reach the needy was still a problem.

On the political front, the Secretary-General said that the Bonn talks were off to a good start.  He added, “We need a partner.  And that partner has to be an effective Afghan government that is cohesive, that is stable, that will work with the donor community to ensure that the resources that are being applied to rehabilitation and reconstruction are used effectively.  The challenge is theirs.”

The Secretary-General then had a short private meeting with the President and the Secretary of State.

The Secretary-General also held talks this morning with World Bank President James Wolfensohn and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Koehler. The Secretary-General thanked Wolfensohn for his cooperation in planning a seamless transition to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and avoiding any gaps between relief and rebuilding.

Right now, as we speak, the Secretary-General is speaking to the American Academy of Diplomacy, who will present him with their Excellence in Diplomacy Award.  Copies of the Secretary-General's speech are available in our Office.

This afternoon, he will meet with the leadership of the US House of Representatives and of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as with Secretary of State Powell.

Then in the evening, he will attend a dinner hosted by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, where former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will present him with the Averell Harrimann Democracy Award, and the Secretary-General will deliver some remarks.  We should have that available for you later in the day.

I should also indicate to you for the record that last night the Secretary-General received an award, the Stephen P. Duggan Award for International Understanding, from the Institute for International Education here in New York.  He told the Institute, in remarks we have available upstairs, that everyone must “work to prevent intolerance from taking hold in the next generation”, and to ensure that the minds of young people remain open.

**Afghanistan

Now on Afghanistan, the second day of the talks continued, as you know, in Bonn. 

UN officials attending the talks bringing together four Afghan groups reported that the atmosphere has been good so far.  At the same time, they underscored that the talks are not going to be easy.

The groups are meeting amongst and between themselves.  The structure is informal in order to allow for discussions.  They have had the opportunity to meet representatives of Member States, and they’ve consulted occasionally with Secretary-General’s Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi and his deputy Francesc Vendrell, as well as other members of the UN team.

They are discussing the items on the agenda, specifically the creation of the interim administration of Afghanistan, as a first step towards a handover of power in Kabul.

This afternoon, there will be a working meeting between Mr. Brahimi and the four Afghan groups to hear how they are doing.

Later on today, we should be getting the transcript of today’s briefing in Bonn.  As you know, it was by Mr. Vendrell, and as soon as we have that we will make it available.

**Afghanistan -- Humanitarian

Still on Afghanistan, but this time from the field on humanitarian aspects. We wish to bring to your attention the notes from both Islamabad and Kabul.

The Kabul briefing notes contain an update of the reactivated mine-action programme in the city and the airport.  Currently, there are two experts from the UN mine-action programme in Kabul supervising demining operations.  They are also training Afghan colleagues.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says the ongoing security situation in Spinboldak remains tense, and that another insecure pocket remains in and around Jalalabad.

Both the WFP and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on their assistance activities in the Herat region, despite the unpredictable security conditions in the area.

The UNHCR reported that it began in Kabul the distribution of so-called winterization packages, including charcoal, blankets, cooking stoves, sweaters and food.

The UNHCR also reported that refugees in Iran are returning through the Dogharoun border crossing at a rate of about 1,300 per day, and that monitors at the four main entry points into Kabul report over 3,000 returns of internally displaced people and refugees since Friday. 

The World Health Organization has concluded a rapid health assessment in Kabul city that indicates that most of the health facilities are now functioning, although staff salaries have not been paid in over four months.  There appear to be adequate medicines in place for the next four weeks, but additional medical supplies will then be required.

Mark Malloch Brown, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who has been appointed by the Secretary-General to take the lead in early recovery efforts for Afghanistan, is expected in Islamabad Thursday.  He will go on to Kabul the next day.  UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy is

slated to begin a trip to the region on Friday, as well.

**Security Council

Moving here to New York, a short while ago the Security Council began closed consultations on the renewal of the “oil-for-food” programme for Iraq.  Phase X, which is the programme’s current phase, ends on Friday at midnight.

This morning, the members of the Security Council paid a private visit to “Ground Zero”, at the invitation of the United States Mission to the United Nations.

After the visit, the President of the Council, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, said the visit had brought home the level of destruction which affected so many lives, not only in New York, but around the world.

The visit only added to the Council’s resolve to implement fully the anti-terror resolutions that were passed after the attack, Ambassador Durrant said.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Amos Ngongi, spoke to reporters today about his recent meeting with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

Ngongi said Zimbabwe had “reaffirmed its willingness to comply with the Security Council resolutions on the DRC”.

He added that the recent encounters he had had in Harare and Kigali, coupled with the commitments made by all parties during the meeting in New York of the political committee in early November, indicated that “a new tendency, more favourable towards dialogue rather than armed battles”, was developing.

We have a full note on this press conferences upstairs.

**Ethiopia-Eritrea

Still on Africa, Major General Patrick Cammaert, Force Commander of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), today convened the tenth meeting of the Military Coordination Commission at the Mereb River Bridge between those countries, and informed both sides that the situation remains calm in the Temporary Security Zone.

He appealed to both parties to refrain from provocative words or deeds, and the Commissioner agreed that, in the event of any future allegations or problems, an investigation team that includes representatives from the United NationsMission, the Organization of African Unity, and either Ethiopia or Eritrea would be dispatched to investigate.

The next session of the Commission, which brings together senior military officials from the two countries, will be held next 8 January.

A press release with more details is available in the Spokesman's Office.

**East Timor

Still on news from our missions, this time from Dili, East Timor, the Constituent Assembly today recommended the date for the first presidential election in East Timor.  This should be in the first or second week of April 2002.

Also in the briefing note from Dili, Xanana Gusmão, the Timorese leader, held a dialogue session in Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia, today.  He was there to meet with about 500 East Timorese refugees living in refugee camps in West Timor. That’s part of the process of reconciliation aimed at encouraging the 50,000 refugees who are still in West Timor to return to East Timor.  Mr. Gusmão is expected to return to East Timor tomorrow.

Out on the racks today is the report of the Secretary-General on the budget for the UN mission for the period 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002, amounting to

$490 million.

**Human Rights

This morning in Geneva, the Chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights made three appointments to fill posts that had recently become vacant.

Theo van Boven of the Netherlands is now the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.

Antoanella Motoc of Romania is now the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bernard Andrew Nyamway Mudho of Kenya was named Independent Expert on structural adjustment policies and foreign debt.

If you are interested, the resumés of all three are available upstairs.

**Press Releases

I'm approaching the end of this briefing.  Just to tell you that still on the matter of press releases there is one from the United Nations Environment Programme with news that the Government of the Netherlands has almost doubled its contribution to the core budget for 2001, with an additional $2.1 million.  The total contribution of the Netherlands is now $4.5 million. 

And UNICEF has hailed the launch of an immunization campaign in Kyrgyzstan today.  The campaign aims to immunize 2 million children and young people between the ages of seven and 25 against rubella, and is part of a regional strategy to eliminate measles and reduce rubella in Central Asia and Eastern Europe by 2007.

**Tomorrow's Guest

The guest at tomorrow's noon briefing will be Kevin Kennedy, from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Does the Secretary-General have any comment on the apparent execution of a large number of Taliban fighters in Mazar?

Answer: We don't have anyone on the ground there, we are not seeing it first hand.  We saw media reports.  That situation of prisoners of war falls under the Geneva Convention, which is an ICRC, a Red Cross matter. So I'll leave it at that.

Question:  There is a lot of discussion at the moment about the establishment of military tribunals.  Does the UN have a position on this?

Answer:  I don't have any guidance on that.

Any other questions?  Jan.

Briefing by the Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly

Good afternoon.

**General Assembly

Just about the time we were winding up the noon briefing yesterday, the General Assembly adopted a draft resolution on the embargo against Cuba with

167 votes in favour, 3 against and 3 abstentions. It also concluded its discussion of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance and adopted two draft resolutions. Other draft resolutions on this item will be coming up later.  It then began its discussion on the item on Oceans and Law of the Sea, a discussion that continued this morning.  There are 23 speakers, including the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, and about eight explanations of vote.

As you may have noticed from the daily Journal, the Assembly will tomorrow take up a host of reports of the First Committee and is also scheduled to start on the item entitled the Question of Palestine.  The 29^th of November is, of course, also the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

That was all I could get together for you today, do you have any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  When is a vote expected on all those Palestinian resolutions?

Spokesman:  It depends very much on the number of speakers that we have.  If we take guidance from what happened last year, there were more than 30 speakers on the question of Palestine and so the speeches continued the following day, and the vote did not take place till the next day again.  So it’s too early to say.

Question:  What about the ECOSOC plan to have their agenda item before the General Assembly?

Spokesman:  It should still happen, but it’s not scheduled yet.  You know that there are a lot of outstanding agenda items still and we are looking for days that we can schedule these items.  It’s a tight-packed agenda for the General Assembly and will be right till the end.  It depends very much on the number of speakers.  If all of a sudden we have an item with not many speakers, we will try to put these outstanding items at the end of other sessions to cram them all in. But the moment I have a date, I will let you know.

Question:  Can you list who voted against and who abstained in the Cuba vote?

Spokesman:  Against, it was the United States, Israel and the Marshall Islands; and abstained, were Micronesia, Nicaragua and Latvia.