DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
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.
Briefing by Spokesman for Secretary-General
Good Afternoon, I would like to welcome Randolph Kent to the briefing, who is the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. He will be updating us on the humanitarian situation in Somalia.
** Middle East
Over the weekend, yesterday, we issued a statement concerning the violence in the Middle East. I would like to read it into the record:
“The Secretary-General is shocked and horrified by the bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa that have taken such a heavy toll of human life. No cause and no motive can ever justify the deliberate murder of innocent civilians. The Secretary General unequivocally condemns these acts as terrorism. They undermine those who are working on all sides for peace and justice.
“The Secretary-General calls on the Palestinian Authority to take immediate and decisive action to arrest and bring to justice those responsible for these and earlier acts of terrorism.
“The Secretary-General sends his heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who were killed or injured in the bomb attacks, and to the Government of Israel.
“Even at this very difficult time, the Secretary-General cannot overemphasize the importance of persevering with the search for a peaceful settlement based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the principle of land for peace.”
** Secretary-General in Washington D.C.
In a few minutes, the Secretary-General is expected to receive the 2001 William J. Fulbright Prize for International Understanding at a ceremony taking place now in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
In remarks on receipt of the prize, the Secretary-General will call the Fulbright exchange programme a model of the dialogue among cultures and civilizations that the United Nations is promoting worldwide.
"Without this dialogue taking place every day among all nations", he will say, "...we will not be able to overcome the wounds of 11 September".
The Secretary-General returned to Washington yesterday afternoon, where he attended the Kennedy Center Honours Programme last night, which honoured Luciano
Pavarotti, Quincy Jones, Julie Andrews, Van Cliburn and Jack Nicholson. He paid tribute to Pavarotti, who is one of his Messengers of Peace.
In the margins of that event, he had the opportunity to speak with President Bush and Secretary of State Powell on the weekend's tragic events in the Middle East.
** Afghanistan
The United Nations-sponsored talks on Afghanistan near Bonn, Germany, have entered the seventh working day.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi is expected to meet with the four groups at 7:00 p.m. Bonn time to discuss a draft power-sharing arrangement the United Nations submitted to the Afghan representatives on Saturday.
The proposal deals with the creation of an Interim Authority for a likely period of six months, which would be composed of an Interim Administration and a special Independent Commission for the Convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga.
The draft also refers to a Supreme Court and to the need of deploying a United Nations-mandated multinational force as early as possible. However, it also stresses that responsibility for security rests with the Afghan authorities themselves. Until such time as the Afghans themselves can build an army and a police force, the international community may assist them if requested to do so.
According to spokesman Ahmad Fawzi, the parties are going very carefully through the Pashto and Dari translations to make sure that they are no discrepancies.
The United Nations is still awaiting a list of names to be part of an Interim Administration for Afghanistan.
There was no briefing at the Afghan talks so far today.
** Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan
A snapshot shows that the situation inside the country is as follows:
In the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, things remain unstable. There are reports of sporadic fighting and looting in the city. As a result, the United Nations’ ability to deliver aid has been further diminished. The situation in Herat seems to be improving. The local airport has been repaired and is now usable.
The deteriorating situation in the south is forcing more Afghans to flee to neighbouring Pakistan. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), about 1,200 are crossing a day at the Chaman border post. About 3,000 are in no-man’s land.
The roads to and from Kandahar remain unsafe.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director, Carol Bellamy, is continuing a tour of the region. She was in Kabul over the weekend, and she repeated her message that for Afghanistan to really recover and thrive, the children must be an immediate priority.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says it has employed more than 2,400 women -– the largest number of women ever employed by the agency -- to conduct this three-day survey of the poor areas of Kabul in preparation for a one-time food distribution to more than 1 million people.
The WFP also reported that the Peshawar-Kabul route is running, but drivers will only travel during the day due to unpredictable security conditions.
** Afghanistan-Mission
A UN survey team, meanwhile, is en route to Pakistan and Afghanistan to assess support requirements for a possible enhanced UN presence in the region.
The survey is being undertaken within the context of Security Council Resolution 1378, which affirms that the United Nations should play a central role in supporting the efforts of the Afghan people to establish urgently a new and transitional administration leading to the formation of a new government.
They will make a technical assessment of the logistical support that may be required for this role.
** Security Council
There are no official meetings of the Council today as this is the first day of the Malian presidency and Ambassador Moctar Ouane is spending the day in bilateral consultations.
However, the mission of Norway informs us that there will be a meeting of the Iraq Sanctions Committee, that is the 661 Committee, this afternoon in conference room 7 at 3:30p.m.
There are a number of items on the agenda, including related to the tanker TT Essex, which was involved in a case of smuggling oil from Iraq.
Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway, Chairman of the Committee, will brief the press afterwards as usual.
** UNMOVIC
Out on the racks today is the latest quarterly report from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).
In this report, the Commission’s Executive Chairman, Dr. Hans Blix, says that in the last quarter UNMOVIC staff has continued to explore technologies that may be relevant to future inspection and monitoring work.
Through various training programmes, the Commission, Dr. Blix reports, continues to seek a high state of readiness for the start of its work in Iraq.
** Myanmar
Mr. Razali Ismail, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Myanmar, concluded his weeklong mission to that country today. During his visit, he met separately with leaders of the Government and the National League for Democracy.
Mr. Razali encouraged both the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to develop their talks as soon as possible into a substantive dialogue. In this context, Mr. Razali urged the Government to continue to release political prisoners, in particular the 19 Members of Parliament still detained, to create a political climate conducive to advancing the dialogue.
Mr. Razali was pleased that all parties remain committed to the process of national reconciliation and democracy, and he is hopeful that some significant progress could be achieved in the near future.
You can get that text upstairs.
** Cyprus
His Excellency Mr. Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot Leader, and His Excellency Mr. Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, are to hold face to face talks tomorrow at 10:00 am, Cyprus time, at the residence of the United Nations Chief of Mission, in the United Nations Protected Area.
Mr. Alvaro De Soto, the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, is in Nicosia in order to attend the meeting.
This is an opportunity which the Secretary-General hopes will be seized.
** Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Secretary-General, in his latest report on the progress of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, says the Mission continues to progress towards the goal of completing its core mandate, which it is expected to do by the end of December next year.
However, he adds, after the Mission’s core mandate has been accomplished, there will still be a need for continued monitoring and assistance to preserve its achievements. He suggests a smaller police mission –- of about one quarter of the size of the current Mission, which comprises 1,673 officers –- for which regional actors would assume responsibility.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein, is working with organizations that may have the capacity to undertake a follow-on mission to assess what its requirements would be.
** ICTY
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) over the weekend granted the provisional release of a former Yugoslav Army commander, Pavle Strugar, who had turned himself into the Tribunal on 21 October .
Strugar, who has been indicted for war crimes, including murder and attacks on civilians, conducted in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in October, 1991, left the Tribunal’s detention facility at The Hague on Saturday, and has travelled to Montenegro. He must return to The Hague when his trial begins, and no date has been set so far.
We have details in a press release.
** West Africa Office
The Secretary-General, in an exchange of letters with the President of the Security Council that is out on the racks today, followed up on his proposal last June to establish a UN Office for West Africa by saying that the Office would be run by a Special Representative for West Africa.
The Office, he wrote, would enhance the coordination of work by the United Nations and partners in the sub-region and assist, as appropriate, the work of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Mano River Union. He said the Office would be based in Dakar, Senegal, for a duration of three years, beginning this coming January.
The Security Council, in a reply that is also out on the racks, welcomed the Secretary-General’s intention to establish such an Office.
** Law of the Sea
In Hamburg, Germany, today, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea denied a plea by Ireland for an injunction to halt the start of a facility –- located in Sellafield, in the United Kingdom -- that will reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
However, the Tribunal said that Ireland and the United Kingdom should enter into consultations to exchange information about possible consequences for the Irish Sea that could arise from the start of the Sellafield plant. They should monitor any risks from the plant’s operation and devise appropriate measures to prevent the pollution of the marine environment, the Tribunal added.
We have a press release on that.
** International Day of Disabled Persons
Today is the International Day of Disabled Persons, and events are planned today through Thursday.
At 6:00 p.m. today in the Public Lobby there will be the launch of an art exhibit, "United Colours -- Paintings by Walter Engel."
On Wednesday from 1:00 till 3:00, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a briefing on the role of folic acid supplements in disability prevention. That will be across the street in the 23rd floor Conference Room of the DC-2 building.
And then on Thursday, from 1:15 till 2:45 there will a panel discussion to assess progress with programmes on disability that will take place in Conference Room 9, downstairs.
We have a press release with more details.
** World Health Organization
As part of the International Day of Disabled Persons today, the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a report, titled “Rethinking Care from the Perspective of Disabled People”, which presents the personal testimonies and views of disabled persons themselves.
The disabled persons who spoke to the WHO call for new approaches to their health care, including emergency services for the disabled during crisis situations –- such as wars and natural disasters -– and anti-discrimination laws to remove the barriers they face.
We have a press release with more on that.
** World Chronicle
Another World Chronicle programme will be aired today, this one features Ambassador Bagher Asadi, the Chairman of the Group of 77, and that will be shown today at 3.30 p.m. on in-house channels 3 or 31.
** Tribute to Ismat Kittani
Then at 12:00 p.m. tomorrow, there will be a special tribute to the memory of Mr. Ismat Kittani, the former President of the General Assembly, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and senior Iraqi diplomat, in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) chamber with the participation of the Secretary-General. All participants are kindly asked to be seated in the Chamber by 11:45 a.m.
** Noon Guest
And our guest at the briefing tomorrow will be Sharon Capeling-Alakija, the Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers, and she will discuss the special event marking the closing of the International Year of Volunteers.
** Iraq
And we have just been advised by the Office of Legal Affairs that the Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and Iraq for phase XI of the Oil for Food Programme has just been signed.
That is all I have for you, anything before we go to Jan?
** Questions and Answers
Question: Two questions on the Middle East. One, do you anticipate any reaction from the Secretary-General on the Israeli retaliation? Two, had there been any communication from any mission to the Security Council calling on a meeting on the Middle East?
Spokesman: On your second question, I am not aware that there has been any approach to the Council concerning a meeting. On your first question, the Secretary-General has taken note of the action by the Palestinian Authority to arrest, reportedly, more than 100 people. He is aware that the Palestinian Authority has requested a “grace period” in order to accomplish the task of arresting elements responsible for the terrorist attacks over the weekend. He is concerned about reports concerning an Israeli helicopter attack against targets very close to the office of President Arafat in Gaza. He also remains concerned regarding the alarming intensification of the cycle of violence and urges all sides to exercise restraint in order not to aggravate the already extremely volatile situation. Moreover, as he stated yesterday, the need for persevering with the search for a peaceful settlement cannot be overemphasized.
Question: Does the Secretary-General feel that Israel was reasonably justified in responding? Will Mr. Annan ever feel that it is OK for a country to respond if it feels it was attacked?
Spokesman: I don’t think he wants to say anything that would intensify the volatility of the current situation. His emphasis is on the need to revive talks; that is what is important.
Question: Did you talk to the Secretary-General about the possibility of having a press conference before he heads off to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
Spokesman: I know from speaking to his Office that there is no time in his program. He has less than five days before he leaves for Oslo and he is fully booked. So maybe when he comes back, preliminary to his second term, there might be a possibility. Unfortunately it was not possible to do anything this week.
Question: When is the ceremony for him receiving his car?
Spokesman: You were away last week; it already happened. He took the keys to the BMW. It was earlier than Friday, it might have been on Wednesday. We can check that for you.
Question: Is there any reaction to the draft resolution calling on a United Nations mandate for a peacekeeping force in Afghanistan?
Spokesman: I am not sure I know what you are talking about. The term “peacekeeping force” is being used rather loosely these days. What I mentioned this morning is a United Nations sanctioned multinational force that might be necessary until the Afghan security force, both military and police, can be organized. That is the direction they are thinking. But not a United Nations peacekeeping force as you and I would understand it.
Question: But how does the United Nations feel about issuing that kind of mandate?
Spokesman: Our hope is that the Security Council would approve any force, multinational or otherwise, to be deployed in Afghanistan. I don’t want to comment on something that is just hypothetical.
Question: Does the Secretary-General have a comment on the interrogation of two United Nations staff members by the United States authorities regarding terrorism.
Spokesman: I don’t think we are fully clear on these details. The Secretary-General has said most recently in an interview he gave on Friday, that it is natural in times like this for tensions to arise between law enforcement and civil liberties. He said if you have to err, he would prefer erring on the side of liberty. He said this to the Spanish news agency EFE on Friday. We could ask them for a transcript if you like.
Question: Are there any laws or rules that prohibit the United States or any other government from interrogating staff members on the premises here?
Spokesman: Yes, they may not enter these premises without our permission, but I don’t think that was the issue. As I understand it the interviews took place off campus. And the issue seemed to be that there was something the security officer seemed to know about that would possibly have come from inside the United Nations. But that is where we are not exactly clear on what took place.
Question: One of those interviews reportedly did take place on the premises.
Spokesman: Well, then that security officer would have had to have a permission to be on the premises.
Question: So it could not have been a surprise interrogation?
Spokesman: I don’t know the details on whether, once in the building, like you, they need to be escorted around beyond the fourth floor. But I would have to look into that.
Briefing by the Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly
Thanks. Friday afternoon, after the representative of Ukraine had spoken on the item on the situation in the Middle East, the right of reply was exercised seven times by four Member States. The discussion on this issue continued this morning and we heard four speakers. After the last speaker, the European Union asked for a suspension of the meeting so that consultations could take place. After these consultations, the General Assembly adopted the draft resolution on Jerusalem with 130 in favour to 2 against and 10 abstentions. It then adopted the draft resolution on the Syrian Golan with 90 in favour to5 against and 54 abstentions.
In the afternoon, the plenary will take up item 48, the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, and there are 28 speakers on the speakers’ list.
As you may have heard on Friday, I announced that the General Assembly had decided to recess on the 21st of December, instead of the 11th of December. This is due to the fact that the Second and the Fifth Committees still have quite a few matters they have to deal with. There is also a new work programme out and in case it is not on the racks I have brought some copies.
Do you have any questions for me?
** Questions and Answers
Question: I was under the impression that the entire report of the ECOSOC was to be discussed before the General Assembly. Has there been a scheduled meeting on this before the Fifth Committee?
Spokesman: Well, parts of the ECOSOC report are discussed in the Second and Third Committee. And if there are budget implications, then parts of that would be discussed by the ACABQ and the Fifth Committee. What has been talked about is that the work of the ECOSOC as such be discussed in plenary, and we actually have a scheduled date for that. It is in 10 days or so.
Question: What is the specific meeting of the Fifth Committee on today?
Spokesman: I am not aware of that. Usually, if the Fifth Committee takes up reports of the main committees, it is usually because there are budget implications.
The 12th of December is the scheduled date for the discussion of the ECOSOC report in the plenary.
Thank you.
Spokesman of for the Secretary-General: Going back to that last question that was asked, I was informed that there was indeed one interview that took place here on the premises. It is our understanding that the staff member invited the United States law enforcement officers onto United Nations premises. So they were not floating around the building.
Thank you.
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