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 Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon. 

**Train Crash in Cairo

I'd like to start the briefing with a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General regarding the train crash in Cairo:

"The Secretary-General is deeply saddened to learn of the fire that broke out on a moving train today 40 miles south of Cairo, Egypt, and consumed the lives of upwards of 350 people, many of them children.

“The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to the relatives of the deceased and to the Government of Egypt."

**Middle East

Turning to the Middle East, following last night's bombardment of Gaza city by Israeli forces, Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East –- known as UNRWA -- expressed his deep dismay at the damage caused to yet another UNRWA school.

The Gaza Elementary B Coeducational School, which is located next to the police headquarters in Gaza, sustained considerable damage after a missile fired from a fighter jet exploded on one of the police buildings beside the school.

Large blocks of concrete, pieces from the missile, and other debris were scattered over a play area of 100 metres by 20 metres and in the central courtyard.  A second missile missed the police compound, hit the roof of one classroom and landed in the school courtyard.

Four classrooms were badly damaged and debris also fell next door into the play area of UNRWA's An-Noor Rehabilitation Centre for the Visually Impaired.  Both the school and the rehabilitation centre have been damaged during previous bombardments on the police headquarters.

"Thankfully, the missile did not explode,” Hansen said this morning when he visited the school.  “If this bombardment had happened during school hours, we would be facing a terrible tragedy today with many children and teachers wounded or dead."

Hansen has sent a strong letter of protest to the Government of Israel regarding this latest bombing.  He said, “I hope that the UN will be given assurances that no more attacks will occur near UN installations."

He added that he is gravely concerned not only about the safety and security of UN staff but also for the safety of the thousands of school children who attend UNRWA schools in the occupied Palestinian territory.

A press release is available upstairs.

**Senior Management Group Retreat

The Secretary-General is taking the members of his Cabinet, or Senior Management Group, off to a one-day retreat on Long Island today to refine his priorities for his second term.

Today's retreat follows up on a brainstorming session he held with outside experts last month.

He is asking what the implications of September 11 are for the United Nations and how the new strategic environment might require refinement of the priorities he originally set out for the next five years -- namely, poverty, HIV/AIDS, conflict prevention and sustainable development.

He will also be asking his colleagues to assess the way the United Nations has been reaching out to constituents -- not only to governments, but to NGOs, universities and the private sector, for example -- as well as their efforts to act in a more coherent and coordinated way.

They will return to New York City this evening.

**Security Council

As you know, the Security Council delegation is leaving for its mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea today, as Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway, who leads this mission, will brief you right here as soon as we are done.

Yesterday afternoon, Council members met in closed consultations to take up the Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The report was presented by Amos Namanga Ngongi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Chief of Mission.

Following the discussions, the President of the Council, Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser of Mexico, told journalists that the report had been favourably received by the members.  Concerning the inter-Congolese dialogue, which is scheduled to start next week in South Africa, Ambassador Zinser said Council members “expressed full support” to Sir Ketumile Masire, the dialogue’s facilitator, and also “launched a solemn appeal to all parties” to participate in the meeting in a constructive spirit.

**Western Sahara

The Secretary-General’s latest report to the Security Council on Western Sahara, which went to the Security Council late yesterday afternoon, details the recent efforts by the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, James Baker, to find a solution to the dispute, and mentions his disappointment at the lack of progress towards such a solution.

The Secretary-General says that, in light of the bleak situation for the future of the peace process in Western Sahara, he and Baker believe there are four options for the Security Council to consider.

The first is that the United Nations could resume trying to implement the settlement plan, but without requiring the concurrence of both parties before taking action.  The second is that Baker could try to revise the draft Framework Agreement –- again, without seeking the concurrence of the parties.  The third option is that Baker could explore with the parties for a final time whether they would be willing to discuss a possible division of the territory.

The fourth and final option is that the Security Council could decide to terminate the UN Mission in Western Sahara –- known as MINURSO -- after recognizing, as the Secretary-General puts it, that “after more than 11 years and the expenditure of sums of money nearing one-half billion dollars, the United Nations is not going to solve the problem of Western Sahara without requiring that one or the other or both of the parties do something that they do not wish to voluntarily agree to.”

The Secretary-General concludes that none of the options will appear ideal to all of the parties and interested countries.  To give the Council more time to decide, he recommends a two-month extension of MINURSO’s mandate, until April 30.

The Council is scheduled to hold consultations on Western Sahara next Tuesday.

**Oil-for-Food

The weekly update from the Office of the Iraq Programme shows that Iraq’s oil exports under the UN oil-for-food programme slipped further in the week ending 15 February, registering 1.5 million barrels per day.

The estimated revenue netted from the export of 10.6 million barrels of oil was $189 million.

So far in the current phase of the programme, which ends on 29 May, Iraqi oil exports have totalled 114 million barrels, for an estimated revenue of some $1.8 billion.

The total value of contracts for the purchase of humanitarian supplies that have been placed on hold by the Security Council’s Sanctions Committee on Iraq stands at an all-time high of $5.3 billion.

The full text of the OIP weekly update is available upstairs.

**Somalia

On the racks today, there's an exchange of letters.  The Secretary-General informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Winston Tubman as his Representative in Somalia and head of the UN Office for that country.  Tubman has previously served as a senior adviser to the Chief of Mission for the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission, known as UNIKOM.

Tubman will succeed David Stephen, who will soon be taking up his duties as the Secretary-General’s Representative in Guinea-Bissau.

We have Tubman’s bio-data available upstairs for you.

**Afghanistan:  Women’s Rights

Out on the racks today is also a new report by the Secretary-General on discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan.

The report paints a dismal picture of their plight, but it also points to hopeful signs since the fall of the Taliban.  Afghan women are reclaiming their rights, organizing themselves and returning to work.

This report also outlines a series of specific measures on how the international community can bolster gender equality in Afghanistan.

**ICTY

Today in The Hague, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia granted the provisional release of two suspects:  Rahim Ademi, a Croatian general accused of crimes committed in the Krajina, and Miodrag Jokic, a former Yugoslav admiral accused of crimes committed during the 1991 shelling of Dubrovnik.

Appropriate arrangements are to be made for the release of both suspects, who are expected to return for the beginning of their respective trials.  We have a press release with more information.

**Kosovo Sports Initiative

Also from the Balkans, from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, we have news that an inter-ethnic ski camp for girls opened today as part of efforts to join different communities through sport.

Albanian and Serbian girls will spend 10 days together not only skiing, but also learning to understand their teammates from other communities.

You can pick up a press release upstairs with more details.

**Human Rights/US

And from the High Commissioner for Human Rights:  Mary Robinson, who is in New York on a brief visit, has welcomed the news that the execution in the State of Georgia, in the United States, of Alexander Williams has been stayed until midnight, 25 February.

She joins the call for the review and commutation of the death sentence against Williams, following compelling evidence that he suffers from serious mental illness.  She is also concerned about allegations that lawyers who represented Williams at his trial were incompetent.

We have a press release with more information upstairs.

As you know, Mary Robinson is here, also from the Senior Management Group Retreat that is taking place today.

**Liberia

Now turning to Liberia, after a three-day mission to that country, Ross Mountain, the United Nations Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator, is urging donors to provide the $17 million asked for in the 2002 Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal –- that's a humanitarian appeal -– in order meet the immediate needs of some 65,000 internally displaced persons. 

According to the latest estimates, there are 15,000 internally displaced in Monrovia, and another 15,000 concentrated in the Kataka area.

At least 7,000 Liberians have fled to Sierra Leone and unknown numbers of refugees from Sierra Leone are returning there on their own, outside the organized repatriations being carried out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

In Liberia today, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations are registering internally displaced people in Monrovia, and as soon as security allows, similar registration activities will be conducted in other counties. 

**WFP/Kenya

The World Food Programme today reports that it may run out of supplies to feed some 220,000 refugees living in Kenya.  The agency warned that without contributions, the refugees face malnutrition, and the humanitarian crisis could widen.

There are more details in the WFP press release upstairs.

We're nearing an end to this briefing.

**Press Conferences

On press conferences, as I mentioned to you, Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway should be coming to this room at 12:30 to discuss the Security Council mission to Ethiopia/Eritrea, which will depart this evening and return on Monday evening.

We have no press conferences scheduled for tomorrow during this short week.

**Security Session for Journalists

And finally, last fall, during the postponed general debate, journalists working here raised a number of complaints about security arrangements, accreditation procedures and problems of access.

We had a few preliminary discussions, but agreed to have another one at which decisions would be taken.

That will take place in Room 226, that's here, tomorrow, at 3:15 p.m. 

Everyone is welcome to come, but we're counting on the "principal grouches" -– this is the language of Spokesman Fred Eckhard -- being there so we can get to the heart of the problem.

Representatives of the Department of Public Information, as well as UN Security, will be on hand, as well as Fred Eckhard, the Spokesman.  So, I invite you all to be here so we can improve the way coverage is done; 3:15, 226, in this room.

Thank you very much.  That's what I have for you, today.  Serge?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Would any women be participating in the inter-Congolese dialogue, which is scheduled to continue in South Africa at the end of the month?

Spokesperson:  I'd have to get back to you on the specific details of that.  I know that there was a great effort being put on the participation of women in the dialogue, and so let's look into that and I'll get back to you after the briefing.  [Following the briefing, the Spokesman's Office announced that as of now, no finalized lists of participants at next week's meeting have been released.]

Question:  What is actually happening on the Macedonian and Serbian border?  According to local news reports, the agreement reached was not recognized by the KFOR commander, speaking on behalf of the United Nations.  What is going on?

Spokesperson:  I don't know what KFOR said and he does not represent the United Nations when he's speaking for KFOR.  As far as the UN Secretariat is concerned, the UN is operating in Kosovo under Security Council resolutions, in particular, Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), which defined the territory of Kosovo at the time of that resolution, which was in June of 1999.  And that is the mandate given to the UN Secretariat.

I suppose you would have to ask the Security Council what its opinion would be of what is going on.  But, as far as I know, that has not come up in the Council.

Question:  Two quick follow-ups:  the Commander speaking on behalf of KFOR was not authorized to talk on behalf of the United Nations.  Is my understanding correct?

Spokesperson:  KFOR is speaking on behalf of KFOR, yes.

Question:  And, there is no state of crisis there that you could characterize from here?

Spokesperson:  I have nothing beyond what I just mentioned to you.

Question:  On the report of Western Sahara, you listed four options.  Is any thought being given at this stage as to how the Council members would implement any of the first three options without the concurrence of the parties?

Spokesperson:  I think this is a matter the Security Council is going to take up.  As you know, the report came out yesterday; the Secretary-General comes up with four clear options for the Council to consider and they'll do so on Tuesday.  And, I'm sure we'll find out what the Council members have to say at that time.

Question:  Beyond the letter of Mr. Hansen to the Israeli authorities, the Secretary-General is not worried about the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza strip?  Is the letter enough?

Spokesperson:  The Secretary-General is greatly alarmed by the escalating violence in the past few days.  This spiral of violence, retaliation and counter-violence will not lead to peace.  He again urges both sides to exercise maximum restraint.  This is the Secretary-General's reaction.  The reaction we read from

Mr. Hansen is obviously in response to the damage caused to the premises of the schools, which his Agency administers.

Question:  Do you envisage holding any talks with the Bosnian Government regarding a kind of consulting or good-services to be given the Government to replace the International Police Taskforce (IPTF) by the European police?  The Secretary-General, in Salt Lake City, had been specifically asked by the Prime Minister for involvement of that sort. 

Spokesperson:  I'll have to look into that.  I don't have anything new on that right now.  [Following the briefing, the Spokesman's Office announced that the United Nations is awaiting the decisions of the Peace Implementation Council which will be meeting later this month.  The Secretary-General’s ultimate intention is to end the United Nations Mission there once we complete the core mandate, hopefully by the end of this year.  The Secretary-General's preference is for a European force to replace the UN.]

Question:  Is Mr. Brahimi going to take up residence in Kabul definitely now, or would he still have an office here?

Spokesperson:  He has an office.  Right now, it is being manned by one of his senior officials, but he is in Paris, as we mentioned to you yesterday.  He is in Paris on an official visit at the invitation of the French Government, and he will be going back to Kabul in a few days’ time.

Question:  So, does that mean his office will not be here because the office is going to be in Kabul?

Spokesperson:  I don't quite understand your question, but he is heading back to Kabul.  As you know, Mr. Brahimi has been in Kabul since a few days before the Interim Authority took over on 22 December, and this is the first time he has come here to New York since then.  So, he has taken up residence in Kabul, and as far as I know, he intends to stay there until he feels that things are moving smoothly there. 

Well, we have eight minutes before Ambassador Kolby comes, so I would suggest, if you can, to come back.  Thank you.

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