DAILY BRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

DAILY BRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

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 the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good Afternoon

**Security Council Last Night

As you know, last night the Security Council met again in an open meeting on the Middle East.  Before it unanimously adopted resolution 1403 as a presidential text, the Secretary-General addressed Council members.

He told Council members that the situation in the region -– between Israel and Palestine, as well as along the “Blue Line” -– continues to deteriorate.  “All parties”, he said, “risk making serious miscalculations about the effect that their actions will have on each other”.  “Such miscalculations”, he said, “can all too easily draw the region into greater and greater danger, whether intended or not.”

In his address to the Council, the Secretary-General called on the international community to consider urgently how best to intercede to draw back the parties from their present course. 

He went on to say that, despite Israeli justifications of its military actions as self-defence and counter-terrorist measures, “we need to be very clear that self-defence is not a blank cheque”. 

The Secretary-General said that, although he understood the bitterness, anger and disillusion of Israelis, the present approach taken by the Government would not bring peace and security to the country.  “Only a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement can do so”, he added.

He went on to say that, despite the fact that direct military assault from the Israelis has seriously limited Chairman Arafat’s and his security services’ ability to contain terrorism, Chairman Arafat still has the capacity to exercise political leadership.  "Terrorism is never justified”, the Secretary-General said. “The Palestinian leadership must acknowledge this and the Palestinian public must accept this.”

In relation to yesterday’s attack on UN personnel along the Blue Line by Hezbollah, he said:  “It needs to be made clear to Hezbollah and others who may be involved that attacks across the Blue Line -- whether into northern Israel or into occupied Syrian territory -- are violations of Security Council resolutions and are not acceptable.”

In his concluding remarks, he went on to state his belief that since the parties are unable, on their own, to find a way out of the present situation, third party mediation is needed more than ever.  “In this connection”, he said, “I strongly welcome President Bush's decision to send Secretary Powell to the region.”

Also speaking prior to the vote were the representatives of Syria and Israel, as well as the Observer for Palestine.

As I mentioned, the Council then went on to unanimously approve resolution 1403, which demands the implementation of 1402 “without delay” and also welcomes the upcoming mission to the region of United States Secretary of State Colin Powell.  The text also welcomes the ongoing efforts of Quartet envoys; that is, the United States, Russia, United Nations and the European Union.

**UNRWA

Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), spoke today with reporters in Geneva by teleconference and expressed his concern about what he called an “unprecedented” situation in Palestinian refugee camps.

He talked about the destruction of infrastructure and water lines and the cutting off of electricity, and said it was appalling to see the destruction of hospitals and the shooting at ambulances.  The number of ambulances, hit during the present crisis, he said, is at least 185, including three quarters of UNRWA’s own ambulances, as well as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Crescent vehicles.  Hansen added that, in recent days, four drivers and three doctors have been killed, with an additional 122 doctors and drivers injured.

In the West Bank alone, he added, more than 2,500 shelters have been wholly or partially destroyed, with even more damage in Gaza.  Hansen said, “It is really not what one would expect from a disciplined army, to see this kind of destruction.”  Although he has not received any response from Israel to numerous letters outlining his concerns, Hansen added, “We are refusing to let the situation become so normal that we even forget or give up writing about it.”

By the way, UNRWA has informed us that its staff member who had been detained by the Israelis earlier this week has been released, following what Hansen said was 56 hours of detention, while blindfolded and handcuffed.  We have a transcript of his press conference upstairs.

**Human Rights

Today in Geneva, the Commission on Human Rights approved a resolution condemning what it called the “frightening increase in the loss of life” in the occupied Palestinian territory, and requesting that High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson head a mission that would travel immediately to the area and report back on its findings to the Commission.

The vote on the resolution, which was submitted by Pakistan on behalf of

the Organization of the Islamic Conference, was 44 in favour, 2 against, and

7 abstentions.

Mary Robinson told the Commission that she was ready to head the mission, on the understanding not only of broad support within the Commission, but also of full cooperation by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and also depending on whether security conditions permit.  In planning for the mission, she said, she would consult with the Secretary-General and carefully work out the timing of the mission.

We have copies of the resolution and the High Commissioner’s comments upstairs.

**Afghanistan

The Secretary-General briefed the Security Council this morning on “Security in Afghanistan” during closed consultations.  The Secretary-General noted security in Kabul had improved significantly due to the deployment of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and that 90 per cent of the city’s residents are happy about the ISAF presence in the Afghan capital.

He also talked about the recently held security sector reform meeting in Geneva attended by his Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, on which we reported to you.  The Secretary-General noted the UN’s role to coordinate programmes of demobilization and reintegration.  He urged Member States to commit funding to security at the next donor’s meeting.  The Secretary-General expressed concern about the gap in security between now and when Afghans have created their own security institutions.  He appealed to the Security Council to assist in bridging the security gap.

Also on Afghanistan, available upstairs are two press releases.  One is from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that says that more than 184,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan have returned home since March. The other is from the World Health Organization on a just concluded health- assessment mission, which recommends a $200 million investment in health over the next two and a half years in a country where 65 per cent of Afghans lack access to health facilities.

**Food Aid and Sudan

A joint statement by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator –- which together operate under the humanitarian operation known as “Lifeline Sudan” -- today strongly protests the decision by the Government of the Sudan to deny access to the agency's flights to 43 locations in southern Sudan.  The decision prevents some 1.7 million people from receiving humanitarian assistance.  The statement, along with a WFP press release on this issue, are available in my Office.

**UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced today that it was allocating emergency funds to support the purchase of emergency medical supplies and infrastructure repairs in the Palestinian territories.  Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the UNDP, authorized $1.5 million through UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People in order to purchase and distribute urgently needed medical relief supplies and to begin immediate infrastructure repairs in the municipalities.

Mr. Malloch Brown, in a press release that we have upstairs, said, “We hope that this assistance will help to reduce the suffering of civilians who are under a 24-hour curfew in some cases without access to food, water, electricity or medical aid.” 

**East Timor

The East Timor office of the UNHCR said today that nearly 2,000 refugees have returned from West Timor in the first five days of this month.  In the whole of last month, about 4,000 refugees returned and that figure was the highest in two years.  The upsurge is attributed to the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for 14 April, and to the 20 May independence celebrations.

The Independent Electoral Commission says all plans for the election are on schedule.  More than 5,000 electoral staff have been trained and 107 observer groups, both national and international, have been registered.  The Commission estimates that 430,000 persons are eligible to vote.

We have more details in the briefing notes from the UN Mission in East Timor.

**Memorandum of Understanding

Yesterday afternoon, the Russian Federation and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations signed a Memorandum of Understanding on participation in the Standby Arrangements System, becoming the thirty-eighth country to do so.  Under the arrangement, the Government of the Russian Federation has agreed to provide a field engineer company and four transport helicopters.

**IAEA/Uganda

In response to a request from the Ugandan Government, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has secured a radioactive source, containing a significant amount of cobalt-60, in Uganda.

The source had been discovered last week, and two IAEA radiation safety specialists were sent earlier this week to Uganda to check the shielded container the source was in and measure radiation levels.  The IAEA concluded that the radioactive source does not pose any immediate threat to the public.  We have an IAEA release with more information on that.

**Chernobyl

Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, is today in Belarus, having concluded two two-day visits to the Russian Federation and Ukraine.  He visited the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and areas heavily contaminated by the accident 16 years ago.  In his talks with government officials, Mr. Oshima focused on the report “The Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster:  A Strategy for Recovery”, which calls for a new 10-year aid programme aimed at raising the standard of living of 5.7 million people in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus affected by the accident.

**UNIKOM

Out on the racks is letter from the President of the Security Council to the Secretary-General stating that the Council agrees with his recommendations that the United Nations Iraq/Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) be maintained for a further six months.

**Signing

This afternoon, Nepal will become the 126th country to sign the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

**World Chronicle

The World Chronicle TV programme will air today featuring Emil Salim,

the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and that can be seen at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television

channel 3 or 31.

**The Week Ahead

We have the week ahead for you, as usual, on Friday, and I’ll just mention two things in connection with that. 

We announced after the briefing yesterday that the Secretary-General would be leaving on a three-city European tour tomorrow instead of today, and his first stop is Madrid, Spain, where he will open on Monday the Second World Assembly on Ageing.

A note to correspondents says the UN Web site will provide real time coverage of the Assembly (http://www.un.org/ageing/coverage).  The conference Web site is available in six languages –- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will be travelling to Brussels, Rome, and Geneva next week.

On 8-9 April, she will lead a United Nations delegation to Brussels for meetings with the European Union, the European Commission and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union institutions both on the political and operational side.  She will meet, among others, the European Union’s Chief Security Adviser, Javier Solana, as well as commissioners Chris Patten, Poul Nielson, and Pascale Lamy.

The Deputy Secretary-General will then travel to Rome to attend the twice-a- year meeting of the Chief Executives Board, the former Administrative Committee on Coordination, which this year is hosted by the Food and Agricultural Organization.

Then, on Friday the 12^th, she will be in Geneva where she will have a series of meetings with the staff of the United Nations Office in Geneva, the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  All of those meetings will be regarding the Secretary-General’s “second wave” of reforms.  And she will also be meeting with the ambassadors in Geneva on those issues.

She will be back at Headquarters on Monday the 15^th.  That’s all I have for you.

Question and Answer

Question:  Fred, are the Secretary-General’s briefing notes to the Council on Afghanistan going to be made available or not?

Spokesman:  I’m afraid not.  We asked about that this morning and they said that they preferred to not share them with you, although the essence of them is in what I just read out.  Anything else before we go to Jan Fischer?  Jan.

Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly President

Thank you Fred.  Good afternoon.

I don’t have much for you, but just as Fred alerted you to the Secretary-General’s message for World Health Day, I want to draw your attention to a message from General Assembly President Han Seung-soo.  On the theme for the day, “Move for Health”, he says that:

“In order to promote physical activity, we need to change our environment and promote policies that encourage people to be active.  Communities should give high priority to developing parks and open spaces and safe and active streets, which are highly conducive to a vibrant public life.  Clean air and water are equally important to a healthy, active community and should be at the top of the public policy agenda.”

The full text of his statement is out as Press Release GA/SM/280-OBV/269.

On Monday, the President will address the opening of the World Assembly on Ageing.  In his statement, he is expecting to stress, among other things, that:

“The international development targets set forth in the Millennium Declaration will not be achievable without the mainstreaming of ageing and concerns of older persons into development frameworks and poverty eradication strategies.  Older persons should be regarded as an asset, not a burden.  This truth is well recognized in the folk wisdom of many countries.  As the old proverb says, ‘There’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle.’”

I hope to be able to make the full text available later today, with an embargo.  It will be on a “check against delivery” basis.

Also on Monday, the open-ended informal consultative process on ocean affairs (the full title is much longer) will begin its session, which will last until 15 April.  The co-chairs are  Tuiloma Neroni Slade of Samoa and Alan Simcock of the United Kingdom.  There is more information on the session in the provisional agenda, document A/AC.259/L.3.

After Madrid, the President will visit four countries in Africa, but the details on this can wait till next week.

Any questions for me?

Question:  Jan, is there a list of the leaders who are going to be attending the World Conference on Ageing?

General Assembly Spokesman:  There should be one, and if it’s not out there, I will see if I can get it.  And if I do, I’ll certainly squawk it.  If there’s no squawk, I was not successful.  But also, keep an eye on the Web site, of course.

Spokesman Eckhard:  Okay, thank you very much, and have a good weekend.

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