DAILY PRESS 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.

Good Afternoon.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman

We’ll start with a statement attributable to the Spokesman concerning the incident in Kashmir.

“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms, as an act of terrorism, the attack that occurred today near the town of Jammu in Kashmir, in which more than 30 people were killed and many injured.  He is deeply saddened by the killing of passengers, in particular women and children, in a bus transporting army personnel and their family members.  The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of India.

“The Secretary-General calls on all concerned to exercise the utmost restraint and to resolve their differences through peaceful means.”

**Sierra Leone

Presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place today in Sierra Leone, a step the Secretary-General has described as an important milestone in the peace process.

As of early afternoon, voting across the country was reported to be taking place in a peaceful and festive atmosphere.  Voters began lining up as early as 1:30 a.m. to await the opening of polling stations at 7 a.m.

The spokesperson for the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) described the voters as “extremely happy”.  Lines were seen outside polling stations in Freetown in the early afternoon.

The majority of the more than 17,000 UN peacekeepers –- the UN’s largest peacekeeping force -- fanned out in 150 locations.  Some 2.3 million voters were registered to cast their ballots at about 5,000 polling stations across the country.  Among those voting were amputees, a visual reminder of the war that ravaged the West African nation.  One man was seen casting a ballot with his toes.

Speaking live on Radio UNAMSIL this morning, the Commissioner of the National Electoral Commission assured voters that as long as they were in line by the 5 p.m. official closing of the polls, they would be allowed to vote.

Results are expected to be announced by week’s end.

**Liberia Refugees

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that  287 Liberians arrived in Côte d'Ivoire over the weekend in what it says may be the

first wave of residents fleeing reportedly heavy fighting between government and Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD) rebel forces in the north-eastern Gbarnga area of Liberia.

Another 200 Liberians are reported to be waiting for permission from the Liberian authorities before being allowed to cross the frontier.

**Security Council

After brief consultations this morning, the Security Council unanimously adopted a draft resolution on Iraq which will, for the next phase of the “oil-for-food” programme, create new procedures designed to facilitate approval of essential civilian goods.

This resolution is the second major change to the programme since the adoption of resolution 1284 in 1999, which lifted the ceiling on Iraq oil exports.

For this next phase, which will be the programme’s twelfth and which starts on 30 May, only contracts for items included on the Goods Review List will be examined by the Council’s Iraq Sanctions Committee.  All other items will be processed directly by the Office of the Iraq Programme.

After that vote, the Council began an open meeting on its recent mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa.  Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France, who led the mission, introduced the mission’s report to the Council.

In it, the mission reports that it received broad positive response to the idea of establishing a “curtain of forces” along the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s borders with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.  These forces, which would come from the three concerned countries, would be deployed with the full agreement of the DRC Government as an interim border security measure.

Council members were also encouraged by the signing of a recent accord between the DRC Government and the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) and the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) to reopen the Congo river to commercial traffic.  The Security Council views this as an essential means to improving the economic and social life of millions of Congolese.

On Burundi, the Council noted that there have been a number of significant improvements since it last visited the country a year ago.  Most notable of these was in the creation of a transitional government last fall.

With the knowledge that none of this progress is irreversible, the members of the Council demanded of the Burundian armed opposition that they cease all hostilities and enter into negotiations with the Government.

The full report, which was put out yesterday, is still available upstairs.

**Secretary-General in Cyprus

The Secretary-General arrived in Nicosia, Cyprus, about three hours ago.  He told the press at the airport that the start of the latest round of talks has raised hopes greatly, not just in Cyprus, "but in the region and beyond".

He expressed concern about the slow progress, though, saying, "Decisive progress is needed in the coming period."

"This is an historic opportunity", he added.  "I am convinced that these two leaders, uniquely steeped in the history of this island, can rise to the occasion."

The two leaders he was referring to, of course, were His Excellency Glafcos Clerides, leader of the Greek Cypriot community, and His Excellency Rauf Denktash, leader of the Turkish Cypriot community.

The Secretary-General said he wanted to discuss with the two men how to resolve the main issues by the end of June.

He conferred this evening with his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, who has been assisting the two leaders in their direct talks over the past four months.  He will meet with each of them separately tomorrow and then bring them together, at his invitation, over dinner.

The text of his airport statement, as delivered, is available in my Office.

**Nane Annan/Secretary-General Speech

Right now at the American Museum of Natural History, Nane Annan is delivering a speech on behalf of the Secretary-General, on the upcoming World Summit for Sustainable Development.  Because the Secretary-General is in Cyprus today, she represented her husband for the first time at such an occasion and read out a speech on his behalf.

In that speech, the Secretary-General says the state of the world’s environment remains fragile, with conservation measures still far from satisfactory.  But less than four months from now, when the World Summit for Sustainable Development takes place in Johannesburg, the momentum that had been felt at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a decade ago can be restored.  He points to five priorities for the future:  water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity.

“We will need to find our way towards to a greater sense of mutual responsibility”, the Secretary-General concludes.  “Together, we will need to build a new ethic of global stewardship.  Together, we can and must write a new and more hopeful chapter in natural -– and human -– history.”

We have copies of the speech upstairs.

**Jenin

A number of you have been asking us about the letters to both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority requesting information for the report that is being prepared by the Secretariat on the events in Jenin and other Palestinian cities.

Those letters are being drafted and will go out in the next days.

We expect the preparation of the report to take six weeks or so.

The report will be prepared by UN Secretariat staff, as I have told you, and will be presented by the Secretary-General.

We will inform you when the report is ready, but there will be no progress updates as the report is being prepared.

**UNRWA

Today in Geneva, Rene Aquarone, the head of the local office of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East -– known as UNRWA -- briefed reporters on his recent trip to the occupied Palestinian territories.

He highlighted UNRWA’s worry concerning the implications of new restrictions on freedom of movement which were being prepared by the Israeli authorities.

Under the new system, any Palestinian who wanted to move from one city to another in the West Bank would need a permit which would be valid for one month. Also, Jerusalem ID card holders would be prevented from travelling to the occupied territories.  The UNRWA and other agencies would have to use international drivers for all transportation.

“We are very concerned”, he said, “because if these announced measures are put into effect, this will cripple the activities of the Agency, its relief and emergency activities and its normal activities.”

He said UNRWA was in discussion with Israeli authorities to try to explain to them that this is not in conformity with the responsibilities of Israel as an occupying Power, and certainly not in accordance with its responsibilities to a  UN agency.

**Iraq Programme

The Office of the Iraq Programme, in its weekly update, notes that following the resumption by Iraq of oil exports on 9 May after a month-long stoppage, one oil tanker took in oil at the Mina al-Bakr terminal that same day.

There were no loadings at the second authorized terminal of Ceyhan during this period, although three vessels were scheduled to arrive in the coming days.

In phase eleven of the programme, which ends on 29 May, Iraq has exported 207 million barrels of oil, out of the 363 million barrels approved.

The programme continues to face a considerable funding shortfall.  Currently, about $2.77 billion worth of humanitarian supply contracts, although approved, cannot be funded.  You can pick up the full update upstairs.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman concerning the disarmament agreement between the United States and Russia.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement that the United States of America and the Russian Federation have agreed to sign a treaty to reduce their deployed strategic nuclear weapons substantially by the year 2012.

“The signature of the treaty in Moscow by Presidents Bush and Putin next week will be a positive step in the direction of nuclear disarmament and contributes to the fulfilment of the obligations of the two countries as nuclear-weapon States under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”

**East Timor

A two-day donor’s meeting got under way in Dili today to discuss post-independence support for the East Timorese Government’s economic programme.  Representatives of 27 countries, multilateral groups and the European Union are attending the meeting, which ends with a pledging session tomorrow.  A total of $90.9 million has been estimated for direct budget support over the next three years.  We have a background paper available on that upstairs.

In other news, yesterday the Australian Government presented the East Timorese Government with the first of 2 million postage stamps produced to mark East Timor’s independence.  The stamps will be released on 20 May and will be sold in East Timor, in Australia and by mail-order and over the Internet.  Revenue from the sale of the stamps will go to the East Timorese Government.  For more information on the stamps, you can visit the East Timorese Web site.  That is the government Web site.  And I have visuals of these two stamps that are coming out on the 20^th.

**Afghanistan

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, is scheduled to leave Kabul tomorrow to attend in Geneva a meeting later this week on the security sector in Afghanistan.

The meeting Friday will bring together the Afghan Interim Administration, the United Nations, donors and concerned governments to discuss security-related projects and issues ranging from the building of a national army and national police force, as well as demobilization.  It is a follow-up to a meeting on the same subject that was held in Geneva on 3 April.

In Kabul today, Lakhdar Brahimi gave a press conference on the eve of his departure that was focused on the Loya Jirga process.  We expect the transcript by tomorrow, but you can read about the selection process under way in the briefing notes from Kabul, which we have upstairs.

**Indigenous Peoples

The first session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is continuing today, and I wanted to highlight two events taking place this afternoon alongside the session, both of which involve High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

First, from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in Conference Room 2, Mary Robinson will be a panellist in a discussion on indigenous media networks, why they are needed, how they can be improved and how they can forge links to the mainstream media.  Barbara Pyle, former Vice-President of Environmental Policy for the Turner Broadcasting Network, will moderate that panel which will include a number of other journalists.

Then at 2:30 p.m. in the Public Lobby, the High Commissioner will inaugurate an exhibit, called “Voices”, of art, photography, textiles, artifacts and live performances in a celebration of indigenous peoples.  That exhibit will be preceded at 2 p.m. in the Public Lobby by a musical performance.  And we have media advisories on both those events upstairs.  Those musical performances include playing an instrument I can’t pronounce.  It looks like didgeridoo.  If you know what that is, go and listen to it.

**Press Releases

Press releases:  Three by the World Health Organization today.  I’ll mention just one.  It announces a comprehensive study on venous thrombosis and air travel.  This study is expected to take up to four years to complete and will assess the frequency of thrombosis among air travelers and identify groups at most risk.  It will also look at whether factors other than immobility, such as cabin pressure, might be responsible for thrombosis and look at possible preventive strategies.

**Signings

One signing to announce today.  India and Belize signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.  I’m sorry, that’s two signatories, one convention.  There are now 133 signatories to that.

That is all I have.  Richard?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Couple of questions.  You mentioned Mary Robinson being in the Building and everything.  Is there a short list for her replacement?

Spokesman:  We have nothing to say about that and I don’t expect anything on that for a few more months.

Question:  The speech that Mrs. Annan is giving today.  Is that the first time she’s giving a speech that her husband would have given?

Spokesman:  Yes.  I think she might have given a few short statements.  This is the first full-length speech that she’s delivered on his behalf.

Question:  Several questions.  One is:  I didn’t notice any Aboriginal Australians in the exhibit at all.  They have extensive West of African tribal people and also of South American Inca people and so on.  And I didn’t notice any Australian.  I’m wondering if they were not taking part on purpose or was it just they did not want to send anybody?  I haven’t seen anything in the exhibit from that area.  And the second question I have for you is:  in the speech that Mrs. Annan gave, you outlined the social problems.  Are they going to get into what I consider “gross misbehaviour”, people like the United States, where some 50 per cent of their cars are vehicles that guzzle very much gasoline.  And whether this is a social behaviour that’s creating global warming.  Will that be taken up at all?

Spokesman:  You’ll have to ask the governments what they plan to discuss. What the Secretary-General wanted to do so with his speech was to help focus on a few priorities, and he mentioned five.  As for what governments will take up and

what complaints they will throw at each other, I can’t predict.  You’ll have to wait and see.  But his hope is that they will focus on these five priorities.

Question:  It probably was announced, but have we moved closer to the next round of Iraqi talks taking place in Vienna or somewhere else?

Spokesman: We still don’t have dates.

Question:  Will the Secretary-General go to these talks if they were held in Europe?

Spokesman:  It’s his intention to.  They’re trying to coordinate his schedule which involves a fair amount of travel in the first half of this year, and the Iraqi Foreign Minister’s.  And they haven’t yet been able to agree on a date.  They had wanted to do it by the end of this month.  It’s now not clear that that would be possible.  But they are still talking.

Question:  What is the Secretary-General’s opinion about the smuggling of oil by Iraq through Syria, Jordan and elsewhere?

Spokesman:  I don’t have guidance on that.

Question:  I know it’s a free country here.  But in many major publications, they’re blasting the ICC and “a reckless prosecutor who’ll bring American soldiers before The Hague”.  And there was the problem of the American Servicemen’s Act that moved a step closer in Congress.  Is this an issue that the United Nations should be more in front of, out in front in defending the Court here in the United States or is the United Nations going to let the Coalition in favour of the Court just carry the ball.  It seems like here is an issue where you read a letter on certain issues.  Is the United Nations going to counter attack this heavy assault -– Tribunal thugs ... and you see these headlines ...

Spokesman:  The Secretary-General I think has been quite public in his defence of the Court against some of these allegations.  He has said that the Court would go after criminals and only after national courts had failed to prosecute them.  And he has said that the United States as a nation with a fully developed judicial system has nothing to fear from the ICC.  And our hope is that, eventually, there will be a consensus in this country in support of the International Criminal Court.  It certainly isn’t there in the Congress now, as you’ve already pointed out.

Question:  Do you have any guidance on the Bosnia court wanting the notes or an appearance by Washington Post reporter Jonathan Randle?

Spokesman:  No.  That’s before the court.  And I think we’re all interested to see what the decision will be because it could set a precedent for the International Criminal Court as to whether journalists should be obligated to testify based on their experiences as war correspondents.

Question  A positive precedent?

Spokesman:  I don’t want to say one way or the other.  Thank you very much.