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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

Statement attributable to the Spokesman of the Secretary-General

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman on the Colombian elections:

“The United Nations welcomes the fact that the Colombian people were able to exercise their right to vote on Sunday, 26 May 2002, and have acted decisively to elect the candidate of their choice.

“The United Nations has been supporting peace efforts in Colombia, and will examine with care and interest President-elect Alvaro Uribe’s proposals regarding a future role for the Organization in new peace efforts.”

**Security Council

The Security Council is meeting in consultations on the Informal Working Group concerning the Council’s documentation and other procedural questions.

You can read more about the work of that group on the Web site of the Mission of Singapore, which holds the current presidency of the Security Council.  It has posted a comprehensive summary of items discussed by Council members during the fourth week of May.

**Afghanistan

We have a note from Afghanistan referring to the killing of several people in recent weeks.  While there is no certainty that the motivation of these murders was political, in the minds of people these events are related to the current political process.  In addition, yesterday the Independent Special Commission for the Convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga informed the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan that two representatives selected during phase one of the Loya Jirga process were arrested in Herat.

These developments come after a number of incidents of intimidation in several districts in the west.

The Independent Commission and the United Nations have already expressed their concern to the authorities of Herat with regard to the cases of intimidation that have occurred in that area.

We have more details upstairs.

**Somalia Hostage Release

A Somali national officer employed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who had been kidnapped in Mogadishu on April 28, was released over this weekend.

Professor Mohamed Ali Aborkor was released around 10 a.m. Saturday in the “kilometre five” area of Mogadishu to a Somali elder who acted as a United Nations intermediary.

Aborkor was taken to the UNDP compound where he was seen by a doctor and reunited with his family.

**Middle East

In a statement issued last night, following the suicide bombing against Israeli civilians in Petah Tikva, United Nations Special Coordinator Terje Roed Larsen said, “such attacks cannot be endured and must stop.”

He reiterated his longstanding condemnation of terrorist attacks and stressed that the Secretary-General had clearly and repeatedly stated that such attacks against civilians were morally repugnant and a clear violation of international law.

Larsen added that terrorist attacks from any quarter were unacceptable and could not be tolerated by the international community.

**Congo

Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a statement today expressing her concern at the deteriorating situation in the Pool region of the Republic of the Congo.

Since late March, serious fighting has displaced 45,000 civilians in the Pool region, and humanitarian access to the most affected parts of the region has been denied for the last two months.

According to witnesses, Mrs. Robinson says in her statement, Government forces have used helicopter gunships to attack inhabited villages in the region.  An unknown number of civilians have been killed and injured as a result of indiscriminate rocket and machine gun fire.  Dozens of women have allegedly been raped by men in uniform.  A number of young men are reported to have been abducted from camps for internally displaced persons and their fate and whereabouts are unknown.

“I appeal to the Government of the Republic of the Congo,” the High Commissioner goes on to say, “to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and integrity of the civilian population.  I urge the warring parties to grant humanitarian agencies free and unconditional access to reach all those in need of assistance in the region of Pool.”

**Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today flagged its concern over the safety of Sierra Leonean refugees in Liberia.

According to UNHCR, the refugees, like many Liberians, are caught up in an unpredictable situation with some camps situated near conflict zones and refugees getting increasingly nervous.

One of two refugee camps near the border with Sierra Leone has been cut off from all humanitarian aid for more than two weeks now.  UNHCR says it can maintain radio contact with the refugees thanks to a generator, but that generator is running short of fuel.

The UNHCR says it is making plans to resume repatriation by sea for Sierra Leonean refugees who wish to return home.

The UNHCR also announced today that Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani was to be appointed the refugee agency’s goodwill ambassador during the annual “Pavarotti and Friends” concert in Modena, Italy.

**Arbitrary Detention

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention arrived in Australia today to begin its examination of Australia’s administrative custody of illegal aliens.

The working group is accompanied by the High Commissioner’s Special Envoy, P.N. Bagwati.

The visit will continue until 6 June.

**ICTY

In a decision issued today, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia granted provisional release to Dragan Jokic.

Jokic, who had been transferred to The Hague 10 days ago, faces two separate indictments for crimes allegedly committed at the Omarska and Keraterm camps in 1992.  The indictments include six counts of crimes against humanity.

We have a press release from the court upstairs.

**World Summit on Sustainable Development PrepCom

The preparatory meetings of the World Summit on Sustainable Development began yesterday in Bali, Indonesia, with negotiations for a new Chairman’s text.  The Secretary-General of the Summit, Nitin Desai, said the main issue was not just to complete negotiations on a programme of action but to ensure the outcome document would be “bold and firm enough to meet the high expectations that people have for the Johannesburg Summit”.

Negotiations on the 39-page, 100 paragraph Chairman’s text continued today in the various working groups.  Some of the key issues being worked on are a World Solidarity Fund for Poverty, and action programmes to reduce by half the number of people without access to clean water and electricity.

**Press Releases

A few press releases to highlight.  The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today announced in a press release that the proceeds of an auction of football gear will go to the organization to help improve the welfare of children worldwide.  The auction is sponsored by the world football body, FIFA, and will include items signed by Brazilian football legend Pele, pop star Anastacia and many of the World Cup squads.  The auction, which started a short time ago, will take place totally on line and will last through the end of the World Cup tournament. 

We have a press release with more information and that’s on the Web site.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that the Technical Working Group of the Basel Convention on hazardous wastes has formulated new guidelines for the collection, transport, storage and recycling of used lead-acid batteries.  Recycling the lead from old batteries can cut 25 per cent from the energy bill compared with the mining of new lead.  About 75 per cent of the 2.5 million tons of lead produced annually goes into lead-acid batteries used in automobiles, industrial facilities and portable tools.  We have a press release on that.

Two more press releases:  in the first, the United Nations World Food Programme said that the United States has donated 33,000 metric tonnes of food to its relief efforts to help feed millions of people facing food shortages across southern Africa.  “The rapid arrival of such a large food shipment will greatly help millions of families suffering from severe hunger in southern Africa,” said Judith Lewis, the WFP Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.  “We urgently appeal to other donor nations to provide assistance and help avert a major humanitarian crisis.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the WFP in Geneva said the lack of funds was threatening more and more WFP operations, in particular those for victims of drought; displaced persons; returnees; and programmes involving food for work and food at school.

In the second press release, the United Nations in Lebanon said the second phase of a $50 million project for demining south Lebanon, the Operation Emirates Solidarity, was officially launched today in Beit Yahun, in southern Lebanon.  To date, almost 4,000 of an estimated 400,000 landmines have been removed from south Lebanon through Operation Emirates Solidarity.

**Press Conferences tomorrow

Finally press conferences.  Tomorrow at 11, Charles Reimenschneider, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director for North America, will talk about “the World Food Summit:  five years later,” which is scheduled to take place at the FAO headquarters in Rome from 10 to 13 June.

Then at 3:30 in the afternoon, Ambassador Munir Akran of Pakistan will be holding a press conference on the current situation in his country.

That’s all I have for you.  Yes, Bill?

**Questions and Answers

Question:   Over the weekend the AP reported out of Baghdad the statement that the next round of Iraq talks was going to be held in Vienna on 5 and 6 July.  What is the status from the United Nations end on that?

Spokesman:  Interesting dates.  I’m not yet ready to confirm them.  Another day or so I think, we’ll make it official.  Anything else?

Question:   The Secretary-General sent out requests for information, contributions to his report to the General Assembly on Jenin and Israeli action in the West Bank.  To how many nations and with what deadline or request for information and by what date?

Spokesman:  I believe that all Member States and the Palestinian Authority were asked if they wanted to submit information.  Originally, I think, they were asked to do so within 10 days.  And the date of the letter was something like

14 May.  We understand just last week, towards the end of last week, that there was a delay in some of those letters going out.  I think 10 days from the 14^th would have taken us to yesterday -– the holiday.  It’s my understanding that all Member States are now being informed that the deadline is extended.  I don’t know exactly what it is now.

Question:   Is it the standard procedure that for something like this the Secretary-General will ask all these different nations, really many of which have no connection with this, for information on the Middle East situation?  I mean, is that sort of . . .?

Spokesman:  I think, even though the expectation is that a relatively few number of Member States might feel they have something to contribute, he wants to give all Member States the opportunity to contribute and not prejudge who might have information and who might not.

Question:   Has that been the way it’s been done in past situations?

Spokesman:  Well the only other model we’re thinking of at this time is one from 1997 I believe, when we did exactly the same thing.  We sent a note verbale to all Member States.

Question:   Was that Har Homa?

Spokesman:  Har Homa was the Israeli name of the settlement.  The Arab name is a little too complicated for me to spit out now.  I am sorry.  [The Arab name is Jabal Abu Ghneim

Thank you very much.

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