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 Stéphane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Jan Fisher, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Briefing by the Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General

**Security Council

Good afternoon.  Happy Friday to all of us. 

Starting off with the Security Council, as you know, late yesterday, the Council wrapped up a meeting on the Middle East.  Thirty-six speakers addressed the day-long meeting on the Middle East, stressing the need for urgent action to resolve the ongoing crisis.  And the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. last night.

This morning, the Council met in closed consultations and then held a formal meeting during which members unanimously adopted a resolution on the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The resolution, which extends the mandate of the Mission for a further

12 months, condemns the recent ethnically and nationally-based calls for violence and the recent killings which took place in Kisangani on 14 May and in the following days.

The Security Council also called upon Member States to contribute troops to enable the Mission to reach its authorized strength of 5,537.

During the week ahead in the Security Council, I wanted to alert you to the fact that the Secretary-General’s monthly working luncheon with members of the Council has been rescheduled for next Thursday, 20 June, the same day as the private meeting on the Middle East.  And the Council's Web site will have more details on the programme of work and that should be updated shortly.

As you recall, there was a request from you for a press conference with Foreign Minister of Syria, Farouk Al-Shara, who is scheduled to be at the United Nations next week for the private meeting.  And we've been told by the Security Council presidency that they have indications that he is likely to speak to you next week.  And we hope to have a definite time to announce for that press conference early next week.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman

Yesterday afternoon, late in the afternoon, we issued a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Afghanistan, and I'll read it to you now.

“The Secretary-General warmly congratulates Mr. Hamid Karzai on his election by the Loya Jirga as the head of the Afghan Transitional Authority.  The

Secretary-General has been following closely the proceedings of the Loya Jirga.  He welcomes the enthusiastic embrace of this democratic process by the Afghan people and their leaders.  Today’s -- yesterday's election rather -- constitutes an important step towards peace and stability in Afghanistan, following the path set out in the Bonn Agreement.

“The Secretary-General urges delegates to continue to use the peaceful forum of the Loya Jirga to pursue national reconciliation and to create a representative Government.  He looks forward to the successful completion of the Loya Jirga’s work and the inauguration of the new Transitional Authority.”

And copies of the statement were made available to you yesterday afternoon.

**Afghanistan

Continuing on Afghanistan, and looking at what happened today, the Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, told journalists during a press conference a bit earlier today in Kabul that the role of the United Nations in the future would be to support the Transitional Government, working closely with them and provide effective help.

Mr. Brahimi also said that he was pleased with the implementation of the Bonn Agreement, so far.  He said that all essential landmarks spelled out in the Agreement had been respected.  The Interim Government was put in according to the timetable and the Loya Jirga had happened according to plan.  And we'll have a full transcript of Mr. Brahimi's remarks available for you a bit later on in the afternoon.

And on the fourth day of the Loya Jirga meeting, the newly elected head of the Government, Hamid Karzai, spoke to the assembly, giving his vision of the Transitional Government.  Dozens of delegates took the floor after him, expressing views on a variety of issues, and recommending how the Transitional Government can fulfil its obligations to the people.

And on a related note in Vienna, Afghanistan and a number of neighbouring countries have taken new measures against the threat posed by drug cultivation and trafficking at a conference organised by the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).  And we have a press release available on that upstairs. 

**Appointment

One appointment for today.  The Secretary-General has appointed Sukehiro Hasegawa of Japan as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor starting today.  He will succeed Dennis McNamara, who has served with distinction as the Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Transitional Mission in East Timor (UNTAET), the preceding mission, and also during the start-up of the present mission in East Timor.  Mr. Hasegawa will also serve as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Coordinator for East Timor.

And we have more information on Mr. Hasegawa, including his biography, available upstairs.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman

I have a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

“Representatives of Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia met on 13 June 2002 -- yesterday -- under the auspices of the Secretary-General.  The Greek side was represented by the Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations, Ambassador Vassilakis.  The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was represented by Ambassador Tosevsky.  The Secretary-General was himself represented by his Special Representative, Matthew Nimetz.  And the parties continued to exchange views in the context of article 5 of the Interim Accord.  They decided to meet again on a date to be agreed.”

We have copies of that statement upstairs.

**Burundi

On Burundi, I wanted to let you know about a meeting that is being organized today by the United Nations Department of Political Affairs -- an informal meeting.

This morning, the International Members of the Implementation Monitoring Committee of the Arusha Agreement -- that's the peace accord for Burundi -- as well special envoys and representatives for Burundi from the United Nations, the European Union and other countries, were invited to review the progress achieved in the peace process in Burundi and to examine how to assist the parties in moving the peace process forward.

This afternoon, representatives of donor countries and institutions including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will join the participants of the morning meeting to assess the dire economic situation confronting Burundi and what urgent measures could be taken to improve it.

**International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia

We've been told by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that yesterday, SFOR forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina detained Darko Mrda, wanted by the Tribunal, and have now transferred him to the Detention Unit in The Hague.  Mr. Mrda was indicted on 16 April this year on two counts of crimes against humanity and one count of violations of the laws or customs of war stemming from incidents in August 1992.  He will have his initial appearance on Monday afternoon before Judge Schomburg.

And in other news from the Tribunal, the President of the Tribunal, Judge Claude Jorda, Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, and Deputy Registrar, Bruno Cathala, will travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 17 to 21 June.  While there they will hold discussions on the possibility of the Tribunal deferring some of its cases to national authorities.  The team will gather information on the operation of the judicial system in the country and any difficulties encountered in trying war criminals.  And we have a press release from the Tribunal upstairs.

**Press Releases

Couple of other press releases I'll flag for you quickly.  The World Food Programme (WFP), noting the dramatic improvement in the socio-economic situation in Kosovo, today announced that it was putting an end to its emergency operation there and that it would officially close its office in Pristina on 30 June.  

**Kosovo

Also on Kosovo, we've been told by the United Nations Mission there that the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Michael Steiner, met today with the Albanian family associations of the missing at UNMIK headquarters.  After addressing the family associations to inform them of the progress made in efforts to find Kosovo's missing, Michael Steiner announced that the new head of the Office of Missing Persons had arrived today and would begin working today.  He added that there are now more than 40 people dedicated exclusively to resolve the problem of Kosovo's missing.  And we have a press release available upstairs.

**United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

A couple of UNHCR notes.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said today it had been assured by Moscow that an estimated 150,000 Chechens living in neighbouring Ingushetia would not be forced back to their volatile northern Caucasus homeland.  The Russian authorities assured UNHCR that only those willing to go back would be returned.

The UNHCR also said it would be starting the transfer of some 5,000 Somali refugees from an unsafe border area between Kenya and Somalia into a safer area deep inside Kenya.  The Kenyan Government yesterday gave its approval for such a move following negotiations with UNHCR.  As we've been telling you, dozens of refugees, who have been stranded in that border area for nearly two months, have already died of disease and malnutrition.

And concerning Liberia, UNHCR said some 6,800 Liberians have now taken refuge in Guinea since the 5 June, fleeing intense fighting in northern parts of their homeland.

**United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone

And on the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), the Force Commander of that Mission, Lieutenant-General Daniel Opande, toured the border areas along Sierra Leone's eastern province to assess the security situation in light of the growing hostilities in Liberia.  And that took place from 11 to

13 June.

In all his visits along the border areas, the Force Commander urged his troops to maintain constant vigilance to ensure that the border remained safe and free from armed incursions.  He stressed that Sierra Leonean returnees and Liberian refugees must be properly screened to prevent the flow of weapons into Sierra Leone.

**Deputy Secretary-General

A note on the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette.  She will receive an honorary degree from Carlton University in Ottawa, tomorrow, Saturday.  And in her address, she will talk about the role governance and the privilege of public service.  And we have copies of her speech available upstairs and that speech is embargoed until delivery tomorrow.

**Peacekeeping Operations Background Note

We have also upstairs our usual Background Note on Peacekeeping Operations.  And the updated version shows that approximately 45,000 military personnel and civilian police from 87 countries, as well as some 3,800 international and

7,700 local staff, are serving in the current 15 peacekeeping operations with the latest addition being the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor.  And the outstanding contributions to peacekeeping were about $1.35 billion since

31 May.  And the note is available upstairs.

**Week Ahead

Flagging a couple of events on Monday for you and next week.

On Monday, the Secretary-General will deliver the opening address at the meeting of the General Assembly meeting on Information and Communication Technology.  The two-day high-level meeting will address the digital divide that excludes two thirds of the world’s population from the benefits of the digital revolution.

And on Monday, Jose Maria Figueres Olsen, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Information and Communication Technology, will be our guest here at the noon briefing. 

Also on Monday, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on the Millennium Development Goals will present UNCTAD's (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) 2002 report on least developed countries.  Also present at the press conference will be Mr. Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Almost lastly, next week there is a meeting taking place in Kingston, Jamaica, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), that I wanted to flag for you.

During the meeting, which will open 17 June, UNESCO will be urging States in the Americas to ratify the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.  It's estimated that more than 3 million ships and their cargoes are thought to lie beneath the world's oceans.  Historical monuments such as the lighthouse in Alexandria in Egypt, and whole towns such as Port Royal in Jamaica, are also underwater.

In the Bay of Montevideo off Uruguay, lie the wrecks of more than 200 large ships that went down between 1772 and 1930.  Those include frigates, brigs, corvettes, steamships and other vessels that plied the waters of the Rio de la Plata estuary.  And these underwater treasures attract professional looters who use increasingly advanced technology to systematically pillage them.

And this afternoon, there will be a press conference by the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at about 1:15 p.m.

And that's actually it for me.  Any questions before we go over to Jan?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  You touched upon something shutting down at the end of June in the Kosovo Mission.  What was that?

Associate Spokesperson:  WFP is shutting down its offices in Kosovo, because they feel their work is no longer needed.

Question:  On Sunday, the Secretary-General met in Rome with his Special Adviser Alvaro de Soto on Cyprus.  Do you have anything on that?

Associate Spokesperson:  No, that's part of the Secretary-General's continuing efforts at being kept very much up-to-date on the progress of the face-to-face talks in Cyprus.  But, if I'm getting more of read-out, I will give that to you.

Question:  There's news on the wires that an Iraqi diplomat was asked to leave the country because he was charged of spying by the United States.  Do you have any information on that?

Associate Spokesman:  No, I don't.

Question:  I understand the Colombian President meeting the Secretary-General here next week.  Do you know anything about that?

Associate Spokesman:  Yes, on 17 June in the afternoon.  It's President- elect Uribe.

Question:  When will the Foreign Minister of Syria be here in New York?

Associate Spokesman:  I believe towards the end of next week. 

Question:  So next Thursday he will not be here?

Associate Spokesman:  Well, I think Thursday to me would qualify as towards the end of next week.  But I'll try to give you some precise dates.

Question:  Just a follow-up to that question -- will there be a press briefing after that meeting?

Associate Spokesperson:  We'll get you a read-out of the meeting, which is being held at the request of Mr. Uribe.

Anyone else?  Jan.

Briefing by the Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly

Thank you, Stéphane.  I don’t have much for you but just want to give you a heads-up on the General Assembly plenary meetings that will take place on Monday and Tuesday.  The Assembly will meet at the usual time from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., but due to the renovations in the General Assembly Hall it will convene in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.  We expect to hear about

50 speakers so there will probably only be one meeting on Tuesday, and most likely in the afternoon.

The topic will be information and communication technologies for development, as called for in resolution 56/258.  The first operative paragraph of the resolution reads in part as follows:

“Decides to convene a Meeting of the General Assembly consisting of three plenary meetings devoted to bridging the digital divide and promoting digital opportunities in the emerging information society . . . the Meeting will address the digital divide in the context of globalization and the development process and promote coherence and synergies between various regional and international information and communication technologies initiatives . . . .”

The meetings will bring together ministers and other government representatives, Chief Executive Officers of digital corporations, information technology experts and representatives of civil society.

As Stéphane mentioned, the Secretary-General will deliver the opening statement while the President of Senegal, Aboulaye Wade, who heads the ICT activities in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, will deliver the keynote address.  The Presidents of the General Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council will also have statements.

In parallel with the plenary, there will be two informal panels in which prominent experts and civil society representatives, including from the private sector, will provide input.  The first panel will discuss how ICT -- information and communications technology -- can foster development to meet the Millennium Summit goals and how to involve the private sector.  This panel will take place on Monday afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6 .m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.  The second panel will address the role of the United Nations in supporting efforts to promote digital opportunities in the least developed countries.  This panel will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, also in the Council Chamber.  And both panels will be open to the media.

There's much more information on the Web site of the ICT Task Force, that is, www.unicttaskforce.org.  There you will find for instance the Task Force Plan of Action and its Mission Statement.  There will also be a background press release out on the meeting.

This afternoon at 3 o’clock in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, General Assembly President Han Seung-soo will address a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole on the Final Review and Appraisal of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s.  Yes, that is the title.  In his statement, the President is expected to concentrate on his recent visit to four West African States.  Otherwise, the meeting is purely organizational, but substantive meetings are expected to take place in September and October.  There's more information about this in General Assembly resolution 56/218.

Questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Is there any way we can get a list of the participants for Monday and Tuesday?

Spokesman:  I'm trying to get a more final list, but I haven't been able to.  I can give you a copy --

Question:  Any major Chief Executive Officers?

Spokesman:  There will be a representative from Hewlett-Packard, from CBS, from Intel.  I'm not sure -- it's not at the Chief Executive Officer level I think.

Question:  What about Microsoft?

Spokesman:  I have not seen Microsoft, but it's still a tentative list.  But if I can get a more final list we will squawk it and make it available in the Spokesman's Office. 

There's also the President of Telecom Africa Corporation.  There's the Chief Executive Officer of the African Connection, which is a Ghanaian company.  There's the Chief Executive Officer of TAGI, which is a Jordanian-Egyptian company, I believe. 

Question:  As far as the debate is concerned, is it at the ambassadorial level mostly?  Are lots of ministers attending?

Spokesman:  There are some ministers -- I don't think there will be many.  I think it will be mainly at the Permanent Representative level here.  But I hope this background press release that has some names will come out.  You should also monitor the task force Web site, because they should ideally put the participants’ list up there.

Question:  Is there a link with the World Summit on the Information Society that will be held in December next year?

Spokesman:  Exactly.  Yes.  It is, to some extent, in preparation for that meeting, which will take place in 2003 in Geneva, I believe.  And there's another in 2005 in Tunis.

Thank you.  And have a nice weekend.

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