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.

This is a big day for information technology at the United Nations.  Our noon guest at the briefing today will be Jose Maria Figueres-Olsen, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on information and communication technologies.  He will be here to discuss the General Assembly's high-level meeting on information and communication technologies for development.

**Afghanistan

Now on to Afghanistan.  Today in Kabul just a few of hours ago, the head of the Transitional Administration of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, addressed the Loya Jirga.  He said the new Government would be called the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan, on the suggestion from the delegates.

He also named key commissions that will be set up in the coming days.  The Commissions, which were identified as essential in the transitional period, will include the ones addressing National Defence, the Civil Service, and Justice and Judicial.

Prior to Mr. Karzai’s speech, many delegates took the floor voicing their views regarding the priorities that the Transitional Administration should set, in particular how to deal with social problems.

Also, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, yesterday sent a letter to Mr. Karzai, raising the serious situation in the north of the country, and noting the continuing climate of insecurity there.

In particular, he informed Mr. Karzai that United Nations staff are now reporting an alarming level of violence that is affecting both the personal security and confidence of local residents, and the ability of aid workers to assist them. 

Brahimi noted a number of armed attacks, robberies and beatings carried out against international aid organizations and the recent vicious gang rape of a female international aid worker.

In the letter, Mr. Brahimi appeals to the authorities in Kabul to intervene strongly and urgently with the local parties and authorities, and he says will continues to raise this matter directly with the local authorities and forces.

**Afghan Refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ruud Lubbers, warned Monday -- that's today -- that the Afghan returnees were not receiving the international support they needed to ensure their return would be sustainable.

"We've surpassed the one million mark," he said, "and now expect that up to two million Afghans could return home this year."  UNHCR still requires more than $86 million for its $271 million aid operation in Afghanistan and in neighbouring States hosting the world's largest refugee group.

The United Nations World Food Programme, which provides returnees with a three-month supply of wheat flour, has also run dangerously low of supplies. Many returnees only receive 50 kilogrammes of flour, a third of the planned ration, while people returning to southern Afghanistan currently get nothing.

**Meeting on Information and Communication Technologies

“Seizing the opportunities of the digital revolution is one of the most pressing challenges we face,” said the Secretary-General this morning, at the opening of the General Assembly’s High-level Meeting on Information and Communication Technologies for Development. 

Despite commendable efforts, he went on to say, the digital divide still gapes widely and billions of people are still unconnected to the “wired” global society.  He suggested that efforts must be based on real needs of those we are seeking to help and they must be sustained over the long term.

The Secretary-General ended by saying there was a need for all the initiatives to unite in a common purpose and determination.  We have the full text of the speech available upstairs.

More than 60 speakers are scheduled to address the plenary.  The meeting ends tomorrow.

**Meeting of Foundations and Donors

This afternoon, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks at an informal meeting of Foundations and Other Donors on the Campaign for the Millennium Development Goals.  He will urge the heads of foundations and business corporations to create new partnerships and to find new and creative ways to support the Millennium Development Goals.

We have the full text of his remarks available upstairs, embargoed until 3:30 this afternoon.

**Security Council

In a short session of consultations this morning that were closed, members of the Security Council decided to hear a briefing on Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday morning in an open session, when Jacques Paul Klein, Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, will speak. 

Further consultations on the subject will take place on Friday, following which it is expected that a draft resolution will be adopted to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH). 

**Angolan Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says it will start an organized voluntary repatriation for close to half a million Angolan refugees in southern Africa next year.

These refugees are situated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Namibia, as well as the Republic of the Congo and other countries of the region.

As part of the UNHCR reintegration plan, the refugee agency says it is expecting up to 80,000 spontaneous returns this year, mostly between now and September/October, in time for the planting season.  Up until now, however, UNHCR has not reported large numbers of returns.

UNHCR has sent a technical team to prepare the ground for reintegration and future repatriation.  The team is in the region now.

**Angola

This morning in the Angolan capital Luanda, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Africa, Ibrahima Gambari, met with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

After the meeting, Gambari told the press that he had delivered from the Secretary-General a message to the President, which was a reply to a request sent by the President to the United Nations for assistance in all phases of the Angolan peace process.

Gambari also told the media that he had reported to the President on the work of the UN Assessment Team, which he has been leading in Angola since

10 June.

Gambari added that parts of the UN team would continue their visit to various parts of the country.

**Ethiopia-Eritrea

At the request of the Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno is arriving in Addis Ababa today for meetings with senior officials in Ethiopia and Eritrea as well as United Nations Mission personnel there.

Guéhenno is in the region to take stock of the situation on the ground and see how to move forward on implementation of the decision by the independent Boundary Commission.

He is scheduled to travel to Asmara, Eritrea, on Wednesday and to return to New York over the weekend.

**Kuwaiti Property

Out on the racks is the Secretary-General’s latest report on the issue of missing Kuwaiti property.

In the report, he discusses the recent activities of the High-level coordinator on the issue, Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov.

The Secretary-General says that it is encouraging “that Iraq has expressed its “intention”, as conveyed through the Secretary-General of the Arab League, to return documents belonging to the Kuwaiti national archives.

He adds that he intends to follow up on this issue, including the practicalities for such a return, during his upcoming talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri in Vienna next month.

While noting substantive progress on the issue, the Secretary-General adds that he strongly urges the Government of Iraq to make further efforts regarding the whereabouts of all remaining Kuwaiti property.

I’m going to have to cut it off here.  I’ll just mention the press conference that will follow here at 12:30.  That will be by His Excellency Alvaro Uribe Velez, the President-elect of Colombia.  He’ll be coming down after his meeting with the Secretary-General, which is taking place right now.

We’ll put the rest of the items on the Web site.  I would now like to turn to Jose-Maria Figueres Olsen to hear about science and technology and communications.

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