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.

Joining us today, on my right, is Yoshio Utsumi, the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union.  He will discuss the digital divide, the World Summit on Information Society and the present future of telecommunications and information technology.

**Middle East

This morning at the start of his speech to the assembled United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors, the Secretary-General made the following remarks concerning the latest suicide bombing in Jerusalem today:

“This morning we learned there had been another desperate act of terror that took innocent lives in Israel, among them, schoolchildren.  My sorrow could not be deeper for all the families touched by this tragedy.

“I must, once again, in the strongest possible terms, repeat my condemnation of all such acts of violence.  No cause can justify the taking of innocent lives, and this should give us one more reason to work harder to bring peace to that tragic region.  And I know you are all with me as we search for peace in the Middle East.”

Also on this subject, Terje Roed-Larsen, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, issued a statement saying that “such attacks can not be endured, must stop.”

We have copies of both statements upstairs.

**Messengers of Peace

The Secretary-General this morning opened the two-day meeting of Messengers of Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors, greeting those who had attended the meeting two years ago and welcoming those who were attending for the first time.

He said he was filled with awe by so much talent and fame that was being used for the betterment of mankind.  He said that in particular, the Messengers of Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors could capture the attention and imagination of young people and help them understand that without a global outlook we limit not only ourselves, but the progress of humankind.

The Secretary-General reminded the gathering that governments alone cannot do it all and that they need to hear the voices of the people insist that they put their pledges into action.  “That is where you come in,” he said.  “Whenever you put your name to a message, you raise awareness far and wide, among policy makers and among the millions of people who elect them.”

He ended by urging them all to use their talent to help the United Nations make the world a better place.

**Group of Eight (G-8) Meeting

The Secretary-General welcomes the decision of the Group of Eight, known as the G-8, to focus on solutions to Africa’s problems at their annual meeting on

26-27 June in Canada.

He calls on them also to act decisively on worldwide concerns that are encapsulated in the Millennium Development Goals, especially the fight against poverty.

His message to the G-8 was made in an open letter to the leaders of the world’s eight richest and most powerful countries, that was released today.

He calls on the G-8 countries to:  first, stand by commitments made in Doha last November to conduct trade negotiations that would open markets to exports from poor and developing countries; second, follow up on commitments made in March in Monterrey, Mexico, with further increases in development assistance; third, support international efforts to stem the spread of killer diseases and to make primary education available to all children; and fourth, to commit to ensuring a productive outcome for the upcoming World Summit for Sustainable Development, taking place in August in Johannesburg.

He tells the G-8 that “the peoples of the developing world would . . . be bitterly disappointed if your meeting confined itself to offering them good advice and solemn exhortations, rather than firm pledges of action in areas where your own contributions can be decisive”.

He is scheduled to attend the G-8 summit in Canada to participate in the working session on 27 June, which will feature presentations from five African heads of State who have initiated a New Partnership for Africa’s Development, known as NEPAD.

We have copies of the letter and a press release here in the briefing room.

**Security Council

The Security Council is meeting in closed consultations on Somalia today.

Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Carolyn McAskie briefed Council members on the humanitarian situation in that country.  McAskie highlighted the link between the generally slow progress on the political front and a continued deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

She also said that access to vulnerable groups reached a low point during the past months due to renewed fighting and targeting of United Nations staff.

Finally, she also drew attention to the fact that the donor response to the United Nations humanitarian appeal remains critically low with only 28 per cent of the estimated $84 million in needs met.

**Afghanistan

At the afternoon session of the Loya Jirga today, the President-elect of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, announced that he would present a list of key ministers tomorrow for the approval of the tribal council, which has gone into its eighth day today.

“If you make a decision about the National Assembly by tomorrow”, he said, “I will also present the cabinet positions and the personnel tomorrow.”  The remarks brought laughter and applause from the delegates.

He also told them that he would have fewer numbers of ministers but still representing all the Afghans.  He said that he had had talks with the former king as well as all groups.  The list was almost ready, but he needed more consultations, he said.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says that it has received allegations of intimidation, with at least one case being very serious.  The UNAMA says that all the cases, regardless of complexity or seriousness, have been verified by UNAMA and brought to the attention of those concerned, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, who has raised the matter with the Afghan Government at the highest level.

**Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

We have the following statement concerning an incident in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

"Yesterday, an RCD-Goma commander, accompanied by a team of armed elements, forcibly entered United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) facilities at the Onatra port in Kisangani.  They manhandled the MONUC guard on duty, and abducted two MONUC staff members, who were taken to an RCD facility at the far end of the compound.  They were released after about twenty minutes during which they were assaulted and sustained injuries to the face."

“This incident was followed by two subsequent forcible entries into MONUC facilities by RCD-Goma, later yesterday afternoon and again this morning.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns these acts of intimidation against MONUC.  He reminds the RCD-Goma leadership that MONUC is deployed in the DRC to assist in the peace process.  It can only do so with the full cooperation of the parties, who are responsible for ensuring the security of United Nations staff.

“The Secretary-General wishes to remind the RCD-Goma of its obligations in this regard, and calls on it to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions.”

**Cameroon

This statement concerns an appointment.

The Secretary-General has dispatched Seydou Diarra, former Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, to Cameroon as his Special Envoy for the legislative and municipal elections scheduled for 23 June.

Mr. Diarra, who will stay in Cameroon from 17-25 June, will convey the Secretary-General’s personal and the United Nations’ continued support for Cameroon’s efforts towards democratization and appeal to all political parties to carry out the elections in a smooth and transparent manner.

Mr. Diarra will also invite political parties and other national stakeholders to address the country’s complex problems peacefully.

**Iraq

On the United Nations oil-for-food programme, the Secretary-General has advised the President of the Security Council of his approval of the distribution plan for phase 12, as submitted by the Government of Iraq.

The plan is based on a foreseen budget of over $5.08 billion for the purchase of humanitarian supplies and equipment in 25 sectors, ten of which are new.

It constitutes the basis for the contracting of goods by the Government of Iraq with suppliers of its own choosing.  Phase 12 runs from 30 May to

25 November.

In terms of Iraqi oil exports during the past week, the volume remained sluggish.  A total of 3.1 million barrels of oil were loaded, netting an estimated $67 million in revenue.

Tomorrow, the Governing Council of the UN Compensation Commission for Iraq will start its forty-fourth session.  The session will run through 20 June and will be presided by Ambassador Sverre Bergh Johansen of Norway.

A press release with background information is available upstairs.

**Kosovo

United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) police today arrested four Kosovo Albanian men, who are suspected of having committed serious crimes against other Kosovo Albanians in June 1999, after the war.

The crimes occurred in various areas of Kosovo and involved unlawful detention and serious assault.  All victims were Kosovo Albanians, and most of the victims remain missing.

A press release from the mission is available upstairs.

**United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

The number of people living in extreme poverty in the world’s least developed countries will reach 420 million by 2015, according to a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

The report, entitled “Least Developed Countries Report 2002”, will be released at 1 o’clock today.  It says that the number of people living on less than $1 a day has doubled over the past 30 years, to 307 million.  However, such poverty can be dramatically slashed by doubling average household living standards, the Report finds.

**Global Compact and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The Global Compact and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) wrapped up a two-day dialogue in Paris today on the topic "Business and Sustainable Development".  Some 120 representatives of business, labour and civil society took part.

You can get more information by asking someone in my Office.

**St Petersburg Forum

The Secretary-General sent a message to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum today, a gathering of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

In it, he said the region had one of the most rapidly expanding economies but that poverty had also increased dramatically in some.

“We face common vulnerabilities that transcend borders,’ he said, “. . . but we also have unprecedented opportunities for common progress.”

We have the full text upstairs.

**Press Releases/Press Conferences

We also have some press releases for you.

On press conferences, one to announce.  At 12:30 tomorrow, a few of the Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace will be here to brief you on their work with the United Nations.

The confirmed participants are:  Roger Moore, representing the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Danny Glover, representing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Goedele Liekens, representing the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); and Mechai Viravaidya, representing the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).  There might be others who will come along.

That's all I have for you.  Jan is here with a few words on the General Assembly before we go to Mr. Utsumi.

Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  I was wondering about the oil-for-food programme.  Is there any concern about the second week of sluggish figures?  Is this something people are worried about?

Spokesman:  Yes, as long as the volume of oil sales remains low, revenue remains low, there's less money going into the humanitarian effort.  So it hurts our oil-for-food programme when the oil revenue is below target.

Question:  There seems to be a long-term problem and a short-term one in that the retrospective pricing seems to be frightening a lot of traders away from buying Iraqi oil.

Spokesman:  That is not something I would comment on.  I think you would have to discuss the pricing mechanism with Security Council members.  I'm not authorized to speak on that.  I'm sorry.

Question:  Is there any change regarding the Iraq-United Nations talks. Yesterday I read an agency with another schedule, referring to the 3 and 4 July. Are you aware of that, or is it still the 4and 5 July?

Spokesman:  It's still the original dates that we announced. It was 5^th and 6^th originally, and then I guess we changed it to 4^th and 5^th.  It has not gone to the 3^rd and 4^th.

Okay. Jan.

Briefing by the Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly

Good afternoon.

This morning, General Assembly President Han Seung-soo presided over the opening of the third plenary meeting devoted to information and communication technologies (ICT) for development.

As you know, the expectation was that we would have two meetings on Monday and one meeting this afternoon.  However, so many countries signed up to speak that we had to have a meeting this morning as well.

Yesterday, we started with statements by the President of Assembly, the Secretary-General, the President of Senegal, the President of the Economic and Social Council.  They were followed by the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, who we have with us here today, the Chairman of the ICT Task Force and the Chairman of the Group of Eight (G-8) Digital Opportunity Task Force whereupon we heard from the representatives of 28 Member States.

Today, we have 30 Member States on the speaker’s list, plus Switzerland, the Holy See and the International Organization of La Francophonie.  We also expect to hear reports from the two informal panels, one of which is going on right now.

The meetings will not end with the adoption of a resolution or statement, but the President of the Assembly may issue a summary of the discussions at a later stage, as was done after the high-level dialogue on international economic cooperation for development in September last year.

A couple of you asked me why the Assembly is having these meetings, and I think the President gave the answer in his statement yesterday when he said, and I quote:

“The full and early realization of the potential of ICT for development at the global level requires more than just coherence and leadership at the national level –- it needs a broad international commitment of political leaders to act in concert, on the basis of genuine mutual interest and partnership, in building a global environment, in which ICT can be made to work to promote development for all.  I would like to stress that, in this, the role of the UN is indispensable.”

If you listened to some of the speeches, you would have been struck by the importance that representatives from developing countries in particular attach to the issue.

One speaker, for example, said that ICT had the potential to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of people, while another said that ICT was considered a key to the development of his country.  Yet another warned that without consolidated international cooperation, ICT might further marginalize developing countries.

That's what I have for you today.  Do you have any questions for me?

Question:  It's a bit of complaint time.  I listened to a couple of hours of ICT yesterday.  Among some good speeches and some absolutely deadly ones, usually from United Nations ambassadors, who have no idea about technology.

Anyway, we're getting yesterday's news tomorrow.  The press release on Microsoft and the philanthropic donations came out this morning, not yesterday when it happened.  Bits and pieces came out yesterday.  It has no dollar figure and so forth.

While I'm at it -- because I'd like to write a story today, rather than research things that are blindingly obvious -- we have Goodwill Ambassadors.  We have yet to get decent biographies of them.  I mean, if somebody won a medal, you have to say which Olympics and where and so forth.  They're not all household things.  Here is a list of I don't know how many that, you know, will send you to the computer and databases for two hours. I would think, after all this time, you could have gotten that one straight, too.

Also, in that forum, the most interesting thing two years ago was when they talked informally, rather than gave their set speeches, and that's close to the breast.  So the story gets shorter every two seconds, because we can't just do a puff piece.

[Spokesman made no comment]

Question: On that same subject, Gillian Sorensen opened the meeting saying that there were 48 Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace there, and I noticed that the list only has 43 names.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Okay, we'll ask them to update the list.  Thank you.

Anything else?

Good.  Mr. Utsumi.  Welcome to the briefing.

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