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 Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Quartet Meeting

Starting at 3:00 this afternoon, the Secretary-General will brief the Security Council on the Middle East.

Yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General attended the senior-level “Quartet” meeting on the Middle East.  The other participants at that meeting, you’ll recall, were United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller, High Representative for European Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, and European Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten.

Afterwards, the Secretary-General read out a communiqué on the Quartet's behalf, expressing strong support for the goal of a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement and agreeing with United States President George W. Bush that, with an intensive effort, this can be achieved within three years.

The Quartet, he said, welcomed the Palestinian interest in reform, including the building of efficient Palestinian security capabilities to combat terror, and called on Israel to support the emergence of a viable Palestinian State, including easing internal closures, withdrawing forces and stopping all settlement activity.

The Secretary-General also told the press that he had been informed earlier on Tuesday by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Sharon wanted to see a humanitarian operation to alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people. The Secretary-General said the Quartet agrees that full humanitarian access would be the fastest way to improve their plight and added that the United Nations, with the full support of the Quartet, agreed to lead that effort.

Annan told reporters, "We all share the end objective of two States, living in peace, side by side.  What we have to do is work out how we get there."  The Secretary-General said that work should be done to improve the security situation, but must be accompanied by progress on the political and economic tracks, as well.  He added that the United Nations will continue to deal with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, "until the Palestinians decide otherwise".

Then, in the evening, the Secretary-General hosted a meeting of the Quartet at his residence, along with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, and the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia.

After that meeting, the Secretary-General told the press, “We have had a very good discussion with our three friends and colleagues from the Middle East, where we have gone over what needs to be done for us to achieve the goals that we all seek.”

He added, “I hope that, given what has happened in the past two years, the military option -- the option of force -- has been so totally discredited that now that we are moving ahead firmly with the peace option, the dynamics in the region will shift and the leaders will work with us in this direction.”

We have the transcripts of those press encounters upstairs.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

“The Secretary-General has been following with concern recent developments between Morocco and Spain.  He has been in contact with leaders on both sides. He regrets any unilateral action taken so far and hopes that both parties will adhere to their original undertaking to resolve the issue through peaceful means.

“The Secretary-General stands ready to offer his good offices should the two sides so desire.”

**Security Council

The Security Council met this morning on Angola.  In an open meeting, Council members heard a briefing by Under-Secretary-General Kenzo Oshima on what he described as a “dire” humanitarian situation in many parts of the country.

He said that “the enormous needs of large parts of the population –- food, water, shelter, health and others –- require an urgent and massive response. Despite the overall positive developments, the people most affected by the war have yet to see a significant ‘peace dividend’.”

Altogether the United Nations and its partners are now targeting about

3 million people, that is almost one quarter of Angola’s population.  Mr. Oshima said funding for the humanitarian relief operation in Angola -- one of the largest in the world -– is urgently required.  To date, only $81 million of the requested $233 million has been granted.  That’s 35 per cent of the funds requested. 

On the challenges ahead, Mr. Oshima referred to the need for planning for the return and resettlement of up to 4 million displaced persons, the urgency of conducting demining activities and providing emergency assistance to ex-UNITA combatants and their family members in the so-called quartering areas.

He also listed some steps for the Angolan Government to take on its own to facilitate humanitarian activities.

Following the Angola meeting, at 11:15 a.m., the Security Council was to go into a scheduled meeting of troop contributors for the United Nations mission in Lebanon.

And, as we mentioned earlier, at 3 p.m. the Secretary-General is scheduled to brief the Security Council on the Middle East.

**Lebanon

The Secretary-General, in his latest report to the Security Council on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), says that tensions increased in that Mission’s area of operation over the past six months, with an outbreak of violent incidents across the Blue Line during the first two weeks of April. These events, the Secretary-General says, have “underscored the fragility of the situation and demonstrated how readily tensions can escalate”.

He says that Hezbollah’s commitment to launching hostile attacks across the Blue Line, and the Lebanese Government’s unwillingness to fulfil its commitment to ensure full respect for the Blue Line, contravene Security Council decisions.  He writes, “Violations of the Blue Line, whether they entail a physical crossing of the line or skirting it, cannot be justified.”

The report also notes that unjustified Israeli incursions into sovereign Lebanese airspace continued on an almost daily basis throughout most of the reporting period, often penetrating deep into Lebanon.

The Secretary-General also remains concerned about the restriction of movement on UNIFIL personnel, who must be able to carry out their mandate.  He calls on the Council to extend the Mission’s mandate by six months, until the end of January 2003, and he also appeals to Member States to pay their assessments to the Mission, whose unpaid assessments amount to $106.5 million.

The report is on the racks, and the Council expects to discuss it in consultations next Monday.

**Middle East Seminar

Today in Copenhagen, a two-day international media seminar on building peace in the Middle East, organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI) in cooperation with the Danish Foreign Ministry, got under way.

Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor, head of DPI and moderator of the seminar, welcomed the participants, who include those active in the peace process from both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and read a message on behalf of the Secretary-General calling the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict “one of the most enduring challenges of our times”.

The Secretary-General, in that message, calls on the Palestinian Authority to take immediate and specific action to prevent terrorist attacks against Israel, and on the Israeli Government to stop all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

He also emphasizes the need to strive for a clear understanding of one another’s positions, a goal shared by the media seminar.  Tomorrow, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Terje Roed Larsen, will address the seminar.

**Afghanistan

The Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on Afghanistan is out today as a document.

The report describes the continued implementation of the Bonn Agreement, including the successful conclusion of the Emergency Loya Jirga.  The report also outlines the continuing challenges faced by both the Transitional Authority and the international community.

In the report, the Secretary-General expresses his concern over the issue of security and he strongly advocates a limited expansion of the International Security Assistance Force beyond Kabul.

**Sustainable Development

This morning, South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, is chairing a meeting of countries invited by South African President Thabo Mbeki to serve as Friends of the Chair for the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development, which is to begin in Johannesburg next month.

Today’s meeting is intended to consider approaches to resolve outstanding issues in the Summit’s Draft Plan of Implementation.

The Secretary-General talked to the Group of Friends at today’s meeting, saying that negotiations on several critical issues have reached an impasse, requiring further dialogue before the Johannesburg summit begins.

He suggested a few points to guide the Friends’ efforts.  First, he said, the Summit should seek to implement the existing global consensus on sustainable development, and avoid revising that consensus.

Efforts to build on recent achievements in finance, trade and good governance should be grounded in existing agreement, while the Summit should not be sidetracked by discussions that are already being considered by other relevant forums.

Also, he said, there should be a greater focus on the five key areas of water and sanitation, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity.

He told the Friends, “Progress since the Earth Summit has been slower than expected and –- more important –- slower than what was needed.  A setback now would be a tragic missed opportunity.”

We have the transcript of his remarks upstairs.

The press conference that had been scheduled at 2:30 p.m. by the South African Foreign Minister, Ms. Zuma, has been cancelled.

**OCHA Appeal

Tomorrow morning, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will launch the Consolidated Appeals for the Humanitarian Crisis in Southern Africa.

The Appeal will be launched by Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and speakers will include Julia Taft, Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund and Jean-Jacques Graisse, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

Kenzo Oshima and Reginald Mugwara, the Representative of the Southern African Development Community, will be our guests tomorrow to brief you on the Appeals.  Embargoed copies of the Appeals document are available upstairs along with a press release.

This afternoon, Mr. Oshima will open a panel discussion on “Challenges for Humanitarian Assistance in the Last Decade and into the Future” to mark the tenth anniversary of the General Assembly resolution which strengthened the coordination of humanitarian assistance in the United Nations system.  The keynote speaker will be the first United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator and current Swedish Ambassador to the United States, Jan Eliasson. 

The programme begins at 3 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium and you are welcome to attend. 

**Switzerland

This afternoon, the Secretary-General will meet with Swiss Ambassador Jeno Staehelin, who is expected to present him with a letter from the Swiss President requesting that Switzerland join the United Nations.

The Secretary-General, of course, is delighted that the people of Switzerland decided in their referendum last March that they want to join the United Nations, and he looks forward to Switzerland’s constructive participation in the work of the Organization.

**ICC/Secretary-General’s Message

The Secretary-General marked the fourth anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court today, in a message saying that the Statute’s entry into force “marks a triumph for the rule of law in international relations”.

The Secretary-General says in his message, “An exciting but challenging journey now lies ahead of us.  The International Criminal Court will be operational earlier than many dared to expect.”  It is crucial, he adds, that the world continue on its journey until the Statute attains full universality.

We have copies of the message upstairs.

**Press Releases

Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, yesterday concluded a four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in preparation for an environmental study of the Palestinian territories.  The study will list priorities and propose recommendations to solve environmental problems.  The team will be led by Pekka Haavisto, former Minister of Environment and Development Cooperation of Finland, and will include experts in such areas as water, waste management, soil protection and environmental administration.  The study will be finalized by November of this year and will be presented to UNEP's Governing Council in February 2003.

We have a press release from Vienna on a joint project by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the non-governmental organization Cosmos Education, called “Under African Skies 2002”.  The project is designed to expose children in southern Africa to science and technology.

**Budget

Today, Kiribati became the 86^th Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of more than $11,000.

**Asbestos Abatement

And we have a piece of information from housekeeping.  The Plant Engineering Section of the United Nations will be performing asbestos abatement in the fourth floor United Nations Credit Union Area from 7 p.m. on Friday through Saturday.  Staff will not be permitted on the fourth floor during that time.

One thing I would like to add is that I talked to the Head Engineer this morning about this, and he said the effect will be more psychological than physical.  But apparently a lot of staff prefer not to come in during the weekend.  So, if you do want to come in just be aware that the work will be done on Saturday and Sunday.

That’s all I have for you.  Any questions?

Have a very good afternoon.  Thank you.

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CORRECTION

      Paragraph 7 of page 1 of yesterday's (16 July) noon briefing should read as follows:

In New York today, starting at 11:30 a.m., the Secretary-General began to meet at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with the senior members of the other parties comprising the so-called "Quartet" on the Middle East, in a session chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.  Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, the European Union's High Representative for European Common and Foreign Policy, Javier Solana, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller, and European Commissioner for External Affairs, Christ Patten are the other Quartet members in attendance.