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.

**Annan Travels

The Secretary-General’s holiday, such as it was, which took place in his home country of Ghana, comes to an end this weekend, but even during the past week, he has been visiting development projects in Ghana, where, in advance of the World Summit on Sustainable Development that begins in Johannesburg on Monday, he was able to see first-hand how people can take charge of improving their own living conditions.

On Sunday, the Secretary-General and his wife Nane visited the Nwodua Community project in the north, supported by Ghana’s Government as well as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund and other donors, where they saw a vocational training centre, a day care centre, a water system and an agro-forestry project.  The Secretary-General received a smock and cap from the local people, whom he praised for trying to take the lead to improve their own conditions.

He told them, “Without that initiative and that determination to improve your economic and social conditions, I don’t think you’ll be where you are today.”

Then on Monday, he and Nane visited the Sirigu Women’s Organization for Pottery and Art, a group devoted to helping women by encouraging them to weave baskets and make pottery.  He said of the women participating in the project, “These are people who have not given up, despite the difficulties.”  They also visited a water project at Salvelugu, in the north.

As you can see, it was actually quite an active holiday, but tomorrow, he goes on another official visit -- this was scheduled at the last minute.  In response to a long-standing invitation, he is to go to Côte d’Ivoire, where he will have lunch tomorrow and a meeting with President Laurent Gbagbo.

Then, on Sunday, he goes to Luanda, Angola, to begin that four-country visit that we described to you last week, and ending in a fifth country, South Africa, for the Johannesburg Summit.

On Monday, he is expected to address the Angolan Parliament and also to meet with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, among other senior officials.  His visit comes after the Security Council earlier this month approved the establishment of a new UN Mission in Angola, which is to provide a more coordinated response to the changing atmosphere in the country following the death of rebel leader Jonas Savimbi and recent peace efforts between the Government and the UNITA rebels.

Then later next week, he will visit Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique, before he arrives in South Africa on 1 September for the start of the High-level Segment of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

We have an abbreviated schedule which will be revised as necessary in my office which you are welcome to look up.

**Palestinian Task Force

The International Task Force on Palestinian Reform wrapped up its meeting in Paris today.

In a statement released afterwards, the full copy of which we expect to receive shortly, the Task Force reiterated “the need for continued Palestinian commitment to the reform process, Israeli facilitation and support from the international community”.

That support is “critical to building the foundations of a viable, independent Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel”, the statement says.

During its discussions, both amongst themselves and in separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials, they discussed serious concerns about the deteriorating Palestinian humanitarian situation.

The Task Force is composed of the members of the Quartet -- that’s the US, the UN, the European Union and Russia -- as well as Norway, Japan, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

They scheduled their next formal meeting in October.

**Ethiopia/Eritrea

We have the following statement attributable to the Spokesman concerning a development in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement made by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about the commitments expressed by Ethiopia and Eritrea to release in the immediate future the remaining prisoners of war (POWs) in accordance with the Third Geneva Convention and the Algiers peace agreement of 12 December 2000.  These commitments were made to the ICRC President, Jacob Kellenberger, during his current visit to the region.

“According to the ICRC, some 1,300 Eritrean POWs remain in Ethiopia and some 300 Ethiopian POWs remain in Eritrea.  Their earliest release will no doubt contribute to the successful implementation of the peace process between the two countries.”

**WHO

Director-General of the World Health Organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, today informed the Chairman of the Executive Board that she will not be a candidate in the upcoming election of a new Director-General.  The Board will meet in January to nominate a candidate who will be elected by the World Health Assembly in May.  Brundtland’s term in office ends June 2003.

She said her decision reflects the fact that she has had a leading role in political and public office for nearly 30 years, and would be 69 years old at the end of a second five-year term.  She said she would continue to do everything she can to support the Organization in the future.

We have the text of that statement upstairs.

**Security Council

There are no meetings of the Security Council scheduled for today.  The Council’s next scheduled meeting will be on Tuesday and that would be closed consultations on the subject of Afghanistan.

**Afghanistan-UNHCR

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers left today for a five-day mission to Afghanistan, where he will meet with President Hamid Karzai and other senior officials and also travel to see the situation facing displaced Afghans in the south of the country.  The UNHCR says there are more than 400,000 displaced persons in southern Afghanistan.

We have more details in today’s briefing notes from the UNHCR.

Those briefing notes also contain UNHCR’s concerns about the worsening humanitarian situation of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Colombia and its call to all sides to respect the rights of civilians.  In recent weeks, the agency said, forced displacement within Colombia has increased significantly as the conflict intensifies.

**James Morris Press Conference in Geneva

James Morris, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme and the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the humanitarian crisis in southern Africa, today said the crisis in southern Africa is the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, second only to HIV/AIDS.  He said that government policies like macroeconomic policies, reserves and access to the free market complicated the situation caused by drought and poverty.

On genetically modified foods, Morris said that WFP’s policy was to ask every government to certify that the food it was donating met standards for its own population.  The recipient country was then told of the situation and asked if it wanted to receive the food.  “Essentially”, he said, “we have never had anyone, over the last 40 years, turn us down.  There is no way that WFP can provide the resources to save these starving people without using food that has some biotech content.”

Zambia last week informed WFP that it would not accept genetically modified food into the country, but yesterday informed the agency that it would allow the food to be used in refugee camps as long as the grain was milled and could not be used for planting.  Morris went on to say the food situation in Zambia was very serious with almost 2.5 million people at risk of starvation.

Morris’ remarks were made to the press following a meeting between United Nations humanitarian agencies and donors in Geneva.  We have highlights of that press conference available in my office.

**East Timor

High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, is in East Timor today at the start of a three-day visit.

She addressed parliament, where she congratulated the East Timorese for their efforts in drafting a constitution and applauded the fact that it contains some of the main international human rights principles.  She said it was vital that East Timorese embrace human rights at an early state in their development to ensure these rights are enshrined in the country’s laws, policies, programmes and institutions.

“East Timor”, she said, “as the newest member of the international community, is in a unique position to show the world how best to lay the foundations for a vigorous culture of human rights built on a democratic society.  This is your challenge”, she said; “we are”.

We have the full text of that speech in my office.

**UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said it is supporting the priorities being focused on at the World Summit on Sustainable Development -- you’ll recall that we’ve been highlighting water, energy, health, environment, agriculture and biodiversity -- with its Capacity 2015 programme, which aims to help developing countries meet the goal of cutting severe poverty in half by that year.

UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown says that, at next week’s summit, world leaders must arrive at an agreement “that shows their citizens, particularly the poor, that they are truly committed to helping provide prosperity to all the world’s people while protecting the planet for future generations”.

We have a note from UNDP upstairs with more about their views on the Johannesburg Summit.

**Sustainability

This week, we’ve been trying to highlight for you various priorities underlined by the Secretary-General in dealing with sustainable development, and today, I’d like to point to a project supported by the UNDP in Jordan that demonstrates the importance of biodiversity.

In the early 1990s, Jordan’s Azraq wetlands had been dried out by two decades of intensive water pumping, to the point where wildfires burned across the landscape.  But today, those wetlands are staging a remarkable comeback, thanks to a project co-financed and managed by UNDP and the Global Environment Facility.

In partnership with those bodies, Jordan’s Government and its Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature have pumped water back into the wetlands, and, as the water has replenished, over 160 bird species have returned to Azraq, including blue-necked ostriches and Nubian ibexes.

But it’s not just the birds that have benefited from the wetlands’ restoration.  Programmes have also been set up to benefit local Bedouin and Druze women in the area, including an effort to recruit young single women to take reeds from the oasis and make them into school bags, water bottles and decorative boxes -– which often are sold as part of the area’s eco-tourism industry.

One 27-year-old Druze woman, Samiha Tarabay, told UNDP, “My whole life has changed now because of this project.”  Before the eco-tourism project, she had never before had a paying job.

So, as we prepare for the start of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, think for a second about the renewal of the Azraq wetlands, its returning ostriches and ibexes, and the women who are living in that area with brand-new independence.

If you want further details, check the UNDP Web site and the March issue of the UNDP magazine, Choices.

**Budget

Budget news today:  we have two more Member States joining the ranks of those who have paid their 2002 regular budget assessments in full.

Senegal paid with more than $55,000 and Zimbabwe more than $88,000.  The total number of Member States paid in full at this stage is 95.

**Signings

One signing to announce today:  This afternoon Brazil will become the  eighty-third country to ratify the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Control.

**Week Ahead at United Nations

And we have the week ahead for you in my office.  I hope you’ll have a quiet weekend.  Mohamed?

Questions and Answers

Question:   Fred, has there been any reaction from the Secretary-General to the recent Naji Sabri’s letter?

Spokesman:  The letter from the Foreign Minister?  No, no reaction as yet.  It’s still being studied upstairs.  I think you’ve seen the comments by the President of the Security Council.  Yes, Bill?

Question:   Any reaction to the story out of Phnom Penh that Prime Minister Han Seng has “agreed to work with the United Nations” saying “we have to try to join together, the door is beginning to open indicating willingness to work with the United Nations on the trials?”

Spokesman:  No, I think the statement that we gave earlier this week clearly lays out the Secretary-General’s position.  And should Cambodia wish to resume negotiations, they or someone on their behalf should initiate action either within

the Security Council or the General Assembly to provide a clear mandate for the Secretary-General.  And he said that with such a mandate, he would be happy to resume talks.

Question:   I presume there’s been no indication so far in that direction?

Spokesman:  We haven’t seen any, but we don’t know what they might be working on.  You’d have to ask them.

Thanks very much.

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