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.

**Security Council

The Security Council is scheduled to hold a closed meeting in the Security Council Chamber at 12:15 p.m. on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The Secretary-General, as well as DRC President Joseph Kabila, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma are expected to attend the one-hour meeting.

**Secretary-General Lunch with P5

The Secretary-General is hosting the annual luncheon in honour of the Foreign Ministers of the Permanent Five members of the Security Council.  They are expected to discuss major items on the Council’s agenda.

Following the luncheon, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, in his capacity as Coordinator of the P-5, is expected to speak to reporters at the stakeout microphone outside the Security Council.

**Afghanistan

At 3:30 this afternoon, in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, there will be a closed high-level meeting on Afghanistan, with participants from key countries involved in the reconstruction and security efforts in Afghanistan.

The Secretary-General will open the meeting with a brief statement in which he will pay tribute to the President of Afghanistan for his courage and to the Afghan people for their achievement.  He will also highlight the challenges that the country is facing now.

The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, will then take stock of the situation in the country nine months after the Bonn Agreement and outline the priorities for the future.

The floor will then be open to all the 23 participants.

We have the list of participants available in the office.

A communique will be adopted at the end of the meeting and it will be available in the Spokesman’s Office in all the official languages.

President Karzai has agreed to speak to you at the stakeout outside the Security Council at about 4:30 p.m.

**Quartet

On the eve of the Quartet Principle's meeting on Tuesday, the Secretary-General’s Middle East Envoy, Terje Roed Larsen, will brief you during Monday’s noon briefing.

He will discuss the current diplomatic efforts in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as well as the dire humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza.  In addition, he will release the latest UN report on the Palestinian economy, which includes important new statistics from the first half of 2002.

**Yugoslavia

In a report to the General Assembly that is out on the racks today, the Secretary-General says that democratic reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has stabilized the situation in that country and in south-eastern Europe generally, but he notes that more than 600,000 refugees and displaced persons remain in the country.

Progress on durable solutions for Kosovo’s internally displaced people is particularly difficult and protracted, and the Secretary-General says it is perhaps the most important humanitarian issue.  But in general, the report says, Yugoslavia’s humanitarian needs have become significantly less since 2001.

**International Court of Justice Candidates

Today, in a note on the racks, the Secretary-General transmits to the Security Council and the General Assembly a list of 10 candidates for elections to fill the five vacancies that will open on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) next February.

Over the course of the current General Assembly session, the Council and Assembly are to elect five judges out of that pool of 10, to serve nine-year sentences on the ICJ, beginning next 5 February.

**UN/AIDS

In their continuing effort to raise public awareness of the fight against HIV/AIDS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UNAIDS have embarked in a partnership with the Sauber Petronas Formula One racing team.

In this first of its kind of partnership, Sauber Petronas will brand its cars with the “Stop AIDS” slogan and the red ribbon symbolizing the fight against the disease.

The programme will run in three upcoming Grand Prix races on three continents:  Monza, Italy, this Sunday, Indianapolis in the United States on

29 September and Suzuka, Japan, on 13 October.

Sauber Petronas has two cars in each of those races.

Adolf Ogi, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Sport and Development, who brought the UN agencies and the Formula One Team together, said: "This partnership is another example of constructive cooperation between the world of sports and the UN.  The high profile of Formula One racing is exactly the type of platform that the worldwide fight against AIDS requires."

On average, live TV broadcasts of Formula One reach 350 million spectators per race.  In 2001 alone, Formula One races and related news coverage were viewed by a cumulative total of 54 billion viewers, making it one of the most-watched sports in the world.

The initiative, through a Web site called "stop-aids.com", will support fundraising for two projects that provide housing and care to AIDS orphans in Botswana, where close to 70,000 children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS.  The two AIDS orphan projects in Botswana are being managed by local communities and funded by UNDP.

**UN Administrative Tribunal

The United Nations Administrative Tribunal has handed down a judgement in the case of Cheickh Bangoura, who worked under a series of short-term contracts for the International Drug Control Programme in Vienna.

The Tribunal ordered that Mr. Bangoura be compensated for wrongs done to him by the Administration.

There are details in a press release, including the full text of the Tribunal's judgement, in English and in French.

**Press Releases

We have a couple of press releases to highlight for you.

In Geneva today, the United Nations Children's Fund announced that starting on 1 September this year, flour milled in Nigeria has been fortified with vitamin A.  Some of the vegetable oil and sugar manufacturers have also started fortifying their products and others have pledged to begin fortification by the end of the year.  The addition of vitamin A could help prevent the deaths of more than 300,000 over the next 10 years. 

In a second release, the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Mercury Assessment Working Group, meeting in Geneva, has concluded that international action should be taken to reduce the risks to humans and the environment from the release of mercury.  The group of about 150 experts says that there is enough evidence of mercury's adverse impact on the environment and have recommended a number of immediate actions for outreach to vulnerable groups and for technical cooperation with developing countries. 

Finally, we also have media kits and a press release embargoed until Monday, on an exhibition called Poverty and Health:  Challenges to Development in Africa, which will be opened on Monday in conjunction with the General Assembly High-level meeting on Africa.

**Signings

This afternoon, El Salvador will sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

Also this afternoon, Denmark will sign the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court.

**Budget

Jamaica and Nigeria today joined the list of countries which have paid their regular budget contributions in full.  Jamaica made a payment of more than

$42,000 and Nigeria more than $621,000.  There are now 102 fully paid-up Member States.

**Press Conferences

This afternoon at 1:30 in Room 226, Dr. Per Stig Moeller, the Foreign Minister of Denmark, speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU) Presidency, will be joined by Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, and EU Commissioner Chris Patten; and, at 4 p.m. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela will brief you; also, at 6:30 p.m., the Spokesman for the Foreign Minister of Japan will brief you.

**The Week Ahead at the United Nations

We have the Week Ahead available but, of course, I think we'll all be working through the weekend as the general debate continues on Saturday and Sunday.

The Spokesman's Office will be manned throughout both days.

**Questions and Answers

Question: What was the Secretary-General's reaction to President Bush's speech yesterday?

Spokesman:  The Secretary-General's s position was laid out in his speech to the Assembly.  I don't think he would have any particular comment on the President's speech except to say that he was grateful that the President pledged to work through the international community and specifically through the Security Council in determining what should be done with Iraq.  He hopes all Member States can cooperate in coming up with a political solution to the problem.

Question:  When will the Secretary-General be available to the press?

Spokesman:  I think the Secretary-General wants governments to sort this out now among themselves.  There are clearly very high-level consultations going on —- capital to capital.  It is not a debate he wants to be a part of except for the basic position he laid out in his speech emphasizing the importance of the multilateral approach.

Question:  Do you have a date for the Secretary-General's meeting with the Iraqi Foreign Minister?  Also, do you have a read-out on his meeting this morning with the Colombian President?

Spokesman:  I don't have a date yet.  I did ask his office to let us know as soon as they have fixed a date.  There is no question there will be a meeting —- it's just a matter of sorting out the programme.

On the meeting with President Uribe of Colombia with the Secretary-General this morning... Of course, they discussed the situation in Colombia, as well as the Secretary-General's continuing good offices in support of the search for a negotiated solution to the country's longstanding conflict.  The Secretary-General affirmed the UN's commitment to reconciliation in Colombia, to humanitarian efforts and to human rights.

Question:  Are there any briefings scheduled for the weekend?

Spokesman:  I believe we have scheduled some briefings with heads of State or delegations but you should check my Office for the schedule. 

Question:  The report being released on Monday by Mr. Larsen, is that the UNCTAD report or an additional report on the Palestinians? 

Spokesman:  I'm not sure.  My impression was that it was another of the periodic reports that his office issues.  But I'll check for any possible connection to the UNCTAD report.  [He later said it had no connection with UNCTAD.]

Question:  Do you have a ballpark time for when the Russian Foreign Minister will be at the stakeout?

Spokesman:  I'd have to double check the Secretary-General's programme to see when the lunch is over.

Question:  Will there be any problem with access to the Security Council area because yesterday we weren't allowed through the checkpoint?  Can we get through there today?

Spokesman:  That is a mistake.  All journalists, whether resident correspondents or visiting journalists, should be able to pass through that checkpoint and go to the Security Council stakeout.  If there was any problem with that, please let me know and we'll go to Security right away and clear it up.

Question:  Yesterday I was told I couldn't go through with a residential correspondent tag.

Spokesman:  Well, there are certain exceptional security arrangements made on the first day of the General Debate.  I don't know if that could have been a factor but we were told that you would have access to the Security Council stakeout at all times.

**Briefing by Spokesman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon.

Prior to the plenary session this morning President Jan Kavan, on behalf of the General Assembly, warmly welcomed the Honourable Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of the City of New York, to address Member States.  In his introductory remarks, President Kavan noted that “Just two days ago the international community -– together with all New Yorkers -– marked the first anniversary of the tragic events of September 11.  In New York City, and throughout the United States, the whole day was dedicated to thoughts and words of remembrance, which were also echoed at our commemorative ceremony on the grounds of the United Nations.” 

He went on to say that “Good relations between the Host City and the United Nations are very important to our ability to function and are fundamental to our everyday lives in New York.”

After Mayor Bloomberg’s address, President Kavan opened the fourth plenary meeting at which statements from six heads of State, four heads of government and two heads of delegation were scheduled to be heard.

This afternoon, President Kavan will chair the fifth plenary meeting at which one head of State and 11 heads of delegation are scheduled to speak.

This evening, President Kavan will host a reception for all heads of delegations, permanent representatives, observers and senior UN officials.

Thank you.

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