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

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Richard Sydenham, Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly.

Briefing by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

**Timor-Leste

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste was admitted this morning as the  191^st Member State of the United Nations.

At the flag-raising ceremony that is taking place just now outside, the Secretary-General is welcoming the new Member.  He will say, “This milestone embodies the realization of its people’s hope to take their place among the community of independent nations.”

He will also pay tribute to the people and leaders of Timor-Leste:  “None of us can forget the sacrifices made by the people or the courage of its leadership”, he will say.  “Even before this day, Timor-Leste showed that greatness among nations is not a matter of size or resources, but rather one of global citizenship and adherence to the highest principles of our Charter.”

In his speech to the General Assembly, the President of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmao, expressed recognition and gratitude for the commitment of the international community.  He said that his country is often mentioned as a “UN success story” and “the commitment of the international community is unquestioned, namely, that of the United Nations and its bodies, the General Assembly and the Security Council”, as well as UN specialized agencies.

“At the core of this success”, he added, “were, above all, our people.  Our people proved to the world to be worthy of the respect that we all owe and know.”

**Statement on Middle East

Yesterday, we issued the following statement, attributable to the Spokesman on the subject of the Middle East, and I would just like to read it into the record:

“The Secretary-General deplores the Government of Israel's military action today -- that is, yesterday -- in Gaza City.  This helicopter attack in a heavily populated civilian area, in which two Palestinians were killed and more than

25 civilians, including at least a dozen children, were wounded, follows the adoption three days ago by the Security Council of resolution 1435.  That resolution reiterated the Council's demand for the complete cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction.  It also reiterated the need for respect in all circumstances of international humanitarian law.

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the possible consequences of this attack.  He calls on the Government of Israel to halt such actions and conduct itself in a manner that is fully consistent with international humanitarian law, under which Israel has a clear responsibility to protect the lives of civilians.”

**Palestinians

In a statement delivered today in Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland reported to the World Health Assembly that the health situation of Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territory is deteriorating as a result of the escalation of the conflict there.

In particular, she says, restrictions on population movements have hindered the delivery of health-care services, while the damage to the commercial and social infrastructure has caused problems in the water supply and waste disposal systems in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Ms. Brundtland noted that two recent surveys, including one conducted by CARE and the United States Agency for International Development and another supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), suggest that nearly half of young children and women of child-bearing age are anaemic.  Both surveys also reveal the existence of childhood malnutrition, with the overall nutritional status for Palestinian children having deteriorated since the start of the current crisis.

She added that there has been a decrease in the accessibility of medical services in the Palestinian areas, with the Palestinian Ministry of Health reporting that, because of closures and curfews, its facilities operate at about 30 per cent of capacity.

The World Health Assembly had requested Ms. Brundtland last May to visit the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible, but, because she has not been given the opportunity to pay a visit, she compiled today’s report on the basis of data supplied by the WHO and other UN agencies and health groups.  She emphasized, “It is particularly important that I am enabled to undertake the planned visit as soon as possible, so as to assess further the findings from this desk analysis and facilitate an appropriate response.”

**Sudan

Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) – the United Nations' humanitarian umbrella group providing aid to that country -- today suspended flights into southern Sudan.

The United Nations is extremely concerned about the situation and is holding discussions with the Sudanese Government to reverse its decision to impose a flight ban on the area for security reasons.

“This is the first time in the history of the operation that all flights into southern Sudan have been stopped”, OLS spokesman Martin Dawes told us a few minutes ago.  “This is extremely serious for us.”

The flight ban, which applies to all flights over the Eastern and Western Equatorial regions, means no UN flights can get into any part of southern Sudan.

**Côte d'Ivoire

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, is expected to attend an emergency meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Côte d'Ivoire crisis.  The meeting is expected to take place in Accra, Ghana, on Sunday.

On the United Nations' humanitarian involvement, a UN assessment mission that had visited 10 sites in Abidjan identified as immediate needs housing, food, water, clothes, mattresses, and covers.

The situation in Bouake and Korhogo remained tense, and the mission was not able to go there because of the security situation, but reports from Bouake indicated that movement of civilians was limited to essential shopping, and prices had increased.  Hospitals there were starting to be short of medication.

Humanitarian officials fear that an escalation of violence in Côte d'Ivoire could lead to the movement of the refugees to Liberia, to Guinea and to other areas of Côte d'Ivoire.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the borders with Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea remain closed, and that no movements are reported along those borders.  The UNHCR offices in neighbouring countries are monitoring the situation closely.

The UNHCR also said it was concerned about the increasing hostility towards foreigners, particularly refugees, in Côte d'Ivoire resulting from last week's coup attempt.  There are estimates that more than 5,000 people in Abidjan alone have been affected by the recent burning of the shantytowns.

**Security Council

Today at 3 p.m., the Security Council is scheduled to hold closed-door consultations on the latest report by the Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

From the DRC today, the UN Mission reports the start of the Rwandan troop withdrawal this morning from the Kivu regions in the eastern part of that country. More than 650 Rwandan troops were involved in the pullout.

**Sanctions

At 10:30 this morning, there was a meeting of the Security Council Committee overseeing sanctions against Usama bin Laden, the AlQaeda organization, the Taliban and associates.

The Council is scheduled to take up the Committee’s work in consultations as a whole on Monday.

**New Security Council Members

Finally, the five new members of the Council for 2003-2004 are being elected by the General Assembly today, and the Spokesman's Office will put out a fact sheet on Security Council membership with the updated list.

**Central Asian Nuclear Treaty

Experts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan met in Samarkand from 25 to 27 September and successfully concluded the negotiations on the text of the Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free-zone treaty. This is the result of five years of intensive work that has been supported by the United Nations.

They agreed that the signing of the treaty should take place as soon as possible.

**World Bank/IMF

This weekend, in Washington, D.C., the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold their annual meeting, and World Bank President James Wolfensohn told reporters yesterday that he hopes that this year’s meetings can bring both organizations into a new phase where they can work together with governments on the effective implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

The meeting, he said, “is a chance now for us to really get on with it, because if we don’t there is no way that we will achieve the Millennium Goals”.

Mr. Wolfensohn noted the conferences earlier this year in Monterrey, Mexico, on financing for development, and in Johannesburg, South Africa, on sustainable development, and said, “My hope is that the question of the partnership between the developed and the developing countries is now put to rest.”

IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler also addressed the press yesterday, noting the recently issued IMF World Economic Outlook, and saying that, since this past spring, prospects for the global economy have clearly weakened.

However, he added, “it would not be productive, in our view, to dwell on undue pessimism or even doom and gloom.  The global economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of multiple shocks over the past two years, and there are still good reasons to expect the recovery to continue in the period ahead”.

We have a World Bank press release upstairs, including its call today, in advance of the meetings, for rich countries to remove obstacles that hinder the participation by developing countries in world trade.

**Senior Management Group Retreat

The Secretary-General will take his Senior Management Group, or cabinet, on its annual retreat this weekend, leaving this afternoon and returning late Saturday.

The overarching theme of the discussions will be how to achieve one of the principal Millennium Goals -- the eradication of poverty.

Also participating will be Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals; Hernando de Soto, the President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy in Peru; and Gordon Conway, the President of the Rockefeller Foundation.

The Secretary-General will be holding a press conference in this room, at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday of next week, to discuss his first report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, and he'll be joined by Mark Malloch Brown, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

**ICT Task Force

At 9:30 a.m. on Monday of next week, in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber, the Secretary-General will give a statement to open the third meeting of the UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, placing special attention on the use of such technologies for development in Africa.

In addition to the Secretary-General, Ivan Simonovic, the President of ECOSOC, and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the Task Force, José María Figueres Olsen, will speak, and Mr. Figueres will also speak to you at a press briefing that day, at 11:15 in the morning.

A major topic of the Task Force meeting, which will continue on Tuesday, will be the Digital Diaspora Network for Africa, which can allow African expatriates working in North America and Europe to push for information and communication technology initiatives in their home continent.  Participants will also review the Task Force’s progress during its first year of work.

**Press Releases

The World Food Programme (WFP) today released a survey conducted in four Central American countries that reveals that 8.6 million people live in the “drought corridor”.  The survey, conducted in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala in March of this year, found that many households in the corridor are extremely poor and face severe food insecurity during the planting seasons.  Children in the area are particularly hard hit as repeated exposure to malnutrition leads to stunted physical and intellectual growth.  The WFP is currently feeding 1.5 million people in the region.  We have a press release with more information.

**Week Ahead

We have the "Week Ahead" for you, that you can pick up in my Office.

**Retirement Reception

And finally, Sonia Lecca, who is near and dear to all of our hearts, will put the lid on for the last time today, after over 30 years with the United Nations.  The United Nations Correspondent's Association and the Spokesman's Office invite you to join us in the Spokesman's Office right after this briefing to raise a glass to our dear Sonia and wish her every happiness.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Was Terje Roed-Larsen unable to go to the Palestinian territories because the Israelis didn't give him permission?

Spokesman:  I'm not sure you mean Terje Roed-Larsen.  Are you talking about Gro Harlem Brundtland?

Question:  You mentioned he was not able to visit ...

Spokesman:  No, I don't think I mentioned Terje Roed-Larsen.  I mentioned Gro Harlem Brundtland.  She had not been able to go to the territories and she still hopes to.  Take a look at the text; I think what you mean is Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Okay, if no further questions -- Richard?

Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly President

Thank you.  Good afternoon.  General Assembly President Jan Kavan chaired this morning's plenary and welcomed the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as the 191^st Member State of the United Nations, as Fred said.

After the admission of Timor-Leste, the General Assembly took up the election of five non-permanent members of the Security Council. 

Today, the programme of work of the General Assembly was released in document A/57/INF/3, which is a very useful reference to upcoming plenary sessions of the General Assembly for the next three months.

Looking ahead to next week, the General Assembly will meet in plenary session on Thursday, 3 October, on the appointment of a member of the Joint Inspection Unit and the election of 18 members of ECOSOC.  Next Friday, 4 October, and the following Monday, the General Assembly will hold a joint debate on the follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit and the report of the Secretary-General.

Next Monday, the First Committee will begin its substantive work by holding a general debate on all disarmament and related international security agenda items.  Jayantha Dhanapala, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, will make a statement.  Also on Monday, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) will begin its substantive work with a general debate relating to decolonization items.  The Second Committee will also begin its general debate on Monday in the Trusteeship Council.  Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, will make a statement.

The Third Committee will begin consideration of items entitled “Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and International Drug Control”.  That's all starting on Monday.

Thank you.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Questions for Richard?  If not, enjoy your weekend and come on up to the party.

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