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 General Assembly President.

Briefing by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon.

**Iraq-Secretary-General

The Secretary-General this morning met with chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix as well as with Mohammed ElBaradei, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who currently are in the Security Council, briefing Council members in closed consultations on the talks they had with an Iraqi delegation in Vienna this Monday and Tuesday.

Before going into his meeting with Blix and ElBaradei, the Secretary-General took a few questions, and said that, from the discussions Blix had in Vienna, “there is a basis to go forward”.

However, he added, the Security Council is discussing whether or not the inspections regime should be tightened and strengthened, to ensure that “we don’t repeat some of the weaknesses of the past”.  The Secretary-General said he thought it was legitimate that the Council should discuss these issues, adding, “The focus is on disarmament”.

At the same time, he noted, Blix would continue his preparations, based on the resolutions approved by the Security Council, in the knowledge that if the Council provides further guidelines, he will have to factor that in before he continues his work.

We have the transcript of that press encounter available upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council began closed consultations shortly after 10 this morning.

The first item on the agenda was the Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission known as UNIKOM, with a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi.

The Secretary-General, in a recent report to the Council, has recommended maintaining that mission, which monitors a demilitarized zone between the two countries, deters violations of the boundary, and observes and reports any hostile action.

**Cyprus

The Secretary-General, in furtherance of his mission of good offices, is beginning, just about now, two days of consultations with the two Cypriot leaders.

He is scheduled to meet separately with H.E. Mr. Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, at 12 p.m. and then with H.E. Mr. Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, at 12:30 p.m., after which he will host them together for a working luncheon.  That luncheon is to be followed by a further meeting in the afternoon, at 3 p.m.

When entering the building this morning, the Secretary-General was asked whether the talks would continue if Cyprus joined the European Union, he responded that the target would be “to try and do as much as we can to come to an understanding and bring the talks to closure, at least to come to agreement on the core issues by the end of the year”.  He added:  “If we miss that, obviously, we will have to find ways of bringing it to closure beyond that date”.

**Secretary-General in Yale

The Secretary-General visited Yale University yesterday afternoon where he delivered a lecture at the Yale Centre for the Study of Globalization.

He talked about the potential of globalization as a truly integrating and inclusive force and the real dangers if it failed to live up to that potential.  He said:  “Just as we worry about the gap between haves and have-nots, we need to be equally concerned about the gulf between insiders and outsiders in a globalized world where no border is impermeable, and where the privileges –- economic as well as political and social -- of the few are painfully apparent to those multitudes who still yearn for liberty and opportunity”.

He said that globalization had posed a real challenge not only to political leaders, but to civil society and citizens of every nation.  “We need to rethink what belonging means”, he said, “and what community means, in order to be able to embrace the fate of distant peoples, and realize that globalization’s glass house must be open to all if it is to remain secure”.

The Secretary-General then took some questions from students on Iraq, Kashmir, the International Criminal Court and the Millennium Development Goals.

We will make the transcript of that question and answer session available to you shortly.

**Columbia University

The Secretary-General traveled uptown this morning to attend the inauguration of Lee Bollinger as the new President of Columbia University.

In his remarks at the inauguration ceremony, he noted the close relationship between Columbia University and the United Nations, and his hopes to build even more on the partnership between the two institutions.  “There is so much we have in common”, he said, “from the multicultural, interdisciplinary nature of our work to the many nationalities represented in our institutions”.

We have the text of his remarks upstairs.

And we also have available copies of remarks, embargoed until 4:30 this afternoon, that the Secretary-General will deliver at a memorial service for John Wallach, the founder of the Seeds of Peace initiative that has brought together youths from conflict zones around the world.

**Global Report on Violence and Health

The World Health Organization today released the first comprehensive report on violence as a public health problem.  “The World Report on Violence and Health” focuses on the scale of the problem and looks at the causes of violence and methods for preventing it and reducing its adverse health and social consequences.

Violence causes 1.6 million deaths a year and is the leading cause of death in the 15-44 year age group.  It accounts for 14 per cent of deaths among men and 7 per cent among women.  Worldwide, about one person is killed in an act of homicide every minute -- that is 1,424 per day.  Armed conflict accounts for 35 deaths every hour.  The statistics are chilling but experts say the situation is far from hopeless.  Violence can be prevented by a combination of measures aimed at individuals, families and communities.

The report recommends a number of primary prevention responses such as programmes for children and adolescents, parent training and support programmes and measures to reduce injuries from firearms.

We have a press release, an executive summary and copies of the full report available in my office.

**Eritrea Drought

A prolonged drought has seriously affected agricultural and livestock production in Eritrea this year -- threatening the lives of more than a million people, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in a press release and a joint report that they issued this week.

We have copies of the press release upstairs.

**Mozambique peace agreement anniversary

Tomorrow, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will hold a meeting to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the signing of the General Peace Agreement that ended Mozambique’s sixteen-year civil war.

ECOSOC President Ivan Simonovic will open the meeting and speakers will include Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette; General Assembly President Jan Kavan; Security Council President Martin Belinga-Eboutou; Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Mark Malloch Brown, and Mozambique’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Leonardo Santos Simão.

The meeting begins at 3 p.m. in the ECOSOC Chamber.

We have a press release with more information.

**Press Releases

Two press releases to highlight for you today:  The United Nations Environment Programme announces today the release of a new report dealing with the global threat to coastal populations and the environment from untreated sewage discharges.  The report, prepared in response to the target on sanitation set at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, notes that Asia, the North-West Pacific and West African sea regions are the most threatened regions.  We have a press release with more details.

And then UNEP also announced today a partnership with the Animal Planet television channel to promote awareness conservation and bio-diversity.  The ten public service announcements featuring endangered animals will air on the channel on Sunday 6 October, which is being observed as World Animal Day and will also be featured on the UN Works Web site.  We have a press release on that.

**Disarmament Discussion

The Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala will open a panel discussion this afternoon entitled “The Impact of 11 September, 2001 on the Disarmament Agenda for the 21st Century”.

It will be held from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m., in Conference Room 4.  There will be four panellists, including the Guest of Honour, the former Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Campbell.

It is open to all.

Finally, UNCA has asked me to announce to you that the General Assembly President Jan Kavan will hold an informal briefing for you in the UNCA Club at 1:45 p.m. today.  You’re all invited.

(The Spokesman later announced that the briefing by General Assembly President Kavan had been postponed to 1 p.m. tomorrow at the same venue -– the UNCA Club.)

Any questions before we go to Richard on the General Assembly?  Yes?

Questions and Answers

Question:  We’ve got President Bush saying this morning in a speech, that the United Nations must stand with the United States to disarm Saddam Hussein or stand aside.  I was wondering if there are any comments from the Secretary-General on this?  Any reaction from you?

Spokesman:  No.  That matter is solely in the hands of the Security Council.  They’re discussing how to respond to the meetings that Hans Blix had in Vienna at the beginning of this week.  I assume those discussions will be

going on a few days.  The Secretary-General will not comment on this subject until a conclusion of those consultations is reached.

Okay, Richard?

**Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly President

Good afternoon.

This morning President Kavan chaired the twenty-first plenary meeting of the General Assembly.  On the appointment of a member of the Joint Inspection Unit, Trinidad and Tobago was requested to submit the name of a candidate for this position to the President.  On membership of ECOSOC, the following Member States were elected:  Benin, Congo, Kenya, Mozambique and Senegal, for African states.  Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia for Asian states.  Eastern European States:  Azerbaijan.  Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica and Nicaragua, for Latin American and Caribbean states, and France, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Portugal for Western European and other States.

Today the First Committee continues its general debate on all disarmament and related international security items and the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) hears representatives of Non-Self-Governing Territories and petitioners and then starts its general debate on all decolonization items.  The Second Committee debates macroeconomic policy questions and hears a statement by the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, Mr. Anwarul Chowdhury.  The Third Committee discusses social development issues and starts general discussion of follow-up to the International Year of Older Persons:  Second World Assembly on Ageing and the Sixth Committee continues discussion measures to eliminate international terrorism.

And tomorrow the General Assembly will commence a joint debate on the follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit and the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization.

Thank you.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Any questions?  If not, back to Iraq.   

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