DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
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.
Spokesman for the Secretary-General
Good afternoon.
**Venezuela
The Secretary-General is concerned about the possibility of renewed violence in Venezuela. He appeals to the people of Venezuela to act with patience and moderation, and seek solutions to their differences based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law. In this regard, he supports the efforts of the international community to facilitate a dialogue.
**Secretary-General's Travel to Asia
We had a question yesterday about travel. Yes, the Secretary-General will be leaving this weekend for official visits to China, Mongolia, and five Central Asian republics.
He will be in China from the 13th to the 16th of this month, Mongolia from the 16th to the 17th, Kazakhstan from the 17th to the 18th, Uzbekistan from the 18th to the 20th, Kyrgyzstan from the 20th to the 21st, Tajikistan from the 21st to the 22nd, and Turkmenistan from the 22nd to the 23rd.
He'll be back in New York on the 24th, exhausted.
**Secretary-General's trip to MIT
Meanwhile, today the Secretary-General will be travelling a shorter distance, this time to Cambridge, Massachusetts, starting late this afternoon. He'll address the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Sloan School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and those of you familiar with his bio will know that that is his alma mater, or one of them, and he'll return to New York before noon tomorrow, and we hope to have the speech embargoed later today.
**Middle East
On the Middle East, in a statement issued in Jerusalem today, Terje Roëd-Larsen, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, strongly condemned the suicide bombing attack that took place near Tel Aviv this morning, which killed an elderly woman and injured more than a dozen other people.
He expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and reiterated that such repugnant terror attacks are legally and morally indefensible and completely counter-productive to peace efforts.
Mr. Roëd-Larsen called on both parties to adhere immediately to Security Council resolution 1435 (2002), which calls for the complete cessation of all acts of violence, and he also asked both parties to show restraint.
**Lebanon
We also had a question yesterday about Lebanon, and I can confirm that the Secretary-General did receive from the Foreign Minister of Lebanon yesterday a letter accompanying a government position paper on the Hazbani River project.
We are currently studying the 60-page paper, but continue to support United States-led efforts to mediate the water dispute between Lebanon and Israel.
**Milosevic on Trial
The judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today asked the court’s registrar, Hans Holthuis, to revoke the appointment of Dutch lawyer Michail Wladimiroff (VLAD-ih-meer-off) to serve as an “amicus curiae,” or friend of the court, to former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
Judge Richard May ruled that comments made by Mr. Wladimiroff raised questions about his appropriateness for the job, including comments that indicated he had formed a view of the case that was unfavourable to the accused. The statements taken as a whole would give rise to “a reasonable perception of bias on the part of the amicus curiae”, according to the ruling by Judge May.
Mr. Milosevic has been representing himself at the trial, which began in February, but he continues to have two lawyers who were appointed by the Tribunal as friends of the court, who are on hand to ensure that he receives a fair trial.
**Security Council
The Security Council is meeting in closed consultations today on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka.
Also on the agenda is the Security Council’s planned mission to Kosovo.
At 3:30 p.m., the Security Council has a scheduled meeting with troop-contributing countries to the United Nations mission in Prevlaka.
**International Court of Justice
Right now in The Hague, Judge Gilbert Guillaume of the International Court of Justice is reading the Court’s judgment in the case concerning the land and maritime boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria.
Once that decision is read out, the Court will put out the text of the judgment, and we will also issue that text from here.
**Liberia
The Secretary-General, in a letter to the Security Council, has recommended an extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission of Peace-building Support Office in Liberia (UNOL) by one year until the end of 2003.
**Secretary-General's report on Timor-Leste
The Secretary-General’s report on Timor-Leste is out on the racks today. The report, entitled “Assistance for humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and development in East Timor”, outlines developments from July 2001 to May 2002, in the repatriation of refugees and reconciliation process.
It concludes that raising the economic and social status of the poor will be a major challenge as more than 40 per cent of East Timor-Leste are still living in absolute poverty and almost two of three adults are unable to read or write.
**Eritrea
Kenzo Oshima, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, wrapped up his three-day mission to Eritrea today. Mr. Oshima visited Eritrea at the request of the Secretary-General to observe, firsthand, the severe drought affecting the country and to report back. We have a press release wrapping up his visit.
**Economic Outlook
Yesterday evening, the Global Economic Outlook produced by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs was formally issued, and it says that although the world economy has been recovering gradually from last year’s sharp economic slowdown, the strength and breadth of the upturn has not been satisfactory.
The peak of the economic recovery is now expected to be delayed by several months, arriving in the middle of 2003 rather than in the second half of this year. Also, the report warns, a number of uncertainties draw into question whether the recovery can be sustained.
During the past six months, according to the report, several adverse factors have come to the fore, including rising geopolitical tensions, the effect of corporate scandals in major industrialized countries, particularly in the United States, and the worsening fiscal problems in Latin America.
**HIV/AIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today issued revised figures on the cost of the response to HIV/AIDS. The revised figures estimate that prevention, care and support programmes in low- and middle-income countries would cost $10.5 billion by 2005. The new estimates also project that financial resources will need to increase significantly and that by 2007, $15 billion a year will be needed to fight the disease.
I have a press release on that.
**Opium Report
The annual Opium Poppy Survey, produced by the Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention, will come out tomorrow in Rome at 3 p.m. their time –- that’s 9 a.m. here in New York –- and the head of the Office, Antonio Maria Costa, will comment on the report’s findings.
We'll make copies of the survey to you as well as the text of Mr. Costa’s comments under a strict embargo later today, once we receive it.
**Photography Exhibit
An exhibit called “Family of Woman” will be opened this afternoon by the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, in the Visitors’ Lobby. The photographic exhibit was mounted by the United States Committee for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as part of their public education campaign. The event, which will also be addressed by UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid, begins at 6:00 and you're all invited.
**Budget Payments
Two more Member States paid their 2002 regular budget contributions in full. Kyrgyzstan made a payment of more than $11,000 and Lithuania more than $188,000, and there are now 107 Member States paid in full.
**Signings
Greece will become the forty-fifth country to sign the protocol on firearms supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. WORLD CHRONICLE DPI asked me to tell you that World Chronicle Programme #865, featuring Mary Robinson, the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, will be aired at 3:30 today on in-house television Channels 3 and 31.
**Health Information Centre
I don't see Richard Roth here, but he was asking about a blood-pressure machine on the 4th floor yesterday. It's not a blood pressure machine, but a health information centre that does a lot more than check your blood pressure. It was donated by the CSI Health Net Corporation. It's worth about $12,000.
It was put on the 4th floor because we thought it was a quiet area, and as for its relationship to smoking, I've been told that the Secretariat building is a no-smoking area and anyone found smoking will be shot.
**Questions and Answers
Question: What is the Secretary-General's purpose in going to China, what's on his agenda and who is he meeting with?
Spokesman: We'll give you a few more details. It's pretty much the annual visit that he makes to the permanent members of the Security Council. It's not linked to any specific current event, and it usually involves meetings with all
the principal leaders of the country. We'll try to get some details to you by the end of the afternoon.
Question: The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry says it expects United Nations inspectors to go to Kiev this weekend, as well as United States and British inspectors. Do you know anything about that?
Spokesman: No, I'll have to look into it for you. [He later said that the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission had said this was outside their mandate.]
Question: Has the Secretary-General been playing any role in the negotiations that have gone on among the permanent five members over the resolution on Iraq?
Spokesman: No, not actively. He sees it as in their court right now. He's talking with permanent representatives from all 15 occasionally, just to keep current with developments. But he doesn't see it as his role to intervene or mediate in any way. It's their show.
Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly
The First Committee debate today again continues on all disarmament and international security items, and the Third Committee of the General Assembly continues discussion on the advancement of women and implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women, and the twenty third special session of the General Assembly, entitled, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the twenty first Century".
This afternoon, the Third Committee will also take action on draft resolutions concerning crime prevention and criminal justice and international drug control.
Also this afternoon, the Sixth Committee (Legal) will discuss the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the strengthening of the role of the Organization.
Tomorrow, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) will begin discussion of the general item 74, "Effects of Atomic Radiation".
A heads-up for Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th of next week, when the plenary will take up the reports of the Security Council and the question of equitable representation and increase in the Council membership and related matters in the joint debate.
Question: Is there any movement toward calling for a General Assembly debate on Iraq?
Spokesman: I would refer you to what Fred just said. It's in the Security Council.
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