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 Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Richard Sydenham, Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly.

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-General in China

This morning, the Secretary-General was in Hangzhou, China, where he received an honorary doctorate at Zhejiang University and delivered an address, rallying Chinese youth to fight the spread of AIDS, both nationally and worldwide.

“The truth is”, he told the students and faculty bluntly, “that today China stands on the brink of an explosive AIDS epidemic”.  He told the young audience, “Confronting AIDS is a point of pride, not a source of shame”.  He pledged that the United Nations family would work with them “every step of the way”.

At mid-day, he flew from Hangzhou to Beijing, where he met with his Special Envoy for Myanmar, Razali Ismail.  He and Razali then went to the Great Hall of the People to meet with President Jiang Zemin.

They discussed globalization, terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, tensions between India and Pakistan and the threat of military action against Iraq.

On Iraq, the Secretary-General said the situation was a challenge but also an opportunity.  Handled correctly, it could strengthen international law and the United Nations.

Finally, the Secretary-General referred to his speech on AIDS earlier in the day.  He thanked the President for his leadership on the issue, but added that leadership was needed at all levels.

The President responded that China was ready to work actively on the disease and expressed his hope that a way could be found to cure it.

Asked afterward whether he had discussed Iraq with the President, he said, “Iraq came up, but we didn’t discuss resolutions”.  He added that he thought the Security Council would discuss Iraq this week, saying, “I’m sure there will be a resolution”.

The Secretary-General, accompanied by Special Envoy Razali, then met for an hour and a half with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, in discussions that started with Iraq, and efforts by the Security Council to agree on a resolution regarding the return of weapon inspectors to that country.  They also touched on the Middle East, Afghanistan and India and Pakistan.

Razali then briefed the Minister on his efforts to promote reconciliation in Myanmar between the Government and the opposition.

The Secretary-General again raised the issue of AIDS, and the Minister referred to the good discussion the Secretary-General had had with the President.  The Secretary-General also mentioned relations on the Korean Peninsula and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

The Minister then hosted a dinner in honour of the Secretary-General and his wife Nane, at which their substantive discussions continued, including on UN reform.  The Minister then surprised Nane with a cake for her birthday.

Earlier in the day, Nane Annan visited a traditional neighbourhood in East Beijing where 2,700 residents recently voted in Beijing’s first democratic, multi-candidate community elections, ahead of similar elections planned citywide.  She praised the involvement of both men and women, as well as migrant residents, in the elections.  All nine candidates elected to the new Neighbourhood Committee were women, including the new director.

She added that she was pleased that the United Nations was working with the community on the participation of women as well as to stem violence against women.  “I do believe the two issues are related”, she said.  “To fight violence, women have to be empowered.”

**Secretary-General's report on HIV/AIDS

Available on the racks today is the Secretary-General's report on progress towards the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.  The report is based on responses to a questionnaire sent to Member States to establish a baseline against which future progress can be measured.  Amongst the recommendations, the Secretary-General urges Member States to develop and implement national strategic plans and asks the international community to assist those countries which do not have sufficient resources.  He also suggests that the General Assembly might want to devote at least one day during the

58^th session to the discussion of HIV/AIDS.

The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, which we put out Friday evening:

"The Secretary-General welcomes the resumption of the peace talks between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Machakos, Kenya on 14 October 2002, under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).  He urges both sides to resume the negotiations in earnest and build on the progress made in July to reach agreement on a comprehensive settlement of the conflict that has brought untold misery to the people of Sudan and devastation to the country."

"The Secretary-General, once again, commends the tireless efforts of the Government of Kenya in leading this important regional peace initiative on behalf of IGAD.  He reiterates his appreciation for the sustained effort of IGAD countries for peace in Sudan.  He will continue to be in touch with the parties and the leaders of the IGAD countries, and has asked his Special Adviser, Mr. Mohamed Sahnoun, to represent him at Machakos."

"The Secretary-General reiterates the support of the United Nations to the IGAD effort for Sudan and stands ready to assist in the implementation of a peace agreement."

**Bali Attack

The Secretary-General was shocked and horrified to hear of the car bomb attack that took place on Saturday night in Bali, Indonesia, which killed at least 188 people and wounded scores of others.

In a statement we issued yesterday, the Secretary-General reiterated his "utter condemnation of all such indiscriminate attacks on civilians.  They violate all accepted standards of morality, as well as national and international law, and cannot be justified by any cause or ideology."

The Secretary-General expressed his most sincere wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured in this "brutal and inhuman attack", and expressed his solidarity and sympathy with their anxious and grieving family members and friends.  He is writing to the President of Indonesia.

"Such tragic events underscore the importance of cooperation by all States in the struggle against terrorism and to defend human rights, freedom and the rule of law", he said.

That was the message the Secretary-General stressed when he met today with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing, telling him that the attack highlighted the need to cooperate to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

Earlier today, High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello issued a statement calling terrorism “an affront to our common humanity” and “the most base violation of our fundamental human rights”.

Among those at risk in this attack were a number of members of our peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste (UNMISET), many of whom pass through Bali on their way to and from Dili, or visit the island while on leave.  At the time of the attack, up to 155 UNMISET personnel were reported to be in or transiting through Bali.

According to reports received this morning from the field, two military members of UNMISET remain unaccounted for, while seven of our personnel, including two military officers and five civilian police, were injured in the explosion.  Three of our personnel –- two civilian police and a military officer –- have suffered serious burns.  In the other four cases, the injuries were relatively minor.  UNMISET has sent out a small assistance team consisting of a chaplain, a stress counsellor and logistics personnel to assist UNMISET staff and to facilitate their quick return to Timor-Leste.

During the weekend, the Secretariat was in constant communication with UNMISET to find out the latest information, and we have also remained in contact with the Permanent Missions of troop-contributing countries to keep them informed. We will continue to follow this situation closely.

**Security Council

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today.

At 3 p.m., there is a meeting of the Security Council Sanctions Committee regarding the situation in Angola.  That committee is chaired by Ambassador Richard Ryan of Ireland.  The latest report by the Angola sanctions monitoring group will be introduced and the Chairman will be available to speak to reporters after the meeting.

Last Friday, at the conclusion of an open meeting on small arms, the Council held consultations and decided to hold an open debate on Iraq on Wednesday.  The UN Secretariat has begun compiling a list of speakers for that meeting.

On the racks today is a letter from the Security Council President to the Secretary-General, reacting to his letter last month that forwarded 17 nominations to fill the 11 seats for permanent judges on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.  The existing terms for those judges end on March 24 of next year.

**Côte d’Ivoire

We reported to you on Friday that a UN humanitarian team was making its way to Bouaké in Côte d’Ivoire to assess the needs of the people following fighting between Government troops and rebels.

A member of that team, upon return to Abidjan over the weekend in a preliminary assessment, reported that Bouaké was a ghost city with enormous needs.

There is little food on the market, and most people who remained said they wanted to leave.

We expect to have a fuller report from the humanitarian mission soon.

**DRC

In a statement released today in Kinshasa, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo strongly deplores the renewal of the fighting in the eastern part of the DRC.

These clashes, which are taking place notably in the towns of Uvira, Bunia and Mambasa, are putting the ongoing peace process at risk at the time when the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country should be leading to the conclusion of the inter-Congolese dialogue.

The renewed fighting, which involves elements of the Mai Mai as well as various rebel groups, is having incalculable humanitarian consequences, with many civilians fleeing the towns where the fighting is occurring.

A copy of the statement, in French, is available upstairs.

**Angola

Chaired by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Angola, Ibrahim Gambari, the Joint Commission for the implementation of the pending tasks of the Lusaka Protocol held an ordinary session this morning in Luanda.

At the end of the meeting, Gambari told the media that the UNITA delegation had handed him a list with the names they had appointed as members of the Government, provincial administration and embassy posts.

Gambari said that he was optimistic about the development of the work.

We have a transcript of his press encounter upstairs.

**Larsen

During a one-day visit to Beirut today, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed Larsen, met with Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud. 

During these “tête-a-tête” meetings, Mr. Roed Larsen discussed issues related to the situation in the Middle East in general as well as the situation in Lebanon, including the water issue in south Lebanon.

**Myanmar report

On the racks is the latest report from Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN Human Rights Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Myanmar.

In his report, which is based on his activities in the first half of this year, Pinheiro says that Myanmar society is at the threshold of great changes and is becoming more sensitive to the moral and practical need to move at a faster pace than before towards a democratic, tolerant and peaceful future.

**ICTY

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has unsealed its amended indictment against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.  That indictment, filed in May of 2000, consolidated two previous indictments against Karadzic, leaving only the most serious charges -- including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes -– against him.

**Budget

Morocco today became the 108th Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of almost $500,000.

**Signings

This morning, Hungary became the 55th country to ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and South Africa signed the Protocol on firearms supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

And that's the lot from me, any questions before we go to Richard?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Concerning the recent negotiations in Baghdad, a misunderstanding seems to have popped up on what exactly was agreed on.  Did the UN delegation use the technique of having a laptop computer to immediately input whatever was agreed to, then to immediately print it and hand the text across the table in an effort to maximize understanding?

Deputy Spokesman:  I'm certainly not aware that we use a computer to do that, but if you have questions regarding the methods used, I suggest that you talk to UNMOVIC or IAEA spokesmen on these issues, they might have more information on that.

Question:  What's the response on the Daily News exclusive, old or new news, regarding Kurt Waldheim's pension?

Deputy Spokesman:  I've seen that article this morning, and I think that Fred Eckhard was asked this question last week.  He said that the decision regarding the Secretary-Generals' pensions, as well as their salaries, are decided by the General Assembly, so it's up to the General Assembly,

191 members, to make a decision on that.

Question:  Do you know why the General Assembly hasn't moved on it?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, we have the GA spokesman here, so maybe you can address that question to him.

Question:  What happened regarding the two men that jumped over the wall this weekend?

Deputy Spokesman:  For those of you who maybe haven't heard the story, shortly after midnight on Saturday, a UN security officer who was watching over one of the expanded posts that was set up after the shooting incident that took place here one week earlier, saw two young men jumping the fence outside the UN headquarters near 47^th Street, and security officers responded right away to the fence-jumping and apprehended these two men, both age 22, who said they just intended to come over to take a photo of each other.  They were turned over to the local police and charged with criminal trespass.  Security informed us that the creation of the expanded posts at the fence following the shooting incident enabled the officers to respond immediately to the latest fence jumping, and I'm not aware whether these two men have been released or are still in custody; I'm not quite sure.

Question:  Why didn't the Secretary-General and Jiang Zemin discuss resolutions?

Deputy Spokesman: As we know, no resolution has been tabled in the Security Council, so there's no resolution to discuss.

Question:  Has the Lebanese Government delivered to the UN the analysis of its right to take water from that river?

Deputy Spokesman: I think the best person to talk to would be Stéphane in my office, and he can give you more information on that.

Okay, Richard?

**Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly President

Good afternoon. In a statement released to the press today, General Assembly President Kavan condemns and is outraged by the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of so many innocent civilians in Indonesia, in Bali.  He calls on all States to fight terrorism, and says such attacks cannot be excused for any reason or by any ideology.

President Kavan hopes for a swift investigation and punishment of those responsible in these attacks.

Today the General Assembly plenary takes up the report of the Security Council on the question of equitable representation on and increase of membership in the Security Council and related matters.  In the report of the open-ended working group, this is a joint debate.

The President of the Security Council introduced the report of the Security Council and the Assembly is expected to take note of the report at the end of this debate.  The joint debate is expected to conclude tomorrow and at present, just before this briefing, some 87 members were listed to speak.

The First Committee discusses disarmament and related international security items, and the Second Committee is starting discussion on sectoral policy questions, industrial development cooperation, and preventing corrupt practices and illicit transfer of funds.

The Third Committee continues discussion on the follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children and the promotion and protection of their rights, and the Fifth Committee takes up the scale of assessments and programme budget for 2003.

Today there is a round table on the outer space treaty at 35.  That's at 1:15 in Conference Room 4, and media are invited to attend.  Any questions?

Question: Would you like to address the question regarding the GA's decision on the salary and pensions of Kurt Waldheim?

Spokesman: I don't have any further information on that.

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