DAILY BRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
DAILY BRESS 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 General Assembly President.
Briefing by the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General
Good afternoon.
**Moscow
The following is a statement on behalf of the Secretary-General:
“The Secretary-General is following with utmost concern the events unfolding in the Melnikov Street theatre in Moscow. He extends his heartfelt sympathy to the Government and people of the Russian Federation at this very difficult time, and urges the perpetrators to release all the hostages immediately and without preconditions. No cause can justify the use of force against innocent civilians.”
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, also condemned the hostage incident in Moscow, saying, “Hostage taking, wherever and by whomever committed, is an illegal act aimed at the destruction of human rights and is, whatever the cause, unjustifiable.”
We have copies of his statement upstairs.
**United Nations Day
In his message to mark United Nations Day, the Secretary-General notes that, with the inclusion this year of Switzerland and Timor-Leste, the United Nations represents the whole human family more clearly than ever.
The Secretary-General says that, for this United Nations Day, which is the fifty-seventh anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Charter, we must work to fulfil the pledges made two years ago at the Millennium Summit, on issues ranging from the fight against AIDS to the reduction of poverty. “If we don’t do better in the next 12 years than in the last 10”, he warns, “we shall miss most of those Goals.”
This morning, in Ralph Bunche Park, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Office issued a Proclamation on the occasion of United Nations Day, and Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette spoke to mark the occasion. A group of New York City schoolchildren read the Preamble to the United Nations Charter at the ceremony.
Also today, several times each hour, there will be a billboard message over the MSNBC ticker in Times Square wishing a "Happy United Nations Day", accompanied by a video image of the United Nations. We appreciate the help of Mayor Bloomberg’s Office in facilitating this display. The Empire State Building will be lit in blue and white for United Nations Day, as well.
And, to remind you, tonight at 7 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall, there will be a concert for United Nations Day by the Korean Broadcasting System Traditional Music Orchestra, and the Secretary-General and General Assembly President Jan Kavan will speak at that occasion. You should call extension 6934 if you’re interested in attending.
We have upstairs embargoed copies of the Secretary-General’s comments at tonight’s concert, as well as the Deputy Secretary-General’s comments from this morning.
**Security Council
The Security Council met in consultations on Iraq for three hours last night during which a draft resolution was introduced. The next round of consultations on Iraq is scheduled for Friday.
This morning, Council members are in consultations on the annual report of the Security Council to the General Assembly.
Those consultations are to be followed by a formal meeting on the latest report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Chair of that Panel, Mahmoud Kassem, is presenting that report. And we have his remarks available upstairs.
And just to let you know that he will be our noon guest tomorrow.
I also want to alert you to a number of changes in the Security Council programme for the remainder of the month.
The open meeting on Women, Peace and Security, which had been scheduled for Friday, has been rescheduled for Monday to make way for the consultations on Iraq.
A private meeting with the President of the International Court of Justice, Gilbert Guillaume, which had been scheduled for Monday, has now been moved to Tuesday afternoon.
Scheduled consultations on Liberia have been postponed. Consultations on the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been added for Wednesday.
The revised programme is on the Security Council Web site.
**Angola
Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola, Erick de Mul, today released in Luanda the United Nations Common Country Assessment, 2002.
The assessment, conducted jointly by United Nations agencies between September 2001 and June 2002, is a comprehensive assessment and analysis of the situation in Angola aimed at providing a strategic vision for the United Nations agencies working in the country.
According to the document, the Government says 4 million people, or almost one third of the total population, were internally displaced; more than
60 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, which is equivalent to $1.68 a day; and life expectancy remains 42 years. In addition, the country has the second highest under-five mortality rate in the world: 295 per 1,000 live births.
The report notes that the new peace in Angola pushes to the foreground a series of other deep-seated underlying problems that now need to be seriously addressed.
**ICTY
The annual report of the work done by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is out on the racks today, and it details the reforms the Tribunal has undertaken to cope with an increased workload and to focus on the most serious violations, with an objective to complete trials by around 2008.
The report notes that several of the accused, including some of the high-ranking military and political officials, remain at large, and stresses the need for the full cooperation of States in the Tribunal’s work.
The Tribunal’s President, Judge Claude Jorda -– who yesterday informed the Security Council that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was not cooperating with the Tribunal -– will brief the Council on the Tribunal’s work next Tuesday.
**Solomon Islands
A United Nations needs assessment team is concluding a week-long visit to the Solomon Islands today, in its effort to assist the Government there in reducing ethnic tension and stopping ongoing violent incidents. The team’s recommendations, which are to include proposals on reconciliation, weapons collection and security sector reform, will be submitted to the Secretary-General.
We have a press release from the United Nations Office in the Solomon Islands with more details.
**Compensation Commission
We have upstairs a press release from the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva on the latest payments to governments and individual claimants.
The overall amount of compensation made available to date by the Commission is $16.04 billion.
As you know, the Compensation Commission is a subsidiary body of the Security Council. Established in 1991, it processes claims and pays compensation for losses resulting from Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
**Afghanistan
Kamal Hossain, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan will arrive in Kabul tomorrow. Mr. Hossain, whose mandate covers all aspects of human rights violations, will meet with senior government authorities and civil society organizations. He will also undertake a field visit to Bamyan, during his four-day stay there.
**ILO Press ReleaseFaced with a mounting toll of violence, afflicting on average one of every two health workers worldwide, a joint programme of labour, health and public service organizations today launched a new initiative aimed at helping health professionals fight fear, assault, humiliation and even homicide where they work.
While ambulance staff are reported to be at greatest risk, nurses are three times more likely on average to experience violence in the workplace than other occupational groups. Since most health workers are women, the gender dimension of the problem is evident.
We have a press release from the International Labour Office available upstairs.
**Opium Report
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime will release its annual Opium Poppy Survey tomorrow, at 2 p.m. in Rome (which is 9 a.m. New York time).
For those of you who had embargoed press releases about the Survey, when it was to have been launched two weeks ago, the new embargo time therefore is 9 a.m. tomorrow. We now have additional copies of the press release, and of comments that will be made tomorrow by the head of the Office.
And we have also embargoed executive summaries of the report in the Spokesman’s office now.
**New Stamps
Two special sets of stamps are being launched today by the United Nations Postal Administration. As you can see, both of them are displayed here.
The first is on the theme of AIDS awareness and consists of one stamp and one commemorative sheet in each of the denominations of the Postal Administration. The stamps feature adaptations of a photograph of the United Nations building in New York when it was lit up to commemorate the special session of the General Assembly on AIDS last year.
The second set of stamps commemorates Switzerland’s admission as a Member of the United Nations. The stamp was designed by Thierry Clauson of Switzerland.
That’s all that we have for today. Any questions before we move ….
Yes, Lee.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Are there any new restrictions on the Second Floor for reporters? We had problems yesterday.
Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General: Well, as you can see, new barriers have been put up since the latest series of incidents. But these barriers are not put up to stop journalists’ free movement. In fact, they are there to stop uninvited visitors coming in. So, I don’t think there is a new restriction to the movements of journalists. But if you have any further questions, Security Chief McCann is more than happy to hear your complaints.
Question: No. A number of us were stopped simply, after the meeting yesterday, going through towards the Delegates Lounge.
Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General: Okay. I certainly will pass that one to the Security Chief.
Question: Does the Secretary-General have any reaction to Nigeria’s objection to the decision of the International Court of Justice over the dispute with Cameroon?
Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General: I am afraid that right now I can’t give you any reactions as we only received the statement from the Nigerian Government last night. We are studying the statement now. Yes, please?
Question: Do you have any more details of Security Council discussions on Iraq, in particular the meeting involving Hans Blix, I think scheduled for Monday?
Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General: Well, it was suggested that some of the members of the Security Council would like to have the presence of Hans Blix when they discuss the draft resolution. But apart from that, I am afraid for more details you will have to go to the Council members.
Okay, Richard.
**Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly President
Good afternoon.
The Special Political and Decolonization Committee this afternoon will hold a general debate on comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects and take action on a draft resolution which designates 29 May as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
The Second Committee will take decisions on draft resolutions related to science and technology for development, sustainable development and international economic cooperation and culture and development.
And the Third Committee will take decisions on draft resolutions on the advancement of women and continue discussion on elimination of racism and racial discrimination, follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and the rights of peoples to self-determination.
The Fifth Committee concludes discussion on Pattern of Conferences and takes action on a number of draft resolutions on administrative and budgetary matters.
This afternoon President Kavan will chair open-ended informal consultations of the plenary on the report of the Secretary-General on Strengthening of the United Nations: an agenda for further change. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will brief delegations and respond to questions. In his introductory remarks, President Kavan indicates that he views the report as “comprehensive, timely and useful”. He says that his Office “has had tens of bilateral meetings and consultations on United Nations reform and the initial response has been very positive. The report suggests a number of diverse improvements and innovative proposals that would make the work of the United Nations more productive and efficient”.
The President, who sees this as a very important aspect of his presidency during the fifty-seventh session, sees “the report as an important impulse”. He will tell delegates that “United Nations reform is not and cannot be perceived as a unilateral action. It is a process in which a joint effort of the Membership and the Secretariat is absolutely crucial for getting the reform started and agreed actions implemented.” This informal is in closed working session today, but the report will be discussed in plenary on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, 30 and 31 October.
Today, 24 October, as well as being United Nations Day, is also the World Development Information Day. And in his message which will be published on the President’s Web site, President Kavan says that “the flow of information was much more restricted 30 years ago when this day was inaugurated, than it is today, in the era of the Internet and other modern and sophisticated means of communication. However, despite the relentless work of the United Nations and other international organizations active in the field of information and development, the need for development information remains extremely important and urgent.” He goes on to urge Member States “to do their part in bringing the Millennium Development Goals to the top of their agenda everywhere, and feels that this World Development Information Day could provide an excellent opportunity for disseminating development information and for Member States to consider this on a high political level”.
President Kavan will make remarks at the United Nations Day concert, a concert of traditional Korean music which will be held this evening in the General Assembly Hall. In his remarks before the concert, President Kavan welcomes the performers of the Korean Broadcasting System’s Traditional Music Orchestra and invites the audience to celebrate this happy event. “Music is transcendental and evokes our aspirations and desire for peace and harmony”, the President will say. “The United Nations Day Concert is an occasion to reconfirm and celebrate the rich diversity of all peoples, respecting and preserving their precious individual cultural identities.”
And in response to a question at yesterday’s briefing about the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the question, I believe relates to the interim report on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions submitted by Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, available as document A/57/138 which is under discussion in the Third committee. And I would like to mention in this context that Ms. Jahangir will be in New York between 4 and 11 November.
Any questions?
Thank you.
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