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.

**UNMOVIC

Hans Blix, the Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), in a brief stop-over in Vienna -– on his way to Baghdad -– addressed a group of inspector trainees at the Vienna International Centre.

The group of 57 men and women from 22 countries, having completed their three-week training course, are going back to their respective countries and are now on a roster from which UNMOVIC can draw personnel for future inspections.

In his address to the trainees, Blix said the disarmament of Iraq through the inspection process is an alternative to the avenue of armed conflict.  “I think everybody would like to see effective inspections to be the way to disarmament”, he said, “this is certainly the wish of the Arab world, all Europeans and I‘m convinced also of President Bush and Mr. Blair whom we saw yesterday”.

Blix stressed that the disarmament process requires active cooperation from Iraq, both on process and substance.

The Executive Chairman said a lot had been done during the eight years of the previous inspection regime but that now the pace of disarmament needs to quicken.  “The world is not going to wait another eight years”, Blix told the group.

Blix, as you know, will be in Baghdad for meetings with Iraqi officials on Saturday and Sunday, as will the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Muhammad ElBaradei.

As for the inspections themselves, yesterday evening in Baghdad, a private interview was conducted for the first time with an Iraqi biological scientist.  He was alone.  The interview lasted 3 hours and 32 minutes.  And during the interview, a number of issues were addressed.

**Security Council

The Security Council has not scheduled any meetings or consultations for today.

The next scheduled Council meeting will be closed consultations on the subject of Angola and that will be next Wednesday, a day after the United Nations is closed for the Eid holiday.

Yesterday, shortly after the noon briefing, the Council ended its open meeting on Kosovo by adopting a presidential statement in which it welcomed the progress made in 2002 and reaffirmed its full support of targets in eight key areas for Kosovo's progress, as well as its commitment to a multi-ethnic and democratic Kosovo.

**Secretary-General to Williamsburg

The snowstorm along the east coast today is forcing the Secretary-General to postpone his departure to Williamsburg, Virginia until tomorrow.

The Secretary-General still intends to deliver an address at a ceremony marking the 310th anniversary of William and Mary College.

We may not be able to give you embargoed copies of the speech until tomorrow morning, in which case we’ll send it to the lid list by e-mail.  If we can make it available to you this afternoon, we will.

**Secretary-General names Tevoedjre Special Envoy for Côte d’Ivoire

The Secretary-General today informed the Security Council that he is appointing Albert Tevoedjre as his Special Envoy for Côte d’Ivoire.  He had originally indicated to the Council his intention to name an envoy during a briefing on Côte d’Ivoire on 28 January.

Tevoedjre, a national of Benin, was a former Member of Parliament there, as well as a former Minister.  He also had been Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization.

Mr. Tevoedjre is in the building today for briefings and he will be leaving for the region over the weekend.  He is expected to arrive in Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday.  We have bios in English and in French.

**Côte d’Ivoire -- Rights

We have this from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), just came in:  The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, today expressed grave concern over the growing violence in the Ivory Coast, condemning “death squad” activity and the propaganda carried by some national media aimed at inciting war and encouraging hatred and xenophobia.

The High Commissioner reminded all concerned that grave human rights violations are punishable as international crimes and declared his readiness to advise the Secretary-General to seize the Security Council of such crimes if needed.  

The High Commissioner also underlined the essential role of neutral, independent and impartial media in national reconciliation, as set out in the Programme of Government and National Reconciliation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement of last month, and in the recommendations of the recent United Nations human rights mission to the Ivory Coast.

We have the full text of the statement available in my office.

**Cote d’Ivoire -- Humanitarian

Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy for the Crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, has just completed visits to Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Guinea, where she got a first-hand look at the effects the crisis is having on neighbouring countries.  Upon her return to Abidjan, she urged donors to address the regional impacts.  “There is a lot that needs to be done by the international community to help”, she said, “I think we should be generous at this time”.

The United Nations has issued a Flash Appeal for $22 million to meet humanitarian needs caused by the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire.  To date, only 11 per cent of the funds requested have been received.

You can find a summary of her trips available in my office.

Also on Côte d’Ivoire, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that a decision by the UN in New York to tighten security for UN staff in the country has not directly affected its operations so far.

In Tabou, the emergency repatriation of stranded and targeted Liberian refugees continues.  To date, over 1,780 refugees have returned to Liberia with the help of UNHCR.

We have more in a briefing note upstairs.

**Liberia

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, access to western Liberia for humanitarian staff and goods has been cut off by the recent fighting.

Displaced people, mostly women and children, continue to arrive at the camps around Monrovia.  Aid agencies in these camps have recorded a total of 5,881 persons as of 5 February and the numbers are increasing.

The UN agencies on the ground report that Sierra Leonean refugees and Liberian displaced persons sheltering outside the capital have fled the camps in which they stayed.

Militias are reportedly harassing and taking valuables from the fleeing population, while rebels have reportedly abducted a number of persons.  Arriving displaced mothers are also reporting missing children.

Aid agencies are responding to the situation at the camps with registration of new arrivals, family tracing services and distribution of food and non-food items.

**Occupied Territories Environmental Plan

Environment Ministers gathered in Nairobi for the meeting of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council have unanimously endorsed the report on the environmental situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, said governments around the world have made it clear that the situation was cause for real concern.  He said “Our main hope for the region is that the conflict an be resolved and the suffering brought to an end”.

Toepfer also paid tribute to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority for their cooperation and said UNEP looked forward to working with them on implementing the recommendations.

We have a press release on that with more details.

**DR Congo

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced today that it had voluntarily repatriated to Rwanda nine former combatants, along with four of their dependents.

The group left Lubumbashi, in the south of the DRC, for Kigali.  After spending 45 days in a government centre, they will be re-integrated into civilian life in Rwanda.

To date, the UN mission has organized the return of more than 850 former combatants and their dependents.

For more information, you can see a press release.

**UNDP

South Asia, home to 1.4 billion people, needs to carry out major reforms in rural areas to achieve high levels of human development, according to a report released yesterday in Kathmandu, Nepal, titled “Human Development in South Asia 2002:  Agriculture and Rural Development”.

According to the report, prepared by Pakistan’s Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre with support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), South Asia’s substantial progress in agriculture has not been adequate to reduce the region’s huge poverty rates.  More than a third of the region’s people -– or some 530 million in all -– live on less than a dollar a day.

The report calls women the “invisible and unrecognized backbone” of South Asian agriculture, but adds that in rural areas, they remain hostage to feudal traditions.  Henning Karcher, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Nepal, says, “Administrative structures have not shown adequate sensitivity to rural women’s needs, and as a result, women’s programs are still peripheral”.

We have more information on that upstairs.

**ICC

The Assembly of States Parties for the International Criminal Court had by this morning elected 14 of the Court’s 18 judges, following nine rounds of balloting, in which seven male and seven female judges were elected.

The winners included the current President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Judge Navanethem Pillay of South Africa, and the Chairman of the Court’s Preparatory Commission, Ambassador Philippe Kirsch of Canada.

The balloting is continuing today, to pick the remaining four judges.  As a result, the press conference today on the Assembly’s proceedings that had been scheduled for 12:30p.m. has been cancelled.

Speaking of Courts, the International Court of Justice or World Court, yesterday elected a new President, Judge Shi Jiuyong of China, who will replace Gilbert Guillaume of France as the Court’s presiding judge for a three-year term.  Judge Raymond Ranjeva of Madagascar was elected Vice President.

**Jamaica

Asma Jahangir, the special rapporteur for the Commission on Human Rights dealing with extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, will visit Jamaica from 17 to 27 February, and will meet with government officials, as well as representatives of the police, the judiciary and the security forces.  She will also meet with legal officials and members of civil society.

The visit comes at her request, and has been agreed to by the Jamaican Government.

**Press Releases

One more press release to highlight for you today.  Following a three-day meeting with health officials from West African countries, the World Health Organization has issued a joint Action Plan for the region.  The World Health Organization says it needs $3.5 million to implement the plan, which is based on enhanced coordination, health assessments with disease surveillance and emergency public health response.  The meeting was organized as a part of the UN situation analysis mission led by the Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy to the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, Carolyn McAskie.

**The Week ahead at the United Nations

We have “The Week Ahead” for you.

**Press conference

A press conference to announce for Monday:  At 11:15 a.m. the Mission of Spain to the UN is sponsoring a press conference with two NGOs Airline Ambassadors International and Peace and Cooperation, on the launching of their 2003 international youth Art Competition.  This year’s theme is “The protection of the environment”.

**UNCA Club

Finally, UNCA asked me to invite you all to hear Ambassador Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation.  He will brief you off the record in the UNCA Club today at 1 p.m. over sandwiches.

That’s all I have for you.  Anything before we go to Richard?  Yes, Serge?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Fred, you mentioned the visit of Hans Blix to Geneva regarding the training of the inspectors.  Can you refresh our memories how the inspectors were selected and who are conducting the training?

Spokesman:  The principle difference between UNMOVIC and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) is that all the inspectors for UNMOVIC are hired by the UN and paid by the UN and subject to UN personnel rules and procedures, whereas UNSCOM accepted gratis a number of inspectors donated by governments.  So, the training programme is organized by UNMOVIC and carried out by their staff.  And the inspectors were chosen on the basis of applications.  Their background and expertise is evaluated and if they have what UNMOVIC thinks is needed for the inspections, they’re invited in to be trained.   Then they’re, as I said already, they return to their capitals.  They remain on call for when they’d actually be needed.

Question:  How is it with the question of allegiance?  To whom do they pledge their allegiance?

Spokesman:  As UN staff members they would sign the standard employee contract form that says that they will not accept instructions from any government.  They will only take their orders from the Secretary-General or in this case, from Hans Blix.  Yes?

Question:  I have two questions.  Is there anything you can say at this point on Mr. Annan’s speech tomorrow?  And secondly, has Mr. Annan considered going to Baghdad?

Spokesman:  On the first question, no.  It’s still being written and refined.  So, I can’t really say anything about it at this point.  On your second question, he personally addressed that when he was asked at the stakeout position earlier this week.  And he said he is not going and has no plan of going to Baghdad.  Yes?

Question:  I believe you said that in Liberia it was Liberia or rebels who were abducting people from refugee camps, including children?  Was there any indication that the children were being taken for soldiers or anything?

Spokesman:  I don’t have any further details on that.  If you check with the documentation we have upstairs they might have more details.  But I don’t know anything more.  Yes?

[He later announced that the UN can confirm that civilians are being abducted and forcibly recruited, but we lack reliable information on children.]

Question:  Is there going to be a press conference from Mr. Blix after the meeting in Baghdad?

Spokesman:  Yes.  I think we announced yesterday that a press conference is planned for 7 p.m. local time in Baghdad on Sunday and that he and Dr. ElBaradei will then be flying out early Monday morning.

Okay.  Richard.

**Briefing by the Spokesman for the General Assembly President

Good afternoon.

Yesterday, President Kavan met in Washington with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mr. Horst Koehler.  They discussed the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and IMF and preparations for the upcoming meetings of the General Assembly, particularly the participation of the IMF at the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development that is to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York in late October 2003.

This morning, President Kavan chaired the fourth meeting of the Ad hoc working group on integrated follow-up to UN conferences and summits in the economic and social fields, particularly this meeting was on the work programme and schedule of meetings of the group. 

President Kavan then went on to chair the first meeting of the open-ended working group on the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.

Any questions?

Spokesman:  If not, you should all go home early before you get snowed in.  Enjoy your weekend.

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