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.

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-General at Africa-France Summit

In Paris today, the Secretary-General addressed the Africa-France Summit, and told the heads of State and government gathered there that he will establish a high-level Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa.  That Commission, he said, will study the links between AIDS and governance in various sectors, including agriculture, youth and the military, and will provide advice on how to stem the tide of AIDS across Africa.

He appealed to the African leaders to pay greater attention to the extraordinary proliferation of AIDS orphans, whose numbers have now reached 11 million.  And he asserted, “Since AIDS in Africa and around the world is more and more wearing a woman’s face, we will gain control of the pandemic only if women are the very centre of our strategies.  In short, if you want to save Africa, you must save Africa’s women first.”

The Secretary-General noted the progress made since the last Africa-France Summit two years ago, with leaders agreeing to join an African Union, and democracy and the rule of law making further advances on the continent, but he added that “such progress merely sets the stage for the hard work to come”.

He particularly drew attention to the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire, and he called on all Ivoirians, and particularly the country’s political leaders, to make the agreement they signed last month a concrete first step towards peace. 

We have copies of that speech available upstairs and it is also on our Web Site.

**Secretary-General in Paris

After his speech, the Secretary-General participated in the first working session of the Africa-France Summit, on political partnership, security and peace.

In the early afternoon, he had a private meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki to discuss the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), before he participated in an afternoon working session of the Summit on partnership and development priorities.

He then met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, for discussions about Iraq.  They talked about the need for Iraq to accept its obligation to disarm and to work proactively with UN inspectors to get the job done urgently.  They emphasized the Security Council’s central role and the need for the inspectors to press ahead with their important work.

This evening, he is to meet with DRC President Joseph Kabila, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and South African President Mbeki for talks on the status of the DRC peace process.  In the evening, he is to attend a dinner hosted by French President Jacques Chirac in honour of the heads of delegation attending the Summit.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

“The Secretary-General welcomes the statement of the Quartet Envoys on the Israeli-Palestinian situation issued in London earlier today.  It is a matter of vital interest to peace and security in Middle East that the Quartet maintains its efforts with the parties to achieve the two-state solution that is the cornerstone of international consensus on the comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Arab conflict.”

**Quartet

The Quartet Statement I have just referred to is available upstairs.

As you know, representatives of the Middle East Quartet -- the United States, the Russian Federation, the European Union, and the United Nations -- met at the envoys-level to review the current situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and prospects for giving new impetus to peace efforts.  The UN was represented in London by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed Larsen.

During the meeting they discussed the next steps toward the adoption and implementation of the Quartet’s “Road Map”, as it is the means for progress toward the vision described by President Bush on June 24, 2002:  two democratic states living side-by-side in peace.  The envoys reaffirmed that the Road Map should be formally adopted and presented to the parties as soon as possible.

In the statement, they also expressed very serious concern at the continuing acts of violence and terror planned and directed against Israelis, and at Israeli military operations over the past several days in the West Bank and Gaza, which led to Palestinian civilian fatalities. 

Also meeting in London today and yesterday was the task Force on Palestinian Reform.  A statement issued following that meeting is also available upstairs.

**Wednesday Statement on Middle East

On the violence, we have the following statement issued yesterday.  I’ll just read it for the record:

“The Secretary-General is concerned at the latest escalation of violence in the Middle East.  Since last Saturday at least 27 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed, with many more injured.  This comes at a time when representatives of the international community are meeting in London to discuss ways to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back on a track of peaceful negotiations.

“The Secretary-General remains convinced that there is no military solution to this conflict.  Violence is not going to produce either security or lasting peace.  It only feeds the terrible cycle which began in September 2000.  The Secretary-General urges the parties immediately to cease all forms of violence, abide by international humanitarian law and allow the international community to help them find a peaceful way out of this conflict.”

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding an open debate on “Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts”.  The list of speakers has 26 Member States inscribed.  And today’s debate is a follow-up of the 20 January high-level meeting on the issue of combating terrorism and allows non-Council members to participate in the debate.

Also on the racks today is a report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council summarizing the proposals made at that high-level meeting.  Resolution 1456, to which was annexed the 20 January declaration on combating terrorism, requested the Secretary-General to do so.  The next consultations of the Security Council are scheduled for tomorrow.  The subject is Cote d’Ivoire.

**Georgia

At the invitation of the Secretary-General, high-level representatives of the “Group of Friends” of the Secretary-General have been meeting in the past two days in Geneva for a brainstorming on the way ahead on the Georgian-Abkhaz peace process.  The meeting, attended by representatives from France, Germany, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States, was chaired by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping.  The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Georgia was also in attendance.

The Group of Friends reaffirmed their commitment to the principles for a political settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, as contained in the Security Council resolutions and the “Paper on Competences”.  They agreed to recommend to the parties a set of proposals aimed at re-energizing the peace process.  The United Nations will reconvene a high-level meeting of the Group of Friends in a few months to assess progress made, and to consider the next steps to be taken.

**Afghanistan

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, left Kabul today for Japan, where he will attend a special international conference on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in Afghanistan. 

The conference in Tokyo on Saturday, 22 February is called “Consolidation of Peace in Afghanistan”.  The Afghan President Hamid Karzai will also be attending the conference.  Countries will be invited to make pledges towards the financing of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process (DDR).  We have in our office the Briefing note from Kabul.

**Secretary-General’s Report on Peacekeeping

The Secretary-General’s annual report to the General Assembly on “Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations” is out on the racks today.  This is a follow-up to the recommendations put forward by the so-called Brahimi Report on Peacekeeping.  The Secretary-General is pleased that the implementation is very much on track and he stresses that the implementation of the outstanding recommendations is very much a shared responsibility.

**Child Nutrition in DPRK

Malnutrition rates among children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have improved in the last four years, but UN agencies warn that the improvements could be lost if support from the international community is reduced.

The results of a new assessment of child and maternal nutrition, carried out by the Government’s Central Bureau of Statistics and Institute of Child Nutrition, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), show positive trends.  The number of underweight children is down to 21 per cent from 61 per cent in 1998 and acute malnutrition has fallen to 9 per cent from 16 per cent.  The Government attributes this in part to humanitarian assistance provided by the international community.  We have a joint press release from UNICEF and WFP with more details.

**Iran

Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator Ross Mountain is in Teheran today, where he wrapped up a three-day visit to Iran, during which he met with senior Government officials on the humanitarian dimensions of the ongoing events in the region.  He also held talks with the UN country team in Iran, as well as other humanitarian groups, before heading back to Geneva.

**Rwanda Tribunal

A former camp commander in Rwanda, who was arrested over the weekend in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was transferred yesterday to the Detention Facility in Tanzania of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where he faces five counts of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and crimes against humanity, including rape.  We have more details in a press release from the Tribunal.

**Press Releases

The Food and Agriculture Organization says in its report “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2002” that aquaculture is growing more rapidly that all other animal-producing sectors.  Aquaculture now accounts for more than 29 per cent of the global supply of fish and other seafood, up from 3.9 per cent in

1970.  China is the largest producer with 71 per cent of the total volume and 49.8 per cent of the total value.  We have a press release with more details.

In another press release, the FAO announces an agreement with Libya to provide a total of $21 million for agricultural projects in Africa.  The first instalment of $9.3 million will finance projects in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Sudan.

**Budget

And on the budget, we have another large contribution to the peacekeeping budget today.  Switzerland has made a payment of more than $10 million.

**New Stamps

And new stamps, and you can see we put them on the counter:  The United Nations Postal Administration today launched new stamps to commemorate the new headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which has recently been granted observer status by the General Assembly.  The design for the stamps was decided by a competition that was won by Cyril Wursten of Switzerland.  The stamps are available in Swiss denomination.

And that’s all I have for you.  Any questions?

All right, have a good afternoon.  Thank you.

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