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.

**Guest at noon

Good afternoon.  I’d like to welcome to the briefing Joseph Chamie, the Director of the Population Division of the United Nations, and he will be telling you briefly about revised United Nations population estimates and projections.

**Secretary-General in Cyprus

The Secretary-General arrived in Larnaca, Cyprus, this afternoon, after spending a day in Greece, and, in his opening statement to the press upon his arrival, he said that he would present a revision of the agreement on Cyprus to the parties this afternoon, which he plans to discuss with them tomorrow.

He said, “I have come to Cyprus to tell you that the entire international community is hoping and praying that a Cyprus settlement, so long delayed, is at last at hand”.  He added his hope that the Greek and Turkish Cypriots would understand the urgency of the task at hand, asserting, “It is no exaggeration to say that you have a rendezvous with destiny”.

The Secretary-General called first on His Excellency Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and that was at his home.  He followed that meeting with one with His Excellency Tassos Papadopoulos, the incoming Greek Cypriot leader, at the residence of the chief of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.

As we speak, he should be meeting now with His Excellency Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, at the same residence.  All the meetings are expected to last roughly one hour.

Last night, the Secretary-General met in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister George Papandreou, explaining to them the plan he intends to submit to the parties, and they also touched on Iraq.

Afterwards, in a press encounter, the Secretary-General noted the unique opportunity for a united Cyprus to be brought into the European Union, saying, “It is an opportunity and a window that is not going to remain open forever”.  Asked whether the revised plan would be balanced, the Secretary-General said it would, adding, “This is a zero-sum game, and we will keep it balanced”.

**United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission

Our regular briefing on the work of the weapon’s inspectors in Iraq tells us that a team from the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission -- or UNMOVIC -- returned today to the Al Aziziyah Range, where excavations of the R400 aerial bombs were underway.  Iraq claims that these bombs filled with biological agents had been unilaterally destroyed in 1991. 

The team observed the excavation of a pit and inspected excavated munitions and fragments.  UNMOVIC also conducted an aerial survey of the site.

Other UNMOVIC teams visited various sites having to do with missile production.  An UNMOVIC chemical team resumed the destruction of mustard-filled artillery shells.

Other UNMOVIC teams and inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited a number of other sites in Baghdad and Mosul.  This included a visit to a research centre for raw materials for the medical industry.  The IAEA also conducted two private interviews with engineers formerly associated with Iraq’s former gas centrifuge enrichment programme.  For more information, please pick up the briefing note from Baghdad.

**Security Council

The Security Council today is holding consultations on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which came out yesterday.  Briefings were given by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Amos Namanga Ngongi.  The Security Council President is expected to read a press statement on the DRC following the consultations.

**Côte d’Ivoire

The Secretary-General has sent a letter to the President of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, following the President's request to establish an International Commission of Inquiry.

In the letter, the Secretary-General says the establishment of such a commission is in the spirit of the Linas-Marcoussis agreement.  In order to shed light on the human rights and humanitarian rights violations, as well as fighting against a culture of impunity, the Commission's mandate should enable it to establish the facts and circumstances that led to the current crisis.

It should also determine the nature and identify those responsible of human rights and humanitarian rights violations committed in Côte d'Ivoire since 19 September 2002.

It will also have to recommend measures that will put an end to impunity and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and that the victims and their families are compensated.  The Commission also will also have to specifically investigate acts committed by the “Death Squads” and other such groups.

An advance United Nations team that intends to see whether the conditions are right for deployment of the Commission is scheduled to leave Geneva today, and will begin work this weekend in the country to determine what cooperation a human rights investigation would receive.

The team comprises experts from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Department of Political Affairs, as well as a forensics expert.

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

Following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman on Western Sahara.

“The 100 prisoners of war whose release was announced by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) on 10 February, were repatriated to the Kingdom of Morocco by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today.  The Secretary-General welcomes this step, which is responsive to numerous Security Council resolutions and Presidential statements calling for the release of all prisoners of war.  The Secretary-General appeals to the Frente POLISARIO to accelerate the release of all remaining POWs, and urges the parties to continue to cooperate with the efforts of the ICRC to resolve the fate of all those unaccounted for since the beginning of the conflict.  He also urges the parties to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to embark on an early implementation of confidence-building measures.”

**World Food Programme

James T. Morris, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), yesterday warned the United States Congress that the world was not doing enough in the battle against hunger.

Morris told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:  “We have succeeded in averting famine and starvation in emergencies like those in Afghanistan, North Korea and Africa so far, but we still have a gigantic task.  Equally, much more needs to be done in the battle against the chronic hunger that bedevils the lives of hundreds of millions of people who are not the victims of war or natural disasters”.

Among other things he called for “stronger and more consistent funding for humanitarian aid”.  Morris is scheduled to address the House International Relations Committee tomorrow.

**United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Afghanistan

The High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, has arrived in Kabul at the start of a 10–day mission to the region.  Prior to his departure for Kabul, Lubbers said he was concerned that the world's preoccupation with Iraq could take much–needed attention away from Afghanistan.  Lubbers urged the international community to keep helping Afghans who are returning to their shattered country, still reeling from more than two decades of war.

**Pakistan

At the end of his three-day visit to Pakistan, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, expressed satisfaction at Pakistan’s stated commitment to a clear policy of ensuring respect for human rights in all spheres of the public and private life, and that the new Parliament declared its will to respect democratic values.

Vieira de Mello had discussed women's rights with all the officials and civil society members with whom he spoke, praising the fact that women compose 21 per cent of the new Assembly and about 17 per cent of the Senate, and noting

efforts to raise the level of female literacy and increase the number of girls in schools.  The High Commissioner insisted on the need for the Government to pursue its efforts to prosecute crimes against women, like honour killings.  There should be no tolerance for violence against women, he said.

Discussing anti-terror measures, he said that he understood very well the difficult situation faced by Pakistan, but stressed the need to fight terror while respecting the rule of law and civil liberties.

**International Narcotics Control Board

The annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board is out today, and it says that the overwhelming share of profits made from illicit drug trafficking takes place in the countries where the finished products are illegally sold -– not those in which the drugs are cultivated.  In fact, only one percent of the money spent on illegal drugs is earned as farm income in developing countries, with the rest earned at other points along the drug trafficking chain.

The report, on which you received an embargoed briefing on Monday, also highlights the need for a comprehensive and coherent strategy to tackle opium cultivation in Afghanistan, and to control synthetic drugs, like Ecstasy, which could become the main illicit drugs in the future.

**Press Releases

We have a press release today from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) welcoming the commitment of the generic pharmaceutical industry to work with United Nations agencies to provide medicines for priority diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.  UNICEF and WHO said the generic pharmaceutical industry has a vital role to play in providing safe and effective medicines at a low cost to improve health and save lives.

**Budget

Budget news.  We got a check from Cameroon today, which became the fifty-second Member State to be paid in full for this year for its regular budget contribution.  That was with payment of more than $121,000.

**Guests at tomorrow’s noon briefing

And then a reminder that our guests at the noon briefing tomorrow will be the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, and Martin Barber, the Director of the United Nations Mine Action Service.  They’ll be joining us to report on a major milestone in the global effort to ban the use of antipersonnel mines.  The deadline for the first group of countries to destroy their landmine stockpiles as required by the Ottawa Convention is

1 March, and our guest will report on progress.

That’s all I have.  Any questions before we go to Mr. Chamie?  Fine.

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