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.

**Secretary-General on Iraq

Good afternoon everyone.  The Secretary-General, upon entering the building this morning, was asked about recent Iraqi activity, including the destruction of Al-Samoud missiles and the promise of more information on VX and anthrax, and responded that, as chief weapons inspector Hans Blix indicated, it is a positive development, although much more remains to be done.

He stressed the importance of Security Council unity on Iraq, and noted that inspectors are to report to the Council on Friday.  The Secretary-General added that he is in touch with governments to see how they can work together on this problem and that his good offices are always available, but, in the present circumstances, he said, he has no plans to travel to Iraq.

He said that, “if the Council were to manage to come together and resolve the crisis effectively and successfully, the credibility and influence of the Council will be enhanced”.  On the other hand, he added, “if the action were to be taken outside Council authority, the support for that action –- popular and otherwise –- would also be diminished”.

Responding to the question of how the Iraq issue could test the UN’s credibility, he said, “I think the Council and the UN will not go the way of the League of Nations”, and he emphasized that the UN is “much, much larger than the Iraqi crisis”.

We have the full transcript of his remarks upstairs.

**UNICEF/Iraq

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today that over 4 million children were successfully vaccinated against polio in Iraq.  The immunization campaign jointly run by UNICEF and the Iraqi Ministry of Health covered all 18 governorates in the country, including the three Kurdish-controlled governorates in the north.

Preliminary results reveal that the campaign reached 98 per cent of the targeted 4.2 million children under the age of five.  This tremendous result was achieved through the dedication of the 14,000 Iraqi health workers, from over 880 different health clinics in the country.

Iraq has now been polio free for the last three years.

**Iraqi Oil

The latest figure from the Office of the Iraq Programme shows that, for the week ending 28 February, Iraq exported 13.2 million barrels of oil, the highest level in four weeks.  The total value of last week’s export was approximately $370 million for an average price of $28.70 per barrel.

We have the full update upstairs for you.

**Weapons Inspections

We’re waiting for the daily update from Baghdad on the activities of weapons inspectors today, and as soon as we get it, we’ll squawk it.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding consultations on its programme of work for March, after which it will hold its monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General.

Council President Ambassador Mamady Traoré of Guinea will brief you on the programme of work immediately following the morning consultations.  The programme will then be made available to you.

The provisional programme includes Cyprus consultations at 4:00 today, at which the Secretary-General is expected to brief.

David Stephen, the Representative of the Secretary-General for

Guinea-Bissau, is expected to be my guest at the noon briefing after consultations on recent developments in Guinea-Bissau.

**Counter-Terrorism Committee

A special meeting of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, expected to be attended by over 50 international, regional and subregional organizations, will take place on Thursday of this week.  The meeting is expected to be opened by the Secretary-General.

The introductory remarks by the Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Secretary-General will be open to the media.  The rest of the meeting is closed.

A note to correspondents, which is out on the racks, says the committee is “hoping to reach agreement on concrete steps to improve coordination between international, regional and subregional organizations with counter-terrorism programmes”. 

**Middle East

Tomorrow in Jerusalem, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed Larsen, and Nigel Roberts, the World Bank Director for the West Bank and Gaza, will present the findings from two reports on the Palestinian Economy.

The World Bank will discuss its major macro-economic analysis, “Two Years of Intifada, Closures and Palestinian Economic Crisis”.  The UN will present findings from its latest report:  “The Impact of Closure and other Mobility Restrictions on Palestinian Productive Activities, 1 January – 31 December 2002”.  It complements the World Bank report by exploring the devastation in the West Bank’s productive sectors, and it includes microeconomic analysis and numerous case studies about the impact of the crisis on firms and families.

**Human Rights

In his first visit to the United States as High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello will be in Washington tomorrow, to meet with US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice at 1:30 and then with

President George W. Bush at 2:00.

His discussions are expected to focus on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories; terrorism; Iraq; the link between human rights and peacekeeping; and the forthcoming meeting of the Human Rights Commission, which begins on 17 March.

**Secretary-General’s Report on Timor-Leste

The Secretary-General’s “Special Report on the United Nations Mission in East Timor” is out on the rack today (S/2003/243).  A detailed plan for downsizing and the ultimate withdrawal of the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) had been endorsed by the Security Council at the time the mission was first established, at Timor-Leste’s independence on 20 May 2002.  Since then, however, the report notes that there have been symptoms of a significant deterioration in the security environment that suggest that the downsizing plans are no longer appropriate.

The report also points out that the stability of the new Government has also been challenged by an apparent resurgence of armed violence in outlying areas of the country, and particularly in the border region.  The report argues that if UNMISET downsizes as foreseen, this would further weaken the operation’s ability to respond to civil disturbance and to threats posed by armed groups.  To address these risks, the report suggests the need to postpone and adjust the downsizing of the United Nations mission.

**Timor-Leste/Attacks

The UN Mission in Timor-Leste said that four suspects detained in connection with the attacks in Atabae appeared in court in Dili this afternoon.  Two civilians were killed in the attacks on a truck and bus on 24 February.  The suspects, detained by Peace Keeping Forces, were handed over to UN Police and Timor-Leste police earlier this week.

The peacekeepers’ on-going search operations have found that the armed groups operating in Timor-Leste are sophisticated.  The Mission says that all this indicates a real threat for future security within the western districts of the country.

We have a press release from the Mission with more details.

**Cote d’Ivoire

Hedi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, who is leading a multi-disciplinary technical assessment mission to Cote D’Ivoire, traveled to Bouake today, along with the Secretary-General’s Special Representative Albert Tevoedjre to meet with the rebel groups.

**Central African Republic (CAR)

In an update on the recent refugees who recently fled the Central African Republic, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said today that eight hectares of forest have been cleared in Chad for a temporary site that will accommodate thousands of people who have fled fighting in neighbouring CAR amid reports of killings and atrocities.

Over the past few days, the influx into Chad of Central African refugees and Chadian nationals, who had been living in the CAR, subsided to between 100 and 150 a day, from a daily high of 1,000 a day last week.

**Angola

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Angola reports that the needs of some 314,000 people are now critical.  OCHA says a combination of seasonal rains, dilapidated infrastructure, and mine infestation have cut off humanitarian access.

Though Angola’s 30-year long conflict ended in April 2002, the humanitarian crisis in Angola remains one of the worst worldwide, according to this update.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is having consultations with groups controlling the Bogoro area in the Ituri region, in order to send a mission to investigate reported fighting of last week and alleged killings.  The mission will go to the area as soon as security conditions allow.

**Economic Survey/Europe

The Economic Commission for Europe, in its Economic Survey for 2003, estimates that real gross domestic product (GDP) in European Union countries will grow by only 1.6 per cent this year, and it projects a GDP expansion in the United States of 2.5 per cent for the year.

Uncertainty surrounding the short-term economic outlook is amplified by the increasing possibility of a war in Iraq.  The survey says this uncertainty has already contributed to the weakening of consumer and business confidence.  The consensus of forecasters is now for a recovery to start in the second half of this year and to gain further momentum next year.

**International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization announced yesterday that Taïeb Chérif of Algeria has been appointed as its new Secretary-General.  Chérif’s three-year term will begin 1 August of this year, and he will replace Renato Claudio Pereira of Brazil, who has served two terms as head of the Organization.

We have a press release with more details.

**Press Releases

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today issued a press release on its latest global assessment of the long-term outlook for food and agriculture.  The report says the world will be better fed by 2030, but hundreds of millions of people in developing countries will still remain chronically hungry, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.  The projections in the report cover 140 countries and 32 crop and livestock commodities and look at supply and demand for all major agricultural commodities and sectors.  The summary is available on the FAO Web site, and we have a press release with more details.

We also have a press release from the United Nations Children's Fund announcing an agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elan of Sri Lanka to develop an Action Plan on children affected by war in the north part of the country.  Included in the agreement are temporary transit centres that will allow the children to be assessed and plans made for their futures.

**Signings

Signings this morning, Mexico ratified the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols on the trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants.

**Budget

Pakistan today became the 57th Member State to pay its 2003 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of more than $820,000.  That’s my report for the day.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  The Secretary-General, in his peace mission in 1998, visited Iraq, but he doesn’t intend to do so.  Do you think that the same efforts may be helpful in this regard?

Spokesman:  I think he answered that question this morning when he came in.  He said you have an inspection process underway, you have regular contact with Iraq, and he doesn’t see what a visit by him could add to the equation, in brief.

Question:  You said that at 4:00 the Secretary-General is going to give a briefing about Cyprus.

Spokesman:  Yes, he will go to the Council and probably report on his latest mission.

Question:  Will he be at the stakeout?

Spokesman:  That’s a good question.  We didn’t ask him if he would speak at the stakeout.  Let’s ask him, and we’ll get back to you.

Question:  The Secretary-General, on a number of occasions, including today, stressed the importance of the unity of the Council vis-à-vis the issue of Iraq.  Does he have any concrete suggestions or recommendations on how to achieve that goal?

Spokesman:  No, it’s really not for him to get in the middle of Council deliberations when members are trying to bridge differences between them.  He can speak to them privately, which he does on a regular basis, and publicly encourage them to try to maintain a common position, as he did most recently this morning.  But I wouldn’t want to say that he has any formula for unity that he wants to go public with.

Question:  Fred, you mentioned that Sergio Vieira de Mello will be visiting Washington, and he will be meeting with the President of the United States.  At whose request?

Spokesman:  I believe that was the United States’ invitation to

Mr. Vieira de Mello.

Question:  Do we have such a precedent?

Spokesman:  I think the heads of United Nations agencies and offices like this get invitations to visit governments all the time, to visit Washington regularly.  So I don’t think it’s unusual at all.  The reason why we mentioned this is that it’s his first visit as High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Question:  Will we have a read out of the tête-à-tête?

Spokesman:  We can ask him and his spokeswoman if they would have anything to give you after the meeting.  Sure.

Question:  How many personnel do you have in northern Iraq?

Spokesman:  I don’t have that breakdown by region.  The total number of our international staff in Iraq is roughly stable now for a week.  It’s around 600 plus for the whole country.  I’d have to see if we have a breakdown.  I’ll let you know afterwards.  Thank you very much.

[The Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General later announced that there were 223 United Nations international staff members in the three northern governorates of Iraq.]

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