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.

Good Afternoon.

**Security Council

Security Council members are meeting in closed consultations this morning to discuss the Secretary-General's letter suggesting possible adjustments to the “oil-for-food” programme in Iraq.

The Deputy Secretary-General, as well as Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, United Nations Legal Counsel Hans Corell and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kenzo Oshima are present to answer any questions.

Following the item on Iraq, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, was to brief the Security Council on the latest report on the United Nations mission in Sierra Leone.

**Iraq -– Humanitarian

As for humanitarian update on Iraq, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in Amman, Jordan today that their offices in the region have not reported any mass movements of refugees into neighbouring states.  The UNHCR says that it currently has relief supplies in place in the region for some 300,000 people and should have enough for 350,000 people by the end of this month.

In Jordan, the World Food Programme (WFP) says it has moved one portable warehouse close to the Iraqi border to help store up to 400 tonnes of food.  Similar food storage operations are also going on the Turkish side of the Iraqi border.

The WFP says its has had some contacts with its national staff in northern Iraq and it seems its work has effectively stopped.  In addition to managing the general food distribution system, the WFP has been assisting more than
630,000 vulnerable people there, including school children and malnourished children.  With dwindling supplies and if security conditions deteriorate further, this project is going to stop altogether very soon, the WFP says.

A spokeswoman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Amman said its national staff in Baghdad is responding to a plea for assistance from four institutions housing between 600 to 800 disadvantaged children.  This morning they loaded two trucks with basic foodstuffs for these institutions, which house children who are orphaned or separated from their parents and those with severe disabilities.  The staff are aware of problems at two other

institutions in Kerbala, but for the moment these cannot be reached.  They say they will keep trying.

**Iraq –- Humanitarian Part 2

Here in New York, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara A. Otunnu, today called upon all parties involved in the conflict in Iraq to ensure the rights, protection and well-being of children at all times during the conflict.

“It is the responsibility of the parties”, he said, “to ensure that children are given special protection, that children and facilities critical for their well-being, such as hospitals and schools, are not attacked, and that children are not used as combatants.”

We also have two press releases related to Iraq, one from the United Nations Population Fund on their efforts to assist pregnant Iraqi women to give birth safely in a clean environment and receive emergency obstetric care if needed, both inside the country and in refugee camps.  The second press release is from the United Nations Environment Programme, which announced that it has initiated a desk study of the environment in Iraq aimed at providing a rapid and timely overview of key environmental issues in the context of the current conflict.

**Humanitarian Meeting

The Secretary-General will meet next Wednesday with the United Nations’ principle actors involved in humanitarian assistance to Iraq to discuss the coordination of all future aid to the Iraqi people.  Participants include the heads of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, and the oil-for-food programme, among others.

**Afghanistan

The Secretary-General’s report on the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security is out on the racks today (A/57/762-S/2003/333).

According to the report, security remains the most serious challenge facing the peace process in the country.  He says the “re-establishment of the rule of law, elimination of human rights abuses, reconstruction and political transformation are all impeded by the uncertain security situation”.

As the complex political process related to the constitution and preparations for elections get under way, the report notes that despite President Karzai’s statesmanlike example of national leadership, elements of the transitional administration continue to be seen by Afghans as serving primarily one constituency or another.

The report warns that “there are already too many ‘spoilers’ who are reportedly intent on undermining the peace process in Afghanistan; they must be left in no doubt that the authorities in Afghanistan and the international community stand ready to protect and see the peace process through to the end”.

The Secretary-General also urges donors to continue to meet their commitments to Afghanistan and to stay engaged over the next year as they have over the past year.

**Security Council -- DRC and CAR

Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which, among other things, it requested an increased presence for the United Nations mission in the volatile Ituri area in the north-east of the country.

Council members also issued a press statement on the situation in the Central African Republic in which they condemned the recent coup d'état and invited all the leaders of that country to begin a genuine, political,
all-inclusive dialogue immediately in order to restore legality, national cohesion and civil peace and ensure the early restoration of democracy.

**Racism

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

In a message issued on this occasion, the Secretary-General said that this day “commemorates the victims of the Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960, in which 69 peaceful demonstrators against apartheid were killed by South African police forces”.

“That tragedy marked an important watershed in the fight against racism”, the message says, “but the fight is not yet won.”

More than 40 years later, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are still extremely serious problems.  Indeed, discrimination is deeply embedded in the economic, social and political structures of many societies, and has been among the root causes of a number of violent conflicts.

The Secretary-General adds that the United Nations remains at the heart of efforts to solve the problems of racism and xenophobia.

**West Africa -- Humanitarian

In response to the pressing needs of more than 160,000 people directly affected by the six-month conflict in and around Côte d'Ivoire, the UNHCR today issued a revised appeal for some $29 million.

**UNHCR

The UNHCR is also concerned by a new United States Government policy to mandatorily detain asylum seekers based on nationality.

The UNHCR says it would hope that measures to protect civilians and ensure United States security would not target those persons who are themselves fleeing persecution and looking for safety in the United States.

**Water Day

Tomorrow is World Water Day and in his message to mark the day, the Secretary-General said that over consumption and poor water management are decreasing the quality and quantity of available fresh water, particularly in agriculture, which is the heaviest user of water.  He added that the demand for water has already outstripped population growth and if the current trend continues, two thirds of the people on earth will suffer moderate to severe water shortages in 20 years time.

“Whatever else divides the human community”, he said, “whether we live upstream or downstream, in cities or in rural areas, water issues -– the global water cycle itself -– should link us in a common effort to protect and share it equitably, sustainably and peacefully.”

The Secretary-General’s message will be delivered at the ministerial segment of the World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, tomorrow by Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.

That message was issued as a Press Release.

**Guatemala Mission

The United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala, also known as MINUGUA, has launched a new design for its Web site.  The site now includes radio spots, television campaigns and photographs, as well as documents in both English and Spanish.  You can visit the site at www.guate.net.

**Week Ahead at United Nations

And we have the Week Ahead for you to help you plan your coverage of the United Nations in the coming week.

Any questions on a Friday?  Mr. Abade?

Questions and Answers

Question:   Fred, at this morning’s meeting of the business leaders, those leaders said, and I quote, “the UN’s role on peace and security issues is under question and possibly under threat”.  Does the Secretary-General share this assessment?

Spokesman:  I think the Secretary-General feels that what we have just gone through on the debate on whether to intervene militarily in Iraq, while it did not end in a way that strengthens the Security Council and the rule of law, still demonstrated the utility of the United Nations as a place where debate over policy can be made.  And I think that he has also been impressed by the commitment of the many governments concerned to bring their views to the Security Council where they were debated.  So, I think he feels the institution

is, by and large, strengthened by our experience on Iraq and he expects the United Nations also to be involved deeply in the post-conflict stage.  So, I don’t think he would particularly share that view.  Yes, Serge?

Question:   Has anyone considered that the General Assembly should become involved, maybe not involved, but there’s Article 15 of the Charter that required that a special report in a case like this be addressed to the Assembly?  Has anybody tried to do that, the Security Council or the Secretary-General while he’s trying to get in touch with the President of the General Assembly?

Spokesman:  On the subject of Iraq?

Question:   On the subject of peace and security.

Spokesman:  Oh, peace and security, more generally?

Question:   The Charter requests that.  That a special report be sent to the Assembly in a situation like this.

Spokesman:  You’d better ask Richard Sydenham that.  I am afraid, I’m not aware of that provision or any plans.  I can’t say that no such report is in preparation, I am not just aware of it.

Question:   Is there any contact between the President of the Assembly and the Secretary-General?

Spokesman:  On this subject, I am not aware.

Enjoy your weekend.

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