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.

**Iraq -- Humanitarian

UN Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator Ross Mountain, at a press conference in Geneva earlier today, reported that the United Nations had

3,500 nationals working in Iraq, and that in the north, the staff continued to work at almost 100 per cent.  The national staff in the south, however, he said, had been instructed not to go to work or to contact the United Nations if it put them in jeopardy.  Meanwhile, he said there were discussions ongoing related to the United Nations’ return to all parts of Iraq.  Areas such as Basra, where humanitarian problems were evident, were being focused upon, he said.  We have a full transcript of his remarks available in my Office.

At the Amman, Jordan, humanitarian briefing, agencies reported on their efforts to move assistance into Iraq.

UNICEF is also looking at ways of moving large quantities of water into southern Iraq under private contract.  The need for clean water in southern Iraq is urgent and the lack of it is a significant health hazard particularly for children.  Yesterday, 13 vehicles were commissioned to go into the country.  In the end, three managed to deliver water to Um Qasr.

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that the first UN-supervised food supplies to enter Iraq crossed the Turkish border this weekend.  Three trucks with 77 metric tons of dried skim milk were offloaded in Dahuk yesterday.  They will help with a nutrition programme the WFP runs in the Kurdish provinces.  In London today, WFP Executive Director James Morris appealed for the $1.3 billion his agency has asked for under the $2.2 billion overall humanitarian appeal for Iraq.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continued to prepare for a possible exodus from Iraq.  The refugee agency also noted that large numbers of Iraqis continue to approach the UNHCR in Damascus seeking temporary protection letters.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today warned that the smoke from burning oil wells and oil in trenches in Baghdad contains toxic chemicals harmful to children and people with respiratory problems.  UNEP fears the fires may further damage Iraq’s already highly stressed environment, and Director General Klaus Toepfer said there is an urgent need to monitor air quality.

Finally, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today that five cholera kits and two trauma kits had been shipped from their warehouse in Brindisi, Italy, to Amman and would be moved into Iraq as soon as conditions allow.  Each cholera kit has medications to treat 500 people, and each trauma kit can meet the needs of 200 people.  In the meantime, the WHO has been assisting health facilities in the northern governorates to purchase fuel, fuel tanks and other supplies to

facilitate their work in caring for people moving from the larger towns and cities to smaller villages.

**Iraq

The Secretary-General, starting just about now in Conference Room 5, is holding the first in a series of meetings with the Member States’ regional groups, to brief them and exchange views on Iraq.  The meeting taking place downstairs right now is with the Arab Group, and in the rest of the week he will also be meeting with the five regional groups of the General Assembly.

**Middle East

Yesterday, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, strongly condemned the suicide bombing on the Israeli town of Netanya, in which at least 30 people were wounded.  Calling the attack “an outrageous and cowardly act”, Mr. Roed-Larsen appealed to the Palestinian leadership and people to bring the perpetrators to justice and “act immediately to completely delegitimize these murderous acts that produce nothing, but misery and fear”.  We have copies of his statement upstairs.

**Security Council

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today.  Tomorrow, 1 April, Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser of Mexico takes over as President of the Security Council.  At 4 p.m. today, the Council’s Committee on Counter-Terrorism has scheduled a briefing for all UN delegations in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.

And for the record, on Friday afternoon, the Security Council held consultations on Côte d'Ivoire and issued a press statement calling on all parties to measure up to their responsibilities and adhere to the commitments they made under the Linas-Marcoussis and Accra Agreements.  It also condemned the recruitment of mercenaries.

**Côte d’Ivoire –- Humanitarian

As the world’s attention is focused elsewhere, the humanitarian situation in Côte d’Ivoire continues to worsen, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  Intensifying violence and instability in the country’s lawless west are making it increasingly difficult for aid workers to reach civilians desperately in need of humanitarian assistance.  Conditions in rebel-controlled areas of the north suffer for lack of public services and a strangled economy.  Even in the government-controlled south, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the communities who host them face deepening economic and health crises.

The dangerous and unpredictable security situation in the west, especially in areas near the border with Liberia, poses stiff challenges to the humanitarian aid community.  You can get the full statement available in my Office with more details.

**Somalia -- Arms

The Panel of Experts mandated to collect information on arms embargo violations in Somalia reported back to the Security Council that it has found a clear pattern of violations of that arms embargo, with weapons being given by neighbouring States and purchased by Somali factions on the international arms market, a practice that is continuing to this day.

The Panel believes the sanctions regime for Somalia should be enhanced, noting, “The dismissive attitude to resolutions of the Security Council will continue to prevail if the international community does not show resolve in implementing a strict embargo regime or remain vigilant in investigating new violations of the embargo.”

The report, published by an independent, three-member Panel, says that Ethiopia has played an overt military role in Somalia, and that Eritrea has also been a major supplier of arms and ammunition to Somali groups.  Yemen and Djibouti, among other nations in the region, are also reported to have helped provide weapons to Somalia, mainly to the Transitional National Government.  The report is out on the racks.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

The UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) deplores the attacks on two different areas of the DRC by the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) over the weekend.  MONUC says in a press release that on Saturday, 29 March, RCD troops attacked and occupied Bunyatenge and Muhanga districts, and caused large displacements of people. 

The capture of the two areas occurred on the very day RCD had signed the agreement on the future military structure and on the eve of the final session of the inter-Congolese dialogue, due to take place in Sun City, South Africa, starting tomorrow.  MONUC says that it might unnecessarily increase tensions in a highly troubled area, and impede the efforts of both the UN and the international community to restore peace in the DRC.  We have a press release on that.

**International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia

Today in The Hague, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia delivered its judgement against two Bosnian Croats who were accused of committing atrocities during the Bosnian war against the Muslim community living in and around the city of Mostar, finding both men guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.

Mladen Naletilic –- known as “Tuta” -– was found guilty on eight counts, including torture, unlawful transfer of civilians and persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Vinko Matrinovic –- known as “Stela” –- was found guilty on nine counts and sentenced to 18 years.  We have more details in a press release.

**SARS

Dr. Carlo Urbani, an expert on communicable diseases, died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, Saturday in Thailand.  He was the first WHO officer to identify the outbreak of this new disease.  Dr. Urbani worked in public health programmes in Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam.  He was 46.

“Carlo Urbani’s death saddens us all deeply”, said WHO Director-General

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland.  “His life reminds us again of our true work in public health.  Today, we should all pause for a moment and remember the life of this outstanding physician.”

In their latest statistical update on SARS, the WHO reports a total of  1,622 cases in 13 different countries, resulting in 58 deaths.

      **Budget

Finally, budget news today, India became the 69^th Member State to pay its 2003 regular budget contribution in full.  That was with payment of more than

$4 million.  At the end of March last year, 63 Member States were paid in full, so we’re doing a little better than last year.

That’s all I have.

Questions and Answers

Question:  Fred, as you said that a number of Iraqi civilians have been killed and many, many people have been injured, most of them in Karbala, especially in Baghdad.  These people are left without any help. There is no proper medication, no proper operation facilities in the hospitals, even anesthesia they don’t have.  Is there any possibility for the United Nations to be involved and supply all these needed facilities?

Spokesman:  At this stage of the war, the de facto authorities, either the Iraqi Government or the coalition forces, are responsible for the welfare of the population.  I wasn’t aware that the situation was so serious as far as medical supplies go.  My understanding is that the Government said that they had a certain amount of supplies.  They might be lacking in a number of specific areas, Basra, for example, where electricity and water shortages have compounded the health situation there.  But apart from what I have already told you from the report this morning about our ongoing efforts in the north of the country using local staff, and our plans to begin using private contractors or whatever we can to start moving some supplies into the south, we have to rely on the de facto authorities.

Question:  If you permit me a follow-up?  The Iraqi Government is not accepting anything from the allies, but from the United Nations, by the United Nations.  So, maybe they would be able to really minimize the problem there ...

Spokesman:  I have nothing to add ...

Question:  ... they must be involved at this moment.

Spokesman:  I have nothing to add.  We are involved.  We have 3,500 local people working in the country; actively working in the north, temporarily suspended in the south until the security situation improves.  International staff are poised to go back in soon as the situation allows.  We’re doing everything we can.

Question:  Fred, forgive me for the first minute if I missed this.  Was there a letter from the Iraqis about the bombing of the market in Baghdad (inaudible).  They had something on TV.  Did they send a letter?

Spokesman:  Not that I could confirm this morning.  If they announced they sent it, then it must be on its way.  But they could not confirm for me this morning that we had actually received it.  We’ll keep looking for it for you.  Yes?  [The letter has still not been received.]

Question:  Do we have a biography of Urbani, at all?

Spokesman:  I don’t know.  Let’s check with the World Health Organization and we’ll let you know after the briefing.  Yes?

Question:  I’m sorry I missed the beginning of the briefing.  Do we know how the humanitarian aid is going to get to Iraq, because I understood the Secretary-General had a meeting on Friday afternoon, after the approval of the resolution on oil for food, with experts to decide the best way to get the humanitarian aid.  Do we know something about it?

Spokesman:  We have two reports that I quoted from before you came in.  The first is the daily report from Amman, Jordan, where we tell you agency by agency what’s being done.  And the second was a special briefing given in Geneva by Ross Mountain who talked about some plans to try to get into Basra.  Yes, Mohammed?

Question: Fred, could we have any details about the meeting between the Secretary-General and the Arab group?

Spokesman:  Of course, the Arab group is not one of the regional groups, as you know.  There are five regional groups.  But he wanted to speak to the Arab group separately and he’s starting that today, just now.  But I can’t tell you any more than what I have already said; that it’s a briefing and an exchange of views on Iraq.  And then starting tomorrow, he will start meeting with each of the five regional groups, wrapping up by the end of the week or before the end of the week, we don’t have the schedule yet.  So, it’s a broad consultation with all Member States, making sure that everyone is in the loop and hearing their concerns.  That’s what he wants to do.  Yes?

Question:  Is that open to the press?

Spokesman:  No, I’m afraid not.  Yes, Serge?

Question:  I understand that the Arab group was mandated to call a special session of the General Assembly.  I have the document right here.  Do you know if such a move is on?

Spokesman:  We’d have to check with the spokesman for the President of the General Assembly.  I am not aware that a formal move has taken place.  But you should double check with Richard Sydenham.  Yes, Evelyn?

Question:  Hold another briefing in a couple of weeks or so on the aid because I am not believing (inaudible).  Everyone is stepping on everyone’s toes.  We don’t know what’s coming out of the oil-for-food programme.  I can’t believe that donors are going to give anywhere near $2 billion to aid groups when they don’t know if they can get in; they don’t know what they’re going to do; they don’t know what’s in the oil-for-food programme.  We have the same three trucks of water coming from the US military, the Brit military and UNICEF.  And, I mean, if all this came to pass, Iraq would be absolutely awash with aid.  And I am not talking about the north; I’m talking about the south and the central.  Because it seems the only stuff getting in right now is through the military…

Spokesman:  Well, that was for ...

Question:  ... and we hear some of it, you know, there are other donations that have gone through WFP?

Spokesman:  That was foreseen.

Question:  (inaudible) ... for what?  If you’ve got oil-for-food, and how are they going to mesh?  Who the hell would give to this, if nobody knows what they need?

Spokesman:  Well, I think we laid out pretty clearly that once the situation permits, we’d go in with international workers; we’d try to reopen the oil-for-food pipeline and continue delivering aid that the Iraqi population had already grown to rely on.  Until the military situation is resolved, it’s the de facto authorities.  In areas controlled by the Iraqi Government, they’ve got to look after the population.  In areas controlled by the coalition forces, they’ve got to look after the Iraqi population, and everyone is required to protect civilians in this conflict to the extent they can.

So, we’re preparing for the day when we’ll be able to go back in; we’re looking at ways to get some stuff in beforehand.  I mentioned the UNICEF contracting with private truckers to bring in some water and so on.  Two billion dollars, that was a flexible figure because, to the extent that the oil-for-food money could be freed up and stuff in the pipeline released, that $2.2 billion figure could be reduced.  That’s our estimate of the needs and no matter whether they can be met through oil for food or through private contributions.  But our assumption was that what’s in oil-for-food pipeline would not release enough of the right kinds of things, so that we need cash on top of that. So, that’s why ...

Question:  (inaudible) despite all this explanation, because there’s

$2 billion for the Secretary-General to play with for food and medicine (inaudible) for trucks for the UN.  And I can understand WFP getting the initial load of food in quickly, but I don’t understand all the other agencies without having a (inaudible) asking for money, without anyone knowing what to use it for.

Spokesman:  Well, I mean, if this confusion is general, we can ask [Benon] Sevan [head of the oil-for-food programme] to come back and brief you again.

Question:  Sorry to say that, but maybe in a week or so.  Because, I look at the stuff from Jordan, I look at the stuff from the US military, I know about the oil for food.  I wouldn’t know how to write about this honestly.  I mean, we have to write about their press releases, but I am beginning not to believe them.

Spokesman:  Okay.  Well, I see others nodding here in assent.  So, we’ll ask if we can have a follow-up briefing and take some these more specific questions.

Question:  Thank you.

Spokesman:  Yes, Lee?

Question:  According to the briefing from Amman, the Iraqi Information Minister rejected the new resolution of the Security Council on the oil-for-food programme.  What will happen now?

Spokesman:  That’s between the Iraqi Government and Security Council.  Yes?

Question:  Has the Secretary-General been continuing in his consultations that he had with Prime Minister Blair and Condoleezza Rice of post-war reconstruction?  Is that ongoing and what type of conversation?

Spokesman:  You weren’t listening carefully.  He has not discussed post-war reconstruction with either Condoleezza Rice or Tony Blair.  Condoleezza Rice did brief him on some of the preliminary thinking of the US Government.  He feels it’s premature to be talking about those things right now.  He’s focused exclusively on the humanitarian.  In terms of his own staff’s contingency planning, they’re looking at a wide range of options.  But that’s purely internal.  He’s not discussing that with world leaders.

Question:  Fred, are we going to upgrade the Amman office, because I see a lot of briefings coming out of Amman?

Spokesman:  Well, yes.  No, not “will” we’ve already done that.  So that before the outbreak of hostilities, we established a humanitarian briefing centre there and all the UN agencies, funds and programmes involved in Iraq have sent spokespeople there and they brief seven days a week, and we have the transcript of that briefing available in my Office every day.

Question:  There’s no way for us to participate in that briefing, because obviously we’re reporting the war from here.

Spokesman:  No, it’s really a regional story for the press in the region.  I don’t think we could pipe that in.  I think we looked at the option, but I think it’s just too costly.  There are hundreds of journalists there in Amman following the story, and we think it’s primarily ...

Question:  (inaudible) ...

Spokesman:  Well, it may be true that a number of news organizations do try to follow the whole world from New York, but I think probably most have reporters in the region.  Yes?

Question:  A short time ago, there was talk of a group of experts taking a look at the North Korean issue.  I’m wondering if there’s any update on that? North Korea regarding the IAEA referred a resolution to the Security Council and they said that they have a group of experts from Security Council members to review the situation.  Anything on update on that or any suggestion?  

Spokesman:  No, I don’t have anything with me on that.  I’d have to check with the Council to see what, if anything, we have to add to what we have already said.

Question:  I have heard that President Bush -– I don’t know where -- is going to meet the Secretary-General.  Can you confirm that?

Spokesman:  No.  There’s nothing in the works that I am aware of concerning a meeting between the Secretary-General and President Bush.  Serge?

Question:  Fred, you have answered this question before, and I take it as a very important one.  The relationship between the Secretary-General and the Arab group is (inaudible) but obviously with the new mandate that the Secretary-General has now on Iraq.  If the relationship now is not good between the Secretary-General and the Arab group, or even with Iraq, how is he going to carry it out?

Spokesman:  Well, I think that’s one reason why he’s meeting with them today.  If they have any concerns they can raise them.  He’ll do his best to assure them that his concern is the well-being of the Iraqi population.

Thank you very much.

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