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.

**Raffi Ahmed

On Friday we advised you that the US State Department had invited the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Rafeeuddin Ahmed, to Washington for a series of briefings on Iraq, involving State Department, Defense Department and National Security Council personnel.  These meetings are going on today at the State Department.  Mr. Ahmed hopes to get a clearer picture of the coalition’s thinking on post-conflict Iraq, as part of his ongoing work for the
Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General in Athens

Later tonight, the Secretary-General is leaving New York for Athens, where he has been invited to attend the European Conference on 17 April.  He will arrive in Athens tomorrow, and then, on Wednesday, he is scheduled to hold several meetings in which he will discuss developments in Iraq.  Among his meetings on Wednesday afternoon, he will see British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Then on Thursday, in addition to attending the European Conference meeting, he is expected to meet with French President Jacques Chirac in the morning and with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister
George Papandreou in the evening.

**Humanitarian

At the regular humanitarian briefing in Amman earlier today, a spokesman for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said a UN flight carrying international UN staff back to the three northern governorates has been delayed and that clearance from the military authorities to use an air corridor was still pending.

Meanwhile, another UN humanitarian team has received clearance from the Iranian authorities and crossed today from Mehran in Iran to Badrah in Iraq, which is 16 kilometres inside Iraq from the Iranian border. They will assess the needs of up to 30,000 internally displaced people in and around Badrah.  Their report has not yet been received.

A spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund added that all schools in the three northern governorates of Dohuk, Erbil and Suleimaniyah have reopened, and classes have resumed.  UNICEF is resuming its school health programme in these schools.

Also in the north, UNICEF estimates that roughly 3,000 internally displaced persons remain in the north, down from 300,000 at the height of the

conflict.  The World Food Programme has also been able to dramatically increase its food shipments into the north using land routes from Turkey.

In Um Qasr, in the south, UNICEF and volunteers have begun screening children for malnutrition at Community Child Care Units.  UNICEF has been able to locate many of the old volunteers who staffed these centres prior to the outbreak of hostilities.  New volunteers are also being trained.

In Basra, the WFP says its national staff have completed assessment of the infrastructure of the public distribution system in the city.  The nine mills used by the system are in good condition.  Three warehouses are also in good condition except for the doors, that were broken.  Assessments of the public distribution system will also be made in neighbouring provinces.  You can get more from the Amman briefing notes available upstairs.

**UNESCO

Following the acts of looting committed in the National Archaeological Museum of Baghdad, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura has contacted the American and British authorities and asked them to take immediate measures for the protection and surveillance of Iraqi archaeological sites and cultural institutions.

In order to prevent the illicit export of Iraqi cultural goods, Matsuura also undertook contacts with the authorities of the countries bordering Iraq and international police and customs officials to ensure respect for the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

**Iraq –- Human Rights

High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello today said, in an interview with BBC’s Hard Talk, that there is a temporary vacuum of law and order in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, and he appealed to the occupying powers to assume fully their humanitarian responsibilities.

He was asked about possibilities of trials for Iraqi war crimes suspects, and he made a distinction between trials of prisoners of war, which could be handled by the United States and United Kingdom provided that they abide by the Third Geneva Convention, and trials concerning crimes against humanity, genocide or other such charges.

Speaking of the accused in the latter category of trials, Vieira de Mello said, “Obviously they cannot be tried by a foreign court.  It would have to be either a national or a combination of national and international judges and prosecutors.”  We have the transcript of that interview upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding consultations on Somalia, with a briefing by Ambassador Stefan Tafrov of Bulgaria, who chairs the Council's sanctions committee on Somalia.  He introduced the report by the Panel of Experts dated
25 March on arms embargo violations in Somalia, in which it reported a clear pattern of violations with weapons being given by neighboring States and purchased by Somali factions on the international arms market.  A press statement is expected to be read out on Somalia by Security Council President Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser of Mexico.

The status of a draft resolution on Cyprus is expected to come up during consultations, according to the Council presidency.

**ESCWA

Today in Beirut, the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia began a four-day session to deal with the region’s economic progress, at a time when the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Mervat Tallawy, said, “a dark cloud is covering the whole world, and the Arab region in particular”.

Tallawy said that the previous 1990-91 Gulf War in Iraq had been directly responsible for losses amounting to some $600 billion, while it is expected that, as a result of the current war against Iraq, those losses could increase to a trillion dollars.  She added that between 4 and 5 million job opportunities had been lost following the previous Gulf War, a figure expected to rise to
6 to 7 million jobs lost as a result of the current war.

She added, “In the past ten years, average per capita income in the Arab region has been the lowest in the world, largely because of the fall in the price of oil.”

She also delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General, who warned that over the years, war and civil strife have helped to divert the resources and energies of many ESCWA members from their development objectives.  We have copies of both statements upstairs.

**Afghanistan

The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that rival factions in northern Afghanistan, Jamiat and Jumbesh, have withdrawn 50 per cent of their troops in Maimana, the provincial capital of Faryab to the outskirts of the city.  This follows an agreement with a 24-hour implementation deadline that was brokered by UNAMA and signed by the two factions.  The two factions began fighting last week.

UNAMA is monitoring the withdrawal of troops from the city and will also be involved in registering all collected weapons later.  As city life gradually returns to normal since the ceasefire on Wednesday, civilians are back on the streets and, in particular, children are on their way back to school.

Also in Afghanistan, a three-day immunization campaign against polio, the leading cause of disability in country, is poised to start across the country tomorrow.  This nationwide operation is led by the Afghan Ministry of Health, with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization.  In this first round of the campaign for 2003, the goal is to reach more than 6 million children, from newborns to five-year-olds.

**Economic and Social Council meeting

This morning, the Economic and Social Council met with leaders of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO) to take stock of how the consensus developed at last year’s Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development is being implemented.

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette addressed the meeting on the Secretary-General’s behalf, noting that the recent annual discussions between ECOSOC and the Bretton Woods institutions had contributed to a large degree of convergence in their thinking.  Now, amid serious concerns about the economic impact of the conflict in Iraq and the weak recovery of the world economy from the slowdown of 2001, she added, “We must all do our part to rebuild global confidence.”

We have copies of her speech upstairs.  Also, once the morning session breaks up, some of the key speakers in this morning’s discussion will come to the Security Council stakeout to speak to you.

**World Bank/IMF

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) held their spring meetings in Washington over the weekend, and the Development Committee at those talks reaffirmed after the meeting’s conclusion its commitment to reduce poverty and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

In a closing communiqué, the Development Committee said that “slower economic growth, the war in Iraq, and failure to make more substantive progress on the Doha Development Agenda add to the challenge of implementing the global development agenda”.

According to a new World Bank report, global poverty can still be cut in half by the year 2015, as called for in the Millennium Goals, if rich countries lower trade barriers and boost foreign aid and poor countries invest more in the health and education of their citizens.  We have a press release with more details from the World Bank.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ituri Pacification Commission, under the presidency of the Deputy Special Representative for the Secretary General for the DRC, Behrooz Sadry, yesterday adopted an interim mechanism project for the pacification and the provisional administration of the Ituri region.  While awaiting the installation of the transitional government for the political and administrative management of Ituri, a special interim Assembly of 32 members was created.  You can get more information on that in a press release available upstairs.

**Africa

Africa must take urgent steps to harness the power of modern technologies if it is to effectively deal with the many tough and frustrating developmental challenges that it faces.  This is the key message of a recent lecture delivered by K.Y. Amoako, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa.  There’s a press release on this subject available upstairs.

**DDA Discussion

The Department for Disarmament Affairs will organize a panel discussion tomorrow.  The subject of the discussion is "Making Disarmament more effective:  men and women working together".  The event will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m., in Conference Room 6.  Media, missions to the UN, non-governmental organizations and United Nations staff are invited to attend.  We have more details about the event in a press release available upstairs.

**Signings

This morning Panama became the twenty-sixth country to sign the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court.

**Noon Guest tomorrow

Dr. David Heymann, Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s Communicable Diseases Cluster will be joining us at noon tomorrow to brief you on SARS.  That’s tomorrow at the noon briefing.

That’s all I have for you.  Any questions?  Yes, Bill?

Questions and Answers

Question:  What would the Secretary-General believe to be the significance of the Security Council passing a resolution on Cyprus this morning in terms of helping restart his process?  What does this do for him?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  I think the
Secretary-General’s stand on this issue has been spelled out very clearly in his report to the Security Council.  He felt that it was a great opportunity missed that both sides failed to reach agreement.  And he also said that unless he sees very clear signs from both sides, real commitment to changing the situation, he’s not going to initiate any moves.  However, his good offices will be available if both sides show any clear signs that they want to move forward.

Question:  And the Council’s part in this though?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  The Council’s?

Question:  Well, the Council’s passing a resolution backing him...

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Well, again I think if the Council passed a resolution it would endorse the Secretary-General’s report in which, as I have said, his stand is clearly spelled out.  Michael?

Question:  Can you give us a little bit more in Raffi Ahmed’s meetings in Washington today?  Is he simply just trying to get a sense of what the coalition’s thinking is, or is he also offering some sort of suggestions as to what the UN role might be, and who are his highest level meetings with today?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  I don’t have any more details apart from what I have already said.  However, the Secretary-General, when appointing Ahmed as his Special Adviser, he did say that he’d be the focal point for all the Member States if they want to have discussions with the UN on the issue of Iraq.  As far as the Secretary-General is concerned, any other functions or roles that the UN might play in a post-war Iraq would have to be mandated by the Security Council.  So, without a clear signal from the
Security Council, the UN itself is not going to generate or initiate any moves.  We’re waiting for the Security Council’s mandate.

Question:  Just one more question.  Sorry, it’s a different subject and I hope I am not getting too ahead of ourselves.  But, can you sort of walk us through the process, if, in fact, coalition forces were to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, is it the Secretary-General’s feeling that because there exists a resolution already, or because the inspectors have a mandate, they would just immediately go back into the country should the United Nations deem it so, or would they have to work with coalition forces by way of permission to get back into the country?  And does this have to go to the Security Council at all, on another level?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Well, resolution 687 and 1284 spell out very clearly that any disarmament in Iraq has to go through the Security Council, has to be verified and monitored by the Security Council via UNMOVIC.  But, unfortunately, because of the war, the UNMOVIC staff have been withdrawn from the country.  However, we’re assessing the situation there.  Once the situation allows, then UNMOVIC staff will go back and continue their activities.  Meanwhile, all Security Council resolutions regarding disarmament still stand.  Yes, please?

Question:  Who initiated Mr. Raffi Ahmed’s meeting with US officials; the US or the UN?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  He was invited by the US administration.  Yes?

Question:  Do you have the guideline of the UN regarding how to deal with the occupying power?  Does the meeting of Mr. Ahmed in Washington here go against the guidelines?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  In what way does it go against the guidelines?

Question:  The guidelines set up a way for UN personnel to deal with an occupying power.  Mr. Ahmed is a UN personnel.

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Well, I haven’t seen any guidelines that forbid UN staff or officials from dealing with coalition forces in this case...

Question:  (inaudible)

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Sorry?

Question:  (inaudible)

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  As I have said, his role is acting as a focal point for any Member States, that includes the coalition forces, you know, the United States, the British government, to discuss issues relating to post-war Iraq with the UN.  That’s the mandate he got from the Secretary-General.  So, I don’t see any problem in sending him over on behalf of the Secretary-General to have discussions of that nature.  Yes?

Question:  If the inspectors were withdrawn without any instructions from the Security Council on the initiative of the Secretary-General, is it not possible for the Secretary-General to send them back in once he considers the situation secure enough?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Yes, as I have said, when he announced the withdrawal of UNMOVIC inspectors, he did say that when the situation permits, they would go back.  However, we’re waiting for the security assessment from Baghdad.

Question:  I would like to ask, when shall we expect the United Nations to be involved in cleaning up what is happening now in Iraq, especially the sanitation and people lying around the roads and what have you?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  You mean in the whole country or Baghdad?

Question:  In Baghdad.

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  In Baghdad, the security situation still doesn’t allow the UN to send back its international staff, yet.  I mean, the coalition forces haven’t even given their own civilian staff the clearance to go back.  So, as I have said, once the situation allows us to send back assessment teams to give a green light for international staff to go back, we’ll do so as soon as possible.

Question:  So, when do you anticipate that to happen?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Well, it’s very hard to anticipate.  As you can see from the television pictures, the city is still very much in a pretty chaotic situation.  So, when will that happen?  I really can’t tell.

Question:  For your information now, the smell of the corpses and all that is killing the people, even the people who are resident.  So, this really should be put to an end, either by the United States or the United Nations, or whoever is able to do that.

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  As has been said many times in this room, according to the Geneva Conventions and The Hague Regulations, it’s the occupying powers’ responsibility to look after the civilians in times like this.

Question:  Is the Secretary-General confident that there will be consensus on the UN role in Iraq?

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Well, he’s confident that the UN will have an important role to play.  As to the nature and extent of that role, it has to be decided by the Security Council.  As I am sure you’re aware that the Security Council, apart from some bilateral and some multilateral meetings, the Security Council hasn’t taken up the issue in that consultations room yet.  So, we’ll have to wait and see.

Thank you.  Have a very good afternoon.

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