DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
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 everyone.
**Noon Guests
Our guest at the briefing today will be Valli Moosa, the Chair of the Commission on Sustainable Development and also South Africa’s Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism. And he will be joined by Nitin Desai, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and they will be briefing you on the work of the 11th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, that ends today.
**DR-Congo
From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this morning, the already volatile situation in Bunia, in the north east part of that country, has degenerated. Hundreds of civilians, mixed with students, and militia, stormed the UN mission headquarters in the town, demanding a more robust response for the protection of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
The mob destroyed UN vehicles and other property. The UN sector commander was slightly injured when attacked with a machete. The mob was dispersed by UN troops who fired warning shots in the air. We understand the crowd has returned and is outside the UN compound now.
As we’ve been reporting, several thousand civilians have sought refuge at the airport –- where a small UN force is stationed. These people have no food, water or sanitation facilities.
Today, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno is expected to brief the Security Council and to advise Council members that Bunia is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The fighting between Hema and Lendu militias started in the wake of the Ugandan army’s withdrawal on 6 May. Fighting between the two militias has continued daily, mostly near the airport, affecting the civilians gathered there. The Lendu are currently in control of the town, while the Hema are three kilometers outside. The more than 700 Congolese national police who were sent to Bunia have been unable to provide any real security and have reportedly dispersed.
The mission has some 625 Uruguayan troops in Bunia and is today sending an additional 50. This constitutes the total reserve force of MONUC.
**Security Council
The Security Council is holding consultations on Iraq today. Council members are now in possession of a draft resolution dealing with the UN role and sanctions in Iraq. They are also expected to hear a briefing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Then, starting this evening, the Security Council will take part in a weekend retreat with the Secretary-General. The topic of the fifth retreat of its kind is: “New Challenges to International Peace and Security”.
**Iraq
From northern Iraq, the UN says the number of victims of mines and unexploded ordinance in the three northern governorates during March and April increased by more than 90 per cent compared to the same period last year; an important number of those victims were children.
Today, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees sent a three-truck convoy from Jordan into Iraq with emergency supplies for up to 2,000 people, including 400 tents, 1,200 mattresses and 2,000 blankets as well as stoves, jerry cans and soap. These supplies will be distributed to some of the reported 1,000 Palestinian refugees who have been evicted from their homes in the Iraqi capital since the end of the war. Some of them are camping in unused schools and other abandoned buildings, as well as on plots of open land in Baghdad. UNHCR fears that more of the estimated 60,000 to 90,000 Palestinian refugees living in Iraq could lose their homes. The agency says that Palestinians are being targeted because they are perceived as having benefited from the previous regime -– especially with free housing.
Also in Baghdad, teams from the UN Development Programme are undertaking an assessment of electricity and water sanitation sites. That work is being done with technical personnel from the relevant Iraqi ministries.
Yesterday, a C-130 cargo plane loaded with UNICEF and WFP supplies landed in Baghdad. The UNICEF supplies included oral rehydration kits, black fever medicine and emergency health kits. All are destined for Baghdad pediatric sites.
**West Africa
I have a number of announcements today concerning West Africa.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, is meeting with the heads of UN regional offices in Dakar, Senegal, today to deal with the crises in West Africa.
According to the Special Representative, “in addition to trying to come up with a new approach to address these issues of life and death for the subregion, it is also essential that the international community, notwithstanding its current focus on Iraq, North Korea and elsewhere, should continue to keep in mind the grave situation in West Africa”.
He said he would share the outcome of this meeting with members of the Security Council who will be visiting the region next week.
British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, who is leading the 15-member, seven-nation mission to Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone starting next Thursday, is scheduled to brief you on Monday here in room 226 at 12:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers will leave tomorrow on a mission to five West African nations –- Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The West Africa region is home to more than half a million refugees.
**DSG Travels
The Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will be traveling all of next week, starting with an official visit to Poland from 11 to 13 May.
During that visit, she will have meetings with government officials, including President Aleksander Kwasniewski, and on Monday, she will deliver an address to the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On Wednesday, the Deputy will travel to Strasbourg, where she will have meetings with a number of European parliamentarians, as well as the President of the European Parliament, Patrick Cox. In the evening, she will attend an informal meeting of the ministers of Foreign Affairs of the members of the Council of Europe, hosted by the Secretary-General of the Council.
Then, on Thursday, she will go to Brussels for her yearly meeting with officials of the European Union, at which she will discuss with them crisis management and specific country and regional issues of concern to both the UN and the EU. On Friday, she will address the ministerial meeting of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the EU.
**Colombian asylum seekers
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Colombians seeking asylum in Ecuador has surged in the first four months of this year. A record 5,100 have entered Ecuador asking for protection, more than four times the number for the same period last year. UNHCR says the upsurge coincides with the deterioration of the conflict in Colombia, especially the department of Nariño, which borders Ecuador and which has seen a marked increase in fighting since January. UNHCR is supporting the Government of Ecuador in dealing with the increase in new arrivals by providing training and equipment for government officials.
We have more details in the briefing notes from UNHCR.
**WHO begins dialogue with food industry
Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland of the World Health Organization today in Geneva hosted the first formal round-table meeting between WHO and senior executives from the food industry on diet and chronic diseases.
Following the recently-released WHO and FAO report on diet and nutrition and today’s high-level dialogue in Geneva, WHO is planning a series of consultations with civil society groups, UN agencies and industry trade associations. The outcome of these discussions will be used for the drafting of a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, which will be presented to the World Health Assembly in May 2004.
**HABITAT
The 19th session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, ended today with the adoption of a record number of resolutions. In an unprecedented move, delegates adopted a resolution asking UN-HABITAT to establish a special Human Settlements Programme in the occupied Palestinian territories to address the difficult housing situation there. The new programme will improve shelter and basic urban services and the resolution asks the donor community for $5 million to fund the first two years of the project. We have a press release on that.
**Indigenous issues
Starting on Monday, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will meet for two weeks, holding its second session. More than 1,500 people are registered to attend, in a meeting that will be opened by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai, who is here on my right.
The theme of this year’s session is indigenous children and youth, and an honor guard of children from the Onondaga Nation will participate in the opening ceremonies. We have a program of the opening events available upstairs; and on Monday, we will also put out a message from the Secretary-General to mark the occasion.
**Mrs. Annan
Nane Annan, wife of the Secretary-General, today addressed 1,300 high school students at the opening of the 4th Annual Model UN conference, organized by the United Nations Association of the United States, taking place at the Jacob Javits Center. She talked about meeting children and visiting United Nations projects in many countries when traveling with the Secretary-General. She also thanked the children for their participation in the Model UN and encouraged them to learn more about the world and to reach out to those in need.
**World Chronicle television programme
World Chronicle programme no. 899 with Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, can be seen today at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television channel 3 or 31.
**Guest on Monday
Our guest at the briefing on Monday will be Lee Swepston, the Chief of the Equality and Employment Branch of the International Labour Organization. And he will be here to launch the ILO’s global report on discrimination entitled “Time for Equality at Work”.
There will be simultaneous releases of that report in different areas of the world, so I suggest you check with ILO if that’s a matter of concern for you. Copies of the report in six languages will be available as well as media briefing kits. You can get them in the room here on Monday.
**The Week Ahead at the United Nations
And we have The Week Ahead for you to help you plan your coverage of the UN for the next week.
Any questions before we go to Mr. Desai? Yes sir?
Questions and Answers
Question: Would the Security Council characterize what’s happening in Bunia as a crisis, and is there fear among Security Council members that what’s taking place there now may be a prelude to a repeat of what happened in the 1990s in Rwanda regarding the ethnic tensions and slaughter of Hutus and Tutsis?
Spokesman: I can’t speak for the Security Council, so you’ll have to put that question to the President of the Council, or some of the members. I can say from the Secretary-General’s point of view, he’s extremely concerned about the eastern Congo. You’ll recall that’s one of the reasons we gave for his cutting short his last visit to Europe. He’s been on the phone with heads of State in the area, particularly President [Yoweri] Museveni of Uganda, asking for coordination between Uganda and the UN troops there as Uganda pulls out and the UN tries to add additional military resources to the region to replace them. As for your reference to Rwanda, I’d have to tell you that, yes, that has been in the mind of some of the Peacekeeping Department people and Political Department people who advise the Secretary-General on the Congo. There is concern that the situation could turn very badly and I believe that the Secretary-General has expressed his concerns to the Council.
Question: If I may ask a follow up question Fred? The 650-some odd UN soldiers that are on the ground, or peacekeepers that are on the ground there in Bunia, is that number enough to at least quell what really could be, I mean, is that enough numbers to stem the tide of a possible crisis in human slaughter, at least in the view of the Secretary-General?
Spokesman: I would have to get a military assessment on that. But, I think it’s probably safe to say in light of the things that are happening most recently, including today, that it does not look like a sufficient number of soldiers to guarantee security for that region. Bill?
Question: What is the UN response to the extent of the role given to the UN and its agencies by the draft resolution introduced today?
Spokesman: That has just been presented to Security Council members. The Secretary-General will want those members to consult with their capitals, formulate their own views. He does not want to get out in front of them in debating this resolution.
Nitin, welcome. Why don’t you take this seat? Nitin Desai on the Commission on Sustainable Development.