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.

**Guests at Noon

Our guests at the noon briefing today will be Carolyn McAskie, the UN’s Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, together with Margaret Carey, who is here on my left, Principal Officer in the Africa Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and they will be talking to you about the situation in Bunia, in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

**DR Congo

From the DRC today, the UN Mission there, MONUC, reports that the situation in Bunia continues to be extremely difficult and volatile, with intense fighting going on between ethnic Hema and Lendu militias in the town itself, as well as around the airport. The UN Mission’s headquarters in Bunia is wedged in an area between the two fighting groups.

Today, a shell landed in the UN Mission’s compound, killing one person and wounding 13 others.  And I can now confirm the reports on the wires yesterday that one woman was killed while inside the UN Mission’s Bunia headquarters.  That was by a stray bullet to the head.  Her two children survived her and they are still in the compound.

MONUC has also reported that two UN military observers have been missing since 11 a.m. local time yesterday from Mongbwalu, five kilometres north of Bunia.  All attempts are being made to locate them.

There has also been an increase in the number of internally displaced persons seeking shelter in the Mission’s Bunia headquarters, and a makeshift medical clinic has been organized there to deal with that situation.

**DRC –- Rights

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, today expressed his grave concern at the latest reports of indiscriminate killings in Bunia, and in particular at reports that civilians are being killed because of their ethnicity.

The UN Mission in that country, as well as the High Commissioner’s office, have just completed their report on the massacres that took place last month just north-east of Bunia, in Drodro, and that document will be submitted to the Security Council shortly.  The High Commissioner pledges his complete support to the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in investigating these events, and warns the perpetrators that there will be no impunity.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding consultations on a draft resolution on Iraq today, with UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell and Benon Sevan, the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, available to answer questions from Council members.  Rafeeuddin Ahmed, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, is also in attendance.

**Iraq

In Baghdad earlier today, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, met for the first time with Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, the US Presidential Envoy to Iraq.

Afterwards, in speaking to reporters, Bremer said they had discussed ways in which the UN and its specialized agencies can be of assistance in the programme of recovery in Iraq.  They focused on how the World Food Programme could use money from the “oil-for-food” account to purchase the next crop of wheat and barley from Iraqi farmers.

Lopes da Silva stressed the UN’s immediate concern, which is security.  “Security in the broad sense”, he said, “law and order, not for us as persons, but for the society”.  Da Silva added that the UN did have the authority under Security Council Resolution 1472 to undertake local procurement, but related to that effort is also the law and order situation, so that money and persons can move about safely.

Also today the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says a nutrition assessment of Baghdad shows that acute malnutrition rates in children under five have nearly doubled since February 2002.  The assessment was confined to Baghdad because of general insecurity throughout the country.  Nevertheless, it shows that 7.7 per cent of children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, compared with last year’s figure of 4 per cent.  Acute malnutrition signifies that a child is actually wasting away.

A UNICEF nutrition specialist in Baghdad said that the survey found that more than 1 in 10 children were in need of treatment for dehydration.  Poor water and sanitation leads to diarrhea, and then to dehydration and malnutrition.

UNICEF is working to trucking in water and chlorine tablets, and is also working on emergency repairs to water stations.  A convoy carrying some

80 metric tons of relief supplies crossed the Iran-Iraq border this morning bound for Baghdad.

**Statement on Myanmar

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman on the subject of Myanmar:

“Mr. Razali Ismail, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar, will visit Yangon from 6 to 10 June 2003.  It will be his tenth mission as Special Envoy.

“The Secretary-General hopes that the Special Envoy’s visit will reinvigorate the process of national reconciliation in Myanmar, which appears to have stalled over the past several months.  He reiterates his call on both the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), to redouble their efforts to start substantive political dialogue by taking advantage of Mr. Razali’s forthcoming visit.”

**Security Council -- Côte d’Ivoire Mission

Towards the end of the afternoon yesterday, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution establishing a UN mission in Côte d’Ivoire called MINUCI, for an initial period of six months.

The Council authorized the new Mission to facilitate implementation by the Ivorian parties of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement.

The Mission would include the deployment of a military liaison group on the basis of the recommendation by the Secretary-General in his report on Côte d’Ivoire.  The resolution says the military component should initially include 26 military officers and that up to 50 additional officers might be progressively deployed when the Secretary-General determines that there was a need and security conditions permitted.

In addition to the military liaison group, the Council approved the establishment of a small staff to support the Special Representative on political, legal, civil affairs, civilian police, elections, media and public relations, humanitarian and human rights issues.

(Carol McAskie, welcome.  We’ll be getting to you in just a minute.)

**Security Council -- West Africa Mission

Concerning the Security Council’s West Africa mission, the Council President, Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, yesterday noted the postponement of the Security Council mission to West Africa, which had been scheduled to leave tomorrow.

The President said there is still a sense of urgency and that the mission would be rescheduled as soon as possible.  Council members are expected to discuss possible new dates of the mission during today’s consultations.

**Sierra Leone Court

The Chief of Investigations of the Special Court for Sierra Leone has called on Liberian President Charles Taylor to transfer the alleged body of indicted war criminal Sam Bockarie to the Court.  Alan White also repeated demands for the arrest and transfer of Johnny Paul Koroma, who is wanted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. 

He said, “The failure to arrest Johnny Paul Koroma and transfer him alive to the Court only highlights Liberia’s apparent unwillingness to cooperate with the international community in pursuit of international justice.  The world is watching.  We hope Taylor will do the right thing”.

The Special Court, created through an international agreement between the United Nations and Sierra Leone, is mandated to try those who bear “the greatest responsibility” for atrocities committed during the country’s decade-long civil war. 

**Kosovo

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, today described the departure of Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic from a scheduled meeting of the High Ranking Working Group that has been dealing with Kosovo as “disappointing”.

He also voiced his dismay that a protocol allowing mutual recognition of number plates for vehicles has not been signed, saying that such a signing would help the freedom of movement of all communities, especially Kosovo Serbs.  We have more details in a press release.

**Report on Education in Arab Countries

UNESCO has issued a new report on education in Arab States that finds that 8 million children of primary school age, or nearly one fifth, in the 19 Arab states surveyed remained out of school and 5 million of them are girls.  Only

60 per cent of secondary school age children were enrolled.

Considerable investment has been made in education in the region and many countries were close to the objective of getting all children into schools.  Gender parity has only been achieved in five countries, but when girls are given the opportunity to go to school they tend to repeat grades less than boys and are more likely to complete their primary and secondary schooling.

The report concludes that the large increase in spending on education in the last 40 years has paid off with the time children spend in school increasing by about two and a half years.  The report covers the 1999/2000 school year and does not take into account the effect of the conflicts in the Palestinian territories and Iraq.  We have a press release on that.

**UNESCO

Today in Paris, UNESCO is wrapping up a three day conference entitled “Educating for Tolerance:  the Case of Resurgent Anti-Semitism”.

In remarks to participants, UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura stressed the central role of education in promoting the values of tolerance, especially in young people. 

Participants in the seminars include UN Human Rights High Commissioner Sergio Vieira de Mello, Rabbi Marvin Heir, Founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark, as well as a number of religious and political leaders from around the world.

A final press statement from the conference, the second of its type, is expected later today or tomorrow.

**SARS

The World Health Organization has announced that SARS outbreaks in the initial hot zones can be contained, and that experiences in a growing number of countries indicate that the disease can be controlled.  In the absence of a vaccine, the most effective way to control SARS is to break the chain of transmission from infected to healthy persons.

However, while trends are moving in an encouraging direction in many areas, even greater focus on control measures is needed if SARS is to be contained globally.  WHO experience in dealing with the Ebola outbreaks has repeatedly shown that the initial stages of containment are the most dangerous time to start lowering the level of control.  The latest statistics indicate a total of 7,548 probable cases, with 573 deaths, reported from 29 countries.

**ILO report on tourism sector

The International Labour Organization (ILO) warned today that an additional 5 million jobs may be lost in the tourism sector due to SARS and the general downturn in the global economy.  This is in addition to 6.5 million jobs already lost last year.  The new report says the slump in the industry comes after a strong global economy fueled a boom in the late 1990s.  By the year 2001, the industry had begun to feel the effects of security concerns caused by the events of 11 September.  And then since 2001, the industry has lost one in seven jobs and ILO says there is no end in sight.

We have a press release on that.

**Global Compact

The Global Compact convened a policy dialogue on HIV/AIDS in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday, which was attended by more than 100 representatives from business, labour, civil society, academia, government and multilateral organizations, and which focused on the International Labour Organization’s Code of Practice dealing with HIV/AIDS and work.

At the meeting, the International Organisation of Employers and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions announced an agreement to cooperate in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, and they issued a joint statement calling on their affiliates and members around the world to give HIV/AIDS the highest priority.  Their statement can be seen on the Global Compact Web site.

**Budget

Budget news today; Andorra became the 80th Member State to pay its regular contribution for this year in full, and that with payment of more than $54,000.

**Guest at Noon Tomorrow

Guest at the briefing tomorrow will be Ali Muktar Farah, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Liberia, and he will be talking to you about the humanitarian situation in that country.

**Aga Khan

And then sadly there are two deaths that we wish to take note of today. 

We issued a statement late yesterday, expressing the Secretary-General’s deep sorrow at the death of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, philanthropist and lifelong friend of the United Nations.

Prince Sadruddin led the Office of UNHCR at a particularly challenging time, during the war that led to the birth of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and he also served the UN in many other capacities, including as Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Humanitarian Assistance during the 1990-91 Iraq-Kuwait crisis.

The Secretary-General joins the Prince’s many friends around the world in giving thanks for the life of this remarkable and deeply generous human being.

We have copies of the full statement upstairs, as well as one from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who says he was fortunate to have started his career in UNHCR under Prince Sadruddin’s leadership and adding that his positive impact on the lives of so many people was incalculable.

**Statement on the Death of Maryan Baquerot

The second statement is attributable to the Spokesman concerning the death in Geneva of Maryan Baquerot: 

“The Secretary-General was saddened to learn of the sudden death yesterday of Maryan Baquerot, a long-time United Nations colleague.  Mr. Baquerot served most recently as Executive Director of the World Health Organization, and before that as Director of Administration at the UN Office in Geneva.  He was also Chief of Staff and Director of Administration of the UN Mission in Kosovo, Director of Human Resources for UNHCR, and served in the Office of Human Resources Management and the Controller’s Office here in New York.  Whatever the assignment, Mr. Baquerot made important contributions and was highly respected by his colleagues.  The Secretary-General extends condolences to Mr. Baquerot’s wife, daughters and parents, and to all others touched by the loss.”

That is all I have.  Any questions?  Yes, please?

Questions and Answers

Question:  I understand the Secretary-General has received replies on the international peacekeeping troops in the Congo.  I was wondering, has the Secretary-General received any response from other countries except France?

Spokesman:  No, we have nothing to announce today.  The Secretary-General is waiting for responses.  We already announced, I think, that, or he announced yesterday that France had indicated it would join, but not alone.  And so, we’re hoping that other nations will step forward.  There has been some discussion of African troops for the DRC, but whoever does contribute troops would have to have the capacity to deploy them within days.  So, we are probably talking about a relatively limited number of potential troop-contributors who have the capacity to react in the very strict time frame that we have.  As you can see from our report today, the situation is deteriorating badly.  Yeah?

Question:  In the conversations yesterday, with the French though, were there some specifics that you might be able to share with us, how many troops the French said they might be able to provide in terms of this quick response force? 

Spokesman:  No, I am afraid I can’t give you those details.  Yeah?

Question:  (Inaudible) …you made about Mr. da Silva in Baghdad, he mentioned several times the importance of security and law and order.  Does he or the Secretary-General have an opinion about the policy of shoot to kill looters?  Do they think that would be a way to bring about order for the UN to operate there, and others?

Spokesman:  No.  We saw the press report today that that was the new policy of the coalition forces by order of Mr. Bremer.  But, first of all we haven’t confirmed that and, second, we therefore have no reaction.

Question:  Isn’t that part of the UN vital role to have an input on security matters that affect them directly?

Spokesman:  Security is the direct responsibility of the occupying powers, not of the United Nations.

Question:  Thank you, I have no further questions.

Spokesman:  Okay, Carolyn, welcome to the briefing.

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