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.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

We’re going to start with a statement that was issued yesterday, but in fact it also is applicable to this morning’s suicide bombing in northern Israel.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the suicide bombings and attacks against Israelis that have occurred in the last 24 hours.  These murderous attacks fuel the cycle of violence, revenge, fear and distrust and are the greatest impediment to peace.  The Secretary-General passes on his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in these attacks.

“The Secretary-General urges the Palestinian leadership to do everything in its power to de-legitimize and stop terrorism.  He calls on the Government of Israel to show restraint, to act in conformity with its obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure that its security forces take measures to protect the safety of civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.  The Secretary-General calls on both sides not to allow those who carry out such repugnant attacks to hijack the peace process and set the agenda.

“The Secretary-General believes that the safety and security of the people of the Middle East is best insured by fully implementing the Quartet’s Road Map”.

**Security Council

The Security Council began its work today with a periodic briefing on the Middle East by Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Larsen updated Council members on the diplomatic, security and humanitarian situation in the immediate region, including the recent presentation of the Road Map to the parties and the establishment of the new Palestinian Prime Minister.

Larsen condemned the most recent suicide attacks, which he called “senseless acts that are unjustified on any moral or political grounds”.

There is a natural dependency between Israelis and Palestinians in the fight against terror, Larsen said.  He added that the terror will not stop unless both sides take reciprocal steps in parallel.  While such progress will require, first and foremost, determination and focus on the part of the new Palestinian Government, that Government will need support from Israel to carry out those tasks.

Larsen also highlighted for the members of the Security Council the drastic effects of the new Israeli closures on UN operations in Gaza.

The current rules imposed by the Israelis bar staff from the United Nations and non-governmental organizations from entering or leaving Gaza, unless they hold a diplomatic visa.  This leaves a significant number of UN staff stuck on either side of the boundary unable to carry out their work.  Larsen said he was in discussion with Israeli officials to ease those restrictions.  However, he told Council members, “if these efforts do not result in a significant improvement in access to the Gaza strip for UN staff, it will become progressively impossible to carry out UN operations in Gaza”.  Two thirds of the population of Gaza is dependent on the United Nations for health, education and social services.

“We would expect”, Larsen went on to say, “that if Israel effectively prevents the UN from working, it would recognize and accept its obligations to provide the needed assistance to the people of Gaza”.

**Israeli Closures

Concerning the Israeli closures, which Larsen mentions in his statement to the Council, we have upstairs a joint press release issued by a number of UN humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations working in Gaza protesting these regulations.

While fully respecting Israel’s security needs, these agencies say these regulations have made their work in Gaza unreasonably difficult, inefficient and costly.  If they persist, they say, a number of organizations will have to suspend their operations in Gaza.

The agencies co-signing the press release, which is available upstairs, include the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the World Food Programme, Doctors without Borders and OXFAM.

**Security Council -- Other

After the Middle East consultations, the Security Council is scheduled to vote on draft resolutions –- on Timor-Leste, extending the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) by a year, and then on the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, revising its Statute to allow ad litem judges to adjudicate in pre-trial hearings.

Then at 5:30 p.m., the Council has scheduled consultations in connection with Iraq.

**Iraq

On the subject of Iraq, a team of experts put together by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) wrapped up today a mission to assess the damage to Iraq’s cultural sites, notably the Baghdad museum and archeological sites.

They found that while the looting was less extensive than first thought, the objects that were taken were of high value.  Less valuable pieces as well as copies of art works were left behind.

The UNESCO experts also met with officials from the US-led Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance.  They called for coalition forces to protect cultural sites in Baghdad and also archeological digs in the south and north of Iraq, which continue to be vulnerable to looters.

Meanwhile in the north, the UN is supporting the Iraq Reconstruction and Employment Programme, which is designed to provide jobs to the local population.

The first activity under the Iraq Reconstruction and Employment Programme (IREP) began on Saturday in Mosul with a project to provide essential indoor and outdoor cleaning services to a 400-bed hospital.

Also in the north, the UN Children’s Fund Executive Director, Carol Bellamy, continued her tour of the country today.  She visited a number of UN projects in the Erbil governorate.

**IAEA –- Iraq

Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), today called on the United States and other coalition authorities in Iraq to allow IAEA experts to return to Iraq to address a possible radiological emergency there.

ElBaradei said he is deeply concerned by the almost daily reports of looting and destruction at Iraq’s nuclear sites, adding, “We have a moral responsibility to establish the facts without delay and take urgent remedial action”.

The Director-General wrote the US Government on 29 April, emphasizing the responsibility of the coalition forces to maintain appropriate protection over such materials as natural and low-enriched uranium, Cobalt 60 and Caesium 137 as well as nuclear waste.

The IAEA has not yet received a response to that letter, and ElBaradei today repeated his request that the Agency be allowed to send a security and safety team to Iraq to deal with radiation safety and nuclear security issues without delay.

We have a press release with more details.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The following statement on the Democratic Republic of the Congo was issued over the weekend:

“The Secretary-General is profoundly saddened by the tragic deaths of two military observers, nationals of Jordan and Malawi, whose remains were recovered yesterday from Mongwalu, a town 70 km northwest of Bunia in Ituri.  The Secretary-General expresses his condolences to the families and governments of the military observers.  He also regrets the murder of two local Red Cross workers in Bunia last week.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns these appalling and shocking acts.  He appeals to all concerned to cooperate with the United Nations in carrying out the investigations into the exact circumstances of their brutal murder.  Those responsible will be held fully accountable for their actions.

“The Secretary-General also wishes to convey his appreciation to the courageous men and women of the UN Mission, who are selflessly serving the cause of peace in volatile areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Secretary-General also calls on all Congolese parties to renounce violence and consolidate the hard-won agreements, both at the national level and in Ituri”.

**DRC

The situation in Bunia was calmer over the weekend.  However, despite the Declaration made by the parties in Dar-es-Salaam and a UN-brokered agreement between the Union of Congolese Patriots and Lendu parties in Bunia, Lendu militias have re-entered the town and tensions are rising.  Senior military officials from the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) are now in town to try to diffuse the situation.

The Follow Up Commission began meeting in Kinshasa this morning.  While we are awaiting further details, we understand that there is still a stalemate over the distribution of military posts of the Transitional Government.

On the humanitarian side, an estimated 9,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are still at the airport in the logistical base of the UN Mission there.  The UN is trying to encourage IDPs to continue moving from town to the airport.  The mobile clinic in the compound treated 60 wounded over the weekend.  There were six reported killed among the population; and the UN Mission is assisting the national Red Cross to trace and bury the dead in the town.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The following statement concerns the situation in Indonesia:

“The Secretary-General is disappointed that, after two days of meetings in Tokyo, the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement failed to reach agreement to resume implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), which they signed in December 2002.  Despite setbacks in its implementation, the Agreement had brought real improvement in the daily life of the population in Aceh.  The Secretary-General is accordingly deeply concerned about reports of renewed fighting in Aceh with the imposition of martial law in the province.  He remains convinced of the need to resolve the problems in Aceh peacefully, in a manner consistent with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia.  The Secretary-General therefore urges all parties concerned to do their utmost to restore the peace process in Aceh”.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

This statement was issued on Saturday, and I’d like to read it into the record:

“The Secretary-General utterly condemns the Friday bomb attacks in Casablanca, Morocco, in which it appears that at least 40 people were killed and more than 60 others injured.  He sends his heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of Morocco and to the families of all the dead and injured.

“The Secretary-General especially condemns the deliberate targeting of civilians.  The callous fanaticism and intolerance of these acts is repugnant to all religions and to the great majority of humanity.

“The Secretary-General considers that the recent wave of terrorist outrages, coupled with fresh warnings of further attacks being planned, underlines the need for the international community to give its full attention to the need for a broad-based and sustained campaign against international terrorism”.

**SARS

On SARS, the World Health Organization has recommended that persons planning to travel to Hebei province of China, consider postponing all but essential travel.

The current travel advice is now in effect for several areas of China, namely:  Beijing, Hebei, Hong Kong, Guangdong, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Taipei and Tianjin.

In other SARS news, the first global consultations on SARS epidemiology were held in Geneva last Friday.

**Press Releases

A press release to highlight for you today is from the UN Environment Programme that says that the new prosperity in Asia and the Pacific may come at a high environmental price.  A paper to be presented at the Asia Pacific Expert Meeting on Promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, being held in Indonesia this week, says the number of middle- to high-income consumers in the region –- in other words, those earning more than $7,000 a year -- is more than that of Western Europe and North America combined.  The environment of the region would not be able to sustain the kind of over-consumption seen in Europe and North America.  For example, the paper says that if car ownership in China, India and Indonesia reached the global average it would add 200 million vehicles to the global fleet, twice the number of cars in the United States alone.  The press release has more details and the report is on the UNEP Web site.

**Budget

Budget news today, Nepal became the 82nd Member State to pay its 2003 regular budget contribution, and that with payment of more than $54,000.

**Press Conference Tomorrow

And finally, a press conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. in this room.  The Indigenous Peoples Caucus and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will be giving a press conference to tell you about their issues.

That is all I have.  Hi?

Questions and Answers

Question:   On the draft resolution, how come there is no official translation in French?  There is only one in English.  Can we have it?

Spokesman:  Now, which version?  Are you talking about the first one or the second that came out on Thursday or the third that’s coming out today?

Question:   The 15^th.  I just got it from your office and I have been told that there is no French version.

Spokesman:  We’ll have to ask the Security Council if there is. 

Question:   Another question on the draft resolution.  Do you know when it will be approved this week?

Spokesman:  No.  We’ll just have to see.  The members are working to get this done as quickly as possible.  They’re still discussing questions that have been raised by some of the other members and put to the sponsoring States.  And we expect a third draft to come out by the end of today and we’ll just have to see how fast the Council as a whole can progress.

Thank you very much.

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