DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Richard Sydenham, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Spokesman for Secretary-General

Good Afternoon.

**DRC

During closed consultations this morning, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Affairs Hedi Annabi updated the Security Council on the latest situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  The Secretary-General attended those consultations, and a draft resolution on the deployment of the multinational force has been circulated.

The situation on the ground in Bunia remains tense following the fighting on 27 May.  Fighting between the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and the Ituri Patriotic Resistance Front (FRPI) was reported in the general area of Kindia, a southern part of Ituri, with casualties on both sides.  Wide-scale looting is also continuing in some localities.

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guéhenno concluded meetings in Kampala, Kigali and Pretoria and returned to Kinshasa today.

In a few minutes, the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Carolyn McAskie will give you a briefing on the humanitarian situation in the DRC.

**Iraq -- Humanitarian

From Basra, in southern Iraq, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that garbage clean up will resume this coming Monday.  Street garbage had been accumulating on the streets of the city for more than two months.

The operation will start following the signing of an agreement today by UN agencies.  That effort will also involve the coalition forces, and the US Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, as well as municipal authorities.

Also from Basra, the UN Children’s Fund says it will receive the first shipment of diphtheria, polio, measles and tuberculosis vaccines.  Babies born in Iraq since the war are without any immunity from those infant diseases, owing to the lack of vaccines.  The supplies will be handed to the Ministry of Health for distribution to primary health care centres.

Meanwhile, from Geneva, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) brought together some 50 experts to examine the social and environmental fabric of Iraq's Mesopotamian Marshlands.  They concluded that it has been so extensively

damaged that interested governments and organizations will need to collaborate if they are to help Iraqis ensure a successful revival.  More information is available in a press release upstairs.

**Oil-for-Food

According to the Office of the Iraq Programme, the total value of priority items from the “oil-for-food” programme’s humanitarian pipeline that can be shipped to Iraq for emergency needs has reached $1.1 billion.  The UN agencies and programmes actively involved in the review of the oil-for-food pipeline are currently looking at additional contracts worth some $330 million.

The volume of these items destined for Iraq is expected to accelerate with a six-month extension of the programme adopted under Security Council resolution 1483 (2003).  The full text of the oil-for-food update is available upstairs.

**Security Council –- Western Sahara

At 3 p.m., the Security Council has scheduled a meeting with troop-contributors to the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.  Then at 3:45 p.m., the Council will discuss in closed consultations the Secretary-General’s report on Western Sahara, which we flagged to you at our briefing yesterday.

**New head for DDA

The Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Nobuyasu Abe of Japan as the new Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, succeeding Jayantha Dhanapala, effective 1 July 2003.  Nobuyasu Abe has been serving as Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since November 2001.

In appointing him, the Secretary-General commends him as an accomplished diplomat with a wide experience in the field of arms control and disarmament.  You can find his bio in my office.

The Secretary-General acknowledges the fine job done by Jayantha Dhanapala in re-establishing the Disarmament Affairs Department, enlarging its scope and strengthening the role for the United Nations in this strategic area, all the while displaying the highest standard of efficiency, competence and integrity.

**Cambodia

We’ve seen some comments from Cambodian officials in the media in recent days suggesting that the United Nations has been slow to proceed with the work needed to set up extraordinary chambers to try suspects for crimes committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea (from 1975 to 1979).

In fact, the UN Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, has been prepared to go to Phnom Penh to meet his Cambodian counterpart, Sok An, and had tried to schedule a visit for 17 and 18 May.  However, during that period, the Secretary-General had wanted Mr. Corell to be available in New York while the Security Council took up the issue of Iraq.

Sok An, in a letter dated 22 May, said that he “fully understands the reason for the postponement”.

With the Iraq matter now resolved, Mr. Corell is once more ready to travel to Cambodia, and we hope to be able to announce the dates for his visit to Phnom Penh shortly.

**Peacekeeping day

The first International Day of UN Peacekeepers will be observed tomorrow.  The day, established by the General Assembly, is intended to pay tribute to all those who served in peacekeeping missions.

In his message, the Secretary-General says:  “Today, there are nearly 37,000 UN peacekeepers deployed in 14 missions on three continents.  They come from 89 countries”, he says, adding, “No figures, however, can do justice to the ultimate sacrifice that more than 1,800 peacekeepers have made over this half-century”.

He emphasizes that the mission of UN peacekeeping will continue.  He says, “Peacekeeping by itself cannot end war, but it can help prevent a recurrence of fighting.  Above all, it gives time and space for conflict resolution.  It gives peace a chance”.

To mark the day at Headquarters, a special award ceremony will be held tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjold Library auditorium, where Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi, will pay tribute to the 66 military and civilian peacekeepers who died while in the service of peace in 2002.

The day will also be observed at other main UN centres around the world.

**World Health Assembly

The World Health Assembly, the World Health Organization's annual meeting in Geneva, closed its 56th session today.  Two resolutions were adopted, granting WHO broad powers to deal with international health crises.

We have more information in press releases upstairs.

**AIDS News

On AIDS, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Peter Piot, was in Washington yesterday where he attended the signing ceremony of the global AIDS act by President Bush.  He said that with the signing of the bill, the world moved closer to supporting a response that begins to match the magnitude of the challenge of HIV/AIDS.

Piot said that for the first time there was a concerted global effort to close the treatment gap, which denies treatment to 95 per cent of people living with the disease and the legislation would give the effort a vital boost.

**Africa Day

The Economic and Social Council today observed the 40th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, which is celebrated here as Africa Day, and the Secretary-General marked the occasion by drawing attention to the newly established African Union as a new phase in Africa’s efforts to empower itself.  We have copies of his speech upstairs.

**WFP

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that despite an early warning and a rapid response by the international community, 12.5 million Ethiopians continue to face starvation.  WFP is appealing to donors to provide $90 million in assistance to cover the organization's 2003 emergency operation.  We have a press release on that.

**Budget

In budget news today, Mongolia became the 65th Member State to pay its 2003 regular budget dues, with a payment of more than $13,000.

**Guest at noon tomorrow

And our guest at the briefing tomorrow, will be Mark Mallock Brown, the Administrator of the UN Development Programme, who will be here to talk about the Millennium Development Goals in relation to the G8 meeting taking place in Evian early next month.

Welcome Carolyn, we’ll get to you in just a minute.  First we’ll hear from Richard on the General Assembly.

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Thank you, Good afternoon.

As Fred mentioned, today is the 40^th Anniversary of Africa Day.  In his address this morning at the solemn meeting to commemorate this event, President Kavan said that while Africa remains the UN’s priority, “the UN continues to play an important role in strengthening partnerships for development and peace.  The continent is reliant on the international community to bring its physical and social structures together to harness its potential for development”.  President Kavan went on to stress that the “African continent is a critical piece to the global mosaic and at this critical juncture in Africa’s development, we have to continue with our pledge to work towards the common goal of African parity with the global community”.  Copies of this statement are available upstairs and on the GA President’s Web site.

This afternoon the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee –- the Fourth Committee -- reviews peacekeeping operations in all their aspects and informal consultations continue on a draft resolution on the prevention of armed conflict and on integrated follow up to major UN conferences in the economic and social fields.

Tomorrow, the General Assembly plenary is expected to take a decision on the letter (document A/57/816) from the Secretary-General related to his proposal regarding disposition of the Nobel Peace Prize award.

Any questions?

Thank you.

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