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

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 Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General and Richard Sydenham, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Good Afternoon.

**Cambodia

Today in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell and Cambodian Senior Minister Sok An signed an agreement on the prosecution, under Cambodian law, of crimes committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979). The agreement provides for the establishment of Extraordinary Chambers within the existing Cambodian court structure, which will have the jurisdiction to try senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea.

Corell, on signing the agreement, said, “With this step, the quest of the Cambodian people for justice, national reconciliation, stability, peace and security is brought closer to realization”.

He added that the agreement marks the beginning of a new phase, with much work to be done before trials can begin.  On Cambodia’s side, the agreement will now be passed on to the Cambodian National Assembly for ratification.

On the UN side, the Secretary-General will have to secure voluntary contributions from States to fund the assistance that the United Nations is to provide, with the Chambers estimated to cost more than $19 million over a three-year period.

Corell said that the Secretary-General will send a planning mission to Phnom Penh in the near future, to discuss the requirements, in terms of personnel, equipment, supplies and other operating needs, of the Extraordinary Chambers.

We have Corell’s statement, and a press release on today’s events, upstairs.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General:  Myanmar

The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

“The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Myanmar, Ambassador Razali Ismail, arrived in Yangon today, 6 June.  His instructions from the Secretary-General are to meet with senior members of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as National League for Democracy (NLD) Central Executive Committee members.  The Secretary-General continues to be gravely concerned about the continued incommunicado detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the NLD, and is particularly troubled by reports of injuries suffered by them.  He fully expects that his Special Envoy will be allowed to meet all his interlocutors, and that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD members will be released without further delay.

“As of now we do not have confirmation that the Government of Myanmar has agreed that the Special Envoy can meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  However, the Special Envoy met with the Foreign Minister today, where he registered an official request that he be allowed to see her.”

**UNMOVIC

Out on the racks is the thirteenth quarterly report from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.

UNMOVIC, Executive Chairman, Hans Blix presented the report to the Council yesterday and highlighted in his public remarks its most relevant points.

The report provides an overview of the Commission’s activities to date as well as its current level of staffing.

**Iraq -- IAEA

A seven-member team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors has arrived in Baghdad, where it will carry out a mandate under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to conduct an inventory of nuclear material at a storage site, known as “Location C”, near the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre.

That site had held about 1.8 tons of low-enriched uranium and some 500 tons of natural and depleted uranium, which had been under IAEA seal and regularly inspected since 1991.  The inspection team was sent following reports of looting at the site, and the inspectors will determine how much, if any, of the material is missing, and to secure the facility, if necessary.

The inspection work is being facilitated by the US military, which will provide logistics and security.  The work is expected to last two weeks.

**DRC

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) informed us that the first unit of French troops in the multi-national forces landed at Bunia today at 5:25 a.m. local time, and another plane landed at 6:20 a.m.  No exact number of troops was released.  More troops will be arriving in the following days with six to seven flights a day. 

At least five British military personnel also arrived with the French, as an advance unit to assess the practical participation of the British soldiers in the international forces.

Still on the DRC, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement, deploring violence against children and women in the country and calling on all actors –- political and military -– to put an end to such acts.

UNICEF said that thousands of women and girls are being brutally raped, mutilated and killed in the Ituri province.  An estimated 20,000 children and the same number of women were displaced by the recent outbreak in fighting.  Thousands of children, some younger than 10 years old, were recently recruited and are being used as child soldiers by various armed groups.  As many as a third of the 30,000 fighters are children.

We have more information on that in the spokesman’s office.

**Security Council Mission

The Security Council mission to Central Africa led by French Ambassador to the United Nations, Jean-Marc de la Sablière, is scheduled to leave tomorrow.

On the mission’s itinerary are stops in Johannesburg, Luanda, Kinshasa and Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bujumbura, Kigali, Dar es Salaam, and Entebbe.

The mission is scheduled to return to New York on Monday, 16 June.

An open briefing on the mission is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 18 June.

We also have a press release issued in advance of the mission by Angela King, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Gender Issues who reminds the Security Council of its commitment to put women and girls at the centre of peace efforts.

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

The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

“In accordance with the Security Council’s request, contained in presidential statement of 31 October 2002, the Secretary-General has decided to dispatch a Multidisciplinary Assessment Mission to the Central African subregion.  The Mission will start on 9 June 2003, for approximately two weeks.  It is entrusted with determining the measures to be taken for the implementation of a ‘comprehensive, integrated, resolute and concerted approach to the issues of peace, security and development’ in the sub region.

“Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Tuliameni Kalomoh, will lead the Mission, which will comprise representatives of various departments and agencies of the United Nations system.  They will visit the 11 countries belonging to the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

“Since the role of the United Nations is to support the efforts of regional States and institutions, the Mission will be carried out in partnership with ECCAS.  Two ECCAS senior officials will accompany the Mission.”

**Liberia

The continuing conflict in Liberia has displaced tens of thousands of refugees and locals near the capital Monrovia, and sent more than 23,000 Liberians fleeing into western Côte d'Ivoire in the last two weeks, says the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

On Thursday, UN refugee agency staff in Liberia reported that resurgent fighting between the Government and rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) near Monrovia had spread to camps, which hosted Sierra Leonean refugees.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that the security conditions were deteriorating daily in Liberia.  WFP reports that without any peaceful solution, there would continue to be large numbers of people becoming displaced inside the country, and there would also be Liberians moving into neighbouring countries.  Thousands had fled the fighting to the capital Monrovia, but WFP was not equipped to receive these displaced persons.

The fighting had stopped WFP from distributing food to the 115,000 displaced persons in camps around Monrovia.  To date, 70 per cent of the country was inaccessible to humanitarian organizations because of the intense fighting.

**Security Council

During the Security Council’s closed consultations this morning, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi, presented the Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.

In the report, which we flagged last week, the Secretary-General recommends a six-month extension of the force’s mandate.  In it, he also asks for additional civilian police officers to be assigned to the force to deal with high number of people crossing the buffer zone.

The Council also heard a briefing by Annabi on the recent murder of a Serb family in Kosovo.  Security Council President, Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, read a press statement following the consultations in which members strongly condemned the murder.

**UNRWA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) launched an urgent appeal for $103 million to the international community today for funds to support its emergency activities in the second half of 2003.  These include food aid for the poor, shelter for the homeless, medical care for the injured and counseling for children who have been traumatized by violence.

Launching the appeal in Geneva, UNRWA's Commissioner-General, Peter Hansen, emphasised that even if the recently re-started peace negotiations are successful, the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian refugees will remain great for the foreseeable future.

A press release is available in my office.

**USG for Humanitarian Affairs

And we have two appointments to announce.

The Secretary-General is announcing today his decision to appoint Jan Egeland of Norway as the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Humanitarian Relief Coordinator.  Mr. Egeland, who is currently Secretary-General of the Norwegian Red Cross, succeeds Kenzo Oshima of Japan.

We have a bio note on Mr. Egeland in the Spokesman’s Office.

**Special Rapporteur for Disability

And another appointment, the Secretary-General has decided to appoint Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani of Qatar as Special Rapporteur on Disability of the UN Commission for Social Development.

The task of the Special Rapporteur is to monitor implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the General Assembly in 1993.  Ms. Sheikha Hessa replaces Bengt Lindqvist of Sweden, who has held the post since 1994.

A bio note is again, available in my office.

**Global Fund

We have a press release from the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria on the fifth meeting of its Board.  The Board has called on public and private donors to contribute $3 billion by the end of 2004 so the anticipated country proposals will be fully financed.

**PAHO

The Pan American Health Organization, the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, said that its first ever large-scale vaccination campaign, held last week in Latin America, was successful.  Plans are already under way for an effort to include the whole of the Western Hemisphere in April 2004.

**UNESCO

We have a couple of announcements from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for you today.

Timor-Leste became the Organization’s 189th Member State; and also UNESCO announced yesterday that President of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmão, will be awarded this year’s Hophouët-Boigny Peace Prize on 10 June.

**ILO

Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO), will present new anti-poverty proposals to the annual conference of the ILO, which were issued in a new ILO report entitled Working out of Poverty.

We have more information in a press release upstairs.

**Budget

And on budget today we would like to acknowledge two payments to the peacekeeping budget.  Germany made a payment of more than $21 million and Belgium a payment of more than $7 million.

**Portugal

And for your information, the Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Durao Barroso, will speak at the Security Council stakeout following his meeting this afternoon with the Secretary-General at 6 p.m.

**The Week Ahead at the United Nations

And we have The Week Ahead for you to pick up upstairs.

Any questions before we move to Richard?  Richard.

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon.

This morning the General Assembly elected by acclamation His Excellency the Honourable Julian Robert Hunte, Minister of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation of St. Lucia, as President of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly.

As you no doubt recall, the General Assembly, in its fifty-sixth session last July decided that the President and the Chairmen of the six main committees and the 21 Vice-Presidents should be elected three months before the start of each session.

In extending his heartfelt congratulations to President-elect Hunte, President Kavan made clear his intention to make the most of the remaining three months of the fifty-seventh session to facilitate a smooth and efficient transition between the Presidents and their staffs.  President Kavan expressed the hope that this will set a good precedent not only for the future sessions of the General Assembly but also for other institutions of the UN system.

In his remarks after the election, President-elect Hunte expressed his appreciation to the Latin American and Caribbean Group for its endorsement of Saint Lucia’s candidature for the presidency, and he assured the Assembly that it was his firm intention to reach out to all Member States and regional groups, and to the Secretary-General and his staff, in seeking to build consensus on the broad range of issues the General Assembly addresses, including those that may be controversial or politically divisive.  “In such an approach”, he said, “lies the real revitalization of this, the most important organ of the United Nations.”  In conclusion, President-elect Hunte said that, “it is notable that the presidency of this singularly important world body will pass to a representative of the smallest country ever to hold this office.  Thus, will the United Nations reaffirm its faith in the equal rights of nations large and small, as enunciated in the Charter”.

His remarks are available upstairs.

Following the election, statements were heard from representatives of the five regional groups.

Also at this morning’s meeting, the General Assembly decided to appoint Mr. Christopher Thomas of Trinidad and Tobago as a member of the Joint Inspection Unit for a five-year term and the plenary, on the proposal of the Secretary-General, confirmed the extension of the appointment of Mr. Rubens Ricupero as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for a period of one year from 15 September 2003 to 14 September 2004.

Following this appointment, Morocco, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, and Pakistan made statements.

The six main committees then met to elect their chairpersons, as follows:

First Committee -- Mr. Jarmo Sareva (Finland); Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) -- Mr. Enrique Loedel (Uruguay); Second Committee -- Mr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury (Bangladesh); Third Committee -- Mr. Martin Belinga-Eboutou (Cameroon); Fifth Committee -- Mr. Hynek Kmonicek (Czech Republic); Sixth Committee -- Mr. Lauro Baja (Philippines).

The plenary then met again to elect the 21 Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly for the fifty-eighth session.  Since the number of candidates corresponded to the number of seats to be filled in each region, the requirement for a secret ballot was waived and the candidates were elected as follows:

Six from African States:  Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Senegal; five from Asian States:  Islamic Republic of Iran, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Yemen; one from Eastern European States:  Slovenia; two from Latin American and Caribbean States:  Haiti, Honduras; and two from Western European and other States:  Luxembourg, Netherlands.

And so, with the Chairmen of the six Main Committees and the 21 Vice-Presidents elected, that constitutes the General Committee of the General Assembly for the fifty-eighth session, which was fully constituted in accordance with rule 38 of the rules of procedure.

I will make these lists available to you shortly.  Any questions?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Richard, does this mean the new General Assembly President will be the fifty-eighth President of the General Assembly?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  Yes, indeed the fifty-eighth session opens on Tuesday, 16 September.  The general debate starts on Tuesday, 23 September through 26 September and then from 29 September to 3 October.  So that’s 23 through 26 September and 29 September through 3 October for the general debate.

Okay.  Have a nice weekend.

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