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.
**Iraq -- Sergio Vieira de Mello
Today in Baghdad, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, continued his efforts to meet and listen to a broad spectrum of Iraqi society. Just a few hours ago, he met with Sherif Ali Bin Hussein, the head of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchist Movement. Bin Hussein told Vieira de Mello that the UN should not only play a humanitarian role but also be active in the political and reconstruction spheres.
Vieira de Mello also met today with a group of Iraqi jurists who emphasized the urgent task of ensuring security and justice in the country. They stressed that the current effort undertaken by the Authority did not provide for consultations; they believe that major decisions are made about the legal framework and the judiciary with no Iraqi participation. Vieira de Mello assured them that the UN would make every effort to raise their concerns with the Authority and pledged UN support for the rebuilding of justice in Iraq, in the context of resolution 1483.
Yesterday, he met with a group of Iraqi journalists and assured them that he was committed to assisting them in creating a free and independent media in Iraq as soon as possible. He added that he, along with various UN agencies in Baghdad, would organize tangible support for the emergence of a free press in Iraq.
On Saturday, Vieira de Mello made his first foray outside of Baghdad by traveling to Basra in the south of the country. There he told a group of local political, religious and tribal leaders that the UN is determined to do its utmost to see the Iraqis rule themselves and form a democratically elected government that would meet the aspirations of all Iraqis.
On the humanitarian front, the Iraqi Ministry of Health, with the support of the UN Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization, has begun the process of immunizing the country’s 4.2 million children under the age of five against preventable diseases such as polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles and tuberculosis. This is the first routine immunization since the start of the armed conflict in March.
Available upstairs is more information on all of these items, including the briefing notes by Vieira de Mello’s spokesman.
**Security Council
This morning the Security Council was meeting in closed consultations to discuss two Iraq-related items.
First, the High Level Coordinator for missing Kuwaiti property, Yuli Vorontsov, will be presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report. In the report, which was issued last week, the Secretary-General says he hopes there will be a renewed commitment to resolve the issue.
Second, the Controller, Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, will present the Secretary-General’s report on the budget for phasing out the “oil-for-food” programme. As you’ll recall, in resolution 1483, the Security Council decided that the oil-for-food programme would be phased out by 21 November of this year and the Secretary-General to present an operational budget.
After 21 November, a limited number of staff will be required to remain in Iraq until December to close down the programme at the field level. Meanwhile, some staff will also be required until March 2004 to remain at the headquarters of the various UN agencies involved in the programme. A small number of employees will remain at the Iraq Programme’s offices in New York until June 2004. A final financial statement for the operation will be ready by the end of 2004 and an external audit by April 2005. So, that’s the plan.
The total budget for this is estimated at $106 million, plus a contingency reserve of $16 million. Since, at the end of last month, there was a balance of $400 million in the so-called 2.2 per cent account, which, covers the administrative cost of the running the programme, a total of $277 million will be available to the Iraq Development Fund -– as required by the resolution.
**Security Council Mission
The Security Council Mission to Central Africa returned to New York a short while ago.
On Saturday, the mission left Bujumbura for Kigali where a 90-minute meeting took place with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. They discussed the political process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the fighting in the DRC and in Ituri, the deployment of the interim multinational force in Bunia, allegations about a Rwandan presence in the eastern DRC, the role of neighbouring countries in the DRC peace process, and the possibility of holding a conference on the Great Lakes.
On Sunday morning, the Council mission met in Dar es Salaam with Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa. The discussions included support of Tanzania for the Burundian Peace process and “good neighbouring relations” in the region. Also in Dar es Salaam, the delegation met with a Burundian rebel movement the FDD-CMDD, which is one of the two rebel groups that is still fighting against the Burundian Government.
On Sunday evening, the Council mission met at Entebbe Airport with the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for one hour. Talks focused on the DRC and the Burundian Peace process and the “positive role” that neighbouring countries should play on both issues.
The leader of the mission, French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière is scheduled to brief the Security Council on the six-nation Central African visit.
**IAEA
Today in Vienna, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, opened a session of the Agency’s Board of Governors by presenting its annual report for 2002, and reviewing its work in Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
On Iran, he noted that the IAEA, following extensive verification activities, points out that Iran has failed to report certain nuclear material and activities, and that corrective action is being taken in cooperation with the Iranian authorities. Meanwhile, work is going on to ensure that all nuclear material in Iran has been declared and is under safeguards.
ElBaradei today called on Iran to conclude and bring into force, at an early date, an additional protocol to help the IAEA provide credible assurances regarding the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. He also asked Iran to permit the Agency to take environmental samples at the particular location where allegations about enrichment activities exist.
On Iraq, the Director-General noted the sending of an IAEA mission to undertake an inventory of the nuclear material stored at the Tuwaitha complex south of Baghdad, while on North Korea, he said that the Agency has not performed any safeguards functions in that country since last December.
We have copies of his statement upstairs.
**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman -- Bougainville
The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman on the subject of Bougainville.
“The Secretary-General welcomes the decision of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu to dispatch a small civilian transition team to Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, after the Bougainville Peace Monitoring Group leaves the island on 30 June 2003. He is pleased that the transition team will continue to provide logistical and operational support to the United Nations Political Office in Bougainville. This decision demonstrates the continuing commitment of the countries in the region to support the desire of the people of Papua New Guinea, including Bougainville, for a peaceful and prosperous future.”
**DRC
The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched an inquiry into the allegations and circumstances surrounding the killing of two military observers in Mongbwalu in the north-eastern part of the country. The bodies of the two military observers were recovered on 18 May.
Also, in a press release, the UN Mission announced the annulment of appointments made by the Union of Congolese Patriots to administrative posts in Ituri. The UN underscores that only the Interim Special Administration from the Ituri Pacification Commission is authorized to carry out appointments to different administrative posts in the province.
The Mission also informed us that on 14 June the multinational force had a clash with an unspecified number of militia, believed to be of Lendu origin. One patrol from the force was fired on some four kilometers south of Bunia and the patrol returned fire, for the first time since its deployment, and was able to repel the militiamen, without suffering any casualties.
**Liberia
The Liberia Peace Talks have moved to Accra from Akosombo in Ghana where they are discussing a ceasefire agreement.
**ICC Prosecutor
Today in The Hague, Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo was sworn in as the first chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, with the President of the Assembly of States Parties for the Court, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan, administering the oath of office. Once the Court’s registrar has been elected, as is expected to take place later this month, all its senior officials will be in place, following the swearing-in of the prosecutor and the Court’s first 18 judges.
**Tobacco Convention
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which is the first global treaty of the World Health Organization, today was opened for signature at a signing ceremony in Geneva. So far, 28 countries and the European Community have signed the treaty, which will enter into force after its 40th ratification. There’s a press release on that.
**Day of the African Child
Today is the Day of the African Child. This year’s theme calls for the need to ensure that all children are registered at birth, since 50 million children last year were denied the right to a legal identity. In honour of this day, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is coordinating events and activities in dozens of African countries. There is a press release with more details on that.
**Disabilities
The General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities is holding its second session, starting today in Conference Room 4.
In conjunction with the session, a public forum on the rights of persons with disabilities will be held tomorrow from 1:15 to 3 p.m. in Conference Room 4, as well. The forum will be opened by Hessa al-Thani, the new Special Rapporteur on Disability of the Commission for Social Development.
**Press Conference tomorrow
Finally, announcement of a press conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. in this room, the UN Development Programme will sponsor a press conference by the International Centre for Transitional Justice and the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
That’s what I have for you today. Yes?
Questions and Answers
Question: What time is that?
Spokesman: It’s 11:00. 11:00 in the morning. Yes?
Question: Fred, a UN spokesman in Congo has described the situation in Bunia as worsening. Can you give us some sense of whether there is a degree of concern here in the Secretariat about this, given the deployment of the multinational force? It doesn’t appear to be having the desired impact so far.
Spokesman: Well, the force is only partially deployed; I think there are something like 400 troops there. They’ve only started arriving around the sixth of this month, so I think it’s too early to judge the success or failure of the multinational force, which you can rightly point out is there to help stabilize the region. I think once the force is in place, at full strength, and has had a chance to do its work, that’s the time to make a definitive judgement as to its success or failure. Yes?
Question: Do you know if the Secretary-General is going to Jordan for the economic meeting?
Spokesman: We did announce, I think it was on Friday, that he’ll be attending a Quartet meeting in Amman, or somewhere thereabouts, and in that connection he will also be addressing the World Economic Forum, which is taking place in Amman at the same time. He’ll have some other travel linked to that trip, and we’ll probably be announcing details of that later in the week.
Question: Is he going to Israel? Is he going to Egypt? You don’t know that?
Spokesman: No, I don’t expect he’ll be -- as far as the Middle East goes, Amman is the only place he’ll be visiting. Mr. Abbadi?
Question: Fred, is the Secretary-General in favour of the holding of the conference on the great Lakes region of central Africa?
Spokesman: I honestly don’t know, I mean I’d have to look into that and get back to you. I don’t want to guess what his position is. Yes? [He later said that the Great Lakes Conference was called for by the Security Council in a resolution adopted in 2000 and the Secretary-General had entrusted his Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Ibrahima Fall, to coordinate its preparation, as it is to be co-chaired by the United Nations and the African Union.]
Question: I don’t know, I was not here last week may be you talked about it. What is the exact role of the former minister Ghassam Salameh in Iraq? He went to Iraq, or is he going to Iraq to work with Mr. Vieira de Mello?
Spokesman: Come up to my office afterwards, I’ll give you his exact title; but yes, he is a deputy to Sergio Vieira de Mello. [He later said that Mr. Salameh was a special adviser to Mr. Vieira de Mello.]
Question: But you don’t know what the exact task, what is…?
Spokesman: Come up to my office, I’ll give you the exact title.
Thank you very much.
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