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

                                                            27 June 2003

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 Stephane Dujarric, Associate Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good Afternoon.  Sorry for the delay.  We’ve got quite a bit of items for you today.

**Guest at Noon

Our guest today will be Ambassador Luis Gallegos of Ecuador, President of the General Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disability, and he will be joining me here as soon as I am done with my announcements.

**Liberia

On Liberia, the High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers is gravely concerned over the situation in Liberia and is reiterating his call for an immediate end to hostilities and for deployment of an international peacekeeping force to fill the current security vacuum in the war–ravaged nation, according to his spokesman.

Tens of thousands of displaced people have converged on Monrovia, where remaining aid agency staff have struggled to provide assistance amid reports of shelling and gunfire within the city.

According to UNHCR, of the more than half a million refugees scattered across the West Africa region, some 300,000 of them are from Liberia.  And more are leaving every day in a desperate search for survival and safety.

Even before the latest fighting, nearly half of the country's 2.7 million people were displaced or in danger of displacement, threatening stability in neighbouring states such as still–fragile Sierra Leone, as well as Côte d'Ivoire.

UNHCR warns that the deteriorating situation in Liberia could again lead to a massive influx of refugees into Côte d'Ivoire, where some 27,000 Liberians have arrived in the past month alone.

According to UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond, the High Commissioner believes that whether the forces in the form of an expanded UNAMSIL mandate from neighbouring Sierra Leone under the leadership of a UN Security Council Member State, or through some other arrangement, something needs to be done now to stop the killing and end the suffering of the Liberian people.

Also on Liberia, Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, expressed today his grave concern at the forced recruitment, abuse and targeting of children in the fighting between government and rebel forces in Liberia.

“I am very alarmed by the in-country and cross border use of child soldiers as well as the dire humanitarian conditions for Liberian refugees in neighbouring countries and increasing number of internally displaced people”, Otunnu said.  And we will have a press release available upstairs after the briefing.

 **Sierra Leone Report

The 18th report of the Secretary-General on the UN Mission in Sierra Leone is out as a Security Council document today.  While it notes the gradual and carefully calibrated approach to the drawdown of that mission is yielding desired benefits, the report makes a couple observations and recommendations regarding Liberia.

The Secretary-General notes that the impact of the conflict on neighbouring Liberia remains a source of serious concern.  In analyzing future options in the drawdown process, he notes that the delayed withdrawal of the UN mission would be desirable only in the event that either the internal security situation or the conflict in Liberia deteriorates to a level that would require a prolonged presence of the UN mission to protect the Sierra Leone Government and the territorial integrity of that country.

**Iraq –- Najaf Trip

On Iraq, the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, confirmed today that he would be going to Najaf Saturday to meet with religious leaders at this holy city, in the context of his efforts to meet with and listen to all shades of Iraqi political, religious, intellectual and civil leaders.

Vieira de Mello is expected to meet Ayatollah Ali Muhammad al-Sistani in the morning.  And then in the afternoon he will meet Imam Muqtada Al-Sadr, leader of the Sadriyun Movement and later he will meet with Imam Mohammed Baqer Al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).  We have more information on that upstairs in the Spokesman’s office.

**Iraq -– Monday Meeting

Also related to Iraq, this coming Monday in Baghdad, Mr. Vieira de Mello’s office and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights are organizing a meeting of experts on transitional justice.

The aim of the meeting, which will be opened by Vieira de Mello, is to bring Iraqi jurists and international experts together with the participation of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, to discuss and identify practical means and policy options, as well as guiding principles, all in an effort to ensure justice for past crimes committed in Iraq. 

Participating will be Iraqi lawyers, both men and women.  Among the outside specialists we expect people from the American University in Washington, the International Committee for the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Physicians for Human Rights, the War Torn Society, as well as a forensic team from the UN mission in Kosovo.

The meeting will provide the forum in which Iraqi human rights experts and jurists can share their experiences and express their aspirations to learn about approaches that others have adopted to deal with past human rights violations.  And we have more information available upstairs.

**Iraq Compensation Commission

Also on an Iraq note, yesterday afternoon in Geneva the Governing Council of the UN Compensation Commission ended its 48th session and approved awards of more than $2.2 billion for compensation.  We put out their press release late yesterday afternoon after the briefing, which also lays out the implication for the Commission of resolution 1483 (2003), which earmarks 5 per cent of Iraqi oil revenues for the Compensation Commission.

**DRC

Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Secretary-General has sent a letter to the Security Council underlining the importance of the deployment to Bunia and Ituri in the DRC of a brigade-size UN contingent, as outlined in his special report to the Council of 27 May.

He notes in the letter that while the deployment in Bunia under Chapter VII of the UN Charter of the multinational force has had a stabilizing effect, it is also clear that the temporary calm in Bunia is a tenuous one.

He reminds the members of the Council that the deployment of the force is a temporary stopgap measure and the members would understand, that extending the mandate of the force “is neither an option nor a solution”.  In this light, the Secretary-General writes, “it would be crucial for the international community to demonstrate solidarity with the plight of the Congolese people” by considering favourably the proposed increase in the capacity of the UN Mission to perform the tasks needed in Ituri.  And we have the full text of that letter available upstairs.

**Larsen

Turning to the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, arrived today in Beirut at the beginning of a regional tour, following-up on the 22 June Quartet meetings in Amman.

In Beirut he had separate meetings with President, Emile Lahoud, the Speaker of the Parliament Nabi Berri, Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Jean Obeid.  He reiterated to them the Secretary-General’s statement in Jordan earlier this week concerning the importance of including Syria and Lebanon in the current process –- which is essential for the Road Map’s goal of building a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.  And we have more upstairs, including transcripts of his comments made to the press after his various bilateral meetings.

**SG in Geneva

The Secretary-General as you’re aware, is in Geneva today where he had a series of meetings including one with his Special Adviser on Sports for Development and Peace, Adolf Ogi.

After that, he met with representatives of the UN Staff Council in Geneva, and also addressed the UN staff in that city, focusing mainly on the difficulties that the UN has faced in recent months following the Iraq conflict.  Despite the problems the UN has had to deal with, he said, before and after the Iraq war, he encouraged staff members to continue fulfilling their duties.

The Secretary-General then hosted a luncheon for the various UN agency heads in Geneva, and discussed with them a wide range of topics, including Liberia, the Middle East, Iraq and UN reform.  Afterwards, he met with two of the agency heads:  Godwin Obasi, who will leave his post as Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization later this year; as well as a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers.

On Monday, the Secretary-General will address the High-Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council in Geneva, which will meet to discuss rural development.  He will tell them that the overriding task must be to stimulate economic growth, amid signs that the world economy still has to recover from its slowdown in 2001, but that, in the long term, combating poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals requires more work.  We have embargoed copies of that speech available upstairs.

**Security Council

No meetings of the Security Council or consultations today.  As you know, Russia's Presidency of the Council ends on Monday, 30 June.

The Council’s mission to West Africa has now arrived in Guinea-Bissau and begun the first leg of its regional visit led by Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser.

Among the appointments today is a meeting with President Kumba Yala of Guinea-Bissau.  And we will have an update on the rest of their programme later today.

**Al Qaeda Sanctions

Out today as a press release is a list of 17 new names added to the Al Qaeda list by the Security Council Sanctions Committee on Al Qaeda chaired by Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz of Chile, who mentioned the list at a press conference yesterday.

And the Chairman of the Monitoring Group on Al Qaeda has asked us to issue the following clarification to you:

“There has been considerable speculation in the Press concerning the work of the Monitoring Group with regard to possible links between the previous regime in Iraq and Al Qaeda.  The report submitted to the Monitoring Group of the 1267 Committee does not address this issue and the Monitoring Group has reached no conclusions concerning these matters.

“Given the nature and intensity of the crisis surrounding Iraq during the reporting period, and attention being directed to such issues by the Security Council itself, an inquiry by the Monitoring Group into such issues was considered inappropriate.

“The Monitoring Group notes that none of the individuals or entities placed under discussion in the Security Council debates on Iraq were referred to the Monitoring Group for further inquiry, or to the 1267 Committee for possible designation.”

Interjection by correspondent:  Excuse me, this is not what he said yesterday.

Associate Deputy Spokesman:  Well, it’s a clarification he has asked us to issue.  We’re reading it on his behalf.  You should contact him directly.  He speaks for the…

Correspondent:  The story was filed yesterday; we cannot re-file something based on…

Associate Deputy Spokesman:   I understand this.  He felt the need for this clarification, obviously based on press reports.

**WHO/FAO

A couple of press releases and we’ll get to the end of this briefing.

Today, FAO experts and WHO announced agreement on recommendations regarding safe intake levels for a variety of different chemicals occurring in food, including the most toxic forms of mercury.  And if you need more information on that, that’s also available upstairs.

**WFP

The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), James Morris, today in Bangkok, called on nations in Asia to give stronger support to the humanitarian assistance needed in the region and around the world.

Among the top priorities for WFP in South and South-East Asia are the high rates of child malnutrition, with more than two thirds of the underweight children in the world living in Asia, the food crises generated by frequent natural disasters and the rapidly increasing HIV/AIDS in Asia.  And we have a press release upstairs.

**Cuba

On Cuba, Christine Chanet, the personal representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights dealing with Cuba, has appealed to President Fidel Castro to exercise his right to grant reprieves to 50 Cubans who face lengthy terms of imprisonment, following a ruling earlier this week by Cuba’s Supreme Court.  We have her statement available upstairs.

**ICTY

On the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), yesterday the former President of Republika Srpska in Bosnia, Biljana Plavsic, was transferred to a Swedish prison, to serve her 11-year prison term on persecution charges.  She is the first person found guilty in the ICTY to serve out her sentence in Sweden.  We have a press release available upstairs.

**Humanitarian/Military cooperation

Lastly, in Brussels today, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima and Poul Nielson, the EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, jointly launched a paper entitled “Guidelines On The Use Of Military And Civil Defence Assets To Support United Nations Humanitarian Activities In Complex Emergencies”.

The document lays down the main principles, concepts, tasks and responsibilities of the players in a complex emergency.  One of the points made is that non-UN military assets should be requested by humanitarian agencies only as a last resort, where there is no comparable civilian alternative and only the use of military assets can meet a critical humanitarian need.

Any use of military and civil defence assets should be clearly limited in time and scale and present an exit strategy element.  Military personnel providing direct assistance should not be armed, the guidelines say. 

These guidelines are the result of nearly three years of deliberations between Member States, international and regional organizations, as well as agencies from both the humanitarian and the military communities.  And we have more information on that available upstairs.

**The Week Ahead at the United Nations

And today is also Friday, so we do our “Week Ahead” available for you upstairs.  Any questions?

Thank you

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