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 Stephane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good Afternoon.
**Secretary-General at African Union Summit
I’ll start off with a round-up of the Secretary-General’s activities in Mozambique.
He began his final day in Maputo, by attending a working breakfast hosted by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, and reviewed the progress to date in the fight against AIDS in Africa, and discussed a work plan for the coming year. Speaking to reporters afterward, the Secretary-General said that the officials gathered for the breakfast had very useful and constructive discussions, not just on AIDS but also on conflict resolution, economic and social development, and the empowerment of women.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General visited an AIDS clinic at Matola, on the outskirts of Maputo, which is run by the Catholic Order of St. Egidio. It has done a remarkable job in dealing with mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This clinic houses some 300 HIV-positive pregnant mothers. Following treatment with anti-retroviral drugs, only three out of the 151 babies born at the clinic have been diagnosed as HIV-positive.
And we got word within the last hour that a baby boy was just born at the clinic, as the Secretary-General was visiting. He met with the mother, telling her that his own name, Kofi, means “a boy born on Friday”. And, we also just got word that the mother did decide to name the boy after the Secretary-General.
He told the workers at the AIDS clinic, “This is our fight, and let’s all move ahead and win this fight.”
AIDS was also the subject of some of the bilateral meetings the Secretary-General held in the margins of the African Union Summit. He saw the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Dr. Peter Piot, to discuss tighter coordination between the UN and the Global Fund against AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis for the most effective use of the increased funds in the fight against AIDS.
He also met with the Director General of the World Trade Organization, Supachai Panitchpakdi, with whom he discussed efforts by multinational pharmaceutical firms to make AIDS medication available at low cost to developing countries. The Secretary-General emphasized that there should be no slippage in this campaign, and he invited Mr. Panitchpakdi to join him at a meeting with pharmaceutical executives that the Secretary-General is planning to hold later this year.
The Secretary-General is departing Mozambique as we speak, and is making his way back to New York, where we expect him over the weekend.
**Burundi
He also met with the Foreign Minister of Burundi, Terence Sinunguruza, on the margins of the African Union Summit this afternoon. The Burundian Minister raised the issue of the bombardment of the capital Bujumbura and the failure of a second group, the National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD)/Nkurunziza, to honour a ceasefire agreement signed last December.
Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General also had a one-on-one meeting with his Representative for Burundi, Berhanu Dinka.
On the ground, we’ve received reports of shelling in the capital, which continued yesterday, wounding four civilians in the suburbs. A brief pause in the shelling overnight was short-lived, when fighting resumed around mid-morning today. Most workers have stayed home, and many businesses remain closed again for the second day running.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today expressed its concern for the inaccessible populations in the south, particularly in the province of Bujumbura Rural, where closed highways have prevented any humanitarian access since renewed fighting began on Monday.
The Government has now registered 15,000 displaced persons (IDPs) from the suburbs of the capital, who have taken refuge in one of the museums in Bujumbura. The UN agencies, in cooperation with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), have facilitated the delivery of food, water and shelter to the IDPs.
**Liberia
On Liberia, the Secretary-General, when asked by reporters in Maputo about Liberia, said that there had been a good discussion among West African leaders about that country, and that he was hopeful that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would send in troops in the not-too-distant future.
He also said that he would meet with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington, D.C., on Monday to discuss Liberia, among other issues, adding, “If President Bush were to decide US troops should join the force, I hope it wouldn’t take them too long either to join.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other agencies in Monrovia are still struggling to assist tens of thousands of refugees and displaced persons in and around the war–torn capital.
Following weeks of looting, UNHCR says its operations are hampered by a shortage of vehicles –- most stolen –- and a lack of fuel. Nevertheless, national staff and NGO partners are doing their best to help people scattered throughout the Monrovia area, focusing particularly on life–saving activities. Medical clinics have been set up in various locations and an ambulance service is being provided for critical cases.
According to evacuees interviewed by UNHCR staff in Freetown, most of the 15,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Liberia want to leave the country. Some of the returnees said they had witnessed various abuses, including rape, by soldiers. They also said that some Sierra Leoneans were unable to leave because they had become separated from their children and were trying to find them.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) continued to distribute food to displaced persons sheltered in the various parts of the city. About 40 centres have received food, and WFP is planning to target food distribution to more than 180,000 people displaced by the fighting.
**Iraq
Turning to Iraq, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, will visit Taif, Saudi Arabia, tomorrow to meet Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz of Saudi Arabia, and other senior Saudi officials.
This is part of Vieira de Mello’s continuing consultations with Iraq’s neighbours on current efforts to assist the Iraqi people in creating a stable, democratic and sovereign Iraq. He intends to visit other neighbouring capitals in due course.
And, as you know, Mr. Vieira de Mello is expected to brief the Security Council in New York on 22 July.
**Security Council
Continuing with the Council, the Security Council just held consultations on the Western Sahara this morning. The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, briefed on the latest developments. A draft resolution was introduced for further discussion.
Following consultations, the Security Council held a formal meeting, during which members unanimously adopted resolution 1491 (2003), authorizing a 12-month extension of the stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
**Appeal for Funds
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is issuing a special appeal, totaling over $14 million, to cover unforeseen new developments in seven African countries that have received little international attention. The countries concerned are Chad, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Rwanda and Republic of the Congo. The problems covered include new displacement, serious flood damage to refugee camps, relocations of threatened refugee groups and –- on a more positive note –- two small repatriations of refugees.
**UNFPA
Today is World Population Day, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is drawing attention to the more than one billion people who are between the ages of 10 and 19 -– the largest youth generation in history. UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid said that too many young people suffer severe consequences because they lack access to adequate education and health care.
Ms. Obaid noted that more than 70,000 teenage girls are married each day, and nearly 40,000 give birth, adding, “For these young women, this means an incomplete education, limited opportunities and serious health risks.” Obaid also pointed to the fact that half of all new HIV infections occur among young people.
In a separate message, the Secretary-General said that one in every six people on earth is an adolescent and that decisions by young people “will shape our world and the prospects of future generations”. He urged that they be provided with the information and services they need and deserve.
We have press releases available upstairs with more information.
**World Tourism Organization
In Geneva yesterday, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), during its substantive session, adopted a resolution in which it recommends to the General Assembly that the World Tourism Organization become a specialized agency of the United Nations; that would be the first new specialized agency to be admitted to the UN system since 1985.
**Cyber School Bus
A couple of more notes -- the Cyberschool Bus, the UN’s Global teaching Web site, tells us that Ambassador Kim Sam-hoon, the Permanent Representative of Korea, will be the new featured diplomat in their “Ask an Ambassador” section.
Students from around the world will have the opportunity, until the end of September, to send questions to Ambassador Kim about the Republic of Korea's policies on different global issues.
The Permanent Representatives of Russia, China and Switzerland have already participated in this programme.
**The Week Ahead at United Nations
And, today being Friday, we have the Week Ahead for you.
**Press Conferences This Afternoon
And lastly, press conferences this afternoon. Ambassador Kuniko Inoguchi of Japan, Chair of the First Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, will be here to brief you on the week-long meeting, which ends today.
Then at 3 p.m., the Permanent Mission of New Zealand will be sponsoring a press conference by members of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), who will talk to you about the NGO’s perspective on the small arms meeting.
That is it from me. Do you have any questions?
Questions and Answers
Question: What’s the prospect of having the Secretary-General brief us on his trip to Africa and then wrapping it up, perhaps with his meeting with Bush?
Associate Spokesman: Well, you know that the Secretary-General tends to speak to the press when he returns to Headquarters after a trip overseas, so we’ll see if you can speak to him when he does return to Headquarters whether that’s on Tuesday. And, I am sure he will speak to journalists on Monday during the trip to Washington. But we’ll make an effort to have him speak to you here as well. Yes?
Question: Any involvement from the UN concerning the formation of the local governments in Iraq?
Associate Spokesman: Well, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, as you know, following his Security Council mandate, has been listening and talking to Iraqis at all levels of society and has encouraged them to participate in a representative government. So, he has been very much talking to the Iraqis on that issue.
Question: Any luck?
Associate Spokesman: Well, as you probably have seen, we’ve seen reports that, on Sunday, there may be an announcement on a governing council for Iraq, which will have some executive powers, but we’ll have to wait until Sunday to see if that announcement is actually made. Anybody else?
Question: Are you saying that he was participating with executive power, meaning the United States and Great Britain in the formation of the council?
Associate Spokesman: Am I saying what, I am sorry?
Question: That the Representative of the Secretary-General was participating in these activities to form the coalition government?
Associate Spokesman: Well, unless I am misreading his mandate as derived by the Security Council resolution, he was asked to work closely with both the occupying Powers and the Iraqi people, and that’s what he has been doing. I mean, he’s an independent player who has been talking to the Iraqis and working with the occupying Powers as he’s mandated. Yes?
Question: Do you have any sort of schedule for the Secretary-General’s day in Washington on Monday?
Associate Spokesman: We’ll see if we can have something for you by this afternoon. Details are still being worked out.
Question: That was my question as well. He will return to New York on the weekend and go directly to Washington then?
Associate Spokesman: It will be a day trip on Monday, yeah.
Thank you, very much
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