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

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.

**Security Council

This morning, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1492, approving the recommendation of the Secretary-General that the drawdown of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone should proceed according to the “modified status quo” option towards withdrawal by December 2004.

Following that, the Council held an open meeting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which was attended by the Secretary-General.

Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations first briefed the Council on the situation in Bunia in the north-east of the DRC.  He underscored that, despite encouraging initial steps toward normalizing life in Bunia, many challenges lie ahead.  “Above all, the most difficult task will be to end the pervasive culture of war and impunity”, he said.  He appealed to the international community to increase its efforts to assist the Ituri Interim Administration to restore basic services in Ituri, especially police, judiciary and corrections.

Amos Namanga Ngongi, the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DRC and Head of the UN Mission in the Congo, then briefed the Council on the developments related to the Transitional Government, whose swearing-in on 17 July was, he said, “a landmark event, and a decisive moment in the four-year-old peace process”.

There are 29 inscribed speakers on the list, including Javier Solana, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union.  And he intends to speak to you at the Council Stakeout in just a few minutes.

**Liberia

Turning to Liberia, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it is very concerned about the latest reports of fighting on the outskirts of the Liberian capital, Monrovia.  Yesterday afternoon, UNHCR staff in Monrovia said that renewed fighting had been reported in Sastown, about 25 kilometres from the capital, provoking more people to flee the conflict area toward the centre of Monrovia.

UNHCR is worried that any further deterioration will affect the emergency evacuation of Sierra Leonean refugees, which began earlier this month and has to date assisted nearly 1,250 Sierra Leoneans to return home.

We have more details in today’s UNHCR briefing notes, which also mentions the return home of more than 5,300 Angolan refugees since an organized return movement began on June 20.

**North Korea

Turning to North Korea, the Chargé d’affaires of China, Ambassador Zhang Yishan, informed the Secretary-General yesterday about the encouraging results of the recent visit by China’s special envoy to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  The envoy is currently in Washington for consultations.

The Secretary-General praised the efforts of China’s leadership to encourage and promote a diplomatic solution of the current nuclear controversy.  He is hopeful about the early resumption of the Beijing talks.  There is a similar approach between the United Nations and China in terms of nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula and the need to resolve the matter peacefully.

The Secretary-General and China will remain in close touch regarding further developments.

**Iraq

On Iraq, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, is spending his second day in northern Iraq, as part of an eight-day, four-nation tour of the region.  One of the main issues discussed was finding possible solutions for the hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Kurds, who were forcibly displaced by Saddam Hussein's "Arabization" policy.

In comments earlier today, the High Commissioner said that, while the major challenge now was to reverse this policy so that the Kurds who were expelled could return to their homes, fair solutions were also needed for the Arab families who were resettled by Saddam Hussein in the Kirkuk area.

Lubbers said that UNHCR is ready to work on this issue but responsibility lies primarily with the new authorities in Iraq, and particularly the Provisional Authority.  “While the liberation of Kirkuk was done in an exemplary way, we now need to follow up on this, and to follow up quickly, to prevent disillusionment and renewed conflict”, Ruud Lubbers said.

This afternoon, the High Commissioner will visit a site for internally displaced people in a suburb of Sulaymaniyah in the north, in order to get a first-hand look at the problems they face.

We have more details upstairs.

**Timor-Leste

In Timor, there has been an exchange of letters between the Secretary-General and the Security Council regarding the new Force Commander of the UN Mission in that country.

The Secretary-General informed the Council of his intention to appoint Lieutenant General Khairuddin Mat Yusof of Malaysia to succeed Major General Huck Gim Tan of Singapore as the new Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping forces in Timor-Leste; and that appointment will come into effect on 31 August.

**Terrorism

Out on the racks is the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s latest 90-day report which looks ahead at the Committee’s work until September.

In the report, Ambassador Inocencio Arias of Spain, the Committee’s chair, says the objectives will continue to be to raise the international committee’s awareness that every terrorist act is a threat to international peace and security.  Special emphasis will be given to practical measures designed to help member States combat terror.

**ICTY

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) yesterday issued a subpoena for Milorad Dodik, a former Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to appear as a witness in an ongoing case.  Under the terms of the subpoena, he is ordered to appear and testify, starting on 31 July, and a wilful failure to comply would constitute contempt.

We have a press release upstairs with more details, as well as other releases from the Tribunal on the release from detention of one suspect who has served his sentence and on a plenary session held yesterday in The Hague.

**WFP Ambassador

Two more mentions for you.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today announced that Cesária Évora, one of Africa’s greatest voices, became WFP Ambassador against hunger and in favour of school feeding.

We have a press release with more details on that.

**Mandela

And lastly, in a letter he sent to Nelson Mandela to mark the former South African President’s eighty-fifth birthday, which is today, the Secretary-General asked how can one properly congratulate someone who is probably the single most admired and respected international figure, as well as a tireless worker for peace and reconciliation?

The only adequate way to express one’s gratitude, the Secretary-General writes, is for every one of us to try to follow Nelson Mandela’s example.  “If we could live up to just one fraction of the standards you have set for yourself, then Africa, and the world, would be a far, far better place”, he wrote Nelson Mandela in the letter.

The full text of the letter, as well as a message, which is to be included in a book on Nelson Mandela, is available upstairs.

**Week Ahead at United Nations

And today being Friday, we do have the Week Ahead for you.

Any questions?  Yes, Akram?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Concerning these Kurds -- there are not only Kurds; there are also Arabs who have been...

Associate Spokesman:  Yes.

Question:  are they included in the return to the..?

Associate Spokesman:  Well, I think Mr. Lubbers’ intent is to make sure that a solution is found to the people who were forcibly removed from their homes and also that a just and humane solution be found for the people who were relocated by the Government in homes that were not theirs.  So, it’s a complicated problem, which he’s actively working on.

Question:  I have a question about Cyprus.  Mr. Denktash, the Turkish leader sent a letter to the Secretary-General, and he learned that today the Greek leader, Mr. Papadopoulos also sent the answer to the Secretary-General, and there is still no reaction after one week.  Is there any reaction to both these letters?

Associate Spokesman:  No, I do not have anything for you on that matter.  But I will check up on you right after the briefing.  Anybody else?

Thank you.  Enjoy your weekend.  Thank you very much.

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