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 Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Iraq

The bodies of three more victims of the Baghdad bombing are being airlifted out to Amman from Iraq today.

These are:  Ranilo Buenaventura of the Philippines, Reza Hosseini of Iran and Gillian Clark of Canada, who worked for the NGO Christian Children’s Fund.  They are to be met in Jordan by Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Also today in Amman, Mr. Malloch Brown met with King Abdullah II to convey the Secretary-General’s gratitude for Jordan’s assistance to the United Nations in the aftermath of the bombing, especially in receiving wounded staff.

**Crime

A team of experts from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who just returned from two weeks in Iraq, notes in its report that much more remains to be done in rehabilitating the Iraqi police infrastructure.

The UN experts say that the evolving nature of organized crime in Iraq is based on sophisticated smuggling networks -- many established under the previous regime to circumvent UN sanctions.  In recent months, an upsurge in violent crime, including kidnapping and murder, has taken place, they say.

They also warn that Iraq’s porous borders coupled with its geographical location near one of the major routes for smuggling opiates from Afghanistan, makes it a strong possibility that there will be an increase in drug trafficking.

More information is available in a press release upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding two back-to-back meetings on Liberia.

In the first open meeting, Council members heard briefings by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).  The Foreign Minister of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo, the current ECOWAS chairman, and Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the ECOWAS Executive Secretary, were the briefers.

Council President Fayssal Mekdad of Syria then read a presidential statement welcoming the Comprehensive Peace Settlement reached by Liberia’s Government, rebel groups, political parties and civil society leaders in Accra, Ghana last week.

The Council also urged all parties to respect fully the ceasefire and to implement fully all their commitments under the peace agreement.

The Council then went into a private meeting for a questions and answers session.  In addition to the Ghanaian Foreign Minister and Mr. Chambas, the Foreign Ministers of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Nigeria attended today’s meetings.

** Security Council Adopts Resolution on Protection of UN Staff

To recap for you, yesterday afternoon, the Security Council unanimously passed the resolution 1502 on the protection of United Nations personnel and other workers serving in conflict zones.

Speaking at the outset of the Council's meeting on the issue, the Secretary-General noted that again and again, peacekeepers or unarmed civilians have been "deliberately targeted by armed factions seeking to make a political point or a military gain, or to intimidate the international community”.  He added that last week’s vicious attack on our headquarters in Baghdad “has brought this vital issue to the forefront of our priorities”.

Urging Council members to adopt the timely draft resolution, he said:  "If you succeed in strengthening the security of United Nations staff, you will not only do what, in all conscience, is your duty.  You will also increase the authority and the effectiveness of this Council, by making clear that you are determined to protect those whom you send into the field to implement your decisions."

Speaking to the press afterward, the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for the passage of the resolution, saying that the resolution will allow the UN to really press the governments themselves and work with the governments to take action against the perpetrators.

**Security Council Presidential Statements

Council President Fayssal Mekdad, of Syria, yesterday read a statement to the press on the Liberian timber sanctions during which he said that in context of the rapidly evolving, yet fragile, situation in Liberia, the members of the Council considered that it was premature to draw definitive conclusions regarding the timber sanctions and their possible impact.

The President also read out a press statement on the Solomon Islands, welcoming the collective action of the countries of the Pacific Islands Forum to support the people of the Solomon Islands in their quest for the restoration of law and order and stability.

**Liberia

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Liberia, Jacques Klein, is in Freetown, Sierra Leone today, a day after he went to Guinea where he met Prime Minister Lamine Sidime, diplomatic representatives and the United Nations country team.

While in Guinea, Klein, according to his spokeswoman, sent a message to the Liberian rebel movement LURD that all hostilities must cease.

As part of his series of talks with regional leaders on the situation in Liberia, Klein is scheduled to travel to Côte d’Ivoire tomorrow.

This morning, Klein met with Major General Martin Luther Agwai, Nigeria’s Chief of Army staff and thanked Nigeria for the important role it was playing in Liberia.  Agwai told Klein that Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was fully committed to the peace process in Liberia and that Nigeria was willing to “re-hat” its battalions under the United Nations.

On the humanitarian front, the United Nations is working with its non-governmental organization (NGO) partners to help Liberians on the move from an area known as Kakata outside of Monrovia, where the newly displaced said they fled in fear that skirmishes would break out.  A nearby camp is being prepared for them.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said it was reaching its target of feeding 150,000 people in Monrovia, including those in the Samuel K. Doe stadium.  WFP said another ship carrying 2,000 tons has docked.

**Secretary-General

The Secretary-General will take the rest of the week off, but he is not going to leave the country.

**UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today has welcomed the announcement by the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (Shell) not to explore for, or develop, oil and gas resources within any of natural World Heritage sites.

We have a press release with more details on that.

That’s all I have for you.  Are there any questions?

Questions and Answers

Question:  The Secretary-General has called on governments to prosecute those who commit crimes against United Nations staff.  In the case of Iraq, since there is no government and since the perpetrators have not been identified, I wonder what he thinks would be accomplished?

Deputy Spokesman:  As we all know, law and security issues rest with the occupying Power, which, in this case is the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).  So, we hope that elections will be held soon and that a freely elected, independent government will take the law forward.  But for the time being, this issue lies with the CPA.

Question:  What is the Secretary-General’s position on lifting sanction on Liberia as requested by [ECOWAS Executive Secretary] Mohamed Ibn Chambas, before the Security Council today?

Deputy Spokesman:  I think the Secretary-General will support whatever decision the Security Council takes.  As I’ve just read out, the Council doesn’t think the situation on the ground is right for the lifting of sanctions at the moment.  So, again, I think he will support the Council’s decision.

Thank you.

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