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

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General on Millennium Report

Good afternoon.  On Monday at 11:00 here in this room, the Secretary-General will be launching his Report on the Implementation of the Millennium Declaration 2003 at a press conference.  In the report, he calls on the nations of the world to re-forge their unity after the divisions of the Iraq war, agree among themselves on what are the main threats facing humanity, and not flinch from radical reform of the UN itself, as well as other international bodies, if this is necessary to make them more effective.  Advance, unedited copies of the report and accompanying press release under strict embargo will be e-mailed to all of you on the Lid List shortly.  The final text will be available Monday morning in all official languages.

**Security Council

The Security Council has scheduled consultations at 3:30 p.m. on Iraq and other matters.  Expected is a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, who will provide an update since the last briefing by the Secretary-General after the August 19 bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad.

**Liberia

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Liberia, Jacques Klein, held a press conference a short while ago in Monrovia.  We’ll let you know as soon as we get the transcript.  Klein updated reporters about his work over the past month to determine the size and composition of a UN mission.  He said the assessment was now complete and he was planning to go to New York next week to bring the request for a mandate to the Security Council.  According to the Council programme, the report is due on Friday, 12 September, and Liberia is on the Council agenda for the following Tuesday, 16 September.

In Monrovia, Klein said he would be asking for 15,000 troops.  He said he wants to bring in enough troops quickly to be able to do the work of disarmament and demobilization.  He also mentioned that the assessment calls for some

900 international police officers.  Klein also said his absolute top priorities are security and health.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports today that water and sanitation problems were massive in Liberia, with only 32 per cent of Liberia’s population having access to clean drinking water.  In addition, Monrovia has had no regular garbage collection since 1996. 

The World Food Programme (WFP) said there was also a great concern about a possible massive exodus into Monrovia, the only area secured by ECOMIL forces for now.  But the capital, which already sheltered 1,000,000 inhabitants and at least 300,000 displaced persons living in very difficult conditions, couldn’t possibly absorb more people, according to WFP.  The UN refugee agency, UNHCR,

said it remained extremely concerned about security for the displaced and about the presence of heavily armed militia who were circling around the warehouse building where humanitarian staff were placing the relief goods.

**Democratic Republic of Congo

Some 2,500 UN peacekeeping troops are now firmly in place in Bunia, in the north-east province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  They’ve begun to project their presence outside of Bunia, conducting reconnaissance missions this week.  At the town of Mongbwala, to the north-west, they found the situation stable on Wednesday.  To the north-east, where they went yesterday, they confirmed that the town of Fataki was totally destroyed and abandoned.  They report that some 18,000 people displaced from Fataki are huddled in the nearby town of Bule, and some 5,000 more displaced are in three other adjoining villages.  The peacekeepers are planning two more reconnaissance missions this week.  The mission plans to increase its strength in Bunia to some 4,500 to 5,000 peacekeeping troops by the end of October.

**Personal Envoy in Korean Peninsula and China

The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, Maurice F. Strong, had a round of high-level discussions last week in Seoul on issues related to the Korean Peninsula.  There was a sense of cautious optimism, in the context of the six-party meetings in Beijing, on the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the current impasse.  Mr. Strong also visited Beijing this week, where he welcomed the holding of the six-party talks and commended China’s important role in convening this useful forum.  In both Seoul and Beijing, Mr. Strong reaffirmed the active support of the Secretary-General for continuation of the negotiating process towards a comprehensive settlement.  The Secretary-General will continue to consult closely with the parties involved in this critical issue.

**WTO at Cancun

In a message delivered in support of OXFAM’s big noise campaign, the Secretary-General says that decisions taken at the upcoming World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun, Mexico, can make the difference between poverty and starvation, perhaps even between life and death, for millions living in poor countries.  The first of the two most important issues under discussion is that of intellectual property as it affects the right of developing countries to import cheap generic drugs.  In his message, the Secretary-General said it is a “moral imperative” that needed drugs reach the millions that are suffering and dying.

The other important issue is that of agricultural subsidies.  He called on developed countries to phase out these subsidies to give a chance to poor farmers to trade their way of poverty.  He added the current situation where poor countries are under pressure from rich countries to liberalize their markets, yet find their own products excluded from rich countries by protective tariffs, not fair.  The full text of the message is available on the racks.

**Kosovo

Last night, at the Dubrava prison in Kosovo, five male prisoners died as a result of fire and smoke caused when inmates set fire to their mattresses during a demonstration.  Sixteen additional prisoners have been hospitalized for burns and smoke inhalation.  At least one is in critical condition.  One prison officer has been hospitalized for smoke inhalation suffered in an effort to help those attempting to flee the burning building.  The UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) says that an international judge has been appointed to conduct an investigation and that a special panel of inquiry will also be formed consisting of international and local officials to determine why this tragic incident occurred and how to prevent a recurrence.  For more information on the incident, you can pick up a press release in my office.

**Internally Displaced in Russian Federation

The Secretary-General’s Representative on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Francis Deng, will visit the Russian Federation at the invitation of the Government from 8 to 12 September.  And Deng will hold meetings in Moscow as well as in the northern Caucasus, where he’s also scheduled to visit sites for IDPs in Ingushetia and Chechnya.  More on his mission is available upstairs.

**Refugees in Malaysia

The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said UNHCR was extremely concerned after learning that Malaysian authorities this morning deported seven asylum seekers who originated from the Indonesian province of Aceh, despite a request for the High Commissioner this week for a moratorium.

**Sri Lanka WFP School Programme

The World Food Programme (WFP) today launched a school feeding programme for 33,000 children in former Sri Lankan war zones, and plans to expand it to 170,000 children next year.  The programme, which targets children most affected by displacement, poverty and food deficits of the 20-year conflict, provides a nutritious mid-morning meal and at the same time it will enhance the daily attendance of the children and their ability to learn.  We have a press release with more details on that.

**DPI/NGO Conference

The annual DPI/NGO Conference will begin on Monday, with this year’s theme, “Human Security and Dignity:  Fulfilling the Promise of the United Nations”.  Monday’s session will be addressed by Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the Chair of the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations, and Mary Racelis, a Member of the Panel, who will discuss the work of the Panel that was formed by the Secretary-General earlier this year. 

Mr. Cardoso and Ms. Racelis will be here to brief you at a press conference scheduled for 12:30 on that day.

**Web Site for Media Accreditation

On Monday as well, the Department of Public Information will launch a new web site containing information on media accreditation and liaison services offered by the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit (MALU).  The Web site address is:  www.un.org/media/accreditation.  The new Web site is designed to facilitate renewal of grounds passes for resident correspondents and speed the process for journalists seeking United Nations media accreditation.  Included is information on accreditation requirements for traditional and online media; the accreditation form; liaison services; media services and resources; frequently asked questions; useful links; and contact information.

**ECOSOC AIDS Workshop

Other press releases today, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) will hold a 6-day workshop on HIV/AIDS and Adult Mortality in Developing Countries for African government officials, here at Headquarters from Monday,

8 to 13 September.  We also have an update on Côte d’Ivoire.  That’s from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 

**Budget

And on budget today, Zimbabwe today became the 101^st Member State to pay its dues ($108,010) in full for this year.

**Caspian Caviar Recovery

Finally, good news for those of you who can afford caviar.  The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, better known as CITES, has approved increased quotas for Caspian Sea sturgeon catch and caviar exports in 2003.  This convention is part of the UN Environment Programme.  CITES Deputy Secretary-General Jim Armstrong said that, after a decade that saw the collapse of sturgeon stocks due to over-fishing, the governments in the Caspian Sea region are now fully committed to enforcing international regulations.  As a result of their joint efforts to monitor and manage fish stocks and combat poaching, they’re truly starting to turn the situation around, he said.

In developing the new quotas, the Caspian States paid particular attention to Beluga, which produces the most valuable caviar.  Beluga stocks appear to be recovering.  Greater numbers of fish are spawning and a higher proportion of the fish being caught are going into hatchery production rather than into commercial caviar production.

For more information, it’s upstairs.  Unfortunately, samples are not available.  (Laughter.)  Okay, and we have the Week Ahead for you as you plan your coverage of the UN next week.  And I’ll take any questions if you have any before we take a weekend break.

Questions and Answers

Question:  What was the new Web site again, please?

Spokesman:  Can I give it to you afterwards?  It’s kind of long and I’ll stumble over it.

Question:  The Colombian rebels say they have given the OK for the UN to start a new round of talks.  Know anything about that, about who and how it’ll happen from the UN side.

Spokesman:  I don’t know, but I’ll look into that for you.  I think the Secretary-General’s Special Representative may be in town, or coming to town

soon, so you may like to speak to him, too, if he’s going to be in the building.  So, let me look into those two things for you after the briefing.  Okay.  Thank you very much.

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