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

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Richard Sydenham, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon.

**Visitors

We have a group of journalists with us and military spokespersons from Uruguay, as well as a journalist from Argentina.  So, welcome to the briefing.

**Guest at Noon

Our guest today will be Jacques Klein, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia, he will be joining us in just a minute.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

We issued the following statement from Geneva this morning concerning the Middle East.  I will just read it into the record:

“The Secretary-General strongly urges the Israeli Government to reconsider the Security Cabinet’s decision in principle to expel President Yasser Arafat.  The forcible transfer of President Arafat is dangerous and counterproductive in a situation of tension and instability in the region.

“The Secretary-General notes that the trend of developments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent weeks has been increasingly grim.  He urges both sides to live up to their responsibilities under the Quartet’s Road Map and to exercise the utmost restraint and statesmanship.”

**Security Council

The Security Council this morning held two back-to-back open meetings.

In the first, the Council voted on lifting UN sanctions on Libya.  The resolution passed by a vote of 13-0, with France and the United States abstaining.

We have the following statement attributable to the Spokesman on the subject:

“The Secretary-General welcomes the adoption today by the Security Council of a resolution lifting sanctions against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

“The Secretary-General hopes that this important step, along with the settlement arrangements agreed following many years of intensive negotiations, will help bring some comfort to the families of the victims of the tragic events over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 and Niger in 1989 as the international community strives to bring this tragic chapter to a close.”

In the second meeting, the Security Council voted unanimously on a six-month extension for the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

**Kosovo

The Security Council has begun an open meeting on Kosovo, on which Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi briefed Council members, saying that the period since July has been characterized by a number of violent attacks and shootings, primarily targeting the Kosovo Serb community, as well as UN law enforcement authorities.

He noted in particular the killing of two Kosovo Serb youths, and the wounding of four others, in a shooting incident in Gorazdevac on 13 August, with no arrests having yet been made in connection with the incident.  The violence has further raised feelings of insecurity among Kosovo Serbs, and there have been signs of an increase in inter-ethnic tensions.

Mr. Annabi said that a priority at this time is the initiation of a direct dialogue on practical matters of mutual concern between Belgrade and Pristina, and added that the new Special Representative in Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, is actively engaged in pursuing that dialogue.

We have copies of his briefing notes upstairs.  That open debate is continuing as we speak.

**Secretary-General in Geneva

The Secretary-General today met in Geneva with the principal UN and other humanitarian officials who comprise the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, telling reporters afterwards that they had discussed the situation in Iraq, especially focusing on the continuing but reduced humanitarian operations by UN agencies, the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations.

He said the Committee had discussed what security measures are needed in Iraq, and added that they had agreed not to abandon the Iraqi people in their time of need.  He said, “We need to find a way to maximize the contribution we are making to the people of Iraq while minimizing the risk to our staff.”  He also stressed the importance that humanitarian assistance be seen as independent from political or military processes.

The Secretary-General said he would convey his humanitarian colleagues’ concerns to the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council when they meet with him tomorrow to discuss Iraq.

Asked whether he expected an agreement tomorrow among the five permanent members on a resolution for Iraq, the Secretary-General said he didn’t think the text of a resolution would be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting.  Instead, he said, “We are going to discuss the situation and the way forward, and I hope there can be some convergence that will facilitate discussion in New York with the full Council.”

Concerning the 19 August attack in Baghdad, he confirmed that the UN has done some preliminary investigation, but it is setting up an independent investigation, led by a prominent person and including experienced investigators, to come up with a definitive report.  We have the transcript of his comments upstairs.

**Riza Spends Three Days in Iraq

Iqbal Riza, the Secretary-General’s Chief of Staff, is in Amman, Jordan today after spending three days in Baghdad meeting with UN local and international staff and assuring them of the Secretary-General’s concern for their security.

In Amman, he was scheduled to visit wounded staff in hospital, as well as other UN staff there who have been evacuated from Iraq.

He arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday, and was briefed by US officials responsible for the security of the UN compound.

On Wednesday, he met with local and international staff working for UN organizations and agencies currently operating in Iraq.  He met with staff at all levels, including the senior national staff member of each agency.  These were the people who kept UN humanitarian operations running during the war when international staff had to be evacuated.

He toured the Canal Hotel bomb blast site and was briefed on the events of 19 August, the day of the bombing.  He also went to the separate headquarters buildings occupied by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

While he was there, he also paid courtesy calls on the US Administrator, J. Paul Bremer, on this month’s President of the Governing Council, Ahmad Chalabi, and then he met with all members of the Governing Council.

Yesterday, he talked to people at UN Headquarters, including medical personnel and staff counsellors.

Today, he flew to Erbil where again he met with staff and toured facilities before flying to Amman.

He’s expected back in New York on Tuesday.

**Burundi

From Burundi, in response to reports that civilians had fled fighting in Bubanda Province in Burundi, UN humanitarian agencies have sent an assessment team to the area.

Based on the assessment, the World Food Programme plans to deliver food assistance to an estimated 15,000 internally displaced persons around the town of Mubimbi early next week.

The UN office in Burundi is also looking into disturbing reports that 17 civilians, including 14 children, were killed near Cibitoke, some 40km east of Bujumbura, earlier this week.

Humanitarian personnel have limited access to the area due to a high degree of instability.

**Liberia - Humanitarian

The World Food Programme (WFP) relief ship, Martin I Majuro, steamed out of Monrovia harbour this afternoon bound for the southern coastal town of Harper.

On board, an inter-agency United Nations and international non-governmental organization mission is poised to dock and enter Harper, territory held by forces from the rebel group “Movement for Democracy in Liberia” (MODEL).

Access to Harper will widen the international net of assistance to Liberia’s most vulnerable.

We have a press release with an update on the humanitarian situation in Liberia and, of course, Jacques Klein will brief you in person in just a few minutes.

**Côte d’Ivoire

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Côte d’Ivoire, Albert Tevoedjre, in a press release issued in Abidjan, announced the improvement in the situation on the ground in that country.

Please see the press release for details.

**North Korea - Humanitarian

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, shortfalls of about 110,000 metric tons of food are projected for the next six months, from September through February 2004, in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

**ICC

Earlier this morning, the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court, meeting downstairs, elected five eminent persons to the Board of Directors of the International Criminal Court’s trust fund for victims.

Those elected today were Queen Rania al-Abdullah of Jordan; former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sánchez; former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki; former French Health Minister Simone Veil; and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

And I have the following statement on that:

“The Secretary-General welcomes the election today of the Board of Directors of the Victims Trust Fund established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.  (This is what I just mentioned to you).  The Secretary-General is pleased that five distinguished international figures have been elected to manage the Trust Fund, the success of which will have an important bearing on the success of the Court itself.”

**Lid List update

A practical matter here; we would like to remind you to update us on any changes in your e-mail addresses for our lid list.  If you want to get after-hours communications from us we will need your latest coordinates and you should give them to Cathy Smith in my office.

**Press conferences - Monday

At 11 a.m., Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, will be showing public service announcements featuring United Nations messengers of peace Muhammad Ali and Luciano Pavarotti.

**Guests at Noon - Monday

And the guests at the noon briefing on Monday will be Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the UNICEF, and the Director General of WHO, Jong-Wook Lee, will brief the press on child survival.

**The Week Ahead at the United Nations

We have the Week Ahead for you.  I have a half-dozen other items here but I don’t want to take up your time.  You can see them on the Web right after the briefing.

Jacques, why don’t you come up and join us, Richard has something, I think briefly for us?

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Yes.  Okay, thank you, Fred.

This morning the General Assembly Committee on Conferences has been meeting on the adoption of the report of the Committee.

The closing plenary meeting of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly will take place next Monday at 3 p.m.  The meeting will commence with the adoption of a presidential draft resolution condemning the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Iraq on 19 August 2003.  For your information it was a presidential draft resolution that was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly that expressed the collective outrage of the UN following the 11 September 2001 attack.

Following that, other items to be decided will be appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs, general and complete disarmament, draft resolutions on sustainable development and international economic cooperation and revitalisation of the work of the General Assembly.  All other items on the long list of items to be addressed on Monday will be referred on to the fifty-eighth session.

The president will then make a concluding statement, and when I have copies of the presidential draft resolution and the concluding statement, I will make these available to you.

Any questions?  Yes?

Questions and Answers

Question:  (Inaudible)

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  I don’t have any information on that.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Evelyn, did you have a question for Richard?

Question:  No, for you.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Yes, I am sorry, I should have opened up for questions.  Before you ask, I have just been told that there will be Security Council consultations on the Middle East at 3 o’clock this afternoon.  Evelyn?

Question:  Fred, I want to thank you for all the help in trying to get the arrangements changed on the second floor, but I have a question:  how much is this costing?  Because it seems to me that the last wall in the security room has been set up so that delegates can smoke and drink in the security area in the south lounge rather than walk to the north lounge and I’d like to know if, I understand it’s a $100,000 to a $150,000, but I would very appreciate if you could confirm that.  And did the Secretary-General, when he looked at it, indicate this would be reviewed or he didn’t, just curious what the next step ... it seems to be hammered into place forever more.

Spokesman for Secretary-General:  I’ll have to look into the cost of it, I don’t know what it is and I’ll let you know as soon as I find out, that would be a matter of public record.  I don’t think the purpose was to provide a place for delegates to smoke.  There is no intention to put any furniture in that space.  It’s supposed to be walk-in, walk-out coffee for not just delegates but for all Secretariat, but that doesn’t change the problem that you and other journalists have identified of the glass wall.  And the Secretary-General, I don’t if you were there, but there were people there when he looked at it who heard him say:  “I see the problem.”  Of course, he is in Geneva now and Catherine Bertini, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, who is ultimately responsible for this, is out on retreat with her senior staff.  I think she gets back on Monday.  Anyway, so, I’ll try to find out the money figure for you and I think the next time we’ll be able to discuss this will be Monday.  Any other questions?

Question:  Who is going to lead the investigation in the Baghdad attack?

Spokesman for Secretary-General:  I thought you might want to know that.

Question:  Sorry?

Spokesman for Secretary-General:  I said I thought you might want to know that.  No, we’re not ready to announce that but the Secretary-General did give you some fresh information today from Geneva about how this final investigation will be conducted; that it will be headed by a senior political figure but assisted by investigators.  And so now you want to know who that senior political figure is and we’re not prepared to announced it.  I expect the announcement will come before very long, though.

Jacques, welcome to the briefing.

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