DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICES OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
AND THE SPOKESWOMAN 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 Michele Montas, Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon.

**Guests at Noon Today

Joining us today will be Dr. Lee Jong-Wook, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Dr. Peter Piot, the Executive Director of UNAIDS.  They will be joined by Dr. Richard Feachem, the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria.  And they will be here to launch a special initiative aiming to rapidly expand access to HIV treatment in developing countries.

**Baghdad

Shortly after 8 a.m. local time in Baghdad, a vehicle was stopped at an Iraqi police checkpoint located at the entrance of the parking lot used by our national staff who work at the Canal Hotel compound.

As the vehicle was being inspected, the lone occupant of it detonated explosives.  The explosion killed him and an Iraqi police officer.  Two United Nations national staff members were injured, one is in serious condition but not with life-threatening injuries, and seventeen other people were also injured, a majority of whom were Iraqi police officers.

There was no damage to the Canal Hotel as the explosion took place about 300 meters from the working areas of the Canal compound.

**Statement on Baghdad

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman on this incident:

“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s suicide bombing in the car park of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.  He is deeply saddened by the death and destruction caused by the attack which reportedly killed one Iraqi policeman and wounded many others, including Iraqi national staff of the United Nations.

“The Secretary-General commends the Iraqi police, whose prompt action averted another major disaster.  He conveys his heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim and hopes that the injured will make a full recovery.

“The Secretary-General is dismayed that the United Nations in Iraq has once again been the target of an act of terror.  He remains greatly concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.”

**Statement on Iraq Issued Saturday

The Secretary-General also issued a statement attributable to the Spokesman over the weekend condemning the assassination attempts on Dr. Akila al-Hashimi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council.  And you can get the text of that in my office.

**Draft Press Announcement on Independent Panel

Regarding these events –- the bombing of the UN headquarters on 19 August, and I guess you can include today’s event as well -- the Secretary-General has asked Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and veteran of many United Nations missions, to chair an Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of United Nations Personnel in Iraq, following the devastating attack on United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August.

The panel’s task will be to examine all relevant facts about the situation before the attack, the circumstances of the attack itself and the actions taken by different parties in the immediate aftermath.  The panel’s report is expected to give a detailed account of a range of issues including, but not limited to, security relations between the United Nations and the Coalition Provisional Authority, and responsibilities within the United Nations relating to staff security, both at Headquarters and in the field.

The panel will also look forward and identify key lessons for future security management and arrangements, with a view to preventing further such tragedies, or at least limiting their effects.

The panellists, who are independent of the Secretariat, will have full access to all necessary documents, and will be able to interview any staff member in full confidentiality.

Mr. Ahtisaari has chosen the following people to join him on the panel:  Peter Fitzgerald, the Deputy Commissioner of the Irish National Police; Brigadier-General Jaakko Taneli Oksanen of the Finnish Army; and Claude Bruderlein, the Director of the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at Harvard University.  These panellists will be able to call on the assistance of other experts as and when they find it necessary.

The panel is expected to complete its work within about six weeks, and its findings and recommendations will be made public.

**Secretary-General on AIDS

The Secretary-General this morning opened the General Assembly’s high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS by saying that the world’s nations have the commitment to defeat AIDS, and the resources for that fight are increasing, but action is still far short of what is needed.

He presented the Assembly with a report showing some signs of progress, including the submission of more than $4.7 billion in pledges to the Global Fund against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  Yet he warns, “We are not on track to begin reducing the scale and impact of the epidemic by 2005”.

More than one third of heavily affected countries still have no strategies in place to look after AIDS orphans, while two thirds of all countries fail to provide legal protection against discrimination for the groups that are most vulnerable to HIV.

Even in funding, the Secretary-General noted, although domestic spending on AIDS by governments in low- and middle-income countries has doubled since 1999, we are still only halfway to the 10 billion dollars a year that is needed to deal with AIDS by 2005.

He warned, “We cannot accept that ‘something else came up’ that forced us to place AIDS on the back burner.  Something else will always come up”.

We have copies of his speech upstairs.  Also upstairs are press kits that include the progress report on the global response to HIV/AIDS that was presented today.

**AIDS in Africa

Even as the discussion on AIDS is going on at the General Assembly, an international conference on AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, where yesterday, Stephen Lewis, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, said that “what’s happening to the continent makes me extremely angry”.

Lewis told the delegates at the Nairobi conference that he is “enraged” by the behaviour of rich countries, which, by their neglect, have worsened the situation in Africa.  In dealing with AIDS, Africa, he said, “has moved mountains in the last couple of years, while the western world remains mired in the foothills”.

We have copies of his remarks upstairs.

**Statement on Myanmar

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman on the subject of Myanmar:

“Mr. Razali Ismail, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar, will visit Myanmar from 30 September to 2 October 2003.  This will be his eleventh mission to the country.

“The Secretary-General, who is closely following the recent developments in Myanmar, expects Mr. Razali to discuss with Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt and other government leaders ways in which to revive the national reconciliation process, which came to a standstill after the incident of 30 May.

“The Secretary-General remains concerned about the well-being of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders and reiterates his call that they should be released without further delay.  He expects his Special Envoy to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, find out her condition and work with government officials towards her immediate and unconditional release.

“Mr. Razali will be in New York tomorrow for consultations before travelling to Myanmar.”

**Secretary-General on Terrorism

The Secretary-General this morning addressed a conference organized by the International Peace Academy on “Fighting Terrorism for Humanity”, and he said that we delude ourselves if we think that military force alone can defeat terrorism.  Terrorists, he said, thrive on despair, and defeating terrorism consequently requires establishing the promise of a better and fairer world, and a concrete plan to get there.

The Secretary-General said that upholding human rights is not at odds with battling terrorism, since a moral vision of human rights is among the most powerful weapons in the fight against terrorists.

“To fight terrorism”, he argued, “we must not only fight terrorists.  We have to win hearts and minds.”  That can be done effectively only by working through multilateral institutions -– first and foremost among them the United Nations.

We have his full text available upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding a private meeting this morning on Burundi.

Speaking at the meeting are the President of Burundi and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

As of now, the next and only other scheduled meeting of the Council this week is on Wednesday when on the agenda is a ministerial-level meeting on “Justice and the Rule of Law: the UN Role”.  There was a background paper on that discussion posted on the Web site of the Security Council Presidency.

**Secretary-General Meets with Heads of Norway, France

Over the weekend, the Secretary-General had two meetings with heads of State.

On Saturday, he had a private luncheon with the Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik, and his Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen.

And then on Sunday evening, he had dinner with the President of France, Jacques Chirac, and his Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin.

Today, as you know, he is having lunch with the President of Brazil, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.

**Soccer

Yesterday afternoon on the North Lawn of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General and his wife Nane joined United Nations Messenger of Peace, Jane Goodall, to symbolically fly doves for the Jane Goodall Institute to mark the International Day of Peace.

The Goodall Institute has created the fabric doves to be flown by groups of young people around the world.

In addition, the Secretary-General kicked “a peace ball", which was used at the most recent Brazil/England World Cup match and has been signed by players from both sides.

**Press Conferences

This afternoon at 1 o’clock, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, will hold a press conference.  As you may already know, as of 1 January 2004, the Foreign Minister will be taking up his new functions as Secretary-General of NATO.

Then at 2:15 p.m., President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria will brief you.

And at 5:15 p.m., I think that’s a new time, 5:15, Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada will have a press conference in this room.

That’s all I have for you, any questions?  Serge?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Fred, regarding the panel of investigation, is the Secretary-General going (inaudible) ...in the framework of the Geneva Convention?

Spokesman:  Say it again?

Question:  Yes, the Secretary-General, did he have the power in the mandate of the mission to order a panel of investigation?

Spokesman:  Yes, it’s certainly within his authority, seeing he is responsible for the security of UN staff, to form a commission or take any route he sees would help him better assess the current security threat in Iraq to the staff -– national and international.  That is his main concern right now.  Yes?

Question:  At what point does sovereignty become involved because  (inaudible) someone will have to present a ... (inaudible) ... discussing the sovereignty of Iraq.  At which point will the sovereignty of Iraq become involved?

Spokesman:  It’s not a question of sovereignty; it’s a question of the security threat to UN personnel at UN headquarters in Baghdad and in Iraq generally.  It’s not a sovereignty issue.  Yes?

Question:  This panel is going to take some while to report.  For now, what are the immediate or short-term implications of today’s bomb attack for the UN presence, the UN operation in Iraq?

Spokesman:  When the Secretary-General came in this morning you will note that he referred to a meeting that was going on as he spoke.  That meeting is the regular Iraq Steering Group, chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General, involving all the key players from the UN system on Iraq.  They discussed the events of this morning.  They will meet again this afternoon and eventually make a recommendation to the Secretary-General.

Anything else?  Yes, Serge?

Question:  Fred, the ... (inaudible) was the first to complain about the wall in the Security Council we went through.  He said that we’re grateful that the wall has now ended...

Spokesman:  The wall has come down.  Well, I think it was everyone’s cooperation in the end that allowed that to happen.

Okay, Michele, what’s going on in the General Assembly?

Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President

Thank you, Fred.  Good afternoon all.

The President of the Assembly, Julian Hunte, has asked me to express his grave concern about the security situation in Iraq, and the security conditions for UN personnel, after the second attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad today, less than a month after the 19 August attack on UN headquarters in which 22 people had been killed.

President Hunte emphasized that the United Nations has set about doing important humanitarian work in Iraq, to bring relief to the beleaguered people of that country.  He said that those responsible for the two explosions and other acts of violence must not be allowed to derail the United Nations efforts in Iraq.  He expressed his support for the United Nations humanitarian work and called on all Member States to reaffirm their support to this essential work.

The formal plenary of the General Assembly for the High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS has been meeting, as you know since 10 this morning.  The Plenary was introduced by the President of the Assembly, who underlined the urgent need to take comprehensive action in the Declaration of Commitments on HIV/AIDS.  “We know that HIV/AIDS is much more than a public health problem, but impacts virtually every aspects of human endeavour”, he said.  “HIV/AIDS interventions must go hand in hand with policies that address poverty, socio-economic development, human welfare and social cohesion.  This is a direction in which we must continue.”  His full statement will be available on the third floor.

I would like to attract your attention on the informal panel discussion that will take place this afternoon from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.  It will be chaired by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and will feature the participation of several heads of State.  This informal debate will feature also a lively high-level discussion regarding the progress countries are making in expanding HIV prevention and care programmes, key challenges facing governments and strategies for the future.  Participants are to include the Secretary-General, heads of State, ministers and other high-level government representatives; Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa; Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director; Tarum Das, Director-General, Confederation of Indian Industry; representatives of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; AIDS service organizations; and the community of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Secretary-General is to report to the high-level plenary after this informal panel discussion.

That’s all, thank you.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Thanks, Michele.  Any questions for Michele?  If not, I’ll ask Dr. Lee, Dr. Piot, and Dr. Feachem to come up to the table.

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