DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICES OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
| Press Briefing |
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE 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.
Spokesman for the Secretary-General
Good afternoon.
**Middle East
Yesterday, this office put out a statement saying that the Secretary-General strongly deplored the Israeli air strike on Syrian territory earlier that day, and was especially concerned that this further escalation of an already tense and difficult situation has the potential to broaden the scope of current conflicts in the Middle East, further threatening global peace and security. The Secretary-General urged all concerned to respect the rules of international law and to exercise restraint.
A day earlier, the Secretary-General had strongly condemned the horrific suicide bombing that killed at least 18 people in Haifa, and reiterated his utter repugnance at all acts of terror, from whatever quarter. He called on the Palestinian Authority to do everything in its power to halt these vicious attacks, which only harm the Palestinian cause.
Acting in response to a letter from the Syrian Foreign Minister following the Israeli air strike, the Security Council yesterday held both consultations and an open debate, in which it discussed yesterday’s attack.
After the open debate wrapped up in the early evening, the Council went back into consultations to have a brief discussion of a draft resolution submitted by Syria condemning the Israeli attack, and further consultations are expected on that text, although they have not been scheduled so far.
The Security Council expects to hold consultations on Iraq and other matters today, at 3:30, to hold further discussions of a US-sponsored draft resolution.
**Iraq –- Kuwait
Today is the last day of the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission, and the head of that Mission, Brigadier-General Upinder Klair, met in Kuwait last week with that country’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah, who expressed Kuwait’s gratitude for the UN peacekeepers’ work.
The Mission had suspended most of its work since the 17th of March, in advance of the US military campaign in Iraq. Since August, it had an authorized strength of five military observers, assisted by 41 international civilian personnel and 96 local staff. The Secretary-General’s final report to the Security Council on the Mission is expected later this week.
**Afghanistan
There’s a letter on the racks today from the Security Council President for October, US Ambassador John Negroponte, to the Secretary-General, informing him of a decision to dispatch a mission to Afghanistan.
The dates of the Security Council mission led by Ambassador Gunter Pleuger of Germany are from 31st of October to the 8th of November.
The document contains the composition of the mission and the terms of reference. It says the mission is scheduled to visit Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif. It will also visit Islamabad, Pakistan. The mission leader is expected to brief you prior to the mission’s departure.
The Food and Agricultural Organization said in a statement today that more than 430,000 farmers in the mountains of the Hazarajat, one of the poorest regions of Afghanistan, will receive assistance over the next four years through a major development project. The United Kingdom has agreed to provide $6 million for sustainable agricultural livelihood development in this region.
Also on Afghanistan, the UN Mission in Afghanistan expressed its serious concern about repeated security incidents involving aid workers in the country. In the latest incident on the 4th of October, a group of deminers from the Demining Agency for Afghanistan were attacked near Kandahar city. One driver of the agency was injured and their vehicles were ridden with bullets.
The UN Mission said what was particularly alarming in this incident was that the assailants reportedly intended to kill the demining group, but were distracted only by another agency vehicle which started up its engine. You can find more details about these developments in press releases upstairs.
**SG Nominates Lubbers for Extension
Late last week, the Secretary-General proposed to the General Assembly that Ruud Lubbers’ term as UN High Commissioner for Refugees be extended for two years, and I think Michele Montas here will have some news for you on that subject in just a few minutes.
**Liberia -- 6 October
The UN mission in Liberia reports today that a meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee on the implementation of the June ceasefire agreement is being held today in Monrovia. The aim of the meeting, bringing together all parties of the Committee, is to discuss issues of security, confidence-building measures and arrangements for the 14 October governmental transition.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has appealed for a further $3.5 million for its special operations to provide relief and recovery in Liberia. The funds are mainly required to support a humanitarian air service set up by the WFP to transport aid workers and cargo into and within Liberia.
**Italian Aid Worker
The UN refugee agency today expressed shock and sadness over Sunday's brutal murder of Annalena Tonelli. She was an Italian humanitarian worker who had dedicated her life to helping Somalis for more than three decades.
The 60-year-old Tonelli was shot and killed on Sunday night on the grounds of her hospital in Borama in north-western Somalia. The exact circumstances of the shooting are not yet known. We have a press release with more details on that.
**Address to Resident Representatives
The Secretary-General today travelled to Tarrytown, New York, to address a meeting of the UN Development Programme’s resident representatives, and told them that the United Nations, more than ever, needs a strong, coherent development voice.
Since the last meeting of global resident representatives three years ago, he said, there have been so many hopeful steps and so much newly minted despair, with a central challenge before the United Nations: to ensure that it has the rules, instruments and institutions to deal with all the threats it must face. In addition, he said, there is no room for easing up in the UN’s internal efforts to improve management, coherence and coordination. We have copies of the full address upstairs
**SG Messages
The global observance of World Habitat Day was launched today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, read out a message on the Secretary-General’s behalf, at an event hosted by the Mayor of Rio, Cesar Maia.
In the message, the Secretary-General said that, in a rapidly urbanizing world, at least 1 billion people suffer from lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation, and he said increased investment in those areas is critical.
We have copies of that message upstairs, as well as one delivered today at an annual Orthodox Christian Prayer Service in New York for the UN community.
**Human Rights
Theo van Boven, the Special Rapporteur on torture for the Commission on Human Rights, is beginning a fact-finding mission today in Spain, at the Government’s invitation, which is to last until the 10th of October. During his trip, he will visit the Basque Autonomous Community, and will meet with Spanish and Basque officials. We have more details in a press release upstairs.
**Sierra Leone Special Court
The Appeals Chamber for the Special Court for Sierra Leone will convene for the first time to hear arguments on immunity for former Liberian President Charles Taylor and other issues, according to an announcement by the court. The dates for the hearings are from the 31st of October to the 7th of November.
The panel of judges will hear arguments by counsel for Taylor that his indictment is invalid. Taylor’s lawyer will assert that because he was head of state, he is immune from prosecution. The hearings will be open to the public.
**Rwanda Tribunal
The new Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Hassan Bubacar Jallow of the Gambia, took up his duties in Arusha, Tanzania, on Friday, explaining to his staff his policy to expedite investigations and fulfil the completion strategy for trials recommended by the Security Council. He commended the good work done by his predecessor, Carla Del Ponte. We have a press release from the Tribunal with more details.
**Small Island States
More than 150 representatives of Caribbean nations, regional and international agencies, the private sector and civil society are meeting this week in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to explore how to strengthen sustainable development in preparation for next year’s International Conference in Mauritius on Small Island Developing States.
Participants will discuss 15 priority areas for the Caribbean region, including coastal and marine resources, natural and environmental disasters, land resources, waste management and trade.
**Budget
Budget news. Today Zambia paid nearly $50,000 to become the 109th Member State to pay its UN regular budget dues in full for this year.
**Press Conferences
Two press conferences for tomorrow. At eleven, Julian Hunte, the President of the General Assembly, will be here to brief you. And at 12:30, Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States and President of the Security Council for October, will brief you on the Council’s work programme for the month.
That’s all I have for you.
Questions and Answers
Question: Is it true that Mr. Lubbers is working without a salary and is the only USG to have ever done so? And what is the history of phone calls between the Secretary-General and Secretary of State Colin Powell on the Iraqi controversy. Did they speak over the weekend?
Spokesman: On your first question, I don’t know, I’d be interested in finding out and we’ll check with UNHCR to see if that’s true. On your second, I did not get the latest phone log for the weekend. I did get it for Friday and half of Saturday, and there were no calls to the United States Secretary of State, but I’ll check with the Secretary-General’s office and give you a full account for the whole weekend. [He later confirmed that Mr. Lubbers contributed about $300,000 a year to UNHCR, an amount roughly equivalent to his UNHCR salary and associated expenses, including travel.]
Ok. Michele.
Spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly
Thank you Fred and Good afternoon,
I will first confirm what Fred just said. The General Assembly renewed this morning the term of office of Mr. Rudd Lubbers as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a period of two years beginning on January 1 2004 and ending on the 31st of December 2005.
The General Assembly has been engaged, since this morning, in a joint debate, on two important items on its agenda, the follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, and the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization.
These two agenda items were the focus of most of the speeches during the general debate, as you might recall, as President Hunte noted in his closing remarks last Thursday evening.
Today, the Assembly has on the table a report from the Secretary-General on the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, a Declaration adopted, as you know, three years ago.
In the chapter on peace and security –- the longest in the report –- the Secretary-General warns that “the international security architecture ... must be able to adapt to the needs of our time”, but notes a worrying lack of consensus about what those needs are. While some States focus primarily on terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, “for many around the globe, poverty, deprivation and civil war remain the highest priority”.
On the development front, the report is more positive. The Development Goals in the Millennium Declaration can still be reached by the 2015 deadline, it says, if during the remaining 12 years “we maintain and increase the momentum that has been generated”. The Secretary-General places particular emphasis on the need for developed countries to meet their commitments to the developing world in the areas of trade, debt relief and aid. He says that the success or failure of all the Millennium Development Goals hinges on this, and that the developed countries should agree on time-bound deadlines for fulfilling their pledges, comparable to the 2015 target for outcomes, such as the halving of extreme poverty and hunger.
The report on the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration concludes with a chapter on “reinforcing multilateral institutions”, in which the Secretary-General calls for “a hard look” at the existing architecture of international institutions and, in particular, a review of the principal organs of the United Nations itself –- not only the Security Council, but also the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council -- a series of proposals found also in the report on the second item being discussed today, on the work of the Organization. That report had already been presented to the Assembly by the Secretary-General on the first day of the general debate; that was September 23rd.
The President of the General Assembly, Julian Hunte, had identified both themes, the follow-up to the Millennium summit, and UN reforms, as two of his main priorities for the fifty-eighth session.
Thirty-nine speakers are listed to address the Assembly today during the joint debate on these two items this morning and this afternoon.
Today is World Habitat day. In a statement released today, President Julian Hunte said, “It is fitting that the theme for World Habitat Day reinforces the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to achieve, ‘significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers by the year 2020’.”
“I have placed development at the top of my list of priorities for the fifty-eighth session. I have done so not only to emphasize the imperative of sustainable development, but also because global problems such as poverty, hunger and shelter belong to all of us. Therefore, we must all work together -– governments, international organizations, civil society and individuals -- to ensure that people are given the means to lift themselves out of the morass of poverty.” The full statement will be available this afternoon.
I would like to remind correspondents that President Julian Hunte, as Fred already said, will give a press conference tomorrow, Tuesday, at 11 a.m. here in 226. Thursday, at the same time, there will be a press conference by the Chairman of the First Committee, Jarmo Sareva of Finland. The First Committee has started its debate on disarmament and security matters.
Thank you. That’s all.
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