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

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 Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokeswoman for the Secretary-General, and Michéle Montas, Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon.

**SG in Madrid

The Secretary-General this morning opened the International Conference on Reconstruction in Iraq in Madrid, saying that “we gather at a moment of hope for the future of Iraq”.  The Iraqi people, he said, are determined to restore their country to its former leading position, and will need the international community’s help to achieve that goal.

The Secretary-General described Iraq’s reconstruction needs as “monumental”, saying the challenge now is two-fold:  to respond to immediate humanitarian needs, and to get the country’s reconstruction off to a good start.

Success will depend on three things, he said:  security, Iraqi ownership and leadership of the process, and the legitimacy of Iraq’s legal norms and economic and fiscal framework.

The Secretary-General said reconstruction is linked to the wider political process, adding that “we all look forward to the earliest possible establishment of a sovereign Iraqi Government”.  But, he added, “A start in reconstruction cannot be deferred until that day; it demands our urgent attention now”.

He concluded, “The people of Iraq have a hard road ahead of them, filled with both risk and opportunity.  Let us not leave them to travel it alone”.

While in Madrid, the Secretary-General met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the VIP lounge at the Palacio de Congress, where he also met with Coalition Provisional Authority Administrator Paul Bremer and members of the Iraqi delegation.

He then left Madrid in the early afternoon, and should be back in New York later today.  He is not expected back at Headquarters today, but he will be here tomorrow, when he will unveil the UN Memorial to all those who have lost their lives while serving the United Nations.  That memorial, as I mentioned earlier this week, was paid for by the money received by the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to UN peacekeeping.

**Iraq -– Egeland

Also today in Madrid, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland addressed the donors’ conference and told the donors that insecurity is severely hampering the United Nations’ ability to operate and monitor its assistance.

He said that the United Nations’ ability to move around the country and interact with those directly in need remains very restricted, and extensive measures have been taken to enhance the security of UN facilities and staff since the 19 August and 22 September attacks in Baghdad.

Egeland also highlighted two key priorities for the humanitarian community in the coming months:  to ensure the basic needs of the most vulnerable Iraqis, and to build the capacity of Iraq institutions to service the needs of their people.

And we have copies of his statement upstairs.

**SG’s Comments in Madrid

The Secretary-General, after meeting Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar yesterday evening, told reporters that they had discussed Iraq and the Middle East, and said he was pleased to see that the King and Queen of Spain visited Syria and the region.  He said that was the kind of dialogue and constant communication that is needed.

The Secretary-General added that he looks forward to joining the Prime Minister and other leaders at the Ibero-American Summit in Bolivia, adding that the United Nations has been working with governments to strengthen democratic institutions and encourage development in the region.

And we have his comments available upstairs.

**Iran –- IAEA

The Executive Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, today received from Iran’s Ambassador to Vienna a documented declaration of Iran’s nuclear programme.

In a press briefing afterward, ElBaradei said he has been assured that the declaration is comprehensive and accurate.  He added that the Agency will now “embark on an intensive verification process” and reconstruct the full history of Iran’s nuclear programme, going back to the mid-1980s.

The Director-General will next report to the IAEA Board on nuclear verification in Iran at meetings in Vienna that begin on 20 November.  And we have a press release upstairs with more details.

**Afghanistan

The UN Mission in Afghanistan said that there would be an official launch tomorrow of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme in Kunduz province, which will be attended by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi.

As of Wednesday, 900 men have been disarmed as part of the first pilot phase of the DDR process.

In interviews, the soldiers said they were glad to be returning to civilian life and many had known of nothing else than being a soldier.  And you can find more details in a briefing note coming from Kabul.

**Security Council – New Members

We have put out a fact sheet on the membership of the Security Council effective 1 January 2004, following the announcement of the voting for the five new elected members -- Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Philippines and Romania.

**Security Council

There are no consultations of the Security Council today.

There is a Council meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. with the troop-contributing countries to the UN mission for the Referendum on Western Sahara.  It will take place in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.

Also on Western Sahara, there is a letter on the racks from Morocco to the Security Council President.

This morning at 10:30 a.m., the Council’s so-called “661” Sanctions Committee on the situation between Iraq and Kuwait had scheduled a meeting.

**Somalia

The Security Council Sanctions Committee on Somalia met yesterday afternoon to discuss preparations for the upcoming mission to Somalia and States in the region.

According to a press release issued after the meeting, the new dates for this mission are 11 to 21 November 2003.

The mission, which will be led by the Chairman of the Committee, Bulgarian Ambassador Stefan Tafrov, is aimed at demonstrating the Security Council’s determination to give full effect to the arms embargo on Somalia.

The itinerary of the mission includes Somalia -- provided the security situation permits it -- Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Italy, Kenya and Yemen.

**ICTY

A former Yugoslav Army battalion commander has been transferred today to the detention unit of the International Criminal Tribunal for The former Yugoslavia, where he will be tried for war crimes, including murder and attacks on civilians during the 1991 attack on Dubrovnik.  We have further details in a press release from the Tribunal.

**Budget

And on budget, the United Arab Emirates today paid more than $2.7 million to the UN regular budget, becoming the 116th Member State to pay its dues in full for this year.

**UN Day

Tomorrow is UN Day, and, as I’ve already mentioned, the Secretary-General will be there for the occasion and will unveil the UN Memorial at the North Lawn, at 12:30.

Among the other events scheduled for UN Day is a programme for more than 400 New York City school principals, starting at 4:30 p.m., which will include guided tours of the UN and a special briefing for the principals by Eveline Herfkens, who is the Secretary-General’s Executive Coordinator for the Millennium Development Goals.

Nane Annan, the Secretary-General’s wife, will address the principals at a reception afterwards.  And a press release is out on the racks with more details.

[The Spokesman later clarified that the programme for the more than 400 principals will be held today, starting at 4:30 p.m. and ending at 6 p.m., and not tomorrow.]

**Press Conference Today

A press conference this afternoon:  Swiss Permanent Representative Mr. Staehelin will be joined by Maestro Pinchas Steinberg and Metin Arditi, Orchestra Director at a 12:30 press conference in this room.  Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, will be moderating that press conference.

That’s all I have for you.  Any questions before we move on to Michéle?

Questions and Answers

Question:  What’s the subject of this press conference?

Deputy Spokeswoman for Secretary-General:  It’s about the memorial service tomorrow, UN Day activities, yes.  The orchestra will play in the evening.

Question:  Is it open to everyone tomorrow?

Deputy Spokeswoman:  Those details, I am afraid, we’ll have to get for you afterwards.

Question:  What do you think of that report to the SG saying that the glass had not been installed in Baghdad?

Deputy Spokeswoman:  Sorry?

Question:  In the report yesterday on Baghdad, one of the things that was said that the UN had not installed the shatter-free plate glass, right?

Deputy Spokeswoman:  Well, you have seen in the report itself that it has given some reasons for not installing the glass film…

Question:  (Inaudible)

Deputy Spokeswoman:  Yes.  But apart from what’s said in the report itself, I don’t have any more details on that.

Question:  On the number of injured, injuries I mean, some of it would have been by flying glass afterwards?

Deputy Spokeswoman:  Most of the casualties were caused by flying glass, yes.

Question:  Most of them, right?  You haven’t any figures available… (Inaudible)?

Deputy Spokeswoman:  No, I don’t have that figure…

Question:  The dead, they were really killed by flying glass?

Deputy Spokesperson:  Again, for that sort of detail we have to come back to you afterwards.  I don’t think we have information like that:  how many were killed exactly by flying glass because, you know, some injuries must have been caused by multi…

Question:  …multiple things.

Deputy Spokeswoman:  Yes, exactly.

Question:  Yes, I know, I realize that, yes.

Deputy Spokesperson:  Okay.  Michéle?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

Thank you Hua and good afternoon.

The General Assembly met this morning, as you know to elect the five non-permanent members of the Security Council.  Algeria received 178 votes, Benin, 181 votes, Brazil, 177 votes, the Philippines, 179, and Romania, 174 votes for a 2-year term.  They are to replace Cameroon, Guinea, Syria, Bulgaria and Mexico whose terms expire on 31 December as non-permanent members of the Security Council.  You will have a press conference this afternoon with the Permanent Representative of the Philippines, Ambassador Lauro S. Baja, at 2:30.  He represents one of the countries nominated as a non-permanent member this morning.

[It was later learned that this press conference had been cancelled.]

On Monday, the Assembly will discuss the revitalization of the General Assembly, restructuring and reform.  Forty-five speakers are already expected to address the Assembly.  This public debate will follow informal discussions, led by President Hunte with members of the Assembly, last week.

For those of you who have also expressed an interest in small arms issues, that was described by one of the representatives as the real weapons of mass destruction, you have a debate going on in the First Committee, the disarmament committee.  You also have a debate going on in the Fourth Committee, the decolonization committee, on that same issue -- small arms.

This is all I have for you.  Thank you.

Deputy Spokesperson:  No questions?  Have a very good afternoon, thanks.

Questions

Question:  Actually, I am sorry.

Deputy Spokesperson:  Yes?

Question:  How many votes are required to become a member, I mean…?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  One hundred and twenty-two.  I mean, it depends on the regions.  It’s about one hundred and twenty-two.

Question:  Aside from Pakistan, is there any other Middle Eastern region represented?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  Not Pakistan.  I said Algeria, Benin, Brazil, the Philippines, and Romania.

Question:  No, no, I am saying Pakistan is still going to be a member, right? 

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  Yes.

Question:  There is no Middle Eastern region represented… (Inaudible)

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  We have the members that were there before.  Actually they have African and Asian States -– three seats put together, and we have Pakistan and Angola, who are current members.  And the retiring members for African and Asian States -– Cameroon, Guinea and Syria.  We don’t have a special Middle East group or region as such.

Question:  Thank you.

Deputy Spokeswoman for Secretary-General:  All right, have a very good afternoon, thanks.

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