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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Michele Montas, Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-General on Arrival

Upon arrival at Headquarters this morning, the Secretary-General was asked about his reaction to the report on UN security practices by the panel chaired by Martti Ahtisaari.

He told journaliststhat the report would be taken seriously.  He said, “It requires reflection and action, and we will do just that”.  He noted that he had been away and had not yet been able to study the report in detail.

He said the world had changed and the UN needs to change the way it does business in order to protect its staff.  “We will need to focus on our operational objectives”, he said, ”but at the same time take measures to protect our staff”.

Asked specifically about his decision not to pull out UN international staff completely from Iraq after the 19 August attacks, he said he did not agree that all staff should have been pulled out at that time.  He said, “It was my decision.  It was a correct decision, and I’m glad some staff stayed on to carry on the work with the 4,000 Iraqi staff”.

Concerning the donors’ conference for Iraq that is going on in Madrid, the Secretary-General said that the meeting should be seen only as the beginning of a process.  “One should not”, he said, “judge the success of Iraqi reconstruction by the contributions that are announced today”.

We have the full transcript available upstairs.

**Monitoring Board

The Executive Heads of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations announced today that they have approved the terms of reference of the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB).

The purpose of the Board is to promote the objectives set forth in Security Council resolution 1483 (2003) of ensuring that the Development Fund for Iraq is used in a transparent manner, and that export sales of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas from Iraq are made consistent with prevailing international market best practices.

The Executive Heads intend to make the appointments of their representatives to the Board forthwith and look forward to the Board’s first meeting.

**Madrid

On the Madrid conference, while the final donor pledges are not yet tallied, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) tells us that the pledges announced so far should meet what the UN considers the most critical issue being addressed -- the need for immediate grant assistance to Iraq from now through 2004.

Some substantial portion of this money will be channelled through the newly established UN-World Bank trust fund facility for Iraq, according to statements by donors here today.

As Mark Malloch Brown, the administrator of UNDP and the chairman of the UN Development Group, noted in his remarks to the conference this morning, Iraq's immediate needs for donor support in 2004 are on the order of $9 billion in grants, as estimated by a joint UN-World Bank needs assessment of 14 critical sectors of the country's public infrastructure and social services -- plus several billion more for security and other areas not covered by the UN-World Bank needs assessments.

We expect to have Mark Malloch Brown’s remarks available upstairs.

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

We have the following statement attributable to the Spokesman:

“The Secretary-General warmly welcomes the agreement reached between the Clinton Foundation and four drug manufacturers in developing countries to cut the price of antiretroviral AIDS drugs in half.  These price reductions will not only make HIV treatment more affordable to many of those who could previously not afford them; they should also act as a further incentive for governments, particularly in countries heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, to establish national treatment plans as part of their comprehensive prevention and care emergency strategies.

“The agreement should be seen in the broader context of global action against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, one of the greatest threats of our time.  The Secretary-General hopes the initiative will encourage other pharmaceutical manufacturers to review their pricing policies and evaluate what further price reductions they can make to render these vital medicines more accessible to those who need them most.  He trusts synergy will be created between this initiative and existing international efforts such as President Bush’s Emergency AIDS Plan, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),initiative to bring treatment to 3 million people by 2005, and of course, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.”

**Afghanistan

Today in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 1,000 former combatants paraded in front of the President and other senior officials at a special ceremony to mark the start of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process.

The three-year “New Beginnings Programme” was launched by the Afghan Government with the support of UNDP, with the aim of disarming 100,000 members of the Afghan Military Forces.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, said that the former combatants who had participated in a jihad to liberate their country now needed to be part of a different kind of jihad:  “Today peace is returning to Afghanistan, but there is another jihad waiting for those being demobilized, that jihad is for the reconstruction of Afghanistan”.

He went on to say:  “Afghanistan does not need people to hold guns and fight, it needs people to hold the pen, people to work in the fields to produce food, and people to work in the factories”.

The programme will require $134 million.  Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States have so far provided $51 million.  UNDP is now seeking more than $80 million more in supplementary funding to meet the rest.

You can find out more details about the programme in my office.

**Kosovo

The Secretary-General, in his latest report to the Security Council on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo, notes that a dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade was launched on 14 October in Vienna, after which the two sides have set up working groups to discuss four key areas on their agenda:  the missing, returns, energy and transport and communications.

The Secretary-General welcomes the parties’ commitment to engage in this dialogue, and he calls on both sides to make their best efforts to ensure that the talks result in concrete actions leading to a measurable improvement in the daily lives of residents.

The report says that the UN Mission has continued to make progress in establishing substantial autonomy and self-government in Kosovo, but it adds that the security situation in Kosovo remains a cause for serious concern and threatens the reconciliation process among its communities.  Violence targeting minorities is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms, he says.

The report is out on the racks now, and the Security Council has scheduled an open meeting on Kosovo next Thursday, where they will be briefed by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Harri Holkeri.

**SG Message at IGAD Summit

The Secretary-General, in a message for the tenth Summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development known as IGAD in Kampala, Uganda, says the United Nations stands ready to work closely with the organization on matters of common concern, with special focus on regional peacemaking in the Sudan and Somalia.

The message was to be delivered by Mohamed Sahnoun, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, who is attending the two-day summit beginning today.

The Secretary-General notes the encouraging progress on Sudan and thanked IGAD for their contribution to the peace process.  With the adoption on 10 October of a presidential statement by the Security Council, the United Nations now has the mandate and the responsibility to start preparatory work in support of a peace agreement, he says.

On Somalia, which he says continues to be a source of concern, he urged Somali leaders to honour their commitment to ensuring the delivery of assistance as well as the safety of international and national aid workers.

The subregional organization consists of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda.

**Liberia

Abou Moussa, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia and the Humanitarian Coordinator led an inter-agency mission to an area some 90 kilometres south of Monrovia.

During the visit, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) delivered a truckload of supplies including blankets, kitchen sets and tarpaulins for distribution to internally displaced persons at the Catholic mission compound.

Meanwhile, Deputy Special Representative Souren Seraydarian read the Secretary-General’s UN Day messagein Monrovia, where a march of 250 schoolchildren was accompanied by a platoon including a military band from the Nigerian peacekeepers of the United Nations Mission in Liberia.

**Security Council

The Security Council has scheduled an open meeting followed by consultations on Afghanistan at 3 p.m.  Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno is scheduled to brief.  Also on Afghanistan and the Security Council, German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger is scheduled to brief you at 12:30 p.m. next Thursday on the upcoming Council mission to Afghanistan, which he will be leading.

**Somali Refugee Return

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that more than 200 Somalis returned to their homeland in a voluntary repatriation programme that UNHCR hopes will result in the closure by year's end of what was once the world's largest refugee camp -– in eastern Ethiopia.

**Côte d’Ivoire

On Côte d’Ivoire, Bertrand Ramcharan, the acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, today said there is a further cause for concern about the right to freedom of expression and the protection of journalists following the killing of Radio France Internationale (RFI) journalist Jean Hélene in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Tuesday.

He also voiced concern about the announced expulsion from Senegal of another RFI reporter, Sophie Malibeaux, and requests further information from the Senegalese authorities about her expulsion.

We have more details in a press release from Geneva.

**Memorial/UN Day

In just a few minutes, at a ceremony at the North Lawn here, the Secretary-General will unveil the Memorial to the Fallen, which honours all those who have died in service to the United Nations, and he will say at that ceremony that there is no more serious or solemn duty than the responsibility to protect UN staff in the field.

In his comments, the Secretary-General is also expected to note the awarding of the Sakharov Human Rights Prize to the United Nations yesterday by the European Parliament, who especially honoured UN staff “who have lost their lives in carrying out their work for peace in the world”.  That honour, as well as the Nobel Peace Prizes of 1988 and 2001, is something for the United Nations to take pride in, he will say.

The Memorial, made of slabs hewn from all five continents, and containing 191 stones to represent all the UN Member States, was designed by the international design firm, Arquitectonica and was made possible by the funds from the Nobel Peace Prize awarded in 1988 to the UN peacekeeping forces.

**UN Day -- Observances

As UN Day was observed around the world, more than 400 people attended a ceremony for the unveiling of the memorial in honour of UN staff who have died in the service of peace, which took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Meanwhile, the United Nations in Kenya today commemorated UN Day by honouring Guddy Birkigt, a Kenyan activist, for her efforts to preserve the biological diversity of Kenya’s Robinson Island and to promote the island’s sustainable use for the benefit of its inhabitants.

Back here in New York, the Secretary-General issued a message to mark UN Day, saying that despite the difficult times for the world and the United Nations, we should not be downcast, but must continue the work of serving humanity wherever its needs are greatest.

He will also make remarks at the UN Day Concert this evening, when composer William Blank’s “Exodes”, a work devoted to the experience of refugees, will have its world premiere in a performance by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, whose conductor [spoke to you yesterday] will talk to you in this room at 12:30.

Also today, the Secretary-General will make remarks at the opening of the exhibition marking the centenary of the birth of African American diplomat and former UN official Ralph Bunche, and he will draw attention to Bunche’s dignity and determination in the face of bigotry and harassment.

**ILO

From the ILO, a report issued today by ILO says that jobs in chemical industries in East Asia have more than doubled over the last two decades, while the size of the workforce gradually declined throughout the sector in the rest of the world.  World employment in the production of chemicals fell from a peak of 9 million in 1994 to 7.9 million in 1997.  According to this report, the employment situation is particularly bleak in Central and Eastern Europe.

The report is to be discussed at a tripartite meeting on 27-31 October in Geneva, and you can get more details in the press release.

And we also have the week ahead for those of you who will be here next week, which does not include me, because I’m going on vacation.  Any questions?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Is it Robin’s Island or Robinson’s Island?

Spokesman:  I thought we said Robin’s.  Robinson.  Robinson Island, which I assume, is in Kenya, not South Africa.

Spokesman:  Serge, you had a question?

Question:  While we are commemorating [inaudible].  I wonder do we preserve the site where the action was taken.  For instance, in the case of Hammarskjöld, in the Congo.  What do we do with the site where the plane went down?  Because we are celebrating here … what happened to the site?

Spokesman:  In the specific case of the place where the plane went down, killing Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and several of his colleagues, there has been an effort, rather recently, to design a memorial on that site, with the cooperation of the Zambian Government.  I have no further details, and I don’t know about any other sites where, of course, the national governments would have primary responsibility but private individuals could work with the government to erect some kind of memorial, if everyone agreed it was appropriate.

Question:  In the case of Sergio Vieira de Mello in Iraq, will we preserve part of the position where he was killed? What are we going to do with that?

Spokesman:  I don’t know.  I’m not aware of any plans to do anything like that.

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

Thank you, Fred

Good afternoon.

In a statement released on United Nations Day, President Julian Hunte celebrates the creation of the United Nations from the ashes of war. 

“We can”, he says, “reflect with pride on the many accomplishments of the United Nations family.  It has extended its reach into every corner of the globe, providing critical leadership and partnerships to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; to fight deadly diseases, including HIV/AIDS; to mitigate the plight of the vulnerable groups in society, including refugees, women and children; to advance initiatives for sustainable development, protection of the environment and poverty alleviation; to combat transnational crime and criminality and terrorism; and to help keep the peace.

“We must”, he concludes, “through our collective political will, ensure that United Nations decisions result in action that meets the expectations of our people, our nations, and our world”.

Coming up next week, a very packed series of events around the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development that will be held on 29-30 October, in New York.  The overall theme for the Dialogue will be “The Monterrey Consensus:  status of implementation and the tasks ahead”.

The dialogue will be preceded, on Monday, by an open-ended panel of the General Assembly on commodities, chaired by President Julian Hunte.  Last year, the General Assembly called upon the Secretary-General of UNCTAD to designate independent eminent persons to examine and report on commodity issues, including the volatility in commodity prices and declining terms of trade and the impact these have on the development efforts of commodity-dependent developing countries.

These eminent persons have completed their work and they will be participating in that panel that will take place on Monday, under the President’s chairmanship.  It will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.  As you know, a large number of developing countries still depend on commodities for more than half of their export earnings.  That’s on Monday afternoon.

Next Tuesday, there will be informal hearings of civil society and the business sector on financing for development in preparation for the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development.  The hearings will be chaired also by the President of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly.  The hearings of civil society will take place on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 4.  The hearings of the business sector will be held on Tuesday, 28 October from 3 to 6 p.m. in Conference Room 4.

You will have more information next week on the High-level Dialogue itself, on Thursday and Friday.

This is all I have for you today.  Thank you.

Question:  Fred, [inaudible] we’re doing a story on names, and pronunciations of names and she’s asked me to ask you, is there any way you have of explaining to people how to pronounce the Secretary-General’s name?

Spokesman:  Kofi as in Sophie.  Annan as in cannon.

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