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

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

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

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

Our guest at today’s briefing will be Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights Defenders, and she’ll be here to talk to you about the report that she is giving to the General Assembly’s Third Committee.

**Security Council-Côte d’Ivoire

The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution extending the mandate of the UN special political mission in Côte d'Ivoire until 4 February next year.

In that resolution, the Council also requested the Secretary-General to report to the Council by 10 January on the mission’s efforts to facilitate peace and stability in Côte d’Ivoire, including how those efforts might be improved and, in particular, the possible reinforcement of the UN presence in that country.

**Security Council-Mine Action

The Security Council then went into an open meeting on “The Importance of Mine Action for Peacekeeping Operations”.

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, briefed on the subject, saying that mine action is a dynamic component of peacekeeping operations that contributes to the way the United Nations plans operations and conducts its work.

He cited some examples of ways mine action has contributed to peace operations in areas ranging from enabling the safe deployment of peacekeeping operations in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Ethiopia and Eritrea and Lebanon, to building confidence between opposing parties in the Sudan.

Guehenno said it was appropriate that the discussion was taking placing under the Council Presidency of Angola, one of the world’s most severely-mined countries.

He also noted that the Security Council had just had a first hand experience visiting the UN Mine Action Service, which manages, in Afghanistan, the world’s largest mine action programme.

All Council members are signed up to speak during the meeting.

**Press Conference

On that subject, we’ll have at, 12:45 in this room, Ambassador Martin Dahinden of Switzerland and Mr. Guehenno, to talk to you about the activities of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.

**Security Council Yesterday

The Security Council yesterday heard a briefing in closed consultations from Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz of Chile, the Chair of the Sanctions Committee dealing with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.  He informed Council members about his recent travels to Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Indonesia and Germany.  During those travels, he tried to push for support for implementing and reporting on follow-up to the Al Qaeda and Taliban sanctions.

Speaking to reporters after the consultations, Muñoz noted the continuing challenges in dealing with Al Qaeda and the Taliban.  He said that his Committee’s consolidated list of individuals and entities associated with those organizations boasts only 372 names –- compared to some 4,000 individuals, who have been arrested worldwide in recent years for their links with those groups.

Muñoz also urged nations to submit reports on their implementation of the Council resolutions on Al Qaeda and the Taliban.  So far, only 84 States have submitted such reports.

**Secretary-General in Bolivia

The Secretary-General is in Bolivia, where today he attended a ceremony with the Mayor of La Paz, following which he met with the heads of the UN agencies and UN staff members.

After that, he had a meeting with President Carlos Mesa.  As we speak, they are holding a joint press encounter at the Presidential Palace.

This afternoon, the Secretary-General will attend a working lunch with the President and his Cabinet, and he will also address Bolivia’s National Congress and will go on to meet with some 30 indigenous leaders from all over the country.  In the evening, he will fly to Santa Cruz, the site of the Ibero-American Summit.

Yesterday evening, the Secretary-General flew to Bolivia, where he was met by Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio Siles.  He landed in the city of El Alto, which was the centre of last month’s protests against the Government, during which at least 70 demonstrators died in clashes with security forces.

In his remarks at the welcoming ceremony, the Secretary-General said that he knew the past weeks had not been easy for Bolivians, but it was heartening to know that they had resolved their differences through constitutional means.  He underlined the need to work for reconciliation and justice and added:  “To address the very serious social and economic problems confronting your country, it is important to work to strengthen your democratic institutions, while upholding the rule of law.”

Before arriving in Bolivia, the Secretary-General travelled to Machu Picchu in Peru, where he spoke of the enormous contributions of indigenous peoples to human civilization and also called attention to the fact that these communities suffer prejudice, poverty, disease, and even the threat of extinction.

In a separate programme, Nane Annan this afternoon will visit a UNDP-supported project in La Paz which provides employment for recovering drug addicts, alcoholics and victims of domestic abuse.

**Afghanistan

Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, responded to the Tuesday bomb attack that damaged the UN compound in Kandahar, by voicing his concern for the Afghan student, who was injured in the attack, and by affirming that the UN role in the country is to help the Afghan people.

“We did not in the past”, he said, “and do not now, have any agenda for or against anybody. Our only agenda has been and remains to help the people of Afghanistan establish peace and stability and reconstruction.”

He appealed to the Government of Afghanistan to provide more security for the United Nations, so that it can “continue to provide the services that we can give to the people of Afghanistan”.

In addition to the student who was hospitalized after the blast, one local guard and one local staff member working for the UN Mission in Afghanistansuffered injuries, while the compounds near the blast all suffered extensive physical damage.

The UN Mission confirmed that, as a routine part of the investigation into the attack, three local security guards have been arrested and are being questioned.

We have more details in today’s press briefing notes from Kabul.

**Afghanistan Report

The written report of the Security Council mission to Afghanistan is out as a document today.

As you recall, Ambassador Gunter Pleuger of Germany already briefed the Security Council on the main points of the mission report on Tuesday.

**MINURSO

Alvaro de Soto, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Western Sahara, is in Rabat, Morocco, to meet with Moroccan officials.

Mr. de Soto will be meeting subsequently with the leadership of the POLISARIO in Rabouni, and Algerian and Mauritanian officials in Algiers and Nouakchott as part of his first tour of the region.

**DRC/Egeland

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland is continuing his trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Today, he travelled to Kindu and Bukavu in the eastern part of the country, where he met with the governor of the province, whom he urged to continue efforts to end human rights abuses and violations against civilians.  The governor assured Egeland that he would work to this end.

He was also able to meet with local humanitarian workers, as well as the personnel from the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC.  They informed him that access around the town of Kindu -- which had been cut off for several years -- is now becoming easier.  However, as they move outside the town, they are finding large-scale humanitarian needs.

Speaking to reporters yesterday afternoon in Kinshasa, Egeland reaffirmed the moral obligation of the international community to assist the vulnerable people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He also called on the authorities in the country to comply with the agreements already signed, in order to bring about the much needed peace and respect for human rights that the Congo has long sought.  He added that the authorities must ensure the protection of the civilian population and underscored the need for more access to the vulnerable in conflict areas.

More information is available upstairs.

I see Hina Jilani has just joined us.  We’ll be getting to you in just a moment.  Welcome.

**Liberia

On Liberia, we have upstairs a near-verbatim transcript of the latest press briefing by the UN Mission in Liberia, during which the new Police Commissioner was introduced.

Police Commissioner Mark Kroeker says the purpose of the UN Civilian Police Unit is not to be the police, but to develop the police of Liberia.

**Central African Republic

From the Central African Republic, UN agencies there are warning that the country could experience an acute food crisis by February or March if no action is taken now.

According to the local representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization, the people of the CAR, the majority of whom are farmers, had to eat their seed supplies before fleeing an armed rebellion in the country from October 2002 until 15 March this year.  A large number of people also remain displaced, both internally and in neighbouring Chad.

In April of 2003, the UN launched a Flash Appeal to mobilize sufficient resources to meet the enormous needs of the 2.2 million inhabitants of CAR’s rural areas.  To date, just 20 per cent of the $9 million required under the Flash Appeal has been received, and all of those contributions are for food aid.

UN humanitarian agencies fear that a failure to address humanitarian needs in other sectors like health and agriculture will jeopardize the consolidation of peace in the CAR.  A new consolidated appeal for this country is expected to be launched next week in Geneva.

We have more in a press release.

**Timor-Leste

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Timor-Leste, Kamalesh Sharma, today spoke at the start of a two-day conference on transparency and accountability that is taking place in Dili.  He called for sustained attention against corruption as an essential step for the country’s development.  We have more details about the conference, which the Timorese Government is organizing with support from the UN Mission in that country and from the UN Development Programme.  We have that, in a press release, upstairs.

That’s all I have for you.  Anything before we go to Ms. Jilani? Yes.

Questions and Answers

Question: I’ve been noticing reports that the United States, the Bush Administration, is reconsidering its strategy in Iraq, is considering a lot of the proposals that the Secretary-General supported —- a more rapid move toward a more provisional government, a [inaudible] constitutional process.  Are these, I mean, is there any reaction of what the Secretary-General feels about these changes?  And, also, does this at all change the whole question about the United Nations’ willingness to go back at all?  These are things the Secretary-General had believed were essential for security to improve.  Does this change the nature of discussions here in New York about the willingness to go back to Iraq?

Spokesman:  On your first question, the Secretary-General’s views on what he felt should be done in Iraq were given to members of the Security Council.  They haven’t changed.  And to the extent that the United States is moving in that direction, I think he’s gratified and feels it will be better for everyone involved in Iraq, as well as for the Iraqis themselves.

As for whether it will have an impact on the return of United Nations international staff to Iraq, I think that’s primarily a security issue.  Should there be an improvement in security as a result of a change of approach, I think he would be more willing to consider sending his people back in.  But, of course, these matters are currently under discussion in Cyprus, and the outcome of those discussions will not be in until this weekend.  So, I don’t think you’ll see him making any sudden decisions on this subject.

Question:  You said there were 84 countries on the Al Qaeda, Taliban [inaudible].  Is that out of all the… how many all together are you looking for? [Inaudible]

Spokesman:  One hundred ninety one members of the UN, 84 out of 191.

Question:  Is there some reason Michele isn’t here today?  We were looking for an update on the vote on the children, the Israeli/child resolution.  At least I was.

Spokesman:  I would have to ask you to contact the President’s Office.  As she said yesterday, she was going to be away until Monday, and there’s only one spokesperson assigned to the President.  Some of us think there’s justification for two.  Maybe we’ll be putting forward that proposal soon.

Question:  How correct is it to understand from Colin’s question that the United Nations would not automatically return to Iraq if some sort of transition of authority were to occur.  Also, on the security concerns, what measures will be taken to insulate the decision-making process in the United Nations from the

political pressure from outside the United Nations, from Member States, which was [inaudible] a main contributor to the poor decisions that were made.

Spokesman:  On your first question, the Security Council has given the United Nations a mandate on Iraq.  The security situation there does not, at the moment, permit us to move aggressively to implement that mandate.  At the moment, we have no international staff in Baghdad.  So, we’re awaiting a comprehensive review of our approach to our work in Iraq, which is being undertaken during these talks, going on currently in Cyprus, and which will end on Saturday.  Your second question was what?

Question:  It’s more [inaudible] about the clause in 1511, I guess.  As the Secretary-General determines the return of United Nations staff, how can that be insulated from the political pressure from Member States?

Spokesman:  That phrase merely recognizes the Secretary-General’s primary responsibility for the security of his staff everywhere in the world.  And, therefore, reaffirms his right to put people in or take people out according to his assessment of the security situation.  And I think he will make that assessment on the basis of security matters alone –- well, I can’t say exactly alone because in the past, not just in Iraq, there has been exception where overwhelming, overriding political considerations have prompted him and his predecessors to retain a small number of staff in a conflict area, where they felt the risks were permissible.  So, that’s I think the best I can do on that.

Question:  What’s the main purpose of Brahimi’s visit to Japan, UK and France?

Spokesman:  I don’t have anything on that.  Check with me after the briefing.

[Later, the Spokesman said Mr. Brahimi would depart tomorrow, 14 November, for a two-week trip to Japan, where he would deliver a keynote speech, followed by a trip to the United Kingdom and two stops in France, in Paris and Nice.]

Question:  I understand that Mr. Brahimi has called on the Government of Afghanistan to provide more security for the United Nations compound.  Is the Secretary-General concerned about possible additional attacks on the United Nations?  Can he make alternative arrangements for security to be provided for UN headquarters?  After all, there is an international security force present in the country.

Spokesman:  Well, the responsibility, the primary responsibility for security belongs to the host country, and that’s why Mr. Brahimi addressed himself to the Government.  Is the Secretary-General ready to bring in private security guards in Afghanistan?  No.  Are there other ways we could do business in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to lower the threat level to our staff? Maybe.  And that’s one of the things they are looking at in Cyprus.

Question:  Can you confirm that the actress Catherine Deneuve has resigned from her Goodwill Ambassador post at UNESCO?  Have you heard that at all?

Spokesman:  No, I haven’t.  Check with UNESCO, or we’ll help you do that after the briefing.

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