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.

**Barrier Report

The Secretary-General today released his report, requested by the General Assembly, on the Government of Israel’s compliance with a General Assembly resolution which demands that Israel stop and reverse construction of a barrier in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Secretary-General concludes that Israel is not in compliance with this demand.

In the report, the Secretary-General acknowledges and recognizes Israel’s right and duty to protect its people against terrorist attacks.

The Secretary-General’s position has always been that the State of Israel has the legitimate right to live in peace and security.

Nevertheless, he points out that this right “should not be carried out in a way that is in contradiction to international law, that could damage the longer-term prospects for peace by making the creation of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian State more difficult, or that increases suffering among the Palestinian people”.

In addition to reporting on Israel’s compliance with the resolution, the Secretary-General informs the General Assembly about the humanitarian and socio-economic impact of completed barrier sections, and the implications of the official planned route.  His findings include the following: 

Approximately 56,000 Palestinians already live in enclaves created by the barrier, most notably the town of Qalqiliya, in which access to land, markets, jobs and services is seriously impeded. 

The Secretary-General remains convinced that the only outcome that will bring lasting security and prosperity to both sides is a just, durable and comprehensive peace in the Middle East in which two sovereign and independent States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders.

He urges the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to go back to the negotiating table to reach this.

The report, as well as a press release (SG/2086), is available in my office and the report is also available on the internet.

**Liberia

The UN Mission in Liberia has strongly condemned a walkout staged at the first meeting of the country's National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration.

The representatives of the three groups -– Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and former members of the Liberian Government -– at the start of the meeting on Thursday tabled their demands for dozens of positions for themselves within the ministries of the National Transitional Government of Liberia and public corporations, as a pre-condition for their participation in the programme.

They then walked out of the meeting, failing to adopt the DDRR programme that will provide their combatants with monetary incentives, food, medical treatment, vocational training, educational opportunities and a chance for a better future.

The UN mission says their actions demonstrate their total disregard for the welfare and well-being not only of their combatants, but of the 3.3 million citizens of Liberia whose interests they claim to represent.

Also on Liberia we have a humanitarian update:  for the first time in 14 years, electricity was supplied to central Monrovia and when a humanitarian flight landed in Voinjama, a distant border town, it marked the first time the airfield had been used in more than a decade.

Meanwhile humanitarian agencies continued the programmes to bring aid to Liberians in need further and further away from the capital.

**Trial of 4 former Rwandan Government Officials starts

In Arusha, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the trial of four senior officials who belonged to the 1994 Rwandan government began yesterday.

The accused, who include three former Government ministers and the former Director General for Foreign Affairs, face seven counts related to genocide and violations of the Geneva Conventions.

We have two press releases on that.

**Security Council

There are no consultations or meetings of the Security Council scheduled for today.

On Monday, Bulgaria will assume the Council Presidency.

**Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War

In Geneva today a new draft Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War was adopted by 92 countries.

The protocol aims to clear up millions of unexploded weapons left behind after conflicts end.  The text obliges a country taking part to “mark and clear, remove or destroy explosive remnants of war in affected territories under its control”.

We have more information on that upstairs.  (See Press Release DC/2900.)

**High Commission for Human Rights to Open Office in Guatemala

On Monday, in Guatemala, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will sign an agreement with the Government of Guatemala formally establishing an office in that country.

The establishment of this office follows an initiative of the Government and several international actors in order to continue the work currently done by the UN Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA).

That mission is expected to close down in December 2004.  We have a press release with more details.

**Treaty on Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides Trade

On an environmental note, yesterday Armenia became the 50th state to ratify the Rotterdam Convention on Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, thus triggering the 90-day countdown to the treaty’s entry into force. 

According to Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, “thanks to the Rotterdam Convention we now have an effective system in place to avoid many of the deadly mistakes made in past decades when people were less aware of the dangers of toxic chemicals.” 

There is more on that in a press release. 

**ICAO Reduces Distance Between Airliners

The International Civil Aviation Organization achieved a milestone in air navigation history yesterday, when it reduced the minimum vertical separation between aircraft from 2,000 to 1,000 feet.  The new rule will apply to major air traffic routes between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

ICAO says the change will result in increased route capacity and greater operational flexibility that will generate considerable economic, environmental and passenger service benefits.

And you can read more about that in a press release.

**Secretary-General’s Messages

We have four messages from the Secretary-General, I’m not going to excerpt any of them, just tell you what they are.

The first is to the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development being held in Brasilia, which was delivered yesterday by Carla Lopes, the UN Resident Coordinator in Brazil.  (See Press Release SG/SM/9034.)

And today in Rome, Shalini Dewan, the Director of the UN Information Center there, delivered the Secretary-General’s message to the Fourth World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.  (See Press Release SG/SM/9036.)

Then we have the Secretary-General’s message on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and that day is tomorrow.  (See Press Release SG/SM/9037-OBV/397-PAL/1969.)

And finally we have his message to the 24th General Assembly of the World Veterans’ Federation, which is taking place on Monday in Johannesburg, South Africa.  (See Press Release SG/SM/9038.)

**Press Conferences on Monday

At 11:30 am, Ambassador Heraldo Munoz of Chile, Chairman of the Security Council Committee concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban will brief on the Panel’s report, and I believe that Michael Chandler, whose group produced that report will also be present.

And then at 12:45 pm on Monday, the Nigerian Mission to the United Nations is sponsoring a press conference to draw attention to the “Battle of Hope”, a World Aids Day boxing and musical event that will take place in Abuja, Nigeria, on 10 January.  Panelists will include Laila Ali, the daughter of heavyweight champion boxer Mohammed Ali, and Jermaine Jackson, brother of African-American musician Michael Jackson.

**Week Ahead

And we will have the week ahead for you as we normally do, and I think it will be ready in another half hour or so.

That’s it on my side.

Questions and Answers

Question:  Could we have a tip on an internal report that there was some security threat against UNMIC or the UN Mission in Kosovo that caused NATO to reinforce its security presence around UNMIC.  Can you tell us anything about that?

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  No, we saw the press accounts of that, just a few minutes ago before the briefing.  We tried to get through to our offices in Pristina.  We were unsuccessful, and so we are still trying to do that.  So we haven’t heard from the Mission yet on…

Question:  They referred us to New York; they said there was some unspecified security threat received in New York?

Spokesman:  Then we will probably have to follow-up with the Security Coordinator’s office.  This was breaking just before the briefing and we couldn’t get anything for now. Mohammed?

Question:  Fred, is the International Solidarity Day with Palestinian People tomorrow or December 01?

Spokesman:  I thought it was tomorrow, we will double check that if there is any mistake, and we will correct it if we have made a mistake. Mark?

Question:  Are there any other threats to any other UN missions or international organizations in any other countries that you have heard of over the past couple days?  And are there any specific actions that the UN is taking in terms of withdrawing staff or other specific security actions in areas of (inaudible)?

Spokesman:  We have been concerned about a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.  I think I mentioned on Wednesday that we have moved some people around because of that perceived heightened threat within the country.  I don’t believe we have reduced our overall presence in Afghanistan.  I think in the current climate we are increasingly sensitive to any potential threats to our people.  I think we have probably taking measures system-wide to enhance the security of our personnel everywhere in the world.  As you know the Deputy Secretary-General had headed a unit reviewing security measures that began their work earlier this year, in April, I believe, so yes, we are looking at this situation system-wide. Apart from Afghanistan, I have nothing, and this report we have yet to confirm news accounts in Kosovo, we have nothing more to report to you now. Michele?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

Thank you Fred, good afternoon.

We have no plenary today.  However, the General Assembly will meet on Monday afternoon on the question of Palestine.  As you know tomorrow, Saturday, is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a day that will also be marked on Monday morning in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.  (This is to answer your question, Mohammed).  President Julian Hunte will address that meeting in the Trusteeship Council.

The Third Committee is holding its last meeting today with decisions to be taken on nine resolutions on the rights of children and human rights questions.  The Second and Fifth Committees are holding closed meetings on a number of draft resolutions still pending but, as you know, this is a slow day.  The organization of the work of the committees is one of the subjects included in the working text proposed by President Hunte for the revitalizing of the General Assembly.  According to his draft decision now in discussion among Member States, the work of the main committees in the General Assembly will be allocated over two substantive periods of the session.

The Second Committee (Economic), the Third Committee (Social) and the Fifth Committee (the Financial Committee) would meet between September and December. The First, the Fourth (Special Political) and the Sixth (Legal) and, as required, the Fifth Committee would meet between January and April.  This proposition follows extensive discussions within each committee on their work programme and will take effect from the fifty-ninth Session, if the working text is adopted.

Member States have underlined during the session that the working methods of the General Assembly needed to be further rationalized in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

Other changes are proposed in particular on the agenda of the General Assembly.  The Secretary-General would be requested to submit by 1 March 2004, a model agenda of the General Assembly, based on the agenda for the fifty-eighth session to the General Committee for its consideration.  The General Committee would hold open-ended discussion before making recommendations on the framework for future agendas of the General Assembly.

According to the working text, it will be advantageous for the General Assembly to have a shorter agenda so that its decisions will have greater impact.  Accordingly, the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with the Secretary-General, will be requested to make proposals for some agenda items to be examined every two or three years for clustering, and for eliminating agenda items for the consideration of the General Committee by 1 April of next year.  The General Committee would then hold open-ended discussions on the proposals before making recommendations on the matter in the General Assembly.

As I mentioned on Wednesday, this working text emerged after two sets of informal discussions on the subjects of revitalization and reform of the Assembly.  It is being further discussed between members of the Assembly and the six facilitators named by President Hunte a few days ago.

This is all I have for you today, thank-you.

Questions and Answers

Question:  This is sort of to understand the technical requirements here… there is some talk about the possibility of bringing up again the cloning debate in the General Assembly.  What has to … if a resolution were to be brought to the General Assembly, is there a date by which that has to be put down, or can that be put literally until the last minute?  How does this work technically?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  Well technically, most agenda items are assigned to committees and the committees discuss and vote on those resolutions.  In the cloning issue there was a vote taken of a “no-action” motion, as you know.  However, the deliberative body, the General Assembly, is the only one that has final decision.  Usually, it approves the report of the committee which means everything the committee has voted on, but you can have cases where Member States would ask that a resolution be voted on.  In the case of a “no-action” motion, they could not actually repeal the no action motion taken by the committee, but they could actually proceed in different ways to have the two conventions put to a vote.  Or either one of the conventions put to a vote.

Question:  But that decision could be taken literally a few minutes before the General Assembly convenes?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  Yes.  It can be taken on a point of order, which means, the day it is being examined.  In the case of the Sixth Committee, it is going to be the Monday 8 December, in the afternoon.

Question:  I was just wondering Michele, if you meant in the Monday session, presumably this has nothing to do with the Palestinian reaction to the report that has just come out on the barrier, and if that’s the case have you heard anything yet from the Palestinian Observer Mission on a possible resumption of that emergency session, so that there can be additional action in the GA?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  No, nothing yet.  In fact the General Assembly is meeting on an agenda item, the Question of Palestine, which is an item that is on its agenda, on the afternoon on Monday.  In the morning there is a special session, which is not organized by the General Assembly, where President Hunte will speak, the Secretary-General also from what I gather, will speak at that meeting, which is to celebrate that International Day.  Those are separate meetings, one in the Trusteeship Council in the morning and the other one in the afternoon, in the General Assembly.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Thank you very much enjoy your weekend.

* *** *