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 Michéle Montas, Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President.

Spokesman for Secretary-General

Good Afternoon.

**AIDS Day

The Secretary-General today marked World AIDS Day by warning in a message that the epidemic continues its lethal march around the world, with few signs of slowing down.  During the past year, some 10 people were infected with HIV every minute of every day.  The Secretary-General says that, although the resources to fight AIDS are increasing, the action is still far short of what is needed.

Earlier today, the World Health Organization and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released a detailed plan to provide treatment for 3 million AIDS patients by the year 2005 –- called the “three by five” initiative.  That initiative focuses on simplified tools to deliver antiretroviral drugs and a new service to ensure an effective, reliable supply of medicines and diagnostics.

Peter Piot, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, said, “We firmly believe that we stand no chance of halting this epidemic unless we dramatically scale up access to HIV care”.

WHO today noted one area of progress:  it added three new generic products for first-line AIDS treatment to its list of medicines that meet its standards of quality, safety and efficacy.  We have press releases on the three by five initiative available upstairs, along with others concerning the observance of World AIDS Day.

Along those lines, I’d like to draw your attention to an event taking place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine this evening, from 7:30 to

9:30, called Live and Let Live, which will offer music, performances and people discussing their experiences with AIDS.  The event, sponsored by the Department of Public Information, UNAIDS and other groups, will be held uptown, at 112th St. and Amsterdam Ave.

**Palestinian Day

There is no military solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, the Secretary-General said earlier today at a ceremony marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

He went on to say that the only solution to this conflict that has claimed thousands of lives, the majority of which have been Palestinian, is to be found in a political process that results in a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement.

To that end, he noted that two civil society initiatives have made that point with courage and clarity.

The Geneva accord and the Ayalon Nusseibeh statement of principles, he went on, have caught the imagination of both peoples and should inspire in all the burning conviction that a settlement can be reached.  However, he added, these efforts are no substitute for official action:  the governments of Israel and the Palestinian Authority must act on their commitments without waiting for the other to make the first move.

In his address, he also noted the daily hardship suffered by the Palestinians caused by the severe restrictions imposed by Israel on the movements of people and goods in the occupied Palestinian territory.

He called on the international community to contribute generously to address the humanitarian emergency and economic devastation experienced by the Palestinian people.  He also called on the Israeli authorities to grant full access to humanitarian convoys.  The full text of his statement is available upstairs.

**Sierra Leone

The Secretary-General has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Mr. Daudi Ngelautwa Mwakawago as his new Special Representative for Sierra Leone.  He would assume his responsibilities immediately.

Mr. Mwakawago, a Tanzanian citizen, has served as his country’s permanent representative to the United Nations from 1994 until this year.  He has also held a number of high ministerial positions in the Tanzanian Government.

The new Special Representative would replace Oluyemeni Adeniji who, earlier this year, was appointed as Nigeria’s Foreign Minister.

The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to once again express his deep appreciation for the effective leadership Mr. Adeniji’s provided to the UN mission in Sierra Leone.

Under Mr. Mwakawago’s leadership, the UN mission, and the whole United Nations family, will continue to assist the people of Sierra Leone to consolidate peace, while the mission is drawing down.  A full copy of the statement is available upstairs.

**Afghanistan

Voter registration will begin this week for next year’s elections in Afghanistan, in eight Afghan cities, including the capital, Kabul.  The registration will take place at schools in those cities, with separate sites for men and women to register.  Every Afghan who is 18 or older by 20 June next year is qualified to be registered as a voter.  Everyone has to register in person.  We have more details in today’s briefing notes from Kabul.

**LA Trip

Tomorrow the Secretary-General will leave for a two-day trip to Los Angeles, California.

Shortly after his arrival, the Secretary-General will address the 50th anniversary dinner of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, a leading international issues forum in the western United States.  In his speech, the Secretary-General will recall the great achievements of multilateralism under US leadership in the 20th century and will urge Americans to help preserve and build on them for the 21st.

On Wednesday morning, he will meet with the Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and City Council President Alex Padilla.  He will then attend and address and open session of the Council.

Later on, he will participate in a luncheon in his honour hosted by Diane Disney Miller and Heidi Kuhn, the founder and President of Roots of Peace.  The organization operates in four heavily mined countries where it demines and then plants food crops where mines once lay.  Wednesday is also the sixth anniversary of the Ottawa anti-landmines Convention.

Later that day, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan, will visit an AIDS clinic jointly run by the University of Southern California and Los Angeles County.

On Wednesday evening, the Secretary-General will speak at a gala to mark the 50th anniversary of the UNICEF Good Will Ambassadors.  The evening will benefit the Audrey Hepburn Foundation, which rehabilitates schools worldwide.  We have more in a detailed programme that will be available later today.

**Al Qaeda and Taliban report

Just a few minutes ago in this room, there was a press conference on the second report of the monitoring group dealing with the sanctions on Al Qaeda, the Taliban and their associates.  That report says that Al Qaeda’s ideology has continued to spread, raising the spectre of further terrorist attacks.

Iraq, the report says, has become fertile ground for Al Qaeda, becoming readily accessible to followers anxious to battle coalition forces.

The monitoring group says that important progress has been made to cut off Al Qaeda’s financing, with a large part of the group’s funds located and frozen.  But it says that it continues to encounter serious difficulties in monitoring and reporting on the arms embargo against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.  We have copies of the group’s report upstairs.

**Security Council

Ambassador Stefan Tafrov of Bulgaria today takes over as the President of the Security Council for the month of December.  He will be having bilateral discussions today with other Council members on its program of work for the month, and there are no Council meetings or consultations scheduled for today.

Tomorrow, the Council has scheduled consultations on its program of work for December.  After those discussions end, Ambassador Tafrov intends to speak to you in this room about the Council’s work for the month, at about 1:15 in the afternoon.

**Climate change

Representatives of 188 nations that have signed the UN Climate Change Convention are meeting in Milan, Italy today to assess progress in addressing climate change and to set the global agenda for the coming year.

According to the Convention’s Executive Secretary, Joke Waller-Hunter, the fact that 2003 is on track to be one of the warmest years on record should be a warning that we must all take seriously.  She adds that, while many governments have been inspired by the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol to strengthen environmental action at the national level, much more needs to be done to stop the increase in greenhouse gas concentration.

Part of today’s opening ceremony will be the screening of a Canadian documentary entitled “The Great Warming”, narrated by Keanu Reaves and Alanis Morissette.  More information is available on the Convention’s Web site.

**Kosovo

The laws in Kosovo that apply to official names for towns and villages must be upheld, said Francesco Bastagli, the head of the UN Civil Administration in Kosovo.  Renaming towns and villages is not within the authority of the municipal assemblies, which are limited to renaming roads, streets and other public places, he said.  We have a press release with more on that.

**Guatemala –- Human Rights Office

As we flagged on Friday, in Guatemala today the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is signing an agreement with the Government of Guatemala to establish an office there.  The new office is to follow the human rights verification role of the UN Mission, MINUGUA, once it withdraws from Guatemala at the end of 2004.

Also today, Guatemalan authorities will be holding a ceremony as a posthumous tribute to Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was very familiar with the situation of Central America, in particular that of Guatemala.  We will have the texts of the statements delivered by the UN later on.

**DRC:  Special Rapporteur on Human Rights

Iulia Motoc, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is in that country at the invitation of the Government.  Ms. Motoc will remain in the DRC until 11 December.

During her mission, she will tackle problems related to massive violations of human rights, impunity, national reconciliation, illegal exploitation of natural resources and the administration of justice.  She will also deal with the difficulties facing vulnerable groups, especially female victims of sexual violence, children associated with the armed conflict and indigenous persons.  We have a press release upstairs on that.

**UN virtual “Academy” on water management

In an effort to raise awareness about the availability of safe water worldwide, the UN has created a unique “virtual academy” to teach the fundamentals of water management on a global level.  Students will access the material via CD-rom, the Internet or mailed printouts, depending on their circumstances and access to technology.

Graduates of the 250-hour course will obtain an academic diploma from the UN, the first ever authorized by the United Nations University.  We have more information in a press release upstairs.

**World Chronicle television programme

The information department asks me to announce that World Chronicle programme no. 920 with John Dugard, the UN Human Rights Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territory, will be shown today at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television channels 3 or 31.

**Press Conference today

And finally, press conferences, one in this room at 12:45 -- the Nigerian mission will be 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 next year.  Speakers will include Laila Ali, the daughter of heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, and Jermaine Jackson, the brother of musician Michael Jackson, and others.

** Press Conference tomorrow

And a second press conference, at 12:30 tomorrow, General Assembly President Julian Hunte will be here to announce the human rights award winners and Michéle will be giving you more details on that press conference in just a moment.  Yes?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Any clues about the appointment of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Iraq?

Spokesman for Secretary-General:  I have nothing new on that.  As you know, he said he’d be naming an ad interim kind of representative on the ground first.  He said last week that he’d be doing that soon and I am not aware what the exact time frame is.  And then he indicated that his actual naming of a special representative would not happen until early next year.  Yes, Joe?

Question:  Fred, will the Secretary-General throw his weight behind the request of the monitoring group to put pressure on the Security Council to try and get a new resolution to give them more strength to go after the government to obtain more information?  Will he support them on that?

Spokesman:  Certainly, he supports that general thrust.  I don’t think it would be accurate to say he would lobby them.  He would make his views known to them, sure.  Yes, David?

Question:  You might have already mentioned this, but did the Secretary-General have any reaction to the attacks over the weekend in Iraq, specifically the Japanese diplomats and Spanish intelligence officers?

Spokesman:  There was a reaction given by the Associate Spokeswoman, Marie Okabe, to some Japanese media on Sunday.  I can get you the text of what she said.  Otherwise, you can try to catch him as he walks through the building today for a personal reaction from him.  You might get him going into the 4:00 o’clock meeting.  Ruth?

Question:  Do you expect anything to come out of the meeting (inaudible) this afternoon…?

Spokesman:  I expect that there will be an active press stakeout outside conference room 8 and the ambassadors present will most likely be willing, at least some of them, to talk to you.  So, I think your chances of getting some kind of reaction after the meeting are pretty good.  I am not aware that the Secretary-General will have anything to say.  Yes?

Question:  Can you elaborate a little bit more on the functions of this advisory group and how its composition has been arrived at?

Spokesman:  First of all, the Secretary-General has placed very strong emphasis on the need to get the neighbouring countries and the countries in the region on board, all supporting the same line of approach to Iraq.  So, that’s the justification for the neighbours and for Egypt.  Among the Council members, the five permanent members are important, of course, they each carry a veto, and he’s named five elected members to complement the five permanent members.  That’s the composition.  The role is just to provide a sounding board, an informal advisory panel for his own thinking and ways he can be helpful and ways they can all work together to move the process in Iraq in the best possible direction.  Yes?

Question:  Talking about Afghanistan, Mr. Brahimi is supposed to leave at the end of December.  Do we know who is going to replace him?

Spokesman:  No, we don’t.  First of all, I am not sure that that departure date is firm or whether it’s tied to the Secretary-General’s efforts to find a suitable replacement, which is not going to be easy.  But, I am not aware that they are close to announcing a replacement for Mr. Brahimi.  I think he probably has made it known that he’d like to go by the end of the year, if possible.  Yes?

Question:  The Secretary-General observed on AIDS Day that the resources are not sufficient.  What additional measures has he taken to secure these resources?

Spokesman:  He has been very active, particularly in connection with the events of this International AIDS Day; giving interviews, issuing statements, supporting those who have been working for the AIDS programme.  I don’t know that he can do much more than he already has done.  I think it’s pretty well recognized that his launch of the Global Fund was a major attractor of investment in AIDS treatment.  The amount contributed, though, is well below what’s needed.  The three by five initiative now is another fresh effort to get some more money to come in.  I mean every dollar that comes in prolongs a life, so, I think his appeal is out there.  Now we’re just waiting for those who are in a position to do something, either to contribute money or for pharmaceutical firms to make their medications available at affordable rates to poor countries –- all these things can help.  Joe?

Question:  In his interview with the BBC he sort of took the gloves off in terms of putting pressure on governments to get behind the efforts on AIDS and contribute money.  Is that going to be his new approach in the campaign coming up in this year, that he’s had enough?

Spokesman:  No, it is true that in that interview, which is the one I had in mind just a minute ago, he was quite forceful in saying that not enough is being done.  I think you can probably expect him to continue sending out messages along those lines.  But, really, the ball is in the court of the donors right now.

Question:  So you could say it’s the political will that’s stopping it.  The resources are there and interest is not there, but he’s going to keep on hammering that theme about political will?

Spokesman:  I think you will see political interest growing in those areas most affected by the pandemic.  And what he is hoping is that among the wealthy governments, when it comes to questions of patents and when you’re also talking of the pharmaceutical firms in that same connection, that they will show the flexibility necessary to get these life extending drugs distributed widely to those who need them most.  Mr. Abbadi?

Question:  Fred, Nelson Mandela says that the AIDS issue is a human rights issue.  Does the Secretary-General share this view?

Spokesman:  I thought you could make that argument effectively.  I’d have to ask the Secretary-General if that’s his personal view, but I think it’s consistent with what he said.  Yes?

Question:  Is it true that Bernard Kuchner has been known to be willing to go to Iraq?

Spokesman:  I don’t know, you’d have to tell me what’s been in the French media.

Question:  It’s not in the French media.  It’s here.  It’s out of Geneva.  Is it true?

Spokesman:  First of all, we don’t discuss potential candidates when the Secretary-General is in the process of debating whom to appoint to any given post.  So, I am not going to comment on his or anyone else’s availability or willingness to be considered.  So, that’s going nowhere.  Joe?

Question:  If I could follow that up.  If Brahimi leaves Afghanistan would he be interested, if this conference comes about, in leading it the way he did the Afghanistan conference?

Spokesman:  We’d have to ask him, I don’t know.  Would Brahimi be willing to…?

Question:  The same role with Iraq as he did with Afghanistan?

Spokesman:  Frankly, I doubt that Mr. Brahimi is looking for another challenging UN job.  I think he feels he’s done all he can for the United Nations.  We’re especially grateful for his lending his prestige and his support and his hard work to the Afghan process.  I think most people say that without his leadership it would not be as far along as it is today.  But I think he’s looking for a little rest.  Yes?

Question:  Fred, do you think that they expect the sub-advisory group to consider the time frame for the Iraq process?

Spokesman:  I have nothing in the way of an agenda for today’s meeting.  So, I think you’d need to talk to the members as they come out, should they wish to share with you what they discussed in the meeting.  Mr. Abbadi?

Question:  Who represented the Secretary-General at the peace conference in Geneva –- the Israeli-Palestinian..?

Spokesman:  I honestly don’t know.  I have to check after the briefing for you.  Michéle?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

Thank you Fred and good afternoon,

“Staggering statistics continue to paint a very grim picture” deplores President Julian Hunte in a statement issued today for World Aids Day.  “The reality, he said, “is that whatever progress has been made is simply not enough.  We must strengthen our resolve, and our strategies must be proactive”, said President Hunte.  The General Assembly held, earlier in this session, a high-level plenary on AIDS.  Information on that meeting is available in the calendar section of our Web site, under UN AIDS Day, as well as a statement from the President of the General Assembly.

We have plenary sessions today and tomorrow, on the Question of Palestine.  As you know, Saturday was the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, a day that was marked this morning by a special session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable rights of the Palestinian People.  In a statement, President Hunte reminded Member States of the commitment taken by the United Nations in 1947, when the General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II).  The decision was then taken that the mandate of Palestine would be partitioned into two States, one Jewish, one Arab, with Jerusalem to be the subject of a special international regime.  President Hunte underlined the need now to implement that decision.  “There is broad international consensus”, he said, “that the two-State solution is the only one that will bring this longstanding Middle East conflict to an end”.  President Hunte’s statement this morning in the Trusteeship Council Chamber is available as a press release and on our Web site.

In answer to the many questions I have received since Friday, after the Secretary General’s report to the General Assembly on the Israeli barrier, I would like to underline that the report was submitted pursuant to a resolution adopted on 21 October 2003 by the General Assembly at its resumed Tenth Emergency Special Session.  Paragraph 1 of that resolution “demands that Israel stop and reverse the construction of the wall in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, which is in departure of the Armistice Line of 1949 and is in contradiction to relevant provisions of international law”.  In paragraph 3 of the resolution, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report periodically on compliance with the resolution, but with the first report on compliance with paragraph 1.  This is what the Secretary-General did.

Will the 10^th Emergency session be resumed? I was asked.  Most probably yes.  President Hunte has not yet received a formal request, but has been told by the sponsors of the last two reopenings of the Emergency Session that such a request is forthcoming.  Two elements will probably be on the table:  the report of the Secretary General and a previous request from the League of Arab States that the General Assembly request an advisory opinion from the International Court on the legality of the Israeli fence.

Tomorrow Tuesday, immediately following the noon briefing, here in Room 226, Fred already announced it, President Julian Hunte will announce the recipients of the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.  The Prize in the Field of Human Rights is an honourary award given to individuals and organizations in recognition of outstanding achievement in human rights. 

The 2003 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights will be presented by the General Assembly President and the Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Bertrand Ramcharan, during a ceremony in the GA Hall on 10 December, Human Rights Day, beginning at 10 a.m.  But you will have the names tomorrow at that press conference.

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

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Any questions?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Does the President have a position on the unofficial peace conference in Geneva?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  No, he has not expressed a position on that.

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

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