DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICES OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
| Press Briefing |
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.
**Statement on Iraq
Yesterday we put out the following statement attributable to the Spokesman.
“The Secretary-General considers that the capture of Saddam Hussein, the epitome of the former regime, is an important event. It offers an opportunity to give fresh impetus to the search for peace and stability in Iraq, on the basis of an inclusive and fully transparent process.
“The Secretary-General reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to do everything possible to help Iraqis, if asked, and as circumstances permit.”
**Turkish Cypriot voting
The following statement, again attributable to the Spokesman, concerns the Turkish Cypriot voting over the weekend:
“The Secretary-General has seen the reports of the Turkish Cypriot voting. It appears that it may take some time for a new political dispensation to be established. The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to restate his position, which is that his plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem remains on the table but that he does not propose to take a new initiative without solid reason to believe that the political will necessary for a successful outcome exists.
“The Secretary-General hopes that the Turkish Cypriot side –- and indeed all parties -– will soon be in a position to make the necessary commitment so that a reunited Cyprus may accede to the European Union on the 1st of May 2004.”
**Security Council
The United Nations will respond to progress in peace efforts in Bougainville by ending the work of the current UN Political Office there, but it believes that a smaller UN Observer Mission is needed to help bring the peace process to its logical conclusion: the establishment of an autonomous government. That is what Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Danilo Turk told the Security Council today, in an open meeting on Bougainville, in which he said that the maturity of the peace process warranted the significant downsizing of the UN Office by the end of this month. The proposed Observer Mission, he said, would involve a reduction by 50 per cent in the staffing of the current Office.
Member States are continuing to debate Bougainville, after which the Security Council will hold a formal meeting to adopt a presidential statement detailing key objectives for the protection of civilians in armed conflict. After that, the Council will hold consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights.
**Afghanistan
In Kabul today, Afghanistan’s Constitutional Loya Jirga elected the members of its bureau as it completed its second full sitting. When the Loya Jirga opened yesterday, it elected a former Afghan President, Seqatullah Mujadidi, as its chair. Four vice-chairs, including one woman, were elected today.
The holding of the Loya Jirga, to draft a new constitution for Afghanistan, was called for in the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, which was facilitated by the United Nations.
We have a press release upstairs with more details on the first two days of the Loya Jirga.
**Liberia
The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has announced that the disarmament of ex-combatants will continue until 2 p.m. on Wednesday and will resume after the holiday season on 20 January.
The Mission says the action allows for the creation of more capacity and the upgrading of living conditions at the site, where more than 8,000 former combatants have disarmed. We have a press release with more on that.
**Ethiopia/Eritrea
Ethiopian and Eritrean military delegations today stressed their common desire to find a solution to the current impasse between their two countries.
At a Military Coordination Commission held in Kenya and chaired by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the two delegations also agreed in principle to a UN proposal to improve the handling of border incidents.
This was the last Military Coordination Commission meeting for this year. The next will be held on February 2nd. We have a press release with more details.
**Burundi
Events this year have created new hope for a democratic and peaceful Burundi, the Secretary-General says in a report out on the racks today.
He notes the work done by the UN Office in Burundi to support ceasefire negotiations, as well as the recent deployment of the African Mission in Burundi, whose contribution he commends. He adds that since the signing of the first Pretoria Protocol on the 8th of October, the security situation throughout the country has improved considerably.
The Secretary-General reiterates his call on one of the armed factions, the FNL, to begin ceasefire negotiations with the transitional government immediately and without conditions.
**Guinea-Bissau
The Secretary-General says that the recent removal of Guinea-Bissau’s democratically elected President, however reprehensible, should be seen as the culmination of an untenable situation during which constitutional norms were repeatedly violated.
In a report to the Security Council on Guinea-Bissau, which is out on the racks today, he says it’s encouraging to see that the transitional government has taken some important steps in the right direction. He calls on all actors in the country to stay the course and to continue to work together.
**Two SG Messages on Africa
The Secretary-General, in a message to the Second Ministerial Conference on the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Addis Ababa, says China can help Africa make real steps towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
“But Africa can help China too”, he says. “The emerging markets of Africa offer huge investment opportunities to the Chinese private sector.” He welcomes the proposed China-Africa Business Council.
In a separate message to the Partners’ Conference on the Implementation of the Action Plan for the Environment Initiative of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in Algiers, the Secretary-General says NEPAD’s Environment Action Plan will help African countries address the continent’s environmental challenges.
We have the text of both those messages upstairs.
**Indigenous Rights
As the Decade of the World’s Indigenous People enters into its final year, experts are gathering in Geneva today and tomorrow to discuss the significance of treaties signed between States and indigenous peoples. The Seminar will focus on the wide range of rights, including concerning land and natural resources, established by historical treaties between States and indigenous people. It will draw on lessons learned from historical treaties and examples of how disputes are being handled in different countries.
In his opening statement, the Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, noted that although many treaties were signed over a century ago, they remain at the core of the sense of identity of many indigenous peoples. These historic treaties, therefore, have great contemporary human rights significance.
We have information about the Seminar and copies of Mr. Ramcharan’s statement upstairs.
**Poverty Games
In a few hours, in Basel, Switzerland, UN Development Programme chief, Mark Malloch Brown, will deliver a message on behalf of the Secretary-General at a charity soccer game being played to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals. The two sides will be led by soccer greats, who are also UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors, Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane.
“It time to score a goal against poverty”, the Secretary-General says in the message. And he adds that the Millennium Development Goals represent a simple yet powerful objective that every man and woman from Basel to Bangkok can easily support and understand.
Some 30,000 spectators are expected to attend and the game’s proceeds will go to fund UNDP anti-poverty programmes around the world.
We have the full text of the message upstairs.
**Oscar Schachter
Finally, I have a statement attributable to the Spokesman concerning the death of Oscar Schachter:
“The Secretary-General was saddened to learn of the death of Oscar Schachter, one of the first officials to join the United Nations and a pioneer in the development of international law. Professor Schachter joined the United Nations in 1946 and held a succession of key legal posts for two decades, before serving as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research from 1966 until 1975.
“Professor Schachter did more than any other official in the United Nations to help shape the rule of law, and was the architect of the legal framework which has guided United Nations peacekeeping for more than 50 years. The Secretary-General gives thanks for the life of this eminent jurist, scholar and international civil servant, whose contributions will continue to benefit the Organization for many years to come.”
That’s all I have for you.
Questions and Answers
Question: (inaudible)…the statement issued yesterday on behalf of the Secretary-General about the capture of Saddam Hussein. The statement didn’t seem to express either enthusiasm for or regret about the capture. Can you tell us a little bit more about how the Secretary-General views the implications of the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and in the wider region at large? The other question is, does the Secretary-General have any particular opinion on how Saddam Hussein should be tried —- whether it should be a matter for the Iraqis and the Americans to deal with, or does he see a role for the UN?
Spokesman for the Secretary-General: On the first question, I think all of us are waiting to see what the practical impact will be in Iraq of the capture of Saddam Hussein. Our hope is, and the Secretary-General’s statement indicated this, that it could be a turning point, that security could gradually improve, and that international actors could safely return to work in Iraq.
On your second question, the trial of Saddam Hussein could, under international law, be carried out in any number of ways. In recent years, we’ve seen a number of different tribunals and special courts set up and otherwise to my knowledge we have not been formally shown a copy of the law that was adopted by the Iraqi National Governing Council last week, although we did get copies of it and have looked at it. And I think I indicated last week that the acting High Commissioner for Human Rights did write to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) with his views on that law. So let’s see how it will go forward now, whatever kind of trial is held. We have noticed that the Coalition Provisional Authority has indicated, and I believe also as members of the Governing Council have, that United Nations input would be welcome. I’m not quite sure what that means.
Question: As a follow-up question to that, because the Coalition is an occupying Power, might that not affect how this is handled legally in terms of international law? Because you’re not dealing with a sovereign nation, you’re dealing with an occupying Power that has captured somebody. So bringing him to justice might have (inaudible) legal implication, no?
Spokesman: I don’t have guidance on that particular point. I think there is a matter of international law that could be debated as to who or what entity would be competent to set up such a tribunal. But I don’t have the United Nations position on that to share with you. Yes, Mark?
Question: Has the CPA indicated to you formally that United Nations input would be welcome? And to that end has the United Nations identified anyone who might actually go about making that input (inaudible).
Spokesman: I don’t know whether it’s just what we’ve read in media reports or even heard as recently as this morning on television. To my knowledge no one has been formally identified within the UN system to carry out such a role.
Question: On another matter, Mr. Brahimi on Friday indicated that the UN might be thinking about pulling out of Afghanistan. Can you comment any further on that? What is the UN’s mission in Afghanistan and whether security conditions there have deteriorated to the point that the UN is considering pulling out?
Spokesman: I don’t have anything from Headquarters to give you on that comment. I think that’s something Mr. Brahimi said in an interview. I don’t think it was on the basis of intensive consultations here at Headquarters. We’ve been looking very closely at the security situation in Afghanistan and with a certain degree of alarm at the rate at which it has been deteriorating. I think we’ve also reported to you the steps that various UN agencies have taken in response to that threat, but I cannot from the Secretary-General’s point of view either endorse what Mr. Brahimi said or contradict it.
Question: What kind of assistance is the Secretary-General talking about to Iraq? Because we have heard him say this six months or eight months ago, yet the people of Iraq are still without proper electricity, without food, without work, without all these things--
Spokesman: It’s all laid out in his report to the Security Council, the most recent report of last week. That’s what he says he can do. Yes, all the way in the back?
Question: Can you give us a better idea about what will happen tomorrow at the Security Council, with the Foreign Minister being here?
Spokesman: The format?
Question: What can we expect out of it? Is there a resolution? Is there a presidential statement?
Spokesman: I don’t know, I assume the Secretary-General, in addition to presenting the written report that you all saw last week, will have some opening comments. And then what the Council will do from there, I don’t know. You might check with my office afterwards if they have any more details. Yes?
Question: Do you have any assessment (inaudible) conclusion from the outcome of the Turkish Cypriot vote? I understand the results were 52 per cent to 48 in favour of the opposition.
Spokesman: The results were very close, as you know. And I have nothing to add to the statement that I’ve already read.
Question: On Liberia, is there an analysis being done yet at this stage of what went wrong with the demobilization program? And this is about the UN’s biggest nation-building type exercise going in the world at the moment. And the first major action it took led to rioting in the streets, chaos, and now the suspension of the program. What went wrong and why?
Spokesman: A turnout I think of fighters to be demobilized was greater than expected. It appeared that they did not have a clear understanding of the conditions of the handover of their weapons. They expected to get money up front. And I think the original plan was that the payment would come later. I don’t know whether that’s our fault or theirs, whether we didn’t explain it clearly enough or whether they weren’t listening or they weren’t accepting the ground rules that we had established. So I think that the suspension of the operation is a chance for us to cope with the larger numbers, better explain to everyone the process, and then start it up later in January to see if we can’t get a smoother disarmament operation underway.
Question: And further to that, have there been enough troops sent to Liberia? Is this going according to plan? And has there been disagreement recently between Mr. Klein and the Secretary-General over people in command of the force and their behaviour and what they’re doing in Liberia?
Spokesman: I’m not going to comment on that. Those matters are sorted out in the mission area. If they can’t it’s bumped up to the peacekeeping department. I don’t know if it has to be or would be brought to the Secretary-General to intervene. On the troops I’d have to ask the Peacekeeping Department to give you their professional assessment. My sense is that Jacques Klein would want more troops, that the Peacekeeping Department would want a faster deployment of troops already authorized by the Security Council but I think I better defer to the Peacekeeping Department to give you any more details.
Okay, I’m going to hand over the podium to Michele.
Spokeswoman for the General AssemblyPresident
Thank you, Fred. Glad to be back with you. The President of the General Assembly, Julian Hunte, is presently in Saint Lucia. He will be back on Wednesday, as we’re entering the last leg of the revitalization effort.
As you know, the revitalization of the work of General Assembly is one of the priorities of this session and is considered by the President as a key aspect of the reform process. Last Tuesday, a revised text was submitted to representatives of Member States. Last Friday, President Hunte convened the third informal plenary consultation of the last two months.
As you know, the Assembly has been discussing revitalization with increasing intensity since the 23rd of September, when during the General Debate, many Member States spoke of the imperative of United Nations reform. The item on revitalization was debated during two open-ended plenary meetings on October 15 and November 18. The third plenary consultations last Friday were extremely positive, according to President Hunte. The third revised text, taking into account the proposition of a number of Member States and groups -- the Nonaligned, the European Union, the Rio Group, the USA, China, Russia -- will be circulated later today. The revitalization resolution should be tabled by Friday at the General Assembly.
Two informal analytical texts sought to define the issues and identify priority areas for consideration. Six facilitators were appointed to work on the issues to make concrete suggestions and to serve as conduits of opinion.
There have been continuous interaction and exchanges of views on revitalization in various social settings over the last three months. The last draft decision that will be circulated this afternoon reflects the views expressed. It will be available to you today later on.
It is in the President’s judgement that this text, once adopted, will represent a valuable, practical and in some instances groundbreaking contribution to the process of General Assembly revitalization.
We expect the two committees of the General Assembly still working to finish this week. The Second Committee, the economic committee, is scheduled to conclude its work today, the Fifth, financial and budgetary matters, by Thursday. If the revitalization proposed is accepted by the GA on Friday, some of the committees will work until June in the next 59th session. We do expect that it will be accepted on Friday.
This is all I have for you today. Thank you.
Question: A question on the issue of accreditation for both the Iraqis and Israelis. An Iraqi Charge d’Affaire has obviously been appointed. But has the issue of accreditation for Iraq been sorted out yet? And the other question is we’ve heard mutterings within the Arab Group that they intend to challenge the credentials of Israel as encompassing the Palestinian territories. I was wondering if there was anything happening in the General Assembly as far as that’s concerned.
Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President: Questioning the credentials of any Member State should have been done in the General Assembly. But right now, from what I gather, the Credentials Committee is meeting but it has not come up with a resolution yet or a decision on any of the credentials submitted to it. We should have a report next week or at the end of this week as far as I know. The time to question the credentials, I think, has to be in the General Assembly and not with the Credentials Committee.
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