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.

Spokesman for Secretary-General

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-GeneralPress Conference

Tomorrow at 11 a.m. in this room, the Secretary-General will be giving his year-end press conference, and, as usual, we will not have a noon briefing on the same day.

**Security Council - Kosovo

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, told the Security Council today that any discussion on Kosovo’s future status is dependent on achieving the eight benchmarks outlined in the “standards before status” policy.  The benchmarks deal with issues such as rule of law, freedom of movement, and property rights.

In his open briefing, Guehénno said that, depending on progress made towards reaching the standards, a review of the Kosovo Provisional Institutions could possibly be carried out in mid-2005.  He added that the past two months have seen an increase in serious crimes in Kosovo, including attacks against Kosovo Police Service officers.  Copies of Guehenno’s briefing notes are available upstairs.

The open debate on Kosovo is continuing now, with all 15 Council members and three other countries due to speak.

**Security Council - Somalia

The Security Council has asked the Secretary-General to establish a Monitoring Group for six months, aimed at tightening the arms embargo on Somalia.

In a resolution adopted unanimously yesterday following the meetings on Iraq, the Security Council detailed the mandate of the Monitoring Group, which will investigate breaches of the embargo -- especially transfers of ammunition, single use weapons and small arms, by land, air and sea.

The Council also asks the Nairobi-based Group to make recommendations about how to strengthen the embargo.

**Cambodia

The UN Technical Assessment Mission to Cambodia was able to reach agreement last week with the Cambodian Government on a number of concrete steps necessary to establish a court for Khmer Rouge trials.  These include a concept of operations, an outline of an implementation plan with timelines, a staffing table for the court’s judicial and administrative component, and the site where the trials would be held.

Contrary to some reports in the Cambodian press, the UN team did not specify the number of potential indictees during the talks with the Cambodian Government, nor was a list of names of potential indictees discussed.  It would have been highly improper to do so, since it will be the prerogative of the investigative judges and the prosecutors of the future court to make that determination.

For the purpose of drafting a budget proposal, a range of five to 10 indictees was assumed by both parties, but this figure could change depending on the investigative and prosecutorial strategy that the future court may wish to adopt.  We have a press release upstairs with more details.

**Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, prices for many food staples such as maize, sugar and flour have spiked by 49 per cent in the last month, putting them out of the reach for the average family, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  This comes at a period between harvests when families are most in need of food aid.

Zimbabweans have been dependent on aid due to a combination of drought, economic decline, and the effects of HIV/AIDS.  The spread of the virus has hit agricultural production hard, as many farm workers die or are too sick to work.  We have more in a press release.

**Peacekeeping Department Calls for More Peacekeepers

Yesterday, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations appealed to Member States to provide more peacekeeping troops for the UN Mission in Liberia and for future operations in Africa.

At a meeting for troop contributors, the Peacekeeping Chief, Jean-Marie Guehenno, provided an update on the deployment of troops in Liberia, current operational challenges and the status of the disarmament and demobilization programme in that country.  He also pointed out that the UN would probably be needing more peacekeepers in the coming year to conduct possible operations in the Sudan and Burundi, and expanded activities in Côte d’Ivoire.

While it is too soon to give specific details of the personnel requirements, Guehenno said the UN would need to generate substantial numbers of well trained, well equipped troops and civilian police personnel in 2004.

**WMO - Global Warming

The year 2003 has been the third warmest year for the past 150 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).  Global temperatures for all of 2003 are expected to be 0.45 degrees Celsius higher than the 1961-to-1990 annual average – making it the warmest year after 2002 and 1998, the WMO said yesterday.

The Organization adds that the Antarctic ozone hole was unusually large this past year.  A press release is available upstairs, and more extensive information will be available in the WMO’s annual statement due in March of next year.

**SARS

The World Health Organization (WHO) has received reports from public health experts in Taiwan that a 44-year-old laboratory worker has been infected with SARS, after testing positive for the SARS coronavirus.

The WHO says that for the moment this appears to be an isolated incident.  All people who came into contact with the infected patient, who last week had flown to a conference in Singapore, are being identified and monitored.  Anyone who becomes feverish will immediately be isolated.  Details of this latest SARS incident are still under investigation, and we have a WHO press release with more information upstairs.

**WHO

We have available upstairs, as well, embargoed copies of the World Health Organization’s annual report, dealing with the need for stronger health systems based on primary health care.  The report will be issued tomorrow, at 10:00 GMT (or five in the morning here in New York), and we also have a full media kit upstairs with additional information.

**UNCA

And the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA) has asked me to remind you that today is the last day to vote for UNCA officers for the coming year.  The ballot box will close at four this afternoon.

That’s all I have for you.

**Questions and Answers

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  Mr. Abbadi.

Question:  Is there any reaction from the Secretary-General regarding the joint statement by the Governments of France and Germany to the effect that they would be willing to substantially reduce Iraqi debt?

Spokesman for the Secretary-General:  He is following that effort by the U.S. Government through their envoy James Baker III to negotiate a debt reduction or forgiveness agreement for Iraq.  He has no specific reaction to the statement, though, that you mentioned.

If nothing else, I’ll turn it over to Michele.

Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President

Thank you, Fred.

Good afternoon.  President Julian Hunte is back at Headquarters.  He met this morning with several permanent representatives:  H.E. Mr. Enrique Berruga of Mexico; also with the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Yashar Aliyev.  He met also with the Permanent Representative of Cameroon, Mr. Martin Belinga-Eboutou as Chairman of the Third Committee.  He met also with the Permanent Representative of Malawi, H.E. Mr. Isaac Lamba, and with the Permanent Representative of Senegal, H.E. Mr. Papa Louis Fall.

President Julian Hunte will meet at 12:30 p.m. with the Secretary-General today.

The General Assembly is meeting this afternoon, as you know, at 3 p.m. to act on a number of agenda items:  the Report of the Economic and Social Council and several appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary bodies.  It will also meet on strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance, and will vote on the report of the Credentials Committee, which I mentioned in yesterday’s briefing.

The next plenary will deal with a landmark decision, the issue of revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.  A vote has not yet been scheduled on the draft resolution formally submitted by the President of the General Assembly.

In the economic field, some important recommendations were made yesterday by the Second Committee to the Assembly.  Expressing concern over the setback to the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the General Assembly would, under the recommendation of the Second Committee, stress the importance of redoubling efforts for the successful conclusion of the Doha Negotiations by 1 January 2005, according to one of seven draft resolutions approved without a vote yesterday, as the Second Committee concluded its session.

By other terms of that draft on international trade and development, the Assembly would call on the WTO to reduce or eliminate high tariffs, tariff peaks and tariff escalations, as well as non-tariff barriers on non-agricultural products, substantially improve market access, reduce with a view to phasing out all forms of export subsidies, substantially reduce trade distorting domestic support in agriculture and expeditiously adopt appropriate modalities for reducing commitments in agriculture negotiations.  It would also call on the WTO to seek an effective solution to problems reflected in the cotton initiatives proposed by a group of African countries.

According to another draft resolution on the international financial system and development, the Assembly would recognize with concern that developing countries made net outward transfers of financial resources in 2002 for the sixth consecutive year, while underscoring the need for national and international measures to reverse that trend.

By the terms also of an important draft on the high-level dialogue on financing for development, the Assembly would request the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to propose to the Assembly at its 59^th session an appropriate mechanism to address price fluctuations of commodities.  The Assembly would also decide to convert the United Nations Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Cooperation on tax matters into an intergovernmental subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council.  Trade,

the price of commodities and tax matters have been a constant concern expressed during this 59^th session.

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

Question:  What will be the subjects of discussion between the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly this afternoon?  And will the President give a press conference before the end of the session?

Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President:  Yes, he probably will.  We haven’t scheduled it yet, the press conference.

I have to say that this is a meeting, a social meeting today between the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly for a coupe de champagne.  So I don’t think there will be any heavy discussions on matters concerning the Assembly.

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