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
The 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 the Secretary-General
**Iraqi meetings
Adnan Pachachi, January’s president of the Iraqi Governing Council, has agreed to come to New York, to meet with the Secretary-General on the 19th of January, most likely in the morning. He’ll be accompanied by the president for December and the president for February, who make up a troika. We’re in regular contact with the US Mission to the United Nations regarding possible participation by members of the Coalition Provisional Authority, but we have nothing definite to announce at this time.
**IAMB
Earlier this week in Washington, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq met for a second time. All members of that board have agreed to the following communiqué:
“The IAMB continued its discussion of organizational matters. In particular, the IAMB reviewed the scope of work for the external auditors to be appointed by the Coalition Provisional Authority to audit the export sales of Iraqi oil, petroleum products and natural gas, and the operations of the Development Fund for Iraq, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution 1483 of 22 May 2003.
“The IAMB attaches the highest priority to this scope of work, and to this end IAMB will provide its comments to the Coalition Provisional Authority before the end of the year.”
We have copies of this text available upstairs.
**Security Council
There are no Security Council meetings scheduled for today.
Late yesterday afternoon, Council members said they welcomed Libya’s announcement that it will voluntarily abandon its programmes for developing weapons of mass destruction. Speaking to reporters on behalf of the members, Security Council President Stefan Tafrov of Bulgaria said the Council looked forward to the early implementation of all the commitments made in the announcement including the subjection to urgent international verification.
We have the full text of his statement available upstairs.
**Comoros
In a statement on the Comoros islands attributable to the Spokesman and issued only in French, the Secretary-General welcomes the agreement on the Transitional Arrangements between the President of the Comoros Union and the autonomous islands of Anjouan, Mwali and Ngazidja. This took place on the 20th of December in the Comorian capital of Moroni, in the presence of South African President and coordinator of the regional effort, Thabo Mbeki.
The Secretary-General calls on the parties to respect and implement the agreements which are a crucial step in the process of national reconciliation. The full text is available in French upstairs.
**Afghanistan/World Bank
The World Bank has approved $166 million in credits for three projects in Afghanistan. The Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the credits yesterday. The money will go towards rebuilding communities and strengthening local governments, as well as providing water for farms and improving customs procedures. We have a press release on that.
**UNFPA/Arab Parliamentarians
The UN Population Fund has welcomed promises made by Arab parliamentarians to pass a range of laws that would ensure women’s rights, eliminate the gender gap in education and employment, and prevent violence against women.
The parliamentarians made the vows as part of a declaration at the Fourth Arab Parliamentarian Forum on Population Development that was held in Morocco this month. Taking note of many Arab countries’ high population growth rates, the legislators also called for governments to incorporate reproductive and sexual health in school curricula and to encourage peer education.
We have more details on that upstairs.
**Somalia
More than 1,500 families have been displaced in central Somalia due to continued fighting between clans. UN humanitarian agencies report that the majority of the displaced are women, young children and the elderly.
The humanitarian consequences of these clashes are serious. Fighting has led to the destruction of houses, water stores, and the looting and killing of livestock. Access to clean water and health facilities is limited, and poor autumn rains have caused additional hardship for people and have adversely affected the health of livestock.
For more information, we have a press release from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
**Philippines Update
We have an update on the Philippines landslides. The number of deaths caused by flooding, landslides, and a tornado in eight provinces in the central Philippines jumped to 143 from 90. The UN’s Office of Humanitarian Affairs reports that more than 100 people are still missing. Philippine authorities are providing shelter for almost 18,000 people. For more information, we have an update upstairs.
**Colombia –- Attacks on human rights groups
In Colombia, the UN refugee agency has expressed deep concern over continuing attacks against human rights organizations, particularly those run by women.
Two women activists working with Colombia’s internally displaced people have been killed in recent months, and many others have been threatened and attacked. The latest incident was a break-in last Friday at the office of a women’s organization in Bogota by a group of unidentified armed men who stole computer files and documents.
UNHCR has called upon Colombian authorities to investigate all of these incidents and to prosecute those responsible. It also urges authorities to ensure the protection of those who have been threatened, including their families.
We have more information on that upstairs.
**ICJ/MEXICO/US
The International Court of Justice is deliberating the case of Avena and Other Mexican Nationals, also known as Mexico v. United States of America. The case involves more than 50 Mexican nationals on death row in the United States.
Mexico claims the US has violated international law by denying the prisoners consular or diplomatic access. Public hearings concluded on December 19, and the Court’s Judgment will be delivered at a public sitting, the date of which will be announced in due course. And we have more information on that upstairs.
Mozambique/Health
And finally, Paul Hunt, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, has just completed a mission to Mozambique at the invitation of the Government. While commending the Mozambique Government for its policies for poverty reduction and health and its close cooperation with international partners, the Rapporteur notes that health indicators in Mozambique remain extremely weak.
The Rapporteur draws attention to the crucial importance of community participation and transparency in health matters, especially involving people affected by HIV/AIDS. While the Government has anti-discrimination legislation in place, he notes that many people in Mozambique living with HIV/AIDS are being rejected by their families and fired from their jobs.
For more information, we have a press release on that. Colum?
**Questions and Answers
Question: On the troika, the individuals, Pachachi -- I guess one would be Hakim. Who is the third one?
Spokesman: I don’t have the name of the president for the month of February. Of course the current President is Abdel Aziz El-Hakim. [Correspondents were later informed by the Office of the Spokesman that Massoud Barzani was expected to be president of the Iraqi Governing Council for the month of February.]
Question: And I’m assuming you haven’t had a response or reaction to the invitation from the United States, from the Coalition?
Spokesman: Apart from what I already told you, that two very senior officials of the US Government said that this was a good idea, and we’ve been following up with the US Mission to the UN, we just don’t have anything to announce yet.
Question: Is one of the officials President Bush?
Spokesman: Yes. Edie?
Question: US officials, even as late as yesterday, were still saying that they had not received an invitation. Now that there is a date, and I realize you have been following up, is there going to be some sort of a more formal invitation to the Coalition to send a representative? And also, could you tell us what the main aim of the Secretary-General is going to be?
Spokesman: I don’t think the Secretary-General feels that he needs to extend an invitation directly to the CPA, when he’s already done so to President Bush. The objective of the meeting is to review with both the CPA and the Iraqi Governing Council the role that they would like to see the United Nations play, basically in two phases -- the one between now and the establishment of an interim Government at the end of June, and then the one to be played once a provisional Government is in place. Mark?
Question: Apart from these two phases, do you have any sort of official comment about what the Secretary-General feels about how difficult it would be in the second phase if any participation by the United Nations in the first phase is delayed or doesn’t happen at all?
Spokesman: I don’t know that I would link those two. I think we anticipate that our role in the first phase is the one that we would like further clarity on, and of course we will have to explain how we would carry out whatever it is they specifically tell us they would like us to take responsibility for, in light of the current security situation prevailing. We feel that the second phase will probably be easier to define, and everyone’s hope is that the security situation would be better six months from now.
Question: Just to follow up with that. The Secretary-General said in the past, repeatedly, he’s expressed his belief that the security situation would be better when there will be a formal end to the occupation. Is that still the official position –- the belief that when there’s a handover, the security situation will be, in fact, better?
Spokesman: It is our recommendation for many months now, that identifying a specific date for the hand-over of power to the Iraqis would reduce tensions and be conducive to a general improvement in the security situation. So we hope that will happen. Bill?
Question: Is this going to be a one-day session?
Spokesman: I believe so. I have not heard from the Security Council whether it has rescheduled its monthly luncheon for that day. But even if they have not, it’s my understanding that Council Members have indicated they would like to speak with both groups of representatives. So that would probably be arranged, whether it’s over lunch or not, and I suspect it would all take place on the 19th.
Question: We have heard that the Coalition Provisional Authority or President Bush or Administration officials responded positively to the idea of holding this. If that’s the case, is it just a matter of this date being okay with them, or the agenda or what are they communicating is their remaining issue here?
Spokesman: It was just firmed up yesterday, so now we have to see if that will work for them, and then we have to be informed by them who would represent them on the 19th.
Question: So they have not been approached about the specific date yet?
Spokesman: They were informed yesterday, as soon as we heard from the Iraqi side that the 19th was the date that would work for them. We immediately told the US Mission here of that date. The bureaucracy, I assume, is working and as soon as they get…
Question: Will this date be firm and even if they say, well sorry this date doesn’t work for us, nonetheless the Secretary-General is determined to go ahead with a meeting with the Governing Council on that date?
Spokesman: I said yesterday that, if it has to be two meetings instead of one, he’ll be happy to do that. His preference would be for one and we are still hoping that we will have representatives of the CPA here on the 19th.
Question: Was there a feeling that there was a misunderstanding in the discussions that the Secretary-General was having with President Bush and Condi Rice? You sort of came out after those conversations with the sense that you could have a three-way, and then yesterday you were saying, well, we’d be happy with the two-way even though we’d like a three-way. Was there a sense of a communication gap?
Spokesman: We had already had indications that from the Iraqi side the date needed to be moved a few days, so there was uncertainty in our minds as to whether that would also work for the CPA. And we’re still waiting for an answer.
Question: The issue never seemed for the Americans that they were committed on either date, whether it would have been on the 15th or on the 19th, it seems to be an issue of substance for them.
Spokesman: Well, I told you that both people the Secretary-General spoke to, which we’ve now identified as President Bush and Condoleezza Rice, indicated they thought this was a good idea and we expected then that they would follow through to line it up. Whether Mr. Bremer, for example, would be available on the 15th, the 16th or the 19th, we don’t know. I’m sure once they determine who would be available now on the 19th, we’ll hear from them. Mark?
Question: Do you have a reaction from the Secretary-General about the budget and about not getting everything he asked for?
Spokesman: I don’t think you ever get 100 per cent in a negotiation, and I think, from the Secretariat’s point of view, we’re pleased with the responsiveness of the Member States to the Secretary-General’s reform initiatives -- the steps they took in this budget to enable those reforms to move forward. I think he’s probably quite pleased with the result.
Thank you very much.
Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President
Thank you Fred. Good afternoon.
The General Assembly concluded last night its work for the first part of the Fifty-eighth Session of the United Nations General Assembly. “Given the challenges we faced at the beginning and throughout the session, what we have been able to achieve together, and the ambitious agenda we have set ourselves for the remainder of the session”, President Julian Hunte said, “it is safe to say that this session has thus far been nothing short of extraordinary”.
The gavel came down 281 times as resolutions were adopted throughout, on a number of critical and varied issues including HIV/AIDS, Financing for Development, traffic in small arms, human rights, terrorism, cloning, humanitarian assistance, or the revitalization of the General Assembly itself.
In his closing statement, President Julian Hunte underlines some of the difficulties in reaching agreement on several of these issues. “We all know”, he said, “that it was not easy, and in fact at times, it was exceptionally difficult. But each of our steps forward spoke volumes about our determination to reach accommodation, even when the challenges seemed intractable”.
Last night, the General Assembly capped its substantive session with the adoption of the United Nations 2004-2005 budget of some $3.16 billion. You have just heard the details on the budget.
In an earlier meeting, yesterday afternoon, the General assembly adopted 37 draft resolutions and seven draft decisions recommended by its Second Committee (Economic and Financial).
The first substantive part of the session is over. What have we accomplished in light of the priorities set out by the President of the 58th Session?
One important priority was addressing the challenges to sustainable development.
On 22 September, the General Assembly convened a High-level plenary meeting on HIV/AIDS, to assess the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS, two years after Member States agreed to a time-bound set of targets to roll back the disease. One hundred and thirty-six speakers, among them 19 heads of State, participated in the one-day high-level plenary. The President of the Assembly then urged interventions that go hand in hand with policies that address poverty, socio-economic development, human welfare and social cohesion.
On the same development priorities, hechaired on 21 October 2003, a panel discussion on International Cooperation in Tax Matters as it was felt that taxation is one of the major instruments of domestic resource mobilization. On 27 October 2003, in the same perspective, President Julian Hunte also chaired anopen-ended panel on commodities. More than one quarter of the United Nations 191 Member States rely on commodity exports for more than 50 per cent of their export earnings.
On 29 October, theAssemblyopened a two-day high-level dialogue on Implementation of Financing for Development Commitments. The aim of the Dialogue was to re-energize the global community's focus on issues relating to trade, aid, debt, investment and the international financial architecture. The High-level Dialogue was to assess the implementation of the outcome of the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey.
President Hunte feels that the priorities on globalization and trade liberalization issues including commodities trading and corporate accountability were properly put in focus during these meetings.
I have talked extensively in previous briefings of the major priority of revitalization and what has been accomplished there.
In the field of peace and security, another one of the priorities established by the fifty-eighth session was to addressthe situation in the Middle East. This issue was brought three times to the General Assembly during the first part of the session in the form of requests to resume the 10th Emergency Session on Palestine, after a majority of Member States were dissatisfied over a United States veto in the Security Council -- on 19 September 2003,on 21 October 2003andearlier this month, when the Assembly, meeting in a resumption of its tenth emergency session on Palestine, adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to urgently render an opinion on the construction of the wall. On 19 December, the principal judicial body of the United Nations, the ICJ, decided to open hearings next February on the legal consequences of Israel's construction of a separation barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The work of the session is not over. In his closing remarks, President Hunte said “the forthcoming period will be a demanding one, filled with challenge and great opportunity. We have laid out a very demanding agenda for what remains of our session. On revitalization alone, our consensus resolution commits us to take up four key issues: scheduling of future General Assembly sessions, including the work of the Main Committees and subsidiary and related bodies; rationalization of the Assembly’s Agenda; clustering and elimination of items; and rationalization of the working methods of the Main Committees”.
President Hunte has asked me, as the year ends, to convey to all United Nations correspondents his wishes, to you and your families, for a successful and very happy New Year.
I would like personally to extend the same wishes to you and tell you how much I have enjoyed working with you during the last four months.
Thank you.