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 Stéphane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and
Michèle Montas, Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President.Good afternoon.
**Guest at Noon
At my right is Maxwell Gaylord, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, who will be joining us and taking your questions after I am done with my briefing. And before that Michèle Montas will also have some announcements regarding the General Assembly.
**SG in Thailand
Starting off with the Secretary-General, who, as you know, is in Bangkok, Thailand. Earlier today, he met in with the Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinwatra with whom he discussed the response to the global AIDS crisis and the outcome of the International AIDS Conference that is currently taking place. They also discussed Thailand’s support for Timor-Leste, the UN role in Iraq, Myanmar and the Thai-UN relationship.
The Prime Minister then presented the Secretary-General with a report on Thailand’s efforts to meet and to exceed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Secretary-General thanked him, saying that the report is “elegant testimony to Thailand’s remarkable success in reaching most, if not all, the MDG targets, well ahead of schedule”.
Following a luncheon hosted by the Prime Minister, the Secretary-General was asked by a journalist about the appointment of Mr. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, his new Special Representative for Iraq. He said the United Nations had considered three excellent candidates -- from India, Pakistan and Thailand -- and asserted, “It was a difficult choice, but I think we have selected the right man, who has experience with the region.” Asked about the issue of security in Iraq for UN staff, he added, “We don’t live in a risk-free environment, but the risk has to be managed.”
The Secretary-General and his wife Nane then had an audience with the King and Queen of Thailand, after which they had an informal dinner with the Prime Minister and his wife.
Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General had interviews with two TV stations, to discuss AIDS, and we have some of those transcripts available for you.
**UNAIDS Conference
One more note on the AIDS conference. The UN-supported Global Media AIDS Initiative today announced new HIV-focused public education efforts in Russia, India, China, Indonesia and the United States. The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, said, “The coming together of media organizations to harness their collective power to the fight against AIDS is one of the most important partnerships forged to date.” And we have a press release available upstairs.
**Security Council
Turning to the Security Council, the diary of violent acts in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to be painfully long, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council today in an open meeting.
Roed-Larsen reiterated that the proposed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza offers a unique opportunity to revive the peace process. But he noted that some Israelis and Palestinians still raise reservations about this initiative and its possible impact on the peace process.
Some Palestinians, he said, fear that the withdrawal is a smoke screen that would divert world attention away from the implementation of the Road Map, while some Israelis fear it might turn Gaza into an incubator for terrorism. But fears, though legitimate, should not become an excuse for inaction and passivity, Roed-Larsen said.
He warned that the Palestinian Authority, despite consistent promises by its leadership, has made no progress on its core obligation to take immediate action on the ground to end violence and combat terror. Roed-Larsen said that Israel’s lack of compliance on the sensitive issue of settlements is equally frustrating, adding that settlement expansion has to come to a complete stop.
The Council is now in closed consultations to continue its discussions on the Middle East, and Mr. Roed-Larsen will be available to journalists at the Security Council stake-out following the end of closed consultations.
**Sudan
Turning to the Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that conditions in western Darfur, are such that many of the aid workers are themselves falling sick. Logistical problems, as well as a shortage of resources and staff, have prevented the World Food Programme from pre-positioning any food for the rainy season as planned.
Yesterday, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) opened its ninth camp for Sudanese refugees fleeing Darfur into Chad. In all, more than 123,000 refugees are now in the nine camps in that country. Also, UNHCR's emergency airlift to bring assistance to Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad continues with a flight from Denmark today. The airlift will bring in nearly 180 metric tons of blankets, jerry cans, plastic sheeting, kitchen sets and prefabricated warehouses.
**Nigeria - Cameroon
I have an item on Nigeria and Cameroon. Cameroon and Nigeria will today begin the second stage of their implementation of the International Court of Justice’s decision concerning the border dispute between them.
The UN Office for West Africa said the two nations are set to transfer authority today over two contested areas, with one zone being turned over to Nigeria and Cameroon assuming control over another one. Observers of the Mixed Commission, set up by the United Nations in 2002, will be deployed in the area to reinforce the process.
Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, said “It is the right decision at the right time and for the right reasons.” And we have a press release available upstairs.
**Liberia
The latest round in the disarmament and demobilization of combatants in south-east Liberia is ongoing. Between last Friday and yesterday, more than 500 ex-fighters turned in their weapons to peacekeepers from the UN Mission in Liberia in the town of Zwedru, about 400 kilometres south-east of Monrovia.
Elsewhere in Liberia, the Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, Charles Gyude Bryant, and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Jacques Klein, yesterday launched the training programme for Liberia’s new police service. And we have more information available on that upstairs.
**Force Commanders
We have two new fore commanders I wanted to announce.
Major-General Rajender Singh of India will be the new Force Commander for the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), and Major General Derrick Mgwebi, who is the UN Force Commander in Burundi. And we have information available on both those appointments upstairs.
**Africa Wrap/CAR & Burundi
A couple of humanitarian notes: UN agencies are helping the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) launch a "2004-2015 Operational Plan" to reduce maternal and infant mortality.
The plan includes improvement of services in rural areas, and the promotion of breastfeeding, and global care for HIV/AIDS patients. In CAR, there is only one health centre per 6,000 inhabitants and one hospital bed for every 1,095 patients across the country.
Separately, last weekend, almost no population movement was registered at the border between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And we have more information on those items available upstairs.
**UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warmly welcomes the Italian government's decision to allow 37 refugees from the “Cap Anamur” boat to disembark in Italy. UNHCR said it is grateful to the Italians for putting humanitarian considerations to the forefront, rather than continuing with the impasse that had developed over the past 10 days.
It isn’t yet clear where the rescued people are from. Reports suggest that some or all of them are from the Sudan, but reports from Italy say that some of them may be from Ghana and Nigeria.
**FAO/Date Production
The Food and Agriculture Organization is warning that global date palm production is facing serious problems. And we have a press on that upstairs.
**Press Conference Tomorrow
Press conferences tomorrow: at 11 o’clock the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Mr. Amoako, will be here to launch the Commission’s report entitled “Assessing Regional Integration in Africa.”
**Guest at Noon Tomorrow
And tomorrow our guest will be Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency’s Relief Coordinator, to discuss the launch of the “Living with Risk”, a report of the international disaster reduction secretariat.
That’s it from me. Any questions? Michèle.
**Spokeswoman for General Assembly President
Merci, Stéphane. Good afternoon all.
The General Assembly will resume this coming Friday, July 16th its tenth emergency special session on the question of Palestine and the occupied territory.
On request from a majority of MemberStates, the Arab group, and the Non-Aligned Movement, the Assembly is resuming the session to examine the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel's construction of a separation barrier in the West Bank.
That opinion from the Court had been requested by the General Assembly at the last meeting of the tenth emergency session on December 8, 2003.
On July 9th, as you know, this last week, the International Court issued an advisory opinion that Israel's building of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal, that the construction must stop immediately and that Israel should make reparations for any damage caused. The world Court's opinion said the Assembly and the Security Council should consider what steps to take "to bring to an end the illegal situation" created by the wall.
The ICJ -- the UN’s principal judicial organ -- said construction "would be tantamount to de facto annexation" as it explained that the wall could create a potentially permanent "fait accompli" on the ground.
Next Friday’s meeting of the General Assembly will be the fourth time during this fifty-eighth session that the long-running emergency session will resume. In late October, following the Security Council’s failure to act, the Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a measure demanding that Israel stop and reverse the construction of the wall being built in the West Bank. The vote was 144 in favour, four against.
The tenth emergency special session dates back to 1997, when Israel began construction of a new settlement south of East Jerusalem. The Security Council met twice on that issue, but failed to adopt resolutions. Using the “Uniting for Peace” formula, a special emergency session of the Assembly was convened in April and again in July and November of 1997. It also resumed in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. The session will then resume on Friday.
The Hague-based ICJ, established in 1946, as you know, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations with the dual role of settling legal disputes between Member States and issuing advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by international organs and agencies. In this case, it was the General Assembly.
Thanks. I have nothing else to add.
**Questions and Answers
Question: I just wonder (Inaudible) to the Security Council and the General Assembly (inaudible)...do you have any comments about (inaudible) the Palestinian question?
Associate Spokesman: I think in terms of the resolution, it’s really up to the Arab group, which I understand is sponsoring the General Assembly resolution, to see if they want to take it to the Security Council. Now, the issue, I think you mentioned peacekeeping, the issue of having any sort of international observer present in Gaza or in the Palestinian territory, is something that has come up a number of times. But the key to that would obviously be to have the accord of both parties for them to be deployed.
Question: When will be the next talks?
Associate Spokesman: When will the next Quartet meeting take place?
Question: Yes.
Associate Spokesman: At the principals’ level, which is the level of the Secretary-General, Secretary Powell and his Russian and European counterparts, probably in September, late September, here in New York.
Question: Since the decision of the International Court is not binding, Israel did not accept the decision of the Court. What effect will the General Assembly decision have on this situation?
Associate Spokesman: I think one would have to wait to see what decision they take before we can see what effect it will have.
Spokeswoman for General Assembly President: Well, the whole idea of the “uniting for peace formula” was for the General Assembly to be able to address security issues like the one concerning the wall. The uniting-for-peace formula emerged after repeated vetoes in the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and that’s when that formula was evoked to go into the General Assembly. Of course the General Assembly can only adopt a resolution that is not binding on security issues. It can also refer that resolution to the Security Council. Then, the Security Council will have, once more, an opportunity to vote on it. But, I think there is also, beyond decisions taken, a clear expression of general opinion, the General Assembly being the only body where all the Member States are represented. So, there is, if you want to put it this way, more pressure from a group representing all Member States than any other bodies of the United Nations system.
Question: Steph, is this not what we’re saying, weakening the position of the General Assembly? Making decision over decision, resolution over resolution, and they’re not able to implement those decisions. And is this not weakening the position of the General Assembly?
Spokeswoman for General Assembly President: Well, as you know, the resolutions, the decisions, decisions like sanctions on a MemberState or decisions of that sort regarding security, peace and security, are Security Council issues. The only exception being that uniting-for-peace formula, which is just, as I said, a way to push the Security Council to act differently and express the opinions that were not expressed during the Security Council votes. But, you’re right in a way; it is true that the General Assembly has voted several times on this same issue and it has not brought a solution to the problem.
Thank you.
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