DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good Afternoon.
**Security Council
The Security Council is holding consultations on Sierra Leone today.
Hedi Annabi, The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, briefed members on the latest report on Sierra Leone. Also in attendance is the new Special Representative Daudi Mwakawago.
Meanwhile on the ground, the UN mission in Freetown today reports that UN peacekeepers and Sierra Leone Armed Forces are conducting a joint tactical exercise code named “Exercise Hammer Strike”. The exercise is part of various training programs aimed at building the capacity of the Sierra Leone security sector, as the UN mission proceeds to wind down its work.
**Côte d’Ivoire
Out as a Security Council document today is a report on Côte d’Ivoire on the findings of a UN assessment mission dispatched by the Secretary-General to look into the possible reinforcement of the UN presence in that country.
The Secretary-General said he would recommend the Security Council consider authorizing the deployment of a multi-dimensional UN peacekeeping operation to support the peace process should the Ivorian parties make sufficient progress in carrying out important steps outlined in the report by 4 February.
The operation would comprise a military component with a troop strength of 6,240, including 200 military observers and 120 staff officers, and a civilian component including police, he says. The Security Council and troop contributors are scheduled to discuss the report next week.
**Liberia
A ship in distress carrying Liberian refugees returning to the country from Ghana was rescued yesterday by the UN Mission in Liberia’s Dutch naval ship, which was in the Monrovia area.
The UN mission received information from the UN refugee agency that a Nigerian-registered ship had been stranded three miles south-west of Harper, near the Côte d’Ivoire border, for four days due to engine failure. On board were 265 returning refugees, among them approximately 60 children and some pregnant women, who had no remaining supplies of food or water.
The ship is expected to arrive in Monrovia tomorrow morning, where the refugees will be handed over to the care of UNHCR.
**Sudanese refugees in Chad
Newly arrived Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad report that marauding militia groups are continuing to burn, loot and empty entire villages in the Darfur region of western Sudan in a conflict that has sent an estimated 95,000 people fleeing across the border since early last year.
The UN refugee agency also reports that hundreds of thousands of others are believed to be displaced inside Darfur. Meanwhile, vulnerable refugees have been receiving emergency aid as the search continues for safer inland sites in Chad.
UNHCR and UNICEF began the distribution of UNICEF-provided blankets to pregnant women, children and old people. Thousands of Djoran refugees are also receiving food from WFP.
**Bam
The World Food Programme announced today the launch of a three-month emergency operation to feed 100,000 victims of the Bam earthquake.
The $2.9 million operation is being financed through the flash appeal that was announced yesterday.
In addition to food, the UN food agency will operate an aircraft for one week to facilitate the transport of relief workers to Bam and Kerman from within the country.
On a related note, Carol Bellamy, the head of the UN Children’s Fund, will arrive in Iran this Saturday to assess the ongoing relief effort for children affected by the crisis. She will hold meetings in both Bam and Tehran. Press releases with more information are available upstairs.
**Small arms
The Secretary-General notes with pleasure the progress in implementing several of his recommendations on how the Security Council can address the problem of small arms, but adds in a report today that some further action still needs to be taken.
He says that the follow-up to his recommendation to pursue arms embargoes has been mixed, with the restriction on the supply of ammunition to unstable areas requiring more attention and vigorous action.
He also cites the need to finance disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs through the assessed budget for peacekeeping as a remaining issue of concern. The full report is out on the racks.
**UNEP/Science
Some of the world’s leading experts will gather at the UN Environment Programme’s headquarters in Nairobi next week to discuss the most pressing scientific issues facing the planet. These include the health effects of chemical hazards, the impact of urbanization and mega-cities, and improved understanding of the planet's biodiversity.
The overall aim of the week-long set of meetings is to pin-point “knowledge gaps” in a bid to better forecast the impact of humankind's actions on the environment of the 21st century. And we have more details on that upstairs.
**UNEP/Solar power
While on the UN Environment Programme; it today welcomed BP SOLAR USA’s decision to donate over $1 million worth of solar modules, which will go towards poor families in India. The Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy will dispatch the modules to rural and semi-rural areas of India where over 60 per cent of the population doesn’t have electricity.
Two years ago, the G8 Renewable Energy Task Force report concluded that alternative forms of electricity generation could be delivered to over a billion people by 2010. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s Executive Director, says this initiative is the kind of action needed to bring that target to fruition. Again, we have more on this upstairs.
**SG Lecture Series
The sixth lecture in the Secretary-General's lecture series will take place on Monday of next week. The guest speaker is Nobel Prize winner Professor Eric Wieschaus, of Princeton University, and he’ll give a lecture on the topic: “Designer Genes: The Ethics of Modern Genetics.”
Professor Wieschaus was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1995.
The lecture will take the form of a brief presentation followed by questions. The lecture series is part of a continuing effort within the UN to create a strengthened framework for dialogue and mutual understanding for the international community. It will be held at the ECOSOC Chamber from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
**Flag Down
You will note that the UN flag is at half mast today and that is because of the death of Pierre Charles, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Planning of the Commonwealth of Dominica, who died on Tuesday.
**Press Conference on Monday
A press conference on Monday: At 1 p.m. the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, will brief on the humanitarian appeal for Iran to respond to the Bam earthquake there. Also the Deputy Permanent Representatives of Iran and Belgium to the UN will be present at that press conference.
**World Chronicle television programme
The Information Department asked me to announce the screening of World Chronicle programme 923, featuring a special edition on the legacy of Ralph Bunche. It will feature Sir Brian Urquhart, Professor Thomas Weise and James Jonah. And you can see that today at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television channel
3 or 31.
**The Week Ahead at the United Nations
And we have the “Week Ahead” for you to help you in your coverage of the UN next week.
Yes?
Questions and Answers
Question: Fred, on the subject of Iraq. As you know, various members of the Iraqi Governing Council are keen to see the UN go back to Iraq as soon as possible. How does the SG feel about Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim’s statement that he wants the UN help organize elections under the present circumstances? And a question on Western Sahara. What’s in the offing in the question of Western Sahara this month?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General wants to listen to whatever ideas Ambassadors Negroponte and Jones Parry will bring to him this afternoon; and they’re meeting at 3:30. I don’t think we want to comment on how things should be done in Iraq. He’s more in a listening mode today. He did however, in his comments to the Security Council on 16 December and in his press conference to you here on 18 December, express the view that there was clearly not enough time to organize fair and credible elections in Iraq given the situation on the ground. So, as I say, today we’re in listening mode. David?
Question: And on Western Sahara?
Spokesman: Nothing on Western Sahara. You noted there was a meeting yesterday with, I think, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Representative of Morocco. So the Secretary-General is watching what’s developing there; trying to encourage the process forward. But we had nothing to say concerning the content of that meeting. David, yes.
Question: Just a follow up to the initial question. Can you confirm that the Secretary-General, as it’s been reported in various press accounts, put that sentiment in a letter addressed back to the Governing Council…
Spokesman: I won’t…
Question: And beyond that, what can we say, as of today is the SG’s view on when and in what capacity the UN should return to Iraq notwithstanding the security situation?
Spokesman: I won’t comment on the content of his confidential correspondence. Yes, he did reply last evening to the letter he received on the 28th of December from the then president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Mr.Al-Hakim. But if you read the newspapers you probably have an idea of what that letter said. Again, about what the UN’s position is, apart from what the Secretary-General has already said, I don’t want to repeat those things today. Today he wants to listen to whatever ideas the Americans and the British bring to him and we’ll take it from there. Yes, Bill?
Question: What kind of response has he received so far from the coalition in terms of their representation at the 19 January meeting?
Spokesman: We’ll see whether they say anything this afternoon in their meeting with him. But, apart from that, we have not yet received anything concrete from the coalition. David again?
Question: Understanding what you said about listening mode and you referred earlier back to the press conference and the briefing to the Council, has the Secretary-General’s thoughts on a UN role in Iraq changed or evolved since we last heard from him in December?
Spokesman: The situation on the ground remains insecure. So, the scope for a UN role is very much limited by the security factor. That’s a fact of life. I don’t think, otherwise, his thoughts have evolved. But I think everyone wants to see a successful transition to sovereignty in Iraq and everyone has their thinking caps on as to the best way to do that. So, I think we’re maintaining an open mind while we listen to whatever the Brits and the Americans put forward to us; and we’re also listening to what the Iraqis are saying. Yes?
Question: On Côte d'Ivoire, is there any sense of the US reaction to the Secretary-General’s recommendations to consider a peacekeeping force there?
Spokesman: That reaction, when it comes, would come within the Security Council. So, I don’t want to comment on that? Bill, again?
Question: What was the Secretary-General’s feeling about the request made to him in the letter of 28 December advising the governing council on how to reach an agreement with the coalition on the status of American forces and who will provide security and have responsibility for security after 30 June?
Spokesman: Again, we’re not going to talk about the content of confidential correspondence. But the kinds of issues you mention are the kinds of things that can be discussed in the meeting here on the 19th and in fact, indeed, this afternoon. Yes?
Question: To what extent would the Secretary-General be amenable to suggestions from the coalition to provide security for UN forces on the ground, if they go back to Iraq?
Spokesman: Let’s wait and see what ideas get put forward. Clearly, we will have to look very carefully at what security measures can be taken to protect our people should the Secretary-General decide to send UN international personnel back to Iraq. Yes?
Question: Just to follow up. Is the UN under any pressure whatsoever from the coalition to actually accept protection if UN personnel go back to Iraq?
Spokesman: Any decision regarding the security of our staff would be made by our Security Coordinator and eventually by the Special Representative, once there is one. So, I don’t think it’s a matter of pressure from any quarter. Yes?
Question: Is there any clarity on who from Iraq is going to come to the 19 January meeting?
Spokesman: We’ve been told it would be the current chairman, Mr. Pachachi. Originally they informed us it would be the troika: the previous, the present and the future, the one next month. And I don’t know whether there could be others. But as far as I know, we’ve been told it’s the troika; the three -– the chairs from the current month, the last month, and next month. Yes, David?
Question: I am wondering what’s behind the decision of the Secretary-General to kind of thrust himself, through a proxy, through this person, this Nobel laureate who is delivering a speech on Monday, into the cloning debate at the UN?
Spokesman: The…
Question: In other words, what is the Secretary-General’s position on the cloning debate within the UN right now?
Spokesman: The idea of this is to present these ideas for discussion. I mean, we said that the presentation will be brief; it will then go to questions and answers. I think the idea is to stimulate debate; not to put forward a position that the Secretary-General has. And I think the selection of this speaker, if you know the actors in this debate, is kind of in the middle.
Thank you very much.
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