DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

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,

**Guest at Noon

Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Côte d’Ivoire, will be joining us today to give you an update on the humanitarian situation in that country.

**Human Rights

The Secretary-General today informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Justice Louise Arbour, of Canada, as the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Yesterday, the Secretary-General had consulted with the chairmen of the five regional groups of Member States about his intention to appoint Arbour.  The General Assembly is expected to consider the nomination in the near future.  If the Assembly approves that nomination, Justice Arbour would be expected to retire from the Supreme Court of Canada in late June to take up her new assignment.

Judge Arbour has served on the Supreme Court of Canada since 1999.  Before that, she had served as Chief Prosecutor for the two International Criminal Tribunals, for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, for three years.  We have copies of her bio data upstairs.

**Haiti

The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, briefed the General Assembly this morning on the situation in Haiti. 

In his briefing, he noted that the political situation in Haiti since the flawed elections of May 2000 had been volatile and unsettled.  He went on to describe the social deterioration and growing violence of recent weeks and the efforts under way by the UN system to address grave humanitarian needs.

Mr. Prendergast noted that the Secretary-General had repeatedly underlined the UN’s full support to the mediation role in Haiti of the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community.  The UN would now be assessing its own role to see how it could be more helpful in facilitating mediation efforts.  To this end, the Secretary-General intends to announce a Special Adviser for Haiti to have high-level contacts with the OAS and CARICOM and to advise him on possible future UN roles in Haiti.

Mr. Prendergast also noted that the Secretary-General had asked him to brief the Security Council on the situation in Haiti next week.  We have the transcript of Mr. Prendergast’s comments to the Assembly available in my office.

**Cyprus

The on-going talks in Cyprus are settling into a routine in Nicosia.

As scheduled, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, and the Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, met in the presence of the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Alvaro de Soto.  One of the technical committees also met separately.

The next session for the two leaders is set for Tuesday morning, as Monday is a local holiday.  We will keep you updated periodically on these talks.

**Security Council

The United Nations has concluded that the continued presence of a UN peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste, for an additional, one-year “consolidation phase”, is essential to reinforce and strengthen what has been achieved to-date, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told the Security Council today.

Addressing the Council’s open meeting on Timor-Leste, Guéhenno said, “We believe that this additional year of support would make a meaningful difference in enabling the country to reach the threshold of self-sufficiency”.

The UN Mission, he noted, would include a small military presence, of some 330 personnel.  Meanwhile, Timorese now comprise some 11,000 civil servants in the Government, and significant headway has been made in strengthening state institutions.

We have copies of Guéhenno’s remarks upstairs and the Council debate is continuing.  There are 30 speakers, including all 15 members of the Council.

**DSG speech

The Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette addressed the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy yesterday on the theme of “Rethinking Interdisciplinary Action in Conflict”.

She noted that the most important lesson of all is that no matter how well meaning the international community may be, and no matter how abundant the resources it is prepared to offer, it cannot and should not impose its own ideals and visions onto societies emerging from conflict.  Simply put, people want to control their own destinies.

The best service the international community can offer, she said, is to be attentive to the specific circumstances of the societies it seeks to help, be respectful of its aspirations and be ready to support national efforts with advice, expertise and resources.  Such an approach, she said, can make the difference between sustainable peace and a relapse into instability and conflict.

The final lesson, she concluded, is that international engagement must be sustained over a long period of time.  The full text of her speech is available upstairs.

**UNRWA

Peter Hansen, the head of the UN Palestine Refugee agency, known as UNRWA, announced today that the agency and the Swiss Government will be organizing a conference to discuss the future of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees.

The meeting, which will be held in Geneva in early June, will be an opportunity for the donor community to discuss and plan humanitarian and human development strategies for the refugees.

Participants will look at future initiatives around for themes:  refugee children, housing, infrastructure in Palestinian refugee camps, regional economic development and the management and mobilization of resources on behalf of refugees.  For more information, please pick up the press release that I have in my office.

**Central African Republic

Ramiro Lopes da Silva will be traveling to the Central African Republic (CAR) next week on behalf of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

During this mission, Lopes da Silva will strive to raise awareness and understanding of the growing complexity of the humanitarian situation in the country and its implications for the Central Africa subregion.

He will also assess the nature and scale of the humanitarian crisis, review coordination and preparedness structures, and recommend immediate measures necessary to expand humanitarian assistance.

The most recent humanitarian appeal for the CAR was for $17 million to respond to urgent humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable groups.  So far only $700,000 has been received.

Late last month, the UN’s chief humanitarian officer, Jan Egeland, named Lopes da Silva a Special Humanitarian Adviser for the Central African Republic.  His terms of reference are available in my office.

**Refugee News

Tomorrow the UN Refugee Agency and others will open a new transfer route for the relocation of thousands of Sudanese refugees along the Chad-Sudan border to the third and newest camp further inside Chad.

Nearly 4,300 refugees have been moved from the border to the first two camps since the operation began on January 17.  The agency reports that water remains a major challenge in the camps so additional water bladders are being brought in and wells are being drilled.  Meanwhile, an emergency airlift bringing some 256 tonnes of relief supplies for refugees in this remote region is continuing.

For more information, please pick up the UNHCR briefing notes, which also contain updates on the situation in Burundi, Ingushetia and Western Sahara.

Also on the topic of the Sudan, Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of UNICEF, that’s the UN Children’s Fund, said today that attacks on civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan are threatening the lives of the hundreds of thousands of children who have fled their homes.

Bellamy called on the Government of Sudan to “enforce the rule of law, and take aggressive steps to protect civilians”.  She also called on the warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire, and ensure safe access for humanitarian agencies and supplies, for all those displaced by the fighting.

An estimated 100,000 displaced have already reached Kutum in North Darfur, with more arriving each day.  We have more on this in a press release in my office.

**Africa Polio

Just one month after an emergency meeting of health ministers committed to end polio transmission in 2004, African countries are responding with a massive, synchronized polio immunization campaign, aiming to vaccinate 63 million children over the next few days.

From 23 February onwards, 10 countries will begin polio immunization campaigns in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Togo and the Central African Republic.  The immunization follows the recent spread of polio across west and central Africa, where it’s paralyzed children in seven previously polio-free countries, and put millions more at risk.  It’s hoped that if the upcoming campaigns reach every child, then polio in Africa could be stopped in its tracks in 2004.  We have a press release available upstairs.

**ECE/Annual Report

And just briefly, the annual report of the UN Economic Commission for Europe is due out next week.  The report, “The Economic Survey of Europe”, examines the sustainability of the economic recovery in Europe.  The report itself is under embargo until just after midnight GMT, next Tuesday morning, but we have press releases with embargoed material available from my office.

**World Chronicle Television Programme

The Information Department asked me to tell you that World Chronicle programme no. 925 featuring Peter Piot, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, will be aired today at 3:30 in the afternoon on in-house television channels 3 or 31.

**Week Ahead at United Nations

And of course, as every other Friday, we put out the Week in Review for you.  Yes?

Questions and Answers

Question:  A couple of questions on Madame Arbour, if I may, Fred.  Number one, could you take us through the process now?  The Secretary-General said that he intends to nominate her.  So, what are the next steps before she actually, you know, gets to sit in her new post?

Spokesman:  Well, let me take you through all the steps.  He starts by informing the Commission on Human Rights.  The next step is for him to meet the chairman of the five regional groups of the General Assembly.  He then sends a letter announcing his intention to appoint Justice Arbour to the General Assembly.  The Assembly then schedules a meeting to consider that item and votes on it.  So, the next step will be a vote in the General Assembly.

Question:  Fred, do you have any indication as to when that may be and, I guess along with that, do we expect Justice Arbour to take up her new post in time for the spring session in Geneva?

Spokesman:  No.  Her commitments in Canada will keep her there until the end of June.  And so, for the next meeting of the Human Rights Commission, Bertrand Ramcharan, the Acting High Commissioner, will chair and then we would expect her to arrive here, or arrive in Geneva in late June.  Louis, again?

Question:  A quick other question if I may.  I know that Madame Arbour will be travelling to the Far East very shortly.  I know that Kofi Annan is in Japan, in the same neighbourhood, if you will.  Do they plan to meet there at all between now and the time that Mr. Annan plans to return to New York next week?

Spokesman:  I know nothing about her travel plans and to my knowledge there is nothing on his programme now showing a meeting with her.  I don’t exclude it, I just don’t know anything about it.  David?

Question:  Fred, on the possible appointment of a special adviser, do we have a name attached to that?  Do we know if this person will be expected to be in –country or will his or her work here, or will she work from the region or from New York?  And on a possible future UN role, are we talking harking back to the old days of UN peacekeeping forces in Haiti?  What is the possible future UN role? 

Spokesman:  We’ll make an announcement shortly, when the Secretary-General is prepared to put forward a name.  I don’t have that name to give you today.  I think you can assume that as a special envoy the person would travel to the region as necessary.  The possible UN role, it’s just speculation now.  The initial idea is to increase humanitarian assistance, support the political efforts of OAS and CARICOM and should there be a calming of the situation, a political solution found between the Government and the opposition.  And should they ask for UN assistance in some form, I think we would be in a better position to recommend a role for the UN as a result of having the special envoy in touch with all the parties and with the situation on the ground.  Louis?

Question:  Regarding the meeting tomorrow in Port-au-Prince, I know there are several high-level officials who will be meeting there.  Does the UN plan on having any presence at that meeting?

Spokesman:  I can’t answer that question.  I don’t know that the UN Secretariat intends to have anyone there.  The President of the General Assembly has been very active on Haiti.  But, he also has been acting in his personal capacity.  So, I think I’d refer you to the President to see if he has any intention of going or of being represented.  Yes, Steve?

Question:  Is there anything placed on the agenda for Arbour when she gets there in June?

Spokesman:  I think you should ask her that and may be we’ll get her to, if she is coming to New York before she takes up her responsibilities in Geneva, we will ask her to come here to talk to you.  Yes?

Question:  Could I just ask you on Iraq, following the Brahimi report when it’s released, could you help me understand what the timing will be of further UN recommendations on that issue?  Do you know how long it will be until we hear more on that?

Spokesman:  I can’t give you anything specific.  We think that the initial report would go out on Monday –- that’s our current plan -– to the Governing Council, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Security Council.  I think Mr. Brahimi’s intention is to then ask the Iraqis to consider, if elections aren’t possible by the 30^th of June, then what do we set up?  How do we set up an interim government until elections will be possible?  And he has indicated a willingness to help them when they need help.  So, I think the ball is back in the court of the Iraqis and the CPA to think about next steps, with the UN poised to help as required and as requested.

Okay. Well, then I will ask Mr. Dieye to come up here and take the podium.

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