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.

**Haiti update

First up today, developments in Haiti.  An advance person left for Haiti today to prepare for the arrival of the first wave of the multi-disciplinary assessment team which will leave tomorrow.

Some 16 political, military, police and logistics experts, as well as one information person, will go in to begin planning the UN follow-on mission called for by the Security Council. 

A second wave, made up primarily of representatives of UN agencies, funds, and programmes, could go in over the weekend, depending on the local security situation.

On the humanitarian front, the UN launched today a Flash Appeal for $35 million to meet Haiti’s emergency needs.

And we have more in a release upstairs, and you’ll also be able to hear directly from Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief coordinator, who is my guest at today’s briefing and who will be coming up here shortly.

**SG in Canada

The Secretary-General just wrapped up a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and members of his Cabinet, and he and Martin then expect to make a joint press appearance, after which they will have a working lunch together.  Their discussions this morning focused mainly on Haiti and they expect to touch on many other items during their luncheon discussions.

The Secretary-General also had a brief one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister this morning, after which he addressed the Canadian Parliament, saying that Canada has been a pillar of support for the United Nations over the years.  He noted Canada’s leadership in promoting new ideas on strengthening peaceful global governance, including its focus on the rights and dignity of the individual.

He noted, in that context, the approaching 10-year anniversary of the genocide and Rwanda, and said that, in order to avoid similar atrocities in the future, he has proposed the establishment of a Special Rapporteur or Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

He also made a special plea for long-term commitment to help the people of Haiti.  He warned that the “half-hearted efforts of the past have been insufficient” and added, “We cannot afford to fail this time”.  We have copies of his speech upstairs.

The Secretary-General arrived in Ottawa yesterday, and said in his welcoming remarks that Canada was a truly diverse and multilingual society, which forms a kind of United Nations all its own.

The Secretary-General began his day this morning by laying a wreath at Canada’s memorial to fallen UN peacekeepers.

**Cyprus

The UN Mission in Cyprus announced yesterday evening that, to facilitate preparations for the conduct of referenda on each side, Special Adviser on Cyprus Alvaro de Soto yesterday informed the two leaders that the date for a referendum has been set as 20 April.  So, that’s simultaneous referenda to be held on 20 April.

**Sudan

We reported last week that the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Africa Mohamed Sahnoun traveled to Kenya to follow up on the Sudanese peace negotiations.

Since his arrival in the region on 29 February, he has visited Kenya and Ethiopia.  While in Kenya, he had constructive exchanges with the leaders of the two parties at the talks, First Vice-President of Sudan, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, and Chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), John Garang.  Both leaders welcomed a future UN role in the Sudan. 

In Addis Ababa, Mr. Sahnoun held in-depth discussions with the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Alpha Oumar Konaré.  The discussion focused on steps that would enhance the ongoing peace process and on matters of cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in support of the implementation of a comprehensive peace agreement. 

Mr. Sahnoun is scheduled to remain in the region until 18 March for further visits and meetings.

**Sudan -- Darfur

Meanwhile, UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie announced she was donating $50,000 for water projects and urged individuals and corporations to donate funds to the UN refugee agency's effort to help an estimated 110,000 refugees who have fled Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region for neighbouring Chad.

Angelina Jolie is the first individual to make a major private donation to UNHCR's Chad emergency, the agency says.

**Security Council

The Security Council has neither meetings nor consultations scheduled for today.

**Iraq

On Iraq, a joint UN assessment team, led by the UN Refugee Agency’s chief of mission for Iraq, visited the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Sunday, at the request of the Secretary-General’s Acting Special Representative, RossMountain.  We have additional details in today’s briefing notes from UNHCR.

**Nepal

Three independent experts for the UN Commission on Human Rights today reiterated their profound concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Nepal.

The rapporteurs dealing with torture, freedom of expression and opinion and arbitrary detention noted that 47 urgent appeals, relating to approximately 100 people, have been sent out since last November, most of them concerning detentions in unknown locations.  The experts were also seriously concerned about reports of increasing indiscriminate attacks against civilians by both the Government and the Communist Party of Nepal.  We have a press release with more details upstairs.

**UNESCO/Cultural heritage

And finally, efforts to protect the world’s cultural heritage in times of war have been reinforced with the entry into force today of the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Event of Armed Conflict.

The Protocol reaffirms the “immunity” of cultural property in times of war or occupation, and establishes the “individual criminal responsibility” of perpetrators of crimes against culture.  It also insists on the need to take preparatory measures in peacetime to protect such property in times of war.  The Protocol entered into force after Costa Rica became the 20th country to ratify or accede to it.  And we have more in a press release upstairs.

Any questions?  Yes, Vadim?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Would you have any response to the appointment of Sergei Lavrov as Russian Foreign Minister, Fred?

Spokesman:  Yes, I do.  We spoke to the Secretary-General this morning about this news, which broke just this morning.  As you know, he has known Ambassador Lavrov for years and has great professional respect for his competence as a diplomat.  Throughout the years they have known each other, the Secretary-General has also learnt to appreciate both his wisdom and his wit and considers him a friend.  The Secretary-General looks forward to working with him in his new post as Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.  Yes?

Question:  On Haiti, I am sorry I may have missed the first sentence.  You said one person left today and the rest of the team is leaving tomorrow.  Who left today and what will be the composition of the team?

Spokesman:  Well, first the roughly 16 people that I said are expected to leave tomorrow are the first wave of what we think will be three waves.  So, today was just a person to assess security and prepare for this team of 16 that is leaving tomorrow.  The second wave, which we expect will be made up of representatives of UN agencies, funds and programmes, will probably go in over the weekend.  But we’re watching the security situation day by day.  And then the third wave most likely early next week.  And the Special Envoy, Monsieur Dumas, will most likely go in early next week and join this team.  But as I explained yesterday, Mr. Dumas’ role is primarily political.  This team is made up of really all the facets of all the UN’s possible work in a follow on mission to Haiti that they are in the process of planning.

Question:  I know making comparisons are always dangerous, but you’re still going to put people on the ground regularly in Iraq.  How do you see the security situation in Haiti, by comparison?

Spokesman:  The security situation has been assessed to be safe enough for this first wave to go in; and as I said we will be assessing it on a regular basis as we prepare to send in successive waves.  Philippe?

Question:  There is a story today in Le Monde about Rwanda.  The story is alleging that the UN has been obstructing the inquiry into the downing of the plane of the President of Rwanda in ’94.  So, I wanted to know if you have any comment on that story, if you are aware of it?  And also, they say in the story that the cockpit voice recorder of the plane was found and was sent to the UN in New York here.  Do you know if that’s true or not?

Spokesman:  I’ve got it right under the table here!  No, we’ve not obstructed this inquiry.  It’s ridiculous to say we’ve got the black box of the plane hidden in Headquarters or anywhere else here.  So, that’s my initial response.  I’ll get an official response for you after this briefing, but I would give no credence to this report.  Yes, Jim?

Question:  Back on Haiti.  You were just referring to three waves, are all three waves security assessment teams?

Spokesman:  What we’re looking at is a complex peacekeeping mission that potentially could include everything from military to police, to political officers, to human rights officers, to election officers, etc, as well as the big humanitarian job being done there.  So, I think you got a sense from my description of the first wave going in:  it’s military, police, logistics and one information person; second wave will be agencies, funds and programmes; and I don’t have the composition of the third.  But the idea is that we’re looking at the possibility of a long-term, multi-faceted peacekeeping operation in Haiti.

Question:  Then Dumas goes in with the third wave?

Spokesman:  Not necessarily with the third wave.  I mean, he indicated to us he would be likely to return on Monday or certainly early next week.  So, he wants to overlap with this mission, but his role is separate from it.  Yes?

Question:  What kind of deadlines are they working under?  I presume it’s been pretty tight time?

Spokesman:  The Security Council gave us maximum 90 days from the time they adopted the resolution, a week back from last Sunday.

Question:  They haven’t been given any interim timeline, deadlines?

Spokesman:  No.  Jan, come up and take the podium.

Jan Egeland:  Thank you very much, Fred.

* *** *