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 Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Cyprus Talks

Just before midnight last night in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, the Secretary-General met with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot delegations, as well as with the Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey and representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union.  Those six delegations were presented with copies of the final version of his plan for Cyprus, which ran some 9,000 pages, including annexes.

The Secretary-General said that the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will decide whether or not to accept the plan, in separate referenda to be held on 24 April.  He told the leaders of the two communities that they have the responsibility to inform their people about the plan, which he said provides Cyprus with “a secure framework for a common future”.

He warned, “The choice is not between this settlement plan and some other magical, mythical solution.  In reality, the choice is between this settlement plan and no settlement”.  The Secretary-General urged the parties not to miss this opportunity.

His Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, spoke to the press last night, telling them, “The deed is done”.

He said he believed that the plan has been considerably improved in recent days, and that it will allow the separate constituent States to run their own affairs in safety and in dignity.

De Soto said he would travel back to New York today, to brief the Security Council on the recent developments in Cyprus.  We have copies of the Secretary-General’s remarks last night and the transcript of de Soto’s press briefing upstairs.  The plan is posted on the UNFICYP Web site which you can get upstairs from our office.

**SG in Vienna

The Secretary-General is in Vienna today, where he will attend the semi-annual meeting of the UN Chief Executives Board, which gathers together the heads of all the UN agencies, funds and programs, tomorrow.

Today, he met with Heinz Fischer, the former President of the Austrian National Council, with whom he discussed Cyprus, Iraq, Kosovo, North Korea, the Middle East and UN reform.

The Secretary-General then met with Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and discussed Cyprus, Iraq and the Middle East.  They also reviewed Austrian-UN relations.

Later today, the Secretary-General was to meet with Austrian President Thomas Klestil.  The two then were to call on Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who is in Vienna on an official visit.

**Afghanistan

The talks on Afghanistan closed today in Berlin, and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Jean Arnault, said that the proceedings had been very encouraging.

Arnault said there has been a candid assessment of the achievements of the Bonn process, and also of outstanding challenges, particularly those stemming from factionalism and the booming narcotics industry.

He added that, in the countdown to elections, the clock starts ticking today, and the Afghan leadership now knows that it has the full backing of the international community for the difficult choices it has to make.

The final declaration of the conference said that donors would provide $8.2 billion for Afghanistan’s needs over the next three years, with $4.4 billion pledged for the first year.

Also today, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers hailed the return of more than 3 million Afghans over the past two years, but warned of the need for continued attention to security and reconstruction.  We have the transcript of Arnault’s comments, as well as other press releases on the Berlin conference and on today’s press briefing from Kabul all upstairs in the Spokesman’s office.

**Security Council

Ambassador Gunter Pleuger of Germany has taken over the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of April.

No Council consultations are scheduled today, while the Council President meets bilaterally with Council members to discuss the programme of work for this month.  The Council is expected to hold consultations on its programme of work tomorrow morning, and Ambassador Pleuger will brief you once those consultations have ended.  And we expect that to be around 12:30 tomorrow afternoon.

**Iraq

The Security Council yesterday afternoon, following the noon briefing, sent a letter to the Secretary-General, responding to his 26 March letter providing details about the organization and terms of reference for an independent, high-level inquiry into the administration and management of the “oil-for-food” programme.

Council members welcomed the Secretary-General’s decision to establish the inquiry.  Council members expressed their readiness to cooperate with the inquiry accordingly, and called upon other Member States to act likewise.

**UNRWA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (or UNRWA) today stopped distributing food aid to some 600,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip, following recent restrictions placed by Israel at the sole crossing point through which the Agency brings assistance.  That decision affects about half of the refugees who receive the Agency’s food aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to UNRWA.

The Agency says that efforts to persuade the Israeli authority to lift the transport restriction have so far failed, forcing UNRWA to suspend delivery of 11,000 tons of food from the port of Ashdod.  Commissioner-General Peter Hansen appealed to the Israeli authorities to lift the restrictions.  We have a press release upstairs with more details.

**DR Congo

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid tribute yesterday to two peacekeepers who died in the past month -- a Uruguayan corporal killed in a road accident in Uvira in the east on 19 March and a South African soldier shot dead by unidentified assailants in Bukavu also in the eastern part of the DRC on 30 March.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, William Swing, said that the tribute was an opportunity to reflect on why the UN mission was in the DRC and to remember the 3 million Congolese who have died in the conflict that displaced millions more.  He added that the peacekeepers in the DRC had one common mission:  to restore peace using weapons such as negotiation and diplomacy, and, in case of failure, to use every other necessary means to protect civilians.

**Kosovo - Airport

Turning to Kosovo, the UN Mission there today formally took over authority for the Pristina airport.  The move comes after five years of NATO-led military control, during which the airport served as Kosovo’s lifeline to the outside world.

Speaking at the handover ceremony today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Harri Holkeri, said the handover conveys the message that progress is occurring –- despite the terrible setbacks caused by the recent violence in the region.  We have more on Holkeri’s comments in a press release available upstairs.

**Côte d’Ivoire

Also on Security Council matters -- there is an exchange of letters on the racks between the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council confirming the appointment of Major General Abdoulaye Fall of Senegal to the post of Force Commander of the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire.

**World Chronicle Television Programme

Just two other brief announcements:  The World Chronicle programme no. 931 featuring Børge Brende, the Chairman, UN Commission on Sustainable Development, will be shown today at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television channel 3 or 31.

**Press Conferences Tomorrow

And for press conferences tomorrow, at 11:30 a.m., members of the Human Rights Committee bureau -- Sir Nigel Rodley, Ivan Shearer, Rafael Rivas Posada and Roman Wieruszewski -- will be here to brief you on the work of the current session of the Committee which will end tomorrow.

At 12:30, as I mentioned, or immediately after the consultations, the President of the Security Council for April, Ambassador Gunter Pleuger, will be here to brief you on the Council’s work programme for April.

And at 1:30 p.m., the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija, Bishop Artemije of the Diocese of Prizren and Raska, will be in this room to talk about the consequences of the latest violence in there.

And that’s all I have for you today.  Any questions?  Yes, Linda?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Marie, just two things.  First off, the Secretary-General is now in Vienna and I understand he won’t be returning to Headquarters until after Easter.  Can you share with us anything about his schedule next week?  And, secondly, are there any further developments regarding the independent panel to investigate the oil-for-food programme?

Associate Spokesman:  Let me start with your latter question.  As I mentioned to you, the Security Council did send a letter to the Secretary-General yesterday welcoming the inquiry that the Secretary-General had outlined to them last week.  And the Secretary-General is currently in the process of coming up with members of the panel, which he will inform the Council about as soon as he is ready to do so.

Question:  Do you think it will be next week or this week?  Any sense of time?

Associate Spokesman:  Well, he was hoping to do it as quickly as possible.  I was informed today it could be early next week.  It’s really hard to tell at this point because he is still contacting various potential members.  So, we’ll let you know as soon as we can.

About the Secretary-General, as I just mentioned, he is in Vienna to meet with his UN colleagues of the Chief Executive Board.  I think we had flagged to you his programme before his departure.  But one of the things that is on his agenda is on 7 April.  He will be in Geneva on the tenth anniversary of the Rwanda genocide commemoration.  That had been announced, that he would be in Geneva to participate in that commemoration and to make a statement that we have already flagged.  Yes, Mr. Abbadi?

Question:  Marie, on the Cyprus issue, de Soto says that “the deed is done”.  How confident is the Secretary-General that the Cypriot society will approve the settlement plan in the referendum?

Associate Spokesman:  Well, as you know, this event just took place at 11:45 last night.  I think he has stated what he intended to last night.  And Mr. de Soto will be here tomorrow so, I think we should probably pose these questions to Mr. de Soto when he comes tomorrow.

They’re no more other questions?

Have a good afternoon.  Thanks.

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