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 Stephane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good Afternoon.

**Secretary-General in Russia

I’ll start off with the Secretary-General’s ongoing official visit to Russia.  As you know, he is in Moscow today, where he met for an hour and forty minutes with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Secretary-General and the President discussed Iraq, the Middle East, Kosovo, Afghanistan and the Georgia/Abkhazia conflict.  The Secretary-General praised the President for his recent statement to the Duma on AIDS, and thanked Russia for its efforts to free Arjan Erkel, an aid worker working for the NGO Médicins sans frontières who was abducted in Dagestan.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General met with the newly appointed Prime Minister, Mikhail Fradkov, with whom he discussed economic issues.  The Secretary-General raised the issue of refugees and displaced persons in the Northern Caucasus, and said the UN wants to expand its activities in Chechnya.

The Secretary-General also had a working lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.  They discussed Iraq in detail, talking of how to help the Iraqis arrive at a mechanism for the handover of sovereignty, and how they might arrange for security after the transfer of power.

The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister then met with the press, and we hope to have a transcript of that that press encounter very shortly.

The Secretary-General’s last appointment of the day was with former Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, now the Secretary of the National Security Council.  And we have more on the Secretary-General’s visit available upstairs.

**Côte d’Ivoire

Turning to Côte d’Ivoire; in a message read at a ceremony by his Special Representative Albert Tevoedjre in Abidjan today, the Secretary-General congratulated the Economic Community of West African States whose contingents from Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal and Togo were “rehatted” under the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire whose mandate came into force yesterday.

The Secretary-General also reiterated his strong appeal to the Ivorian parties to reject all forms of violence and take advantage of the window of opportunity provided by the UN peacekeeping presence, to re-engage in political dialogue aimed at genuine reconciliation for the benefit of all Ivorians.

To this end, the Secretary-General urged President Laurent Gbagbo to submit without delay draft laws envisaged in the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, cooperate fully with the international commission of inquiry to investigate events of 25 March, and reassure that all civic and political liberties will be restored without delay.  The Secretary-General also strongly appeals to the opposition parties who have suspended their participation in the Government of National Reconciliation to resume it at the earliest, and invites all Ivorian forces to proceed with the disarmament and demobilization programme without delay.

**Iraq

Turning to Iraq now.  The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, and his team arrived in Baghdad on Sunday evening.

This morning, he met with the Iraqi Governing Council, telling reporters afterward that his team and the Governing Council members had a long talk about the mission he is undertaking.  That mission, he said, will assist with the formation of the administration, which will take over once sovereignty is restored to the Iraqi people and will also help in preparing for elections.

Mr. Brahimi said the team will meet with all the personalities that wish to contribute to this effort.  He asserted, “The doors of the United Nations are open to all.”  We have copies of his press encounter available upstairs.

**Sudan

Turning to the Sudan; in a statement issued on Saturday in Baden, outside Vienna, the Secretary-General and the heads of all United Nations agencies, funds and programmes expressed their deepest concern over the serious human rights violations and the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of the Sudan.

They call on those responsible for perpetrating these violations to put an immediate end to their activities.  They further call on all parties to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to the affected population.

They welcomed the peace initiative undertaken by the Government of Chad and call on all concerned to cooperate fully in this important undertaking and enter into a humanitarian ceasefire as an immediate first step.

**Security Council

There are no meetings scheduled for the Security Council today.

**Afghanistan

And on Afghanistan; the UN Mission in Afghanistan welcomed last week’s Berlin Conference on Afghanistan, saying that it was remarkable that donors doubled the pledges made in the Tokyo Conference.  Donors made commitments last week to provide $8.2 billion over three years to rebuild Afghanistan.  And we have details on the results of the conference in the briefing notes from Kabul, which are available upstairs.

**Rwanda

This coming Wednesday, 7 April, which is being observed as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, commemorative events will be taking place in Kigali, Dar-es-Salaam, New York and Geneva, as well as other capitals around the globe.

The Secretary-General has announced that on 7 April at noon local time, the UN will observe one minute of silence in memory of the victims of the genocide in Rwanda and has invited Member States to do the same.

In Geneva, he will address a special one-hour commemorative meeting being held within the framework of the 60^thUnited Nations Commission on Human Rights.  The Secretary-General will make an important speech, which will address the prevention of genocide.  His speech will be made following the moment of silence, which will be observed at noon local time in Geneva.

In Kigali, the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General for Special Assignments in Africa, Ibrahim Gambari, will represent the United Nations at ceremonies there.

And in New York, there will be a meeting of the General Assembly and a high-level panel discussion will also be held in New York, as well as in Geneva.

Staff at Headquarters will march around the circle in front of the Secretariat Building and will observe a moment of silence at the Japanese Garden near the Peace Bell, also at noon.

We expect to have our briefing at 11:30 a.m. that day to make room for those events. 

A note to correspondents will be issued later today with much more details on those events.

I believe that’s it from me.  If you have any questions, let me know.  Mr. Abbadi?

**Questions and Answers

Question:   In referring to Ambassador Brahimi’s consultations, you mentioned the word “administration”; that the UN will assist in establishing an administration after sovereignty is given back to the Iraqis.  Do we know what kind of administration?

Associate Spokesman:  No.  Those are the issues, obviously, that Ambassador Brahimi is looking at.  How best to assist the Iraqis in creating this administration.

Question:   But we have no idea what kind of administration?

Associate Spokesman:  No.  As I said, we have the questions; he is obviously helping them look for the answers.

Question:   Stephane, is there any indication of how long Mr. Brahimi is going to be staying in Baghdad?

Associate Spokesman:  No.  It depends on the discussions he is having and the progress he is making and then he will make that decision.

Thank you very much.

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