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 Stephane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

I’d like to welcome our visiting journalists from Rwanda and Romania who are here today at the noon briefing.  Welcome to the United Nations.

**Guest at Noon

Our guest today after my briefing will be Hafiz Pasha, who will brief you on the UNDP report, entitled “Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World”, as its “Human Development Report 2004” which was launched in Brussels earlier today.  And Hafiz Pasha will take your questions after my briefing.

**UNHCR

I now have a note concerning Mr. Rudd Lubbers:

“The Secretary-General has thoroughly reviewed the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services regarding the investigation into the complaint of sexual harassment brought by a staff member against the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers.  He also carefully considered Mr. Lubbers’ response to the report of that investigation.

“The Secretary-General found that the complaint against Mr. Lubbers cannot be sustained by the evidence.  However, he has written to Mr. Lubbers conveying his concerns and has sent his Under-Secretary-General for Management, Catherine Bertini, to Geneva to consult with the High Commissioner and his senior managers, as well as with the staff, to help them rebuild trust and confidence.

“He has also written a letter to all members of the High Commissioner’s staff, a copy of which we are making available to you today.

“The Secretary-General now considers this matter closed.”

**Secretary-General in Vienna

The Secretary-General is, as you know, now in Austria.  He met earlier today with the Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner.  They discussed the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which is currently meeting in Austria, and also talked about non-proliferation issues, the situation in Darfur, Sudan, Iran and Iraq.

The Secretary-General's new Special Representative for Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, then joined the meeting for a review of the situation in Kosovo.

The Austrian Chancellor, Wolfgang Schuessel, then gave the Secretary-General a tour of the newly renovated AlbertinaMuseum, and they spoke with each other afterward.

The Secretary-General also had lunch with Jessen-Petersen, to discuss his new assignment in Kosovo.

Later today, the Secretary-General is to meet with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who is visiting Vienna.

This evening, he is to have an informal dinner with the new Austrian President, Heinz Fischer.

**Security Council

The Security Council is meeting in consultations this morning on the UN missions in Sierra Leone and Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as “other matters”.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sierra Leone briefed on the latest report to the Security Council from the Secretary-General.  And Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno was to brief on the latest developments concerning Ethiopia and Eritrea.

**IAMB/Report

As we mentioned to you yesterday, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq is meeting in Washington today.  They will be releasing the finalized audit on the Development Fund for Iraq, which covers the period from the inception of the Fund to December 31, 2003.

The audit will be made available on the IMF Web site around 2:30 p.m., and the IAMB will post the audit on its Web site a bit later on at 4:30 p.m., along with its own comments on the audit.

**Chad and Darfur

Turning to the situation in Chad and Darfur, in what the World Food Programme (WFP) described as a landmark deal, WFP announced that the Libyan Government has joined the international community in helping to provide assistance to 1.2 million people displaced by conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region and some 175,000 who have fled to eastern Chad.

Libya will provide a corridor for substantial deliveries of WFP food from the U.S. and other donors.  The first shipment of 450 metric tons of wheat flour from Switzerland is expected to arrive in the Libyan port of Benghazi in early August, and that is expected to be followed by a US donation.

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that the first rains have arrived in north-eastern Chad, driving flood-stricken Sudanese refugees out of their makeshift shelters.

And, according to a survey conducted last month by the United Nations and relief agencies, more than a quarter of the Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad suffer from acute malnutrition.

On Darfur, three inter-agency assessment teams visited areas held by the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and found signs that some people are returning to their villages.  However, continued air strikes and widespread concerns of protection were reported by the IDPs.  And we have more information available upstairs on Sudan and Chad.

**WHO/Darfur Health

Continuing on the same region, increased funds, people and supplies are critical now in the Darfur region of Sudan to prevent a major health catastrophe.  Cholera, dysentery, and malaria threaten the survival of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.  This was the conclusion of two top leaders of the World Health Organization (WHO), as they wrapped up a mission to camps and hospitals in South and West Darfur.  That mission included Dr. Lee Jong-wook, the head of WHO.  And we have a press release available upstairs.

**Liberia

Turning to Liberia, the UN refuge agency, UNHCR, along with WFP, said that over 300,000 Liberians will go hungry at the end of this year and thousands more living abroad as refugees will be unable to come home, unless donors soon provide $33 million of additional funding.

WFP still needs $11 million to buy this year’s food requirements.  One in six Liberians is directly dependent on international food aid, and 10,000 IDPs in Monrovia are entirely dependent on WFP handouts.

**Secretary-General/Bolivia

Turning to Bolivia, the Secretary-General is following this Sunday’s referendum on changes to the energy sector in Bolivia, and urges all Bolivians to maintain a peaceful and constructive attitude during the coming days.  He emphasizes that the UN will keep supporting all Bolivians in the search for peaceful and democratic solutions to the problems of their country.  The Secretary-General made those comments in a statement we released yesterday afternoon, copies of which are available upstairs.

**UNEP/Principles

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is working with major institutional investors to develop a set of globally recognized principles for responsible investment by September 2005.

The “Responsible Investment Initiative” sets out new principles to help protect both the planet and long-term shareholder value by integrating environmental, social and governance concerns into investor and capital market considerations.  And a press release from UNEP is available upstairs.

**Afghanistan

The UN Mission in Afghanistan reports that the number of registered voters in that country has now passed 7 million –- more than 4.3 million men and more than 2.8 million women have now registered.  And more details are available upstairs.

**Press Briefing Today

One last note, a reminder:  Journalists and others are invited to a briefing this afternoon at 1:15 in Conference Room 5 on the upcoming Nairobi Summit for a Mine Free World.

It will be a panel discussion, which will include Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the head of the Peacekeeping Department; Sudan Walker, of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines; and Martin Barber, of the UN Mine Action Service, among others.  You are all invited to attend.

That’s it from me.  Do you have any questions?  Yes, Susie?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  With regard to the Lubbers case, if it was found the complaint couldn’t be sustained by the evidence, does this mean it’s been found to be false or untrue?  And, when the Secretary-General was conveying concerns to Mr. Lubbers, if he has been cleared of allegations what kind of concerns does the Secretary-General have?

Associate Spokesman:  The letter sent to Mr. Lubbers from the Secretary-General will not be made public.  So, those concerns are really expressed directly to the High Commissioner.  This matter is considered closed.  The Secretary-General’s decision was based on the facts, as he received them from the investigation.  And his judgement could only be based on the facts as he has received them.  Yes, Edie?

Question:  When you said that the allegations cannot be sustained by the evidence, that implies that, at least to me, that the Secretary-General was possibly looking for some kind of corroboration that wasn’t there.  Is that a fair assessment?

Associate Spokesman:  I don’t want to analyse the statement beyond the words that I have read.  I think it’s clear he said the allegations cannot be sustained by the evidence.  So?  But the letter to the staff will be made public and I do encourage you to take a look at it.  We will release it after the briefing.  Yes?

Question:  Stephane, if there wasn’t any evidence, why did Mr. Kofi Annan send Mrs. Bertini for building confidence?

Associate Spokesman:  I think this has been a long and protracted process.  It’s obvious some of the staff at UNHCR have been affected by this and it was important for Mrs. Bertini to sit down not only with Mr. Lubbers, but with his managers and his staff and listen to their concerns and work with them and to make sure the agency and United Nations as whole, that we all move forward, and that the agency works towards its central mission, which is assisting the 17 million refugees around the world.  Mr. Abbadi?

Question:  If there is no damaging evidence in this case, why isn’t the text of the investigating panel made public?

Associate Spokesman:  I think as a matter of course and I think to protect due process, these investigations are not made public.  Susie?

Question:  Did Mr. Lubbers ever offer to resign, or was he ever asked to resign?

Associate Spokesman:  Not that I am aware of.

Question:  Does the Secretary-General believe, does he have full confidence in him and believe he should remain?  Or is his situation now difficult?

Associate Spokesman:  I think the statement speaks for itself and I think, as I said, it’s important that we all now pull together and move forward to get the agency to focus on its central mission.

Any other questions?  Thank you very much, and we’ll get our UNDP guest to join us.

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