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.

**Sudan

The Security Council is discussing a draft resolution on the Sudan at the expert level.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the two rebel movements of Darfur engaged in consultations that took place in Geneva today.  And they have agreed to participate in substantive political negotiations.

The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Mohammad Sahnoun, led the UN team to Geneva.

The consultations will now continue with the Government to decide on the specific venue and timing of the substantive negotiations.

**Sudan - Humanitarian

Humanitarian agencies, meanwhile, are saying that urgent funding is still needed to address the Darfur crisis. Currently, the United Nations has only 37 per cent of the funding required.  It is still calling for an additional $156 million.

The Secretary-General also made a strong appeal yesterday afternoon at his joint press encounter with US Secretary of State Colin Powell.  He asked for food, work on sanitation, logistical support, helicopters, and planes.

He said the United Nations was appealing to governments to provide the necessary tools to do its work.  And he said, “We will continue to insist that the Government performs.”  We have a humanitarian update upstairs with more details.

Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that the Secretary-General’s Representative on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng, is to visit the Sudan for a week-long visit starting tomorrow.

**Security Council

There are no Security Council consultations scheduled for today.

The Council this morning held one private meeting with troop-contributing countries for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, and is now holding another one with the troop-contributing countries for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

**Liberia

From Liberia, because of improvements in the security situation, humanitarian actors, including UN agencies, have now been given increased access to Liberia, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

They can now set up a permanent presence throughout the whole country.

Meanwhile, a $23 million shortfall is threatening the planned launch of UNHCR’s repatriation programme.  Slated to begin this October, the three-year plan aims to repatriate 100,000 Liberians in 2004, 150,000 in 2005, and some 50,000 in 2006.

**Iraq’s Marshlands – New UNEP Project

The UN Environment Programme today announced the launching of an $11 million project to restore the environment in the marshlands of Iraq, the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East and Western Eurasia.

The project, funded by the Government of Japan, will support the installation of drinking water and sanitation systems in key communities and restore pilot wetlands for the benefit of people and wildlife.

The marshlands, home to a 5,000-year old civilization, were massively damaged in the late twentieth century, partly as a result of new dams on the Tigris and Euphrates river systems and partly as a result of massive drainage operations by the previous Iraqi regime.

In 2001, the UN Environment Programme released satellite images showing that 90 per cent of these fabled wetlands, home to rare and unique species and a spawning ground for Gulf fisheries, had been lost.

The challenge now is to restore the environment and provide clean water and sanitation services to the almost 85,000 people living there.

**Venezuela – Cordovez Wraps up Visit

Diego Cordovez, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Latin American Issues, will be wrapping up his trip to Venezuela today.

As we told you earlier this week, the purpose of his visit was to keep the Secretary-General abreast of the latest developments regarding the referendum scheduled for 15 August.

Mr. Cordovez is scheduled to give a press conference at 1 p.m., New York time, at the office of the UN Development Programme in Caracas.

**UNHCR - Italy

The UN refugee agency has written today to the Italian authorities, criticizing the process that led up to yesterday’s expulsion from Italy to Ghana of 25 asylum-seekers.

UNHCR has expressed its strong concern over apparent disregard for accepted international and European standards and for fundamental elements of due process.  We have more details in today’s UNHCR briefing notes.

**Global Compact

Forum Barcelona, a public-private partnership to advance sustainable development and peace-building, has announced its support of the Global Compact and the establishment of a Global Compact Centre in Barcelona, Spain.

The Centre will work with the various Global Compact country networks around the world to increase the understanding, adopting and implementation of the Global Compact’s human rights, labour, environmental and anti-corruption principles.

**UNESCO

The OldBridge standing over the NeretvaRiver in the Bosnian city of Mostar was inaugurated today in its newly rebuilt form by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura and the chair of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, Sulejman Tihic.

The bridge had been destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian war, but has been rebuilt with assistance from UNESCO, on technical and scientific coordination, and the World Bank, which helped to deal with financing the project.

Matsuura said that the bridge, having been used as a target, now needs to become a rallying sign -– “the powerful symbol of a plural identity founded on mutual trust”, he said.  We have a press release from UNESCO upstairs with more details.

**Press Conference Today

There will be one press conference today, 1:30 p.m. in this room.  Charlotte Abaka, the UN Human Rights Commission’s Independent Expert on Liberia, will be here to brief you on the human rights situation in that country.

**The Week Ahead at United Nations

And we have The Week Ahead for you to help you plan your coverage of the UN for next week.

That’s all I have for you.  Any questions?  Yes?

**Questions and Answers

Question:   Fred, the U.S. Congress last night passed a resolution calling the actions in Darfur genocide.  And I know that the Secretary-General has said the UN might look at something similar.  Can you comment on that?  And might the U.S. Congress’ actions influence the UN’s decision?

Spokesman:  No, I think, as Secretary of State Powell indicated last night, the Administration will be studying the congressional finding of yesterday.  But it’s up to the signatories or the ratifiers of the genocide Convention to decide when genocide has taken place and what action can be taken.  There is no monitoring or implementation mechanism for the genocide Convention, but the signatories are free at any time to bring a case of genocide, as they see it, before any body of the United Nations –- the Security Council or, now, the International Criminal Court.  So, those are the options open, and we’re just waiting to see whether any MemberState decides to take one of those options.

The most recent thing the Secretary-General said was that -- and this was in June -- that he was not yet prepared to call it genocide.  There was clear evidence of massive violations of human rights.  And he has been calling, repeatedly, for those to be addressed, for the Sudan Government to punish and bring to justice those that had been carrying out these atrocities in the Darfur region of the Sudan.  And, of course, as I’ve already mentioned, the Security Council is now looking at a resolution that they may take action on sometime next week.  Yes, Serge?

Question:   You mentioned $156 million last year needed for the situation in the Sudan.  Did Colin Powell make any promises to donate some money yesterday?

Spokesman:  The U.S. has been the largest donor of aid for the humanitarian work in Sudan, with the U.K. close behind, and the European Union, collectively, in third place.  I think we would like to see more donations by other countries with the means to give that had not yet given.  (Interrupted)

Question:   Do you care to give the names of these countries?  Japan, for example?

Spokesman:  Well, you know who the wealthiest countries in the world are, and I’ve mentioned three that have given generously and we would like to see some support from the others.  I should also mention the Netherlands.  I believe it’s just behind the EU as a major single donor.

Thank you very much.

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