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.

**Accra Agreement on Côte d’Ivoire

Just before midnight on Friday, at an African summit in Accra, Ghana, the Ivorian parties one by one signed an agreement to relaunch the peace process in the divided country.

The President of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, agreed to use the powers invested in him by the Constitution to carry out the Linas Marcoussis agreement of nearly two years ago regarding guidelines as to who is eligible to run for the presidency of the country.  He also agreed, in the name of national unity, to take back into the Government three opposition cabinet members he dismissed in May.

Other provisions of the agreement include the delegation of powers to the Prime Minister, investigation into human rights abuses and a monitoring mechanism to report on progress in the implementation of the accord.

Asked at a press conference afterwards if the agreement would be honoured when past agreements had failed, the Secretary-General replied:  “Times change.  The people are tired.  The leaders themselves are beginning to realize that they need to get a handle on this.”  In an interview before he left Accra, the Secretary-General stated:  “I’m challenging the Ivorian leaders to rise above the fray and to put their personal and selfish interests aside and work for the nation and the people.”

Copies of the agreement in English and French are available in my Office, as is the transcript of the press conference.  The Secretary-General will be back in his office later this afternoon.

**Sudan

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, is in Khartoum attending a meeting of the Joint Implementation Mechanism, which he co-chairs with the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Mustafa Ismail.  Among the main items being discussed is the report of the Joint Verification team that visited Darfur between 23 and 26 July to assess the humanitarian and security situation there.

Also on the issue of Darfur, the Secretary-General’s Representative on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis Deng, has called for a comprehensive settlement to address the root causes of displacement in Darfur and in all of Sudan.  In a statement issued today following his just-completed mission to the Sudan, he notes that he found a situation of persistent insecurity and human rights violations as the paramount concern of the displaced.

Deng calls for the Sudan to transform itself and forge a new common and inclusive framework of national identity.  He says that resisting this would be “imprudent, unsustainable and self-defeating”.  The full text of his statement is available upstairs.

Regarding humanitarian assistance to Darfur, the World Food Programme announced today that it had begun air drops of food to the most inaccessible parts of the Darfur region.  The food will reach more than 70,000 displaced people and local residents who have been cut off from aid because of the rainy season and insecurity.  More information from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is available upstairs.

**Security Council

With the start of the new month yesterday, Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov has taken over the rotating Presidency of the Security Council.  There are no Council meetings or consultations today, as Ambassador Denisov meets bilaterally with other Council members to discuss the program of work for August.

Tomorrow, the Council intends to hold consultations on the program of work for this month.  Then, at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon, following his presentation of credentials to the Secretary-General, Ambassador Denisov will speak to you in this room concerning the Council’s work during August.

**Afghanistan

More than 90 per cent of the Afghans eligible to vote have now registered to do so, the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan said yesterday.  As of 29 July, more than 8.6 million Afghans were registered to vote, including more than five million men and more than three and a half million women.

Afghanistan’s Joint Electoral Management Body today said that voter registration in the country will end on 15 August.  We have more details in the Kabul briefing notes upstairs.

**UNICEF Bangladesh Appeal

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has issued an urgent appeal for $13.4 million to help people affected by the recent floods in Bangladesh.  The floods were the worst since 1998, and 25 million people have been affected.  The funds are needed to supply 60 million water purification tablets, supplies to manage diarrhea and cholera outbreaks, and food for infants and children.

**WFP North Korea

The World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed the arrival of a major shipment of Russian food aid to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  WFP says the shipment will help support millions of malnourished children and women over the coming weeks.  The donation is the largest part of an $11 million dollar contribution by Russia -– its first ever through WFP.

WFP has appealed for almost 500,000 tons of commodities to help feed 6.5 million North Koreans this year –- so far, its received confirmed pledges amounting to 125,000 tons.  We have more on that upstairs.

**Ethiopia

Finally, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has established a presence in the Somali Region of Ethiopia to help improve humanitarian assistance there following a drought in some areas.

International agencies on the ground, including the United Nations Children’s Fund, talk of a humanitarian crisis that will develop if rural communities are not assisted during the drought.  Already, the water situation for humans and livestock is becoming critical in many districts.  That’s all I have for you.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  In Paraguay, we heard that in the dreadful supermarket fire that there were some United Nations people involved.  Do you have any news of that?

Spokesman:  I haven’t heard that, but let me check with our security office to see if that’s true.

[It was later announced that no United Nations staff had been reported as injured or dead following the fire in Paraguay.]

Question: In addition to setting up this Joint Implementation Committee in Khartoum, can we assume that Jan Pronk is now starting this thirty-day period in which he will be tasked with reporting back to the Security Council under the terms of the resolution last week?  I mean, he still remains the United Nations person who will be coming back here to say how things are going.

Spokesman:  Yes.  I think the plan is -- under the Joint Declaration -- for him to meet with the Sudanese Foreign Minister every two weeks.  The Secretary-General has asked him to report to the Council monthly, and the Council resolution calls on him to report within 30 days.  So yes, the clock is ticking.

Question:  I know you can’t say much on security, but how is the United Nations involved in this latest terror threat?  Were United Nations officials told that the United Nations was mentioned in anybody’s computer in Pakistan?  Has there been a higher elevation in any way that you won’t be able to tell us about security in the Building?

Spokesman:  On the advice of the New York City Police Department, we further tightened our security measures over this past weekend.

Question:  Was that an upgrade that has been done in the past or an upgrade from the overall level and will remain now at a higher level?

Spokesman: We can’t predict whether it will go up or down, but in response to an increased security threat, and on the advice of the Police Department, we’ve taken additional measures.

Question:  Were you told, was the United Nations threatened at all in any new information?

Spokesman:  I can’t go beyond what I’ve just said.

Thank you very much.

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