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.

**Secretary-General -- Security Council

The Secretary-General is currently briefing the Security Council in closed consultations about his high-level meeting with 13 African heads of State in Accra, Ghana, last week, during which the leaders discussed Côte d’Ivoire primarily, but also Sudan.

The Secretary-General said it was reassuring to hear all the Ivorian parties reiterate their full commitment to the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, although divergent views emerged on how to achieve that goal -- initially.

But after two days of intense discussions, he told the Council, the parties signed the “Accra III Agreement”, which he said provides a good basis for the resumption of the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire.  He noted that the Accra Agreement establishes a timetable for implementation and a monitoring mechanism.

The Secretary-General said he hopes the Ivorian parties will fulfil the promises made in Accra last week.  In that connection, he believes that Council members should urge the Ivorian parties to implement the commitments made in Accra without delay.

A draft presidential statement on Côte d’Ivoire has been circulated to members of the Council by France.

**Secretary-General -- Sudan

In addition to his Security Council briefing on Côte d’Ivoire, the Secretary-General is also informing the Council in closed consultations about his discussions with African leaders in Accra last week on the situation in Darfur, Sudan.

And we expect that the Secretary-General will speak to you at the Council stakeout once the consultations have ended, and that we expect to be about noon, which is why we started this briefing about a half hour early.

**Sudan

On the humanitarian side in Sudan, Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, said this morning that aside from some incidents, security in the camps for internally displaced people has improved.  Outside of the camps, he added, that is not the case.  Speaking to United Nations radio, Pronk said this is why the United Nations is asking the Sudanese Government to concentrate its activities particularly in the areas around the camps, so that people are also safe when they go to fetch water or collect firewood.

Regarding the demonstrations in Khartoum today, Pronk noted that there was criticism of the international community, but no violence.

On humanitarian developments, in West Darfur, due to water and sanitation concerns, UNICEF is conducting health-awareness campaigns and plans to bring in two metric tonnes of chlorine tablets for distribution in various camps.  At the Krenik camp, which hosts around 20,000 internally displaced persons, 70 to 80 children are being admitted daily to the Médecins sans frontières feeding centre.

Regarding the funding of humanitarian activities, the United Nations appeals for Darfur and Chad are still facing a total funding gap of $188 million.  Even taking into account an additional $80 million of pledges that have yet to be allocated, more than $100 million in fresh funding is still required.

**Security Council

This morning, prior to the Secretary-General’s briefing, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement reaffirming its support for the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and welcoming their efforts to carry out their strategies to complete their work.

It called on all States to cooperate with both Tribunals.  Specifically, it asked for assistance in bring Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, as well as all other indicted suspects, to The Hague Tribunal.  The Council also called for all necessary assistance for the Rwanda Tribunal, including on investigations of the Rwandan Patriotic Army and efforts to bring Felicien Kabuga and other indictees to that Tribunal.

**UNRWA

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said today that, because of the level of insecurity in Gaza, most international staff are being temporarily relocated from the Agency’s headquarters to Amman, Jordan.

Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said that the exceptions to that relocation consist of his own office and that of his deputy.  Meanwhile, the Agency’s Gaza Field Office will continue to be fully staffed and it will maintain all regular and emergency services.  We have a statement from him with more details available upstairs.

**Iraq

Carina Perelli, the chief of the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division, asked me to tell you, in response to your question of yesterday, that she and her team are planning on the assumption that elections in Iraq will take place by January next year.  She does not think it useful to speculate, she said, and regrets that she cannot brief you in person at this time.

**OCHA -– Peru

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, says the situation in southern and central Peru remains dire following severe cold and snowstorms there.

The number of people affected has risen to almost 340,000, and it’s reported that 90 people have died and more than 3,000 houses have been destroyed.  OCHA and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are helping to channel funds to help those affected.  We have a press release on that upstairs.

**OCHA -- Tajikistan

OCHA is also monitoring the situation on the ground in Tajikistan, following recent floods and landslides which made the water supply in the capital Dushanbe muddy and virus-ridden.  UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has given chlorine to Dushanbe’s sanitary and epidemiological centre.  According to the Tajik Government, over 1,000 cases of typhoid were registered in the summer of 2003 due to the consumption of contaminated water.

**Olympics

The General Assembly President, Julian Hunte, solemnly appealed to all States to demonstrate their commitment to world peace by observing the Olympic Truce during the Olympic Games in Athens.  In an appeal, available today as a document, he says, “While conflicts in the world will not cease overnight, if we could have peace for 16 days, then, maybe, just maybe, we could have it forever.”

**Press Conference

Finally, a press conference today, 12:30 in this room, Francis Deng, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Internally Displaced Persons, will be here to talk to you about his recent visit to Sudan.

That’s all I have for you.  Yes, Warren?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Fred, last week, Marie informed, if my memory is working correctly, that the funding gap for Darfur was $191 million.  That same day -- it was Wednesday, I believe -- the Germans announced they were upping their contribution by $24 million.  So I’m perplexed as to why the new number shows only $3 million.  Anyway I can go and try to match those numbers up?

Spokesman:  Well, we can go back to OCHA, but we’re talking about appeals for both Darfur and Chad today.  We said that the funding gap is $188 million, but an additional $80 million had been pledged, but not paid.  And so we’re saying that the gap of what is needed in fresh funding would be $100 million.  If you like, come up to my office and we’ll try to dig out more figures for you.

Question:  If I can find those numbers from last week.  The way Marie did it was to give us a three hundred and some odd million figure as the goal, and then pledges fulfilled at, as I remember, the gap was $191 million between those two numbers.  But I will come by the office.

Spokesman:  Good.  Anything else?  If not we can wait for the Secretary-General at the stakeout.

[The figures given were, in fact, accurate.]

Thank you very much.

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