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

In Sudan this morning, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Jan Pronk, attended the opening of a two-day conference organized by the Sudanese Government to review a draft law on “The Native Administration of the Three Darfur States”.  The event brought together tribal and traditional community leaders from west, north and south Darfur.  Present at the conference were President Omar al-Bashir and members of his Government, as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

The participants are discussing the draft law, which is based on earlier consultations with local leaders, taking into account recent agreements with the United Nations.  Other draft laws to be discussed are on the role of the traditional administration in the disarmament process and on social reconciliation in Darfur.

Pronk said he welcomed the meeting and the participation of the traditional leaders to discuss necessary reforms to be undertaken in Darfur, in order to restore peace and stability in that region.  He added that the meeting is a positive step towards the implementation of the Government’s commitments laid out in the Darfur Plan of Action.

Early this afternoon, Khartoum time, Mr. Pronk held a press encounter with Sudanese media.  He provided an overview on the UN’s current activities in the Sudan, the background for the mandate of the UN mission, and his role and activities as Special Representative of the Secretary-General.  We expect to have details of this press encounter tomorrow.

This evening, Mr. Pronk will be meeting the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Mustafa Ismail, to continue the discussion on the next Joint Implementation Mechanism meeting that will take place tomorrow, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. local time.

**United Nations Population Fund/Sudan

While on the topic of Sudan -– the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling for immediate action to avert a hepatitis E outbreak among displaced people in the Darfur region, their concern being the effect this would have on pregnant women.  UNFPA’s call comes one day after an outbreak of the disease was confirmed in camps for internally displaced persons in all three of Darfur’s states.  We have a press release upstairs with more.

**Middle East

Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians have taken adequate steps to protect civilians, and both are in breach of their international legal obligations, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council today.

Delivering an open briefing on the Middle East to the Council, Prendergast said that there has been no tangible progress during the past month towards resuming the peace process there.  He said that a new and worrying pattern has recently emerged, in which Palestinian militants launch rocket attacks into Israel, followed by Israeli helicopter missile strikes into the Gaza Strip and incursions into areas adjacent to Israel.

Prendergast noted five incidents where, despite prior coordination, Israeli forces fired on areas where UN staff had been present, and two incidents where they refused to allow UN staff caught in an exchange of fire to move to safety.  He said that the United Nations is deeply concerned over the unacceptably high number of security incidents involving UN staff caused by Israeli action over the last few weeks.

He added that progress on the implementation of Palestinian reforms continues to be slow, and mostly cosmetic.  We have the text of his address upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council is currently holding closed consultations now, that are also on the Middle East.  Then, at 3 p.m., they will hold more consultations, this time on Iraq, to consider the Secretary-General’s recent report on the UN Mission in that country (UNAMI).  It will also consider a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the mission, which is set to expire on Saturday.  The Council has scheduled a formal meeting tomorrow for a possible vote on that resolution.

**Afghanistan

The Joint Electoral Management Body in Afghanistan announced today that 18 candidates have been confirmed as eligible to contest the Presidential election scheduled for 9 October.  The UN Mission in Afghanistan has transmitted the list of presidential candidates that was announced today, and we have it available upstairs.

**International Atomic Energy Agency/Japan

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) yesterday received information from Japanese nuclear regulatory authorities about an accident in the steam generator turbine circuit of the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant.  According to the Japanese nuclear authorities, this is a non-radioactive part of the plant.

The Japanese authorities reported that four contract employees died and seven more were injured, and stated that there was no release of radioactivity.  The International Atomic Energy Agency continues to be in contact with Japanese authorities and expects to receive updates on a continuous basis.  No request for IAEA assistance has been received at this time.

**Côte d’Ivoire

Among the documents out on the racks today is the text of the “Accra Three Agreement” on Côte d’Ivoire, signed on 30 July at the summit meeting co-chaired by the Secretary-General and Ghanaian President John Kufuor.  In that agreement, the Ivorian parties agreed to a number of measures, including legal reforms and disarmament, to put the peace process firmly back on track and ensure the sustained implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement.

**Central African Republic

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have wrapped up a week-long, door-to-door anti-polio drive in the Central African Republic.

The campaign, conducted along with that nation’s Government, was designed to administer a final, second dose of an anti-polio vaccine, the first dose of which was given last winter.  For this latest campaign, health officials trained some 1,500 local volunteers to administer the vaccine properly.

**International Labour Organization/Youth Unemployment

Youth unemployment has skyrocketed worldwide over the past decade to some 88 million.  This is an all-time high, with young people aged 15 to 24 now representing nearly half the world’s 186 million jobless.  That’s a key finding of a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The report also found that the rising unemployment has especially hit young women –- those who can find work often face long hours, short-term or informal contracts, low pay and little or no social protection such as social security.  The report notes that tackling youth unemployment would be a significant contribution to the global economy.  We have more on that upstairs.

**International Youth Day

And finally, tomorrow is International Youth Day, and here at UN Headquarters we’ll be marking the day with an event starting at 11 a.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.

It’ll be attended by New York City’s Youth Commissioner Jeanne Mullgrav, on behalf of the Mayor, and basketball star “Speedy” Claxton.  They’ll award the prize to the winner of the citywide Youth Day logo contest.  There’ll also be dance and step performances, as well as a youth basketball tournament.

Around 150 youth leaders and students from New York City schools are expected to attend.  We have a press release with more upstairs.

That is all I have for you.  Adjourned.  Thank you very much.

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