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.

**Anniversary, UN Baghdad Bombing

Tomorrow will mark the first anniversary of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad.  As you know, 22 of our colleagues died in that terrorist attack and many more were injured.

Ceremonies will be held in Geneva, Amman, Jordan, here in New York and, of course, in Baghdad, itself.  The Secretary-General will attend the Geneva ceremony.  He is expected to deliver remarks and unveil a commemorative plaque.

Family members of the deceased will light candles in memory of their loved ones.  The events in Geneva will be simulcast here in New York, as well as in Amman, and participants in all three locations will jointly observe a minute of silence following the Secretary-General’s remarks.  The Secretary-General is also expected to say a few words later in the day at the start of a special concert given by the Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil.

Here in New York, the Deputy Secretary-General will preside over a ceremony in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.  And, that will start at 8:30 in the morning.  Ms. Fréchette will unveil a commemorative plaque, which will ultimately be placed near the meditation room in the Visitor’s entrance, along with flag that flew over the UN office in Baghdad on the 19th of August 2003.

The Deputy Special Representative for Iraq, RossMountain, will preside over the ceremonies in Amman.  And, finally, in Baghdad, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, will attend an event with Iraqi national staff, as well as survivors of the attack and relatives of the deceased.

More detailed information is available upstairs in my office, and we’ll also make available to you advance copies of the Secretary-General’s remarks.

**Secretary-General in Geneva

The Secretary-General is in Geneva today.  He’s meeting at this moment with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, and she is his only official appointment for today.

**UN Missions in DRC, Burundi

The UN missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Burundi are expressing concern about the volatile situation along their common border and taking all possible pre-emptive measures to avert a major crisis.

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, briefed the Secretary-General in detail about the situation in the region by telephone yesterday evening.  Mr. Guéhenno is asking the Security Council if he may brief it tomorrow on developments in both the DRC and Burundi, and he has agreed to speak to you at the stakeout after that briefing, whenever it takes place.

**Sudan

From Khartoum, we have reports that the Joint Implementation Mechanism will hold its fourth meeting tomorrow evening.  The Foreign Minister is expected to present further actions to be taken by his Government to meet its commitments under the Darfur Plan of Action.  He is also expected to present a list of the Janjaweed militia, on which it has an influence.

According to the Darfur Plan of Action, these militia are to be instructed by the Government “to cease their activities forthwith and lay down their weapons”.

The members of the Joint Implementation Mechanism will travel to Darfur for several days, starting on the 26th of August, to assess the progress made by the Government in fulfilling its commitments.  We also have reports that Jan Pronk spoke today by phone with John Garang, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, regarding the Southern Sudan/Naivasha peace talks.

On the humanitarian side, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will release its August Darfur Humanitarian Profile later today, which provides an update on operations in the region during the month of July.

The UN now estimates that there are more than 1.2 million internally displaced persons in Darfur, up from 1 million reported last month.  The report indicates that the estimate of the total number of conflict-affected people in Darfur was 1.48 million people as of the 1st of August.

The World Food Programme reports that, as the rainy season reaches its peak, it’s urgently scaling up its air operations into the region, with a particular emphasis being placed on El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, the state worst affected by the rains.

UN Humanitarian agencies are also expressing concern over recent reports that thousands of displaced people spontaneously returning to southern Sudan from the north are facing continued harassment and abuse.

** Iraq

Earlier today in Baghdad, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, met with Iraq’s President Ghazi al Yawer.  They discussed a number of issues, including the ongoing National Conference and the situation in Najaf.  Qazi reiterated the Secretary-General’s concern regarding the deteriorating situation in that holy city and expressed hope that a peaceful solution would end the crisis there.

Throughout the day, Qazi met with a number of Iraqi personalities, representing several regions, who are attending the National Conference.  As for the conference proceedings, the delegates are currently voting for the interim assembly.

**Liberia Disarmament Campaign

In Liberia, more than 200 ex-government soldiers who fought for former President Charles Taylor surrendered their weapons to UN peacekeepers yesterday in the remote area of NimbaCounty, where Liberia’s civil war first began in 1989.

The surrender came on the first day of the launch of the UN Mission’s latest disarmament and demobilization programme for the country.  At the launch, the UN Mission’s Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Daniel Opande, said the latest exercise was critical to dispel the notion that there were cross-border movements of weapons into neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire.

We have more on this in a press release from the UN Mission.

**Haiti/Brazil Soccer Match

A bit later on this afternoon, the national teams of Brazil and Haiti will play in a friendly soccer match in Port-au-Prince.  To mark this game, played in the name of peace, a video message from the Secretary-General will be played.  He will tell the thousands of soccer fans that remarkable teamwork and individual talent, as it will be displayed on the field, represents what is needed to build a new Haiti.

We have the full text of that message in my office.

**Worsening West Africa Locust Crisis

West Africa is facing a worsening locust crisis, as more swarms arrive in Mauritania, Mali and Niger.  The Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director-General, Jacques Diouf, is currently visiting Mauritania for a first-hand look at the swarms and the damage they cause.  FAO says that, in Mauritania, adult locusts could start to appear by the end of August, while there are reports that swarms are present in various parts of Senegal.

Meanwhile, the initial locust situation for Morocco and Algeria was becoming calm.

We have more in an FAO press release.

**Maritime Workers Convention

An international convention designed to create a new biometric identity verification system for the world’s 1.2 million maritime workers has received enough ratifications to go into force in February of next year.

The International Labour Organization said the system will help bolster international security in the global shipping industry.  ILO adds that the system is also designed to ensure the rights and freedoms of maritime workers and facilitate mobility in the exercise of their profession -- for example when they board their ships to work, take shore leave, or return home.

There’s more on that upstairs as well.

**UNEP Agreement with Asian Organization

The United Nations Environment Programme has signed an agreement to help strengthen environmental management in parts of Asia.  The agreement with the Economic Cooperation Organization includes strengthening environmental law and enhancing environmental education and training programmes.

The Economic Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental regional organization, established by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, and now embracing also Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the KyrgyzRepublic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

We have more in a UNEP press release.

**UN Peacekeeping Worldwide

And, finally, we also have upstairs today an update note on UN peacekeeping operations around the world.  According to the update, there are close to 60,000 military and police personnel currently serving in 16 UN peacekeeping operations around the world.

That’s all I have for you.  Papa?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Fred, the latest issue of Disarmament Times has a critique of Security Council documentation produced by the Secretary-General, including that there are major problems with the reports he submits.  It is perhaps good to ask this question on the anniversary of the attack in Baghdad because the Times says that the UN reports don’t reflect reality or the forces that create conflicts, and that when UN forces are sent into areas, they are essentially working blind.  Can I get a response on that? I left a copy of the paper with you, with your office yesterday.

Spokesman:  Alright.  Well, I haven’t seen the report, but we will take a look at it and see if we have any reaction to give you.

Question:  Fred, after the massacre in Burundi, the whole region seems to be threatened –- the DRC, as well as in Rwanda and Burundi.  Some parties are even threatening to use force, and one of them says that the genocide is still continuing.  Now, what special measures has the UN Mission in the DRC taken so far, and is Mr. Guéhenno required to make urgent recommendations to the Council to prevent another genocide?

Spokesman:  I’m not ready to say that we are anticipating another genocide in the area.  We have concern about public statements by leading officials and military personnel in the area about possible intention to retaliate for the massacre.  And, that’s why we have put our people on alert.  We have limited means, of course, but we have deployed additional troops to the border area.  We are continuing helicopter surveillance over the border area.  We are patrolling Lake Tanganyika, and I would recommend to you an interview by UN radio today with the spokeswoman for the Mission in Burundi who describes in a bit more detail the kinds of pre-emptive actions we are taking that I referred to in my initial report.

Thank you very much.

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