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 Stéphane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Good afternoon.  Starting off with Iraq.

**Iraq

TheSecretary-General’s Special Representativein Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, today met with the country's Minister of Planning in Baghdad to discuss the United Nations role in assisting the Iraqi authorities in the reconstruction efforts that focus on cities like Najaf and Al Thawra city, also known as Al-Sadr city, near Baghdad, where the Planning Minister said “unemployment and poverty lead to the proliferation of crime and terrorism”.

Qazi also discussed with Planning Minister Mahdi al-Hafez the Iraqi Interim Government’s development priorities.  The Minister called for an active United Nations role in his country’s reconstruction and rehabilitation programme, as well as the transitional political process.  The meeting was also attended by Iraq’s Minister of State, Kassim Daoud.

The United Nations Envoy pledged the full dedication of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) to support the Iraqi people in cooperation with the Interim Government, security circumstances permitting.  The United Nations assistance in the electoral process that would lead to the general elections due to take place at the end of 2005 was also discussed.

Earlier, Qazi met with Hussain al-Sadr, head of the delegation of good offices that was dispatched last week by the National Conference to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis in Najaf.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on Middle East

I now have a statement on the Middle East.

The Secretary-General expresses strong concern over reports of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, through the Government of Israel’s recent publication of tenders for construction of new housing units.  Such activities clearly contradict Israel’s obligations under the Road Map, which unequivocally stipulate that “consistent with the Mitchell Report, the Government of Israel freezes all settlement activity, (including natural growth of settlements)”.  The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Israel to cease this settlement expansion and to fulfil its Road Map obligations.

**Security Council on Sudan

The Security Council this afternoon, at three o’clock, will hold closed consultations on the Sudan.  Council members will be briefed on the situation in Sudan by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Tuliameni Kalomoh.

**Sudan

And in the Sudan, in Khartoum today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Jan Pronk, met with visiting British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who is currently in the country.  Among the matters discussed, were the Darfur crisis, the Joint Implementation Mechanism mission to Darfur from 26 to 29 August, and the Naivasha peace talks between the Sudanese Government and the Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Movement.

Meanwhile in Abuja, Nigeria, Sudanese parties, namely the Government of Sudan, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army are meeting to discuss the Darfur conflict.  Convened by the African Union, this meeting is a follow-up to the one held in Addis Ababa in mid-June.  The United Nations has an observer at this meeting and is represented by the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Mohammed Sahnoun.

On the humanitarian side, the United Nations refugee agency, or UNHCR, reports that the Sudanese Government is investigating the situation in west Darfur after UNHCR warned that some 30,000 displaced persons were considering crossing into Chad if the security situation did not improve. 

Further details are available on the UNHCR web site.

**Timor-Leste

The Council this morning is holding an open meeting on the situation in Timor-Leste and is being briefed by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi.  And according to his brief, the situation in Timor-Leste has remained stable and largely peaceful since the Timorese Government assumed responsibility for security in May.

He noted some recent concerns, however, including a demonstration that took place on July 19 and 20, as well as a recent resurgence of fights between martial arts groups.  Annabi told the Council, in the public meeting that is still under way, that although the country is making steady progress towards achieving self-sufficiency, it will continue for some time to require international assistance.  Annabi also said that many persons outside of Timor-Leste who were indicted for serious crimes committed in 1999 have not been brought to justice.

And we have the text of his briefing available upstairs.

**Burundi

Turning to Burundi, the United Nations refugee agency reports that the first of some 20,000 Congolese refugees living near the insecure border of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are set to move to a camp further inside Burundi.  Tomorrow, UNHCR plans to start relocating the refugees from two transit centres in western Burundi's Cibitoke province to an existing refugee camp at Gasorwe in north-eastern Burundi.

More information is available in a UNHCR press release.

And on the humanitarian note in Burundi, the meningitis vaccination campaign in the northern part of the country was extended yesterday to two areas, where six people died from the disease last week.  The World Health Organization and the United Nations children’s agency are supporting this campaign.  According to the WHO, more than 250,000 people have been vaccinated in northern Burundi in the past month.

**Colombia

On Colombia, the UNHCR has met with Colombian human rights officials to discuss ways to alleviate the grave human rights situation of the population in Altos de Cazuca, an area close to the capital, which is home to tens of thousands of displaced persons.  The refugee agency said that many displaced persons arriving in Altos de Cazuca find a situation no different from the violence from which they were fleeing.  UNHCR’s representative in Colombia, Roberto Meier, says, “It would appear that the conflict is following its victims.”

And we have more information upstairs.

**Polio Outbreak

The ongoing polio outbreak, which began in northern Nigeria has now spread to other parts of Africa.  There have been reinfections reported in Guinea and Mali, and three new cases in the Darfur region of the Sudan.  The WHO says the spread highlights the threat of a major epidemic across West and Central Africa.  These new cases bring the number of previously polio-free countries to be reinfected since January 2003 to 12.  The WHO adds that the cases come just two weeks after the resumption of polio immunization campaigns in the northern Nigerian state of Kano, and reaffirms the need to urgently boost population immunity levels throughout the region.

**WFP/Indonesia Rice

The World Food Programme says it will resume its operations to feed 1.7 million people in Indonesia -- the majority of them malnourished mothers and infants.  The move comes after the decision by the Indonesian Government to exempt humanitarian agencies from its ban on rice imports, which was made in an effort to protect local farmers.

During the time the ban was in place, nearly 12,000 metric tons of rice destined for WFP beneficiaries was held in warehouses and ports, while additional aid shipments of rice en route to Indonesia had to be diverted to other destinations.  And we have more information upstairs.

**UNEP/Barents Sea

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that overfishing, nuclear waste storage, the invasion of the red king crab and a projected six-fold increase in oil and gas transportation are key issues which threaten the unique Barents Sea Arctic ecosystem.  The new study says an absence of long-term planning and legislation are the main causes of these threats.

**Liberia

Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations children’s agency, yesterday began a three-day visit to Liberia to assess the progress made in reintegrating former child combatants with their families.  She will talk to demobilized children, who are now living at UNICEF-sponsored interim care centres, and will also visit a centre for sexually abused children.

And we have a UNICEF press release with more details on that.

**Tharoor/US Open

And lastly, for our sports segment.  Tomorrow, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Shashi Tharoor, will launch the United States Open Tennis Tournament Draw Ceremony, here at United Nations Headquarters.  The draw is the selection process for seeding the majority of players for the US Open Tennis Tournament, which will start out in Queens very shortly.  The launch will take place in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.  Other speakers at this event include United Nations Messenger of Peace and former world-ranked tennis player, Vijay Amritraj, as well as tennis players, Zina Garrison and Patrick McEnroe.

On that note, that’s it for me.  Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Has the Secretary-General’s message on the Middle East been conveyed directly to the Government of Israel?

Associate Spokesman:  Besides the formal statement I have just delivered, I will check if there have been any formal contacts between the United Nations Mission and the Government of Israel.  I will get back to you.

[The Spokesman later answered that there had been no official contact between the UN and the Government of Israel regarding this statement.]

Question:  Regarding the current situation in Iraq, are you optimistic about holding elections in January?

Associate Spokesman:  I think it would be a mistake to try to predict that far ahead.  We are continuing to work very closely with the independent electoral commission of Iraq to prepare for those elections, and we are supporting them in every way we can.

Thank you very much.

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