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 Spokesperson for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Good afternoon.

**Sudan

Starting off with the Sudan.  Over the weekend, the joint mission of the United Nations and Sudanese officials to Darfur concluded its visit to areas selected by the Sudanese Government in south, north and west Darfur.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, who led that mission, is scheduled to arrive this evening in New York and will hand over his report to the Secretary-General.  Pronk is then scheduled to brief the Security Council on Thursday, which will include the findings of the Darfur mission.

Meanwhile, the political talks in Abuja, Nigeria, between the Government of the Sudan and the two rebel groups -- the Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) -- have resumed and will continue through the rest of the week.  The parties agreed on the agenda which contains four items: humanitarian issues; security; political issues; and social and economic issues.

**Sudan-Humanitarian Situation

Turning to the humanitarian situation, Dennis McNamara, the Director of the United Nations Internal Displacement Division, told reporters in Nairobi today that there is a chronic protection crisis in Darfur, which is inadequately addressed by humanitarian agencies, the Government of Sudan and the donors.  He said the population is traumatized and humiliated.

Specifically, he said, despite the best efforts of the African Union, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, there remains constant, regular pressure and harassment from the Government on the displaced population to return to their areas of origin.

Secondly, McNamara said the problem of sexual violence and rape against women and girls is widespread and of immense proportions.

Attacks occur most frequently during trips to collect firewood and victims claim their attackers are the Janjaweed militia.

Women are both ashamed and afraid to report rapes to the police and, under current Sudanese law, this excludes them from hospital treatment, McNamara said.

Also on Sudan, the Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement have signed a United Nations-facilitated agreement on a national mine action strategy.

And over the weekend, a convoy of trucks carrying the first consignment of emergency food aid across the Sahara desert for Sudanese refugees in Chad left Libya, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

**Burundi

Turning to Burundi:  the Secretary-General’s report on the United Nations Operation in Burundi is now out on the racks.

In it, the Secretary-General notes that the world was horrified by the massacre at Gatumba.

The United Nations has received reports that Rwandan ex-FAR/Interhamwe, and Congolese Mayi Mayi elements and Burundian Forces Nationales de Libération elements may have all been involved in the massacre.  These reports are being investigated, as requested by the Security Council.

In the meantime, the Secretary-General has called on the Governments of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda to put an end to the ethnic-based hostilities and abuse that has afflicted the people of the subregion for so long.

In the report, the Secretary-General also expressed concern over the slow pace of the Burundian peace process, particularly in regard to negotiations on post-transition, power sharing and security sector reform, as well as the electoral timetable.

He called on all the Burundian parties to work together to fulfil their commitments to complete the transitional process and hold elections on schedule by 31 October.

**Statement on Afghanistan

I now have a statement on Afghanistan.

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the violent attacks that were carried out on Sunday in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as well as in Paktia province.  He is particularly troubled by the high toll of dead and wounded, including children.

The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan (ISAF), and the Coalition forces to take the necessary safety and security measures to support those working on the ongoing electoral process.

The Secretary-General expresses his profound condolences to the bereaved families.

**Afghanistan

Also on Afghanistan, the United Nations Mission there reports that a vehicle of the Joint Electoral Management Body was damaged by explosives on Saturday in the town of Rodat, in NangarharProvince.

The vehicle was transporting two National Field Coordinators and the driver.  None of them were hurt, although the vehicle sustained some minor damage.

And we have more from the Kabul briefing available upstairs.

**Iraq

Turning to Iraq:  the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Iraq, RossMountain, arrived in Baghdad yesterday.

This morning, he and other United Nations officials met with Mahdi al Hafez, Iraq’s Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation.  Preparations for the Tokyo Donor Meeting in October were discussed among a number of other important issues.

The Minister thanked the United Nations for the cooperation received and reiterated a request for the Organization to support rehabilitation and reintegration efforts in Iraqi cities which have recently witnessed armed confrontations, including Najaf and SadrCity in Baghdad.

**Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission

A special meeting of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission took place at the level of Heads of delegations in Yaounde, Cameroon, yesterday to discuss issues related to the BakassiPeninsula.

The meeting was chaired by Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Chair of the Mixed Commission.

Chaired by the United Nations Special Representative, the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission is a mechanism established by the Secretary-General in November 2002 at the request of Presidents of both Cameroon and Nigeria to follow-up on the implementation of the decision of the International Court of Justice on the border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria.

**Swaziland

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that a newly released report has found that a dramatically lower number of teenage girls in Swaziland are being infected by HIV than previously estimated.

The report, commissioned by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), suggests a turning point in the battle against HIV/AIDS in the country with the world’s highest HIV infection rates.

The findings revealed that only 6 per cent of girls between ages of 15 and 19 were HIV-positive, with most of the HIV infections occurring amongst older girls.

OCHA says that analysts have attributed the decrease in number to the differing attitudes towards AIDS between older and younger girls, with younger teenagers having sought out as much information as possible to avoid infection.

**Ethiopia

Also from the Humanitarian Office -– they report that Ethiopia’s gross relief food requirements for the time period of August-December this year are around 523,000 tons.

Taking into account the overall number of confirmed contributions, the current shortfall for that period is 81,000 tons.

Unless further contributions are confirmed, there may be shortfalls in cereals starting in November.

**UNESCO Statement on Murder of Italian Journalist

In a statement issued on Friday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) condemned the assassinations in Iraq of an Italian journalist and his interpreter.

Both were kidnapped on 20 August and reported executed last week.

UNESCO’s Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura also voiced outrage at the increasing targeting of media professionals in Iraq, adding that it’s encouraging to see that the profession’s commitment remains unflagging despite the heavy death toll.

UNESCO said that according to the International News Safety Institute, 51 journalists and media workers have been killed in Iraq in the past 17 months, making the conflict one of the bloodiest for the profession.

And we have more in a press release from UNESCO available upstairs.

**United Nations Day of Disappeared

Today is International Day of the Disappeared –- and the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is calling upon all governments to take action to prevent disappearances and, in particular, to end the practice of secret detentions.

In particular, the Working Group has expressed concern over reports from reputable NGOs on the situation in countries such as Nepal, Colombia and the Russian Federation.

Meanwhile, in Kosovo, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Søren Jessen-Petersen, called for more action in this area in an appeal to individuals and organizations.

Jessen-Petersen urged all concerned with missing persons’ issues, as well as civil society and the international community, to establish the fate and whereabouts of the missing persons -– approximately 3,000 people are missing in Kosovo.

**UNMOGIP

One appointment -- the Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Major-General Guido Palmieri, of Italy, as the Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Observer Group in India and Pakistan.

Major-General Palmieri has served in the Italian armed forces since 1967, has been working with NATO since 1994, and we have a biography available of him upstairs.

**ICTY

And lastly, David Tolbert, of the United States today began his duties as Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, following his appointment by the Secretary-General.

And we have upstairs some background information available on him in a press release from the Tribunal.

And I think that is it from me.  Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Could you give us some idea of when the Secretary-General’s report on Sudan might be available, and is there any chance that we could get to perhaps ask Mr. Pronk a few questions tomorrow?

Associate Spokesman:  We will try to get to him as soon as he lands in New York to get a better idea of the schedule.  What we do know is that the Secretary-General will get a copy of it this evening, and once Mr. Pronk lands, we’ll be able to get more details on when we expect it to go to the Council.

Question:  I’m sorry, I came in late, so I don’t know if you mentioned this, did you talk about the report that came out of Vienna about Libya complying with declaring what their arms are and there was something out on the wires...

Associate Spokesman:  No, I saw the wire reports, I think that’s a report that apparently leaked and is to be considered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors when it meets, I think, within a week in Vienna.  But I don’t have any comment on that.

Question:  Do you know when the Burundi report, the investigation into Gatumba, is that going to be released?  When is it going to be given to the Council?

Associate Spokesman:  The findings of the report will be shared with the Council as soon it is available and completed.  So that’s still being worked on.  No, I don’t have a date for you.

Question:  Does the United Nations plan to shortly name a new Security Chief?  Is there a name soon to be announced?

Associate Spokesman:  We hope to have a name announced.  It’s an issue that’s being worked on, but I don’t have any date for you on that either.

Question:  Was there a follow-up report on the evacuation Friday, which I was not part of, but was it a success?  The time was read out -– in 29 minutes everybody got out –- has there been any review of it, was it proper, fast?

Associate Spokesman:  We gave you the elements on the numbers and times as soon as we had them.  Obviously after one of these events, procedures are reviewed and issues that went well and did not go well are being taken a look at.  It is a process that’s ongoing right now.

Question:  Is the United Nations glad the Republican Convention is here?

Associate Spokesman:  In fact, we will be hosting a group of mostly college Republicans, young Republicans, on Wednesday here -– about 600 of them -– in an event sponsored by the United Nations Foundation, where they will get a tour of the United Nations, and get a chance to speak to some United Nations officials.  I think it is a good opportunity for us to reach out to them, since they’re all here in New York.

Question:  You’ll have to do a photo opportunity with the elephant in the garden.

Associate Spokesman:  I’ll leave that to you, Richard.

Question:  The appointment of Major-General Palmieri, is it going to be for one year or two years?  Do you have any idea?

Associate Spokesman:  I can give you that answer pretty quickly.

[The Associate Spokesman later announced that the appointment of the UNMOGIP Chief Military Observer is for one year.]

Thank you all.

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