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.

**Security Council

I’ll start with the Security Council this morning.  Council members began with an open briefing by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, on the recent report issued by the Secretary-General on the Sudan.  The meeting is being followed right now by closed consultations so that Council members can have a chance to discuss the report.

In his briefing, Jan Pronk noted progress made by the Sudanese Government in 10 areas, but flagged two key areas in which the Government had not met its commitments.

First, he said, the Government had not been able to stop attacks by militias against civilians nor disarm these militias.

Second, he said, no concrete steps had been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders or perpetrators of these attacks, allowing violations of human rights to continue in a climate of impunity.

Citing continued insecurity and the responsibility of the Government to protect its people against attacks and violations of human rights -- the essential message of resolution 1556 -- Pronk urged the Government, if it’s unable to fully protect its citizens itself, to seek, request and accept assistance from the international community.

Referring to the Secretary-General’s report, he said an expanded African Union mission in Darfur offers a way towards this end: independent from the parties, widespread, neutral, efficient, reliably backed with logistics and resources supplied by the international community.

Urging a political settlement leading towards sustainable peace, he appealed to the parties to stay at the negotiation table even if they feel frustrated or provoked.

Finally, he said that the Darfur crisis cannot be seen in isolation from the search for a comprehensive solution in Sudan.

Pronk concluded by saying, “we need a lot of attention, a lot of talking, a lot of pressure and a lot of resources”.

Pronk will speak to you at the stakeout shortly following consultations.

**Sudan-Peace Talks

Also on Sudan, in Abuja, peace talks are progressing.

The Government and the two rebel groups reached an agreement yesterday on the draft protocol on the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Darfur, as prepared by the African Union with the assistance from the United Nations and its partners.

The peace talks are expected to focus next on security issues.

**Security Council–Russian Hostage Situation

The Security Council yesterday evening adopted a presidential statement condemning in the strongest terms the taking of hostages at a secondary school in the Russian town of Beslan.  The Council demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

That statement was adopted following consultations on Wednesday afternoon, chaired by the new President of the Security Council for the month of September, Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo of Spain, in which Council members agreed on a programme of work for this month.

And the Council President is scheduled to brief you on the programme of work in this room 226 following their morning session.

The United States and France also circulated, and put into blue, a draft resolution on the Middle East, concerning Lebanon and Syria.  Council members were given time to consider that draft text, and the Council intends to hold consultations at some point this afternoon, with a view to a formal meeting for a vote on that resolution.

**Iraq

From Baghdad, our team reports that RossMountain, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative, met this morning with Sheikh Ghazi Al Yawer, the Interim President of Iraq.  They discussed the role of the United Nations in the electoral, political, humanitarian and reconstruction fields.  The discussions also focused on the security situation in Iraq.

The President said he looked forward to “more of a United Nations role” in his country as United Nations support is essential for the ongoing Iraqi transitional process.

RossMountain also stressed the United Nations commitment to assist the Iraqi people not only in the political process, but also through the provision of humanitarian and reconstruction support.

And we have more on RossMountain’s programme available upstairs.

**Secretary-General’s Statement on Death of Abdullah Saleh Al-Ashtal

Also yesterday afternoon, we issued a statement by the Secretary-General in which he said he was saddened to learn of the death of Ambassador Abdullah Saleh Al-Ashtal, who had served as Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations for almost 30 years.

And the full text of that statement is available to you upstairs.

**Guatemala

Turning to Guatemala:  the United Nations Mission in that country, known as MINUGUA, has called on authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the violence surrounding the eviction of squatters from a farm in southern Guatemala on Tuesday.

MINUGUA calls for the investigation to look into the alleged kidnapping and disappearance of a peasant farmer in the same area a year ago, as well as into human rights abuses which took place during this week’s eviction.

The Mission urges rural workers, landowners and the Guatemalan authorities to refrain from inflammatory statements and to focus on the promotion of a rural development policy.

And more information is available in our office.

**Liberia

From Liberia, the head of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, Jacques Klein, yesterday announced plans to conclude the disarmament of Liberian ex-combatants at the end of October, giving the remaining fighters two more months to give up their arms.

Klein said the leaders of Liberia’s three warring factions would then come together on 1 November to announce formally the end of the disarmament exercise.  Anyone found with weapons after October 30 would be prosecuted for illegal possession of weapons under Liberian law, Klein said.

**Burundi

From Burundi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country, Carolyn McAskie, yesterday welcomed the appointment of the five members of the Independent National Electoral Commission that will organize the country’s elections.

And we put out a press release yesterday afternoon with more details on that.

**Somalia

From Somalia, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in that country has appealed for more funds to support drought-affected people there.

According to the report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), up to a million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance throughout Somalia, including more than 600,000 who are directly affected by the current drought.

The drought, going on for four years, has been the worst since 1974.

And we have more upstairs from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

**Afghanistan

Turning to Afghanistan -- the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, welcomed the news of the 1 millionth Afghan to return home from Iran as a positive step for Afghanistan.

Lubbers said that “behind this figure of 1 million returns from Iran, there are 1 million individual stories, 1 million people who made the choice to go back, and are now rebuilding not just their own lives, but also their homeland”.

UNHCR has more details on its Web site, and we have also the briefing notes from the United Nations Mission in Kabul available for you upstairs.

**FAO-Locust Update

Update on the Food and Agriculture Organization’s effort to fight the locusts -- the next two months will be “extremely crucial” in the battle to control the desert locust outbreak in West Africa.  That’s the message from Jacques Diouf, the Director-General of the FAO.

He said that, to make a real impact, help must arrive this month in order to disrupt the next locust breeding cycle in October –- otherwise the infestation could spread to even more countries in Africa.  FAO has called on international donors for $100 million to help fight the pest –- so far, it’s received pledges for $37 million.

And we have a press release from FAO upstairs on that.

**ICTY

And lastly, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia today instructed its Registrar to appoint counsel for Slobodan Milosevic.  It said that the Registrar should try first to secure the appointments of British attorneys Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins.  It’s up to Milosevic, the court added, to invite the trial chamber to consider a reasonable request to be permitted to instruct his own counsel.

And we have a press release available on that upstairs.

And that is it for me.  Any questions?  Richard.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  From upstairs it appeared that you had some trouble reading the statements.  Was that do to the shaving of your beard that you lost something -- your strength?  All right.  No comment.

Number two.  Last night, Zell Miller, Senator of the United States, said Senator Kerry has made it clear that he would use military force only if approved by the United Nations.  “Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending.  I want Bush to decide.”  Does the United Nations think that it’s now once again being used as a scapegoat in the United States political arena for domestic consumption or have any comment on the remarks, including by Vice-President Cheney, who said the President has made it very clear there is a difference between leading a coalition of many nations and submitting to the objections of a few.  George Bush will never seek a permission slip to defend the American people.  Applause, applause, from those who were there.

Associate Spokesman:  I don’t think I’ll take the bait, Richard.  We’re not going to comment on the speeches which are held in a political convention during an election campaign.

I will reiterate what I think Marie touched upon yesterday about our efforts to reach out to the Republican delegates while they are in New York.  We had yesterday more than 400 young Republicans –- college, high school Republicans –- who came here for a tour of the United Nations and a discussion with a number of senior United Nations officials.  And the atmosphere could not have been any better.

And we also had Republican delegates come here and take the tours of the United Nations.  So, with the help of the United Nations Foundation, we’re taking the opportunity to reach out to them.

Question:  You were there.  Did they have any preconceived notions that you were surprised about regarding the United Nations?  Were they generally aware...?

Associate Spokesman:  They were extremely well informed about how the United Nations actually works and how the Member States interact with each other, and the issues that are high on the United Nations agenda.

Question:  Has Secretary-General Annan spoken by phone or met in any way, even clandestinely, with Senator Kerry?  I know that he met with Tony Blair before he was Prime Minister, about eight or nine years ago.  Has there been any talk between the two over the last few weeks?

Associate Spokesman:  Not that I’m aware of, and I don’t think there -- I will double check, but I believe the answer to that is no.

Question:  Concerning the report from the Secretary-General concerning Sudan:  is it that Sudan’s Government is unable to stop the killings of the people at Darfur?

Associate Spokesman: I think that’s fairly much the conclusion of the report, as Mr. Pronk explained.  But he will be available to you in less than half an hour, and he will explain himself further directly to you, so I will encourage you to ask him questions.

Question:  Is the Secretary-General meeting with any of the Republicans?  Did he go to any private parties or host them at all?

Associate Spokesman:  No, the Secretary-General is still away on holiday.

Thank you very much.

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