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 Marie Okabe, Spokesperson for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Good afternoon.  I hope everybody had a good three-day weekend.

I understand we have some journalists visiting from Israel.  Welcome to the United Nations.

**Secretary-General’s Trip to Mexico

The Secretary-General will be leaving for Mexico City today to attend a seminar on "Democracy, Politics and the State", organized jointly by the Government of Mexico and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The seminar is intended to contribute to the public debate by Latin American countries on strengthening their democracies.  It will be based on a report issued by UNDP in April of this year on the state of democracy and public opinion in the region.

While in Mexico City, the Secretary-General will also meet President Vicente Fox, Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, members of the Senate External Relations Commission and of the Federal Electoral Institute, and representatives of the academic and business world.  He is also expected to meet the press.

This stay in Mexico will be his first since he attended the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development in March 2002, and his third visit to Mexico as Secretary-General.  We expect to have embargoed copies of his speech later this afternoon.

**Secretary-General on Sudan

The Secretary-General told reporters today on his way into United Nations Headquarters that he expects the Security Council to take action on his report on Sudan within the next week, and argued that “we believe that more can and should be done” on the security front in that country.

The Secretary-General said that his Special Representative, Jan Pronk, had made it very clear that, while humanitarian access has improved, “a lot needs to be done on the security front.”  He urged the Sudanese Government to adopt a strategic approach to bring peace to the whole of Sudan, including between the north and south, as well as in Darfur.

**Sudan

The parties to the political talks on the Darfur crisis taking place in Abuja, Nigeria, continue to discuss a draft protocol on security issues prepared by the African Union mediation together with the United Nations and other partners.

The issues on contention include disarmament and monitoring.  The mediation with the support of the partners is trying to assist the parties to reach what could be a viable compromise.

On the humanitarian front, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that in August, it had been able to reach almost one million persons in Darfur with food aid, despite especially difficult and dangerous working conditions.  The good news was that WFP had reached almost one million persons, but the bad news was that it had not reached its goal of 1.2 million people.  The obstacles in August were particularly bad, including the rainy season, insecurity and the shortage of funds. 

**Statement on Release of Moroccan Soldier

I have a statement attributable to the Spokesman that just came in.

The Secretary-General is relieved to learn of the release yesterday of Private Rashid Zahidi, a member of the Moroccan contingent serving with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).  The Moroccan soldier had been detained by elements belonging to the Union des Patriots Congolais (UPC) since 2 September.

The Secretary-General concurs with the Transitional Government’s communiqué of 6 September that such an act also constituted a flagrant violation of the 14 May 2004 “Acte d’engagement” signed by the leaders of armed groups in Ituri, and calls on concerned to recommit themselves to bring the Ituri peace process back on track.

The Secretary-General wishes to express his appreciation to the Transitional Government for its cooperation and is grateful to his Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other Mission officials for their efforts to obtain the earliest possible release of the Moroccan solider.

And that’s available upstairs for you.

**Secretary-General’s Comments

The Secretary-General was asked, on entering the building, about the situation in Lebanon and Syria, and said that he had made clear at the recent African Union summit that governments should refrain from tampering with the Constitution.  The Constitution is for the long-term interest of the nation and should not be changed to suit the needs of one individual, he said.

Asked about the US elections, the Secretary-General said that the United Nations is “working well with this administration” and voiced his confidence that it will work well with the next one.

Concerning comments made at last week’s Republican National Convention, he said that, regardless of statements made during elections, every country, including the United States administration, is working seriously with the United Nations.  He added, “On the question of multilateralism, I think the world is on our side.”

Asked about a theme for this year’s General Assembly, he said, “It would not be bad if we all concentrated on the rule of law.”

We have the transcript of his comments upstairs.  That should be available shortly.

**Iraq

Turning to Iraq:  Over the last three days, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative there, RossMountain, held a series of meetings with Iraq’s President, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister -- among others.

Mountain reiterated the United Nations current priorities -- elections and the political process, and the humanitarian and reconstruction work of United Nations system.  He also discussed the preparatory work for the forthcoming elections and the support the United Nations is extending to the relevant Iraqi institutions.

Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said the UN’s return was long overdue, as the international organization is and will be necessary to energize the political and reconstruction process in Iraq.  In this regard, the Minister called for UN support in Iraq’s efforts to hold soon an international conference on reconstruction that would include the neighbouring countries.

Also on Iraq, but closer to home, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, is in New York this week.

We will have him as a guest at the Noon Briefing on Thursday.  Yesterday, Qazi met with the Secretary-General at the residence.

**UNRWA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reports that a child sitting in the classroom of a UN-flagged school in Gaza was struck in the head by gunfire from an Israeli position.  This is the third such incident in 18 months.

The Israeli fire towards Khan Yunis was in retaliation for a Palestinian Kassam rocket which had been fired towards the settlement of Neve Dekalim.

Following the incident, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said the Agency would protest this incident to Israeli authorities in the strongest terms.  He added that the kind of live firing into refugee camps is so indiscriminate that it makes classrooms dangerous for 10-year old children and is totally unacceptable.  A press release from UNRWA is available upstairs.

**Haiti

The Secretary-General says it’s encouraging that the overall situation in Haiti has become calmer and more stable -- but it’s clear that international efforts to help the country must be accompanied by sustainable economic development and income-generating activities.

That’s one of the conclusions of the Secretary-General’s latest report on the United Nations Mission in Haiti, which is out on the racks today.  In it, the Secretary-General also appeals for donors to deliver on commitments made at the donors’ conference in July in a timely manner.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Juan Gabriel Valdes, addressed political leaders, civil society and representatives of international organizations during the opening of a workshop over the weekend, organized by the Provisional Electoral Council to initiate discussions concerning Haiti’s democratic elections next year.  We have more on that in a press release upstairs.

**Secretary-General’s Report on Millennium Declaration

Developing countries are reducing extreme poverty, extending access to primary education and alleviating disease and hunger in many parts of the world, in pursuit of targets set in the year-2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration.  Those are some of the findings of the Secretary-General's annual progress report on the implementation of the Declaration, which is out today.

But the United Nations warns that progress has been hardest to come by in the poorest nations; those that are landlocked or least developed, and those that are in sub-Saharan Africa.  In many cases, there’s lack of significant progress or even reversals.

There are eight Millennium Development Goals derived from the Declaration, which set targets for progress in areas ranging from poverty to disease -- most of the targets call for substantial improvements by 2015, compared with 1990.  We have more on this upstairs.  There are press kits available, and we have a resource person here to take your questions, should you have any.

**Security Council

Turning to the Security Council:  At 3:00 this afternoon, the Security Council will hold closed consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Council members are expected to discuss a draft resolution concerning the proposals, included in the Secretary-General’s recent report, on the strengthening of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in that country.

**Afghanistan

On Afghanistan, the campaign for Afghanistan’s presidential election officially began today, and it is to last for 30 days.  Afghanistan’s Joint Electoral Management Body has prepared a set of regulations, procedures and a code of conduct to govern the campaign period, during which 18 candidates are running for President.  We have more information in a press release upstairs and in the Sunday briefing notes from Kabul mention election developments as well.

**Locusts

An update provided by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shows that the desert locusts are spreading rapidly causing significant crop damage.  The latest assessment estimates that some 4.3 million hectares of crops need to be treated with pesticide to protect them from the swarm.  We have more information available in a press release upstairs.

**WHO - Ageing

We also have a World Health Organization (WHO) press release on ageing.  More than one billion people will be over 60 years old by the year 2025 and, as populations age, the burden of chronic diseases will increase.

**United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

And turning to the environment -- for those of you with a taste for fine food -- the 2004 export quotas for three Black Sea countries that jointly manage the sturgeon stocks that spawn every year in the DanubeRiver were published today.  We have more on this in a press release.

**World Chronicle

And finally, World Chronicle programme no. 945, a special edition on the “United Nations and Africa” will be shown today at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television channel 16.

This show features an in-depth interview with the Secretary-General recorded just prior to the African Union summit meeting in June.  Ben Malor of UN Radio presents this interview, and topics include peacekeeping in Africa, HIV/AIDS and economic development, as well as the crisis in Darfur.

And that’s all I have for you today.  Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Marie, are we going to get any readouts on the Secretary-General’s meetings this morning with the former Sudanese Prime Minister and John Garang?

Associate Spokesperson:  The meetings were ending when I was leaving, so I’ll try to get that for you after the briefing.  I know that John Garang was downstairs, and we tried to hold him for a little bit to speak to you, but unfortunately that didn’t work out.

Question:  When will the Secretary-General be back from Mexico?

Associate Spokesperson:  He should be back by the end of the weekend.

Question:  First of all, is the Secretary-General going to be meeting with the Mayor of Mexico City when he goes to Mexico?

Associate Spokesperson:  I don’t think we’re providing detailed programmes on his day to day schedule for security reasons, so what I had announced to you earlier is the information we have now.  I think we will be confirming these meetings once they have taken place.  But I can also give you the spokesman travelling with the Secretary-General and she can confirm these appointments with you.

Question:  And also, does the Secretary-General have any comment about Simona Pari and Simona Torretta who were abducted today in Iraq -- the two humanitarian workers?

Associate Spokesperson:  Not yet.  We have not received any official statement, but if there is, I’ll let you know.

Question:  A few international civil servants have re-entered Iraq recently.  Do you know how many have actually re-entered Iraq, and is this a sign that the Secretary-General is confident that their security will be assured?

Associate Spokesperson:  Well, as you know, the Secretary-General today at the stakeout also mentioned how closely he was watching events in Iraq.  His report to the Security Council, which will give an overview of his thoughts, is going to be out, I think, either later today or tomorrow.  And I would like to draw your attention on that once it comes out.  I’m certain it will address some of his security concerns.  [The correspondent was later informed that the numbers fluctuate between 10 and 30.]

As for the numbers on the ground, I would like to check the precise figure, and I’ll get back to you after the noon briefing.

Question:  The ballots for the Iraqi thing -- are going to be distributed by the United Nations and Iraq, or what?

Associate Spokesperson:  I’m not sure details of that nature have been decided upon, but let me look into that for you, and get back to you after the briefing.  [The reporter was informed that the elections are being organized by Iraq’s Independent Electoral Commission, with the support of the United Nations.]

Question:  Foreign Minister Zebari of Iraq has asked the Secretary-General for support for the international conference on reconstruction.  Do you know when this conference will take place, and which neighbouring countries will participate?

Associate Spokesperson:  Let me find the details for you, and I’ll get back to you on that as well.  [The correspondent was later informed that the details were still being worked on.]

If there are no other questions, have a pleasant afternoon.  Thank you.

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