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 the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

Our guest today will be Vincent McClean, the New York Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, who will join me after the briefing to talk about this year’s Myanmar Opium Survey. 

** Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

I have a statement on Afghanistan, on the election:

“The Secretary-General was pleased to learn of the enthusiastic voter turnout in Saturday’s poll for Afghanistan’s first elected President.  It presented the Afghans with a historic opportunity towards the establishment of a stable and democratic State for which they have worked so hard and deserve.  That this election was held without major security incident is a tribute to the determination of the Afghan population.  A number of presidential candidates have cited some electoral irregularities which are being investigated.  The Secretary-General urges the presidential candidates and their supporters to continue to work through lawful measures to resolve such disputes.

“The Secretary-General calls on the Afghans, with the support of the international community, to work in concert to ensure Afghanistan’s transition of a peaceful and democratic nation.”

**Afghanistan

As noted, the UN Mission in Afghanistan said there were some problems in applying indelible ink to voters’ fingers to prevent them from voting more than once, but said that by the late morning, the problem of how to ink voters’ fingers had been addressed.  That and other irregularities will need to be investigated by the Joint Electoral Management Body, according to the UN Mission.

For its part, the Joint Electoral Management Body issued a statement today saying that it has decided to request the UN to identify an impartial panel of international electoral experts to fully investigate irregularities and difficulties encountered on election day.

The panel members, who have been nominated by the United Nations, are Craig Jenness of Canada and Staffan Darnolf of Sweden.  We have also requested that the European Union identify another expert to work with the panel.

Presidential candidates are to submit their detailed complaints by tomorrow evening, 6:00 p.m., Afghanistan time.  The panel of experts will immediately and carefully review these complaints.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

“The Secretary-General welcomes the election yesterday of Mr. Abdullahi Yusuf as the transitional president of Somalia by the Transitional Federal Parliament. 

“He considers this as another important step toward the re-establishment of peace and stability in Somalia, and he looks forward to the formation, in the near future, of a Transitional Federal Government capable of beginning reconciliation and reconstruction in a spirit of consensus and dialogue.

“The Secretary-General commends the efforts of President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, his Government, and other Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) leaders, the countries in the IGAD Partners Forum and organizations that have assisted the Somali peace process for almost two years.  

“The Secretary-General reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to do its utmost to support the return of normalcy and good governance in Somalia.  He urges all Somalis to be part of the effort to restore peace and security to their country.”

And that statement is available upstairs.

**SG in China

The Secretary-General is in China, as you know.  Today he met in Beijing with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing for an extensive discussion of international issues that continued through a working lunch.

They spoke in detail about UN reform, and also discussed, among other topics, the six-nation process dealing with North Korea, Taiwan, the UN role in Iraq, and the recent election in Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear issue, Sudan’s Darfur crisis and Myanmar.

In a press encounter, the Secretary-General was asked about the international conference on Iraq, and said that “it is going to be an important meeting”, and declined to comment on whether the Iraqi resistance would be invited.

“I think the underlying message of that conference”, he said, “is that the stability of Iraq is in the interest of every country”.

The Secretary-General then went on to TsinghuaUniversity, a centre of academic excellence in Beijing, where he told the students,“no visitor can help feeling the excitement of a great country developing at breakneck speed, and every day opening up new vistas of knowledge and opportunity to its citizens.”

He called on China to help the world reach the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals, saying that, if it didn’t, there would be “terrible consequences for humanity”.

Also today, the Secretary-General addressed several hundred assembled United Nations staff at UN House and took questions from several of them.  At the same venue, he participated in a celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the UN’s presence in China, attended by senior Chinese officials as well as UN staff.

And we have more upstairs on the Secretary-General’s programme.

**Sudan – Political

In Nairobi, Kenya -- site of the peace talks on ending the North-South conflict in Sudan -- the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, today met with the a rebel SLA delegation from Darfur.

Discussions focused on the forthcoming peace talks on Darfur to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, and recent developments in Darfur.  Mr. Pronk stressed the importance of pursing a negotiated political settlement on Darfur, which addresses the root causes in a sustainable way.

Also in Nairobi, Mr. Pronk met with Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Othman Mohamed Taha, who briefed him on the ongoing talks between the Sudanese Government and the rebel People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

In addition, Mr. Pronk met with John Garang, the Chairman of the SPLM/A.  They also discussed the status of the ongoing talks in Nairobi.

In both these meetings, Mr. Pronk reiterated the need for both parties to seize this last chance to put an end to their conflict.

**Sudan - Humanitarian

On the humanitarian side, in a press release, the UN mission in Sudan, deplored the loss of life yesterday of two humanitarian aid workers working for Save the Children (UK).

Initial reports state that a Save the Children vehicle was hit by an explosion in North Darfur.  The mission said it was believed that this explosion was caused by a landmine or some Un-Exploded Ordnance (UXO).

**Haiti – Peacekeepers Wounded

Turning to Haiti, this past Saturday, peacekeepers and civilian police from the UN Mission in Haiti conducted a joint operation in Port-au-Prince with the Haitian National Police, which led to the arrest of 73 people.

The operation lasted close to five hours, and one Brazilian soldier was slightly injured, another one was shot at, but not injured, and one member of the National Police was also wounded.

Also, on Saturday evening, in the northern city of Gonaïves, an Argentine soldier was wounded while clearing a roadblock.  The incident followed an official visit to Gonaïves by Hatiain interim President Boniface Alexandre.

His visit coincided with a strong anti-government protest, which saw the President’s delegation run into a blockade made up of old vehicles, burning tyres, and rocks which prevented the delegation from leaving.

And we have more information upstairs.

**Security Council

Turning to the Security Council, Council members this morning are holding consultations on Cyprus and Bougainville.

On Cyprus, the Chief of the UN Mission in Cyprus, Zbigniew Wlosowicz briefed members on the latest report in which the Secretary-General recommended approval of the mission’s amended concept of operations and force level.  He had also recommended the extension of the mission's mandate for a further six-month period, through 15 June 2005.

On Bougainville, Council members were briefed on a report that noted major progress in the peace process in recent months.  Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Danilo Türk gave that briefing.

And we do expect the members of the Council to issue a statement on Somalia following the consultations.

**Lebanon – Air Violations

Staffan di Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, has expressed serious concern over the large number of Israeli air violations that took place across the Blue Line today.

Twelve air violations were recorded.  There have been no reports of anti-aircraft fire.

The UN again calls on the Israeli authorities to cease these violations of the Blue Line and reminds all concerned that one violation cannot justify another.

**UNICEF - Vaccine strategy

From UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the children’s agency, is calling for a “coalition of the powerful” to improve the routine immunization of the world’s children.  Bellamy made the call in her keynote address to the World Vaccine Congress, taking place in Lyon, France, today.

**WHO - Global Pain Day

Today is the first Global Day Against Pain.  The World Health Organization is one of the day’s co-sponsors, and the aim is to draw global attention to the urgent need for better pain relief for sufferers from diseases such as cancer and AIDS.

WHO says the majority of those suffering unrelieved pain are in low- and middle-income countries, and limited health resources shouldn’t be allowed to deny sick people and their families the dignity of access to pain relief and palliative care -- which are integral to the right to enjoy good health.

And we have more upstairs from WHO.

**DSG

Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, will present the report on UN security to the UN’s main budgetary bodies.  On the following day, Thursday, she will be here at the noon briefing, to discuss the work being done by the UN Secretariat to enhance security.

**Guest at Noon Tomorrow

And our guest at noon tomorrow will be Wolfgang Petritsch, the President-designate of the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, which is the first review conference of the anti-personnel mine-ban treaty.

**UN Chronicle

And lastly, World Chronicle programme 946, hosted by Tony Jenkins, will be shown today at 3:30.  The guest is Salil Shetty, the Director of the UN’s Millennium campaign.

And that’s it from me.  Are there any questions before turning to Mr. McClean?  Yes, sir?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Yes, on Afghanistan, how is the team going to work?  I mean, will they basically just... This is kind of to assess the complaints.  Will they just look at bits of paper and then determine, or will they be travelling around the country, or... how’s that going to work?  And I am also wondering what sort of freedom they have to give... I don’t know, say whether these claims have validity or not, given that the UN has already essentially said the elections are free and fair?

Associate Spokesman:  I think they have until 6 p.m. Tuesday to file claims.  The presidential candidates that have claims to file are in the process of filing them.  So, let’s look at the claims first.  I will have to get you details on exactly what the procedures will be for the Commission; how they will do their work.  But I am sure it will go beyond just reading the claims.

Any other questions?  Mr. McClean?

[Briefing by Mr. McClean covered separately.]

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