Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

AND THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

 

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric de la Rivière, Associate Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General, and Djibril Diallo, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon. Pardon for the delay.

**S-G in China

Starting with the Secretary-General, he left Beijing earlier today, and arrived this afternoon in Dublin, Ireland, where he will meet with the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and other senior officials in the coming days.

Yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, with whom he discussed efforts to stabilize Iraq and the lessons of that war.  The President said he felt the UN’s role in the world had to be strengthened.  They also discussed the Millennium Development Goals, UN reform, the worsening situation between Israelis and Palestinians, the six-party talks on North Korea, and Iran’s nuclear programme, as well as Taiwan.

The Secretary-General invited the President to attend the summit next year at next year’s General Assembly, marking the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations.  And the President accepted his invitation.

**UNRWA

Turning to the Middle East, the nine-year-old girl who was shot yesterday while in a UN-flagged school in the Gaza Strip died of her injuries this morning, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

She is the second young child in recent weeks to die after being shot while sitting at her UNRWA school.

The Agency’s Commissioner-General, Peter Hansen, said the two killings are “horrific by anyone’s standards.  Schools should be havens of peace”.

The Agency has repeatedly called on the Israeli military to stop firing at its schools.  There have now been four such incidents in the past two years.

And we have a press release with more details available upstairs.

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

I now have a statement, also on the Middle East and UNRWA:

“The Israeli Government has acknowledged that the video of the UNRWA ambulance does in fact show the driver handling a stretcher and not a rocket, as first reported.

“The Secretary-General is committed to preventing the illegal use of UN vehicles or facilities by armed militants.  Should any further issues arise, the Secretary-General expects the Government of Israel to share with the United Nations, through normal diplomatic channels, any information it might have so that the matter may be properly investigated.”

This statement is available upstairs.

**Iraq - Reconstitution

Turning to Iraq, everything must be done between now and January to foster a political climate in Iraq that is conducive to open, free and fair elections, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Mark Malloch Brown, told a donor conference on Iraq in Tokyo today.

But Malloch Brown added that we should not be short-sighted to look only at a timetable that takes us to January.  He said we must also ensure that after the elections, the Iraqi people start to have a choice about lifestyle, education and jobs.

He said that, because UN staff are among those targeted in Iraq, the UN presence has not been in the numbers that it should be.  “It is not enough, and we know it”, he said.

He told donors that UNDP had transferred some 400 million dollars to UN implementing organizations for forty approved projects.

And we have copies of his speech available upstairs.

**Sudan

Turning to the Sudan, the World Food Programme says that the security situation in all three states of Darfur is extremely volatile and is adversely affecting the delivery of food aid, especially in north Darfur.

The UN mission in Sudan reports that the north-western area of north Darfur has been declared a no-go area for UN agencies following the tragic incident over the weekend when two humanitarian staff were killed and one was injured after their vehicle hit a landmine.

In its weekly briefing in Khartoum, the UN mission there reports that the polio national immunization campaign is progressing well, with a high-level participation in the launch in west Darfur.

And on the political front, the next round of Abuja peace talks on the situation in Darfur is scheduled to start on October 21.  In his discussions with the Government of Sudan and the rebel groups, the Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, recommended that they focus, during the latest round of talks, on the political issues and to tackle the root causes of the conflict.  He also called on all parties to engage in negotiations with good faith and with a firm commitment to achieve a sustainable peace settlement.  The United Nations will participate at the Abuja meetings.

**Security Council

Here in New York, there are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today.

One Security Council document we would like to flag for you is the latest report of the board of auditors of the UN Compensation Commission for Iraq, which is, as you know, based in Geneva.

**Côte d’Ivoire - Humanitarian

On Côte d’Ivoire, on the humanitarian side, the 12 confirmed cases of polio in Côte d’Ivoire in less than a year mark a drastic increase in a country in which polio was thought to have been eradicated, says the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The latest cases have all been confirmed in the northern zone of the country, where medical services have been largely cut off since the country plunged into conflict two years ago.

To date, humanitarian agencies have received just 6 per cent of the $14.3 million they have requested to carry out emergency health programmes in Côte d’Ivoire.

And we have more upstairs in a note from OCHA.

**Horn of Africa - Humanitarian

Also on the humanitarian front, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa, Martti Ahtisaari, arrives today in Asmara, Eritrea to review the humanitarian situation in the country. 

High on his agenda will be efforts to raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Eritrea and ongoing measures to address the food and security situation.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that it has learned that inadequate rainfall in September could result in a "total failure" of long-cycle crops and even below-average harvest of short-cycle crops in Eritrea.

**UNICEF - East Europe Report

The UN Children’s Fund released a report today that finds that millions of children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia still live in poverty despite economic progress in every country.

And we have more upstairs on that report.

**DSG – US Council for International Business

Last night the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, addressed a meeting of the US Council for International Business.  She noted that the UN has long worked with business but it is only in recent years that the UN has really opened up to business and tried to breathe life into that relationship.

According to Ms. Fréchette, many things have to be done to build a fairer and more sustainable globalization.  But one of them is to work more closely with key agents of globalization, including business, and to encourage them to assume their responsibilities.  And, the full text of her speech is available upstairs.

**FAO - Locusts Critical

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that numerous locust swarms are now on the move across the Sahelian countries of West Africa, and the campaign to control them is entering a critical phase.

The FAO and World Food Programme report significant crop damage in the areas affected.  We have more in a press release upstairs.

**Cities - Caviar Limits

Just a few more items. Time limits are to be placed on the international trade in caviar, according to a decision taken by delegates at the tirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

And we have more upstairs on that as well.

**CEDAW – Twenty-fifth Anniversary

Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, also known as the CEDAW Convention.

In a statement released today to mark the occasion, the CEDAW Committee has said that even though much progress towards eliminating discrimination against women has been made since the Convention was adopted, in no country in the world has women’s full de jure and de facto equality been achieved, with discriminatory laws still on the statute books of many States.  And a press release and a statement from the committee are available at the documents counter.

**UNEP – Women Environmentalists

In Nairobi, wrapping up a landmark conference entitled “Women as the Voice for the Environment” (or WAVE), delegates expressed deep concern about the massive, continuing degradation of the environment, with its far-reaching effects on health and livelihoods of communities, particularly towards indigenous women.

They’ve made a number of recommendations, and we have more information on that upstairs.

**UNFPA - Migration

Yesterday, we flagged a number of events marking the tenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the head of the UN Population Fund, speaking at a round table yesterday, noted that international migration is increasingly being perceived as a development tool and a main source of capital for developing countries, rather than a failure of development.  As such, she said, the world must put migration at the centre of the global development agenda and mainstream population policy. 

**Afghanistan - Helicopter

Yesterday, I had mentioned to you that there had been a UN helicopter that had forced to land, stranding eight people near the Afghanistan-China border, and that the helicopter was flying to pick up ballot boxes from the recent elections.

We were told that the team was rescued this afternoon by another UN helicopter, and the eight are reported to be well and in good spirits.

**Poverty

And, lastly, on poverty, success in combating poverty will be the focus of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is to be marked here in New York tomorrow.

At 11:15, a press conference in this room will feature the Archbishop of Cape Town, as well as the author of a study in the Philippines, and Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière of France.

From 2:00 to 3:00, a ceremony at the Commemorative Stone in Honor of the Victims of Extreme Poverty will take place in the UN garden.

And then, from 4:00 to 6:00, a panel at the FamilySchool on 47th Street will discuss lessons learned in the fight against poverty in Guatemala, the Philippines and the United States.

That’s it for me?  Any questions? Susie?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  [inaudible] the Israeli retraction about its accusation that the UN was using its ambulance to transport a rocket.  Is the Secretary-General looking for any fuller explanation and also for any kind of public apology?

Spokesman:  We’re waiting to hear back from our team, which is currently in the region, with a fuller explanation of what exactly happened.  And they should be back shortly.

Question:  What about an apology?

Spokesman:  Well, let’s first wait for the team to report back to us.  Anything else? Mr. Diallo, please.

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Thank you, Stéphane.  Good afternoon. The General Assembly is continuing its session this morning and this afternoon.  Twenty-three speakers are expected to take the floor.  The list is available in our office in room S-378 or via e-mail.  The e-mail of the spokesperson is gaspokesperson@un.org.

Also this morning, the main committee of the General Assembly heard a briefing by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, on the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD.  The United Nations is one of the main pillars of support to that African initiative.  The forms of support by the United Nations system have included technical assistance, financial assistance, advocacy work, developing norms and standards, and capacity-building.

There are more details in the Secretary-General’s report on progress in implementation and international support for NEPAD.  I’m going to give you the document number.  It’s A/59/206.  I would also, in this connection, like to draw your attention to the fact that the report will be discussed in the plenary session of the General Assembly next week, on the 18 and 19 of October.

Professor Gambari’s office distributed two press kits, which are available to you.  They’re very interesting press kits.  One kit contains recent studies and publications undertaken by Professor Gambari’s office.  The second kit contains actions by the United Nations system in support of the partnership, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.  He also flagged to the participants this morning two events, which are being organized by his office.  The first event is on the 18 of October, at 1:15 to 2:45 in conference room 5, which is a round table on promoting the domestic private sector development in Africa.  The second panel will be on the 19 of October, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. That panel will be discussing the role of civil society in the prevention of armed conflicts in Africa.

Regarding the committees, I’ll give you information on three committees very quickly.  The First Committee is continuing its general debate on disarmament and international security agenda items.  Those include improving the effectiveness of the Committee’s working methods; measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction; and reducing nuclear danger.  This general debate in the first committee will go on until 15 of October, after which, there will be a thematic discussion on all items.  The final phase involves actions on the text, and that final phase will be from the 25 of October and the 5 of November.

The Second Committee is discussing the follow-up to what is commonly known as FFD, that is, the International Conference on Financing for Development.  And there will be a panel discussion this afternoon on remittances by migrants as a source of financing for development.

In the Third Committee, as Stéphane mentioned, today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.  The Third Committee is discussing the subject of the advancement of women, and the President of the General Assembly, Jean Ping, will participate in a special round table to commemorate this important anniversary.

That’s all I have for you. Any questions? If not, thank you.

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