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 Denise Cook, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and Djibril Diallo, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon.

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

I have a statement for you.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the Royal Throne Council’s unanimous election of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni as the new King and Head of State of the RoyalKingdom of Cambodia.  He wishes him every success in this important role.”

“The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to extend to His Majesty King Sihamoni his sincere congratulations and best wishes.  He also wishes to pay tribute to His Majesty Samdech Norodom Sihanouk for the outstanding public service he has rendered to his country spanning half a century, and the indispensable role he played during the peace process that led to the first democratic elections in Cambodia in 1993.”

**SG in Ireland

On the Secretary-General’s travels, the Secretary-General, speaking in Dublin, Ireland, today called for Europe to do more in its support for the United Nations work, including UN peacekeeping.

Addressing the National Forum on Europe, the Secretary-General said the European Union is in a position to provide specialized skills that the UN’s largest troop contributors may not have.  Yet today, he said, less than one-tenth of all UN peacekeepers come from EU countries.  Ireland, he said, was bucking that trend, adding, “I hope that other European nations will follow your lead”.

The Secretary-General also emphasized that much more help is needed for the people of Darfur, Sudan.  “Every country and organization that can help must do so, now”, he said.

We have copies of his speech upstairs.

The Secretary-General and his wife, Nane, also had a private meeting in the afternoon with the Irish President, Mary McAleese, and her husband, Martin.

**Iraq Development Fund

The International Advisory and Monitoring Board received during its recently concluded meeting in New York the final audit report of the Development Fund for Iraq.

The audit, carried out by the firm of KPMG, covers oil sales and operations of the fund from January 2004 to 28 June 2004 and supplements earlier reports covering the period from 23 May 2003 to 31 December 2003.

The board comprises representatives of the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Arab Fund for Social Development.  The audits were conducted under the authority of Security Council resolution 1483.

The full audit is currently available on the IAMB’s web site, which is www.IAMB.info.  The Board will also issue a report summarizing its comments and conclusions after due consideration and review of this report.  And a press release is available upstairs.

**Somalia

On Somalia, the Secretary-General today gave his congratulations to Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who was inaugurated in Nairobi, Kenya, as the Transitional President of Somalia.

The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Mohamed Sahnoun, attended the inauguration and delivered a message on the Secretary-General’s behalf, calling today’s ceremony “a significant and hopeful development”.

The Secretary-General says he looks forward to the formation, in the near future, of a Transitional National Government capable of beginning reconciliation and reconstruction in a spirit of consensus and dialogue.

And we have that message upstairs.

**Afghanistan

On to Afghanistan.  In Kabul, the Expert Panel that was set up to investigate complaints about the Afghan elections said that they had given the country’s presidential candidates until 6 p.m. local time today to lodge complaints.

The panel had received 43 complaints from candidates, and had reviewed 37 of them, as a priority by yesterday.  They then recommended the isolation of ballot boxes in 10 centres and 11 polling stations, so that they can be investigated further.

The Joint Electoral Management Body that organized the elections today took action to isolate those ballot boxes, while allowing other ballots to be mixed, sorted and counted, starting this morning.

We have a press statement from that body, as well as recent briefing notes provided by the UN mission in Afghanistan, which provide more details.

**Sudan

The North-South talks on the Sudan are continuing in Nairobi.  Talks between Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Taha and the Chairman of the SPLM/A, John Garang, have not yet resulted in an agreement on the issue of financing the SPLM/A forces, the only pending issue to finalize permanent cease-fire arrangements.

The UN’s Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs in the Sudan, Taye Zerihoun, emphasized to the parties that they should make every effort to resolve pending issues to finalize the agreement on cease-fire arrangements, and to expedite the negotiations process in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement as soon as possible.

Also regarding Sudan, the UN Development Programme, together with the International Rescue Committee and PLACE (a non-governmental organization) are carrying out a programme on the rule of law in Darfur.  Over the past week, the programme has targeted 150 police, 50 civil society members and 25 lawyers from the judiciary, bar association and attorney-generals, as well as 50 sheiks in the Kalma camps.  UNDP reports that the programme is increasingly opening up dialogue on the rights and protection of women and on traditional conflict resolution mechanisms.

**Sudan -- Humanitarian

Also on Sudan, Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, today welcomed a 3 million dollar contribution by Saudi Arabia to the UN Humanitarian Appeal for the Darfur region of the Sudan.

Egeland said, “The donation is a welcome indication that UN Humanitarian appeals are attracting support from countries from outside the traditional group of donors”.

**Security Council

The Security Council has scheduled consultations at 3 this afternoon, to consider a draft resolution on nominations for permanent judges to serve on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The Council is expected to forward nominations to the General Assembly, which would then vote to elect 14 judges for the Tribunal.  The draft resolution forwards the names of 22 candidates.  A vote is expected following today’s consultations.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

On the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, is leading a UN headquarters team to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to review the tasks that can be performed by the UN Mission there.

This follows the Security Council’s decision on 1 October to approve an additional 5,900 troops for the mission, a figure, which fell far short of the increase recommended by the Secretary-General’s report.

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is expected to brief the Council by 1 November on the changes deemed necessary in structure and deployment of the Mission.

**UNRWA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, held a two-day meeting in Amman, Jordan, with 26 major donor countries.  The meeting saw many of the donors pledge their support for the Agency’s work and pay tribute to its employees in the face of considerable risk.

The donors were told that the Agency faces a deficit of $7.3 million on its regular budget for the end of 2004, and that its $209 million emergency appeal had so far received pledges of $89 million.  Pledges announced today by the European Commission and the Netherlands amounted to another $27.6 million.  And we have more details for you in a press release, which is upstairs.

DSG/Population Anniversary

The General Assembly is commemorating today the tenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development.

The Conference, which was held in Cairo, saw 179 governments agree on a plan to fight poverty by balancing the world’s people with its resources, improving women’s status, and ensuring universal access to reproductive health services.

In remarks made at today’s commemoration, the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, said that much progress has been made in these areas, but there are parts of the world, which aren’t sharing in the progress, and new challenges have emerged, such as rapid urbanization and international migration.

She also called on governments to put aside their differences on sensitive issues and work together.  We have copies of her remarks upstairs.

**UNFPA/ICPD

And on the same issue, the UN Population Fund has welcomed a statement by world leaders re-affirming their support of the action plan agreed on at the International Conference on Population and Development 10 years ago.

The 20-year action plan deals with increasing access to reproductive health, alleviating poverty, and securing gender equality.

The Fund says that the statement will give an important boost to national implementation and overall development efforts.  And we have more on this upstairs in a press release from UNFPA.

**DSG/CEDAW Anniversary

Yesterday, as you’ll remember, was 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.

Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, took part in a roundtable event here at UN Headquarters to mark the event.

In her remarks, she said that while much has been achieved, there was still a long way to go to achieve compliance with all the Convention’s terms.

She added that she hoped the anniversary would give new impetus in achieving universal ratification of this Convention.  And we have copies of the Deputy Secretary-General’s full remarks upstairs.

**Africa HIV/AIDS

The former Prime Minister of Mozambique, Pascoal Mocumbi, has warned of devastating consequences for Africa if HIV-positive people are not given treatment.

Mr. Mocumbi made the statement in Ethiopia today, before delegates at the African Development Forum, which was hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

He was giving a preview of the likely findings of the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa that is due to report to the Secretary General in June next year.  Mr. Mocumbi is one of the Commission’s patrons.

In his warning, Mr. Mocumbi said that the cost of writing off HIV-infected people is too high to contemplate –- as there is no escaping the fact that the loss of teachers, health workers and civil servants at the rates witnessed today threatens deterioration and eventual collapse of Africa.  And we have more on this upstairs.

**CITES/Conference Wrap

A two-week meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, ended in Bangkok today after deciding to strengthen wildlife management, combat illegal trafficking and update the trade rules for a wide range of plant and animal species.  Some of the animals affected by the decisions include the great white shark and the humphead wrasse –-two fish species of great commercial value –- as well as the Irrawaddy dolphin and the African elephant.  And we have more on this upstairs in a press release from CITES.

**UN Post/Disarmament Stamp

Also today, the UN Postal Administration will introduce a new stamp on disarmament.  The stamp is the result of a collaborative effort of the UN’s Department of Disarmament Affairs and the Postal Administration.  The stamp, designed by French artist, Michael Granger, focuses on the idea that children involved in conflicts should be in school and not involved in war- and gun-related violence.

It’ll be launched tomorrow at the Javits Centre in New York; and the actor Michael Douglas, who’s also UN Messenger of Peace, has a recorded video message for the launch of the stamp.  His message will be screened in the First Committee, on the televisions throughout the Secretariat Lobby and on Channel 78.  And we have more information for those of you, who are interested, upstairs.

**Press Conferences tomorrow

As for press conferences,  tomorrow at 12:30, the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Jean Ping, will be here to brief you.

And at 3 p.m., the Disarmament and Decolonization Affairs Branch will be sponsoring a press conference on the Micah Challenge, which is a global campaign of the World Evangelical Alliance and the Micah Network to mobilize Christians against poverty.

**World Chronicle Television Programme

And a final announcement, World Chronicle programme no. 949 hosted by Tony Jenkins, will be shown today at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television channel 3 or 31.  The guest is Diane Quarless, Chief of the SmallIslandDevelopingStates, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

And the discussion focused on the vulnerability of small island nations to natural disasters and the threat of global climate change.

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

Question:   When will the UN delegation to Israel return here?  And do you have any information about their discussions with Israeli leaders?

Associate Spokesperson:No, we have nothing to add beyond what was said by the Spokesman yesterday.  The team is there.  I’ll find out for you when it’s returning.  I’m not quite sure of the exact date, and it will report back with its findings.

That’s it?  Djibril?

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Thank you, Denise.  Good afternoon.

As mentioned earlier by Denise, the General Assembly is commemorating today the tenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development.  The programme of action of the Conference was endorsed by the General Assembly in 1994 and it has “resisted the test of time”, as was mentioned by the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Jean Ping.

The Cairo Programme of Action is a document of reference to countries, who want to reach the goal of sustainable development, and remains of capital importance in realizing the Millennium Development Goals, President Jean Ping said.  President Jean Ping also urged the member states to mobilize the necessary resources to realize the objectives of the Cairo Programme of Action.  A French version of his statement is available upstairs in our office.

So far we have 66 speakers for this item.  Consequently, the President appealed to speakers to limit their statements to a maximum of seven minutes.  (To help speakers in managing their time, a light system has been installed at the speaker’s rostrum:  a green light is activated at the start of the statement.  It goes orange 30 seconds before the end, and a red at the end of the seven minutes.)

As I have mentioned the President of the General Assembly will give a press briefing tomorrow, Friday at 12:30 here in room 226, on the joint debate on the Report of the Security Council and the question of reform of the Security Council.

I am going to share with you some key elements of his concluding statement yesterday, marking the end of the three day joint debate.  President Ping stressed the importance of the Security Council Reform Issue, because no fewer than 106 speakers took the floor during the three days.

On the Council’s annual report, President Ping said that delegations had been pleased with the inclusion of an analytical section in that document, but they also called for such an analysis to be more thorough in the future.  There was an overwhelming consensus on the need for strengthening cooperation between the Security Council, the General Assembly and ECOSOC.  Speakers also called for a strengthening of relations between ECOSOC and regional organizations.  The importance of such a partnership was clearly demonstrated in Africa, where the Council had enlisted the support of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union.

On Security Council reform the President noted four major areas where consensus had emerged that the 15-member body must be revitalized ahead of the sixtieth anniversary; that such a reform should focus on the Council’s composition and its methods; that the expansion of the Council will make it more representative of geo-political realities in today’s world and make its discussions more legitimate; and that the expansion of the Council should make it possible for developing countries to be better represented.

The veto power was also commented upon by delegations.  Some felt it should be extended to future permanent members; others thought it should be restricted only to Chapter VII.  Still others that it should be eliminated altogether.  The Assembly President added that Brazil, Germany, and Japan, along with an African country, had been frequently mentioned as candidates for permanent seats on an expanded Security Council.  He said many delegations felt the reform must be undertaken within the framework of broader United Nations reform.  And he will give you more details tomorrow.

When we think about the General Assembly, New Yorkers often talk about gridlocks.  And I would like to report to you that the Committee on Relations with the Host Country adopted yesterday its annual report.  And this report addressed issues concerning the use of motor vehicles, parking and related matters; acceleration of immigration and customs procedures; and host country entry visas.  The report was approved without a vote and it raises issues regarding the New York Diplomatic Parking Programme including the failure to uphold the availability of the designated spaces, and failure to ticket or tow unauthorized vehicles parked in the designated spaces.  Other issues regarding delays in issuance of entry visas and travel restrictions were brought up by some speakers.  (You may recall that the Committee on Relations with the Host Country was established in 1971.)

That’s all I have for you.  Questions?  Yes, please?

Question:   You mentioned the strengthening of cooperation between the Security Council, the General Assembly and ECOSOC.  What kind of strengthening is it going to be?  And my second question concerns the elimination of the veto power.  How many people are trying, or how many people do you anticipate to vote on that?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:On your first question, many delegations felt that they were very pleased with the scope of the work of the Security Council, also the breadth of the work of the Security Council.  At the same time, they expressed concern that the Security Council was at times taking decisions, which encroached upon the mandate of the General Assembly or ECOSOC.  So, they called for strengthening of relations between the three organs.

Regarding the use of the veto, I gave you the four points, which were points of consensus.  The use of veto or non-use of veto was not a point of consensus per se.  It was the point that I mentioned, the three positions that were taken by the different speakers.  I don’t know whether I am being clear.  I don’t regard the issue of the use of veto or non-use of veto as among the four points that I mentioned earlier as being the points of consensus.  I just tried, in the summary by the President, to give you the three different positions.  Yes?

Question:   But are they are going to take a decision on that?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:There was a very strong feeling that the decision on Security Council reform should be taken within the framework of the sixtieth anniversary; before the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations.  So, obviously all matters should ultimately be taken within that framework.

Okay.  Thank you.

* *** *