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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Djibril Diallo, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon.

**Guests

Before I start, I would like to welcome this year’s participants in the Department of Public Information’s annual training programme for Palestinian journalists.  So, welcome to the briefing.

**Iraq

Earlier today in Baghdad, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ahsraf Qazi, attended a meeting of the Interim National Council.

In an off-the-cuff address to members of the Council, Qazi said the United Nations shares the Interim Council’s keenness for the holding of credible elections on time.

He said the technical support and strategic advice of a dedicated UN team of experts have been crucial in enabling the Independent Iraqi Electoral Commission to perform its task of organizing the elections.  He added that UN experts working with the Commission have also been meeting with various political entities to explain the electoral process.

Qazi told members of the Council that the mandate of the UN mission in Iraq also includes contributing to the political process.  He pointed to a number of meetings he has held with government officials and representatives of political entities to encourage participation in the process, mainly the elections.

Over the weekend, on Sunday, Qazi met with Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.  The two focused their discussion on the political process in Iraq, especially electoral preparations.  Talks also addressed the security situation in Iraq, the human rights situation, as well as political dialogue launched to achieve reconciliation in the country and ensure a successful transitional process.

Over the last few days, Qazi has held discussions with various government officials and representatives of Iraqi political parties and civil society to explore means through which the UN can advance the political process and encourage dialogue among various Iraqi parties.

**Secretary-General Kosovo Elections

In a statement attributable to his Spokesman, and released yesterday, the Secretary-General congratulated the people of Kosovo on the peaceful Assembly elections held there on Saturday.

He said the turnout and good management of the electoral process, for the first time by Kosovars themselves, demonstrate their understanding of the importance of making their voices heard and taking a direct hand in shaping Kosovo's future.

While noting with disappointment the low turnout among the Kosovo Serb community, the Secretary-General congratulated those who voted and those who stood as candidates for their courage in the face of severe contrary pressure. He called on all of Kosovo's political leaders to respect the results of the election.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, has appealed for the quick formation of a new government once the final results are certified.

He reiterated that the UN Mission in Kosovo looks forward to working with the next government, which will be given new responsibilities on improving the economic situation and creating more jobs.

In the next couple of days, Jessen-Petersen will meet with the newly elected political leaders to hear their views on the way forward.

Copies of both statements are available upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council has the Central African Republic and “other matters” on its agenda today.

In closed consultations, General Lamine Cissé, the Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic briefed members.

He updated the Council members on the humanitarian and political situation, notably on the on-going election process, which he says in taking place in rather good conditions.  The Secretary-General has written to the Council asking them to extend the mission’s mandate.

At three o’clock this afternoon, the Council has a meeting with troop-contributing countries to the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.

**Gatumba Massacre

The Secretary-General has transmitted to the Security Council the report of the UN Operation in Burundi, the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the massacre at the Gatumba refugee camp on 13 of August of this year.

The investigation concluded that the available evidence points to a Burundian rebel organization, the “Parti pour la libération du peuple hutu -- Forces nationales de liberation”, the only group to claim responsibility, as having probably participated in the massacre, but as being unlikely to have done so on its own.

He says evidence of the presence of other groups, largely produced by the testimony of survivors of the attack, was credible, but could not be independently confirmed.

Nonetheless, the report concludes that the team collected sufficient information about this grave crime to recommend a thorough judicial inquiry at both the national level, led by the Government of Burundi with the full cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and the international level, led by the International Criminal Court.

**Sudan

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Sudan, Jan Pronk, has discussed with all parties taking part in the Abuja peace talks on Darfur ways to move forward in the dialogue.

He strongly recommended to them the need to capitalize on the current momentum that has resulted from the international community's focus on the Sudan and particularly on Darfur; and to concentrate during this round of talks on political issues which are a key to sustained settlement of the Darfur conflict.

Pronk also encouraged them to engage in the negotiations in good faith.

He also urged the parties to consider starting implementation of the agreed Humanitarian Protocol without waiting for its formal signature, in order to improve the security situation and the delivery of humanitarian assistance, particularly to the areas under the rebel’s control.

Pronk also met with the Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of the African Union, and discussed with him the current situation in Darfur, recent developments, including the African Union expanded Mission's deployment and the UN/AU cooperation in dealing with the Darfur conflict.

Those talks began on Friday and are continuing in Abuja today.  Pronk is on his way back to Khartoum.

**Haiti

In the early hours of Sunday morning, UN police and military contingents participated in a large-scale operation by the Haitian national police to clear the streets of Bel Air.  This is a poor neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince which has been largely controlled by armed gangs and has been the scene of much violence in the past three weeks.

In the operation, the UN contingents helped to remove more than 130 burned-out vehicles which had been used to barricade the streets, as well as other obstacles which had blocked traffic.  It is reported that one Haitian police officer died during the operation and that an undisclosed number of people were arrested by the Haitian police.

From now on UN peacekeepers will provide 24-hour surveillance of the water tower in Bel Air.  The tower stands opposite another significant building, the the national shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a place which had recently been inaccessible to most Haitians.

Later on today, the UN Special Representative there, Juan Gabriel Valdes, will be taking a number of international and local journalists to the port area of Port-au-Prince, another strategic point which has been secured in recent days and is now considered operational.

**Afghanistan

More than 97 per cent of the votes have been counted in Afghanistan, and the Joint Electoral Management Body in that country says that interim President Hamid Karzai is in the lead, with 55.5 per cent of the vote.

Trailing behind him are Younus Qanooni, with 16.2 per cent, Haji Mohammed Mohaqiq with 11.6 per cent, and Abdul Rashid Dostum with 10.2 per cent.  Ballot counting is expected to be concluded in the next few days.

Meanwhile, the impartial panel dealing with electoral complaints over the weekend decided to allow most ballot boxes to be counted, while having some boxes quarantined for further investigation.

We have the preliminary vote results and the recent briefing notes from Kabul upstairs.  Also, we have on the racks the latest human rights report on Afghanistan by independent expert Cherif Bassiouni, which says that, despite progress, deep concerns remain about human rights in the country.

**UN Security

A few weeks ago, the Secretary-General presented a report on strengthening security for the United Nations, which called for the establishment of a Directorate of Security in New York to unify all the security structures in the UN system.

In an addendum out on the racks today, he says the total gross costs of the proposals for strengthened security are estimated at 97.1 million dollars. That includes one-time requirements of 29.6 million dollars.

The 97-million-dollar total breaks down to more than 35 million dollars for improvements at field locations, more than 27 million dollars for measures at New York, 16 million dollars for Geneva, more than three million each for Nairobi, Santiago de Chile and Addis Ababa, and more than a million each for Bangkok and Beirut.

**WFP/Tanzania Food Rations

TheWorld Food Programme has been forced to cut food rations to some 400,000 Burundian and Congolese refugees living in 13 camps in western Tanzania. The move is due to severe funding shortages and inadequate supplies of both cereals and pulses.

The WFP says it had no other choice, that the cuts were unavoidable –- and could have serious implications as the refugees rely almost entirely on the WFP food aid for their survival.

The WFP is urgently appealing to donors for $14 million to prevent additional cuts and continue feeding the refugees through the first half of next year.

And we have more on that upstairs.

**FAO/Desert Locust Update

An update now on the desert locust situation in north-western Africa.

Infestations are declining in the Sahel region due to control operations and to the northward migration of swarms.

Consequently, few locusts remain in the Sahelian zones in Mali and northern Burkina Faso, but an increasing number of swarms are forming in northern Mali and Niger.

If rains don’t fall in the coming weeks, most of the swarms are likely to concentrate along the southern side of the Atlas mountains in Morocco and Algeria.

We have more details on that upstairs.

**UN Day

Yesterday was United Nations Day, the fifty-ninth anniversary of the founding of this organization.  To mark the occasion, the Secretary-General, in a message, says that, although the world is a better place because of the United Nations, we can and must do better.

He says that he’ll soon be putting before world leaders a package of measures to renew the organization.  The Secretary-General asserts, “We are in a new era. We need a new United Nations.  Let’s make it happen.”

I’d like to remind you that, at 7 o’clock this evening in the General Assembly Hall, the UN Day concert will take place, featuring the Kuwaiti National Orchestra and the Kuwait Television Band.  The Secretary-General will speak at the event, and we have embargoed copies of his remarks upstairs.

**Larsen:  UN Day

And earlier today in Jerusalem, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, presided over the UN Day ceremonies at the Government House.

His speech, which is available upstairs, is a reflection on the development of the UN's presence and work in the Middle East and a strong affirmation in his belief in the two-State solution as the only viable way out of the conflict.

That’s all I have for you.  Yes?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Regarding the 380 tonnes of explosives that have disappeared in Iraq, does the Secretary-General... what practical steps does he envisage to deal with this particular issue?

Spokesman:  I’m not sure he has a particular recommendation.  As you may have heard, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is sending a letter to the Security Council on this matter. We expect it to be received by the Council in the afternoon.  ElBaradei has repeatedly informed the Council of his concerns about material and installations present in Iraq that have gone missing since the war last year.  And he’s expected today to send this letter, as I said, regarding these specific materials that are reported missing.

Question:  Is the issue likely to revive debate about the fate of [inaudible] in any way?

Spokesman:  I can’t predict that.  You’ll have to ask members of the Council.  Edie?

Question:  Fred, does the Secretary-General himself have any reaction to the disappearance of such a large quantity of potentially deadly and dangerous material?

Spokesman:  We weren’t given any statement on that subject by him today. I can ask him if he wants to comment but, at this time, I have nothing.  Liz?

Question:  This is kind of a follow-up to Edie’s.  I mean, you said yourself, and we’ve seen it repeatedly from the IAEA, this, letters and reports that show not just the explosives but sites being dismantled, all this kind of thing.  And then, yet, there’s pretty much radio silence from the Security Council.  I guess the question is back again to Annan, and [inaudible] concern, or something, that he would like to see raised.

Spokesman:  Well, I mean, if your complaint is about the Security Council, I think you should ask Council members or the Council President for a comment.

Question:  It’s really about whether or not this is of concern that it isn’t being taken up.  Is it a concern to Annan?

Spokesman:  Well, I recommend you first ask members of the Council, and I will see whether the Secretary-General has anything to add.  Yes?

Question:  About the Secretary General’s call for a better United Nations, how does the Secretary General see the US presidential election, regardless of who wins on 2 November, playing into that, playing into making the UN better, in the debate about making the UN better?

Spokesman:  Well, I think he expects that the foundation of the debate will be the report of this High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. He hopes that the United States would be an active participant in the debate, which he expects would take place throughout much of next year, once the results of the Panel’s deliberations are made public.  And that, at the anniversary session of the General Assembly next fall, that the Assembly would deal in a concrete way with the recommendations and the ideas presented by the Panel.

Question:  And could I ask you to rate the relations between the UN and the US during President Bush’s term, the first term?

Spokesman:  I don’t think I want to get into that.  I mean, I think you’ve seen over the past four years, a good, solid working relationship between the Secretary-General and the United States.  They’ve not always agreed on every point, but you wouldn’t expect that, would you?  I think it’s a good, solid working relationship.  He’s basically pleased with how the U.S. has conducted itself overall in the last four years.  There was a fundamental disagreement over the invasion of Iraq, but of course the fundamental questions that raised in terms of the Charter of the United Nations he has placed in the hands of this High Level Panel, asking them to consider whether we need to rewrite the rules of collective security in light of what happened in Iraq.  So, we’re eagerly awaiting the recommendations of the Panel on that subject.

Question:  Just a final one, if I may.  When the UN hears Senator Kerry say that he wants to work more closely with the UN, and with the international community, how much heart does the UN take in that statement?

Spokesman:  You’re trying to drag me into the U.S. election now, and I’m not going to go there.  So, forgive me for not answering that question.  Evelyn?

Question:  When is the High Level report? Is it 2 December that it’s going to be produced, or is that just when the Panel is giving it to him?

Spokesman:  The first of December is the date that we are expecting it to be given to the Secretary-General.  And, he will then need some time to study it, and then present it with his comments, if any, to the General Assembly.  I can’t give you a precise date for when it will go to the General Assembly, but I assume that the day it goes to the General Assembly is the day it would be made public.

Question: And, do you expect that in December, or you don’t know?

Spokesman:  I don’t know. [Later the Spokesman said that the report would be distributed to the General Assembly on 2December, at which point it would be made public.]

Question:  Because I assume he’s going to know what the Panel is going to recommend.

Spokesman:  He’s had regular discussions with them.  I think he has a sense of the thrust of the report and, based on what he’s learned, I think he’s very encouraged that the ideas they will put forward are what he asked for, namely bold ideas dealing with the fundamental issues before us.  Yes?

Question:  Could you update us, please, about the voting system in Iraq, who is going to be involved in the process of that, controlling that, and so on?

Spokesman:  I would ask you to come to my office afterwards.  We have some background information we’d be happy to give you.  And, we may also be arranging for you to be briefed later this week by senior UN officials on the UN’s role in the preparation of elections.  Yes?

Question:  When the Secretary-General speaks about the new United Nations, his message on UN Day, is he confident that the Member States would implement the recommendations of the Panel of the Eminent Persons on Change?

Spokesman:  He will certainly be pushing for that, and then it will be up to the Member States collectively to either deal with these recommendations forthrightly and make concrete in the form of resolutions the recommendations being put forward.  Or, they will delay; and if they will delay, of course, he will be there to urge them to continue to come to grips with these basic issues and to take concrete action.  Thank you very much.  Djibril Diallo is now going to brief you on the General Assembly. Djibril?

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon.  This week, the General Assembly is taking up the following items:  the report of ECOSOC; the culture of peace; sport for development and peace, especially 2005, the International year of Sport and Physical Education.

Also, agenda item 29, on the necessity of ending the embargo imposed on Cuba.

The main committee of the General Assembly heard Mr. Olara Otunnu today on the question of children and armed conflict.  Mr. Otunnu stressed that UN entities must assume particular responsibilities in mainstreaming the issue of children and armed conflict by creating concrete and systematic projects.

The Second Committee will hold an event in two days, 27 October, on “Trade and Development”, with a presentation by Tom Friedman, and a Q&A.  This is in conjunction with their discussion on various aspects of trade and development, including, trade protection, labour mobility and outsourcing.

Two other items:  Third Committee -- the committee dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural affairs -- will discuss human rights questions this whole week, including the report of the special rapporteurs and representatives, and the Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Sixth Committee, which is the legal committee, discusses the Convention on jurisdiction of immunities of States and their property.  On Friday, the committee adjourned its debate on cloning, with no information as to when it will resume discussions.  Forty-five speakers were heard in the two-day span.

For informational purposes, on the item on sport for development, and the item on sport for peace and development, I would like to inform you that I started today my new assignment as Director of the newly-established New York Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace.  And, as you know, Mr. Adolf Ogi, former president of Switzerland, was appointed by the Secretary-General to their position.  And, this office, working very closely with United Nations Fund for International Partnerships and DPI will take the lead in mobilizing the UN system to promote the international year and plan events to engage cultural, artistic and youth leaders in support of the Millennium Development Goals.

That’s all I have for you.  Any questions?  Yes, Ruth?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Djibril, two questions.  First, is the Cuban debate today, and, if so, why not, when do you expect a vote, and when is cloning going to be taken up again?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  My understanding is that the Cuban debate is later in the week.  I’ll come back to you, but I believe it’s on Wednesday, but I’ll come back and confirm that.  [NOTE:  See further comment below.]  Again, I’ll have to double-check on the issue of vote, or no vote, on cloning, because no indication was made on when they will start again the item. Yes?

Question:  Following your assumption as the new director of sports for peace, what happens to the functions you assumed in the UNDP and the Spokesman for the General Assembly?  Will you continue to wear three hats, or are you giving up the first two?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  I completed my assignment as director of the communications office of the administrator last Friday, and I’ll assume this function, in addition to my function as spokesperson of the General Assembly of the fifty-ninth session.  Cuba is on Thursday, instead of Wednesday, correction.

Question:  Is there any indication of whether a vote will go right along with the speeches and discussion, or do you know yet?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  On Cuba?

Question:  Yeah.

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  Again, I’ll have to come back to you on that because, as you know, this has been an item which has been there for quite some time, and no item is put afterwards, so I have to come back to you on it.  Thank you very much.

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