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.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon.

Joining us today is Catherine Bertini, Under-Secretary-General for Management, to brief you on the financial situation of the Organization.  One of her regular updates. We’ll be getting to her in just a few minutes.

**SG - Fifth Committee Remarks

The Secretary-General addressed the Fifth Committee yesterday to outline his proposals for improving security for UN staff -- as set out in the $97 million security package that was recently presented to the General Assembly.

In his remarks, he said that the UN faces a security environment of unprecedented risk -- where the UN has become a target of political violence, and is no longer protected by its flag and its status as an impartial, benevolent actor.  For example, typical peacekeeping operations today take place in conflict zones, and often amid a collapsed society, where, in some cases, non-state actors have little or no respect for the rules of war.

He said that this new security environment provides a compelling rationale for security reform.  He added that his plan addresses all the shortcomings of current security arrangements, which are fragmented at present.

The Secretary-General said that security for UN staff is his first priority, and that the proposed security package is one of the most important proposals -- if not the most important -- that he’s ever put forward to the Committee during his time as Secretary-General.

We have full copies of his remarks available in my office.  And Catherine Bertini, of course, our guest today, will be able to help you with questions you might have on this matter.

**Sudan

On Sudan, we are receiving reports that at least two camps housing internally displaced persons in the Nyala area of south Darfur, Sudan, were surrounded by units of the Sudanese army and police earlier today.  According to preliminary reports, at one site within Nyala town, at approximately 3:00 a.m., government forces surrounded the Al Geer IDP camp and started forcing the residents out.

Between 3:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., a proportion of the population of this camp were relocated to another site north of Nyala town.  It is estimated that 15 trucks were used to relocate the displaced persons.  The remainder of the population was dispersed into the surrounding area of Nyala town as a direct result of this action.  The site is currently not able to cater for any additional influx and, as such, is not suitable for any relocation, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

Operational agencies in south Darfur have been coordinating to discuss how best to respond to the needs of the newly arrived IDPs.  There have been extensive contacts between the UN mission and the Government of Sudan, which has been reminded of its obligation to ensure only the voluntary movement of displaced persons.

**Iraq

A significant step towards the holding of elections in Iraq got underway yesterday.  For the next six weeks Iraqis will be able to check if their names are properly registered on the voter rolls which were prepared by the Independent Electoral Commission for Iraq, with assistance from UN electoral experts.

**Afghanistan

The UN Mission in Afghanistan is continuing its contacts with the Afghan authorities who are trying to obtain the release of the three UN staff members abducted last week.

Today, the All Afghanistan Clergy Council, a coalition of Afghan religious authorities, condemned the abducting of the three staff members as an action contrary to Islamic principles.  They said that Afghanistan is a UN Member State, and that the three individuals had come to the country to serve the people of Afghanistan.  The Council strongly demanded the release of the three staff members.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding consultations on its program of work for November, which has been approved, and on a draft program of the planned Council meeting in Nairobi on the 18 and 19 of November.  Then, under other matters, Council members are expected to hear a briefing on recent developments in Liberia.

The President of the Security Council for November, Ambassador John Danforth of the US, will speak to reporters at the stakeout following consultations.

**Liberia

In an interview with UN Radio, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia, Jacques Klein, described the recent violence in Monrovia as a spontaneous incident, which won’t pose a serious threat to the peace process in the country.  Klein noted that 95,000 people had been disarmed and more than 6 million rounds of ammunition destroyed.

The hard job now will be reintegrating these people into Liberian society, which already has 85 per cent unemployment.  He outlined the challenges ahead in a country whose capital is still without running water, without electricity and without sewerage.

Meanwhile, the UN Mission in Liberia says that rivals within a former Liberian rebel group were responsible for the violence, which was calmed after United Nations forces deployed throughout the area.  A spokesman for the Mission told the UN News Service that some members of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, or LURD, wanted to hold onto their weapons, while others are ready to go forward with the political process.

**DSG – Ottawa Speech

The Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette delivered the inaugural address at the new School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa yesterday.

Ms. Fréchette called on the international community to rally around a commitment to collective security, and to make a real dent in the problems of extreme poverty and hunger, unsafe drinking water, environmental degradation and endemic or infectious disease.  She also called on the world to update the institutions of global governance to make them more legitimate.

She said, “Nations that truly believe in collective solutions to common problems must not be scared off by the difficulties besetting multilateralism.” She went on, “Nor must they allow themselves to believe that the best days of the UN are past.  The UN is doing better than people think”, she concluded, “and it is changing with the times”.  We have the full text, of her speech, available upstairs.

ICC – Deputy Prosecutor Sworn In

Fatou Bensouda of the Gambia was sworn in as Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in an open session held in The Hague yesterday.

According to Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the timing of Ms. Bensouda’s election could not be better.  His Office is expected to begin courtroom activities soon in support of the investigations which are underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

**Trafficking Rapporteur Appointed

The UN Commission on Human Rights has appointed Sigma Huda of Bangladesh as Special Rapporteur on the trafficking in persons, especially women and children.  Ms. Huda is the founder and current president of the Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association, and the founding secretary of the Institute for Law and Development.  And we have more on that upstairs.

**Sports Year 2005

Swiss tennis great Roger Federer and New York City Marathon record-holder Margaret Okayo will be here at UN Headquarters on Friday, to take part in the launch of The International Year of Sport and Physical Education, which takes place in 2005.  The aim of the year is to encourage the use of sports to promote education, health, development and peace.

The Secretary-General will provide opening remarks at the launch, which will also be attended by Adolf Ogi, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace.  The launch will take place in this room, at 12:30 pm.  And we have more details on that upstairs.

**Guest at Noon Tomorrow

And finally, Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, will be joining us tomorrow to brief on UNRWA’s work.  Yes?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Yes, could you, on the issue of Sudan you were discussing earlier…Is it the United Nations position that the Sudanese civilians are being forcibly relocated?  Is the United Nations calling for them to stop this?  Or are you sympathetic with them that these camps can’t sustain these internally displaced?  And also, is Mr. Pronk going to be saying anything about this issue today?

Spokesman:  Well, we were gathering information on this right up to a few minutes ago, so I think we’re still trying to establish what’s taking place, and what the motivation of the Government is, for taking this action.  So, I don’t think I can give you any official reaction yet.  And Mr. Pronk is currently before the ACABQ, and until he gets out of there we won’t be able to see if he has any reaction or not.  But you may try to catch him as he comes out of the ACABQ meeting.  We’ll also be talking to him when he gets out.  Evelyn?

Question:  Yes, on the security budget.  It’s a bit out of context since the DSG has already said the same thing as the Secretary-General did.  The reason he went to the Fifth Committee is because the ACABQ wants cuts.  And I’d like to know how much cuts?  How many cuts do they want?  And, also, what is the current…how much is the United Nations spending now for security?  I know how many additional posts and so forth but his speech yesterday was mainly because…to try to reverse the proposals for cuts.  Just presenting security for the first time.

Spokesman:  I’m going to let Catherine take that question, if you don’t mind.

Question:  The DSG has already made a speech to the ACABQ…

Spokesman:  If there are no more questions, I’ll ask Catherine Bertini, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, to come up.

[Ms. Bertini’s briefing has been issued separately.]

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon.

There is no meeting of the Plenary today.  All the Committees are meeting in informals.

I have a number of items for your consideration.  The First Committee approved nine draft texts yesterday.  Those draft resolutions included one asking the Secretary-General to explore the issue of verification, including the role of the United Nations, with the assistance of a Panel of Government Experts, to be established in 2006.

That draft resolution is entitled “Verification in all its aspects, including the role of the United Nations in the field of verification”, and that draft resolution was approved without a vote.  By the draft’s terms, the Assembly would reaffirm the critical importance of, and the vital contribution that has been made by, verification measures in non-proliferation, arms limitation and disarmament agreements.

Also yesterday, the Committee approved a draft on a nuclear-weapon-free Southern hemisphere.  That draft resolution would have the Assembly affirm its conviction of the important role of nuclear-weapon-free zones in strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime and in extending the areas of the world that were nuclear-weapon free.

Other draft texts approved by recorded votes yesterday were one on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, otherwise known as CTBT; and also nuclear disarmament; and implementing the Ottawa Convention.

The Committee will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9:30 a.m., to continue taking action on its remaining drafts texts.

Two items on the activities on the General Assembly President, Jean Ping. First item, he has been invited to the sixth annual meeting of the heads of the principal organs of the United Nations.  That meeting was to start at 12:30.  And, in that meeting, President Ping was to tell participants that, beyond the traditional agenda of the General Assembly, the fifty-ninth session has the special responsibility to prepare for the 2005 High-Level Meeting, which will take place during the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations.  President Ping informed participants that work was progressing well at the
General Assembly, that Member States reaffirmed the central role of the General Assembly as the principal deliberative organ of the United Nations and the bedrock for the reinforcement of multilateralism.

The President also noted that, among issues on the agenda of the plenary, the revitalization of the General Assembly, Security Council reform and the upcoming 2005 events are the most prominent.  Concerning the Security Council, added the President, Member States are of the view that it must be reformed and adapted to the realities of the twenty-first century.  The President also said that, “there is understanding that the reform must address the Council’s composition, its method of work as well as its relationship with the General Assembly and other bodies.”

On this important issue, there is an expectation that the report of the High-Level Panel will shed some light.  Member States, continued the President, are insisting that Security Council reform and the need to address peace and security concerns should not overshadow developmental issues, such as poverty eradication, financing of development, fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic or malaria and other diseases.

The second item on the agenda of the President today is a meeting this afternoon with Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette.  Among the issues they are expected to cover are matters arising out of the Cardoso report.  You may recall that this report deals with the UN-civil society relationships.  You also will recall that the General Assembly debate on this point brought out the important contributions that non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations continue to make to the work of the United Nations.  At the same time, delegations felt that further attention needed to be given to the modalities of the participation of NGOs and civil society organizations to that work.

This is all I have for you today.  Any questions? If not, thank you.

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