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

and 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,

**Guest at Noon

We had said that our guest today would be Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which you know as UNRWA.  But unfortunately, he was called away to a meeting at the last minute.  So, we’ll see if we can reschedule that.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General

I have the following statement regarding the US presidential election:

“The Secretary-General warmly congratulates President Bush on his re-election, and the American people on the impressive demonstration of democracy they have given by turning out in record numbers to participate in yesterday’s election.  He also congratulates Senator Kerry on his prompt and statesmanlike decision to accept the outcome.

“The Secretary-General is committed to continuing to work with President Bush and his administration on the whole range of issues facing the United Nations and the world.”

**Iraq

The role of the United Nations in the rebuilding process in Iraq was at the centre of the talks that the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, held with Iraqi Vice President Rowsch Shaways in Baghdad earlier today.

Qazi and the Vice President reviewed progress in preparations for the country's first democratic elections set to take place towards the end of January, as well as the security situation in the country. 

The two also discussed the reconstruction process in Iraq, with focus on the humanitarian work the UN is carrying out in Iraq.

Vice-President Shaways, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party, and Mr. Qazi also discussed the situation in Kurdistan.

Voter registration continued in centres set up by the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission across the country.  

The certification process of political entities planning to compete in the elections has also started, as the Commission continued technical preparations for the polls.

The registration process for political entities certification will end on 30 November while voter registration will last for six weeks starting on 1 November.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General

I have a rather long statement here attributable to the Spokesman regarding the outcome of the Afghan elections:

“The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement by the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) certifying the results of the 9 October presidential elections in Afghanistan.  The Secretary-General has noted that the JEMB, after considering the results of the counting, the report of the impartial panel of international electoral experts, and the work of their own complaints and investigations mechanism, declared that President Hamid Karzai, having secured 55.4 per cent of the vote, is the first elected President of Afghanistan.

“The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to extend to President Karzai his sincere congratulations and wishes him well as he addresses the challenges that still remain in Afghanistan's path to lasting peace, stability and economic recovery. 

“The Secretary-General wishes to pay tribute to all presidential candidates and their supporters for their important role in the democratic process.  He also applauds the very active participation of party and candidate agents and domestic and international observers who played an integral role in this first exercise of democratic elections.

“The Secretary-General congratulates the people and the Government of Afghanistan, as well as the JEMB, for having conducted a successful and credible election under such difficult circumstances.

“The Secretary-General is gratified that the United Nations, especially the UN mission in that country, played a significant role in the conduct of a peaceful and credible electoral process.  And he wishes to assure the new Government that it can rely on the assistance of the United Nations to provide continuing support as the political process progresses to consolidate peaceful and secure conditions in Afghanistan.”

**Afghanistan

The declaration by the Joint Electoral Management Body was made after an expert panel, which investigated electoral complaints, verified earlier today that there were shortcomings with the elections, which deserve to be considered to help shape improvements for future elections.

However, the panel said, the problems that were identified “could not have materially affected the overall result”.

**SG Statement

Yesterday afternoon, we issued a statement saying that the Secretary-General is very concerned by the deteriorating situation in Darfur, Sudan, following the recent kidnapping of 18 hostages by the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), and the mobilization of thousands of Arab militias in areas of west and south Darfur. 

The Secretary-General urged the parties to the conflict to respect the N’Djamena ceasefire in its entirety and reminded the Government of Sudan, of its responsibility under international humanitarian law to prevent any attacks against civilians.

The Secretary-General was also troubled by reports received yesterday indicating that, in a pre-dawn operation, the Government of Sudan organized the involuntary relocation of internally displaced persons from Al Geer village, near Nyala in south Darfur.  He strongly urged the Government to halt immediately all such relocation operations and to facilitate the return of the affected persons from the inappropriate sites to which they have been taken.

We have copies of the full text of that statement upstairs.

**Sudan Update

From Sudan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that UN staff in Nyala, south Darfur, are trying to locate and assist all of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) that had to move after the sudden closing of the Al Geer camp yesterday.  It also reports that the Sudanese authorities appear to have taken no further action to relocate IDPs from Otash camp for the time being.

UN agencies remain very concerned about large numbers of IDPs in west Darfur, after the withdrawal of many UN and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff members from Zalingei and other areas over the past few days.  Many relief operations have had to be suspended due to the deteriorating security situation there. 

The UN Humanitarian Office also received reports of relocations of some 300 families of displaced persons from Abu Shouk camp to Korma in north Darfur. 

It appears that no international agencies were consulted on these relocations, which have been ongoing for several days.

**Security Council

This afternoon, the Security Council will be holding consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and on Burundi.

As requested in a resolution a month ago, Council members will be briefed by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, on steps to reform command and control structures and the management of military information in the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The resolution also requests a report on steps to rationalize the civilian and police components of the Mission.

The Under-Secretary-General will also introduce the report on the massacre which occurred in the Gatumba refugee transit centre in Burundi on 13 August.  The report, jointly prepared by the UN Missions in the DRC and in Burundi, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, was issued last week.   

**Principal Organs

The Secretary-General met the heads of the five other principal organs of the United Nations yesterday, following that annual meeting by hosting a luncheon with the five Presidents.  Besides the Secretary-General, the heads of the principal UN organs are the Presidents of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the International Court of Justice.

The Secretary-General and the other heads discussed, among other topics, UN reform, preparations for major events in 2005 and the current challenges faced by the United Nations.

They also received a briefing by Stephen Stedman, the Research Director of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, on the Panel’s work and some of its major findings.

The Secretary-General, by the way, met with members of the High-Level Panel this morning, as they hold discussions on their report here in New York.

**SG/GA Modalities

Out on the racks today is the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly on the format and organization of next year’s high-level summit, which will be held at the start of the sixtieth General Assembly next year.

The summit will review the implementation of the Millennium Declaration -- this was adopted by the world’s leaders at the Millennium Summit in 2000, and it sets out the aims of a world united by common values, peace and decent standards of living for every man, woman and child.

In his report, the Secretary-General also urges Member States to take an active and positive interest in the issues before the summit meeting.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General

I have the following statement attributable to the Spokesman regarding the death of the President of the United Arab Emirates:

“The Secretary-General learned with profound sadness yesterday of the death of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, the President of the United Arab Emirates.

“Sheikh Zayed al-Nahayan was a most distinguished statesman, who had led the UAE since its formation in 1971.  He devoted tireless efforts to building the State and the nation, and in so doing, earned the respect of the population for his wisdom, his generosity, and his achievements in constructing a prosperous economy.

“Sheikh Zayed’s wisdom, strong belief in diplomacy and generous assistance to developing countries also won him wide renown outside his own country -- in the Islamic world and even further afield.  And he was a friend of the United Nations, who sought always to strengthen relations between the Organization and his country.

“The Secretary-General wishes to convey his deep condolences to the family of the late President, and to the Government and people of the United Arab Emirates.”

And you may have noticed the UN flag is flying at half-mast today, in observance of the official mourning for Sheikh Zayed.

**Guest At Noon Tomorrow

We have a possible guest tomorrow at the noon briefing.  Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, may be joining us at noon tomorrow, depending on the timing of the Security Council consultations on Sudan scheduled for tomorrow morning.  If he is not able to make it in time for this briefing, he will hold a separate press conference in this room immediately following the consultations.

That’s all I have for you.  Mohammad?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Two questions, Fred.  What will be the effect of the re-election of President Bush on the relations between the U.S. and the UN?  And your reaction about today’s Staff Union press release on illegal detention of staff in Palestine?

Spokesman:  I didn’t see that press release or that statement by the Staff Union, so I’ll have to take a look at it and see if we have a reaction.

I don’t think I have anything new to say about the U.S.-UN relationship.  As I have already said, it’s been a solid and productive relationship over the past four years.  There have been a few disagreements, at least one fundamental one over the invasion of Iraq, as I mentioned, but the Secretary-General has placed that in the hands of the High-Level Panel in terms of the constitutional issue on intervention; and the Secretary-General looks forward to another productive four years, expecting the United States to carry out a leadership role here in the Organization commensurate with its economic and political influence in the world at large.  Mr. Abbadi?

Question:  The members of the High-Level Panel on change are having these discussions; I suppose they are all private.  Would they extend to the representatives of the NGO community?

Spokesman:  There have been, in the course of the past year, consultations with non-governmental organizations representatives.  You’d have to check with the panel whether they have any further such meetings scheduled for the remaining days of November before they finalize their report.  I frankly don’t have any details of their programme.

Okay, thank you very much.  Djibril Diallo now on the General Assembly.

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Thank you, Fred.  Good afternoon.

The General Committee held its fifth informal meeting, a closed meeting, this morning to discuss matters related to the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly and other matters.

Before making his introductory statement, General Assembly President Jean Ping referred to the passing away of Sheikh Zayed al-Nahayan, the Emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirate.  He informed the members that an official tribute will be given in the General Assembly tomorrow in memory of Sheikh Zayed. 

On the preparation of the next high-level segment, the President is very anxious that all measures are taken for the schedule of that segment to stay on course, and in that connection, he noted that the report of the Secretary-General on the modality, the format and the organization of this segment is already available online and that report will be published under document number A/59/545.

President Jean Ping also gave a list of key events to be borne in mind by the General Assembly as it conducts its work.

The first event, in early December is the release of the High-Level Panel report to the Secretary-General.

Number two, in January 2005, the Sachs report on financing for development and the Millennium Development Goals.

Number three, in mid April in Washington, D.C., the dialogue between the ECOSOC, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization.

He also mentioned non-UN events whose proceedings will have an impact on the work of the General Assembly.  The initiative by the Presidents of Brazil, Chile, Spain and France, you may recall this initiative whose main objective is to eradicate hunger and poverty.

Secondly, the initiative of the “Commission for Africa” by the United Kingdom, to be held around the chairmanship of the G-8 by the United Kingdom.

Another UNGA event is on 2 June 2005.  There will be a General Assembly plenary session specifically addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS.

The President mentioned also that he will put in place a group of facilitators among Member States to help him carry out his work in this connection.

I have one item on the work of the Committees.  All the Committees are meeting, but I have one item that I would like to share with you.  That is the work of the Third Committee which is discussing elimination of racism, racial discrimination, and the comprehensive implementation and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

In that context, Mr. Doudou Diène, who is the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; and Ms. Shaista Shameem, Special Rapporteur on the question of the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, -- those two rapporteurs addressed the Third Committee this morning.

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

Question:  The President has been meeting with members of the High-Level Panel on change.  By now he must be familiar with their recommendations.  Is he satisfied with those recommendations?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  As you know, the Panel is appointed by the Secretary-General, and will make its recommendations officially to the Secretary-General.  Obviously the President has been very interested in the work of the Panel, but he has not been seized officially by the results of the recommendations of the Panel as yet.

Any other question?  If not, thank you.

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