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.

**Secretary-General

The Secretary-General has postponed for 24 hours his departure for Africa and the Middle East, due to urgent matters that came up over the weekend. 

**Deputy Secretary-General

The Deputy Secretary-General is in Washington, D.C., today for the annual meeting of the Board of the United Nations Foundation.

She will address the Directors of the Board at a working luncheon on the current priorities of the United Nations.

**Côte d’Ivoire

In New York, the Security Council has scheduled a formal meeting this afternoon to vote on a resolution on Côte d’Ivoire.

On the ground, the situation remains tense there.

An estimated 10,000 refugees from Côte d'Ivoire have arrived in eastern Liberia since last week, some of them for the second time in two years, reports the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The UNHCR, its partners and the Liberian authorities are on the ground to respond to the refugees’ needs and make preparations, should the Ivorian situation deteriorate.

Meanwhile, in a meeting to plan a response to the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire over the weekend, several UN humanitarian organizations and their agency partners agreed on key actions to be taken.

At the meeting in Dakar, Senegal, agencies agreed that their main objectives in the near future would be to guarantee access to people in need, to ensure that civilians are spared the worst effects of conflict, and to prevent large-scale movements of populations. 

As soon as security conditions allow, aid groups will redeploy to areas in the north of the country, then expand their presence by delivering relief materials through neighbouring countries.  They will also seek to urgently re-establish access to the west of the country.

**Côte d’Ivoire - Hate Media

Last week, in a statement on Côte d’Ivoire, the Secretary-General condemned the use of hate media which is fuelling tensions, xenophobia and inciting violent acts.

Today, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan Méndez, has issued a statement expressing his concern over the situation in Côte d’Ivoire.  The Special Adviser says he has been particularly distressed by reports of hate speeches and the ensuing actions of armed, militant groups. 

The current crisis has increased xenophobia and could exacerbate already worrisome and widespread violations of human rights, which in the recent past have included extra-judicial executions, torture, arbitrary detention, disappearances and sexual violence. 

The Special Adviser recalls that, in the absence of effective action by courts of national jurisdiction, incitement to violence directed against civilians or ethnic, religious or racial communities can be subject to international action, including under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.  For instance, the Security Council could refer the situation in Côte d’Ivoire to the International Criminal Court. 

If the xenophobic expressions persist and they cause the further evacuation of essential humanitarian relief workers, the Special Adviser recommends that the UN and French troops already in the field should be expanded and instructed to deploy, so as to afford direct protection to civilian population at risk of attack because of their ethnic, religious or citizenship status.

You can read the recommendations he outlines in the full text of his speech, which we have upstairs.

**Iraq

In off-the-cuff remarks at a luncheon organized by the newly established Iraqi Democratic Institute, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, said he believed that “from technical perspectives, elections can be held within the time frame” that was set by the transitional law and resolution 1546.

He went on, “We also hope that the political and security environment will improve to allow for the convening of credible, comprehensive and transparent elections.”

“Iraq is passing through a historic moment”, he went on, “and you can be sure that the United Nations will do everything it can to help you”.  He said that to a 70-member group that also included representatives from Baghdad chambers of trade and industry. 

And we have more upstairs on his comments.

**Falluja

The UN mission has been closely monitoring the situation in Falluja so as to properly assist in meeting the needs of the civilian populations in and outside the city.

The World Health Organization has provided the ministry of health with medical supplies, and about 50,000 blood bags while the UN’s Children’s Fund supplied potable water to be distributed among the internally displaced persons.

The UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration have also made available tents and other essential non-food items to displaced persons.

**Secretary-General’s Spokeman’s Statement on the Republika Srpska

The Secretary-General welcomes the conclusions of the authorities of the Republika Srpska regarding the Srebrenica Commission Final Report, particularly the condolences conveyed to the relatives of victims, as well as its apology for the tragedy in Srebenica.

The Republika Srpska authorities and the Commission for Investigation of the Events in and around Srebrenica between 10 and 19 July 1995 have set an example of confronting the painful past of the war, facing the truth about the events which occurred during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  This courageous act contributes to building a trust among the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the process of reconciliation.

The Secretary-General expects that the information contained in the Srebrenica Commission Report and the Republika Srpska Government’s commitment to bring to justice all those who committed war crimes will now lead to concrete actions.

The Secretary-General hopes that the Srebrenica Commission Report will open avenues for a broader process of discovering the facts about war crimes and will encourage leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to start the process that will allow them to candidly consider events from the past.

**Security Council - Timor Leste

Timor-Leste has made steady progress in its peace efforts and nation-building work, the head of the UN Mission to that country told the Security Council this morning.  But much work remains to be done as the UN Mission implements its transition strategy over the next six months, he said.

Special Representative Sukehiro Hasegawa presented the Secretary-General’s latest report on Timor-Leste in an open briefing to the Security Council, which, he noted, said that the situation on the ground does not justify any modification or reduction in size of the UN Mission at present.

We have his statement to the Council available upstairs.

Security Council members are currently discussing Timor-Leste in an open debate.

**Security Council - Afternoon

Terje Roed-Larsen, who’s here on my right, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, will deliver his final briefing to the Security Council on that region, in an open meeting at 3:30 this afternoon.  Mr. Roed-Larsen will speak to you in a few minutes as our guest at today’s noon briefing.

That open briefing will be followed by Security Council consultations, also on the Middle East.

**IAEA - Iran

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that it has received a letter from the Government of Iran, saying that it will fully suspend its uranium enrichment, as of next Monday.

The IAEA welcomes the announced suspension as a confidence-building measure.  The Agency is already making arrangements to verify its implementation.

**Sudan

The UN mission reports continued insecurity in Darfur, Sudan, citing the African Union as its source.

In south Darfur, attacks were reported on villages last Thursday and Friday.  And yesterday, the AU investigated a series of tribal clashes in three villages.

Other incidents were reported in both west and north Darfur.

In north Darfur, agencies operating in the Zam Zam camp report an increased presence of armed tribesmen around the camp.  In west Darfur leaders from internally displaced camps around El-Geneina report that they are under increasing pressure to return to their homes.  They were specifically threatened that they would not receive ration cards unless they returned to their villages.

At a press conference last week, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, emphasized that relocations should be carried out with respect for international humanitarian law and human rights.  He encouraged the Government to devise criteria which should determine camp locations.

**MINUGUA Closure

The UN Verification Mission in Guatemala will officially be closed in a ceremony later today.

Kieran Prendergast, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, will attend the ceremony and deliver a message on behalf of the Secretary-General.

He’s also expected to accept the Order of Quetzal, which the Guatemalan Government is awarding to the UN Mission for the work it’s carried out there over the past ten years.

Mr.Prendergast has been in Guatemala for the past few days.

On Saturday he attended the closure of the Mission’s regional office in Quiche -- which was one of the regions most affected by the civil strife in that country.

We have embargoed copies of the Secretary-General’s message upstairs.

**Haiti - Spanish & Moroccan Troops Take Over

The Spanish and Moroccan troops who recently arrived in Haiti now have the military responsibility for the area of Fort Liberté and Terrier Rouge in the country’s north-east.

The troops officially took over from a Chilean contingent of peacekeepers late last week -- and the relieved Chilean forces will be used to reinforce the UN Mission’s military presence in the area of Cap Haïtien.

Regarding troops numbers in Haiti, the UN Mission reports that more than two thirds of the military and police forces planned for the Mission are now on the ground there.

We have more on that upstairs.

**Cambodia

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for human rights in Cambodia yesterday concluded a visit to that country by calling for an independent commission to be created to investigate the deplorable phenomenon of mob killings.

The envoy, Peter Leuprecht, also released a report on land concessions in Cambodia, which he argued have contributed little to state revenue and have shown little regard for people’s welfare.

We have a press release with more details on that upstairs.

**Great Lakes - Foreign Ministers Meeting

Foreign Ministers of the core countries of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region will begin a two-day meeting in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, tomorrow.

The meeting is being held to prepare for the first heads of state summit that’ll be held this Friday and Saturday, also in Dar Es Salaam.

The International Conference was proposed by the Secretary-General, and is being co-chaired by the UN and the African Union -- its aim is to find a lasting solution to the problems facing the region.

The foreign ministers will examine a first draft Declaration, and they’re expected to come up with the final version of it, which they’ll then submit to the heads of state for adoption and signature on Saturday.

And we have more on that in a press release upstairs.

**Revision Security Council

I have a revision of what I said on the Security Council.  The Security Council President just announced that immediately following the meeting on East Timor this morning, the Council will go into consultations on Côte d’Ivoire.

**UNICEF – Snowflake

Snowflakes. This Thursday at 7 p.m., UNICEF will unveil in Manhattan the largest outdoor chandelier of its kind.  The UNICEF Snowflake, as it is called, has been designed by acclaimed lighting designer Ingo Maurer and Baccarat.  It has been a New York City holiday attraction for the past 19 years, and was dedicated to UNICEF as a beacon of hope, peace and compassion for vulnerable children around the world.

The Snowflake will be lit by UNICEF National Ambassador Sarah Jessica Parker at an outdoor ceremony that is open to the public.

We have a press release on that.

It’s almost over.  Hang on.

**UN TV — World Chronicle

The programme “World Chronicle” will be shown today at 3:30 p.m. and you can watch it on channels 3 or 31, on in-house television.  It will feature a discussion on advancing equal rights for women, and Ayse Ferid Acar, Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women will be the guest.

**Press Conference Tomorrow

And finally, press conference tomorrow in this room, Henriette Keijzers, Deputy Executive Secretary and Officer-in-Charge of the UN Capital Development Fund, together with international singers Anggun of Indonesia and Souad Massi of Algeria, Emissaries for the International Year of Microcredit 2005, will brief on the involvement of the international stars in promoting awareness of the importance of microcredit in poverty eradication.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  What urgent matters, in addition to the situation in Côte d’Ivoire, have led the Secretary-General to postpone his trip to Africa. What [inaudible].

Spokesman:  Just read the newspapers, Mr. Abadi.

Question:  Does the Secretary-General have any comment on Secretary Powell’s resignation?

Spokesman:  He expects to be talking with Secretary Powell on the telephone shortly, if that hasn’t already happened.  As you know, he has had a very warm working relationship with Secretary Powell that has also been a productive one.  He particularly appreciates the Secretary’s support for the United Nations and for multilateral approaches to problem-solving.  And he wishes him the best in whatever he will be doing next.

Question:  Over the weekend, in the New York Times, there has been quite a scathing article about the relationship between the United States and the United Nations, especially Secretary-General Kofi Annan.  And then there was another article today by Mr. Safire about obstruction of justice.  Do you have any response on these?

Spokesman:  I don’t think it was a scathing article over the weekend.  I think in that article, the Secretary-General attempted to explain his positions on a number of issues that he feels have been misjudged by certain media.  He said, for example, that in Iraq the United Nations has already accomplished a lot and he said, “If I’m not being boastful, it’s things that would not have been accomplished without United Nations support.”  You’ll recall that the Interim Government was set up with the strong assistance of Mr. Brahimmi, who went into Iraq for initially two days, and ended up spending weeks there, under very difficult security circumstances.  And what we’ve done on elections is under reported, and perhaps underappreciated.  But the training of thousands of electoral personnel, outside the country, in addition to working with the Iraqi Interim Government on setting up an independent legal commission, and the whole framework for elections, all of that is necessary before you even get started with the registration that’s under way now.  So, we would hope that people would listen a bit more carefully to what we say about what we’re doing there, how we’re trying to help.  And the Secretary-General’s bottom line was what he’s been saying ever since the divisive issue of the war in Iraq was behind us -- that we now need to look forward, that an unstable Iraq is in nobody’s interest.  And he’s trying to get everyone to work together to stabilize Iraq, and therefore the region.

I don’t have any comment on the criticisms of the various columns that appeared today, except that I would say that I feel it’s a continuation of a misperception of the United Nations’ role, and in particular the Secretary-General’s role, in these issue’s.  Edie?

Question:  Fred, you were seeking to get us a statement after the discussions between Mr. Volcker and the legal experts here.  Is that statement going to materialize today on the Oil-for-Food Programme and the issue of documents?

Spokesman:  We were expecting to hear from Mr. Volcker.  We had not heard as of noon, but he led us to believe, when his people spoke to us last Thursday, that we would have something from him today.  So I expect that by the end of the day we’ll probably have something from him on these matters.

Question:  Might there be a change in the information-sharing stance between the Volcker Panel and United Nations?

Spokesman:  I can’t tell until we see what Mr. Volcker puts in his letter.  Bill?

Question:  Fred, could you please specify for the record what matters the Secretary-General…

Spokesman:  I’ve already answered that question.

Question:  No, you referred to newspaper accounts.  I read the newspapers. I’m not sure what you’re referring to.

Spokesman:  It’s his judgement call where he needs to be, Bill.  Over the weekend he decided he had important business to deal with here, including a consultation with the Deputy Secretary-General when she returns from Washington.  That’s what he felt was a justifiable reason for postponing his trip by 24 hours.  I don’t have to give you anything more specific than that.  Yes, sir?

Question:  U.S. Senator Coleman tells us that he had a phone conversation over the weekend with the Secretary-General.  He characterized it as a constructive phone conversation but pointed out quickly that without action following it, it wouldn’t be very constructive without any action following that phone call.  Can you talk about that phone call? 

Spokesman:  I can’t tell what’s said, except that the Secretary-General spoke both to Senator Coleman and Senator Levin over the weekend, concerned about the matters that they raised in their letter to him.  Of course, we’re now waiting to hear from Mr. Volcker.  And I can’t predict, as I already told you, what Mr. Volcker’s views might be.  But he wanted to assure the Senators that he’s not being obstructionist, which I also think was his message in his interview in the New York Times that appeared over the weekend.  He’s not trying to be obstructionist.  He wants to help, but there are inherent limits to what he can do as the head of an organization with 191 Member States.  Mr. Abadi?

Question:  I did read the article in the New York Times, is the Secretary-General considering turning over some of the documents to the U.S. Congress?

Spokesman:  I have no reply to you on that.  We’re waiting to hear from Mr. Volcker. 

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon.

The General Assembly considered this morning two items in a joint debate.

One, agenda item 50, entitled “Report of the International Tribunal for Rwanda”:  Judge Erik Mose, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, presented the report.  He mentioned that 25 persons were currently on trial, and the trial of 23 others had been completed.  We have the full text of Judge Mose’s speech in our office upstairs.

The next was agenda item 51 having to do with the Report of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) since 1991.  Judge Theodor Meron, President of the ICTY, presented the report of the ICTY to the General Assembly.  He mentioned that the ICTY worked on 40 cases in the last year, and that the tribunal rendered eleven judgments of those 40 cases.

Both judges reported financial difficulties, mainly due to non-payment of Member States, however they both reported that the Tribunals are doing their best to stay on track with the completion strategy.  They expect to finish their work by the year 2008 as mandated.

For your background, the International Tribunal for Rwanda was established on 8 November 1994.  It presents an annual report to the Security Council and to the General Assembly.

The International Tribunal for Yugoslavia was established in 1993, and does the same in terms of submitting an annual report to the Security Council and the General Assembly.

As you know the Assembly stepped back from its agenda last Thursday afternoon to pay a tribute to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.  The tribute started with Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressing the Assembly.

Just before to calling for a moment of silence in memory of the Palestinian leader, Assembly President Jean Ping said that the achievement of the lifelong dream of establishing and ensuring the peaceful coexistence of two States -- Palestinian and Israeli -- would be the best way to pay tribute to Mr. Arafat.

Expressing condolences on the death of Yasser Arafat were the representatives of the Gambia (on behalf of the African States), Indonesia (on behalf of the Asian States), Belarus (on behalf of the Eastern European States), Nicaragua (on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States), New Zealand (on behalf of the Western European and Other States), Sudan (on behalf of the Arab States), Netherlands (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), Malaysia (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)) and Turkey (on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference).

The representative of Senegal spoke in his capacity as Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and the representative of Egypt expressed condolences on behalf of his nation.

Committee Work

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary Committee) on Thursday recommended to the General Assembly a draft resolution, by the terms of which it would urge all Member States to pay their contributions to the Organization in full, on time and without conditions.  That draft resolution also addresses the issue of multi-year payment plans to reduce Member States’ arrears to the United Nations budget.

The Fifth Committee also approved, without a vote, a draft resolution on the scale of assessments for the apportionment of expenses of the United Nations and the Committee recommended that the Assembly take note of the report of the Committee on Contributions and the Secretary-General’s report on multi-year payment plans.

In connection with the latter, the Assembly would reaffirm paragraph one of its resolution 57/4B, by which it endorsed the conclusions of the Committee on Contributions regarding multi-year plans.

Again, for your background, the Committee on Contributions had agreed that Member States should be encouraged to submit multi-year payment plans as a useful tool for reducing their unpaid assessments; and recommended that plans should remain voluntary and should not be linked to other measures.  For those States that were in a position to submit a plan, that submission and the state of implementation should be taken into account as one factor in considering requests for exemption under Article 19.

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

Questions and Answers

Question:  About the Third Committee.  I thought I saw a document last week saying that it was going to take up a series of resolutions on human rights.  I never saw that those were taken up.  Have you any idea when those would be taken up or have I missed them?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  I think they’re being discussed but I’ll come back to you immediately after this briefing.

Question:  Last Tuesday, about 12 ambassadors met with the President of the General Assembly about a United Nations resolution being brought on the United Nations reform agenda on the expansion of the Security Council.  And they told him that any resolution at this point in time would undermine the United Nations system and wreck the reform process.  Do you know if any resolution is now being considered?  Or do you know about that?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  Last week, the President of the General Assembly, Jean Ping, met with a series of ambassadors as part of the consultations he’s been holding as part of the framework of United Nations reform, and I’m not at liberty to talk to you about the content of those consultations.  But let me take this opportunity to reiterate what President Jean Ping has said repeatedly, which is that the reform of the United Nations has to be taken as a total, which includes the Security Council and the General Assembly, and the linkage between those bodies and other bodies such as ECOSOC.  And within that framework, he has tirelessly gone ahead and held consultations with Member States, small and big.

Question:  Is there a move, that’s what I’m wondering, in the G4 -- Japan, Germany, India and Brazil -- where States that want to bring about this resolution on the reform agenda in general, and Security Council expansion.  Is this a move that you know of?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  Not to my knowledge from the President’s point of view, because I’m not able to give you the content of these consultations.

Question:  Same question on reform and the Presidency.  Some States have said that reform should be agreed by all States of the United Nations.  Is that the position of the President?

Spokesman for General Assembly President:  When the president came on board in June, he undertook extensive consultations with Member States.  So that process of consultations has continued during his tenure so as to get as broad a consensus within the 191 Member States as possible.  Because he has always emphasized that the value of the United Nations has always been that the issues of a global nature need to be resolved within a global framework.

OK.  Thank you.

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