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

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Council on Foreign Relations

I’ve got quite a few items today, starting off with the Secretary-General who, as you know, is in Washington today, where he is currently meeting with US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

He will then shortly be speaking at a luncheon at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he will be telling them that the only universal instrument that can bring States together in a global effort against the major threats of our age is the United Nations.

He is to say that the United Nations is not perfect, and at times shows its age, but “our world will not easily find a better instrument for forging a sustained, global response to today’s threats”.

He will also discuss the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, noting that the Panel has proposed a definition of terrorism, which Member States should use to enact a full anti-terrorism convention.  He will add that tomorrow’s United Nations would provide a more muscular framework to prevent a cascade of nuclear proliferation.

Among other points dealt with in the report, the Security Council must sometimes have to authorize the use of force to stop mass atrocities in sovereign States.  “We face such a situation today in Darfur”, the Secretary-General is to say.

The Secretary-General will also highlight the UN’s efforts in Iraq, where it has helped to train some 6,000 election workers and to recruit and train up to 130,000 poll workers.  The technical preparations for the 30 January election are on track and the United Nations stands ready, if asked, to support Iraqi efforts to draw up a constitution.

**Secretary-General in Washington

Earlier today the Secretary-General also met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell.  They discussed Iraq, including UN support for the January elections, and the Secretary-General told Powell that the United Nations is strengthening its presence in Iraq.

The two also discussed the Middle East peace process, Haiti, Sudan, Afghanistan and United Nations reform.  Their meeting included a brief one-on-one encounter.

Afterwards, they spoke to the press and the Secretary-General said about Iraq that the United Nations will put in the staff it deems necessary.  “It’s not a question of numbers, it’s a question of what you need to get the job done.”

Asked about the oil-for-food allegations, the Secretary-General said he is anxious to see the investigations concluded as quickly as possible so that we can “focus on the essential work of the United Nations”.

Later today, the Secretary-General will travel to Brussels, where he will attend tomorrow the summit of the European Union.

**Iraq Elections

Turning to the Iraq elections, as you know yesterday was the last day for voter registration as well as political entities and coalitions candidate-list certification for the elections.

The latest figures we have shown that 237 political entities have registered.  This translates to over 11,000 candidates running for the three elections.  So far no political entity has been rejected by the electoral commission.

The entities represent a broad spectrum of Iraqi society, with all religious and ethnic groups being represented.  Some of the candidate lists include representatives from other tribes and minority religious sects, showing that groups are using the electoral process to form alliances and attract wide support.

And we have a fact sheet available upstairs with more information on the election as well as on the staffing levels.

**Iraq

Also on Iraq, four containers of laboratory equipment, along with supplies of up-to-date reference and textbooks, are on their way to that country as part of an international effort to revitalize universities and the higher education system.

This effort is being conducted under a $6 million programme jointly sponsored by the United Nations.  And we have more information upstairs in a press release from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

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

I now have a statement on Myanmar:

“The Secretary-General is seriously concerned to learn that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal security detail has been withdrawn, and the already limited access to her by her physician that currently exists has been further restricted.  The Secretary-General reminds the Myanmar authorities of their responsibility to ensure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s security and well-being.

“The Secretary-General also reiterates strongly his calls on the authorities to honour their expressed commitments to the United Nations and to ASEAN by lifting all the restrictions on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s movement and activities as soon as possible; and by taking the requisite steps to ensure that the process of democratization and national reconciliation in Myanmar is fully inclusive.”

And we have copies of that statement upstairs.

**Security Council

Turning to the Security Council, a window of opportunity exists to revitalize the Middle East peace process, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told Council members today in an open briefing.

Addressing the Council, Prendergast says that the Palestinian leadership have continued to oversee the transitional period in a highly commendable manner, with no significant internal unrest.

The optimism among the Palestinians, he added, is mirrored on the Israeli side, with a recent survey showing that three quarters of Israelis favour the resumption of negotiations.

Prendergast also noted with satisfaction and hope for the future that the overall level of violence has dropped in the past month.  Nevertheless, casualty figures are still too high, with 52 Palestinians and seven Israelis having been killed since 15 November.

Much work remains to be done, he said, and we should make clear that we expect both Israel and the Palestinians to seize the moment to act constructively, and to work within the framework of the Road Map.  His remarks, which are a periodic briefing to the Council, are available upstairs.

This open briefing was followed by consultations, also on the Middle East, which are still going on as we speak.

**UNRWA

Also from the region, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees today handed over new house keys to hundreds of families whose homes had been destroyed in the West Bank city of Jenin.  The rebuilding of homes in Jenin camp that were destroyed during fighting in April 2002 is now complete, according to UNRWA.

Peter Hansen, the Agency’s chief, handed over keys to most of the 435 families, whose homes have now been replaced, and he said that the rebuilding in Jenin has been the biggest humanitarian project in the occupied Palestinian territory since the conflict broke out four years ago.  He said he hoped that the fresh start for the Jenin camp will be accompanied by an improved situation for all Palestinians.

We have a press release from UNRWA available upstairs.

**Palestinian Elections

On the Palestinian elections, just an update on our efforts in assisting the Palestinian presidential ballots for next January.

On Saturday, we expect the UN Liaison and Support Unit to open its offices in Ramallah -- soon after a satellite office will open in Gaza.

The primary function of these offices will be to liaise with international observer groups, to ensure that they have access to all relevant information needed for them to work efficiently.

The offices will also promote liaison and collaboration among national and international observers.

And UN officers will act as an interface between the international observers and the Palestinian Central Electoral Commission, as well as with Israeli authorities.

**Afghanistan

Turning to Afghanistan, the UN Mission in that country said today that the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif has now been fully disarmed.  More than 6,700 soldiers in the city have turned in their weapons, and the Mission says that nearly 29,000 military personnel have been disarmed throughout the country since October 2003.

The UN Mission expects the numbers to rise even more in the next few days, when another 1,000 soldiers from Kabul’s Tenth Division are scheduled to turn in their arms.  And we have more details in the briefing notes from the Mission upstairs.

**Democratic Republic of Congo

An update on recent developments in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The UN Mission in the DRC says it has located thousands of people who have fled the locality of Kanyabayonga, which has been the site of fighting between armed groups this week.

The Mission has sent a team to assess the residents’ aid needs, but is experiencing difficulty in reaching them from the south, and will now try to do so from the north.

**Kosovo

On Kosovo, out on the racks today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council.  It contains a report by Ambassador Kai Eide of Norway, as well as the Secretary-General’s recommendations on how to move forward in the aftermath of last March’s violence.

The letter, among other things, recommends transferring further competencies to the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, implementing a stronger economic development policy, as well as initiating a more comprehensive dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade.

We have more information upstairs.

**World Court

On the World Court, yesterday in The Hague, the International Court of Justice unanimously ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to deal with the claims filed by Serbia and Montenegro concerning acts allegedly committed by NATO in Kosovo in 1999.  The Court found that Serbia and Montenegro was not a member of the United Nations or a State party to the International Court of Justice’s Statute at the time of the filing.

**WFP –- Azerbaijan

And finally, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that, because of a $10 million shortfall, food distribution to 140,000 Azerbaijanis displaced by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict a decade ago, will come to a complete halt in January.

The three-year humanitarian operation started in January 2003, and 75 per cent of the beneficiaries are women and children.   And we have more information on that in a press release available upstairs.

That’s it from me, do you have any questions?

Yes, Edie?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Steph, in his meeting today with Secretary of State Powell, the Secretary-General said that some 6,000 Iraq personnel have been trained in the conduct of the election and over 130,000 have been identified to actually run the various polling stations.  Is it possible to tell us how much of that was the result of UN training; that is... (Interrupted)?

Associate Spokesman:  Yeah, sure.  What the UN electoral workers in Iraq did, as you know, is first to design a training programme for members of the Iraqi Electoral Commission.  We organized a programme for them in Mexico, if you recall, over the summer.  We then trained a large number of the permanent workers of the Commission.  Some of that training was done in Iraq.  A lot of it was done outside of Iraq, in neighbouring countries.  And we also did what we would call “cascade training”, where we train three trainers, who are then able to go back to Iraq and train other electoral workers.

So the training was based on a UN-devised plan even if all the trainers at every level were not, in fact, UN personnel.  Through the cascade training the United Nations-designed booklets and programmes ran the gamut. Yes, sir?

Question:  Sir, I’m from Al-Jazeera.  Today, in a phone interview with Al-Jazeera, one of the Hamas leaders, noting the development of the situation said Hamas might be targeting now Israelis outside of Israel.  Does this conflict with the situation you were reporting today?

Associate Spokesman:  Well, I haven’t seen the remarks you are referring to.  But, obviously, the Secretary-General has condemned all violence in that sense, in the strongest possible terms.  And he has repeated often that the only way forward is a politically negotiated settlement.

Question:  But does this, at least, cast a sort of shadow on your work in your effort to... (Interrupted)?

Associate Spokesman:  I think we have to focus on the optimism that we did note both from the Israeli political side and the Palestinian political side.  I think the political transition in the Palestinian territory was done very smoothly and I think they need to be commended for that.  And that’s what we need to focus on.  Yes, Mohammad?

Question:  Two questions, Stéphane:  when are you opening your office in Israel, in Jerusalem?  This is my first question. And my second question is...(interrupted).

Associate Spokesman:  Regarding the elections?

Question:  Yes, Palestinian elections.  Will you have any press release giving the details of Mr. Annan and Ms. Rice’s meeting?

Associate Spokesman:  Yes, the meeting is going on right now.  So we should have more information afterwards.  As to the voting in East Jerusalem, we’re not involved in that.  The Palestinians and Israelis agreed to implement, I think it was the 1996 accord, which devised a mechanism for East Jerusalem residents to vote in Palestinian elections.  So that was done directly between the Israelis and the Palestinians and we’re not involved in that.  Yes, Massoud?

Question:  As the election process began in Iraq, it’s been marked by all kinds of violence and killings, especially in Karbala the other day.  How confident is the United Nations, I know you have been saying that you have got nothing to do with it.  Is the United Nations making sure that this, or do you believe that the election process will move forward?  It will not be undermined by the violence which seems to be spreading?

Associate Spokesman:  Massoud, I think I’m going to avoid you taking our temperature every day on this.  I think Mr. Qazi spoke eloquently in the Council and he spoke to you a couple of days ago.  What he said to you stands.  We’re all working closely with the Iraqis on making sure these elections go forward.  And as far as we’re concerned, on the technical aspects, we’re on track, on a very tight calendar.

Question:  Stéphane, I hasten to point out that the situation in Iraq is changing every day.  That’s the reason for my concern.

Associate Spokesman:  I have nothing further to add than what Mr. Qazi said.

Question:  Regarding Haiti, did you receive the latest report from the Minister in Haiti? The problem we have since yesterday?

Associate Spokesman:  Yes, what I have on Haiti is that a group of former military troops have occupied the home of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide yesterday, reportedly with the intention of making it their headquarters to “provide security to the population”.  Today at 6 a.m., peacekeepers from the UN Mission in Haiti and the Haitian National Police surrounded the residence and the UN Mission is collaborating with the Haitian authorities to find a peaceful solution to that specific situation.  And negotiations for their removal continue.

Thank you very much.

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