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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon,

**Iraq –- Electoral Update

In Iraq, the list of candidates for the upcoming elections is still being processed.  So far, the names of almost 19,000 candidates have been presented.

There are 6,239 registered candidates for national assembly elections.  And 223 political entities and 33 coalitions have been certified to take part in the elections for the National Assembly, the governates, and the Kurdistan National Assembly.

The final figures will be made public within the next few days.

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

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman on the subject of Nepal:

“Secretary-General is deeply troubled by reports of an escalation of fighting in Nepal and of continued grave human rights violations.  The conflict is undermining democracy and human rights and seriously hindering development activities.

Reports that human rights defenders in Nepal face grave threats to their safety and security are very disturbing.  The safety and ability of the National Human Rights Commission and all human rights activists to carry out their essential work should be guaranteed.

In that regard, the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is a welcome step.

The Secretary-General once again calls for an urgent cessation of fighting and the initiation of dialogue between the Government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) with the participation of all political and civil forces.  He stands ready to assist such a national effort.”

**Afghanistan

The UN Mission in Afghanistan reports that yesterday was the first day of disarmament for the Fifteenth Division in Kandahar.  The event was made possible by the Afghan National Army’s establishment of a regional command centre in the South.  And it marks the beginning of the end of all disarmament for militias in the southern part of the country.

More details are available in today’s briefing notes from Kabul, which we have upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council, in its last scheduled meeting for 2004, yesterday afternoon extended the mandate of the UN Peace-building Support Office in Guinea Bissau.

Recognizing the risks presented by recent developments to the conclusion of Guinea-Bissau’s transitional process, the Security Council also gave the mission a revised mandate in light of the diverse tasks facing the special political mission.

And looking ahead, Argentina will assume the Security Council presidency on 1 January.

Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Japan and the United Republic of Tanzania are the newly elected Security Council members as of 1 January.  They replace Angola, Chile, Germany, Pakistan and Spain.

**Sudan

The UN country team in Khartoum, Sudan today held an emergency meeting to discuss how to contain a polio epidemic in the country, where 79 cases have now been reported.

According to the UN mission in Sudan, the World Health Organization and UNICEF highlighted the serious consequences of this outbreak if it is not contained without delay.  These consequences include the potential spread of the disease to other countries in the region, and tighter restrictions on the movement of people from the infected countries.

A vaccination campaign is scheduled to take place in the whole of Sudan in January and February.

**Liberia

The UN Mission in Liberia has documented illegal fishing and bilge dumping in the country's international waters, Jacques Klein, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Liberia says.

Klein said he would like to have the authority to actually force these ships to come into the harbour.

The aim, he explained, wouldn’t be to impound the ships, but to make them pay standard fines.  That, “at least would generate some revenue for the Government of Liberia”, he says.

For those of you who are not familiar with the term bilge dumping, it describes the ridding of waste that the ship itself produces.

You can read more about this on the UN News Centre.  Hard copies of the story are available in my office.

**Ethiopia Appeal

The Ethiopian Government, the United Nations and humanitarian partners today appealed for food valued at nearly $160 million for an estimated 2.2 million needy people, and $112 million of non-food assistance to meet emergency humanitarian needs in Ethiopia in 2005.

**General Assembly

Today marks the end of the main part of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly.

The plenary will meet this afternoon at 4 o’clock to discuss some outstanding issues and review the report of the Fifth Committee, which is the budget committee dealing with financial and budgetary matters.

If you’re chasing more information on this, please contact Israa Hamad in the General Assembly Spokesman’s Office.

**No Briefing Next Week

This is the last briefing I’ll be giving here this year –- unless of course there are major developments over the next few days.

Tomorrow is a UN holiday, and like last year, there’ll be no noon briefings next week.

I’ll be back here on the 4 January, and until then, we’ll be posting any news about the UN system in the same format as usual, on the Spokesman’s website.

Also, at the end of every week we normally give you The Week Ahead, but at this stage, it seems all is quite and we have nothing to flag for you for next week.  So, happy holidays to all of you.

Yes, sir?

Questions and Answers

Question:  I want to ask two questions.  First, do you have any information about a petition given by an Iraqi Kurdish group demanding for the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq?

Spokesman:  I gave nothing on that.  Was this the group that briefed the Correspondents’ Association yesterday?  But, anyway, I have got nothing on that.  I can check upstairs for you afterwards.  What’s your second question?

Question:  My second question is that do you know if the Secretary-General has any intention or plan to re-start his initiative to find a solution to the Cyprus problem?  And also, can you confirm that Mr. Prendergast was appointed as a mediator between Greek Cyprus and Turkish Cyprus?

Spokesman:  There has been no formal announcement of a new mediator.  The last thing the Secretary-General said on Cyprus was during his visit to the European Union Headquarters in Brussels, where he repeated his former position that when the two sides can agree on a way forward, his good offices are available.  So, I don’t think there is anything new in his position.  Massoud?

Question:  Fred, under threat from the United States, it seems that UNDP has shelved this Arab report.  Is this the way that the United Nations and various organs are going to function that every time the United States threatens that the Arab report, which was prepared by UNDP or any other organ will be cancelled or revised?

Spokesman:  You’ve asked me about this report before, and I’ve referred you to UNDP.

Question:  Yeah, now the latest says that they have decided to shelf the report.  I mean, what is the United Nations...(Interrupted).

Spokesman:  I can’t confirm or deny that.  I know nothing about that.  So, I really have to refer you to UNDP and let them tell you whatever they have to say about this Arab Development Report.  They haven’t given me any guidance on it.

[He later announced the availability of a UNDP Media Advisory on the Subject.]

Edie?

Question:  Fred, do you know when we can expect any kind of announcement on a replacement for Mr. Riza?

Spokesman:  I have really no sense.  I doubt anything would happen in the next week or two.  But there is no definitive date and no decision yet on a replacement for him.  The Secretary-General has a short list.

Yes, Jonathan?

Question:  Fred, following your announcement yesterday about Iqbal Riza’s retirement, in which he said that it was because of age that he’s decided to step down, we are hearing reports that are very different from that as a reason for him stepping down.  Can you clarify exactly why has he stepped down?  And the other thing is, in stepping down does that take him out of the line of fire of questioning from the independent commission looking into the oil-for-food programme?

Spokesman:  No.  I think the suddenness of the announcement yesterday triggered a lot of wild speculation.  But Mr. Riza always intended to retire not later than age 70.  And in fact, he told us this morning that he had told the Secretary-General at the very beginning of the first term that he would not serve beyond the age of 70.  He did offer the Secretary-General his resignation at the end of the Secretary-General’s first term and it was turned down.  And they eventually agreed that his departure date, now that he has turned 70, will be 15 January.  So, it has nothing to do with anything else besides age.  And it wasn’t I who said that age was the reason.  I think he told a journalist that last night and it got into one of the papers today.  But that is the true and only reason.

On the relations with the Volcker Panel, he assured the Secretary-General that he would continue to cooperate with the Volcker Panel, as the Secretary-General asked all UN staff to do.  He does not intend to leave New York, at least not in the foreseeable future, and he is available to Mr. Volcker, should Mr. Volcker want to ask him any questions.

Question:  Just a little follow up on that.  Is there a difference then between , for instance, Benon Sevan’s receiving $1 a year; a token payment, of course, to keep him on staff so that he will cooperate fully, -- and that’s what we were told -- that Iqbal Riza will no longer be (a) an employed person of the United Nations.  Does his status change, then? And his availability and availability for questioning for both could change?

Spokesman:  No.  Nothing changes.  There is not the formal obligation to obey the Secretary-General as a staff member any longer.  But someone so close to the Secretary-General as the Chief of Staff, of course, would continue to cooperate with Mr. Volcker, and as I told you he assured the Secretary-General that he would.

Okay, have a happy holiday.  We’ll see you back here in a little more than a week.

Question:  May we have just one last one, sir?  Did Mr. Riza give any indication why this... you mentioned yourself just a minute ago, this is a very sudden resignation.  Has he given any indication as to why...(interrupted)?

Spokesman:  No, I said the announcement was sudden and as a result it triggered a lot of speculation.  But he always intended to retire at the age of 70.  So, that’s what I just told you.  He told the Secretary-General, something like the end of ’96, after Kofi Annan had been elected Secretary-General and had asked Mr. Riza to be his Chief of Staff, that he would not work beyond the age of 70.

So, he just wants a life.  Thank you very...(Interrupted)

Question:  So, when did he turn 70?

Spokesman:  I don’t have the exact date, no, I’m sorry.  I can get it for you.  It will be in official bio.

Thank you very much.

[The Spokesman latter announced that Mr. Riza was born on 20 May, 1934.]

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