DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

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 Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**SG on Iraq

The Secretary-General spoke to reporters upon returning to work at UN Headquarters this morning, and he said that the deteriorating situation and violence in Iraq have made the work of the UN team on the ground in that country difficult.  For the foreseeable future, he said, he cannot say that he will send in a large UN team, and he stressed that protection is absolutely crucial for the return and effectiveness of UN staff.

Despite the deterioration, he said that governments are also aware that “it is in our collective interest to do everything we can to bring the violence down in Iraq”.  He hoped that the situation could be calmed down before the transition planned for June 30.

He added that his Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, has tried during his stay in Iraq to talk to as many of the Iraqi constituencies as possible.

On the “oil-for-food” inquiry, the Secretary-General said he hoped to be able to announce the panel members in the course of this week.

The Secretary-General was also asked about Cyprus, and he noted that one of the parties has suggested that the referendum be postponed, although that has not been taken up by the other parties. He said that, if the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, with the support of the Governments of Turkey and Greece, were to ask for a postponement, that is something we would have to reflect on, but there has been no such request.  We have the transcript of that press encounter upstairs.

**Iraq

Turning to Iraq on the ground.  Despite the restrictions that have been imposed on movements as a result of the deteriorating security environment, the UN team in Iraq, led by Lakhdar Brahimi, has been able to conduct serious consultations with a wide range of Iraqi constituencies, including members of the Governing Council, political parties, trade unions, professional associations, civil society organizations, tribal leaders, academics, women’s groups and others.

Today, the tenth day of his visit to Iraq, Brahimi and his team met with the Iraqi Cabinet of Ministers to review with them his observations on the political process and the country’s transition to sovereignty.

He later met representatives of the Council of Iraqi Tribes, as well as Dr. Adel Abdel Mahdi, a senior official of Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), and the representatives of the National Democratic Coalition.

Later in the afternoon, he met with Dr. Ibrahim Jaafari, Chairman of the Dawa Party.

Finally, a short while ago, he met with Dr. Mahmoud Othman, a leading Kurdish member of the Governing Council, and a group of 21 people representing all walks of life in Iraq, from professionals, doctors, women and journalists to non-governmental organizations, university professors and tribal leaders.

**Kosovo - Guéhenno

Here at UN Headquarters, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, today briefed the Security Council on Kosovo.  He particularly focused on the violence which occurred there last month, and its implications.

Guéhenno said the violence was a huge setback to the stabilization and normalization of Kosovo’s security and political environment and indicates that Kosovo still has a long way to go on the path to multi-ethnicity.

He added that what’s needed now is for Kosovo’s leaders and its people to take concrete action to address the causes of the ethnically-motivated violence.

**Darfur, Sudan

After receiving a request from the Government of Sudan to send a mission to the Darfur region of the Sudan, the Secretary-General has asked Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to lead a high-level UN team there.

The mission will visit all three Darfur regions early next week to assess the humanitarian situation including protection issues, possible gaps in humanitarian assistance and ways to increase relief and funding. 

Representatives of several UN humanitarian agencies and the Government of Sudan will participate.

Meanwhile, the human rights mission was on the border areas of Chad/Sudan interviewing refugees.  The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is still working on getting authorization for the mission to go to Darfur.

**UNHCR

Also in Geneva today, the UN refugee agency reports that most of the 3,300 Sri Lankans who were forced to flee their villages over the past weekend due to factional fighting within Tamil Tigers ranks have now returned to their homes in eastern Sri Lanka, as the fighting has eased.

The swift returns were also prompted by a belief that bad luck will befall those who are not in their homes on Sri Lankan New Year, which is celebrated today.

**Balkans

And turning to the Balkans, UNHCR reports that close to 1,500 refugees and internally displaced persons returned to their pre-war homes in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the month of February.

However, despite the progress in returns since the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, the agency notes that some 100,000 refugees and over 300,000 internally displaced persons in the region still require a durable solution to their plight.

And finally, UNHCR reports the High Commissioner, Ruud Lubbers is in Tehran at the start of a mission to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to find solutions to some three million displaced Afghans.

Press releases on these developments are available upstairs and on UNHCR’s Web site.

**SmallIslands Reminder

A reminder that the twelfth session of the Commission of Sustainable Development opens tomorrow, here at UN Headquarters, with a meeting on Small Island Developing States.  We have press packs on the SmallIslands meeting available at the documents counter.

The main part of the Commission’s session begins on Monday, and ends 30 April.  And at the noon briefing on Thursday, Norway’s Børge Brende, the current Chair of the Commission, will brief you on the current session.

**Cricket/AIDS

The Secretary-General today welcomed a cricket test match between the teams from India and Pakistan, in which the players from the two teams wore the symbolic red ribbon to raise awareness about HIV.  The two teams were accompanied by an HIV-positive person for the coin toss before the match, which was played in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi.

In his message, the Secretary-General warned that by the time the match finishes, nearly 4,000 people will have been infected with HIV in South Asia.  AIDS, he said, “is a common enemy that both India and Pakistan have to fight together”.  We have copies of his message upstairs.

**Football - AIDS

Also, another sports star today tried to raise awareness of AIDS, as former international soccer star George Weah, a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, began a visit to Sierra Leone.  Weah, who grew up in Liberia, plans to organize a series of events to educate the youth in Sierra Leone about AIDS and prevention programmes to deal with the disease.

**Press Conference Tomorrow

And just two more quick announcements:  Immediately following the noon briefing tomorrow, Ambassador Fuad Al-Hinai of Oman, Dr. Lee Jong-wook, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Dr. Mark Rosenberg, Executive Director of the Task Force for Child Survival and Development will be here to brief you on the Global Road Safety Crisis.

**Guest at Noon Tomorrow

And the guest at the noon briefing tomorrow we’re hoping to have Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs to join us following his briefing to the Security Council under “other matters” on the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda.

And that’s what I have for you today.  Any questions for me?  Yes?

Questions and Answers

Question:  A couple of clarifications.  When the Secretary-General in the morning was talking about parties, did he mean one of the two sides or did he mean the political parties in Cyprus?

Associate Spokesman:  I think I read what he had said and I will just repeat it.  He said:  “If the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, with the support of the Governments of Turkey and Greece were to ask for a postponement, that is something we will have to reflect upon.”  Yes?

Question: And a second one:  Concerning a report to the Security Council, I remember a couple of weeks ago when de Soto was here, he was talking about a report and a couple of issues that the Council should adopt.  From the SG’s response I understand the SG won’t ask anything from the Council.

Associate Spokesman:  I have to check the Security Council programme, but on first glance I looked at the Council programme for this week I did not see Cyprus on this week’s agenda.  But I can check later and get back to you on that.

Question:  When will the Secretary-General submit his report on Cyprus?

Associate Spokesman:  I will look into that and get back to you. [It was later announced that the Secretariat would be submitting a report in the coming days, and that the Security Council is scheduled to discuss the issue on 28 April.]

Question:  Thank you.

Associate Spokesman:  There are no other questions?  Have a great afternoon.  Thank you.

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