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.
**Statement Issued Sunday on Middle East
I am going to start by reading into the record a statement we issued Saturday evening:
“The Secretary-General condemns Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Abdelaziz Rantissi. He reiterates that extrajudicial killings are violations of international law and calls on the Government of Israel to immediately end this practice. He is apprehensive that such an action would lead to further deterioration of an already distressing and fragile situation.
“The only way to halt an escalation in the violence is for Israelis and Palestinians to work towards a viable negotiating process aimed at a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement, based on the Quartet’s Road Map.”
**Security Council
A related subject, the Security Council has scheduled consultations at noon today on the subject of the Middle East.
**Cyprus
On Cyprus, in a report to the Security Council, the Secretary-General requests that the Council endorse the Foundation Agreement, prohibit the supply of arms to Cyprus and approve the mandate of a new United Nations operation in Cyprus. This request is being submitted in accordance with the plan as finalized on 31 March this year at the invitation of the parties.
The decisions requested of the Security Council would be contingent on the outcome of the referenda, and would be null and void if the Foundation Agreement did not enter into force for any reason.
As for the new UN operation on the island, its mandate would include, among other things, monitoring and verification of compliance by the parties of the provisions of the plan relating to troops withdrawals, dissolution of local forces, and police activities. It would enjoy freedom of movement throughout the island. It would be comprised of some 2,500 troops and a substantial number of civilian staff, both national and international.
The full report is available in my office.
**Kosovo/Police Shoot-Out
From Kosovo we have news that three international UN police officers were killed and 11 injured in a shoot-out at the Mitrovica detention centre. Among the deceased are two American officers and one Jordanian officer. Vehicles
carrying the Americans, and others, were fired upon by at least one officer from a group of five Jordanian Special Police Unit officers on guard at the detention centre.
At this stage, there are no conclusions on the reason for the shooting. An investigation, under the direction of the UN police commissioner, has begun. The immunity of four Jordanian officers has been lifted during the arrest, detention and pre-trial investigation process.
Harri Holkeri, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo, has expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased, as well as a speedy recovery for the injured.
**DR Congo Humanitarian crisis
The Angolan Government’s policy of expelling Congolese civilians who have been working illegally in Angola as manual diamond miners, is reported to be leading to an acute humanitarian crisis in the south-west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that some 20,000 Congolese have been forcibly expelled from Angola across the TungilaRiver in the past year and returned to remote areas of south-western DRC. A further 40,000 arrivals have been registered since the beginning of April, with more than 2,500 people arriving every day. This number is likely to be much higher, as many of them are not passing through registration points.
OCHA and its humanitarian partners are determining the immediate needs of the returnees in food, water and transportation assistance, especially for the river crossing where people are already reported to have drowned. Further information is available in a situation report.
**Sudan
On the Sudan, the UN Humanitarian Office for Sudan has expressed concern at the humanitarian consequences of conflict in the northern Upper Nile region of southern Sudan, and is urging all armed groups to protect the lives, property and human rights of civilians and to cease attacks on civilian targets.
It says that since early March, at least 50,000 people have been displaced by militia attacks and clashes between the Government of Sudan and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) forces in the area. Villages have been burnt while looting and rapes have been reported. Civilian infrastructure, including schools and clinics, have been destroyed.
UN and non-governmental aid organizations in the humanitarian Operation Lifeline Sudan consortium working in the SPLM/A-held areas have been forced to suspend operations and relocate staff several times this year due to the conflict. The latest suspension began on 30 March and remains in force due to continuing insecurity.
**Iraq
We have been informed by the UN Comptroller that a further $500 million was transferred from the “oil-for-food” escrow account to the Development Fund for Iraq. This brings the total transferred to date to $8.1 billion.
**Haiti
On Haiti, a nationwide assessment, conducted by UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, in Haiti last month, shows that the recent political violence has had a severe impact on Haiti’s children, particularly the most vulnerable, such as the 2,000 children living in the streets of Port-au-Prince, and the 120,000 girls who work as domestic servants.
Among other findings, the study finds that children were recruited by armed gangs in almost a third of the surveyed zones and that many children who participated in violent activities now fear retribution for their actions. We have a press release on that.
**ICTY
The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia today affirmed that Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide in Srebrenica in 1995. Dismissing an appeal in the case of a Bosnian Serb Commander, Radislav Krstic, the appeals chamber ruled that, “by seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims, the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide”.
The Tribunal also affirmed Krstic’s guilt and handed him a sentence of 35 years in prison, a reduction from the 46 years he had been sentenced to by the trial chamber.
**Rwanda
Out on the racks today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council, concerning the resignation of Judge Lloyd George Williams, of Saint Kitts and Nevis, from the International Tribunal for Rwanda. He notes that Saint Kitts has presented another candidate, Sir Charles Michael Dennis Byron, to replace Judge Williams.
**Afghanistan
One million Afghans are expected to return to their homes this year, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers said Sunday while visiting Afghanistan. That number includes some 50,000 to 100,000 displaced persons who have been living mostly in southern and western Afghanistan. Also on Afghanistan, we have out today the Sunday briefing notes from Kabul.
**SG Message
The painful legacy of past abuses must be confronted if we are to build reconciliation after conflicts, the Secretary-General says in a message to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
In a message to the Union’s 110th assembly, which began yesterday in Mexico City, the Secretary-General says that perpetrators must be prosecuted, but criminal justice must be combined with efforts to acknowledge the suffering of victims and to deal with the root causes. We have copies of that message upstairs.
**Commission on Sustainable Development
The Commission on Sustainable Development opened the main part of its twelfth session today in New York, to review the progress made in meeting global targets on water, sanitation and slums. We have press kits and opening statements available at the documents counter.
**Press Conference Tomorrow
Press conference here tomorrow, 11:15, Sulafa Al-Bassam, the Chief of the UN Regional Commission Liaison Unit, and others will be here to brief you on the agreement to complete a 140,000-kilometre highway network linking 32 Asian nations.
**Guest at Noon Tomorrow
And then our guest at the noon briefing tomorrow will be Martin Barber, Director of the UN Mine Action Service, and he will brief you on the status of the anti-personnel mine-ban treaty and the upcoming Nairobi Summit for a Mine-Free World.
That’s all I have for you. Yes, Bill?
Questions and Answers
Question: Fred, how would you sum up what the Secretary-General would like to get from the Security Council vis-à-vis the oil-for-food investigation in terms of resolutions, statement, and endorsement of the panel? And also, did he get Russia’s agreement to support such a move in a phone call that may have been made on Friday to Foreign Minister Lavrov?
Spokesman: Council members are now discussing, continuing to discuss, a possible resolution. So, I don’t want to interfere with that process by expressing the Secretary-General’s preferences. The Secretary-General did have a phone call with Foreign Minister Lavrov. It was not Friday; it was Saturday. And we’ll see how those discussions go today as to what result they might produce. But I don’t want to say anything more, either about the SG’s views or his conversations with Foreign Minister Lavrov. Edie?
Question: I know you said that there were no conclusions about the investigation in Kosovo. But could you tell us whether you know whether there had been any contact at all between the Americans, who were rather newly arrived, and this group of Jordanians?
Spokesman: I don’t think we know enough about the circumstances preceding this shooting incident to say. So, I think that’s one of the things that the investigation is expected to produce. We have nothing concrete. Yes, Mark?
Question: I was just wondering if you could sketch out Mr. Brahimi’s programme over the next few days, which countries he’s going to visit, who he is going to speak to in Europe?
Spokesman: I think you’ve seen reports that I can confirm that while he was in Paris on a private visit over the weekend, he met with the French Foreign Minister and the German Foreign Minister who was visiting Paris at the time. Today he is in Italy. He had some previously scheduled speaking engagements regarding Afghanistan in Italy. But he’s going to use that opportunity to have some meetings with senior Italian officials. So, in Italy for a couple of days, and that’s about all I know for now.
Question: Do you know if he has plans to go to Spain?
Spokesman: I don’t have that information. If you check with me after the briefing, I will see what else we might have upstairs. [He later said Spain is not currently on Mr. Brahimi’s agenda.]
Question: Do you know... (Inaudible)
Spokesman: I have nothing on that either, although I think he is expected back in New York. But I have nothing further on his programme now. So, if you would check with me later. Follow up, Mark?
Question: Yes, just one other thing on Iraq. Could you confirm how many countries the UN has approached regarding the creation of a multinational force, or whatever it’s going to be called, to protect the UN and what sort of reaction you’re getting from those countries at the moment?
Spokesman: I don’t have such information now. I have to see if I can get something for you. Yes, Sir? [He later said that the UN is not involved in requesting troops for any force in Iraq.]
Question: What does the Secretary-General expect now after his report on the Cyprus issue?
Spokesman: Well, we’re all waiting to see what the outcome of the referendum will be on the 24th. Let me take, yes, Vladimir?
Question: Would you please confirm the reports coming from Tbilisi that Eduard Shevardnadze has been offered a position of adviser to the UN Secretary-General?
Spokesman: I think that was a result of some garbled reporting. What happened was that someone from UNICEF, the Deputy Assistant Executive Director Kul Gautam, had a meeting with Mr. Shevardnadze on a visit to Tbilisi. It had nothing to do with the Secretary-General or any possible role for the Secretary-General. So, as a result of that confusion, the UN Resident Coordinator for Georgia, Lance Clarke, met today with the former President, thanked him for what he might have offered in response to Mr. Kul Gautam’s exploration of a possible role for Mr. Shevardnadze in connection with UNICEF. But it had no connection with the Secretary-General whatsoever. And I don’t think the Secretary-General was even aware that this discussion was taking place. Yes?
Question: Do you have any news on the black box investigation, or do you know why it’s taking so much time to come up with answers?
Spokesman: No. I have nothing fresh on that. The last thing we were told was that the kind of testing that’s being done now can take weeks and weeks. But, I frankly haven’t asked. But, I’d be happy to make a call for you after the briefing today. Bill? [He later said the analysis was continuing.]
Question: Just to clarify one thing: I have read several news accounts that have described the interim government in Iraq taking over after 30 June as to be UN-appointed. Am I not correct that Brahimi’s recommendation was actually for an interim government to be appointed in consultation with UN officials, Coalition officials, Iraqi governing officials and Iraqi judges?
Spokesman: That’s my understanding of what Mr. Brahimi has proposed. It’s still in his view not a fleshed out proposal. He said that he had only 10 days to consult there, and he indicated his intention to go back, I think in as early as a week’s time, to resume consultations. But, yes, my impression is the same as yours as to what he has proposed.
Is that it? Thank you very much.