DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
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.
**Guest at Noon
With me at the podium here is Martin Barber, the Director of the UN Mine Action Service, and we’ll be saying a little bit more about what he will be talking to you about in a few minutes.
**Security Council
On the Security Council, the Council was holding consultations this morning on the issue of the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
And then, under other matters, the Council is expected to hear a briefing on the latest developments in Kosovo.
And then at 3 p.m., they will have consultations on Cyprus.
Following discussions amongst Council members yesterday, a resolution welcoming the appointment of the “oil-for-food” programme inquiry “went into blue”, as we say -- meaning it is ready to be voted –- and members are expected to discuss it under other matters today.
**Kosovo Statement
Yesterday afternoon, we put out a statement expressing the Secretary-General’s deep sadness at the loss of life of two UNMIK Correctional Officers from the United States, Kim Bigley and Lynn Williams, in an attack by a Jordanian UNMIK police officer on Saturday.
The Secretary-General conveyed his profound and heartfelt sympathy at these tragic deaths, and also expressed his concern at the injuries to another 10 US Correctional Officers, some of whom are in critical condition, and one Austrian Civilian Police Officer, during the same incident. He wishes all these officers a swift and full recovery.
**Haiti – SG’s Report
The Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on Haiti is out today. In it, the Secretary-General recommends the establishment of a multidimensional operation, to be known as the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, for an initial period of 24 months. He recommends that this mission should consist of up to 6,700 troops, as well as more than 1,600 Civilian Police and the required number of international and local civilian staff.
The Secretary-General calls for a partnership, first and foremost with the Haitian people, with important regional partners such as the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community, as well as with other international actors, including within the UN system. He stresses that this effort will need the sustained attention of all of its partners, especially the Haitian authorities and the Haitian people, if it is to be successful.
**Iraq Report
On Iraq, appreciable progress has been made since last December in closing the files of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and third country nationals held in Iraq, so reports the Secretary-General to the Security Council.
The Secretary-General writes that resolved cases have increased to 92 and more than 200 files are pending identification.
The Secretary-General calls on the Council to extend the mandate of the high-level coordinator, Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov, as a way to bring to closure this humanitarian issue.
He also stresses the need for Ambassador Vorontsov to travel to Baghdad to discuss these issues with the new Iraqi authorities. The full report is available on the racks.
**Cyprus
On Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Cyprus, is just about to give a press conference in Nicosia. And we will have his opening transcript, that is, the transcript of his opening remarks, available shortly. And that will be followed later by a full transcript of the questions and answers.
**Sudan
On the Sudan, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva announced that the Sudanese authorities have granted permission for a UN human rights fact-finding team to visit Khartoum and the Darfur region.
On the humanitarian side, as the estimated number of internally displaced persons in Sudan’s Darfur region has risen to 1 million, shortfalls of shelter, clean water, food and health-care supplies are compounding the humanitarian situation there. All funds contributed for relief efforts in Darfur so far have already been exhausted. We have a press release on that.
**Liberia
On Liberia, the disarmament programme started smoothly this morning in the Liberian city of Buchanan for MODEL ex-combatants, who turned out in an orderly and peaceful manner, according to the UN Mission there.
The exercise, meanwhile, continues at Gbarnga for ex-combatants of the LURD faction.
So far, 1,300 ex-fighters have been disarmed and demobilized since the resumption of the programme on 15 April. And we expect a press release out later today.
**Pakistan-Afghanistan
The UN Refugee Agency chief Ruud Lubbers ended his mission to the Afghanistan region by announcing the closure of all “new” camps near the Afghan-Pakistani border by September of this year.
Lubbers said that roughly 200,000 refugees in the camps, who fled into Pakistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, would be offered assistance to return home. He said the camps needed to be closed because there was a danger that forces opposed to the current Afghan Government, including the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, could find sanctuary and recruit people from the border camps. UNHCR has more details in today’s briefing notes from Geneva.
**Map Names
This concerns map names, which may not seem significant to you but in the UN system it’s a very interesting political exercise.
The twenty-second session of the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names is taking place here at Headquarters today, and will run until 29 April.
Around 150 experts, representing 22 linguistic and geographical divisions are attending. They’ll address issues relating to the national and international standardization of geographical names. Correct use of accurate place names can provide benefits to local, national and international communities engaged in a wide range of activities, from trade and commerce to emergency preparedness and peacekeeping operations. And we have a press release with more on that.
**Press Conference – Tomorrow
Press conferences, tomorrow at 11:15 a.m., the Permanent Representative of South Africa, Dumisani Kumalo, will brief you on a meeting which is scheduled to take place here at Headquarters on Tuesday of next week commemorating the role of the United Nations in bringing about freedom in South Africa.
**Press Conference – Today
And then, this afternoon at 5 p.m., the Permanent Mission of Germany will be sponsoring a press conference here in room 226, to launch the Final Report of the Global Water Scoping Process. The report examines the merits of organizing a global multistakeholder review of private sector participation in water and sanitation.
**World Chronicle Television Programme
The Information Department asked me to tell you that World Chronicle programme no. 934, featuring “The UN Security Council – From the Cold War to the 21st Century”, with guests David Malone, the President of the International Peace Academy, and Kishore Mahbubani, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations, can be seen today at 3:30 p.m. on in-house television channel 3 or 31.
That’s all I have for you. Yes, Sylviane?
Questions and Answers
Question: What is the meaning of “Map names”? Are you going to change some regional names and national and geographical names?
Spokesman: Without mentioning any specific examples, there are disagreements among nations about how different places should be called or designated. And so this group of experts tries to standardize geographical place names for international use.
Question: Do you have an example?
Spokesman: I said I don’t want to mention examples. But I can give you one after the briefing, if you like. Edie?
Question: I could give you an easy example: the Falklands and the Malvinas.
Spokesman: That’s the one I was going to mention but I didn’t want to do that, stir anything up.
Question: But, on another issue, on the oil-for-food resolution endorsing the panel, my consultations with Security Council members seem to indicate that they are waiting for the Secretary-General to appoint the panel before they adopt the resolution endorsing the panel because they don’t feel that they can endorse a panel that hasn’t been appointed.
Spokesman: Yes, that is correct.
Question: So is there going to be an official announcement of the panel?
Spokesman: There will be. The letters of appointment will be going out, probably by the end of today or latest early tomorrow morning. So we would expect the official announcement of the creation of the panel, the commission, tomorrow at noon. Yes?
Question: Are the panel’s terms of reference public?
Spokesman: We’d have to ask about that. I don’t know. I’d have to ask about that. Yes?
Question: About the Cyprus issue, what is the position of the Secretary-General after Great Britain’s proposition last night in the Security Council?
Spokesman: After...?
Question: After Great Britain’s proposition last night in the Security Council.
Spokesman: I believe that you’re referring to something that took place in closed consultations. So there is a draft that is informally circulating among members, I think, is my understanding –- a draft resolution based on the Secretary-General’s report. So until it becomes a document, I don’t think we would want to comment on it. And probably not even until after it is formally adopted as a resolution. Yes, Charles?
Question: Fred, can you tell us anything about the progress being made by the high-level panel appointed by the Secretary-General several months ago? A high-level panel that is apparently supposed to avoid future occurrences like what happened a year ago and the Security Council lack of consensus on important issues?
Spokesman: If you mean what we sometimes call the panel on reform or the panel on change, is that what you’re talking about?
Question: It sounds like it. I don’t know what you call it.
Spokesman: Yes. Well, if that’s what you’re talking about, that panel is expected to report at the end of this year. And what the Secretary-General has asked that panel to do is to look at new threats to international peace and security, including key questions like when can there be a humanitarian intervention? Under what conditions? Who will authorize it? Who will participate in the intervention, et cetera? And other issues such as Security Council reform.
So basically the big questions facing the United Nations as we begin a new century. And he would take their recommendations at the end of this year and then formally re-formulate them himself and put them before the General Assembly for their consideration. So, that’s a rather long-term process. They are meeting; they are having regional meetings in different parts of the world. They recently had one in China. I’d have to find out where their next regional meeting with their most recent activities are. But they’re very busy. They have got a lot on their plate and they have got till the end of this year to finish their work. Yes, Mark?
Question: Hi. I (inaudible) if you addressed this. Is the OIOS conducting an investigation into its own staff at the moment?
Spokesman: I would have to ask them. I am not aware of that. [He later confirmed that OIOS has suspended a senior researcher on charges of misconduct.}
Question: Okay.
Spokesman: Talk about a pregnant question! Yes, Sylviane?
Question: Is there any reaction from the Secretary-General on the nomination of Ambassador Negroponte who was appointed officially to Iraq?
Spokesman: Of course, he’s been working with Ambassador Negroponte for a number of years now, and holds him in high professional regard. He looks forward to working with the ambassador in his new capacity in Baghdad. They’ll have a lot of work to do together. So, he is very comfortable with that appointment by President Bush.
Okay, if I can now turn to the anti-personnel mine-(ban) treaty that went into force five years ago, in December.
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