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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Sorry for the delay.

**SG in Virginia

The Secretary-General and his wife Nane last night received a humanitarian award from Refugees International, in an event marking that group’s twenty-fifth anniversary, in McLean, Virginia.

They received the first McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award, which is named after three Refugee International staff members –- David and Penny McCall and Yvette Pierpaoli –- who died in Albania in 1999 on a mission for that group.

The Secretary-General told his audience that last night’s event paid tribute to the selfless women and men who had taken to heart the appeal to help others.  He said, “These are people who usually receive no recognition, no medals, no parades”.

The Secretary-General returned to New York this morning.  He is up in his office now.

**Afghanistan

From Afghanistan, Jean Arnault, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative there, said he was saddened and shocked by today’s killing of two British nationals and their Afghan interpreter, while on a mission to support voter registration.

The two worked for Global Risk Strategies, and were travelling in the district of Nuristan to evaluate the feasibility of setting up voter registration sites there.  The precise circumstances of the attack are not yet known.

Arnault condemns the killings in the strongest terms.  They are also a reminder of how important security is, and will continue to be, if the aspiration of the Afghans to participate in the electoral process is to be met.  We have the full statement upstairs.

**Iraq – Human Rights

The head of the group within the Commission on Human Rights that deals with arbitrary detention today expressed serious concern about the uncertain legal status of many detainees currently subjected to interrogation in Iraq.

Leïla Zerrougui, chairperson of the Commission’s working group on arbitrary detention, says the group has received information that the majority of persons detained in Iraq have been arrested during public demonstrations, at checkpoints and in house raids.  She said she is seriously disturbed by the fact that these persons have not been granted access to a court to be able to challenge the lawfulness of their detention.

The Working Group calls on the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council to allow for the legal status of all detained persons to be clarified, and for the relevant human rights norms to be applied.  We have a press release on that with more.

**Lebanon

The Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, expressed his great dismay that the relative calm along the Blue Line was disrupted today.

This morning, there were numerous Israeli air violations of the Blue Line and of Lebanese airspace.  Shortly afterwards, anti-aircraft fire from the Lebanese side of the Line was reported, and some anti-aircraft shells may have led to some damage on the ground in Israel.

Subsequently, Israeli jets attacked two suspected Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon.  No casualties have been reported so far on either side.

De Mistura called on Israel to halt its overflights, and on the Lebanese side to halt the ensuing and dangerous anti-aircraft fire.  He reminded all parties that one violation cannot justify another.

**Security Council

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today.

Out on the racks is a letter from the Chairman of the Security Council’s Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz of Chile.  It contains a list of countries which have not submitted an updated report on steps taken to implement the relevant sanctions measures.

**Ethiopia-Eritrea

Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council President, Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, read a press statement reflecting concern by Council members at the deterioration in Eritrea’s cooperation with the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

According to the statement, Council members also view with disappointment Ethiopia’s continued rejection of significant parts of the decision by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC).

**Kosovo/SG Report

The Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN Mission in Kosovo is out on the racks today.  In it, he says the ethnic riots in March have seriously damaged the process of normalization and reconciliation there.

In turn, this has threatened to destabilize the region, and has called into question the timetable for the successful implementation of the standards that the international community set for Kosovo.

The Secretary-General adds that forward momentum must be regained, and calls upon Kosovo’s leaders to address the causes of the violence in March.

**DRC – Fighting Displaces 25,000

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is reported that some 25,000 people have been displaced by fears of fighting in the South Kivu area between ex-FAR/Interahamwe militia and Congolese national army members.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and its non-governmental partners are working to assist those who have been dispersed to five towns in the region.

Meanwhile, the UN Mission’s Kivu Brigade has broadened its deployment and stepped up its patrols.  Press releases from OCHA and the UN Mission in the Congo are available.

**Liberia

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, has said that the rapid deployment of UN troops and disarmament efforts in Liberia will help ensure enough security for his agency to start facilitating refugee returns in October.

To date, under an operation that started on 15 April, nearly 8,000 former combatants have been disarmed in the former rebel strongholds of Gbarnga, Buchanan and Tubmanburg, according to the UN Mission in Liberia.

Another 13,000 were disarmed last December in VOA near Monrovia, a location named after a tower formerly used by the Voice Of America radio station.

**Colombia – Egeland Visit

Jan Egeland, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs is beginning an official mission to Colombia today.  He hopes to draw attention to Colombia’s humanitarian crisis, considered the gravest in the Western Hemisphere, with an estimated 2 million people displaced by the internal conflict.  We have more information on that in a press release upstairs.

**Human Rights Commission

The Economic and Social Council yesterday held elections to fill 14 vacancies on the Commission on Human Rights, for three-year terms beginning in 2005.

Eight vacancies were filled without a vote, when the number of endorsed candidates was equal to the number of vacancies.  Those were Guinea, Kenya, Sudan and Togo for Africa; Armenia and Romania for Eastern Europe; and Ecuador and Mexico for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Secret ballots were conducted to select three other candidates each from Asia and from Western Europe and Other States.  Malaysia, Pakistan and the Republic of Korea were elected from Asia; while Canada, Finland and France were elected from the Western Europe and Others group.

**WHO/Diabetes

The World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation today launched “Diabetes Action Now” –- a joint programme aimed at raising awareness about diabetes and promoting the adoption of effective measures for the management and prevention of the condition in low- and middle-income countries and communities.

WHO says that 3.2 million deaths can be attributed to diabetes each year. We have more on that upstairs.

**FAO/Europe Conference

And finally, special attention needs to be paid to the poorest countries in Europe, especially those of South-East Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, to help resolve their problems of food insecurity and rural poverty.

That was the message of Dr. Jacques Diouf, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in a speech to the agency’s Regional Conference for Europe.  We have more on the Conference and Dr. Diouf’s comments in a release available in my office.

**FAO/Ocean Conservation

And we also have an FAO release outlining its presentation to the Fourth World Fisheries Congress, which is taking place in Canada, in which it warns that conservation of the world’s oceans can only be achieved if larger problems of poverty, hunger and underdevelopment are adequately addressed.

That’s all I have for you.  Yes, sir?

Questions and Answers

Question:  I am reading different reports about “oil-for-food” investigations.  I am seeing the House International Relations Committee, as well as Mr. Volcker and others.  Is there a concern that we may be seeing duelling investigations and is there an effort to coordinate them somehow?

Spokesman:  Well, as the Secretary-General said in that television interview on the weekend, the documentation for oil-for-food is to be controlled initially by Mr. Volcker and his Commission.  All of the documentation –- internal audits, external audits, letters, other records have been sequestered by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for Mr. Volcker’s panel.  And we expect that Mr. Volcker is going to make some kind of public announcement of his expressed desire to control this documentation, which he has already told us he wants to do.  So, in preparation for his panel’s work, we have sealed all records of oil-for-food.  And they are being held by the Office of Internal Oversight Services for Mr. Volcker and they have been in touch with Mr. Volcker concerning the disposition of these documents.

So, while there have been requests from various Congressional Committees and individuals in Baghdad and so on, for access to these documents, it will be Mr. Volcker who will decide if any of these documents can be shared with others at this time.  And then if it involves, say, the internal audit documents, if Mr. Volcker releases those, then we would have a say ourselves.  And it’s our policy, and I believe it’s universal policy throughout the world in both the public and the private sector, not to go public with internal audits.  They are a management tool and must be kept private.  So, there is a two-step approach to documentation.  First, Mr. Volcker will control all UN documents on oil-for-food, and then, should he decide some could be released, we, the UN would have a say as to whether to release documentation of our own such as internal documents, and in the case of internal audits, we would follow standard procedure and keep those private.  Edie?

Question:  Fred, related to that.  As I recall, the Secretary-General sent at least two letters to the Iraqi Governing Council asking for documentation on the original allegations that were in the newspaper.  Did you ever receive a response from them?

Spokesman:  To my knowledge, well, the first one went to the Iraqi Governing Council and the other went to the Coalition Provisional Authority.  And in fact, two letters went to each.  I don’t believe we received a response from the Iraqi Governing Council.  I’d have to check with OIOS to make sure that that is so.  But as of a week or so ago, that was the case.  I did tell you that we received a response to the second letter to the Coalition Authority from Mr. Bremer assuring cooperation.  And I was told by OIOS that they were satisfied with Mr. Bremer’s response.  That whole portfolio passed from OIOS to Mr. Volcker’s panel with the creation of Mr. Volcker’s panel.  So, I understand that –- but I can’t speak for him.  You’d have to speak to Mr. Volcker whether he’s had any contact with Mr. Bremer concerning this documentation.  Yes, Colum?  [While no response was received from the President of the Iraqi Governing Council, two were received from one of its members, Ahmed Chalabi.]

Question:  Yes, Fred, two things:  One, you said that there had been some request from Iraq for documentation and I don’t understand why.  I mean, I thought all of that documentation was being provided to the CPA or to the Iraqis; there are certain rules about not sharing some of this information with the Iraqi Governing Council.  And also on the internal audits, you said that you’ve turned over all of the documentation to Volcker and that he has the power to decide whether to turn things over.  But you’re also saying that you’d have a say in that, on the internal audits.  What I don’t understand is, if this is a truly independent investigation, how is it the UN is still in a position to influence the decisions that he makes on this?

Spokesman:  Well, you came in late, so... (Interrupted)

Question:  But I was listening to it.

Spokesman:  ...as far as sharing anything with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the Iraqi Governing Council, Mr. Chalabi, any Congressional Committees, any others anywhere in the world who might ask for oil-for-food documentation, that’s now Mr. Volcker’s call.  All that documentation is sealed by OIOS and turned over to Mr. Volcker.  And Mr. Volcker has told us that he is going to insist on controlling those documents and that we expect him to make a public statement to that effect sometime soon.  On the internal audits, by a practice that I think is well known to the US Government, private industry everywhere, internal audits are a management tool and are never made public.

So, if Mr. Volcker would say, “Okay, I am going to authorize turning over any of these documents to anyone who asks; he would then give those to us, give us the authorization to share those with whoever asks.  We would do that selectively, excluding the internal audits, which we have a strict policy, which is consistent with virtually what every other organization, public, and private does, which is not to go public with internal audits.

Question:  But is this limited to the internal audits or are there others in the category of confidential documents that you’ll have to practice the same...(Interrupted)

Spokesman:  I frankly don’t know.  But remember that the Secretary-General says that he wants to be fully transparent.  He has been with Mr. Volcker’s panel.  He’s turned over everything including the internal audits, so Mr. Volcker can get the fullest possible documentation of what happened in oil-for-food based on our records.  So, I think that is the guiding principle for others that might ask for this documentation as well; with the specific exception of internal audits.  Bill?

Question:  A short time ago in this room, the Ambassador from Côte d’Ivoire complained bitterly that the UN had mishandled a report alleging human rights abuses in his country in late March, saying that the report had been leaked to the press.  He said that he was going to take this complaint to the Secretary-General within days and call for sanctions against any UN officials who might have been guilty of doing that.  He also said that his Government had not officially received a copy of this report yet.  Your response?

Spokesman:  I guess we would welcome any investigation into how that document might have leaked.  I know that in Geneva it was shared with a few governments.  A copy was made available recently, but I can’t give you a precise date, to the Côte d’IvoireMission.  And we understand that it would be going to the Government today and the Government will have a few days to study it and react to it.  And then we expect it to go to the Security Council next week.  So, we think by giving the Government a few days to react to it before we give it to the Security Council is the fairest way to deal with this.  And the leak, I can’t tell you how it leaked, I don’t know.  And perhaps that will have to be looked into.

Question:  But, just to clarify, had the Mission that he heads, prior to today, received this report?

Spokesman:  That’s what I am told.  It had been shared with the Mission already.

Question:  But what he was saying was that they did not have it in the official language of their country, which is French.  So...

Spokesman:  I see.

Question:  ...so was it in... it must have, maybe he got an English copy?

Spokesman:  I am not aware what language it was in.  I’d have to check.

Question:  But more importantly, one of the things that he said was that he wanted that, that the Ivory Coast wanted that report held up until there was a wider investigation of human rights abuses in the country going back to 2002.  Is that something that might conceivably happen?  He said that he had made this request orally and was planning to put it in writing by the end of the week.

Spokesman:  We’ll have to see.  But the guidance I have, as of this morning, is that it should be going to the Security Council early next week.  Yes?

Question:  You say a copy of that document was made available in whatever language prior to today.  Could you be more specific as to how much prior to today?

Spokesman:  As I said, I don’t have a date.  I can try to find out for you after the briefing.  Yes, sir?

[The Spokesman later announced that the English version of the document had been shared with the Mission here; and that version went two days ago.  The French version just became available today and would be going out to the Capital today.]

Question:  On the issue of the detainees in Iraq, does the Secretary-General see any further role for the UN or any of its agencies to look into this issue?  And has he received a large number of phone calls from world leaders or Perm Reps, expressing concern?

Spokesman:  I am not aware that he’s had any phone calls on this subject.  Of course, it’s been widely discussed.  I don’t think I have any update to what he’s already said -- that he is encouraged that the United States is taking the charges seriously, is moving to punish those responsible.  He said it’s very damaging and it’s important that the US be seen to be dealing with it in a decisive way.  You heard me this morning report on the Rapporteur on arbitrary detention.  So, it’s now kind of coming to the attention of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva.  And where that will go, we’ll have to see.

Let me take Anjelie.

Question:  Fred, Mr. Volcker said he needs strong support from Member States on the oil-for-food investigation.  Does he intend to share some of the information or documents with Member States involved?

Spokesman:  You’ll have to ask him that.  As you know, he heads an independent panel.  I don’t speak for him.  And so, you’d have to call his office to ask them that question.   Yes, sir?

Question:  Yes, Mr. Eckhard, concerning the statement of the Quartet yesterday, it seems that the Quartet stands ready to deal with the humanitarian situation in Palestine, provided that there is a new leadership or reformed leadership.  Is that the precondition?  And what is going on in the General Assembly concerning this issue this week?

Spokesman:  I can’t give you an answer on the General Assembly.  But, no, that is not a precondition.  The Secretary-General said that the humanitarian situation in Palestine cannot wait another day.  So, I think he hopes that this issue can be dealt with immediately.  The point about an empowered Prime Minister was a political point and it should be kept separate from the humanitarian points in the statement.

Question:  Who is taking the lead now?  Is it the United States or the UN in dealing with the World Bank and other organizations to do just that?

Spokesman:  I don’t know the specifics of that.  So, why don’t you see me after the briefing?  I’ll see if I can clarify that for you.  Edie?  [The Quartet is inviting contributions to the World Bank Trust Fund.]

Question:  Another Quartet follow-up.  Is the Secretary-General planning to, or has he contacted the Israelis and the Palestinians about the results of the Quartet meeting?

Spokesman:  I have not seen anything on his phone log for today and I’ll have to ask him what his intentions are.

Thank you very much.

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