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 Stéphane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon everybody.

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

We’ll start off today’s briefing with a statement attributable to the Spokesman on events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

“The Secretary-General condemns the attempted coup early today in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“The Secretary-General restates the commitment of the United Nations for the transitional process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its institutions, and urges all actors to show cohesion and determination to bring the transition to a successful conclusion.

“The Secretary-General reaffirms that the UN mission and its partners in the United Nations system stand ready to assist the Government of National Unity and Transition to achieve its goals as provided for by the global and all-inclusive agreement, and urges all partners in the Government to work together in a cooperative and constructive manner.”

**DRC - Update

Continuing on the DRC, following the attempted coup this morning, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, William Swing, has been in constant contact with Government authorities.  The capital is now reported to be quiet and the UN Mission is reinforcing army patrols in the streets.

The eastern city of Bukavu is also said to be quiet, although there are reports of sporadic looting.  However, there are initial reports of growing unrest in the city of Uvira, south of Bukavu, where a group of Mayi Mayi fighters appear to be blocked between Congolese national army forces in DRC territory and Burundian Government forces on the Burundian side of the border.

From Geneva, the UN refugee agency reports that a team which returned yesterday from the Burundi-DRC border noted that more that 2,800 Congolese refugees, mostly women and children, had arrived in Burundi in recent days.  UNHCR and other agencies and non-governmental partners are starting emergency relief programmes for the new arrivals.

**Security Council

Turning to the Security Council, the Security Council is expected in the next few minutes to hold two formal meetings.  In those meetings, members intend to vote on two resolutions:  one on the Sudan, and one on the extension of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, known as UNFICYP.

Yesterday, the Security Council said in a statement to the press that maintaining sanctions longer on Liberia would help to cement the peace process.

Council members “felt that peace was still fragile and that the conditions for the lifting of the sanctions were yet to be fully met”.  The statement was read out by the President of the Council, Ambassador Lauro Baja of the Philippines.

**SG - Travels

Turning to the Secretary-General’s travels, he is in Washington, D.C., today, where he is at this moment attending the funeral service for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan taking place at the National Cathedral.  And we expect the Secretary-General back at Headquarters this afternoon.

Yesterday, as you know, he delivered the commencement address at HarvardUniversity, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  In his speech, he said that it is in the interest of every country to have international rules and to abide by them.

He noted that, in recent weeks, the United States, once again, found that it needed the unique legitimacy of the United Nations to bring into being a credible interim government in Iraq.

Now, the Secretary-General added, the international system faces three great tests in the first years of the new century:  the test of collective security; that of solidarity between rich and poor; and that of mutual respect between faiths and cultures.  He affirmed, “I know we can pass those tests.”

Just before delivering that commencement address, the Secretary-General met at Harvard with the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also in Cambridge.  The two discussed ways to continue the overall discussions on Cyprus, as well as recent developments in Iraq.

**Uganda - Humanitarian

Turning to Uganda, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, has condemned a series of attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on camps for internally displaced persons in northern Uganda.  Those attacks have reportedly left more than 125 people dead in the past four weeks.  And we have a press release upstairs with more information.

**Kosovo – Kai Eide

Turning to Kosovo, in his last report to the Security Council on the UN Mission in Kosovo, the Secretary-General had indicated that a full review of the polices and practices of all parties would be undertaken as part of an assessment of the implications of the recent violence.  The Secretary-General has now asked Ambassador Kai Eide of Norway to conduct that assessment.

Ambassador Eide and his team will assess the political implications of the violent events for March 2004, and formulate suggestions for the way forward, in accordance with resolution 1244.  Ambassador Eide and his team will begin their work in Pristina in the coming days. Upon completion, they will report to the Secretary-General.

**Kosovo – Holkeri

Also from Kosovo, the departing head of the UN Mission, Harri Holkeri, said that Kosovo today is very different from what it had been four years ago, with a functioning government and an elected assembly.

In his farewell press conference yesterday, he said there may still be difficult days ahead, and he called on the people of Kosovo to reject extremism and division.  We have the full transcript available upstairs, if you care to read more.

**Child Labour

Today is the World Day against Child Labour, and to mark this occasion, the International Labour Organization has released a report highlighting the plight of children working as domestic servants throughout the world.

The organization estimates that this growing global phenomenon traps as many as 10 million children or more -- mostly girls -- in hidden forms of exploitation.  This often involves abuse, health risks and violence.

Speaking on this issue, Carol Bellamy, the head of the UN Children’s Fund, said that in many cases, calling these girls ‘domestic workers’ is misleading.  “We’re talking about children”, she said, “who, instead of starting each day in the schoolyard are getting up when it is still dark and toiling until night in slave-like conditions.  This is not legitimate employment.  And this is not a childhood that any girl or boy should have to endure.”

And we have more information upstairs available in two separate press releases.

**SG - Message

The Secretary-General, in a message, today welcomed the convening of a meeting in Dakar, Senegal, on implementing the programme of action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development.  He said that much more needs to be done on population issues, with too many women having no access to health care and dying of preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.  And we have copies of his message upstairs.

**AIDS

On AIDS, the World Health Organization and UNAIDS today welcomed the endorsement by the Group of Eight industrialized nations of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.  That initiative was proposed by an international group of scientists to accelerate the development of HIV vaccines.

WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook said that the initiative “will bring a new political and financial dimension, addressing the complex challenge of developing a safe and effective HIV/AIDS vaccine”.  Copies of the press release are upstairs.

**UN Staff Day

And one last item:  today is United Nations Staff Day.  The day began this morning with a flag raising ceremony organized by the Staff Union at the flagpole in the Secretariat Circle to remember all staff fallen in the service of the Organization.

Speaking at the ceremony were the Acting President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Brown Chimphamba of Malawi, the President of the Security Council, Ambassador Baja of the Philippines, as well as Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guéhenno.  Also speaking was Marilyn Manuel, a UN staff member who survived last year’s bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. 

The observance ended with the reading of the names of the 111 staff members, both military and civilian who have died since the last Staff Day.

Under-Secretary-General Guéhenno noted that the blue flag was once a shield.  But, he said, in too many places the UN has become a target for those who benefit from conflict; those spoilers who use violence, against the UN and against their own people, to block the path to peace in war-torn lands. 

This cannot stand, he added, “The blue flag must once again become inviolable, because what it stands for is inviolable.”  He said the UN must strike the balance between ensuring the security and safety of its staff and fulfilling the mandates entrusted to the Organization.

He concluded:  “Our colleagues, especially those in the field, deserve the utmost attention to their security as they go about their work to further the causes of peace, human rights and development.  We owe it to them to ensure they are protected, and we owe it to the memory of those who have perished in the past years.”

**The Week Ahead at the United Nations

And today being a Friday, we have for you the weekly feature, “The Week Ahead”.

That’s it for me.  Do you have any questions?  Yes?

**Questions and Answers

Question:   Some news (reports) are saying that James Baker has resigned as Special Envoy in Western Sahara.  Would you confirm that?

Associate Spokesman:    No, I am not in a position to confirm it.  I haven’t heard anything, but I’d be happy to check right after the briefing for you. [Confirmation was later announced.]

Anybody else?  Thank you very much, and have a wonderful weekend.

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