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.

And I’d like to welcome our visiting journalists from Nepal to this briefing.

**Guest at Noon

At my right is someone you know well, Carina Perelli, who will, as soon as I am done, discuss with you her recent electoral work in Iraq.

**Black Box

On the black box, for those of you who might still be interested in the UN’s investigation into the black box found on UN premises here earlier this year, Dileep Nair, the head of the Office of Oversight Services, will be available tomorrow afternoon to take questions.

If you can just signal your interest and we’ll set up a meeting for a group of you tomorrow afternoon at a mutually convenient time.

**Kosovo – New SRSG

On Kosovo, the Secretary-General is informing the Security Council that he intends to appoint Søren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark as his new Special Representative for Kosovo and head of the UN Mission there.

Jessen-Petersen will be succeeding Harri Holkeri who, as you know, recently resigned for health reasons.

The Secretary-General would like to take this opportunity to express his deep appreciation for the dedicated service and the leadership provided by Mr. Holkeri in often very difficult circumstances, and to commend Holkeri’s contribution to the implementation of resolution 1244.

Jessen-Petersen has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an international civil servant, working for the UN Refugee Agency and the UN Secretariat, most recently the European Union, with whom he has served as the EU Special Representative in Skopje since February this year.

We expect the Security Council to respond to the Secretary-General’s letter in the next few days.  And we have upstairs a press release with more information on Mr. Petersen’s background.

**Security Council

Continuing with the Security Council, this morning the Council members received a briefing in closed consultations on Haiti, from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi.

Annabi discussed the start-up of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, where preparations seem to be on track for the transfer of authority from the multinational force to the UN Mission on or before 1 July.  He also discussed the humanitarian situation in the country, which was aggravated by the recent floods that left more than 1,000 people dead.  And the Council President will soon read out a statement to the press on Haiti, if he hasn’t already done so.

**Secretary-General

The Secretary-General has ended his visit to Brazil, and is back in New York, where he is working from the residence.  And we expected to have him back here at Headquarters tomorrow morning.

**Middle East

On the Middle East, efforts to implement the Quartet’s “Road Map” for peace in the Middle East remain deeply unsatisfactory and the current status quo is simply unacceptable, said the Secretary-General in a message, delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Public Information Shashi Tharoor at a media seminar in Beijing.  The seminar focused on the Media and Peace in the Middle East.

The Secretary-General called on civil society to play a role in countering the view that there are no serious partners for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  He stressed in the message that “non-governmental organizations, citizens’ groups and others often have greater freedom to speak out and act than government and other officials”.

The Secretary-General added that civil society “will find in the United Nations a willing partner, equally dedicated to the just, lasting and comprehensive solution for which we have all yearned for so long”.  And copies of his statement are available upstairs, as is a press release with more information on the discussions today in Beijing.

**Sudan

Turning to the Sudan, a new study by the UN Children’s Fund says that a girl born in southern Sudan has a better chance of dying in pregnancy or in childbirth than of completing primary school.  Meanwhile, the UNICEF adds that some 95,000 children under the age of five are estimated to have died last year in southern Sudan, mostly of preventable diseases.

After 21 years of war, southern Sudan ranks as the worst place in the world for many key indicators of well-being for women and children, including rates of chronic malnutrition, primary school completion, immunization and antenatal care.

As the Sudan peace process approaches its final stage, UNICEF urges all parties and international donors to make the survival of children their top priority.  And we have a press release with more details upstairs.

**Day of African Child

Today is the Day of the African Child, which commemorates the courage of the children killed in Soweto, South Africa in 1976 while protesting for better educational opportunities under the apartheid regime.  On this occasion, the United Nations system has called attention to the plight of the millions of African children who continue to suffer the devastating effects of war, disease, hunger and lack of schooling.

Press releases are available from the UN mission in the DRC, as well as the UNICEF in Mozambique and the Prosecutor of the Special Court, Sierra Leone -– all on this same subject.

**ICTY

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia today dismissed several motions submitted by the defence for former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

Regarding Bosnia, the Tribunal deemed that there is sufficient evidence that a joint criminal enterprise existed to destroy part of the Bosnian Muslims as a group, and that participants in that enterprise committed genocide in parts of Bosnia.  With one dissent, the judges also agreed that Milosevic was a participant in that criminal enterprise.

The judges also dismissed motions from Milosevic’s defence challenging counts in the indictments concerning Croatia and Kosovo.  They did, however, grant some challenges from the defence concerning the sufficiency of evidence in some specific charges.  More details are available upstairs on that case.

**Tambo Award

The Secretary-General today was granted the Order of the Companions of Oliver Tambo, an award conferred in a ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Secretary-General said in a message it was a singular honour to receive the award, and to be called a companion of Tambo, who played a pivotal role in the struggle against apartheid.  In his message, which was delivered by his Special Representative Ibrahima Fall, he pledged that the United Nations will continue to support the efforts to build a stronger, ever more successful South Africa.  And we have a press release available upstairs.

**DSG

The Deputy Secretary-General will travel tomorrow to the University of Waterloo in Canada, where she will be granted an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the University’s Spring Convocation.  She will deliver an address for graduating students from the Faculty of Arts.

**ILO

From the International Labour Organization (ILO), their annual conference meeting in Geneva today adopted a new plan designed to provide a fair deal for some 86 million migrant workers in the global economy.  The plan of action is designed to ensure that migrant workers are covered by the provisions of international labour standards, while benefiting from the applicable national labour and social laws.  And we have a press release available upstairs on that.

**UNODC/Andean Drugs

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is releasing its Andean Coca Surveys 2003 tomorrow, simultaneously here in New York, in Washington and Vienna.  The survey makes extensive use of satellite imagery and aerial verification, and offers responses to a number of questions.  And we have more details available upstairs.

**FAO/Biotechnology Report Response

We also have copies of a letter sent from Jacques Diouf, the Director-General of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, in which he responds to recent criticism by NGOs of a section of the Organization’s “State of Food and Agriculture” report.  The criticism is contained in an open letter to Diouf and is circulating on the Internet.  And we have Mr. Diouf’s response upstairs.

**Olympic Torch

Lastly, this Saturday, the Olympic Flame will arrive at UN Headquarters for a special ceremony in honour of the Olympic Truce.  On that day the Olympic Torch will be making its way throughout New York City carried by some 140 torchbearers.

The torch is expected to arrive on the UN premises around at 8:30 p.m. Speaking at the event will be the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, as well as the Greek Minister of Culture, and the head of the Organizing Committee for this summer’s Games in Athens.  A note to correspondents will be available later today.  And we have already upstairs the bios of the two young people chosen by UNICEF to be the torchbearers at the UN.  That’s it from me.  Before we turn to Carina, Warren?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Stéphane, there is a newspaper in Khartoum that is reporting that the Secretary-General is headed to Darfur, maybe this week.  Can you confirm that?

Associate Spokesman:  The Secretary-General is planning a trip to Africa, probably later in this month, early part of the following month.  Sudan will be one of those stops.  But, as you know, for security reasons we don’t release the details of the trips until much closer to his date of the departure.  So, as the date approaches, we will have more details for you.

Question:  Stéphane, when is Mr. Petersen going to take up his new post in Kosovo?

Associate Spokesman:  I’ll have to get you an exact date, but soon.  We’re waiting for the Council’s response and as soon as that comes in he’ll be able to take his new post.  Anybody else?  Yes?

Question:  What is the position of the UN now to play a role in Nepal politics?

Associate Spokesman:  I’ll have to get some guidance on that.  I am not up on that specific issue.  But I’ll get you an answer on that.

Question:  Is there any sense when an SRSG might be appointed for Iraq?

Associate Spokesman:  No.  The Secretary-General is still working on identifying the right person for the job.

Carina, welcome.

Carina Perelli:  Thank you.  Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

* *** *