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 Stephane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

Apologies for the delay.

**Secretary-General in Sudan

The Secretary-General is in Sudan today.  He arrived in Khartoum from Doha, Qatar, this morning.

Immediately upon arrival, he was briefed by his staff on the situation on the ground in the Sudan.  And that included briefings from his Special Representative Jan Pronk, as well as Jan Egeland, the UN’s Humanitarian Relief Coordinator.

He also met with UN agency heads who are based in Khartoum, as well as with more than a dozen representatives of NGOs who work as UN partners in the relief effort.  They discussed the obstacles to delivering aid to the more than a million people affected by the crisis in Darfur.

The Secretary-General also met with a delegation of Sudanese cabinet ministers.  He asked for their cooperation in the disarming of the militias who are currently wreaking havoc in Darfur.  He also asked the Sudanese cabinet ministers to remove all obstacles to the international relief effort, which includes the importation of trucks, radios and other essential equipment, as well as the lifting of obstacles to the granting of visas to humanitarian workers.

Later on in the day, the Secretary-General met at KhartoumAirport with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had just himself returned from a visit to a camp for internally displaced persons in Darfur.  He briefed the Secretary-General on the measures that the U.S. would be asking the Government of Sudan to take in relief of this crisis.  The Secretary-General then briefed the Secretary of State on his meetings with the Government of Sudan.

This evening, the Secretary-General will attend a working dinner hosted by Sudan’s First Vice-President, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha. And tomorrow, the Secretary-General will travel to internally displaced camps in the Darfur region of the Sudan.

**Sudan – Human Rights

Continuing on the Sudan, there is ample evidence that Sudan’s Government has helped to perpetuate grave violations of human rights in Darfur.  This according to UN special rapporteur Asma Jahangir; she told the press yesterday.  She said in her briefing that she had seen “indications of crimes against humanity”, including signs that some militia groups in Darfur had been armed, sponsored and even trained by the Government.

Jahangir, the special rapporteur dealing with extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions, visited Sudan earlier this month, and said she would release a report on her findings by the end of July.  She said that, while it was difficult to assess how many people had been killed in Darfur, nearly every third or fourth family she had interviewed had told her that they had lost someone in the recent killings.

**Darfur

The World Food Programme (WFP) today started an airlift of enriched food from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to Sudan's North Darfur and South Darfur states to help feed the most vulnerable among some 1 million people uprooted from their homes by conflict.

WFP is accelerating its food deliveries to Darfur and hopes to feed some 700,000 people in June.  WFP estimates that 1.2 million people will need food aid each month until October, when a total of 2 million people will be targeted until December.

**Sierra Leone - Update

This morning, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has continued its recovery and identification operations at the site of the helicopter crash near Yengema in the eastern part of the country.  The extremely difficult terrain, characterized by thick jungle inaccessible by vehicles, has complicated the operations, but UN troops have managed to secure the site.

Earlier today, we announced a breakdown of the 24 persons who were on board the helicopter that crashed yesterday morning.  The 24 include 14 members of the Pakistani contingent of UNAMSIL, one member of the Bangladeshi contingent, six civilians, as well as three members of the crew.  As we mentioned, it is unlikely that there are any survivors in the accident.  A preliminary investigation is under way.  In addition, the investigation teams of the United Nations and the Russian Federation –- State of Aircraft Registry Office -- are on their way to Freetown to launch an official enquiry.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General

And I have a statement on Cambodia:

“The Secretary-General welcomes the signing of a coalition agreement in Phnom Penh on 30 June 2004 between the Cambodian People’s Party and the FUNCINPEC Party to form a new government in Cambodia.  It is his sincere hope that the agreement will be quickly formalized by the appropriate organs, so that a new government will be established as soon as possible.”  The statement is available upstairs.

**Lebanon

From Lebanon, the senior UN official in southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, today reiterated his deep concern over Israeli air violations of the Blue Line.  De Mistura noted that, yesterday, 11 Israeli air violations of the Line were recorded, which were followed by anti-aircraft fire from Lebanese territory across the Line.

He once more stressed, in a statement that we have upstairs, that the cycle of overflights and anti-aircraft fire carries a high potential for escalation.  The United Nations reminds all parties of their obligation to refrain from any violation of the Blue Line.

**Security Council

At 3 p.m. the Security Council is scheduled to be briefed by Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry of the United Kingdom on the Council’s recent mission to West Africa.

**WHO/Nigeria Polio

The Governor of Kano province, in northern Nigeria, has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that it’ll resume polio immunization campaigns in early July.  The Governor has asked for WHO’s help, and WHO, as well as other partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, have offered their full support.

WHO says the campaigns’ resumption is now critical to quickly increase immunity and to help contain the spread of the disease.  There’re growing concerns around the world about the rate at which the virus continues to spread internationally from northern Nigeria since immunization activities were suspended late last year.

Ten previously polio-free countries across Africa have now been re-infected, most recently the Sudan, where a case in Darfur was confirmed last week.  And we have a press release available upstairs.

**AIDS Fund

The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today approved new grants worth $2.9 billion over five years.  The grants will put more than 932,000 people on anti-retroviral treatment for AIDS, and will also finance 123 million anti-malarial treatments, as well as treatment for 640,000 new tuberculosis patients.  This is the fourth round of grant approvals since the Fund was set up in 2002.

**UNEP/Sergio Library

In Nairobi today, representatives of the Brazilian Government and other dignitaries joined the United Nations family to take part in the launch of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Library.  The Library, now recognized as an official UN Library, is being named in honour of Sergio Vieira de Mello and in recognition of the 243 staff members who’ve died in the service of the UN.

Sergio was the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Iraq when he and 21 others were killed in a bomb blast on 19 August in Baghdad.

**FAO/Trees

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says trees grown on farms could help alleviate poverty by providing income and food for poor farmers –- whose livelihoods are increasingly threatened by harsh environmental conditions and land degradation.  That was the FAO’s message today to the First World Congress of Agro Forestry in Orlando, Florida.  We have more information available upstairs.

**UN/July 4 Fireworks

And lastly on a housekeeping note:  The traditional 4 July fireworks display over the East River is a chance to enjoy the show from the United Nations grounds.  The UN has increased security for this event and, as a consequence, there’ll be a reduction in the number of people allowed access for this on 4 July. 

This decision is based on the high-level attendance experienced last year and the way that construction work has altered the grounds.  And we have upstairs details of how you can all get tickets for the event.

That’s it for me, any questions?

Thank you very much.  One question?

**Questions and Answers

Question:   What’s the UN policy on tourists taking pictures inside the UN?

Associate Spokesman:    For the Tour Guides?  It’s not something I know off the top of my head, but I’ll be happy to find out and let you know.

[The Spokesman later announced that tourists on guided tours were allowed to take photographs along the tour route on the second floor, but they were not allowed to take pictures of delegates].

Thank you.

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