PRESS CONFERENCE ON MEDIA, SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS FOR WORLD SUMMIT

PRESS CONFERENCE ON MEDIA, SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS FOR WORLD SUMMIT

With security concerns high on the priority list during the World Summit on 14-16 September, to be followed by the sixtieth General Assembly immediately thereafter, members of the press were informed today about the logistical and security arrangements for those events.

Speaking to the journalists at a Headquarters press briefing were Phyllis Moore, Inspector of the Security and Safety Service, and Gary Fowlie, Chief of Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit.  Security Officers Nicholas Panzarino and Karl Wall provided answers to some of the questions.

The building would be closed to the public during the high-level meetings, correspondents were told, and access would be restricted to only those persons who were accredited and wearing a United Nations grounds pass.  Correspondents with a valid grounds pass would not need additional accreditation for the Summit, but all others must apply for accreditation.  The Accreditation Tent had been set on 48^th Street and First Avenue.  Details on media access to the United Nations Secretariat and liaison services for coverage of open and bilateral meetings, press conferences and briefings would be available at the Media Accreditation website at http://www.un.org/media/accreditation/world_summit.htm.

Mr. Fowlie said that in order to facilitate the movements of the press, the Unit was now training 50 graduate students from several universities, including the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, New York University, Harvard University and Yale University, who would act as media liaison assistants in September.  Also working with the Media Unit would be 40 United Nations interns, as well as United Nations Tour Guides.  Media liaison teams would be operating from Conference Room 1, which has been designated as the Media Centre, as well as the Media Liaison Desk on the third floor and the General Assembly lobby Neck Area.  Several areas were WiFi-equipped, so journalists would be able to use their laptops.  Conference Room 2 would be used as a “spill-over” area, when it was not in use.

The facilities available at the “media work space” on the third floor of the Secretariat Building would include television monitors, telephone, fax, audio dispatches and Internet access, he continued.  The Ex-Press Bar on the third floor of the General Assembly Building would serve as an overflow area for the media, particularly the official photographers and cameramen waiting to enter the booths assigned to them.  The journalists who wanted to schedule an interview would have access to that area, as well.  The media would also be able to use the garden area behind the Accreditation Tent for “stand-ups” and interviews, but they would have to be escorted there.

To enter the United Nations complex, resident correspondents without equipment would be able to use the 42nd Street Gate, which opens at 6 a.m., as well as 46^th and 48^th Street access, Ms. Moore said.  Non-resident correspondents and resident correspondents with heavy equipment would have to enter at the 48^th Street gate.  Upon screening, correspondents with equipment would be given colour-coded “screening passes”, which they would surrender to the Security Officers inside the building.  Should they need to go back into the garden, they would receive that pass back to avoid going through the screening process again.

Media were advised to arrive early to allow sufficient time for screening.  Last-minute arrivals would encounter delays, and could be further delayed should First Avenue be closed for motorcades, she continued.  In an event of a total evacuation, the press were asked to assemble at 47^th Street between First and Second Avenues, where representatives of the Media Accreditation Unit would provide them with further information.

Correspondents would have to be screened to enter restricted areas, and security had been enhanced for that purpose, Ms. Moore said.  Area-specific passes would be required to enter the General Assembly and several other areas.

Asked whether laptops, tape-recorders and microphones would require “screening passes”, Ms. Moore said that only heavy camera equipment would require special screening.  To that, Officer Wall added that all equipment coming into the building would be screened, including laptops and microphones, but large camera equipment would have to be brought in through the 48^th Street gate.  To avoid delays, additional screeners would be available during the forthcoming events.

Several correspondents asked if the events during the Summit would be open to the press.  Ms. Moore said that the meetings of the General Assembly would be open to the media, and 53 seats were available to correspondents in the gallery during those meetings.  Round Tables on 14 - 16 September would be held in closed meetings, but photo opportunities and briefings by Chairmen would be provided for correspondents.

To other questions, Mr. Wall said that the Security Council stakeout area would be open to the press, but the Delegates’ Lounge would be off-limits during the Summit and the high-level portion of the general debate.  Mr. Fowlie added that members of the press would be able to move around the building, when escorted.

Correspondents were also told that the Security Council Lounge would be given to Protocol, but two studios would be available to the press in the area across from the stakeout.

A correspondent also said that the press should not be treated as a security threat, and their freedom should not be restricted for security reasons.  To that, Ms. Moore replied that both security officers and the journalists had a job to do.  It was important to respect each other.  As for the journalists’ complaints that they were sometimes “muscled” away from the delegates by security guards, she said that in such cases, official complaints should be made, as such behaviour should not be tolerated.

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For information media • not an official record