DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

and the spokesman for the general assembly president

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, and Djibril Diallo, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Associate Spokesperson for Secretary-General

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

Olara Otunnu, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will be joining us today to talk about the Secretary-General’s latest report to the Security Council on that subject.

And we also have Djibril Diallo, the General Assembly Spokesman here to give you a briefing on the General Assembly.

**SG Travels

The Secretary-General is today in London, where he will conduct internal meetings, including with his Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi.

Tomorrow, he will meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other senior officials, and will also make a speech on [his 2005 agenda on] security and development, which we hope to have for you later today.

**Security Council

Here at UN Headquarters, there are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today.

The Security Council concluded a meeting on Sudan yesterday when the Council President, Ambassador Joël Adechi of Benin, gave a statement to the press expressing the Council’s readiness to establish a full-fledged peacekeeping operation in Sudan to support the 9 January peace agreement.

Council members, he added, remain gravely concerned by the dire situation prevailing in Darfur and call upon the parties to do their utmost to bring the conflict in Darfur to an end as quickly as possible, through a sustainable political settlement.  That statement was available to you yesterday afternoon.

**SG Letter to Council on SEA

The Secretary-General has written to the Security Council on the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regarding the allegations of sexual exploitation and misconduct there.

In it, the Secretary-General notes that Council members join him in recognizing the tremendous contributions and sacrifices made by UN peacekeepers, and that it’s important that the peacekeepers know we stand together in honour of their efforts.

The Secretary-General also mentions the multidisciplinary team sent to the Mission by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, led by Assistant Secretary-General Angela Kane, which is currently conducting further investigations there.

The Mission itself has taken a number of measures to eliminate improper behaviour, and those include a strict no-fraternization policy and curfew for military contingents.  The Department of Peacekeeping Operations has also organized a task force here, at UN Headquarters, to undertake a series of initiatives including the forceful promulgation of the UN’s Standards of Conduct expected of all peacekeepers.  The Secretary-General also alerts Council members that the expectation in the short-term will be measured not by a decrease in allegations -- on the contrary, there’ll likely be an increase.

The Secretary-General appeals to Council members to help strengthen the UN’s capacity to conduct self-monitoring and enforcement programmes -- specifically, he says the Mission still requires at least another 100 military police, as well as French-speaking qualified investigators.

The Secretary-General ends his letter with a reaffirmation of his personal commitment to remain vigilant on this issue, and with an assurance that the United Nations will work tirelessly to restore faith in UN peacekeeping as one of the world’s most noble callings.  We have copies of that letter available upstairs in the Spokesman’s office.

**Sudan

Turning to the Sudan, the UN Mission in Sudan reports continuing insecurity on the ground in Darfur. The Mission notes that monitors from the African Union and from humanitarian agencies last week found seven villages in south Darfur that had been totally burnt, and three others abandoned, as a result of the recent violence there.  Relief agencies are in the process of determining humanitarian needs.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, is expected back in Khartoum on Friday, and is then scheduled to head to Chad, to attend the meeting of the Ceasefire Joint Commission there on 15 and 16 February.

**Iraq - Basrah Power Plant

On Iraq, the UN Mission in Iraq has delivered another shipment of equipment and spare parts -- worth almost $900,000 -- to the Hartha Power Station in Basrah.  The equipment comes as part of a project to increase the plant’s capacity and the reliability of the power supply.  The Mission has also helped distribute some 7 million litres of water to more than 70,000 internally displaced persons in Fallujah.

In addition, UNESCO today made an urgent plea for the release of French newspaper reporter Florence Aubenas and her Iraqi interpreter, who have been missing in Iraq since 5 January.

**Oil-for-Food

And then keeping you updated on the issues related to the proceedings against [two staff members mentioned in the report of the Independent Inquiry Committee] Benon Sevan and Joseph Stephanides.  As we reported earlier this week, the two charge letters have been sent to them outlining the case against them.  Should they so wish, they have two weeks to respond to the charges.  Afterwards the Secretary-General will decide on what action to take.

**Larsen

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Implementation of resolution 1559, Terje Roed Larsen, continued his visit to Beirut today.

Following meetings with an array of senior Lebanese government officials, he further met with several prominent politicians, including former President Amin Gemayel, former Prime Ministers Salim Hoss and Rafic Harriri, and member of Parliament Walid Jumblat.

Roed-Larsen’s mission has been characterized by a spirit of dialogue and cooperation.  Tomorrow he heads for Damascus, where he is scheduled to meet with Syrian President Bashir al-Assad.  He will wrap up his visit to the region on Friday.

**Côte d’Ivoire

The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire today expressed its concerns at the rising insecurity in certain parts of that country, and particularly in Abidjan.

The Mission appeals to the competent authorities to support the disarming and demobilization of armed groups, in conformity with Security Council resolutions.  We have a press release with more details.

**Sri Lanka

And in a statement we issued late yesterday, the Secretary-General condemned the killings of a senior political leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s Eastern Province Division and several colleagues travelling with him when their vehicle came under attack in Sri Lanka earlier this week.

The Secretary-General urges all parties to exercise calm and restraint, so as to avoid actions that could disrupt the ceasefire agreement of February 2002 or the long-term interest of peace in Sri Lanka.  We have the full text of that statement upstairs and it’s posted on the UN web site as well.

**Press Conferences Tomorrow

And just to flag for you two press conferences for tomorrow.  At 11 a.m., the Permanent Mission of Spain will be sponsoring a press conference by the NGOs Peace and Cooperation and Airline Ambassadors International, which will be launching the Peace and Cooperation School Award 2005, on the theme “For a World Without Violence”.

Then at 1:15, the Chairs of the Commission on Social Development’s high-level round tables on poverty eradication, promotion of full employment, and social integration, will be in this room to brief you on the results of the round table discussions.

I’d like to turn over the floor to Olara Otunnu, if there are no questions for me.

I’ll take Richard’s question before I turn the floor over to Djibril Diallo.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Unless I missed this Marie, what is the UN’s response to the report of scandal at the World Meteorological Association (sic)?

Associate Spokesperson:  We saw the report this morning, as you have, in The New York Times.  Let me just first say that the World Meteorological Organization is a specialized agency, which of course, is part of the UN family.  But it has its own rules and regulations.  Its secretariat answers not to the Secretary-General, but to the agency’s governing assembly comprised of 187 member States.  Its Secretary-General is elected by the governing assembly and not by the UN’s Secretary-General.

Having said, we did speak to them this morning and this is what the World Meteorological Organization says about the press reports:

They say that the story first appeared in the media in December 2003.  They say the fraud was uncovered in July 2003 by WMO personnel.  They say an internal investigation was launched; the suspected staff member was suspended with pay until September 2003.  He was then dismissed when it became clear there was criminal activity.

Since there was criminal activity, the staff member’s immunity was lifted and the case was forwarded to Swiss Judicial authorities.  The Swiss have issued an arrest warrant for him through Interpol.  He has not been found yet.  The staff member’s so-called widow never got a penny from the Organization.  And reforms relating to integrity, efficiency and transparency were instituted in January of last year by the new head of the organization.  So this is what we have from them, and I have to refer you to the World Meteorological Organization for further information.

Yes?

Question:  Any latest on the elections of Iraq?

Associate Spokesperson:  As you know, the elections of Iraq, we gave you the latest update yesterday.  If there is anything more today, I’ll let you know.

Question:  There was another Congressional hearing today.  They said the UN again did not appear.  Can you explain why the UN is reluctant or chooses not to send anyone to Capitol Hill in Washington to talk about oil-for-food?

Associate Spokesperson:  Well, first of all I think the UN is being cooperative with Congress as far as we can.  As you know, we have been cooperating with the Volcker commission, and until their work is over, we’re working with the Volcker commission.  But in terms of our work and cooperation with Congress, as you know, our new Chief of Cabinet, Mark Malloch Brown, is in Washington, D.C., today.  He is spending the entire day there.  And he just called in before, his staff called in right before the noon briefing, saying that he’s down there to touch base with the Congressional players and that he is in a listening mode.

I just wanted to give you that update.

Question:  (Inaudible)...meeting that he requested, is that correct?

Associate Spokesperson:  Both, I suppose.  But we can provide you with the list of a dozen or so people on the Hill he is meeting today.

If there are no other questions for me, thank you Mr. Otunnu.  And I will turn the floor over to Djibril.

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon,

Today the Working Group of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations is continuing its meeting.  The Committee meets to discuss key issues relating to peacekeeping operations and policies. It produces a report at the end of every session.  And the latest report is here.  It’s the report of the fifty-ninth session; agenda item 77, and its number is A/59/608.

The Committee this year is reviewing such issues as:  how to manage the surge in peacekeeping demands; the importance of integration of various activities within multidimensional UN missions, such as humanitarian and developmental activities; and a standing police capacity, which is a small core of police on call to assist in starting up and in building lasting police institutions.

By way of background, the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations has been in place since 1965.  It meets every year.  It’s composed of 131 members, including observers.

The second item for you in this briefing has to do with the tomorrow’s meeting of the Commission for Social Development.  And that would be the forty-third session of the meeting.  And this is in accordance with the Economic and Social Council resolution 2004/58.  The Commission will convene on Thursday afternoon only, that is tomorrow afternoon, and all day Friday, 11 February.  High-level plenary meetings will take place in the General Assembly Hall.  The theme will be the “review of further implementation of the World Summit for Social Development and the outcome of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly”.

Some 40 high-level delegations will be participating in the session.  You may recall that during a press conference that Ambassador Kumalo, Chairman of the Commission, held in this very room yesterday, he mentioned that he was pleased with the number of high-level delegations attending the Commission, including delegations at ministerial levels.  Three simultaneous round tables would address the implementation of the ten commitments of the 1995 Social Summit and their linkages with the Millennium Development Goals.  Round-table participation would include ministers, academics, civil society and perhaps the private sector.  Such broad participation was essential, as governments alone would not be able to implement social development goals.

The meeting starting tomorrow will give delegations the opportunity to negotiate on a document which will ultimately be submitted to the high-level segment of the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council.

**President’s Schedule

Three items on the President’s schedule:

One is a meeting he held this morning, at her request, with Her Excellency Mrs. Eugena Kisrugar, First Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova.

This afternoon he will meet, at their request again, with His Excellency Mr. Kim Holmes, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Organization Affairs of the Department of State, accompanied by H.E. Ms. Anne Patterson and Ambassador Sharin Tahir-Kheli (from the National Security Council).

At 4 today, the President will meet the 10 facilitators in charge of the preparatory process of the High-Level Plenary this coming September.

That’s all I have.

Any questions?

If not, thank you.

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