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 the Secretary-General

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

Joining us today will be Maurice Strong, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for the KoreanPeninsula.

And Djibril Diallo is also here to brief you on the General Assembly following the guest’s briefing.

**SG Travelling to Munich from London

The Secretary-General should be on his way to Munich, Germany, where he will attend the forty-first Munich Conference on Security Policy.  His speech is scheduled for Sunday morning, and we hope to have copies of it available before the end of the day today.

The Secretary-General began his day in London with a visit to the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the UN specialised agency responsible for maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution from ships.

“The United Nations is going through a difficult time”, he told the staff, mentioning that Paul Volcker’s Commission had revealed “serious lapses in accountability, management and transparency”.  But he added, “I am determined to learn from these problems.”

The Secretary-General, then, held a private meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.  They touched on the follow-on to the report of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the problem of child soldiers, the need to limit the flow of small arms and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Outside the palace, he stopped for a standard photograph with the outrider team of four motorcycle police who had been escorting his motorcade, and then surprised them by hopping on to one of the large bikes for the photo.

He also met with the leader of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, Michael Howard.  Their discussions focused on the High-Level Panel’s Report, Darfur, the Iraqi transition, the nuclear issue in Iran and immigration/asylum issues.

**Security Council

Here in New York regarding the Security Council, there are no meetings or consultations scheduled for today.

**SG Report – Small Arms

Out on the racks today is a report by the Secretary-General on small arms.  In it, he notes progress made in tracing illicit weapons, implementing sanctions, and combating arms embargo violations.

But he says that more international support is needed to establish a Small Arms Advisory Service within the Secretariat, and to reintegrate ex-combatants into their communities.

He also calls for enhanced cooperation on small arms between the Security Council and the General Assembly.

**Stephen Lewis

The mesh of poverty and HIV/AIDS is the deadliest combination on the planet, and there’s not the slightest possibility of confronting poverty so long as AIDS runs its savage course.

That’s what Stephen Lewis, the UN’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said at today’s launch of the “Make Poverty History” campaign in Canada.

He also criticized the recent failure of the G-7 finance ministers to agree on the cancellation of African debt, calling it a devastating blow to the continent.

And we have copies of his full statement upstairs.  And I believe Stephen Lewis will be joining us on Monday to talk about his recent visit to Zambia.

**Tsunami

We have an update on the tsunami relief effort.  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that out of the $977 million it asked for in its flash appeal, $682 million -- or nearly 70 per cent of the requested funds -- has been received.

On the ground in Indonesia’s Aceh province, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been helping the local government remove sewage and build latrines in camps.  And through its partners, UNICEF has also handed out insecticide-treated mosquito nets, and hygiene kits which contain soap and toothpaste.

UNICEF has worked closely with the Indonesian Government to help identify children and reunite them with their families. 

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has helped the Indonesian Government to establish a disease surveillance system.

The World Food Programme continues to provide rations to Aceh.  Such rations are crucial, especially in light of a recent UNICEF nutrition assessment, which says that one in eight children in the tsunami-hit areas of Indonesia’s is suffering from acute malnutrition.

We have more information on all these stories upstairs.

**Press Conference – Monday

As I mentioned, just flagging next week’s press conferences, Stephen Lewis will be joining us on Monday to talk about his visit to Zambia.

**DSG

And at noon on Tuesday, the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, will be here to brief you on two issues addressed in the report of the Independent Inquiry Committee on the UN oil-for-food programme, UN procurement and the reform of audit and oversight.

So that’s next Tuesday.

**The Week Ahead at the United Nations

And we do have “The Week Ahead” upstairs for you for your planning purposes next week.

Mr. Strong has now joined us for the briefing.  If you have questions for me before I turned over the floor...?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Can the Secretary-General, or can you confirm that the Volcker commission has told them that his son remains a target of the investigation as the New York Post reported today?

Associate Spokesperson:  I have nothing further on that than what I have seen in the news reports.

Question:  Would it possible that you could get that question to the Secretary-General?

Associate Spokesperson:  The question being has he heard...?

Question:  Has he been informed of that?

Associate Spokesperson:  I can certainly follow that up.

Question:  We didn’t hear any question.

Associate Spokesperson:  Would you like to repeat it?

Question:  The New York Post said that the Volcker inquiry has told the Secretary-General that his son remains a focus of investigations.

Associate Spokesperson:  I can certainly pass on the question, but as you know, we all know that that part of the investigation is still ongoing and we are awaiting the results of that.

Question:  This is not really a question about the investigations.  This is a question about something that was told to the Secretary-General.

Associate Spokesperson:  Okay.  Bill? [The correspondent was later informed that the Spokesman would not comment on what may or may not have been said in conversations between Mr. Volcker and the Secretary-General.]

Question:  Has the Secretary-General responded to the letter from the House International Relations Committee?

Associate Spokesperson:  Not that I know of.  Not yet, no.

Yes?

Question:  Before we hear from Mr. Strong, just for the record, what’s the SG’s view on the latest development between the US and North Korea?  And, is he still in favour of the multiparty talks or does he see any value in direct bilateral talks between the Koreans and the Americans?

Associate Spokesperson:  I think I will defer that question to Mr. Strong who is here as the Secretary-General’s envoy for the KoreanPeninsula.  And the Secretary-General’s position was articulated yesterday in the press encounter that he had with Mr. Straw, and that position hasn’t changed.  But I am sure Mr. Strong will elaborate on that.

Yes?

Question:  You just said that the Secretary-General had in that small arms thing, that he had called to integrate the ex-combatants into the community.  Who does he exactly have in mind; in the ex-combatants?

Associate Spokesperson:  I don’t think in a report like this generally he specifies groups.  But I can certainly look into that with the authors of the report for you and I’ll get back to you.  [The correspondent was later informed that the report alludes to reintegration efforts in West Africa, as well as Security Council deliberations on reintegration in Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Haiti.]

If there are no other questions, I’d like to turn over the floor to Mr. Strong.

[Issued separately]

Spokesman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon,

I would like to welcome a delegation from the National Association of Black Journalists visiting the United Nations today, its president Herbert Lowe, and also John Yearwood, who is the Treasurer of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).  John is also the world editor of the Miami Herald.  This is part of the efforts to try and get the stories that are covered at the United Nations in corners of the United States and around the world.

The NABJ has over 2,000 working journalists in radio, television and newspapers across the United States and is also a member of the unity journalists of colour, which includes Asian-American, Hispanic-American, indigenous American journalists.

So, welcome to the NABJ.

The second point has to do with the General Assembly informal meeting on Sach’s report.  This is the twelfth informal closed meeting.  It is continuing on the exchange of views on findings and recommendations of the United Nations Millennium Project 2005.  Approximately 40 countries have, so far, offered statements.  Reactions have been positive, in general, in welcoming the report and thanking its authors for the comprehensive, yet concrete and specific analysis and recommendations.

Some delegations have raised issues of clarification, which will be reacted to before the end of the informal meeting today.  Many countries have conveyed their gratitude for the Millennium Project’s emphasis on the practical steps that can be taken to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), stressing that the goals are indeed achievable, even if large parts of the world, most dramatically in Africa, are currently off track.

Most delegations have recognized the Millennium Project’s balanced emphasis on the joint responsibilities of both developed and developing countries, if the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved.  The MDG-based national strategies were also mentioned and were supported by many countries.  Most have also stressed the need for developed countries to follow through on their existing commitment to reach 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) in official development assistance (ODA), in order to support the practical investment needed to achieve the goals.

There has also been broad support for the recommended “Quick Wins” -- you may recall that the “Quick Wins” are immediate actions that could save and improve millions of lives and promote economic growth.

In that connection, the Japanese delegation used the occasion to announce its support for 10 million anti-malaria bed nets by 2007, thereby joining the UK government’s support for the same “Quick Win”, as announced by Prime Minister Blair two weeks ago.

There has also been broad discussion on the need one, to accelerate debt relief, and two, to increase support for regional organizations.

These and many other issues are still being reviewed by delegations, which are looking at the full report.  Questions are being looked at, and the next meeting will be on 22 February.

Among the concerns expressed by countries -- one can pick up the need to treat all countries equitably, with any criteria for increasing assistance needing to be transparent and broadly agreed upon.

Many developing countries want to ensure the MDG-based development assistance programmes are pursued without any imposition of conditionality.

Today, the General Assembly is holding its twelfth informal closed meeting, it’s a continuation of the exchange of views on findings and recommendations of the United Nations Millennium Project 2005.  Some Member States emphasized the fact that development is a pillar on its own and not just a means to achieve security, and, hence, international development cooperation should remain a central component of the UN’s work.  Some Member States called on all members to live up to the agreements reached in Monterrey at the Financing for Development Conference.

**The Week Ahead

The second item has to do with the meetings, I’d like to flag to you for your own work plans the meetings next week.

On Monday 14, the Open-Ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council will meet at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 3.  They will be discussing the working methods of the Security Council and the transparency of its work.  Immediately following this meeting, the Working Group will be holding consultations, which will continue until Wednesday 16 February in the afternoon.

Also on Monday and Tuesday next week (14-15 February), the Working Group of the Sixth Committee on the Convention against the Reproductive Cloning of Human Beings will meet.  This is a hot topic in your area as a journalist.  And they will be meeting from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. in Conference Room 1.  And on Friday, 18 February, the meeting will be from 10 to 1 p.m. All those meetings are closed.  The Sixth Committee will hold its twenty-eighth meeting on Friday, 18 February.

As you will recall, a divisive vote on the question of an international convention against human reproductive cloning was averted by Member States when the Member States decided to take up the issue as a declaration at a resumed February session, using a proposal made by Italy on 17 November 2004.

Initially, the text of the upcoming declaration would call on States to adopt and implement national legislation prohibiting attempts to create human life through cloning and to insure respect for human life in the application of science, particularly by barring the exploitation of women.  States would also be called upon to prohibit genetic engineering techniques contrary to human dignity.  However, negotiations are still ongoing between Member States.

The Committee accepted the proposal to establish the Working Group after Committee Chairman Mohamed Bennouna of Morocco presented it, based on informal consultations.  He said that the Working Group would be open to all States and members of specialized agencies and of the International Atomic Energy Agency, with himself as Chairman and the Committee bureau serving as “friends of the Chair”.  This initiative from the Chairman enjoyed general support.

The Italian proposal essentially replaces the two earlier texts that, as you may recall, had been tabled by Costa Rica and Belgium, and both of these resolutions called for a convention against human cloning, but had different views regarding cloning for therapeutic purposes. 

The next item has to do with the Special Committee on the situation with regard to the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.  That will hold its meeting next Thursday, 17 February, at 10:30 a.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.

Finally, the Executive Secretaries of Regional Commissions will be briefing Member States next week on their respective commissions and developments in the region they cover.  The first one will be on Tuesday, 15 February -- the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).  On Wednesday, 16 February, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as well as the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) will brief delegates.

That’s all I have for you.

Any questions?

If not, thank you.

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