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 Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon,

**Guest at Noon

Joining us today is K.Y. Amoako, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa.  And he will brief you on developments in Africa, including those relating to the Millennium Development Goals, HIV/AIDS and the Commission for Africa.  And he will be up here in just a few minutes.

**Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol against global warming entered into force today.  Under the Protocol, industrialized countries are to reduce their combined emissions of six major greenhouse gases during the five-year period from 2008 to 2012 below 1990 levels.  So far, 128 Member States have ratified the accord.

In a video message to mark the event, the Secretary-General urged the world to save the planet by adding to the limits on greenhouse gases.

Meanwhile, Klaus Toepfer, the head of the UN Environment Programme, said that while the US Government has decided against the treaty, there are many individual States in America which have adopted, or plan to adopt, greenhouse gas reductions, in line with the spirit of the Protocol.  We have copies of both these statements upstairs.

Also, a heads-up that there’ll be a conference here at UN Headquarters tomorrow, on the topic of the treaty, entitled “One Day After Kyoto:  Next Steps on Climate”.

The speakers include Jose Antonio Ocampo, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; US Senator Chuck Hagel; and Emyr Jones Parry and Enele Sopoaga, the Permanent Representatives to the UN of the UK and of Tuvalu, respectively.  The three-hour conference starts at 10 a.m., in Conference Room 2 downstairs, and we also have more details on this event in my office.

**Security Council - Iraq

The elections in Iraq were “a momentous event for Iraqis and the international community”, and marked a significant development in the country’s transition to democratic government, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council today.  Prendergast said the elections met recognized standards for organization, regulations and procedures, and he voiced pride in the role the UN electoral team was able to play.

Now, he told the Council, the low turnout by Sunni Arabs and Arab nationalists is something that needs to be addressed, if there is to be more complete participation in the writing of a constitution and a subsequent referendum.  Iraq’s most immediate challenge, he said, is to form a transitional government that is broadly representative of Iraqi society and can bring together all Iraqi constituencies in a national effort to define the country’s future.

Prendergast offered the United Nations’ continued help, noting that “the UN has considerable experience of supporting and facilitating transitional processes under difficult conditions.”

Following his open briefing, which the Secretary-General also attended, the Security Council went into closed consultations on Iraq, to continue its discussion with Prendergast.  A presidential statement on Iraq is expected in the next few minutes.

**Security Council

The monthly Security Council luncheon with the Secretary-General is also taking place today.  Then, at 4 p.m., the Security Council has scheduled a meeting to be followed by consultations on Sudan.  High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, will present the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur.  The Secretary-General will attend that meeting.

**Lebanon

The Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, Lakhdar Brahimi, represented the Secretary-General at today’s funeral of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.  Also attending the ceremony was the Secretary-General’s Representative for southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura.

Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council unanimously adopted a presidential statement condemning what it called the terrorist act which killed Rafic Hariri.  Council members said they were gravely concerned about the possible impact of the murder on the ongoing efforts by the people of Lebanon to solidify Lebanon’s democracy, including during the upcoming parliamentary elections.  Such a terrorist act should not jeopardize the holding of these elections in transparent, free and democratic conditions, they said.

They also called on the Lebanese authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice and requested that the Secretary-General report urgently on the circumstances, causes and consequences of this terrorist act.

**SG – Press Comments

The Secretary-General was asked by a reporter today about any possible increase in UN assistance to Iraq, and he said that the United Nations had been able to fulfil its mandate during the Iraqi elections and has indicated ways that it can assist the Iraqis following the elections.

He was also asked about yesterday’s Security Council request for a report on Lebanon, and said it was being studied, so that the United Nations could begin to take prompt action.  He hoped that the first step towards meeting the request would take place in the course of this week.

Asked about the images of UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo being seen with prostitutes, the Secretary-General emphasized the UN’s zero-tolerance policy and said, “We have urged the troops to be careful not to fraternize with these vulnerable people.”  He noted that the Moroccan Government has taken action to punish some of those involved, and he expected other governments to take action, as well.

**Erbil and Basra

Some of you had been asking about the UN presence in Erbil and Basra in Iraq.  I can confirm that there is now a small UN presence at both those locations.  As you know the Secretary-General had decided, as far back as December, to take steps to establish a presence in those two cities, as circumstances permitted.

The UN staff deployed there is what we call a liaison detachment of security personnel and support staff.  They will be in contact with the regional authorities, as well as the multinational force commanders, to provide security assessments for the UN.  They will also facilitate eventual visits by UN substantive staff to the area.

Any further expansion, including of substantive staff, of the UN presence, beyond the current five staff in Basra and three in Erbil, will depend on the security situation and arrangements, as well as the actual availability of UN facilities.

**Congress

Yesterday, some of you asked why Dileep Nair or even Esther Stern, the previous head of the Internal Audit Division, had not been sent to the hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

In a letter sent to Senators Norm Coleman and Carl Levin on Monday, the Secretary-General’s Chef de Cabinet, Mark Malloch Brown, said he would make available to them and their colleagues from other investigative committees, the UN Chief Auditor of the oil-for-food programme, Dagfinn Knutsen.  As the lead auditor of all of the OIOS audits into the oil-for-food programme, no one is better placed to answer whatever questions Congress members may have on this particular issue of audits.

When Mark Malloch Brown went to Washington last week to meet with members of Congress, he told them that the UN would work with Congress to ensure an orderly process that meets the needs of all the congressional committees and those of the Independent Inquiry Committee chaired by Paul Volcker.  The details of Mr. Knutsen’s appearance will be worked out with the various committees to find a time, in the near future, when he could brief them all.

**Immunity

The Deputy Secretary-General was asked yesterday who can waive the immunity of a Secretary-General.  The answer can be found in the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which says, in article V section 20, that only the Security Council can do that.

**Children and Armed Conflict

Out as a document today is the report by the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict.  A press release on the report, issued by the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Olara Otunnu, is also available.

For the first time, the press release says, a comprehensive monitoring and compliance mechanism is being put in place for the purpose of ensuring the protection of children exposed to armed conflicts around the world.  Otunnu said, “This is a very big day for millions of children who are being brutalized in situations of armed conflict.”

An open Security Council debate on the report is scheduled for next Wednesday.  And Otunnu briefed you on the report here a week ago.

**SG Report – Demographic Trends

Out on the racks today is a report by the Secretary-General on world demographic trends.  It notes that the world’s population reached 6.5 billion in this year, 2005, and could ultimately stabilize at 9 billion in the year 2050.

The report says that most countries -- both developed and developing -- have seen significant declines in fertility, in line with the increased use of contraceptives.  At the same time, however, the population of many countries in Africa and Asia will grow considerably in the coming decades.  The report also notes that half the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2007.

**UNICEF Presser for Thursday

Another heads-up that UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, is holding tomorrow a conference titled “Children:  The Missing Link Between Poverty and Development”.

UNICEF’s Executive Director Carol Bellamy and Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz will be on a panel of eminent thinkers, who will debate issues such as “how do children experience poverty differently from adults?”  The conference, which includes a question and answer session, runs between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and it will be at UNICEF House across the street.  There are more details upstairs.

**Guest at Noon Tomorrow

Finally, our guest at tomorrow’s briefing will be Johan Scholvink, the Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.  And he will be here to brief you on the outcome of the Commission on Social Development’s special session on “Copenhagen +10” which concludes on Friday.

Yes, Sylviane?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Any plan for Mr. Brahimi to meet with the Lebanese President Lahoud?

Spokesman:  I don’t have any details on what he might be doing today or while he’s in Lebanon attending the funeral.  We can ask for you after the briefing to see if there is anything scheduled.

Yes, Laura?

Question:  Fred, do you what the Secretary-General’s meeting with ESCWA was about?  The 11:30 meeting.

Spokesman:  We’ll try to get a readout for you.

Evelyn?

Question:  Yes, just some housekeeping on... Is UN TV going to carry this panel on Kyoto that you spoke about before?  It will be very hard for people to sit through it all.

Spokesman:  Let me find out and we’ll squawk it.

[He later announced that UN TV will endeavour to provide coverage of the conference depending on availability of resources.]

Question:  Right.  And secondly, I was a bit confused on the Congo -- sex in the Congo statement that you read in response to ABC.  I thought, until two weeks ago or whenever, they were allowed to go to prostitutes, just not force prostitution.  That’s now changed with no fraternization whatsoever.

Spokesman:  Right.

Question:  And so, why would the Secretary-General urge them not to do that when there is a rule now saying you can’t, rather than locking them up or whatever?

Spokesman:  We have had some preliminary indications that the Secretary-General’s announcement of this policy is a little bit slow to filter down among the ranks.  So, we’re considering a number of ways of ramming home that message to every peacekeeper in every mission.  So, I think that might be why there was this subsequent statement by the Secretary-General.

The heads of all peacekeeping missions, as well as peace-building missions will be coming to New York in a few weeks for an annual retreat, and the Secretary-General will meet with them at that time; again, to drive home this message.  So, it’s not something that’s accomplished by a single statement by the Secretary-General.  It’s going to need a lot of follow-up.

Question:  A quick follow-up.  So far, it just applies to the Congo, you know, fraternization.  When you say he’s going to drive home the message to all missions, is that the no fraternization or what?  What is it?

Spokesman:  Not yet.  But we did say that we hope that this would serve as a signal to other missions.  And so, we’ll be looking very closely at the situation in these other peacekeeping missions.  Any signs of abuse that we see, we’ll act on immediately and, if necessary, we’ll impose this no-fraternization rule on other missions as well.

Bill?

Question:  I just wanted to get it straight on the situation in Iraq with these new offices.  I’m just trying to understand.  The space is there, the security people are there and they are now doing a security assessment to see if it’s safe so more people could come.  Is that sort of the idea?

Spokesman:  Yes.  The idea was first to put people in place.  And the people in place are security people.  And then they will assess from up close the security environment and judge on a day-to-day basis whether it’s safe for substantive people to come in from Baghdad or elsewhere.

So, it’s a toe in the water.

Question:  I guess my question then is, why is it that the toe is still in the water two months after the Secretary-General announced that the intention was to open it up?  Wasn’t the security assessment (inaudible) for the last two months.

Spokesman:  It was.  And, as a result of the initial assessment, needs for secure housing, secure work space were identified.  Arrangements had to be made for deployment of a protection force.  It was a fairly complex thing to establish secure work and living space in these two locations.

Question:  One follow-up, if I may.  What’s the current number of UN workers in Iraq?  Not security, but the actual humanitarian ...(Interrupted)

Spokesman:  I will get that number for you.  I don’t have it in my head.

[He later said it was about 50 substantive people and 200 over all.]

Yes?

Question:  Fred, when is the SG going to announce his Special Envoy to the Middle East?

Spokesman:  I don’t know.  I wish I knew.  Please, just wait.  Be patient.

Richard?

Question:  Maybe you could clarify with him, today, when he walked away from us this morning, he was asked who is handling the Middle East or something like that, and he said “Sir Kieran is handling it for us.”  And when we said is he the new envoy, he kind of smiled and he walked away.  So, maybe he has that title already in some way.

Spokesman:  No, no.  I mean, Sir Kieran, well, we don’t use the honorific titles in the UN system.  Kieran Prendergast, as the head of the Political Affairs Department, would be a senior advisor to the Secretary-General, and has been advising him on Middle East matters, Quartet activity, all along.  So, that’s not unusual.  But we have nothing to announce at present about a Middle East envoy.

Question:  Maybe I was on the way down, on diplomatic immunity and waiving it; I thought a few days ago people said only the SG can do it?  Now, can you clarify what article five, section 20 was?  What was that in relation to...(Interrupted)?

Spokesman:  The question yesterday was “Who can waive immunity for a Secretary-General?”

Question:  Oh, yes. 

Spokesman:  And that’s spelled out in the Convention on Privileges and Immunities and the answer is, the Security Council.

Massoud?

Question:  Fred, there is an e-mail flying around, one which is rather offensive, that certain journalists are in the pay of the United Nations and so forth.  Can you...(Interrupted by fellow correspondent)?

Question:  We can’t hear the question.

Question:  What?

Question:  We can’t hear your question.  Can you speak up?

Question:  I said there’s an e-mail flying around that certain journalists are in the pay of the United Nations and naming a few people.  Can you -- I mean it is very offensive.  I personally believe it’s really, I don’t see any of us doing that.  But do you have a list of journalists who are being paid by the United Nations?

Spokesman:  To my knowledge, no.  No journalist is paid to work for the United Nations while they are also working as a journalist for some media outlet.  On a number of occasions members of the UN press corps -- and this is a rather limited number -- have resigned or taken leave from their work in order to take jobs as press officers or other functions in peacekeeping missions.  I can think of two who have done that in the last couple of years. 

Also, when we’re recruiting for people to carry out information activities within the Secretariat, we sometimes look to the UN press corps.  And so, we have hired former journalists either from here or from outside.  But they always resigned their current job as journalists when they come to work at the UN.

So, that’s the only thing I am aware of.  But I haven’t seen this e-mail that you’re talking about.  I’ll be happy to look at it and comment on it afterwards.

Question:  I’ve been... (Inaudible) daily come to the briefing.  Apparently, I am underpaid.  I mean, how much are you offering?

Laughter.

Spokesman:  So, if there’s nothing else, I’ll ask Mr. Amoako to come up and brief you on the Economic Commission for Africa.

(Issued separately).

* *** *