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.

Good afternoon,

**SG in Israel

The Secretary-General is just now about to address the inauguration of the HolocaustHistoryMuseum at Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, saying that the Holocaust occupies a unique place in the history of the United Nations.  He’s to say, “Our global mission of peace, freedom and human dignity was literally forged in fire.  In fact the most awful fires humankind has ever seen.”

He will say that the United Nations has a sacred responsibility to combat hatred and intolerance, and it must be at the forefront of the fight against anti-Semitism.  We have copies of his remarks upstairs.  Of course, they’re embargoed until he actually delivers them.  And prior to attending the ceremony, the Secretary-General toured Yad Vashem for two hours.

Then earlier today he met with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, with whom he discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, as well as the situation in Lebanon.

And then, at a press encounter after that meeting, he said that, in his discussions yesterday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas said he hoped the talks with Palestinian groups in Cairo today would result in an understanding on a ceasefire and the non-use of violence.  Such an outcome, the Secretary-General said, should be seen as a first step towards a peace leading to two States, living side-by-side in peace and security.

The Secretary-General later had a bilateral meeting with French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.  He also had a working lunch with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, to continue discussions on the peace process.

Yesterday evening, the Secretary-General met with Israeli President Moshe Katsav, and was asked, at a press encounter afterward, about when a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon would take place.  He said that Terje Roed-Larsen would have to report to him on that matter, but he added about the withdrawal, “I would hope that it would take place before the elections” in Lebanon.

In a separate programme this morning, Nane Annan visited the Mevasseret Zion Absorption Centre, which provides new immigrants from Ethiopia with housing, health care, Hebrew classes and pre-school day care.  She was accompanied by Judith Nir-Moses Shalom, the wife of the Israeli Foreign Minister.

Yesterday, Nane Annan visited the Ramallah Women's Training Centre for Palestinian refugee women, widely considered one of the Arab world's foremost teacher education and vocational training institutes for women.

**Kosovo

Turning now to Kosovo, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative there, Søren Jessen-Petersen, has strongly condemned the attack against President Ibrahim Rugova's convoy in Pristina this morning.  Jessen-Petersen stressed that such actions are an assault on the democratic institutions of Kosovo, but he added that, since such acts were not supported by the majority of Kosovars, they wouldn’t succeed in derailing steady progress towards the implementation of standards and final status talks later this year.  We have upstairs a press release from the UN mission with more information.

**Security Council

The Security Council held consultations this morning on Somalia, specifically on the report of the Monitoring Group on arms embargo violations, which came out as a document yesterday.  Philippines Ambassador Lauro Baja briefed the Council on that report, in his capacity as Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Somalia.  The Council then adopted a resolution on Somalia to re-establish the Monitoring Group for a period of six months.

**Sudan

The World Food Programme announced that the agency had delivered 1.6 million tons of food to Darfur last month, an increase of 34 per cent over the aid provided in January and the highest monthly total since the start of WFP's emergency operation in April 2004.  WFP, however, notes that security problems dogged operations to reach 2 million people in the province, as did theft and sabotage of supplies.

**Burundi

On Burundi, the World Food Programme said that food insecurity was worsening in that country.  All 7.6 million inhabitants of Burundi suffered from chronic food insecurity and 68 per cent were under threat of having no food at all.  Also on Burundi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Carolyn McAskie, will be our guest at the noon briefing here on Friday to brief you on developments there.

**DSG

The Deputy Secretary-General addressed the First Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Stockholm today.  This meeting is a crucial building block in the work to launch the Global Fund’s Replenishment Mechanism.

The Deputy Secretary-General, in her remarks, underscored the importance of this mechanism to enable the Global Fund to have long-term sustainable sources of finance.  She stressed that significantly more resources are needed, year by year, and over the long term, for an adequate response to the three diseases. 

During her short visit to Sweden, the Deputy Secretary-General also met with Bo Ringholm, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, and with Carin Jämtin, Minister for Development Cooperation.  These meetings provided an occasion to discuss notably the preparations for the General Assembly High-Level Event to review the implementation of the Millennium Declaration.  That, of course, is scheduled to happen in September.

**Standing Committee on Nutrition

Catherine Bertini, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, is currently in Brasilia, Brazil, where the UN’s Standing Committee on Nutrition is holding its thirty-second session this week.  The objective of the session -- which started yesterday and will end on Friday -- is to review progress made in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, through the inclusion of food and nutrition components in national development plans.  Bertini, who chairs the Committee, opened the session yesterday, along with Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.  We have a press release on that in my office.

**ICTY

And finally, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia today indicted Ljube Boskoski, the former Interior Minister of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and police officer Johan Tarculovski, for war crimes -- including murder and the wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages.  Today’s indictments are the last ones to be made by Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions that asked the Tribunal to complete its investigations by last December.

Other important investigations that have not led to indictments by the Tribunal will now be transferred to local authorities.  Meanwhile, the Tribunal continues to urge States to assist in transferring 17 indicted fugitives, including General Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.  That’s all I have for you.

Mark?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Just a couple things.  One, is there more clarity when Roed-Larsen is going to give his report to Kofi Annan on Lebanon?

Spokesman:  No.  He is on his way back to New York.  I think he is expected to arrive later today.  All we can say is that he will report to the Secretary-General by the end of this week.  The Secretary-General leaves Israel tomorrow to return to New York.

Question:  A couple of other things.  I think Benon Sevan’s time to respond to his suspension and all of that has run out.  Is that correct?  Has the UN received a response from Benon Sevan?  And also, Dileep Nair; where do we stand with that?  Also, I understand that Mr. Lubbers has filed a complaint against Dileep Nair.  So, where do we stand on the whole Dileep Nair affair?

Spokesman:  Let’s take these one at a time.  Your first question, I am sorry, was on?

Question:  Benon Sevan and his response...

Spokesman:  Benon Sevan.

Question:  I mean, what happens now?

Spokesman:  I’ll have to find out for you whether we in fact, fixed a deadline.  I know Benon Sevan asked for an extension; that extension was granted.  But I don’t know if it was granted for a specific amount of time.  I was away last week, so, I have to get an update for you on that.  [He later announced that there was still time remaining on Mr Sevan’s extension.]

Second question was on Dileep Nair, and there you’re referring to the Staff Council’s written complaint... (Interrupted).

Question:  Plus, I understand Lubbers has also done another complaint.

Spokesman:  That’s separate.  Let’s leave that aside for a moment.

Question:  Okay.

Spokesman:  So, I have nothing to give you on Mark Malloch Brown’s reaction to the Staff Council’s written complaint.  Mr. Nair, I believe, is in Malaysia.  When he returns, Mark Malloch Brown will first inform him of the decision he has taken, and then we will inform you.  But until...(Interrupted).

Question:  And when is he due back, do you know?

Spokesman:  I thought he was away for a week, but I don’t know exactly.  I assume it’s the end of this week.  I’ll try to find out for you the specific date.  [He will return Thursday or Friday of this week.]

Third, Mr. Lubbers.  My understanding is that he sent a letter to the General Assembly President regarding OIOS and the way the OIOS conducted its investigation of Mr. Lubbers.  I believe that he also sent a letter to the Secretary-General and that he appended his letter to the Secretary-General to his letter to the General Assembly President.  You’d have to ask the General Assembly President if he intends to go public with that.  I mean, we’re not inclined to go public with the letter that was sent to the Secretary-General.  We have already indicated that we feel that at the end of the first ten years of its existence, OIOS is due for a review.  And we have already arranged for that to be undertaken.

But I think that was the thrust of Mr. Lubbers’ letter; that he felt that some kind of review of OIOS was in order.  But, as far as we’re concerned, that is already under way.  So, I don’t think we’ll have any further comment on that letter.

Question:  And any...(Inaudible) on the measures that Louise Fréchette announced would happen at some stage?  The various committees set up and all the rest, have they happened yet?  Is there any time when they’re going to happen?  There were two; one was to look at OIOS and one was to ensure that its recommendations went through management and all of this.

Spokesman:  I expect that before the end of this week we will be informing the staff of the UN of a number of initiatives that the Secretary-General can take in the way of making UN procedures more transparent and the Secretariat leadership more accountable.

These being things that he, as the Chief Administrator, can take on his own authority. As for the...

Question:  Will get that as well?

Spokesman:  Let me find out.  I think the intent, really, is for it to be an internal exercise.  But I’ll have to see whether we can share that letter with you.  I think it’s to go out as a letter from the Secretary-General to the staff.

On your first question about these review groups; let me check for you and see where they stand.

Question:  Will that address things like whistle blowing, for example?

Spokesman:  Yes.  My understanding is it will.

Okay, thank you very much.

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