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 Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

Joining us today is Dr. Ian Smith, Adviser to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), who will present the World Health Report 2005, on this World Health Day.

**World Health Day

And in a message to mark this day, the Secretary-General calls on the international community to develop sustainable programmes for the survival and well-being of mothers and children, since they form the bedrock of healthy and prosperous communities and nations.

We have the full text of the Secretary-General’s message upstairs.

And Mr. Smith is already here to join us as soon as we’re finished with this portion of the briefing.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on India-Pakistan

We have a statement attributable to the Spokesman on India-Pakistan.

“The Secretary-General applauds the inauguration today of the bus service between Muzzafarabad and Srinagar across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.  Despite the security challenges it faces, the bus service is a powerful gesture of peace and an opportunity to reunite families divided for nearly 60 years.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his hope that this important step will lead to further progress towards improving conditions for the divided population and the resolution of all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan.”

**Secretary-General on Human Rights

The Secretary-General today told the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva that, unless we remake our human rights machinery, “we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United Nations itself”.

He told the Commission that the gap between what we seem to promise on human rights, and what we actually deliver, has grown.  The answer is not to draw back from an ambitious human rights agenda, but to make the improvements that will enable our machinery to live up to the world’s expectations.

The Secretary-General warned, “Our constituents will not understand or accept any excuse if we fail to act”.  He reviewed his proposals for an overhaul of the United Nations entire human rights sector.

In his speech, he referred to the appalling suffering in Darfur, Sudan, saying that “for all of us, as individuals and as an institution, this situation is a test”.  He added that “for thousands of men, women and children, our response is already too late”.

We have his speech upstairs.

**Secretary-General in Geneva

At a press encounter after the speech, the Secretary-General was asked about staff morale, and he replied, “When your Organization is being criticized and being knocked, it does affect morale.  But I think we are beginning to turn a corner”.

Another journalist asked him about his recommendation that his reform proposals be considered as a package, and whether lack of agreement on Security Council reform could hold up everything.  The Secretary-General replied that he did not intend to convey a message of “take it or leave it”, but simply that the package should be looked at comprehensively.

In response to another question, the Secretary-General said that the human rights office was working very well in Geneva, downplaying the possibility that it would move under any change in the human rights system.

**Secretary-General in Rome

The Secretary-General will be in Rome tomorrow, where he will attend the funeral for Pope John Paul II in Vatican City.

In his speech at the Human Rights Commission today, the Secretary-General said of the Pope, “His was an irreplaceable voice speaking out for peace, for religious freedom and for mutual respect and understanding between people of different faiths”.

**Security Council

Here at UN Headquarters, at 10:00 a.m., the Security Council held consultations on the Secretary-General’s report on the UN Observer Mission in Bougainville.  Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Danilo Türk, was the briefer.

Then, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hédi Annabi briefed on recent developments concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular, the announcement in late March by leaders of armed Rwandan groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that they plan to stop their armed struggle and enter a repatriation programme.

A draft presidential statement on the Democratic Republic of the Congo was introduced.

Following consultations, the Security Council has scheduled a meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at which a resolution on the international investigation into the death of (former Lebanese Prime Minister) Rafiq Hariri is expected to be voted upon.

**Afghanistan

The UN Mission in Afghanistan reports that the number of former soldiers being disarmed in that country continues to climb, with more than 46,700 fighters disarmed as of today.  Of that number, more than 41,000 have entered or graduated from a reintegration programme.

Meanwhile, one month after the UN Refugee Agency resumed its voluntary repatriation programme in Pakistan, nearly 7,000 Afghans have returned to their home country and received assistance from UNHCR.

We have details in the Kabul briefing notes upstairs.

**Angola - Flash Appeal

The United Nations has today presented a three-month flash appeal to donors in Angola, to fight the recent outbreak there of the rare and deadly Marburg virus, which has claimed close to 160 lives so far.  The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are all participating in the appeal, which amounts to more than $3.5 million.

And we have more on that upstairs.

**Eritrea

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reports that the humanitarian situation in Eritrea is deteriorating, mainly because of recurrent drought and the political stalemate with Ethiopia.

Rains have failed for the fifth consecutive year, making pastures in the country’s three most fertile regions the driest they’ve been since 1998.

There’s more information on that upstairs in the Spokesman’s Office.

**Secretary-General’s Message on French Priest

We also have upstairs a message from the Secretary-General to the participants of a seminar here at the United Nations marking the fiftieth anniversary of the death of French Philosopher-Priest Teillard de Chardin.

The text in French is available upstairs.

**Compensation Commission

And we have a press release upstairs from the Geneva-based United Nations Compensation Commission announcing the payment of over $195 million to six governments for distribution to over 8,000 claimants.

Further details are available upstairs.

**General Assembly

And we also have an update from the General Assembly President’s Office.

General Assembly President Jean Ping recently met with two of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoys on UN Reform, who briefed you here in 226 yesterday.

The President noted that the Envoys and General Assembly Facilitators will have distinct roles in the consultation process on United Nations reform.  While the Envoys will be sensitizing leaders in capitals on the reform proposals, the Facilitators will be assisting the Assembly President in carrying out consultations with Member States here in New York.

**Capital Master Plan

And, for those of you who may have missed it, we put out a note to correspondents late yesterday afternoon on the Capital Master Plan (on refurbishing UN Headquarters).  It is a fact sheet.

**Follow-Up to Yesterday’s Briefing

And a follow-up from yesterday’s briefing.  We were asked for reaction about US Senate developments on peacekeeping funding.

While we won’t have an official reaction on an ongoing legislative process, we would just like to say that the United Nations expects all Member States to pay their dues as they have agreed.

And that’s all I have for you.  I’d like to turn to Mr. Smith, unless there are questions for me.  There are none.  Mr. Smith, please join us up here on the podium.  (Issued separately.)

* *** *