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 Stéphane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon. 

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General

Starting off with a statement on the situation in Cyprus:

“Kieran Prendergast, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and Mr. Tasos Tzionis, the envoy of H.E. Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos, concluded today a series of preliminary, informal and non-binding discussions on the Cyprus issue.  During these meetings, the Greek Cypriot delegation explained in detail its views on both procedure and substance.

“Following these consultations, the Secretary-General has asked Sir Kieran to visit the region to listen to the views of all parties on the future of the Secretary-General’s mission of good offices on Cyprus.

“Sir Kieran will arrive in Cyprus late on Monday, 30 May 2005.  He will meet both H.E. Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos and H.E. Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat, as well as political leaders on both sides.  He will stay on the island until the afternoon of Thursday, 2 June 2005, after which he will travel to Athens and Ankara for consultations, before returning to New York on 7 June 2005 to report back to the Secretary-General.”

And the statement is available upstairs.

**Burundi

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations informed us of an incident which took place in the UN mission in Burundi.

Preliminary reports indicate that this morning, at around 7:30 a.m., local time, a member of the South African contingent of the UN Mission in Burundi opened fire on a group of soldiers from his own contingent, killing 1 and wounding 4 others.  The alleged perpetrator later turned the weapon on himself, taking his own life.  The UN Mission is currently carrying out a full investigation into the incident.

**Haiti

In a report to the Security Council, the Secretary-General says that, despite recent progress, security challenges are expected to increase in Haiti in the months leading to elections.  The Secretary-General recommends that the UN Mission there deploy an additional infantry battalion of some 750 troops to respond quickly in likely “hot spots” during the pre-election period.

The Secretary-General advises the Council that the military ceiling for UN troops in Haiti be raised from the current level of 6,700 to 7,500, and also proposes raising the ceiling on UN police officers to nearly 1,900, from just over 1,600 today.

The Secretary-General encourages all Haitians to participate fully in both the electoral process and the national dialogue, and he adds that the Transitional Government needs to do more to secure broad participation in those processes.

He also says that the human rights situation in the country is alarming, and appeals to the Transitional Government to initiate an investigation promptly into human rights violations allegedly committed by Haitian police.  And the report is available out on the racks.

**Côte d’Ivoire

Turning to Côte d’Ivoire, the United Nations is deploying an electoral review mission to Abidjan, from today through 2 June.

The mission will assess the status of the preparations for the presidential elections set for 30 October, and hold consultations with the national authorities involved in those preparations.

The mission will focus on ongoing plans to establish a credible register of voters, taking into account the compressed time line in which the elections are expected to be organized.

The mission is being led by the Electoral Assistance Division of DPA, and includes staff members from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, as well as a number of consultants.  The mission will remain in Côte d’Ivoire for two weeks.

**Uzbekistan

Turning to Uzbekistan, Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, today asked the Government of Uzbekistan to enable him to visit that country urgently, to assess the current situation.

Alston, said he was gravely concerned about reports that hundreds of people, including women and children, were killed last Friday when Government troops fired indiscriminately to disperse a demonstration in Andijan.  And we have a press release available upstairs.

**General Assembly

Turning to General Assembly issues, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, otherwise known as the ACABQ, this morning presented to the Fifth Committee its recommendations regarding the Capital Master Plan.  The ACABQ supported the Secretary-General’s proposal that the General Assembly accept the offer of the host country for an interest bearing loan of $1.2 billion for the Capital Master Plan under conditions outlined in the Secretary-General’s report.  The ACABQ also recommended that all options continue to be explored regarding the construction of a so-called swing space building.

**Security Council

No Security Council meetings or consultations today.

**Colombia

Turning to Colombia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reports that some 1,100 people, mostly Afro-Colombians, have fled seven north-western communities because they are afraid of clashes between irregular armed groups and the Colombian Army.

And we have a press release from UNHCR available from upstairs.

**UNHCR

Also from UNHCR, statistics from the UN refugee agency for the first quarter of 2005 show that the number of asylum-seekers arriving in industrialised countries continues to fall steadily.

And we have a press release on that upstairs.

**Tsunami - Tourism

And lastly, the UN Special Envoy for tsunami-affected Countries, Bill Clinton, today said in a video message that some potential tourists simply don’t know that many of the resorts in the tsunami-hit regions have fully recovered and are open for business.

He was addressing the first Regional Conference on Tourism Communications in Indonesia.  The two-day gathering was organized by the UN’s World Tourism Organization.  And we have a press release on that upstairs.

**The Week Ahead at United Nations

Today being Friday we have the Week Ahead for you. 

And we also have a whole list of press conferences scheduled for Monday.  One at 10:30 a.m. by the Mission of Morocco on humanitarian issues concerning Western Sahara; at 11:15 a.m., a joint presser by the Mayors for Peace and the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament, and that will also include US Representative Dennis Kucinich.

And our guest at the noon briefing will be Palitha Kohona, the Chief of the Office of Legal Affairs Treaty Section.  He will be here to mark the launching of the book entitled “Focus 2005:  Treaties Responding to Global Challenges”.  And that is part of an Initiative on Multilateral Treaty Participation, under which world leaders and governments participating in the September summit will be invited to sign or ratify key UN treaties.

And at 1:15 p.m., Mr. Goodluck Diigbo, the President of the Partnership for Indigenous People’s Environment, will brief you on the launch of an Internet portal for indigenous peoples worldwide.

And finally, at 3:00 p.m., a press conference by the Native Women’s Association of Canada.  And obviously, the Week Ahead is up available for you.

I think that’s it from me. Any questions?

Yes, Sylviane?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  I have several questions on Lebanon.  Mr. Kofi Annan is meeting with Mr. Mehlis now.  Maybe, they met.  Is it the first meeting between the Secretary-General and Mr. Mehlis?  Is this the first time he is meeting...(Interrupted)?

Associate Spokesman:  Yes.

Question:  The first time?  How long is Mr. Mehlis staying in New York?

Associate Spokesman:  He will be in town through the end of the latter part of next week, and we’re trying to convince him to come down to speak to you before he leaves for Beirut; and that will probably be in the middle of the week.

Question:  Who is he expecting to meet with here in New York?

Associate Spokesman:  He will meet with a broad range of people from Political Affairs to Public Information to, you know, Legal Affairs, I am sure; just so he can get the lay of the land -- how the UN works -- and then he can hit the ground running when he gets to Beirut.

Question:  Do you know when he is going to announce the composition of the team?

Associate Spokesman:  No.  I don’t know.  Yes, Evelyn?

Question:  After the Capital Master Plan, what happens to it; after the ACABQ has...(Interrupted)?

Associate Spokesman:  It goes to the Fifth Committee and then it goes for a vote in the General Assembly.

Question:  And secondly, there is a bit of a disconnect in my mind, a Rapporteur on executions has to go to Uzbekistan?  The Secretary-General has just been talking to the President of Uzbekistan; he didn’t want Louise Arbour’s team in there.  Doesn’t he also work for Louise Arbour?  Is he just trying it on his own?  Or the left hand, right hand doesn’t know what they’re doing..?

Associate Spokesman:  No. I don’t think... it’s the manner these special rapporteurs or independent rapporteurs named by the Commission on Human Rights.  Ms. Arbour, I think, indicated, as did the Secretary-General, that President Karimov would not welcome an international investigation at this time.  I know Louise hopes that he can be persuaded to see that such an international investigation would be in the interest of the people of Uzbekistan.

Question:  (Inaudible)... I saw the Secretary-General at a social event last night and he’s put on the record at least in one sentence, ...(Inaudible) Ms. Arbour’s.  But, yeah, I mean, the Secretary-General speaking to Louise Arbour and then speaking to us said that he doesn’t want any investigation at this time.  But now you’ve got someone else from, I mean, the president of Uzbekistan might be as confused as I am with all these people coming from the same...(Interrupted)...

Associate Spokesman:  As I said, the strength of these special rapporteurs is their independence.  He feels his mandate indicates that he wants to go and he has raised that issue, and it’s his right.  Yes, Mark?

Question:  Just a little detail.  Mark Malloch Brown yesterday in Congress said that the Sudanese have made it very clear that they would not accept any non-African troops in Darfur, Sudan.  In Darfur, anyway.  Is that correct?  Is that an official position that the Sudanese Government has transmitted to the Peacekeeping Department that it won’t accept any non-Africans?

Associate Spokesman:  I’d have to check up on the exact details and get back to you after the briefing.  Yes, Massoud? [The Associate Spokesman later said the African Union has indicated that it wanted an all-African force for Darfur.]

Question:  I don’t know if you have seen this in the New York Times today.  There is an incredibly heart-rending piece on the torture of Afghan prisoners by the US forces at...(Inaudible).  Ten columns so far.  And that coupled with the desecration of the Koran and the Newsweek piece and the reports of Abu Ghraib; does the United Nations have any mechanism or a human rights body which can look into this to put a stop to this and bring about international, what you call, pressure, what you call, moral pressure at all?

Associate Spokesman:  There are a number of independent rapporteurs for the Human Rights Commission who could look into this matter, and we’ve noted that, I think the US authorities have said that they would investigate these issues.  Yes, sir?

Question:  Do you have any details on the content of Mr. Prendergast’s meeting; especially about the objections of Greek Cyprus to the Annan plan?

Associate Spokesman:  This was a general exchange of views between the Greek-Cypriot side and the UN.  I think the important thing is Sir Kieran will be going to the region talking to all the parties -- taking the pulse of what the situation is and how we can then move forward.  Yes, Nick?

Question:  The UN, I guess, has had a little time to look at this draft proposal from the Henry Hyde committee draft bill.  Do you have any initial response to it?

Associate Spokesman:  We’re still taking a look at the text, which we only received recently.  It’s obviously a piece of legislation from the US Congress; it’s in committee.  It’s going to be debated within the legislature; so we don’t want to insert ourselves into this debate or comment on its details.

However, the Secretary-General’s position on the use of withholding as a tool for reform is pretty clear.  He feels it is counterproductive, particularly at a time when reform is such a primary agenda item.  I think the best way for Member States to undertake reform is to engage in discussions among themselves.  And, as you know, the Secretary-General has put proposals forward and they’re being negotiated, debated within the membership.

Question:  But, I mean, as far as I have seen on that proposal, one of its primary focuses is not that it would necessarily withhold all these, but redirect them to places that it thinks are more fitting.  Do you see that US interference with UN affairs?

Associate Spokesman:  We’re still taking a look at the text in all its details.

Question:  And lastly, how many employees are in the Department of Public Information?

Associate Spokesman:  Well, including myself, I think 200-300.  But, I’ll... 300 here and 400 in the field.  [The Associate Spokesman later said there are 400 at Headquarters and 300 in the field.]

Question:  So, 700?

Associate Spokesman:  Yeah.  But, I’ll double check that for you.

Question:  Yes, on that.  How many of those employees are actually individual posts mandated specifically by the General Assembly?  And where --because the UN is often complaining of micromanagement and saying look, please give us resources and tell us where each job was to go. And if we could do that, we could do a better job of assigning people where they’re needed.  So, in the case of DPI, where do the UN or Shashi Tharoor say that, were you given the flexibility, could you identify a large number of posts in DPI that you could get rid of in favour of actually spending the money effectively for operational areas or in terms of using more modern techniques of...(Interrupted)?

Associate Spokesman:  I think DPI is a good example of where, let’s say for instance, the Committee on Information has very specific requests on how the resources need to be spent.  And I am happy to go and look for you at exactly what those posts are.

Question:  Just to follow up on this, because I understand that even though this argument is made, that actually Shashi Tharoor has been unable to identify a single post in DPI that he doesn’t think is essential for the continuation of DPI.  And just one other small question; in the UN accreditation thing; I mean, it’s just a small thing, but I wonder.  I had to fill in a form the other day to renew my pass.  And it asks me whether I send my stories (a) by mimeograph, (b) by telegraph or (c) by the securest new modern... (Inaudible) or facsimile?

Associate Spokesman:  Mark, I know what you’re getting at.  I think you were not here when we introduced the new head of the accreditation service, Gary Fowlie and your colleague James [Bone] raised that same issue, and Gary promised that one of his first tasks would be to force all of you to file by mimeograph.  So,...(Laughter).

But, I think on the other question of DPI, Shashi Tharoor has revamped the Department and is trying to maximize its resources within the mandates that are imposed on it by the Committee on Information.

Question:  Last thing on this.  Were you to have flexibility, would the UN significantly cut back, for example, on the number of employees in DPI?

Associate Spokesman:  I will get you figures on the DPI post mandated jobs.  Yes, sir?

Question:  Stéphane, did the Secretary-General specifically raise up the question of the international independent enquiry in Uzbekistan events?

Associate Spokesman:  With President?

Question:  Yes.

Associate Spokesman:  Yes, he did.  He...(Interrupted).

Question:  Because the press service of the Uzbekistan President vehemently denies it.

Associate Spokesman:  I haven’t seen what statement was put out from the Uzbek presidential service, but I know the Secretary-General spoke to President Karimov and they discussed the issue of the international investigation.  The President told him that he did not think that the proposed investigation is needed at this time.  Yes, Massoud?

Question:  Just reinforce, Mr. Shashi Tharoor has admittedly himself said that the United Nations has failed and DPI basically, he said, failed in, what you call, containing the bad image the United Nations has.  What has he to say about that?  That you have such a big staff and a budget, but you have not been able to function properly.

Associate Spokesman:  I think we have been able to function properly.  I don’t know where you got that quote from, but we can talk later.

Thank you very much.  Bill, sorry?

Question:  Steph, what is the genesis of the Cyprus talks this week?  Who initiated them?

Associate Spokesman:  As you will recall, when the Secretary-General was in Moscow for the 60^th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, President Papadopoulos told the Secretary-General that he would be sending an envoy to New York.  And that was the genesis of this particular round.

Question:  Right.  And what actually caused the Secretary-General to send Prendergast over the weekend?

Associate Spokesman:  I think following these talks there is enough there for him to go to the region and take the pulse and listen to what the parties have to say.

Question:  Enough of what?

Associate Spokesman:  Enough of interest.

Thank you.

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