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.

**Secretary-General

The Secretary-General, as you know, is in Addis Ababa today where he is co-chairing, with the Chairman of the African Union, Alpha Oumar Konaré, a pledging conference in support of the AU mission in Darfur.  Addressing the conference, he described Darfur as one of the most pressing and destructive crises on the African continent today.  He added that, although the violence in Darfur has stabilized over the last few months, the situation remains unacceptable as civilians are still at risk and subject to attacks.  Moreover, the continued violence is increasingly targeted at aid workers, hampering their difficult work.

But, he said, where the AU mission is deployed, these things don’t happen.  “An expanded AU force at full operational capacity will go a long way to ensuring that the great majority of civilians in Darfur can be protected from violence”, he said.  He appealed to those gathered to provide the resources required without delay.  In taking the floor a second time at the end of the conference, the Secretary-General took note of the generous pledges, which included strategic airlift, training and planning support, all essential elements of the expanded mission.  But he added that these contributions must be complementary if they are to be fully effective.

In addition to the support for the AU military force, the Secretary-General also emphasized the importance for the international community to support the crucial mediation effort of the African Union in the Abuja peace process.  He added that the real solution is a political one and, to that end, he welcomed Mr Konaré’s announcement that Salim Ahmed Salim, the former Secretary-General of the OAU, the Organization of African Unity, will be leading that process.  In the evening, the Secretary-General has a meeting scheduled with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and he will make his way to Sudan tomorrow.

**Security Council

Here in New York this morning, the Security Council began an open meeting on post-conflict peacebuilding, at which the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Per Stig Møller, is presiding.  The meeting’s aim is to discuss the current challenges in post-conflict peace-building with a view to strengthening the coherence and consistency of the Council’s action in this area.

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette addressed the meeting, noting that, while more wars have been ended through mediation in the past 14 years than in the previous 200, the strategies for ending war must also tackle the question of relapse.  She added that peace agreements must be implemented in a sustainable manner.  Jim Wolfensohn, the outgoing President of the World Bank, also joined the meeting via video-conference.  And we have copies of the Deputy Secretary-General’s remarks upstairs and there’s also a discussion paper on post-conflict peacebuilding available on the Internet.

**Kosovo

Turning to Kosovo, the Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN Mission in Kosovo to the Security Council is out on the racks today.  In the report, the Secretary-General says he believes that a comprehensive review of progress vis-à-vis the internationally-agreed standards, should be initiated this summer, and that he intends to appoint a Special Envoy to conduct that review in the near future.  He adds that the review, on the basis of which final status talks could be launched, should consist of consultations with the parties and the international community in order to assess the current situation and conditions for possible next steps in the process.  But he also stresses that the review’s outcome is not a foregone conclusion.  During and beyond the review, Kosovo’s political leaders will be expected to pursue and strengthen their efforts to implement the standards and will continue to be assessed on this basis.

**Lebanon Commission

Detlev Mehlis, who, as you know, is the Commissioner leading the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, arrived in Beirut earlier today.  He immediately visited the site of the scene of the 14 February attack which killed Mr. Hariri and several others.  And tomorrow Commissioner Mehlis will meet Lebanon’s ministers of interior, justice and foreign affairs.  And later in the day he’s also scheduled to meet Mr. Hariri’s widow, Nazek.

**NPT Review Conference

The organizers of the NPT review conference have told us that the drafting committee is continuing its work today on a final document for the Review Conference and the Conference would hold a plenary session today to consider several outstanding issues.  As you know, the Conference ends tomorrow and we’re trying to get someone to brief you on the ongoing conference at some point tomorrow afternoon or even as early as noon tomorrow.  But we’ll keep you posted.

**Council Statement on Côte d’Ivoire

Also, going back to the Security Council, after consultations yesterday, the Council President issued a press statement welcoming the agreement on the disarmament process and the restructuring of the armed forces in Côte d’Ivoire and copies of the statement are available upstairs.

**Burundi

The World Food Programme informs us that a shortage of funds would force it to slash its food aid to 2 million people in Burundi, unless it raises more than $23 million.  The cutbacks come as Burundi prepares for a critical stage in its peace process, namely the upcoming elections that are marking the end of the country’s decade-long conflict and subsequent transitional period.

**Forest Forum

Back here in New York, almost 50 government ministers and high-level representatives of international organizations and civil society have been participating yesterday and today in the high-level segment of the UN Forum on Forests.  Yesterday, the ministerial segment’s plenary session focused on the Forum’s contribution towards implementing the Millennium Declaration.  Today’s session is looking at the future of the International Arrangement on Forests and the two-week session will wrap up tomorrow.

**International Day of Peacekeepers

Lastly, on Sunday will be the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers but there will be observances here at Headquarters tomorrow.  A posthumous medal ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium to honour 115 peacekeepers from 39 countries who lost their lives in the course of their duties last year.  Then at 2:30 on the Promenade outside the Visitors Entrance, there will be a medal parade at which the military and civilian police officers seconded for service within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations will receive UN service medals.

In a message to mark the day, the Secretary-General thanks the 103 Member States who currently contribute uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations and he particularly acknowledges the contributions from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, which together provide more than one third of all UN peacekeepers; and he notes that countries such as China and Brazil are now taking on new responsibilities.  He also hopes that other countries, particularly developed countries, will follow suit.

**Indigenous Issues Forum

And lastly this afternoon, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will brief you on the Indigenous Forum’s recommendations for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.  And we have more details on that upstairs.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Speaking of peacekeepers, do you have an update on the Burundi incident?

Associate Spokesman:  Where the South African killed a number of his colleagues and shot himself?  No, I don’t have an update but I’ll be happy to check for you after the briefing.  [The Associate Spokesman later said that the investigation by the South African Authorities is ongoing.]

Question:  Do you have an update on the electoral team headed by Carina Perelli?

Associate Spokesman:  No, she remains in Bayreuth and is working closely with the Lebanese authorities on her assistance.  I’ll see after the briefing if I have any more details.

Question:  Also, on Sunday the Lebanese election will be held for the first time without foreign interference in Lebanon.  Are there any comments from the Secretary-General?

Associate Spokesman:  No, we look forward to the holding of these elections, which are taking place within the agreed calendar.  I’m sure we’ll have something on Monday for you.

Question: Remember the Dileep Nair outside report that was supposed to be done?  Has it been finished and will we find out the results?

Associate Spokesman:  I’ll check on the first question and see what we can get for you.

Question:  When will Mr. Qazi be here to tell us about the situation in Iraq?

Associate Spokesman:  My understanding is that the Council is scheduled to receive the Secretary-General’s updated report in the middle of next month.  It’s not clear yet whether Mr. Qazi will be able to come to New York himself to present that report or whether someone here will present the report.

Question:  Has the Secretary-General made a decision on who will replace the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast?  Does he have a shortlist of the candidates or is not the policy of the United Nations any more to issue a shortlist?

Associate Spokesman:  That search is ongoing.  The policy to publish shortlists is one that it’s only made for appointments at head of agency level and not appointments within the Secretariat.  It only applies to agencies, as with the head of UNDP or UNHCR, that level, not the level of Under-Secretary-General serving within the Secretariat.

Question:  But he hasn’t made a decision.

Associate Spokesman:  He’s obviously looking at a number of people and he’ll then reach a decision.  As far as I know, no decision’s been made yet.

Question:  What can Mr. Mehlis find out about an assassination that happened more than two months ago and how can we get Mr. Wolfensohn’s remarks?

Associate Spokesman:  We’ll try to get you Mr. Wolfensohn’s remarks.  Mr. Mehlis gave quite an extensive briefing two days ago and I have nothing to add.

Question: When UN officials make a political statement or write a book, is it cleared by the Secretary-General before it’s published?  There’s a book coming out by Shashi Tharoor, Bookless in Baghdad.  It’s bound to be political, whether it’s esoteric or otherwise.

Associate Spokesman: I’ll check on the policy and get back to you.  Thank you very much.

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