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.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on United States Institute for Peace Task Force Report

We’re going to start with a statement regarding the release today in Washington of the Mitchell/Gingrich report:

“The Secretary-General welcomes the release of the final report the US Institute for Peace task force on UN Reform, and its conclusion that the United States has much to gain from a strong and effective United Nations.

“He supports many of the recommendations and believes that the task force’s call for a US commitment to work with other MemberStates and the UN staff is the best basis on which to pursue and achieve lasting reform.

“The Secretary-General particularly appreciates the fact that the report recognizes the ongoing hard work within the Secretariat to tackle internal management reform, and is encouraged that it supports and endorses many of his own key initiatives and proposals for wider institutional reform, including the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission, strengthening the Office of Internal Oversight Services and other accountability mechanisms, and revitalizing the UN’s human rights machinery, including the creation of a new Human Rights Council.

“The Secretary-General also welcomes the report’s focus on addressing the crisis in Darfur as a crucial test for both MemberStates and the United Nations.”

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on KoreanPeninsula

We also have a statement here on the KoreanPeninsula:

“On the fifth anniversary of the Joint Declaration, signed on 15 June 2000 at the historic inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, the Secretary-General reiterates the importance of continuing dialogue, exchanges and cooperation in all areas between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea.  This is one of the guarantees for durable peace in the Peninsula, which he wishes to see as a united, prosperous and democratic region free of nuclear weapons.

“The Secretary-General is hopeful that the Declaration will be implemented in full and he is encouraged by the progress achieved to date despite the obstacles encountered over decades of confrontation.  He calls on both sides to continue their positive efforts, urging them in particular to do everything possible to expedite and facilitate family reunions for those separated since the Korean War.

“The Secretary-General firmly believes in the eventual reunification of the Peninsula through the joint efforts of the Korean people and will do his utmost to assist them in attaining this goal with the support of the international community.”

**Bougainville

In a statement we issued earlier today, the Secretary-General applauded the people and the leaders of Papua New Guinea for achieving a major milestone in the Bougainville peace process, with the inauguration today of the first Autonomous Bougainville Government, following the internationally observed elections held in Bougainville over the course of the past few weeks.

The Secretary-General calls on all Bougainville leaders to respect the democratic choice of the people, and to constructively cooperate with their legitimate new government for the sake of a lasting peace and a prosperous future for all of the people of Bougainville.  We have the full text of the statement upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council today held consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights to consider the Secretary-General’s recent report, and receive a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi.  The Secretary-General has recommended a six-month extension for that Force.

Starting at 3 this afternoon, the Council will hold three formal meetings, on Bougainville, Cyprus and Burundi.

The first meeting is to respond to the inauguration of the first Autonomous Bougainville Government, which I just mentioned.

The second is to consider a draft resolution on an extension of the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, which expires today.

Then, the Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Ralph Zacklin, will brief the Council concerning the feasibility of setting up an international judicial commission of inquiry in Burundi.

**Sudan

The Secretary-General says that his visit last month to Darfur made it clear that the security situation has improved.  Yet, he notes in his latest report on Darfur to the Security Council that the trends are not entirely positive, with violence and insecurity increasing between April and May, and continued attacks and rape on civilians.

The report says that the rebel movements in particular must take responsibility.  For its part, it adds, the Sudanese Government must commence an effective programme of disarmament and demobilization of the tribal militia that continue to terrorize the civilian population of Darfur.  Warning of the serious threat posed by militia activity, the Secretary-General says, “This must stop”.  The Secretary-General adds that, after a delay of more than five months, the parties must make the most of the resumed peace talks in Abuja.  Copies of the report are out on the racks.

**Sudan – Assessment Mission

In Sudan itself, a team including the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Jan Pronk, began a two-day assessment mission to West Darfur.  The team, of the Joint Implementation Mechanism that brings together the United Nations and its partners and the Sudanese Government, will visit the Mornei and Riyadh camps today.  It will also meet with sheiks and internally displaced persons, including women, and hear a briefing from the Government and the humanitarian community on the situation in West Darfur since the signing of the Joint Communiqué.

Meanwhile, in North Darfur, the situation in and around Zam Zam camp is described as tense.  Two soldiers reportedly shot at a truck travelling along a nearby road on 12 June.  During a meeting on 13 June with the African Union and humanitarian agencies, displaced persons expressed concerns that National Security personnel are intimidating people each time they are seen talking to high-level visitors.

**Iraq

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, met today with Humam Hamoudi, the Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of Iraq’s Transitional National Assembly.

During their meeting, Qazi reaffirmed the UN’s position on the need for inclusiveness in the constitution-making process.  He encouraged a rapid conclusion to the discussions between the Constitutional Committee and groups not represented in the Assembly, to allow it to begin its substantive work as soon as possible.

Also today, Qazi met with Iraq’s Vice Prime Minister, Ahmed Chalabi, to discuss the political situation and work on crafting the constitution.

**Deputy Secretary-General

The Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, is in Doha, Qatar, today where she addressed the Group of 77 and China’s second South Summit.

She told the delegates that the 2005 World Summit in September is an opportunity to be seized to remove some of the obstacles that have hampered the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.  For this, she said, all nations must understand that human rights, development and security are not only an end in themselves, but they are also interdependent and reinforce each other.

Fréchette noted that Group of 77 countries must have an effective national strategy for implementing the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), and also to promote transparent and accountable governance.  She also highlighted the responsibilities of the developed world to incorporate major boosts of international assistance, debt relief and trade policies that are conducive to development.

**António Guterres - Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

António Guterres today started work as the tenth UN High Commissioner for Refugees by reaffirming his commitment to the protection of refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people around the world.  Mr. Guterres told refugee agency staff in Geneva that he had assured the Secretary-General that he would be “firm in asserting the core values of the office and that refugees and States alike should expect a principled, effective and committed UNHCR”.

He is planning his first field mission, to Uganda, next week, where he will spend World Refugee Day on Monday, 20 June, with refugees in a camp in the north of the country.  As High Commissioner, Mr. Guterres heads a staff of 6,000 people, who protect and assist more than 17 million refugees and others of concern in 115 countries.

**United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) - UGANDA

A UNICEF-commissioned report says that rape is the most common form of violence inside the Pabbo internally displaced camp in northern Uganda.  Girls aged 13-17 are amongst the most vulnerable, says the report, which is entitled “Sexual and Gender-based Violence”.

Key recommendations for intervention include strengthening district policies on sexual assault and gender issues, improving the quality of existing health and counselling services for survivors of abuse, and increasing efforts to promote school attendance and education in the camp.  We have a UNICEF press release with more on that.

**Guinea-Bissau

In a report on Guinea-Bissau out on the racks today, the Secretary-General comments that recent tensions over preparations for the 19 June elections demonstrate that peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau remain fragile and require the continued engagement of all key national and international actors.  He calls on all candidates to do their utmost to ensure a peaceful election on Sunday and to accept the results.

**World Chronicle Programme on HIV/AIDS

Lastly, another World Chronicle announcement, programme 978, hosted by Mary Alice Williams, will be shown today at 3:30 on in-house TV channels 3 or 31.  The guest is Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, and he will be discussing the feminization of the AIDS pandemic.

That’s all I have for you.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  According to reports I have seen from Doha, the 132 members from the Non-Aligned Movement attending the Conference have expressed disappointment that the Secretary-General himself didn’t attend the Conference, instead sending Ms. Fréchette.  The Qatar Government said it had offered the Secretary-General its own plane to bring him from Paris to Doha and take him back within hours.  Any comment on that?

Spokesman:  I don’t know anything about the offer of a plane.  The Secretary-General was invited, did consider going, would like to have gone if he could, but in the end his programme required him to be here, and he sent the Deputy Secretary-General.  He would hope that the delegates would understand that, and would accept Louise Fréchette as a suitable stand-in for him.

Question:  Did he wait until the last minute to tell them that he would be unable to come?

Spokesman:  I don’t have any of those details to share with you.  I’m sorry.  Richard?

Question:  Has the Volcker panel formally asked for an interview with Kofi Annan?  Has a date been scheduled for another interview?

Spokesman:  No.  They were given, as I think I told you yesterday, information that we had regarding the Secretary-General’s visit to Paris at the end of November 1998 -- members of the delegation and so on.  So they’re clearly looking into it.  You’d have to ask them what their plans are, but they have not asked to see the Secretary-General.

Question:  Has there been any further study in the last 24 hours about the ties or contacts between Mr. Annan and Michael Wilson?  How close have they been?  There were family relationships years ago, but how close were they in the last few years?

Spokesman:  I don’t know.  I didn’t know the answer to that question yesterday.  I don’t know the answer today.  There’s no question in the Secretary-General’s mind that the matter of Cotecna’s bidding for a UN contract at this time had not been brought to his attention and he had no knowledge of it.

Question:  Cotecna is a large international company with plenty of experience bidding on contracts.  Why would they get this impression that Mr. Annan needed to sign off on this contract, unless they were led to believe that from this side?

Spokesman:  I don’t understand the thrust of your question.  What I just told you is that the Secretary-General did not even know that Cotecna was bidding on this contract.

Question:  If it’s not written in the bidding rules that it needs to be signed off by the Secretary-General, how do you suppose Cotecna would get that impression, as laid out in this e-mail?

Spokesman:  Reference in the e-mail to this matter being signed off on by the Secretary-General just does not reflect reality in this building.  Contracts don’t go up to the top floor.  They never do, and they did not in this case.

Question:  Some question about the credibility of Mr. Wilson has been raised by the company.  Is that something you heard, that the Secretary-General feels that this is a man who really can’t be believed?

Spokesman:  I don’t want to comment on that.  Some of you know the Secretary-General as an honest and a decent man.  He says that he did not know that Cotecna was bidding on the UN contract at this time.

This e-mail that was written up yesterday suggests otherwise.  Mr. Volcker is looking at these two sides of the story.  We expect he will establish the truth, and we expect that the Secretary-General’s view of the matter will be shown to be the truth.

Question:  On another issue -- maybe tomorrow if you find out, or today, whatever -- where do things stand between the United Nations and Myanmar on Aung San Suu Kyi?

Spokesman:  That kind of comes out of the blue, so I’ll have to find out and tell you after the briefing.

Question:  Or tomorrow is good on camera.

Spokesman:  Tomorrow on camera.  Fine.  Thank you very much.

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