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.

I have two statements to start off with, the first one on Lebanon.

**Statement attributable to the Spokesman on the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC)

“This morning, the Secretary-General wrote to members of the Security Council informing them that the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), investigating the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri and 20 others, is fully operational as of today.

“This notification marks the start of the three-month period given by the Security Council to the Commission to carry out its investigation.  This time period, established in resolution 1595 (2005), could be extended for a further three additional months at the discretion of the Secretary-General.

“Mr. Detlev Mehlis, who heads up the Commission, arrived in Beirut on 26 May and immediately began discussions with the Lebanese authorities regarding the operations of the Commission.

“He and the Government of Lebanon concluded a memorandum of understanding this week.  Since his arrival, Mr. Mehlis and his team have been reviewing the materials and evidence collected by other investigations and inquiries.”

The full statement is available upstairs.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on Iraq

“The Secretary-General welcomes the important agreement reached today to expand Iraq’s Constitution Drafting Committee, so that it is more inclusive of the country’s Sunni Arab community.  He is pleased that his Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, and the Head of the Office of Constitutional Support of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Nicholas Haysom, were able to facilitate this agreement.

“The Secretary-General hopes that the people of Iraq will seize this historic opportunity to pursue a constitutional process that is responsive to the key demands of all Iraqi political constituencies, and that every effort will be made to complete the drafting of the constitution in accordance with the agreed timetable.

“The United Nations will continue to do everything possible to support the constitution-making process, and to facilitate Iraq’s political transition in accordance with its mandate under Security Council resolution 1546.”

That statement is also available upstairs.

**Secretary-General’s Press Encounter

This morning, the Secretary-General, in response to questions from reporters as he come into the building, said that his envoy dealing with resolution 1559, Terje Roed-Larsen, had very good discussions with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend, in which he received the assurances that Syria will work with the United Nations to implement the resolution fully.

The Secretary-General noted that a UN verification team is back in Lebanon, following information that “other elements” may have gone back to Lebanon after the withdrawal of Syrian troops and security forces.

The Secretary-General was also asked about Aung San Suu Kyi, and he said that it is unfortunate that she is celebrating her sixtieth birthday this weekend under circumstances one would not have wished for her.  He urged the Myanmar Government to release her and to let her join the process of national dialogue and national reconciliation.

We have the full transcript of what the Secretary-General said this morning available upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council this morning held consultations to review the sanctions on Liberia, a subject on which the Secretary-General issued a report a few days ago.

A report of the Panel of Experts on Liberia, which is out on the racks today, concludes that until the rule of law can be re-established in Liberia, exploitation of resources and abuse of fundamental human rights will continue to be practiced with impunity.

The report makes various recommendations, including paying urgent attention to unregulated and illegal harvesting of timber and rubber, and creating short- to medium-term employment and training for ex-combatants and others.

Council members received a draft resolution concerning, among other things, the Panel of Experts on Liberia.

Then, this afternoon at 3 p.m., the Council will have a formal meeting, followed by consultations, on the work of the UN Mission in Iraq.  The Secretariat’s briefing will be provided by Assistant Secretary-General Danilo Turk.

**Security Council - Wednesday

Yesterday afternoon, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Ralph Zacklin told the Security Council that a UN assessment mission recommended setting up a truth commission and a special chamber within Burundi’s court system to look into the massacres that have beset that country.

He said that both the truth commission and the special chamber would have personnel coming both from Burundi and from the outside.  The special chamber, Zacklin said, should have a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor and registrar.

His remarks were issued to you yesterday.

The Council yesterday also unanimously agreed to a six-month extension of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, and adopted a presidential statement welcoming the start of the autonomous government in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

**Burundi

Also from Burundi, in her weekly press conference today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Burundi, Carolyn McAskie, said that the UN remains highly concerned at the forceful repatriation of Rwandese asylum seekers in Burundi.

McAskie added that the UN is not against the efforts of the Government of Rwanda to resolve the question of impunity, which is part of the process of judging people responsible for the 1994 genocide.  But she said that if both Burundi and Rwanda want to put an end to impunity, they must start by respecting international law, which means abiding by the very convention which they agreed to at the international level.

We have a press release available upstairs.

**Eritrea

Our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warn that the relief aid situation in Eritrea is troubling, with slow donor response already having forced some UN agencies to slow down their activities or stop aid programmes entirely.

The UN requested $157 million for Eritrea for 2005.  But only some $82 million has been committed so far.

According to OCHA, more than 70 per cent of the UN appeal is intended for food assistance, since Eritrea is of the world’s most food-aid-dependent countries.

**Somalia – Polio Immunization

Turning now to Somalia, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are supporting a nationwide emergency polio immunization campaign for children in that country.

Starting tomorrow, the campaign will involve tens of thousands of volunteers, health workers, parents, and community leaders.  They will systematically go house to house across the country, to hand-deliver polio vaccines to every child under the age of five.

We have a press release available upstairs.

**Pledge for Global Fund

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today welcomed French President Jacques Chirac’s announcement of a new, increased pledge to the Global Fund for the next two years.  France will significantly increase its contribution, to 300 million euros for 2007, double what it has given this year.

We have a press release available upstairs.

**New Telecommunications Drive

From our colleagues at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), they announced the launch of a major new drive to help an estimated 1 billion people around the world gain access to information and communication technology.  Called “Connect the World”, the initiative is designed to encourage new partnerships and projects to bridge the digital divide.

The initiative has 20 founding partners, including such leading corporate players as Intel, Microsoft and Infosys.

We have more details available upstairs.  Gary Fowlie, who is in the back of the room, also has more information for you, since he used to work at ITU.

**World Chronicle Programme on Nuclear Disarmament

Lastly, the UNTV programme “World Chronicle”, will be shown today.  The guest will be Mr. [Nobuyasu] Abe, the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, who will discuss the future of nuclear disarmament.  You can watch that programme on in-house television channels 3 or 31 at 3:30 this afternoon.

That’s it for me.  Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  In the backdrop of what the Secretary-General has said about Iraq, and what you just said, the situation in Iraq is flying out of control.  Why is Mr. Qazi so reticent to talk to the journalists?  Why isn’t he coming to Headquarters to at least give us some sort of briefing on the issue?

Associate Spokesman:  Mr. Qazi’s work is in Iraq.  As you said, the situation is not an easy one, and I think it is best for him to be on the ground in Baghdad working with the governments and other players to help, and to bring whatever assistance the UN can bring, as we just did with this accord on the constitution-making process.

I’m sure Mr. Qazi will come to New York at some point in the near future and will be happy to come to (Press Conference Room) 226.

Question:  In the last couple of months, he has been extremely reticent to talk to the press.  I understand that his job is there, but his job is also to let us know exactly -- there are several questions which he can answer -- rather than the Spokesman all the time.

Associate Spokesman:  I don’t think the label of reticence is the correct one.  He just hasn’t been here.  If you have specific questions you want to address to him, I’d be happy to pass those on to him, and maybe we can get some answers for you.

Question:  His presence would be needed, ultimately, to come here and brief us.

Associate Spokesman:  When he’s next in New York, we’ll make sure he briefs you.

Question:  A while back, the Secretary-General announced “wireless in every village”.  Where does this “Connect the World” fit in with that?  Is it part of that initiative or are they separate things?

Associate Spokesman:  We’ll find out.  In fact, you can find out from Gary right after the briefing.  He’ll answer your question.

Thank you very much.

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