Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of an announcement by Mark Malloch Brown, Chef de Cabinet of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and today’s noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Announcement by Mark Malloch Brown

Good morning.

Let me tell you that this is definitely, for Fred [Eckhard], the best day since he announced his retirement, in that we’re here to announce his successor, Stephane Dujarric.  Most of you know him very well, but probably like me didn’t know that all this time he’s been playing one of us.  His real name is Stephane Dujarric de la Riviere, so we now know we have an aristocratic new Spokesman.

Marie Okabe will now be the new Deputy Spokesman.  You know them both.  They’re the team who have worked so well with Fred over the past years.

I’m sorry that for me one of the criteria in selecting them was their resilience under fire, because this is not quite the press room that Fred walked into as Spokesman eight years ago.  A lot has changed, and I count on the pair of them to try to be as collaborative with all of you as possible, to really make sure we live up to Fred’s tradition of giving you the news of the day, a steer on what it means, and a heads up on what’s coming as fully and completely as we can.

It’s worth reminding people what new appointees did before they came here, because there’s always a suspicion that their lives started in the Spokesman’s Office.  In the case of Stephane, he worked for ABC News for nine years before he came to us, all over the place, in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as here in New York.

In the case of Marie, she started with a life as a journalist, as a wire service correspondent and an editor for UPI, again with postings not just in New York, but Tokyo and Washington, before she joined the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a public information officer in 1992.

Both of them have a long experience on both sides of the aisle, and I’m absolutely delighted that they’re taking on this challenge, and good luck to both of you.

We’ve just been true to the tradition of the morning.  We’re going to continue with the rest of the briefing, and I’m sure if you have any questions to Fred ...

[To a request for questions from a correspondent] Questions for me about the Spokesman?  I’ll take one and then I’ll go, and it will be yours, James.

**Questions and Answers for the Chef de Cabinet

Question:  First of all, can you explain to us the full extent of your financial relationship with George Soros?

Chef de Cabinet:  Very happily, and in fact, if Benny [Avni] is here, and I’m not sure he is, I have a challenge for him.  He came with a story that you had had before that I was living for free in George Soros’ house.  When told that I was paying a full commercial rent, he still decided it was a story that I was a friend of George Soros, a fact that I have made no secret of, all the years that I have been here.

The first CV under which I was appointed Administrator of UNDP, and which was circulated to Member States, had all over it the different Soros advisory groups that I had served on.  So the fact that I’m George Soros’ friend is not a secret to anybody, it seems, except you and Benny Avni.  Second, it’s no secret to anybody in Washington.

It may well be that on the East River there’s no knowledge of George Soros’ work on human rights, market reforms and democracy around the world.  In the rest of the world it’s pretty well known, and pretty much admired, by people on the right, as well as the left.  In UNDP, we collaborate extensively.  For that reason, it was absolutely critical when we set our hearts on a house on his property, that if we were going to rent it, we’d pay the full commercial rent, and we have done so.

So my challenge to you, James, and to Benny, is who gave you this story?  What was their motive?  What is it that now gives free rein to any amount of bile, unproven but still publishable, with no questioning of the motives of those who provided it?  Perhaps when you’re ready to answer that question, I’ll be ready to answer a few more.

Question:  I think I could answer that right now, actually.  And then maybe I could get a follow-up in return for that.  Of course, a lot of people [inaudible] don’t like you and some of those perhaps have given us those stories.  That’s perfectly understandable, and we can surely sort out their motives.  Their motives are perfectly transparent.  They don’t like you.

My question then is -- are there any other properties with which you have any financial relationship with George Soros?

Chef de Cabinet:  No, I have no financial involvement with George Soros, of any kind.  I pay a full commercial rent for the one property of his I live in.  The direction of your questions, and the fact that, even when the allegation is proven untrue, a full commercial rent is confirmed, you and your friends keep at it, makes me put to you that you may want to question your own motives.

As I’ve frequently told all of you in this room, you have been a critical part of exposing terrible things that have gone on in this Organization, but do not let your standards of journalism decline as you do that.  Stick to proper issues and evidence.

Question:  Don’t you think it’s slightly odd that the person who said they wanted to be squeaky clean has a financial relationship, albeit a normal, commercial financial relationship with someone who does business with the UN and the agency you’re the head of?  Wouldn’t you feel that rather odd if somebody else in another rank had a commercial relationship that the Organization does business with?

Chef de Cabinet:  No, I wouldn’t, James, not if it was on proper, full, commercial lines and had never been a secret and never been hidden.  It is of particular genius from you and your friends that something which is open knowledge to everybody is suddenly produced as some great, guilty secret.  Get back to the plenty of real stories that are around here.  I see enough nodding heads in this room to know that I’m not alone in saying that there are enough real stories for you to pursue that you can stop dragging down everyone you touch, particularly yourself, by the way you’re behaving.

With that, Stephane, I leave you this wonderful partnership.

Briefing by the Associate Spokesman of the Secretary-General

That was the opening act.  There will be a briefing.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman on Lebanon

“The Secretary-General congratulates the people and Government of Lebanon for their successful parliamentary elections, whose fourth and final round concluded yesterday.  Preliminary reports, including that of the UN electoral assistance team in Lebanon, indicate that the elections were technically well conducted and credible.  It appears that they were carried out in a free and non-violent environment.

“The holding of these elections on time and in a credible manner has been a key element in a transition in which the Lebanese people have been expressing their determination to shape their own future, strengthen political institutions and restore their full sovereignty.   The Secretary-General commends the outgoing Government on the excellent manner in which it has handled its electoral responsibilities, and stands ready to extend support and assistance to the new Government, as and if required.”

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on Zimbabwe

I also have a statement on the situation in Zimbabwe.

“The Secretary-General has appointed Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, the current Executive Director of the UN-HABITAT, as his Special Envoy for Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe.  President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has agreed that the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General should visit the country as soon as possible to study the scope of the recent eviction of illegal dwellers, informal traders and squatters, and the humanitarian impact it has had on the affected population.

“Mrs. Tibaijuka will visit Zimbabwe shortly, and will prepare a thorough report to the Secretary-General on the situation.”

The statement is available upstairs.

**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman on Guinea-Bissau

One other statement on Guinea-Bissau.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the peaceful conduct of presidential elections in Guinea-Bissau on 19 June.  He commends the people of Guinea-Bissau for turning out in large numbers to choose their new leader.  He reiterates his call on all segments of society to refrain from any statement or action that could provoke any tensions and urges all candidates to accept the election results.”

**Secretary-General -- Travel

The Secretary-General will be travelling to Brussels this evening where, on Wednesday, he will attend the international conference on Iraq.

At the conference, which is being co-hosted by the European Union and the United States, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks at the opening and closing sessions.

Late on Wednesday, the Secretary-General will take part in a press conference, along with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyer Zubari, as well as the conference co-hosts.  From Brussels, he will travel to London to attend on Thursday morning a meeting of the Middle East Quartet, at the Principals’ Level.  He is expected back in New York later in the week.

**Iraq

Also on Iraq, nearly half a million square metres of Iraq’s land have been cleared of landmines over the past year, thanks to UN-backed efforts to rid the country of such mines.  The UN-launched project has trained more than two dozen mine disposal teams in Iraq, which has led to the removal of more than 3,700 mines or explosive ordnances.  Still, the UN Mission in Iraq says, about one out of every five Iraqis lives within one kilometre of areas highly contaminated by such explosives.  We have more details in a press release upstairs.

**World Refugee Day

Turning to World Refugee Day, the new UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, spent World Refugee Day with refugees in northern Uganda, a country he praised as “an extraordinary example of generosity and solidarity towards refugees”.  He lamented a tendency in some parts of the world to confuse refugees and asylum seekers with terrorists or economic migrants.

“What you have proven here in Uganda is that refugees are not terrorists, they are the first victims of terrorism”, he said, making reference to the repeated displacement of Sudanese refugees by attacks from the Lord’s Resistance Army within Uganda.

The Secretary-General also paid tribute to the world’s refugees, people who must summon extraordinary courage to survive, and to rebuild their shattered lives.  The message and more information are available upstairs.

**Sudan

Turning to Sudan, the UN Mission in Sudan took over the task today of ceasefire monitoring and security arrangements under the comprehensive peace agreement in the transitional area of the NubaMountains.  The takeover of the operation from the ad hoc Joint Military Commission, which had been set up back in 2002, was attended by Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General’s Envoy in Sudan, as well as the UN Force Commander.  You can read more about it in a press release from the UN Mission in Sudan available upstairs.

**Security Council

Turning to the Council, the Security Council has three items listed on its agenda today.  They are the issue of missing Kuwaiti property in Iraq, and the work of the International Advisory and Monitoring Board dealing with Iraq and Burundi.  A formal meeting on Burundi to adopt a resolution is expected following consultations later on today.

**Afghanistan

Turning to Afghanistan, the UN Mission in Afghanistan says that its mediation between two tribes in the province of Khost has come to a successful conclusion, which will allow for an increase in reconstruction activities in that area.  Before an agreement was reached by the two tribes last week, conflict in the area had resulted in 60 deaths in the last year alone, and had gone on for six decades.

The UN Mission today also provided details of the UN system’s efforts to deal with flooding that took place after heavy rains last Thursday.  We have more details in the Kabul briefing notes upstairs.

**International Labour Organization (ILO)

The governing body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) wrapped up its session on Friday in Geneva.  Among other things, it approved a report by its Committee on Freedom of Association, which drew attention to the harassment of trade union leaders in Cambodia, Colombia, Iran, Myanmar and Zimbabwe.  We have more information upstairs.

**UN Peacekeeping Operations and Political Missions

Also, we have available two new background notes on UN peacekeeping operations and political missions around the world.  As of 31 May, there were more than 66,000 military and civilian police, and almost 15,000 international and local civilian staff, as well as some 1,800 volunteers in some of the 16 missions around the world.

**General Assembly

One note from the General Assembly.  We have available upstairs a calendar of events for the General Assembly, leading up to the 2005 World Summit in September.

**Correction

Lastly, a correction. On Friday, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations informed us that a South African peacekeeper who had been wounded at a polling station early in June died of his wounds.  That information was erroneous.  The peacekeeper who died did so as a result of a traffic accident on 8 June.  The one who had been wounded at the polling station remains in stable condition at a hospital in South Africa.  We apologize for the error.

That is it for me.  Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Mark Malloch Brown just said it was a matter of public knowledge that he was living in a house or was a tenant of George Soros.  Was the Secretary-General aware of that?

Associate Spokesman:  I have nothing further to add to what Mark has already said on the story.

Question:  Is there a read-out yet on the IAMB [International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq] meeting?

Associate Spokesman:  The briefing?  No, the briefing was basically Mr. [Jean-Pierre] Halbwachs’ [former Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and United Nations Controller] presentation to the Council of what the IAMB had already published, I think a few weeks ago, in its report.  You may be able to catch him after consultations.

Question:  Do you know if the dispute over contracts was brought up?

Associate Spokesman:  I don’t know.  I think consultations are still going on, but we can check.

Question:  Do you know when Mrs. Carina Perelli [Director of the Electoral Affairs Division] will be back in New York?

Associate Spokesman:  She’s still in Beirut.  She should be back probably shortly.

Question:  Do you have an update on the investigative commission [to Lebanon]?

Associate Spokesman:  No, whatever news Mr. [Detlev] Mehlis makes will be announced out of Beirut.  As soon as we have something, we’ll let you know.

Question:  A couple of questions.  Number one, what has Kofi Annan’s position been on UNMOVIC [United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission]?  Secondly, there are reports of an issue in the procurement division concerning Mr. [Alexander] Yakovlev.  I was wondering if Mr. Yakovlev will be made available to talk to the media about this apparent conflict of interest, and what the UN is doing about this particular incident.

Associate Spokesman:  On UNMOVIC, the fate of UNMOVIC lies in the hands of the Security Council and its members.  On Mr. Yakovlev, information came to us on alleged conflict of interest behaviour by Mr. Yakovlev last week.  An investigation was initiated by the Office of Internal Oversight Services [OIOS], and the investigation is ongoing as a matter of urgency.

Question:  What can we expect in terms of a time line in getting information?

Associate Spokesman:  As soon as the OIOS investigation is completed, and we have something to report, we will bring that to you.

Question:  About Mark Malloch Brown again.  Did he declare his financial interests, this business relationship with Mr. Soros?  Also, has the Secretary-General taken any steps to verify that this is a normal, commercial relationship on commercial terms, or whether it is something else?

Associate Spokesman:  I have nothing further to add on Mr. Malloch Brown.

Question:  On civil society coming later this week to discuss the Millennium Development Goals.  I understand that’s been organized by the General Assembly President.  Will the Secretary-General take that into account, what’s said there?  Is there any arrangement for him to take into account what’s said?

Associate Spokesman:  I will check for you.  The President will be here later this week to brief you on that event, but I will find out for you.

Question:  Can you go into any more detail, reports aside, from the UN perspective, what Yakovlev is being investigated for?  This happens fairly frequently, where it is announced that someone is being investigated, whether it’s Dileep Nair or somebody else.  The UN doesn’t give a read-out of what exactly they’re investigating him for.  What are the charges against him and the specifics of the charges OIOS is investigating? 

Associate Spokesman:  We are looking into reports that one of his children may have been employed by a company that did business with the UN.

Question:  You’re also reviving the investigation of charges against the former head of OIOS.  Why is that?

Associate Spokesman:  It’s not a revival of charges.  As you know, there was a third-party review of allegations of mismanagement within OIOS.  That third party decided there was enough to proceed with a full investigation, and that will be reviewed by Mr. Jerome Ackerman. 

Question:  I don’t know what a third party is. What ...

Associate Spokesman:  The third party was a gentleman named Jerome Ackerman, who was a retired UN Tribunal judge, who we asked to look at evidence that was brought to our attention by the Staff Union concerning mismanagement in OIOS having to do with hiring and promotion.  He concluded there was enough to go to a full investigation, and that’s what he will be doing. 

Question:  Didn’t the Secretary-General at one point say that there were no grounds ...?

Associate Spokesman:  That’s correct, and then more information came to light.  It was first anonymous information, that we were not able to investigate because we don’t act on anonymous information as a matter of course, but then more information was provided to us by the Staff Union, and this procedure was initiated.

Question:  What’s the time frame for this?

Associate Spokesman:  The time frame is about 30 days.

Question:  Can you just explain something to me.  With Mr. Yakovlev, the case is that the child works for the company that does business with the UN, and I’m sure the child would say that’s a normal, commercial relationship -– work in exchange for being paid.  And Mr. Yakovlev is under investigation.  Mr. Malloch Brown rents a house from George Soros, who does business with the UN.  They both say it’s a normal, commercial relationship.  How come Mr. Yakovlev is under investigation and Mr. Mark Malloch Brown in not under investigation?

Associate Spokesman:  I don’t agree with your link.  We’re looking into Mr. Yakovlev’s activities.  In theory, if any procurement officer were to obtain employment for one of his children for a company that did business with the UN, that would be a grave violation, and that’s what we’re investigating.

Question:  Why would it be a grave violation if it was on normal, commercial terms? 

Associate Spokesman:  Because it’s not normal, because it is a clear violation of staff rules for anyone to benefit financially from your work at the UN.  Full stop.

Question:  This guy Ackerman, the one who recommended an investigation that he is conducting.  Isn’t it a bit of a conflict of interest to have a person recommending that he create, sort of, employment for himself down the road?  Don’t they usually separate these things out?  He has a certain interest in seeing this thing goes forward.

Associate Spokesman:  I would have to see on what basis he is being employed.  He is a retired judge, UN Tribunal judge.  We felt it was the most efficient way of doing things, since he was already very familiar with the file.  Instead of bringing in somebody new, who would take a few weeks to look into the allegations and get up to speed.

Question:  In the memo that was referred to by The New York Times last week, Michael Wilson, formerly of Cotecna, has denied that he ever spoke about the Cotecna bid with the Secretary-General.  Can you clear up for us who the “K.A.” referred to in that same memo was.  And did the Secretary-General meet with his son in Paris during the African Francophone Summit in late November 1998?

Associate Spokesman:  Obviously, we didn’t draft the memo.  You’d have to ask whoever drafted the memo who “K.A.” was.  As for the rest, we spoke extensively about it last week.  Mr. [Paul] Volcker is obviously seized of the matter, and we are confident that in the end the truth will be on the Secretary-General’s side in this story.

Question:  But nobody has ever answered the question as to whether the Secretary-General ever met with Kojo Annan on that trip.  The language of the Wilson memo is vague enough to suggest that it may have been somebody else at Cotecna making the contact.

So there’s still that sort of question surrounding the issue of whether Kojo may have been acting on behalf of the company, and that was what Wilson was referring to.  I don’t understand why we haven’t been able to get a straight answer to that question, as to whether he met with his son on that visit.

Associate Spokesman:  The Secretary-General’s focus is on cooperating with the Volcker report, so that they can get done with their work as quickly as possible.

Question:  The Secretary-General reported his contacts with Kojo Annan to the Volcker report for the March 29 version that came out.  In those contacts, he did not mention any meeting with him in Paris.  Does the Secretary-General stand by what he told Mr. Volcker before the 29 March Volcker report?

Associate Spokesman:  The Secretary-General’s conversations with Mr. Volcker are part of the investigation, and it will all come out in the report.  We’re not going to rehash what has been in one report or another.

Question:  Representative Henry Hyde’s committee’s recommendation regarding reforms at the UN, some the Secretary-General agrees with and others he doesn’t.  Among those proposals is one to establish an office on ethics at the United Nations.  Has the Secretary-General had the opportunity to formulate a position on this specific proposal?

Associate Spokesman:  On this specific proposal, I’m not aware, but obviously we’re always looking to strengthen internal oversight, external oversight or ethics rules to be followed by staff.

Thank you very much. Oh, yes.

Question:  Has the Secretary-General been called by the Volcker commission since the latest reports came out?

Associate Spokesman:  I’m not aware.

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