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, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General on London Bombings

Statement by the Secretary-General on the London bombings:

“I was devastated by the atrocious bombings that struck London today.  These vicious acts have cut us all to the core, for they are an attack on humanity itself.  My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have lost loved ones, all those who were hurt, all those who were traumatized by this tragedy.  I grieve with all Londoners at the wounds that have been inflicted on this wonderful city  -- the city that is home to people from so many countries and cultures -- and express my solidarity with the Government and people of the United Kingdom in this hour of trial.

“Today, the world stands shoulder to shoulder with the British people, who, with others around the world, had mobilized so powerfully against poverty and climate change ahead of the Group of Eight summit, and who, I am sure, will confront this ordeal with the same spirit, courage and determination.  I look forward to the Group of Eight, in their deliberations over the next few days, to show themselves equal to that resolve.  Let us not allow the violence perpetrated by a few to deflect us from addressing the aspirations of billions of our fellow men and women who are demanding change.”

And that statement is available upstairs.

**G-8 Plus Five Statement

Earlier in the day, the Group of Eight, joined by the United Nations, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, India, China, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, had also issued a joint statement condemning the barbaric attacks utterly, and saying that “those responsible have no respect for human life”.

The parties to the statement affirmed that they will not allow violence to change their societies or their values, or to disrupt the work of the G-8 summit.  “The terrorists will not succeed”, the statement said.

And that statement is also available upstairs.

**Security Council

As you know, the Security Council is about to start consultations as we speak, in connection with the bombing.  We expect them, following consultations, to hold an official meeting to adopt a resolution on the bombing.  And Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will be attending that formal meeting.

**Zimbabwe

Turning to Zimbabwe, the Secretary General’s Special Envoy in that country, Anna Tibaijuka, stopped in Hwange today and inspected recent demolitions of homes.  Later, she was shown sites that the Government has set aside for new housing.  Right now she is on her way to Victoria Falls for further inspections.

Tomorrow, Ms. Tibaijuka will be in Harare for a final round of meetings.  She hopes to fly to Nairobi Saturday.  She will then report to the Secretary-General on her findings.

In comments made yesterday, Ms. Tibaijuka emphasized that “in a democracy people cannot be forced to stay away from a city, nor can they be forced out of a city.  The freedom of movement is a fundamental right, she said.  People come to cities for economic opportunity.  If you try to ship them away, it doesn’t work. They will just come back anyway”.

**Haiti

Turning to Haiti, in that country yesterday, members of the UN Peacekeeping Mission conducted a large-scale operation in the Cité Soleil area of Port-au-Prince, the capital.  The target was a base of operations for gangs that operate in Port-au-Prince.  The UN Mission reports the gangs resisted and a fire fight broke out.  It also reported no casualties on its side, but said some gang members were killed or wounded during the operation.  We have a press release available on that upstairs.

**Democratic Republic of Congo

Also in peacekeeping news, the Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said today that no fewer than 1,000 peacekeeping troops are participating in an operation in the eastern part of the country, code-named Iron Fist.

This is the largest operation ever organized by Pakistani peacekeepers of the South Kivu brigade.  They are supported by Guatemalan special forces, as well as troops from the Congolese National Army.  They are deploying by road, in vehicles and on foot, with Indian helicopters deployed for close air support, into territories occupied by Rwandan Hutu fighters to the north and the south-east of the city of Bukavu.

This operation complements the other ongoing operation called “Operation Falcon Sweep”, which started earlier this week, which aims to extend the UN’s security perimeter around the Walungu territory, as well as to flush out armed groups from that area.

**Burundi

From neighbouring Burundi, yesterday evening we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General congratulated the Transitional Government of Burundi and the Burundian people for the successful and peaceful conduct of recent legislative elections.  He also called on all parties in Burundi to continue to work together in the final and most crucial phase of the transition, which will lead to the transfer of authority to an elected government on 26 August of this year.

And the statement is available in French and English upstairs.

**Afghanistan

From Afghanistan, today marks the end of the disarmament and demobilization phases of the peace process.  The UN Mission in that country said that some 63,000 Afghan military forces had been disarmed, while more than 34,000 light weapons and 9,000 heavy weapons had been collected.

The UN briefing notes from Kabul have more details.  They also provide information on the fact-finding mission to Afghanistan by the special rapporteur dealing with violence against women, Yakin Erturk.  And she will visit the country from July 9 to the 15.

**Deputy Secretary-General

The Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, is speaking this afternoon at a UN Population Award Ceremony, which begins at 5 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.  She is expected to say that population and reproductive health issues must be squarely addressed as part of the global drive to promote development and human rights.  And copies of her speech are available upstairs.

**FAO

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) tells us in a report out today that more than 10 million people in six African countries will need humanitarian assistance next year because of poor agriculture production.  The production shortfalls were caused by erratic weather and difficulties in getting fertilizers and seeds, according to the report put out by the FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP).

**Events

And just a couple of events I want to flag for you:

Today, the panel discussion to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica is due to begin at 12:30 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium.  And that will be moderated by the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirza Kusljugic.

And tomorrow, guests at the noon briefing will be Mr. Abe, the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, and the Ambassador of Finland, who will come to the briefing to discuss the Second UN Biennial Meeting of States to Prevent the Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

Then at 12:45 p.m., there will be a press conference by Ibrahim Keita, the speaker of the National Assembly of Mali; Björn von Sydow, the Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden; and Sen. Dulce Maria Sauri, the Representative of the Speaker of the Mexican Senate, who will discuss the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which is scheduled in fact to hold a meeting here just ahead of the World Summit.

And our guest at the briefing today, as soon as we’re done, will be Ibrahim Gambari, the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Political Affairs, who will be joining us to discuss the programme of work of his Department.

That’s it for me.  Any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  In view of the bombings in London, the Algerian ambassador has called for a global conference on terrorism, which has been delayed again and again.  Will the Secretary-General be calling for such a conference now very soon?

Spokesman:  I will have to get some specific guidance on that, but obviously the Secretary-General very much hopes that the definition of terrorism will find its way into the final outcome of the General Assembly’s World Summit in September.

Question:  Do you have any reaction to the death of the Egyptian ... I mean killing ...

Spokesman:  We’re following that closely.  According to our mission in Iraq, they have not yet been able to confirm that, but we are following those developments very closely . [The death was confirmed later that afternoon, and a statement was issued.]

Question:  Sir, where was the Secretary-General when the bombs were going off?

Spokesman:  He was flying out of London, I think at approximately the same time that these attacks were taking place and heading up to Gleneagles in Scotland.

Question:  Stéphane, have you been asked about these comments by Jean Ziegler about Israel.  Do you know what I’m talking about?

Spokesman:  I have not been asked and I have not seen the comment.

Question:  Okay, but have you heard the whole [inaudible]

Spokesman:  No I have not, but I will check.

Question:  Apparently, this is something being reported in Le Courier in Switzerland that before a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Geneva on Tuesday, he called the Gaza Strip an “immense concentration camp” and went on to say similar things about Israel.  And, apparently, people are writing the Secretary-General letters protesting this.  So, if you could just find out if that’s been received and if there’s any comment coming out of here shortly.

Spokesman:  Sure.

[The Spokesman later announced that Jean Ziegler is an independent expert, who reports to the Commission on Human Rights on the right to food.  His views are his own, not those of the United Nations.  The United Nations believes any comparison between conditions in Gaza and those of Nazi concentration camps is irresponsible.  And such a comparison does not reflect the views of the Secretary-General.]

Spokesman:  That’s it. Any more questions? Mr. Gambari, please ...welcome.

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