DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.  As we squawked earlier this morning, the Secretary-General will come down here at 12:30 p.m. to introduce his new High Commissioner for Human Rights-designate, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

**Afghanistan

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Goma

Overnight, the Nyamuragira volcano erupted.

A survey was conducted during the night and a team of UN volcanologists are planning to go up in a helicopter to get a better assessment of the situation.

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Sierra Leone Special Court

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good Afternoon.

**Human Development Report

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Jan Fischer, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.

Good afternoon.

Noon Guest

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKSEMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.  Thanks for waiting.  I'm still in vacation mode.  Actually the reason for the delay is that we have some news for you today.

**Secretary-General Nominates De Mello as Human Rights Commissioner

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Afghanistan

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi briefed the Security Council this morning.

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Quartet Meeting

Starting at 3:00 this afternoon, the Secretary-General will brief the Security Council on the Middle East.

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 Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-General's Statement

The first item is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Middle East:

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-General’s Trip

The Secretary-General is back in New York today, having returned late Saturday after meeting Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, earlier that day.