The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Shirley Brownell, Spokeswoman for the President of General Assembly:
**Briefing by Spokesman
The United Nations Standby Arrangements system was a valuable step towards establishing a rapid deployment capacity for the Organization, Commander Erkki Platan of the Standby Arrangements Unit told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon. He was introducing the annual report on the Unit's activities in 1999.
The role of legislators was key in ensuring that peace agreements that were being put into place by governments had the requisite political support domestically, regionally and internationally, Shazai Rafi, Secretary-General of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.
The status of the Holy See as a Non-Member State Permanent Observer at the United Nations should be reviewed, representatives of Catholics for a Free Choice and other women's and civil society groups urged at a Headquarters press conference this morning.
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
Good afternoon.
**Security Council Notes
The campaign to remove the seat of the Holy See at the United Nations is about abortion not religion, correspondents were told this morning at a Headquarters press conference given by a coalition of religious and civic non- governmental organizations. The press conference was sponsored by the United States Mission.
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
**Cambodia Talks
Allegations of Rwandan collaboration with the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) were merely hearsay generated by those interested in distorting the facts for their own reasons, Rwanda's Permanent Representative to the United Nations said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.
