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 Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.  Thank you for coming.  We have a short briefing today, I suppose beginning the summer season.

**Statement on Middle East

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDER SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF RWANDA

"The international community needs to give us a commitment that if we withdraw from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it will help us to deal with the consequences of that action", Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

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.

PRESS BRIEFING ON WEST AFRICA BY ASSISTANT HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES

As the refugee situation in West Africa today was clearly the most serious in the world, the new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, would leave on 10 February for that area on his first field mission, Soren Jessen-Petersen, Assistant High Commissioner, told correspondents today during the noon briefing at Headquarters.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY SIERRA LEONE

The Government of Sierra Leone did not trust President Charles Taylor of Liberia to carry out all the assurances he had given regarding the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Sierra Leone’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sama S. Banya, told correspondents at United Nations Headquarters today. 

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.

**Roed-Larsen Meets with Israeli Prime Minister-Elect Sharon Today

Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-General’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, met with Ariel Sharon today for the first time since his election victory.

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 Susan Markham, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly.

Briefing by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good Afternoon.

**Security Council

PRESS BRIEFING BY DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS ON SOCIAL PROTECTION

PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL’S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE TO AFGHANISTAN

He was still hopeful the Taliban may be persuaded to accept the Secretary-General as an impartial mediator to the Afghan conflict, despite its attitude to United Nations sanctions, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.