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, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

PRESS BRIEFING ON SOMALIA

 

The international humanitarian effort in Somalia, particularly in those areas affected by last December’s Indian Ocean tsunami, had moved very slowly and the Somali people felt that they had been “as usual left at the bottom of the chain”, Winston Tubman, Head of the United Nations Political Office in Somalia, said at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

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 Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

Sorry, I am a few minutes late.

Press Briefing by UN Development Fund for Women

 

While there was much to celebrate on International Women’s Day, it was also an occasion for reflection because the progress made had been too uneven and slow, Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), said at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

Press conference on GENDER EQUALITY REPORT

 

While there was much to celebrate in progress toward gender equality, there was still much at risk a decade after the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, research experts told correspondents here this morning.  Despite notable gains in such areas as political participation, education and labour force participation, women continued to face limits on income, authority and power, among other areas of concern.

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 Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

I understand we have a group of students from South Africa today.

Welcome to the United Nations, and I hope you’re enjoying your stay in New York.

**Guest at Noon

PRESS BRIEFING BY EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR

 

Briefing correspondents this afternoon on his recent visit to the Sudan, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said 2005 was a “make or break” year for the country.  There was no other place in the world where so many lives were at stake.

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 Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

**SG Address on Terrorism

PRESS BRIEFING ON COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES SEMINAR

 

While the United States was taking an admirable direction in seeking to promote democracy, it must be remembered that the roots of democracy were much longer than the present Bush administration’s policy, Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY WOMEN’S COMMISSION INDIGENOUS PARTICIPANTS

About 60 indigenous participants of the ongoing “Beijing+10” review by the Commission on the Status of Women were calling for indigenous women’s rights to be recognized globally, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference this morning.