MICHELE MONTAS is the Spokesperson for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly.

TV: UN WEBCAST TV VIDEO - 22 minutes

UN: UNITED NATIONS BRIEFING AND TV - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: TUESDAY, 29/04/2008 (MaximsNews Network)

UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 29 April 2008 -- Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General and UN Webcast TV Video.

**Questions and Answers

Question: During the Secretary-General’s visit to Austria there were some news reports in Austrian media saying that the Secretary-General answered some questions about Austria’s membership to the UN Security Council. He expresses some opinion that he personally hopes that Austria gets enough support from the Member States to get a seat. Do you think it is appropriate for him to express his opinion so strongly in some occasions like this one? How do you regard this?

Deputy Spokesperson: Let me look into the press reports for you. But as you know, the matter of countries becoming members of the Security Council is up to Member States to decide.

Question: Did you have any details on the food meeting in Rome in June, as far as like what’s planned or anything like that?

Deputy Spokesperson: The angle that I mentioned today was the Secretary-General’s call for world leaders to attend that meeting from 3 to 5 June. I believe the FAO has a press release out on this. So maybe you can take a look at that because it does have a few details. At this point, I don’t know how many world leaders are attending but it is a high-level conference on food security.

Question: Yesterday, in an op-ed piece President Carter said following his talks with Hamas leaders they have suggested certain measures for peace. For instance, exchange of one Israeli soldier for a release of Palestinian prisoners and other measures. Has the Secretary-General taken note of that, and what does he say about these measures that are being suggested?

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing, no specific reaction to the measures that you refer to. The Secretary-General, as you know, is planning to attend the meeting of the Quartet in a couple of days and I’m sure ways to move ahead in the Middle East will be discussed there.

Question: I wanted follow-up on a question which I had also asked yesterday about following the attack on the Afghan President. The Afghan President himself had supported the peace process that is being initiated by the new Pakistani Government. Does the Secretary-General’s special envoy take note of that and is he responding to what is happening now?

Deputy Spokesperson: I know you asked that yesterday, and I don’t have anything specific on those particular reports that you referred to. The Secretary-General had a statement over the weekend following the assassination attempt and he stands by his willingness to assist the Government of Afghanistan and I refer you to that statement for now.

Question: First, on Afghanistan, Kai Eide is in Washington, D.C., meeting President Bush and Secretary Rice. Do you have any readout on it? And is he coming to New York to brief us on the situation and the events happening in Afghanistan?

Deputy Spokesperson: We’ll look into that for you.

[The Deputy Spokesperson later told the correspondent that during Kai Eide’s visit to Washington, which has just concluded, he met with senior United States officials, including President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

In those meetings, they discussed the importance of the upcoming elections and Mr. Eide’s key coordinating role, and they agreed that this is a crucial moment for Afghanistan.

Mr. Eide also met with officials at the World Bank and delivered an address at the Carnegie Endowment.]

Question: The second question is involved more. What specific efforts have been done by the good offices of the Secretary-General with regard to the situation on 10 May, parts have already started in foreign countries. Can you give us some details on this?

Deputy Spokesperson: Sure.

Question: Regarding the Gaza crossings, is there any update on the flow of medical and food aid to fuel?

Deputy Spokesperson: We had an update yesterday in which the resumption of deliveries of food was announced, I believe, and there is an update upstairs on that for you today.

Question: Sixty years after the Palestinians lost their land, do you consider that what has happened in these 60 years of the United Nations, whether this is ethnic cleansing or not?

Deputy Spokesperson: I think our views on how the United Nations and the Secretary-General feels about the humanitarian situation in Gaza is well known and our efforts are based on trying to help as many people on the ground who need it as possible.

Question: Is the killing of civilians a terrorist act?

Deputy Spokesperson: I think I’ve answered your question.

Question: Zimbabwe’s opposition party reportedly said that they will be dispatching a delegation to New York next week to tell the UN that they will not be participating in a presidential run-off. Can you confirm if that is the case?

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t know about any messages. I understand there is a delegation from the opposition here today, so why don’t you ask them yourself?

Question: On the issue of piracy off Somalia’s coast, there’s a Security Council draft resolution being circulated at the moment and at the same time there’s a recent DPKO report suggesting a naval contingent in the waters. Has the Secretary-General put forward what he believes to be the best solution, the best way to tackle the problem?

Deputy Spokesperson: I think that in the Secretary-General’s most recent report on Somalia from March … there are a number of contingency plans, some recommendations that he has on the way ahead for Somalia. In terms of this [draft] resolution that you’re speaking about, that is something that the Security Council Members are currently working on, so we won’t have any comment.

Question: You mentioned that Mr. Ban Ki-moon is going to attend a Quartet meeting within days. When and where will it be held and what does he expect to come out of this meeting?

Deputy Spokesperson: I can’t give you expectations now. We announced it. It’s in London and he’ll be travelling there tomorrow … excuse me, he’ll be there Thursday and Friday.

Question: Where?

Deputy Spokesperson: In London, primarily on Friday. But if you go upstairs we can give you that programme.

Question: Regarding this food task force, do you know where they’ll meet in May?

Deputy Spokesperson: That has not been decided.

Question: Do you know the list of all the members involved?

Deputy Spokesperson: Right now, we… As I mentioned to you… I can read again what I mentioned. The task force will be bringing together the heads of the UN specialized agencies, funds and programmes, the Bretton Woods institutions and relevant parts of the UN Secretariat. I don’t have a detailed list yet, but the task force will be coordinated by John Holmes and David Nabarro, who will be based in New York and Geneva, respectively. As you mentioned, they expect to meet. The task force will be set up to meet in early May.

Question: Has the Secretary-General taken a stand on biofuels? I know there’s been discussion with this food crisis.

Deputy Spokesperson: Again, I would like to refer you to the remarks that he’s made today, first there’s a communiqué that’s issued after the meeting of the Chief Executives Board (CEB) after the 27 senior UN officials met. There’s a chapeau on that that describes the current global food crisis. I’d like to refer you to the Secretary-General’s remarks that he made a press conference in Bern and right now he’s given another lecture on the food situation in Geneva. So I would like you to look at all three, because I think it gives a more global position that there is not one factor that is the cause of the current global crisis.

Question: Regarding the Lebanese Tribunal -- the disappearance of a key witness from Paris -- is the United Nations doing anything to find out exactly how this happened?

Deputy Spokesperson: The only item I have on the Tribunal today is what I read.

Question: Are you doing anything regarding the disappearance of Mohammad Zuheir al-Siddiq, who was in Paris for the last three years and then suddenly … and he was supposed to be under the protection of the French.

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing new on that.

[The Deputy Spokesperson later referred the correspondent to comments made a few weeks ago by Commissioner Daniel Bellemare when he gave a press conference at United Nations Headquarters and said that he did not know the whereabouts of Mohammed Zuheir al-Siddiq, who had been jailed in France, banned from leaving that country and also interviewed by the Commission. “He never replied to the Commission to be entered into the witness protection programme. He is not in our custody and I don’t know where he is,” Mr. Bellemare said. He declined to comment on the disappearance’s impact on the investigation, saying that it would have to be assessed.]

Question: Is there any update on the UN’s investigation of the events in northern Kosovo of 17 March?

Deputy Spokesperson: Nothing beyond. No. I know you asked that to Mr. Guéhenno the other day, so I have nothing beyond that.

Question: Can you or DPKO confirm that a team of three DPKO and one Ugandan lawyer, Francis Ssekandi, flew into Pristina on Saturday to conduct the investigation?

Deputy Spokesperson: Sure, we can ask.

Question: Also, there’s a report of a petition given to the UN’s Human Rights Office in Kathmandu concerning either protests in Nepal or about Tibet. Are you aware of that? And what’s the UN going to do about it?

Deputy Spokesperson: I’m not aware of the petition, but we can look into that for you as well.

Question: About the CEB meeting, in your readout on it, were any kind of UN reform or issues that have been previously discussed like the availability of audits of funds and programmes to Member States or whistle-blower protection? Was there any follow-up on the previous CEB meeting on those topics?

Deputy Spokesperson: Usually the CEB is a gathering that looks at the various issues that are priority issues for the system as a whole, so there should be discussion on a number of subjects. This time, as you know, there was a large focus on the global food crisis. So that’s all I can tell you for now.

If there’s nothing else for me, have a good afternoon.

Labels: United Nations,  U.N., Secretary-General

 

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