The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Secretary-General's Report on Sierra Leone
The Secretary-General's report on Sierra Leone has been finalized and is expected to go to the President of the Security Council today, so that it can be informally distributed to the Council members. The report will not be formally issued until next Monday, which is also the day that the Council has scheduled consultations on Sierra Leone.
There are no Security Council consultations today.
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has continued to monitor the situation in the Port Loko area -- that's in the west of that country -- following an attack on that town by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) on Wednesday. A Jordanian platoon has been deployed in the area.
**With Work Programme Complete, United Nations Panel on Sierra Leone Heads to Region, Western Capitals
The independent panel the Secretary-General appointed earlier this month to collect information on the link between trade in diamonds and trade in arms and related material in Sierra Leone concludes today a week of briefings at United Nations Headquarters.
They have established their programme of work, which will take the five-man panel on a series of visits, starting next week, to a number of countries in the African region and western capitals. Their plans also include attending an intergovernmental diamonds conference to be held in Pretoria, South Africa on 16 September.
As you will recall, the panel was appointed for an initial four- month period. In addition to the links between diamonds and arms trade, the team will also collect information on possible violations of the arms embargo and the adequacy of air traffic control systems in the region. They are expected back at Headquarters in early November.
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