DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960404
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Ahmad Fawzi, Deputy Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros- Ghali, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Secretary-General had sent a cable of condolences to President Bill Clinton, expressing his "shock and sadness" on the death of Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. In his message, the Secretary-General indicated that Secretary Brown's "personal commitment to enhancing the well-being of the world's citizens through deepened ties of commerce and trade won admiration and respect across the globe. He and those with him gave their lives while on a noble mission to bring peace and prosperity to a long-suffering people half a world away". The text was available to correspondents. A cable of condolences from Secretary- General and Mrs. Boutros-Ghali was also sent to Mr. Brown's family.
The Secretary-General also issued a declaration today, on the eve of the second anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. In the declaration, the Secretary-General said that he shared the sadness of the government and people of Rwanda and expressed his profound sympathy and condolences to all the survivors of this "tragic nightmare that left a deep mark in the conscience of humanity. The world should not allow such a tragedy to happen again. The perpetrators of such crimes should never go unpunished". The text, in the original French, was also available in the Spokesman's office. A translation would be available as soon as possible. (The statement was issued as Press Release SG/SM/5950.)
The Secretary-General was on the second day of his visit to Japan and had met with a number of political leaders, from both ruling and opposition parties and had also met with members of Parliament.
The Secretary-General had also addressed, as guest of honour at a luncheon in Tokyo, the United Nations Association of Japan (see Press Release SG/SM/5949 issued today). In his speech, the Secretary-General had once again addressed the subject of the reform of the United Nations, stating that reform was his number one priority. "The Organization has cut expenses. We have streamlined operations and eliminated posts. We are working to reduce waste, duplication and overlap", he said, adding that "as long as the [financial] crisis persists, other efforts to reform, cut back and restructure cannot succeed, and the future of the Organization itself is in danger". The text of his speech at the luncheon was available.
Tomorrow, Mr. Fawzi continued, the last day of his visit, included a press conference at the National Press Club of Japan. Afterwards, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Boutros-Ghali would be received by their Imperial Highnesses, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan. Later he would
visit Taukuba University and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention. The Secretary-General would return to New York on Saturday, 6 April.
While in Tokyo, the Secretary-General had a telephone conversation with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who described to him the deteriorated situation in the West Bank and Gaza as a result of the closure by Israel of those territories. Mr. Fawzi reminded correspondents that the Secretary- General had received a letter, dated 28 March, from Mr. Arafat last week. The letter was submitted to the consideration of the General Assembly and the Security Council and was now available as a document (S/1996/233). The Secretary-General also wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, urging him to consider lifting the closure, at least gradually, in order to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Papua New Guinea and Samoa had today paid the full balance of their arrears to the United Nations regular budget, Mr. Fawzi announced. Those countries had each paid the balance of $108,770 and thus joined the honour roll of Member States that had fulfilled their treaty obligations, 49 countries out of a total of 185 Member States. Mr. Fawzi said that he took his hat off -- symbolically -- to Papua New Guinea and Samoa.
Mr. Fawzi then proceeded to read a series of letters from American citizens, sent to the Secretariat along with personal checks corresponding to the amount owed by the United States Government to the United Nations, a sum usually considered to be either $4.40 or $7 per person. In one letter addressed personally to the Deputy Spokesman, a woman expressed her belief in "the concept of the United Nations increasingly as we enter a trans-global world", along with her check for $13.20 to fulfil the United States debt to the United Nations. "Here is my snowflake", she wrote. Mr. Fawzi also mentioned a new advertisement in the New Canaan newspaper with a list of 100 names of people who had each sent a check for $4.40, to be paid to the order of the United Nations. Those checks, he said, went to a reserve fund that was used to finance operations that had run out of money, until Member States had paid their arrears. The reserve fund would then be set up again, to be used when required. Up to now, the personal checks received at Headquarters by United States citizens totalled $8,587.84.
Mr. Fawzi also showed correspondents a copy of a letter to the editor of The Gannett in Westchester, in which two individuals expressed their "dismay" at the United Nations financial crisis, "as concerned world citizens". The letter and check for $14, corresponding to two people, were sent to Senator Alfonse D'Amato. The check was returned to the senders, along with a letter from the Senator that said, "Thank you for taking the time to contact my office and provide me a contribution. Although I appreciate your generosity, I am unable to accept a donation of this nature. Please do not hesitate to write me in the future, regarding any federal matter".
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 4 April 1996
Another letter, Mr. Fawzi continued, also with a check, expressed the sender's concern for the "appalling" situation the United Nations had to deal with due to the debt situation. The sender said he was "praying and meditating". Mr. Fawzi expressed his deep appreciation for all those individual efforts to help the Organization.
Mr. Fawzi informed correspondents that under the financial regulations and rules of the United Nations, no voluntary contributions from individuals or non-governmental entities could be used to pay the arrears of any nation, unless the Member State acquiesced. What counted in this case, he said, "was the thought, and the intent to help the Organization find a way out of the worst financial crises in its history".
The Foreign Minister of Myanmar, Ohn Gyaw, was in the Secretariat building today and was meeting with the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Alvaro de Soto, as the Secretary-General's Representative in his dialogue with the Myanmar Government. The meeting, the spokesman said, was a continuation of the Secretary-General's good offices, as expressed in General Assembly resolution 50/94 entitled "Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar", adopted without a vote on 22 December 1995. In accordance with that resolution, the Secretary-General would submit a report to the current session of the Commission on Human Rights on his discussions with the Myanmar Government. A further report was due at the fifty-first session of the General Assembly.
Mr. Fawzi, indicating that he had been asked in the morning about the Amnesty International report on Myanmar, said that the report would surely figure in the conversation between the Foreign Minister and Mr. de Soto. The Amnesty report stated that political prisoners in Myanmar had received "stiff increases in their sentences" from the military government because they had passed on information about prison conditions in that country to the United Nations.
The United Nations military observer who was injured yesterday in Angola, in the attack on the vehicle belonging to the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III), had been transferred to a hospital in Pretoria. Mr. Fawzi added that the information received from Angola indicated that of the three people who were killed in that attack, two were UNAVEM monitors. The third, a British citizen, represented the British charity OXFAM. The incident has been condemned on all sides as an "abominable" attack. A commission of inquiry had been set up.
As of 2 April, 19,089 soldiers belonging to the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) had registered in 6 different sites, Mr. Fawzi said. Newly arriving soldiers were registering at two new sites, set up at Quibala and Ngobe. On the government side, 3,367 soldiers -- of a total of 3,504 -- and 67 Rapid Reaction Police had been quartered in six cities.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 4 April 1996
"We're seeing a commitment on both sides to implement the Lusaka accord", Mr. Fawzi said.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the preliminary investigations of a team belonging to the International Criminal Tribunal into mass graves in Srebrenica were continuing, Mr. Fawzi said. Excavations were expected to begin next week. Regarding the International Police Task Force, there were 895 monitors now in place, a number which corresponded to more than half the projected total of 1,721. A break-up of the nationalities of the task force members per region was available.
The Security Council was holding informal consultations on four items on Bosnia and Herzegovina and members were working on a draft presidential statement. The other items on the agenda were the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) and other matters.
The Secretary-General's progress report on Liberia was due this afternoon. Prospects were, Mr. Fawzi said, "not bright", as the situation continued to encounter severe difficulties. "Unless the peace process is put back on track, in the very near future, the consequences could be disastrous." He noted that the Secretary-General would report again on the situation of the mandate before its expiration date, which was 31 May, so a decision could be taken.
Were there any news from the mission that had gone to Nigeria? a correspondent asked. "We are reading the reports", Mr. Fawzi said, though there was still no information on the outcome of the group's meetings. The group was due back next week, though the mission would extend their stay if it was considered necessary to establish the facts behind [the execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and his followers last year] and what plans were being implemented by the Government of Nigeria to implement its declared commitment to restore the country to democratic rule.
Was there anything new regarding who was coming for the food-for-oil talks with the Iraqi Government that would resume on Monday? a correspondent asked. No, Mr. Fawzi said. As things stood, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Hans Corell, would again head the United Nations delegation and Dr. Abdul Amir Al-Anbari would head the Iraqi delegation. (It was later announced by the Spokesman's Office that the talks would begin at 3 p.m.}
Mr. Fawzi pointed out that tomorrow, Good Friday, Headquarters would be open to the public, though no official activities would be taking place, as it was a United Nations holiday. The Office of the Spokesman would be staffed, as usual, by the weekend duty staff, and he, Mr. Fawzi, would be coming in.
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