In progress at UNHQ

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

26 April 1996



Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

19960426 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Secretary-General was "very, very happy" about the cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and Israel. "We are still waiting for more details of the agreement, but he said that he hoped it would bring more security and stability to the area and that it would encourage the resumption of peace efforts", she added.

The Secretary-General was in Pretoria today, on the second day of his official visit to South Africa. He met with South African President Nelson Mandela and with the Executive Deputy President, F.W. de Klerk. His meeting with President Mandela began with a 20-minute tête-à-tête. The Secretary- General, Ms. Foa said, expressed his deep gratitude to President Mandela for the support of the Government and people of South Africa for the United Nations. South Africa, the Spokesman noted, was one of the first Member States to pay its contribution in full to the regular budget this year, and "it was an important example to other Members".

The Secretary-General described President Mandela as "the godfather of Africa", and expressed his gratitude for the moral support and his actions in favour of peace and justice in the world, and in particular in Africa. They discussed a number of situations in Africa, including Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Western Sahara.

President Mandela gave two cheques to the Secretary-General, amounting to more than $400,000, one for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the other to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for its repatriation programme of Angola refugees.

Later on today, the Secretary-General was expected to meet with the President of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres. Tomorrow, the Secretary-General would take part in the Freedom Day celebrations in Pretoria and would later inaugurate the ninth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD IX) in Midrand. His opening address was available to correspondents, the Spokesman noted (Press Release SG/SM/5971 of 26 April).

The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Marrack Goulding, would complete today his two-day mission to Burundi and would return to New York over the weekend, Ms. Foa said. Mr. Goulding was expected to report to the Secretary-General and brief the Security Council next week on the results of his mission to Rwanda and Burundi. The Secretary-General's next report to the Council on Burundi was due on the first of May.

Yesterday, the Security Council issued a presidential statement concerning Burundi, the Spokesman said. In the statement, the Council requested the Secretary-General to expedite consultations on contingency planning to support a comprehensive dialogue, and for a rapid humanitarian response in the event of widespread violence or serious deterioration in the humanitarian situation of that country. Today, she continued, the Security Council was going to take up the Secretary-General's report pursuant to resolution 1044 (1996), pertaining to the requested cooperation of the Government of Sudan in the extradition of three individuals accused of attempting to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last June.

The Secretary-General appointed Han Sung-Joo, a former Foreign Minister from the Republic of Korea, as his new Special Representative for Cyprus, effective the first of May. Mr. Han would replace Joe Clark of Canada.

A report received in the morning from Liberia said that some "unsavoury elements" were walking the streets of Monrovia wearing United Nations blue berets. "It turns out that in the looting of one of our warehouses, a box of blue berets was also taken", Ms. Foa noted. It was not certain whether "General Hell Crazy, who relieved us from one of our vehicles the other day", was also now wearing a blue beret, but it was clear that the berets were being misused by people "who should not be wearing them".

The World Health Organization (WHO) would be holding on Monday 29 April its first conference on "Healthy Ageing" from 10 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. in the chamber of the Economic and Social Council; it was "a good subject for those of us who are over 21", Ms. Foa noted. A press conference on the subject, sponsored by the WHO, would be held at 1:15 p.m. on Monday.

On today's World Chronicle programme at 2:30 p.m. (channels 6, 23, 48) the guest would be Yukio Takasu, Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and the Controller.

A correspondent said that the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, had said in Norway today that the United States had paid its debt to the United Nations, and did the Spokesman have anything on that? "Actually, according to the figures we saw, the new United States budget has an appropriation of about $134 million for peace- keeping operations and $198 million for all international organizations. What we don't know yet is what part of that amount will be for the United Nations", Ms. Foa said. "So, we are crunching some numbers now. The contributions of both the Russian Federation, which has made a substantial commitment for this year, and the United States commitment, were now being factored in the forecast we are making for this year".

Ms. Foa told correspondents that the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph Connor, would brief correspondents on

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 26 April 1996

Monday at 4:30 p.m., "so as to give a good idea of what our cash position will be at the end of the year".

Would the budgetary crisis continue, even if the financial crisis or the cash flow situation is resolved? a correspondent asked. "Well, it is a completely different crisis. The budgetary crisis, of course, remains. We're at $1.3 billion per year and there has been inflation, and we're going to have problems with it, but we are working on it", the Spokesman said.

There was a separate problem looming on the side, the correspondent continued, which was the financing of a number of smaller operations, which added up to about $120 million. Ms. Foa confirmed that those smaller operations -- including the United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), the International Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH), the political office in Somalia -- would have problems being fit into the current budget.

There had been a report issued a few weeks ago setting up the Secretary- General's proposed cuts to bring the budget down to $1.3 billion; was there another report expected before May? a correspondent asked. He added that when the General Assembly acted on MINUGUA and MICIVIH, it had asked the Secretary- General to submit a report by May. Ms. Foa, noting that there were very few days left in April, said that "we obviously have to find a solution to it. The problem is, where do we cut, what do we suspend, what do we postpone, what don't we do at all, and these are decisions that have to be made by the Member States".

The correspondent asked whether that initial report was the one requested by the General Assembly, or was there another one coming? It was likely that there would be a report forthcoming early next week, the Spokesman said.

Was there an update on the food crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the status of the United Nations aid to that country? a correspondent asked. The Spokesman referred the correspondent to the World Food Programme (WFP), specifically Michael Ross, who would have the most up- to-date information. She added that there was a third ship with some 8,000 tonnes of food, which should be arriving in Namp'o over the weekend.

In Paris Match there was a report about sunken nuclear submarines belonging to Russia, which were potential Chernobyls, a correspondent said. Did the United Nations have any responsibility in the prevention of such things? The Spokesman said she had not heard about it, and would look into it. She had heard, on the other hand, about an alleged submarine bay beneath the United Nations, "but I'm not at all sure that's true".

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For information media. Not an official record.