DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960621
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Ahmad Fawzi, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, at today's briefing informed correspondents that the Secretary-General was on the third day of his official visit to Germany. He had a 45-minute meeting with the Federal Minister of Defence, Volker Ruehe. The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for the important contribution made by Germany to United Nations peace-keeping operations. The two interlocutors reviewed the various types of peace operations undertaken by the international community. They also discussed the situation in the former Yugoslavia and in Africa, particularly in Angola and Burundi.
The Secretary General met with a number of German parliamentarians, he said. He had a 30-minute meeting with a delegation of Bundestag parliamentarians belonging to Alliance 90/The Greens. The head of the parliamentary group stressed that his party considered the United Nations as the major forum to deal with international affairs. The Secretary-General recalled the importance he attached to the role played by parliamentarians on the international scene, and said that he was preparing a third agenda, an agenda for democratization within Member States and at the international level.
The Deputy Spokesman said the Secretary-General addressed the Social Democratic Party Group members of the Bundestag on the subject of "the alleviation of poverty -- a global strategy". Copies were available in the Spokesman's office. A separate report on the Secretary-General's activities was also available . (See Press Release SG/T/2067 issued today.)
The Security Council would not meet again until next Tuesday, 25 June, Mr. Fawzi continued. And, in answer to a question raised earlier in the week, he said the Council was expected to consider the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) report on the downing of three civilian planes by the Cuban airforce would be issued today to ICAO Council members, he said, adding that he realized it had been leaked yesterday and that certain Member States already had copies of the report. "But then that's the nature of things in this world, not surprisingly", he added. The ICAO Council would consider the report on 26 June and a copy would be sent on 29 June to the Secretary-General who would transmit it to the Security Council.
Mr. Fawzi said the Kigali office of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs had confirmed that 15 people had been killed in an attack on a village in the Kibuye area near the border with Zaire. The victims were all genocide survivors. The United Nations was monitoring the situation.
The 25 June summit of leaders from the Great Lakes region of Africa would proceed, he continued. Leaders from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya and Eritrea would be attending. Zaire had still to confirm whether it would go to the summit.
Pope Paul II had endorsed the United Nations campaign against drug abuse, Mr. Fawzi said. The Secretary-General had also issued a statement to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, 26 June. (See Press Release SG/SM/6007-SOC/NAR/742 issued today.)
The nationality and the gender of the mystery donor who had given $100,000 to the United Nations could now be disclosed, Mr. Fawzi continued. She was American. She had begun working for the United Nations in 1946, retired in 1967 and had donated the money for the well-being of peace-keepers.
Mr. Fawzi said he wanted to elaborate on his comments at yesterday's briefing about misinformation in distinguished newspapers in America and Europe -- the Washington Times and the European edition of the Wall Street Journal. He emphasized that he had the greatest respect for both newspapers and for the distinguished United Nations correspondent from the Washington Times, whose integrity and objectivity were never in question. The misinformation had appeared in an Op Ed article in the Washington Times dated 14 June by Stefan Halper and this misinformation was reprinted in the European edition of the Wall Street Journal.
"I ask Mr. Halper to stop lying about the United Nations", Mr. Fawzi said. The Spokesman's office had written to the editors of both newspapers and copies of the letters were available. But because the allegations were "so shocking and appalling" a point by point response had been prepared.
Mr. Fawzi read from the article: "Incredibly lucrative salaries are paid at New York offices. The 1995 average salary for a mid-level accountant is $84,000. The comparable among non-United Nations accountants is $41,964." That was wrong, he said. The correct gross salary for a mid-level accountant at the United Nations was $61,892.
Continuing, Mr. Fawzi said salaries for the United Nations professional staff were based on a direct net comparison with the salaries of United States federal civil servants with an adjustment for cost of living differences between Washington and New York. The United States had publicly stated that its federal civil service salaries were approximately 30 per cent lower than those in the private sector and the United Nations salaries were equated with those United States civil service salaries.
Mr. Fawzi quoted another allegation. "A computer analyst could expect to receive $111,500 annually, compared with $56,000 outside the United Nations bureaucracy." "Wrong! A United Nations computer systems analyst earns an average salary of $49,369", he said. "These are blatant lies and, I say lies
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deliberately, because this man was given the correct figures, in writing, by the Office of the Spokesman. But he chose to go with figures from a totally unreliable source." It was the same source for an October 1995 article in Money Magazine, Mr. Fawzi said adding, "He's regurgitating old inaccuracies about the United Nations. There is a virus going around, a United Nations- bashing virus. I don't know who started it, but people are catching it. It has to stop. The truth has to come out. Somebody has to tell the truth about the wonderful work this Organization is doing and the hard work of its staff."
He quoted from the article again. "An Assistant Secretary-General receives $190,250, the Mayor of New York is paid $130,000." "Wrong!" said Mr. Fawzi, adding that the correct gross salary for an Assistant Secretary-General was $131,617. The grossest misconception was that United Nations salaries were tax free, he continued. "Let me make this very clear. Mr. Halper please listen carefully. United Nations civil servants pay taxes. United States staff members of the United Nations pay United States taxes. Non-United States civil servants have a deduction from their salaries equivalent to taxes which is refunded to their countries of origin. This is a deduction in lieu of taxes." He said he did not know where Mr. Halper got his information. "I have about 35 per cent deducted from my salary and it is credited to my country's regular budget assessment."
There were those pages of inaccuracies in Mr. Halper's article, Mr. Fawzi continued and he urged those who cared about the United Nations to examine it. He also urged people like Mr. Halper to check their facts and stop perpetuating inaccuracies and lies about the Organization.
A correspondent said a question she had asked yesterday was still largely unanswered. If the Secretary-General got a second term would he extend the democratization of the United Nations to its staff so that they might have some say, or at least feel they were being heard? And how would he go about achieving that? she asked. Mr. Fawzi replied that he could only repeat what he had said yesterday. The Secretary-General had the greatest affection for the staff and respect and admiration for their hard work. He had never missed an opportunity to tell them they were the Organization's most precious asset. Mr. Fawzi said he would rather not speak about a second term, because it now appeared to be still up in the air, so to speak. But he did know that the Secretary-General would continue to have feelings of great respect and admiration for the United Nations staff and would continue to give them support and encouragement.
What was the Secretary-General prepared to do to meet the United States administration half way because obviously they were at war? a correspondent asked. Mr. Fawzi said he would not use such strong terms. "We are not at war", he added. There was no half way; it was all the way or no way. The Secretary-General had announced his decision to seek a second term and he hoped the American administration would change its mind. There was still six months to go and anything could happen.
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A correspondent said he understood the United Nations was trying to bust a union shop. Mr. Fawzi said the United Nations was not trying to bust any union shop. The contract of E-J Electric was due to expire on 30 June and no decision had been reached yet. He could understand that the workers were rather nervous about their future. However, he would not comment about ongoing discussions regarding the contractual status of companies performing work for the United Nations. He could confirm that bids had been submitted and discussions were continuing and a decision would be reached before the deadline.
Would the United Nations be guided by International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards in its contract negotiations? the correspondent asked. Mr. Fawzi replied that the ILO standards were universally recognized.
In response to a question on the possibility of a tele-conference with the Secretary-General, Mr. Fawzi said he was waiting for a response, adding that time was a factor.
Referring to his earlier question, a correspondent said when he asked whether the Secretary-General was prepared to meet the United States administration half way he had meant would a one-year or two-year second term be acceptable. There had been reports that the Secretary-General had accepted a one-year second term. Mr. Fawzi said he, too, had read the reports and he could confirm that there had been an offer of a one-year second term on the table but it had been withdrawn. As the Secretary-General had said, he needed more than one year to accomplish the reforms he had initiated. He had hoped it would take one term to reform the Organization and to prepare it for the challenges of the twenty-first century, but it had become apparent about a year ago, that that was not going to be the case. He needed more than one year to complete the job he had started.
What exactly was the Secretary-General's specific agenda? a correspondent asked. Apparently the democratization of the staff was not on it, she added. Mr. Fawzi said the correspondent was pushing an issue which he had already addressed. He really could not say any more about the democratization of staff relations. The Secretary-General was in favour of democratization between Member States and among Member States. If the correspondent was asking whether that principle could be applied to the institution, of course it could. The United Nations was a democratic institution.
The correspondent said she wanted to know the Secretary-General's agenda. Mr. Fawzi replied that a recently released document, which was available in the Spokesman's office, enumerated what had been going on in the Organization and throughout the United Nations system worldwide for the last five years. With the end of the cold war, the United Nations had been propelled into an extraordinary range of activities from preventive diplomacy to peace-keeping and programmes for development and democratization which were
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long-term guarantees for peace. The document detailed the United Nations various accomplishments since 1992 in reform, human rights, development, democratization, peace-keeping, peace-building disarmament and preventive diplomacy. It would take at least two or three hours to go over everything, but he would be happy to discuss it with the correspondent later. He urged her to pick up a copy of the document.
How would the latest controversy affect the Secretary-General's participation in the "Group of Seven" summit from 27 to 29 June, where four out of the five Security Council members would be present? a correspondent asked. Mr. Fawzi said the Secretary-General would attend the summit and would address an important session on development issues on 29 June. It was the first time a Secretary-General had been invited to address the Group of Seven summit. His message would be one of continued devotion to the Organization and its ideals. He would continue to work till his last day, whether that was December 1996 or in five years time. He could not predict the mood of the summit and he could not speak on behalf of the nations which would be attending.
Had any other administrations opposed the Secretary-General's bid for a second term? a correspondent asked. "I have not heard of one yet. Have you? If there was, they had not made their position public", Mr. Fawzi responded. However, quite a few countries had expressed their encouragement to the Secretary-General to seek a second term and the majority of Member States had given him such encouragement.
The Secretary-General's relationship with the United States had been fine for the first four years of his term, a correspondent said. What had been the turning point? Mr. Fawzi said he did not know. Could the correspondent find out? he asked.
The correspondent asked whether the Secretary-General had a disagreement with the United States Secretary of State, Warren Christopher. No, the Secretary-General had always had very cordial relations with officials in Washington, Mr. Fawzi replied.
In response to a question, Mr. Fawzi said he had spoken about the report on the question of the legality of nuclear weapons at a previous briefing.
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