DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960712
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, began today's noon briefing by saying that the Secretary-General was at his home. He had come straight in from the airport and spent a few hours in the office getting up to speed on "where we stand now with the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on the oil-for-food formula laid out in Security Council resolution 986 (1995)".
Ms. Foa said that the Secretary-General met with several senior advisers, including Under-Secretary-General Chinmaya Gharekhan, "and was briefed on where we stand. The last time I saw him, he had two huge postal sacks of fan mail under his arms and he was heading home to read them".
She said that today at 3 p.m., the Security Council Sanctions Committee would hold a formal meeting in Conference Room 7. Immediately after that meeting, the Chairman of the Committee, Ambassador Tono Eitel, would give an oral briefing to interested United Nations delegates in the same room. Following that oral briefing, Mr. Eitel would come to room 226 to brief the press on progress made on draft procedures for the implementation of the memorandum of understanding.
Ms. Foa hoped that the briefing for the press would not be too late. "We know that Friday deadlines are real early."
Ms. Foa said that at 3:30 p.m., Abdul Amir Al-Anbari, the chief Iraqi negotiator, would meet again with Under-Secretary-General Gharekhan in the latter's capacity as Chairman of the Steering Committee moving along the implementation of the memorandum of understanding. "We spoke to Mr. Gharekhan this morning and he said that the discussions on the food distribution plan were making some progress, but it was a work in progress. So the discussions will continue."
"On Monday, the Secretary-General will meet with Ambassador Al-Anbari. I don't have a time yet. He will also meet, of course, the President of the Security Council on Monday", Ms. Foa said.
She said that the new Special representative of the Secretary-General for Cyprus, Han Sung-Joo, would arrive at Headquarters over the weekend. "We were hoping he'd be in today but he's not. He's coming over the week-end. He'll start consultations with senior officials early next week. With him will be the Deputy Special Representative, Gustav Feisel, who is based in Nicosia."
She said that Mr. Han would probably brief the Security Council. "We have laid down the law that he must also brief you guys and they didn't seem to put up too much resistance. Hopefully, next week, we'll have Professor Han fresh from his mission."
Also next week, the Special Representative for Liberia, Anthony B. Nyakyi, would be visiting Headquarters for consultations, the Spokesman said. A request had been put in for him to meet with correspondents.
Ms. Foa reminded correspondents that the Security Council was currently discussing the draft resolution endorsing the Secretary-General's recommendation on the mandate of United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG). "We expect it to be extended until 31 January. [In the draft resolution] the Security Council reaffirms its firm support for the negotiating process between the Georgian and Abkhaz parties and notes the preoccupation of the Council with the situation of refugees and displaced persons."
She said that the Council was also concerned about mines that were still being laid in the region. It was expected to call on the parties to ensure the security of the local population, refugees and international personnel. The Secretary-General's next report should get to the Council by 15 August. The UNOMIG had an authorized strength of 137 military observers, she added.
Ms. Foa said that the Council had been expected to take up the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) in a formal session today. However, yesterday, an amendment had been introduced into the text and members of the Council felt that they needed time to go back to their Governments to consult on that amendment. Therefore, a formal meeting would now probably take place on Monday, 15 July at about 11 a.m. It had been agreed that there would be no statement at that meeting. "We do still expect the Council to extend the UNMOP mandate until 15 January 1997. That again is to synchronize that mandate with the other mandates in the region."
The Spokesman said that because of rather pressing issues that had arisen in the last couple of days in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Carl Bildt, the High Representative, would no longer be able to make it to New York on Tuesday to brief the Security Council as scheduled.
"We haven't yet heard when he is rescheduling but his next report to the Security Council will probably be issued by the beginning of next week", she said. The Spokesman had promised correspondents that Mr. Bildt would meet with them during the trip to New York.
Ms. Foa said that following yesterday's decision by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to issue arrest warrants for Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, the Tribunal was now
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 12 July 1996
transmitting those warrants through diplomatic channels to all Member States and to the INTERPOL. "It is the responsibility of Member States to execute the arrest warrants."
Ms. Foa the announced that El Salvador had become the seventy-ninth Member State to pay its 1996 regular budget assessments in full with a cheque for $108,770. "Thank you very much El Salvador!"
Displaying a book, Ms. Foa said; "The debate goes on. Here is your general reference tool; The United Nations and Rwanda 1993-1996. It is the tenth in the Blue Books series. It is a 739-page document and contains a lengthy introduction by the Secretary-General and 188 documents. You can follow the very very sad and tragic saga of Rwanda in this book. Besides the Secretary-General's introduction, you have the entire Arusha Peace Agreement that was signed in 1993, a chronology and lots of previously unpublished correspondence by the Secretary-General on the issue of Rwanda. It is a good book. The chronology is really worth having."
She said that the book was on sale for $29.95. "If you don't want to spend $29.95, come on in, you can borrow a copy from us."
Ms. Foa recalled that yesterday, she had told correspondents that the Secretary-General's trip to 16 different countries in 1993 had been his longest ever away from Headquarters. "Well, we went through again and it turns out that that trip was in two parts and actually, the Secretary-General went off to a few countries then he came back home and cleaned up his mail and then went off to the other countries."
There was now consensus that his current trip was the longest, she said. She apologized to correspondents for the misinformation and said that it was because "our records are very strangely kept".
Ms. Foa announced that on Tuesday, 16 July at 11 a.m., the Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Rafeeuddin Ahmed, would launch the 1996 Human Development Report in New York. "I hope all of you have it. If you don't, call UNDP. There is lots of good stuff in it." She said she would go into more detail on the report on Monday.
A correspondent pointed out the embargo on the report was for 17 July. Ms. Foa said that she had been told that Mr. Ahmed would be in room 226 on 16 July at 11 a.m. for the launching. The worldwide launch was in Tokyo. Gustav Speth, the Administrator of the UNDP, would be handling the launch in Washington D.C.
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Noting the Secretary-General's brief encounter with the press at the entrance, a correspondent asked about getting the Secretary-General to have a briefing with correspondents. Ms. Foa said that her Office had spoken to the Secretary-General about it this morning. "Obviously, he's taking too many vitamins. He won't stand still for even 10 seconds but I think that he just wants to get read up, then we'll see what we can do."
The Spokesman then wished the correspondents a wonderful weekend. "And come back with some harder questions because now that we have the Secretary- General back, obviously all answers are here."
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