DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960719
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Ahmad Fawzi, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's briefing by announcing that today was an important day. Specifically, this morning had been marked by the welcome announcement that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has resigned from his positions of power.
"The relinquishing of his positions of power is another step on the road to The Hague, to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, set up by the United Nations to try war criminals", Mr. Fawzi said. "Only The Hague can ensure justice, and only with justice can peace be durable." It was the feeling of the Secretary-General, the United Nations and the international community that such men must be tried as soon as possible.
Mr. Fawzi said today's development had been described as important by the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Javier Solana, who said it represented the removal of one more obstacle towards the holding of free and fair elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 14 September. Copies of the NATO statement were available in the Spokesman's Office. Also available was a statement by the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and one by Mr. Karadzic on his decision to withdraw immediately and permanently from all political activities.
"Today is also a day when we celebrate a truly global event", Mr. Fawzi said, citing the opening of the twenty-sixth Olympiad. "In a world all too often divided by destructive conflicts, the Olympic games remind us all of the enduring Olympic ideals of sporting excellence and the highest standards of fair play and international competition. They can be a positive catalyst for international understanding and reconciliation." In that spirit, the Secretary-General had urged all parties to respect the United Nations call for an Olympic Truce and to suspend hostilities during the Olympiad.
Mr. Fawzi said the Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Washington, D.C., Joe Sills, had gone to Atlanta and delivered an address at last night's launching of the United Nations "Sport and the Environment" stamps. Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, he said, "Today, we celebrate human endeavour, the coming together of nations and the triumph of the Olympic spirit." Copies of the Secretary-General's statement were available in the Spokesman's Office. The stamps could be purchased at the Visitors Lobby of the Secretariat.
Mr. Fawzi then drew attention to a "Sports against Drugs" exhibit being displayed by the United Nations in the Olympic Village in Atlanta for the duration of the games. Launched by the United Nations International Drug
Control Programme (UNDCP) and the International Olympic Committee as part of a global campaign, the exhibit had been displayed in Vienna and New York. "Sports against Drugs" had also attracted the commitment of some prominent athletes, who signed a declaration pledging to warn young people on the dangers of substance abuse. (See Press Release SOC/NAR/743 of 19 July.)
Mr. Fawzi went on to say that at 10:30 a.m. today, the Secretary-General had drawn a lot picking Italy to occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall during its fifty-first session, which begins on 17 September. The remaining States would be seated subsequently in alphabetical order, thus emphasizing the sovereign equality of States. "If you think about it, merely by an act of chance, a Member State can relegated to the peanut gallery", while another gets a position of prominence.
At 11 a.m., the Secretary-General received Anatoli Zlenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine, and he met with Juan Somavia, Chile's Permanent Representative, at 11:30 a.m., Mr. Fawzi said. At noon, he was meeting with the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Hassan El-Beblawi, with whom he would discuss United Nations activities in the Gaza Strip in particular, as well as economic and social development in the west Asia region. At 12:30 p.m., he would be meeting with Assistant-Secretary-General for Human Rights Ibrahima Fall, and at 1 p.m. with the Director of the International Centre for Peace in the Middle East.
The Security Council was continuing the consideration of its thirteenth periodic review of sanctions against Libya, Mr. Fawzi said. Its President, Alain Dejammet of France, would make a brief announcement to the press later. The Council was also being briefed on Burundi and other matters by Chinmaya Gharekhan, Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General. It would take up the question of Iraq later today, and that of Sudan on Wednesday, 24 July.
Mr. Fawzi then read out the following statement, attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
"The Secretary-General was deeply saddened to learn of the death of 107 Sudanese refugees in separate attacks from 12 to 14 July on the Acholi-pii refugee camp near the town of Kitgum in northern Uganda. The victims of these deplorable attacks were mostly women and children. In addition, the attackers looted and burned the refugees' huts, as well as trucks belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP) and to an Italian non-governmental organization, ASVI. A WFP driver is also reported missing.
"The Secretary-General condemns these wanton acts of murder and destruction, and urges the Government of Uganda to reinforce measures to ensure the safety and protection of Sudanese refugees in the area. He also hopes that all impediments to the humanitarian relief work in southern Sudan will be removed urgently so that the Sudanese population affected by the
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 19 July 1996
ongoing civil war is not forced to leave the country." (Press Release SG/SM/6022 of 19 July)
The Economic and Social Council was continuing its substantive session, which began on 24 June and runs until 26 July, Mr. Fawzi said. Today's meeting was addressed by Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Humanitarian Affairs Yasushi Akashi, who said there were some 50 crises and 50 million people in need of humanitarian help throughout the world. There were also 110 million land-mines strewn across the globe, which killed and maimed people long after conflicts had ceased.
The Under-Secretary-General also said the international community had spent nearly $6 billion last year on the problems of rehabilitation and recovery in the wake of conflicts, Mr. Fawzi continued. Reviewing the Department's efforts to ensure a coordinated response to disasters and emergencies, Mr. Akashi said it had assisted 55 Member States respond to natural disasters. Copies of his speech were available.
Also available, at the documents counter, was background material by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the World Food Summit, to be held in Rome from 13 to 17 November, Mr. Fawzi said. There were also forms and questionnaires on media requirements for the Summit.
Asked whether there were indications of who had attacked the refugees in Uganda, Mr. Fawzi said he had no detailed reports on that but would relay any information he did received. The incident had occurred between 12 and 14 July and it took some time for information to trickle up to Headquarters from that region.
Why had it been Joe Sills who delivered the Secretary-General's message at such a high-level occasion as the Olympics? a correspondent asked. First, Mr. Sills had been the Secretary-General's Spokesman for three years, Mr. Fawzi said. Secondly, he headed one of the Organization's most important outposts in the world -- the United Nations office in Washington, D.C.
* *** *