DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960808
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that she had held a meeting with the Chief of the United Nations Security and Safety Services, Michael McCann, and the Chief of the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, Sonia Lecca, on the issue of visitor access for correspondents.
Ms. Foa said they had agreed to revert to the former system of visitor access to the Secretariat that had existed until last Friday. The old system had a number of problems and security felt "it was a crummy system", but it would remain in place until Secretariat personnel were able to work out a new system in cooperation with correspondents. Representatives of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) would be consulted and the Spokesman would meet subsequently with Ms. Lecca and Mr. McCann. A more streamlined system would be put in place before the General Assembly convened in September.
Today, the Security Council was expected to have a meeting to formalize a draft presidential statement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Foa continued. That statement stressed the importance of the forthcoming elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to be carried out in accordance with a General Framework Agreement for Peace in that country. It also expressed concern about parties not implementing their commitments to human rights, noting that that failure was impeding the return of refugees. The statement also said that the Council demanded the full cooperation of all parties concerned in the immediate execution of all warrants of arrest and the transfer of all persons indicted to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
At the time of the briefing, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Liberia, James O.C. Jonah, was briefing the Council, Ms. Foa said. Following that meeting, Mr. Jonah was expected to brief correspondents. However, because of the problem of coordinating the time, that briefing was postponed and would hopefully be held tomorrow, Friday, 9 August.
Ms. Foa then announced that the Council was expected to hold informal consultations on the situation in Afghanistan on Tuesday, 13 August.
The Secretary-General had asked the United Nations Political Office for Somalia to convene a meeting in Nairobi of a number of interested regional organizations, such as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the League of Arab States, and interested Member States, tomorrow, Friday, 9 August, Ms. Foa continued. The meeting was called to undertake a coordinated assessment of the situation in Somalia.
A report from the International Police Task Force (IPTF) in the former Yugoslavia said that a Bosnian Serb police officer had been shot from across the Inter-entity Boundary Line while patrolling in Doblinja late last evening, Ms. Foa said. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he was still in a critical condition. It was not clear what type of weapon was used. From the accounts of another police officer and two other witnesses, the "fire" came from the Federation side. The head of the IPTF in the Trnovo Station had held two meetings with police officers of the Republika Srpska and the Federation in an attempt to diffuse tensions. The IPTF was monitoring the police investigation.
Turning to Eastern Slavonia, Ms. Foa said the Transitional Administrator for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, Jacques Klein, was meeting with the Croatian Government this afternoon to discuss various issues related to Eastern Slavonia, including the financing of the local administration. The Secretariat was still looking for $2 million a month to finance that administration. The Permanent Representative of Croatia to the United Nations would be conveying his Government's reaction on the matter to the Security Council President today.
On Burundi, Ms. Foa said Under-Secretary-General Chinmaya Gharekhan was expected to brief the Council today on the latest developments in that country. Yesterday, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Yasushi Akashi and Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Marrack Goulding had sent a letter to the OAU Secretary-General expressing their concern that sanctions against Burundi were having a negative impact on humanitarian activities. About 2,000 tons of humanitarian goods destined for that country were being held up in the United Republic of Tanzania. It was hoped that the goods could be delivered soon. They were being sent to Rwandan refugees in Burundi and the internally displaced inside the country.
The monthly summary of troop contributions to peace-keeping operations, as at 31 July, was available in the Spokesman's Office, Ms. Foa said. She informed correspondents that the Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 661 (1990), which is monitoring the sanctions against Iraq, would meet at 3:30 p.m. today. Following that meeting and a briefing of interested delegations, the Committee's Chairman and current President of the Security Council, Tono Eitel (Germany), would brief correspondents.
Ms. Foa then reminded correspondents that tomorrow, Friday, 9 August, the United Nations would celebrate the second observance of the International Day of the World's Indigenous People at the Visitor's Entrance to the Secretariat. A "Sacred Pipe" ceremony would take place at 12:08 p.m., followed by a number of other activities in the Visitor's Entrance Plaza. At 1:30 p.m., a round dance would be performed by indigenous participants. Also, as part of the observance, a round table on indigenous health rights would be held in Conference Room 1 from 3 to 5 p.m.
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Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 8 August 1996