DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960912
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by welcoming a group of journalism students visiting from Kuwait University.
Ms. Foa went on to announce a new development in relationship to Security Council resolution 986 (1995), on "oil for food". A contract with the Banque nationale de Paris (BNP) was expected to be signed soon by Joseph E. Connor, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, on behalf of the United Nations. Officials of the BNP would sign on behalf of the Bank. Once that contract was signed, the BNP would apply from the United States Treasury Department for a certificate of exemption which would allow it to open an escrow account in the United States to handle funds expected to be received once resolution 986 (1995) could be implemented. "We're just about there", Ms. Foa said. "If only the situation on the ground would calm down and the security conditions would improve, we could actually get on with our work."
Turning to the Secretary-General's appointments for the day, Ms. Foa said that this morning he had opened the Panel of High-Level Personalities on African Development. The Secretary-General made an opening address. He would meet again with the Panel at the end of the day. This Panel was working with the Secretary-General on implementing the System-Wide Special Initiative on Africa, which was a $25 billion initiative to be implemented over 10 years. The Panel also had an important advocacy role for Africa. In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General urged them to help the United Nations arrest and contain the marginalization of Africa. He also urged them to help overcome the negative image that was developing about Africa and to help contain "Africa fatigue".
He also paid tribute to the life-long dedication of two former members of the Panel who had passed away: Kenneth Dadzie, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and Martin Huslid, a former Permanent Representative of Norway. They both had dedicated much of their lives to the issue of African development.
The Secretary-General was currently meeting with his Special Representative for Burundi, Marc Faguy. "I said: Wait a minute. We want him. Who is more important? But, we lost", Ms. Foa said. Following that meeting, the Secretary-General would speak at the graduation ceremony for the New York University's Training Program for New Diplomats to the United Nations.
This afternoon, the Secretary-General would meet with Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, and his delegation. Then, as mentioned, the Secretary-General would return to the Panel of High- Level Personalities on African Development. The list of members of the Panel was available in the Spokesman's Office.
Ms. Foa said that she had received information on several meetings held by the Secretary-General yesterday. He had met yesterday with the Permanent Representative of Burundi, Nsanze Terence, and Mr. Faguy had joined that meeting. During that meeting, Mr. Terence asked if the Secretary-General could defuse the crisis created by the sanctions imposed upon Burundi by the States of the Great Lakes region. Mr. Terence described the situation in his country as catastrophic and deplored the fact that the embargo was harming the most vulnerable parts of the population. The Secretary-General assured the Ambassador that the United Nations was doing its best to increase humanitarian assistance to Burundi and to support efforts towards the realization of national reconciliation in Burundi.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General had received the President of the Security Council, Alfredo Lopes Cabral (Guinea-Bissau). The President of the Council had been mandated by members of the Council to express their appreciation for the Secretary-General's report on Western Sahara. While saluting the fact that the cease-fire still held, the Council members wanted to express their concern over the lack of progress. The Security Council asked the Secretary-General to convey, once more, to the parties the necessity to find a solution which would allow the identification process to resume. The Secretary-General told the President of the Security Council that he was following the situation and was doing his utmost to bring the parties to an agreement.
The Secretary-General and the President of the Council also discussed the situation in Iraq and the conditions under which Security Council resolution 986 (1995) could be implemented. The evolution of the current situation on the ground was a factor, in addition to the financial and administrative difficulties facing that operation.
Also, at 5:45 p.m. yesterday, the Secretary-General had met the Prime Minister of Yemen, Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani. They had discussed the dispute between Eritrea and Yemen over the Hanish Islands. The Prime Minister expressed the satisfaction of his Government over the positive role which had been played by the Secretary-General since his visit to both countries last December. The Prime Minister also paid tribute to his action, to that of the Security Council and to the effectiveness of the French mediation, as well as the positive contribution from other Member States in helping to resolve the crisis of last August. The Prime Minister reiterated the readiness of his Government to continue its efforts to resolve the situation peacefully, and assured the Secretary-General of Yemen's full cooperation. The Secretary- General expressed confidence that the Agreement of Principles, signed in Paris
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on 21 May, would continue to guide the two parties towards the settlement of their dispute.
They also reviewed recent developments in Iraq, and the Secretary- General briefed the Prime Minister on United Nations efforts to implement Security Council resolution 986 (1995) as soon as possible. Regarding another matter, the Prime Minister underlined the commitment of his Government to the democratic process in Yemen. He requested United Nations electoral assistance in preparing for and observing the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on 27 April 1997.
The United Nations goodwill mission on the border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria over the Bakassi Peninsula was scheduled to leave New York tomorrow. The departure of the mission had been delayed. But they would leave tomorrow, travelling first to Yaoundé and then to Lagos on 18 September. The mission was being headed by Omar Halim. Also participating in the mission would be representatives from the Department of Peace-keeping Operations, the Office of Legal Affairs and the Department of Political Affairs. The mandate of the mission was to examine, with the parties, concrete and specific measures designed to reduce tensions among them and to prevent a deterioration of the situation in the area. They will also gather information and formulate suggestions on confidence-building measures to establish an atmosphere of mutual trust. "So, delayed, but on track tomorrow", Ms. Foa said.
"Now we have some good news: Saudi Arabia has become the eighty-eighth Member State to pay its 1996 regular budget dues, in full", Ms. Foa said. "That was paid with a check for $7,831,456. Only 97 countries left to pay. For the first time in a long time, the outstanding contributions to the United Nations have gone down. We were at $2.9 billion for a long time; today, we are at $2.8 billion. That figure includes $0.7 billion owed to the regular budget and $2.1 billion for peace-keeping. Every little bit helps."
The situation in Afghanistan was worrying, Ms. Foa said. The United Nations was concerned at the latest escalation of fighting in the eastern Afghan provinces of Logar and Nangarhar, particularly the recent fighting in and around Jalalabad where the headquarters of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan is located. That fighting had caused a regrettable loss of life and an increase in the already large numbers of internally displaced persons. The continued resort to force by the different factions to resolve national problems was most unfortunate. The United Nations, none the less, remained determined to persist with its efforts to promote a peacefully negotiated settlement and reiterated its appeal to all factions to renounce the use of force and resort to peaceful means of resolving their differences.
A security report had been received from Jalalabad. Six of the 15 United Nations staff members, who had remained in Jalalabad yesterday, had travelled by road without incident from Jalalabad to Peshawar today. There were conflicting reports regarding how many staff members remained in Jalalabad,
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but there were either eight or nine in the city. The area Security Coordinator had reported that as of noon today, local time, the situation in Jalalabad was calm following a peaceful night. People were moving around the city, although the streets were quieter than usual, and the shops remained closed.
The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Marrack Goulding, was continuing his current mission in Afghanistan. Mr. Goulding was expected to arrive in Kabul today to meet with senior Afghan officials.
The Security Council was continuing today its consideration of a possible draft presidential statement or letter to the Secretary-General, with regard to the implementation of Council resolution 986 (1995). It would also continue consideration of the Secretary-General's report on the situation of human rights in Croatia.
Turning to the situation in Iraq, Ms. Foa said it was unclear whether eight, nine or 10 United Nations personnel had been involved in an incident yesterday near the northern border with Iran during which a group of people surrounded that United Nations personnel. While the number was unclear, it was confirmed that all the personnel were now safe. However, the Spokesman's Office received information late yesterday that, during the course of that event, a staff member of the World Food Programme (WFP) had been detained. However, that staff member had been released and he was either on his way to Sulaimaniya or had already arrived back. Meanwhile, 10 trucks from the WFP had gone into the area of northern Iraq near the border with Iran in order to distribute food to people gathered at three border exits, including the area in the town of Sariban where yesterday's incident had occurred. The WFP personnel were still in the field and had not yet reported back.
Yesterday, the United Nations had estimated that about 15,000 people were camped in the valleys north of Panjwin, on the Iraqi side of the border. Another United Nations mission would return to the area again today. However, thousands of people had return to Sulaimaniya, which was calm and where basic services, including electricity, were operating. Yesterday, when the group of United Nations personnel were returning to Sulaimaniya, hundreds of vehicles followed behind their vehicles and returned to the city. However, there were still large numbers of internally displaced persons in northern Iraq, most travelling to villages rather than the areas near the Iranian border. "Most of these people are expert at being displaced, as they have been displaced three or four times in the last five or six years", Ms. Foa said.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities had reported that some 39,000 people had been permitted to cross the border into Iran. So far, personnel from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had confirmed that they had seen about 5,000 people enter Iran. There were three UNHCR teams in the area attempting to confirm arrivals. In Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, had issued a statement saying that it was willing to assist Iran with any inflow of refugees. Mrs. Ogata had said
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that money would be released from emergency funds to buy and transport relief items as soon as the three UNHCR teams had confirmed the number of refugees in Iran and assessed their needs. "So, we are ready to help", the Spokesman said. The press release from the UNHCR was available in the Spokesman's Office.
Also available was the six-month report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, in English and Spanish. It stated that based on figures for the first six months of the year, the estimated growth for Latin American and Caribbean countries in 1996 would be about 3 per cent, which was considered moderate expansion.
There was also a new fact sheet on United Nations peace-keeping; questions and answers. Information included the cost of United Nations peace- keeping missions, how many there were, and "why is peace-keeping a bargain".
The forty-ninth DPI/NGO Conference would conclude today. Among speakers this afternoon, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., was John Kenneth Galbraith, a professor from Harvard University and the author of "The Good Society".
In London tomorrow, Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), would launch the UNFPA publication entitled "Food for the Future: Women, Population and Food Security". The publication was available at the documents counter. But the UNFPA had requested that any articles written on the topic be embargoed until 6 a.m. tomorrow, so that the London launch would not be "scooped". There was also a press release.
A press conference would be held at 1 p.m. by the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification, Bo Kjellen. The press conference would be held in room 226, and Ambassador Kjellen would be joined by the Executive Secretary of the Interim Secretariat of the Convention, Hama Arba Diallo. They would discuss the decisions being taken by the Committee currently meeting at Headquarters.
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