DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960917
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
The Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa began today's noon briefing by announcing that the General Assembly fiftieth session was still in an extended meeting. The Assembly's Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) yesterday decided to request the Secretary-General to defer additional involuntary separation of staff until it had been able to consider his report on the matter. The Secretariat had said that staff would not be released until the end of the year, she said. Some 32 to 34 other additional items needed to be discussed by the Assembly; that consideration would take approximately an hour-and-a-half. "We're on target for 3 p.m.", she added, referring to the scheduled commencement of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly.
Ms. Foa then announced that the Secretary-General had this morning rung the peace bell, in honour of the International Day of Peace. The peace bell was constructed from coins from 60 countries and had been donated by the United Nations Association of Japan, she said. "Peace is our common dream", the Secretary-General stated. "We ring this bell each year as a symbol of our faith that this dream can come true." At the ceremony, the Secretary-General had discussed the substantial progress made this year, including the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. "We must never forget that peace is much more than the absence of war. We must show solidarity with those who are suffering or deprived", he said.
Commemorative activities were planned all over the world, Ms. Foa said, including the mobilization of 100,000 young people who would be observing a moment of silence at 12 p.m. Thereafter, they would observe "Hear the Children Day", in which they would express their hopes and fears for the future of the world.
Ms. Foa then announced the availability of a progress report of the Secretary-General on the Question of East Timor (document A/51/361). The bottom line of the report was that the ninth round of talks between the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal would take place in New York on 21 December. In the meantime, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, Ismat Kittani, would lead discussions between the Permanent Representatives of those Governments. The Secretary-General, for his part, would continue to consult with East Timorese personalities of various political persuasions. In his report the Secretary General writes: "Given the continued desire of the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal to find a negotiated settlement of the problem, I am confident that the talks being held under my auspices will lead to the achievement of a workable long-term solution".
Albania, with a payment of $108,770, had become the ninetieth Member State to pay in full their contribution to the 1996 United Nations Regular Budget, Ms. Foa announced. Only 95 States were left before all contributions were received. "If we could get the rest before the 1997 dues are due, we'd been in good shape." The Organization was still owed $2.8 billion, she said. "Don't forget it."
The Secretary-General would today be attending the closure of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly and the opening of the fifty-first, she continued. He would meet with Schafik Handal, of the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) of El Salvador. At 5 p.m. he would meet with the Permanent Representative of Iraq, Nizar Hamdoon, regarding Security Council resolution 986 (1995).
At 10:15 a.m. tomorrow, 18 September,the Secretary-General would be opening an exhibition in the north-east corner of the General Assembly Visitor's Lobby, honouring the thirty-fifth anniversary of the death of Dag Hammarskjold, Ms. Foa announced. Entitled "Markings and Milestones", the exhibition consisted of photographs and text illustrating the life of former Secretary-General Hammarskjold.
Ms. Foa then introduced Samsiah Abdul-Majid, the new spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly, Razali Ismail (Malaysia). Ms. Abdul- Majid's telephone number was 963-5672, she said. "Call her day or night. She's eager to make sure that you get every bit of information that you need."
At 11 a.m. tomorrow, Kamran Kousari, Chief of Policy Coordination and External Relations of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), would release the 1996 Trade and Development Report to the press. Correspondents could get a copy of the report from George Kell at the New York office of UNCTAD.
Ms. Foa then announced the availability, in the Spokesman's office, of a tentative list of the numerous press conferences scheduled for 13 to 27 September.
A correspondent then asked for information on the return to New York of Under-Secretary-General Marrack Goulding and Linda Perkin of the Department of Political Affairs.
Ms. Foa responded that Mr. Goulding was expected back in his office on Thursday, 19 September. Ms. Perkin would accompany him when he briefed the press. Meanwhile, yesterday, Assistant Secretary-General Rosario Green had met with a delegation of women from Afghanistan. She had assured them that the Secretary-General believed that a woman's perspective was essential to the work of Norbert Holl, Head of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan, which consisted of four political officers and two military
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advisers. The United Nations would be looking for a woman candidate to add to the mission, she added.
A correspondent then asked, given the comments yesterday by Under- Secretary-General for Administration and Management Joseph Connor as to the importance of the timely commencement of United Nations meetings, what could be said of today's General Assembly plenary where "they're standing in the aisles".
Ms. Foa said that they were not standing in the aisles. What was happening was that very intense consultations were under way, and delegations had separated into groups. Sometimes those groups were more productive than were formal speeches.
A correspondent then asked for information regarding a letter from the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq complaining about the smuggling, by a United Nations guard, of Iraqi military uniforms into the Kurdish region.
Ms. Foa answered that the items in question were not uniforms. A United Nations guard, while visiting Baghdad, had decided to "stock up" his personal collection of military insignia by purchasing some at the market. The matter had been resolved, she said. Asked how many insignia the guard had "stocked up" on, Ms. Foa said "a couple hundred".
A correspondent then asked whether the memorial exhibition for Dag Hammarskjold would make mention of the United Nations staff that had died with him during his mission. Ms. Foa said that while the exhibition was dedicated primarily to a celebration of the milestones of Hammarskjold's life, on the thirty-fifth anniversary of his death, "no one forgets the other people who were on that plane".
Why had not a United Nations official collected a contribution to the United Nations budget offered by Taiwanese representatives, a correspondent asked. Ms. Foa said that as far as she knew, no United Nations official had been officially notified of the offer. "No one here got a call", she said. Most offers of private contributions to the United Nations budget were made by letter or fax. Her office had contacted the legal, management and financial offices of the Organization but had been unable to find anyone who had been contacted with the offer. Normally, private contributions were sent in the mail.
If the check were to be more officially offered, would it be accepted? a correspondent asked. Ms. Foa said that in that case, the people charged with responsibility for processing private contributions would take the appropriate action. The United Nations had complicated financial rules. Normally, when private contributions were accepted they went into a general reserve fund. The Organization had been authorized to accept funds from private foundations and non-governmental organizations, but could not accept funds from
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governments or quasi-governmental agencies without the permission of the relevant Member State.
Asked about General Assembly resolutions which had solicited contributions from non-Member States, Ms. Foa said that those sorts of checks went through legal and financial channels for processing. The Holy See and Switzerland had made such contributions.
Asked whether or not the Permanent Mission of China had approached the United Nations on the issue, Ms. Foa said that the affair was a saga being played out primarily in the media. All the queries that she had received had been media queries.
Asked the age of the peace bell, Ms. Foa said that it was 28 years old. "It's a beautiful bell and makes a beautiful sound."
A correspondent then asked whether or not the Secretary-General had formally responded to a speech given yesterday by the President of the Staff Union. Was the Secretary-General being "isolated from reality"?
Ms. Foa answered that Denis Halliday, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, had responded immediately, stating that the Fifth Committee had found a way to extend staff for three months. The Secretary- General had applauded heartily. The Secretary-General often felt that, because of his numerous obligations, he didn't have enough time to spend talking to his staff. "It just never stops around here", she said.
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