DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960920
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Secretary-General would attend the monthly Security Council luncheon, at which he and Council members would informally discuss issues on the Council agenda.
At 3 p.m. the Secretary-General would meet with the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea, Park Soo Gil, regarding the recent incident which took place in that country, she added.
Ms. Foa then announced that at 9:30 a.m. on 24 September, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) would be opened for signature by the Secretary-General in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. Sixteen Governments were expected to sign the text at that time -- United States, China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Ireland and South Africa.
The President of the United States was scheduled to sign first, she said. Also expected to sign were Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan, several Foreign Ministers, the Deputy Prime Ministers of China and Ireland, and the Vice Chancellor of Austria. "It will be quite a crew." The ceremony was expected to end at 10 a.m., after which participants were expected to proceed to the General Assembly Hall to hear an address by President Clinton. Delegations unable to sign at that ceremony would be able to do so in the ensuing days and weeks in the Treaty Room, she added.
The General Assembly had met on procedural questions this morning and the sound system had broken down, Ms. Foa said. "If only people would pay their dues we might be able to afford the $20,000 that was needed for badly needed new sound equipment", she added. The Assembly had completed its meeting in Conference Room 4. At 8 a.m. this morning, sound technicians preparing the Assembly Hall had smelled something burning, thereby discovering the damaged system. The new General Assembly President was a "stickler" for starting on time, she noted, so they had not waited for repairs but had changed rooms.
The Security Council this morning was considering a report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Tajikistan, Ms. Foa said. It would also be considering the situation of human rights in Croatia and other matters. The Council would also be briefed by Ambassador Park of the Republic of Korea regarding the incident of 18 September. There would likely be a statement to the press, she said. Also, a presidential statement on Tajikistan was expected.
The Croatian Parliament this morning had adopted a new amnesty law, the Spokesman said. That legislation would put a "new face" on the report of the Secretary-General on human rights in Croatia. The Council had decided to examine the new legislation and to digest its implications prior to the issuance of its statement. A comprehensive amnesty legislation was essential to allay the fears of the minority Serb population and for the peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia into Croatia.
Tomorrow, 21 September, would see the fifth "market day" sponsored by the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES), she said. There had been four previous market days. Last Saturday, some 8,000 people from different ethnic groups and families had participated, trying to learn to get along together again. Even more persons were expected tomorrow. The Transitional Administrator of UNTAES, Jaques Klein, would be visiting Headquarters at the end of the month, she added. She would try to arrange a press briefing at that time.
Ms. Foa then said that on Monday, 23 September, a three-day meeting would commence at the United Nations Office at Geneva on the question of guidelines for human rights of people affected by HIV/AIDS. Governments, non- governmental organizations, academic and research organizations and public health agencies would take part. The effort would be to pinpoint the kinds of discrimination encountered by the 21 million people worldwide who had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and how governments could stop that discrimination. Some 8,500 people contracted the disease every day, she noted.
She then reminded correspondents that at 3 p.m. today, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, Sergey V. Lavrov, would brief correspondents at the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Club.
The following items were available in the Spokesman's office, she said: the list of speakers for the beginning of the Assembly's general debate on Monday, 23 September, beginning with Brazil; a provisional list for the general debate through 11 October; and a seating chart of the General Assembly Hall. "That way, you can peer into the room and say, 'hmmm ... that must be St. Lucia'".
She then outlined the following press conferences for Monday, 23 September: at 11:15 a.m., Georg Kell, Officer-in-Charge, New York Office of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to launch the World Investment Report 1996; at 1:15 p.m., Hiroshi Hashimoto, spokesman for the Prime Minister of Japan, Ryutaro Hashimoto, and/or Hidehiko Hamada, spokesman for the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yukihiko Ikeda; and at 3:45 p.m. with the spokesmen of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Japan. A list of press conferences scheduled for the week of 23 to 27 September was available in the Spokesman's office, she said.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 20 September 1996
Today, she continued, Joseph Connor, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management and Chairman of the Efficiency Board, would appear on the United Nations World Chronicle television broadcast at 2:30 p.m. on in-house channels 6, 23 and 38.
Ms. Foa then reminded correspondents that they were invited for cocktails at 7 p.m. on Monday, 23 September, at the Visitors Entrance, for an exhibition of sculptures by Jacques Zwoboda. The exhibition was being presented by the Foreign Minister of France. The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister of Morocco would attend.
A draft set of building security restrictions for Tuesday, 24 September, was available in the Spokesman's office, she said. Correspondents should bear in mind that they could perform stand-ups and interviews in the General Assembly Public Lobby only. Access to both the Secretariat and Delegates Entrances would be restricted to predetermined pools, she added. Access to any floor above the fifth floor would be restricted to those with confirmed appointments.
To a question on press access to the ceremony for the signing of the CTBT, Associate Spokesman Juan Carlos Brandt said that there would be pool access for visual media only. There would be no public access. The proceedings would be broadcast over in-house television, he added.
Would the General Assembly sound system be repaired in time for the address of United States President Clinton, a correspondent asked. Ms. Foa said that she was not sure and a new board would cost some $20,000. "We didn't stage this", she joked in response to a question. "I wouldn't put it past us, but we didn't." Twenty thousand dollars wasn't a great deal of money for a brand-new console, she added.
The spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly, Samsiah Abdul-Majid, told correspondents that the General Assembly had adopted its 159-item agenda this morning. There were five new items. Items on the granting of observer status to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and on the elimination of coercive economic measures as a means of political and economic compulsion were allocated to the plenary; an item on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons was allocated to the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security); an item on the elaboration of a convention against organized transnational crime, to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural); and the item on financing of the support mission in Haiti to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).
The Assembly had decided to recess on 17 December, she said. Main Committees should therefore complete their work by 29 November. The President of the Assembly had called upon those Committees which were habitually late to
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 20 September 1996
"break new ground", she said. He had also stated that the Secretariat should ensure that all documentation was available on time, whatever the circumstances.
Some 134 speakers had inscribed to participate in the general debate through 11 October, she said. The list was still open, and was now available.
* *** *
Note: The third sentence of the second paragraph on page 4 of yesterday's noon briefing should read as follows:
"There were now five countries -- Rwanda, Liberia, Tajikistan, Georgia and Comoros -- that had been unable to pay due to conditions beyond their control."