DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960926
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's briefing that the Secretary-General was "gravely concerned over the clashes which have erupted in the West Bank and Gaza. He deplores the escalation of violence in which now dozens have been killed and hundreds wounded". The latest death toll, she said, was 40 Palestinians and 11 Israelis in the last two days.
She said the Secretary-General "urges restraint and appeals for a halt to any provocative action. He calls on both the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to bring an immediate end to the violence and prevent further casualties. He also calls on the parties to resume in earnest negotiations that will lead to full implementation of agreements already reached".
Turning to the Secretary-General's schedule, Ms. Foa said that he had met this morning with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Glafcos Clerides, with prospects for negotiation the main theme of their discussion. President Clerides emphasized the need for preparatory work before direct negotiations, and the importance of starting and completing negotiations well before what he described as the "pre-election fever" -- for the Presidential elections expected in February 1998. Mr. Clerides also spoke about the need for proper coordination among the various countries that were supporting the Secretary-General's Good Offices Mission in Cyprus.
Continuing, she said that the Secretary-General met later with Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria, Wolfgang Schussel, and the Foreign Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Manh Cam, and was presently meeting with Dick Spring, Foreign Minister of Ireland. Later today, he would meet with Lamberto Dini, the Foreign Minister of Italy. He would also host a luncheon in honor of the Foreign Ministers of the five Permanent Members of the Security Council, followed by meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Klaus Kinkel; Chile, Jose Miguel Insulza; Sao Tome and Principe, Gilherme Posser da Costa; Mauritania, Lemrabott Sidi Mahmoud Ould Cheikh Ahmed; and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.A.F.M.O. van Mierlo.
Ms. Foa said she was able to get some information from Kabul this morning. United Nations staff there had reported fierce fighting around the University there and in the Microryan suburb of Kabul. At 1830 hours local time, the field security officer reported that fighting was now taking place on all fronts, and the sound of artillery was getting closer. Armored vehicles were much in evidence and the streets of Kabul were deserted. A bit later, there was a report which said the security situation seemed to be worsening by the hour, with considerable military movement towards the north. A land cruiser belonging to the United Nations Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs was taken
at gunpoint on the road to the Kabul Airport. That road was no longer considered safe by United Nations staff. The United Nations aeroplane made two landings at Kabul airport today, taking out a total of 20 passengers -- some United Nations staff and many non-governmental organizations. Evidently, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) flew into Kabul this morning and took out another 20 people. Approximately 50 foreigners remained in Kabul, including three international staff members of the United Nations.
Updating the signings of the Comprehensive-Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Ms. Foa announced that 71 States signed on the first day and nine signed yesterday, bringing the total signatures to 80. Three more were scheduled to sign today. So far, 35 of the 44 States needed for the Treaty to enter into force had signed, and two others had indicated their intention to do so. Seven signatures were pending. The countries that signed yesterday were Ethiopia, Paraguay, Peru, United Arab Emirates, Côte d'Ivoire, Papua New Guinea, Israel, Hungary and Honduras.
There was more good news from Hungary, she said. The country had become the ninety-first Member State to pay its 1996 regular budget assessment dues in full, with a check for $1,522,783. That left only 94 countries out of 185 that had not paid -- "it would be nice if we could get at least halfway there before the end of the year", she added. Japan had come up with a check of nearly $40 million towards peace-keeping assessments.
Ms. Foa said there was a letter from the President of the Security Council to the Secretary-General concerning the International Commission of Inquiry in Burundi (S/1996/780), available on the racks. The letter said that the Security Council members were "gravely concerned" at the conclusions of the report and continued to attach the "utmost importance" to bringing to justice those responsible for the assassinations, the massacres and other acts of serious violence which occurred in and after October 1993. The Council believed that once conditions allowed, the recommendations of the Commission should be given further consideration. It also believed it was vital that measures dealing with the problem of impunity be addressed in the context of a negotiated political settlement in Burundi.
Turning to the situation in Bosnia, Ms. Foa said the tenth report of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the Implementation Force (IFOR) operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina would be available today. The report noted the successful holding of the 14 September elections, due in no small measure to the close cooperation between the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Office of the High Representative and the United Nations International Police Task Force (IPTF), "last on the list", she noted. IFOR was now prepared in principle to support the OSCE in the preparations for, and organization of, municipal elections, provided that they took place before the end of IFOR's mandate in December. The report said that IFOR's overall capability would be retained until then. The "very tough" Transitional Administrator for Eastern Slovenia, Jacques Klein, would be at Headquarters next week and was asked to brief on Tuesday, 1 October, pending confirmation.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 26 September 1996
On a sad note, Ms. Foa said there would be a memorial service at 4 p.m. tomorrow, 27 September, in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium for Erskine Childers, the former Secretary-General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA). The scheduled speakers: Brian Urquhart, the former Scholar-in-Residence in the International Affairs Program at the Ford Foundation; Julius Nyerere, the former President of Tanzania; Djibril Diallo, Director of the Divison of Public Affairs of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and Annabelle Wiener, Deputy Secretary-General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA). Ms. Foa said Mr. Childers was "one of our favourite people, and we miss him a lot".
She then read out the room 226 press briefings scheduled for the rest of the day: at 12:45 p.m., the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, Malcolm Rifkind; at 1:30 p.m., The Hunger Project; at 2:15 p.m., the President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegovic; and at 3:30 p.m., the President of Guatemala, Alvaro Arzu Irigoyen (with Spanish and English interpretation available).
Ms. Foa said there was a briefing scheduled for tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. with Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres and the Foreign Minister for Costa Rica, Fernando Naranjo Villalobos, who would officially announce the convening of the South-South Conference on Trade, Finance and Investment. At 11 a.m., the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Milan Milutinovic, would brief, and at 12:30 p.m. in Conference Room 6, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad. A briefing was also scheduled for 4:30 with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Boliva, Antonio Aranibar Quiroga, and at 5:30, a briefing by the Foreign Minister of Argentina, Guido Di Tella. "I know you've all got writer's cramp from what's going on", she added.
The spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly, Samsiah Abdul-Majid, told correspondents that Assembly President Razali Ismail was following with concern and sadness, the situation in the Middle East, the reported loss of life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the increasing violence and the clear threat to the peace process. He was particularly concerned because the situation could explode, given the religious dimension of the issue.
She said that at a meeting this morning among the President of the Security Council, President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, information was exchanged on the activities of the Assembly and the Council. The Security Council President informed the Assembly President of items being considered by the Council during September. Among issues raised in their meeting were the current Middle East situation -- particularly in the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- and the situation in Afghanistan.
The President's meetings today included those with the President of Cyprus, Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Albania, and the Foreign Ministers of Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Spain and Chile, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Culture, Youth and Sports of Lichtenstein.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 26 September 1996
Ms. Abdul-Majid said the President of Cyprus had addressed the Assembly this morning. The general debate continued with statements by the Foreign Ministers of Italy, Brunei Darussalam, Ukraine, Paraguay, Zimbabwe and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka, Chile, Singapore, Netherlands, Kuwait and Turkmenistan, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Culture, Youth and Sport of Liechtenstein would speak in the afternoon.
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