DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19961023
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia, Anthony B. Nyakyi, was still busy briefing the Security Council and would not be at the briefing.
"Today is the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreements on Cambodia", Ms. Foa announced. The Secretary-General had sent a message stating that those agreements "further serve as eloquent testimony to what the international community can achieve when there is unity of will". On the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), the Secretary- General had said that it helped achieve the organization and supervision of elections. It had also helped repatriate refugees, had launched operations to rid the country of land-mines and established a programme to restore that country's basic infrastructure. He had also said that "objectives set out in the Paris Agreements do not mark a moment in time, but rather a process designed to get Cambodia back on its feet". The United Nations considered Cambodia one of its big successes, Ms. Foa said.
The Secretary-General had a busy day today, Ms. Foa said. This morning, he had attended a Conference on China's Twenty-five Years in the United Nations, she announced. They were discussing the 25 years based on resolution 2758 (1971) which had been signed on 25 October 1971. "They are jumping the gun by two days, but we are happy to have had the Conference", she said. There had been a panel discussion on China's contribution to the United Nations in the past 25 years.
Also this morning, the Secretary-General had met with the Director- General of the Islamic, Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Othman Altwaijri, Ms. Foa said. Later in the morning, he had met with Count Carlo Marullo Di Condojanni, the Permanent Observer for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Shortly later, he had met with Gareth Evans, the Deputy Leader of the opposition in Australia. The Secretary-General was also scheduled to meet with the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya.
The meeting with President Biya would include a hand-over ceremony for the Non-Aggression Pact among Central African States. Ten ambassadors would be participating, Ms. Foa announced. On 8 July in Yaounde that treaty had been signed by 11 Member States of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa. The Central African Republic had not been at the ceremony. However, it had sent a note to the United Nations on its readiness to sign the Pact. The texts were sent to Bangui, where the Pact was signed by President Ange-Felix Patasse on 24 September, after which it was returned to New York. However, "the Pact and
its instruments of ratification are supposed to be deposited with the Government of the country which hosts the signing of the Pact, which is Cameroon", Ms. Foa said. President Biya's visit to the United Nations "gives us an opportunity to surrender officially to the depository State the original text of the Non-Aggression Pact", she explained.
This afternoon, the Secretary-General would meet the Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Pierre Cornillon, Ms. Foa announced. Later on he would meet with Shazia Rofi, the Secretary-General of the Parliamentarians for Global Action. At about 5:30 p.m., the Secretary-General would meet with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, to discuss the situation in Zaire. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Yashushi Akashi, as well as the Under-Secretary- General for Political Affairs, Marrack Gouding, would also be present at that meeting to discuss what the United Nations could do to defuse the situation there. This evening, the Secretary-General would put on his dancing shoes for the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Annual Awards Dinner.
After the briefing of Mr. Nyakyi, the Security Council would take up the Secretary-General's progress report on the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL), Ms. Foa said. Under other matters, Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General, Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, would brief the Council on various crises, including Afghanistan. He would also brief the Council on developments in the implementation of resolution 986 (1995), on the "oil-for- food" formula. "He has told me that he would be at the stake-out at about 1:00 p.m. to brief correspondents on his conversations with the Council", she added.
On Afghanistan, "our dynamo, Norbert Heinrich Holl, was in Mazar-i- Sharif today", Ms. Foa said. Tomorrow he would fly to Kandahar to present some proposals -- that had come out in Mazar-i-Sharif -- to the Taliban. "We are keeping our fingers crossed that maybe there will be some movement", she said.
This morning, reports from Zaire had indicated that there were between 70,000 and 100,000 refugees from Burundi and Rwanda from the Uvira and Bukavu camps in the Bukavu area, Ms. Foa said. They had been joined by thousands of Zairians who were fleeing the fighting. The situation was very serious since there was not enough food in Bukavu, where there were enough supplies only for the 300,000 refugees already there. In the Uvira camps there had been 220,000 refugees. It was unknown where the 120,000 missing refugees were. "They are probably still hiding in the hills", she said. There were another 40,000 refugees moving out of the Uvira area coming up the road. "At 2 p.m., field workers standing along the road on the outskirts of Bukavu were counting 1,500 arrivals every hour", Ms. Foa said.
The UNHCR had stated that it was attempting to direct the arrivals in camps in western Bukavu, Ms. Foa said. Some refugees were being urged to go
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 23 October 1996
back to their own camps where there was food. "Evidently, the Rwandese Government had said it was ready to receive these people back", she continued. The UNHCR had prepared three reception centres in Cyangugu, which was right across the border. Each reception centre was capable of sheltering 15,000 people and they had 40 trucks ready to do the job. "So far, 14 refugees have shown up", Ms. Foa added.
"I misinformed you yesterday on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT); it is 127 signatories not 126", Ms. Foa clarified. Two new signatories were expected tomorrow, including one of the 44 core countries.
"This is a paid political announcement", Ms. Foa said. "If you are bored with this briefing and if you are sick and tired of coming here every day and hearing me hem and haw and evade your questions, now you can call up the briefing on the Web", she said. The address was http.\www.un.org\news\ ossg or "just call up the United Nations home page under new news", she continued. The whole briefing could be found there just a few hours after it was given, put into beautiful UN-ese.
In the interest of equal time, "I would like to call your attention to another World Wide Web site set up by the Michigan Militia", Ms. Foa said. It had proudly started off its site with an emblem which was the United Nations logo with a Nazi eagle on top. It was announcing on its World Wide Web page -- mmc.cns.net -- that tomorrow the Michigan Militia would protest the raising of the United Nations flag over City Hall in Lansing, Michigan. They had more than 150 pages on the United Nations and they called it the "United Nations Information Page". "So don't get mixed up which is ours and which is theirs, but after you read for a while you will figure it out", she said. In their Web page, they compared the United Nations with the Soviet Union and communism. In fact, they tried to show similarities between the United Nations logo and the logo of the former Soviet Union.
The best part of the Michigan Militia's page was the section called "a dozen good reasons to get US out of the United Nations", Ms. Foa said. Among the 12 reasons, they included "the United Nations basic philosophy is both anti-American and pro-totalitarian and the United Nations ignores God's existence". Furthermore, they stated that "the United Nations seeks power to control the environment, population and children ... their goal is a world government with the power to cancel national sovereignty and control the human race...the United Nations goal is to reduce the population selectively". Other quotes on the militia page said: "the United Nations Charter outlines the path to world tyranny"; "the United Nations is building its own army to enforce its will"; "the United Nations doesn't settle disputes, it makes them worse" and "the United Nations is a moral cesspool filled with perverts and fat cats". Furthermore, they said that "to label the United Nations war- making proficiency as 'peace-keeping' is equivalent to claiming that poisonous toadstools are nourishing mushrooms", she continued. Ms. Foa added that "if you have insomnia and you don't want to read a United Nations document, head for the Michigan Militia home page".
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 23 October 1996
There would be a symposium today at 1 p.m. on "Mobilizing Communities to Prevent Drug Abuse", Ms. Foa announced. The symposium -- organized by the United Nations Drug Control Programme, World Health Organization (WHO) and non-governmental organizations -- would take place in Conference Room 5.
Tomorrow was United Nations Day, Ms. Foa announced. The observance of that day would take place at the General Assembly Hall from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There would be a "big videoconference with links to Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Sydney and Vienna", she said. The Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly would address the Assembly on the matter. In addition, Richie Havens would read the Preamble to the United Nations Charter and would sing a song.
Tomorrow was also World Development Information Day, Ms. Foa said. She added that "between 24 October and 30 October it is Disarmament Week". Ms. Foa reminded correspondents that today was the candlelight vigil to protest the United Nations financial crisis, organized by the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA). Everyone was wearing a blue ribbon to show their support to the United Nations and their view that Member States needed to pay their dues with no conditions. There would be candlelight vigils in 27 cities around the world. In addition, today, at 3 p.m. at the UNCA Club, James Paul, the Executive Director of the Global Policy Forum and vigil coordinator, would be available to talk to correspondents about the world vigil and about "who owes what", she added.
Asked whether the Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Zaire, Ibrahima Fall, had issued a report, Ms. Foa replied that he had done so after his first trip to the region. However, he had not yet done so during his current trip. "The Secretary-General spoke with him last night when he was in Goma", she said. A report by Mr. Fall was expected on his return from the region.
Did the United Nations spend any time keeping track of the Michigan Militia? a correspondent asked. Ms. Foa replied that the three interns working at the Spokesman's office spent lots of time in the Michigan Militia's home page. That organization, however, had never contacted the United Nations. It was interesting that someone had spent the time to put 150 pages on the United Nations into their home page.
Asked whether there would be a concert on United Nations Day, Ms. Foa replied that, for the first time in some 40 years, there would not be one due to the Organization's financial constraints.
Would the United Nations make it through 1997? a correspondent asked. Ms. Foa replied in the positive. "If you don't have the United Nations, you will invent one organization just like it", she added. She also said that she would participate in tonight's candlelight vigil.
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 23 October 1996
Did the United Nations acknowledge God's existence? a correspondent asked. There were about 40 to 50 religious organizations represented at the United Nations, Ms. Foa said.
Samsiah Abdul-Majid, spokeswoman for General Assembly President Razali Ismail (Malaysia), said the Assembly would not meet in the morning; the United Nations Day observance would take place at the Assembly Hall. (See Note to Correspondents No. 5381.) However, there would be a meeting in the afternoon in which the President of Cameroon and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh would speak.
Also, tomorrow afternoon, the Assembly would consider four draft resolutions. The first was a 55-Power draft by which the Assembly would invite the International Seabed Authority to participate in its work as an observer (document A/51/L.2). By another resolution, the Assembly would encourage the Government of Nicaragua to continue its efforts to bring about reconstruction and national reconciliation in that country. It would further request Member States, funding agencies and non-governmental organizations to continue to provide support to Nicaragua and would request the Secretary- General to continue to provide, within existing resources, assistance for reconstruction and stabilization there. There was a Secretary-General report on the matter (document A/51/263), Ms. Abdul-Majid added.
The third draft resolution (document A/51/L.4), to be presented tomorrow to the Assembly, would reiterate support for the initiative of the Government of Panama to organize the Universal Congress on the Panama Canal from 7 to 10 September 1997 (document A/51/L.4), the spokeswoman said. "As you recall, this is a Congress to examine the role of the Canal in the twenty-first century", she explained. The Secretary-General's report on the matter was in document A/51/281.
By a 16-power draft text (document A/51/L.5), the Assembly would express appreciation for the efforts by the Secretary-General in promoting cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS), Ms. Abdul-Majid said. It would express the hope that he would continue to strengthen the mechanism for such cooperation. The Secretary-General's report on the matter was in document A/51/297 and Add.1.
The spokeswoman said she had an updated tentative schedule of items to be considered by the Plenary and the Assembly Main Committee for the period from 28 October to 15 November. Copies of the schedule were available. From it, she highlighted the dialogue with the UNHCR on 31 October and the dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 14 November.
The General Assembly President's activities today included a meeting with the President of Cameroon at 1 p.m., Ms. Abdul-Majid announced.
Had the Credentials Committee decided who would represent Afghanistan at the United Nations? a correspondent asked. Ms. Abdul-Majid responded that the Committee's decision to defer the consideration had not changed.
* *** *