SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ACTIVITIES ON VISIT TO ROME, 10-12 NOVEMBER
Press Release
SG/T/2079
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ACTIVITIES ON VISIT TO ROME, 10-12 NOVEMBER
19961112 In the evening of 10 November, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali arrived in Rome, where he will take part in the World Food Summit, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with the theme "Food for All". The Secretary-General was welcomed at the airport by Sergio Zoppi, Under-Secretary of State in the Italian Prime Minister's Office; Ambassador Alberto Leoncini Bartoli, Chief of the Italian Protocol, and Andre Regnier, Assistant Director-General of the FAO.On Monday morning, 11 November, the Secretary-General made a number of telephone calls relating to the situation in eastern Zaire. He spoke with the President of the Council of Zaire, Leon Kengo Wa Dondo, and the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
A statement on these contacts was issued by the United Nations Information Centre in Rome as follows:
"This morning the Secretary-General had an extended telephone conversation with the President of the Council of the Government of Zaire, Leon Kengo Wa Dondo, on the urgent need to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and others displaced by the conflict in eastern Zaire.
"The Secretary-General said there had been a positive exchange of views. The President of the Council declared his willingness to cooperate with the United Nations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance.
"The Secretary-General then informed the United Nations Coordinator of Humanitarian Assistance for the Great Lakes Region, Sergio Vieira de Mello, of the outcome of his conversation with the President of the Council. Mr. Vieira de Mello, who is currently in Kinshasha, will meet with senior Zairian officials to arrange the details of delivering humanitarian assistance into eastern Zaire.
"The Secretary-General hopes these efforts will bring quick results but recognizes that the extreme security situation demands a multinational force in the region to create conditions for a humanitarian operation in an area where there are currently more than 1 million refugees and displaced persons."
- 2 - Press Release SG/T/2079 12 November 1996
At 6 p.m. local time Monday, the Secretary-General met for 45 minutes with Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), to discuss the humanitarian situation in eastern Zaire and ways to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Mrs. Bertini stressed that the pre-positioned stocks in strategic locations in the region were available, but their delivery remained impossible. They discussed a number of options for the assistance to reach all the refugees, including airlifts and air drops.
The Secretary-General then met for over an hour with Italian Defence Minister Beniamino Andreatta. They discussed the proposal for the deployment of a multinational force to eastern Zaire aimed at facilitating the delivery of international humanitarian assistance. While a formal decision had still to be taken by the Italian Government, the Defence Minister assured the Secretary-General that technical preparations for Italy's participation in this undertaking were under way.
Later in the evening, the Secretary-General attended a dinner hosted in his honour by Senator Gian Giacomo Migone, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Italian Senate. Senators Giulio Andreotti, Saverio Porcari, Giovanni Russo Spena, Francesco Tabladini and Jes Gawronski were also present.
Discussions focused on the role of the United Nations in the post-cold war era, as well as the situation in the Great Lakes region.
The Secretary-General spent today (Tuesday) in bilateral meetings with the Italian Government and Parliament. At midday he conferred with Achille Occhetto, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission, of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Afterwards the Secretary-General gave a short press conference at Hotel Minerva, at which he confirmed that Canada was ready to command a multinational force in Zaire. He said he hoped it would have logistical support from the United States. The Secretary-General also said that South Africa had agreed in principle to take part. He told correspondents, "I hope that in the next few days we will be able to have these multinational forces and that we will have a mandate from the Security Council."
At 1:30 p.m., he was to attend a luncheon hosted by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Later he was to meet with the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Luciano Violante, and then with the President of the Italian Senate, Nicola Mancino. This was to be followed by a meeting with the President of the Republic of Italy, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, at the Presidential Palace.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), the Secretary-General will take part in the inaugural ceremony of the World Food Summit. (For full text of the Secretary- General's statement, please see embargoed Press Release SG/SM/6107-FAO/3642 of 12 November.)
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