DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19961114
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, announced at today's noon briefing that Lieutenant-General Maurice Baril, Commander of the Land Forces of the Canadian Armed Forces, would hold a press conference in Room 226, at 3:30 p.m., on the proposal for a multinational humanitarian force for eastern Zaire. It was expected that Lieutenant-General Baril would be named to head the force.
"This is a multinational humanitarian force that is evolving", Ms. Foa added. "The details of the operation are being discussed as we speak." She said she did not have a great deal of new information but, hopefully, by the time of Lieutenant-General Baril's press conference, more would be available. Also at that briefing would be Gordon Smith, Deputy Minister, Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Ambassador Robert R. Fowler, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations.
"Things seem to be coming together this afternoon", she said. Press questions on the multinational force would have to be answered by Lieutenant-General Baril. She understood Canada had written a draft resolution that was "in the works". The Security Council would meet at 3:30 p.m., and the first item on its agenda was the Great Lakes area.
"Meanwhile, we have been asked who was offering troops", Ms. Foa said. The Secretary-General had received a letter from the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), confirming that, in addition to South Africa, which had already communicated its readiness to contribute forces, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali and Senegal had also conveyed their preparedness to contribute forces to the operation. As was known, quite a few other States -- France, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands -- had also communicated separately. "So, we are moving", Ms. Foa stated.
Ms. Foa went on to say that, currently, there was a meeting ongoing in the Economic and Social Council Chamber. "That room is packed to the gills." At least 60 countries plus various international organizations were taking part. Hosted by the Government of Canada, that meeting was presenting a briefing on plans to address the crisis in eastern Zaire. It was expected to end at 1 p.m. There would be another meeting from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. this afternoon to explain the mandate and the goals of the mission.
"There were no inter-agency assessment teams that got into Goma in eastern Zaire today, because of the shelling last night", Ms. Foa went on to say. According to the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, its team expected
to return to Goma tomorrow, if the security situation permitted. "As you know, it's not very pretty in that area right now. There is heavy fighting going on, with shelling going back and forth between Mugunga and Goma."
The Inter-Agency Humanitarian Assessment Team did complete the distribution of goods that were in six trucks in Goma -- about 13 tons of humanitarian supplies had gone to the hospital, Ms. Foa said. "That is not very much in terms of what we need, barely enough for one week for 2,500 people", she added. "We are not talking about large amounts of assistance getting in."
Ms. Foa said, "You don't hear much about Tajikistan in the media. Just to remind you, tensions are very very high and there are occasional outbreaks of military hostilities". There was a cease-fire agreement in Tajikistan. "However, that agreement obviously does not include not shooting at each other." A United Nations mission of observers in Tajikistan reported that opposition forces had staged an offensive and had captured two towns in the Tavildara area: Kalai-Kusein and Sagirdasht. Government forces had launched a counter-offensive to recapture the lost terrain. Diplomatic efforts were under way to convene a summit in Moscow between President Rakhmonov and the opposition leader, Dr. Nuri. It was unclear, however, when that summit would take place.
Ms. Foa went on to say that the Department of Humanitarian Affairs had issued a new humanitarian appeal for that region. The Secretary-General had asked the Department to send a United Nations Inter-Agency Needs Assessment Mission to Tajikistan. It went from 6 to 16 October, and found a situation of widespread need, with many pockets of acute humanitarian crisis. The Department was asking for $22.2 million in urgent humanitarian assistance for the period from 1 December 1996 to 31 May 1997. They said the real income of most families in Tajikistan had shrunk to an average monthly salary of 3 dollars. Ten to 15 per cent of the population did not have enough money to meet their basic food needs.
Ms. Foa said epidemics were rampant. About 350,000 children under five years of age were affected by malaria and typhoid. The number of malaria cases in 1996 was estimated at more than 120,000. Anaemia was reported to affect 40 per cent of all age groups, and 60 per cent of pregnant women. Moreover, maternal mortality had jumped to 120 deaths per 100,000 live births, and infant mortality was up to 45 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The deteriorating water supply systems had made typhoid fever the most problematic of the acute diarrhoeal diseases. Sixty per cent of the rural population was using contaminated water from open channels, Ms. Foa continued. Thirty-five per cent of the urban populations had only intermittent clean water. Drinking water was delivered untreated, with sewerage mixing easily with drinking water, especially during the rainy season. "The education
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system is really in bad shape." Most families were unable to send their children to school. "The Department of Humanitarian Affairs is asking for $22.2 million to meet the needs there", she concluded.
On the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Ms. Foa said that Kenya signed this morning, bringing the total of signatories to 134 States.
The Security Council would meet at 3:30 p.m. The Great Lakes region was the first on its agenda. The second was the report of the Secretary-General on Western Sahara.
"We have gotten a lot of fun phone calls this morning with birthday wishes for the Secretary-General", Ms. Foa said. Somehow or other, radio stations around the world had heard it was the Secretary-General's birthday, and they decided to call up. "We have gotten calls from Argentina, Chile and Colombia radio stations. Here, in the United States, Mike Hsu of WBZU in Richmond, Virginia, called with his station's best wishes", Ms. Foa said. In addition, Kelly, Alpha and Nancy of Cool 105 radio in Denver, Colorado, had wanted to sing Happy Birthday right over the phone to Boutros Boutros-Ghali. "Instead, they did a really good chorus for the Spokesman's Office. They called it 'Human Voice Mail'", Ms. Foa added. "It was really great, K-O-O-L 105, in Denver."
Ms. Foa said that tomorrow at 11:15 a.m., in room 226, Jose Ayala Lasso, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, would hold a press conference on current developments in the United Nations human rights programme. She said it was interesting because, should we succeed in creating the proper conditions for a voluntary repatriation of the 1.1 million Rwandan refugees in eastern Zaire, the need for human rights monitors would increase.
At 1:15 p.m. tomorrow, in room 226, there would be a press conference with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to announce a new programme for emergency reproductive health care, including contraceptives for refugees in camps in Zaire.
Ms. Foa said this week's World Chronicle, with Graça Machel, the Secretary-General's expert on the impact of armed conflict on children, would be on in-house television today, at 2:30 p.m., on channels 6, 23 or 38. "With their coup", she added, the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) had gotten Nobel Prize Winner Jose Ramos Horta of East Timor, who would be at the UNCA Club at 2:30 p.m.
Asked by a correspondent for information on the staff situation, Ms. Foa said Ahmad Fawzi, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, would provide a full briefing on the senior staff.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 14 November 1996
Samsiah Abdul-Majid, spokeswoman for General Assembly President Razali Ismail (Malaysia) said the General Assembly this morning adopted without a vote, a draft resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Also adopted was a draft resolution on the zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic, by a vote of 117 in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (United States).
Also this morning, the plenary adopted the reports of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) regarding the appointment of members of six entities, including the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). Approved without a vote for the ACABQ were: Ammar Amari (Tunisia), Denise Almao (New Zealand), Leonid E. Bidny (Russian Federation), Gerard Biraud (France), and Norma Goicochea Estenoz (Cuba). For a three-year term for the Committee on Contributions were: Iqbal Akhun (Pakistan), Evgueni N. Deineko (Russian Federation), Alvaro Gurgel de Alencar (Brazil), Ju Kuilin (China), Isabelle Klais (Germany), and Ugo Sessi (Italy).
Ms. Abdul-Majid went on to say that the Auditor-General of Ghana had been appointed as a member of the United Nations Board of Auditors for a three-year term beginning 1 July 1997. For the Investments Committee, for a three-year term of office beginning 1 July 1997 were: Francine Bovich (United States), Peter Stormonth Darling (United Kingdom), Takeshi Ohta (Japan) and Fernando Chico Pardo (Mexico). For the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, for a three-year term beginning 1 January 1997: Julio Barboza (Argentina) and Mayer Gabay (Israel). For the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), for a four-year term beginning 1 January 1997 were: Corazon Alma de Leon (Philippines), Alexander V. Chepourin (Russian Federation), Humayun Kabir (Bangladesh), Ernest Rusita (Uganda), and El Hussane Zahid (Morocco).
It was also announced that the Assembly would meet on 26 November to consider the report of the Security Council, and would meet on 6 December to discuss the problem of trafficking in human persons, especially women and children. That meeting would be held to follow up a resolution adopted last year by the Assembly to devote one meeting of the Assembly to this topic in connection with the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.
She said that this morning the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) also approved the draft resolution on the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons. That was by a vote of 94 in favour to 22 against, with 29 abstentions.
Before acting on the draft as a whole, the Committee voted on operative paragraphs 3 and 4. Operative paragraph 3 underlined the unanimous conclusion of the Court that there existed an obligation to pursue in good faith and to bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its
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aspects under strict and effective international control. That paragraph was approved by a vote of 115 in favour to 7 against, with 19 abstentions.
Operative paragraph 4 was approved by a vote of 87 in favour to 27 against, with 27 abstentions. By the terms of that paragraph, the Assembly would call upon all States to fulfil that obligation immediately by commencing multilateral negotiations in 1997 leading to an early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, transfer, threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination.
At the time of the briefing, the First Committee was considering 6 draft resolutions in cluster 8, relating to other disarmament measures. The drafts included those on observance of environmental norms, on the Indian Ocean, and on the relationship between development and disarmament.
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