DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970107
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Acting Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, began the noon briefing by announcing that the Secretary-General had a full schedule of external visitors today, including the Permanent Representatives of the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Ethiopia and the Netherlands, the Foreign Minister of Namibia and the United States Secretary of State Warren Christopher. A list of the Secretary-General's appointments was available in room 226 and pool coverage for the photo opportunity of the Secretary-General with Mr. Christopher had been arranged for correspondents.
The Security Council was holding consultations today on Guatemala, Mr. Eckhard said. The Council had requested a briefing by the Secretariat on the Great Lakes region of Africa, which would be held tomorrow. Yesterday afternoon, the Council had elected the 1997 chairmen of its six sanctions committees. A list of the chairmen's names, as well as a background paper on Security Council sanctions was available in the Spokesman's office.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had announced today that 1.3 million refugees had returned to Rwanda from the United Republic of Tanzania and Zaire in 1996, Mr. Eckhard said. According to UNHCR estimates, over 300,000 Rwandan refugees remained in eastern Zaire and 200,000 Burundian refugees were still in Tanzania.
Speaking on the United Nations current budget situation, Mr. Eckhard said Member States still owed the Organization a total of $3.2 billion for both the regular budget and for peace-keeping operations. Letters notifying Member States of their assessments for the 1997 regular budget had been sent out at the end of December. The assessments were due within 30 days of the receipt of the letters. He recommended correspondents pick up a copy of document ST/ADM/SERB/503 of 19 December, which listed the assessments of Member States for the 1997 regular budget in both percentage terms and dollar amounts.
Concerning Angola, Mr. Eckhard said a group of 563 soldiers from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) had moved out of their quartering areas yesterday to be incorporated into the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA). He said 74 UNITA officers and 317 soldiers had already been incorporated into the army. Of those soldiers, 212 were being trained for security details for the UNITA leadership. To date, 18,873 UNITA soldiers had been selected for incorporation, but had not yet been incorporated.
Continuing, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, planned to resume consultations tomorrow with both the Angolan Government and UNITA on remaining issues, including the special status of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi and the extension of the state administration throughout the country. On those two questions, UNITA had submitted a document outlining its position and the Government had submitted its own proposals earlier.
"If things go well", he said, in accordance with the agreed timetable, 70 UNITA deputies would return to Luanda on 17 January to assume their functions at the National Assembly, UNITA would start functioning as a political party on 18 January, a new government of unity and national reconciliation would be formed on 23 January and an inaugural ceremony would be held on 25 January, when the new government would start functioning. Mr. Savimbi was meeting today with South African President Nelson Mandela, Mr. Eckhard added.
A twice monthly summary of outstanding contributions by Member States to the United Nations regular budget, peace-keeping operations and the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, was available in the Spokesman's office, he said. Countries were listed in descending order beginning with those who owed the most.
In reply to a request for a verbal announcement of the name of the biggest debtor to the United Nations and the amount it owed, Mr. Eckhard said the number one debtor was the United States which owed a total of $1.3 billion -- $377 million to the regular budget, $2.8 million to the Tribunals and $926 million to peace-keeping operations.
What was the significance of the Secretary-General meeting today with Mr. Christopher? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that Mr. Christopher had described the meeting as a courtesy call, but they were also expected to discuss a number of substantive matters and possibly the Secretary-General's expected visit to Washington, D.C.
The correspondent asked if the Secretary-General believed he had to remove the impression some people had that he was still the "U.S.'s man"? Mr. Eckhard replied that the Secretary-General did not consider that description of him to be the case. However, there was some advantage to be gained from that image, considering that the primary problem facing the Organization right now, particularly in the financial area, was the lack of political and financial support from the United States. It was "problem number one" which the Secretary-General needed to address. He could then get on with creating a consensus among Member States on what the United Nations was to do and finally shape an agenda and redirect the Organization's resources accordingly. So, it was not such a bad thing that the Secretary-General was well regarded in Washington, Mr. Eckhard said, adding, "We'll see how long the honeymoon lasts".
In reply to a question as to why the Permanent Representative of Kuwait, Mohammed Abulhasan, was meeting with the Secretary-General today, Mr. Eckhard said he believed the meeting was at Mr. Abulhasan's request and the correspondent should address questions on the matter to him.
A correspondent asked if Mr. Eckhard would predict whether the "honeymoon" with Washington would last and if the Secretary-General would be "more tough" in asking the United States Government for money it owed to the United Nations. Mr. Eckhard replied that the Secretary-General had emphasized that he had 185 bosses and there were "demands from some quarters in Washington that just can't be met". Reaching a consensus on what the United Nations should do in the next five years was going to require some compromise among Member States, he added.
Was the United States' assessment still 25 per cent of the United Nations regular budget and had it asked for a reduction in that amount? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the United States' assessment still stood at 25 per cent and it had not asked for any reduction. However, the scale of assessments was negotiated for a three-year period by the Committee on Contributions, so any Member State that wanted a change in its assessment could initiate a request through that Committee.
Was any position in the Annan administration "dangled in front of" the former Permanent Representative of Argentina, Emilio Cardenas, at his meeting with the Secretary-General yesterday? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard replied "not to my knowledge, and I do not know if that was in fact the purpose of his visit". The correspondent then asked if the Secretary-General would be interested in having Mr. Cardenas on his team. Mr. Eckhard said no individuals were being discussed at this stage.
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