DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970120
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Acting Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by announcing that Secretary-General Kofi Annan had congratulated the President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, on his inauguration to a second term of office. Recalling a question last week as to whether the Secretary-General had been invited to the inauguration, Mr. Eckhard said that, while Mr. Annan had asked to attend it, he would pass up the event since he was going to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, 22 January.
Turning to the question of Guatemala, Mr. Eckhard told reporters that an agreement to resubmit the matter to the Security Council had been reached over the weekend. The agreement was the result of the discussions held on Friday and Saturday between the Governments of Guatemala and China, the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) and the "Friends of Guatemala" (Colombia, Mexico, Norway, Spain, United States and Venezuela). Many of the contacts had been facilitated by the Secretary-General himself or by his representative, Marrack Goulding, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. The agreement would enable the Security Council to resume its deliberations on authorizing United Nations military observers to verify the disarmament and demobilization of URNG combatants. A new resolution on the issue was being drafted, with a formal meetings expected later today.
On the Great Lakes region, Mr. Eckhard read out a statement attributable to the Spokesman of the Secretary-General:
"The Secretary-General was shocked by the killing of three Spanish aid workers and the wounding of an American aid worker employed by Médecins du Monde in Ruhengeri, Rwanda.
"He strongly condemns this act of violence against people whose efforts were to alleviate suffering and protect the vulnerable. He offers his deepest condolences to Médecins du Monde and to the families and Governments of the victims of this heinous attack.
"Continued instability and violence in the Great Lakes region underscore the importance of finding a lasting solution to the region's problems. He urges all parties to work together to this end and to ensure the safety and protection of relief workers." (See today's Press Release SG/SM/6147.)
The Acting Spokesman said United Nations staff in Rwanda continued to work normally, with the exception of those in the Ruhengeri region who worked during the day and returned to Kigali in the evening.
Secretary-General Annan, Mr. Eckhard continued, was expected to propose to the Council tomorrow an approach for solving the problems of the Great Lakes region, including the appointment of a joint special representative of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Further details on the proposals would be made available tomorrow.
Providing information from Geneva, Mr. Eckhard told reporters that the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the former Yugoslavia, Elisabeth Rehn, had asked the High Commissioner for Human Rights, José Ayala-Lasso, to consider opening an office in Pristina, the main city in Kosovo. The office would provide detailed information about human rights in the area. Mr. Ayala-Lasso had said he would welcome an opportunity to open such a facility.
Turning to developments regarding Afghanistan, Mr. Eckhard said that an international forum on assistance to Afghanistan would be held from 21 to 22 January in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The meeting would be attended by representatives of governments, agencies and non-governmental organizations. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Yasushi Akashi, would chair the meeting, while the Head of the United Nations Mission to Afghanistan, Norbert Heinrich Holl, would deliver the keynote address.
On the financial situation of the United Nations, Mr. Eckhard said the Organization had received two cheques as payments of Member States' 1997 dues. The first, of $213,000, was from Bahrain, while the second sum of $5.9 million had been paid by Norway. That meant that 11 Member States had paid up their 1997 United Nations dues.
The Acting Spokesman then made several announcements. First, he informed correspondents that a recently recorded edition of "World Chronicle" would be shown at 2:30 p.m. today on in-house television channels 6 and 23. It would feature Bo Kjellen (Sweden), the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa. Second, he reminded reporters of the press conference to be held at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow, 21 January, in room 226 by the Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, Nitin Desai. He would brief reporters on two forthcoming reports prepared for the review of progress since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the "Earth Summit". The reports are on critical trends in global change and sustainable development and on freshwater resources.
Third, Mr. Eckhard relayed an announcement from the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), saying that the former Russian presidential candidate, General Aleksandr Lebed, would meet reporters at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow in the UNCA Club.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 20 January 1997
Fourth, the Acting Spokesman said that Colonel Evagisto Arturo de Vergara (Argentina) had been named the next commander of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Finally, he said, Martin Barber had assumed the responsibilities of Syed Iqbal Riza, as the Secretary-General's Special Representative and Coordinator of the United Nations Operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Barber, formerly a deputy to Mr. Riza, would be the Acting Special Representative.
In a subsequent question-and-answer session, Mr. Eckhard was asked how long it would take to fully deploy the 155 military observers to be attached to the United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). Responding, he said he would find out how long that process would take, from the Logistics Division of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations. "My guess is a month", he added.
Asked if the Guatemalan Government agreed to change its policy towards Taiwan as a result of the agreements reached over the weekend, Mr. Eckhard said he only knew that the parties had reached an agreement, without knowing the details.
Was the United Nations "in cahoots" with chemical companies -- as stated in an unnamed, free newspaper -- in developing a drugs code that would limit public access to medicines to such an extent that vitamin C tablets would have to be bought after the acquisition of expensive prescriptions, the Acting Spokesman was asked. In response, he said he was checking into the report. "But, it doesn't sound plausible that you wouldn't be able to buy vitamin C in your supermarket", he added.
Responding to a question as to the term of office of the new UNFICYP commander, Mr. Eckhard said it had not been fixed. It was probably an initial one-year contract, which could be renewed.
Replying to a question as to whether a formal decision or announcement was expected this afternoon on the question of Guatemala, Mr. Eckhard said the Council was expected to hold a formal meeting to consider a resolution that was being redrafted. It would initially hold consultations that might be followed by a formal meeting, which Secretary-General Annan would attend.
Mr. Eckhard was then asked whether non-governmental organizations were planning to leave Rwanda as a result of the weekend killing of some relief workers and about the steps that were being taken to improve security in the area. He replied that the aid workers in Rwanda depended on protection by the Government, which had just absorbed about 500,000 to 1 million returnees. Given the circumstances that the Government did not have an easy security situation to manage, the non-governmental organizations and the United Nations agencies would have to take precautionary measures to ensure their safety. While the situation in many parts of Rwanda was difficult, there was no intention on the part of United Nations agencies and non-governmental
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 20 January 1997
organizations to pull out. Rather, they might just "tough-it through", hoping that their security would be guaranteed eventually.
Asked whether the aid workers had been caught in a crossfire, since some rebels had also been killed, Mr. Eckhard said it was Government soldiers who had been killed along with the aid workers. Initial reports, pending the receipt of details, indicated that the workers had been shot at close range. "In other words, executed."
Responding to a question as to whether the former Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, would be attending an occasion tonight to mark Martin Luther King Day, Mr. Eckhard said: "I don't have any information on the former Secretary-General being in town."
Asked about the rationale for the plans to open a human rights office in Pristina, Kosovo, Mr. Eckhard recalled that Ms. Rehn felt that it would be useful to have more first-hand knowledge of the human rights situation in the Kosovo region of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The opening of the office would depend of its acceptance by the Federal Republic's Government. How long that would take was unclear.
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