DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970124
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman to the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by answering some of the questions that had been asked yesterday by correspondents. First, he told them that Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun -- the nominated Special Representative of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the Great Lakes region -- would come to New York tomorrow, Saturday, and not today as announced earlier.
Second, he informed correspondents that he would provide them with a press release from the International Tribunal for Rwanda, which contained the names of the four Rwanda genocide indictees recently extradited by Cameroon to the Tribunal headquarters in Arusha. The suspects were Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, former Director of the Minister of Defence's Cabinet in the former government of Rwanda ousted in July 1994; Ferdinand Nahimana, former Director of Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM); Andre Ntagerura, a former Minister of Transport and Communication; and Lieutenant-Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva. The press release contained details such as the suspects' time of arrival in Arusha and the legal procedures to be expected, and announced that a press conference would be held at the Tribunal at 11 a.m. local time tomorrow.
The Associate Spokesman then said Secretary-General Kofi Annan had appointed Major-General Willy Hanset of Belgium as the Force Commander of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES). The appointment of General Hanset, who would succeed his compatriot, Major-General Josef Schoups, had been approved by the Security Council, according to a letter from its President, Hisashi Owada (Japan). The new Commander's biography was available at the Spokesman's office in English and French. Then, providing an update on UNTAES itself, Mr. Brandt said it had 4,800 troops, 100 military observers and 450 civilian police officers.
Referring to the implementation of the "oil-for-food" formula approved by Security Council resolution 986 (1995), he informed correspondents that $35.7 million from the sale of Iraqi oil had been deposited in the escrow account of the Banque Nationale de Paris last Tuesday, 21 January. With that deposit, a total of approximately $149 million had been placed in the account: $68.8 million on 15 January and $44 million on 16 January. Continuing, he said $23 million and an additional $23.6 million would be deposited today and on Monday, 27 January, respectively. Therefore, by the end of today, the total deposits should be $172 million, which would rise by Monday to $196 million.
The Associate Spokesman went on to say that the first $53.1 million of the oil sales revenue had been distributed on 21 January. Of that amount, $33.9 million had been allocated to the United Nations Compensation Commission, with the remainder meant for other, as yet unspecified activities.
Regarding contracts for humanitarian supplies, Mr. Brandt said that Antonio Victor Martins Monteiro (Portugal), the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) concerning the situation between Iraq and Kuwait, had mentioned yesterday that the Committee had approved two contracts involving some $50 million of Australian wheat and $21 million of Thailand rice. The Committee had before it another contract involving the sale of detergent powder from Viet Nam. In that case, it had one week to examine the contract, but 48 hours to look at contracts for food and medicines, under the "no objection" procedure. In the case of other humanitarian goods, the Committee had one week to examine the contracts, also under the "no objection" procedure. So far, the Secretariat had received approximately 80 applications involving the sale of humanitarian supplies.
Turning to developments in Guatemala, Mr. Brandt announced the availability in all official languages of the texts of two agreements of the Guatemalan peace process, which were signed by the Peace Commission of the Government of Guatemala (COPAZ) and the General Command of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) under the auspices of the United Nations in December 1996 (document A/51/776-S/1997/51, of 20 January). The first was the Agreement on Constitutional Reforms and the Electoral Regime, signed in Stockholm on 7 December 1996. The second, signed in Madrid on 12 December 1996, was the Agreement on the Basis for the Legal Integration of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG).
On United Nations finances, Mr. Brandt informed correspondents that Sri Lanka had become the eighteenth Member State to pay up its 1997 regular budget dues by handing the United Nations a cheque for $106,508. That meant that outstanding dues to the United Nations stood at $3.1 billion: $1.4 billion for the regular budget and $1.6 billion for peace-keeping.
Regarding the situation in Angola, Mr. Brandt said he had received information from the spokesman to the Special Representative for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, stating that the Joint Commission had adjourned the inauguration of the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation, which had been scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, 25 January. The decision became inevitable when such a Government could not be formed on 23 January, as previously agreed. The Joint Commission also agreed not to set a new date until deputies and government appointees from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) had arrived in Luanda. Their return to the capital had been fixed at 12 February by the Joint Commission. The date had been chosen by UNITA, which had announced that it no longer linked the formation of a Government of National Reconciliation to the resolution of the special status of the UNITA leader, Jonas Savimbi. The Joint Commission would
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meet formally next week to approve the methods that could be used to extend State authority throughout the nation's territory, which was a matter that had been agreed to by both parties. It would also hold a follow-up meeting today to accelerate the selection and incorporation of former UNITA fighters into the Angolan Armed Forces and to speed up demobilization. Those activities had slowed down in recent weeks due to the present political climate.
Briefing reporters on the Secretary-General's activities in Washington, D.C., Mr. Brandt said that Mr. Annan had had a working breakfast with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Michel Camdessus, and with the President of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn. They discussed closer coordination between their organizations and the United Nations, particularly in the field of development.
After that, he continued, the Secretary-General had had a very courteous, 20-minute meeting with the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi. They had discussed the United States' rate of contributions to United Nations budgets. Mr. Annan asked the Senator to keep in touch and to visit the United Nations whenever he was in New York. That was followed by a joint meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Robert L. Livingston, Republican of Louisiana. During a very positive meeting, Mr. Gingrich had told the Secretary-General that they should continue their talks when they attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week. Fred Eckhard, the Acting Spokesman to the Secretary- General, had reported from Washington that the Speaker had on several occasions said he was "very understanding" of the need to respect the other 184 United Nations Member States' sovereignty.
Mr. Brandt said Mr. Eckhard had also reported later on that the Secretary-General had concluded his meeting with the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska. At what Mr. Eckhard had described as a "good and productive" meeting, Senator Stevens indicated his readiness to work with the Secretary-General and pledged to clarify any misperceptions about the United Nations. After that, the Secretary-General headed for the National Press Club. Copies of his speech were available, Mr. Brandt told reporters.
Yesterday, he continued, the Secretary-General had met with President William J. Clinton at the White House, parts of which were televised. The meeting was then followed by a working luncheon with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Samuel Berger. In the afternoon, Mr. Annan attended an hour-long meeting with Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "You have seen the results of that meeting and the extensive coverage that meeting has received", Mr. Brandt said. He added that the Secretary-General
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was accompanied to the meeting by the Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, Maurice Strong; Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph E. Connor; and the Secretary-General's Executive Assistant, Elizabeth Lindenmayer.
After meeting with Senator Helms, the Associate Spokesman said, Mr. Annan attended a reception by the Chairman of the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA), John Whitehead, at the Metropolitan Club, which was followed by a private dinner hosted by the President of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn.
Reminding reporters about today's activities, Mr. Brandt said that the Secretary-General would proceed from the National Press Club to a briefing by the Emergency Coalition for United States Financial Support of the United Nations, headed by Ambassador David Birenbaum, a former United States delegate to the United Nations. Finally, the Secretary-General would meet with African ambassadors in Washington, in a meeting hosted by the Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps there, Ambassador Roble Olhaye (Djibouti). While he could not say whether the Secretary-General would come to Headquarters today, Mr. Eckhard would and perhaps reporters could interview him.
In a subsequent question-and-answer session, Mr. Brandt was asked whether he could clarify the "benchmarks" that had been discussed by some United States legislators. In response, he read out the Secretary-General's comment to the media, following his meeting with Speaker Gingrich: "If by benchmarks you mean taking my plan for reform and my timetable and monitoring my progress, then, that's okay. Benchmarks must be realistic and achievable."
Asked whether the United States Speaker's declaration that he was "very understanding" of the need to respect the other 184 Member States' sovereignty was related to the payment of United States' dues, the Associate Spokesman said: "You will have to talk to Speaker Gingrich about that. I am just quoting what he said."
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