DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970128
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, newly-appointed Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by reading out the following statement on Cyprus, attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
"The Secretary-General met yesterday with his Special Representative for Cyprus, Professor Han Sung-Joo, who is leaving today for a two-week visit to Cyprus and the region. The heightened tensions in and around Cyprus have added urgency to the Secretary-General's determination to intensify his efforts to address the substance of the Cyprus issue and achieve an overall political settlement in the course of this year. This determination enjoys the support of the international community. The Secretary-General has therefore instructed Professor Han to discuss with the leaders of the Cypriot communities preparations for face-to-face talks in the coming months."
Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General had in the morning submitted to the Security Council his report on Sierra Leone. He said the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) had earlier requested the United Nations to send neutral international monitors to assist in the implementation of the peace agreement of 30 November 1996. Subsequently an Assessment Team had been sent to Sierra Leone to consult with the parties from late December to early January. The Government of Sierra Leone had confirmed its readiness to extend its full cooperation to a United Nations peace-keeping operation on the basis of a concept which was contained in the Secretary- General's report. The RUF side was yet to confirm their cooperation. Therefore, the Secretary-General was "taking steps" to have the concept of operations confirmed by the Front. Once the clear consent of the parties to such a concept was obtained, the Secretary-General would submit to the Security Council the appropriate recommendations for such an operation.
The concept of operations -- contained in the annex of the report -- envisaged the following tasks: monitoring and verifying the cease-fire as well as the withdrawal of foreign troops; the disarmament and demobilization of RUF combatants; and the withdrawal of government troops not required for normal security to their barracks and their eventual demobilization. The military tasks would be completed within eight months of a Security Council decision to authorize the operation. The troop strength would not exceed 720, all ranks, including support elements. A total of 60 military observers would also be part of the proposed force.
Mr. Eckhard said the Security Council had voted 15-0 in the morning to extend, by six months, the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in the Lebanon (UNIFIL). Council members were then briefed in closed session on the
political and humanitarian aspects of the situation in Afghanistan by the outgoing Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Marrack Goulding and by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Yasushi Akashi. They were to be briefed next by Mohamed Sahnoun, the Special Representative of the United Nations and the Organization for African Unity (OAU) for the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Following that, Ambassador Sahnoun had been asked to brief correspondents at about 1 p.m. Mr. Eckhard drew attention to a biographical note on Ambassador Sahnoun which was available on the racks.
He then drew attention to two human rights field operations reports on Rwanda: the first was on genocide proceedings in a number of prefectures for the first part of January; and the second on human rights incidents involving returnees from Zaire and the United Republic of Tanzania from mid-November to mid-January. The reports would be available to correspondents at the documents counter on the third floor.
By an exchange of letters between the Secretary-General and the Security Council, he said Brigadier-General Boleslaw Izydorczyk (Poland) had been appointed as the next Chief Military Observer of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT).
Mr. Eckhard then announced a series of staffing decisions by the Secretary-General. Those had been made based on three principal guidelines: first, the need to bring new talent into the Organization; second, the need to recognize performance by promoting staff from within the Secretariat; and third, the need to retain competent and experienced people to ensure continuity.
He said the Secretary-General had accepted the resignations of the following senior officials and had conveyed to them his deep appreciation for their services to the United Nations: Rosario Green, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General; Ismat Kittani, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General; Jean-Claude Milleron, Under-Secretary-General in the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA); Joseph Verner Reed, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Public Affairs; and Yukio Takasu, Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Controller.
Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had made the following appointments of senior officials at United Nations Headquarters: in economic and social affairs, at the Under-Secretary-General level, he had re-appointed Nitin Desai (India) in his former position at the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development; and Jongjian Jin (China) in his former position at the Department for Development Support and Management Services.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 28 January 1997
At the Assistant Secretary-General level, the Secretary-General had appointed and therefore promoted Angela King (Jamaica) as Special Adviser on Gender Issues. She would continue to head the Division for the Advancement of Women. As Special Adviser on Gender Issues she would report directly to the Secretary-General.
In political, security and humanitarian affairs at the Under-Secretary- General level, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had re-appointed Yasushi Akashi (Japan) as Head of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs; appointed Bernard Miyet (France) to head the Department of Peace-keeping Operations; and had appointed Sir Kieran Prendergast (United Kingdom) to head the Department of Political Affairs.
At the Assistant Secretary-General level, the Secretary-General had appointed, and therefore promoted Hedi Annabi (Tunisia), in the Department of Peace-keeping Operations; re-appointed Alvaro de Soto (Peru) to the Department of Political Affairs; and re-appointed Manfred Eisele (Germany) in the Department of Peace-keeping Operations.
In legal, administrative affairs and public information, the Secretary- General had reappointed at the Under-Secretary-General level, Joseph Connor (United States) as head of Administration and Management; and re-appointed as well Hans Corell (Sweden) as the United Nations Legal Counsel.
At the Assistant Secretary-General level, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had appointed and therefore promoted Jean-Pierre Halbwachs (Mauritius), United Nations Controller; and re-appointed Denis Halliday (Ireland) as head of the Office of Human Resources Management, Samir Sanbar (Lebanon) as head of the Department of Public Information (DPI), and Benon Sevan (Cyprus) as head of the Office of Conference and Support Services.
In addition, the Secretary-General had appointed at the Assistant Secretary-General level, Jean-Claude Aime (Haiti), the former Chief of Staff of the Secretary-General, to succeed in Geneva, Ambassador Carlos Alzamora as Head of the United Nations Compensation Commission in connection with Iraq.
In his own Executive Office, the Secretary-General had named S. Iqbal Riza (Pakistan) as Chef de Cabinet, and Gillian Sorensen (United States) as head of External Relations. Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had asked him to be his Spokesman.
Mr. Eckhard said Mr. Milleron would not be replaced as Under-Secretary- General in the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, pending the completion of the restructuring of the economic and social sector of the United Nations. Mr. Goulding would be succeeded by Sir Kieran Prendergast in the Department of Political Affairs. The Under- Secretary-General post in the Department of Peace-keeping Operations had been given to Bernard Miyet (France) as he had announced, and Yukio Takasu (Japan)
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 28 January 1997
would be succeeded by Jean-Pierre Halbwachs (Mauritius) as Controller as he had announced earlier.
He said that Under-Secretary-General Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, and Assistant Secretary-General Lansana Kouyate would be offered new assignments.
Mr. Eckhard recalled that the General Assembly in 1986 had approved a reform proposal by the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts to Review the Efficiency of the Administrative and Financial Functioning of the United Nations -- known as the Group of 18. One of the Group's recommendations was that, as a general rule, the services of officials at the highest levels in the Secretariat should not exceed 10 years. The Secretary-General intended to apply that rule initially to the Under-Secretary-General category. Existing contracts of Under-Secretaries-General affected by the recommendation would be allowed to expire. In cases where the expiry date was imminent, he said contracts would be extended by some months to enable the persons affected to make the appropriate arrangements. The staffing changes did not include senior officials whose appointments were subject to consultation with or approval by the General Assembly or any other intergovernmental body. Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents that Maurice Strong's appointment as Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform had already been announced.
Asked to name some of the officials whose appointment needed the approval of intergovernmental bodies, Mr. Eckhard said appointments subject to General Assembly approval included those of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Elizabeth Dowdeswell, who were elected by the Assembly. Further, the appointments of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), James Gustave Speth, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rubens Ricupero were confirmed by that body. The appointments of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala-Lasso and the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Karl-Theodore Paschke had to be approved by the Assembly.
Then, he continued, appointments subject to consultations with governing bodies included those of the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Carol Bellamy; Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Peter Hansen; the Presidents of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia; and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Joint appointments included those of the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Catherine Ann Bertini; Rector of the United Nations University (UNU), Heitor Gurgulino de Souza; and the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Federico Mayor. Appointments in that category also included those to the International Court of Justice and the International Seabed Authority.
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 28 January 1997
"Why was there not much moving of chairs here; does that mean that Boutros Boutros-Ghali was the problem with the United Nations?" a reporter asked. Mr. Eckhard responded by reminding reporters that, even though the Secretary-General had asked 23 people to resign, he had informed them that the bulk of them were likely to remain. The current appointments were only a first step, as there would be individuals whose terms would come up in 1997. Joint appointments in the agencies and other bodies would have to be taken up later on. "So, this is not the last announcement", he said. "The Secretary- General feels that change needs to be managed, and he said to me last night, `Rome wasn't built in a day'". Mr. Annan would implement the changes incrementally throughout 1997 and 1998.
Asked whether the previous Secretary-General had strictly obeyed the principle, Mr. Eckhard said: "I don't want to pass judgment on the past Secretary-General's performance."
In response to a question as to how long the new appointees would be in office, he said that new appointees had been given three-year contracts; those re-appointed were dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
The Spokesman was then asked to explain the role the new Special Adviser for External Relations, Gillian Martin Sorensen, would play: whether her job had existed in the past and whether she would play the role of the former Special Representative for Public Affairs, Joseph Verner Reed, or that of John Hughes, a former Special Adviser. He said Ms. Sorensen's appointment was part of a new concept: attempts would be made from the Secretary-General's Office to explain the Organization's work in simple themes that would be communicated internally and externally. The external dimension of the work would entail the coordination of speech-writing, the publications of the Department of Public Information (DPI) and the messages of the Spokesman. The purpose was to ensure that the United Nations relayed in simple terms its priorities, plans and values.
Replying to a question as to whom the staff of the outgoing Under- Secretary-General for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, Jean-Claude Milleron, would now report following the abolition of his post, Mr. Eckhard said the Department would continue to function, pending a decision on its restructuring. He said he would find out who would act as the head of that Department.
Asked, in the context of working arrangements with Ms. Sorensen, whether the Spokesman, too, would be attending meetings in the Office of the Secretary-General, he said: "I take my instructions directly from the Secretary-General". He had been guaranteed access to the Secretary-General and to other senior officials, he said. "Ms. Sorensen will be coordinating the message on the side, but she will not be in-between me and the Secretary- General", he added. Replying to another question, he said Ms. Sorensen would serve as an Assistant Secretary-General, with a three-year tenure.
Daily Press Briefing - 6 - 28 January 1997
"Is it a coincidence that she is an American?", the Spokesman was asked. He replied that it most probably was not. The Secretary-General had appointed her on his own, based on the three principles he had enumerated at the beginning of the briefing. "That is why so little leaked out to you", he said. "She is the person he feels can do this job, which he feels is an important and central job if the United Nations is to explain itself to civil society and not just to diplomats", he added. "We really need to get out to people in terms they can understand, what we do that is in their personal and national interests. And that would be her job: it will be a big job."
Asked whether a position of Deputy Secretary-General would be created, Mr. Eckhard said yes, but the Secretary-General would have to ask the General Assembly to create it. For his part, the Secretary-General would be ready to appoint one, maybe a woman. Of the 18 appointments announced today, two were women.
In response to a question as to whether the appointments had reduced to one the number of Assistant Secretaries-General in the Department of Political Affairs, he said: "This process isn't yet complete."
In response to a request, he said he would try to provide correspondents with more details on the schedule of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Cyprus, Han Sung-Joo. The Special Representative was leaving for Cyprus today.
What were Ms. Sorensen's qualifications for her new job, since her handling of the United Nations fiftieth anniversary celebrations had not been regarded as a great success, a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard replied that he was not sure that there had been receptivity in the host country at that time towards the Organization's message. Since the situation had changed, Ms. Sorensen's focus was to seize the current opening of positive feelings towards the United Nations and push her message through. "The Secretary- General feels that she has the contacts, the knowledge and the experience to do this job", he added.
On whether there were plans to merge the Department for Development Support and Management Services with other departments, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General was looking at a restructuring of the economic and social areas of the United Nations. That was something he would do in consultation with Member States.
In response to a question on whether access would be eased for individuals visiting journalists in the building, he said efforts would be made to do so.
Replying to a question as to whether he would accompany the Secretary- General to Europe next week, he said: "Yes".
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Daily Press Briefing - 7 - 28 January 1997