DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970130
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by informing correspondents that the Spokesman, Fred Eckhard, who was with the Secretary-General in Geneva, was "quite under the weather". "I told him I was going to mention this here and so if we could put our good thoughts together and wish him well and wish him prompt recovery, I'm sure he'll appreciate that", he added.
Giving correspondents an update on the implementation of the "oil-for-food" formula based on Security Council resolution 986 (1995), Mr. Brandt said that with the $23.4 million expected to be deposited today in the United Nations Iraq account with the Banque Nationale de Paris, the total amount from the oil sales would reach $239 million. He recalled that $24 million had been received on Monday, 27 January, followed the day after by $21 million. So far, $81 million had been disbursed from the account to fund various humanitarian programmes under resolution 986. Of the total amount, $52 million had been allotted to the United Nations Compensation Commission.
Mr. Brandt said that yesterday five more contracts worth approximately $22 million had been submitted to the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) which monitored the sanctions against Iraq. The contracts were related to the sale by Jordan of toilet cleaners, detergent powders and tea. He informed correspondents that the sale had a deadline of 5 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, 31 January, for approval, and the other sales had seven-day deadlines. The earlier application last Friday by Viet Nam for the sale of detergent powder had been put on hold. He said the applications were being processed under the "no objection" procedure.
Mr. Brandt said the Security Council had now scheduled a meeting for the afternoon to take action on a draft resolution -- "apparently in agreement by all the members" -- on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia. The mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) was due to expire tomorrow, 31 January. At the time of the briefing, Council members were in the process of discussing Angola. If they agreed on a draft presidential statement on Angola, the Council might meet in open session. The Council also planned to continue discussion on the progress report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Tajikistan (document S/1997/56). Under "other matters", the Council could discuss the situation in Eastern Slavonia.
Mr. Brandt told correspondents that in addition to the items discussed yesterday, Council members, at their request, had been given a status report by Shaukat Qazi Fareed of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs on the preparations regarding an assessment of a possible humanitarian impact arising from a ban on flights by Sudan Airways. To obtain reliable data for the
assessment, the Department of Humanitarian Affairs had dispatched an expert to the region who was expected to complete his report early next month, about 10 February. Correspondents would be kept informed on the matter.
He then drew attention to a press release from the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) containing an account of an incident at West Mostar yesterday evening, during which the United Nations Coordinator for the Unified Police Force in Mostar (UPFM) had been attacked. Mr. Brandt described the incident as "quite serious". Copies of the press release were available in the Spokesman office.
He also drew attention to a World Food Programme (WFP) report from Pyongyang indicating that the general food situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was "quite bleak". Food aid arrivals to the country over the period from 20 November to 15 January had been slow with only 9,105 metric tonnes known to have arrived either through the WFP, a variety of non-governmental organizations coordinated by the Programme, the International Federation of the Red Cross (ICRC) or through bilateral donations.
The report, he continued, drew special attention to the fact that urban dwellers who in many instances were now receiving 100 grammes of food per day through the public food distribution system, were now actually worse off than collective farmers whose share of the 1996 harvest averaged out between 246 and 356 grammes per day. By comparison, adults in refugee camps received a minimum daily ration of 650 grammes of food. The report would be included in the forthcoming United Nations/Department of Humanitarian Affairs update on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Turning to the activities of the Secretary-General in Geneva, Mr. Brandt said that his first meeting today had been with the Foreign Minister of Australia, Alexander Downer. They had discussed the need for action against anti-personnel land-mines and exchanged views on a range of United Nations reform issues. Following the meeting, Mr. Downer presented the Secretary-General with a portrait of the late Sir Robert Jackson, an Australian. Sir Robert first joined the United Nations Secretariat in 1945 and was best known for his work in major international humanitarian operations and for a 1969 report on the capacity of the United Nations system in the field of development. The Secretary-General had remarked that there was a real need now for people like Sir Robert who was persistent, tenacious and pushed as far as he could, even in an organization full of bureaucratic resistance and restraint.
Continuing, he said the Secretary-General had then met briefly with the President of the Conference on Disarmament, Joun Yung Sun (Republic of Korea), shortly before addressing the Conference. Mr. Brandt said correspondents had yesterday afternoon been given copies of the Secretary-General's statement, which was now available on the racks. After addressing the Conference, the Secretary-General had met with the heads of United Nations departments and agencies in Geneva. They included the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, Vladimir Petrovsky; Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rubens Ricupero; Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), Yves Berthelot; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata; High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala-Lasso; and Assistant-Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ibrahima Fall.
Opening the meeting, the Secretary-General had promised to combat the tendency in New York to be myopic and forgetful of the fact that the Headquarters was part of a larger system, Mr. Brandt said. The Secretary-General had said that there was also a need to end the silence on the positive message of the work of the United Nations. He urged the meeting to play a more active role in making known the Organization's successes.
The Secretary-General had subsequently held a press conference, the transcript of which would be made available to correspondents as soon as it was received, Mr. Brandt said. The Secretary-General had then proceeded to a luncheon attended also by heads of United Nations departments and agencies, as well as heads of other international organizations based in Geneva. In the afternoon, the Secretary-General had met with the Vice-President and Foreign Minister of Switzerland, Flavio Cotti. He had thanked Switzerland for its long-standing commitment to the United Nations, and said that if Switzerland wanted to give him a gift during his term of office, it should be its joining the United Nations. (Switzerland is a fee-paying Observer State). Mr. Cotti said that Switzerland's support for the United Nations was a fundamental element of his country's international relations. The Foreign Minister said he had, on behalf of the Federal Council, invited the Secretary-General to visit Berne. The Secretary-General indicated his acceptance.
Continuing, Mr. Brandt said that at the meeting they had discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Swiss Foreign Minister had played a significant role in his recently completed term as Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). At the conclusion of their meeting, the Secretary-General and the Minister had met with a group of journalists. As he had informed correspondents yesterday, Mr. Brandt said the transcript of that encounter would be provided to them as soon as it was received.
He called attention to the fact that at the meeting with the journalists, the Secretary-General had indicated that he and Mr. Cotti had discussed issues of United Nations reform and their possible impact on Geneva. Mr. Cotti indicated that Switzerland had given a great deal of support to the Organization and he had the assurance that it would continue to do so. He said the relationship between the United Nations and Switzerland was a long-
term one. The Secretary-General had commented: "In fact, talking to the Minister, I described it as a long-time love affair and this, I think, will continue".
Mr. Brandt said the Secretary-General would be the guest of honour at a dinner being given this evening by the President of the State Council of the Canton and Republic of Geneva, Jean-Philippe Maitre. The Secretary-General would leave Geneva tomorrow for Davos, in eastern Switzerland, where he would take part in the annual World Economic Forum. Some expected appointments of the Secretary-General in Davos tomorrow included a meeting at noon with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and a meeting with the President of Egypt, in the afternoon. The Secretary-General would also attend a luncheon being given by the President of the Forum. He said the Secretary-General would address the Forum on Saturday and the text, as well as information on his activities for the rest of the weekend, would be made available to correspondents.
The recently taped World Chronicle television programme with the Chief of the Energy and Natural Resources Branch of the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, Pierre Najlis, would be shown today on the in-house television channels 6 and 23, he said. There would be a press briefing on the latest events in Albania by its Permanent Representative in room 226 tomorrow, Friday at 11:15 a.m.
A correspondent said he had heard Senator Diane Feinstein of California on television yesterday stating that the Secretary-General was to undertake a survey of the assessments of contributions of Member States to the United Nations. She had made the remark during the United States Senate confirmation hearings of William Richardson, as the Chief Delegate-designate of the United States to the United Nations. The correspondent commented that there seemed to be a controversy over the 25 per cent or 31 per cent the United States was said to contribute and he would like to know what the exact figure was.
Mr. Brandt said he had heard the Senator's remarks and that there seemed to be "some kind of confusion" about the host country's assessment regarding the regular budget and that of peace-keeping operations. "My understanding continues to be that the host country -- that is the United States -- is assessed at 25 per cent for the regular budget and 31 peer cent for peace-keeping. And that, to my knowledge, has not changed."
The correspondent said Ambassador Richardson had pledged that he would defend the 25 per cent assessment, and not the 31 per cent, and that seemed to be one of the conditions for his confirmation in the post. Mr. Brandt said the 25 per cent and 31 per cent for regular budget and peace-keeping, respectively, were United Nations figures. That issue would be subject to discussion if the United States felt that it was not the correct assessment. Cordial and warm discussions had already begun as a result of the Washington, D. C. visit of the Secretary-General. He recalled that the Secretary-General had met with Ambassador Richardson and members of Congress. The issue of assessment was a topic which would continue to be discussed in the future and hopefully agreement would be reached that would be satisfactory to all concerned.
A correspondent asked why Swiss membership of the United Nations would be "such a great gift". Mr. Brandt replied: "I think that it's very clear that we want to have an Observer State becoming a Member State". Switzerland was already a very important member State for the United Nations not only because it was the host to many of our offices and programmes and the headquarters of the United Nations in Europe, but because of its very active participation in humanitarian, peace-keeping and economic and social issues. One more official step towards joining the Organization would be welcomed by the United Nations community as a whole, and not only by the Secretary-General.
He told another correspondent that it had been a sovereign decision in a referendum by the people of Switzerland not to join the world body and the Secretary-General fully respected that. Mr. Brandt said that did not impede the Secretary-General's wish that as a gift to him, Switzerland would join the United Nations. "We look forward to that."
A correspondent asked how much membership would cost Switzerland, recalling that some figures had been mentioned before. Mr. Brandt said that the financial contribution that the membership would bring was not implied in the Secretary-General's wish for Switzerland to join the Organization. He assured the correspondent that he would look for the figures.
Asked whether the United Nations did not enjoy universality because Switzerland was not a member, he said Switzerland was an important member as an Observer State, playing a very important role, "so much so that some people, perhaps, do not know that it is an Observer". He also said the distinction between membership and observer status was perhaps not also known. Switzerland had been active, and had demonstrated throughout the years a political will not seen among some Member States. "I don't think the Organization lacked universality" because of the absence of Swiss membership, he said. It was very much a universal institution, he added.
Asked about the status of the Military Observer Group to United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), Mr. Brandt said work was continuing. He said ground work was what was mostly needed to have in place the camps that the monitors would need near the former combatants. That was proceeding well, Mr. Brandt said. He reminded correspondents about the objective of the mission, which was demobilization and disarmament. He added that the Spokesman had said last week that enough indications had been received from Member States for him to state confidently that 155 military observers, or perhaps more, could be provided for the operation. The "D-Day" would be established when everything was in place.
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