DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970206
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by informing correspondents that four staff members of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), one Nigerian national and three local workers, were taken hostage this morning in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe. The staff members were travelling in two UNHCR vehicles when they were hijacked at around 9 a.m. local time. They were taken hostage by the same group that abducted and currently holds five United Nations peace-keeping mission staff members.
As a result of those incidents, Mr. Eckhard said that security arrangements for United Nations personnel in Tajikistan had been increased with no movement allowed until further notice in Dushanbe or Route M41, the area where members of the United Nations peace-keeping staff were taken hostage. In addition, only essential staff would report to work.
Continuing, Mr. Eckhard said that the Security Council had heard a report this morning on the situation in Tajikistan. He noted that the Security Council also had other matters on its agenda.
The Secretary-General announced two new appointments to his staff, Mr. Eckhard said. Chinmaya R. Gharekhan of India was named the Secretary-General's Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories, replacing Terje Roed Larsen of Norway. Mr. Gharekhan would also retain his post of Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the Multilateral Negotiations on the Middle East Peace Talks, a post he has held since 1993. Mr. Gharekhan would be leaving for the Middle East this weekend on a one-week visit. Gaza would be his base in the area, the Spokesman added.
The second appointment announced was that of Ibrahima Fall of Senegal, Mr. Eckhard said. Mr. Fall was now Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights based in Geneva. He was appointed to the Department of Political Affairs, at the level of Assistant Secretary-General, and he is replacing Lansana Kouyate. An announcement on Mr. Kouyate's new assignment would be made in the next few days.
A list of the top debtors to the United Nations as of 1 February had been compiled, Mr. Eckhard said. The United States was the top debtor with $1.6 billion overdue. Japan was second with $299 million and the Russian Federation was third with $275 million. A total of 31 Member States had paid their dues in full to date, with Brunei Darussalam providing the most recent contribution of $213,000.
Today at 12:30 p.m., the Secretary-General would be meeting with the Joint United Nations/Organization of African Unity Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, Mr. Eckhard said, adding that Mr. Sahnoun would be leaving later today for the region.
Brigadier-General Jose B. Rodriguez Rodriguez of Spain, Chief Military Observer of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala, arrived in Guatemala yesterday evening in preparation for the mission, the Spokesman said. A total of 155 military observers were being recruited for the mission; 20 countries had offered to provide observers, and final selections would be made soon.
Early this week, additional deposits had been received in connection with the "oil-for-food" formula for Iraq, Mr. Eckhard said. On Monday, $33 million was received and $7 million on Tuesday, bringing the total funds deposited to date to $343 million. As of today, $113 million of the total had been disbursed, with $72 million deposited in the compensation fund.
There was a special luncheon in Cyprus for the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Han Sung-Joo, who was nearing the end of his visit to the region, Mr. Eckhard said. The luncheon was attended by party leaders from both sides of the dispute. Mr. Sung-Joo would be travelling to Istanbul tomorrow and was expected to be in Athens by 10 February. A press release from the mission was available in the Spokesman's office.
According to a communique from the International Court of Justice, Stephen M. Schwebel of the United States, a judge of the Court since 1981, was elected President of the Court for a three-year term, Mr. Eckhard said. In addition, Christopher G. Weeramantry of Sri Lanka, a judge of the Court since 1991, was elected Vice-President.
Wakil Ahmed, an advisor to the head of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammed Omar, had been at Headquarters for discussions with the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Marrack Goulding, Mr. Eckhard said, responding to a rumour that representatives of the Taliban had visited the United Nations in New York.
During yesterday's question-and-answer session, Mr. Eckhard said, a journalist had misrepresented a statement made by Pakistan's Permanent Representative. The Pakistani Ambassador, according to the journalist, had called the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) a "social club". A press release on the General Assembly meeting where the ambassador made his statement, however, made it clear the journalist's interpretation was inaccurate. The ambassador had said, "the United Nations would be much the poorer if it develops a propensity to encourage semi-exclusive and quasi-permanent clubs". The Ambassador's comment was made in reference to the composition of the Advisory Committee.
Mr. Eckhard offered condolences to Sonia Nolasco, a United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) member from Brazil, who lost her husband, Paulo Francis, a noted journalist, who passed away on 3 February. There was a memorial service for Mr. Francis in Manhattan this morning, he added.
During the subsequent question-and-answer session, a correspondent asked about the meeting between the Secretary-General and Sir David Hannay of the United Kingdom. Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General discussed his interest in putting more energy into the efforts to find a political solution for Cyprus, particularly bringing the talks to a face-to-face meeting this year. It was agreed that this was an effort to be led by the United Nations with support expected from the Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom.
The budget of the United States relating to the United Nations which was made available today allocated $100 million for United States arrears in 1998 and $921 million as an advance appropriation for 1999, a correspondent said. Was the Secretary-General satisfied with that proposal? Mr. Eckhard said that, in principle, the Secretary-General expected every Member State to pay in full and on time. But, in practice, he could accept the compromise reflected in the United States budget. Although not consistent with the rules of the United Nations, the budget did represent a good faith effort by the United States to come to terms with its debt to the Organization.
In answer to a series of questions from correspondents concerning the United States Congress' intention to add benchmarks to the schedule of payments of their debt to the United Nations, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General was uncomfortable with United States benchmarks tied to the payments. He had proposed that the United States accept the reform package that he would present in July or August, a package that would be developed in consultation with all 185 Member States of the United Nations. The reform package would have its own timetable, which could be monitored by the United States Congress.
A correspondent asked if the Secretary-General was satisfied with the United States assessment of 25 per cent of the United Nations peace-keeping budget as opposed to the Organization's assessment of 31 per cent. Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had explained to United States lawmakers in Washington, D.C., that assessments were negotiated among Member States, an established procedure in the United Nations. It was the responsibility of the United States to first inform other Member States that it wanted to change its assessments and then arrange for points to be traded with those Member States. If, for example, the United States wanted to reduce its assessment by six points, from 31 to 25 per cent, it would have to find other Member States willing to take those six points. The Secretary-General had emphasized that he believed that negotiation with other Member States could be successful and he urged the United States Government not to take unilateral action but to work within United Nations Rules and Regulations.
A correspondent asked if any members of the staff of United States Senator Jesse Helms had visited the staff at the United Nations to talk about the benchmarks. Mr. Eckhard said a visit was being arranged through the United States Mission to the United Nations. There was not a firm time for the meeting, but it could happen early next week. The possible participants in such a meeting were not yet known, he added.
A correspondent asked the total number of hostages that had been taken in Tajikistan as well as what the military group was demanding in exchange for the safe release of the hostages. Mr. Eckhard said the total number of hostages was 16. The group's initial demand had been for safe passage of an unspecified number of persons in their group from Afghanistan to a base area in Tajikistan. The negotiations were being conducted by the Tajik Government, he added.
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