DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

21 February 1997

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

19970221 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Tribunal for Rwanda, Honore Rakotomanana, and the Registrar, Andronico Adede, were at Headquarters. This morning, they were in meetings with the Under- Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph Connor, and the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Hans Corell. Following that, they would meet with the Secretary-General in the afternoon.

In their meeting with Mr. Connor and Mr. Corell, the Deputy Prosecutor and Registrar would review the report on the Tribunal prepared by the Under- Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Karl Theodore Paschke, Mr. Eckhard said. In addition, they would review the workings of the Rwanda Tribunal and the means of straightening out the administrative difficulties that had been so thoroughly documented by Mr. Paschke in his report.

"Some of you were anticipating some kind of a dramatic announcement this afternoon", Mr. Eckhard said, adding that the Secretary-General did not intend to make any decision concerning individuals today. However, he had asked him to assure correspondents that he was committed to getting the Rwanda Tribunal on its feet and up and running. Resolving the administrative problems that Mr. Paschke had identified was only one part of getting the Tribunal to operate effectively. Since the investigation that was behind Mr. Paschke's report had been conducted, the situation in Rwanda had changed dramatically as a result of the return of refugees. That had presented new challenges to the Tribunal in its effort to conduct its work in Rwanda.

Mr. Eckhard added that Justice Louise Arbour, the Chief Prosecutor for both the Rwanda Tribunal and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, was here as well. A read-out of the Secretary-General's meeting with her and the Prosecutor and Registrar of the Tribunal would probably be available later in the afternoon. The Secretary-General's meeting with Justice Arbour and the others was scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

The Secretary-General would go to Washington, D.C., on Sunday, 23 February, to address, early Monday morning, the seventy-ninth annual meeting of the American Council on Education, Mr. Eckhard said. The Council included College and University Presidents. The Spokesman's Office expected to receive the Secretary-General's speech this afternoon and would make it available to correspondents. Also on Sunday afternoon, the Secretary-General would meet with former United States Senator Robert Dole. He would return to Headquarters by midday on Monday, 24 February.

Turning to the subject of Iraqi oil sales in the context of the "oil- for-food" formula, he said the overseers for the sale of Iraqi oil had approved four more contracts late Wednesday and early yesterday. That had brought the total oil sales contracts approved so far to 31. Two more contracts were pending. The additional sales contracts had been made possible due to the lower oil prices which had created some room for additional contracts below the $1 billion cap for the first three-month period. Iraq had authorization to sell $2 billion worth of oil in six months, he added.

Late Wednesday, the Security Council Committee which monitors the sanctions against Iraq had approved the oil pricing formula for March, Mr. Eckhard said. No further details were available on that. The Committee would be meeting at 3:30 p.m. today, and the Committee Chairman would meet correspondents in room 226 following his briefing of delegations after the Committee's session. This afternoon, the Committee was expected to review the implementation of the "oil-for-food" plan and to take on other items relating to its work. The Spokesman's Office hoped to provide correspondents an update on proceeds from oil sales and the status of disbursements soon.

Mr. Eckhard announced that the United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, was in Geneva today and had briefed the press. An unofficial record of that briefing was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Also available were press releases from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he said. The first press release announced the launch of an appeal today for $38.2 million to repatriate more than 300,000 Angolan refugees. Those refugees were estimated to number 200,000 in Zaire, 96,000 in Zambia, 12,000 in the Congo and 1,000 in Namibia. Another 15,000 were scattered in 32 other countries. More than 74,000 refugees had already returned to Angola since June when the UNHCR had started its repatriation programme.

The second press release from the UNHCR was on the subject of the ratification of the International Convention on Refugees, Mr. Eckhard said. Estonia and Lithuania had recently ratified that Convention.

Mr. Eckhard then announced that Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Marrack Goulding, who had chaired yesterday's Ministerial Meeting of the Special Conference to Support the Peace Process in Liberia, had been invited to brief correspondents on the outcome of that meeting. Mr. Goulding would be accompanied by the Desk Officer for Liberia in the Department of Political Affairs, Stanlake Samkange. While waiting for them to arrive, he would take any questions that the correspondents had.

Were the Zairian rebels present at the talks being conducted by South Africa relating to situation in the Great Lakes region? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the talks in question were not United Nations talks. South

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 21 February 1997

Africa had tried to get the two parties together, and the Secretary-General was very grateful that it had taken that initiative. The negotiations were not going to be easy. His understanding was that Laurent Kabila, the rebel leader from eastern Zaire, was in Bukavu today, but that some members of his delegation had arrived in South Africa. "I don't think we want to say much more about these contacts at this time", he added.

How had the return of the refugees to Rwanda changed the work of the Rwanda Tribunal? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said it had affected the security situation in Zaire. Therefore, the question was whether investigations of mass graves and other delicate operations could be carried out. Such operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, had required fairly heavy military escort that had been available through the Stabilization Force (SFOR). What could be the security arrangements that would guarantee safety for the investigators?

Following that, Mr. Eckhard concluded the briefing and introduced Mr. Goulding and Mr. Samkange. Saying that although he did not want to predict that that would be Mr. Goulding's last briefing in his present capacity at the United Nations, he was aware that next week was Mr. Goulding's final week before he left the United Nations. As a colleague, he had to say that Mr. Goulding's 11 years with the Organization had been remarkable. It had been a pleasure to work with him. When Mr. Goulding had first arrived, there had been "those very large shoes of Sir Brian Urquhart and everyone had said how could they ever be filled", Mr. Eckhard said, adding that Mr. Goulding had stepped into them with ease. He had served the Organization with great distinction, and the press had enjoyed his candour and availability with them. He thanked Mr. Goulding for that. (Mr. Goulding's briefing is being issued separately.)

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