DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970304
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph Connor, would be present at today's briefing to respond to questions and to expand on the presentation he made yesterday afternoon before the high-level open-ended working group of the General Assembly on the financial situation of the United Nations. (Mr. Connor's briefing is being issued separately.)
In response to questions received earlier, Mr. Brandt confirmed that the new Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Sir Kieran Prendergast, had assumed his duties yesterday. "He arrived and he is up and running", Mr. Brandt said.
Addressing the situation in eastern Zaire, Mr. Brandt said that thousands of refugees were on the road half-way between Kisangani and Tingi- Tingi, in a 50-kilometre-long column heading towards Kisangani. Local Zairian authorities were trying to reroute the refugees towards Ubundo, 100 kilometres south of Kisangani. However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had reported that the refugees seemed to prefer to continue proceeding towards Kisangani.
With respect to the offer of humanitarian corridors that would allow the refugees to return to Rwanda, the UNHCR was looking into practical measures as to how that might be done, Mr. Brandt said. Yesterday, UNHCR staff went to Kingulube, 140 kilometres to the west of Kisangani, to set up a station for the refugees who could emerge from the forest. The station would provide them with emergency aid and help them return to Rwanda, if they wished to do so. A briefing note from the UNHCR containing information on the situation was available in the Spokesman's Office.
The 57 people mentioned in yesterday's briefing, who had been evacuated from Kisangani to Kinshasa last Saturday, were now being asked by the Government of Zaire to leave the country altogether by tomorrow, Mr. Brandt said, responding to questions he had received earlier. Of that group of 57, 19 were with the United Nations system, and the remainder were with non- governmental organizations. Contacts at United Nations Headquarters were currently being made at the highest possible level with the Zairian Government with respect to that issue. He would keep correspondents posted.
Mr. Brandt went on to say that the United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, was expected in New York tomorrow evening. While here, he was due to
brief the Security Council, as had been previously announced. He would probably remain until early next week, perhaps Monday, 10 March, or Tuesday, 11 March. Dates and times for his briefing to the Security Council and his meeting with the Secretary-General were not yet available. However, there was some possibility, as yet unconfirmed, that he might brief the Council on 10 March.
Turning to the situation in Liberia, Mr. Brandt said that this week 15 representatives from eight international and local humanitarian organizations had safely travelled, by an unmapped, logging road, from Monrovia to Greenville, a town in south-east Liberia. The purpose of the trip was to assess the needs of war-isolated populations in that region. That mission marked the first time a humanitarian convoy had been able to travel to Greenville by road since 1992. The team had met with local officials and visited schools, hospitals and centres for the internationally displaced, as well as local homes. Their aim was to assess the food, health, water and sanitation needs of the local population. A press release from the United Nations humanitarian office in Liberia was available in the Spokesman's Office, he added.
Mr. Brandt said the Spokesman's Office was now receiving a weekly update on the situation with respect to Iraq. That was a result of the agreement between the Secretary-General and the Iraqi Government for more accurate and transparent information on the implementation of Security Council resolution 986 (1995) on the "oil-for-food" formula.
Reading from that update, Mr. Brandt said the United Nations had yesterday provided Iraq with its second weekly update on the implementation of resolution 986. The data in the report was as of noon, 28 February. As of that date, 35 oil contracts had been approved, with a total volume of 102.5 million barrels. No additional contracts had been approved since last Friday, even though one or more contracts might be approved shortly. The total oil proceeds were $557 million, through noon on 28 February. Of that amount, $368 million had been allocated to finance the purchase of humanitarian supplies; $167 million had gone to the United Nations Compensation Fund; and the balance had gone to other programme elements. It was expected that an additional $122 million from oil sales would be received through 10 March.
The United Nations had so far received 222 sales applications for the purchase of humanitarian supplies, Mr. Brandt said. Of those, 37 applications had been submitted to the Security Council Committee set up by resolution 661 (1990) to monitor the sanctions against Iraq. Of those 37, nine had been approved to date. The ninth application, approved late last week, involved infant formula from France worth $9 million. The Iraq Sanctions Committee was privately discussing how to expedite the approval process for the sale of humanitarian items. The date of the next meeting of the Sanctions Committee was not yet available.
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Mr. Brandt said 92 international distribution observers had now arrived in Iraq. Of that number, 53 were from the United Nations, and 39 were from United Nations agencies. The balance of observers was now getting ready for deployment. The Secretary-General would submit to the Security Council, by 10 March, his 90-day review report on the implementation of Council resolution 986.
A draft presidential statement on the elections in Eastern Slavonia was being drafted, Mr. Brandt went on to say. It might be tabled in the Security Council tomorrow. The Secretary-General's report on the 14 April elections was forwarded to the Council on 24 February.
Mr. Brandt said the formal meeting of the Security Council on the occupied Arab territories, scheduled for today, had been postponed until tomorrow, 5 March, at 3:30 p.m. The President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, was due to meet with Council members, under the "Arria formula", tomorrow at 10:45 a.m. [The Arria formula is a very informal consultation process, initiated by former Permanent Representative of Venezuela Diego Arria, which affords members of the Security Council the opportunity to hear persons in a confidential, informal setting. These meetings are presided over by a member of the Council as facilitator for the discussion and not by the President of the Council.] Based on past practice, those meetings would probably take place in Conference Room 6 or 7. Mr. Arafat was also scheduled to meet with the Secretary-General at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.
Reading out a statement "attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General", Mr. Brandt said the Secretary-General had learned with sorrow of the devastation caused by the earthquakes which had struck Iran and Pakistan in recent days. He would be sending messages of condolences to the Governments of Iran and Pakistan. Copies of the statement would be available in the Spokesman Office.
Mr. Brandt then provided an update on the earthquake damage in Iran, received from Geneva. He said an earthquake of the magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale hit Sarab and Meshgin region of Iran's Ardabil Province, 420 kilometres north-west of Tehran, at 1301 hours GMT on 28 February. On 2 March, at 1840 hours GMT, another earthquake of lesser magnitude hit the same area. Ardabil Province had a population of over 1 million persons. Iranian authorities reported that 965 people had been killed, 2,600 injured, and 60,000 were now homeless. In addition, 20 villages had been completely destroyed, and another 80 had been severely affected. There had also been heavy damage to roads, electrical power lines, water supplies, telecommunications and transport networks, as well as to schools, health centres and public buildings.
The United Nations disaster-management team reached the affected area on 2 March and was now finalizing a list of priority relief items, Mr. Brandt said. The Government of Iran had issued an appeal for international
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assistance. The Department of Humanitarian Affairs, which served as a channel for cash contributions during the relief phase, had reported that a total of $515,000 has been received from United Nations agencies, and from the Governments of Norway and Denmark. Contributions in kind were also required, including food, shelter materials and medical supplies. "Needless to say, the Secretary-General expects that the international community will respond generously to this appeal", he added.
Today, the Secretary-General met with the Speakers of the upper and lower houses of Parliament in the Netherlands, Mr. Brandt said. They talked about the importance of better coordination within the United Nations system. The Secretary-General then met with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the lower house, including 18 members of that Committee. The Secretary-General was asked about the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the issue of seconded personnel to the Tribunal, the situation in Zaire, the prospects for an international criminal court, financing of the United Nations, reform of the Organization, relations with the specialized agencies, and the situation in Srebrenica.
The Secretary-General then met with H.A.F.M.O. van Mierlo, Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Brandt went on to say. Zaire was one of the main topics discussed. The Secretary-General then met jointly with Prime Minister Wim Kok and the Foreign Minister. That was followed by a working luncheon in the Secretary-General's honour. The Defence Minister of the Netherlands also attended that working luncheon. United Nations reform was discussed, as well as the situation in Zaire and current ideas for the creation of a multinational force to create humanitarian corridors for the refugees.
At that meeting, the Defence Minister emphasized the need for a robust force, with adequate numbers and heavy equipment, Mr. Brandt said. The Secretary-General agreed that that was one of the lessons learned over the past five years. Asked if the United States would participate, he said he was not sure, but hoped the United States would at least provide logistical support. They also discussed Cyprus, as well as global conferences, including the need for follow-up and for involvement by non-governmental organizations in such efforts.
The Secretary-General asked the Dutch Government and representatives to help in two ways: by leading the European Union on negotiations with the United States regarding the scale of assessments, as well as on the reform of the Security Council, Mr. Brandt said. They also spoke about Council reform, the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the need for a follow-up force there. They further discussed the reconstruction of Bosnia, and the fact that it was going slowly. The absorption capacity problem on the Bosnian side was one of the problems noted.
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After lunch, the Secretary-General, together with his hosts, attended a press conference, Mr. Brandt said. Calling it "a very summarized version of what was discussed there", Mr. Brandt said the Secretary-General had indicated to the media that he had spoken to the Foreign Minister and Prime Minister regarding Zairian refugees. He said that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, had told him she had never seen a crisis of such magnitude as was now unfolding in Zaire, where displaced refugees were being chased as part of the ongoing fighting. The Defence Minister, who also attended the press conference, expressed the hope that the Netherlands would be able to assist with humanitarian aid in eastern Zaire. In the ensuing question-and-answer session, the need for a nation to take the lead role was discussed, as was the need for a clearly defined mandate and a heavily equipped force.
Mr. Brandt said the Secretary-General had also been asked about benchmarks for payments of assessments by the United States Congress. The Secretary-General said he was convinced that the United States Administration wanted to pay, that many members of Congress felt they should pay, and that while many members of Congress were not clearly convinced, most North Americans were uncomfortable with their "deadbeat status".
Asked if Canada would again lead the multinational force in Zaire, the Secretary-General had said, "No, that force was disbanded; we have to start from scratch", Mr. Brandt said. The Secretary-General was also asked about the recent study on drugs which criticized the Netherlands, in particular, for the illegal trade in chemical drugs. In response, he said he had not yet studied the report, that it was a sensitive and contentious issue, and that, in any case, one country alone could not deal with the problem. It had to be addressed collectively. To a question about the current crisis in Albania, the Secretary-General had expressed the hope that the Government would act with restraint. Indicating that the problem was financial in nature, he said the solution must be financial as well.
The Secretary-General and his party had then gone to the Peace Palace, where he met with a group from the Carnegie Foundation, Mr. Brandt said. That group had various programmes in the Peace Palace, in The Hague, including seminars for law students from around the world. The Secretary-General suggested that a programme in Bosnia could be organized. The Permanent Representative of the Netherlands had indicated that the Dutch Government could finance such a programme.
Most recently, the Secretary-General had been in a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Mr. Brandt said. He was then expected to take part in some local interviews and then return back to New York. He would be back in his office tomorrow morning.
Mr. Brandt then announced that "Women at the Peace Table", a panel discussion in observance of International Women's Day, would take place on
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Thursday, 6 March, from 10:30 a.m to 1 p.m., in Conference Room 4. The former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola, Dame Margaret Joan Anstee, would be the keynote speaker. Panellists include the Vice-President of the National Assembly of El Salvador and former delegate of the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) to the El Salvador peace talks, Ana Guadalupe Martinez; journalist and former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Sarajevan daily Oslobodjenje, Gordana Knezevic; the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women and former Chief of the United Nations Observer Mission in South Africa, Angela King; and the Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General and former Principal Officer in the Africa Division of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations, Elisabeth Lindenmayer.
Mr. Brandt went on to say that this year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The Commission's next session would be held from 10 to 21 March. In connection with the session an exhibition would be opened at 1:15 p.m. on Monday, 10 March, at the Visitors Lobby. The Commission was the international advocate for women's equality.
He also announced that a press release from the World Health Organization (WHO) on their latest edition of its annual International Travel and Health: Vaccination Requirements and Health Advice, was available in the Spokesman's Office.
Asked if he could provide information on a report that former United States Secretary of States James Baker III would be the United Nations special envoy to Western Sahara, Mr. Brandt said he could confirm that Mr. Baker was being considered. Consultations on the matter had taken place, and further consultations would be held upon the Secretary-General's return to Headquarters tomorrow. An announcement would be made shortly.
A correspondent asked whether the Department of Public Information (DPI) was aware of the situation in the radio studios at Headquarters. "Last week, the temperatures got up to almost 90 degrees, two machines -- which were telephone hybrids -- broke down because of the heat. These cost about a thousand dollars each. And six engineers were out sick because of the bad circulation of air. The situation has improved somewhat but not very much, and there's still raining down particulate from the air conditioning equipment, which really isn't working. And I wondered -- it seems to me this is penny-wise and pound-foolish." Mr. Brandt said he would look into the matter.
Another correspondent drew attention to what he called "a sudden shortage of press releases". Is this also a reflection of the financial crisis? he asked. Mr. Brandt said it was a reflection of an effort being made in the house to reduce the amount of paper. The Secretary-General, in his most recent press conference at Headquarters, had announced that he was very
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keen to implement measures on the reduction of documentation. In a time of financial crisis, as well as of a high degree of technological advance, there was a lot that could be done without paper. The United Nations was on the Internet, and documents could also be accessed by the optical disk system. Where it was possible, the amount of paper would be reduced and correspondents invited to access them through the available technological means.
Asked what the actual reduction was in terms of press release and how much was being saved through such measures, Mr. Brandt said he would try to find out.
A correspondent asked whether the 57 workers being told to leave Zaire had been asked to do so as a matter of their own security or whether they were being expelled by the Government. "I believe that this pertains to the situation we saw last week, when I told you that some of the permits were not being renewed", Mr. Brandt said. He would look into the matter and see if that was indeed the case, "or if the situation is out of security concerns".
Asked if the deployment in Guatemala had been completed, Mr. Brandt said the situation had not changed since yesterday, when 149 of the 155 military observers authorized by the Council had been deployed. However, the process had begun, including the disarming of the former combatants of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG).
Did the Secretary-General have any specific ideas as to which nation should lead the multinational force? a correspondent asked. "No", Mr. Brandt said -- it would be premature to indicate that at present. A process of consultations was under way. For example, there were meetings yesterday afternoon involving the Under-Secretaries-General for Peace-keeping Operations and for Political Affairs, members of the Secretary-General's office, and representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council. That was being done to assist the Secretary-General in his effort to prepare the ideas he would present to the Council regarding that multinational force.
Why was the Secretary-General appointing a special envoy to Western Sahara now? a correspondent asked. Mr. Brandt said Mr. Baker's name was being considered, but it would not be prudent to make an announcement as to why he was being considered while consultations were still ongoing. To a follow-up question, he drew attention to the Secretary-General's report last week on the situation in Western Sahara. He said that report gave a flavour of the sense of urgency in the region and why there was a need for the United Nations to move forward on the matter.
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