DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970305
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Juan Carlos Brandt began today's noon briefing by announcing that Martin Griffiths, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lakes Region, would speak with correspondents following his portion of the briefing. "This, I think, will be your second briefing in approximately three weeks", Mr. Brandt told the Humanitarian Coordinator. (Mr. Griffiths' briefing will be issued separately.)
On the situation in Angola, Mr. Brandt said the follow-up meeting of heads of delegation to the Joint Commission had met on 3 and 4 March. They reviewed the timetable for the arrival in Luanda of the deputies from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) to assume seats in the National Assembly, as well as for the formation of the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation. The meeting concluded that all UNITA deputies and officials designated for the posts must arrive in Luanda by 15 March. The UNITA deputies should assume their seats in the National Assembly by 18 March, and the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation should be inaugurated on 20 March.
It was also decided to complete all pending military issues by 15 March, and that illegal checkpoints should be eliminated by 20 March, when the Government was to be inaugurated, Mr. Brandt said. The meeting approved the new timetable for demobilization and cooperation on selection of the military personnel. The selection process should be completed by 10 March, and the incorporation by 18 March. Meanwhile, the demobilization process should begin from 15 March.
Mr. Brandt then drew attention to a press release issued by the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES). He said that, under an arrangement made by Transitional Administrator Jacques Klein, television programmes from local stations in the region, from Croatia, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and from UNTAES would all be transmitted via the Belje transmission tower in Eastern Slavonia in coming days. The reintegration of that public utility was especially important to ensure the free flow of information for the public during the election period.
Under the UNTAES mandate, programmes from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would be transmitted on one channel, Mr. Brandt said. A second channel would carry programmes from Croatia. A third channel would be used for UNTAES programmes and special coverage of the political campaign and the elections. On 13 April, all registered political parties in the election would be invited for programmes on the UNTAES channel. Those changes would
come into effect at 6 p.m. local time today. The UNTAES press release was available in the Spokesman's office.
Mr. Brandt said the Security Council, acting under the "Arria formula", met this morning with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. Some correspondents outside of Conference Room 5 were able to question him. The Council was scheduled to hold consultations at the time of the briefing to discuss the programme of work for March. Under other matters, it was also expected to discuss the drafting of a presidential statement on Guatemala. If agreement was reached on the statement, a formal meeting would be held.
In addition, the Council was to hold an open meeting at 3:30 p.m. to consider the situation in the occupied Arab territories, Mr. Brandt said. Over 40 speakers had so far been registered to address the Council. It was therefore distinctly possible that the meeting would spill over into tomorrow. [It was subsequently announced that the Council would meet at 3:30 p.m. for delivery of the presidential statement, to be followed by a meeting on the occupied territories.]
Mr. Brandt then announced that Pakistan had today become the fortieth Member States to pay its regular budget assessment in full, with a check for $642,571. Last year at this date, 36 States had paid in full. The outstanding contribution level now was $3 billion, of which $1.1 billion was owed to the regular budget and over $1.9 billion for peace-keeping. Last year at this date, the debt level was $3.1 billion, of which $1.3 billion was owed to the regular budget and $1.8 billion to peace-keeping.
Responding to a question asked several days ago, Mr. Brandt said the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia currently had 337 posts, of which 149 were Professional staff and 168 were General Service. The actual number of staff working in the Tribunal was 384. The additional 47 posts were made up of technical experts on mission, legal assistants and interns.
To a question asked yesterday about the conditions in the radio studios of the Department of Public Information (DPI), Mr. Brandt said the matter was being studied and he hoped to have an answer soon. To a question about the amount of money being saved through the reduction of documents, he said he would also try to have that figure shortly.
The Secretary-General was back at Headquarters and was in his office this morning, Mr. Brandt said. His first meeting was with the Ambassador of Israel, David Peleg, followed by a meeting with the Ambassador of Morocco, Ahmed Snoussi. He was currently still meeting with Mr. Arafat, and Mr. Brandt would try to get a read-out on that meeting as soon as possible. The Secretary-General was also to meet with his Special Representative for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 5 March 1997
This afternoon, the Secretary-General would be meeting with the Foreign Minister of Egypt, Amre Moussa, and then with the Permanent Under-Secretary of Overseas Development Administration of the United Kingdom, John Vereker, Mr. Brandt said. At 4:30 p.m., he was to meet with the Foreign Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Said Al-Sahaf, to be followed by a meeting with the Permanent Representative of Nigeria, Ibrahim Gambari. The list of the Secretary- General's appointments was available in the Spokesman's office.
Mr. Brandt then announced that the twenty-first annual United Nations International School/United Nations Student Conference, entitled "Technology and Communications in the Twenty-first Century: Impact on Society", would be held in the General Assembly Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on 6 and 7 March. The two-day symposium was coordinated by students of the International School. It offered more than 200 students from around the world a unique peek at the future. The annual conference reinforced the School's commitment to promoting global awareness and a spirit of cooperation among youth. Note to Correspondents No. 5397, issued yesterday, provided additional information.
He also reminded correspondents that a panel discussion on "Women at the Peace Table" would take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow in Conference Room 4. Dame Margaret Joan Anstee, the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola, would be the keynote speaker.
Mr. Brandt then announced a press conferences to be held in room 226. Tomorrow at 11 a.m. the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Elizabeth Dowdeswell, would meet with correspondents. She would be discussing the results of the recent UNEP Governing Council session, and UNEP's expectations for the upcoming special session of the General Assembly to review and appraise the implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), to be held from 23 to 27 June. Ms. Dowdeswell would also be announcing UNEP's twenty-fifth anniversary project, titled "Eyes on the Environment: 25 Women Leaders in Action".
A correspondent said a report by Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services Karl Theodor Paschke issued yesterday indicated that the Brindisi logistics base was inadequate. What decision would the United Nations take regarding the matter? Mr. Brandt said the report, which was contained in document A/51/803, dealt with some problems that existed in the base that the Department of Peace-keeping Operations maintains at Brindisi, in Italy. The Secretary-General had been informed of the matter and measures were being taken or had been initiated to correct some of the problems cited in the report. The Secretary-General concurred with the report's recommendations, realizing that the corrections need to be made as soon as possible.
The Brindisi base was one of the United Nations main logistic facilities, Mr. Brandt said. "It is very important for us. It can play a
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 5 March 1997
very key role in providing materials for future peace-keeping operations, and it can provide the Organization with considerable savings if it's correctly managed. So there is some fine-tuning that needs to be done." He would also try to get some additional information for correspondents.
A correspondents inquired as to whether Mr. Arafat was treated any differently than a head of State, in terms of protocol. "Are there any special provisions, such as him meeting downstairs with the Council members rather than in the Chamber?" he asked. "No", Mr. Brandt said. "He is afforded the treatment he deserves as the President of the Palestinian Authority."
The Arria formula provided for any dignitary -- or any person for that matter -- to meet with Council members, even without being a member of the Council, when they might want to hear his views and comments on any particular issue, Mr. Brandt said. It was therefore completely relevant and germane for them to do so under that formula. To a comment that the United Nations was definitely rolling out the red carpet, "or the blue carpet, in this case" for Mr. Arafat, he said, "I don't know that we were able to put out any particular carpet. In these times of financial constraints, carpets are being kept in storage."
A correspondent said it was his understanding that the non-governmental organizations were up in arms because the Department of Public Information (DPI) was trying to stick them with a $1,500 bill for access to the optical disk system (ODS), which was free to Member States, delegations and staff. When Mr. Brandt was checking on the cost-saving from limiting press releases, could he also find out who set those policies? he asked. Has there been any consideration of the policy implications of denying information to non- governmental organizations and to the press? he further asked.
Mr. Brandt said the ODS was a technical capability that allowed people who were technologically oriented and could use computers to access a great deal of United Nations official documentation and data. It was available to Member States and anyone who had that technical capability. Apparently, there had been a proposal recently to charge a rather large sum of money to non- governmental organizations, and apparently also to the media.
"It is not a proposal", the correspondent continued, to which Mr. Brandt said it had not yet been implemented. "They have been told they cannot have access to the system", the correspondent added. Mr. Brandt went on to say that the reaction that that had created had made it necessary to review the matter. The optical disk system involved a cost to the United Nations, and for some reason it had been decided to pass on that cost to the users. "Personally, I think that's not right. And personally, I think that the media and the non-governmental organizations, of all people, have to have free and complete access to this information, especially since we are now in the
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 5 March 1997
process of reducing somewhat the amount of documentation that is produced here at Headquarters." He would try to get additional information on the matter.
Asked for information on the Secretary-General's meeting with the Ambassador of Israel, Mr. Brandt said he would try to get a read-out on that meeting.
Samsiah Abdul-Majid, Spokesman for General Assembly President Razali Ismail (Malaysia), said Mr. Razali had met this morning with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. They exchanged views on the current situation in the Middle East and underlined the need for all parties to honour their agreements and United Nations resolutions. The Assembly President congratulated President Arafat for his courageous attempt to move the peace process, including the issue of Jerusalem, which would benefit both the Palestinian territories and Israel, as well as the region.
This evening, Mr. Razali would speak at the Church Center, for an event organized by the New York Chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA/USA), Ms. Abdul-Majid said. The topic would be "Earth Summit + Five" -- the upcoming special session of the General Assembly to review the implementation of the recommendations of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
Ms. Abdul-Majid said the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) would convene the first part of its resumed fifty-first session next week. She drew correspondents' attention to document A/C.5/51/L.42, which contained the proposed programme of work for the first part of the resumed session. It also indicated the documents to be considered during the three-week session, which begins on Monday, 10 March.
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