DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970306
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Security Council was continuing its debate on the situation in the occupied Arab territories. That debate was expected to extend into the afternoon. The Secretary-General expected to be present in the Council Chamber should there be a vote on a draft resolution.
The Secretary-General was now meeting with Mohamed Sahnoun, the United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General welcomed Zaire's acceptance of the United Nations five-point peace plan, which was conveyed in a letter he had received last night and which would be circulated today as an official document. His preference continued to be for a political solution, including a cease-fire and protection for aid workers and refugees. If that was not possible, he felt consideration must be given to how to provide that protection to the aid workers and refugees in the absence of a cease-fire.
Mr. Eckhard went on to say that, when the Secretary-General was in Europe recently, one Foreign Minister said he found it strange that the media could visit eastern Zaire, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata could visit eastern Zaire, and aid workers could work in eastern Zaire, but it was too dangerous for troops to go there. The Secretary-General considered that to be a valid observation. In the meantime, he was continuing to consult with Member States and would brief the Security Council tomorrow.
Mr. Eckhard then drew attention to a press release issued by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala-Lasso. In it, he expresses deep concern over the human rights situation in eastern Zaire on receiving still unconfirmed reports of massacres of Rwandan Hutu refugees in various camps. The press release was available in the Spokesman's office.
Following informal consultations of the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) which is monitoring the sanctions against Iraq, and following the "no objection" procedure, the Committee late yesterday approved the points of understanding relating to the implementation of Security Council resolution 986 (1995), the "oil-for-food" plan. Copies of a press release on the "points" were available in the Spokesman's office.
"This understanding is intended to speed up the processing of sales applications for the purchase of humanitarian supplies for Iraq", Mr. Eckhard said. As of this morning, 15 sales applications had been approved. The first nine contracts had already been announced. The other six involved beans and
chickpeas from Turkey, worth $6 million; cooking oil from Turkey, worth $8 million; three contracts relating to surgical supplies from the United Kingdom, worth $3 million; and table salt from Jordan, valued at $250,000. The last four contracts had been put on hold, but that hold had been removed.
There had been a total of 37 sales contracts submitted to the Committee out of some 280 that had been received, Mr. Eckhard said. With the new procedure, it was expected that more contracts would be submitted shortly. Last evening, the overseers approved one more oil contract, bringing the total of oil contracts to 36; the target of $1 billion for oil sales for the first three-period had more or less been met. It was expected that the Secretary- General's 90-day review report on implementation of resolution 986 would be submitted to the Security Council by 10 March.
Tomorrow, as part of a week of events commemorating International Women's Day, the Secretary-General would address a panel discussion on affirmative action for women, Mr. Eckhard said. A message of the Secretary- General on the occasion of the International Day would also be available. The panel, which was sponsored by the Group on Equal Rights for Women, would take place at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 4. A press release by the Group was available in the Spokesman's office.
Last December, the General Assembly had reaffirmed the goal of a 50-50 gender distribution in the United Nations by the year 2000, while expressing concern that the goal might not be met, Mr. Eckhard said. Statistics showed that there continue to be an increase in the number of women in all areas. However, in some areas the representation was still very low, and the target of achieving gender equality by the year 2000 remained a problem.
As of 31 December 1996, women held 35.5 per cent of posts at the Professional level overall, he continued. Of that figure, 5.9 per cent were at the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General levels; 18.5 per cent were at the Director level or above; and 25.3 per cent were at the P-5 level or above. The Secretary-General had expressed his clear commitment to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in all policies and programmes of the United Nations.
The Secretary-General had learned with regret of the death yesterday of Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana, Mr. Eckhard said. "President Jagan was a towering figure in the history of decolonization", he added. The Secretary- General would be sending a letter of condolences to the nation and the family.
The Secretariat's Building Management Service had stated that action is being taken on the problem with air conditioning in the radio studios, Mr. Eckhard said in response to a question asked yesterday. The short-term plan was to clean the ducts and replace the filters; the long-term plan was to change motors and replace equipment.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 6 March 1997
The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), James Gustave Speth, would be present at the noon briefing tomorrow, Mr. Eckhard said. He would be reporting on accountability issues.
Can you tell us who was the Foreign Minister you quoted earlier? a correspondent asked. The Secretary-General had met with three Foreign Ministers, and "I'm afraid he asked me not to identify the person by name", Mr. Eckhard said.
Citing the Secretary-General's recent visit to The Hague, a correspondent drew attention to the financial crisis affecting the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and asked how it might be characterized. Mr. Eckhard said there had been problems primarily in the personnel area. The Tribunal had been able to get up and running with the help of personnel seconded from governments. It was now time to change over from those personnel to regular contracted staff. That transition was slowed by the lack of money.
Mr. Eckhard said there was a further problem relating to the United Nations policy of charging overhead of about 13 per cent for personnel contributed by governments -- a policy to which some of those who contributed personnel objected. As a result, some of the seconded personnel were being pulled out before the Organization had the money to replace them with regular staff members. Asked how long the Tribunal could hang on in the absence of a solution to its financial problems, he said "they are doing the best they can with the personnel they have. If they don't solve the problem of the replacement of the seconded personnel, they're going to be set back, with their level of personnel reduced. We're still looking for a solution to that."
A correspondent quoted Iraq as saying that, of over 200 food contracts submitted, 15 had been approved. At that rate, how could the United Nations get a "food basket" to the Iraqis before June, when that arrangement was to expire. The first food shipment was not expected to arrive until 15 March and most of it would not be there until April, according to aid workers in Iraq. Can we get a more comprehensive picture on that? she asked.
"None of us is happy with the rate at which this process has gone forward", Mr. Eckhard said. Part of the problem was organizational on the part of the United Nations, and a good part of the problem was on the Iraqi side, in making practical arrangements there. There had been disagreements over fundamentals that took time to be worked out. Mr. Eckhard said he would ask the Department of Humanitarian Affairs to provide a specific accounting of what was expected to arrive and when. The Secretary-General, during his travels, was told by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Yasushi Akashi that some items should be arriving by mid-March. He said he would find out what that was, and in what quantities.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 6 March 1997
Although hundreds of women had been present at Headquarters for the International Women's Day Panel, there was no audio for the first hour and absolutely no video, a correspondent said. "Some of us who would like to hear this meeting would appreciate any tape that DPI [the Department of Public Information] could scrounge up on it", she added. Mr. Eckhard said he would ask DPI what went wrong and what could be done about providing tapes.
With respect to the question of seconded personnel at The Hague, was there any country besides the United States which had refused to put up the 13 per cent overhead? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he would have to check. The Dutch Government was another provider of seconded personnel, and there were a number of other countries involved. "I think the United Nations policy grated against all of those who contributed the seconded personnel, so we're trying to address the issue in a comprehensive way."
* *** *