DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970507
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by stating that the staff of international agencies and organizations often suffered the consequences of being placed in the line of fire. In Sierra Leone yesterday, at approximately 4 p.m. local time, United Nations staff had experienced that first hand, when a Department of Humanitarian Affairs vehicle was ambushed 35 kilometres south-west of Makeni.
The vehicle had been returning to Freetown after a one-day assessment at the village of Magurbaka, some 10 kilometres south-east of Makeni, he said. Four people were in the vehicle. One was not injured, two were slightly injured and the locally recruited driver died in a hospital in Freetown at 6:20 a.m. this morning. The United Nations was investigating the incident, but had not ascertained who was responsible for it. The Secretary-General offered his condolences to the family of the person who was wounded and who later died.
The Security Council today was consulting on the report of the Secretary-General concerning the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia (document S/1997/340), and on other matters.
Mr. Brandt then informed correspondents that the latest "Great Lakes Crisis" report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), dated today, was available in the Spokesman's office. According to that report, United Nations humanitarian personnel still faced difficulty in carrying out their work, but the overall results of today's efforts had been positive.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia today had handed down its verdict on Dusan Tadic, Mr. Brandt said. Mr. Tadic was found not guilty on 20 of 31 counts, and guilty on 11 counts, charging him with persecution and 14 beatings. A press release on the judgement was available in the Spokesman's office and a report on the judgement was available on the home page of the Tribunal, which was launched today (http://www.un.org/icty/). The Presiding Judge of the Tribunal announced that the sentence would be handed down on 1 July. The defendant had 30 days in which to appeal, and defence counsel had indicated that Mr. Tadic planned to appeal.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda had issued 14 indictments, involving 21 individuals, Mr. Brandt said. Thirteen of the accused were in custody -- 11 in Arusha, one in Switzerland and one in the United States -- and three trials were ongoing. A fact sheet on the Rwanda Tribunal was available in the Spokesman's office, he added.
The Secretary-General was in China, Mr. Brandt then announced. He had arrived early in the afternoon, local time, and met with local United Nations staff. He had also been the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by the United Nations resident coordinator and representatives of United Nations agencies.
Tomorrow the Secretary-General was scheduled to meet with Vice-Premier and Minister for Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen, President Jiang Zemin and Vice-Premier Zhu Ronghji.
Turning to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Brandt said that the Secretary-General's letter to the Security Council concerning the 10 February incident in Mostar had come out this morning. The incident in question had been the one in which local Croat police were involved in the death of one Muslim and a number of others injured when they were visiting a graveyard in Liska cemetery in West Mostar. In his letter, the Secretary-General expresses regret that there has been no further action by the responsible authorities to implement the demands contained in the Security Council presidential statement of 11 March. He states in the letter, however, that the general situation in Mostar has improved in the past six weeks. Evictions from West Mostar have stopped and 100 police officers -- 50 Bosniacs and 50 Croats -- were jointly patrolling the central district of the town. The Secretary-General had attached to his letter the executive summary and the conclusions of a report issued on 26 March entitled "Mostar-Human Rights and Security Situation, 1 January-15 February 1997". The report had been prepared by the International Police Task Force (IPTF) and the Human Rights Coordinating Centre.
Turning to United Nations finances, Mr. Brandt announced that no contributions had been received since 24 April. The last Member State that had paid its contributions in full for the year had been the Bahamas, with a cheque of $113,015. So far, 54 Member States had paid in full. The Organization was eagerly waiting for other Member States to pay their dues.
Mr. Brandt then announced, as requested by Samsiah Abdul-Majid, spokeswoman for the General Assembly President, that the Netherlands' request for the inclusion of an item on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Assembly agenda had been approved this morning by the General Committee. The General Committee, comprising the Assembly President, 21 Vice-Presidents, and six Main Committee Chairmen, considers and recommends to the Assembly the inclusion of proposed agenda items. Detailed information could be found in document A/51/238. The Assembly now had 167 items in its agenda.
Mr. Brandt then announced the availability of a press release on the First Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which opened on 6 May in The Hague. The release contained information on how many States had signed or ratified the Convention and how
many intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations had attended the first session.
Finally, Mr. Brandt announced the availability of a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) press release which indicated that under existing production and trade conditions, banana supplies could exceed demand by the end of the decade.
A correspondent then asked which heads of State or government were expected to attend next month's nineteenth special session of the General Assembly to review implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Mr. Brandt said that a tentative list of those intending to attend would be made available in the Spokesman's office later today. Some 60 heads of State or government were expected. In answer to a further question, Mr. Brandt said that the Head of State of Cuba had expressed his intention to attend, in principle. The United Nations would expect confirmation closer to the date of the meeting.
A journalist then asked whether the United Nations was doing anything to prevent a collapse of the coalition government in Angola, which might occur should the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) take over the Government in Zaire. Mr. Brandt said that the situation in Angola had improved considerably since the days when peace and the elements of democracy were not yet in place. Despite the visit of the Secretary-General to Angola and the formation of the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation, the situation still needed work. But recent signs were encouraging. Angola would need the continued assistance of the international community were it to become the kind of State that everyone wished it to become, he added.
A correspondent then asked whether the coalition government in Angola would continue, should the forces of the Alliance take power in Zaire. Mr. Brandt said that he did not wish to speculate on the situation of States bordering on Zaire. Clearly, Zaire was in transition. The Secretary-General had made clear that the process should be managed carefully so as to avoid a collapse, preserve existing institutions and avoid the chaos that seemed to be taking place.
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