DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970616
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by welcoming to Headquarters Phil Arnold, spokesman for the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES). Mr. Arnold was passing through New York and could be contacted through the Spokesman's Office today.
The Secretary-General had been in touch over the weekend with President El Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon concerning the President's efforts to mediate the conflict in Congo-Brazzaville, Mr. Eckhard said. The Spokesman's Office issued a statement yesterday in support of those efforts, and the Secretary- General praised the Government of France's efforts in evacuating foreign nationals from Congo-Brazzaville. Yesterday, the Secretary-General also sent the joint United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, to Libreville in support of President Bongo's efforts.
A mini-summit was being held in Libreville today, involving the presidents of Mali, the Central African Republic and Chad, as well as the Foreign Minister of Senegal, Mr. Eckhard said. The participants were scheduled to discuss the possibility of sending a multinational force to Congo-Brazzaville to help preserve the cease-fire and to allow the peace talks to go ahead after the French troops left later this week.
The advance team of the Commission of Inquiry in charge of investigating human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was scheduled to depart from Geneva for Kinshasa on the evening of Thursday, 19 June, Mr. Eckhard said. The team would be headed by a senior officer of the Centre for Human Rights, to be announced shortly. The team was expected to discuss with the Congolese Government issues concerning the mission of inquiry, including freedom of access, security issues and the sites to be visited. An information officer would be included, to keep correspondents posted on the team's progress.
Mr. Eckhard said that as late as Friday, 13 June, the Secretary-General had proposed to dispatch the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Sir Kieran Prendergast, as his Special Envoy to Israel and the occupied territories in connection with the resolution adopted by the emergency special session of the General Assembly. Letters were exchanged between the Secretary-General and the Government of Israel and a number of consultations were held between the Chargé d'affaires of Israel and the Under-Secretary- General for Political Affairs to discuss the scope of the proposed mission. The restrictions imposed on the scope of the mission by the Government of
Israel were not acceptable to the United Nations. Regrettably, it now appeared that the mission would not be taking place, since the Secretary- General needed to report to the General Assembly by 25 June. (See today's Press Release SG/SM/6260.)
Regarding allegations of misconduct by Italian peace-keepers in Somalia in 1993, Mr. Eckhard said it was not clear from the dates whether the alleged incidents took place during deployment of the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) or during the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). In any case, as a matter of principle, the Secretary-General expected that all peace-keepers would regulate their conduct according to the highest standards, including respect for local laws, human rights, and international law applicable in armed conflict, namely, the Geneva Conventions.
Mr. Eckhard said that UNOSOM had been the first United Nations mission to involve combat since the Congo operation, and the Organization had drawn some lessons from its experiences there. The United Nations had taken steps to incorporate respect for international law in its negotiated agreements with host countries. The first time that had been done was with the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III). With respect to the current allegations, they had not been brought to the United Nations' attention, so no investigations had been conducted. Had they happened under UNOSOM, established procedures in investigating allegations would have been followed. Ultimately, the behaviour of troops was the responsibility of the commanding officer, and any disciplinary charges must be brought by the troop- contributing country.
Talks on East Timor were scheduled to get under way this week, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General's Special Representative for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, would arrive in New York tomorrow, and the talks were scheduled for 19 and 20 June. The Spokesman's Office had asked that Mr. Marker brief correspondents before the talks began.
Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General's recommendation on Liberia stated that a joint coordination mechanism should be set up between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations in Liberia. While negotiations had taken a little while, there was word as of late Friday, 13 June, that the Department of Political Affairs had reached an agreement with Nigeria on establishment of the mechanism.
Mr. Eckhard then announced that there would be a meeting of troop- contributing countries for UNAVEM III at 3:30 p.m. today in Conference Room 4.
Today marked the beginning of the daily briefings on the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly, "Earth Summit + 5", Mr. Eckhard said. Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development Nitin Desai would brief correspondents at 12:30 p.m. in room 226. At 12:30 p.m., there would be a substantive briefing on the subjects of finance,
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 16 June 1997
changing consumption and production patterns, and energy. Participating would be Joke Waller-Hunter, Kenneth Ruffing and Juergen Holst of the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development.
Asked if the United Nations would have any role in helping the Italian Government determine the veracity of the allegations of misconduct in Somalia, Mr. Eckhard said the United Nations would cooperate in any way it could. The Under-Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, would be the person to contact, as the Department on Peace-keeping Operations would have the UNOSOM records and would cooperate with the Italian Government in the investigation.
Asked for the name of the commander of UNAVEM III, Mr. Eckhard said it was Major-General Phillip Valerio Sibanda of Zimbabwe.
A correspondent said there had been press reports over the weekend that Israel would not reimburse the Department of Peace-keeping Operations for the bombing of the headquarters at Qana, Lebanon. Was there any recourse for their refusal to abide by a General Assembly resolution? Mr. Eckhard said that, at the political level, it was a matter between Member States. There had been discussion that the Security Council would take up the issue, but it was difficult to see how the Council could have jurisdiction over a financial matter which was in the hands of the General Assembly.
Addressing the same question, Samsiah Abdul-Majid, spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly, said she would check with the Secretary of the Fifth Committee on the matter.
A correspondent said some human rights organizations felt the Secretary- General was backtracking on his support for the Special Rapporteur for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Roberto Garretón (Chile). Was it true that Mr. Garretón might be dropped? Mr. Eckhard said the advance team was never supposed to include Mr. Garretón. The team would be composed of forensics and technical experts. It was now the Secretary-General's assumption that the Commission on Human Rights would decide who would be sent to the Congo, keeping in mind the consultations with the host country.
Was the Secretary-General giving in to a Member State by not ensuring Mr. Garretón played a continuing role? the correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the United Nations would try to include the appropriate people on the team going to the Congo.
Asked if there was any other way for the Secretary-General to participate in the Group of Seven meeting besides issuing an aide-mémoire, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General could not participate if he was not invited.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 16 June 1997
A correspondent asked if the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, had returned to Headquarters to prepare for the talks in July. Mr. Eckhard said Mr. Cordovez had been in and out of the Building a few times. During the talks, Mr. Cordovez would chair the meetings after the Secretary-General opened the negotiations.
Had there been any follow-up to the meetings on Friday, 13 June, between United States Senator Rod Grams and Member States? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he understood that Senator Grams had been exposed to the views of other Member States, but he had no sense that anything had changed in the Senator's overall position.
A correspondent asked if Mr. Eckhard could provide any clarification on the Secretary-General's statement requesting United Nations support for Haitian President René Préval? Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General's point was that United Nations recognized and dealt with, and thereby supported, the recognized Government of any Member State.
What were the implications of cancelling Mr. Prendergast's trip to the Middle East? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the Assembly's resolution required that the Secretary-General report on the situation, not that a mission be sent. The Secretary-General would now be forced to report without having had a representative visit the area.
Ms. Abdul-Majid, spokeswoman for the President of the Assembly, said that tomorrow the Assembly would take up its item on the High Commissioner for Human Rights. It was expected to approve the Secretary-General's appointment of President Mary Robinson of Ireland as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for a term of four years. The Assembly was also expected to decide, on the recommendation of its General Committee, to include an item on United Nations reform, as recommended by the Secretary-General. As correspondents would recall, the Secretary-General had asked to present his report on United Nations reform to the Assembly on 16 July.
Ms. Abdul-Majid said the Fifth Committee resolution on administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peace-keeping operations, relating to death and disability, would also be taken up by the Assembly tomorrow. A Fifth Committee resolution on the support account for peace-keeping operations would also be considered.
Ms. Abdul-Majid said informal consultations by the Chairman of the fifth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development regarding the draft proposed outcome of the nineteenth special session began today. They would conclude on Friday, 20 June.
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