DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970618
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's press briefing by reading out the following statement:
"The Secretary-General is following with concern recent developments in Hebron. He calls for an immediate end to the violence and appeals for maximum restraint. In the Secretary-General's view, the tragic events of the past few days underline the urgent need for confidence to be restored, for all sides to refrain from provocative acts, and for conditions to be created in which the peace process can be resumed." (See Press Release SG/SM/6263.)
The Secretary-General was in Washington, D.C., as announced in yesterday's briefing, Mr. Eckhard said. He gave an address to the Organization of American States (OAS) this morning, and the text was available in the Spokesman's Office. (See Press Release SG/SM/6264.) Concerning the legislation passed by the United States Senate, the Spokesman read the following statement:
"The Secretary-General has been informed of the Senate action approving the authorization bill regarding United States payments to the United Nations.
"When the Secretary-General visited President Clinton in January, the President reiterated the importance of the United Nations to United States foreign policy. On that occasion, he mentioned that if the United States was to play a constructive leadership role in the United Nations, he was conscious that it would have to pay its way.
"The Secretary-General thanks President Clinton and his Administration for their strong and sustained efforts to deliver on that promise.
"The Secretary-General feels that the Senate action does not give us everything we deserve. The bill comes with some difficult benchmarks; but given where we started, we have to recognize that progress has been made.
"The Secretary-General notes with appreciation that the Senate has, for the first time in many years, held a full and serious debate on the United Nations and the United States role in it. He welcomes the bipartisan support for the United Nations which was manifested in the debate and hopes it will continue.
"The United States Administration is aware that it will need to engage the rest of the membership on the issue of benchmarks. The Secretary-General notes that this process has already begun.
"The Secretary-General looks forward to putting this issue behind us so that we can focus on what the United Nations is here to do."
The text of that statement was available in the Spokesman's Office, Mr. Eckhard said. (See Press Release SG/SM/6262.) As correspondents could see, the Secretary-General's feelings were that "while happy days are not here yet, we're moving in the right direction".
Last Saturday, two national employees of the World Food Programme (WFP), and their spouses and children, were shot dead in Ruhengeri, Rwanda, Mr. Eckhard said. The WFP condemned the brutal killings, which came amid a climate of mounting insecurity in the western region of Rwanda. In the last week, 16 serious incidents were reported in that region, including unconfirmed reports of 30 persons killed. A WFP press release on the subject was available in the Spokesman's Office.
Mr. Eckhard noted that it was announced in Geneva today that the Officer-in-Charge of the Activities and Programmes Branch of the High Commissioner/Centre for Human Rights, Georg Mautner-Markhof, would lead the advance team of the Commission of Inquiry in charge of investigating human rights violations in the former Zaire. The advance team would be comprised of seven additional United Nations staff and experts: two human rights officers from Geneva; two forensic experts; security officers with experience in the region; and an information officer. Copies of the press release from Geneva were available in the Spokesman's Office.
The Permanent Mission of Italy informed the United Nations that the Italian Government had agreed to renounce the operational use of anti- personnel land-mines, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General had welcomed their decision. The copies of the letter from the Italian Mission would be made available in the Spokesman's Office.
Mr. Eckhard then announced that the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, would be visiting Headquarters next week to brief the Security Council on the current situation in that country. Mr. Eckhard said he would try to arrange a briefing for correspondents by Mr. Beye.
The Spokesman's Office had received two press releases from Liberia, Mr. Eckhard said. One release was on a human rights training programme and the other contained statement of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Liberia, Tuliameni Kalomoh, on the opening of the electoral campaign.
The Spokesman's Office had also received the statement by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata on the occasion of Africa Refugee Day, which was announced at yesterday's briefing, Mr. Eckhard said. The statement was under embargo until Friday, 20 June, when Africa Refugee Day would be officially held.
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 18 June 1997
In response to requests by correspondents, Mr. Eckhard said a senior United Nations official would hold a background briefing at 4:30 p.m. in room S-226 on the subject of the United Nations talks on East Timor, which were scheduled for 19 to 20 June at Headquarters.
The Manager's Forum was scheduled to meet this afternoon from 1:45 p.m to 2:25 p.m. in Conference Room 5, Mr. Eckhard announced. Brian Gleason from the Management Reform Group would brief the participants on the subject of "Accountability in the United Nations: making a concept a reality".
Mr. Eckhard said that at 12:30 p.m. today there would be a press briefing in room S-226 on the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly to review implementation of Agenda 21. The topic of the briefing was freshwater and forests, and it would include a presentation by Joke Waller- Hunter, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development of the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development. At 1:15 p.m., a coalition of non-governmental organizations participating in the special session would hold a press briefing also in room S-226. Speakers would include representatives from the National Wildlife Federation, the UNED Committee/UK, and Friends of the Earth International. Tomorrow, at 2:30 p.m., representatives from Greenpeace International and the Worldwatch Institute would hold a press briefing, with Ms. Waller-Hunter acting as moderator.
If there was a global crisis as of 1 p.m. this afternoon, Mr. Eckhard said, the Security Council could be contacted at Yankee Stadium. The Council had been invited by United States Permanent Representative Bill Richardson to attend a Yankees-vs.-Mets baseball game, and the members of the Council had reportedly accepted.
Mr. Eckhard then said that he had been asked to announce that John Karefa-Smart, a Sierra Leone opposition leader, would give a briefing at 1:30 p.m. today in the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Club.
A correspondent said that there were reports that Pol Pot had been captured. Had the Security Council ever established a special tribunal for Cambodia? Mr. Eckhard said that human rights organizations had called for action to be taken against the Khmer Rouge, particularly after the Security Council had established tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The Council would not set up a tribunal for a single individual, but it could do so for war crimes committed by a group of people in one of two ways. One way would be to create a tribunal by treaty, which was very time-consuming. The most recent, fast-track approach, would be for the Council to act under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter in response to a threat to international peace and security and create a tribunal. That was the method the Council had used in creating the tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. To date, the United Nations had not received a formal request to establish a tribunal for Cambodia.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 18 June 1997
Asked what was the Secretary-General's reaction to developments in Cambodia, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General was receiving daily reports from the mission in Cambodia, but he had not yet made an official statement.
Would the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Roberto Garretón, be a member of an investigating team sent to that country? a correspondent asked.
Mr. Eckhard said that, as he had mentioned in prior briefings, Mr. Garretón would not be part of the advance team. He could take part in the team that would depart for the Congo in July.
The same correspondent asked if Mr. Garretón would take part in the second team that would leave in July. Mr. Eckhard said he was not certain a decision had been made. Mr. Garretón was the Special Rapporteur and he had been a member of the Commission of Inquiry that was set up to do the investigation initially. So, the Secretary-General had referred the matter to the Human Rights Commission to decide what to do. It was clearly known that Congo-Kinshasa was not favourably disposed towards Mr. Garretón, and, in fact, the country undergoing the investigation had to approve the members of the team. So, "we are between a rock and a hard place", he said, adding that there was a matter of principle and a matter of practicality.
Asked if the Secretary-General was attending the Yankees-Mets baseball game with the Security Council, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General would not return to New York until later in the afternoon. At that time, he would call a meeting to review the status of the reform proposals. The Secretary- General and the Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, Maurice Strong, had finished consulting the last of the Executive Committees yesterday. As the reform process moved into the final stage, the Secretary- General would begin a final round of consultations which would continue on Thursday, 19 June.
What was the Secretary-General's favorite sport? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General liked to walk in the woods while talking to himself, preferably with no one else nearby who might think he would be crazy to do so.
Asked if press could attend the Manager's Forum Meeting, Mr. Eckhard said the meeting was open to the public.
A correspondent asked if the Secretary-General intended to announce reforms for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the special session of the Assembly? Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General would not make any reform announcements before 16 July.
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 18 June 1997
When would Horacio Boneo's report on his trip to Guatemala be released? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said it would not be released. A decision was made not to issue the report. A statement had been issued reaffirming the Secretary-General's confidence in Special Representative Jean Arnault and stating that no evidence had been found to indicate that Mr. Arnault had participated in a cover-up in any way.
What about the Secretary-General's promise that Mr. Boneo's investigation would be carried out with transparency? the same correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said, from the start, allegations against Mr. Arnault were not taken seriously, and the Secretary-General had had no concern that there had been a cover-up on the part of the United Nations. An investigation was undertaken to clear Mr. Arnault's name in the light of reports in the press. If the correspondent wanted to receive a further briefing, the Spokesman's Office would try to arrange it.
Asked when would the payment from the United States be received by the United Nations and what it would be used for, Mr. Eckhard said no final decision had been made on when the money would be paid. There had been a last-minute manoeuvre to attach benchmarks to the payment for the current year. Therefore, the United States Administration now had to complete a certification process before it could pay out the money to the United Nations, which should slow up the payment. The money would be used to pay for the arrears, including payment to vendors. The United Nations was now routinely late -- up to six months -- on its payables.
How much was the assessment for the current year? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the United States assessment for the current year's regular budget was $312 million.
Asked which vendors would be paid and how much they would be paid, Mr. Eckhard said he would ask the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph E. Connor, for that information.
What were the complete contents of the benchmark that insisted upon a certification process? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said it was not a single benchmark, but a cluster that had originally been applied to payment of United States arrears and had been shifted to the payment for the current year. They called on the President to present written certification to the Congress that the United Nations had taken certain actions.
Asked if that benchmark had been applied prior to the visit of United States Senator Rod Grams to Headquarters last week, Mr. Eckhard said he assumed that it had been.
Samsiah Abdul-Majid, spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly, announced that the ad hoc open-ended working group of the General Assembly on an agenda for development would meet on Friday, 20 June. It would
Daily Press Briefing - 6 - 18 June 1997
be followed by a meeting of the plenary of the Assembly, in which the agenda for development would be considered for adoption. The document was not yet available, but it was available on the Internet at an address listed on page 9 of today's Journal (the Internet address is the following: http://www.un.org/dpcsd/dpcea/agenda.htm). The vice-chairmen of the working group were available for a briefing. Interested correspondents should contact the spokeswoman.
Prior to the opening of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly on Monday, 23 June, there would be a ceremony in the Assembly Hall at 9:45 a.m., Ms. Abdul-Majid announced. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil and Vice-President Albert Gore of the United States would welcome delegates to the special session.
Ms. Abdul-Majid then announced that Assembly President Razali Ismail (Malaysia) would hold a press briefing in room S-226 tomorrow, 19 June, at 11 a.m. Ambassador Razali was scheduled to announce the speakers from major groups that were going to address the plenary. In addition, Mostafa Tolba, Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development, would brief correspondents on Friday, 20 June, from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m., also in room S-226.
Regarding the Day of the African Child, Mr. Eckhard said the United Nations Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Office in Liberia had issued a civic education booklet for children on their human rights in connection with the Day's observance. A copy of the booklet was available in the Spokesman's Office.
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