DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's press briefing by explaining that the start of the briefing had been delayed 15 minutes so that correspondents could watch the historic events taking place 12 hours ahead in Hong Kong.

He then read out a list of the Secretary-General's activities in Hong Kong today. The Secretary-General had met with the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Tung Chee-hwa, and they discussed Hong Kong's financial future and the elections to be held next May. Mr. Tung stressed the importance of an accountable government and the rule of law to preserve the formula for the economic and social success of Hong Kong.

The Secretary-General then met with Martin Lee, Chairman of the Democratic Party, the largest opposition group there, Mr. Brandt continued. They had met one year ago. They discussed many of the opposition's concerns, including corruption and repression, as well as loss of freedom, human rights and press freedom. Despite those concerns, Mr. Lee said, "It is the beginning and we must be optimistic despite our misgivings". The Secretary-General told Mr. Lee not to pre-judge the Chinese Government, and instead watch what they do.

This afternoon, the Secretary-General attended the outdoor ceremony marking the end of British administration, which was followed by a fireworks ceremony, Mr. Brandt continued. Then he went to the pre-hand-over reception and banquet hosted by the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign and Colonial Affairs. At 11:40 p.m., he went to the hand-over ceremony which was hosted jointly by the United Kingdom and China. He was present during the hand-over ceremonies and at 1:30 p.m. he was going to participate in the inauguration ceremony to be hosted by the Government of China.

The Spokesman's Office had released the text of the Secretary-General's statement on Hong Kong, Mr. Brandt said. It is currently available and will be issued as a press release. The statement reads in part:

"As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I have come here both to join in the celebrations and to be the witness of the international community at these important proceedings. I come to witness this transfer of sovereignty, including the commitments that are being given."

The Secretary-General's statement continues:

"The economy of Hong Kong is both strong and vibrant. Important commitments have been given to the people of Hong Kong, guaranteeing that the way of life and rich diversity of Hong Kong society will be preserved and enhanced under the formula of 'one country, two systems'.

"I therefore believe that we can look forward to a further strengthening of the new Special Administrative Region of China as a world financial and economic centre.

"I have wished Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region, every success as he works with the people of Hong Kong to bring about an even more prosperous and dynamic Hong Kong, in which the rule of law and respect for human rights remain a major unifying factor.

"Today, the world congratulates the Governments of the People's Republic of China and of the United Kingdom, shares in the joy of the people of Hong Kong, and wishes them a prosperous and successful future." (Press Release SG/SM/6273.)

"We finally heard from Hiro", Mr. Brandt said, referring to Hiro Ueki, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, who accompanied Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Yasushi Akashi on his trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Mr. Brandt said that a detailed account of that mission, which started on 24 June, was available in the Spokesman's Office.

The only thing that was not included in that report, he continued, were details about the provinces visited by Mr. Akashi. As they had been received just before the briefing, they would be incorporated into that account, which would then provide details of all Mr. Akashi's activities and meetings, as well as information about what he had observed and about the gravity of the situation in that part of the world. Mr. Brandt called attention to the fact that on 2 July Mr. Akashi would be giving a press conference at 2 p.m. local time, Tokyo. Images recorded by a United Nations television crew would be released on that date, with CNN acting as the pool organization for the rest of broadcasters throughout the world.

Copies of a press release from the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) dated 28 June regarding the apprehension of Slavko Dokmanovic were available in the Spokesman's Office, Mr. Brandt said. Also available was a statement issued to the press this morning in The Hague by the Tribunal's Prosecutor, Justice Louise Arbour, concerning the case.

Also available was a press release from Geneva in which the Officer-in- Charge of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ralph Zacklin, expresses concern over a decision by the Malaysian High Court regarding immunity for Param Cumaraswamy, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the independence of judges and lawyers, Mr. Brandt continued.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 30 June 1997

Next, Mr. Brandt told correspondents that the advance team for the human rights investigation had held three substantive meetings with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Government had confirmed the necessity of an investigation. Together they had worked on a draft protocole d'accord covering the basic principles for an investigation, including guarantees to be provided to the investigation team by the Government. Some issues had not yet been resolved and those would be discussed later. Another meeting with Government officials was scheduled for tomorrow. A press release issued simultaneously in New York and Geneva yesterday on the issue was also available.

The joint United Nations/Organization for African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, was now in France, after having participated actively in the international mediation committee in Libreville, Gabon, on the fighting in Congo-Brazzaville, Mr. Brandt said. He was holding consultations with French officials on the question of a potential multinational force for Congo-Brazzaville. Mr. Sahnoun was expected to arrive in New York and brief the Security Council in the next few days.

Next, Mr. Brandt told correspondents that the Security Council was meeting and was expected to vote on a draft resolution creating, as of 1 July, the new force in Angola: the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA). [The Council later adopted the resolution unanimously.]

Mr. Brandt said that the Secretary-General's statement to the Eighteenth Meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government, which had been released last Friday, would be delivered today in Jamaica. Under-Secretary- General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast would deliver the message on behalf of the Secretary-General, who was in Hong Kong and would go to Geneva after that.

A correspondent asked whether the objections of Laurent Kabila's Government related to the participation on the investigation team of Roberto Garreton, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Brandt said he could not elaborate on what the Government's objections had been. He referred the correspondent to a press release issued on the subject, which indicated that there were some matters that needed to be resolved. It was known that in the past that had been one of the problems. He then read from the press release as follows:

"In a series of meetings in Kinshasa between the Government and the United Nations advance team to prepare for the investigations, Government officials rejected the composition of the joint mission as nominated by the Commission. The Government also insisted that the time period covered by the investigation should be from 20 March 1993 until 17 May 1997."

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 30 June 1997

There seemed to be concerns regarding the team's composition, Mr. Brandt said, but there was no mention whatsoever of any individual at present. He suggested waiting for the outcome of the meeting scheduled to take place tomorrow to see whether the issue would be resolved.

Did the Government have the right to reject a member of the Commission? a correspondent asked. "We will deal with that when it comes to that stage", Mr. Brandt said. For the time being, that mandate was adopted by the Commission of Human Rights. As the Secretary-General's Spokesman Fred Eckhard had said before, a change in the mandate would be necessary if any changes were to be made in the role the Commission had to perform and the team's composition.

A correspondent asked whether there was any movement in the General Assembly by any group of States or United Nations agencies to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice as to the legality of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories. Mr. Brandt said that the only such movement he was aware of, through press reports and from comments to that effect, indicated that there was the intention of convening another meeting of the General Assembly on the matter. He was not aware of any decision to bring the matter before the World Court.

Why was Mr. Dokmanovic actually arrested and indicted? What was his crime? a correspondent asked. Mr. Brandt said he could not comment and urged her to read Justice Arbour's statement, which was quite exhaustive, and revealed quite a lot about the circumstances in which the Court had acted, as well as the UNTAES press release. Those two documents spoke for themselves, he added.

What was happening in Cambodia and with Pol Pot? a correspondent asked. Mr. Brandt said he had no indication that there had been any new developments since last week, but he would check on that.

Did he know when Ambassador Richard Butler of Australia would take over his position as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Special Commission, which dealt with the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction? a correspondent asked. As of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, 1 July, Mr. Brandt replied.

Next, a correspondent asked how many participants would be involved in the new observer mission in Angola. Mr. Brandt said that the Security Council was establishing, as of tomorrow, the MONUA. The MONUA would have an initial mandate until 31 October of this year, with the expectation of full completion of the mission by 1 February 1998. In its draft resolution, the Security Council had requested the Secretary-General to report on the situation once the establishment of the new mission was in place, by 15 August. Mr. Brandt said that more information about the mission and its participants could be obtained through reading a copy of the Secretary-General's report.

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