DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, before beginning today's noon briefing, listened along with correspondents to the live transmission of the Secretary-General's statement at the opening of the Cyprus talks at the Troutbeck conference centre, in Amenia, Dutchess County, New York. The text of the Secretary-General's statement was available in the Spokesman's Office, he said, as was the list of delegates present at Troutbeck.

The Secretary-General had hosted a dinner for the community leaders and other special representatives on Cyprus at his residence last night, the Spokesman continued. It had been a very cordial affair, "and, we hope, a suitable beginning to this round of talks".

Mr. Eckhard announced that Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the First Prime Minister of Cambodia, was expected in New York tomorrow. There was as yet no confirmed time for his meeting with the Secretary-General, but the Permanent Mission of Cambodia had requested that it take place. If it happened tomorrow, it was expected to be in the afternoon. Elaborating on the Secretary-General's statement on events in Cambodia that he had read at the press briefing yesterday, Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General was calling on the authorities in Phnom Penh to ensure the safety of all members of the party of Prince Ranariddh.

On Security Council deliberations today, he said the Council had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP). It was expected to take action tomorrow to extend the mandate of the mission for six months. It also had a report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES). There was a draft resolution circulating on UNTAES, although action was not expected until next week. The Council would also be briefed on Sierra Leone by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahima Fall. He added that it would also take up the situation in Afghanistan.

Mr. Eckhard announced that the Under-Secretary for Peace-keeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, would travel to Haiti tomorrow to assess the situation there, as the current mission came to an end. The Secretary-General would submit a report to the Security Council late next week on the possible future international presence in Haiti.

Recalling his statement yesterday that there had been no statement from Iraq on a draft distribution plan for the implementation of the second round of Security Council resolution 986 (1995) on the "oil-for-food" plan, the Spokesman said that the draft did come in late in the afternoon yesterday. Staffan de Mistura, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, had said it was a good step in the right direction, but the plan still lacked some details on

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important sectors, and further discussions were needed before it could be submitted to the Secretary-General.

Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents of the heavy rains last month in Azerbaijan and Armenia, which had caused severe flooding. According to a government report in Azerbaijan, 200 buildings, 7,000 private homes, nine hospitals, 51 schools and 40 bridges were damaged following three days of exceptional rains. The Field Office of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs in Azerbaijan was working closely with the State Emergency Committee on damage assessment and relief requirements. The Department was prepared to serve as a channel for cash contributions to be used during the immediate relief phase in coordination with the relevant agencies of the United Nations system.

He added that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was also helping to assess flood damage in the two countries, and estimated that more than 12,000 tons of wheat, barley, cereals, potatoes, fruits and vegetables had been destroyed by the flooding in Armenia. Copies of "DHA Situation Date" and "UNDP Flash" on the subject were available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Eckhard announced that the World Food Programme (WFP) had today issued an urgent appeal for $45.7 million in additional food aid to provide survival rations to children in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea threatened with starvation because of critical food shortages there. The funds would enable the WFP to more than double the emergency food rations it was currently supplying to about 2.6 million children aged six and younger, to ensure that they survived the crisis. Quoting Catherine Bertini, the Programme's Executive Director, he said, "Of all the people WFP is assisting in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, young children are the most vulnerable. Our staff in the country estimate that 50 to 80 per cent of the children they have seen in nurseries are underweight and markedly smaller than they should be for their age. They are literally wasting away." The WFP "News Update", with additional details, was also available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Eckhard said that the United Nations system-wide poverty alleviation programme for the Ohangwena region in northern Namibia had been approved to get under way this month. It was the first integrated United Nations system- wide anti-poverty campaign for the country. The $1 million programme for the country's poorest and most populous region joined several United Nations agencies and funds in a common fight against rural poverty and underdevelopment, in a region where 48 per cent of the people were illiterate and 72 per cent lacked access to clean water. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) were among the organizations participating.

Turning to assessed contributions, he told correspondents that Viet Nam had become the seventy-fourth Member State to become paid up in full for its 1997 regular budget assessment, with a payment of $106,508. In terms of the

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number of Member States paid at this time last year, he said there were 77. That was a slightly poorer performance, but in dollar terms it was significantly better. Outstanding contributions levels were now over $2.4 billion; at this time last year, they were $3.1 billion.

He added that the monthly summary of troop contributions to peace- keeping operations was available.

Mr. Eckhard announced that the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Angola, Bernard Ntegeye, was in town. Mr. Ntegeye had been asked to come to the briefing tomorrow to tell correspondents about UNDP's activities in Angola.

On Sierra Leone, he reminded correspondents that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had created a four-member committee to look into the situation in that country, with a view to reinstating the legitimate government of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and facilitating the return of peace and security. The Committee consisted of Nigeria, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, and the Foreign Ministers of those countries would be arriving in New York today, and would probably meet with the Secretary-General and the Security Council tomorrow. The times of those meetings would be announced later.

A correspondent asked for confirmation that France was still the only permanent member of the Security Council to have paid its assessments in full. Mr. Eckhard said France was not, but he would double-check. If there was a mistake in the list, it would be corrected.

A correspondent noted that the Secretary-General "sounded a bit hoarse" in the live transmission of his speech from Troutbeck. Was he suffering from a cold? The Spokesman said that although the audio was somewhat faint, the Secretary-General had been "in good shape last night" and he did not think he had a cold.

Mr. Eckhard was also asked if Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Yasushi Akashi was going to present a formal report on his visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the Secretary-General. He replied that he did not know the status of the matter, but that Mr. Akashi would report if he had not done so already. He would check up on the issue.

Asked for details on the meeting last Monday of the potential troop- contributors for the multinational force for the Congo, he said he understood that Senegal had offered to lead the force, which was one "essential ingredient" that had been lacking. There continued to be problems of logistics for the troop-contributors, and it remained to be seen what level of political commitment there might be in the Security Council. "On our side, we continue to plan for the launching of such a force", he concluded.

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