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, began today's press briefing by saying that in his efforts to reinvigorate the United Nations peacemaking efforts in Somalia, the Secretary-General had asked Ismat Kittani to go on a special mission to the region as his Special Envoy. Mr. Kittani would consult with the parties involved, as well as with the countries and regional organizations concerned, on their positions related to peacemaking efforts in Somalia. Mr. Kittani would probably arrive in New York over the weekend for consultations before his trip, the objective of which was to provide information for the next Secretary-General's report to the Security Council, to be submitted on 15 August. The mission was expected to last approximately two weeks. Based in Geneva, Mr. Kittani was assisting the Secretariat on an "as-needed" basis.

"Where is Serge? Serge, if you're out there, the Haiti report has come to the documents counter", Mr. Eckhard said, referring to a correspondent's questions yesterday on the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) (document S/1997/564).

The Spokesman then quoted the text of the report, in which the Secretary-General had recommended "that the Security Council examine carefully the facts given in the present report in order to decide upon the maintenance of a United Nations support of the Haitian National Police for a period of four months. Were this to be agreed, the Security Council could establish a new mission to be known as the United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti (UNTMIH), the mandate of which would be to support the Haitian authorities in the further professionalization of the national police."

The Secretary-General had further recommended "that the United Nations-assessed strength of the new mission be substantially reduced -- the civilian police element from 300 to 250 officers, and the military element from 500 personnel to a military headquarters staff of 50", Mr. Eckhard continued. The 50-strong headquarters personnel would be supplemented by contingents provided by Canada and Pakistan and funded by voluntary contributions, he added.

Albania was the first item on the Security Council's agenda today, Mr. Eckhard said. Before the Council was a letter from the Secretary-General dated 16 July transmitting Italy's ninth report on the operation of the multinational force in Albania (document S/1997/551). The report said that the multinational force had helped create a secure environment for Albania's electoral process. The second round of voting, on 6 July, had taken place relatively smoothly. The final round of voting, on 13 July, had occurred without incident. According to the report, those positive results should be credited to the multinational force.

Also today, the Council would be briefed on Angola by the Under-Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, Mr. Eckhard continued. In addition, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Alvaro de Soto would brief the Council on Cambodia, and Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahima Fall would brief it on Congo-Brazzaville.

On the latter, the Spokesman said the Secretariat intended to send a peace-keeping survey team to the area. As of today, both parties had agreed to cooperate with the team. Its objective would be to assist the Secretary-General in his preparation of a report further developing the concept of a possible United Nations peace-keeping operation for Congo-Brazzaville. That effort did not amount to a commitment to the creation of such a peace-keeping force; it was merely a planning tool, Mr. Eckhard explained. While the exact date for the team's departure had not yet been determined, the Council had been advised of the plan this morning.

In a formal meeting this afternoon, the Council would establish the Dag Hammarskjold Medal for those who had lost their lives as a result of service in peace-keeping operations under the operational control of the United Nations, Mr. Eckhard said. In that meeting, the Secretary-General would make a brief statement. The Council would observe a moment of silence in honour of the more than 1,500 individuals from 85 countries who had died in peace-keeping operations. The medal would be awarded retroactively to both soldiers and civilians, including United Nations Volunteers. The criteria for conferring the medal would be developed by the Department of Peace-keeping Operations.

Turning to Iraq, Mr. Eckhard said that the main document of the new distribution plan for phase II of the "oil-for-food" programme, established under Council resolution 986 (1995), had been submitted yesterday by the Iraqi Mission to the Secretary-General for his consideration and approval. The annexes to that plan had not yet been received. The entire plan would be reviewed by the Secretariat, in a process that should be completed by the end of July. The resumption of oil exports by Iraq had been independently provided for under Council resolution 1111 (1997), which had launched the second phase of the programme. It would be carried out under the procedures of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 661 (1990) to monitor the sanctions against Iraq. Under those procedures, Iraq was requested to submit oil pricing mechanisms to the Committee for approval by the oil overseers prior to any submission of new oil contracts.

There were two upcoming troop-contributors meetings, Mr. Eckhard said. A meeting on the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) would be held tomorrow, 23 July, at 4 p.m. in Conference Room 5. That meeting would be followed by one on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in the same room, at 5 p.m.

The Secretary-General had been meeting with regional groups in relation to his proposed reform package, Mr. Eckhard said. He had met with the African Group yesterday. Today, he would meet with the Western European and Other States Group at noon, and the Latin American and Caribbean States Group at 4 p.m. Upon presenting his package of reform proposals to the General Assembly, the Secretary-General had said he would consult with each of the five regional groups and respond to questions about the proposals after they had a few days to absorb the report. The Secretary-General hoped that States would consider the proposals as a package over the remainder of the summer and return to the General Assembly in September for an in-depth discussion of the proposals contained therein.

A correspondent asked what had been discussed during the Secretary-General's meeting yesterday with the President of Georgia, Eduard A. Shevardnadze. Mr. Eckhard said they had reviewed the situation in Georgia. The President had been concerned about the continuation of the peace-keeping presence in his country. On that matter, he had met with members of the Security Council in a private session. President Shevardnadze had then made remarks to the press, about which Mr. Eckhard had no comment. The debate on Georgia would begin to unfold in Geneva tomorrow, Mr. Eckhard said, when the high-level talks between the two sides would begin under the auspices of Liviu Bota, the Secretary-General's new Special Representative for Georgia.

Would the Security Council support the withdrawal of troops from Albania? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he would look into the matter; the correspondent should check with him after the briefing.

* *** *