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 noon briefing by announcing that the Secretary-General was working at home, and therefore had no scheduled appointments.

The Security Council had been briefed this morning on Haiti by Under-Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, the Spokesman continued. Mr. Miyet would also brief the Council on Liberia. A draft presidential statement on Liberia might be issued in a formal Council meeting later in the day. Under "other matters" on the Council's agenda was a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahima Fall on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The anticipated face-to-face talks between the two delegations in the Congo-Brazzaville talks had not happened, Mr. Eckhard said. The parties had not yet agreed on a formula for sharing power pending the elections. The current round of talks was being suspended; the delegations were expected to return to Brazzaville for consultations.

The joint United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, who had been in Libreville for the Congo-Brazzaville talks, would now go to Burundi, Mr. Eckhard continued. Ambassador Sahnoun would be in Burundi on Sunday and Monday, 27 and 28 July. He would then go to Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, on Tuesday, 29 July, for the regional talks on Burundi being hosted by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere.

[The Office of the Spokesman later announced that, in a sudden turnaround, the two Congolese delegations in Libreville, Gabon, had met for the first time face-to-face late today, local time. They had agreed to continue their discussions tomorrow. Ambassador Sahnoun would stay in Libreville for tomorrow round of talks.]

Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents that yesterday he had said he hoped to provide some names of the investigative team being sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, there were "still a few i's to dot and t's to cross" in putting together that team, he said. It was unlikely that any names would be available before early next week, he added.

Turning to Georgia, the Spokesman said the high-level talks in Geneva between the two parties were expected to conclude later today. Upon their conclusion, the Secretary-General would issue an addendum to his earlier report on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia (document S/1997/558), probably early next week, which he would then submit to the Security Council.

A statement issued today by United Nations Spokesman in Sarajevo, Alexander Ivanko, was available to correspondents, Mr. Eckhard said. Today was the second anniversary of the fall of Zepa to the Bosnian Serb army. A Bosnian commander of Zepa, Colonel Avdo Palic, had stayed behind and organized the orderly and safe evacuation from the town of women, children and the elderly. He had done this with the agreement of General Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander, who had guaranteed Colonel Palic's safety.

After Zepa's civilian population had been evacuated, Colonel Palic had been seized from the United Nations compound there by Bosnian Serb army soldiers, Mr. Eckhard continued. He had not been heard from since. In his statement today, Mr. Ivanko had appealed to the Bosnian Serb authorities for information on any of those who had disappeared during the war, including Colonel Palic. Mr. Ivanko said the families of the missing had suffered enough.

The Working Group on Indigenous Populations would hold its annual session in Geneva from 28 July to 1 August, Mr. Eckhard continued. More than 700 people from 50 countries would be in attendance, with representatives from the forests of Amazonia to the north of Alaska and Greenland. This year's meeting, dedicated to development, would mark the twentieth anniversary of the first international conference on discrimination against indigenous people. A background press release issued from the United Nations Office at Geneva was available to correspondents in the Spokesman's Office, he added.

Returning to a correspondent's question yesterday on the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) (document S/1997/564), Mr. Eckhard noted that an earlier report on the mission had mentioned arrears of $30.6 million as of 19 March. There was nothing political in the fact that the current report did not mention arrears, he said. At present, outstanding dues to the Haiti mission amounted to $19.2 million.

Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents that on Monday, 28 July, at 10 a.m., an International Conference on Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity would commence, sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). At 1 p.m., in room S-226, UNDP Administrator James Gustave Speth would brief correspondents on the event. Mr. Speth would be accompanied by the Director of UNDP's Management, Development and Governance Division, Shabbir Cheema. A new UNDP $36 million governance initiative would be announced.

Also on Monday, at 2:45 p.m., the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Alirza Oglu Aliyev, would brief members of the press after a noon meeting with the Secretary-General, Mr. Eckhard continued.

A correspondent asked whether the delay on selecting members of the team for Congo-Kinshasa was due to President Laurent Kabila's failure to approve names submitted. Mr. Eckhard replied that the causes for the delay were purely logistical. Dates and conditions were being discussed with the person the Secretariat wanted to lead the team, but the candidate was "a very active person who we're chasing around the world". Asked the person's identity, Mr. Eckhard said that it would be made available as soon as an agreement had been solidified.

Could Mr. Miyet brief correspondents on his recent trip to Haiti? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he would invite Mr. Miyet to do so.

Anything on Afghanistan? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard replied that seven or eight United Nations personnel remained in Kabul. They were in bunkers much of the time. The situation was not good, he added. The same correspondent asked whether the Head of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan, Norbert Heinrich Holl, was also in the country. Mr. Eckhard said he would check on Mr. Holl's whereabouts.

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