DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

(Incorporates press conference by High Representative on Bosnia Agreement)

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by informing correspondents that he expected Carlos Westendorp, the High Representative on the implementation of the Peace Agreements on Bosnia and Herzegovina, to join him shortly. Ambassador Westendorp had briefed the Security Council this morning.

The Secretary-General began his day at the International Conference on Governance, Mr. Eckhard said. He told the assembled participants that "you are the symbols and expression of a vast coalition of forces now emerging around the world, united in its desire to transform the nature of the relationship between people and government. You are the agents of change and of a new politics". He went on to say that a new consensus was emerging on the nature, role and function of official institutions.

"We are moving from old ideologies to a new pragmatism", the Secretary- General said. "Our work at the United Nations reflects this momentous change." He said the success of that new movement began with a single and simple proposition -- the will of the people. "The will of the people must be the basis of governmental authority", he added. "That is the foundation of democracy; that is the foundation of good governance."

Correspondents might have read that the Congo-Brazzaville talks, which had been going "up and down", ended on an "up" on Saturday, 26 July, Mr. Eckhard said. The two delegations had left Libreville, Gabon, after face- to-face talks, and they had taken with them a proposal by the International Mediation Committee, which was chaired by President El Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon. The two parties would review the proposal in Brazzaville. The proposal included the nomination of an interim prime minister, to be chosen by common agreement from outside of President Pascal Lissouba's circle. The two delegations also recommitted themselves to the cease-fire. That had reduced tensions in Brazzaville, which had been described as calm and quiet.

The joint United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative to the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, left Libreville yesterday for Bujumbura, where he briefly met with President Pierre Buyoya of Burundi, Mr. Eckhard said. Following that, he was scheduled to go to Dar es Salaam, in the United Republic of Tanzania, and not to Arusha as had been announced on Friday. In Dar es Salaam, he would participate in a meeting on Burundi which had been called by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. It was a one-day meeting, convened in preparation for the regional talks on Burundi to take place in Arusha next month.

Mr. Eckhard said correspondents might be aware that President Nelson Mandela of South Africa had a hand recently in trying to resolve the East Timor conflict. The Secretary-General very much welcomed President Mandela's efforts, which the President had said were in support of the United Nations peace initiative in East Timor. The President and the Secretary-General had spoken on the phone, and Mr. Mandela had briefed the Secretary-General on his meetings. Now, the Secretary-General's Personal Representative on East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, was expected to travel to South Africa shortly to follow up.

On Friday, 25 July, there was a ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the Federated States of Micronesia, which became the fifth State to deposit its instruments of ratification, Mr. Eckhard said. The other four were Fiji, Qatar, Uzbekistan and Japan. Today, just 15 minutes ago, the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Alirza Ogly Aliyet, signed the CTBT, making Azerbaijan the 145th signatory State.

The Security Council on Friday approved the appointment of Brigadier- General Bernd S. Lubenik of Austria to the post of Force Commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Mr. Eckhard said. Effective 1 August, he would replace Major-General Jorge Barroso de Moura of Portugal, whose tour of duty would end on 31 July. The exchange of letters would shortly be complete.

Mr. Eckhard drew attention to a press release by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) entitled "All Children Deserve Protection from Tobacco", which was available on the racks. In it, UNICEF welcomed a public health panel's recommendation to the United States Congress that the United States should actively promote tobacco control on a worldwide scale, especially in developing countries.

Mr. Eckhard then announced that the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), James Gustave Speth, and the Director of UNDP's Management Development and Governance Division, G. Shabbir Cheema, would hold a press briefing at 1 p.m. today. They would announce a $36 million governance initiative and would discuss the governance session taking place in the General Assembly Hall.

Also this afternoon, from 2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., there would be a press conference by President Aliyet of Azerbaijan, Mr. Eckhard said.

At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, 29 July, there would be another UNDP-sponsored press conference in connection with the governance conference, Mr. Eckhard said. Mayors of major cities from around the world would be present on the occasion. Participants would include Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco, Mayor-elect Cuauhntemoc Cardenas of Mexico City, Mayor Rita Joshi of Allahabad, India, and Mayor Jamie Raviente de la Fuente of Santiago, Chile. They would present the results of a survey conducted to identify the world's most common urban problems.

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Also available was a UNDP press release about a book on governance, Mr. Eckhard said. However, it was embargoed until tomorrow, 29 July.

Introducing High Representative Carlos Westendorp, Mr. Eckhard said he understood that Ambassador Westendorp had just addressed the Security Council. He then invited him to address the press -- "the Council's sixteenth member".

Mr. Westendorp said that, while the peace implementation process was proceeding very slowly, some important progress had been achieved during the past month. For instance, the so-called quick-start package of essential loans had been approved, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement was almost in place. However, the parties were not putting their entire will behind implementation of the Dayton agreements. Much more effort needed in that direction. Further, the situation in the Republic of Srpska had totally interrupted the process. The main problem was that the same leaders who had made war were still leading the country. Since the High Representative did not have the mandate to remove them, the only way to do so was through elections.

For that to happen, it was essential that the elections be free and fair, Mr. Westendorp said. That required existence of a free public media which must give the same amount of time and same editorial treatment to all political parties -- which was not the case at present. In addition, the police had to be restructured and the war criminal issue be resolved.

Resolution of the war criminal issue right was the first and most important condition for peace, Mr. Westendorp said. Bosnia and Herzegovina would never be normal while the war criminals were at large. Therefore, the parties had to comply with the Dayton Accord and send the indicted persons to The Hague. The Stabilization Force (SFOR) mandate -- circumstances permitting -- was to bring to The Hague all the war criminals that it came across in the course of its normal activities.

Mr. Westendorp said he had proposed two ideas to the Security Council this morning. One was that an inter-agency unit to fight corruption, comprising international and local staff, should be set up in the country. That was an idea that could be implemented and which did not necessarily require a Council resolution. It would also be very useful to study the possibility of tracing the assets of war criminals and other groups in order possibly to freeze them through international action. It would be a good thing if the Council would reflect on that possibility and pass a resolution on tracing those assets.

Addressing the question of war criminals, a correspondent asked if he had any suggestions for strengthening the hand of SFOR. Mr. Westendorp said the question of war criminals was not within his competence. However, pressure could be put on the parties, affirming their primary responsibility for delivering war criminals to The Hague. The anti-corruption unit, as well

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as the identification and freezing of assets, were such forms of pressure. Even so, SFOR had taken very strong action recently.

What freedom did the media have? a correspondent asked. Mr. Westendorp said that depended on the site. In the Federation, it was somewhat freer. There were more opposition parties, and the editorial approach was fairer than in the Republic of Srpska. There was the tradition of press freedom in Sarajevo. In addition, an open broadcast network financed by the international community had produced good results in the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina -- not just in the Federation but in the Republic of Srpska as well.

The broadcasts in the Republic of Srpska were heavily controlled by the Serbian Democratic Party, Mr. Westendorp went on to say. In the present crisis with Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic, it was very evident that the media was "pouring poison on her, as well as on the international community". The best way to operate was to penetrate the Republic of Srpska through free news. However, if that did not lead to results, then punitive action ought to be taken. Such action could not be taken by his office because, while he had been given the right to do that, he did not have the means. However, the possibility was being explored.

What kind of cooperation was expected in tracing and freezing the assets of war criminals? a correspondent asked. Mr. Westendorp said he expected cooperation similar to that being rendered by banks and authorities in tracing the so-called Jewish gold from the Second World War. He did not know exactly which countries' cooperation would be required in that process. Nevertheless, mention had been made of the Swiss Government, the Channel Islands, Cyprus -- North and South -- and Lebanon. Worldwide cooperation would be required.

Asked about his discussions with Bill Richardson, the Permanent Representative of the United States, Mr. Westendorp said that Mr. Richardson was a very effective negotiator who had tried to communicate to the parties the interests of the international community, in general, and of the United States, in particular.

Addressing the question of security in the light of the latest attacks on SFOR and United Nations personnel, Mr. Westendorp said the situation was very worrying. Bombs had been found addressed to key players in Bosnia, including the International Police Task Force, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Office of the High Representative. Those who had carried out the actions had generally been very careful about not having any victims. Nevertheless, it had been made clear to local police that they would be held responsible for any action that might result in victims, and that SFOR will answer adequately.

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Who was carrying out those attacks? a correspondent asked. Mr. Westendorp said there were 3,000 members of the special police, some of whom were in uniform, while others were in civilian clothes. They controlled every municipality in the Republic of Srpska, and it was very easy for them to take actions and ensure that there were no victims. Another form of intimidation involved appearance of posters of Radovan Karadzic, which read in English "Don't Touch Him". Evidently, the Ministry of Interior was responsible, and primarily the Minister of the Interior, Dragan Kijac.

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