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, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Sierra Leone, Berhanu Dinka, had briefed the Security Council this morning on the diplomatic efforts that were being undertaken regarding the situation in Sierra Leone and the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), under the chairmanship of Nigeria.

The Council also discussed the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) which was issued last week, Mr. Brandt said. In the report the Secretary-General had stated that it seemed advisable to pursue the implementation of the Council's decision to start, as of 1 October, a two-month phased reduction of the military component of the Mission by 300 -- all ranks -- bearing in mind the conditions prevailing during that time in the region.

Following the discussion of the UNPREDEP report, the representative of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation would brief the Council on the meeting between the President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, and the Abkhazian leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, which took place in Tbilisi on 14 August, the Associate Spokesman said.

Mr. Brandt reminded correspondents that the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Diego Cordovez would brief the Council tomorrow on the latest round of talks on Cyprus, held last week in Glion, Switzerland. On Thursday, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, would brief the Council on Burundi in anticipation of the talks due to take place in Arusha towards the end of this week.

Mr. Brandt then read the following statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General (also issued as Press Release SG/SM/6304):

"The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement that the United States will participate in the Ottawa process negotiations on a treaty banning anti- personnel land-mines. He is convinced that such a treaty is urgently needed to put an end to the enormous suffering caused every day by this indiscriminate weapon. The action by the United States comes at a critical moment, as arrangements are being made to open formal negotiations in Oslo on 1 September. The Secretary-General hopes that the Oslo Conference will succeed in concluding a truly comprehensive ban, which will come to the General Assembly for endorsement at its coming session. He looks forward to opening the treaty for signature in Ottawa in December.

"The Secretary-General also hopes that there will be progress in the parallel efforts being made in the Conference on Disarmament to achieve universality of a total ban on these horrific weapons." The statement would be available in the Spokesman's office.

The Associate Spokesman reminded correspondents that the Conference, which would negotiate a convention to ban anti-personnel land-mines, would take place in Oslo from 1 to 19 September. The Norwegian Government was organizing the Conference as part of the Ottawa process while the Government of Austria had prepared the draft convention. More than 100 participants were expected to attend the Conference. Subsequently, it was expected that the draft convention would be open for signature in Ottawa in December.

Mr. Brandt then read another statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General (also issued as Press Release SG/SM/6303):

"The Secretary-General welcomes and appreciates the strong support by President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan for the peace process in Tajikistan. The Secretary-General expects that Uzbekistan will accede to the Protocol on International Guarantees and participate in the Contact Group established under the Protocol.

"The Secretary-General also thanks President Karimov for his decision to permit transit through Uzbekistan for Tajik refugees in Afghanistan who are returning home, with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in accordance with the agreements reached between the two Tajik parties in the Protocol on Refugees.

"President Karimov made these undertakings to Ambassador William Richardson, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, who visited Tashkent. The Secretary-General is grateful to Ambassador Richardson for his assistance in this matter."

The Associate Spokesman also read out from another statement, also attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, which reads as follows:

"In accordance with General Assembly resolution 51/77 of December 1996, the Secretary-General has decided to appoint Olara Otunnu (Uganda) for a period of three years as his Special Representative to study the impact of armed conflict on children. Mr. Otunnu's nomination is based on extensive consultations held with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "At the recommendation of the General Assembly, the Special Representative is mandated to assess progress achieved, steps taken and difficulties encountered in strengthening the plight of children affected by

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 19 August 1997

armed conflict, encourage the development of networking, foster international cooperation to ensure respect for children's rights in these situations and to contribute to the coordination of efforts by Governments and relevant United Nations bodies, specialized agencies as well as other competent bodies and non-governmental organizations. "The Special Representative is furthermore requested to work closely with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and to report annually to the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights on his findings. The Special Representative will be supported substantively and logistically in his efforts by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNICEF and UNHCR. "Mr. Otunnu succeeds the expert appointed by the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflict on children, Graca Machel of Mozambique. The Secretary-General wishes to take this opportunity to convey his warmest appreciation for the ground-breaking work in the protection of children affected by armed conflicts and express his gratitude for Ms. Machel's personal and professional commitment in the exercise of her mandate. The Secretary-General is of the opinion that Ms. Machel's study (A/51/306), which demonstrates the centrality of the protection and care of children in conflict situations in relation to international human rights, peace and security and the development agenda, provides a solid basis in Mr. Otunnu's endeavours to promote urgent and resolute action on the part of the international community to redress the plight of children in situations of armed conflicts." (See Press Release SG/A/647.)

Mr. Brandt said that a biographical note on Mr. Otunnu was available in the Spokesman's Office. Background information on Ms. Machel's study which was presented to the General Assembly last year was also available.

Briefing notes from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were also available in the Spokesman's Office, he said. They contained information on three areas -- Cambodia, the Great Lakes and Tajikistan. On Cambodia, UNHCR had advised that more than 20,000 Cambodian refugees who fled into Thailand overnight had now been moved into a camp set up for them by the Thai authorities, about seven kilometres inside the Thai border.

Yesterday, UNHCR had distributed approximately 40,000 tonnes of rice and 50,000 tins of fish to people across the border, Mr. Brandt said. Some refugees could be seen carrying the rations to Thailand with them. The UNHCR would provide a further 40,000 tonnes of rice and 50,000 tins of fish for distribution tomorrow. The UNHCR team on the border had indicated that the refugees appeared to be in relatively good shape, apart from a number of malaria cases, and that their transfer across the border and into the camp had been well-managed and had taken place in an orderly fashion.

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The UNHCR said that Thailand had always been generous in allowing refugees into the country and that it was pleased that the Thai authorities had kept their promises to allow Cambodians to cross the border, he continued. The UNHCR expressed the hope that the refugees would be allowed to stay there until the fighting in their home area subsided. Thailand appeared to be flexible about how long the refugees might stay. However, when the fighting ceased there would be no reason for them to stay.

On the Great Lakes region, the press release stated that UNHCR had been discussing, with officials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, the screening of Rwandan refugees who had refused to return to their country, Mr. Brandt said. A meeting with those officials, scheduled for this afternoon in Goma, would discuss ways of dealing with the remaining refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who did not want to return to Rwanda but were in need of international protection, and arrangements for those who were excluded.

In the meantime, UNHCR had begun deploying protection officers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he continued. A similar effort was under way in several countries in the region, such as the screening under way in the Central African Republic for 846 refugees. Copies of the UNHCR press release were available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Brandt then announced that a copy of today's press briefing by the Deputy Spokesman for the United Nations office in Sarajevo, Liam McDowall, was available in the Spokesman's Office. The release contained information on the latest developments regarding a police station that correspondents had inquired about yesterday.

A limited number of copies of the Humanitarian Report 1997 was also available for correspondents, preferably for those who were following such issues closely, he said. The 109-page report reflected the main developments and trends in the area of emergency and disaster assistance over the last five years. During that period, according to the report, the United Nations system, in partnership with donors, non-governmental organizations and other concerned parties, had raised over $10 billion to deliver relief assistance to the needy.

The Associate Spokesman said the report took stock of the evolution of the basic mechanisms of humanitarian coordination since 1992, when the Secretary-General, in response to General Assembly resolution 46/182, had appointed an Emergency Relief Coordinator and had established the Department of Humanitarian Affairs. It also detailed the international response in 1996 and the first quarter of 1997 to major humanitarian emergencies, notably those in the Great Lakes region, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Angola and Liberia as well as to major natural disasters. Referring to the appearance of the

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report, Mr. Brandt explained that the glossy cover and the well-presented format was important since the report would go on sale as a United Nations publication.

Turning to the sale of oil in Iraq, the Associate Spokesman said three more oil contracts had been approved late yesterday, which meant that a total of 21 oil contracts had been approved of the 25 that had been received. The total volume of oil approved had reached 103.33 million barrels. Details of the volume, contract numbers and the origin of the contracts were available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Brandt said copies of the latest UNDP publication, Flash, were also available. It provided information on different areas of the organization's work programme, including governance, peace-building, poverty and sustainable livelihoods and environment and emergencies, in countries such as Tajikistan, Somalia, Fiji, Botswana, Morocco and Indonesia.

A correspondent asked why the Ottawa process negotiations on land-mines were necessary when the United Nations process had been bogged down on that issue and both processes involved the same Governments. Mr. Brandt said perhaps it was time for Member States to realize how horrible land-mines were and how much public opinion pressure had been exerted in the last few years. His guess was that Governments had finally decided to address the question with more urgency and to try to reach a consensus on banning the weapon. The answer to the correspondent's question lay in the desire of Member States to eliminate the weapon.

The correspondent asked further, why the negotiations on banning land- mines were not being pursued within the United Nations. The Associate Spokesman said that question had to be answered by Member States. He added that the United Nations had been working very hard for many years towards that goal and the various Secretaries-General had spoken against land-mines. More recently, the current Secretary-General, in various forums, had stated his views clearly and forcefully. On the issue of who would get the credit, the important thing was that the process moved forward, the weapons were banned and that people would not continue to suffer the consequences of their use.

Asked if the draft convention forbade the use of land-mines during times of war, and if so, how would it be verified, Mr. Brandt said he did not have the details but he was aware that certain Member States had, at various times, talked of exceptions and where and in what circumstances the use of land-mines could be allowed. That was expected to be part of the discussion that would take place in Oslo and in subsequent forums leading up to Ottawa. Such agreements were yet unclear and remained to be decided on. He offered to have an expert on the issue brief correspondents on the aims of the negotiations, the United Nations position and the details of the draft convention.

In response to a question about Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Mr. Brandt said he was in Turkmenistan today and would be there for a few days before going on to the other countries in the region to complete his mission.

Daily Press Briefing - 6 - 19 August 1997

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