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 welcoming William Lee, Chief of the New York Liaison Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), who would address correspondents following the briefing.

The Spokesman said that, as the correspondents may have seen on the news wires today, UNWRA had been able to reverse an earlier decision to charge fees for school programmes in the Near East for Palestinians, thanks to some last- minute generous contributions. Nevertheless, the programme had a long-term financial problems of a structural nature, which Mr. Lee would discuss.

This morning, the Secretary-General addressed the Fiftieth Annual Department of Public Information (DPI)/Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Conference in the General Assembly Hall, Mr. Eckhard said. In that address, he emphasized the fresh new partnership between the United Nations and the NGOs. He said that partnership was vital because of the presence of new enemies, which he called the forces of "uncivil society".

"Those new global enemies, which can be combated only through international cooperation, include drug-traffickers, money-launderers, gun- runners, the exploiters of young people for prostitution, and currency fraudsters", the Secretary-General stated. They all move in the netherworld between State sovereignty and international cooperation. They are part of the dark underside of the process of economic globalization.

Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had been interrupted by applause when he said the following: "In my reform report, I floated the idea that alongside a 'Millennium Assembly of the United Nations', the NGOs might considering holding a `People's Millennium Assembly'. I hope you will examine it further. It could provide an excellent opportunity for cementing our new partnership."

The Spokesman said there would be a meeting this afternoon between the Secretary-General and his senior management group. That group had emerged from a reform proposal of the Secretary-General to create a "Cabinet" style of management. The management group would include the Deputy Secretary-General, if the General Assembly approved the establishment of that post. The group also included the conveners of the four Executive Committees, which coordinated the work of the Organization in the four key areas: the Under- Secretary-General for Political Affairs; the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; and the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. Also included were the heads of the departments relating to peacekeeping, administration and management, General Assembly and conference services, as

well as the Legal Counsel, the Under-Secretary-General's Office for Communication and Public Information (to be created), and the Chief of Staff.

By the process of tele-conferencing, the meetings would include the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Directors-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Vienna, Mr. Eckhard said. On an "as needed" basis, they would also include the Secretary- General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as the heads of programmes, funds and departments, and the executive secretaries of the regional commissions. The group would meet weekly, with its first meeting taking place today. It would serve as the Secretary- General's Cabinet and the central policy planning body of the United Nations. Its objective was to "ensure strategic coherence and direction in the work of the Organization".

The Security Council today was considering a draft resolution on the situation in Iraq, Mr. Eckhard said. [Note: It was subsequently announced that those consultations had been postponed until tomorrow, 11 September.] If approved, it would introduce "some specific flexibility in the amount of oil that Iraq could sell under the first 90 days of the second 180-day period". Also, the Council would again take up the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, specifically issues relating to the investigative team on human rights and to refugees.

Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents of the remarks made yesterday by Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In clarification of those remarks, a briefing note had been issued by the UNHCR in Geneva. It was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Also available on the racks was the report of the Security Council Committee established under resolution 661 (1990) to monitor the sanctions against Iraq, on its activities during the first 90 days of the second 180-day period in the implementation of the oil-for-food programme, he said. The report indicated that in the first 90 days, 30 liftings -- totalling 35.7 million barrels of oil with an estimated value of $571 million -- had been completed. The total revenue generated for the first 90-day period appeared to be some $500 million below the 90-day objective of $1.07 billion, if current prices remained unchanged.

In news from Congo-Kinshasa, Mr. Eckhard said the investigative team had been informed that it could meet only tomorrow with Richard Etienne Mbaya -- the team's chief contact within the Congolese Government and the Minister for National Reconstruction and Emergency Relief. The team had hoped for a meeting today so it could get under way tomorrow. Atsu Koffi Amega, the chief of the team, indicated that the first field trip of the mission would again be delayed. The team now planned to visit on Saturday the first identified site, which Mr. Eckhard would not yet name.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 10 September 1997

Meanwhile, the Spokesman said, four members of the team had arrived in Loukolela, a Rwandan refugee camp in the north of Brazzaville, in Congo- Brazzaville, across the Congo River. During three days there, they would question refugee witnesses who had crossed the entire Congo-Kinshasa territory and then the river. The security situation in Congo-Brazzaville had reportedly deteriorated sharply during the past week. It now appeared that there was widespread placing of landmines around Brazzaville, particularly in front of government buildings in the city -- adding a new dimension to the conflict.

Concerning the ferry disaster in Haiti, the United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti (UNTMIH) had this morning suspended its search operations, the Spokesman said. The UNTMIH was awaiting the arrival this afternoon of a team of two United States Navy divers from Puerto Rico to jointly assess the situation. Another team of nine United States Navy divers were due to arrive tomorrow morning with a compression chamber that would facilitate the recovery of bodies still trapped inside the boat. Since Monday afternoon, the UNTMIH peacekeepers had recovered 55 bodies. Approximately 60 people had survived the accident.

Mr. Eckhard said that the Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, met yesterday in Andulo with Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Mr. Beye explained to Mr. Savimbi the concerns of the international community and the aims of Security Council resolution 1127, which identified restrictive measures to be undertaken unless UNITA complied with the 1994 Lusaka Protocol. Mr. Savimbi expressed frustration at the decision of the international community to impose sanctions, but also expressed UNITA's continued commitment to the Lusaka Protocol. Mr. Beye would meet again with UNITA leadership before the end of the month to further evaluate the situation. So far, 40 localities in Angola had been placed under State administration. However, some major centres -- including those in the diamond-mining areas in the Lundas -- remained to be incorporated.

The Spokesman said that those correspondents who were in the Building early this morning had been aware of "trouble on the upper floors of the Secretariat Building". At approximately 8 a.m., a steam pipe burst on the 35th floor, causing steam to spread one floor below and three floors above. The elevators in the three banks were automatically recalled to the lobby on the first floor. The New York City Fire Department was called in, and it confirmed that the situation was now under control. There were no injuries, and the clean-up process had begun. Mr. Eckhard announced that the Secretary-General had volunteered, "on his own", for a press conference. "Didn't even ask him", the Spokesman said. "I want to meet with the press before the opening of the General Assembly", the Secretary-General had stated. So, the press conference was scheduled for tomorrow at 10:45 a.m. in room 226. "I hope you'll look forward to seeing him there", Mr. Eckhard said.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 10 September 1997

Also tomorrow, the Secretary-General was going to be the guest of honour at a breakfast meeting of the Association for a Better New York, to be held at the New York Hilton Hotel, located at the Avenue of the Americas and 55th street.

Mr. Eckhard went on to say that Samsiah Al-Majid, spokeswoman for General Assembly President Ismail Razali (Malaysia), had asked him to announce that a copy of the President's statement to the DPI/NGO Conference was available in the Spokesman's Office. Also, the President would hold his last press conference at 10 a.m. on Monday, 15 September, in room S-226.

The Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, James Jonah, would hold a press conference on the current situation in that country at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 11 September, in room S-226, Mr. Eckhard said.

The Spokesman also announced that two World Chronicle television programmes would be replayed today on in-house channels 6 and 38. One programme -- featuring Richard Jolly, the Special Adviser to the Administrator of the UNDP -- would be shown at 2:30 p.m. The programme at 3 p.m. featured Bernard Miyet, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. "Congratulations to John Goshko" of The Washington Post, the recipient last night of "The Korn Ferry/International Journalism Award for Excellence in UN Reporting", Mr. Eckhard said. The award was presented at the United Nations Ambassadors Dinner sponsored by the Business Council for the United Nations. It was an annual award, decided upon by a committee of 10 executive editors.

Why had the "upgrading" of the status of NGOs, formerly regarded as "old ladies in tennis shoes", taken so long? a correspondent asked. What new development had brought them to the forefront? Mr. Eckhard said it was probably a matter of global political evolution. With the increasing democratization of governments, citizens' groups had become more effective and had attracted a more mainstream kind of participation. "If you looked in the General Assembly Hall today, it wasn't all `old ladies in tennis shoes'." For this Secretary-General, it had been "a major plank of his platform to no longer make the United Nations a distant entity, but to come into direct contact with the people who are helping shape government policies". Another correspondent asked whether there had been any cross-river raids by elements of the Congolese forces or Rwandan troops to carry out reprisals against refugees or to try and target potential witnesses. Mr. Eckhard said the preliminary answer was "no", but he would look into the question and respond to the correspondent later today.

Asked for a read-out on yesterday's meeting between the Secretary- General and the Algerian Ambassador, Mr. Eckhard said he could only say that the meeting, which was at the request of the Algerian Ambassador, had been used by the Ambassador to brief the Secretary-General on that Government's efforts to calm the situation and deal with it.

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