DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

[Incorporates briefing by Spokesman for General Assembly President]

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's press briefing by stating that the Secretary-General had returned from the Ibero- American summit in Venezuela a day early, arriving in New York at about 2 p.m. yesterday. He had met with his three envoys to Baghdad at about 5:30 p.m., and they presented him with their report. At about 6:30 p.m., that meeting had been joined by the Executive Director of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), which was set up in connection with the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction; the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast; and the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell. They discussed the report which the Secretary-General would present, in summary form, to the Security Council this afternoon.

In connection, with Iraq, the Secretary-General had met with the President of the Security Council this morning at 10 a.m., Mr. Eckhard said. That had been followed by a meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council at 10:30 a.m. on the same subject. At 11:30 a.m., he had also met with the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz. At the time of the briefing, the Secretary-General was meeting with his three envoys, and would come to room S-226 with them at about 12:20 p.m. to speak to correspondents.

Still on Iraq, Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General had this morning received a letter from the Foreign Minister of that country, Mohammed Said Al-Sahaf, on the subject of the U-2 flight that had taken place safely over Iraq today. The Secretary-General was transmitting that letter to the Security Council, which had scheduled closed consultations on Iraq at 3:30 p.m.

Drawing attention to the appointments of the Secretary-General for today, he noted that he had also met with the three members of his human rights investigative team for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which would leave for the Congo tonight. They expected the cooperation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in order to deploy into the field within days.

Mr. Eckhard told correspondents that at approximately 9 a.m. today, an explosion had been reported in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti by a United Nations spokesman in that country. One person was killed and 12 -- of whom three were children -- had been injured. A police unit from the International

Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH), and the Haitian National Police were conducting a joint investigation into the cause of the explosion. Details would be passed on to correspondents as they came in, the Spokesman said.

The report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Tajikistan was on the racks today, he continued. In it, the Secretary-General had recommended to the Security Council the expansion of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT), in accordance with the proposals he had originally submitted to them in September. That had included an increase in the military component from 44 to 120 military observers; the strengthening of the administrative component; and a new mandate to be authorized for an initial period of six months.

On the subject of human rights, Mr. Eckhard informed correspondents that additional reports of the Special Rapporteurs of the Commission on Human Rights were out today. They included those on the human rights situation in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Haiti, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Myammar, Sudan and Rwanda. He reminded them that the Special Rapporteur on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Roberto Garreton, would address the General Assembly on Wednesday.

The Spokesman announced an Executive Committee on Peace and Security meeting this afternoon at 3 p.m., convened by Mr. Prendergast.

Today in Geneva, the United Nations had launched a "flash appeal" to meet immediate humanitarian needs in the Republic of the Congo, Mr. Eckhard said. The United Nations sought $17.7 million for an initial period of three months, which might be followed by a longer-term assistance programme. A press release on the subject, from the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Also available, from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), was a press release from its Director-General, Jacques Diouf, warning of a widening gap between rich and poor countries.

From the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team in Geneva, Mr. Eckhard also announced a report on cyclone Martin in the Cook Islands.

Concerning press conferences, Mr. Eckhard alerted correspondents that tomorrow at the briefing, the High Representative for Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Carlos Westendorp, would be present.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 10 November 1997

The third round of Indonesian-Portuguese talks on East Timor at the senior officials level had concluded on Friday, he also said. The talks, which had been conducted by the Personal Representative of the Secretary- General, Jamsheed Marker, had lasted three days, and were described as "businesslike and constructive".

Asked about the itinerary of the human rights investigative team to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said they would depart New York tonight.

The correspondent asked if their mandate had changed: was it still the Secretary-General's mandate, or "Mr. Bill Richardson's [United States Permanent Representative] communique". It was still the Secretary-General's mandate, answered Mr. Eckhard, which was spelled out in the annex to his letter of 15 July.

Alex Taukatch, spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), said that the Assembly had met this morning, and had dealt with item 48: "Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)". The Assembly decided to postpone consideration of the item to the next session; it had done the same thing last year.

On the second item on its agenda for this morning, the Assembly took up the item on the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (document A/52/1). There were 21 speakers on the list, Mr. Taukatch said, noting that the Assembly would probably finish that stage of the consideration of the report at the current meeting.

Looking ahead, the spokesman said that the next plenary would be on 12 November, at which the Assembly would take up the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He reminded correspondents that the resumed tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly was scheduled for the morning of the following day, 13 November.

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