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, and by Rosemarie Waters, President of the United Nations Staff Committee.)

Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's briefing by welcoming the President of the United Nations Staff Committee, Ms. Rosemarie Waters, who would be speaking to correspondents about "Growing threats against United Nations personnel all over the world".

Mr. Brandt then read the following statement by the Secretary-General:

"The Secretary-General was profoundly shocked by the 10 December 1997 attack on the Mudende refugee camp in north-western Rwanda. Defenceless refugees, mostly women and children, were massacred, leaving nearly 300 people dead and over 200 wounded, testifying to the savagery of the attack. The camp has been home to some 17,000 Tutsi refugees from the Masisi region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"These killings are a brutal reminder of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and its devastating consequences for the region of the Great Lakes. It is most distressing that after almost four years, prospects for peace, stability and national reconciliation remain dim, and that efforts to find lasting solutions in Rwanda and the region have not been successful.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns these killings and all acts of violence. He is very concerned at the recent escalation of violence in the north and north-western regions of Rwanda. He wishes to reaffirm the international demand that the security of vulnerable refugees be respected.

"The Secretary-General also wishes to express his sincere condolences to the Governments of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as to families of the victims for this senseless attack." (See today's Press Release SG/SM/6422.)

The Associate Spokesman said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, had strongly condemned yesterday's "barbaric attack", noting that it was the second in four months. The text of her statement was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Brandt noted that there was no Security Council activity scheduled for today. Yesterday, the Council took up the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Sierra Leone. Council members called on the military junta there to implement fully the Conakry Agreement and to continue their dialogue with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to that

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end. It seemed that the Secretary-General's intention to re-open a small office in Sierra Leone and to pursue his mediation efforts had been well received by members of the Council. Also yesterday, the Council was briefed by the Secretariat on Burundi. There was concern at the situation in that country, including the increasing tension between Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania. In the course of their consultations, Council members expressed the importance of the role of the United Nations in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis. The Associate Spokesman advised correspondents that on Monday the Council was expected to receive a briefing by the Secretariat on Liberia.

The Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) was out today, Mr. Brandt went on. The Secretary- General recommended an extension of the Mission's mandate for a further 12 months. In making that recommendation, the Secretary-General noted that, owing to the strong and consistent support of the Stabilization Force (SFOR), the unarmed monitors of the United Nations International Police Task Force had been able to carry out their mandate in an effective manner. "Much had been achieved, but much also remains to be done", he stressed. The Secretary- General also pointed out several areas where United Nations monitors were focusing their efforts: developing the capacity for policing according to internationally acceptable standards; building the capacity of the Ministry of the Interior in each entity; reform of the judicial system in both entities; and improving the ability of the law enforcement authorities to fight financial crime, smuggling and corruption. In connection with Bosnia and Herzegovina, limited copies of a summary of conclusions reached in the Peace Implementation Conference for that country held in Bonn, Germany, this week were available in the Spokesman's Office, he added.

Mr. Brandt announced that the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, had arrived in Baghdad, and would meet with Iraqi officials on Sunday and Monday. On Monday, he was expected to hold technical talks and discuss policy issues with the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Tarik Aziz. Mr. Butler had already announced his intention to brief the Security Council next Thursday on that trip.

Concerning the human rights team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said United Nations spokesman José Díaz had reported today that the team was able to deploy without incident this morning in Mbandaka and Wendji. To questions about what the work consisted of, he had said it initially involved surveying the area and assessing places reported to have been sites of massive human rights violations. Testimony from potential witnesses was also going to be collected. The investigators would collect all testimonial evidence and gather general information related to the events alleged to have taken place in Mbandaka and the surrounding areas. The team was contacting local authorities and inhabitants in order to get an overall picture. The team's archaeologists, anthropologists, crime scene investigators and forensic pathologists were conducting preparatory activities -- including mapping, photographing and assessment of different sites -- prior to further forensic work.

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The Associate Spokesman drew attention to an updated version of a background note prepared by the Spokesman's Office on the use of sanctions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The note was now available in room S-378 and on the Internet home page of the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Now on the second leg of his visit to the Middle East, the Secretary- General arrived in Kuwait from Tehran this morning. Upon arrival, he immediately travelled by helicopter to Camp Khor of the United Nations Iraq- Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) in the demilitarized zone at the Kuwait- Iraqi border. He was briefed there by the UNIKOM Force Commander, Major- General Esa Kalervo Tarvainen, and Tadesse Tesfaye, the Mission's senior political adviser. They reported that the demilitarized zone had been calm and quiet even during the recent weeks of increased tension between Iraq and the United Nations. The Secretary-General then travelled by road to a UNIKOM observation post on the border itself just south of the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. From a marker there, UNIKOM's monitoring officers keep an eye on the activities across the border; from there, they could also see the waterway and ships, and other vessels passing by as part of their mandate.

On returning to Kuwait City, the Secretary-General visited United Nations staff at the office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He then met with representatives of Kuwait's Public Authority for the Assessment of Compensation, which asked to review with him the status of payment of compensation claims in connection with Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. In the evening, he was scheduled to attend a dinner in his honour hosted by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sheik Sabah Al-ahmad Al-Jabar Al-Sabah. In that connection, Mr. Brandt reminded correspondents that the twenty-sixth session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission would be held in Geneva next week, from 15 to 17 December. As of 30 November, it was understood that the Commission had already paid $725.6 million. The forthcoming session would deal mainly with individual claims of more than $100,000, as well as claims from governments and international organizations. Claimants were demanding between $220 billion and $250 billion, he added.

The Associate Spokesman announced that United Nations Radio was receiving regular updates of the Secretary-General's visit to Kuwait, and was posting them on the radio bulletin board. Tomorrow afternoon, the Secretary-General's press conference would be available on the bulletin board. Listeners were advised to call (212) 963 3777; they would then press 161 to access the recording of the press conference. Those who required additional assistance tomorrow were to call the Spokesman's Office, Mr. Brandt said.

He announced that at Headquarters this morning, Zambia became the 123rd Member State to sign the Convention to ban landmines. Three Member States -- Canada, Ireland, Mauritius -- had already ratified the Convention, which opened for signature in Ottawa on 3 December.

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He drew attention to a briefing note from The Hague regarding the second session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention that was held in the first week of this month. It highlighted the

decisions taken during that session; the third session would be convened in November 1998.

Reminding correspondents that the United Nations had dispatched a Disaster Management Team to the flood-affected areas in eastern and western Uganda on 1 December, Mr. Brandt said that their report indicated a 30-60 per cent decline in food production owing to heavy rains and floods. There had also been an abrupt increase in food prices. The text of that report was available in the Spokesman's Office, as was the update on the floods in Somalia by the Somalia Aid Coordination Body.

Mr. Brandt drew attention to another press release, by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which emphasized the role of that organization in addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation.

He also announced a background briefing by a United Nations official this afternoon on Burundi, based on the findings of a recent Department of Humanitarian Affairs mission there on the effects of sanctions in the region. Alex Taukatch, spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), began by saying it looked as if the last week of the main part of the 52nd session was close at hand. This afternoon the Assembly would take up the reports of the Third Committee. There were twelve of them, covering all the drafts adopted in the Committee. He drew attention to a draft resolution (A/52/L.66), sponsored by Denmark, by which the Assembly would proclaim 26 June as the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

In Assembly action on draft resolutions, recorded votes were expected under agenda item 111, on the rights of peoples to self-determination, A/52/643, and agenda item 112 on human rights questions.

Also today, Mr. Taukatch went on, the Preparatory Committee on the establishment of an international criminal court was concluding its two-week session. In part, it had focused on international cooperation, judicial assistance, penalties, and general principles of criminal law. It had also taken up procedural questions and definitions of war crimes. He reminded correspondents that by the terms of the Sixth Committee (Legal) resolution, the Rome conference of plenipotentiaries would be held from 15 June to 17 July 1998. The Preparatory Committee was expected to hold one more session next March and April 1998.

"A good indication that the session is winding down is the fact that the Fifth Committee will be meeting over the weekend", joked Mr. Taukatch, pointing out that the committee had informal consultations scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

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He drew attention to a press release (GA/DIS/3102) issued by the Department of Public Information (DPI) providing highlights of the work of the First Committee, which the press may find to be quite useful in their work.

On Monday afternoon, he said, the General Assembly would take up all the reports of the Sixth Committee, which would include the draft on the establishment of an international criminal court. In the morning, among other items, the Assembly would take up the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti, with a debate expected on both items.

Discussing the security of United Nations personnel, the President of the United Nations Staff Committee, Rosemarie Waters, told correspondents the rights of United Nations staff were increasingly being violated around the world. In 1996, 65 United Nations personnel had been killed in the line of duty, while 55 had been detained or "disappeared". Another 47 had been held hostage or abducted, while many others had been subjected to assault, injury and rape.

United Nations agencies should not terminate the contracts of detained staff members, she said. Such a practice was unconscionable and would not entice staff to serve in dangerous duty stations. The names of staff members should not be removed from the lists of the "missing" simply because their cases were not yet resolved. Removing their names would not remove the problem, she added.

Staff in the field required better security, she continued. The Staff Committee agreed with the United Nations Security Coordinator that all missions should have a security component included in their budgets. She called on governments to sign and ratify the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. He said the Committee was sponsoring a summit on the security of international civil servants, in which the Secretary-General had agreed to participate, to be held in New York in early February. She called on members of the press to remember missing and detained staff, as well as those under threat in the field, and to add a phrase in their dispatches to focus world attention on the huge job yet to be done to protect the staff of the United Nations.

Asked about staff holidays to mark religious occasions, the President said the issue was being discussed by management and staff, and she was not prepared to comment further.

A correspondent asked how many United Nations staff were currently held hostage. Ms. Waters referred him to the report of the Secretary-General on the respect for the privileges and immunities of United Nations officials, document A/C.5/52/2.

Returning to the issue of religious holidays, a correspondent asked which Muslim holidays were recognized. Ms. Waters stated that the holiday was A'idl Adha in March.

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Asked for clarification on the removal of staff members from United Nations contracts, Ms. Waters said that in several cases, particularly in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), staff members who had been detained for long periods had been deemed to have disappeared. Those cases had not been resolved and the names of those involved should, therefore, remain on the lists. In a number of cases, staff members had been detained in known locations, yet they had been terminated from the United Nations payroll. Such termination was not permitted at Headquarters; that policy should be system-wide.

Asked for the number of persons killed in 1996 and 1997, Ms. Waters reiterated that in 1996, 65 persons had been killed: 43 military and 22 civilian personnel. For 1997, the exact numbers were not yet available; as of September, 41 persons had been killed.

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