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.)

Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said today that the Security Council was taking up the report of the Secretary- General on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), as well as the report on his mission of good offices there. The Council was also expected to receive a briefing by the Secretariat on the situation in Tajikistan. Under other matters, the Council might also consider a letter it received yesterday from the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Andre Mwamba Kapanga. In the letter, the Democratic Republic of the Congo asks Council President Fernando Berrocal Soto (Costa Rica) to convene a meeting of the Council to discuss last week's massacres of refugees in Rwanda.

Yesterday, the Council considered the Secretary-General's report on the situation in Afghanistan and adopted a presidential statement on that issue, Mr. Brandt said. It also considered the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), a subject to which the Council will return tomorrow.

Tomorrow was shaping up "to be quite busy for the Council", the Associate Spokesman said. The Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission to monitor the disarmament of Iraq, Ambassador Richard Butler, would brief the Council in the morning on his recent visit to Iraq and his discussions with the authorities there. In the afternoon, the Council would hold an open debate on the UNMIBH.

Providing an update on the ongoing identification process in Western Sahara, Mr. Brandt said that a total of 484 people in five centres had been identified yesterday. Since that process resumed on 3 December, some 7,492 people had been convoked, of whom 3,327 were identified. The total number of persons identified so far, including those identified before, was 63,439.

Mr. Brandt drew attention to a press release from the International Court of Justice at The Hague on a case concerning application of the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of Genocide -- known in legal circles as "Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Yugoslavia". The press release, which was available in both English and French in the Spokesman's Office, states that the Court found Yugoslavia's counter-claims admissible. In the counter- claims, which were submitted on 22 July, Yugoslavia asked the Court to adjudge that "Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for the acts of genocide committed against the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina" and that it "has the obligation to punish the persons held responsible". It also asked the Court to rule that Bosnia and Herzegovina was bound to take necessary measures so the said acts

would not be repeated, and to eliminate all consequences of its violation of the Genocide Convention.

The Court noted that its decision in no way prejudged whether the Yugoslavia counter-claims were well-founded, Mr. Brandt said. It required the parties to further present their views on their respective claims. Bosnia and Herzegovina was to submit a reply by 23 January 1998, and Yugoslavia a rejoinder by 23 July 1998. The history and background of the dispute was contained in the press release.

Mr. Brandt then read out the following statement, attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General: "The Secretary-General is pleased to learn of the signing of the agreement on 2 December between the Government of Bangladesh and the PCJSS (Parbattya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity), an organization which represents the tribal peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

"He is particularly encouraged because this agreement is aimed at bringing to an end the quarter-century conflict in the country's south-east. He extends his warm congratulations to the parties involved and hopes that this accord will bring peace, stability and greater prosperity to the peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and to all of Bangladesh." That text would be available in the Spokesman's Office. (See Press Release SG/SM/6426 of 17 December.)

Mr. Brandt then announced that Bolivia had today become the ninety- seventh Member State to pay its assessed contributions to the regular budget in full, totalling $106,508. Last year at this date, 97 Member States had also paid in full, "With a little push there, we might make it before the end of the year and get to 100, 150, 185, who knows?" The level of outstanding contributions was now over $2.1 billion, out of which over $500 million was for the regular budget, and over $1.6 billion for peacekeeping.

The Associate Spokesman then commended to correspondents a statement delivered today in Geneva by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, to the Humanitarian Issues Working Group of the Peace Implementation Council.

Mr. Brandt reminded correspondents that the Secretary-General was now on his way back to New York, noting that he had made a stop-over in London, where he would have some meetings. He was still expected to arrive in New York tonight, and to be in the office tomorrow morning. [The Associate Spokesman later announced the following: "This afternoon in London, during his brief stop-over there, the Secretary-General met for about 25 minutes with Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group of Companies. This meeting is part of

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 17 December 1997

the efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to reach out to the private sector. Issues dealing with the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were also discussed."]

Mr. Brandt went on to say that a preliminary review of the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean in 1997, issued by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), was now out. It contained a lot of good information about the performance of the economies in the region during the year. The report was being issued today in Santiago, Chile, and the entire text was available in both Spanish and English on ECLAC's web site at "www.eclac.cl".

He also drew attention to the latest issue of UNDP Flash, which reported that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) were joining forces to raise awareness about the important subject of violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some 60 per cent of women in the region were believed to have suffered from physical and psychological abuse by their intimate partners. The one-year effort was being launched ahead of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Speaking on behalf of the Peace and Security Section of the Department of Public Information (DPI), Mr. Brandt said that the latest background note on peacekeeping operations, dated 1 December, was now available. It contained such information as where United Nations peacekeeping operations were located, as well as their staff strength, finances and mandates.

The Associate Spokesman said there would be a press conference at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow in Room 226 by the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Muhammed Sacirbey, accompanied by a 15-year old Bosnian landmine victim. The Ambassador would answer questions about the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On Friday, Ibrahim Ali Mzimba, Commissioner for Foreign Affairs of the Comoros, along with Ahmed Djabir, its Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United States, and Counselor at the Presidency Salim Himidi, would hold a press conference at 11:15 a.m. Mr. Mzimba would discuss the economic situation of the Comoros, the Anjouan Island's wish to become independent, and the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte.

At the request of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), the Associate Spokesman recalled that the Polish-Slovenia party was still scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tonight at the UNCA Club. Tomorrow, the UNCA Christmas party would begin at 5:30 p.m. in the same venue.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 17 December 1997

Alex Taukatch, spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), said that the Assembly was this morning taking up agenda item 41: "Assistance in mine clearance". As the Assembly was holding a debate on the item, it had before it draft resolution A/52/L.69, which was expected to be adopted without a vote, as happened last year. By its terms, the Assembly would, in part, welcome the efforts made by the United Nations to foster the establishment of mine-clearance capacities in countries where mines constituted a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of the local population. It would urge all Member States, particularly those with a capacity to do so, to assist afflicted countries in the establishment and development of their national mine-clearance capacities.

No open meetings of the Assembly were scheduled for this afternoon, the spokesman went on to say. Instead, there would be a meeting in the novel format introduced at this session -- the open-ended informal consultations of the plenary on agenda item 157 on United Nations reform. In these consultations, the plenary would consider a draft proposal concerning the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General on United Nations reform. If everything went well, the proposal would appear as a draft resolution, on which action could be taken before the end of the week. Mr. Taukatch said the draft proposal was the result of intensive consultations undertaken by the "Friends" of Mr. Udovenko on reform, the Permanent Representative of Botswana, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, and the Permanent Representative of Ireland, John Campbell, with the active involvement of the President.

Mr. Taukatch said the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) had begun its work today by considering several items on programme budget implications, in particular of the draft resolutions concerning human rights in Haiti and the situation in Central America. The Committee would continue negotiations this afternoon on the two major items before it -- the budget and the scale of assessments. He said the budget was a huge document, and the Committee was likely to work into the night. The reading of the budget would continue tomorrow, and it was expected that that process would conclude by the end of the day tomorrow or the beginning of the night. Consultations were also continuing on the scale of assessments.

Looking ahead, the spokesman said that there was a "long, long programme" for the Assembly tomorrow. In addition to the programme published in the Journal, the Assembly would take up items on the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti and the situation in Central America, procedures for the establishment of a firm and lasting peace, and progress in fashioning a region of peace, freedom, democracy and development. Another addition to tomorrow's programme would be the election of seven members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination.

In response to assorted questions over the past several weeks, Mr. Taukatch drew attention to another highlight for tomorrow -- the report of the Credentials Committee, which would also be taken up on that marathon day.

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