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 announcing that the United Nations oil overseers had approved three more oil contracts, bringing the total to 29 out of 33 received. An Italian company had received a contract for 1.8 million barrels, an Indonesian company for 3.6 million barrels and a Russian company for 2.7 million barrels. That brought the total volume approved so far to 131.78 million barrels.

Iraq had submitted a new oil pricing formula for February, Mr. Eckhard said. The Sanctions Committee had a deadline of 4 p.m. today to make any responses to that formula.

As for humanitarian supplies, the Spokesman said that a total of 3.8 million tonnes of foodstuffs had arrived in Iraq since the start of the programme in April of last year. That represented 172 kilograms per person. He said that 100 per cent of the foodstuffs for Phase I had been distributed and some 40 per cent of the foodstuffs for Phase II.

The World Food Programme (WFP) had distributed over 4,000 tonnes of foodstuffs in the three northern governorates, the Spokesman continued. In the health sector, the value of medicine that had arrived in Iraq amounted to $132 million, representing around 63 per cent of the $210 million allocated for Phase I. For Phase II, the first shipment of 100,000 vaccines for Hepatitis B, destined for infants, had arrived.

Ambassador Richard Butler, Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) monitoring the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, had arrived in New York from Baghdad and was expected to be in his office this afternoon, Mr. Eckhard said.

As was mentioned yesterday, the Security Council this morning took up the subject of Angola. They had before them the Secretary-General's report, requested by the Council, asking for suggestions for a follow-on United Nations presence in Angola when the current peacekeeping mission expires at the end of the month.

The Deputy Special Representative for Angola, Behrooz Sadry, was at the Secretariat, the Spokesman said. As announced at the noon briefing of 13 January, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, had recently undergone heart surgery. Mr. Sadry described the political climate in Angola as showing some improvement, and the military situation as generally calm and stable. The withdrawal of United Nations military personnel was proceeding according to plan. The normalization of State administration had continued. The total number of localities transferred to central government control was now 251, and 88 localities remained to be transferred.

The Security Council was also to hear a report by Garry Dillon, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on that body's report on Iraq, Mr. Eckhard said.

In other business, he said that United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson had arrived in Phnom Penh this morning, where she met with First Prime Minister Ung Huot, who was also the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He had apparently been complimentary of the work of the High Commissioner's Office in Phnom Penh. She had a working lunch with the heads of United Nations agencies and then met with the Chairman of the National Assembly, Loy Sim Chheang. In the afternoon, she visited the Toul Sleng museum, a former boarding school used as an interrogation centre by the Khmer Rouge during the 1970s; 16,000 people had been interrogated, tortured and killed there. The High Commissioner was scheduled to meet with Second Prime Minister Hun Sen at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

The Spokesman's Office had received some information that 39 Cambodians who fled the country after the coup last July, including families of opposition politicians, had returned home under United Nations escort, Mr. Eckhard said. It was hoped that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees could provide some more information.

As had been mentioned, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to Myanmar, Alvaro de Soto, arrived there on Tuesday and had a number of meetings, the Spokesman said. Those included meetings with the Foreign Minister, U Ohn Gyaw, and with the Secretary One of the State Peace and Development Council, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt. Today, he had seen Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, and was scheduled to meet with Senior General Than Shwe on Friday, prior to his departure.

The Secretary-General's report on Abkhazia, Georgia, was out this morning, Mr. Eckhard said. In it, he states that much groundwork had been laid during the past three months towards achieving substantive progress. "Progress ... now depends more than ever on the determination of the two sides to negotiate in earnest and to work constructively with my Special Representative to achieve substantive results", the Secretary-General states. In light of that, he recommends a further six-month extension of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) through 31 July, subject to review by the Security Council in the event that any changes might be made in the mandate of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force.

The Spokesman's Office had received a press release from The Hague, Mr. Eckhard said. Correspondents had probably read that the Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina had detained Goran Jelisic today. He had been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on 21 July 1995. Mr. Jelisic's initial appearance before the court would take

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 22 January 1998

place on Monday, 26 January; his plane was probably just now touching down at The Hague. The Chief Prosecutor, Louis Arbour, had issued a statement which said, in part: "This kind of operation ... clearly signals to all the remaining indictees that the failure of their Government to arrest them and to transfer them to The Hague will not disrupt the course of justice."

The Secretary-General's appointments today were rather "Africa focused", Mr. Eckhard said. He had asked to see the Ambassador of Rwanda, Gideon Kayinamura, to discuss the internal situation in that country. In the afternoon, he would be briefed on Angola by Mr. Sadry. The Ambassadors of the two outgoing African members of the Security Council -- Egypt and Guinea- Bissau, had then asked to see him for a tour d'horizon on African issues. The Secretary-General was just now finishing up addressing a gathering of the heads of non-governmental organizations hosted by the United Nations Association of the United States of America. He had spoken to them off the cuff. They represented some 140 million Americans. The Secretary-General had focused on the problem of the United States arrears to the United Nations.

Late yesterday, the Spokesman's Office had received a situation report from the Department of Humanitarian Affairs concerning the earthquake in China, Mr. Eckhard said. It was available in room 378.

"We have three more payments for today", the Spokesman said. France ($68,292,675), Norway ($6,362,310) and Sri Lanka ($136,711) had now paid their assessed contributions for 1998 in full.

A correspondent asked if the Secretary-General had plans to meet with Ambassador Butler. Mr. Eckhard said he did not know. "I think we reported that the Chairman called the Secretary-General from Baghdad to give him a read-out on his meetings there, and he also called the President of the Security Council. As of now there is nothing on the agenda that I am aware of."

What were the implications of a recently released document which stated that the Department of Public Information (DPI) was totally funded by non- programme funds? a correspondent asked. "We are looking at the document ourselves", Mr. Eckhard said. It had come out earlier this week or at the end of last week. The Spokesman could not comment on it now. It had come out of Mr. Connor's office. The Spokesman would look into it and get some guidance for correspondents.

The same correspondent asked if the Secretary-General was going to take any action on the recently released report on arms trafficking in Rwanda. Mr. Eckhard said that when that report was first produced, the Security Council had decided that, given the sensitive political situation in the area, it would be better not to release it. In a recent meeting of the Council, several members said it might be useful if that document were now made public.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 22 January 1998

That was how it had come about; it had been made public in a delayed manner. He did not think the Secretary-General had anything more to say about it. The report primarily concerned submissions by governments relating to what they knew of the provision of arms in central Africa contrary to the United Nations embargo.

The Spokesman was asked to comment on an allegation that five United Nations peacekeepers had attacked another United Nations staff member in Haiti. "We have a statement that the Spokesman put out in French -- we can make that available to you", he replied. They have set up an investigation unit to look into the allegations. As the Pakistani soldiers were leaving the country they were -- as I understand it -- giving some fire-wood to Haitians. And then, when their firewood ran out, those that didn't get any turned angry and some of them started throwing rocks at the Pakistanis. That led to an altercation between them and this one individual."

Asked whether the individual in question was a United Nations staff member, Mr Eckhard said he did not believe so. The situation was being investigated. They was some scepticism regarding the allegations, since the incident had taken place in public, but a panel had been established and was investigating the matter.

The Spokesman then announced that a briefing for the Fund for Peace would be held at 1:30 p.m. today at the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA). United States Ambassador Bill Richardson was scheduled to attend. All correspondents were invited.

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