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, told correspondent's at today's noon briefing that the Secretary-General had cleared his calendar for the day in order to focus on Iraq. He met with Alain Dejammet, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, at 10:30 a.m., and was currently meeting with Richard Butler, the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) monitoring Iraq's disarmament. The Secretary-General told the press at the beginning of his meeting with Mr. Butler that he had not given up on the search for a political solution, and trusted that others had not either.

The Spokesman said that approval of the Russian request for a humanitarian flight to Iraq was still pending in the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) concerning the situation between Iraq and Kuwait. The Russian Government had informed the Committee that the number of passengers in the aircraft had been reduced from an initial 222 to 30. The breakdown of the passengers was, as follows: seven members of the Duma, 15 media representatives, and eight accompanying personnel.

The 661 Committee had so far approved 12 humanitarian sales contracts under the third phase of the "oil-for-food" programme, Mr. Eckhard said. Those contracts included the sales of wheat, baby formula, rice and ghee. Wheat, for instance, was purchased from the United States under a contract of $25 million, from France under a contract for $10 million, and Tunisia under a contract for $5 million. Copies of the latest weekly report were available in the Spokesman's Office.

The Spokesman next read out a statement on behalf of the Secretary- General, as follows, concerning the assassination attempt upon Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze:

"The Secretary-General has learned with dismay about yesterday's attempt on the life of President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia. He is relieved that the President escaped unharmed. The Secretary-General strongly condemns this brutal and cowardly attack and expresses his condolences at the loss of life of two of the President's bodyguards.

"The Secretary-General has condemned terrorism in any form and stresses that such acts of violence cannot possibly serve any national or political cause. To the contrary, they can only impede the democratic and economic transformation of Georgia, a cause in whose pursuit he wished President Shevardnadze continued success." (See Press Release SG/SM/6461.)

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Turning to matters before the Security Council today, Mr. Eckhard said that the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo, introduced the Secretary-General's report on the situation in that country. Under other matters, the Council intended to consider the situation in Burundi.

Meanwhile, there were reports of continued heavy fighting in Sierra Leone between the West African peacekeeping forces there and the troops of the ruling junta. The World Food Programme (WFP) warned today from Abidjan that the fighting would have a disastrous effect on hundreds of thousands of people already facing a serious food shortage. The WFP had been unable to obtain the necessary clearance to begin shuttling food in a cross-border operation from neighbouring Guinea into Sierra Leone. Staff from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Guinea registered an additional 800 refugees fleeing the fighting that had intensified in and around the Sierra Leonean capital. There were unconfirmed reports that another 7,000 might be fleeing by sea. There were already 250,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea, of which 80,000 had arrived just since last year's coup.

The Spokesman said that the human rights investigative mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo had reported that two investigators had joined the advance team in Mbandaka on Sunday. The others remained in Kinshasa where they continued preparations for their deployment in the eastern part of Congo-Kinshasa.

In an update on the earthquake in Afghanistan, local authorities reported that a number of strong aftershocks on Sunday, 8 February, had claimed an additional 250 lives, Mr. Eckhard said. According to local authorities in Rustaq, 26 villages had been affected, including six that were completely destroyed. Local authorities had set the number of victims at 3,680. An additional 1,000 families were also affected. Moreover, the well- being of the victims could be significantly affected by winter climate and heavy rains. A new situation report from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was available in room 378.

Mr. Eckhard drew attention to the convening at Headquarters today of the thirty-sixth session of the Commission for Social Development. It was scheduled to conclude on 20 February. The main theme was "Promoting social integration and participation of people". Other themes included "Violence, crime and the problem of illicit drugs and substance abuse as factors of social disintegration". The Commission would also continue to review the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995). It would also consider the Secretary-General's report on promoting social integration and participation of all people, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and persons (document E/CN.5/1998/2). The

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 10 February 1998

report contained recommendations for fostering participation and social justice. A background press release of the session was available on the racks (Press Release SOC/4430).

Mr. Eckhard also drew attention to a press release from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, which contained an appeal for the immediate release of the head of the UNHCR Office in Vladikavkaz, Russian Federation, Vincent Cochetel, the Spokesman said. Mr. Cochetel was being held following his kidnapping 12 days ago in the Russian Federation. Mrs. Ogata called his abduction "not only an attack on UNHCR but on humanitarian organizations worldwide".

Another appeal had been issued by the WFP for $17 million to maintain the deliveries of food and other vital supplies to the more than 1 million flood victims in Kenya and Somalia, he said.

The WFP had also announced the dispatch of a team of experts to Papua New Guinea to help that country meet the emergency caused by severe drought blamed on the El Nino weather phenomenon. The press releases were available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Eckhard announced a press briefing by the Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, John Langmore, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 February, in room 226. The focus was the current session of the Commission for Social Development. Mr. Langmore would be joined by additional speakers.

Asked for a report on what was emerging from the Secretary-General's efforts on Iraq, the Spokesman said that he continued to talk to the parties that had discussed possible solutions with the Iraqi Government. Those parties had also been talking with each other. The Secretary-General "hoped to weave those strands together into a package that would be acceptable to the Council as a whole, as a basis for discussion with the Iraqi Government should the Council ask him to undertaken such a mission".

Concerning the dramatic reduction of passengers from the Russian aircraft, another correspondent asked whether such a request had been made by the 661 Committee. Mr. Eckhard said that those consultations were private and he, therefore, did not know what was discussed. A number of bilateral discussions took place yesterday, but he did not know if that specific request was made.

To a question concerning the meeting between the Secretary-General and Mr. Butler, the Spokesman said that the meeting was still taking place, and he would check later to see if a read out could be made available.

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Alex Taukatch, spokesman for Assembly President Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), began his part of the briefing by reading out a statement on the President's behalf, as follows:

"The President of the General Assembly was shocked to learn about yesterday's assassination attempt against President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia. The Assembly President deplores this terrorist attack in the strongest possible terms and reiterates his condemnation of such acts of violence.

"In his letter to the Georgian leader, Mr. Udovenko expressed his admiration for the courage of Mr. Shevardnadze, whom he has personally known for many years, and conveyed his heartfelt feelings of support to Mr. Shevardnadze's family." (See Press Release GA/SM/28.)

Mr. Taukatch also read out a statement attributable to him concerning the earthquake in Afghanistan, as follows:

"The President of the General Assembly has been following with deep concern and sorrow the reports of the mounting loss of life in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in northern Afghanistan. He expresses his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and hopes that the relief effort launched by the international community would reach the remote quake-stricken areas in time to provide emergency assistance to the survivors. This latest tragedy, in his view, underscores the importance of the recent efforts by the United Nations to review its capacity to address humanitarian crises and enhance the Organization's ability to reduce and mitigate the consequences of natural disasters." (See Press Release GA/SM/29.)

In connection with the statement on the assassination attempt, the spokesman noted that the Assembly President was presently meeting with the Permanent Representative of Georgia to the United Nations, Peter Chkheidze, to whom he had expressed his sympathies and feelings regarding the assassination attempt.

Highlighting some other appointments on the President's busy schedule for today, the spokesman said that Mr. Udovenko had met earlier this morning with the newly appointed Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, with whom he had a broad exchange of views on the plans for the Department for Disarmament Affairs. As correspondents would recall, the disarmament issue was hotly debated last year during the Assembly's consideration of the Secretary-General's reform measures and proposals.

Also on the President's morning agenda was a meeting with the President of the Security Council, Denis Dangue Rewaka (Gabon), the spokesman said. Mr. Udovenko briefed the Council President on the work of the open-ended working group on Security Council reform. They also exchanged views on a number of other issues.

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In that regard, Mr. Taukatch said that the President attached great importance to the subject of cooperation and coordination between the Presidents of those two main United Nations organs. In that context, he drew attention to last year's report of the working group. That report, in part, recommended that the two Presidents should have regular exchanges of views and consultations at least every month, and in the event of international crises or urgent developments, more frequently. The President was thus adhering to the letter and spirit of that recommendation, and was having regular consultations with the Presidents of all the main bodies of the United Nations.

Still on the subject of Security Council reform, the spokesman said that the open-ended working group was scheduled to meet tomorrow morning to finalize its programme of work and address the working methods and decision- making of the Council, including the veto and transparency of its work.

Mr. Taukatch said that last Friday the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization concluded its two-week session. It approved its report to the General Assembly, which contained proposals for strengthening the International Court of Justice, implementing Charter provisions on assistance to third States affected by United Nations sanctions, and increasing the number of officers in the Assembly's Main Committees. (See Press Release L/2852.)

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