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, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Secretary-General had worked at his residence in the morning, and that Iraq continued to dominate his programme.

The Spokesman said that the Secretary-General was presently scheduled to meet at Headquarters with the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Bill Richardson. At 12:30 p.m., he planned to meet with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, Lloyd Axworthy, and at 5:30 p.m., with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, Bronoslav Geremek. He was expected to meet with the five permanent members of the Security Council at 4 p.m. to discuss the Iraqi crisis.

The Spokesman said that the Secretary-General spoke by telephone this morning with the Prime Minister of Italy, Romano Prodi, who informed him of a joint statement issued with President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation, who was visiting Rome. Their statement called on the Secretary-General to take an active role to resolve the crisis.

The Russian aircraft that was carrying members of the Duma, as well as medical supplies, landed at Saddam Hussein International Airport in Baghdad at 5 p.m. local time today, Mr. Eckhard said. At the request of the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) concerning the situation between Iraq and Kuwait, four United Nations monitors went aboard the aircraft and checked the cargo. The aircraft was carrying 7,541 kilograms of medicine.

The Spokesman next read out a statement, on behalf of the Secretary- General, concerning the situation in Sierra Leone. It was available in the Spokesman's Office, and read as follows:

"I have taken note of the statement issued yesterday morning by the President of the Security Council on behalf of its members on the situation in Sierra Leone, and I share the concerns expressed therein.

"The United Nations supports the goals of the Conakry Agreement of 23 October 1997, that is, the surrender of power by the junta in order to ensure a peaceful re-establishment of the constitutional order in Sierra Leone and the improvement of the humanitarian condition of the Sierra Leonean people. My Special Envoy stands ready to assist in the attainment of those objectives.

"I am concerned at reports that heavy shelling in Freetown is posing serious risks for the safety of civilians, and that some staff of humanitarian

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organizations have been prevented from evacuating. I call on both sides urgently to spare civilians and to ensure the protection of humanitarian personnel.

"I have also received reports of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, with growing numbers of displaced persons fleeing the fighting. United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations are ready to expand the delivery of humanitarian assistance. It is, therefore, of paramount importance that all parties facilitate the free access of humanitarian organizations and goods as a matter of life-saving urgency." (See Press Release SG/SM/6462-AFR/38.)

Mr. Eckhard said that staff in Conakry, Guinea, of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today confirmed the presence of 1,400 more refugees from Sierra Leone, who were arriving in small boats carrying 20 to 30 people each.

Turning to the activities of the Security Council, the Spokesman said that it took up the situation in Croatia this morning. It had before it the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES), which ended its mission there on 15 January. The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi, first briefed the Council on the transition from UNTAES to the United Nations Civilian Police Support Mission, and on the situation in the Danube region.

Mr. Annabi indicated to the Council that the new United Nations mission was fully operational, the Spokesman said. While the situation in the Danube region remained stable, and cooperation between the United Nations and the Croatian police was satisfactory, Mr. Annabi also noted some unresolved issues, including property-related issues and two-way return of refugees and displaced persons. With some Council members still preparing a draft presidential statement, none was expected to be tabled today. The Council might receive one tomorrow, however.

Mr. Eckhard announced that the United Nations appealed for $70 million today to meet humanitarian needs in Liberia. That country was recovering from the effects of a seven-year conflict that claimed an estimated 150,000 lives, and displaced more than half the pre-war population of 2.3 million people. Despite considerable progress in normalizing the political and security situation there, more than 1.4 million people -- including internally displaced persons, refugees, ex-combatants, child soldiers, and other vulnerable groups -- remained seriously "war-affected".

He went on to say that the United Nations consolidated inter-agency appeal was designed to provide support for the resettlement and re-integration of those groups. It promoted the consolidation of peace, and guided war victims from

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dependency on relief assistance to increased self-sufficiency. The international community was called upon to respond generously to those initiatives. A press release was on the racks. (See Press Release IHA/645.)

Also available was a press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia concerning the Tadic and Celebici cases, Mr. Eckhard said. The Republika Srpska had been ordered to assist the defence attorneys in the Tadic case. Concerning the Celebici case, the Trial Chamber II of the Tribunal stated that minor breaches of national rules in the seizure of evidence did not make it inadmissible before the Tribunal.

Mr. Eckhard said that the Executive Director of the Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention, Pino Arlacchi, had been on an official visit in France from 9 to 10 February. Mr. Arlacchi had delivered a speech at a meeting sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme on "International Youth Consultation for a Twenty-first Century Free of Drugs". He had meetings with several high-ranking French officials, including the Ministers of Justice and the Interior. He also sent his condolences to the French authorities following the assassination of Claude Erignac, the highest representative of the French Government in Corsica. The French authorities affirmed their support for the special session of the General Assembly on illicit drugs, scheduled for 8 to 10 June and confirmed the intention of their President to attend the event.

He next drew attention to a press release from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which stated that the war on global poverty was faltering so badly that the flow of official aid to developing countries was in danger of drying up completely if current trends continued. The Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, said that "on the eve of the twenty-first century, prospects for children are growing increasingly alarming", adding that "if the world can ride at full gallop to the economic rescue of East Asia, there is no reason we cannot do the same for the 1.3 billion people, half of them children, who are struggling to survive on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day".

This morning's weekly meeting of the senior management group, also known as the Secretary-General's Cabinet, focused on the anticipated diplomatic conference in Rome next June on the possible establishment of an international criminal court, Mr. Eckhard said. The Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, made a presentation, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Klaus Topfer, participated in the meeting, for the first time, via teleconference from Nairobi.

Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents of the press briefing scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today in room S-226 by the Director of the Division for Social Policy

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and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, John Langmore. He would be joined by two additional speakers on the thirty-sixth session of the Commission for Social Development, currently under way at Headquarters.

The Spokesman said that tomorrow's scheduled press briefings included the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, at 11:15 a.m. in room S-226. He would be joined by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet. They would launch the "Study on the Development of Indigenous Mine- Action Capacities", which examined United Nations' supported mine-action programmes in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia and Mozambique. The study reached a number of conclusions, including the possibility of meeting the challenge of the landmine crisis within years, rather than decades. (See Press Release IHA/646-PKO/67.)

The President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, would address correspondents at the noon briefing, the Spokesman said. Judge McDonald was on the Secretary-General's programme for today. The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Douglas Coutts, was also expected at the noon briefing in connection with an appeal that would be launched tomorrow. Mr. Coutts was not expected to speak. At 1:15 p.m., the Spanish Mission was sponsoring a press conference on behalf of Airline Ambassadors International to launch a global youth art competition on the theme of "Travelling to Make a Difference".

The Spokesman said he would check on the whereabouts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sierra Leone, Francis George Okelo, in response to a correspondent's question.

Concerning a question about plans for the humanitarian experts in Conakry sent by the Secretary-General before "all the fighting", Mr. Eckhard said that he believed they were stuck in Conakry because the security situation did not allow them to go into Sierra Leone. If that situation did not change, they would have to re-evaluate their plans.

Concerning press availability following the Secretary-General's meeting this afternoon with the permanent members of the Security Council, Mr. Eckhard said that correspondents would have to "try to snare" the participants, adding that he did not think that the Secretary-General would make a statement to the press.

Asked about the press availability of Mr. Annabi, the Spokesman said he would make arrangements for an interview, either collectively for interested correspondents or one-on-one.

Referring to the Secretary-General's statement concerning reports of "heavy shelling in Freetown", another correspondent asked who was generating those reports. Mr. Eckhard said they had originated in Mr. Okelo's office in Conakry.

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To a question about whether the United Nations had condemned the arrest in Sarajevo of two Serbs by the Federation police, the Spokesman said he would look into it.

Alex Taukatch, spokesman for Assembly President Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), said that as the Assembly working group on Security Council reform resumed its work this morning to tackle the difficult questions it faced, the Assembly President appealed to all delegations "to become part of the solution, not part of the problem".

The spokesman said that the working group was putting the final touches on its programme of work, which had been proposed earlier by the group's Bureau. He reminded correspondents that the Bureau was composed of the Chairman, Mr. Udovenko, and two Vice-Chairmen, the Permanent Representatives of Finland and of Thailand.

The spokesman noted that last week the working group heard 59 speakers, who presented their views during the three meetings, and made practical suggestions about better organizing the work and ensuring that it enter into a more result-oriented phase of deliberations. The President felt that the exchange was very useful and had referred to an old Chinese saying, recalled by a Chinese delegate, that "it is worth the time to sharpen the axe before cutting the firewood".

Turning to another subject that Mr. Taukatch said could well fall under the category of what he called "trivia questions", he asked correspondents if they knew the opening dates of the next session of the General Assembly and the general debate. The spokesman said that he would not be surprised to hear in response that the Assembly would begin as it always had -- on the third Tuesday of September -- and that the general debate would begin on the following Monday. That was no longer true, however, owing to Assembly resolution 51/241 on strengthening the United Nations system.

Continuing, the spokesman said by that resolution the Assembly should be formally opened every year on the first Tuesday following 1 September. The general debate, according to that text, would start in the third week of September, while the Assembly would meet in mid-September to consider the report of the General Committee. Since the dates of the two events appeared to coincide, a number of delegations had urged the President to consult with Member States in order to decide the date for the convening of the general debate. He, therefore, forwarded a letter to regional groups, requesting them to make it available to Member States. The letter contained his proposal and sought the views of Member States. He was hoping to hear a reply from all Member States by 20 February.

A correspondent sought clarification on whether the Assembly would indeed open on 8 September and whether it was the timing of the general debate that remained unresolved. Mr. Taukatch referred the correspondent to the two-part

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resolution 51/241, particularly parts VI and VII, which dealt with the timing of the Assembly's plenary meetings and the general debate. The Assembly would begin on 8 September. The resolution also indicated that there would be a two-week general debate, rather than the usual practice of three weeks. The spokesman noted that it was the timing of the general debate that needed some clarification, as a result of that resolution, and that was why the President was consulting with Member States "on that organizational but important issue".

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