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 the appointment of Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala as the Commissioner who will head the special group established to inspect the eight presidential sites in Iraq. Mr. Dhanapala would be based in New York and he would continue to head the Department for Disarmament Affairs. He would travel to Baghdad as necessary. An updated biographical note on him was available in the Spokesman's office.

The Spokesman said the Secretary-General was issuing a statement today on the agreement with Iraq in the form of a letter to all members of the Secretariat, as follows:

"At this extraordinary moment for the Organization, I should like to thank you for the support that you have given to the United Nations and to me personally throughout the difficult efforts we have made in recent days.

"It was not unexpected that there would be some criticism of us and misrepresentations of what we have done in Iraq, but you must not be disheartened. The alternative to the agreement would have ended UNSCOM's [United Nations Special Commission] work. The Memorandum of Understanding has strengthened it. I would want you, therefore, to treat our critics with sympathetic understanding.

"For my part, I said on Tuesday that I had done my work and that I trust the Security Council will do its duty. We should all await Security Council action on this agreement. It is the Council, not a few critics, who will have the last word.

"Let me express my warm congratulations to all United Nations staff on what has been accomplished so far. Friends and colleagues, we have done our duty."

Mr. Eckhard then introduced Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel Hans Corell, and the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM, Richard Butler, who would brief correspondents. (The briefings of Mr. Corell and Mr. Butler are being issued separately.)

The Security Council this morning was in closed consultations to discuss Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic and to hear briefings by the Secretariat on the situations in Burundi and Somalia, Mr. Eckhard said. The Council was expected to adopt a presidential statement on Sierra Leone and it was holding the first reading of the Secretary-General's report calling for the creation of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic.

The International Court of Justice would announce tomorrow, 27 February, whether it had jurisdiction to deal with the merits of the two cases brought by Libya against the United Kingdom and the United States, Mr. Eckhard said. The cases concern the aerial incident at Lockerbie, Scotland, and the Court was also expected to announce whether the Libyan claims were admissible.

Mr. Eckhard said Malaysia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis had paid in full their assessed contributions to the 1998 regular budget, totalling $1,766,764 for Malaysia and $10,516 for Saint Kitts and Nevis. So far 38 Member States were paid in full.

On the release of the four hostages held in Georgia, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General welcomed that positive development and wished to commend the four military observers on maintaining their strength and composure under such difficult circumstances. He expressed his gratitude to the Government of Georgia and, in particular, President Eduard A. Shevardnadze, for their relentless efforts to secure the safe release of the hostages. He also thanked the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force, which provided security for the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG).

The Secretary-General was also grateful to the Governments of the Czech Republic, Sweden and Uruguay, the nations of the four hostages, for their cooperation and for the confidence they had shown towards the United Nations during the crisis, Mr. Eckhard said. In addition, the Secretary-General wished to express his appreciation to his Special Representative for Georgia, Liviu Bota, and the personnel of UNOMIG, for the remarkable professionalism, dedication and patience they showed in resolving that unfortunate incident peacefully.

Mr. Eckhard said that in a recent press release, the World Bank indicated that Central America was entering a new period of economic confidence and political stability after years of social upheaval. The Bank's President, James D. Wolfensohn, would visit six countries -- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras -- on a six-day trip to the region. During the trip he would hear from governments, the private sector and members of civil society about their development concerns and, in particular, about issues relating to the rural poor. A press release on the matter was available in the Spokesman's office.

Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General would present the 1997 Franklin D. Roosevelt International Disability Award at a ceremony in the Economic and Social Council Chamber on 2 March at 5 p.m. The award is sponsored by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Institute and the World Committee on Disability. Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada would accept the award on behalf of his country. Canada was receiving the award because its Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed the rights of people with disabilities as called for by the United Nations World Programme

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 26 February 1998

of Action Concerning Disabled Persons. A media advisory on that special event was available in the Spokesman's office.

On briefings to the held in Room 226, Mr. Eckhard said Raj Karim (Malaysia), Chairman of the Commission on Population and Development, and Robert Cliquet (Belgium), Vice-Chairman of the Commission, would discuss the thirty-first session of the Commission at 1:15 p.m today. The Commission's session is being held at Headquarters this week and is scheduled to conclude tomorrow. There would also be a press briefing at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, 27 February, on the outcome of the deliberations of the Intersessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management, which had been meeting this week as part of the intersessional activities of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

A correspondent asked if Mr. Dhanapala was aware that he would be reporting to Mr. Butler under the UNSCOM chain of command. Mr. Eckhard said that question would have to be addressed to Mr. Corell or Mr. Butler, who had already left the briefing room.

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