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 the beginning of today's noon briefing that Alioune Blondin Beye, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola, had begun to brief the Security Council on the situation in that country. He would later brief correspondents in room 226, along with Ambassador Njuguna M. Mahugu of Kenya, in his capacity as Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Angola. The time of the briefing was to be announced. Ambassador Mahugu had briefed the Council this morning on his recent visit to Angola and neighbouring countries.

On other matters, the Council was expected to take up Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, the Spokesman said. That might be followed by a formal meeting to adopt a presidential statement. A background note for correspondents had been prepared on the issue, and was available in the Spokesman's Office. Tomorrow, the Council would be briefed by Gerd Merrem, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan. He would talk about the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Tajikistan. This would be his last appearance before the Council as Special Representative.

Friday would be the day the Council would have an open debate on the Secretary-General's recent report on Africa, Mr. Eckhard said. That session would start at 10 a.m. There were so far 46 speakers on the list, but that was subject to change. The Council was still discussing the format of the debate.

The Secretary-General's report on Angola was issued yesterday, the Spokesman said. It had been discussed this morning in the context of Mr. Beye's briefing. The report noted that the extension of State administration throughout the country had still not been completed, and that the disarmament of the civilian population was ongoing. It also noted that while the political climate had improved, the security situation raised some cause for concern. The Secretary-General was recommending an extension of the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola until 30 June, the Spokesman added. By that time, 595 military personnel would have been withdrawn, leaving 450 still on the ground. The Secretary-General recommended that those 450 personnel stay in Angola until the end of this year.

On Iraq, the report of the 661 Committee on its working procedures for the "oil-for-food" programme was out on the racks, the Spokesman said. In the report, the Committee noted the adoption of a number of measures that were designed to improve its working procedure. Those included the processing of applications within two business days, the issuance of approval letters on the basis of anticipated revenues, and their release upon confirmation that funds were available.

The Spokesman added that the 661 Committee also adopted "guidelines and points of understanding on simplified procedures to approve applications for foodstuffs", which was annexed to the report. The Committee said that further efforts needed to be made with respect to the prioritization of applications, the grouping of contracts, and explanations of blocked and on-hold applications, among other things.

The Secretary-General's Cabinet, or Senior Management Group, met this morning, chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, the Spokesman said. They discussed a paper presented by John Ruggie of the Secretary-General's staff concerning the proposed strategic planning unit for the Secretary-General's Office, which was one of his reform proposals. They discussed the issue in depth. They also heard from the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Catherine Bertini, via the teleconferencing facility, who talked about her recent visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

An update was available from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) concerning refugees from Sierra Leone, Mr. Eckhard said. The report estimated that more than 100,000 Sierra Leoneans had now crossed over into Liberia and Guinea since the beginning of this year. They were fleeing the continued fighting between the West African peacekeeping force and the militias that supported the former junta. Tens of thousands of the refugees were reported to be in desperate condition along the border.

The refugees had told the UNHCR of atrocities committed against civilians by the forces of the ex-junta, apparently punishing people who were accused of not supporting them, the Spokesman continued. The sources spoke of civilians who were shot or maimed with machetes. The majority of the refugees were sleeping in the open air, and having to pay neighbouring villagers to get safe water. The total number of Sierra Leoneans in Guinea was 250,000, of whom 50,000 had arrived since the beginning of the year. The number in Liberia was 177,000, of whom 55,000 had arrived since the beginning of the year. A fact sheet on the issue was available in room 378.

Klaus Topfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was in New York today, the Spokesman said. He had participated in the Cabinet meeting this morning, and next week he would attend the high-level segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

Omar Bakhet, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representative in Rwanda, was in New York, and was available for interviews, the Spokesman said. Correspondents wishing to speak with him should contact the Spokesman's Office.

The Executive Director of the Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention, Pino Arlacchi, who was also teleconferenced into the morning Cabinet meeting from Vienna, had yesterday told the Commission on Crime

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Prevention and Criminal Justice about new measures his office would be taking to deal with crime, Mr. Eckhard said. One new initiative would be the publication of the first-ever world report on organized crime. A background press release from the Commission was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Concerning action taken by the Human Rights Commission in Geneva (including yesterday's defeat of a United States-sponsored resolution on the human rights situation in Cuba, and the adoption of a resolution expressing the Commission's serious concern at the circumstances which obliged the Secretary-General to withdraw his investigative team from the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the Spokesman said a note to correspondents, prepared in Geneva, was now available. The note set out the current state of all the human rights mandates followed by the Commission. Cuba and Guatemala had been dropped from the list, but there were five additional thematic mandates, some related to economic, social and cultural rights. The note, which included a list of all the topics, was available in room 378.

"We have not forgotten Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR staff member who is now 84 days in captivity", said Mr. Eckhard. Mr. Cochetel was abducted in North Ossetia, Russian Federation, in January. The UNHCR staff in Geneva were organizing a silent march, to be held next week, to draw public attention to the dangers faced by aid workers worldwide, and to the plight of Mr. Cochetel in particular.

In his second announcement on Take our Daughters to Work Day, to be observed tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Spokesman said the Deputy Secretary-General would welcome the girls. Geraldine Ferraro and Marie Wilson, President of the Ms. Foundation, would also address them. There would be live entertainment, including: a Native American (Ojibway) singer, and poet Wayquay; Workers of Wonder, a theatre dance group from Columbia University; singer/guitarist Alisha Carstens; a mock press conference with former Cirque do Soleil acrobat Leti Oliva; and a talk show in Studio H. A number of the girls would also be participating in a Chef's luncheon in the kitchen of the Delegates' Dining Room.

A new publication had been produced by the Office of Communications and Public Information, formerly the Department of Public Information, the Spokesman said. It was called "The United Nations in Our Daily Lives". Review copies were available for any correspondents who were interested. It did not, like other United Nations documents, rely on officials or jargon to tell the United Nations story, but it explained the work of the Organization through the voices of the individuals who had benefited from its activities.

There would be a press briefing tomorrow in room 226 at 11:30 a.m., sponsored by the Division for Sustainable Development, Mr. Eckhard said. It would feature representatives of business, labour, environmental organizations

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 22 April 1998

and governments. They would be reporting on the positions taken by their respective sectors at the current two-day industry segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

On Friday at 11 a.m., the Foreign Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Al-Sahaf, would brief the press in room 226, the Spokesman continued. He would be accompanied by General Amir Rasheed the Minister of Oil of Iraq.

The Spokesman then made several announcements on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents' Association (UNCA). He said there would be a briefing tomorrow, 23 April, in the UNCA Club by James Gustave Speth, Administrator of the UNDP, who would introduce the heads of UNDP offices in Guatemala, Mali and Rwanda. After refreshments, there would be a "Q&A" period. UNCA would also hold an informal "get acquainted" reception for Kensaku Hogen, the new Under- Secretary-General for the Office of Communications and Public Information, formerly the Department of Public Information, at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, 23 April, in the UNCA Club. All were welcome. Following that, at 6 p.m., there would be a farewell and thank you party hosted by UNCA for Samir Sanbar, the former head of the same department.

A correspondent asked Mr. Eckhard to repeat the new name of the Department of Public Information. It was the Office of Communication and Public Information, OCPI, he replied.

Who was following the situation in Kosovo for the Secretary-General, and would he be able to issue his report to the Security Council, which was due in 10 days? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard replied that there was no reason to think the Secretary-General would not issue the report on time. He had issued a letter to the Security Council President last week saying that, because the United Nations did not have anything but humanitarian workers there, the political information on which he would base his report would be gathered from the Contact Group, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union.

The Spokesman later announced the Secretary-General's updated programme. At 9 a.m. today, the Secretary-General gave an address to a conference at the School of International Relations at the University of California at Los Angeles, on the subject of "The United Nations as a Conflict Prevention Device". The text of the speech was available to correspondents in the Spokesman's office (see Press Release SG/SM/6534). The Secretary-General attended a luncheon in his honour hosted by Warren Christopher, former United States Secretary of State, and was to leave Los Angeles for Houston, Texas, late in the day.

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Alex Taukatch, spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, said the Assembly President was currently chairing the meeting of the open-ended working group on Security Council reform, where intensive discussions were continuing on item two of its programme of work -- decision-making in the Security Council, including the veto. The group was scheduled to continue its deliberations in the afternoon.

On another reform issue, the General Assembly would resume consideration of agenda item 157, "United Nations Reform: Measures and Proposals", on Monday, 27 April, he said. The General Assembly would have before it seven reports of the Secretary-General, elaborating various proposals he made in his report of last year on reforming the United Nations.

The Assembly plenary meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m., the Assembly President's spokesman continued. The Secretary-General was expected to address the Assembly and to introduce Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette, who had assumed responsibility for managing the reform process. Mr. Taukatch reminded correspondents that the Assembly President had held a number of meetings with Ms. Fréchette last month to discuss with her the modalities of the Assembly consideration of the reform issue. (The seven documents mentioned were documents A/52/822, and A/52/847 through A/52/852.)

On the twentieth special session of the General Assembly on illicit drugs, Mr. Taukatch said the initial list of speakers for the general debate at the special session would be established today by a drawing of lots at a meeting to be held at 3 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall.

He noted that although the substance of the special session was crucial, the procedures to be followed were also very important; he provided some background on the session, to be held in New York from 8 through 10 June. Over the three-day period, there would be nine plenary meetings: three per day, in the morning, afternoon and evening.

Heads of State, Vice-Presidents, Crown Princes/Princesses and heads of government would be given precedence in the speaking order, and would have equal standing on the list of speakers, he continued. They would be followed by Deputy Prime Ministers/Ministers, Ministers, Vice-Ministers/Chairmen of Delegation and Chairmen of Delegation.

Today's lot-drawing event would be presided over by the Under-Secretary- General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, Yongjian Jin, Mr. Taukatch said. Mr. Jin would draw the names of Member States, one by one, from two domino boxes, prepared by the Secretariat, based on the information provided by Member States on the level of representation. The deadline for submission of that information had been 5 p.m., Monday, 20 April.

Daily Press Briefing - 6 - 22 April 1998

The first domino box would contain the names of Member States which had informed the Secretariat by that deadline that their speaker would be at the level of head of State, Vice-President, Crown Prince/Princess or head of government, he said. The second box would contain the names of Member States at the other remaining levels of representation at the time of the drawing.

There would be "more fun later on", he added. First they would draw lots from box number one, and then box number two. When the name of the Member State had been drawn, the representative of that country would then go to the podium, where there would be nine further boxes -- one for each of the special session meetings. The representative could then choose the meeting, and draw from the appropriate box their country's slot within that meeting. It was a complicated procedure, but very necessary. "It should also make for quite a telegenic event", he noted.

At the first morning meeting of the special session, there would be 15 speakers, Mr. Taukatch said. Subsequent morning and afternoon meetings would have 21 speakers each, and 13 speakers were scheduled for each evening meeting, according to the agreed procedure. The statements were not expected to exceed seven minutes each.

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