DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

(Incorporates briefing by spokesman for General Assembly President.)

Juan Carlos Brandt, Senior Associate Spokesman for the Secretary- General, began today's noon briefing by welcoming Ambassador Richard Butler, Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), which is charges with the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. (Mr. Butler's briefing is being issued separately.)

On Security Council matters, he said the Council was meeting this morning to discuss Afghanistan. It had first received a briefing by Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, on his recent visit to the region. The Council was then briefed by Sergio de Mello, Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, on the humanitarian activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan.

It was understood that talks between the rival Afghan factions had resumed today in Islamabad, Mr. Brandt said. Those talks were taking place under the auspices of the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference as announced at yesterday's briefing.

Also on the question of Afghanistan, he continued, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had requested the announcement of a decision by the United Nations to send a team to undertake humanitarian negotiations with the Taliban authorities in that country. That team was due in Islamabad this weekend and the negotiations were anticipated to begin soon. The United Nations remained concerned about the security and safety of the staff on the ground, as well as about the lack of access to certain areas and groups of people in Afghanistan.

Turning to Iraq, Mr. Brandt said that the 661 Committee, which oversaw the sanctions on that country, had approved 33 humanitarian sales contracts last week, according to the latest weekly report on the implementation of Phase III of the "oil-for-food" programme. The Committee had put five applications on hold but had blocked none. Total oil proceeds in Phase III had almost reached $1 billion. The United Nations oil overseers had approved one more oil contract last week, bringing the total oil contracts approved so far to 48. The contract approved last week was with a Russian company for 2 million barrels. One contract was pending.

He said the Disarmament Commission had wrapped up its annual session today. It had been meeting since 6 April, mostly in working groups, to address three key issues: the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, the General Assembly's fourth special session on disarmament and guidelines on conventional arms control, limitation and disarmament. So far this morning,

the Commission had adopted the reports of its working groups and was now considering its own draft report.

Meanwhile, he went on, the Preparatory Committee for the 2000 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) began its general debate today in Geneva. The Committee opened its session yesterday, electing Eugeniusz Wyzner of Poland as Chairman. A press release on that subject was available on the racks and on the Web.

Mr. Brandt said that the Secretary-General had left New York this morning for an official trip to Africa, where he would visit eight countries: Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Eritrea. He was scheduled to return on 11 May. In the next few days, the Secretary-General would be in Addis Ababa, where he was expected to meet with various officials, including the Prime Minister and the President. He would also participate in the fortieth anniversary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which was organizing a conference on African women and economic development on that occasion.

On Thursday afternoon, 30 April, the Secretary-General would deliver a keynote address at a panel discussion on the United Nations and the advancement of African women, Mr. Brandt continued. He would also inaugurate the new United Nations Conference Centre. On Friday, 1 May, he would deliver concluding remarks at a forum of heads of State and government chaired by Salim A. Salim, Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). In the course of his visit, the Secretary-General would have numerous bilateral meetings with various heads of State. Spokesman Fred Eckhard was travelling with the Secretary-General and the Spokesman's Office would provide correspondents with daily activity reports, as well as text of speeches and addresses as they happened.

Outlining the appointments of the Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Brandt said she was meeting today with the Permanent Representative of Cyprus and with the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation. At 3 p.m. she would attend the meeting of the Executive Committee on Peace and Security.

Portugal became today the sixty-third country to pay its regular budget dues with a cheque for more than $3.8 million, he said. At the same time last year, 54 countries had paid in full.

He said an embargoed press release from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was available in the Spokesman's Office, regarding a march scheduled to take place tomorrow in Geneva to commemorate and to express outrage for the ninetieth day that Vincent Cochetel had been held hostage. The press release was in English and French.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 28 April 1998

By the year 2030, there would be 1.4 billion persons aged 60 years and over, and by then 70 per cent of the world's population would live in urban areas, the Senior Associate Spokesman said. Tomorrow, 29 April, in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, international experts and others would discuss the question of ageing and urbanization. Speakers would include Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; and Penelope Coombes, Managing Director of The People for Places and Spaces, based in Australia. The occasion was part of a two-day event in preparation for the International Year of Older Persons (1999). More information could be found in today's Journal, on the United Nations Web page and in a Note to Correspondents (Note No. 5500) available on the racks.

He said that the World Bank had asked the Spokesman's office to announce that Ismael Serageldin, Vice-President for Special Programmes and Chairman of Global Water Partnership, would be in Conference Room 7 at 9:15 a.m. tomorrow, to address the growing global consensus that managing the world's precious resources would be the preeminent challenge of the new millennium. Correspondents were cordially invited.

Announcing the schedule of press conferences in room 226, Mr. Brandt said that at 4 p.m. today, Takayuki Kimura, Ambassador of Japan for Global Environmental Affairs, would discuss climate change; at 10 a.m. tomorrow, John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, would talk about the Kyoto Protocol; at 11:15 a.m, there would be a press conference on the twelfth anniversary of the Chernobyl accident; and at the noon briefing, Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, would address correspondents and answer their questions.

In conclusion, Mr. Brandt announced that the recently recorded World Chronicle television show with Callisto Madavo, Vice President of the Africa Regional Office of the World Bank, would be shown today on in-house Channel 6 or 38 at 2:30 p.m.

A correspondent asked whether the question of Security Council expansion had been discussed during a meeting yesterday between the Secretary-General and the Indian President. Mr. Brandt replied that if it had, the Secretary- General's position on reform of the Council was well known. He had said repeatedly that the Security Council reflected the realities of 1945. In his view, the Council did need some kind of reform, but that was for Member States to decide.

Alex Taukatch, spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, said the President was continuing consultations as to how best to proceed with the consideration of the papers on United Nations reform submitted by the Secretary-General. Yesterday, after holding a general debate on the Secretary-General's proposals, the Assembly agreed with the President's

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 28 April 1998

suggestions to continue discussions in the format of open-ended informal consultations of the plenary.

That innovative format was introduced last year on the initiative of the President, and it proved to be instrumental in helping to forge a consensus on some reform issues, he said. Yesterday afternoon, the Assembly held one round of informals of the plenary and the President was continuing consultations on how to proceed further.

Turning to another crucial reform matter, Mr. Taukatch said that the open-ended group on Security Council reform was meeting in the Trusteeship Council Chamber this morning to continue its consideration of the second agenda item on its programme of work -- decision-making in the Security Council, including the veto.

Mr. Taukatch drew the attention of correspondents to the fact that there were six weeks to go before the General Assembly's special session on illicit drugs. To help them with the coverage of that important story, the Department of Public Information had prepared a media advisory which was now available on the racks.

World leaders would meet in New York from 8 to 10 June and were expected to adopt a worldwide plan to reduce substantially drug demand and supply by the year 2008, he went on. The final meeting of the special session's preparatory body last March had adopted a draft political declaration which established target dates for action in such key areas as drug demand reduction, elimination of illicit crops, alternative development and money laundering.

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