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, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Secretary-General issued a statement on the nuclear weapons tests in Pakistan this morning. In that statement, the Secretary-General said he deplored both the Indian and the Pakistani tests and that they exacerbated tension in an already difficult relationship. He called on both Governments to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and he urged them to sign, as well, a no-first-use pledge with each other. Finally, he said that both nations should freeze their nuclear weapons development programmes, observing that the number of nuclear weapons should decrease, not increase. "As we approach the new century, we should be asking how best to preserve life, culture and civilization, not how to become more destructive", the Secretary-General said in his statement. (Press Release SG/SM/6575)

In an additional statement, which was attributable to the Spokesman, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General strongly appealed to both India and Pakistan to make every effort to reduce increasing tensions in the region, especially in Kashmir. The Secretary-General asked both sides to refrain from mutual accusations which could further inflame the tense situation and urged the two Governments to resume their bilateral dialogue. The Secretary-General also took the opportunity to recall the availability of his good offices. (Press Release SG/SM/6576)

The Security Council had just met to adopt a presidential statement on Georgia and a resolution on the report of the Secretary-General on Africa, Mr. Eckhard said. On Georgia, the Council expressed concerns on the recent outbreak of fighting and the deteriorating security situation in the Gali region, and called on the parties to observe the ceasefire agreements and to improve the security situation. On Africa, the Council decided to establish an ad hoc working group for six months to review the recommendations of the Secretary-General in his report. It also expressed its intention to convene a ministerial meeting in September, and thereafter biennially, to assess progress in promoting peace and security in Africa. The Foreign Minister of Kenya, Bonaya Godana, presided over today's formal meetings.

In the informal consultations prior to the formal meetings, the Council discussed their reactions to Pakistan's nuclear tests, the Spokesman said. Council members were meeting at the expert level to discuss a formal presidential statement on the nuclear tests, and Council President Njuguna Mahugu made a brief press statement on the matter this morning. The Council also took up Sierra Leone briefly in the consultations on matters related to

sanctions there. It would come back at 4 p.m. today for consultations on Pakistan's nuclear tests and other matters.

The meeting between members of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) and Iraqi representatives began this morning at 11, Mr. Eckhard said. The meeting was taking place in Conference Room 10. The Chairman of UNSCOM, Richard Butler, was heading the UNSCOM team, and the Iraqi delegation was headed by General Amer Al-Sa'adi. The Iraqi Foreign Minster, Mohammed Said Al-Sahaf, did not attend the morning meeting. The meeting may continue into tomorrow, 29 May.

Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the United Nations Iraq Programme, would brief the Iraq Sanctions Committee at 4:30 p.m. today on the contents of the revised distribution plan submitted by the Iraqi Government, the Spokesman said. The plan was based on $3 billion of humanitarian assistance, which would require about $4.5 billion in oil to be exported. Under the plan, the calorie content of the food basket would increase from the 2,000 kilocalories in Phase III, but not as much as the Secretary-General's recommendation of 2,400 kilocalories. The revised plan was expected to be submitted to the Secretary- General for his approval following the briefing to the Sanctions Committee.

He added that the weekly press briefing from Baghdad was available in room S-378. That briefing covered the trip by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Dennis Halliday, to northern Iraq last week when he reviewed the humanitarian programme with local authorities.

Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Milojica Kos was detained today by the Stabilization Force for the former Yugoslavia (SFOR), Mr. Eckhard said. Arrangements were being made for his transfer to the detention unit at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Mr. Kos was accused of atrocities allegedly committed between May and August 1992 against Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians from the Prijedor district who were held at the Omarska camp. He was alleged to have been a shift commander supervising the guards who operated the camp. The Spokesman's Office would announce the date set for Mr. Kos' appearance before the Tribunal when that was available.

There had been an exchange of letters today between the Secretary- General and the President of the Security Council concerning Sierra Leone, the Spokesman announced. The Council agreed with the Secretary-General's proposal to include India, Kenya, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and Zambia on the list of countries contributing military personnel to the United Nations liaison team in Sierra Leone.

The United Nations received a check for over $800,000 from Uzbekistan today, he said, making it the seventy-second country to pay its regular budget dues in full. Last year on this date, payments had been received from 63 countries.

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Hearings at the International Court of Justice would begin next month on whether the Court had jurisdiction in a case brought by Spain against Canada, Mr. Eckhard said. The case concerned a dispute over Canada's actions in 1995 against a Spanish fishing boat on the high seas. A press release from the Court was available in room S-378.

The Spokesman said the World Food Programme (WFP) announced this morning in Islamabad that two food convoys arrived today in the central Afghan region of Hazarajat and the Taliban-held enclave of the Ghorbund valley, about 100 kilometres north of Kabul. The convoy to Hazarajat brought enough wheat to feed about 30,000 people for one month in the most hard-hit parts of the region. That represented about 10 per cent of the food the WFP believed was needed in the region. The second convoy to Ghorbund brought 110 tons of wheat to a 25-kilometre-long valley of 35,000 residents under Taliban control. The residents there were currently trapped between warring factions and a steep mountain ridge, with only a donkey path as a means out of the enclave. The WFP estimated that one quarter of the population, mainly displaced or landless people and widows, were in need of assistance. A WFP press release was available in room S-378.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had just issued a series of fact sheets on what it called the "tobacco epidemic", the Spokesman said. Copies of the fact sheets were available in room S-378, and they could be retrieved from the WHO Internet site.

Deputy-Secretary-General Louise Fréchette spoke to the Foreign Policy Association yesterday, 27 May, Mr. Eckhard said. Her statement there was interesting, and a copy was available on request from the Spokesman's Office. (See Press Release DSG/SM/6.)

Bernard Miyet, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, would brief correspondents on the fiftieth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping, and other peacekeeping matters, at 11:15 a.m., Friday, 29 May, in room S-226.

Also on Friday, the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) would hold a briefing on "Why Pakistan Made a Nuclear Test?" It would be held at 4:30 p.m. in the UNCA Club and would feature the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of Pakistan, Akram Zaki, and a Member of Parliament of Pakistan, Ghulam Sarwar Cheema.

The $3 billion for the "oil-for-food" programme was for what period? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said those funds were for Phase IV of the programme. That phase would last 180 days beginning on 3 June.

A correspondent asked if the leader of the Kosovo Albanians, Ibrahim Rugova, would meet with the Secretary-General during his trip to the United States. Mr. Eckhard responded that Mr. Rugova had requested a meeting with

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the Secretary-General, and there had been attempts to find a mutually convenient time for the meeting. As of late yesterday, 27 May, no time or date had been set, but there would be an announcement if a meeting was confirmed.

Had there been any discussions with the Secretary-General about the United States paying its arrears to the annual budget? a correspondent asked. The Spokesman said that legislation authorizing payment was in the United States Congress and was ready to be sent to President William Clinton for approval or veto. However, reports said that the legislation contained the controversial rider regarding abortion. "At this moment we have no high hopes of seeing any significant payment of arrears out of the legislation that was now in Congress", he said.

Did the Secretary-General plan to take any initiative to address the issue of Kashmir, which was root cause of the nuclear crisis in South Asia? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard responded that the Secretary-General's second statement on disarmament, which was attributable to the Spokesman, specifically addressed Kashmir. It urged the two Governments to resume a bilateral dialogue, and it recalled for them the availability of his good offices.

Had the Secretary-General addressed the role of the formal five nuclear- capable States in creating the ominous situation in South Asia? The Spokesman said the Secretary-General had not said anything publicly on that matter. He probably felt that there was nothing to be accomplished by that.

A correspondent asked if the Secretary-General had given up on getting the five nuclear Powers to uphold their commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Mr. Eckhard said emphatically, "no."

Mr. Eckhard added that a previously scheduled trip to Albania by the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, had been cancelled. Mr. Dhanapala planned to head a United Nations mission to Albania to consult with the Government on developing a plan for disarming civilians. His trip was cancelled due to the events in South Asia. Mr. Dhanapala was originally scheduled to leave for Albania on Friday, 29 May.

Alex Taukatch, spokesman for the General Assembly President, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), said the President of the General Assembly was very gravely concerned about the nuclear tests conducted Thursday by Pakistan. Today's explosions had dealt a serious blow to global non-proliferation efforts, as they flew in the face of the international community that had overwhelmingly deplored a similar exercise earlier this month by India and had urged restraint by the two countries.

A number of positive developments in the field of nuclear disarmament over the past years had given hope that humanity would enter the new millennium,

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leaving behind the legacy of an unbridled nuclear arms race. The latest series of test in South Asia threatened to dash those hopes and to further escalate tensions in an already volatile region. The President of the General Assembly appealed to both Governments to refrain from continued development of nuclear weapons and urged them to pledge their prompt and full cooperation with the international community in averting further aggravation of the situation. (See Press Release GA/SM/42.)

The President of the General Assembly remained in Kiev, Mr. Taukatch said. He would leave for New York this weekend and be at Headquarters on Monday, 1 June. On Tuesday, 2 June, there would be an open plenary meeting of the General Assembly to discuss a number of issues. The Assembly's programme of work included consideration of two reports of the Secretary-General -- on the strengthening of the United Nations system and revitalization of the work of the Assembly. Acting on them, the Assembly should, in part, resolve the question of the opening date of the Assembly's next session, as well as the observance of the International Day of Peace.

He added that the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) continued to work hard and late on matters before it. This morning, the Committee held an open meeting considering a number of items, including the introduction of a draft resolution on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Committee would continue its work for the day in informal consultations.

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