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 reading the following statement:

"The Secretary-General has learned with profound sadness of the earthquake that struck Badakshan and Takhar Provinces in Afghanistan on 30 May, a region that has been recovering from the severe effects of an earthquake that occurred there less than four months earlier. He wishes to convey his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and is committed to extending all efforts of the United Nations to relieve the suffering of the affected populations in as speedy a manner as possible."

The Spokesman then announced that Martin Griffiths, the Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, would brief correspondents on the relief efforts currently under way in Afghanistan. (Mr. Griffiths' briefing is being issued separately.)

The Secretary-General had spoken to the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan over the weekend to discuss the situation on the subcontinent, and to encourage them to enter into dialogue on peace and security issues, including Kashmir, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General had been encouraged by their reaction, and intended to continue to engage with them on those issues. On Friday, he had sent letters to both Prime Ministers. Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala had then briefed the Security Council on the contents of those letters.

The Security Council had a new President for June -- Antonio Monteiro (Portugal), Mr. Eckhard said. Mr. Monteiro was currently holding bilateral consultations with Council members on its work programme for June.

The Council was expected to continue its consultations on the draft resolution on Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests tomorrow, the Spokesman continued. That draft had been introduced on Saturday. Following Saturday's consultations, outgoing Council President Njuguna Moses Mahugu (Kenya) had issued a press statement on the additional nuclear test by Pakistan earlier that day, calling on the Government of Pakistan to issue a public declaration placing a moratorium on future tests and experimentation on delivery systems. He had also indicated that the Council strongly supported the Secretary- General's statement on the matter. Both statements had been made available on Saturday and were available upstairs.

The Secretary-General had approved the new distribution plan for the expanded "oil-for-food" programme late on Friday, Mr. Eckhard said. He had conveyed his decision to the Council the same day. The executive summary of the new plan was out as a Security Council document this morning.

Mr. Eckhard said that the technical briefing by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on the so-called "road map" to the lifting of sanctions following the elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would occur on Wednesday as scheduled. It would take place in a conference room and was expected to last an entire day.

On the UNSCOM/Iraq meeting last Friday, the two sides had had discussions on all weapons areas, as well as ways and means of improving their working relationship, the Spokesman said. Iraq had put forward its position on those matters. There had been some preliminary discussions of the so-called "road map".

The Secretary-General was very concerned at reports about clashes between Eritrean and Ethiopian troops in the disputed border area since yesterday, Mr. Eckhard continued. He recalled that he and others who had offered assistance in resolving the dispute between the two countries had stressed the need for maximum restraint so as to ensure that the situation did not deteriorate. The Secretary-General had sent letters on Friday to the Prime Ministers of Eritrea and Ethiopia calling for full cooperation with the regional and international diplomatic efforts now under way. He had also sent a letter to Hassan Gouled Aptidon, President of Djibouti, thanking him for his mediation efforts, assisted by the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim A. Salim.

Serious fighting had erupted in Kosovo over the weekend, the Spokesman went on to say. Preliminary reports from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that some 1,300 people on Sunday had fled into Tropoje, in northern Albania. That was the largest such exodus to date. It was not known how many people had been displaced in the latest fighting. There were reports that some were trapped and could not cross the border. There had been very heavy and indiscriminate shelling of villages alongside the border with Albania. Relief workers had been able to see 120 mm mortars being fired into the villages. The UNHCR and the various agencies were rushing relief supplies into the area.

On Angola, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Alioune Blondin Beye, had met with National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) leader Jonas Savimbi, on Saturday, 30 May, for seven hours, in an effort to move the stalled peace process forward. The ambassadors of the three observer States had also attended the meeting with UNITA in the town of Andulo. Mr. Savimbi had expressed his support for the Crisis Resolution Plan that the Special Representative had put forward to bring the Lusaka Protocol to a conclusion, and he had agreed to communicate UNITA's proposals for the extension of State administration into the four sensitive areas still held by UNITA.

On Sunday, UNITA Vice-President Antonio Dembo had arrived in Luanda with new dates for UNITA's transfer of control to the Angolan Government of Andulo, Bailundo, Mungo and N'Harea, Mr. Eckhard continued. He proposed that the

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 1 June 1998

technical preparations for the extension of State administration be finalized from 17 to 21 June and that the handover take place on 25 June.

Available on the racks today was a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council concerning the International Commission of Inquiry on arms sales to the former Rwandan government forces and militia in the Great Lakes region of Africa, the Spokesman said. The Council had reactivated that Commission in April. The report provided a list of the Commission members and also contained information on its financing.

The Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs would meet tomorrow, Mr. Eckhard said. It was scheduled to take up, among other items, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the recent trip by the Emergency Relief Coordinator to Angola. The United Nations Development Group was also meeting tomorrow and would discuss various subjects, including the upcoming Economic and Social Council session, technical cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, and the issue of a "Culture of Peace".

Mr. Eckhard said that High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson was in New York for three days. She would attend the various Executive Committee meetings that were taking place this week at Headquarters. This afternoon, she would brief representatives of permanent missions on her work. That briefing would take place at 3 p.m. in Conference Room 4.

Ireland had become the twenty-third Member State to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, the Spokesman continued. Twenty-two countries must ratify the treaty for it to enter into force, he added.

A press release from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was available, Mr. Eckhard said. A severe drought stretching across 10 states in the north-east region of Brazil was severely affecting crop production in the area and threatening the food supply situation of the population. Ten million people were affected, of which close to 5 million were facing critical food supply problems.

The last in a series of articles to promote the upcoming special session on the world drug problem was being released today by the Department of Public Information (DPI), Mr. Eckhard continued. The feature story was on one of the session's main themes -- Amphetamine-Type Stimulants. It was now available at the press documents counter. Later today, DPI would issue a note to correspondents on media services and arrangements for the special session. For further information, correspondents could contact Bill Hass at (212) 963 0353.

The Spokesman said a forum entitled "Public Relations and the United Nations: Working Together for Change", co-sponsored by DPI and the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), would take place tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. in Conference Room 8. The forum was being held in conjunction with the presentation

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 1 June 1998

of the United Nations award for excellence in public relations campaigns addressing priority issues of the United Nations, part of IPRA's Golden World Awards, co-sponsored by NEC Corporation of Japan.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had put out a press release announcing that it would present the Maurice Pate Award today to the Pacific Regional Human Rights Education Team (RRRT), Mr. Eckhard said. The RRRT was being recognized for its exceptional work in improving the legal and social status of children and women in the Pacific region.

A press conference sponsored by the United States Mission would be given today at 1:15 p.m. by Ibrahim Rugova and Bujar Bukoshi, the Spokesman continued. Tomorrow, at 12 noon, Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Children and Armed Conflict, would brief correspondents on his recent visit to Sierra Leone.

Experts in drug control policy would brief journalists and respond to their questions on the upcoming United Nations General Assembly special session on drug control policy, Mr. Eckhard said. That briefing would take place on 3 June at 1 p.m. in the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Club on the third floor. Lunch would be served.

A correspondent asked about the scope of the Security Council draft resolution on India and Pakistan. Who were its sponsors? he asked. The Spokesman said that, as he had mentioned, the Council would be taking up that matter tomorrow. He could not comment on the elements of the resolution before it had been made public. He said that he might be able to inform correspondents who the sponsors were after the briefing. [Mr. Eckhard later confirmed that Japan, Sweden and Costa Rica were sponsoring the draft.]

Was this the first time that there was a flow of refugees from Kosovo to Albania? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that, in the past, his office had reported that refugees were moving in several directions. All that had been said with regard to the current movement was that it was the largest outflow in a single day to date.

Was it a war in Kosovo, were there two sides, or was one side shelling villages while the other remained passive? the Spokesman was asked. He said, "I don't think we're prepared to say any more than what the UNHCR has said that their relief workers observed mortars being fired into the villages."

Another correspondent asked what role the Secretary-General felt the United Nations should be playing in Kosovo. The Spokesman said the United Nations role there was a humanitarian one. The Secretary-General was meeting with Mr. Rugova at Mr. Rugova's request.

Asked to elaborate on his earlier statement that the Secretary-General had been encouraged by the response of the Prime Ministers of India and

Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 1 June 1998

Pakistan, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had been encouraged by their openness and, on that basis, he was prepared to stay in touch with them. He was, of course, watching the P-5 [the five permanent members of the Security Council] who were to meet later in the week at the Foreign Minister- level in Geneva. He was also in touch with the P-5 here.

The correspondent asked the Spokesman for more information regarding the movements of Mr. Beye. The Spokesman said that Mr. Beye had returned to Luanda late last night with the Vice-President of UNITA who had been present during the long discussions with Mr. Savimbi.

A correspondent asked if any information was available on today's meeting between the Secretary-General and Richard Butler, Executive Director of UNSCOM. Mr. Eckhard said that Mr. Butler was on the programme for this afternoon. He said he did not think there would be too much to report to correspondents, but that he would try to provide a readout later.

* *** *