ACTIVITIES OF DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SWITZERLAND AND BURKINA FASO, 3-12 JUNE

Press Release
DSG/T/3

ACTIVITIES OF DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SWITZERLAND AND BURKINA FASO, 3-12 JUNE

Deputy Secretary-General Lousie Fréchette represented the Secretary- General at three events, held in Berne, Geneva and Ouagadougou this month.

Ms. Fréchette arrived in Geneva on Wednesday, 3 June. On Thursday she travelled to Berne, where she attended a luncheon hosted by the President of the Swiss Federation, Flavio Cotti. After lunch the guests, including Heads of State of neighbouring countries, visited an exhibition in the Federal Square of historical scenes of 1848. That afternoon, in Switzerland's National Council Chamber, Ms. Frechétte gave an address on behalf of the Secretary-General at a ceremony to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Federal State. (See Press Release DSG/SM/7 of 5 June.) Other speakers included Roman Herzog, President of Germany; Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of Italy; Thomas Klestil, Federal President of Austria; Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein; and René Monory, President of the Senate of France.

On Friday, 5 June, the Deputy Secretary-General accepted, on behalf of the Secretary-General, Geneva's Palais Wilson from President Cotti. The historic building, first headquarters of the League of Nations, and named for United States President Woodrow Wilson, had been thoroughly renovated by the Government of Switzerland and was presented as a contribution by Switzerland to the work of the Organization. From August 1998, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction would be based at the Palais Wilson. Ms. Frechétte delivered a statement on the theme of "Human Rights - an instrument for peace". (See Press Release DSG/SM/8 of 5 June.)

President Cotti, in his presentation, announced the creation of a corps of Swiss human rights observers, and a training programme at the Swiss Centre for Security Policy which would prepare human rights observers for their task. Training would be open to specialists from other countries, especially from the third world. In the words of President Cotti "we [Switzerland] are convinced that through this project we can contribute to meeting the growing demand for professional, rapid-response human rights observers".

- 2 - Press Release DSG/T/3 16 June 1998

Ms. Frechétte and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Maray Robinson, later gave a joint press conference. (See Press Release DSG/98/11 issued in Geneva.)

After a brief stopover in Paris, Ms. Frechétte again represented the Secretary-General at the thirty-fourth Summit of Heads of States of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Burkina Faso. She arrived in Ouagadougou on Sunday, 7 June, and was welcomed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, Ablassé Ouédraogo. The following morning she addressed the Summit meeting. (For the text of her speech, see Press Release DSG/SM/9 of 8 June.) That afternoon, she attended a closed meeting with African Heads of States.

That evening she attended a state banquet hosted by President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, who had just assumed the position of Chairman of the OAU.

On Tuesday, 9 June, Ms. Frechette held bilateral meetings with participants at the Summit. She met with the Foreign Ministers of Eritrea and Ethiopia, to whom she expressed the United Nations concern for the current fighting and her desire to see a prompt, peaceful resolution of this dispute. She also met with President Nelson Mandela of South Africa; President Robert Mugage of Zimbabwe; and with President El Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon, with whom she discussed regional problems, including Angola and Central African Republic. She also met separately with the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Egypt, and the Minister of Justice of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They discussed regional problems related to peace and security. The Deputy Secretary-General also met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata.

Ms. Frechétte later gave a press conference at United Nations premises in Ouagadougou to the Press Club of Burkina Faso.

On Wednesday, 10 June, the Deputy Secretary-General attended the closing ceremony of the OAU Summit. That afternoon she met all United Nations and United Nations agency staff in Burkina Faso.

The following day, Thursday, 11 June, the Deputy Secretary-General was received by President Compaoré. They discussed United Nations-OAU relations, the outcome of the OAU Summit, and President Compaoré's forthcoming visit to Eritrea and Ethiopia to mediate, as requested in the OAU's final communiqué issued on 10 June. On the same day she also visited a women's project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kombissiri, 40 kilometres from Ouagadougou. The scheme had been established to facilitate women's access to micro-credit. Ms. Frechétte left Ouagadougou later that day, and returned to New York on Friday, 12 June. * *** *