DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Hiro Ueki, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by saying that the Spokesman, Fred Eckhard, had been travelling with the Secretary-General since the weekend. Deputy Spokesman Juan Carlos Brandt would be back tomorrow. Mr. Ueki said he would be filling in today for them.

Mr. Ueki told correspondents that there had been a tragedy late last week and a statement had been issued on Saturday, 27 June, by the Secretary- General. In the statement, the Secretary-General was extremely saddened at the tragic incident which had taken place on the evening of 26 June. According to reports received from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA), the United Nations plane, which was transporting his Special Representative in Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, and five members of the Mission together with two pilots, crashed while approaching the Abidjan airport at about 8 p.m. local time.

According to the statement, the search and rescue operation, which had been conducted by the Ivorian authorities assisted by French helicopters, had found the wreckage of the United Nations aircraft, approximately nine kilometres from the airport, Mr. Ueki continued. So far, no survivors had been sighted. Due to the nature of the terrain, the rescue team was experiencing difficulties in reaching the site. The Secretary-General had been notified that the Foreign Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, Amara Essy, had visited the area, confirmed the seriousness of the crash and dispatched a specialized unit of military and gendarmerie officers to ascertain whether or not there were any survivors. The Secretary-General greatly appreciated the prompt assistance of the authorities involved and said that an urgent investigation was being launched.

The Associate Spokesman said that the statement went on to say that Mr. Beye, who for several years had been spearheading the implementation of the peace process in Angola, was travelling in the region in yet another attempt to seek the support of African leaders in overcoming the present crisis in that war-torn country. In this difficult time, the Secretary- General once gain appealed to all Angolans, in particular the Government of Unity and Reconciliation and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), to continue to cooperate closely with the United Nations and to bring the peace process to the earliest conclusion. (See today's Press Release SG/SM/6616-AFR/79.)

Mr. Ueki said that this morning in Vienna, the Secretary-General made a statement at a press conference which again referred to the tragic incident. In that statement he said, "I have spoken to the family of Maître Beye and the President of Mali to express my grief. I have also telephoned the Force

Commander of the United Nations Operation in Angola to wish him and his staff strength as they continue the important work that Maître Beye had undertaken in the last five years." The Secretary-General renewed his appeal to the parties in Angola to redouble their efforts to complete the work for peace that Maître Beye had sadly left unfinished. He was sure that all African leaders, as well as the international community, would join him in that appeal so that Maitre Beye would not have perished in vain.

The Associate Spokesman said that MONUA and the Troika, the three observer States to the Angolan peace process -- Portugal, Russian Federation and the United States -- issued a press statement on 27 June. The Joint Commission held a special session in Luanda yesterday, 28 June, and also issued a statement. The Force Commander of MONUA, Major-General Seth Kofi Obeng, chaired the meeting which was previously chaired by Mr. Beye. On the proposal of the Angolan Government, General Obeng was designated as Acting Chairman of the Joint Commission until the Secretary-General appoints a successor to Mr. Beye. The Joint Commission held a regular session today to review the peace process, especially the normalization of State administration in Andulo, Bailando, Mungo and N'Harca. Bernard Miyet, the Under-Secretary- General for Peacekeeping Operations, was in Luanda and attended the Joint Commission today. In observance of the deaths in the plane crash, the United Nations flag was being flown at half mast today, Mr. Ueki added.

The Associate Spokesman also said that one piece of information that was missing from Mr. Beye's biography, which had been made available over the weekend, was his date of birth. He was born on 8 January 1939, was 59 years old and was married with four children.

At his press conference in Vienna, the Secretary-General also announced that he would visit Nigeria right after his Austrian trip, Mr. Ueki said. In his statement, the Secretary-General said that: "Following this press conference, instead of returning directly to New York, I will leave Vienna for Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on an urgent mission to meet with the authorities of that country. For more than a year now, I have been in close contact with the military leadership in Nigeria, and in particular with the late head of State, General Sani Abacha, in an effort to promote the release of political prisoners, the commutation of the death sentences of General Diya and others convicted on charges of plotting to overthrow the Government and a return to democratic rule in Nigeria." The Secretary-General said that those contacts had continued in recent weeks with the new head of State, General Abubakar.

The Secretary-General had been much encouraged by the discussions that had taken place with General Abubakar and the initial steps that he had taken in that direction, the Associate Spokesman continued. The Secretary-General had throughout made clear that he would like to do everything he could to encourage the acceleration of a credible process that would return Nigeria to democratic civilian rule, starting with the release of the remaining political prisoners. The statement said that following intensified discussions in recent days, and a

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personal invitation from General Abubakar, he had decided that the time was ripe for him to undertake a visit to Nigeria. The Secretary-General said he looked forward to meeting with General Abubakar and his colleagues, as well as with a wide range of Nigerian political opinion and civil society. He was hopeful that his visit would contribute to progress towards the objectives sought by all the Nigerian people with the full support of the international community.

Mr. Ueki said that at the time of the briefing, the Secretary-General should have been arriving in Nigeria. He was expected to stay in Nigeria until Thursday. After that, he was expected to make a brief stopover in Ghana, his home country, and was probably expected to return to New York on Friday. However, given the developments over the last weekend, this schedule was subject to change. The Office of the Spokesman would keep correspondents informed. Over the weekend, the Office also issued the Secretary-General's activities in Vienna on 27 June. As announced, he chaired a panel discussion on human rights and the rule of law in societies in transition that same day.

The Security Council met this morning in informal consultations, the Associate Spokesman told correspondents. At 11 a.m., the Council moved to a formal meeting on the question of children in armed conflict, which was the subject of a presidential statement to be adopted later today. At the time of the briefing, there were 31 speakers on the list, and it was likely that the Council would continue its formal deliberations in the afternoon. At 5:30 p.m., the Council would again meet in formal session to adopt two resolutions on Cyprus. One (document S/1998/575) would extend the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 31 December 1998, while the other (document S/1998/576) would support the Secretary-General's mission of good offices.

At 6 p.m., the Council would meet once more to take up the question of Angola, the Associate Spokesman continued. That meeting would be presided over by the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Jaime Gama. The Council would also pay tribute to the memory of Maître Alioune Blondin Beye and five other United Nations staff members who died Friday in the plane crash. The Council was expected to adopt a resolution on Angola (document S/1998/577), which would extend the mandate of MONUA for 45 days, until 15 August 1998, and resume the withdrawal of the military component of the Mission.

Pre-empting a possible question about the Council's schedule tomorrow, Mr. Ueki said that the Council could hold another open debate tomorrow on the occupied territories. The Spokesman's Office would check with the Council later today for confirmation. However, unless some members of the Council wanted further delay, the open debate was scheduled to take place tomorrow.

The Spokesman's Office also had copies of the statement made by Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, in the Council debate today, Mr. Ueki informed correspondents.

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The Associate Spokesman said that Diego Cordovez, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, would be arriving in Cyprus in the early hours of Thursday, 2 July, where he would be having separate meetings with Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash, the leaders of the two Cypriot communities. The Special Adviser would leave the island on 4 July.

Mr. Ueki said that there was a report available from the Secretary- General on the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) in which it was noted that, while there had been no serious disruptions in the area of UNMOP's responsibility, there were no signs that the two parties would cease violations of the demilitarizing regime. The Secretary-General expressed hope that the proposal for the settlement of the disputed issue of Prevlaka would help provide the impetus for the start of negotiations. He recommended a six-month extension for UNMOP, until 15 January 1999.

A United Nations rapid assessment mission arrived in Guinea-Bissau today to ascertain the urgent humanitarian needs in that country, to look into access issues, and to confirm the number of persons displaced by the recent fighting, Mr. Ueki continued. The mission, comprised of representatives from the Emergency Relief Coordinator's Office, the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), would cross the breadth of the country where groups of displaced were assembled. Bafatta, Gabu and Mansaba were some of the stops the mission was making during its three-day tour.

The report of the Secretary-General's investigative team to the Democratic Republic of the Congo was expected to be given to the Security Council at noon tomorrow, the Associate Spokesman said. It would be made available to correspondents shortly afterwards, and a briefing would be held with a team member at 2:30 p.m in room S-226, if all went as planned.

A press release on a new initiative to reduce HIV transmission from mother to child in low-income countries, which was made public today at the twelfth World AIDS Conference, was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr Ueki also told correspondents that another press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia concerning Slavko Dokmanovic, an accused Bosnian Serb who was found hanged in his cell this evening, was also available. Dokmanovic was awaiting the verdict of his trial for crimes against humanity. The President of the Tribunal had ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the death. In the meantime, the body had been transferred to the morgue and the family of the deceased notified.

The Secretary-General was supporting the efforts of youth around the world who were speaking out against drugs, the Associate Spokesman said. During the recent General Assembly special session on drug control, the Secretary-General had received copies of the Youth Charter for a Twenty-First Century Free of Drugs and the Vision from Banff, a set of anti-drug proposals

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adopted by Canadian youth. The Secretary-General today sent copies of those documents to all heads of State and government. In a cover letter conveying the concerns of the youth, he wrote, "I feel we owe it to them to match the seriousness of their commitment and not throw in the towel." The Secretary- General also planned to write the heads of all the Organization's agencies with the same information. Copies of the letter and accompanying documents were available in the Spokesman's Office.

Two meetings on disarmament would begin today at Headquarters, Mr. Ueki told correspondents. The First Committee of the Assembly, which dealt with disarmament and international security, would meet to take action on a revised draft resolution on the rationalization of the work and agenda for disarmament. Under that draft, the Committee would decide to try and conclude its work in under five weeks. The Advisory Board on Disarmament would also begin a three-day session today. Available in the Spokesman's Office were the Board's draft agenda and a list of its 23 members.

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette this morning met with Jean- François Tremeaud, Assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Director of the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, Italy, and with John Machin, Director-general of the Staff College. In the afternoon, she would meet with Albertine Hepie, Minister for Family Affairs and Women, Côte d'Ivoire. The Deputy Secretary-General would also attend the Council meeting at 6 p.m. where tribute would be paid to Mr. Beye. This morning, the daily meeting on the 38th floor chaired by Ms. Fréchette started with a minute of silence for Mr. Beye.

The Associate Spokesman said that Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict; Stephen Lewis, Deputy Executive-Director of UNICEF; Emilio Hernandez-Xicara, a former child soldier from Guatemala; and Jo Becker, Steering Committee Chair of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers; and a representative of Human Rights Watch, would be holding a press conference tomorrow at 11 a.m in room S-226. The conference would launch a multi-agency effort to encourage the adoption of international prohibitions and the recruitment and participation in arms conflict of children under 18 years of age.

Today at 3 p.m. in the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), José Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, would give a press conference on the theme "Implications of recent developments in Indonesia on the future of East Timor".

When asked if the Secretary-General's 30-day report on Kosovo was due today, Mr. Ueki said it was. The last time, the second report had been delayed. The third report should be out some time soon.

Regarding Mr. Beye, a correspondent wanted to know whether there was any investigation taking place on the cause of the plane crash and if there was

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any foul play. Wreckage had been found in the swamp, replied Mr. Ueki. The search and rescue operation had managed to get to the site and recover some belongings such as passports -- some body parts might have been found, but no one had been identified so far. An investigation was being launched by the local authorities but at this time, the cause of the crash was still unknown. It would take some time before that was conclusively established.

A correspondent wanted to know whether the Security Council was not supposed to have discussed the situation in Kosovo today and whether there was any wording about the British resolution in that respect that was announced a few weeks ago. Mr. Ueki said some Council members were working behind the scenes on that issue, but so far there were no clear indications as to when the Council would take it up again. The Associate Spokesman added that, as far as he knew, the resolution had not come up for today's scheduled Council meetings and consultations.

A correspondent wanted to know who was expected to be at tomorrow's 2:30 p.m. press conference by the investigative team for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Ueki said it was Daniel O'Donnell and possibly Atsu-Koffi Amega, head of the investigative team. The Spokesman's Office was hoping that the team's report would have been released sooner, but current indications were that the report would be distributed to Council members probably by noon tomorrow.

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