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, opened today's noon briefing by saying there was no Security Council meeting because of the General Assembly meeting on Palestine. Tomorrow, the Council would take up the report of the Secretary-General's investigative team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Giving the Iraq "Oil-for-Food" Weekly Report, Mr. Eckhard said that the United Nations Oil Overseers approved five new oil contracts last week, bringing to 39 the total approved under Phase IV so far. Three contracts were pending and the total volume of oil contracts approved to date stood at 253.3 million barrels. The 661 Committee, which oversees the sanctions on Iraq, was still processing Phase III humanitarian sales contracts. Last week, it approved eight contracts, put two on hold and blocked none.

He said that a press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was available in the Spokesman's Office containing the Prosecutor's position on Kosovo, which she communicated to the Contact Group. Justice Louise Arbour said that the fighting in Kosovo constituted an armed conflict, and that she intended to bring charges for crimes against humanity or war crimes there if evidence of such crimes was established. The Prosecutor stressed that the Tribunal's jurisdiction extended to crimes committed by persons on either side of the conflict.

The Spokesman said that the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for the former Yugoslavia, Jiri Dienstbier, was conducting his second mission to that area. He arrived last Sunday in Sarajevo and would be going to Banja Luka on Thursday. From there, he would travel to Croatia, where he would stay until 14 July.

As announced yesterday, the Secretary-General was going on a trip to Latin America beginning in Brazil on Monday, Mr. Eckhard said. He would meet with the press at 3:30 this afternoon in room S-226, where he would respond only to questions concerning the trip, which would take him, in addition to Brazil, to Uruguay, Argentina, Guatemala and Mexico. English-Spanish simultaneous interpretation would be provided. For those correspondents with questions on other subjects, the Secretary-General had indicated that he would meet with them later this week for a general press conference. The time would be announced as soon as it was firmed up.

On the Secretary-General's appointments for today, the Spokesman said that he was scheduled to see Elizabeth Rehn, the Special Representative for

Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ms. Rehn was in New York to attend a two-day forum beginning tomorrow on the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General in peace-building operations. The Secretary-General and about 10 past and present Special Representatives of the Secretary-General would participate in that forum, which would be co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, and the former United Nations Coordinator in the Occupied Territories, Terje Rod-Larsen.

The forum was sponsored and organized by a Norwegian institute and funded by the Governments of Norway and Canada and by the MacArthur Foundation, he continued. A list of participants was available in the Spokesman's Office.

He said the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had requested an announcement of the launch in London tomorrow of its annual report on how effectively countries were improving the status of children. The report was called The Progress of Nations 1998. Embargoed copies of the report, which the Secretary-General called "a clarion call for children", and also a press release were available in the spokesman's Office and from UNICEF.

Mr. Eckhard said the summary of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) briefing note from Geneva was also available in the Spokesman's Office. In it, the UNHCR flagged the continuing problems of access to sites in Guinea of refugees from Sierra Leone. Also available was an update of the tense security situation in Kosovo, as well as an account of World Cup-spawned violence in Stolac, Bosnia, following Croatia's victory over Germany on 4 July.

There was a new detailed status report on contributions as at the end of June, the Spokesman said. The news was not good, particularly compared with last year. $517.9 million had been collected against this year's assessment, less than half the total amount (47.7 per cent) due for 1998. At mid-year in 1997, more than $709.7 million (63.9 per cent of the assessment) had been collected. The document was available, as a reference copy only, in the Spokesman's Office. Also available in room S-378 was a note on the status of outstanding contributions detailed country by country.

Turning to treaty signatures, he said Chad had signed the landmine ban, becoming the 127th country to do so. So far, 20 countries had ratified the ban. A total o 40 ratifications was required for the treaty to enter into force.

Mr. Eckhard said that tomorrow, 8 July, Vojislav Mihajlovic, Vice- President of Parliament and leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, would brief correspondents on the situation in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

A correspondent asked what criteria were used to determine what countries the Secretary-General would visit on his Latin America trip. Mr. Eckhard replied that he had standing invitations from many Member States. Very often a trip

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 7 July 1998

would be planned around a regional organization meeting, and while the Secretary- General was in that region, he would seek to visit four or five countries. He was trying to make good on as many of the invitations as he could within the limits of his own schedule.

The Spokesman told another correspondent that the Secretary-General had no comment at the moment on the General Assembly resolution adopted this morning on the Question of Palestine. Would he have one later? the correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he would see if something could be obtained later.

On another subject, the same correspondent referred to a report that the Secretary-General was owed some money by New York State. Did he ever live on Second Avenue, was the Spokesman aware of that, and did he know how much money was owed? Mr. Eckhard answered that a copy of the article was sent to the Secretary-General for comment, but nothing had been received back so far. The Spokesman's Office should get something back by today.

Another correspondent asked the date of the general press conference planned by the Secretary-General later this week. The Spokesman said it was tentatively scheduled for Thursday, but it could be as soon as tomorrow, depending on his programme and other matters.

On the Kosovo situation, another correspondent asked whether it was the International Count in The Hague, the Security Council or some other international body that decided whether that situation constituted an armed conflict. Mr. Eckhard said it was the Prosecutor who made that judgment. On whose behalf? the correspondent asked. On behalf of herself as the Chief Prosecutor of the tribunals; that was part of her job, Mr. Eckhard replied.

Asked whether the United Nations was aware that Nigeria would make its official programme announcement regarding elections or prisoners tomorrow, he responded that to his knowledge there was no official word from Nigeria about that. There had been press reports that there could be an announcement tomorrow, but he could not officially confirm that from the United Nations point of view.

Was there a time set for the meeting tomorrow between the Secretary- General and the Algerian delegation? the same correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said his Office would look into it and let him know.

Returning to Kosovo, a correspondent asked whether, by United Nations standards, the armed conflict there constituted civil war or aggression. The Spokesman said the Prosecutor was just saying that, as far as her mandate to prosecute for war crimes, what was taking place in Kosovo was an armed conflict. Therefore, if war crimes did not take place there, she would seek to prosecute.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 7 July 1998

Did the Prosecutor specify what kind of war that would entail? the same correspondent asked. Once she decided that there was an armed conflict, then she was free to prosecute for war crimes or crimes against humanity. Was the Prosecutor the first international representative to decide that there was an armed conflict in Kosovo or were there others? she asked. Mr. Eckhard invited her to read the press release from The Hague, which provided the Prosecutor's determination that the Kosovo situation was an armed conflict.

Another correspondent asked if there was a difference between an internal armed conflict and an external one. The Spokesman asked him to read the press release, and any legal questions would be referred to the Legal Department.

Had the Secretary-General made any pronouncement on the role of the ethnic Albanian liberation movement? another correspondent wanted to know. Mr. Eckhard said that to his knowledge the Secretary-General had not. He would double-check, but he did not think so.

Alex Taukatch, spokesman for General Assembly President Hennadiy Udovenko, said that the Assembly decided this morning to confer on Palestine additional rights and privileges of participation in the session and work of the General Assembly and international conferences convened under its auspices or those of other United Nations organs, as well as in United Nations conferences.

He said the Assembly took that decision by a recorded vote of 124 in favour, 4 against and 10 abstentions. The draft resolution voted on was contained in document A/52/L.53/Rev.2. That text was also requested the Secretary-General to inform the Assembly within the current session on the implementation of the modalities annexed to the resolution. The eight- paragraph annex spelled out the modalities of the additional rights and privileges conferred on Palestine.

Referring to an earlier question from a correspondent as to the new designation of the head of the Palestinian delegation, Mr. Taukatch said there was nothing in the annex on the modalities regarding a new designation. Resolution 3237 of 1974, on observer status for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), invited the PLO to participate in the sessions and work of the General Assembly in the capacity of observer. By resolution 43/177 of 1988, the General Assembly decided that, as of 15 December 1988, the designation "Palestine" should be used in place of "Palestine Liberation Organization". In the Blue Book and other publications, the head of the Palestine delegation was referred to as the Permanent Observer for Palestine.

The spokesman said that during the Assembly meeting this morning, three speakers took the floor in explanation of vote before the vote (United States, Israel and Swaziland) and six after the vote.

Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 7 July 1998

On other General Assembly action today, he said the meting began by paying tribute to the memory of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General, Alioune Blondin Beye, and that of the members of the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) who perished in an aircraft accident on 26 June. The Acting President, on behalf of the membership, conveyed condolences to the bereaved families, and the Assembly observed a minute's silence.

On another matter, Mr. Taukatch said that Honduras had now made the necessary payments to reduce its arrears below the amount specified under Article 19 of the Charter. There were now 22 Member States under Article 19.

Asked if it was true that, according to the new set-up, Palestine would be moved out of the observer seats and into the Hall, Mr. Taukatch used the Assembly Hall seating arrangement chart that he had brought with him to point out where the representatives of Switzerland and the Holy See were seated right now, which was in the section on the left flank of the Hall that was reserved for observers. According to the resolution, Palestine would be allocated seats immediately after non-Member States and before the other observers. He said the specific logistical arrangements would have to be worked out, and he reminded correspondents that the resolution requested the Secretary-General to inform the Assembly, within the current session, on the implementation of the modalities contained in the annex.

Was there a precedent for that? another correspondent asked. The spokesman said it was his understanding that it was the first time that something like that had happened.

Another correspondent wanted to know how the other delegates addressed the Observer for Palestine. The spokesman said he would not want to venture a guess and that the journalist should direct his question to the delegates. In response to another question, Mr. Taukatch said that the Member States that had spoken in explanation of vote after the vote had been Austria (on behalf of the European Union), the Russian Federation, Canada, Australia, Japan and Nicaragua.

Trying to "put a finer point on it", a correspondent asked if Palestine was the only group that had the status now of non-State with enhanced privileges. Mr. Taukatch said that Palestine had the status of observer conferred on it by an earlier Assembly resolution, and now it had additional rights and privileges for participation in the work of the United Nations. He once again quoted from operative paragraph 1 of the resolution that those rights and privileges were conferred on Palestine "in its capacity as observer". Asked if it was an interim status or if it was going to stay so, Mr. Taukatch reiterated that the main thrust of the resolution was to confer upon Palestine additional rights and privileges for taking part in the work of the General Assembly and various conferences convened under the auspices of the United Nations.

Pressed further on how one should address the representative of Palestine at the United Nations, Mr. Taukatch said there was nothing in the resolution adopted today that specifically referred to that question, and those interested in matters of protocol could try to get answers from the Protocol Office.

* *** *