DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL SG/SM/6646-AFR/83.)

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL SG/SM/6646-AFR/83.)

Turning to the Security Council, the Spokesman said that the Council had taken up several matters this morning. First, members had received a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Sergio Vieira de Mello on the humanitarian situation in Tajikistan. That was followed by a briefing by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations concerning the tragic incident involving the four UNMOT personnel.

The Council had then taken up a draft resolution on the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Eckhard continued. By that resolution, the Council would extend the mandate of UNPREDEP for six months, until 28 February 1999, and authorize an increase in the troop strength up to 1,050. The Council would express its intention to consider further other recommendations of the Secretary-General.

He added that under other matters, the Council was discussing the situation in Afghanistan. Following the closed consultations currently under way, Council members were expected to go into a formal session to adopt the resolution on UNPREDEP.

Mr. Eckhard then said the Secretary-General had arrived in Guatemala late yesterday to resume his official visit to Latin America. The Secretary- General and President Alvaro Arzú Irigoyen had reviewed the process of the implementation of the Guatemala peace accords, placing special emphasis on four items requiring urgent action before the electoral campaign got under way: the package of constitutional amendments provided for in the Peace Accords; the adoption of a fiscal package that would pave the way for reaching fiscal targets also provided for in the Peace Accords; measures regarding land issues; and additional measures regarding justice and security.

The Spokesman went on to say that the President had given the Secretary- General assurances that his Government was determined to move in all four areas. His associate had explained to the Secretary-General the specific steps that had been taken.

He added that the Secretary-General had also inquired about the current investigation concerning the murder of Archbishop Juan Gerardi Conedera. President Arzú had said that all efforts were being deployed and that the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) was following the investigation very closely as well. The President had said that external expert advice, including from the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States, was being brought to bear and that no effort was being spared to bring to light the truth about that horrible incident.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 21 July 1998

It had also been mentioned earlier that the Secretary-General had been honoured with the Order of Quetzal, Mr. Eckhard said. The statement he had made on receiving that honour from the President of Guatemala was available in the Spokesman's Office. (See Press Release SG/SM/6648-CA/16.) Also available was the Secretary-General's programme in Guatemala today, which included a meeting with the Peace Cabinet, chaired by the Vice-President, as well as meetings with the Archbishop of Guatemala and others.

Also available, in English and Spanish, was a statement issued by MINUGUA, condemning in the strongest possible terms the attack on Monsignor Sebastiano Crestani, the Spokesman continued. That attack had taken place in Guatemala City yesterday afternoon.

Turning to Iraq, Mr. Eckhard said that the weekly report on "oil for food" was out. The 661 Committee, which oversees the sanctions on Iraq, had approved the first oil spare parts application yesterday. It involved spare parts for the safe operation of the pipeline between Iraq and Turkey, mainly electric light bulbs, and had been submitted by a Spanish company. The value of the contract was $632,000. One application was on hold, the third application had been submitted to the Committee yesterday and 12 applications were being processed by the United Nations Secretariat.

The Committee had approved 10 humanitarian sales applications last week, put two on hold and blocked none, the Spokesman continued. Those were all Phase IV. As for Phase III, the Committee had approved six applications, put one on hold and blocked none. The United Nations Oil Overseers had approved four more oil contracts last week, bringing the number of approved oil contracts to 43 out of 47 submitted. The total volume of oil approved stood at 289.7 million barrels.

Turning to the tidal wave in Papua New Guinea, Mr. Eckhard said that according to the Disaster Response Branch of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) based in Geneva, a three-person emergency team in the South Pacific had left for the region today. It was scheduled to arrive in Port Moresby on Thursday to assist national authorities and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in needs and damage assessment and the coordination of relief activities.

He added that the OCHA unit in Geneva, which dispatched upon request assessment and coordination teams to support United Nations agencies and national authorities in major disasters, was also keeping the international community informed of the situation, with updates from the disaster area posted on its Internet site, and was mobilizing financial support for the relief effort. United Nations agencies on the ground included the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which were also assisting in the relief effort.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 21 July 1998

The Spokesman said that the withdrawal of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Kabul and the suspension of their assistance programmes would have a detrimental effect on 400,000 people in that city, who had depended directly on NGO assistance programmes for food, medicines and basic services. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was very concerned that the withdrawal of international NGOs would lead to a worsening of the humanitarian situation there, which might provoke a new exodus from the city towards Pakistan.

He added that the top humanitarian official at United Nations Headquarters, Sergio Vieira de Mello, had told CNN last night that the Organization was not pulling out of Afghanistan. United Nations agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would continue operating in Kabul. For example, the UNHCR, which relied heavily on local NGOs to carry out its programmes for returning refugees in the Kabul area, would maintain an office in the city with two international staff and 24 local staff.

United Nations and NGO operations in the rest of Afghanistan would continue as well, he went on to say. The United Nations had a $157 million humanitarian assistance programme in 1998 for Afghanistan, a war-afflicted country that had the highest rates of infant, childhood and maternal mortality in Asia.

On Cambodia, he said that the Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Human Rights in Cambodia, Thomas Hammarberg, had issued a statement today in Phnom Penh condemning the attack on election staff officials in Anlong Veng on 17 July. Copies of that statement were available in the Spokesman's Office. Also issued in Cambodia yesterday was a message from the Secretary-General to the Cambodian people. The text of that statement was also available in the Spokesman's Office.

Turning to Angola, Mr. Eckhard said that the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) reported from Luanda that it had been forced to relocate 17 observer team sites to regional headquarters for security reasons, which reduced United Nations observation capacity by 30 per cent.

He went on to say that an update of the exodus of 25,000 refugees from Angola to the Democratic Republic of the Congo since mid-June was contained in the summary of the UNHCR briefing in Geneva, which could be found in room S-378.

Mr. Eckhard said that the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in cooperation with the regional commissions of the United Nations, would hold a series of panel discussions on the theme, "What have we learnt one year into the financial crisis in emerging market economies?", from today, 21 July, until Thursday, 23 July. The keynote panel, which would be chaired by Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, had been held today from 10 a.m. to noon in Conference Room 2. The executive secretaries of

Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 21 July 1998

the regional commissions would be the panellists. More information could be found in today's Journal.

Concluding, the Spokesman said that available in room S-378 was the statement by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the new Director-General of WHO, to her staff, delivered in Geneva today.

A correspondent, citing a quotation of Cicero -- "In the midst of arms, laws stand mute" -- which he attributed to the Secretary-General, asked whether the Secretary-General believed in self-defence or had used the quotation mistakenly. Mr. Eckhard said he doubted that the quote had been used mistakenly. He would look into it.

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