DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Juan Carlos Brandt, Senior Associate Spokesman for the Secretary- General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Security Council met in formal consultations this morning to discuss its work programme for the month of August. Under other matters, it briefly reviewed the status of its response to the Secretary-General's report on Africa.

The Council was scheduled to take up Afghanistan and Burundi tomorrow, and in that connection it would receive a briefing on those subjects by the Secretariat, Mr. Brandt went on to say. On Thursday, it was scheduled to hear a briefing from Richard Butler, the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, who was expected to arrive back in New York on Wednesday afternoon.

Conveying a statement attributable to the Secretary-General's Spokesman, Mr. Brandt said that the Secretary-General welcomed the resumption on 4 August of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD)-sponsored peace talks on the Sudan in Addis Ababa and reiterated his full support for the peace process. He commended the two parties for agreeing to a three-month ceasefire on humanitarian grounds. The Secretary-General was concerned, however, that the situation in southern Sudan would worsen unless a negotiated agreement was concluded without further delay. He called on the parties to redouble their efforts for a political solution and stood ready to contribute to those efforts, if requested by the parties and the mediators. The statement was available in the Spokesman's Office, he added.

Mr. Brandt informed correspondents that the Briefing Notes of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) received this morning from Geneva were available in the Spokesman's Office. Regarding Kosovo, the notes said that shelling continued in the Drenica area, forcing more people to flee. According to UNHCR witnesses, the roads between Srbica and Giogovac were packed with people on the move in horse carts, tractors and private vehicles. The UNHCR estimated that at least 35,000 had fled the Malisevo area. The estimated total number of people displaced within and outside Kosovo had reached 180,000, while thousands of Kosovo Serbs had left for elsewhere in Serbia and Vojvodina without registering as refugees.

Commenting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UNHCR spokesman reported gunfire in Bukavu and Uvira for the second day in a row, including weapon fire close to staff residences, continued Mr. Brandt. It was still unclear whether the clashes had caused any population movements, but reports from Uvira indicated that a small number of people could have left the town. Rwandan authorities across the border from Bukavu had registered 600 arrivals over the past few days. More details were available in the UNHCR Briefing Notes from Geneva in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Brandt told correspondents that by now they had probably seen the exchange between the Secretary-General and the press who had been expecting him downstairs when he arrived. The transcript of that exchange had been quickly released for the information of correspondents. The Secretary-General indicated that he had spoken briefly with Mr. Butler on the phone yesterday, but said that he wanted to wait for the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM to come back and make his full report to both the Council and him before he made any further comments.

Mr. Brandt said that when the Secretary-General was asked whether he was concerned that the relationship between the United Nations and Iraq and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) might be in jeopardy, he said: "No, first of all let's put the MOU in context. At that time we had problems over access, problems about cooperation, and we resolved that and it has worked reasonably well. I would hope that when Mr. Butler comes back and report we will be able to continue our work. This may be a major hiccup, but a hiccup that we can overcome, I hope".

According to a new report on the "oil-for-food" programme out today, the United Nations oil overseers approved two more oil contracts last week, Mr. Brandt informed correspondents. One contract to a Turkish company involved 1.8 million barrels of oil; the second, to a Russian company, was for 3.6 million barrels. That brought the total number of oil contracts approved in the current phase to 45. One contract had been canceled and another five were pending. The total number of contracts submitted was 51.

Continuing, Mr. Brandt said that during the last week, there were 11 loadings totalling 15.4 million barrels with an estimated value of $152.7 million. There had been another contract approved for spare parts totalling $287,000 worth of pipeline equipment -- mainly compressor spare parts from a Belgian company. So far, 324 contracts for spare parts had been received, including 15 in the last week. Nine had been submitted to the Security Council Committee monitoring the sanctions against Iraq. Three had been approved, one was on hold and five were pending on the no objection deadline. The Committee approved 49 humanitarian sales applications under phase IV last week, put five on hold and blocked none. It had also approved nine humanitarian sales applications under phase III.

Conveying a statement attributable to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, Mr. Brandt said that following the outbreak of conflict in Guinea-Bissau on 7 June, United Nations agencies and other partners were evacuated. The agencies resumed humanitarian operation on 24 June in close collaboration with local community groups and the local Red Cross Society. Based on assessments carried out, the total number of internally displaced persons was estimated at 350,000. Most of those persons were located in Bafata, where the agencies had established a temporary base.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 4 August 1998

Mr. Brandt went on to say that, to date, United Nations agencies and partners had dispatched convoys throughout Senegal and Guinea-Conakry, to deliver over 500 metric tonnes of food aid to Bafata for onward distribution, as well as health supplies and agricultural inputs. Six drug kits had been delivered to health institutions in Bafata and the Bijagos Islands, with the World Health Organization (WHO) intending to deliver a further 6.5 metric tonnes of health supplies in the coming weeks.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had delivered 54 metric tonnes of agricultural inputs while the UNHCR would shortly deliver 150 metric tonnes of non-food and non-health items through Senegal, Mr. Brandt continued. Additionally, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), in close collaboration with the Guinea-Bissau Red Cross and local communities had distributed over 500 metric tonnes of World Food Programme (WFP) food stored in Bissau City to hospitals, vulnerable groups and internally displaced persons.

Mr. Brandt told correspondents that a United Nations Interim Appeal of $29 million was launched on 10 July in Geneva to address the humanitarian needs in Guinea-Bissau. To date, only one pledge of 20 million crowns (approximately $3 million) had been received from Sweden. The humanitarian community while appreciating the cooperation extended to them so far by the Governments of Guinea- Bissau, Senegal and Guinea-Conakry, hoped for their continued support in addressing the needs of the victims of conflict. The statement would be available in the Spokesman's Office.

The Secretary-General today had his individual meetings with the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Ali Alatas, and the Foreign Minister of Portugal, Jaime Gama, and then a joint meeting with the two on the question of East Timor. At 1 p.m., he was going to have lunch with the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Carol Bellamy, and other people, in celebration of Sir Peter Ustinov's 30 years as Goodwill Ambassador for the Fund. The toast that would be given by the Secretary-General at the luncheon was available in the Spokesman's Office with a "check against delivery" and "embargoed until delivery" proviso. At 5.30 p.m., the Secretary-General would meet with David Scheffer, the United States Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes. The meeting was at the Ambassador's request.

Mr. Brandt told correspondents that available in the Spokesman's Office was revision number two of the General Assembly's provisional list of speakers for its fifty-third session, which was fast approaching.

On behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), Mr. Brandt informed correspondents that the President of the Security Council for this month and Permanent Representative of Slovenia, Danilo Turk, would brief the press in Room S-226 because the UNCA Club was being renovated. That would take place at 11 a.m. on Friday. Ambassador Turk would discuss with correspondents the issues before the Council this month.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 4 August 1998

A correspondent wanted to know if Ambassador Jamsheed Marker (Pakistan), would be briefing correspondents on the East Timor talks. Mr. Brandt said that as he had said yesterday, the Ambassador had been asked to speak to the press after the talks had adjourned. He did not expect either side or Mr. Marker to say anything until that happened and that would be at about noon tomorrow. The Spokesman's Office would keep correspondents informed.

Another correspondent sought further information on the delivery of humanitarian goods such as food and medicine to Iraq and whether received goods had been distributed to the Iraqi people. Mr. Brandt said that the Organization's humanitarian programme in that country regularly provided reports on the arrival and distribution of goods. Correspondents could get more information on that topic from the Spokesman's Office, he added.

If the East Timor talks were ending around midday tomorrow, would it be possible to get Ambassador Marker to brief the press by the afternoon so that the information would still be fresh? a correspondent asked. Mr. Brandt said that the Spokesman's Office was trying to get the Ambassador to do the briefing as soon as the talks were over. Usually that did not take much time and correspondents would not have to wait until late to get information. It was better if the Ambassador did the briefing as soon as possible so as to let the press know what had happened. That would be around 1.30 p.m. An announcement would be made.

When asked whether Ambassador Marker and any other United Nations people working on the East Timor issue had been present at the dinner between the Secretary-General and the Foreign Ministers of Portugal and Indonesia, Mr. Brandt said he hoped so, but he had not been there. He was sure, however, that the Ambassador had been there. It was a small dinner of around 13 to 14 people which seemed to have gone very well. As he predicted yesterday, the dinner served the purpose of easing parties into a productive session of talks today.

Would it be fair to say that what was happening inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo was an implosion as some diplomats had characterized the situation? a correspondent wanted to know. Mr. Brandt said that there were all kinds of reports from that country showing that the situation was quite serious. The latest report received by the Spokesman's Office at about 11.30 this morning, indicated that Kinshasa was a bit calmer than it had been yesterday.

In Bukavu, Uvira and Goma, however, there was fighting and violence, involving light arms, heavy shelling and automatic guns, Mr. Brandt continued. The problem was that the Organization had a very limited presence and its people did not have the means of communication. The cellular phone system had been either disconnected, cut off or did not exist. The satellite systems for communication were in an area, particularly Bukavu, where there was no access because of the fighting that was taking place. It was a serious situation

Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 4 August 1998

that the United Nations was monitoring very closely. There was no final statement at the present time.

When asked what the Portuguese and Indonesian Foreign Ministers were discussing, Mr. Brandt said he could not comment.

Regarding the Sudan, a correspondent wanted to know whether the operation there was just United Nations fund raising or did it include different organizations such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Mr. Brandt said that usually when there was a pledging conference, it was expected that traditional donor countries who closely followed issues of development in a region, would come out and give generously. So far, out of the $29 million figure mentioned earlier, only Sweden had come forward. The Organization was extremely grateful. The contributions, however, came mainly from Member States and not the agencies.

Asked if the agencies had their own initiatives to raise money for the Sudan, Mr. Brandt said that it was a concerted effort by the humanitarian community. It was all one big pledge that was being used for different things by the various agencies of the United Nations to alleviate the situation there.

A correspondent wanted an update of the meeting between the Special Representative in Support of the Secretary-General's Preventive and Peacemaking Efforts, Lakhdar Brahimi, and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola yesterday and the scheduled meeting this afternoon with the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Jonas Savimbi. Mr. Brandt said the meeting with President dos Santos had taken place. A full read out of the meeting had not yet been received, however news reports indicated that the President had reiterated his commitment with the Angolan peace process.

Mr. Brahimi was scheduled to meet Mr. Savimbi in Andulo today, but no information had been received on that event as yet, Mr. Brandt concluded.

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