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 was discussing Iraq in the morning and that the Secretary-General was attending those informal consultations. The Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission for the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, had introduced his report on his visit to the country and on discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Tariq Aziz, on the disarmament work of the Commission earlier in the week.

The Council also had before it a letter from Mr. Aziz containing Iraq's decisions on the work of UNSCOM, Mr. Brandt went on to say. At the time of the briefing, Council members were making statements. The Secretary-General was also expected to make a statement during the course of the deliberations. It was expected that the Secretary-General would talk to correspondents at the end of the Council's session to answer questions. Under other matters, Afghanistan could also be taken up in the Council with the possibility of a formal presidential statement being issued. He had been informed that a draft text was in the works as he spoke.

Mr. Brandt said that Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had been declared under security phase four and all 77 non-essential staff had left this morning for Abidjan. All went well with that evacuation and everybody was safe and sound. About 20 essential staff now remained in Kinshasa. Unfortunately, there was no breakdown on those 20, from organizations and agencies. In the east of the country, however, the situation was very different, and much more difficult. The United Nations and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff were still stranded in Bukavu, Goma and Uvira, and had not been able to leave the area. Yesterday in Bukavu, several NGO offices and the home of the Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) sub-office were looted. The Director himself was threatened by the military. The Spokesman's Office would keep correspondents posted on any new developments in the country.

Conveying a brief statement by the Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, Mr. Brandt told correspondents that the situation in Kosovo had deteriorated significantly and could now only be described as a humanitarian disaster. The principal victims of the escalating violence were children and women. Some 200,000 had been displaced, faced daily terror, the loss of their homes, severe malnutrition and a range of health crises. If a concerted and effective international initiative was not taken soon, world leaders risked seeing the situation in Kosovo escalate to grotesque levels of violence and brutality. The statement was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Still on that part of the world, Mr. Brandt informed correspondents that the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the former Yugoslavia, Jiri Dienstbier, had returned from his trip to the region. He

gave a press conference today in Geneva, in which he commented on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo. Copies of the statement were available in Room 378.

Mr. Brandt said that a statement by the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda welcomed the decision of the United States District Court Judge John Rainey ordering the surrender of indictee Elizaphan Ntakirutimana to the Tribunal. The Tribunal wished to thank the Government of the United States for its efforts to cooperate with and render judicial assistance to it. It hoped that the decision would accelerate the process of bringing Mr. Ntakirutimana, accused of genocide and crimes against humanity, to face trial before the Tribunal.

The Bahamas had ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, Mr. Brandt said. The Convention was opened for signature in Ottawa, in December 1997. The number of ratifications was now 30 and needed to reach 40 before the Convention could enter into force. So far, 128 countries had signed the treaty.

Mr. Brandt told correspondents that the Government of Ecuador had officially appealed for international assistance following the earthquake that hit the country the day before yesterday. The United Nations Resident Coordinator had mobilized two disaster assessment experts in the affected area. According to official sources, three persons had died and 40 more had been injured. A situation report was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Brandt informed correspondents that the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States had reached consensus on their candidate for the next President of the General Assembly. He was Didier Opertti Bada, the Foreign Minister of Uruguay. Biographical information on Mr. Opertti Bada was available in English, Spanish and French in the Spokesman's Office.

Concluding, Mr. Brandt said that the Spokesman's Office had received a news release from Rome today by the World Food Programme (WFP) indicating that it had signed an agreement with the Lutheran World Federation to join forces in food aid operations.

A correspondent wanted to know whether the Security Council was discussing available options with regard to Iraq and a possible worst case scenario. Mr. Brandt said he had no idea of what was being discussed in the Council, as the present consultations were closed. The Spokesman's Office would know more after the meeting was adjourned.

Another correspondent wanted to know if the Secretary-General would extend an invitation to the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Tariq Aziz, to come to New York. Mr. Brandt said the Secretary-General had told correspondents earlier in the morning that his intention was to have a phone conversation

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with Mr. Aziz. Mr. Brandt could not confirm whether the conversation had taken place, as the Secretary-General had had very little time before he went in the Council's meeting, where he wanted to be from the outset. Mr. Brandt said he could not tell correspondents whether Mr. Aziz would be asked to come to New York or to meet the Secretary-General in some other place. He would be in a position to do so later on when he spoke to the Secretary-General.

Responding to a question about whether the Secretary-General was still planning to go to Portugal, Mr. Brandt reiterated that he was, as he had a number of important matters to deal with during his visit to that country. Not only did he have the issue of the First World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, but he would also have to meet with some of the principals in the question of East Timor -- the joint 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winners, East Timorese Roman Catholic Church Leader Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, and exiled East Timorese political leader Jose Ramos Horta. The Secretary-General would also receive from the former President of Portugal, Mario Soares, the preliminary report on the mission to Algeria by the Panel of Eminent Personalities. Mr. Soares was the team leader of the Panel, which was established by the Secretary-General at the request of the Algerian Government.

When asked how many humanitarian workers were left in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Brandt said he did not have that information at the moment but would provide it after the briefing.

A correspondent wanted to know how the Secretary-General would respond to the fact that some of the East Timorese would refuse to speak to him until Jose Xanana Gusmao, leader of the Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of East Timor (FRETILIN), was released from jail. Mr. Brandt said that the Secretary-General was hopeful that the talks between the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Portugal, Ali Alatas and Jaime Gama, were a positive step in the right direction. It was, however, too early to start apportioning or qualifying comments by people who were involved in the East Timor issue. The process should be allowed to continue, as there were good elements to be hopeful about. There was, however, no particular reaction from the Secretary- General at this time, Mr. Brandt added.

Asked if the Democratic Republic of the Congo would become a priority for the Secretary-General, Mr. Brandt said that the Secretary-General was quite alarmed with what was happening in that country. He had been concerned with that State and that region for a long time. That was reflected in his statement, which was issued yesterday.

A correspondent wanted to know whether the Secretary-General intended to do something about Kosovo within the Security Council. Mr. Brandt said the Secretary-General had expressed himself several times on the question of Kosovo. The agencies were also expressing their outrage at what was happening there, and were prepared to do whatever was needed to alleviate the situation

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as much as possible. It was an issue that was being discussed and dealt with by the Contact Group. Mr. Brandt hoped that the Council would find the time in the next few days to look into the issue.

Asked if Kosovo would be on the Security Council agenda, Mr. Brandt said it was on the agenda and that there was a report of the Secretary-General on the issue that was due on the last day of July that had been delayed. It was expected to come out by tomorrow and would serve as a basis for the Council to continue their discussions on Kosovo.

A correspondent noted that while the question of Haiti had been pushed under the rug for some time now, yesterday Pope John Paul II had issued a statement concerning the killing of one of his priests in that country. He wanted to know if the Secretary-General or the Security Council were concerned over the development of such a situation? Mr. Brandt said he had not heard anything in particular from the Security Council. He had, however, spoken about it briefly in the morning with the Secretary-General, who was concerned and deplored any acts of violence against innocent civilians.

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