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 held an informal meeting this morning to review the candidacy of the new judges for the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. He reminded them that on 15 July, the Council had extended the deadline for nominations of judges to the Rwanda Tribunal until 4 August, which coincided with deadlines for nominations of judges for the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal. He had no other information on the Council's activities today.

Mr. Brandt said that there had been some progress in the negotiations between the United Nations and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Those conversations took place last week in Kabul and a concrete agreement had been reached to allow international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) expelled from that city to return and resume their activities immediately from their existing offices. A Taliban NGO Commission had been established thanks to the United Nations good offices to discuss related issues on that matter.

There had also been some headway on several outstanding issues in which negotiation was ongoing, Mr. Brandt continued. It was hoped that the Taliban would make progress on including a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of female employment and access to education and health, and a report of the investigation into the killing of the two United Nations staff members last month in Jalalabad. Those areas were all being discussed and showed many positive signs.

Available in the Spokesman's Office was a press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The release said that in an open letter today to the Tribunal President, that was signed by all the detainees, they wished to set the record straight about the conditions of their detention. In that open letter, which was also available upstairs, the detainees said that recent reports in the media depicting them as depressed and preparing for riot did not have any substance. They added in their letter that, "We are in a better position than anyone else to say that reports of this kind are complete nonsense and lies".

Mr. Brandt said the detainees ended their letter by saying, "Far from being depressed, we are seeking ways to increase our hope and faith that it is worth fighting for justice and truth". The detainees extended an invitation to the President and Registrar of the Tribunal to come and meet them in person to discuss issues of their concern such as requests for more fresh air and exercise, more and better food, access to radio and television programmes from their own countries and so on. The President and Registrar had accepted the invitation and would visit the Detention Unit this coming Friday.

Regarding the Economic and Social Council's request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the case of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, Param Cumaraswamy, which had been mentioned at the noon briefing the day before yesterday, Mr. Brandt told correspondents that the Acting President of the Court made an Order organizing the proceedings today. In the Order, the judge gave Member States until 7 October, to submit written statements on the question of Mr. Cumaraswamy, and until November 6 to submit comments on those statements. A copy of the press release with more details was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Brandt said that a Belgian Air Force C-130 aircraft was flying technicians to assist the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) food aid operation in southern Sudan. On the way there, the aircraft would stop in Nairobi to deliver 1.7 metric tons of emergency medical supplies for bomb blast victims. That information was contained in a WFP news update.

The Spokesman's Office had the end of July summary of troop contributions to peacekeeping operations, he said. As of 31 July, the United Nations had 14,537 military and police personnel from 76 countries serving in 17 operations. The information could also be accessed on the Internet by clicking on the peace and security icon on the Organization's home page -- www.un.org.

The Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Frechette, had a series of internal meetings today, Mr. Brandt informed correspondents, adding that in particular, relating to the upcoming General Assembly, she was meeting with the various departments that serviced that body.

Mr. Brandt said that the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth closed at 1 p.m. today with the adoption by acclamation of the Lisbon Declaration on Youth Policies and Programmes. The Conference decided to proclaim 12 August as International Youth Day. That was the day on which the Declaration was adopted. The Chairperson of the Conference and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Socrates, said in his closing speech that the Declaration was a decisive step in the pursuance of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond.

A correspondent wanted to know if the United Nations had looked into the source of the press reports on the supposed poor condition of detainees of the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal. Mr. Brandt said that a number of stories coming out of the media had been seen, but it was not up to the Organization or the Tribunal to look into the source. Most importantly, the detainees themselves had seen the stories and had decided to address the letter to the authorities in the Tribunal to make sure that the truth was spoken and to let people know that those allegations were not quite accurate.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 12 August 1998

A correspondent noted that there were reports about the military in Myanmar rejecting the Secretary-General's proposal to send an envoy there to mediate the situation in the country. Mr. Brandt was asked to comment on that issue and questioned about when the Secretary-General had sent his letter of proposal to the authorities of that country. He said that it was correct to say that there had been some reports to that effect. However, he was not at liberty to give out any details. It was one of those areas where "when we have something to tell you, we will tell you -- if we don't, it's because its not the right time to announce it". For the time being he had nothing else to say on the matter. When asked whether a reply had been received, Mr. Brandt said he could not confirm any such thing.

A correspondent asked when the spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, Alex Taukatch, would be back. Mr. Brandt said he believed Mr. Taukatch was back in town and intended to brief correspondents on Assembly issues before the week was over. For the record, Mr. Brandt said he would register the fact that correspondents had requested his presence at the noon briefing.

Regarding Afghanistan, Mr. Brandt was asked whether he had heard anything from United Nations sources there about the realities on the ground which suggested that there was some fighting taking place between the two factions. He said he had nothing on that issue so far. He had also seen some stories on that in the press, but he had nothing for correspondents for now.

When asked if United Nations sources knew if Mazar-i-Sharif had been taken over, Mr. Brandt said "yes", that was the case. The Spokesman's Office had received confirmation about that a couple of days ago.

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