DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Secretary-General, had asked him to reiterate today his adamant condemnation of terrorism. The terrorist attacks on the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, the Secretary- General said, illustrated the need for the international community to "come together to combat this menace".

The Spokesman also reminded correspondents of the note in today's Journal concerning an interfaith memorial service in honour of the victims of the bombing incidents that occurred in those capitals, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. today at the United Nations Church Center across the street.

Mr. Eckhard then read out the following statement regarding the attack against two members of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA):

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack against the two staff members of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan.

"In the attack, which took place on the morning of Friday, 21 August, in Kabul, Political Affairs Officer Eric Lavertu of France and Military Adviser Lt. Colonel Carmine Calo of Italy were shot by an unidentified gunman as their car was approaching the United Nations office. Mr. Lavertu received a hand wound while Colonel Calo received a wound to the abdomen and two wounds in the arm.

"The Secretary-General calls upon the Taliban authorities in Kabul to take urgent steps to investigate the incident, bring to justice those who might have committed this heinous crime, and keep the United Nations informed about the results of that investigation. He would like to remind the Taliban that they are responsible for the security and safety of all members of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan, and strongly urges the Taliban to take adequate measures to ensure their safety. In the light of the new developments, the Secretary-General is again reviewing all security arrangements for United Nations staff in Afghanistan."

In a statement concerning the fate of Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan, Mr. Eckhard stated that "the Secretary-General remains deeply concerned about the fate of the 11 Iranian diplomats and a journalist who were at the Iranian Consulate-General in Mazar-i-Sharif on 8 August when the city was captured by the Taliban. They have been missing since then.

"The Secretary-General received on 10 August a letter from Dr. Kamal Kharrazi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who requested the United Nations to help secure the return of these Iranian nationals. Upon receipt of the request, the Secretary-General gave

instructions that the United Nations should do whatever is possible in order to facilitate a satisfactory resolution of this issue.

"We have been in contact with the Taliban, the Pakistani authorities, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other sources. Unfortunately, these contacts have not yet produced positive results.

"The Secretary-General would like to remind whoever is involved that the diplomatic status of these Iranians must be respected and protected under the Vienna Conventions. The Secretary-General appeals to all the parties concerned, in particular the Taliban, to help find these missing people and assist in their safe return to Iran."

Turning to a statement on Cambodia, the Spokesman said that "the Secretary-General is deeply concerned by yesterday's grenade and firearms attack outside the Ministry of the Interior compound in Phnom Penh, where supporters of Sam Rainsy were holding an all-night vigil outside the office of the National Election Committee. Mr. Rainsy and a group of his supporters were detained by police shortly after the attack and subsequently released after intervention by United Nations personnel and others.

"The Secretary-General notes that Mr. Ung Huot and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia had pledged to him, in a letter dated 22 October 1997, to guarantee political leaders' freedom from arrest and detention in respect of acts and words spoken in connection with their electoral activities, and that the Government would further ensure that all political leaders enjoy freedom from intimidation and threat in respect of any and all political activities relating to the election.

"The Secretary-General is in contact with his Personal Representative in Cambodia and continues to monitor the situation very closely. He wishes to reiterate his hope that all political parties in Cambodia will resolve outstanding problems through dialogue and due process."

There was another statement attributable to the Spokesman concerning the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), Mary Robinson, and the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello. They stressed the Secretary-General's strong concern over the worsening humanitarian and human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since the start of the conflict earlier in the month, the international community had been receiving "alarming reports" of arbitrary executions, torture, harassment and detention of civilians based on their ethnic origin. Allegations of human rights abuses committed by Government and armed opposition forces continued to flow out of the country. The full text of that statement was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Turning to the activities of the Security Council, the Spokesman said the Council had met briefly in the morning to consider the draft presidential

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 21 August 1998

statement on the situation in Kosovo. Given the request by one of the members of the Contact Group, which had prepared the draft, that action had been postponed until Monday, 24 August. The report on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA), which was expected today, would be issued on Monday. The Council was likely to take up that item next Wednesday.

Mr. Eckhard drew attention to a press release of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) concerning the situations in Kosovo and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The press release, which was based on today's UNHCR briefing in Geneva, states that the Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, Soren Jessen-Petersen, on a mission in Kosovo, called for immediate measures to allow for the safe return of more than 230,000 people uprooted by the conflict there. The press release also reported the continued outflow of refugees from the fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Moreover, in addition to refugees crossing into the United Republic of Tanzania and Burundi, the UNHCR had reported the arrival of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo into northern Angola.

As the Spokesman's Office had reported, UNHCR had been assisting Angolan refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo throughout the civil war, he said. More recently, UNHCR had begun assisting some 25,000 new arrivals fleeing the new fighting in Angola. So, refugees were moving back and forth across that border. The clashes between the Government of Congolese President Laurent Kabila and the rebel forces, however, had cut off access by UNHCR workers to the new Angolan refugees in the Congo.

He said that the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burundi, Sergio Paulo Pinheiro, was starting his fifth mission to that country today. His visit was expected to last through 4 September.

A press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda indicates that the Tribunal would deliver its judgement in the trial of Jean- Paul Akayesu, the former mayor of the Taba commune in Rwanda, on Wednesday, 2 September in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, Mr. Eckhard said. The judgement was the first for the crime of genocide for an international tribunal. Mr. Akayesu had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. The press release contained further details of events for next week.

A press release from Nairobi might have caught the attention of correspondents, the Spokesman said. It concerned the announcement by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Klaus Toepfer, that a garden of trees would be planted at the United Nations compound at Gigiri in memory of those who lost their lives in the bomb blast of 7 August. Speaking at the weekly press conference at the United Nations office in Nairobi, Mr. Toepfer he said the tragedy "will long be remembered, not only by Kenyans but by all of us who live and work among you". At the invitation of the Chinese Government, Mr. Toepfer would visit Beijing and

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Shanghai, from 24 to 27 August, where he would meet with the Minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

Malawi had become the 90th Member State to pay in full for the 1998 regular budget, with a payment of just over $21,000, the Spokesman announced. A mid-month status report of outstanding contributions as of 15 August, with a detailed list of the 15 major contributors, was available in his office.

In other news, he said that Grenada and Germany had ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 19 and 20 August, respectively. Also, Grenada had ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction.

Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General was concluding his visit to Mali -- which in theory, was part of his vacation -- and would travel to his home country of Ghana. A press release from Accra indicated that the Secretary-General would accept an honourary doctorate degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, which he attended as a young man. That presentation would be made on Monday, 24 August. Details were available in the Spokesman's office.

Also available in the Spokesman's office were two fact sheets developed by his staff: one on membership in the United Nations, and the other on General Assembly credentials, he said.

Asked about the Secretary-General's reaction to the United States cruise missile attacks yesterday, Mr. Eckhard said his Office had issued a statement yesterday on behalf of the Secretary-General, which the Spokesman had amplified today.

Had the Spokesman heard about a request by the Sudanese Government that the Secretary-General provide an inspection team to visit the pharmaceutical plant in question to confirm that it was just a pharmaceutical plant? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he had not heard about that and would not want to react to it until he saw such a request in writing.

A correspondent, noting that nothing was said in a press release from Pakistan about a missile gone astray and killing several Pakistanis, asked if the Spokesman knew anything more. No, Mr. Eckhard said, he had only seen press reports about that and had no first-hand information.

Asked if he had the impression that the Government of Sudan would request consultations of the Security Council, Mr. Eckhard said his office had been pursuing that question since yesterday afternoon. The President of the Council had told his staff that, at the present time, he had no request from any Member State for a meeting on the matter.

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Were the shootings of United Nations staff in Afghanistan perceived as retaliation for yesterday's United States strikes? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he did not think enough was known about who did it to speculate as to why they might have done it, adding that there was a lot of tension in Kabul now and an investigation had barely begun.

To a question about whether any more United Nations personnel were being evacuated from Afghanistan, he said the situation as of yesterday was that the United Nations would evacuate any of its personnel who asked to leave. It was in the process of taking out a number of United Nations staff and an unspecified number of staff from non-governmental organizations who had also asked to be evacuated. Given that it was already evening there, it was unlikely that the evacuations would take place today.

The Spokesman then added that the Secretary-General had spoken by telephone yesterday to the United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, concerning the bombing incidents and other matters.

A correspondent asked about the information related to the press by Security Council President Danilo Türk (Slovenia) concerning the Council members' receipt of a letter yesterday afternoon. Mr. Eckhard said the letter, which was signed by the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Bill Richardson, was now an official document of the Security Council (document S/1998/780). It outlined the justification for the raid under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter on self-defence.

Did the United States Secretary of State try to rationalize or justify her Government's action to the Secretary-General on the telephone? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he had not been provided with any details of their conversation.

Alex Taukatch, spokesman for General Assembly President Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), said he wished to draw correspondents' attention to several developments in the General Assembly. The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was expected this afternoon to conclude the third part of its resumed fifty-second session. The Committee was expected to take action on two draft resolutions concerning its working methods and the proposed United Nations code of conduct. The draft resolutions should be issued later today.

On another important Assembly matter, the Working Group on Security Council reform would hold its fifty-sixth meeting on Monday morning, 24 August in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, he said. During that meeting, the Working Group was expected to approve its report to the current session of the Assembly. The draft report (document A/AC.247/1998/WP.1/Rev.2) contained 31 annexes, which represented some of the working papers produced by the Bureau, as well as conference room papers that were presented by various delegations. It also contained the brief agreed recommendations of the Working Group.

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Mr. Taukatch said that immediately following the conclusion of that meeting, the General Assembly was expected to meet in a plenary session, also in the Trusteeship Council, to approve the report of the Working Group on Security Council reform.

Meanwhile, the Assembly President was continuing intensive consultations with all concerned parties, including Secretariat officials and delegations, regarding the final stage of the work of the current session, Mr. Taukatch said. Mr. Udovenko was also making every effort to assist the Office of the President-designate to assure a smooth transition of the Presidency.

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