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, began today's noon briefing by saying the Security Council had been briefed on the situation in Somalia by the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahima Fall. Council members had then began casting ballots for 18 of 22 candidates who would be eligible for election by the General Assembly to the Rwanda Tribunal. Results would be announced during an informal meeting of the Security Council at 3:15 p.m., which would be followed at 3:30 p.m. by a formal meeting for adoption of a resolution on the matter.

Nine seats were to be filled for the Tribunal, Mr. Eckhard continued. Answering a question posed yesterday, he said the practice of setting the ballot box outside the President's Office had started only with the election of judges for the ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Mr. Eckhard then read the following statement on Kosovo which was attributable to his Office:

"The Secretary-General is outraged by eyewitness reports of atrocities perpetrated by security forces in Kosovo under the authority of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. These reports are particularly shocking to the Secretary-General in light of denials received from the Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic, whom he met yesterday, that such actions were taking place.

"The Security Council has recently reaffirmed the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic, from which it follows that the authorities of the Federal Republic have the right and indeed the duty to maintain public order and to defend it from provocative actions, such as those that have been committed by Kosovo Albanian separatist extremists. But those actions can never justify the pattern of terror, including the burning of houses, looting, killing of livestock and wanton killing that have been reported these past few days. Such actions are totally unacceptable to the international community. It is the duty of security forces to protect citizens, not to intimidate them. The Secretary-General utterly condemns these actions and renews his strong representations to the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, made directly to the Foreign Minister, to desist from repeating them. He once again calls on all parties to cease violence and to concentrate on the search for a negotiated solution to the crisis in Kosovo according to law."

Turning to other business, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had welcomed the news given to him last week by the Foreign Minister of China that the country intended to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on Monday, 5 October, in New York. During her recent trip to China, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, had been assured that the signing would occur in October.

The Secretary-General considered the action an important step in concretizing the Chinese commitment to upholding international human rights standards, Mr. Eckhard said. Last December, the Secretary-General had sent a letter to all Member States, encouraging governments to sign and ratify all human rights treaties and to develop national plans of action to promote greater respect for human rights.

A statement attributable to the Spokesman had also been issued regarding the proposed humanitarian mission to the Bamiyan region of Afghanistan, Mr. Eckhard said. It read:

"Following the request of the Taliban authorities on 14 September, the United Nations initiated preparations to send a humanitarian assessment mission to Bamiyan, Afghanistan, on an exceptional basis. The mission was conditional on the Taliban guaranteeing the safety of United Nations personnel, especially after the recent tragic murder of two national and one international staff members working in Afghanistan.

"The United Nations humanitarian assessment team has been on standby awaiting flight clearances from the Taliban, who maintain that the Bamiyan airport, which is essential for United Nations access to the region, is undergoing repairs. While the United Nations reiterates its readiness to conduct the mission as soon as conditions permit, the Secretary-General remains extremely concerned about reports of serious violations of human rights in Bamiyan."

Apologizing for its late issuance last night, Mr. Eckhard said a statement on the Secretary-General's meeting yesterday with his counterpart from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) had been made available at 7 p.m. Under discussion during the meeting were efforts by the United Nations and by the OIC to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. The Secretary-General of the OIC had said that senior OIC officials would be made available for the mission to the region -- to be led by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi -- beginning this weekend.

The United Nations Compensation Commission, based in Geneva, had today approved compensation totalling $691 million for people claiming damages as a result of the Iraq-Kuwait conflict, Mr. Eckhard said. The money would be made available to 67 governments and three international organizations for distribution to 271,000 individuals who had had to leave Iraq or Kuwait, and to more than 70,000 who had suffered losses up to $100,000 each.

Today's payment had brought the total amount of compensation made available by the Commission to $1.9 billion, Mr. Eckhard added. The funding for the payments was derived from a 30 per cent share of revenues generated by the sale of Iraqi petroleum and its products. A press release, complete with tables, was available in room S-378.

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The Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) had been issued today, the Spokesman said. In the report, the Secretary-General stated that, in the past six months, UNIKOM had continued to contribute to the maintenance of calm and stability in the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait. The number of violations there had dropped appreciably, and the situation along the border was generally quiet. The Secretary-General therefore recommended that the mission be maintained. The UNIKOM currently had a strength of 1,300 personnel, including military observers from 32 countries and an infantry battalion from Bangladesh.

Mr. Eckhard then said that the leading United Nations agency assisting famine victims in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the World Food Programme (WFP), had expressed concern about the announced pull-out by Médecins sans Frontières. It also said it took Médecins sans Frontières' claims seriously. However, the WFP also said that in the interest of children and other vulnerable people, it believed Médecins sans Frontières had to remain engaged in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The WFP also said it would keep pressing for access and would follow up on the issues raised by Médecins sans Frontières.

The Spokesman added that WFP food assistance programmes in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea were targeting more than 6 million people, a third of them children. Accurate information was hard to obtain in that country, and the WFP was currently carrying out a nutritional survey that would provide hard scientific data on malnutrition. The WFP Office, at One United Nations Plaza, could provide more information.

A question had been raised yesterday about a proposal by the United States that a high-level personality be sent to investigate cases of violence against humanitarian workers, Mr. Eckhard said. The answer was that the United Nations had not been informed of the suggestion in advance, and the United Nations of course welcomed attempts to bring the issue to the public eye. The Security Coordinator's Office, however, did investigate cases of violence against United Nations civilian staff.

The Office had also wanted to draw attention to the fact that violence was being committed not just to humanitarian workers, but also to civilian staff working for other agencies in the field, the Spokesman said. Those others should also be included when talking about violence against United Nations staff working in dangerous posts.

On the question of the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal, Mr. Eckhard said the medal would be presented to all the military and civilian peacekeeping personnel who had perished during peacekeeping missions, who altogether numbered 1,586. The decision to present the first medals to the families of the three who had been named had been made because those three had been the first to lose their lives, in different ways.

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Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General, had been killed in a plane crash in the Congo, Mr. Eckhard elaborated. Commandant René de Labarrière had been the first to lose his life in a United Nations peacekeeping mission. Count Folke Bernadotte, the United Nations Mediator in Palestine, had been the victim of assassination during a United Nations mission.

There was a call from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for debt relief on the eve of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington D.C., Mr. Eckhard said. The UNICEF had issued a press release in New York, wherein UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy had stated that "the perpetuation of a crippling debt burden in the poor nations is not only international negligence. It is a morally indefensible act". The full text of her statement was available in room S-378.

World Habitat Day was coming up, Mr. Eckhard announced. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) was organizing a panel discussion on the theme "Safer Cities", to be held on 5 October in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Special guests and panellists would be Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette, New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir and others. All were invited to that event.

There had been three more ratifications this morning of the Landmines Convention, the Spokesman said. Namibia, Senegal and Japan had ratified to give a total of 45 parties to that Convention. Also, in today's Journal was a list of signatories to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. That Statute would be open for signature in Rome until 17 October, at which point it would revert to New York until December 2000 for further signatures.

In addition, Mr. Eckhard said all were invited to a panel discussion tomorrow on the International Criminal Court, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., in Conference Room 3. The United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, would make preliminary remarks and European Commissioner Emma Bonino would be the guest speaker. Also in attendance would be two key diplomats who had facilitated negotiations on the Court's Statute, Philippe Kirsch of Canada and Cherif Bassiouni of Egypt.

"Did you know that one out of every 10 people is 60 years or older?" Mr. Eckhard said, as he began an introduction to the International Year of Older Persons, which would commence on 1 October, the annual International Day of Older Persons. "Sounds like the population at the United Nations", he added, saying that the world's population was aging, and that, by the year 2150, one out of every three people would be over 60 years old.

The International Year of Older Persons would be launched tomorrow in Conference Room 4 in an all-day event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mr. Eckhard continued. The purpose of the Year was to raise awareness about the fast-changing demographic picture of older persons. The Secretary-General

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would deliver a message to participants in the launching. More details could be found in a media advisory available in room S-378 and in a press release on the racks from the United Nations Population Division, complete with detailed statistics.

Speaking of older persons, Mr. Eckhard said, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) had held a poster contest this year on the theme "Generations Living Together". The winners were listed in a press release available in room S-378.

The Permanent Mission of France, along with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), had invited correspondents to a briefing at 3 p.m. in Conference Room 8 on preparations for a meeting on "Partners for Development", to be held in Lyon, France, from 9 to 12 November. Press kits were available on the side table of room S-226.

On press conferences, Mr. Eckhard said the outgoing President of the Security Council, Hans Dahlgren (Sweden), would brief correspondents in room S-226 on the Council's activities in September. At 4 p.m., the Mission of Denmark would sponsor a press conference on the current situation in Myanmar in room S-226. At 11 a.m. tomorrow in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, there would be a press conference on the Landmine Convention, featuring activist Jody Williams, Queen Noor of Jordan, Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy of Canada, Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway and George Soros, as well as Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette.

"And finally, I understand the roof has fallen in", Mr. Eckhard said, asking for details about the belatedly reported event that had occurred in the morning. The reference was to a square of sheet rock that had fallen down in the southeast corner of the third floor of the General Assembly Building, near the Liaison desk. "I guess that's the path taken by tourists as well as journalists going to accreditation", the Spokesman added.

A correspondent then asked whether the Secretary-General had any concerns about a Washington Post story that had reported Iraq being within days of building a nuclear device if it obtained uranium for the core parts it already possessed.

"It's not helpful that confidential information continues to spew out in these articles", Mr. Eckhard answered, adding that it was a matter for the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) to address. The understanding was that UNSCOM's decision was not to comment. Asked about who could have been responsible for the leaks, Mr. Eckhard said he would not want to speculate, and when asked for the reason behind today's meeting between the Secretary- General and UNSCOM's Executive Chairman, Richard Butler, Mr. Eckhard said it was a routine meeting.

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In response to a series of questions by another correspondent about a Libyan team coming to New York to meet with United Nations Legal Counsel Hans Corell, Mr. Eckhard said they were expected midweek and they could well be here. They would be meeting with Hans Corell as part of the continuing consultations between the United Nations Legal Department and the Libyan Government to try and clarify questions that Libya had regarding the proposal put forward by the United States and the United Kingdom, which the Council had endorsed.

The agenda for the legal meetings had not been stated, Mr. Eckhard continued. However, the Libyan permanent representative, in his address to the General Assembly yesterday, had been quite specific about questions they had and which the United Nations was trying to address. Pressed further on whether the team had arrived, Mr. Eckhard said he did not know for a fact that they were here, but that he knew the Legal Department wanted to carry out the consultations in peace and "away from your prying eyes".

In response to a question on the mission to Bamiyan in Afghanistan and with whom Mr. Brahimi would meet, Mr. Eckhard said Mr. Brahimi's mission was to the region. In accordance with the itinerary announced earlier, Mr. Brahimi would be visiting primarily neighbouring States, including Iran.

Responding to a question on a possible tie between the Secretary- General's meeting today with the Turkish Cypriot leader and last week with the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Eckhard said he preferred to give the answer in writing. A read-out of today's meeting would be available in room S-378.

Iraq had made some allegations of improprieties on the part of UNSCOM members, a correspondent said. Was the Secretary-General concerned about that and what would be done about it? Mr. Eckhard said he had no guidance on that point and would look into it.

Asked whether United Nations tours had been suspended because of the fallen sheet rock, Mr. Eckhard said the tours had been suspended during the first days of the General Assembly. Further discussion had indicated that the sky was visible through the opening. "Anyway, there's a hole in the roof and we'll fix it", Mr. Eckhard said, "as soon as we get the check from Washington".

Asked how many people in the Secretary-General's "cabinet" were above the age of 60, Mr. Eckhard said, "I guess all of them", before saying he would check. Joseph Connor, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, had given out statistics several months before, saying that during the Secretary- General's five-year term, half the professionals in the Secretariat would retire. "So we are an aged lot", the Spokesman said, adding that more recently Mr. Connor had reported that more people in the junior professional category were leaving the United Nations faster than senior people were retiring. "We don't seem to be able to hold onto the younger people that we

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will need to fill these places being vacated by people going into retirement", Mr. Eckhard added.

A report of the Secretary-General on the personnel situation in the United Nations would be delivered to the General Assembly next week, Mr. Eckhard continued. More information on that would be made available later.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said that as its first item of business yesterday afternoon, the Assembly had decided without a vote on a two-year extension of Sadako Ogata's appointment as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Also yesterday, draft resolution A/53/L.1 had been introduced, on assistance to Bangladesh in the wake of its devastating floods. The Assembly was expected to take action on the draft at the end of business tomorrow morning, after all speakers had been heard in the morning's session of the general debate.

Before the opening of the plenary meeting this morning, Ms. Mihalic continued, the President had met with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Namibia and Malaysia. He had also met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Singapore and Sri Lanka. This afternoon, the President would meet with the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Ms. Mihalic then said that this morning the general debate had resumed with statements by the following: the Prime Minister and Minister for External Affairs, Legal Affairs and Labour of Dominica; the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Jamaica; the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bhutan; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Cameroon; the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, Bolivia and Tajikistan; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Saint Lucia.

The general debate would continue this afternoon, Ms. Mihalic said, with statements by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Senegal; the Prime Minister of Slovenia; the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas, Myanmar and Cape Verde; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tourism and Information of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the Prime Minister and Minister for National Security, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Planning and Information of Saint Kitts and Nevis; the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Vanuatu; and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Zambia and Belarus.

On the side table were the lists of speakers for today and tomorrow, Ms. Mihalic added. In response to a question on the status of the Assembly's work on terrorism, Ms. Mihalic said that the working group established during the last session had continued its work last Monday and it would continue its session through next week. They were holding closed meetings and working on an international convention regarding nuclear terrorism. The result of their work would go to the plenary.

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