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 announcing that the Security Council had been briefed this morning on Sierra Leone by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi. The Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL), due out today, would be postponed by a few days, probably two or three.

After the briefing on Sierra Leone, Mr. Eckhard continued, the Council had moved to formal meetings still underway to adopt draft resolutions on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) and United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA). The Council had decided that MINURCA's mandate should include support for the conduct of legislative elections, particularly in the area of transportation and security of electoral materials and observers, as well as a limited but reliable observation of the first and second rounds of the elections themselves, scheduled for November and December of this year. The Council had extended MINURCA's mandate until 28 February 1999 and had expressed its intention to terminate the mission no later than that date.

In its resolution on MONUA, the Angola mission, the Spokesman said, the Council had demanded that the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) comply immediately and without conditions, including complete demilitarization and full cooperation in the extension of State administration to all parts of the country. The Council had extended the mandate of MONUA until 3 December.

Mr. Eckhard then said the United Nations Civilian Police Support Group in Croatia was completing its mandate today. The Support Group had been monitoring the work of the ethnically mixed local police force in the Danube Region, formerly known as Eastern Slavonia, and the monitoring work was being taken over by the newly arrived police monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The United Nations Support Group had succeeded the United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) in January, the Spokesman added. That mission had helped parties to implement the Erdut peace accord, including through disarmament and demobilization. With the completion of the operation in Croatia, the number of peacekeeping missions the United Nations was currently operating had changed from 17 to 16.

On Western Sahara, Mr. Eckhard said, the Secretary-General had asked the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, to visit the Mahgreb region of North Africa, together with the Special Representative for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO),

Charles Dunbar. The purpose of the visit was to consult with the parties and with their neighbours on the subject of Western Sahara.

Mr. Miyet's visit was likely to take place early next week, the Spokesman added. The Secretary-General would prepare his next report on Western Sahara following Mr. Miyet's visit and instead of on the due date of 18 October, the report would more likely be issued around 26 October. MINURSO's current mandate would expire at the end of October.

The Government of Angola had prohibited all flights into territory held by UNITA, Mr. Eckhard said. Since the prohibition applied to aircraft of the United Nations, the ability of MONUA to resupply its personnel had been affected. The matter had been taken up with Government authorities by the MONUA Force Commander, Major-General Soth Kovi Obeng.

The development was expected to be discussed when the Secretary-General met with the Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration of Angola, Higino Carneiro, at 4:15 p.m. today, the Spokesman said. Also expected to be taken up, was the Angolan Government's refusal to guarantee the safety of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola for a meeting with UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi.

Mr. Eckhard then said that in response to the Security Council's request last week, the Secretary-General had decided to send a mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to explore the Secretariat's first-hand capability to assess developments on the ground and to continue reporting to the Security Council on compliance by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Council resolutions 1160(1998) and 1199(1998).

The mission, Mr. Eckhard said, would include representatives of United Nations departments and agencies. It would be headed by the Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Rome, Staffan de Mistura, who had extensive United Nations inter-agency field experience in emergency situations. Mr. de Mistura had also been entrusted with special tasks by successive Secretaries-General, recently in connection with humanitarian assistance to Iraq. The mission was expected to arrive in the region over the weekend.

A press release issued in The Hague today by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was available in room S-378, Mr. Eckhard said. Included was a statement by the Prosecutor, Louise Arbour, who had given a briefing yesterday in room S-226, stating that she had today forwarded a letter to President Slobodan Milosevic, informing him of her intention to resume investigations in Kosovo at the earliest opportunity. She had also informed him that it was her intention to visit the areas where some of the alleged crimes had been committed.

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Mr. Eckhard said that in his address this morning to the Panel of High-level Personalities on African Development, the Secretary-General had noted that African countries were suffering from the negative consequences of the Asian financial crisis. "We do not yet know for sure how this will translate into the real economy," the Spokesman said in quoting the Secretary-General. "We do know that prospects for commodity-dependent economies have deteriorated significantly."

The Secretary-General had stressed that products from African countries needed to gain greater access to markets in developed countries, Mr. Eckhard said, adding that the Secretary-General had suggested to the Panel that it explore how best to encourage industrialized countries to eliminate trade barriers to African goods. The full text of the Secretary-General's speech was available in room S-378, along with a press release issued yesterday containing background information on the Panel.

For those who missed the introduction of the 1998 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Report yesterday by Special Advisor to the Secretary-General, John Ruggie, Mr. Eckhard said a summary of the briefing had been made available in room S-378, along with two press releases. Mr. Ruggie had stressed the Secretary-General's involvement in the cause of LDCs and recalled that the Secretary-General had raised the issue last week during his meeting with United States Secretary of the Treasury, Robert Rubin. Mr. Ruggie had also described how the Secretary- General had enlisted private sector help in promoting development opportunities for LDCs.

Also available in room S-378 were two press releases from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Mr. Eckhard said. One concerned a proposed bill of rights for women working in agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The other concerned a medal being awarded to Pope John Paul II by FAO.

"We may not be doing too well in Washington today, but we did get $84,000-plus from Bolivia", Mr. Eckhard said, adding that Bolivia had thus become the 102nd Member State to pay its 1998 contributions in full.

The Spokesman then said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in collaboration with the United States Committee for Refugees had invited two internally displaced Colombians to talk about forced displacement in their country, where more than a million people had been forced from their homes. Those two Colombians and the USCR policy analyst Hiram Ruiz would give a briefing tomorrow in Conference Room B, from 1:15 to 2 p.m.

While no press conferences were scheduled for today, Mr. Eckhard went on to say, at tomorrow's noon briefing, the Head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Poverty Unit, Thierry Lemaresquier, would

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introduce the World Poverty Report. The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), meanwhile, had announced a briefing this afternoon at 2 p.m. in the UNCA Club on weapons in space and nuclear-powered spacecraft, sponsored by the International Women's League for Peace and Freedom.

In response to a question, Mr. Eckhard clarified that the area formerly known as Eastern Slovania was now the Danube region.

A correspondent asked how much territory in Angola was controlled by UNITA and how many United Nations staff were there. Mr. Eckhard said he could not say off the top of his head, but David Wimhurst of the Spokesman's Office could probably say which areas were still to be turned over to government administration and how many United Nations personnel were in UNITA controlled areas.

Asked further whether the Angolan Government had made any presentation to get United Nations personnel out of UNITA controlled territory, Mr. Eckhard said, "Not to my knowledge and not explicitly". It was, however, natural to wonder about the meaning of the latest development. "Without a supply line, the presence of United Nations persons in those areas is just not viable", he added.

Another correspondent asked how long the mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was expected to last and what was expected to come from it.

Mr. Eckhard said the mission had been planned to last for seven to 10 days. The background to the mission was that when the Security Council had first asked for a report, the Secretary-General had said, "You know I have no eyes and ears there", meaning he had been passing on information received from other sources. In a Presidential statement to the press, the Council had invited the Secretary-General to look into ways of getting his own direct information. The Secretary-General had then talked with the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and with President Milosevic this week on Monday, and thus the mission would go there.

"This preceded the arrangements for the OSCE to go into Kosovo in connection with the agreements struck between United States Envoy Richard Holbrooke and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", Mr. Eckhard continued, adding that in its Presidential Statement to the press, the Council had asked the Secretary-General to keep reporting on the situation. "We're assuming he still has a mandate to do that and we'll be looking at ways for him to gather information first hand". In answer to a follow-up question, the Spokesman then confirmed this would lead to another report on the situation by the Secretary-General.

Asked to clarify the dates of the mission, Mr. Eckhard said Headquarters personnel would leave tomorrow evening, arriving in Europe on Saturday to

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connect with Staffan de Mistura, and then arriving in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia sometime before the end of the weekend.

In response to a question about the schedule of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Prakash Shah, while in Iraq, Mr. Eckhard said "We don't normally say what his appointments are there, but I will check for you".

Another correspondent said the Spokesman had spoken in jest when saying the news was not good out of Washington, D.C., "but I'll hold you to it. Do you know something we don't?"

"No, there's still a lot of confusion and we're waiting for the dust to settle, but the signs aren't good", Mr. Eckhard answered.

But the signs were not all that bad, another correspondent said, referring to a statement made last night by United States Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich regarding concessions on the abortion language holding up payment of dues by the United States to the United Nations. "That could be about $500 million", she concluded.

Mr. Eckhard said he did not want to comment on those internal manoueverings. "The United States mission will inform us once the legislation is finalized", he concluded.

Asked whether Prosecutor Louise Arbour was back in The Hague and when she would return to Kosovo, Mr. Eckhard said the Prosecutor was back in The Hague, and he imagined the soonest she could get something together for Kosovo would be a couple of weeks, directing the correspondent to Ms. Arbour's spokesperson in The Hague for more information.

"Any follow up on the Elton John matter?" a correspondent asked, adding that Sir Elton had been "bashed around" in some of the overseas papers. Mr. Eckhard said some correspondence had been received since the letter asking for postponement of the assignment. From that, and from a subsequent conversation with Sir Elton's office, the intention had been received that the postponement "was not indefinite, but nothing more specific than that".

Another correspondent asked whether a Messenger of Peace could be "stripped" of the honour. "We're still trying to appoint Messengers of Peace, not to diminish the ranks but to expand them", Mr. Eckhard replied. "I suppose a Messenger of Peace could get to the point of saying they had carried out their duty and they wanted to turn the responsibility over to someone else."

At what point would the United Nations start making demands on Messengers of Peace? the correspondent asked. "Has Magic Johnson done anything?"

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Mr. Eckhard said his Office had been in touch with each Messenger of Peace to find out what they had been doing. His Office had also been in contact with the Office of Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations, Gillian Sorensen, which oversaw the programme. Jane Gaffney of the Spokesman's Office had put together a summary of the Messengers and their activities and handouts were available from her.

"We probably need more infrastructure to guide these Messengers," Mr. Eckhard added, saying that as the ranks of Messengers grew, that job got bigger and there was inadequate staffing for it. "We do need more structure, such as to tell them what to do. However, you'll see from the sheet that each Messenger is active in some way", he concluded.

Asked about the Secretary-General's schedule, Mr. Eckhard confirmed that the Secretary-General was departing for Disney World in Florida on Sunday, with his first event in Orlando scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

"Does the Secretary-General go to sleep tonight knowing he is at best a long-shot as a potential winner of tomorrow's announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize?" a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said it was not worthwhile anticipating that event. "Someone asked the Secretary-General that question yesterday and he just laughed and waved them off. I don't think he's giving it a lot of thought, but the decision has been made and it will be announced tomorrow."

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said the plenary this morning had held a debate on agenda item 158, which was the World Solar Programme 1996-2005, and the World Solar Programme itself was contained in the annex to document A/53/395. The draft resolution on that item had been introduced by Zimbabwe, with 27 sponsors in total. The Assembly had also heard five other speakers on the issue. The plenary was expected to take action on the item tomorrow morning as the first order of business.

The spokesman then said the Assembly had also decided this morning without a vote to grant observer status in the General Assembly to the Association of Caribbean States and to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It had also decided to reschedule the item on Cooperation with the Caribbean Community from 22 to 29 October.

Tomorrow morning, after taking action on the World Solar Programme item, the Assembly would hold elections for the Judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Elections were being held for the Third Trial Chamber of the Tribunal. Nine candidates were running for three positions. In accordance with the statute of the International Tribunal, the Holy See and Switzerland would participate in the election in the same manner as the Member States of the United Nations and the election would be by

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absolute majority, in this case being 94 out of 187. The curricula vitae of the candidates were contained in document A/53/352.

With regard to the work of the Main Committees, Ms. Mihalic said that today the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) would hear 11 speakers in the continuation of its general debate. The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was continuing this morning and in the beginning of the afternoon its discussion of operational activities. Today from 4 to 6 p.m. in Conference Room 2, it would hold a panel discussion on "Building National Capacities: Some Lessons".

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), Ms. Mihalic said, was continuing for all day, its discussion of the advancement of women and of the implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

She said the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was expected to complete this morning, its informal consultations on the support account for peacekeeping operations and on the development account. In the afternoon, the Committee would hold a formal meeting to discuss the financing of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) and the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP). The Committee was also expected to conclude its discussion of programme planning and to take action on resolution A/C.5/53/L.8 on gratis personnel.

Finally, Ms. Mihalic said, at this time the Sixth Committee (Legal) was continuing consultations on the Law of the Sea.

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