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 would meet at 3:30 p.m. to discuss its programme of work for November, followed by informal consultations on Iraq. A draft resolution on that subject was being circulated.

Late yesterday, Mr. Eckhard continued, the Executive Director of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, had sent a letter to the President of the Council, A. Peter Burleigh (United States), outlining the consequences that Iraq's decision to suspend cooperation would have on UNSCOM's ability to fulfil its functions. This morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had sent a similar letter to the Council.

In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch, the Spokesman then said the United Nations had begun distributing food, medicines and other emergency supplies to the victims of the disaster. The first United Nations experts were arriving in the region today to determine the extent of priority needs. At United Nations Headquarters, just prior to the noon briefing, the Permanent Representatives of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua had called a news conference to convey information about the emergency situation in Central America. Seeking urgent international assistance, the Permanent Representatives would meet with the Secretary-General this afternoon in a previously unscheduled appointment.

Further on the hurricane, Mr. Eckhard said a World Food Programme (WFP) official in the region had reported that "it seems the region has stepped back 20 years in one day". Roads, bridges and houses had been completely destroyed. In Nicaragua, over 100,000 tons of food previously allocated for WFP development projects had been distributed to cover urgent needs. The WFP had said it was estimated that up to 400,000 persons had been affected. In Honduras, food stocks from WFP development projects were also being currently distributed. It had been estimated that up to 600,000 persons had been affected in that country.

Also, the Spokesman said, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had announced it was arranging to distribute 500,000 oral rehydration salts for children suffering from diarrheoa, along with medicines, in Nicaragua. It was already distributing food and supplying clean water both in Nicaragua and in Honduras.

Meanwhile, Mr. Eckhard said, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs -- which assists the emergency response during natural disasters by dispatching disaster management teams and by serving as a channel for contributions -- had said it would raise its emergency cash grants to Honduras and Nicaragua to $50,000 each and had allocated an additional grant of $20,000 for El Salvador. A team of disaster management experts had arrived

today in Honduras. A second team was expected to reach Nicaragua tomorrow. Press releases from the WFP and from UNICEF would be available in room S-378 this afternoon.

The Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Alvaro de Soto, had returned to Headquarters today after four days last week on a good offices mission to Myanmar, Mr. Eckhard said. Mr. de Soto was now reporting to the Secretary-General, who would, in turn, prepare by some time next week a report for the General Assembly on the outcome of his good offices effort concerning the human rights situation in Myanmar.

Available in room S-378 was a press release from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on the problem of trafficking in women, Mr. Eckhard said. The report quoted the ESCAP Executive Secretary, Adrianus Mooy, as saying that rising unemployment and poverty, children dropping out of schools, and falling exchange rates in the Asia-Pacific region could lead to a possible increase in trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. More details were available in the release.

On Afghanistan, Mr. Eckhard said the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had welcomed a report by Human Rights Watch and the attention being paid at last to the terrible events that had taken place in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan on and after 8 August when the city had been captured by the Taliban. Those events had led to new displacements within Afghanistan, as well as to Pakistan and Iran. The UNHCR said it had carried out extensive interviews with refugees over the past two months, and its findings had corresponded with those of Human Rights Watch. More details were contained in the summary of the UNHCR briefing in Geneva earlier today.

Mr. Eckhard then recalled that a correspondent had requested a response to an "op ed" piece in yesterday's Washington Post, by United States Senator Joseph Biden, calling for payment by the United States for outstanding contributions to the United States. The response, Mr. Eckhard said, was that, "The Secretary- General welcomes all support from those who, like him, are urging the United States to honour its commitments to the United Nations and pay its overdue contributions."

The Fourth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was continuing in Buenos Aires, the Spokesman said. Yesterday, discussions had focused on a proposal by the host country Argentina to include on the agenda the question of voluntary commitments by developing countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal had generated considerable opposition and had not been included on the agenda. The on-site United Nations Information Officer, however, had reported that the question would continue to be considered in informal consultations throughout the two-week Conference.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 3 November 1998

A United Nations Radio reporter had been sent to cover the Conference in Buenos Aires, Mr. Eckhard recalled. The reporter's dispatches in English and Spanish were available on the Radio Bulletin Board at extension 3-3777, as well as on the Internet at the website address available in room S-378.

The summary of the UNHCR briefing in Geneva had contained an article on Guinea-Bissau, as well as an update on Kosovo, Mr. Eckhard said.

Also, with regard to women at the United Nations, the Spokesman said women at the Senior Director level at the United Nations were "reaching a critical mass". There were now 26 women at the D-2 or senior-most Director level. The Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Angela King, had recently sent a letter to all 26 of those women, inviting them to create a network to meet once a month, with the first of those meetings taking place this afternoon. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette was expected to participate as well. About 10 of the 14 D-2 women working in New York were expected to attend. For comparative purposes, Mr. Eckhard added, there were 89 males at the D-2 level, including on missions.

A correspondent asked for the names of the D-2 level women. The Spokesman said they would be provided.

Asked whether the Secretary-General planned to go to Baghdad, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General was looking at the Security Council now and waiting to see what it decided. "To my knowledge", he added, "the Council had no intention of asking him to go."

Had the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General in Baghdad carried out discussions with Iraqis on the subject? the correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said, "Yes. I can't tell you which Iraqi officials the Special Envoy has met with, but he has been having contacts with government officials regarding the situation -- which is a normal part of his job."

The same correspondent asked for a clarification of UNSCOM's position, as reports were conflicting. "Can UNSCOM do any part of its job or not? Is UNSCOM activity really on hold or is it able to do some work, with surveillance cameras, for example?" the correspondent asked.

Mr. Eckhard said he could not speak for UNSCOM, but based on a conversation with UNSCOM officials yesterday, prior to Saturday, investigations had been stopped, and as of Saturday evening, monitoring functions had been stopped. On Sunday, UNSCOM had asked Iraq to clarify what was meant by cessation of "monitoring". Could surveillance cameras and sensors be serviced and could film or batteries be changed, for example? The UNSCOM had been told it could go ahead with that maintenance, and on Sunday UNSCOM had replaced some film in some cameras.

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"But as I explained yesterday", Mr. Eckhard added, "the monitoring function does not rely primarily on cameras and sensors, but rather on individuals, on inspectors visiting sites and talking to people." Therefore, even though the cameras were still rolling, the "monitoring function" was effectively blocked. "No investigations, no monitoring", he summed up.

During further exchange, Mr. Eckhard conceded that since United Nations inspectors had continued to remain in Baghdad, the film from the cameras could be picked up and analysed, "presumably".

Asked what level of importance the camera surveillance carried relative to the overall monitoring function -- whether it was 10 per cent or more, Mr. Eckhard said he could not give such a specific percentage of a breakdown. However, UNSCOM had said yesterday that the primary monitoring activity was carried out by individuals and not by cameras.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said that yesterday afternoon the President had issued a statement urging generous assistance for the victims of Hurricane Mitch. That had, of course, followed the adoption by the plenary yesterday morning of a resolution urging emergency assistance to the affected countries.

This morning, Ms. Mihalic continued, the plenary had begun the elections of nine judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The Assembly was electing six judges for new four-year terms in the two existing Chambers, with the term to begin on 25 May 1999 and to run until 24 May 2003. It was also electing three judges for the new third Trial Chamber. That term was to begin as soon as possible and would also expire on 24 May 2003.

A list of 18 candidates had been forwarded to the Assembly by the Security Council, and eight vacancies had been filled on the first ballot just completed, the spokesman said. Overall, 173 ballot papers had been submitted and none had been invalid, with only one abstention. The absolute majority had been 94 votes, which included the 185 Member States plus two non-Member States having the right to participate in the election.

The eight new judges, then, Ms. Mihalic said, were Navanethem Pillay (South Africa), who had received 129 votes; Laity Kama (Senegal), 125 votes; Dionysios Kondylis (Greece) 112; Mehmet Guney (Turkey) 109; Pavel Dolenc (Slovenia) 102; William Sekule (United Republic of Tanzania) 100; Yakov Ostrovsky (Russian Federation) 98; and Erik Mose (Norway), 97. The second unrestricted ballot open to all candidates had just begun for the remaining vacancies, and it should be completed within an hour.

In addition, Ms. Mihalic said, this afternoon under the auspices of the General Assembly, the 1998 United Nations/Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Pledging Conference for the World Food Programme would take place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. Tomorrow morning, the plenary would

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take up item 168, dialogue among civilizations, which had just been added to the agenda last week. Several speakers had been inscribed to address the Assembly on that item, and the list remained open.

This evening, the President of the fifty-third session would travel to his home country to take care of responsibilities as Foreign Minister of Uruguay, the spokesman said. He would be back in New York on Monday.

As for the Main Committees, Ms. Mihalic said the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), in the last stage of its deliberations at the current session, had begun this morning to take action on the draft resolutions before it. The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) would continue this afternoon its consideration of the comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial), the spokesman said, had concluded this morning its general discussion of the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. Also, two draft resolutions had been introduced in the Committee, one on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries in the 1990s and the other on the United Nations University. The Committee was also scheduled to hold informal consultations on a series of draft resolutions.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was concluding this morning its general discussion of the comprehensive implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action on Human Rights, the spokesman said. Starting tomorrow and until Friday, the Committee would hear introductory statements by the relevant special representatives and special rapporteurs. The schedule of these presentations had been listed in the Journal.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the spokesman said, was holding informal consultations the entire day -- this morning on the pattern of conferences, and this afternoon on the implementation of resolution 48/218 B, which had established the Office of Internal Oversight Services. The Sixth Committee (Legal) would continue this afternoon its consideration of the report of the International Law Commission on its fiftieth session.

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