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 noting and welcoming the dozen members of the United States Information Agency's Regional Project for the Middle East.

Mr. Eckhard then said the Security Council had not been scheduled to meet today, but that a meeting of countries contributing troops to United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) had been held this morning. Tomorrow afternoon, the Council would be briefed on UNMOT activities by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, Jan Kubis, and then by the Special Representative of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), Elizabeth Rehn. Prior to those briefings tomorrow, in the morning, the Council would have an open meeting to consider the protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and others in conflict situations, during which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, would brief on the subject.

Returning to the situation in Tajikistan, Mr. Eckhard said reports had come from Dushanbe suggesting that the Government's operations against a rebel force were approaching a successful conclusion there. A formal meeting to renew UNMOT's mandate, set to expire on Sunday 15 November, was expected to be held on Thursday of this week. Established in December 1994, UNMOT is comprised of about 70 military observers.

"Media reports that the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) is removing all its personnel from Iraq are unfounded", Mr. Eckhard said. The UNSCOM had reported that more than 100 of its staff remained on the ground in Iraq, waiting to resume inspection and monitoring activities at a moment's notice. Aside from those, between 25 and 30 people working for UNSCOM were in the process of leaving Iraq, with 14 having departed there on Saturday, five more today and the remainder by the weekend. Those departing staff included visiting experts due to return home and technical experts who had become inactive due to Iraq's refusal to cooperate with UNSCOM. The UNSCOM had asked staff-lending Member States to allow the returning experts to speedily resume their Iraq activities once Baghdad had rescinded its decision to block all UNSCOM activities.

A refugee camp housing some 35,000 Sudanese in M'Moki, about 1,250 kilometres east of Bangui, in the Central African Republic had come under attack over the weekend, the Spokesman reported. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had appealed for assistance from the Government to protect the sprawling settlement equipped with very little security. A report had just arrived to confirm that a United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) airplane carrying 30 members of the armed forces of the Central African Republic, as well as eight MINURCA staff, had arrived in M'Boki this afternoon, local time.

Reports from the field were still sketchy. Some casualties had occurred during the weekend attack. More details were expected later.

The Secretary-General had begun his official visit to the Maghreb region of North Africa with a visit to Mauritania, where he had arrived on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General had been greeted on arrival in the capital, Nouakchott, by the Foreign Minister, Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna. Later he had been received by Mauritanian President Maaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya, with whom he had discussed, among other topics, ways to accelerate the peace process in Western Sahara. On Sunday, the Secretary-General had held similar discussions with Mauritanian Prime Minister Mohamed Lemani Ould Guig and with the Foreign Minister .

The Secretary-General had gone on to visit a centre for the promotion of women, sponsored by United Nations agencies, and had then spoken to United Nations staff at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) headquarters. He had given a press conference before leaving Nouakchott for Laayoune, the home-base of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The Secretary-General had visited those headquarters this morning and had been briefed by the senior members of MINURSO. He had also met with members of the observation mission from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and had briefly addressed the United Nations staff. The text of his statement was available in room S-378.

The Secretary-General was to meet with Saharan Chiefs this afternoon and then to give another press conference before leaving for Marrakesh, Morocco, the Spokesman said. Tonight in Marrakesh, the Secretary-General would have dinner with King Hassan II of Morocco. Transcripts of the Secretary-General's two press conferences should be available by the end of the day.

The Secretary-General had been represented at the meeting of the OAU high-level delegation on the question of Eritrea and Ethiopia by his Special Envoy in Africa, Mohamed Sahnoun, who had attended as an observer, the Spokesman said. That meeting had been held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 7 and 8 November. The delegation had reportedly presented a paper to both sides and Ambassador Sahnoun had met with delegation members, who had included the Secretary-General of the OAU and the leaders of the two parties -- the President of Eritrea and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Ambassador Sahnoun would shortly report on the outcome of that meeting to the Secretary-General.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was visiting Central America this week to take stock of the United Nations response to the needs generated by the effects of Hurricane Mitch and to help determine what further efforts would be undertaken to help the countries concerned. Mr. Vieiro de Mello was in El Salvador today, where he was holding meetings with senior government officials and attending a meeting of the Presidents of the region. Mr. Vieiro

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de Mello would continue on to Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala in the coming days.

The latest situation report on the disaster, number 12, would be available shortly on the "Relief Web". The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was continuing efforts to mobilize international assistance and had thus far directly channelled $1.4 million in aid into the affected countries. A plane carrying 38 metric tons of relief items from the United Nations depot in Pisa, Italy, had reached Nicaragua and Honduras over the weekend. Also available was a fact sheet on assistance efforts by the World Food Programme (WFP), which had also announced it would issue an emergency appeal within the next few days for approximately $40 million.

The OCHA had announced that the Government of Ukraine had appealed for urgent assistance from the international community to respond to damage from severe flooding, Mr. Eckhard continued. Preliminary reports indicated over 400,000 people had been affected and immediate relief needs included food aid, medical supplies, sanitation items and other related supplies.

Mr. Eckhard then said the Secretary-General had decided to appoint Major-General Tariq Waseem Ghazi of Pakistan as the new Chief Military Observer of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), effective 16 November. Major General Ghazi would succeed Major General Harun Ar-Rashid of Bangladesh, who was returning to the service of his Government on 15 November.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had opened its four-day "Partners for Development" meeting in Lyons, France, today, Mr. Eckhard said. In a message to the Conference, the Secretary-General had said the event was an example of the new United Nations in action -- "an organization open as never before to the involvement of the private sector, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and others, among the increasingly robust forces of civil society; a place where all key players can come together in common cause to work side by side with governments in our global mission of peace and development". The full text of the Secretary-General's message, as well as a press release on the first meeting of the Conference, were available in room S-378.

The Executive Secretary of the Fourth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Michael Zammit Cutajar, had given a press briefing on Friday and the briefing notes were available in room S-378, Mr. Eckhard said. Also on Friday, in expressing sympathy for victims of Hurricane Mitch on behalf of Conference delegates, the Conference President had said that Mother Nature was reminding delegates that "urgent action was needed".

On the racks this morning was the Secretary-General's report on assistance in mine clearance (document A/53/496), the Spokesman said. That

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report provided information on what the United Nations was doing in response to the landmine scourge on a country-by-country basis. The Secretary-General had concluded that programmes were hampered, not only by a lack of resources, but also by a lack of political resolve. Still, the Organization was continuing its work to ensure that those now living with the threat of landmines would have the chance to enjoy a peaceful and productive existence.

Also on the racks were two reports on human resources management, Mr. Eckhard said. One was on the employment of retirees (document A/53/526) and the other on consultants and individual contractors (document A/53/548). Also, there was an addendum to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (document A/53/322/Add.1). Closer to home, there was the Secretary-General's report on questions related to information (document A/53/509).

Tomorrow at 3 p.m., there would be a press briefing on "The Third Way: Between Neoliberalism and the Welfare State," Mr. Eckhard said. The briefing would be moderated by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Nitin Desai.

"Quite noticeable are some new sculptures on the median at 47th Street and First Avenue", Mr. Eckhard said, adding that the monument honouring Raoul Wallenberg was an initiative of New York City. It was being dedicated today, just a few minutes before, by Nane Annan and her mother Nina Lagergren. Also attending the ceremony were other members of Nane Annan's family, who were related to the Wallenbergs.

"Also noticeable today", Mr. Eckhard said, "the flags are down and the United Nations flag is at half mast." The ceremonial actions were in observance of the death of the Head of State of Comoros, Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim, the Spokesman added.

The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) had asked for an announcement that the Dag Hammerskjold fellows would receive their certificates on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the UNCA Club. "All are invited", Mr. Eckhard added.

A correspondent said he had asked a question last week and was obliged to ask it again. "Is the Secretary-General giving any consideration at all of a possibility of a visit to Iraq?"

The Secretary-General had received a number of approaches from governments to intercede, but he had no plans at this time to do so, Mr. Eckhard responded. The Secretary-General had been asked on his arrival in Mauritania whether he had any intention of diverting from his Maghreb trip to go to Baghdad, and the Secretary-General had said he had no such plans.

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Was the possibility something the Secretary-General would consider or not consider? the correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General saw it as a matter for the Security Council to decide. Was there any significance to the term that the UNSCOM people were "ready to go" on with their work at a moment's notice or was that standard policy? the correspondent asked. "It's their policy", Mr. Eckhard answered. "They want to be prepared to go to work immediately, should it become possible." Therefore, until there was a definitive decision by Iraq, the UNSCOM team was "in ready mode".

What was the role of former United States Secretary of State James A. Baker in Western Sahara? a correspondent asked. Why was he not with the Secretary-General in Western Sahara?

Mr. Baker remained as the senior mediator on Western Sahara. There was no significance to Mr. Baker's absence on the trip. The Secretary-General had gone there to consult with the various parties to see if any energy could be pumped into the process, whether the process leading to a referendum could be speeded up and, above all, to support its successful conclusion.

Had the negotiations started between the United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, and the Libyan delegation? How long would they last? a correspondent asked.

The Libyan delegation had returned to New York and the meetings with the Legal Counsel would resume this afternoon, Mr. Eckhard said. "I'm not aware of any timetable", the Spokesman added, "but I am aware of the continuing pressure of the Legal Counsel on us to preserve the confidentiality of the meetings until they were concluded.

Would there be an announcement if there was a successful conclusion? "I'm sure that when there's something to announce Hans Corell will ring up immediately. But, right now, he's asking to be left alone, in peace, to do his work."

"Can it be confirmed that the meetings have actually started?" another correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard answered that the Legal Counsel had resisted briefing the press at that level. "We'll try, but it's not easy when he wants to be left alone with the delegation and to work outside your gaze."

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said no plenary meetings had been scheduled for today. Tomorrow morning, the plenary would first take up the first report of the Credentials Committee (document A/53/556). Then it would proceed to consider the report of the Economic and Social Council and a draft resolution on that matter. It would also discuss agenda item 31: "Culture of peace", and consider a related draft resolution (document A/53/L.25). Twelve speakers were so far inscribed to make statements on that matter.

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Today, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) would meet in the afternoon and resume taking action on draft resolutions before it, Ms. Mihalic said. The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) had began this morning its general debate on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) would continue all day its consideration of human rights questions.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was holding informal consultations this morning on the scale of assessments, the spokesman said. This afternoon, the Committee would begin its general discussion of human resources management. After a formal meeting this afternoon, the Committee would hold informal consultations on the pattern of conferences. The Sixth Committee (Legal) would consider this afternoon the convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property (agenda item 148).

Tomorrow morning there would be a panel discussion on the topic: "The Third Way: Between Neoliberalism and the Welfare State", Ms. Mihalic said. Held under the auspices of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), the panel would be composed of the Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, who was the intellectual architect of the "Third Way", Antony Giddens; the Director of the Copenhagen Seminar on Social Policy, Jacques Baudot; a professor of economics at the School of Business at Michigan University, Linda Lim; and the Chief Executive Officer of New World Investment, Ltd. of Ghana, Kwame Pianim. The panel would meet in the Trusteeship Council Chamber from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow.

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