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 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, had opened the formal meeting of the Security Council, convened to discuss Protection for Humanitarian Assistance to Refugees and Others in Conflict Situations, with a statement from the perspective of the primary refugee organization of the United Nations system, which worked increasingly in situations where military force prevailed over political negotiations.

"Decisive international involvement is not the norm today", the Spokesman said Mrs. Ogata had stated. "We cannot count on the same level of organized political support as in Kosovo. Where peace efforts are insufficient or ineffective, the ability of humanitarian agencies to help refugees, returnees and other victims of conflict is greatly diminished." Mrs. Ogata had cited Afghanistan and southern Sudan as examples. "The complexity of war and the fragility of peace in many parts of the world mean that new outflows of refugees or movements of internally displaced people can happen at any time", Mrs. Ogata had said, adding that she was extremely concerned over the possibility of renewed conflict in the Horn of Africa or Central Asia.

A number of Security Council members had welcomed the transparent format of today's formal meeting, which they had described as resembling an open debate, the Spokesman said. The meeting had been held along the lines of informal consultations, and the High Commissioner would respond to the comments and questions posed by the Council members following their statements. For obvious reasons, Mrs. Ogata would not be at the noon briefing, but would instead meet the press at the stake-out microphone following the morning session of the Council.

This afternoon in informal consultations, the Council would consider the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), Mr. Eckhard said. The Council would be briefed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elizabeth Rehn, who was also the Coordinator of United Nations Operations in that country. Mrs. Rehn would conduct a press conference in room 226 at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

After the briefing by Mrs. Rehn this afternoon, the Council would take up the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Tajikistan, the Spokesman said. The Council would be briefed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, Jan Kubis. Council members would also consider a draft resolution on Tajikistan. Also, it was hoped that Mr. Kubis would be a guest at the noon briefing tomorrow.

Mr. Eckhard then said the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, had sent a letter to the President of the Security Council dated 6 November saying she had the "misfortune to report once again to the Security Council the continuing refusal of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to cooperate with the International Tribunal as required by resolutions of the Security Council". In her letter, the Spokesman continued, Judge McDonald had said the Security Council had issued presidential statements in response to prior reports from the Tribunal about noncompliance by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. That had failed to bring about the required cooperation with the Tribunal.

"Therefore", the Spokesman said Mrs. McDonald had written, "I respectfully seek from the Security Council measures which are sufficiently compelling to bring the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into the fold of law- abiding nations". That letter was on the racks as document S/1998/1040.

The Secretary-General had arrived in Marrakesh, Morocco, yesterday afternoon, and, as scheduled, had partaken in a private dinner with King Hassan II of Morocco, Mr. Eckhard said. This morning, the Secretary-General had met jointly with Prime Minister Abderrahman El-Youssoufi, Foreign Minister Abdellatif Filali and Interior Minister Driss Basri. At midday, the Secretary-General had met with the Presidents of the two chambers of the Parliament of Morocco and the Heads of parliamentary groups, ultimately lunching with members of those groups. This evening the Secretary-General would have his second meeting with King Hassan II, probably in the company of their delegations, although the possibility of a second tête-à-tête exchange between the two men could not be ruled out. Following that meeting, Foreign Minister Filali would host a dinner in honour of the Secretary-General.

Mr. Eckhard then said it had been announced in Geneva today that the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Radhika Coomaraswamy, would travel to Indonesia from 20 to 30 November. Among other issues, she would look into the riots that had occurred in May and the resulting violence that had occurred against women belonging to the ethnic Chinese minority. Further details on the visit would be made available once the plans had been finalized.

Also, Mr. Eckhard said, the Special Rapporteur on the illicit movement and dumping of toxic waste, Fatma Zohra Ksentini, would travel to Costa Rica and Mexico from 16 to 28 November.

This morning, the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Frechette, had reported in a statement to the Technical Meeting on the Demographic Impact of HIV/AIDS that "in many African countries, AIDS had increased infant and child mortality...to levels observed in the 1960s and even 1950s", Mr. Eckhard said. Organized by the United Nations Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the meeting would conclude today at 5 p.m. The

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Director of the Population Division had presented the statement on behalf of the Deputy Secretary-General. Copies of the statement and a press release were available in room 378.

The summary of today's United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) briefing in Geneva had reported further details on the attack, and United Nations response, on the refugee camp in the Central African Republic that had been reported yesterday to have occurred over the weekend, the Spokesman said. The summary was available in room 378.

A news release issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome today had announced that prolonged dry spells and hot temperatures had caused a drastic decline in food crop production this year in the Russian Federation, the Spokesman said. According to the report, total 1998 cereal output had been forecast as falling by 43 per cent from the 1997 level. Low- income urban populations were most at risk from food insecurity. The press release was available in room 378.

"This is about Can-struction", Mr. Eckhard said in introducing a joint project by the FAO and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) to host an exhibition of the largest "canned art" competition in the world for the benefit of the fight against hunger. The Sixth Annual Canstruction Competition exhibition would open in the United Nations Visitors Lobby on Thursday, 12 November, at 7 p.m. Representing her husband the Secretary-General, Nane Annan would preside at the opening, accompanied by actor, writer and director Stanley Tucci.

Available in room 378 was the informal update of the Fourth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in Buenos Aires, Mr. Eckhard said.

Also, a second call was being put out for the press conference this afternoon at 3 p.m. on "The Third Way: Between Neoliberalism and the Welfare State". The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Nitin Desai, would moderate that discussion to be held in room 226.

A correspondent said the Chilean Government had "promoted" General Sergio Espinoza, the military head of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). What would be the next step taken by the United Nations with regard to the allegations concerning General Espinoza and human rights?

Mr. Eckhard said the United Nations had taken note of the charges alleged against the General dating back some 25 years. The Chilean Government had been asked to respond, as had the General since he was a staff member. The General had responded almost immediately, and the Chilean Government had also finally responded, supporting the General's view that he was innocent of

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the charges. As a result, the General had returned to the mission area under his charge and the United Nations was studying the documentation provided by his Government to determine next steps.

Was the Secretary-General resigned to the fact that military action against Iraq might be only a short time away? a correspondent asked.

The Secretary-General was certainly concerned, the Spokesman said. "His preference would be that the stand-off between the Security Council and Iraq be resolved diplomatically." The Secretary-General was in daily touch with Headquarters while travelling through North Africa, and he was following the situation very closely, the Spokesman added. "But of course, it's out of his hands."

Did the Secretary-General feel let down by the Iraqis? another correspondent asked.

Mr. Eckhard said the Memorandum of Understanding concluded in February had provided not only for the inspection of the presidential sites, which had been the main purpose of the Secretary-General's trip to Baghdad, but had also reaffirmed Iraq's intention to cooperate fully. "So yes, it's a disappointment", Mr. Eckhard said, adding that the best way to get to the end of the problem of the weapons of mass destruction was to have the inspectors resume their work. Once the certification had been made by the inspectors that the capability to manufacture those weapons of mass destruction had been eliminated, then the Council could act on the lifting of the oil embargo and then could take up the subsequent matters covered by the resolutions. "That is the orderly, peaceful, proper way to resolve this stand-off", the Spokesman ended.

The correspondent then asked whether the Secretary-General still had hope for a diplomatic solution. "He has to have hope in a diplomatic solution", Mr. Eckhard responded. "That's his job, to hope for and to press for a diplomatic solution."

Had the Secretary-General been in contact with the Iraqi leadership to make the case just laid out for the press? a correspondent asked.

Mr. Eckhard said he could not provide details, but the Secretary-General was in touch with heads of delegations and occasionally with officials in capitals, but it could not be said whether the Secretary-General had been directly in touch with Iraqi officials or with anyone, for that matter.

Was there no other way that the Secretary-General could act than by a mandate of the Security Council? a correspondent asked. "No, under the United Nations Charter, the Secretary-General was empowered to take action at his own

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initiative", Mr. Eckhard said. "He would, of course, consult with Security Council members before taking any action."

A correspondent asked whether any specific reference had been intended by the phrase "contact with officials in capitals", perhaps with regard to Washington. Mr. Eckhard said he had no specifics to impart except that in the normal course of work, the Secretary-General stayed in touch on a daily basis with the principal actors on a variety of conflicts around the world. "That's how he operates, so as a matter of principle, that's what he does every day. But it's impossible to say with whom he had spoken on what time of what day."

Finally, a correspondent recalled that in February the Secretary-General had said the agreement with Iraq could not have been accomplished without the threat of the use of force. Did the Secretary-General still believe that was necessary? Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had meant that negotiation was usually more effective when there was some behind the stance. It was not likely the Secretary-General would have changed his mind on that.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said that this morning the plenary had begun by paying tribute to the late Head of State of the Comoros, Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim, who had passed away on 5 November. The Chairmen of all the regional groups had spoken, as had the representatives of the host country and of the Comoros.

The plenary had then proceeded to consider the first report of the Credentials Committee (document A/53/556), Ms. Mihalic said. Representatives of Egypt and Iran and the Observer for Palestine had spoken, and then the plenary had adopted the report without a vote. It had also opened consideration of draft resolution A/53/L.24, introduced by Kyrgyzstan and emanating from the report of the Economic and Social Council, proclaiming the year 2002 as the International Year of Mountains. Sponsored by 136 Member States, the resolution had been adopted without a vote.

The Assembly had then begun consideration of agenda item 31, the culture of peace, the spokesman said. Twenty-three speakers had been inscribed to address the plenary on that item, on which there was also a draft resolution (document A/53/L.25). Introduced by the representative of Bangladesh, the draft would proclaim the decade from 2001 to 2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. The meeting would continue into the afternoon.

Then, with regard to the Main Committees, Ms. Mihalic said the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) would meet this afternoon to continue taking action on all draft resolutions before it. In the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), several draft resolutions had been introduced this morning. Those had included the items of macroeconomic policy questions; sustainable development and international economic cooperation;

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environment and sustainable development; training and research; and implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty.

She said the Second Committee had also taken action on several drafts, including one on the high-level international intergovernmental consideration of financing for development; the International Year of Microcredit 2005; preparations for the special session of the General Assembly in 2001 to review the achievement of the goals of the World Summit for Children; and international cooperation to reduce the impact of the El Nino phenomenon. Today, the Committee would also open and conclude its consideration of the report of the Economic and Social Council. Later, in the afternoon, it would hold informal consultations on several draft resolutions.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) would this afternoon conclude its consideration of human rights questions. The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) had been scheduled to conclude this morning its consideration of the United Nations common and pension systems, as well as to begin consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Office of Internal Oversight Services. The Committee would also hold informal consultations -- in the late morning and in the afternoon -- on the United Nations common system and thematic reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services. It would also informally assess the work of the Committee so far.

Finally, the spokesman said, the Sixth Committee (Legal) would meet this afternoon to discuss the review of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. Following adjournment of the formal meeting, it would hold informal consultations on the report of the International Law Commission on the work of its fiftieth session.

Tomorrow morning, a panel discussion would be held under the auspices of the Second Committee on "The Copenhagen Seminars for Social Progress: Denmark's contribution to the discussion on the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development". Among the participants would be the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Poul Nielson; the former President of Iceland, Vigdis Finnbogadottir; an economist from Ghana, Kwame Pianim; and a Professor of Princeton University, Richard Falk. The panel discussion would be held in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, under the chairmanship of the Chairman of the Second Committee, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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