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, opened today's noon briefing by introducing 25 undergraduates accompanied by faculty from Old Dominion University of Norfolk, Virginia.

The guest at the briefing today, Mr. Eckhard said, would be the President of the Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, Thomas Mensa, who would discuss pending cases before the Tribunal. (Mr. Mensa's briefing is being issued separately.)

The Security-Council had a full agenda today, Mr. Eckhard continued. It had met this morning for consultations on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which was the peacekeeping force on the Syrian Golan Heights, and it had discussed a draft resolution and a draft presidential statement. The Council had then been briefed by the Chairman of the International Commission of Inquiry, Mahmoud Kassem, on the flow of arms in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Ambassador Kassem had briefed the press yesterday and was briefing the Council today, on the subject of the Commission's final report, out as document S/1998/1096.

The Council was also considering a draft resolution on the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH), Mr. Eckhard said, as well as a draft resolution co-sponsored by France, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom to renew the "oil-for-food" programme for Iraq for a further six months and to provide an additional $300 million for oil spare parts. That resolution was expected to be adopted at a formal meeting following consultations before the Council ended its morning session. The Council had indicated it would resume informal consultations at 4 p.m. to discuss the recent exchange of letters between the Executive Director of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, and the Iraqi authorities.

Mr. Eckhard then gave a reminder that the weekly update from the Office of the Iraq Programme had been distributed yesterday and copies were available in the Spokesman's Office (room S-378). An item of interest in that update was the expected arrival in Iraq this week of the first oil spare parts.

The Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) was available today, Mr. Eckhard said. In that report, the Secretary-General had noted that no progress had been made in implementing the Lusaka Protocol and that the overall military and security situation in the country had deteriorated further. The MONUA was, in fact, unable to carry out most of its mandated tasks and the prospects for activating the peace process "looked bleak", the Secretary-General had stated. There had been no contacts between the Government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the organization led by Jonas Savimbi, while the joint mechanism

set up to implement the peace process, including the Joint Commission, remained paralysed. The security situation throughout the country was precarious, particularly in the northern and north-eastern regions, where UNITA and government forces had continued to conduct extensive military operations.

As of 20 November, the Spokesman continued, 15 United Nations personnel had still to be relocated from Andulo and Bailundo in the centre of the country. The Secretary-General had also noted that all efforts were being made to relocate those remaining personnel to safer areas as soon as possible. "I would like once again to remind both parties of their ultimate responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of all United Nations personnel. Any attempt to restrict the freedom of movement of peacekeepers, especially in volatile situations, is absolutely intolerable", the Secretary-General had stated. In addition, the Secretary-General had reported an increasing incidence of human rights abuses against the civilian population, particularly in Uige, Malange, Huambo and Bie provinces.

Despite that gloomy scenario and the absence of any progress in the peace process, Mr. Eckhard said, the Secretary-General had recommended that the international community remain engaged to dissuade the parties from a return to war. Recommending a proposed extension of the peacekeeping mission's mandate for three months, the Secretary-General had warned that if the security situation became untenable, he would immediately return to the Security Council and submit further recommendations, including, if necessary, the withdrawal of the peacekeepers.

Closed consultations between Security Council members and troop- contributing countries to MONUA were scheduled to be held today at 3:30 p.m. in Conference Room 2, Mr. Eckhard added. The Security Council was expected to take up the Angola report tomorrow.

As announced yesterday, bilateral meetings on East Timor had resumed today, Mr. Eckhard said. The Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, had met with the Indonesian delegation this morning and was scheduled to meet with the Portuguese delegation this afternoon.

Mr. Eckhard then read from a statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, appealing for the release of Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff member Vincent Cochetel on the eve of day 300 in his captivity:

"Tomorrow, it will be 300 days since UNHCR staff member Vincent Cochetel was taken at gunpoint from his apartment in North Ossetia -- 7,200 long hours of despair and anxiety for Vincent's wife, family and friends, 7,200 hours of frustration and anger for all UNHCR staff.

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"Our intense efforts to obtain Vincent's release have yielded no results so far. We have left no stone unturned and we will continue our efforts for as long as it takes to get him free.

"Vincent is out of sight but not out of mind."

The full text was available in room S-378, Mr. Eckhard said.

The Secretary-General, meanwhile, had said today that he strongly supported the appeal of the High Commissioner for the release of Vincent Cochetel, Mr. Eckhard said. He had described feeling sorrow and a deep sense of frustration as day 300 of Vincent Cochetel's captivity was marked. In two letters, one to Mr. Cochetel's wife and another to his parents, the Secretary- General had urged them to continue having courage and hope. "I am writing to you again to assure you that your husband is not forgotten", the Secretary- General had written. "Mrs. Ogata and I are doing our best for Vincent to be able to return home as soon as possible and join his family."

In addition to those letters, Mr. Eckhard continued, the Secretary- General had in the past spoken to the Russian Prime Minister and had written letters to the highest authorities in the Russian Government, seeking their assistance to gain Vincent Cochetel's release. Today, the Secretary-General had also renewed his appeal to governments to help the United Nations in its efforts to keep United Nations staff safe. Specifically, he had urged governments to sign and ratify the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. He had also appealed to governments to contribute to the Trust Fund established to set up security training programmes for United Nations staff in the field.

"And by the way, we have only one contribution to that Trust Fund and it's from Norway", the Spokesman added.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, had issued a statement this morning on the murder last Friday of Russian Parliamentarian Galina Starovoitova, Mr. Eckhard announced. The High Commissioner had said she was deeply saddened and had called the killing a "despicable act of cowardice". She had called Mrs. Starovoitova, whom she had met earlier this year, a consistent supporter of human rights in the State Duma and an anti-war campaigner. As had been mentioned, Mr. Eckhard added, the High Commissioner was in Canada this week. This evening, she would deliver a keynote address at the International Freedom of the Press Award given by the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists. The High Commissioner's statement on the Russian Parliamentarian was available in room S-378.

The spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had announced this morning in Geneva that the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Rajsoomer Lallah, would travel to

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Thailand tomorrow to visit camps for displaced Burmese persons along the border, Mr. Eckhard said. The visit would last until 5 December. Mr. Lallah was scheduled to go to various camps sheltering displaced persons from the Karen, Kareni and Shan ethnic groups. There were an estimated 100,000 displaced Burmese in Thailand. And as was widely known, Mr. Lallah was not able to do his work in Myanmar itself because of objections by the Government.

As indicated on the list of appointments for today, Mr. Eckhard said, the Secretary-General was lunching with the Council of the Presidents of the General Assembly. Meeting here today and tomorrow, the Council had been formed in November 1997 to provide a framework for cooperation between its members in support of the work of the General Assembly, where appropriate. The Council also served as a channel of continuing contact between former Presidents of the General Assembly and supported United Nations objectives in the fields of peace, security and development. "We'll try to put out a listing of the 16 former Presidents who are here and meeting with the Secretary-General", the Spokesman added.

Mr. Eckhard then said that during the past year, 5.8 million people around the world had been infected with the HIV virus, which came to approximately 11 men, women and children infected every minute. The total number of people living with AIDS had risen by 10 per cent and half of all new infections were occurring in young people aged 15 to 24. Sub-Saharan African countries remained the hardest hit by the epidemic, and while fewer deaths were being reported in North America and Western Europe, there was a disturbing lack of progress in prevention.

Those were just some of the findings contained in a new report issued today in London by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), Mr. Eckhard continued. Entitled "The AIDS Epidemic Update, December 1998", the report had been published in advance of World AIDS Day on 1 December. A press release was available in room S-378.

A number of other press releases were also available, Mr. Eckhard went on to say. One was from the UNHCR in Geneva, announcing a meeting under way between the main refugee organization of the United Nations and the 16-nation West Africa grouping, known as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on ways to bring peace and stability to that region of Africa.

A press release from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concerned the Meeting of Parties to the Montreal Protocol on the Ozone Layer, which was ending today in Cairo, Egypt, Mr. Eckhard continued. Among other things, the release stated that the parties for the first time were tackling the challenge of how to achieve consistency between policies protecting the ozone layer and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. Also, the Executive Director of UNEP, Klaus Töpfer, was in town today for the General Assembly's discussions on the Secretary-General's report on environment and human settlements.

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An embarrassing correction needed to be made for the record, after having been squawked the previous day, Mr. Eckhard then said. The announcement had been that Japan had contributed $250,000 to the Trust Fund for Preventive Action, established last year to provide flexibility for the Secretary-General's peacemaking initiatives. Only at the end of the work day had the source for the information rung up and said the Netherlands had contributed the $250,000. "So, apologies to the Netherlands, and to all of you", Mr. Eckhard added.

Mr. Eckhard then said a press release issued by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) contained information on the 1998 International Council UNICEF Award for the 1997 International Children's Day of Broadcasting. The award had gone to TV Cultura of Brazil for its outstanding programme presentation, and the release with further details was available in room S-378.

One payment had been made today, Mr. Eckhard said, adding that Bangladesh had paid $22,576 when they were already paid in full. "This is an advance on payments for future years. So thank you, Bangladesh. That helps."

And tomorrow at 11:15 a.m., the Spokesman added, the Chairman of the Sixth Committee (Legal) would give a press briefing in room S-226 on the Convention to Eliminate Nuclear Terrorism and on the establishment of an International Criminal Court.

A correspondent then asked about the Secretary-General's view on the documents concerning Iraq which were being discussed by the Security Council, and Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General did not have a view. "For the record, those letters were not addressed to the Secretary-General, and the matter was truly for the Council to consider."

Still, the correspondent said, the Secretary-General had been a key player in that exchange of documents. Did the Secretary-General feel the documents had been too much for UNSCOM to have asked of Iraq or did the Secretary-General feel they were overdue documents that had been requested for years?

As a matter of principle, Mr. Eckhard responded, the Secretary-General believed that Iraq must fully comply with Security Council resolutions and that his own occasional interventions in support of the Council had always been aimed at the goal of full compliance.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said this morning the plenary had authorized a meeting, during the main part of the fifty-third session, of the open-ended working group on the question of equitable representation and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters. The plenary had then begun discussion of agenda item 38, oceans and the law of the sea. Two reports of the Secretary- General were before the Assembly, along with two draft resolutions, one introduced by Finland (document A/53/L.35) and the other by the United States (document A/53/L.45). Inscribed to address the Assembly on the item were

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28 other speakers. This afternoon, the Assembly was scheduled to resume consideration of United Nations reform, with 19 speakers remaining to be heard by the Assembly on that issue.

Tomorrow, the spokesman continued, the plenary would meet in the morning and would first take up agenda item 32, the zone of peace and cooperation in the South Atlantic. A report of the Secretary-General on that item would be before the Assembly, along with a draft resolution contained in document A/53/L.41. Jointly, the Assembly would also take up agenda items 58 and 60, which were, respectively, strengthening of the United Nations system, with a related report of the Secretary-General in document A/53/170, and revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.

As to the work of the Main Committees, Ms. Mihalic said, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was scheduled to take action this morning on a series of draft resolutions, including one on the report of the Economic and Social Council; two on sectoral policy questions; five on sustainable development and international economic cooperation; and one on training and research. The Committee had also been briefed this morning by the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with regard to the results of the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention recently held in Buenos Aires. During the rest of the day, the Committee would hold informal consultations on a series of draft resolutions before it.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was scheduled to complete this morning the general debate on the financing of the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Ms. Mihalic said. The Committee was also scheduled to begin the general debate on the application of the Interim Commission for the World Trade Organization/General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (WTO/GATT) for withdrawal from the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. Late in the morning and this afternoon, the Committee would hold informal consultations on several issues before it.

The Sixth Committee (Legal), Ms. Mihalic said, was expected to take action this afternoon on the remaining three draft resolutions before it, thereby completing its work at the current session. Those drafts were on measures to eliminate international terrorism; on the Convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property; and on the establishment of an international criminal court.

A correspondent then asked, on behalf of the visiting students from Old Dominion, for elaboration in laymen's terms about what had happened yesterday in the General Assembly regarding Security Council reform. What were the cheers about, what was the significance of what had happened?

Ms. Mihalic said that after extensive consultations, the President had introduced a new draft once the other two drafts previously introduced had

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been withdrawn. One of those previous drafts had been the one introduced by Egypt on behalf of 27 Member States, and the other was the five amendments introduced by Belgium.

Suggesting a look back over the statements made in the Assembly under the item, Ms. Mihalic said the draft basically stated that any change in the composition of the Council should require a two-thirds majority of Member States voting in favour of it. "In the current situation, that would be 124 votes in favour." That was two thirds of the membership of the Organization. "Obviously, following that, in accordance with Article 108 of the Charter, there would need to be a ratification by an equal number of States."

What was the effect of the draft? What would countries determined not to get left out of the Council think of it? Who benefited from that draft? the correspondent pressed, and Ms. Mihalic said the effect was that the agreement of a very large majority of Member States was required to make any change in the membership of the Council.

Another correspondent then asked for more background, saying that she agreed with the pressure for information made by the previous correspondent. She added: "It means a lot more than that for anyone who has been following the story and we would like you to say so. This draft means, in effect, that reform of the Security Council won't happen. And that's very serious as far as the United Nations is concerned." She then asked who, besides Pakistan, France and Italy, had been active over the weekend to get the resolution through.

"The President had held consultations with a number of countries", Ms. Mihalic answered, declining to disclose names when asked for them and declining to describe the Latin American position.

Another correspondent then asked whether there was a closing date yet for the present session of the General Assembly, and Ms. Mihalic said it was still tentatively set for 11 December.

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