DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by saying that the Secretary-General had concluded his working visit to Tunisia today by holding a second meeting with Foreign Minister Said Ben Mustapha. That meeting had primarily focused on issues related to Tunisia's role in the United Nations and on Tunisia's relations within the United Nations system as a whole.

Following the meeting, Mr. Almeida e Silva continued, the Minister had hosted a luncheon for the Secretary-General, after which the Secretary-General had held a press conference before departing for the island of Djerba off the coast of Tunisia. The transcript of the press conference would be issued as soon as it became available. Tomorrow morning, the Secretary-General would fly from Djerba to Libya for an originally unscheduled visit, and there he would hold discussions with Libyan authorities in an attempt to finalize arrangements for transferring to the Netherlands the two Libyans suspected in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, 10 years ago.

Mr. Almeida e Silva then read the following statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

"Almost one month ago, in view of the dangerous deterioration of the security situation in the central region of Angola, the United Nations decided to temporarily relocate the two team sites of the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) deployed in the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) strongholds of Andulo and Bailundo. This decision was made in consultation with the Security Council, which was fully briefed about the reasons behind the proposed relocation.

"So far, despite the persistent efforts of the Secretary-General's Special Representative and the MONUA Force Commander, the UNITA leadership in Bailundo has refused, under various pretexts, to provide the necessary clearance for United Nations aircraft to land in Andulo and Bailundo in order to evacuate MONUA personnel.

"The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the situation with the 14 peacekeepers remaining in the above-mentioned locations. In its resolution 1213 (1998) adopted on 3 December, the Security Council stressed that it holds the UNITA leadership in Bailundo responsible for the safety and security of the peacekeepers. Any restriction on the freedom of movement of United Nations personnel is intolerable and violates UNITA's obligations under the Lusaka Protocol. The Secretary-General strongly urges the UNITA leadership, and personally Jonas Savimbi, to cooperate fully and immediately with MONUA in the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from Andulo and Bailundo.

"This task has acquired additional urgency with the recent intensification of military operations around the two team sites. The Secretary-General appeals to all concerned, including the Government of Angola, to exercise the utmost restraint so as not to endanger the lives of United Nations personnel or civilians and so as to avoid further deterioration of the situation on the ground."

Also, on the subject of Angola, Mr. Almeida e Silva said the United Nations humanitarian agencies would launch an appeal early next week for $67 million to meet the rising needs for urgent humanitarian assistance in Angola, where there were more than 300,000 newly displaced civilians as a result of the fighting.

While the Security Council was not meeting today, the Deputy Spokesman said that yesterday Council members had agreed on a draft resolution concerning Afghanistan that had gone into blue last night and was expected to be adopted on Tuesday.

Mr. Almeida e Silva then said the International Court of Justice had announced today that it had no jurisdiction to adjudicate a dispute brought by Spain against Canada in a situation concerning fisheries' jurisdiction. Spain had brought the case in 1995, when authorities from a Canadian patrol boat had boarded a fishing boat named "Estai" flying a Spanish flag. Details on the Court's decision were contained in a press release available in room S-378.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had drawn attention to the situation in the town of Malisevo in Kosovo, where no residents were returning out of fear of the large police presence, Mr. Almeida e Silva then said. The UNHCR had said that, in association with diplomatic missions and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), it was pressing the Government to reduce the presence of security forces there. Further details were contained in the summary of the UNHCR briefing and in a humanitarian update on Kosovo prepared by the UNHCR, both available in room S-378.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had launched an appeal for over $22 million to fund six months of relief assistance and rebuilding work among children and families devastated by Hurricane Mitch, the Deputy Spokesman said. The appeal was part of a joint United Nations Inter-agency Appeal for a total of $153 million for the tens of thousands of people affected by the Hurricane in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize.

On Sunday, Mr. Almeida e Silva said, a delegation headed by the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations and Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone, Hans Dahlgren, would travel to Sierra Leone on behalf of the Security Council to look at ways to enforce respect for the arms embargo imposed on Sierra Leonean rebels. The delegation would also visit Liberia during its week-long visit and would report to the Security

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 4 December 1998

Council. The arms embargo against non-governmental forces in Sierre Leone had been imposed by the Security Council on 5 June in resolution S/1171(1998), the Deputy Spokesman added.

In an update on signatures and ratifications, Mr. Almeida e Silva said Estonia and Viet Nam had signed the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He added that the Protocol contained binding targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. An update on the status of the Kyoto Protocol was available in room S-378.

In addition, Mr. Almeida e Silva said Djibouti today had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The ratification had been particularly welcome, as the year 2000 was nearing -- the target date for universal ratification set by the Beijing Platform of Action adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. "With Djibouti's ratification, only 31 countries remain to ratify before that target is reached", the Deputy Spokesman stated. A complete list of ratifying countries along with further details was available in room S-378.

"Also today, the United Nations has received another addition to its art collection", Mr. Almeida e Silva announced. The Deputy Secretary-General had unveiled a sculpture approximately three feet high by one and a half feet wide, executed by the artist Ricardo Pascale and entitled "Amaneciendo Verticalmente". The gift had been presented by the General Assembly President in his capacity as Uruguay's Minister for Foreign Affairs. The wooden sculpture had been placed between the revolving doors outside the Secretariat entrance. Information about the artist, in English or Spanish, was available in room S-378.

Finally today, Mr. Almeida e Silva said, there would be a background briefing at 4 p.m. in room S-226 by a senior United Nations official on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Looking ahead to events during the coming week, Mr. Almeida e Silva said that tomorrow, Saturday, the Secretary-General would travel to Libya. Tomorrow was also International Volunteer Day and the Secretary-General's message marking the occasion had been issued as Press Release SG/SM/6813. On Sunday and Monday, the Secretary-General was expected to be in Abu Dhabi, where on Monday he was scheduled to attend a summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Monday would be an event-heavy day, Mr. Almeida e Silva said. The Secretary-General's report on Kosovo to the Security Council was scheduled to be issued, and at 11:30 a.m. a background briefing would be given in room S-226 on events for the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, to be celebrated Thursday. The Afghan Support Group, a humanitarian gathering of United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and donor governments, would meet for two days in Tokyo

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beginning Monday on the needs and prospects for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. Also on Monday, the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration would launch an appeal for Angola projecting that a total of some $67 million would be required to provide emergency assistance to some 1.4 million people encompassing both displaced and host community populations.

From Monday, and continuing for three days, experts and government officials from 52 African nations would meet in Kampala, Uganda, to discuss options for better control and prevention of national and transnational crime, the Deputy Spokesman said. Also on Monday, the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would celebrate its fifty-fourth anniversary as described in a press release available in room S-378. Also on Monday, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Klaus Topfer, would be in New York for a meeting of the Bureau of the Convention on Biodiversity.

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General was scheduled to be in Paris to deliver an address to the National Assembly and to participate in the official closing of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting on human rights, Mr. Almeida e Silva continued. The Council was scheduled to discuss the Secretary-General's report on Afghanistan and to adopt a resolution on that subject in a formal meeting. Also scheduled for Tuesday was a briefing by the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, as well as the launch by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) of its report, The State of the World's Children 1999, in London.

Mr. Almeida e Silva said that on Wednesday, the Secretary-General was expected to be back in New York. For Thursday, no Security Council meeting was scheduled and United Nations Headquarters would be commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights all day as part of commemorations that had been scheduled worldwide. The programme for the New York day of events was available upstairs. Friday, Kosovo was on the agenda of informal Security Council consultations.

A number of correspondents asked a series of questions concerning the Secretary-General's forthcoming trip to Libya. A wire story had reported that Libyan leader Muammar Al-Qadhafi was not empowered to make decisions regarding the Lockerbie affair. Spokesman Fred Eckhard had been quoted as saying that the mission might not be a success. Was there a deal on the matter or not? Was there room for negotiation? the Deputy Spokesman was asked. Was it possible to get an update or some sense of what was going on? If President Al-Qadhafi was not empowered to make decisions concerning Lockerbie, would the Secretary-General have the opportunity to meet with those who were in the position to make such decisions?

"First, the Secretary-General is not negotiating", Mr. Almeida e Silva said, adding that the Secretary-General was travelling to Libya in order to

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help solve the long-standing impasse on the arrangements for the safe transfer of the two accused from Libya to the Netherlands. With regard to the Secretary-General's schedule while in Libya, Mr. Almeida e Silva said he had no details.

Another correspondent asked what the Secretary-General's two reports on Cyprus would contain and when they would be issued. Associate Spokesman Hiro Ueki said one report was on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and the other was on the Secretary-General's good offices' mission there. The report on UNFICYP would likely not be submitted on time but the other would be issued by Friday.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said the plenary this morning was considering the reports of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security). The Assembly was expected to act on a total of 49 resolutions based on those reports.

On Monday, Ms. Mihalic continued, the plenary was first scheduled to take up the third report of the General Committee and then the agenda item on cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE. A report of the Secretary-General and a draft resolution (document A/53/L.60) were before the Assembly, including amendments in draft resolution A/53/L.61. Thirteen speakers had been inscribed on the item. The next item to be considered would be global implications of the year 2000 conversion problem of computers, with a report of the Secretary-General and a draft resolution on the item contained in document A/53/L.43/Rev.1 before the Assembly. Seven speakers had been inscribed so far.

Further on Monday, Ms. Mihalic said, the plenary would also consider five draft resolutions under agenda item 20, strengthening the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations (resolutions A/53/L.31, L.33/Rev.2, L.44, L.59, and L.62, regarding assistance to Djibouti, Somalia and Tajikistan, as well as coordination of United Nations humanitarian assistance). The Assembly was also scheduled to take action on a draft resolution on the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (document A/53/L.39), cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (document A/53/L.21/Rev.1) and causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (document A/53/L.40). The plenary was also scheduled to take action on two drafts regarding the situation in Central America, considered in conjunction with the relevant reports of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on programme budget implications.

Also on Monday, the plenary would consider the appointment of the members of the Committee on Conferences. It would also take up the reports of the Fifth Committee on the appointment of members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), the Committee on Contributions, one member of the Board of Auditors, confirmation of the appointment of the members of the Investment Committee, appointment of the

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member of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal and the appointment of the members, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the International Civil Service Commission.

This afternoon, a special meeting of the Credentials Committee would be held to consider the credentials of Cambodia, Ms. Mihalic said. The Fifth Committee, she added, was meeting this morning for a general discussion of several issues relating to the programme budget for the current biennium, and also to consider several aspects of agenda item 112, review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations. The Committee would then resume informal consultations continuing this afternoon and evening.

In response to a question on why a special session of the Credentials Committee would be held this afternoon, Ms. Mihalic said a second meeting of the Committee was generally held at the end of the main part of the session to consider the credentials that had arrived between the first report of the Credentials Committee and the present, which did not number very many. A meeting of the Committee had been scheduled to be held about 10 days from now, but in this case, the letter had arrived and had apparently been considered important enough for consideration in a special session.

Asked if there were any expectations of the meeting, Ms. Mihalic said she would not speculate. It would be a closed meeting. Asked if some result was expected today, Ms. Mihalic said the Assembly was expected to consider the report of the Credentials Committee very early next week, perhaps even on Monday.

Asked if there was any follow-up on the General Assembly President's desire to be seated as an observer in the Security Council, Ms. Mihalic answered that there was not.

When asked if she could give the highlights of the 49 resolutions on First Committee reports adopted today by the Assembly, Ms. Mihalic said it was an unfair request and referred the correspondent to the documents containing the resolutions.

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