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 the first noon briefing upon his return from accompanying the Secretary-General on a trip to the Maghreb region of North Africa by confirming that the Secretary-General had travelled to Libya on Saturday and had met first with the senior-most official responsible for foreign affairs, Omar Muntasser, and then with the Libyan leader, Muammar Al-Qadhafi.

On Sunday morning, the Secretary-General had departed Libya for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Mr. Eckhard continued. During that flight, the Secretary-General had spoken with United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, summing up his talks with Libyan authorities on the Lockerbie affair and saying, "We are well on the way to resolving the problem". A read-out of that phone conversation had been issued yesterday. The transcript of a press conference held by the Secretary-General on Saturday evening in Tripoli, along with his comments to reporters on the plane with him from Tripoli to Djerba, Tunisia on Saturday night, had been issued on Saturday. Copies of all those documents were available in room S-378.

Upon arrival in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday evening, Mr. Eckhard said, the Secretary-General had met with his own Special Envoy for Iraq, Prakash Shah. Today, the Secretary-General had held a number of bilateral meetings before addressing the Gulf Cooperation Council. His recent visit to Libya and the situation in Iraq dominated nearly all the Secretary-General's discussions with leaders. Among those with whom the Secretary-General had met in the morning were: the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Azeddin Laraki; the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Esmat Abdel-Meguid; and the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Shaikh Jamil Ibrahim Alhedjallan.

The Secretary-General had held two meetings this morning with South African President Nelson Mandela, one of them an hour-long tête-à-tête in which the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Libya had been discussed, including the Lockerbie issue, Mr. Eckhard said. Also in the morning, the Secretary-General had met with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan. In the afternoon, local time, the Secretary-General had met with three Emirs, that of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani; of Bahrain, Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa; and of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Secretary-General had then been scheduled to meet with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud Al-Faisal.

All those meeting with the Secretary-General had endorsed his efforts to bring closure to the impasse in the Lockerbie case, Mr. Eckhard said, which

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would enable the bringing of two suspects to trial in the Netherlands. At about 10:30 p.m. local time, the Secretary-General would give a press conference and the transcript would be made available in room S-378 by day's end.

Mr. Eckhard then said the Secretary-General had been relieved to learn that after a long ordeal, 14 United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) peacekeepers, deployed to the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)-held areas in Andulo and Bailundo, had been successfully withdrawn yesterday after UNITA leadership in Bailundo had given clearance for United Nations aircraft to land and pick them up. The Secretary-General had reiterated the international community's appeal for the parties in Angola to exercise the utmost restraint, so as not to endanger lives, either those of MONUA or other international personnel, or of innocent civilians. The full text of the statement by the Secretary-General on the issue had been issued yesterday and was available in room S-378.

Meanwhile, Mr. Eckhard continued, the United Nations had today launched an appeal for $66.7 million aimed at providing emergency humanitarian assistance during 1999 for approximately 3 million of the most destitute victims of the continuing crisis in Angola. Sustained conflict, renewed laying of anti-personnel mines, widespread banditry and insecurity had all created a dramatic impact on the already devastated condition. In Angola, the under-five mortality rate was almost 30 per cent, the maternal mortality rate was 1,280 per 100,000 live births and only 31 per cent of Angolans had access to clean water. Further information was available in the appeal document, accessible on the website of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), http://www.reliefweb.int/.

After consulting with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, James Gustave Speth, Mr. Eckhard then said, the Secretary-General had today announced the appointment of an Associate UNDP Administrator, Zephirin Diabre. Mr. Diabre had built a distinguished career in government, business and academia in Burkina Faso, where he was currently serving as economic advisor to the President. The Secretary-General had said that Mr. Diabre represented a new generation of African leaders having "strong management skills as well as development and political experience". The Secretary-General had also said he looked forward to Mr. Diabre's contributions to the United Nations. Mr. Diabre would replace the current UNDP Associate Administrator, Rafeeudin Ahmed, upon the latter's retirement, and would assume his new duties in mid-January 1999.

The Secretary-General's report on the humanitarian and human rights aspects of the Kosovo situation had been issued today as a Security Council document, Mr. Eckhard then announced. In his report, the Secretary-General had noted the extent to which the internally displaced and refugees were willing to return to their homes still varied by area. About 175,000 people

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remained displaced in Kosovo while Albania remained host to another 24,000 refugees from Kosovo.

The Secretary-General had said early deployment of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Kosovo Verification Mission would be a critical factor in building the confidence needed for the return of those who had fled, Mr. Eckhard continued. He had also expressed the hope that prior to another report to the Security Council being due, the OSCE Mission would have assumed reporting responsibilities for other than humanitarian and human rights questions. He had also expressed concern that, after the end of major hostilities in Kosovo, advance toward a political solution remained slow. The Security Council was scheduled to discuss Kosovo on Friday of this week.

Also on the racks was a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council concerning Afghanistan (document S/1998/1139) stating that Afghan parties had agreed in principle to the Secretary-General's proposal for deploying civilian monitors to Afghanistan, Mr. Eckhard continued. The proposal had called for establishing a Civil Affairs Unit within the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan, within which 12 civilian monitors would work to promote respect for minimum humanitarian standards and to deter massive and systematic human rights violations. The Secretary-General had pointed out in his letter that the new Unit would only be established with Security Council approval and the Council was scheduled to hold consultations tomorrow on a draft resolution responding to that point.

"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is extremely concerned with reports of increased violence against displaced persons in Burundi", Mr. Eckhard announced, adding there had been a significant increase in attacks against populations, including those in displaced camps. "Over 550,000 internally displaced persons reside in over 300 sites", the Spokesman emphasized, adding that OCHA had called on all parties to respect universal humanitarian principles and human rights and to avoid a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.

For the record, the Spokesman then repeated a message squawked earlier, that the Executive Director of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, was currently meeting with the Security Council President at Bahrain's Mission to the United Nations at the President's request. Mr. Butler would meet the press at the stakeout position outside the Security Council Chamber at 3:30 p.m.

"Three notes on human rights", Mr. Eckhard then announced. First, as part of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, tonight there would be a world premiere screening at 6 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjold Library of the film, "For Everyone

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Everywhere". This film included rare archival footage chronicling the history of the Universal Declaration.

Second, all across New York City this month, performing arts organizations would be saluting the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration, Mr. Eckhard continued. Some organizations would mark the 10 December date by distributing copies of the Declaration to their audiences. Others were printing messages of support inside programmes or playbills. Participating organizations included: The Broadway League representing all Broadway houses; Art New York, representing 350 off-Broadway houses; Jazz at Lincoln Center; The Metropolitan Opera; The Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center; Disney, represented by "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast"; and the Film Society, which was the Walter Reade Theater.

And third, Mr. Eckhard announced that United Nations Messengers of Peace Luciano Pavarotti, Anna Cataldi and Michael Douglas would present to the Secretary-General, during a special event at 5:30 p.m. in the Public Lobby on 10 December, a children's passport-style version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Secretary-General and the three Messengers of Peace would present copies of the "passport" to children in the audience, and a million copies of the passport would subsequently be distributed to schools around the world by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

On signatures, Mr. Eckhard said that on Friday, the Gambia had become the sixty-second country to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. There were still no ratifications, he added, noting that 60 ratifications would be needed for the treaty to enter into force.

"Everything you ever wanted to know about the Turner Fund is provided in a report out on the racks today (document A/53/700)", Mr. Eckhard declared. Totalling 22 pages, the report provided comprehensive data on all projects approved so far.

As mentioned last week, Mr. Eckhard then went on to say, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) would launch its 1999 State of the World's Children report in London tomorrow. Also tomorrow, at 10 a.m. in UNICEF House, the film and television star LeVar Burton, host of the children's television program "Reading Rainbow", would conduct the United States launch for the report focusing on education. A media advisory on the event was available in room S-378.

Also from UNICEF and available in room S-378, the Spokesman added, was a press release concerning the winner of the 1998 Right Livelihood Award, which had been presented to the International Baby Food Action Network.

And a final document available in room S-378, Mr. Eckhard said, was a note on the recent visit of the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian

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Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello, on his recent visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea last week.

Mr. Eckhard then made a few final announcements. He said a press conference would be held at 2:30 p.m. in room S-266 by the permanent representative of Mongolia to the United Nations, Jargalsaikhany Enkhsaikhan, who would discuss an innovative resolution adopted by the General Assembly on Friday entitled, "Mongolia's international security and nuclear-weapon-free status". Another event today would be a showing of the recently recorded World Chronicle TV programme number 731, with the Chief of the Education Section of UNICEF, Sheldon Shaeffer, on in-house television channel 6 or 38 at 2:30 p.m. Finally, voting for the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) elections had opened today. The polling place, located in the hallway outside the UNCA cafeteria, would be open daily until 4 p.m. through Wednesday.

A correspondent asked for a read-out of the Secretary-General's meeting with his Special Representative to Iraq, Prakash Shah, adding, "I assume compliance was high on the agenda". Mr. Eckhard said he had not spoken directly with the Secretary-General and those accompanying him had not given any specific information on that. "I'll try to get information for you", he assured.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would go to Cyprus, Mr. Eckhard said he hoped the Secretary-General would not go anywhere for the rest of this month. A major trip was planned for January, which would be announced in due time, but it would not include Cyprus, at this point.

Was the level of cooperation of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, informally known as the Turner Fund, satisfactory to the United Nations? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said, yes. The people running the Turner Fund were excellent and the Secretary-General had visited their new offices in Washington on his last trip there. Given the size of the gift and the legal and technical complexity of setting up the mechanisms between the United Nations and the Turner people, delays in distributing some of the funds were reasonable. "There is no doubt about either getting the funds or that dispensing of monies would occur faster now that the mechanisms were in place", the Spokesman said.

Had the Secretary-General established contact with the Security Council since his meetings in Libya? another correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he would check with the Secretary-General. The two telephone conversations he had mentioned to the press had been one with United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and another with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook. "Actually, the Secretary-General talked with Robin Cook both before and after his meeting with Mr. Qadhafi", Mr. Eckhard added, repeating that he would check if the Secretary-General had talked with anyone else.

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Would the Secretary-General brief the Council on his return, another correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he would check on "how that would be handled". Finally, when asked if the Security Council planned to meet on Iraq this week, Mr. Eckhard said it was not on the agenda, which was not to say the Council would not take it up.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay) said this morning the plenary had adopted the special report of the Credentials Committee concerning the credentials of Cambodia, and the Cambodian delegation had been seated in the General Assembly. The plenary had also adopted the third report of the General Committee, and had allocated agenda item 167, armed aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the plenary for consideration at a date to be decided.

The plenary had then taken up the item, cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE, Ms. Mihalic said. Draft resolution A/53/L.60 had been introduced by Poland, and Azerbaijan had introduced the amendment in document A/53/L.61, while 14 other speakers had been inscribed to speak on the item. Debate was still in progress. The next item to be considered would be global implications of the year 2000 conversion problem of computers, with the report of the Secretary-General and a draft resolution (document A/53/L. 43/Rev.1) before the Assembly. Twelve speakers had been inscribed so far.

She added that the plenary would also consider a series of draft resolutions under agenda item 20, strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, regarding assistance to Djibouti, Somalia, Tajikistan and the Palestinian people as well as coordination of United Nations humanitarian assistance.

Further, Ms. Mihalic said, the plenary was scheduled to take action on draft resolutions on: the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (A/53/L.39), Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (A/53/L.21/Rev.1) and the 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, to be considered in conjunction with the relevant reports of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on programme budget implications.

The plenary would also consider appointments of the members of the Committee on Conferences, Ms. Mihalic said. Finally, it would consider the reports of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on the following: appointment of members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ); the Committee on Contributions; one member of the Board of Auditors; the confirmation of the appointment of the members of the Investment Committee; the appointment of the members of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal; and the appointment of the members, Chairman and

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Vice-Chairman of the International Civil Service Commission. The plenary would continue its meeting in the afternoon.

Tomorrow morning, Ms. Mihalic said, the Assembly would take up: the Declaration of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on the agenda item, aerial and naval military attack against Libya by the United States in April 1986; armed Israeli aggression against the Iraqi nuclear installations and its grave consequences for the establishment of the international system concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and international peace and security; consequences of the Iraqi occupation and aggression against Kuwait; implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations; launching of global negotiations on international economic cooperation for development; and question of the Comorian island of Mayotte. No documents had been submitted on any of those items.

In addition, Ms. Mihalic said, the Assembly would take up the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti. There was a report of the Secretary-General on the item and a draft resolution (document A/53/L.57), sponsored by six Member States. Five speakers had been inscribed so far to address the Assembly on the item. Tomorrow afternoon, the Assembly would take up the reports of the Sixth Committee (Legal).

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), Ms. Mihalic said, was meeting this morning for a general discussion of several issues related to the programme budget for the current biennium. The Committee was also considering several aspects of agenda item 112, review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations. It was also scheduled to conclude its consideration of the agenda item on utilization of the development dividend and on human resources management, before resuming informal consultations, which would continue this afternoon and evening.

In response to a question, Ms. Mihalic explained that agenda items for which there was no documentation had been included in the agenda for the current session, but would most likely be deferred to the next session.

Asked for an explanation of the status of the Credentials Committee, Ms. Mihalic said the Committee normally met at the beginning of the main part of the session of the General Assembly and met again toward the end of it. At its first meeting during this session, the Committee had considered the credentials of 127 Member States. In the interim, some letters of credentials had been received, but not nearly as many as had been outstanding. A note had been placed in the Journal to remind delegates that, according to the rules of the General Assembly, credentials were due one week prior to the beginning of the session. There would be another meeting of the Committee before the end of the session, probably next week.

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Asked whether Cambodia's credentials had been approved by the plenary with or without a vote, Ms. Mihalic said it had been approved without vote. By consensus, she added, in response to another question. In response to other questions, Ms. Mihalic said the Cambodian delegation had not been in the room when it had been seated and had not been expected to speak. It was later announced that Cambodia's Minister of State, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation had been the last speaker at the morning meeting.

Responding to another question, Ms. Mihalic said no decision had been made on when the agenda item related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo would be considered. It would be considered in the plenary but basically, it was "pending".

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