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 reminding correspondents that the Director of the Division of International Protection for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, Dennis McNamara, would be a guest at today's briefing. The topic would be current efforts to reaffirm international commitments to the right of asylum. (Mr. McNamara's briefing has been issued separately.)

The Spokesman said it had been called "a race against time", referring to the Organization's 31 December 1999 deadline to resolve the "millennium bug" computer conversion problem. With just 386 days left to prepare, experts from around the world were meeting in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. In his address to the gathering, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, Joseph Connor, had said the global cost of fixing the bug could be as high as $600 billion. Mr. Connor had stressed the importance of contingency planning, saying that "well developed contingency plans implemented by people familiar with the procedures will greatly reduce the impact of disruptions by providing a framework where individuals have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and know what is expected of them in an emergency situation".

Mr. Eckhard said that the text of Mr. Connor's speech was available in the Spokesman's Office, as well as the opening remarks of the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Ahmad Kamal, who also chaired the Working Group on Informatics. The text of the Secretary-General's remarks for this afternoon was also available in the Spokesman's Office, embargoed until after his address. All of the documentation for that meeting was being posted on the Internet on the United Nations Home Page (www.un.org/members/y2k). The media advisory, which contained further details, was also available in the Spokesman's Office.

Turning to the Secretary-General's appointments, Mr. Eckhard said his Office had received a number of queries regarding the Secretary-General's meeting at 11:30 a.m. today with the Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States. The Ambassadors had asked for the meeting to discuss the Secretary-General's recent visit to North Africa, specifically concerning Libya and the Western Sahara issue. That was a "tête-à-tête", the Spokesman said, adding that a read-out was not expected, at least "not from our side".

Continuing, he said that the Secretary-General's meeting at 2:30 p.m. with two members of the United States Congress had come at their request to discuss the "millennium bug" problem. His meeting with United States Senator Joseph Biden was also at the Senator's request. The subject of that meeting was the United States arrears to the United Nations. Senator Biden, along with United States Senator Jesse Helms, had co-sponsored the legislation in 1997 by which the United States would have paid a certain percentage of its

arrears if certain conditions were met. That legislation had never been adopted.

Continuing, he said that the Secretary-General's meeting with the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Development, Claire Short, was at her request, to discuss Africa and development. Finally, his dinner with the members of the Security Council, hosted by this month's Council President, Jassim M. Buallay of Bahrain, was merely the "monthly meal" that he had with Council members. It was usually a lunch, but this time it was a dinner. The Security Council, this morning, was holding consultations on the situation in Kosovo. It was also expected to have an "Arria formula" meeting on Guinea- Bissau, attended by Foreign Ministers from countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Concerning the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), several teams of resident UNSCOM inspectors had gone out to some sites today. The visiting inspectors had taken the day off. On the "oil-for-food" programme, the distribution plan for the fifth phase of the programme was expected to be submitted to the Secretary-General and approved by him shortly. The Office of the Iraq Programme had some clarifications to make with the Iraqi authorities on the plan, which had caused some delay in its submission to the Secretary- General. If it was submitted and approved this afternoon, "We'll squawk it to you", he said. In the meantime, Iraq had resumed oil exports, as announced earlier this week.

The second round of legislative elections in the Central African Republic would take place on Sunday, 13 December, he went on to say. The United Nations had fielded 76 electoral observers for the current round, together with electoral observers from the European Union and the Francophonie. The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) was also assisting the local electoral commission in transporting electoral materials and maintaining a secure environment for the elections, along with local authorities. Sixty-four out of 109 Assembly seats would be contested in that second round. The first round had been held on 22 November.

He said that the Secretary-General's report concerning the situation in Western Sahara, due out today, was expected to be submitted to the Security Council in the course of the day. The Secretary-General's good offices mission report on Cyprus was expected to be issued early next week. It had been due today.

As mentioned yesterday, the Secretary-General had this morning attended the fourth annual Conference on the New York City Economy. Copies of the Secretary-General's speech were available in the Spokesman's Office. In that address, the Secretary-General had noted that the United Nations had made a $2.2 billion contribution to New York City's economy every year, Mr. Eckhard noted. Looking forward to the millennium Assembly, the Secretary-General had

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 11 December 1998

said "I can hear your minds working already, and yes, this does promise to bring the mother of all gridlock alerts". He had also encouraged those present to support the United Nations politically, financially and in the broadest sense as it continued to serve as a powerful voice for all people, "which is New York City at its vibrant and multicultural best".

There were between 100 and 150 million people worldwide, including many children, who did not take breathing for granted, Mr. Eckhard said. For them, it could be a life and death struggle against recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing caused by asthma. Each year, approximately 180,000 of those sufferers lost the battle and died of the disease. To highlight the plight of asthma sufferers and raise public and professional awareness about that condition, the World Health Organization (WHO), together with a number of partner groups, was today marking World Asthma Day. Available in the Spokesman's Office were a fact sheet and a press release containing more information about the serious condition which affected the lives of millions of people in both developed and developing countries.

Mr. Eckhard drew attention to today's statement made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that it needed $914.8 million to help some 22 million refugees and other displaced people worldwide in 1999. In a press release issued in Geneva, the UNHCR said that that amount translated into approximately 11 cents per refugee per day. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadaka Ogata, was scheduled to visit Kosovo for the third time this year, on 21 and 22 December, to review the situation there. She would link up with William Walker, the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Kosovo verification mission. The UNHCR and its partners from non-governmental organizations were now conducting the second phase of a "shelter survey" in central and western Kosovo. Details were available in a summary upstairs.

In other news, Mr. Eckhard said that a two-week intergovernmental meeting on the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was concluding today in Dakar, Senegal, with the adoption of decisions to speed efforts to reverse dryland degradation over the next two years. A round-up press release would be available on the racks later today. In London this morning, Princess Anne had opened an exhibit on the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa at the Olympia Exhibition Centre. The exhibit, which would last through Sunday, was part of an annual event that showcased the work of organizations concerned with humanitarian and development-related issues. A brief note on that item was available in the Spokesman's Office.

The "computer bug" was the subject of the press conference by the Y2K Steering Committee at 2:30 p.m. today in Room 226, he said. The speakers would be the Chairman of the Informatics Working Group, Ambassador Ahmad Kamal of Pakistan, and the United States Special Representative for Y2K Conversion, John Koskinen.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 11 December 1998

Giving his weekly feature on the week ahead, the Spokesman reiterated that on Sunday, 13 December, the second round of legislative elections would take place in the Central African Republic. Also on Sunday, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), James Gustave Speth, would begin a visit to hurricane-affected countries in Central America. The Secretary-General planned to hold a year-end press conference, as early as Monday, 14 December, "so be ready to jump", Mr. Eckhard said.

The report to the Security Council on the multinational Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina was due on Monday, and the troop contributors meetings on the United Nations Missions in Cyprus and Western Sahara were scheduled for Monday afternoon, the Spokesman said. The Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission would meet in Geneva from Monday through Wednesday. Also scheduled for Monday was an intergovernmental meeting on demand reduction of narcotic drugs, in Vienna.

Continuing, he said that on Tuesday, the report on UNSCOM's current inspection activities was expected to be submitted to the Secretary-General. Also on Tuesday, the Security Council had scheduled consultations on the United Nations Missions in Cyprus and Western Sahara. The Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, was expected to be in Jakarta from where he was planning to proceed to Dili, East Timor, as agreed during the last round of talks in New York. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Kathleen Cravera, would be at the noon briefing on Tuesday to talk about the situation on the ground in Burundi, where there had been an increase in violence against people who were already displaced by fighting.

On Wednesday, 16 December, the United Nations in Geneva would launch a global appeal for $1.5 billion to meet the humanitarian needs in 14 countries and regions, he said. Also on Wednesday, the Secretary-General's report to the Council on Sierra Leone was due, and the Council was scheduled to convene an open meeting on the maintenance of peace and security and post-conflict peace-building.

On Thursday, 17 December, a formal meeting of the Council was envisaged on the United Nations Missions in Cyprus and Western Sahara, he continued. Also on Thursday, the General Assembly would suspend its fifty-third session, one week later than originally anticipated, he said.

On Friday, the Council was scheduled to hold consultations on Sierra Leone, the Spokesman added. Also Friday, the Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention and the European Space Agency were expected to sign an agreement to develop a satellite remote sensing methodology to monitor illicit narcotic crops.

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A correspondent asked whether the Spokesman had reported that the UNSCOM inspectors had taken the day off today. Mr. Eckhard replied that, no, that comment had referred to the visiting inspectors, adding that today was Friday, the holy day.

Asked in a follow-up question whether that was a new policy, he said no, it was just exactly as he had stated. He did not wish to depart from the statement because those were Ewen Buchanan's words, and the Spokesman did not speak for UNSCOM's Executive Chairman, Richard Butler, except to repeat what he was told. Referring to his earlier mention, he reiterated that several teams of resident inspectors had gone out to some sites today, and all the visiting inspectors had taken the day off.

Asked by that correspondent about the Secretary-General's reaction to the cancellation of the Lusaka summit, which he had been instrumental in organizing, the Spokesman said he did not have a reaction to that. In Paris, the Secretary-General had gathered all the Heads of State concerned with the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo together in one room for the first time. He was pushing hard for a cessation of hostilities agreement leading to a ceasefire, and the hope was that at the Lusaka meeting, that ceasefire could be firmed up, and if not, then at the Burkina Faso meeting. So, he continued to be hopeful, but he was watching those developments with concern.

Did the Secretary-General have any concern, that the Spokesman cared to share publicly, about the impeachment hearings in the United States? Mr. Eckhard said he would not comment on that.

Asked why former United States President Jimmy Carter had not been at the United Nations yesterday to personally accept his human rights award, Mr. Eckhard said he had been monitoring elections, and that was something he could not interrupt.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said that the General Assembly today continued to hear speakers on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yesterday, 64 Member States and two observers had addressed the Assembly during three sessions. The plenary was meeting all day today to hear the remaining 56 Member States and four observers inscribed on the list of speakers. No plenary meetings were scheduled for Monday.

Ms. Mihalic said that the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was having informal consultations this morning, this afternoon and this evening. It would also convene three informal meetings on Saturday. On Monday afternoon, the Credentials Committee would have its second meeting to consider the remaining credentials received after its October meeting.

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