DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Manoel Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, opened today's noon briefing by introducing the guest at the noon briefing as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burundi, Kathleen Cravero-Kristoffersson, who would be talking about the social and economic conditions in Burundi on the eve of the launching of an inter-agency appeal for Burundi. (Ms. Cravero-Kristoffersson's briefing is issued separately.)

The Security Council was meeting this morning for consultations on Western Sahara and Cyprus, Mr. Almeida e Silva continued. Under other matters, the Council was expected to take up a letter from the chairmen of the eight sanctions committees addressed to the Council President regarding sanctions in general. Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. the Council would hold an open meeting on maintenance of peace and security and post-conflict peace building. So far, 37 speakers were scheduled to speak and the list "may grow in the course of the day".

A letter dated 14 December from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council on his mission of good offices in Cyprus was out on the racks today, Mr. Almeida e Silva then announced. In that letter, the Secretary-General had said he was encouraged by the constructive manner in which both Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash were engaging in talks still in progress. The Secretary-General had commended both leaders for their statesmanship and vision, saying "the flexible approach by both sides provides hope for tangible progress". The Secretary-General had then gone on to say that the objective had been declared to continue working with the Deputy Representative in Cyprus, Ann Hercus, involved in a process of talks with both parties.

The Deputy Spokesman then said that in the Secretary-General's report on the situation in the Western Sahara, issued yesterday as document S/1998/1160, the Secretary-General had recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) through to the end of January. That would allow time for consultations hopefully leading to an agreement on the package the Secretary- General had presented to the parties, aimed at breaking the current impasse in the settlement process.

Mr. Almeida e Silva said an increasing number of civilians were becoming trapped in the conflict between the Angolan Armed Forces and armed elements of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). He added that the conflict continued to intensify, particularly in the Central Highlands. Preliminary reports had indicated that "more than 60,000 people have been displaced since last Thursday" and humanitarian organizations expected that number to "increase by several thousand, as people make their way into provincial capitals". Relief aid had been provided by a core group of relief

workers, since the relocation of more than 286 non-essential humanitarian personnel and their dependents from Kuito, Huambo and Luena to the capital, Luanda.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had called on all parties to ensure safe and unhindered access in providing emergency humanitarian assistance to the growing number of vulnerable persons in conflict areas, Mr. Almeida e Silva continued. Overall, approximately 1.4 million people had been displaced by fighting in Angola. A note on the situation was available in room S-378.

Mr. Almeida e Silva then said the Executive Director of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on Iraq, Richard Butler, was still finalizing his report on Iraqi cooperation with the disarmament work of the Commission. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had submitted its report to the Secretary-General yesterday.

Again on Iraq, the Deputy Spokesman said the weekly update on the implementation of the oil-for-food programme had been released yesterday. Thus far, in the fifth phase, 45 oil contracts had been submitted, of which 37 had been approved for a total of 148.7 million barrels. Humanitarian supplies had continued to arrive in Iraq last week, including food, medicines, power station spare parts, school desks and broiler hatching-eggs. Further details were contained in the report available in room S-378.

Mr. Almeida e Silva then reported that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, while in Madrid to attend a two-day meeting of the Peace Implementation Council set up under the auspices of the Dayton Peace Agreement, had expressed concern that more than three years after hostilities had ended, no major breakthrough had occurred in the return of refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, she had said, 1.7 million people remained displaced from conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, many wanting to return to pre-war homes but unable because those homes were in areas where they would be in the ethnic minority.

At the Geneva press briefing today, Mr. Almeida e Silva continued, the UNHCR had voiced concern about an incident in Kosovo last Friday in which Serb civilians had detained three aid workers for four hours in protest of the continued absence of two Serbs kidnapped in July. One of the aid workers being an international staff member of the German agency Cap Anamur, the incident had marked the first holding of an expatriate worker while on an aid mission in Kosovo. The UNHCR had said convoy operations were continuing to deliver relief supplies. As usual, the Deputy Spokesman added, the UNHCR briefing note from today was available in room S-378.

Mr. Almeida e Silva then said 12 United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) had arrived in Nigeria to help the country's National Electoral Commission set up mechanisms for monitoring the upcoming presidential elections in February 1999 as part of the wider United Nations assistance effort in the country's election

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process. Further details were available in the latest edition of "Flash", UNDP's newsletter.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Mr. Almeida e Silva recalled, had on 3 December asked the Tribunal to "request that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia transfer to the Hague" a case currently being tried in Belgrade involving three defendants in connection with the "Vukovar Hospital" case. "The Trial Chamber has now decided to accept the Prosecutor's request and has officially requested the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to hand the proceedings over to the competence of the Hague Tribunal", Mr. Almeida e Silva announced. He said a press release with further details was available in room S-378.

Also available was a press release from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) describing how natural disasters had damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of school facilities across the world this year, the Deputy Spokesman continued. Included in the press release had been the results of a recent UNICEF survey, which had found China the hardest-hit country, where floods had damaged or destroyed over forty-eight thousand schools.

Mr. Almeida e Silva then announced a number of notes for the record, as there had been no noon briefing yesterday due to the Secretary-General's news conference. First, Bahamas and Bulgaria had made payments yesterday to the United Nations regular budget, in the amounts of $157,744 and $473,232, respectively, bringing to 113 the number of Member States that had paid their contributions in full. Also yesterday, Latvia had signed the Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change, bringing to 68 the number of signatory parties to that protocol.

"Yesterday for the first time, a Rwandan militia leader pleaded guilty to genocide and crimes against humanity", Mr. Almeida e Silva announced, referring to Interahamwe leader Omar Serushago. According to the press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Deputy Spokesman continued, Mr. Serushago's admission of guilt had been the first time a leader of the Interahamwe had acknowledged and affirmed the key role played by Interahamwe, a paramilitary group alleged to have been pivotal in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. (The press release was available in room S-378.) Mr. Almeida e Silva said word had been received from the spokesman for the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA), Ismael Diallo, that the second and third round of legislative elections had been held last Sunday without major problems. However, the voter turn-out had been reported as low, with 14 political parties vying for a remaining 63 seats out of a total 109 in Parliament. The first round of elections had been held on 11 November.

In two closing announcements, Mr. Almeida e Silva said today's World Chronicle programme featured the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Fred Eckhard, to be aired on channel 6 or 38, dealing with events of the past year, and that the annual holiday party of the United Nations Correspondents

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Association (UNCA) would be held today in the UNCA Club beginning at 5:30 p.m. DPI staff and other UNCA friends were invited.

A correspondent asked when the report of UNSCOM Director, Richard Butler, would be available. Mr. Almeida e Silva said it was expected today at an unknown time. To a further question, he said, the Secretary-General would look at the report and take the action required, certainly transmitting it to the Council. What other kinds of action would be required? the correspondent pursued.

As the Secretary-General read the report he would see what action would be required, the Deputy Spokesman said. Asked about possible next steps, Mr. Almeida e Silva said as an example that the Council had informed the Secretary- General in October of its readiness to begin the comprehensive review once the Secretary-General confirmed, on the basis of the report from UNSCOM and from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that the Special Commission and the IAEA were both receiving full cooperation from Iraq. When asked whether the report would be made available to the press, Mr. Almeida e Silva said he would check on that.

Was there any reaction from the Secretary-General concerning the news out of Tripoli today? another correspondent asked. Had any formal word come from Libya about events? Also, what did the Secretary-General see as the remaining obstacles in a trial over the Lockerbie case, as there seemed to be a difference of opinion with regard to who would make the next move.

No formal document had been received from Libya, Mr. Almeida e Silva answered. "We have seen the media reports regarding the decisions of the People's Congress, and the Secretary-General sees that as a positive development", the Deputy Spokesman continued, stating that the Libyan Permanent Representative had been asked to provide further clarification on the reference to the free countries mentioned in the media reports.

Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said this morning the plenary had completed consideration of the reports of the Second Committee. No plenary meetings had been scheduled for tomorrow, and the closing meeting for this part of the fifty-third session was scheduled for Thursday, 17 December, in the afternoon.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), Ms. Mihalic said, had held a formal meeting this morning to look at the revised budget estimates on the United Nations Political Office in Bouganville and to take action on the draft resolution regarding the scale of assessment, before resuming informal consultations on all outstanding issues. By tomorrow afternoon, the Committee was expected to complete this stage of its deliberations at the fifty-third session.

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