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 noting the time: "12:02 p.m., I've still got to improve on that". He was, of course, referring to his resolution to start the briefings on time.

Turning to the schedule of the Security Council, the Spokesman said it was meeting in consultations this morning on the situations in Kosovo, Angola, and Sierra Leone. In the Secretary-General's report on Kosovo, which was issued last week, he urged all parties concerned to engage, without delay, in negotiations to resolve the problems by peaceful means. He said that progress was all the more pressing in view of the increased levels of violence and the acute humanitarian needs. The completion of the full deployment of the Kosovo Verification Mission should become a decisive factor for stability and confidence-building there, he said. The report contained an annex provided by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Following Kosovo, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi, would update the Council on the situation in Angola and Sierra Leone, Mr. Eckhard said. Under other matters, it was expected to take up the situation in Iraq, specifically a letter sent by the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, to UNSCOM commissioners concerning a possible special meeting of the Commission. According to UNSCOM, the letter to the commissioners was simply an alert that such a meeting might be called. The idea had been floated in the Council in December.

On Angola, the Spokesman reminded correspondents that all humanitarian flights in that country had been suspended. Now, access to the more than one million people in need of humanitarian assistance had been further reduced since access to all roads, except the coastal one, was now off limits. Of a total monthly delivery allocation of 7,000 tonnes of food for the affected population, 5,000 tonnes had been delivered by road.

The Spokesman then read out a statement by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello, on the situations in Angola and Sierra Leone, as follows:

"I am extremely concerned by the current situation in Angola and Sierra Leone where recent heavy fighting and insecurity has forced humanitarian agencies to either drastically reduce their presence and activities or, as in the case of Sierra Leone, to pull out all staff from the country. As the violence intensifies, civilians -- already in an impoverished state -- suffer loss of life, property and are forced to flee the fighting. Hundreds of thousands have become refugees or have been internally displaced in both countries in 1998. This must cease.

"The humanitarian community in Angola and Sierra Leone is striving to continue providing relief assistance to the vulnerable groups through

established distribution mechanisms in local communities. However, if the fighting continues, I am concerned that we will not be able to replenish depleting stocks of food and, in this respect, I call on all parties involved in the conflicts in Sierra Leone and Angola to respect and fully protect civilian populations, whatever their location, to guarantee the security and safety of those transporting humanitarian assistance, and to facilitate these activities by ensuring that routes travelled -- including agreed air corridors -- are secure.

"I urge all combatants to consider the safety of all civilians, especially women and children, and to ensure that international humanitarian law is fully respected, particularly in areas of military confrontation."

Further on Angola, United Nations Security Coordinator Benon Sevan, as had been announced, yesterday received a firm promise of cooperation in the search for the missing United Nations aircraft and personnel in Angola from the Angolan President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The Angolan President subsequently designated the Chief of General Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces, General de Matos, to serve as a focal point for the search and rescue operation of those two missing aircraft. The General, in turn, instructed the local commander in Huambo to take the United Nations rescue team to Vila Nova, and from there to the first crash site.

All regional commanders were also instructed to cooperate with the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) in the withdrawal of United Nations personnel and equipment from the team sites and regional headquarters, he continued. In that connection, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had instructed the Angolan Mission to resume limited air operations for the relocation of United Nations personnel and equipment. Air operations would be undertaken only in safe and non-contested areas.

Mr. Eckhard said that for those who had missed it, his Office had issued a statement late yesterday afternoon concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the statement, attributable to the Spokesman, he expressed his deep concern over reports of an alleged massacre of some 500 civilians in the eastern portion of the country. Also on that subject, the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations, Andre Kapanga, had written to the Security Council on the matter and would give a press conference this afternoon in Room S-226 at 2 p.m.

He drew attention to two news releases issued by the World Food Programme in Islamabad, Afghanistan. One concerned the completion of the three-week long delivery of emergency aid to more than 120,000 people facing a winter of extreme hunger and poverty in Afghanistan's least developed heartland, the Hazarajat region. The second concerned the re-opening of subsidized bakeries in Jalalabad to meet the needs of the increasingly vulnerable population of more than 500,000 residents of the eastern Afghan city.

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Mr. Eckhard also noted a press release by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the organization that had led the global response to the AIDS epidemic. It reported the signing by one of the world's largest networks of non-governmental organizations, Caritas Internationalis, of a Memorandum of Understanding with UNAIDS. The detailed press release was available in the Spokesman's Office.

In other announcements, he reported that the United Nations had received another substantial payment for 1999, by Kuwait in the amount of $1,392 million. According to a note from the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), a correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Salah Awad, was recovering from a broken leg, and UNCA wished him well. In a final announcement, he said that Trinidad and Tobago today signed the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Asked about the Secretary-General's thoughts concerning the editorial in The Washington Post today, Mr. Eckhard reiterated that if those allegations were true, it would be damaging to United Nations disarmament efforts worldwide. The reports in today's newspapers tended to lend more credence to those allegations, but since nothing had been proven yet, it was too soon to make firm judgements. The United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, called the Secretary-General yesterday morning and they discussed that issue. Those discussions would likely continue as the story unfolded. It was ultimately a matter for the Security Council, however, since UNSCOM was a subsidiary Council body. As such, the Spokesman would not want to say anything that would prejudge its action.

In a follow-up question, the correspondent said that although the Spokesman said it was a Security Council issue, everyone knew that senior United Nations Secretariat officials had been thinking of ways forward on the Iraqi issue. Concerning yesterday's newspaper reports, was the Spokesman completely denying whether those aids had said what they did?

The Spokesman said, "We don't know who those aides are". The Secretary- General would like to know who felt at liberty to talk to a newspaper, in this case inaccurately, about his views. He was not into witch hunts and he was not conducting any kind of investigation, but he might want to review United Nations guidelines on press relations. He wished to maintain the Secretariat's relationship with the press, which was open and transparent, but the people who spoke to the press needed to do so accurately.

The correspondent repeated that despite the fact that UNSCOM answered to the Security Council, it was well known that the Secretariat had been thinking through the Iraqi issue, and he wished to know the Secretary-General's views on possible options?

Mr. Eckhard said that on that matter, the Secretary-General had consistently tried to facilitate the work of the Council, but it was the

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Council's responsibility. When the Council was divided, the Secretary-General pulled back. He did not have administrative authority to "move in and break a deadlock"; he might act only with the support of Governments, and in a matter such as Iraq, with the Council's support. So, he was not going to go public with any thinking he might have on the way forward. He would share such thoughts with Council members.

Replying to a question about whether it was time for the Secretary- General to address the press directly, the Spokesman said no, the issue was not what the Secretary-General thought and it was not about UNSCOM's Executive Chairman. The issue was how to get on with the disarming of Iraq, and that was for the Council to decide.

Asked how the Spokesman would describe the current relationship between the 38th floor of the Secretariat and the United States State Department, he said the Secretary-General spoke with some regularity to the United States Secretary of State. If they did not have a good working relationship, those conversations probably would not be as frequent. The Spokesman did not wish to comment on the recent aspects of the coverage, specifically yesterday's Washington Post story. That was the only newspaper which had focused so sharply on the Secretary-General angle of the story, and it did so again today in an editorial.

The Washington Post article and editorial had most likely caused a reaction in Washington, the Spokesman went on to say, and he could not imagine that it was positive from the Secretary-General's point of view. The Secretary-General hoped that as focus sharpened on the real issues, any ill feeling that might have been generated would dissipate, and his good working relationship would continue.

The correspondent, noting that United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, James Rubin, yesterday had "pinned this squarely as a leak on the 38th floor", asked if that was something the Spokesman flatly denied.

He said that no, he did not know. The Washington Post quoted someone whom it described as a confidant of the Secretary-General. "We don't know who that is; we don't know who could have said what that person said", he added. He gave The Washington Post the benefit of the doubt that the quotation was not made up and that there was some substance to it, but frankly he did not know who had said it. It was an embarrassment to the Secretary-General, and it had focused the issue where it did not belong, thereby distracting everyone from the real question.

The correspondent, noting that was the second time in the last couple of months that the Spokesman emphatically had to distance the Secretary-General from something that had been attributed to him by an unnamed confidant, asked if there was a problem up there.

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The Spokesman said that no, he did not think so, and added that it was partly the openness of the system. When the Secretary-General assumed his position, the Spokesman's Office orally spread the word that everyone in the Secretariat was free to speak to the press within their areas of competence and with the blessing of the head of their department. That was a very liberal policy, and one which would occasionally take a few falls.

On another subject, a correspondent asked if the Secretary-General had any reaction to the proposal today of French President Jacques Chirac to hold a Millennium Summit in October. Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General was aware of that statement and welcomed the President's focus on the issues, particularly on the impact of globalization on the world's poorest people -- a subject which President Chirac had discussed during a videotape conference upon the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In his speech, President Chirac had also talked about his vision and the role that the United Nations should play.

The Spokesman said that the Secretary-General was grateful that such a dialogue was getting under way because he had asked all Member States to think through those questions and bring some ideas to the Millennium Assembly. Without some carefully thought through ideas, that Assembly would not be fruitful. So, that was a welcome contribution to that debate.

Did the Secretary-General, in his conversation yesterday with Secretary of State Albright, say that she must now accept that some alternative to UNSCOM be found if the process of disarming Iraq was ever to be concluded, especially given that even some United States Government officials were admitting to the newspapers that American spies had worked for UNSCOM?

The Spokesman said he doubted that anything like that was said during yesterday's conversation, and he did not wish to speculate on any future conversations between them.

Could the Spokesman state right here that the Secretary-General had no problem with Mr. Butler remaining until the end of June? another correspondent asked.

Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General wanted to follow the wishes of the Security Council concerning all UNSCOM matters.

Then, why had the Secretary-General not issued a ringing endorsement of the man he had selected? the correspondent asked.

Mr. Eckhard said that if the correspondent was aware of some of the differing views of the Council members, he would be able to answer that question.

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Another correspondent, referring to a statement made by Mr. Butler as reported in a Sydney, Australia, newspaper today that he was contemplating not staying beyond his term, asked if the Secretary-General was aware of that and whether he was looking for some kind of replacement.

He had not discussed that report with the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said, nor had he seen it in the Sydney Morning Herald. The report was on the news wires, but he did not know if the Secretary-General was aware of it. As the Spokesman had said yesterday, the Secretary-General was not looking for a replacement for Mr. Butler because as far as he knew, Richard Butler had no intention of leaving. That was the first time of such a hint, and he did not know if the quotation was accurate. The correspondent would have to confirm that with Mr. Butler.

Another correspondent asked about the Secretary-General's reaction to today's newspaper reports that Washington seemed to have changed its tune and was now saying it had used UNSCOM for spying and intelligence gathering and had put people in there to help UNSCOM, and in turn, to receive information from it.

The Spokesman said the Secretary-General had only seen the same press reports as the correspondent. They quoted unnamed United States officials, and that was not yet a firm enough basis on which to judge what might have gone on in UNSCOM. "I think he's holding back and waiting to see what else, if anything, emerges", he added.

Since the United Nations was essentially dealing with two Angolas, had the Security Coordinator in Angola received the same cooperation from the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) as he had received from the Angolan President? another correspondent asked.

Mr. Eckhard said that to his knowledge, the Security Coordinator had not made any direct contact with UNITA representatives. As previously stated, he had carried two letters from the Secretary-General: one to the President, which had been delivered, and one to UNITA, which was still in his pocket.

Another correspondent said that while the United Nations seemed to be distancing the 38th floor from the attempt by The Washington Post to get into the mind set of the Secretary-General, the United Nations did not seem to be distancing itself from the actual facts of the case. Was the United Nations looking into the allegations seriously and where did it go from here, now that so many people were reporting the story, based on both United States and United Nations officials? she asked.

"The United Nations is not Scotland Yard", the Spokesman replied. It did not have a professional investigative capability to get into allegations that the intelligence organizations of some Member States were doing this or

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that. "So we sit and we wait and we see what, if anything, gets corroborated", he added.

At any point, had the Secretary-General or anyone from his Office directly approached the Secretary of State or anyone else from the United States Government and asked what was going on? In other words, had the United Nations demanded the facts, at least in terms of the allegations? a correspondent asked.

The Spokesman said he did not wish to get into the substance of any contacts the Secretary-General or any members of his staff had had with the United States Government on the subject, beyond what he had already said.

Did the Spokesman's comment that the United Nations was not a Scotland Yard mean that the Secretary-General was taking for granted the words of Mr. Butler when he said that the allegations were absolutely not true? another correspondent asked.

Of course the Secretary-General had to accept Mr. Butler's assertions and take them at face value, the Spokesman said.

To a question about whether the Secretary-General had spoken with Iraqi officials in Baghdad about those stories or any other developments, the Spokesman said that no, not to his knowledge.

Asked what the United Nations could report about what was happening inside Sierra Leone, Mr. Eckhard reminded the correspondent that the Secretary-General had a representative in the region, and he followed developments to the extent possible.

In response to another question on Sierra Leone, Mr. Eckhard referred to a statement issued yesterday that had been based on information received on the situation in Freetown.

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