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, read out the following statement, attributable to him, at today's noon briefing:

"The Secretary-General is deeply dismayed at the resumption of fighting between Government forces and forces loyal to the self-proclaimed Military Junta, which has already resulted in the loss of a high number of innocent lives and a new exodus of the civilian population from Bissau. The Secretary- General calls on all parties to halt military operations and to respect international humanitarian law and to facilitate the free flow of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.

"The Secretary-General welcomes the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) ongoing efforts to stop the fighting and urges both parties to abide by the Abuja Agreement of 1 November 1998 and to respect the new ceasefire accord which they signed on 3 February 1999".

Mr. Eckhard said the Security Council was today holding consultations on Angola, the Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau. On the Central African Republic, Council members had discussed a draft resolution on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the country (MINURCA). Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi had updated them on political and military developments in Angola, while the Deputy to the Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, who had returned from Angola a few days ago, briefed on the humanitarian situation in the country. (Mr. Griffiths briefed correspondents yesterday on his trip to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Highlighting some of the points made by Mr. Annabi, the Spokesman said the Assistant-Secretary-General had noted in his briefing that the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) had not been able, to date, to revisit the crash sites of the two United Nations-chartered planes which had been lost on 26 December 1998 and 2 January 1999, respectively. Neither the Angolan Government nor the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) had allowed the United Nations Mission to do so for security reasons.

The overall military situation in Angola continued to be difficult, Mr. Annabi had told the Council. Concerning the continued United Nations presence in Angola, he had indicated that the Secretary-General had sent a letter to Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, asking him for his personal views on that matter. The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Issa Diallo, was waiting for a meeting with the President to hand- deliver the Secretary-General's letter. That had not happened, the Spokesman said. Meanwhile, the relocation of United Nations personnel into Luanda and the repatriation of non-essential staff from Angola continued.

Mr. Eckhard said the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, would brief Council members on the situation in Guinea- Bissau.

Talks on the autonomy of East Timor continued this morning at the senior-official level. The ministerial-level meetings, as had been announced yesterday, were scheduled to start on Sunday. Later today, Jamsheed Marker, Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor, would meet Timorese resistance leader, Joao Carascalao, President of the UDT (Timorese Democratic Union -- Uniao Democratica Timorense). He would also meet with a member of the leadership of the CNRT (National Council of Timorese Resistance -- Conselho Nacional da Resistencia Timorense). Ambassador Marker would brief journalists on the latest round of talks tomorrow at 1 p.m., in room S-226.

The Spokesman said Mohamed Sahnoun, the Special Envoy of the Secretary- General for Africa, had arrived in Addis Ababa this morning. He had a meeting with Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, and was scheduled to meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in the afternoon, Ethiopian time. Ambassador Sahnoun had arrived in Addis Ababa, after visiting Eritrea on 1 and 2 February. In Asmara, he had met President Isaias Afeworki in what he described as a long and productive meeting. Ambassador Sahnoun had been fully briefed by the President on Eritrea's position on the border tensions with Ethiopia.

As journalists would recall, the Spokesman said, Ambassador Sahnoun had been asked by the Secretary-General to visit the two countries in order to encourage them to reach a peaceful solution to their differences and in support of the mediation efforts of the Organization of African Unity. Ambassador Sahnoun would come to New York at the end of his visit to brief the Security Council and the Secretary-General. The Spokesman said Ambassador Sahnoun had also been asked to brief correspondents upon his return some time during the latter part of next week.

The Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, would travel to Europe next week, the Spokesman said. On 8 February, the Deputy Secretary-General would address the opening session of The Hague Forum, organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands as part of the review process of the implementation of the Plan of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development -- held in Cairo in 1994.

The Spokesman then announced that the Secretary-General had designated Assistant Secretary-General Miles Stoby as Coordinator for preparations for the United Nations Millennium Assembly. It might be recalled, the Spokesman said, that the Secretary-General had indicated his intention to convene a series of regional hearings, as well as related events, in preparation for his report to the Millennium Assembly. Mr. Stoby would work closely with and report to the Deputy Secretary-General. He had most recently been serving as

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 4 February 1999

Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), companion to the Turner Fund. Mr. Stoby's appointment had taken effect on 11 January.

Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, had been in Japan since Monday. He had met with several Ministers of the Japanese Government and would meet with the Prime Minister tomorrow. During a meeting with the Minister of Justice, Mr. Arlacchi had briefed him on the importance of the "Convention against Transnational Organized Crime", which was currently being elaborated, as a useful new tool to combat organized crime.

On 2 February, Mr. Arlacchi had delivered the opening address to the Asian Drug Law Conference. At that conference, hosted by Japan, delegates from the six Greater Mekong countries -- China, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam -- had agreed to boost cooperation in combating increased drug abuse and trafficking in their countries by joining force in tightening border controls. The $1.8 million project would be funded by Japan. In the Spokesman's Office was a note from the Drug and Crime Office in Vienna with more details on Mr. Arlacchi's trip and a press release on the Asian Drug Conference. The text of Mr. Arlacchi's address to the conference was also available.

The World Food Programme (WFP) had warned of grave food shortages for civilians trapped in Freetown, stating that continued fighting was forcing shopkeepers and food importers to flee the Sierra Leonean capital, the Spokesman said. A press release with more information was available in his Office. In another press release, the WFP announced the launch today of a major emergency operation in Colombia to feed 115,000 people left hungry and homeless by a powerful earthquake near the western city of Armenia.

At the United Nations complex in Nairobi, Kenya's President, Daniel Arap Moi, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Klaus Toepfer, yesterday had inaugurated a memorial garden in remembrance of those who had lost their lives in the bomb blasts at the United States Embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam on 7 August 1998. A tree had been planted in the garden in memory of each of the victims. A press release on the subject was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Two other press releases, also from UNEP, announced new publications analyzing environmental data using satellite imagery and geographic information systems. One was on the widespread forest fires of the past two years, and the other, on emerging environmental issues in Africa.

Senegal had become the first country to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Spokesman announced. There were now

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 4 February 1999

74 signatories. He added that 60 ratifications were required for the Court's establishment. A press release with some background information had been on the racks since yesterday.

Also yesterday, Azerbaijan had become the twenty-ninth country to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Spokesman said 152 countries had signed the CTBT so far.

Finally, the Spokesman announced that the recently recorded World Chronicle television programme, featuring Aida Gonzalez Martinez, Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, would be shown on the in-house television channel at 2:30 p.m. today.

A correspondent asked whether the round of East Timor talks would conclude tomorrow or today and also whether the press would be briefed tomorrow. The Spokesman said his understanding was that they would conclude tomorrow after which journalists would be briefed. He would, however, have to double-check and confirm it. [It was later confirmed.] The correspondent also asked whether there was a possibility for a photo-opportunity with Ambassador Marker and the East Timorese representatives. The Spokesman said that could be looked into, as well. His Office had not arranged for that, but could set it up, if it was not too late.

A correspondent observed that "some feel that there's a general plan to destabilize the entire African continent". He asked whether that view was being reflected in the briefing that Secretariat officials had been giving members of the Security Council. The correspondent added that South Africa could be on the list, to show the pattern of what was happening.

The Spokesman said "No. I think briefings of the Council do not reflect anything like that. This is the first time I've heard of this. I'm not aware that there is any suspicion within the Secretariat of some kind of a general plan to destabilize Africa". The correspondent further observed: "The Secretary-General is an African. Does he have any concern about the entire African continent going into shambles"?

"Of course, he does, of course, he does", the Spokesman replied, adding "The Political Affairs Department continues to monitor as many of these crises as possible. He has envoys travelling around dealing with situations as best he can. He is in close touch with the Organization of African Unity (OAU). He tries to support their effort for peaceful settlement of disputes to the extent that he can".

Jadranka Mihalic, Spokesman for the President of the fifty-third session of the General Assembly, said the President, Didier Opertti (Uruguay), had returned to New York this morning. The Assembly would tomorrow morning resume its tenth emergency special session to consider "Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of Occupied Palestinian Territory".

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She said the request to reconvene the session was contained in a letter from the Permanent Representative of Jordan, on behalf of the Arab Group, and supported by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, as indicated in a letter by the Permanent Representative of South Africa in his capacity as Chairman of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries. The list of speakers was open, and so far, some 20 delegations had inscribed their names to address the Assembly. The Spokesman said consultations were still ongoing on the draft resolution that would be before the Assembly at some point tomorrow. There might be more than one meeting, but that was not certain.

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