DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

Good Afternoon. The guest at today's noon briefing will be Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

**Secretary-General Welcomes President Mandela's Tripoli Agreement

The following statement is attributed to the Spokesman:

The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement made in Tripoli today by President Mandela that an agreement had been reached providing for the surrender of the two Lockerbie suspects in the near future. He is looking forward to receiving the relevant details of the agreement in the letter reported to have been addressed to him by the Libyan side.

**Security Council Consultations

The Security Council is holding an open meeting on the Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of this morning the list of speakers included 29 delegations. The Secretary- General is attending the meeting.

**Congolese Refugees

From the field, meanwhile, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff in Zambia and United Republic of Tanzania estimate that 10,000 Congolese have fled into northern Zambia in the past two weeks, and almost 4,000 have crossed Lake Tanganyika into Tanzania during the same period. Reports gathered from newly arrived refugees in Zambia indicate that several tens of thousands more Congolese are massing in the town of Pweto, on the border between the two countries. Please see the UNHCR briefing note from Geneva for details.

**MINURSO Head Resigns

The terms of service of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General to Western Sahara, Charles Dunbar, will come to an end on 31 March 1999. At the time of Mr. Dunbar's appointment in December 1997, it had been understood between him and the Secretary-General that he would serve as Special Representative for about one year, in light of the prospects that the referendum in Western Sahara would take place in December 1998. Since the holding of the referendum has been further delayed, Mr. Dunbar has requested that his resignation take effect on 31 March when his present contract with

the United Nations expires so that he may resume his profession and be reunited with his family.

The Secretary-General has accepted Mr. Dunbar's resignation with regret. During his year-long service as Head of MINURSO (the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara), Mr. Dunbar devoted considerable effort to the cause of peace in Western Sahara. The Secretary-General wishes to pay tribute to his Special Representative for his leadership and for the utmost level of dedication and professionalism with which he undertook this difficult mission. The Secretary-General would also like to take this opportunity to extend to Mr. Dunbar his best wishes in his future endeavours. Mr. Dunbar has asked me to announce that he warmly reciprocates the Secretary-General's good wishes.

**Memorial for Haiti Helicopter Crash Victims

A ceremony will be held this afternoon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in memory of the six members of the UN Mission in Haiti and seven staff of the helicopter charter company who died in the tragic helicopter crash that occurred last Sunday. Hedi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, is in Haiti to attend the ceremony and deliver a message from the Secretary-General.

"The loss of thirteen vibrant lives has touched us deeply at Headquarters", the Secretary-General said in his message. "They had travelled of their own free will, policemen and civilians alike, far from their own countries, putting their safety at risk, to help people whose quarrels were of no direct concern of theirs, and they all paid the highest price."

**Memorial Panels on Display for Angola Air Crash Victims

Memorial panels honouring the victims of the recent air crashes in Angola have been placed on display in the public lobby of the General Assembly building, after a few days in the lobby of the Secretariat building. They consist of a short text, the names and photographs of victims and a statement by the Secretary-General that reads as follows: "The United Nations grieves at the tragic loss of those who serve peace. My thoughts and my prayers are with the passengers and crews of these two flights, as well as with their families."

The memorial panels were produced by the Department of Public Information.

**UNHCR Welcomes Signing of Kosovo Agreement

The UNHCR says it welcomes the signing of the proposed Interim Peace Agreement for Kosovo by the Kosovo Albanian delegation, which took place

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yesterday evening in Paris. But in the absence of agreement from both sides, the spiral of violence, fear and displacement goes on.

UNHCR staff on the ground say civilians left their homes by the thousands this week as the Yugoslav army brought new troops into the province and shelled villages in various areas (Vucitrn, Prizren, Srbica). UNHCR estimates that, overall, 22 per cent of Kosovo's pre-conflict population has been displaced -- that's 443,000 people.

**MINUGUA Report

The United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) made public this morning its ninth report on the human rights situation in that country. The report, which covers the period April to December 1998, notes that the positive trend towards diminishing human rights violations that was observed since the second semester of 1996 did not recur last year. The report highlights that the protection of human rights is affected by persistent shortcomings in the system of public security and administration of justice. Such a situation, the report indicates, perpetuates impunity.

The report also reviews Bishop Juan Gerardi's murder investigation by State organs and notes that there were several acts which jeopardized the investigation and the due process of law. The report press kit, in Spanish only, is available in my office. The report is expected to be out today as a document.

**$1 Billion Short for Iraq Assistance

Nearly $1 billion is likely to fall short of the revenue expected to be available for humanitarian supplies and oil equipment in Iraq in the current phase of the oil-for-food programme, which runs from 26 November 1998 to 24 May 1999, according to the note issued by the Office of the Iraq Programme. Copies of that note are available in my Office.

**More than 1,000 Metric Tons of Food Arrive in Sierra Leone

The World Food Programme says a cargo ship it chartered carrying 1,100 metric tons of food aid arrived today in Freetown, marking the first time since the outbreak of fighting two months ago that the United Nations food agency has been able to use the main port in Sierra Leone's capital. A press release on that matter is available in my Office.

**WHO Reports Progress in Polio Eradication

The World Health Organization (WHO), in a press release, today announced a landmark in its efforts to eradicate polio, saying that no new cases of the disease have been reported in two years in the Western Pacific Region. WHO

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says polio is unlikely to ever occur again in the most heavily populated WHO region which includes China.

**World Water Day

There are several press releases available in connection with the World Day for Water, coming up on 22 March. The message of the Secretary-General is out. He says, "Today we take water too much for granted. Those of us who are still lucky enough to be able to turn on the tap, or pump the well, as if the supply were unlimited need to learn the true value of this most precious resource".

A joint press release is available on the racks from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations University. In the release, the two agencies point out that unsafe water results in 3.3 billion illnesses and 5.3 million deaths yearly; while the price tab for the provision of safe water is only $50 to $105 per person. Also on the racks is a compendium of relevant information on fresh water from United Nations agencies.

We also have a press release from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

**Task Force to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade

There is another release from the UNEP on the agreement, the day before yesterday in Nairobi, of six African countries to operationalize a task force to combat illegal wildlife trade. It is the first of its kind. The six countries involved are the Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The task force, made up of seconded national personnel, will work together with national authorities on joint cross-border operations against wildlife crime.

**Humanitarian Operations in Brazzaville

Following improved security conditions during the last weeks, United Nations agencies yesterday began their return to Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo, where they are to commence immediately humanitarian operations. Today, eight relief workers were deployed as part of the first stage of the return. It is expected that an independent inter-agency assessment mission will be fielded soon to confirm the whereabouts and conditions of over 100,000 internally displaced persons reported to be somewhere in the Pool region, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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**International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is to be observed this Sunday, 21 March, but was commemorated today in Geneva. In his message, the Secretary-General said, "Bigotry, hatred, prejudice, these are the ugly symptoms of a sickness humanity has always and everywhere suffered."

"Racism can, will and must be defeated," he added.

The text of this message is available on the racks.

**UN Stamps

The United Nations Postal Administration today issued a set of six commemorative United Nations stamps honouring Australian World Heritage sites. The new stamps are being launched here in New York, as well as in Melbourne, Geneva and Vienna. A press release is in my office with more details.

**Briefing in UNCA Club

The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) has asked me to announce that an Albanian parliamentary delegation will brief the press today at 4 p.m. in the UNCA club.

**Payments

Bangladesh yesterday became the fifty-second country to pay its dues in full by contributing just over $103,000 to the regular budget.

**The Week Ahead

We have the "Week Ahead" feature available in my Office. Please pick it up for your guidance for next week.

**Question and Answer Session

Question: What arrangements are being made for the transfer of the Libyan suspects?

Spokesman: Those details were worked out sometime ago by the United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell. For obvious reasons they are being kept

very confidential. So, I would not be able to give you any advance information on that.

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Question: Do you have an anticipation when the letter will be received by the Secretary-General?

Spokesman: None.

Question: With the resignation of Mr. Dunbar what is the future of MINURSO?

Spokesman: The efforts will continue, of course, to try to get the referendum organized and held. We're continuing our discussions with Morocco on the package of measures that the United Nations had proposed late last year to move this referendum process forward. And the Secretary-General has a report to the Council that will be coming out on Monday, 22 March.

Question: Will Mr. Dunbar be replaced?

Spokesman: This question will be answered by the Secretary-General in his report which we expect to come out early next week.

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