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 the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Manoel de Almeida e Silva:

**Kosovo

Good afternoon everyone. The Secretary-General, who started his visit to Germany this morning -- he arrived there last evening -- delivered this year's Berlin speech today and made mention of the Kosovo crisis. He said, "What do we mean by solution? In my view, the only yardstick by which our efforts can be judged is whether they enable the refugees and internally displaced persons to return swiftly and safely to their homes." He continued, "If the inhabitants of Kosovo can live in conditions of peace and security with full respect for the civil and political rights for all, it will be a victory for Europe, for the United Nations and for humanity. Anything short of that may be considered a failure."

**United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported today that newly arriving refugees in Albania are relaying increasing reports of atrocities being committed in Kosovo, including accounts of women and children being used as human shields.

The UNHCR reported that several refugees who came from Prizren told of a three-storey building in the town where the ground floor was being used as an ammunition storage, the next floor as living quarters for the military, and the top floor to house young Albanians who they described as "hostages". The UNHCR said this report could not be independently confirmed. The UNHCR also said that many of the men who had arrived in one group on Friday waited anxiously all day at the border for news of their wives and children who did not arrive.

**United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, announced today that the first round of immunization for Kosovar children in refugee camps in The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was under way. In an effort to prevent the spread of major childhood diseases, more than 8,900 children under 5 years of age in the camps will be vaccinated against polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus. Newborn infants will be vaccinated against tuberculosis. The campaign is coordinated by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), in close cooperation with The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's Ministry of Health and Institute of Public Health.

**Albania

In Albania, where the arrivals from Kosovo have slowed to a trickle again with no apparent explanation, UNHCR information campaign to persuade refugees staying in Kukes to move south continued. Discussions are ongoing with the Government about a secure parking area for tractors. The UNHCR said arranging storage for refugees, tractors and wagons may be a key to persuading many to move on.

The refugee flow into The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continued today. By mid-afternoon, some 3,000 new Kosovars had arrived in Blace on 15 buses and one train. Work is progressing on a new camp that will be the site of some 650 more tents. Overcrowding is still a serious problem in the camps, where only about 10 square metres per person are available, about one third of UNHCR normal standard. Tempers and tensions in the camps are reported to be on the rise.

Tension also remained high in Rozaje in Montenegro among both the displaced persons and local Muslim population. It appears that large numbers of Kosovars are also leaving Plav municipality because of increased military presence in the area. On Monday, more than 1,000 refugees are due to leave for seven different destinations. The UNHCR is urging receiving governments to take steps to increase the number of evacuations.

**Security Council

Available as Security Council documents today is a letter transmitted by the Yugoslav Mission to the United Nations on the impact on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air strikes, as well as a letter transmitted by the Russian Mission on the environmental consequences of the air strikes on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and a peace initiative put forward by Yemen.

The Security Council has scheduled a briefing by the top United Nations humanitarian official, Sergio Vieira de Mello, on Kosovo during consultations tomorrow.

I would also like to inform you that there are no Security Council meetings scheduled today.

**Secretary-General's Visit to Germany

The Secretary-General was greeted by the President of the Federal Republic, Roman Herzog, at the official residence at the start of his second official visit to Germany. After military honours, the Secretary-General met with the President for 45 minutes, including a 10-minute one-on-one session. The main topic of conversation was Kosovo -- the risk of the conflict spreading, its social, economic and environmental impact, efforts by NATO to deal with it and the possible future role of the United Nations.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 26 April 1999

He and the President then went to the restored Adlon Hotel near the Brandenburg Gate, where the Secretary-General delivered the third annual "Berlin Address", inaugurated by the President in 1997. In his speech, titled "Europe's World Role in the Twenty-first Century", he said, "It is true that in the first 40 years of European construction only West European nations were free to participate. But, in the last 10 years, central Europeans, in their turn, have been drawn into the process. That is very encouraging". He went on, "The process of enlarging the European Union is notoriously slow and difficult, understandably when the issues are so complex. But, it has already shown itself a powerful instrument of confidence-building and conflict prevention".

The full text of the Secretary-General's speech is available in the Spokesman's Office.

After delivering the speech, the President and the Secretary-General returned to the official residence where the President hosted a luncheon in the Secretary-General's honour.

After lunch, the Secretary-General visited Berlin's "New Synagogue", built in 1866, in what was then Berlin's Jewish Quarter. He was greeted by the Chairman of the Jewish community in Berlin, Dr. Andreas Nachama, and by the Director of the Synagogue Foundation, Dr. Hermann Simon.

The Secretary-General then flew to Dresden for a one-day visit. In the evening, he was to meet with Professor Kurt Biedenkopf, Minister President of the free State of Saxony.

**United Nations Staff Member Killed in Iraq

A New Zealand national working for the United Nations humanitarian programme in northern Iraq was shot and killed over the weekend. The victim was a project manager working for a company contracted to the United Nations, Green Fields Consultants, which reportedly was hired for landmine clearance. The victim was killed almost instantly when an unknown assailant who had asked him for some water a few minutes earlier shot him three times at close range.

The area where the incident occurred has been placed off limits by United Nations staff and a curfew of 7 p.m. has been imposed for United Nations staff in northern Iraq.

**East Timor

Last Friday, in Geneva, the Commission on Human Rights, having discussed the human rights situation in East Timor, expressed its deep concern at the serious human rights situation and at the outbreaks of violence, particularly the recently reported killings of civilians in Liquica and Dili. The Commission requested the Secretary-General to present a report on the human rights situation in East Timor at its fifty-sixth session.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 26 April 1999

In the meantime, a United Nations inter-agency humanitarian mission was in East Timor from 22 to 24 April to assess humanitarian and development needs. The mission found that there were critical gaps in the delivery of basic services, particularly health and education. Their recommendations on how to address these gaps will be included in their final report. During their stay, the delegation met with a cross-section of East Timorese society, including government officials, members of the civil society, and religious leaders.

**Secretary-General Report on Abkhazia

The report of the Secretary-General concerning the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia, is out on the racks. In the report, the Secretary-General makes the observation that "the humanitarian situation in Abkhazia, Georgia, remains dire".

"The failure to reach agreement in January on the terms for the return of refugees and displaced persons to the Gali district and measures for the economic rehabilitation of Abkhazia, Georgia, meant that a valuable opportunity was missed to take a major step forward in the peace process." The Secretary-General goes on to say that "two specific actions by the parties would significantly help to improve the situation on the ground, namely, the full separation of forces from the ceasefire line and the establishment of a joint investigation mechanism".

**Sahnoun Mission

Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Africa, was in Asmara today to meet with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Ambassador Sahnoun is scheduled to travel to Addis Ababa tomorrow to continue his mediation efforts to help bring an end to the Ethiopian-Eritrea conflict.

**Afghanistan Mission

In view of the gradual and limited return of United Nations international staff to Afghanistan and the continuing need for more attention to be devoted to the human rights situation within Afghanistan, the United Nations has dispatched a technical, working-level assessment mission to determine the exact mandate of civilian monitors to be attached to the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA). The mission is expected to last two weeks and make recommendations upon its return.

**Commission on Human Rights Commends Nigerian Government

In a resolution voted last Friday in Geneva, the Commission on Human Rights welcomed the profound changes that had taken place in Nigeria, and commended the Government actions already taken to promote human rights, including the release of all political prisoners. The Commission, therefore,

Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 26 April 1999

decided to conclude its consideration of the situation of human rights in Nigeria.

**Guatemala

Today is the first anniversary of the killing in Guatemala of Bishop Juan Gerardi. The United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), issued a statement over the weekend lamenting that recent attempts to focus the investigation on the possible political motivation of this crime coincided with a number of acts of intimidation against civil servants, members of civil society and other actors involved in the effort to find the truth about this case.

The United Nations Mission reaffirmed that it is necessary for the State to ensure the necessary security guarantees to investigators and witnesses, as well as to human rights activists working on the case.

We have a press release, in Spanish, in the Spokesman's Office.

**Payments

The Bahamas made their full payment to the United Nations regular budget today. By making a payment of just over $150,000, they became the sixtieth Member State to do so.

We have an updated "honour roll" available in the Spokesman's Office.

**Announcements

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is sponsoring a panel discussion on "Science, Oceans and Sustainable Development" on Tuesday, 27 April, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. in Conference Room 6. The panel discussion will include an overview of the World Conference on Science to be held from 26 June to 1 July, in Budapest.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) invites you to the launch of a major global anti-poverty campaign on Tuesday, 27 April, at 10:30 a.m. The press conference will start at 11 a.m. sharp in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.

The UNDP Administrator, James Gustave Speth, CISCO Systems Chief Executive Officer, John Chambers, and actors Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte will attend.

Today, on in-house channel 6 or 38, at 2:30 p.m., the World Chronicle TV programme with Masood Ahmed, Vice-President of World Bank Poverty Reduction and Economic Management will be aired.

Daily Press Briefing - 6 - 26 April 1999

Finally, the guests at the noon briefing tomorrow, John Zogby of Zogby International, and Stephen Jagger of GFK, a United Kingdom polling firm, will tell you about a global poll on attitudes towards the United Nations, and awareness of the Organization.

**Question-and-Answer Session

Question: Does the United Nations resolution 116 that poses an arms embargo on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia including Kosovo cover oil shipments also?

Deputy Spokesman: I would imagine not. However, the issue of humanitarian impact will be taken up by the Council, so we will know more by tomorrow.

* *** *