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

Good Afternoon. Our guest at the briefing today will be Georg Charpentier, who is the Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in the Republic of the Congo -- and you know I'm talking about Congo-Brazzaville.

**Secretary-General

Today was the last day of the Secretary-General's visit to Geneva. He had the second and final day of the high-level meeting on the Balkans. Yesterday, the first day was attended by heads of United Nations agencies, programmes, and Funds, and today, in addition to these people, there were also representatives of non-governmental organizations which are active in the Balkans.

The Secretary-General called on all present to focus frankly and constructively on how to improve the international response to the humanitarian crisis in the region.

We have available in our Office upstairs the address of the Secretary- General to the meeting this morning in Geneva.

Following the meeting, which lasted for some three hours, the Secretary- General held a press conference. The correspondents here at Headquarters have had an opportunity to access the audio of the press conference, which was in-house earlier today. In a couple of hours, we will make available the transcript of the press conference.

In this press conference, the Secretary-General announced the appointment of Martin Griffiths, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator -- the deputy to Sergio Vieira de Mello here in New York -- he announced Mr. Griffiths' appointment as the Regional Coordinator for United Nations Assistance in the Balkans. He also announced his intention to travel to the region for a two-day visit. He will be going to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania.

Later in the afternoon, the Secretary-General addressed the thirteenth Congress of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He congratulated Godwin Obasi on his re-election that morning as the Secretary-General of the WMO.

He said that the WMO's future role would become more important in addressing possible global climate change. The concentration of greenhouse

gas emissions is increasing, and while the consequences are not yet known for sure, he said "we cannot exclude that they may be harmful to many human activities".

Copies of his speech are available in our Office upstairs.

At the end of the day, which is about now as we speak here, the Secretary-General is flying to The Hague. It will be a four-day official visit to the Netherlands, which will also include events at United Nations bodies, such as the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

He will also address The Hague "Appeal for Peace" conference and the Centennial of The Hague Peace Conference.

We have available in our Office the programme as it currently stands for the Secretary-General's visit to the Netherlands.

**Needs-Assessment Mission Heads to Kosovo

Still in Geneva, and on Kosovo, the Secretary-General also announced that the Needs-Assessment Mission, which is aimed at gaining first-hand understanding of the needs and conditions of Kosovo and other parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will be leaving Saturday. Details of that Mission will be worked out.

As of now, we know that the Mission, led by Sergio Vieira de Mello, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, will include United Nations representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is expected to complete its work by 27 May.

Details of the Mission are contained in the transcript of the briefing by Mr. de Mello in Geneva yesterday.

**Situation in Kosovo

By midday in the region today, UNHCR officials in Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reported virtually no refugee movements. A group of 30 refugees crossed into the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by mid-afternoon today -- the second group to arrive in a week. They said they had a difficult time crossing the border, and that many other refugees were trying to get across.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 14 May 1999

On the Albania side, no new arrivals were reported as of midday today. Only one refugee arrived in Albania yesterday.

The UNHCR says it has signed an agreement with the Albanian Government to help families hosting refugees. Under the agreement, the equivalent of $10 in local currency will be given monthly for each refugee a family hosts, up to $120 per family. The UNHCR is setting aside $8 million for three months for the project which will cover 35,000 families. The cash arrangement, retroactive to 1 April, will be implemented once host families have been registered.

Of the estimated 431,000 refugees in Albania, nearly 140,000 are in camps or communal centres. The rest are with host families.

The UNDP announced the expansion of a project in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that will address both environmental and employment concerns in and around Kosovo refugee camps. Under the project, 900 unskilled workers who are hosting refugees will be provided short-term employment.

A press release should be available later today with more details on this project.

The UNHCR also reports that hundreds of Kosovars have been entering Montenegro in the past days. Exact numbers are difficult to pin down. They came on foot from the Pec and Srbica areas. Many were young men coming alone. Like the new arrivals, they say they have been on the move for weeks.

**Security Council

The Security Council has a very busy agenda today. For those of you who are following it, I don't have to tell you that.

As you know, the Council met into the evening yesterday on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in and around Kosovo. They agreed to continue discussions in this morning's consultations.

The other item on the agenda this morning is a draft presidential statement on Sierra Leone.

Two formal meetings are scheduled today -- extension of the mandates for the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) and for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

**Refugees in Central Africa

The UNHCR reports today that in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, refugees continue to arrive who are fleeing fighting and hardship in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville.

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The UNHCR staff who travelled to the Bas-Congo area this week report that hundreds of refugees are emerging daily from forests which border Congo's Pool region, south-west of Brazzaville. Some refugees have fled fresh confrontations between the Government and the Ninja militia.

Mr. Charpentier will tell us in a little while the complexities of this situation.

**Oil-for-Food Programme/Telecommunications

The Secretary-General has written to the President of the Security Council giving his approval to a revision of the part of the distribution plan for the "oil-for-food" programme involving telecommunications.

You might recall that the Secretary-General had withheld approval for expenditure on telecommunications in the distribution plans submitted by the Government of Iraq for Phase IV and also for the current Phase V. Since then, the United Nations has sent technical teams to Iraq to work with the relevant authorities on a revised plan. The Secretary-General says that the new plan, if properly implemented, should enhance implementation of the humanitarian programme throughout Iraq.

The Office of the Iraq Programme advises that it has already received five contracts worth a total of $88 million for telecoms equipment. These contracts from companies in France and China will be processed and circulated to the 661 Committee for consideration.

The Government has proposed spending $92 million on telecoms in Phase V. The Executive Director of the Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan, has noted that the amount available will depend on the final revenue raised during Phase V and the programme's priorities.

The full text of this exchange of letters will be available on the Web site of the Iraq Programme later today.

**Effect of Poverty on Children in Afghanistan

Officials from the WFP and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), speaking at a briefing for the press in Islamabad, Afghanistan, today, said that according to experts, the fact that some 61 per cent of Afghan children are stunted can't be blamed on a lack of food. Instead, they say, the problem is poverty.

As one official put it, "Trends in consumption and nutrition are negative because of the high level of unemployment throughout the country. There are food items available, but purchasing power is severely limited."

We have the notes from the Islamabad briefing upstairs in our Office.

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**Secretary-General at The Hague

Winding up the "Appeal for Peace" conference in The Hague tomorrow, the Secretary-General is expected to tell an audience of thousands of peace activists that the world is "far, far short" of fulfilling the pledge in the United Nations Charter to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war".

He will discuss conflicts in Africa, as well as the situation in the former Yugoslavia.

The Secretary-General will reaffirm his support for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and urge faster progress with the creation of the permanent International Criminal Court, whose Statute agreed in Rome last July has so far been ratified by only two States.

We hope to get copies later today of the speech, which, of course, will be embargoed until delivery tomorrow.

**International Day of Families

Tomorrow, 15 May, the United Nations marks the International Day of Families. This year, the theme is "Families for all ages".

In his message marking the occasion, the Secretary-General points out that society is undergoing constant cultural, political and social change, so families are becoming increasingly diverse. He stresses that States must respect that diversity and help every family ensure the well-being and dignity of all its members, whatever their choices in life.

Copies of this message are available on the racks upstairs (Press Release SG/SM/6989).

**The Week Ahead

And finally, "The Week Ahead" feature -- it's a long one for next week, and all available in our Office upstairs. Now, just some highlights.

As I mentioned, tomorrow there'll be the address of the Secretary- General in The Hague. Tomorrow is also the International Day of Families.

On Sunday, the Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights for East Timor, Soli Sorabjee, will begin a 10-day mission in the region there.

On Monday, the Secretary-General will address the 100th anniversary members' conference of the Permanent International Court of Arbitration.

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The Security Council is expected to hold consultations on Bosnia and Herzegovina, and hear a briefing by the High Representative, Carlos Westendorp.

The World Health Assembly will meet in Geneva from 17 to 31 May.

Also in Geneva, from 17 May to 4 June, the Committee on the Rights of the Child will meet.

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General's report on the oil-for-food programme for Iraq is due, along with the report of the Committee monitoring the sanctions against Iraq (the 661 Committee).

On Wednesday, the Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on Eritrea/Ethiopia.

Friday, the Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on Iraq's oil-for-food programme.

And, the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH) is due to be issued.

This is all I have for the briefing. Now, do you have any questions?

**Question-and-Answer Session

Question: I understand that the Secretary-General decided to name the head of the East Timor mission yesterday. Could you tell us who it is please?

Deputy Spokesman: No, I cannot yet. It has been decided. I don't have the name for announcement yet. As soon as I have that -- either later today or Monday -- I will announce it.

Question: Mrs. Robinson wasn't accepted by President Milosevic. I believe that she's gone to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with the blessing of the Secretary-General. Does he take this as a "slap" to him?

Deputy Spokesman: Her meeting with Mr. Milosevic had never been confirmed. It was her intention to do see him, and it was not confirmed at the end. It's a pity because she had many things to tell him after having visited the refugees in the neighbouring countries.

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