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:

**Secretary-General

Good afternoon. The Secretary-General, this morning, went to the Peace Palace in The Hague to address a conference commemorating the Centennial of the First International Peace Conference of 1899, and the adoption, two months later, of an International Convention creating the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

"The Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Justice offer the international community a range of options for the peaceful settlement of disputes", he said. "Arbitration may well be one of diplomacy's best kept secrets", he observed, "let us use it to the fullest".

In the afternoon, he returned to the Peace Palace to visit with Stephen Schwebel, President of the International Court of Justice, and its judges. They reviewed with him, in a confidential session, current cases before the Court. Afterwards, he inaugurated the new International Court Museum.

He then met with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Wim Kok, with whom he discussed the Kosovo peace process, other crisis areas, particularly in Africa that tend to get neglected because of Kosovo, and the role of the Netherlands in the Security Council.

At a press encounter afterwards, the Secretary-General was asked if he had a message for the Yugoslav leadership. "I would appeal to them", he responded, "to think of their people, to think of the destruction that is going on, and to be open to a settlement, so that we can see the end of the bombing, we can see an end to the destruction in the region, and that we can begin planning for peace and planning for the [return of] refugees before winter comes."

From the Prime Minister's Office, the Secretary-General proceeded to the Office of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, where he was to meet with its Director-General, Jose Bustani, and his senior staff. He was to end his day with a private dinner as the guest of the Prime Minister and his wife.

**Security Council

The Security Council is meeting this morning for consultations on Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are hearing a briefing by Carlos Westendorp, the High

Representative for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We hope to have him join us here at the noon briefing. If time does not permit, you'll be able to catch him at the stakeout and later on at the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Club. He will be at the UNCA Club at 4 o'clock this afternoon.

Just to recap, we had a busy night on Friday. Those of you who were here, you remember. The Security Council held a series of formal meetings which ran into Saturday. Council members adopted a presidential statement on the bombing of the Chinese Embassy, followed by a resolution on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum on Western Sahara (unanimous vote), a resolution on the humanitarian resolution in and around Kosovo (13 votes in favour, 2 abstentions by China and the Russian Federation), a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (unanimous vote), and a presidential statement on Sierra Leone.

**Western Sahara

On Western Sahara, I would bring to your attention that out on the racks today is the addendum to the Secretary-General's last report on Western Sahara. It contains the five documents which will form the basis of the resumption of the identification process. Those documents concern the so-called contested tribes, the appeals process for the referendum, and the time frame for implementing the settlement plan.

**Kosovo

As you know, the Secretary-General announced his intention to visit Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in order to gain a personal sense of the plight of the people there and the conditions under which they are being housed, as well as the immense burden that both asylum countries are bearing.

I can tell you, today, that the Secretary-General is scheduled to visit the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Wednesday and Albania the following day.

Today, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Balkans, Eduard Kukan, is here at United Nations Headquarters. He will meet with the Deputy Secretary-General, other senior officials and Council members.

In the region, the Secretary-General's needs assessment mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, led by Sergio Vieira de Mello, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, arrived in Belgrade yesterday.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 17 May 1999

The mission began its work on Monday, today, with a series of meetings in Belgrade, including with the Minister of Labour, Health and Social Policy, the Yugoslav Red Cross and the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees, as well as with the Minister of Development, Science and the Environment.

Tuesday, tomorrow, the mission is expected to undertake a field visit to areas north of Belgrade before heading to the southern part of the country on Wednesday.

On refugee movements, as of midday today -- for the second day in a row -- no crossings had been reported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from Kosovo into Albania.

It remained unclear whether Serbian authorities were deliberately stopping Kosovars from reaching Albania; whether the Kosovars themselves had decided to stay where they were for the moment; or whether they were simply waiting for a better opportunity to cross into Albania. It is also possible that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) activity in the area has been a factor.

On the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia side of the border, the UNHCR reported that one train arrived this morning, but that only 10 people got off. Up to 1,500 passengers on the train were taken back into Kosovo. The UNHCR said it doesn't know why this was being done. Those who got off the train said they saw thousands of others waiting to board the packed train along the way.

Over the weekend, arrivals from Kosovo's Vitina area estimated that at least 40,000 were in the area surrounded by Serbian forces, and that they were unable to leave. Food shortages were reported. One woman told the UNHCR that Albanians were only allowed to buy bread and only if it was available. Generally, Albanians were not allowed to go on the streets, she said.

There were also alarming reports of three places in Urosevac -- a factory, a school and a barn -- where the Serbian military kept weapons and where civilians were allegedly held as human shields. The reports could not be confirmed independently. More details on that are available in the UNHCR update in our Office upstairs.

**Sudan

Now, I have a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary- General. The Secretary-General is deeply concerned with reports of fighting and skirmishes, including bombings, between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the Bahr-el-Ghazal region, particularly its potential impact on humanitarian operations in the area.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 17 May 1999

United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations have continued to assist thousands of victims of severe famine in the southern Sudan, thanks to a humanitarian cease-fire in Bahr-el-Gazal, agreed to by both the Government and the SPLM/A. The Secretary-General calls on both parties to respect fully the ceasefire agreed to and to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance to extremely vulnerable populations in the region.

Still on the Sudan, teams from the World Food Programme (WFP) today reported hearing bombs fall in three locations in the Bahr-el-Ghazal region of the Sudan.

The relief teams are working in three locations, called Akuem, Nyamlell and Gok Machar. This morning, team members reported seeing aircraft flying overhead and hearing six bombs fall. The bombs are estimated to have been dropped just outside of the village of Nyamlell, where the WFP is providing food aid to some 32,000 people. Teams in all of those locations are now on high alert.

These reports follow yesterday's bombing of Arak, another location where WFP workers are on the ground conducting relief operations.

**Deputy Secretary-General's Address to Preparatory Committee

This morning, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette opened the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the General Assembly's special session on the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development. That General Assembly review, known as "Copenhagen+5", will be held in Geneva next June.

The Deputy Secretary-General said the goals set at the 1995 Copenhagen Summit cannot be achieved by national policies alone -- they require a supportive external economic environment. She said the decline in development assistance, now at a 50-year low, must be reversed.

Stressing that poverty and exclusion can destabilize societies and even undermine peace, she said that "in the field of social development there cannot be two camps -- one of generous donors and one of grateful recipients. There can only be citizens of the world, united in the belief that every human being has a right to dignity".

Her speech is available in our Office upstairs.

**World Health Organization

Some 20 million unsafe abortions are performed every year around the world, according to a new publication from the World Health Organization (WHO). We have in our Office upstairs copies of the press release with more details on that.

Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 17 May 1999

Also from the WHO, the agency today gave out its "Tobacco-Free World Award" to South Africa's Minister of Health, Nkozasana Dhlamini Zuma. She is credited with developing South Africa's strong anti-tobacco legislation. We also have a press release upstairs on that.

**International Labour Organization

Also here is a very short note from the International Labour Organization (ILO), that small-scale mining is expanding rapidly and often uncontrollably in many developing countries, employing large numbers of women and children in dangerous conditions and generating a workplace fatality rate up to 90 times higher than mines in industrialized countries. That is in a new report by the ILO. There is a press release upstairs in our Office with more details on that.

**Payments

Today, San Marino paid its dues, totalling over $20,000. So far, 63 Member States have contributed in full.

**Announcements

We have an announcement by UNCA that Ambassador Carlos Westendorp will be there this afternoon at 4 o'clock.

This is all I had. Do you have any questions before we go to Ambassador Carlos Westendorp?

**Question-and-Answer Session

Question: Is there any chance that we'll to talk to Foreign Minister Kukan?

Deputy Spokesman: We are trying. We have placed the question and we don't have a reply yet. As soon as we do, we'll let you know.

Question: Are there any more specific details on the Secretary-General's itinerary, both in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania?

Deputy Spokesman: No, we don't have other than what I just told you -- one day, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the following day, Albania. He will, of course, be having meetings with the most senior officials in both Governments, and he wants to see the refugees, as well.

Okay, thank you very much.

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