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 Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Fred Eckhard.

Thank you for waiting.

**Secretary-General's Statement on Kosovo

We have the following statement attributable directly to the Secretary- General on Kosovo:

"I welcome the news of the breakthrough agreement reached in Belgrade yesterday. My warmest congratulations go to President Martti Ahtisaari and Special Envoy Victor Chernomyrdin on their achievement.

"Though many details of the agreement remain to be defined, we understand that intensive work has begun on a Security Council resolution to put the accord into effect. The United Nations, which has been active in preparing for peace, is proceeding at full speed with its planning, so that it can assume the responsibilities the Security Council may wish to entrust to it, particularly in the civilian field.

"I have always believed that the only meaningful victory for the international community at the end of this tragic crisis will be one which permits the refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes in safety and dignity. I have asked my Special Envoys, Carl Bildt and Eduard Kukan, to convene a meeting in Geneva of all United Nations agencies and other organizations likely to be involved in post-conflict activities in Kosovo, in order to review the status of our plans for collective response to this humanitarian and political challenge."

That ends the statement.

**United Nations in Kosovo

The time for the United Nations contingency planning for Kosovo is over. Real planning for the implementation of the proposed peace plan is now underway. As we just mentioned in this statement, upon his return last night from his meeting with the Pope in Rome, the Secretary-General decided to bring together in Geneva on Tuesday all the United Nations actors that could be involved in the civilian administration which would move into Kosovo as soon as peace returns to the province. Of course all of that depends on the decision of the Security Council on who will do what.

On entering the building this morning, the Secretary-General said he would expect Member States to start talking about a Security Council resolution here in New York as early as next week.

The Secretary-General directed his two Special Envoys for the Balkans to meet with senior United Nations and non-agency officials as well as representatives from the political, peacekeeping and humanitarian departments from United Nations Headquarters and non-United Nations actors from NATO, the European Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

In preparation for the Tuesday meeting, a flurry of activity is planned over the next few days aimed at ensuring a swift and effective United Nations response.

As we speak, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Bernard Miyet, fresh from consultations with NATO and the OSCE, is meeting with his planning team.

**Refugees and Humanitarian Issues in the Balkans

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, whose role in the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees has been spelled out in the agreement accepted by President Milosovic yesterday, said it would convene a meeting of its planning team on Sunday in preparation for a series of discussions planned early next week. That meeting would also take place in Geneva.

UNHCR again stressed today that a successful return would be linked to a total withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosovo and the deployment of a strong international military contingent to ensure the safety of the refugees.

Reaction in the refugee camps in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and in Albania to Belgrade's reported acceptance of the peace plan was mixed. Some refugees were sceptical while others said they were prepared to return as soon as possible.

The World Food Program (WFP) said that it was preparing to get food into Kosovo quickly after a ceasefire. Over a million daily rations have been provisioned in FYROM, Greece and Italy, and over 30 trucks are ready to go. WFP also has set up a number of mobile warehouses for food and has identified five locations in Kosovo where it will set up offices, with headquarters in Pristina.

The WFP also said it had enough food prepositioned in the region to feed some 800,000 refugees for two months and would have within two weeks a three-month supply of food for some 600,000 additional people inside Kosovo.

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The WFP also said it was prepared to move in with ready-to-eat meals and mobile bakeries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland appointed a WHO Special Representative for the Balkans to link up with other actors to detail what actions needed to be taken, and in what order, to restore the public health systems in FYROM, Albania, and the Federal Yugoslav Republics of Kosovo and Serbia.

Sergio Vieira de Mello's report containing recommendations on aid to Kosovo and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is expected to be out early next week.

**IAEA Inspectors in Yugoslavia

Yesterday and today a team of three inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been visiting a nuclear research centre at Vinca near Belgrade to inspect the nuclear materials stored there.

This is basically a routine inspection under long-standing safeguards agreements between the IAEA and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. But nothing is exactly routine in Yugoslavia now, and the inspections, which are supposed to take place monthly, had been interrupted since January, so the current activity represents the resumption of IAEA's work in the country.

The Agency is not anticipating that anything unusual will come out of the inspection, but it had been anxious to visit the country in advance of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, which starts next week, in order to be able to report to the Board that inspections in Yugoslavia had resumed.

The decision to make the inspection was taken in mid-May, but the team only now got to the area because of the logistics having to be worked out in advance with the Yugoslav authorities and the United Nations Security Coordinator's office.

The team is about to complete its work and head back to Vienna, where it will arrive tomorrow morning.

**Spokesman's Statement on South Africa Elections

The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the elections in South Africa.

"The Secretary-General would like to commend the Government and people of South Africa for the exemplary manner in which they have conducted the second democratic elections of their country. He lauds the positive and peaceful atmosphere in which the elections were conducted and the robust participation of South Africans in the democratic process.

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"He commends all the political parties and their supporters for helping to consolidate the historic, democratic and non-racial elections of 1994 which were pivotal to the transformation of South Africa into a democratic society based on equality, respect and opportunity for all its people.

"The Secretary-General would like to extend his warm congratulations to President-elect, Thabo Mbeki, the African National Congress and the people of South Africa and to assure them that the United Nations, which supported the struggle for a non-racial society with equality for all, will spare no effort to support South Africa as it continues to consolidate its democratic and development achievements. He takes this opportunity also to express his abiding admiration and respect for President Nelson Mandela, whose place in the history of South Africa is self-evident".

**New President for Rwanda Tribunal

The Plenary of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha has just elected its new President, Judge Navanethem Pillay, from South Africa. Before becoming judge at the Tribunal in 1995, Judge Pillay was judge in the South Africa Supreme Court. Before then she practised law in South Africa for about 30 years. She replaces Judge Laïty Kama from Senegal who was elected president in May 1995 and re-elected two years later.

You can get a press release in my office on that.

**Haiti

We had a question in the briefing about an incident in Haiti. In fact, last Saturday, the 29th of May, 11 persons were killed in Carrefour-Feuille, a part of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

When our mission in Haiti got confirmation that elements of the Haitian National Police were involved in this summary execution, the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Julian Harston, immediately met with the Secretary of State for Security of Haiti and the Police Director-General and urged them to conduct an investigation as quickly as possible, and in a transparent way, and to immediately suspend the officers believed to be involved. He also issued a statement along the same lines, which we made available to you yesterday, adding that only a quick and transparent investigation will restore the Haitian public's faith in their Police.

Yesterday, Haiti's Prime Minister said the Government would assume its responsibilities to investigate the massacre, and would see to it that the perpetrators were brought to justice. The Police Director-General confirmed that an arrest warrant has been issued for Haiti and abroad, and our civilian police monitors report that four police officers have been arrested so far.

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**Persistent Organic Pollutants

A press release is available on the racks in which the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Klaus Toepfer, lauds the European Union's plan to identify and destroy poultry products contaminated with dioxin, one of the 12 deadliest persistent organic pollutants or POPs.

He said the European Union action pointed to the need for global action on the issue, especially as developing countries typically lack the capacity to identify and respond to such threats. In that connection, governments are negotiating a legally binding international agreement to reduce and/or eliminate releases and discharges to the environment of the 12 POPs. The treaty is expected to be concluded by the end of next year.

**WFP/Ethiopia and Somalia

The United Nations World Food Programme has approved a $40.5 million emergency operation to feed nearly 1.2 million people desperately in need of food in eight drought-stricken regions of Ethiopia.

We have a news release on that for you upstairs.

We also have a press release from the World Food Programme saying that the arrival today in Merca, Somalia, of the last shipment of relief food for drought-stricken southern Somalia before the onset of the monsoon winds has taken place.

If you're interested in that, get the press release.

**The Week Ahead at the United Nations

Now, the week ahead. I'll only read selectively to you from this monumental document, which you can pick up in my office.

Tomorrow, Saturday, the Secretary-General's report to the Security Council on Sierra Leone is due. We're expecting it to come out as a document on Monday.

Then, on Monday, the Security Council has scheduled a briefing by Ambassador Fowler of Canada in his capacity as Chairman of the sanctions committee on Angola. We're hoping he will brief you here in Room 226 immediately afterwards.

Also on Monday, the Board of Governors of the IAEA will meet in Vienna for a week. It examines and makes recommendations on the IAEA's accounts, programme and budget and considers applications for membership.

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Tuesday, the Security Council is scheduled to have a troop contributors' meeting on the Sierra Leone peacekeeping mission. They have a lunch with the Secretary-General planned; that's a monthly event.

The United Nations and Tunisia are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Standby Arrangements for troop contributions and equipment contributions to peacekeeping. That will happen at noon.

The Secretary-General's report on East Timor is due that day.

The Deputy Secretary-General will address the Executive Board of UNESCO via video-conference on the issue of United Nations reform.

We're expecting Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, to be our guest at the noon briefing on Tuesday.

Wednesday, the Security Council has scheduled consultations on our mission in Sierra Leone and a formal meeting on that mission is also planned. The mandate expires on the 13th of June.

The Secretary-General's report on the peacekeeping force in Cyprus is due on Wednesday as well.

Also Wednesday, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, will be in Beijing, China, for an International Disaster Management Workshop aimed at defining effective methods to deal with natural disasters and share lessons among developing countries in natural disaster reduction.

Thursday, the Secretary-General is scheduled to deliver a statement on receiving the 1999 Peace Prize from the Seeds of Peace Foundation.

**Question-and-Answer Session

Question: Who from New York will be going to the meeting in Geneva?

Spokesman: Representatives of the Departments of Political Affairs, Peacekeeping, and Humanitarian Affairs. I don't know if anyone from the Secretary-General's staff specifically will be going, but I know those three departments will send senior representatives to participate.

Question: Is there any initial readout from the IAEA inspectors on what they found in Vinca?

Spokesman: Not yet. If we get something in the course of the day, we'll squawk it, but I suspect they have to report first to their headquarters.

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Question: The Cuban Government has introduced claims for about $180 billion against damage done by the embargo against the United States --

Spokesman: -- the United States embargo against Cuba.

Question: Against Cuba. Do we have any agency here which can study the merit of such claims, any reports on post-conflict embargoes? Several underdeveloped countries were victims of embargoes by the United States.

Spokesman: On this particular regime, no, because it is a bilateral matter between the United States and Cuba. I'm not aware that we have anything apart from in the Secretary-General's Strategic Planning Unit, there has been some general studies of the impact of embargoes and sanctions and so on: how they affect innocent people, how they can be sharpened to more effectively impact on those people who are targeted, so that innocent people would not be affected.

Question: Could you give us a wider understanding of what the relationship will be between the United Nations and whatever NATO peacekeeping force is instituted in Kosovo? Will it be under a United Nations umbrella or is this something still being worked out?

Spokesman: We're still waiting to hear. Everyone understands that there will be a military and a civilian component and their work will have to be coordinated. Who will make up the military, who will assume responsibility for the civilian component, these are things that have not been made public, and won't be finalized until the Security Council adopts its resolution. All contingency planning is based on certain assumptions that we will have some, as yet undefined, role on the civilian side.

The Secretary-General's recommendation is that on the civilian side there be a single individual -- an administrator, a special representative, a high representative, I don't know what it would be called -- but his feeling is that a single individual should control all of the civilian operations, from the return of refugees to the monitoring of police activities to reconstruction and development. Of course, that side of things would have to be coordinated in some integral way with the military component. But we have no details at this point on what Governments are thinking is the best way to do that.

Question: The peacekeeping force would operate under the United Nations mandate, which would suggest that there is overall United Nations institutional responsibility.

Spokesman: No, to me, that suggests that the Security Council will authorize the military and civilian components to carry out the implementation of this peace agreement. It does not imply necessarily that the United Nations will either recruit the force, or command it. In fact, the thinking

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has rather consistently been, in recent times, that neither of those things will be the case. It's likely to be a multi-national force authorized by the Security Council.

Question: Would that mean that the United Nations would not be administering it or paying for it? Is there a precedent?

Spokesman: I don't want to talk about precedent of something that hasn't yet been decided or at least hasn't yet been announced. How it's organized, how it's funded, are all still being discussed.

Question: Fred, will you be with the Secretary-General at the retreat?

Spokesman: No.

Question: So we'll have no way of knowing what happens there?

Spokesman: I suggest you ask the delegates when they return whether they give it a "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down". I think it is really for their benefit and for the institution's benefit that this has been organized.

Question: Will they be discussing Kosovo over the weekend?

Spokesman: It's not structured to discuss Kosovo, but rather to ask much broader questions about how the Security Council does its work, how it decides on its priorities and how it develops consensus to take meaningful action on international crises. But I don't see how any of these people can avoid speaking about Kosovo, at least in the margins of the retreat.

Question: Does the Secretary-General suggest that the civilian coordinator would be nominated by the United Nations?

Spokesman: He has floated his ideas of how the civilian side of the mission could be organized, and that included a single special representative that would be appointed by him, but he has also said that whatever Member States decide they would want, is fine with him.

On the military side, he said as long as the Security Council approves the force, and as long as it is strong enough to be credible and guarantee the safety of the return of the refugees, that's fine. On the civilian side, he said his contingency planners will be looking at all aspects. If Member States decide to give one of these activities to a body other than the United Nations, he would be happy to share our contingency plans with that body, to help it hit the ground running.

Question: Would that single civilian coordinator report solely to the United Nations?

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Spokesman: His recommendation is that all civilian operations, from refugee return to police monitoring to reconstruction and development report to a single individual.

Question: Are the Secretary-General's recommendations laid out in any public document?

Spokesman: No. He began floating these ideas when he visited Moscow. To my knowledge, that is when he first began circulating these ideas among Governments.

Question: Will the Security Council meet formally to discuss this?

Spokesman: The expectation is that the G-8 will draft a resolution over the weekend, which they would then present to the Security Council, possibly some time next week.

Question: Do you have anything on the fate of the Russian crew held by UNITA?

Spokesman: I don't have anything on that right now. I'd have to look into it for you.

Question: Did the Secretary-General speak personally to Mbeki or Mandela?

Spokesman: I'd have to check for you. I know he speaks to both of them with some regularity in connection with other African issues, the DRC for example. But whether he has spoken with them since the election, would you check with me afterwards?

Question: Everyone is talking about the imminent return of the refugees to Kosovo. But there are nearly 1 million people in camps who have nothing to go back to, so how imminent can it be?

Spokesman: UNHCR is doing the planning. What they hope for is that there can be a well-organized return of people to their homes. The civilian activity, the civilian component of the implementation mission, includes reconstruction. Presumably, for people returning to their homes there would be plastic sheeting and other things to make their destroyed homes liveable immediately upon their return, and winterized by October, and that assistance for the rebuilding would continue for as long as it takes to get everyone back in suitable housing.

That would have to be done very carefully. The border areas are heavily mined. A certain amount of demining activity would have to go on but, presumably, there are corridors that could be cleared immediately or at least tested to see that they're clear, so that if people go home in an orderly way

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through narrow, safe corridors, the task can be accomplished with few or no incidents. That's what we hope we can get the refugees cooperation on.

Question: The refugees would work with UNHCR to go back home?

Spokesman: We certainly hope so. What we want to avoid is an uncontrolled stampede across the border which could result in injury or the loss of life.

Question: Does the plan being worked out for civilian reconstruction include funds for reconstructing Serbia itself?

Spokesman: In the Secretary-General's proposals, the European Union would take the lead with the World Bank on that. I believe the European Union has recently taken a position on aid to Serbia, but I don't want to speak for them.

Question: So there is no role for the United Nations envisioned at the moment in Serbia proper?

Spokesman: The plan is, from the United Nations point of view, the reconstruction of the whole region. Serbia is an economic engine for the region, but the Secretary-General has said that there could be some resistance on the part of some donors to assisting Serbia, as long as President Milosevic is in power. I believe the European Union has already taken a position.

Anyone else?

Thank you very much.

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