DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19990719
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 today will be Liviu Bota, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Georgia.
**Secretary-General Opens UNISPACE III
This morning, the Secretary-General opened the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III).
He reviewed the vast potential of space technology, and stressed that it must be used to foster tolerance, trust and shared values. "We cannot view the expanse of space as another battleground for our earthly conflicts", he said. Making the fruits of technical progress available to all people in all nations is an important aspect of global development which is of central concern to the United Nations. The Secretary-General stressed the need to ensure that "no one is left behind as we move forward in the great adventure of exploring and developing outer space".
Copies of the speech are available in the Spokesman's Office.
While in Vienna today, the Secretary-General had a meeting with President Thomas Klestil of Austria. He also met with Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima, and with the President of Parliament, Heinz Fischer.
In the margins of UNISPACE III, he met with the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed El-Baradei, to discuss the next steps in Iraq.
**Iraq
Still on Iraq, yesterday at 11:30 a.m. the team of independent experts, who have been in Iraq since the middle of last week, entered the United Nations Special Commission's (UNSCOM) chemical laboratory and biological room in Baghdad.
By the way, I would like to set the record straight. Last Thursday, I told you that the experts had had a preliminary inspection of the biological room and the chemical laboratory. In fact, that day they had been to the administrative wing, so it was only yesterday that they entered the chemical laboratory and biological room.
The opening of the premises was observed by international diplomatic observers from China, France and Russia. The independent experts proceeded to make the inventory of the chemicals in the premises.
**Afghanistan
The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, chaired a meeting today of the so-called "Six-plus-Two" group in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was the first time that the two warring parties met together with the group which is trying to help resolve the Afghan conflict.
Mr. Brahimi, reading a statement on behalf of the Secretary-General, said no real progress has been made towards a peaceful resolution and that the fighting in Afghanistan continues to threaten peace and stability in the region. He called for the resumption of dialogue and an end to material and political support to the warring parties by neighbouring and other States.
"As the ritual summer fighting is again upon us, concerted and effective actions by the 'Six-plus-Two' group are needed more urgently than ever before", Brahimi said.
A preliminary readout of the scheduled one-day formal meeting indicated that the warring parties -- the Taliban and Northern Alliance -- agreed to meet in bilaterals tomorrow.
A political declaration adopted at the end of the formal meeting by the "Six-plus-Two" group is available upon request.
**Kosovo
Over the weekend, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, travelled to Pec, Prizren and Mitrovica as part of his familiarization tour of the province. In Prizren, Mr. Kouchner swore in seven new judges and three new prosecutors, bringing to 19 the total number of judicial officials appointed by the United Nations mission. Judges who are travelling around Kosovo as part of a mobile court have so far heard 90 cases involving 198 persons in detention -- 95 of whom have been released. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has interviewed 253 potential judicial candidates.
Mr. Kouchner also met with Serb Bishop Artemije on Saturday and KLA leader Hashim Thaci on Sunday.
The latest humanitarian update is available in a handout from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who says that the security situation in Kosovo leaves much to be desired. Many residents to whom UNHCR staff have spoken in Kosovo, and especially in the western part of the
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 19 July 1999
province, increasingly blame the poor security situation on gangs from Albania.
In New York, the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) on the financing of UNMIK is out on the racks today (document A/53/1019). It will be taken up by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) tomorrow. The ACABQ supports the Secretary-General's request for $200 million to fund the Mission from its inception until a full budget is presented to the General Assembly this October.
**East Timor
We have available in the Spokesman's Office, transcripts of the press briefings of Saturday and today in Dili, East Timor. I will not go into details since you could get those from the transcripts, but this morning the spokesman for the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) said that voter registration was continuing at a good pace and UNAMET was pleased with the turnout.
**Haiti Report
There's a new report on the racks today by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, which was created by the Economic and Social Council earlier this year (document E/1998/103). The Group stresses the need to increase the flow of external resources to Haiti over the next few years as the country strengthens its institutions. At the same time, the Group points out that the provision of assistance is largely subject to a return to political stability, and it urges all political forces in Haiti to support the forthcoming elections and agree on modalities for the full participation of the country's people.
Among its recommendations, the Group calls for the development of a long-term United Nations programme of support for Haiti in such areas as education, peace-building and poverty eradication.
**Sierra Leone
The United Nations has appealed to the donor community on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone for an initial amount of about $35 million to finance a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme for former rebel soldiers in Sierra Leone. This disarmament exercise is scheduled to start soon, as had been agreed in the peace agreement reached early this month in Lome between the Government of Sierra Leone and the rebel forces.
In the meantime, former soldiers arriving in the capital have been registered by the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL).
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 19 July 1999
**Security Council Consultations
There is no Security Council meeting today. Tomorrow, the members of the Council are expected to take up the reports of the Secretary-General on the Central African Republic and on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Oluyemi Adenieji, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Central African Republic will brief you here after his briefing to the Security Council.
For the record, shortly after the noon briefing on Friday, the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations political deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo became available. He made recommendations concerning preliminary action that the United Nations could take in connection with the signing of the 10 July ceasefire agreement by the six States concerned. He also said that it was his hope that the rebels would sign the agreement without further delay.
That report is available on the racks.
**Ethiopia
We have available a report on a $40 million-plus United Nations appeal for some 5 million people in need of food aid in Ethiopia. It was issued today in Addis Ababa by IRIN, a United Nations information service affiliated with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), following a joint Government/donor assessment mission undertaken in mid-June to four severely affected northern and southern areas, the number of those in need of food aid has been adjusted from 4.6 million to 5.3 million people, including displaced in the northern areas arising from the fighting with Eritrea.
**United Nations Environment Programme
There is a press release in the Spokesman's Office on talks that concluded last week in Rome on the Rotterdam Convention, which governs the trade in hazardous chemicals. Over 100 countries participated in the negotiations, which resulted in two new chemicals added to the list of those which cannot be imported without a country's consent.
**Provisional Agenda for General Assembly
Also available is the provisional agenda for the General Assembly's next session, which is out on the racks today (document A/54/150). The session will open on 14 September at 3 p.m. The general debate will begin on the following Monday. A provisional list of speakers is posted on the United Nations Web site.
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 19 July 1999
Finally, in confirmation of what I said earlier, tomorrow our guest at the noon briefing will be the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Central African Republic.
**Question-and-Answer Session
Question: On several occasions, the representative of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia mentioned that there should be an accord between the United Nations and Yugoslavia before the takeover of administration by the United Nations in Kosovo. You referred to resolution 1244. What is the reaction of the Secretary-General to this letter -- I think about two or three regarding the matter were sent to the Security Council?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't know about these letters. But, of course, the Secretary-General and Secretariat will follow the Council resolution. Resolution 1244 establishes the parameters and responsibilities for security and interim civil administration in Kosovo acknowledging the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. About the specifics of the letters, since I have not seen any letter, I would have to check and get back to you on that.
Question: Have you any news on the military commission that was supposed to be established today for the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Deputy Spokesman: I think that the representatives of the parties involved were getting together in Lusaka for that purpose -- the Foreign Ministers and Ministers for Defense -- but, I don't think we have an update on that as yet.
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