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 is Carina Perelli, Director of the Electoral Division in the Department of the Political Affairs. She will be talking to you about the East Timor popular consultation. She has just returned from the area and her Division has been organizing and designing the electoral process in East Timor. [Ms. Perelli's briefing will be issued separately.]

I will start the briefing with two statements attributable to the Spokesman.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General on Earthquake in Turkey

The Secretary-General was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life caused this morning by the earthquake that hit north-western Turkey. The promptness with which the Government of Turkey has mobilized initial humanitarian aid has helped to mitigate the initial level of suffering.

The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the people and the Government of Turkey, particularly to the families of the victims, and assures them that the United Nations will extend all forms of assistance within its means in the relief and rehabilitation efforts.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General on Afghanistan

The Secretary-General is deeply distressed by reports of widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Afghanistan. He strongly condemns the ongoing forceful displacement of civilians resulting from the most recent offensive by the Taliban, and remains alarmed by reports of violations affecting inhabitants of the Shomali plain, as well as displaced persons in Kabul.

He also expresses deep concern over reports of the involvement in the conflict of students, some as young as 14, and calls on the warring parties to respect the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Secretary-General urges the parties to immediately end the conflict and take measures to ensure the protection of civilians in armed conflict. He also calls on the warring parties to ensure the safe and free movement of relief workers who remain committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict. The Secretary-General notes, however, that primary responsibility for the

welfare of the Afghan civilians rests with those who have displaced them from their homes.

**Security Council

This morning, the Security Council has consultations on the report of the Secretary-General on Western Sahara. They have been briefed by Hedi Annabi, Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. They are now hearing a briefing by Kieran Prendergast, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, on the latest developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the fighting that has broken out between Rwandan and Ugandan troops.

**Kosovo

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, announced today that some 2,000 public health workers have started receiving an ad hoc stipend from the United Nations Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK). This is the same type of stipend as the one going to judges, prosecutors and customs officials that we announced last week. The money comes from the United Nations Trust Fund set up for this purpose.

In another development, Kouchner also announced the start of the "I Love My City -- Pristina" clean-up project that includes garbage collection. The project is funded by UNMIK and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It will create more than 300 jobs in Pristina, and will run through mid-November, when it will be replaced by a self-financed operation.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) remains extremely concerned at the continuing attacks against Serbs in Kosovo, despite efforts by KFOR and the United Nations to protect them, according to UNHCR spokeswoman in Geneva.

Yesterday, UNHCR released the results of a joint mission it organized with the World Food Programme (WFP) to assess food needs in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The mission recommended food assistance for over a quarter of a million people in the country, not including Kosovo.

You can get more details about that in the UNHCR briefing notes, which we have available in the Spokesman's Office.

**Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Spokesman for the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) announced today on behalf of the International Criminal Tribunal that the Forensic Team of the Office of the Prosecutor began another exhumation of a mass grave in north-eastern Bosnia related to the Srebrenica investigation. The Spokesman said that it was a primary mass grave and also a sight of an execution following the fall of the Srebrenica enclave.

Still on Bosnia, I have received a number of phone calls today as a result of an article in The New York Times regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina and corruption. I would like to tell you that the investigation mentioned in the paper has been carried out by the Office of the High Representative. The United Nations Mission is not involved, and therefore we are not in a position to make any specific comments on that.

However, having said that, of course we are looking in to determine whether any United Nations agencies had monies in any of the banks that are mentioned in that story.

**Iraq

We have available in our office the weekly update for the period 7 to 13 August prepared by the Office of the Iraq Programme. During that time Iraq exported a total of 16.4 million barrels of crude oil for an estimated revenue of $300 million. More details can be obtained in the note upstairs.

**Sudan

The World Food Programme (WFP) yesterday resumed the delivery of food aid to thousands of hungry people living in the Sobat river basin in the Upper Nile region. The delivery marked the first barge convoy since May, when WFP suspended its river deliveries after an attack on a WFP vessel, which killed one crew member and injured two other staff. The current four-barge convoy is carrying over 1,000 metric tonnes of food, including wheat grain, lentils and vegetable oil.

We have a press release from WFP in our office with more details.

**Payments

Mexico today became the ninety-first Member State to pay in full the contribution for 1999, with the payment of over $10 million. Also, we have available now the mid-month update on the status of contributions for 1999. You can pick up a copy in our office.

**Press Conference at 3 p.m.

The last announcement before we turn to questions is that at 3 p.m. Ambassador Andre M. Kapanga, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will hold a press conference at room 226 to discuss the latest crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in the Kisangani region. This is all I have. Do you have any questions?

Question: Will the Security Council be meeting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo following a letter from the Permanent Representative of that country?

Answer: The Council is holding consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo as we speak, so we'll see what they are going to decide during these consultations.

Question: The White House just released a letter from President Clinton addressed to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate on the election in Haiti. Since the mission in Haiti is a United Nations mission, does the Secretary- General share the views of President Clinton regarding that matter? Do you know about the letter, to begin with?

Answer: No, I don't. I am hearing now from you.

Thank you so much.

* *** *