DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19990823The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Security Council
Good afternoon. Against the background of 2 million Angolans living a precarious existence, another 3 million completely inaccessible, scarce food and shelter, and large numbers of children at risk of death if hostilities continue, the Security Council is holding consultations this morning on the humanitarian situation in Angola.
The Council Members are being briefed by Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF; Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme; and Sergio Vieira De Mello, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. If time allows, as we told you on Friday, all three of them will join us here and brief you after the consultations are completed. The Security Council also heard a briefing by Hedi Annabi, Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, on the issue of access and the security situation in that country.
Report of Secretary-General on Implementation of Oil for Food Programme
The Secretary-General's 90-day report on the implementation of the oil for food programme is out today (S/1999/896). The report notes that, at current prices and volumes, Iraq would have the capacity to export $6.3 billion worth of oil in the current Phase VI, which began on 25 May and ends on 21 November. This is well above the $5.2 billion authorized. However, the Council, in paragraph 14 of resolution 1242 (1999), indicated a willingness to review the ceiling.
In the report, the Secretary-General expresses concern about the number of contracts currently on hold and asks for an "all- out effort" to review these holds -- currently worth around $500 million -- to ensure the timely and effective implementation of the programme. The Secretary-General backed the recommendation by UNICEF in its report on child and maternal mortality that the Government of Iraq and the 661 Committee should give priority to contracts, which will have a direct impact on the well-being of children, in particular targeted nutrition and water and sanitation supplies.
The Executive Director of the Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan, is due to present the Secretary-General's report to the Security Council in consultations due on Thursday this week. This morning, Mr. Sevan's office advised that last week Iraq exported 18.8 million barrels of oil with an
estimated value of $350 million. It is my understanding that the report that I just referred to is already available on the racks.
Kosovo
Today, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) announced that UNMIK Police had started taking over primary responsibility for law and order in Pristina. The Police assumed investigative authority and jurisdiction for enforcing criminal codes, conducting investigations, making arrests for criminal offenses and interfacing with the community. The UNMIK Police will continue to be supported by KFOR troops. The two will continue their joint work in all communities in an effort to reduce violence and crime.
The Kosovo Transitional Council met as scheduled on Saturday in Pristina. Speaking to the press following the meeting, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, said that discussions had focused on security issues. He cautioned against expecting "quick-fixes" to the security problems in Kosovo, saying, "There is a fantastic density of hatred here, but the answer is not the police, the answer is not soldiers, the answer is development, peace, democracy, the answer is jobs for young people." Dr. Kouchner also proposed that young people be hired to rebuild houses in destroyed areas. We have a press release upstairs with more information on the meeting, including a list of participants.
Also over the weekend, Kouchner took steps to contribute to the overhaul of Kosovo's health care system. On Saturday, he raised the United Nations flag at the town hospital in Mitrovica and later met with about 120 doctors, stressing the need to keep politics out of health care. Three working groups were set up to deal, respectively, with human resources development, health policy and transmissible diseases. You can read more in two press releases available upstairs, and we also have a transcript of the briefing by the Spokesman of UNMIK this morning in Pristina.
Assessment of Environmental Impact of Balkans Conflict on Danube River
You will recall that a few days ago I told you about the joint United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) Balkans Task Force. I also told you that it would start to assess the environmental impact of the Balkans conflict on the Danube River. Well, they have started doing that, and in the next four days the Task Force scientists from the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Germany, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden will visit potential pollution "hot-spots" up- and down-stream from the Novi Sad oil refinery, Pancevo industrial complex and the tributary near the Zastava car factory in Kragujevac.
The team will also visit the Iron Gates dam on the border between Yugoslavia and Romania. Here the Djerdap Reservoir holds extensive layers of sediment that can absorb organic matter, and toxic and hazardous waste possibly carried down the Danube River. In this regard, samples taken here might reveal what Pekka Haavisto, the Chairman of the Task Force, calls "an environmental history of the war". We have a press release in our office with more details on this Task Force mission.
East Timor
On East Timor, there has been an upsurge in militia activity in the last two weeks in certain areas, namely Maliana, Suai, Viqueque, Liquica and Ainaro. This apparently, as has been noted by the Spokesman in Dili, seems an effort being made by the militia to intimidate local people and to move them out.
Over the weekend, there were a number of incidents. In Los Palos on Saturday, in the early hours of the morning, a UNAMET vehicle was burned and destroyed. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time and an investigation is under way. No one was hurt in the incident.
In Ainaro -- also on Saturday -- a residence of UNAMET District Electoral Officers came under attack by militia. The District Officers were moved to the local police station for their protection. No injuries were reported, but rocks were thrown, and militia were seen in the area armed with knives and bayonets. The police eventually brought the situation under control. In Ermera, also on Saturday, a group of District Electoral Officers and UNAMET civilian police were prevented by a roadblock from travelling between Ermera and Fatubolu.
In Suai there is a major concern that was reported following the visit of the United States Senators and Congressmen this weekend to East Timor. There they found that the 2,000-plus refugees living in the church have been without water for several days. The United States delegation took the matter up with the Indonesian authorities, who assured them that the water supply would be restored. The actual supply of piped water into the church compound was cut off and is controlled by the local militia. We received word that the water was restored late last night.
On a more positive note, I would like to tell you that on Sunday, a meeting took place in Jakarta of East Timorese leaders of both pro-autonomy and pro-independence sides. They agreed to meet in Dili on 25 August. The meeting in Jakarta had as one of the participants Xanana Gusmao.
You may also recall that last week I brought to your attention the announcement of the East Timorese Consultative Commission. Now we have received the nominations for the Commission, which will be established on 31 August. There will be 25 members in the Commission. Ten will be nominated by each side and appointed by the Secretary-General, and the remaining five will be appointed by the Secretary-General after discussions with Indonesia, Portugal and the two sides. You have details on this in the press release we announced to you last week, which is dated 19 August.
Guinea-Bissau
Electoral census in Guinea-Bissau started yesterday in preparation for the legislative and presidential elections to be held on 28 November. The United Nations is providing technical assistance to the Electoral Commission and will also play a coordinating role during the elections. The census operations went well today, despite the reported murder of a former member of the ousted Government of Guinea-Bissau. The murder is currently being investigated by the authorities of Guinea-Bissau.
The post-conflict peace-building United Nations office in Guinea-Bissau has been now operational for two months, and several projects have been initiated in support of the national reconciliation process and the upcoming elections, including a seminar that took place last week on the role of civil society in a democratic state and another seminar planned for women contesting the November elections.
ILO Press Release on Unemployment in Latin America
The International Labour Organization (ILO) today issued a major report on unemployment in Latin America and the Caribbean. It warns that as much as 9.5 per cent of the region's regular workforce will be unemployed this year. That figure is higher than the peak jobless rates during the external debt crisis of the 1980s. The ILO says that economic reforms have helped to tame rampant inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean, but economic growth and price stability have not significantly improved the availability of jobs or the level of wages.
The new report has statistical details on the countries of the region as well as recommendations on how to promote greater social protection for workers there. We have a press release in our office with more information.
UNDP Press Release on Sexual Harassment Case
We also have a press release in our office from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on a UNDP staff member in Pakistan who has just been dismissed by the Administrator following allegations of sexual harassment. The staff's separation was effective as of 12 August. In making the decision, the UNDP Administrator reminded all staff of the importance of behaving in a manner befitting their status as international civil servants. He emphasized that UNDP will not tolerate a work environment in which harassment and abuse of authority undermine staff morale. The press release was issued in Islamabad.
This is all I have. Do we have any news from our guests? No. I think they may not be able to come here on time. Let us go to questions.
Question: When is the report of the Balkans Environmental Task Force due?
Answer: I believe, the report is due later in the fall. There will be a report coming here, but I do not have an exact date yet. It will be in October.
Question: Is there any word on the role that Mr. Rugova is going to play in Kosovo?
Answer: Well, he has participated in the meeting this weekend, and I believe that certainly his participation, as well as that of other leadership in Kosovo, in the [Kosovo Transitional] Council is essential. Let us see how they will organize their own parties and proceed to the elections, which are due to happen some time next year in Kosovo.
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