DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Shirley Brownell, spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly and Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Briefing by Spokeswoman for President of General Assembly

**General Assembly Considers General Committee Report

The General Assembly President, Theo-Ben Gurirab, is presiding, as we speak, over the third plenary meeting. The Assembly is considering the report of the General Committee, document A/54/250, containing recommendations on the organization of the work of the fifty-fourth session, adoption of the agenda and allocation of items.

The report recommends a total of 170 agenda items. After a lengthy procedural debate on Wednesday, in which 66 delegations spoke on whether or not to include an item on Taiwan, the Committee recommended against doing so. Thirteen States had requested inclusion of an item, on the “need to examine the exceptional international situation pertaining to the Republic of China on Taiwan, to ensure the fundamental right of its 22 million people to participate in the work and activities of the United Nations is fully respected”.

The report before the Assembly this morning recommends that it consider the question of East Timor directly in plenary meeting on the understanding that those having an interest in the question would be heard, in conjunction, in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee).

The General Committee further recommends that the Assembly hear a brief presentation by the Secretary-General of his Annual Report on the Work of the Organization (A/54/1), prior to the start of the general debate on Monday, 20 September.

**General Debate to Begin on Monday

Among the 19 speakers listed for Monday are nine heads of State and six heads of government. A list of speakers is available in room S-378 and on the UN Homepage on the Internet at >.

**President’s Schedule

Copies of the President’s schedule for today are available in room S-378. This morning, the President addressed staff at the UN Millennium Staff Day programme in the General Assembly Hall. In his statement, the President recalled the enormous assistance rendered to his country, Namibia,

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 17 September 1999

and its people by the United Nations and its staff since the inception of the Organization. He also cited some of the challenges facing staff, among them: the issues of career development; staff mobility; the safety, security and protection of humanitarian and UN personnel; as well as human resources management, in general. Copies of his statement are available in room S-378.

The President is also expected to speak at a special meeting to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bangladesh’s admission to the United Nations, taking place in the Economic and Social Council Chamber. The President participated in yesterday’s ECOSOC meeting to inaugurate the newly renovated Chamber. Copies of his remarks at that gathering are also available in room S-378. This afternoon, he will address the closing session of the DPI/NGO Conference on “Challenges of a Globalized World: Finding New Directions”.

On Sunday, referred to as UN Sunday, the President will deliver a sermon at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on Amsterdam Avenue and 112th Street here in Manhattan.

**Question-and-Answer Session

Question: Has the General Assembly President said anything about East Timor?

Spokeswoman: He has indeed. The President spoke on East Timor in his acceptance speech before the General Assembly, and again at his press conference held yesterday in this room.

Briefing by Spokesman for Secretary-General

Our guest at the noon briefing today is David Mclachlan Karr, who is the Acting Head of the Asia/Europe/Latin America Section of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and he will talk to you about humanitarian operations in East Timor.

**Secretary-General’s Remarks on Staff Day

Today, in his Staff Day speech to colleagues at Headquarters and around the world, the Secretary-General praised the bravery of staffers in all field missions, and particularly the selflessness and determination of our colleagues in East Timor, who had taken in over 2,000 frightened local residents, sharing whatever they had. "They never complained", he said, "some even said, ‘we will not leave until the local population who are here with us are protected and we know what is going to happen to them’." Almost 100 volunteers -- young and old -- had offered to stay at their own risk.

The Secretary-General expressed his determination to better protect the staff. In this context, he announced the release next week of stamps in memoriam of those civilians and staff members who have lost their lives while serving the United Nations in the cause of peace.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 17 September 1999

Some of the proceeds from sales of the stamps will be used for the purpose of staff security training.

The Secretary-General spoke off the cuff this morning, therefore, transcripts of his speech will be available later in the Spokesman’s Office.

Another activity on Staff Day was the unveiling this morning of a commemorative exhibit in remembrance of five United Nations security officers who died in the service of the Organization. The exhibit is located on the ground floor corridor leading to the Security Services offices.

**East Timor

The World Food Programme (WFP) today air dropped 15 metric tonnes of rice, as well as blankets, at three locations in East Timor. The rice, transported on two C-130 aircraft provided by the Australian military, was on two-tonne pallets designed to break up in the air. Fifteen tonnes can feed about 30,000 people for a day. More air-drops are planned for tomorrow.

The high-protein biscuits that the WFP intends to deliver by the revolutionary "snow-drop" technique described earlier this week are now en route to Darwin and could be flown into East Timor on Monday. (A WFP press release is available in my Office.)

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) brought in to Dili today two plane loads of mostly high-protein biscuits, some of which were then loaded on trucks and taken to Dare, in the hills behind Dili, where a substantial part of the Dili population is hiding in fear. In this convoy were also four tonnes of rice, part of a daily allotment that the Indonesian Government has been providing to a Jesuit priest in Dare who is caring for the displaced people there.

On the way up to Dare, this UN/ICRC convoy came across a military operation in which about 50 mostly uniformed Indonesian military personnel were torching a village and driving its inhabitants away. While this kind of thing is common, what was unusual was that the Indonesian military, or TNI, were openly involved.

In Dare, our people were told that, yesterday, four children going down the hill towards Dili were caught by militia and executed.

Today, UN personnel travelled to the Port area of Dili, where they noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of displaced persons that had been huddled there in recent days, from between 5,000-6,000 down to about 2,000. There were no indications as to where they went.

There continue to be reports of large convoys of trucks carrying loot towards West Timor, as the TNI gradually pull out of East Timor. About two battalions, or 4,000 troops, are expected to stay on to secure essential utilities -- water, electricity, etc. -- for the arrival of the multinational force, or MNF.

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 17 September 1999

The Australian Mission informed us that Admiral Chris Barrie, Chief of the Australian Defence Force, had a press conference in Darwin today at 5 p.m. local time.

Regarding the composition of the multinational force, which he called International Force East Timor (INTERFET), Admiral Barrie said they had received firm commitments from eight countries: New Zealand, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Brazil and Italy. He added that they were also talking to Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. Final details of the specific contributions and when they will be deployed are still being negotiated at the military planning level, he said. He also confirmed that Major General Peter Gosgrove will be the commander of the multinational force.

If you have any questions you can contact Jon Merrill, the press officer at the Australian Mission, at telephone no. 351-6634.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, is on her way to Indonesia. Arrangements are also being made for her to visit Kupang and Atambua in West Timor. In talks with Indonesian officials, the High Commissioner will raise UNHCR’s concerns about the situation of East Timorese forcibly deported to West Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia.

While the humanitarian situation in East Timor is likely to improve dramatically with the deployment of peacekeepers and the arrival of many humanitarian organizations, the situation of East Timorese deported to West Timor causes huge concern.

Reports reaching the UNHCR from the border town of Atambua say pro- independence Timorese who were forcibly relocated to West Timor are scattered in groups of up to 1,000 people in the hills. Conditions in the makeshift camps are appalling. There is no shelter, food and medicine. Water is a major problem. The dry season is at its peak and, even in the best of times, little water is available at this time. In such a situation, there are deaths every day among infants, the sick and elderly. What is more worrying is the security situation. Militias are reported to be seeking out pro-independence activists and taking them away to an unknown fate.

This morning in Geneva, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, presented her report on the human rights situation in East Timor to the bureau of the Commission on Human Rights. In the conclusion to this report, the High Commissioner says she intends to remain in contact with the Indonesian authorities on the establishment of an international commission of inquiry and is ready, if needed, to take the initiative in launching such an international commission.

Mrs. Robinson argues that to end the century tolerating impunity for those guilty of the shocking violations of human rights in East Timor would

Daily Press Brfiefing - 5 - 17 September 1999

be a betrayal of everything the United Nations stands for regarding the universal promotion and protection of human rights.

This report follows Mrs Robinson's visit to the region last weekend. Copies are available in the Spokesman’s Office and on the United Nations human rights website.

We are also awaiting word from the Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights as to whether there will be a special session of the Commission to address the issue of human rights in East Timor. Portugal had requested a special session, and the deadline for responses was yesterday evening.

**Security Council Consultations

The open meeting of the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, which started yesterday and was interrupted due to the poor weather conditions in the New York area, resumed at 10:30 this morning.

Yesterday, the Secretary-General, followed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, opened the debate. All Council members, except the Netherlands, also took the floor. The Dutch delegation is expected to be the last speaker today, after 20 other speakers.

As soon as our noon briefing is over today, Ambassador Robert Fowler of Canada and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Sergio Vieira de Mello will brief the press on the session at the stakeout here on the second floor.

**Kosovo

Bernard Kouchner, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo, has signed three new regulations to promote the establishment of an independent, professional, impartial and multi-ethnic judiciary in Kosovo.

The first regulation establishes an Ad Hoc Court of Final Appeal and an Ad Hoc Office of the Public Prosecutor. The Ad Hoc Court of Final Appeal will have the powers of the Supreme Court.

The second regulation establishes the Technical Advisory Commission on Judiciary and Prosecution Service.

The third regulation deals with the establishment of the Advisory Judicial Commission, which will advise the Special Representative on matters related to the appointment of judges and prosecutors, as well as on complaints against any judge or prosecutor.

Meanwhile, the United Nations police report that it has been relatively quiet in Pristina in the last 24 hours. Police arrested one person for breaking and entering, and two people for stealing from a café in Pristina. But in the region of Gnjilane, police responded to reports that there had

Daily Press Briefing - 6 - 17 September 1999

been 12 consecutive mortar explosions near the Serbian Orthodox Church. No other details were available.

The UNHCR, responsible for the humanitarian pillar of the UN operation in Kosovo, reports that food aid that has been brought into Kosovo by the WFP and its partners since June has served approximately 1.5 million people per month. However, this programme is undergoing a change and it will now serve about 900,000 people due to decreased need and stabilization of the situation in the territory.

A press release with more details on the regulations is available, as are the texts of the three regulations themselves, as well as today’s briefing note from Pristina.

**Albania Holds Symbolic Weapons-Destruction Ceremony

The Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament, Jayantha Dhanapala, attended a symbolic weapons-destruction ceremony in Gramsh, Albania, today.

During Albania's March 1997 crisis, over half a million weapons and several tons of ammunition fell into civilian hands. In response, the Department of Disarmament Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joined forces to launch a pilot weapons-collection project in Gramsh.

Since its inception in February, over 2,500 weapons have been surrendered, as well as some 5,000 hand grenades, in addition to other small arms.

In his remarks today, Mr. Dhanapala said the project would be expanded to other parts of the country, widening the violence-free climate in Albania and encouraging greater investment in the country's development. He said it would also strengthen the international community's willingness to make additional commitments of support to Albania. "All of this", he observed, "augurs well for the stability of the Balkans."

We have copies of that speech in the Spokesman’s Office. If you have more questions about the project, you could ask Mr. Dhanapala himself since he will be the guest at the noon briefing on Monday.

**Secretary-General to Meet with Albright and Holbrooke

On Sunday, at 6 p.m., the Secretary-General will host United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and the newly appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, at his residence for talks.

The Secretary of State, who requested the meeting, will take questions from the media. If members of the press wish to cover this event, they should contact Sonia Lecca of the Accreditation Unit of the Department of Public Information before the end of today.

Daily Press Briefing - 7 - 17 September 1999

**The Week Ahead

Some highlights for the week ahead follow.

On Monday, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Carol Bellamy, will be here to speak about the world’s greatest undeclared war, the battle against HIV/AIDS. That follows an international conference on the disease in Lusaka, Zambia. Also expected to be here on Monday are South African President Thabo Mbeki at 3:45 p.m.; the President of Colombia, Andreas Pastrana Arango at 4:30 p.m.; and Japan’s Foreign Minister, Masahiko Koumura at 5:15 p.m.

The General Assembly begins its annual General Debate on Monday with participation of heads of State and government from around the world. The Secretary-General will address the General Assembly prior to the opening of the general debate.

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General’s report on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) is due. On Wednesday, at 9:30 a.m., the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will launch the State of the World’s Population report.

**Payments

We received a cheque for over $10,000 from Equatorial Guinea today, bringing the total number of Member States paid in full for this year to 99.

**Question-and-Answer Session

Question: What will the Secretary-General, Mrs. Albright and Mr. Holbrooke discuss on Sunday?

Spokesman: You would have to ask the United States since it was the Secretary of State who requested the meeting.

Question: Why did the General Assembly decide to commence on Yom Kippur?

Spokesman: You would have to ask governments that. The Secretary- General has been asked why he did it and we have to inform them that it was not his decision to make, and he has no power over these decisions by the Assembly.

* *** *