DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19991015The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Shirley Brownell, Spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly, and Manoel de Almeida Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Briefing by Spokeswoman for General Assembly President
Tomorrow, 16 October, is World Food Day. In a message issued for its observance, the President of the General Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab (Namibia), said the Day aimed to heighten public awareness of the unacceptable world food situation and to strengthen solidarity in the struggle against the scourges of hunger, malnutrition and poverty. This year's theme, "Youth against Hunger", underscored both the role of young people in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and provided a strategic opportunity for involving them in the campaign to achieve food security for all and protect the dignity of family life.
In any undertaking to eliminate hunger and malnutrition, it was essential to involve young people, the President said. Their energy and creativity must be mobilized and further harnessed through special programmes that provided young people with the tools they need to work for food security. To do this, youth and children must be spared the devastation and agony of wars and armed conflicts. Human and financial resources should not be used for death, destruction and darkness, but for reconciliation, reconstruction and development. In this way, "Youth against Hunger" could be transformed from a slogan into a weapon against the pernicious effects of hunger and malnutrition on the worlds youth and our future. Copies of that statement are available in room S-378.
There is no plenary meeting today. As many of you know, yesterday, the General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the Security Council for two- year terms starting on 1 January 2000. They are: Bangladesh, Jamaica, Mali, Tunisia and Ukraine. Apart from the five permanent members, the Council will also include, in 2000, Argentina, Canada, Malaysia, Namibia and the Netherlands.
The Credentials Committee is holding its first, closed, meeting, at 3:30 p.m. today.
At two meetings today, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) is hearing a further 21 speakers in its general debate on all disarmament and international security agenda items.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) began its discussion of United Nations operational activities for development, as well as economic and technical cooperation among developing countries. There are two meetings today. Among the documents is a report of the Secretary-General entitled State of South-South cooperation. It underscores the importance of such cooperation in a globalization era and offers some suggestions for improving it. The report says a review makes it clear that South-South cooperation is a powerful instrument for expanding the global economy in an equitable manner; that it facilitates the inclusion of all countries in a prosperous, integrated world; and points out that while the globalization process has expanded the opportunities for developing countries, it has also presented challenges requiring multilateral action to counter them successfully.
This morning, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) began discussing crime prevention and criminal justice, and international drug control. Addressing the Committee, Pino Arlacchi, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna and Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, said there was great optimism in international drug control. Alternative projects to illicit crops would, he said, enable whole communities to lift themselves to a better quality of life. Illicit cultivation in Thailand, Turkey and Viet Nam was practically non-existent, and there had been remarkable results in cocaine reduction in Latin America. While Afghanistan continued to produce 75 per cent of the worlds opium, the international community must work to contain that problem. Mr. Arlacchi warned that transnational criminal groups were proliferating, and that the combination of corruption, organized crime and money laundering was destabilizing many countries. He called for the abolition of bank secrecy.
On the two agenda items, the Committee has before it draft resolutions, recommended by the Economic and Social Council on: the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Vienna, 10-17 April 2000) (A/C.3/54/L.3); a Draft United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the draft protocols thereto (A/C.3/54/L.4); activities of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (A/C.3/54/L.5); on action against corruption ( A/C.3/54/L.6); and a draft resolution containing an Action Plan for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction (A/C.3/54/L.7). The Action Plan sets out 16 objectives to guide Member States in implementing the Declaration.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) is scheduled, this afternoon, to take action on four draft resolutions. In the various texts, the Assembly would endorse the recommendations of the Board of Auditors on peacekeeping operations (A/C.5/54/L.9); would invite the Joint Inspection Unit to give priority to the reports requested by the participating organizations (document A/C.5/54/L.5); and would express concern over the lack of a consistent policy for implementing audit recommendations on cases of fraud and financial abuse in the United Nations Verification Mission in Angola (UNAVEM III) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) (A/C.5/54/L.10). Another draft deals with reformed procedures for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment (A/C.5/54/L.6). A draft text on establishing a special multi-year account for supplementary development activities (A/C.5/54/L.7) will be introduced.
The Sixth Committee (Legal) is this morning concluding its consideration of the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (A/54/33), and of a related report of the Secretary-General on implementing Charter provisions dealing with assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (A/54/383).
Looking ahead to next week: on Wednesday, 20 October, the plenary will discuss the report of the Security Council (A/54/2). Following discussion of the report - last year there were 35 speakers - the Assembly usually takes note of the Council report. The report, which covers the period from 16 June 1998 to 15 June 1999, is intended as a guide to the activities of the Council during the period covered.
The Second Committee will continue discussing United Nations operational activities for development, as well as economic and technical cooperation among developing countries. Next Tuesday through Thursday, it will discuss sustainable development and international economic cooperation.
Immediately following the adjournment of the Second Committees morning meeting on Tuesday, 19 October, there will be an observance of World Food Day. Making statements will be the President of the General Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab; the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette; the President of the Economic and Social Council, Francesco Paolo Fulci; and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Jacques Diouf. The keynote speaker will be Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.
In other Committee action, the Third Committee will continue discussing crime prevention and criminal justice, as well as international drug control, through Wednesday. The Committee will then begin its consideration of the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, as well as the right of peoples to self- determination. The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) will conduct a comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects for much of next week.
On Monday, 18 October, the Fifth Committee will discuss the pattern of conferences and the scale of assessments of the United Nations budget. It will then discuss the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU).
For its part, the Sixth Committee will discuss the United Nations Decade of International Law on 18 and 19 October, and from 20 to 22 October, it will consider the item on the establishment of an international criminal court.
Copies of the Assembly Presidents appointments for today are available in room S-378 and on the Internet. He is being interviewed right now by 18 broadcasters and journalists from developing countries who are participating in the 1999 Department of Public Information (DPI) Training Programme.
Briefing by Deputy Spokesman for Secretary-General
Good afternoon. As we were yesterday, we are fortunate to start with some more good news.
**Three Remaining United Nations Hostages Released in Georgia
The last three of the seven United Nations staff held hostage in Georgia were released around 2:30 p.m. local time.
They arrived at around 5 p.m. back in Sukhumi, where they were based with the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG). They were reported to be in good health and received a joyous welcome from the United Nations staff upon their arrival.
The three released today were two military observers from Greece and Sweden, and the locally recruited Russian interpreter.
Their release came a day after three military observers -- from Uruguay, Czech Republic and Switzerland -- and a German medical officer were freed.
The seven were abducted Monday morning at the start of a routine mission to the Kodori Valley.
**Médecins sans Frontières Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
I now have a statement attributable to the Spokesman:
The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt congratulations to Médecins sans frontières, upon its selection by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.
This well-deserved honour is a victory for the right of every victim of a natural or man-made disaster to receive life-saving assistance as quickly and efficiently as possible. This prize is also a testament to what can be achieved when a group of committed and idealistic medical professionals band together to serve humanity, often under difficult and even dangerous conditions.
Médecins sans frontières is a valued partner of the United Nations humanitarian community, and I wish them even greater success in the years to come.
We also have statements of congratulations from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bernard Kouchner, whom you know is a cofounder of MSF. We have made copies of these statements available in our Office.
**Security Council Consultations Begin on Afghanistan
The Security Council is in consultations on Afghanistan with a view to adopting a resolution.
**UNICEF, Other UN Agencies 'Race against Time to Provide Aid in Afghanistan
Meanwhile, United Nations humanitarian agencies and their partners are continuing their race against time to provide assistance to the 60,000 to 65,000 displaced persons in the Panjshir Valley before winter sets in.
And beginning next week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF will begin sending in 60,000 doses of measles vaccine for children displaced in the valley. The UNICEF and the WHO have requested both sides of the conflict in Afghanistan to observe a ceasefire for the forthcoming round of the national immunization days, to be held from 25 to 27 October and again in late November.
The United Nations has been warning that access by northern routes may not be sufficient to meet the needs of the displaced in the Panjshir, and is currently exploring all options for other access routes.
For more details you may look at the humanitarian briefing note from Islamabad, which we have available in our Office.
**International Inquiry Panel on East Timor Announced
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, today announced the composition of the international commission of inquiry that will look into possible violations of human rights and acts which may constitute breaches of international humanitarian law committed in East Timor since January.
The panel will be comprised of Sonia Picado of Costa Rica, Judith Sefi Attah of Nigeria, Justice A.M. Ahmadi of India, Justice Mari Kapi of Papua New Guinea, and Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger of Germany.
The commission is expected to go to the region following working meetings in Geneva later this month.
In making the announcement, the High Commissioner said, "We owe it to the people of East Timor to investigate seriously and objectively the terrible reports of grave human rights violations and establish responsibility for any crimes committed."
The panel was mandated by the Commission on Human Rights to provide the Secretary-General with its conclusions by 31 December 31 "with a view to enabling him to make recommendations on future actions, and to make the report of the international commission of inquiry available to the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights".
You can pick up a press release in our Office with more details, including biographical information on each of the panel members.
Still on East Timor, we also have available the Emergency Update by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on other humanitarian issues in that region and West Timor.
**WFP Director Calls for Guarantee of Safety for UN Staff
World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Catherine Bertini today called on governments and armed groups in warring countries to guarantee the safety and security that will bring an end to what she called the tragic and unacceptable deaths of aid workers.
We have her remarks, which come two days after the death of a WFP staff member who was murdered with a UNICEF official this week, in the form of a press release.
Meanwhile, United Nations agencies in Burundi have cut back their work outside the capital, Bujumbura, in the wake of the killing of two United Nations staff in south-eastern Rutana province on Tuesday.
**Special Representative Presides Over Memorial for Slain UN Staffer in Kosovo
Still on the issue of staff security, in Kosovo today, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bernard Kouchner, presided over a memorial service for Valentin Krumov, the Bulgarian citizen who was murdered on Monday, just a few hours after arriving to serve with the United Nations mission as a civil administrator.
Copies of Mr. Kouchner's remarks are available in our Office.
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) police are continuing their investigation of this murder and have interviewed several potential witnesses.
**Notes from Kosovo
Also today, Mr. Kouchner presided over the opening of Pristina's Slatina airport to commercial traffic.
And, the first class of cadets will graduate from the Kosovo Police Service School Saturday morning.
Please see the briefing notes from Pristina for more notable developments, including the continuing ethnic tensions in Mitrovica.
**Balkan Task Force Report Released
In its report released Thursday, the Joint United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Habitat Balkans Task Force, concluded that the Kosovo conflict did not cause an environmental catastrophe affecting the Balkan region as a whole, but that pollution detected at four environmental "hot spots" (Pancevo, Kragujevac, Novi Sad and Bor) is serious and poses a threat to human health. At these sites, all in Serbia, immediate clean-up action, which should be seen as a part of humanitarian assistance to the region, is called for.
**UNHCR Delivers Winter Supplies to Refugees
In Geneva, the UNHCR announced that it has begun delivering this month winter supplies to refugees and internally displaced people in Serbia and Montenegro.
**Secretary-General's Report on Prevlaka Mission Released
The Secretary-General's report on the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) is out today (S/1999/1051). That Mission monitors the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula and neighbouring areas in Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
According to the report, the long-standing violations -- by both sides -- of the security regime in the United Nations-controlled zone continue unchanged. In themselves, these violations do not constitute a security threat, but taken together, they demonstrate disregard for the security regime that the parties had agreed upon.
The Secretary-General says that if the parties respect the United Nations- monitored security regime, it would be a significant step towards achieving a peaceful solution to their dispute over Prevlaka. The Secretary-General says that Member States may wish to use their influence with the parties to assist in the process of generating respect for the United Nations zones, creating an atmosphere of confidence, and moving the negotiation process forward.
**United Nations Compensation Commission Payment
The United Nations Compensation Commission yesterday made available over $11 million to 21 governments and two international organizations. The money will be used to compensate 687 claimants who were affected by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
There is a press release from Geneva in our Office providing more details on this.
**Sanctions Committee Announces Changes to Expert Panel on UNITA
Out on the racks today is a letter from Ambassador Robert Fowler of Canada, who chairs the Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
Ambassador Fowler informs the Security Council that the committee recently approved Jinping Cheng of China to replace Robert Cowieson of the United Kingdom on the expert panel concerning UNITA's sources of revenue, funding and petroleum supplies.
According to the letter, Mr. Cowieson was unable to undertake the assignment.
**Security Council
I am told that the Security Council is about to go into formals.
**Payment
Before I move to the last two items, I should tell you that we received a check from Bulgaria today for over $190,000. Bulgaria, thus, becomes the 109th Member State to be paid in full.
**Quiz of the Week
As you know, for the past two weeks, we've had the Quiz of the Week on Friday. And since today, we have the President of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) present, honouring the briefing, we have a special question, which relates to World Food Day, which, as you know, is tomorrow.
Which two countries account for nearly half of all undernourished people in the world?
Answer: China and India, with a combined total of 368 million out of the world total of almost 800 million. (China has some 164 million and India around 204 million.)
The next question is: Which regions in the world have the highest proportion of undernourished people?
Answer: Almost half of the people -- 44 per cent - in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa do not have food to eat.
Hunger is not only a problem in the developing world; there are 8 million undernourished people in the industrialized world.
According to a recent survey by the United States Government, how many American households suffered from some hunger for at least part of the year?
Answer: The United States Government's annual population survey showed that 4.2 million households in the country suffered from some hunger at least part of the year.
If you want to know more about world hunger, copies of "The State of Food Insecurity in the World", which we told you about yesterday, are available in our Office. **The Week Ahead
Also, since it's Friday, we have our other weekly feature, The week ahead. It's fairly long, so I won't go through the whole thing, but the hard copy with the full text is available in our Office.
Tomorrow, Saturday, 16 October, is World Food Day. This year's theme is "Youth against Hunger." In his message marking the occasion, the Secretary-General says it is a sad reminder that millions of people in the world do not have enough to eat. In the year 1999, it is also a reminder that whatever technological advances we have achieved in this century of progress, we have not been able to eradicate hunger.
"On this World Food Day devoted to youth against hunger, we are reminded that today feeding hungry children is not only a moral obligation, but a necessary investment in the development of entire countries", he says.
Sunday, 17 October, is marked worldwide as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In his message marking the occasion, the Secretary-General says, "We must see poverty eradication not only as a political priority, but as a sacred duty. What is at stake is the dignity of all human beings: those for whom poverty is their daily lot, but also, and especially, those who have the means to help them to escape it. Together, we must prove, by our actions, that we intend to wage war on poverty without respite."
The full text of both the messages by the Secretary-General are posted on the United Nations Web page at .
On Monday, 18 October, the Secretary-General will travel to Washington, D.C.
As you know, the Secretary-General returned to New York yesterday evening. He is working out of his residence today.
Still on Monday, 18 October, and through 5 November, the sixty-seventh session of the Human Rights Committee will be held at the United Nations Office in Geneva.
Still on Monday, 18 October, and through 20 November, the United Nations International Drug Control Programme will hold a consultative meeting of heads of drug-testing laboratories and law enforcement officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Also on Monday, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will hold a memorial service for the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
On Tuesday, 19 October, the Secretary-General will meet the President of the World Bank and address the World Bank staff. In the evening, the Secretary-General is expected to speak upon accepting the 1999 Statesmanship Award from the Woodrow Wilson House. The Security Council is holding a formal meeting on: "International Terrorism as a Threat to Peace and Security".
On Thursday, 21 October, The Secretary-General will address the annual Ball of the United Nations Correspondents Association in New York. And finally, the "World Chronicle" television programme, with Ambassador Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States, will be shown today on in-house television on channel 6 or 38 at 2:30 p.m.
Are there any questions?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Are we going to have any documents on the racks regarding the Prevlaka issue.
Deputy Spokesman: The report is out.
Question: And what about the cleaning of sites in the former Yugoslavia?
Deputy Spokesman: That is out, as well.
Question: I know you don't deal in rumours, but there are some rumours that there are some sites or camps in Kosovo where the Serbs and the gypsies are being held by KLA elements. Are you aware of these rumours?
Deputy Spokesman: I have not heard that rumour at all.
Question: Yesterday, I drew your attention to the work of the Fifth Committee regarding the verification of the Mission in Angola. There is draft resolution in circulation before the Assembly now regarding irregularities and fraud on that Mission. Do you have any response?
Spokeswoman for the General Assembly President: My understanding is that the draft resolution is in response to the Report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, which drew attention to certain irregularities in procurement procedures within UNAVEM and MONUA, and those are being addressed.
Question: What was the reason for the taking of the hostages in Georgia?
Deputy Spokesman: I have no answer for that. I guess you would have to contact the kidnappers.
Yesterday, you asked me about the nationality of the interpreter -- he is Russian.
Thank you so much. Have a nice afternoon.
* *** *