DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19991025The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Shirley Brownell, spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly.
Briefing by Spokesman for Secretary-General
**Security Council Adopts Resolution Establishing Transitional Administration in East Timor
The Security Council has just adopted a resolution establishing the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The mission, led by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, will comprise three main components: governance and public administration; humanitarian assistance and emergency rehabilitation; and a military component.
The military component will have strength of up to 8,950 troops and up to 200 military observers. Civilian police will be part of the public administration component with strength of up to 1,640 officers.
Following the vote, the Secretary-General is now sending a letter to the Security Council informing Council members of his intention to appoint Under- Secretary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello as his Special Representative to East Timor.
[At this point, the Spokesman introduced Bernard Miyet, Under- Secretary- General for Peacekeeping Operations, who briefed correspondents on the resolution and the mission in East Timor. Mr. Miyet's briefing will be issued separately.]
**Reconnaissance Mission to Ambeno Finds Capital City Badly Damaged
Further on East Timor, earlier today a United Nations reconnaissance mission went to the East Timorese enclave of Ambeno, which is surrounded by West Timor -- Indonesian territory. The group included military liaison officers from the United Nations Mission in East Timor and personnel from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and non-governmental organizations. They found the capital city Pante Macassar to be badly damaged, with only three buildings left standing. They saw very few people walking in the streets. The multinational force, INTERFET, is fully deployed in Ambeno, and United Nations humanitarian workers are expected to be deployed on Wednesday.
**Detainee Management Unit Announced in Dili
Also today in Dili, INTERFET announced the establishment of a Detainee Management Unit to review the detention of those suspected of committing serious offences in the period after the multinational force arrived in East Timor. Details on the procedures to be followed are included in a press release issued by INTERFET. Copies are available in my Office.
**Bus Carrying Returnees Attacked on Road from Kupang, UNHCR Says
The UNHCR informed us that on Sunday, in the first such incident since the beginning of organized returns more than three weeks ago, a bus carrying 12 returnees from Kupang to the port -- for transfer back to East Timor -- was stoned and briefly held up by a group of unknown assailants. One man suffered injuries after being briefly taken off the bus by the attackers, and some passengers were slightly injured by shattered glass. The attackers fled as the Indonesian police intervened.
**East Timorese Repatriation Continues on Foot, despite Erratic Border Conditions
Meanwhile, East Timorese continued to cross from West Timor on foot, with a group of 641 almost exclusively men arriving today during the two hours during which the border was open. The group went to the Maliana region. On Saturday, the border was open in the morning and in the afternoon, and some 1,250 Timorese walked across. The movement dried up on Sunday. The UNHCR says it was not clear why the border was closed and opened at irregular intervals.
More details can be found in the UNHCR update on East Timor.
To date, some 14,281 East Timorese have returned to the Territory in organized movements.
**Plant Seeds of Hope, Says Independence Leader
Xanana Gusmao held a press conference in Dili on Saturday -- he is, of course, the independence leader. He said that that "we must sweep the ashes and plant seeds of hope". For more details, you may get a copy of the transcript in the Spokesman's Office.
**Security Council
The Security Council met in formal session this morning to adopt a resolution to establish the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).
The Council then goes into informal consultations on the Iraq Oil-for- Food Programme and will also hear a briefing from the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Miyet, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
I'd also like to bring to your attention that out on the racks today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the Security Council forwarding a note by the Executive Director of the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme. The note states that since the Secretary-General's last report to the Council on 19 August, the number of holds on applications has increased from 475, which had a total value about $500 million, to 572, which had a total value about some $700 million.
**High Commissioner Expresses Concern about Growing Civilian Casualties in Chechnya
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, expressed alarm about reports of growing civilian casualties resulting from Russia's military crackdown in Chechnya, where there is virtually no international humanitarian or monitoring presence.
Ms. Ogata also expressed grave concern over the fate of tens of thousands of terrified civilians trapped inside Chechnya, following the closure of Chechnya's border with Ingushetia.
"Borders must remain open," she said "for all those who are afraid and who are forced to flee." The High Commissioner said the closure of the principal border crossings had cut off the main escape route which more than 170,000 people had used over the past weeks to flee the conflict.
The exodus caused the most acute humanitarian crisis in the region since the 1994-1995 war in Chechnya. UNHCR local staff in Ingushetia said some border crossings were open to pedestrians, but most of the flow was stopped.
The UNHCR said it expressed concern to the Russian authorities in Moscow over the border closure. Local officials assured the UNHCR that the move was a "temporary measure", but it was not clear when the border would re-open.
**Fréchette, Ethiopian Prime Minister Open First African Development Forum
Yesterday, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette, together with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, opened the first "African Development Forum" organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The theme of the meeting is "The Challenge to Africa of Globalization and the Information Age", and representatives of governments, the private sector, academia and civil society are attending it. Today, the Deputy Secretary-General made a keynote address at the conference in which she emphasized the importance of information technology for the development of Africa.
Copies of her statement are available in my Office, and we also have a press release on that conference.
**Secretary-General Says Nyerere Led by 'Inspiration, Not Force'
The Secretary-General this morning spoke at the memorial for Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the former President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
He said, "As succeeding generations will recall the life and legacy of Mwalimu Nyerere, they will pay tribute to the man who united, rather than divided, people; who believed that harmony and not division would serve his people's interests; whose personal integrity became an example not only to his own people, but to his fellow leaders across the Continent; a man who led by example and inspiration, and not by force."
We have copies of the full text in my Office.
**Climate Change Meeting in Bonn
The fifth session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opened today in Bonn, Germany. In a message delivered on his behalf by the Convention's Executive Secretary, Michael Zammit Cutajar, the Secretary-General cautioned that, despite progress achieved so far, "now is no time for complacency".
He said the efforts of Conference participants would bear fruit only if they were supported by voters, taxpayers, investors, business executives, city officials and others. He stressed that developed countries must achieve their emissions targets, noting that urgent action is needed to demonstrate progress by the year 2005.
Copies of that speech are available in my Office, along with a press release on the Conference itself.
**Secretary-General to Address Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Secretary-General this morning addressed members of the Inter- Parliamentary Union attending the General Assembly.
He said that good governance is the greatest challenge we face. As a minimum, States must provide clean water, food, shelter, health care, schooling, and protection from violence, and respect for the rule of law.
The Secretary-General said he was not suggesting that any single political model be mechanically applied to all countries, or act as a panacea for all problems. "But I do suggest", he said, "that certain principles are common to all." As the institutional bridge between State and society, he said parliamentarians are vital to building peace in the broadest sense.
You can get copies of that text in my Office.
**New School Year Opens in Kosovo Today
Today marked the formal opening of the new school year in Kosovo.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bernard Kouchner, visited a primary school in Pristina. About 20 children had come to see him on Sunday, and he promised to attend their opening day.
Describing it as a big step towards the resumption of normal schooling for 300,000 school children in Kosovo, the spokeswoman for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo said that the vast majority of Kosovo's approximately 1,000 schools are expected to open without any difficulties.
You can read about this and other developments in Kosovo today in the summary of the press briefing from Pristina.
**International Court Sets Document Deadline in Cases Brought against Three African Nations
The International Court of Justice today set deadlines for filing documents in the three cases brought by the Democratic Republic of the Congo against Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.
You'll recall that in June, Kinshasa charged the three countries with armed aggression. Burundi and Rwanda are challenging the Court's jurisdiction in the matter, while Uganda has not raised that objection. So, in the cases of the Democratic Republic of the Congo versus Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo versus Rwanda, the Court today decided on deadlines for arguments about its jurisdiction. In the case of Uganda, the Court set deadlines for filing arguments on the merits of the dispute.
You can pick up press releases in English and French.
**International Prosecutor Files Appeal in Jelisic Case
Today, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia filed an appeal on the count of genocide in the case of Goran Jelisic. You will recall that, in its judgement handed down on 19 October, Jelisic -- a Bosnian Serb -- was acquitted of genocide, but was found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder.
We have a press release on that in my Office, as well.
**ILO Reports Significant Growth in New Jobs
The International Labour Organization (ILO) today reported significant growth in new jobs worldwide over the past decade.
Retail commerce alone produced 53 million jobs between 1990 and 1997 in 93 countries, according to a new ILO report.
The report cautions that, although commerce is one of the largest sources of new jobs in the world, the hopes it raises for better working conditions are balanced by fears associated with a market-driven social order. The ILO stresses that political, business and union leaders must adhere to international labour standards in order to improve working conditions.
You can pick up that press release if you are interested.
**WHO Begins Work on Tobacco Control Treaty
Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) and non-governmental organizations met in Geneva today to begin work on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control -- the world's first multilaterally negotiated public health treaty.
The treaty would aim to reduce the global use of tobacco and, consequently, tobacco-related deaths. Efforts are being made to conclude negotiations in time to open the treaty for signature in the year 2003. The WHO estimates that tobacco kills 4 million people each year. The agency's Director-General, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, urged world leaders to take the decisions necessary to protect future generations from this "entirely avoidable" cause of disease and death.
You can see a press release on that.
**Paschke's Final OIOS Report Out Today
Out on the racks today is the final report of Karl Paschke, the Inspector-General and head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, who will conclude his five-year tour of duty next month.
In the report's preface, Mr. Paschke says that the steady rise in the implementation rate of the approximately 6,000 individual recommendations made by his Office testifies to the fact that it has become an agent of change at the United Nations.
Mr. Paschke writes that his feeling of having contributed to improvements at the United Nations is diminished somewhat by his inability to overcome the reservations held by some Member States towards his Office. He notes that there has been no formal response from the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) to a number of his reports, and expresses hope that this impasse will eventually be overcome.
Mr. Paschke will be here at 1 p.m. to brief you, so you can ask him about these and related matters.
**Von Sponeck to Brief Correspondents Tomorrow
Tomorrow, at the briefing here, we will have as our guest Hans Von Sponeck, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, who is in New York for regular consultations.
**Press Conferences Tomorrow
There will be two press conferences tomorrow. At 11 a.m., the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in conjunction with the Wild Foundation, will be announcing the inaugural winners of the Wild Awards. Speakers will include wildlife expert and media celebrity, Jim Fowler, and Jason Raize who played "Simba" in the original Broadway version of "The Lion King".
A media advisory and press release are available in my Office.
Then at 3 p.m., the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will be marking its thirtieth anniversary tomorrow, 26 October. Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the UNFPA, and Stirling Scruggs, her Director of Information, will be discussing UNFPA's efforts to provide family planning, reduce maternal deaths and prevent HIV/AIDs.
Do we have any questions before we go to Shirley?
**Questions and Answers
Question: When will we see deployment on the Congo, and what size will it be?
Spokesman: One of the things that Bernard Miyet will be briefing the Council on is the delays that we have experienced in trying to deploy the initial military liaison officers. Less than half of the 90 authorized are where we want them to be, and I think he will possibly be discussing with the Council how to move on to the next phase, which I think calls for something like 900 military observers. But there have been problems in implementation with this mission. We don't feel that it's been entirely under our control, and I believe Mr. Miyet is briefing the Council on it right now.
Question: What about the size of the force?
Spokesman: I don't have that figure in my head right now, but the Congo is the size of the United States east of the Mississippi. It's a huge country and the assumption is that the mission, if it ever gets launched, will be large.
Question: What does the Secretariat have to say about the recommendations that went unanswered in the Paschke report?
Spokesman: Why don't you take that up with him. I would not want to address that question generally, but I do know that the Secretary-General expects all departments to respond in a serious way to the recommendations of Mr. Paschke's office. I know that the Secretary-General takes the recommendations very seriously.
Question: In the report, it appears that the power is given to Mr. Paschke, on one hand, and then taken away from him, on the other. How does the Oversight Committee deal with this?
Spokesman: I'm sorry, I'll have to take a closer look at that report.
Question: Does the vote today give the United Nations administrative control over East Timor?
Spokesman: Today's vote creates the mission, which undertakes the administration of East Timor.
Question: How many United Nations people are there already?
Spokesman: I don't have that figure in my head. I'll have to get it for you.
Question: Have you heard Pat Buchannan on the Secretary-General?
Spokesman: No. And I don't think I want to.
Question: How many people are missing in East Timor?
Spokesman: I don't know, because the majority of those were thought to be living in the hills and forests. The number I gave you of returnees is those who have been brought in organized returns from West Timor, and even that number is a fraction of the number we thought were in West Timor. So, I don't think we have a sense of how many are in the hills. They continue to trickle down into the villages, but those villages are destroyed, so when people show up we rush in with aid and food. But I think our working assumption must be that there is still a very large number in the hills.
Thank you. Shirley?
Briefing by Spokeswoman for General Assembly President
As we meet, I believe that the General Assembly has concluded action on the six items before it this morning.
The Assembly first approved the report of its Credentials Committee (A/54/475). That report stated that credentials had been received from 133 Member States, including Afghanistan, the Secretariat having received two sets of communications from two different delegations to represent that country. The Committee had decided to take the same position as last year concerning Afghanistan, namely, to accept the credentials of the existing delegation. (The nine members of the Credentials Committee are Austria, Bolivia, China, Philippines, Russian Federation, South Africa, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.)
The Assembly next took note of a document entitled Notification by the Secretary-General under Article 12, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations (A/54/398). In that document, the Secretary-General notified the Assembly of the 35 issues relating to the maintenance of international peace and security that are being dealt with by the Security Council. It also listed the issues with which the Council had ceased to deal in the past five years.
In the election of 29 members of the 58-member Governing Council of UNEP for a four-year term, the Assembly dispensed with the secret ballot because the number of candidates corresponded to the number of seats to be filled. Elected were Benin, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Libya, Senegal and Uganda to eight seats from the African States; India, Iran, Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Thailand to seven seats from the Asian States; Poland, Republic of Moldova and Slovakia to three seats from the Eastern European States; Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Suriname to five seats from the Latin American and Caribbean States; and Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Turkey and the United Kingdom to six seats from the Western European and Other States. The complete list of the membership of the Governing Council is available in room S-378.
The Assembly took note, also, of the Presidents appointment of seven members of the 21-member Committee on Conferences for a three-year term. Appointed were Chile, Equatorial Guinea, France, Japan, Namibia, Philippines and the Russian Federation. Of the seven, all but Equatorial Guinea and the Philippines were reappointed. The related document is A/54/107. The complete list of the membership of the Committee on Conferences is available in room S- 378.
On cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Assembly adopted, by consensus, a resolution, introduced by Burkina Faso (A/54/L.12), which welcomed with appreciation the continuing cooperation in the field of peacemaking and preventive diplomacy, as well as in the search for a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. The related report of the Secretary-General is A/54/308.
Concerning cooperation between the United Nations and the Latin American Economic System (SELA), the Assembly adopted, also by consensus, a resolution, introduced by Peru (A/54/L.13), which urged the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to continue deepening its coordination and mutual support activities with SELA, and urged the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to renew its financial and technical cooperation with that organization. The related report of the Secretary-General is A/53/420.
This morning, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) is continuing its thematic discussion on specific disarmament topic. On Friday, Hungary introduced a draft resolution on the Biological Weapons Convention (A/C.1/54/L.19). The Committee is expected to take action on some 55 draft resolutions starting on l November.
Under agenda item 100, on environment and sustainable development, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), this morning, is taking up four sub-items: the report of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (A/54/428); protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind; and implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa. In connection with the implementation of the outcome of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, there is a heavily bracketed Group of 77 developing countries and Mexico draft resolution on the Caribbean Sea (A/C.2/54/4). This text was transmitted from the special session on the sustainable development of small island developing States to the Assembly at its current session for further consideration by the Second Committee.
Before continuing with the general discussion this afternoon, the Committee will hear the introduction of three draft resolutions: a five-Power text on conservation and sustainable development of Central African forest ecosystems (A/C.2/54/L.7), a Group of 77 and China text on economic and technical cooperation among developing countries (A/C.2/54/L.5); and a Southern African Development Community (SADC) text on cooperation between the United Nations and the SADC (A/C.2/54/L.6).
This afternoon, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) will hear the introduction of a draft resolution on implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons: towards a society for all in the twenty-first century (A/C.3/54/L.9/Rev.1). The Committee will then conclude its discussion of items on the elimination of racism and racial discrimination and the right of peoples to self-determination. All week long, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) will be discussing international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The related documents are: the report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (A/54/20), which reflects its activities, as well as those of its subsidiary bodies - the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee; and the report on the outcome of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (A/CONF.184/6).
This morning, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the following administrative and budgetary items: financial reports and audited financial statements, and reports of the Board of Auditors; review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations; report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS); and administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations. Several OIOS reports are among the documents being considered under these items. Fred just quoted to you from the statement made by Under-Secretary-General Karl Paschke.
Today through 5 November, the Sixth Committee (Legal) will discuss the report of the International Law Commission on the work of its fifty-first session (A/54/10). The Commission recommended to the Assembly the adoption, in the form of a declaration, of 26 draft articles on nationality of natural persons in relation to the succession of States. The Commission also reported on the progress made in drafting articles relating to State responsibility; guidelines on reservations to treaties; jurisdictional immunities of States and their property; unilateral acts of States; and under the topic of international liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law, first dealing with the issue of prevention under the subtitle of prevention of transboundary damages from hazardous activities.
Copies of Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirabs appointments for today are available in room S-378 and on the Internet. This morning, he met with Brajesh Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India. He then addressed a meeting to pay tribute to the memory of the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Julius K. Nyerere. Copies of that tribute will be made available in room S-378, shortly after the briefing.
This afternoon, the President will address the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in the Economic and Social Council Chamber; participate in the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine; attend a reception hosted by South Africa for the departing Permanent Representative of Nigeria; and attend a dinner hosted by the Secretary-General in honour of the new Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. His statement to the IPU will be made available later this afternoon.
Yesterday, the President participated in, and addressed, the United Nations Day World Peace Walk. Last Friday evening, the President addressed concert-goers at the United Nations Day Concert, calling this universal Organization the pride of humankind. He declared that The UN Charter, complemented by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is the Magna Carta of the twentieth century. Copies of that statement were made available in room S-378 after the concert.
**Question and Answer
Question: You mentioned the Human Rights Declaration. The Secretary- General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, have commented on the situation in Chechnya. Has the President of the General Assembly said anything about it, and will he?
Spokeswoman: The President has not commented on Chechnya, but I will make sure to convey your question to him.
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