DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19991126The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Shirley Brownell, Spokeswoman for President of the General Assembly.
Briefing by Spokesman for the Secretary-General
More of you here than on Wednesday. Good afternoon.
**Sergio Vieira de Mello to Sign First Legal Instrument as Head of UN Mission in East Timor
On East Timor, tomorrow Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations Administrator in East Timor, will sign his first legal instrument, Regulation # 1, establishing the authority of the Transitional Administrator and the legal regime for the territory. This will be done in a public ceremony in the presence of independence leader Xanana Gusmao.
**Mass Grave Excavated in East Timor, three Bodies Turned Over to ICRC
On the human rights front, the Indonesian Human Rights Commission has excavated a mass grave in West Timor, and today, an Indonesian police truck carrying some 26 or 27 bodies came to the border town of Batugade, and turned over three of those bodies to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It is thought that the three bodies are those of priests from the East Timor region of Suai.
Todays returns brought the total number of people to have repatriated to East Timor, or returned spontaneously, to over 100,000.
**UN Human Rights Investigators Arrive in Dili
The United Nations expert panel to investigate human rights violations in East Timor arrived yesterday in Dili from Darwin. In Darwin, the five-member international commission of inquiry met with the former head of the United Nations mission in East Timor, Ian Martin, who was accompanied by a senior military observer who had been present at the time of events there, as well as the head of the civilian police. The commission of inquiry also met in Darwin with the Indonesian Human Rights Commission represented by its chairman and Secretary-General.
**Security Council to discuss its Role in Conflict Prevention
The Security Council has no meetings today. At 3 p.m. on Monday, the Council has scheduled an open meeting on its role in the prevention of conflicts. The Council is expected to issue a statement at that meeting - so far about 35 speakers have signed up.
Experts groups are discussing resolutions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH), whose mandates expire on Tuesday.
**Secretary-General Hopes that Grand Assembly in Rome May Lead to Peace in Afghanistan
This statement is attributable to me, the Spokesman: The Secretary-General notes the conclusion of the organizing committee for an emergency Loya Jurga, or Grand Assembly, which was held in Rome from 22 to 25 November at the initiative of the former King of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah. The United Nations and a number of interested countries sent their representatives to observe the meeting.
The Secretary-General hopes that this initiative and other initiatives taken by the people of Afghanistan will contribute to the return of peace to Afghanistan.
**ICT for Rwanda Holds Barayagwizas Release, Pending Review
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), presided over by its new President Claude Jorda, ordered yesterday a hold on the release of the accused Jean-Basco Barayagwiza for a maximum of seven days pending the filing of the Prosecutors request for a review of that decision.
We have a press release on that subject.
**Former Milles Collines Director Pleads Not Guilty to War Crimes
And we also have another press release from the Tribunal saying that Ferdinand Nahimana, a former director of radio Television Libre Des Mille Collines - the famous Mille Collines radio station - in Rwanda pleaded not guilty to three new counts charging him with genocide and crimes against humanity.
**Fighting in Angola Sends Thousands of Refugees into Namibia
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that fighting between government troops and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in southern Angola has sent some 2,400 Angolans - most of them women, children and elderly -- fleeing to Namibias Kavango region over the past 15 days.
Extremely difficult living conditions exacerbated by the rainy season mean that many of the refugees are arriving in poor shape and require immediate medical treatment, as well as food and shelter assistance.
In cooperation with the Government of Namibia and local NGOs, the UNHCR is on the ground to assist the new arrivals. Food is immediately provided and transport is organized for the refugees to the Osire refugee camp more than 700 kilometres from the border.
The Osire camp is currently hosting 5,000 refugees, 95 percent of them Angolans. Angola has an estimated 1.7 million internally displaced people in addition to some 5,000 refugees in Namibia; 43,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and 32,000 in Zambia.
The UNHCR fears that these numbers could increase dramatically with the recent upsurge in fighting.
**Notes from Kosovo
We have available for you copies of todays press briefing notes from Pristina, Kosovo.
In it, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) reports that Joly Dixon, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Economic Development and Reconstruction, met with the Trade Minister of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to discuss measures to ease the congestion at the Blace border crossing -- which we have been reporting to you over the past week or so.
The two sides agreed to a number of immediate measures, which are listed in this note.
**UNHCR sets up task Force to Counter Looming Shortage of Shelter for Displaced Kosovars
We also have available a Kosovo Shelter Update issued today by the UNHCR, which says that the total distribution of emergency shelter kits now stands at 70 percent of the target.
Meanwhile, a looming shortage of accommodations for displaced Kosovars in Serbia has prompted the UNHCR and other agencies to set up a task force to search for additional shelter space.
The task force will identify potential accommodation sights throughout Serbia to help people who have no other place to stay.
According to government figures, there are more than 200,000 displaced people from Kosovo in Serbia - most of them Serb. They joined some 500,000 previous refugees from Croatia and Bosnia, bringing the total number of refugees and internally displaced persons to an estimated 700,000 or more. This huge number has led to an acute shortage of shelter and other assistance. Most of the displaced have been staying with host families, but many of those families can no longer afford to care for them. With the onset of winter, it is becoming even more serious.
Meanwhile, the UNHCR is also rushing to deliver winter supplies to refugees and displaced people throughout Serbia and Montenegro.
And you can get more on that in the UNHCR briefing notes.
**UN Mine Action Team Clears Worlds Most Dangerous Museum in Afghanistan
We have a press release from Islamabad, Pakistan entitled United Nations Clears Most Dangerous Museum in the World.
According to Peter Le Seour, who was in charge of the Afghan explosive ordinance disposal team that just completed the one-month operation in Zendajan - which is in Herat Province - the open air mine museum, which was next to two schools, was set up in 1992 to make the public more informed about the dangers littering the surrounding countryside.
But according to Le Seour, since the museum contained 463 live explosives, it became one big hazard in one place.
The museum housed 18 large aircraft bombs, some as heavy as 500 kilograms, and 445 other pieces of ordinance, with the smallest being a five-kilo mortar shell. Underscoring the danger of the museum, Le Soeur showed reporters in Islamabad a sample - a defused five-kilo rocket mortar about half the size of a bowling pin - and stated that if it were to detonate in the centre of a briefing room, everyone present would be killed.
He also noted that one accident involving even the smallest piece would have caused a chain reaction and detonated the entire museum, destroying everything within one kilometre of the building and injuring hundreds of perhaps thousands of people.
The United Nations Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan has so far cleared over 1 million explosives.
**Press Conference Monday
Now, let me see. Press conferences: we told you that on Monday, immediately following the noon briefing, well have a senior United Nations official here to brief you on the Secretary-Generals address to the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Seattle on Tuesday.
We have arranged for delegates to watch that briefing in Viewing Room 4, downstairs.
We also have embargoed copies of the Secretary-Generals address available for you now in my office. The speech is embargoed until Tuesday at 3 p.m. New York time.
**Quiz of the Week
Now for the weekly quiz and my turn to ask you questions. Since next Wednesday is World AIDS day, this weeks quiz focuses on the latest information provided by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The UNAIDS update on the epidemic, as well as complete press kits, have been available to you in the Documents Counter and this will test whether youve read them.
First question: True or false: In Sub-Saharan Africa, more women are infected with the HIV virus than men.
[Several correspondents answered correctly from the floor.]
Answer: True. 55 percent of the HIV-infected adults in Sub- Saharan Africa are women, according to UNAIDS statistics. This is the first time that more African women are infected with the virus than men.
Next question: What proportion of all recorded HIV cases in Russia were recorded this year?
1. 25 percent 2. 40 percent 3. 50 percent
Answer: 50. Nearly half the reported cases of HIV infection in the Russian Federation were recorded in the first nine months of 1999.
Final question: India is estimated to have some 4 million HIV- infected persons at present. Is that number more or less that what AIDS agencies previously projected?
[Several correspondents answered correctly from the floor.]
Answer: Less. Exactly. Thanks to major efforts in India to track the epidemic, the current estimate of HIV infections has been revised downward from previous projections by 800,000 cases.
**The Week Ahead
Before we go to your questions, if you have any, the week ahead is out. We gave a preliminary version on Wednesday and now, for you hard workers who are here today, let me just give you some highlights:
Sunday, 28 November
The United Nations in Guinea-Bissau will organize the work of 82 international election observers, who will monitor the Presidential and legislative elections scheduled in Guinea-Bissau for Sunday.
Monday, 29 November
Weve already mentioned the background briefing here on the Secretary-Generals Seattle speech, but Monday is also the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. At 10:30 a.m., the Secretary-General will deliver a statement and he also has a message for that occasion and that text is available in my office for use at any time.
Tuesday, 30 November
The Secretary-General will attend the Seattle WTO meeting, as we told you. He is a featured speaker at the opening plenary on Tuesday.
The signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the Republic of Chad concerning Standby Arrangements for peacekeeping will take place at noon on the 37th floor.
Wednesday, 1 December
Wednesday is World AIDS Day. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will deliver opening remarks at a United Nations Headquarters event. The Secretary-General has a message on that subject which is also available in my office.
Then Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom, will replace Ambassador Danilo Turk of Slovenia as the President of the Security Council for the month of December.
Friday, 3 December
Finally on Friday, proximity talks are to begin between the Cypriot leaders, Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash.
**Questions and Answers
Any questions before we go to Shirley?
Question: On the Timor mass graves, does the Secretary-General have any reaction to this? Do you have any information on whether the United Nations inquiry is at the site and if they are going to coordinate with the Indonesian National inquiry?
Spokesman: No, I have none of that information. Its just a little too recent. The three bodies, I understand, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and so I think were still digesting the information.
Question: When you talk about 27 bodies being excavated is that all that there were or is that only what theyve found so far?
Spokesman: We dont really know. This is a report out of West Timor that the Indonesian Human Rights Commission found, I think, three separate grave sites near this church where a number of people had taken refuge. The three priests were apparently in one site, and the additional bodies were in the other two sites - at least these are the initial reports coming out of Timor now. So, I cant say anything else now; I think were still trying to firm up what exactly happened. These sites should be investigated; whether the Indonesian Human Rights Commission would do it, or whether they would allow the international experts in to take a look at the sights, I still dont know.
Question: For verification, those three bodies are in addition to the 27 or are they part of the 27? Spokesman: I said 26 or 27 - weve seen reports of those two numbers - of which three are presumed to be priests.
Question: Has the Inquiry worked out arrangements with the Indonesian Government for access into West Timor or is that still up in the air?
Spokesman: As far as I know, those arrangements have not yet been worked out.
Question: But the request is in? The team doesnt want to limit itself to East Timor?
Spokesman: Its my understanding that the team does want access to West Timor, but does not yet have the permission of the Indonesian Government to go in. Thats still being discussed.
Question: Do you have anything on oil pumping in Iraq?
Spokesman: Yes. Im told that on Wednesday, there was a resumption of the pumping of oil through the pipeline from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Cehan. But the oil experts tell us that the reserve tanks at Cehan were close to empty after the completion of the loading programme for Phase VI. The capacity of these tanks is about 7- and-a-half million barrels, so apparently this pumping thats going on now is to refill these supply tanks. We have no sign of any oil being loaded onto ships except for what weve already reported to you that was in fulfilment of contracts issued under Phase VI.
Ok. Shirley?
Briefing by Spokeswoman for General Assembly President
There are no open meetings today, and so I will talk about whats ahead for next week. On Monday morning, the General Assembly will take up the item entitled Support by the United Nations system of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies. There is a report of the Secretary-General on the subject (A/54/492), as well as two draft resolutions. The first text contains a draft Code of Democratic Conduct for Member States, for adoption by the Assembly (A/54/L.23); the second text deals with UN system-wide support of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies (A/54/L.33).
On Monday afternoon, the Assembly will consider the question of Palestine. It will have before it the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (A/54/35), the report of the Secretary-General (A/54/457), as well as four draft resolutions - on the Palestinian Rights Committee (A/54/L.42), the Division for Palestinian Rights (A/54/L.43), the Department of Public Informations special information programme on the question of Palestine (A/54/L.44) and the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine (A/54/L.45). Last year, the Assembly adopted all four texts on this subject by recorded votes. On Tuesday afternoon, the Assembly will take up the item on the situation in the Middle East. On Wednesday, it will take action on 22 reports of the First Committee, on disarmament and international security issues. This includes action on the draft relating to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) hopes to finish its work by the end of next week. It approved 11 draft resolutions on Wednesday, but has yet to take action on 20 more texts, some of them contentious, such as those on globalization; financing for development, including the net transfer of resources between developing and developed countries; and science and technology as it relates to the issue of bio- technology.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) is conducting its second, informal reading of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2000-2001, which is the central focus of the Committees work at this time. Work is also ongoing on the important question of the scale of assessments for apportioning the expenses of the Organization, and the Committee hopes to submit an omnibus draft resolution on that subject. The Committee plans to conclude its general discussion of the item on human resources management on Tuesday, 30 November. Also next week, it will take up the financing of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (A/54/494). Among the items that will be deferred, because all the documents are not yet available, are those on the financing of the International Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as well as the financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).
Monday, 29 November, is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The Palestinian Rights Committee will hold a solemn meeting that morning, in the Trusteeship Council, in observance of the Day. Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab will address the meeting. An exhibition in connection with the International Day, entitled Follow the Star: Images from the Palestinian City of Bethlehem at the New Millennium, will be unveiled, at 6 p.m., in the Public Lobby of the General Assembly Building.
**Question and Answer
Question: When will the Assembly take up the item on the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti?
Answer: The report on the item (A/54/625) and the related draft resolution (A/54/L.36) are available. However, the Assembly wont take up the item until it has received a statement on the financial implications of the draft.
Spokesman: Have a nice weekend everyone.
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