DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19991129The 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 the Secretary-General
I don't know why so many of you came today; there'll be no refreshments served here [laughter].
Good afternoon.
**Kouchner calls Attack on Elderly Serbs "Outrageous and Cowardly"
Bernard Kouchner, head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), today described as "outrageous and cowardly" the attack on three Serb residents of Pristina in the early hours of this morning, which left a 62-year-old man dead and his wife and mother-in-law beaten and hospitalized.
Kosovar Albanians were celebrating "Albanian Flag Day", during which two other murders were recorded.
**Notes from Kosovo: Secretary-General Pleased with Kouchner's Achievements
On Saturday, Kouchner pushed the button to start up Pristina's central heating plant, pumping heat into hospitals, schools and homes in the city. The repairs on the facility, which had not been maintained for 10 years, were completed four days ahead of schedule, with assistance from the European Union, Canada, Ireland and Sweden.
On Friday, Kouchner signed an agreement with Italy for the collection and disposal of garbage in the town of Pec.
And tomorrow, he is scheduled to receive a $15 million grant from the Government of the Netherlands that will help fund public services, including health care and education for the region's neediest residents.
The Secretary-General this morning asked me to tell you how pleased he is with what Dr. Kouchner has been able to achieve in just five months.
**Notes from East Timor: Bodies Discovered at Mass Gravesite Memorialized in Dili
From East Timor, 23 additional bodies, believed to be victims of the Suai massacre, were returned from West to East Timor over the weekend, and after a memorial service today in Dili, were buried. None could be positively identified. Together with the three priests whose bodies were returned at the end of last week, this puts at 26 the number of victims discovered so far at a site in West Timor that was excavated by the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights.
The United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) reports that violence against suspected members of the militia is on the rise. The brother of one militia leader was found dead last week. His hands were tied and there were signs he had been tortured. Three houses of suspected militia members were burned to the ground.
Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the United Nations Mission, met yesterday in East Timor with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, to discuss the possible provision by Australia of customs officers and forensic experts. Today, Mr. Vieira de Mello left for a three-day visit to Australia for follow- up discussions.
The text of Mr. Vieira de Mello's first regulation, which we announced Friday and which he issued on Saturday, is now available in my office.
**In Discussions on Conflict Prevention, Security Council to Hear Address by Secretary-General
At 12:30 today, the Security Council will begin consultations on finalizing a Presidential Statement on the Council's role in the prevention of conflicts. That statement will then be read as part of the afternoon's formal session, in which Member States will engage in a debate on the Council's role in conflict prevention.
The formal meeting is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and, in addition to the 15 Member States on the Council, 25 other Member States are already inscribed as speakers -- so you can expect the formal meeting to last into the evening, and possibly to carry on into a session tomorrow.
The Secretary-General will deliver a speech on conflict prevention at the beginning of the debate, and is scheduled to attend the first hour of the meeting before he leaves for Seattle to attend the third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In his speech, the Secretary-General is expected to stress the need for all Council members and other Member States to commit themselves to conflict prevention, and the need to "address the deep-rooted causes of conflicts, which often lie in the social and economic sphere".
**Security Council to Take up Question of MIPONUH Before Mandate Expires
The Security Council's work for November is winding down, but the Council is still expected to take up the question of the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH) before the month ends tomorrow. If the Mission's mandate is not extended or otherwise adjusted, MIPONUH will end its term tomorrow.
**Press to be Briefed on Secretary-General's WTO Address
Concerning the Secretary-General's visit to the WTO Conference, there will be a briefing here at 12:30 p.m. by a senior United Nations official, on the message he will be delivering in Seattle.
**ICTR Prosecutor Del Ponte "Hopeful, Optimistic" about Visit to Rwanda
Mrs. Carla Del Ponte, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda issued a press statement yesterday in which she said that she is actively seeking a review of the decision by the Tribunals Appeals Chamber to release Jean Bosco Barayagwiza. She reiterated her eagerness to visit her office in Kigali, Rwanda and to meet with the Rwandan authorities to discuss the Barayagwiza case with them. She gave a press conference today in Arusha, Tanzania, in which, in essence, she said she is still hopeful and optimistic that she will be able to go Kigali.
The Secretary-General met this morning with the General Prosecutor of Rwanda, Justice Gerald Gahima, and was expected to raise the issue of Ms. Del Pontes trip to Rwanda.
**Peacekeepers Arrive in Sierra Leone as New UN Mission Gets Underway
The first group of 135 United Nations peacekeepers were scheduled to arrive today in Sierra Leone from Kenya. At their arrival in Freetown, Francis Okelo, the Special Representative there, was expected to welcome them on behalf of the Secretary-General.
His remarks are available in my office, if you're interested.
The new mission in Sierra Leone will be composed of 6,000 troops. They will be led by Major General Vijay Kumar Jetley of India, who has been appointed as Force Commander by the Secretary-General. Major General Jetleys bio is available in room S-378. The letters exchanged between the Secretary- General and the Security Council regarding his appointment are on the racks today.
**Secretary-General's Annual Report on Afghanistan Out Today
Also on the racks, you will find copies of the Secretary-General's latest report on Afghanistan. This report is his annual summary of the progress of peace efforts in Afghanistan, which covers events since 23 November of last year.
The report is a grim one, with the Secretary-General observing that "the conflict in Afghanistan is increasingly having a negative impact beyond the borders of that country". He notes the increasing number of refugees from fighting between the Taliban and the United Front, reports of ethnically motivated mass killings and the pervasive abuse of human rights, particularly those of women.
In response to the developments described in the report, the Secretary- General says that he and his Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, have agreed that the Special Envoy's activities be "frozen" -- in fact, Mr. Brahimi has already announced that to you himself -- until circumstances change to justify his intervention.
Until then, he recommends that the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) assume the primary role of United Nations peace efforts. The Secretary-General says he intends to appoint a Head of the United Nations Mission at the Assistant Secretary-General level and also intends over time to move that Mission's head office from Islamabad to Kabul.
**World AIDS Day
On Wednesday, Queen Noor of Jordan, United States First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte will be among the participants at an observance of World AIDS Day at United Nations Headquarters. The ceremony will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Conference Room 4, and its theme will be "The Children Left Behind" -- that is, children left orphaned by the AIDS-related deaths of one or both parents.
The ceremony will include an evening reception at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, sponsored by the Magic Johnson Foundation. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Goodwill Ambassador Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana, who is Miss Universe of 1999 -- I didn't know that, did you? -- will speak.
For more information, call Graciela Hall. She's at ext. 6923.
**Nadine Gordimer to Lead On-line Chat at UNDP Conference in Mali
A five-day United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) conference opens today in Bamako, Mali. Nadine Gordimer, Nobel laureate and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, is speaking at the Conference and she will lead an on-line chat on Africa's image in the media today at 2:00 p.m. -- I assume that's New York time -- and if you want to log on, you should go to . Or, you can call Sid Kane of UNDP at (212) 906-5324.
**Fiji Signs and Ratifies Statute to Establish International Court
This morning, the opening of the third session of United Nations preparatory meetings on the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) got off to a dramatic start when Fiji announced that it had signed and ratified the ICC Statute.
With that announcement, Fiji becomes the 90th country to sign and the sixth country to ratify the Statute. The Statute needs to be ratified by 60 countries before it can enter into force.
Fiji's announcement came at the start of the third session of the Preparatory Commission for the Establishment of an ICC. The current session is scheduled to last until 17 December.
**Press Conferences Today
We've already told you about the briefing today at 12:30 p.m. on the Secretary-General's speech to the WTO -- background only. By the way, delegates can watch the same briefing in Viewing Room 4 downstairs.
And the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) has asked me to announce to you that Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), will brief you today at 5 p.m. in the UNCA Club. And at this event, there will be cocktails and all kinds of good stuff served, so you're all invited to go [laughter].
Any questions?
**Questions and Answers
Question: On Timor, do we know who is or will be the Force Commander?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General, I believe, now has three names on his desk, so I think we're getting close to an announcement.
Question: Do you know those names? [Laughter.]
Spokesman: No [laughs]. I've read one of them in the press repeatedly the last week or so but I don't have anything else.
Question: Do we know when the Security Council will adopt the resolution on the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Spokesman: No. I have no information on that.
Question: There was a draft resolution, though?
Spokesman: We have no word on the Democratic Republic of the Congo so far today.
Question: In regards to this story in The New York Times about the United States perhaps using food to help the rebels in the Sudan, does the United Nations have any position on this type of thing? Has the General Assembly ever passed a resolution on anything like this, or perhaps the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has some sort of statement that food shouldn't be used as a weapon of war?
Spokesman: Well, the World Food Programme is the principal actor in Operation Lifeline Sudan and of course, that operation was created as an impartial entity to deliver food in a fair manner to all civilians. WFP says today, and I am saying on their behalf, that they don't know what the impact of this bill would be nor how the United States would respond to it; in other words, how the United States would distribute food. But WFP is concerned that [this type of action by the United States] could potentially jeopardize their logistics operations in the air and on the ground. The fear is that WFP planes might become military targets if they are confused with any new planes delivering United States food.
So, I think, the risk of such a policy, should it be implemented, is that all deliverers of food aid could possibly be jeopardized if some were seen to be partisan.
Question: Did WFP make that statement today in Rome?
Spokesman: No. This was given to me as something I could say if asked and I just said it.
Question: Does WFP plan to coordinate with the United States at some point?
Spokesman: I don't know. I think that the Secretary-General would like to see the United Nations policy coordinated through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Question: Do you have any specific information on the procedure or preparation for the proximity talks on Cyprus that are expected to begin next Friday?
Spokesman: I don't have any specifics to give you at this time except that the opening of the talks will take place here at Headquarters and that they're somewhat open-ended. They could go on for a week or more, depending on the two leaders who are talking and whether or not there is any progress being made. The Secretary-General is clearing his calendar to devote as much of his time as he personally can to the talks. Alvaro de Soto, his new Special Representative in these matters will be engaged full-time, of course. That's all I can tell you now, though I might have some more details closer to the Third [December].
Question: On the record, can you say anything about the WTO other than the briefing coming up? There's a full-page ad in The New York Times today expressing a wide range of concerns of some of the major NGO's.
Spokesman: Why don't you first ask your questions to the briefer at 12:30 p.m., and then if there's any of that that can be put on the record, we can discuss it with him at that time.
Question: You mentioned that the United Nations mission in Haiti will come to an end tomorrow and the President Preval of Haiti sent a letter to the Secretary-General requesting a support mission that would be neither uniformed nor armed. But it seems like the Secretary-General is trying to bypass Haiti's President by asking the General Assembly to consider another meeting altogether. Does he have that kind of authority?
Spokesman: My understanding is that what is being considered by Security Council and the Assembly now has the support of President Preval. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my impression. So, let's see what the Council does and then what the Assembly does and if there's any inconsistency with what the President requested, let's take it up then.
Question: You had a statement earlier about how the Secretary-General supported Kouchner and how the Kosovo Mission was running smoothly, but the report we get on the ground is that the mission is in total chaos and unable to perform the most basic tasks. Can you elaborate on where the United Nations thinks the mission is right now?
Spokesman: I said last week, in response to some criticism in the media, that I thought the problems were due not to some incompetence or shortcomings of the United Nations mission, but to the complexity of the tasks they were dealing with. So it's a matter of perspective. I think if you look at the five-month record of Bernard Kouchner and the United Nations Mission, you would have to say that some significant things were achieved. Five months is very little time.
I also mentioned the complexity of the structure of this mission which is unprecedented because the United Nations is working alongside two other large, well funded organizations -- the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- and that it would take a bit longer for these three large entities to coalesce. But I think that if you would go there and spend some time on the ground and weigh the difficulties of what they are dealing with as a mission, and what they have actually accomplished in five months, the assessment -- at least of the Secretary-General -- is that these are solid accomplishments and the Head of the Mission there deserves credit as do the partner organizations, the OSCE and EU. It's not going to be done overnight. I saw a quote from Dr. Kouchner recently where he said that "we didn't start from ground zero but from minus twenty yards". I don't think we can emphasize enough the difficulty of the mandate.
Question: The Member States have said that they are dissatisfied with the slow deployment of the police forces in Kosovo. Can you tell us why it's so slow?
Spokesman: Every community's police are needed; they aren't in surplus. So recruiting active police officers is very difficult. We recently cast a wider net and said that we would take recently retired police on the theory that many who retire after 20 years or so are still in the prime of their lives and can be very effective officers. There's the additional complication that this mission is more difficult for civilian police; they are armed and are expected to do the kind of police work that would be done in a big metropolitan area. It's tough work, and so many of the officers who would have been qualified to work in a different sort of mission -- where police are unarmed and have a more symbolic role -- have been turned down because, frankly, this job is tougher. So those are some of the reasons why it's been so difficult. And at the same time, we're also looking for police for East Timor and other missions. Peacekeeping is on the upswing and the demands on the international community for contributions is also on the upswing. The demand for police is great and the supply is quite limited, and the need for police in this mission is specialized and frankly, the criteria are more difficult to meet.
Question: So you really don't expect the fulfilment of the previous number of police given to us is going to be reached before the New Year?
Spokesman: Not in the next few weeks, no. Dr. Kouchner has said what he needs and we will probably be making a fresh appeal to Governments for contributions, but we know they're not easy to find.
Question: There was a report that American police officers from some of the metropolitan areas in the United States were supposed to go to Kosovo. Have they gone?
Spokesman: I'd have to check.
Question: Is there any sign of a replacement for the Under-Secretary- General for the Office of Internal Oversight Services?
Spokesman: No. The search is on for a very special candidate with very strong qualifications. The Secretary-General is looking and looking for the right person. It's taking longer that we expected but he does have a second group of candidates on his desk, and I believe he may begin interviewing those people soon.
Shirley?
Briefing by Spokeswoman for General Assembly President
Good afternoon.
The General Assembly is hearing some 23 speakers this morning on support by the United Nations system of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies. The Assembly has before it two related draft resolutions, which were introduced by the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Mihai Ungureanu.
The first text contains a draft Code of Democratic Conduct for adoption by the Assembly (document A/54/L.23). The Code calls upon Member States to consolidate democracy; to promote, protect and respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms; to strengthen the rule of law; to develop an electoral system that provides for the free and fair expression of the peoples will through genuine and periodic elections; to create and improve the legal framework and necessary mechanisms for enabling the participation of all members of civil society; to ensure democracy through good governance; to strengthen democracy by promoting a sustainable economic environment; and to enhance social cohesion and solidarity.
Algeria, on behalf of 13 delegations, introduced a number of amendments (document A/54/L.46), which would replace, alter or delete all the preambular paragraphs as well as operative paragraph 1. Algeria said the sponsors sought to prevent the Assembly from departing from established procedures by adopting a text that had been drafted outside of the United Nations. The Assembly is expected to take action on the text and the amendments at a later date.
Action is expected, however, on the second text (document A/54/L.33), on the UN system's support of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies. It would have the Assembly endorse the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General; commend him and the UN system for the activities undertaken at the request of Governments to support efforts to consolidate democracy; and would invite them and other intergovernmental organizations to collaborate in the holding of the Fourth International Conference on New or Restored Democracies in Cotonou, Benin, in December 2000.
The related report of the Secretary-General on this item (document A/54/492) describes the activities in 1998-1999 in the follow-up process to the Third International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, held in Bucharest, Romania, in 1997. The report notes that the fourth conference will be the first to be held in an African country. It also reviews the overall process of democratization and the role that the international conferences of new or restored democracies and the United Nations have played in that global process.
In his observations and recommendations, the Secretary-General says that in view of the heightened interest in promoting the success of democracy in Africa, the Benin Conference has the potential to offer not only a global platform for the strengthening of democratic transformation, but also a welcome opportunity to draw attention to democratic experience and its prospects and challenges in Africa. In that light, he makes three recommendations: that all segments of international, regional and national communities should be encouraged to contribute to the Benin Conference; that, in addition to the yearly debate in the General Assembly on this subject, Member States may wish to give their comments and observations, which would then be assembled and presented to the Assembly and Benin Conference for further action; and that an inventory of assistance given by the UN system to Governments to strengthen new or restored democracies should be conducted every third or fourth year, or in years preceding the holding of future conferences on the subject.
This afternoon, the Assembly will consider the question of Palestine, hearing 28 speakers. The Assembly 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. Recorded votes are expected on all four texts.
By the draft on the Palestinian Rights Committee (A/54/L.42), the Assembly would authorize that body to continue to exert all efforts to promote the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, to make such adjustments in its approved programme of work as it may consider appropriate and necessary in the light of developments, and to give special emphasis to the need to mobilize support and assistance for the Palestinian people.
Under the draft on the Division for Palestinian Rights (document A/54/L.43), the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Division with the necessary resources and to ensure that it continues to carry out its programme of work as detailed in the relevant earlier resolution.
The draft on the Department of Public Informations special information programme on the question of Palestine (document A/54/L.44) would have the Assembly request DPI to continue its special information programme for the biennium 2000-2001. It would also request the Department to promote the Bethlehem 2000 Project, within existing resources, through publications, audio-visual materials and a Bethlehem 2000 site on the UN Internet home page.
By the draft on peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine (document A/54/L.45), the Assembly would express full support for the ongoing peace process as well as the hope that it would lead to the establishment of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. It would note with satisfaction the commencement of negotiations on the final settlement, and call upon the parties, the co-sponsors and others to exert all the necessary efforts and initiatives to ensure the continuity and success of the peace process, and its conclusion by the agreed time.
The recommendations contained in the report of the Palestinian Rights Committee (document A/54/35) are reflected in the draft resolutions contained in documents A/54/L.42 to L.45. The Committee reaffirms the permanent responsibility of the United Nations with respect to the question of Palestine until a satisfactory settlement is reached and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are fully realized. It states that as the parties embark on the sensitive stage of the permanent status negotiations, the role of the Organization becomes even more critical. The Committee reiterates that the involvement of the United Nations in the peace process is essential for the successful outcome of the peace efforts.
The related report of the Secretary-General (document A/54/457) contains replies received from the Security Council, Jordan and the Permanent Observer for Palestine on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine. The report observes that the signing in Cairo of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum on 4 September 1999 by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization brings with it cautious optimism that the Middle East peace process has been brought back on track. It also states that the two sides have reaffirmed their understanding that the negotiations on the permanent status will lead to the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and that they have agreed to conclude a comprehensive agreement on all permanent status issues within one year from the resumption of those negotiations, i.e., by September 2000. While the issues that remain to be resolved are difficult -- and there are those who may seek to hinder progress in resolving them -- five decades of conflict and unease must at last be brought to an end so that all may envisage the time when a new generation of Israelis and Palestinians will be born into conditions of peace and stability, the report states.
Tomorrow afternoon, the Assembly is scheduled to consider the agenda 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. The list of First Committee reports can be found in document A/C.1/54/INF/3.
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People held a solemn meeting this morning in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Addressing the meeting, Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab said that it was his fervent hope that one day, sooner rather than later, there would be no need to hold this particular commemoration at the United Nations, except to recall it for the purposes of history. He observed that, following a long stalemate, the peace process had been revived. The urgent task of the international community must be to help the parties through this critical period so that the process could come to fruition for the benefit of all the peoples in the Middle East. He reaffirmed that the United Nations continues to have a direct interest in the peace process and upholds its responsibility for the question of Palestine until a satisfactory settlement is reached, based on self-determination, justice and mutual commitment to good neighbourliness.
In his statement to the meeting, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the parties involved to guard the fragile accomplishments of the peace process, to press forward and, above all, to refrain from any actions that might prejudice the outcome of the delicate permanent status negotiations. He said: On the twentieth centurys last International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, let us dare to hope that one of the centurys earliest achievements will be the long-awaited moment when peace and prosperity can be enjoyed in full by Palestinians, Israelis and all the peoples of the Middle East. Also making statements were the President of the Security Council, Danilo Turk of Slovenia, and the Permanent Observer for Palestine to the United Nations, Nasser Al-Kidwa, who read out a message from Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian Authority.
This afternoon, the President will attend a luncheon hosted by the Permanent Observer for the League of Arab States on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He will preside this afternoon as the Assembly takes up the question of Palestine. This evening, the President will attend the opening of the exhibition in connection with the International Day, entitled Follow the Star: Images from the Palestinian City of Bethlehem at the New Millennium, taking place in the Public Lobby of the General Assembly Building. The President will also attend a dinner hosted by the Permanent Representative of the United States, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, in honour of US Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee.
Spokesman: Any questions for Shirley? OK. Everyone have a good afternoon.
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