DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The 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

Good afternoon.

He's not here, but anyway, congratulations to Erol Avdovic on his re- election as President of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA). We look forward to working with him and UNCA throughout the next year.

**Secretary-General Welcomes Israel-Syria Agreement

I have the following statement concerning the announcement of the resumption of talks between Israel and Syria. This is attributable to the Spokesman:

"The Secretary-General warmly welcomes the agreement between Israel and Syria to resume their negotiations at a high level meeting next week in Washington. He extends his congratulations to Syrian President Hazef al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, as well as to United States President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright, on the success of their mediation efforts.

This important agreement raises renewed hopes in the difficult search for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The Secretary-General also expects that it will be followed soon by the resumption of talks between Israel and Lebanon and further progress on the Israeli- Palestinian track". (See Press Release SG/SM/7256.)

**Security Council: Working Group Meets on Civilians in Armed Conflict

The first meeting of the Security Council's formal working group on civilians in armed conflict is taking place this morning. This working group was established to review the recommendations in the Secretary-General's report of 8 September.

In that report, the Secretary-General made wide-ranging recommendations, but urged the Council to pay particular attention to nine proposals, including the need for rapid deployment and preventive deployment, better assessment of the impact of sanctions, use of targeted sanctions, and recommendations regarding humanitarian access. The working group meets at the expert level, and is chaired by Canada. It has a mandate until April of next year.

This afternoon, the Security Council will meet for consultations on two matters. The Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, will present the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations operation in Western Sahara (MINURSO) -- that report became available here on Tuesday of this week. That briefing will be followed by further discussions on Iraq.

**Secretary-General Appoints Special Adviser on Colombia

Following the Secretary-General's meeting with President Andres Pastrana of Colombia, during the general debate of the General Assembly in September, the Secretary-General has decided to appoint Jan Egeland of Norway as his Special Advisor on International Assistance to Colombia. Mr. Egeland, whose appointment became effective the first of this month, will act as the focal point for the United Nations system in its efforts to mobilize international assistance from United Nations agencies, and national and multi-lateral organizations for social, humanitarian, human rights, drug control -- including alternative development projects -- and peace building activities in Colombia.

We have his bio available in my office. (See also Press Release SG/A/715.)

**Secretary-General Meets with Parties in Cyprus Talks

The Secretary-General returned to the negotiating table today on Cyprus, meeting first at 10:00 a.m. with His Excellency Glafcos Clerides, and then at 10:45 a.m. with His Excellency Rauf Denktash. Each meeting was initially one- on-one, and then with delegations.

The Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, at 9:15 a.m., met with Special Envoys on Cyprus of the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively, Sir David Hannay, and Ambassador Alfred Moses.

**Secretary-General Meets Nicaraguan High Official; Maritime Border Dispute with Honduras Goes to ICJ

At 12:30 p.m. today, the Secretary-General is scheduled to meet Guillermo Arguello Poessy, the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua. You will recall that on Tuesday the Secretary-General met with the Foreign Minister of Honduras, Roberto Flores Bermudez; this was regarding the tensions between Nicaragua and Honduras over their maritime border.

The matter is now before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Yesterday afternoon, we made available a press release from the ICJ, which said that Nicaragua had asked the ICJ to determine the maritime boundary between Honduras and Nicaragua.

**On the Road Again: Vieira de Mello, Gusmao visit Village in East Timor

Today, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who heads our mission in East Timor (UNTAET), was on the road again, this time with East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao. Together they visited the village of Ainaro, south of Dili, where Gusmao had often taken refuge during his days as a guerrilla fighter.

Gusmao told a welcoming crowd that he would travel to the border with West Timor to invite refugees still in West Timor personally to return home safely.

**Note from East Timor

The number of returnees thus far from West Timor is something over 115,000. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) thinks that the Indonesian Government estimate of 140,000 refugees remaining in West Timor may be an inflated figure. UNHCR representatives on the ground today estimated that up to 50,000 of those refugees may choose to remain in West Timor.

**German Forensic Team Presents Kosovo Evidentiary Report to ICTY

Today, in The Hague, a representative of the German police provided the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with reports and evidence that resulted from a German forensic team's work in Kosovo over the past six months.

This evidence will be used by the Prosecutor to build her case with regard to Kosovo. The German team was one of 14 forensic teams that provided personnel assistance to the Tribunal's investigation in Kosovo. Partial results from the forensic teams have been submitted to the Tribunal by virtually all of these teams to date. The Prosecutor now expects to receive information and evidence from the teams' national police agencies.

**IAEA Warns of Need for Y2K Preparedness

We have copies of a statement by the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed El-Baradei, to his agency's Board of Governors, in which he flags a need for heightened preparedness to respond to possible Y2K-related complications.

He noted that his Agency has continued its Y2K assistance programme by organizing missions to nuclear power plants and medical facilities, which requested such assistance. He said, however, that there is concern that some nuclear power plant operators are falling behind in their efforts to complete the necessary Y2K tasks because of late actions and a shortage of funds.

The concern is not directly related to safety, but to such areas as updating computers to monitor radiation, according to the IAEA.

**UNEP Study on Environmental Impact of Refugees in Guinea

A two-week mission to Guinea from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded its fieldwork earlier this week on the possible environmental impacts of the refugees in that country. The team was looking at the problems of deforestation, erosion and unsustainable land use, and the issues of water, waste management and sanitation, particularly in urban centres. Its recommendations are expected to be submitted to the Secretary- General.

According to UNHCR figures, Guinea is the African country hosting the highest number of refugees with some 489,000, mainly from neighbouring Sierra Leona and Liberia.

Earlier this year, during talks between the Secretary-General and government officials of Guinea, concern was expressed about the influx of refugees in the forest areas close to the Guinean border. Following the Secretary-General's request, Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director, sought and received advice and assistance from the World Bank, UNHCR and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). UNHCR and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) are partners in the assessment mission.

**WHO Urges Preparedness Against Meningitis Outbreaks

At a meeting at the World Health Organization (WHO) which concluded today, a group of health experts from various agencies urged adequate preparedness in the effort to combat meningitis.

The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision for Epidemic Meningitis Control concluded two days of meetings by warning that countries at risk for meningitis must carry out thorough disease surveillance and have ready sufficient stocks of vaccine and syringes. According to WHO, 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are at particular risk for large meningitis outbreaks.

If you are interested in that, there are more details in a press release.

**Broadway Comes to the UN: "Kat and the Kings" Performance Today

Finally, there will be a performance by the cast of "Kat and the Kings," winner of the 1999 Olivier Award for Best New Musical. That will be today in the Visitors' Lobby at 1:30 p.m. The performance is sponsored by our own Department of Public Information.

**Human Rights Day

On Friday, at 10:30 a.m., singer and actor Ruben Blades will give a press conference in this room on racism -- I think I mentioned that to you yesterday -- as part of the commemoration of Human Rights Day.

Immediately afterward, at 11 a.m., there will be a panel discussion in this room, moderated by Assistant Secretary-General Angela King, on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (or CEDAW), which is to be signed by some 15 nations here tomorrow.

That's all I have for you. Do you have anything for me, before we go to Shirley?

**Questions and Answers

Question: Do you have any further details about the incident yesterday in the buffer zone during which a Turkish-Cypriot was slightly injured?

Spokesman: No. I didn't see anything today. I actually didn't mention this incident at the briefing yesterday -- it was in response to a question after the briefing. There was an incident just north of the buffer zone. It's the hunting season in Cyprus and apparently it's very popular to hunt for small animals, and in recent years hunters have been penetrating the buffer zone. The United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (UNFICYP) there has been trying to keep them out, but yesterday, three hunters, I think, not only went into the buffer zone but came out the other side in the northern part of the island and had an encounter with a Turkish Cypriot. Shots were fired and the Turkish Cypriot was injured, but not seriously. As of yesterday, at least, I was told that his injuries were not life threatening. I have nothing further today.

Question: I was wondering if the Secretary-General’s discussion yesterday with the Russian Foreign Minister [Igor Ivanov] may be the beginning of a more publicly active and more vocal role on the Secretary-General’s part regarding his feelings about the situation in Chechnya?

Spokesman: I wouldn’t say that because he was, I think, the first official figure to speak up about his concern about the humanitarian situation in Chechnya. That has since been followed by public statements by a number of political figures and organizations. In his talks with Foreign Minister Ivanov, which took place in his car as he returned from the airport on his way back from Montreal, the Foreign Minister referred to a number of representatives of international organizations who had just very recently visited him, to express their concern about what was going on in Chechnya –- the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, he mentioned those three. I don’t think that the Secretary- General really wanted to particularly go public. He really just wanted a private discussion with the Foreign Minister, which he had and which we reported to you in kind of sketchy detail yesterday.

Question: What countries is the IAEA concerned about in the report that you mentioned earlier on Y2K compliance readiness?

Spokesman: You’ll have to look at the statement. I don’t think [IAEA Director-General El-Baradei] names. We got this just before the noon briefing and I didn’t have time to look at the whole statement to see if there were names listed there. Take a look. You might find them and you might not.

Question: I understand the Secretary-General met with the Yugoslav envoy today. Do you have any comment on that?

Spokesman: I didn’t get a read-out on that meeting. We’ll do that for you if you’d like and you can check with me afterwards.

Question: Can you explain why the format and the duration of the meetings on Cyprus changed today?

Spokesman: Well, the Secretary-General was out of town yesterday. He had met with the parties in the initial sessions, and I think he wanted to meet with them personally this morning to catch up on what had happened during the day that he was away, when they had met with his Special Adviser Alvaro de Soto. And to see that things were still on track.

Question: The initial meeting that the Secretary-General had with both Mr. Clerides and Mr. Denktash had nothing to do with yesterdays statement on breaching confidentiality in the meetings on Cyprus?

Spokesman: I can’t get into the substance of anything that went on. I was not briefed on what was said in that meeting, so I can’t tell you. Question: Is the Secretary-General hopeful that the Iraqis will allow an inspection team to go into that country?

Spokesman: Certainly he is. He has been following very closely the discussions going on in the Security Council. There is talk that there could be action taken on the comprehensive resolution in the next few days, and he would hope that the Council could stand united in support of whatever it is that they adopt. So we’ll be looking closely at what happens Friday, and maybe Saturday in the Council.

Ok. Shirley.

Briefing by Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

Thank you. Good afternoon.

The General Assembly, this morning, approved the second report of the Credentials Committee (A/54/475/Add.1), thereby accepting the credentials of an additional 53 Member States -– 33 of them still need to submit formal credentials -- for a total of 186. The two States not included are Somalia and Yugoslavia.

The Assembly adopted a resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization (A/54/L.55), introduced by Azerbaijan. In the text, the Assembly expressed satisfaction at the enhanced pace of mutually beneficial interaction between the two organizations; invited the Economic Cooperation Organization and the United Nations Development Programme to continue to enhance and strengthen their ongoing cooperation in the area of capacity-building; and called for further contacts and participation between Economic Cooperation Organization and the specialized agencies, programmes and intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations system.

The report of the Secretary-General (A/54/168) provides information about the status of the cooperative relationship between Economic Cooperation Organization and the following United Nations agencies during 1998 and 1999: United Nations Development Organization (UNDP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Assembly deferred five items -- 54 to 58 -- to the next session, deciding to include them in the provisional agenda of the fifty-fifth session. They deal with the 1986 aerial and naval attack against Libya by the United States; armed Israeli aggression against Iraqi nuclear installations; consequences of the Iraqi occupation of and aggression against Kuwait; implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations; and launching of the global negotiations on international economic cooperation for development.

The Assembly deferred, until Monday, consideration of the item on the global implications of the year 2000 date conversion problem of computers (A/54/525, A/54/L.61).

As the final item of the morning, the Assembly is concluding its debate on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa.

This afternoon, the Assembly takes action on nine reports of the Sixth Committee. Those Legal Committee reports (A/54/607, 608, 610-616) cover: the convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property; the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law; report of the International Law Commission on the work of its fifty-first session; report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its thirty-second session; report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country; establishment of the International Criminal Court; report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization; measures to eliminate international terrorism; and review of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal.

Tomorrow, the Assembly takes up the item entitled “Dialogue among civilizations". It will also consider two items on Afghanistan: emergency international assistance for peace, normalcy and reconstruction of war- stricken Afghanistan; and the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security.

At this morning’s meeting, it was announced that the plenary will take up agenda item 38, “Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters” on Thursday, 16 December, in the morning. Yesterday afternoon, the President informed the members that the Assembly will consider the reports of the Third Committee on Friday, 17 December. For anyone doing the math, it is obvious that the Assembly will not be recessing on the 14th. The latest programme of work is available on the racks today, A/INF/54/3/Add.5.

This afternoon, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) will take action on three draft resolutions dealing with enhancing international cooperation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countries (A/C.2/54/L.71), business and development (A/C.2/54/L.70) and implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, 1997-2006 (A/C.2/54/L.69).

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), at a morning meeting, is discussing relevant chapters of the report of the Economic and Social Council. It is also considering the programme budget implications of five draft resolutions. One report (A/C.5/54/L.38) indicates that Assembly adoption of draft resolution A/54/L.36, calling for the extension of the mandate of the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH) for the first part of 2000 and the subsequent establishment of the International Civilian Support Mission in Haiti (MICAH) until 6 February 2001, would cost $10,353,200 for MICAH and $1,180,100 for MICIVIH.

Other reports state that adoption of a Third Committee draft on the use of mercenaries (A/C.3/54/L.90) would cost $184,600 (A/C.5/54/36); that adoption of a draft on the situation in Central America (A/54/L.24/Rev.1) would cost $187,700 (A/C.5/54/34); that the adoption of a draft resolution (A/C.6/54/L.7/Rev.1) allowing the International Law Commission to meet at Geneva in 2000 would cost $105,200 (A/C.5/54/35); and that adoption of a First Committee draft (A/C.1/54/L.42/Rev.1) on convening a United Nations conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in June/July 2001 would cost $723,100, plus $448,900 for summary records (A/C.5/54/31). The observations of the Committee on Conferences concerning the question of summary records appear in A/C.5/54/31/Add.1.

Also this morning, the Committee is beginning its discussion of eight sub-items under the questions relating to the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2000-2001. They pertain to construction of additional conference facilities at Addis Ababa; unforeseen and extraordinary expenses; proposed abolition of two General Service posts under income section 3; internal and external printing practices of the Organization; temporary assistance requirements for 2000-2001 meetings; rental of United Nations premises by press and other entities; section 26, Public information; and use of general temporary assistance for specific positions.

Concerning the appointments of Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab, this morning he met with the Chargé d’affaires of Yugoslavia, Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic, and then with the Permanent Representative of Portugal, Ambassador Antonio Monteiro. He will have lunch with the Coordinator of the Regional Programme of UNDP’s Africa Bureau. This evening, he will attend a dinner in his honour, hosted by the Permanent Representative of Belgium, Ambassador André Adam.

Spokesman: Any questions? Thank you very much.

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