DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY 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. It’s Friday. And it’s Human Rights Day. So Happy Human Rights Day everyone.

**Cyprus Talks Continue Today; Another Round Expected Saturday

The Cyprus talks resumed this morning at 9:30 a.m., when Alvaro de Soto, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, met with His Excellency Glafcos Clerides for about an hour and a half, and he is now meeting with His Excellency Rauf Denktash. That meeting began at 11:30 a.m. At this point, it is expected that another round of talks will be held tomorrow morning at roughly the same time as today.

More than a dozen delegations have expressed special interest in these proximity talks, and so Mr. De Soto is meeting with individual members of these delegations in the margins of the talks.

**Notes from Cyprus: Secretary-General Appoints New Force Commander

The Secretary-General has decided to appoint Major General Victory Rana -– it’s not ”Victor” but ”Victory” which is a good name for a commander -- of Nepal as the new Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). He will succeed Major General Evergisto Arturo de Vergara of Argentina, whose term ends on 15 December.

Concerning the shooting incident which took place in Cyprus Wednesday - - which I mentioned yesterday –- the United Nations Mission there is still investigating this matter and, at this time, we cannot confirm any of the facts that have been reported in the media.

**Secretary-General Opens Protocol to Eliminate Violence against Women

As I mentioned, today is Human Rights Day, and even as we speak, the Secretary-General is opening the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women (CEDAW) for signature in the Trusteeship Council.

At 3 p.m. today, the Secretary-General will deliver an address on the opening for signature of the Optional Protocol, copies of which we have made available on an embargoed basis.

In that address, he notes the progress that has been made in combating violence against women, and says, "To protect, promote and realize women's human rights is the responsibility of all of us -- wherever we may be, whichever gender we belong to." His comments are to come at the opening of a discussion on the Optional Protocol that will last from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.

**Statement Attributable to Secretary-General

This statement is attributed directly to the Secretary-General, also on the subject of human rights:

"During the course of the year, I issued guidelines to my envoys and representatives involved in peace negotiations to assist them in tackling human rights issues that may arise during their efforts. These guidelines address the tensions between the urgency of stopping fighting, on the one hand, and the need to address punishable human rights violations on the other. The guidelines do not attempt to address sweeping answers to these questions. However, they are, I believe, a useful tool with which the United Nations can assist in brokering agreements in conformity with the law and in a manner which may provide the basis for lasting peace. They are a significant step in the direction of mainstreaming human rights."

**Human Rights Day: International Highlights from Geneva to Kosovo

Also today, as you’ve noticed from two press conferences held here earlier, there have been several other events related to Human Rights Day. Among the highlights:

In Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson commemorated the day in a ceremony attended by Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss and Goodwill Ambassador Tahar Ben Jalloun. That ceremony opened with a statement from the Secretary-General, United States President Bill Clinton, Czech President Vaclav Havel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias, all of whom delivered video messages.

In her speech, Mrs. Robinson drew attention to the preparations for the World Conference against Racism, which is to be held in July 2001 in South Africa. She said, "No society is free from at least some people who are intolerant of difference, whether ethnic or religious, and whose intolerance finds violent expression." The importance of the World Conference, she added, would be to "shape a new vision of the fight against racism for the twenty- first century".

Mrs. Robinson also inducted several Goodwill Ambassadors, one of whom, Panamanian actor and musician Ruben Blades, met you earlier today.

We have copies of Mary Robinson’s speech and a press release on today’s events upstairs.

Also today, the United Nations information centres (UNICs) worldwide are hosting a number of special Human Rights Day events. For example, UNIC New Delhi, the National Human Rights Commission for India and the International Institute for Human Rights Society planned a seminar on the rights of the child. In Africa, UNIC Tunis and the Arab Institute of Human Rights are jointly mounting an exhibition of paintings created by children from 12 countries.

And in Latin America, UNIC Mexico City and the City's Human Rights Commission are holding a jazz concert to honour the rights of older persons; also, the Centre will walk with 4,000 children in a Human Rights Day march.

And also, from Kosovo, we have available the briefing notes from Pristina and the remarks made by the Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner, at the Kosovo International Human Rights Conference, in which he urged all Kosovars to renounce the cycle of violence.

**East Timor Celebrates Human Rights Day: 4,000 Youth Gather in Dili Stadium to Hear Nobel Laureates, Vieira de Mello

And in East Timor, the independence leader Xanana Gusmao, commemorating Human Rights Day in Dili, unveiled a new street sign today signalling the change of name of one of the principal avenues of Dili to the "Avenue of Human Rights."

In Dili Stadium, about 4,000 young people turned out to hear a dialogue between East Timor's two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, who together called for an international war crimes tribunal for East Timor.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, who heads our mission there (UNTAET), also addressed that youth gathering, and we have the text of his speech -– which is translated from the Portuguese -- in my office.

**Vieira de Mello to Jakarta to Meet Indonesian High Officials

Sergio Vieira de Mello will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday, where on Monday he will meet with President Abdurrahman Wahid and other Indonesian officials. From there he will go to Japan to participate in a donor conference for East Timor on 16 and 17 December.

**Security Council: Consultations on Sierra Leone, then Iraq

The Security Council is meeting in open session on Sierra Leone. This morning, the head of Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, presented the Secretary-General’s latest report on Sierra Leone. Mr. Miyet’s remarks are available upstairs.

In his briefing he said that there had been significant progress this week in the deployment of the United Nations peacekeeping force for Sierra Leone. By the end of this month, Mr. Miyet said, the Indian and Kenyan deployments should be complete, plus Nigeria and other Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries should have 2000 fresh troops and 50 military observers in Sierra Leone.

The Secretary-General’s report concluded by noting that the commitment of the parties to the Lomé Agreement would be put to the test in the coming period -– which he described as crucial. He said the responsibility to advance the peace process in Sierra Leone now rested with the leaders of the rebel movements.

Immediately following the discussion on Sierra Leone, the Council is expected to adopt a resolution authorizing a seventh six-month phase for the "oil-for-food" programme in Iraq.

At 4:45 p.m., the Security Council is expected to continue its consultations on the draft comprehensive resolution on Iraq which was circulated yesterday evening by the United Kingdom.

**Compensation Fund

Still on Iraq: In Geneva, the Governing Council of the Compensation Fund concluded its meeting yesterday.

This Council, which comprises the 15 members of the Security Council, approved compensation claims totalling just under $2 billion -– that’s with a “b”, billion. The claimants included individuals, non-Kuwaiti corporations and the governments of Jordan and Kuwait.

The latest batch of awards brings the total compensation awarded to $414.6 billion -– of this, $4.5 billion has been paid out.

We have a press release on this upstairs if you’re interested.

**Concerned About Civilians in Grozny, UNHCR says 'Confusion Reigns' over Russian Ultimatum

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)says it continues to be concerned about the situation of civilians remaining in Grozny.

The UNHCR also said that confusion reigns over the Russian ultimatum issued to Grozny's civilians last Monday telling them to leave the city by Saturday, tomorrow, or be destroyed. The Russian media today are quoting the Emergencies Minister, Sergei Shoigu, as saying civilians can also leave after the deadline.

The Russians have reportedly opened a corridor from Grozny to the Russian controlled settlement of Pervomayskoe, northeast of the Chechen capital, but few people have used the corridor, according to the UNHCR. There are still reportedly 35,000 to 40,000 civilians in Grozny. A majority has been moved to outlying districts of the city.

People continue to cross from Chechnya to Ingushetia –- there were just under 1,000 yesterday -- but there is also a movement back to Russian- controlled parts of Chechnya; 850 went back yesterday. The Ingush authorities now say they host 240,000 people from Chechnya.

**Briefing Notes from Afghanistan Available

On Afghanistan: Despite continuing turmoil, more than 100,000 Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries so far this year.

You can pick up briefing notes if you are interested in that story.

**Two Reports Available on Angola

Both the World Food Programme and the UNHCR have reports on Angola today. You can pick them up in my office.

**Scientific Experts Recommend Further Research on Smallpox Virus

An international group of scientific and public health experts, meeting at the World Health Organization (WHO) this week, recommended to the WHO Director-General, Gro Harlem Brundtland, undertaking some further research on the smallpox virus before the two remaining collections of the virus are destroyed. The research will focus on defined priority areas, will be time limited and will be carried out under very careful control of WHO.

The World Health Assembly resolution in May 1999 strongly reaffirmed the decision to destroy the remaining stocks of variola virus, but authorized temporary retention of the stocks up to the year 2002, subject to annual review. Extending the deadline for destruction of the stocks was to allow the possibility, if needed, of further international research.

The two remaining smallpox virus stocks are held at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (VECTOR) in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk, Russia and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, Georgia.

The successful eradication of smallpox was declared in May 1980 by WHO.

**ILO Launches New Report on AIDS in Africa

The AIDS epidemic is threatening Africa's productivity by killing the most productive members of the African workforce, the International Labour Organization (ILO) says in a new report launched in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, today.

We have a press release on that if you’re interested.

**Payment, Contributions Update

We got some good news from Washington today. We received nearly $148 million in contributions from the United States, including a partial payment on its current dues and some of the balance owed for prior years.

That amount brings our outstanding contributions to a little over $2.3 billion, of which some $500 million is owed to the regular budget and more than $1.7 billion is owed to peacekeeping.

**Press Conference Monday

Monday, Philippe Kirsch, the Chairman of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, will discuss the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of International Terrorism, which was adopted by the General Assembly yesterday afternoon.

**The Week Ahead at United Nations

We have the "week ahead", which you can pick up in full in my office. Let me highlight a few things:

At the beginning of the week, we will announce the date sometime over the course of the week in which the Secretary-General will hold his year-end press conference here at United Nations Headquarters.

**Saturday, 11 December

Tomorrow, Kamel Morjane is expected to arrive in Kinshasa to take up his duties as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

**Sunday, 12 December

The Secretary-General will deliver a speech at a dinner of the American Jewish Congress. He will honour Morris Abram, a former diplomat who now heads the Geneva-based group UN Watch.

**Monday, 13 December

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will launch this year's "State of the World's Children" report. Actress Susan Sarandon, Special Representative for UNICEF, will present the report.

**Wednesday, 15 December

The Security Council has scheduled an open meeting on Africa, at which the Secretary-General will speak.

**Thursday, 16 December

The members of the Rwanda Inquiry panel -— Chairman Ingvar Carlsson of Sweden, Han Sung-Joo of the Republic of Korea, and General Rufus Kupolati of Nigeria -— are expected to hold a press conference here in the early part of the day to discuss the Rwanda Inquiry report. That report will be made available to you a bit in advance of the press conference.

Also, the Security Council has scheduled an open meeting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

**Quiz of the Week

Are you ready for your quiz? You have to take the quiz, then you can ask questions. Next Wednesday, the Security Council will hold an open meeting to discuss Africa as we just mentioned, so this quiz tests your knowledge about several recent United Nations peace efforts in Africa.

First Question: The United Nations established four new peacekeeping missions in 1999. Of those, how many were in Africa?

[Several correspondents answered correctly from the floor.]

Answer: Two -– good for you [laughter]. One in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and one in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

Second Question: True or false: More than half a million people have been internally displaced by the fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[Several correspondents answered correctly from the floor.]

Answer: True. Good for you. As of November, more than 800,000 people were internally displaced in the DRC, according to United Nations estimates.

Last question: Roughly what percentage of ex-combatants in Sierra Leone had reported in to disarmament and demobilization centres by the end of November?

a. 10 percent b. 20 percent c. 40 percent

[Several correspondents answered from the floor.]

Answer: No. Ten [laughs]. About 10 percent of the fighters. We estimate that there were some 45,000 fighters in Sierra Leone, and just over 4,200 had registered.

Ok. That’s all I have for you. Now the questions.

**Questions and Answers

Question: Does the Secretary-General plan to send a message to the European Union Summit in Helsinki about the progress of the Cyprus talks?

Spokesman: I am not aware that the Secretary-General has any intention of reporting on the progress of these talks while they are still underway. [The talks] are going to continue tomorrow and we expect they’ll go into next week -– at least we hope they will. So I think it’s too early to say anything substantive about them to anyone.

Question: Is the Secretary-General concerned that the European Union decision to consider the accession of Cyprus regardless of a political statement might affect the talks here?

Spokesman: This question touches on the substance of the talks, therefore I won’t comment.

Question: When Mr. Denktash entered the building this morning for the talks, he was very annoyed with the developments in Helsinki. So, when you said that you expect the talks to continue tomorrow and into next week, does that mean that it’s not certain?

Spokesman: Nothing is certain when it comes to Cyprus talks.

Question: But you said originally that the talks would continue until 14 December. Is that still true? Spokesman: That is our hope. And if the parties want to continue, they will, and we will be at their disposal.

Question: The parties to the Middle East conflict are going to resume discussions with the Syrians included in the negotiations. What part is the United Nations going to play?

Spokesman: We’re going to watch anxiously from the sidelines as we have been doing all along. We do not have a political role in the Middle East peace negotiations. We are prepared to assist in any way should we be asked, but until we’re asked, we sit politely on the sidelines.

Question: Today there was a photocopy of a letter Mr. Clerides wrote to the five permanent members of the Security Council published in a Turkish- Cypriot newspaper. Would you care to comment on that?

Spokesman: Not until it’s published as a Security Council document.

Question: Do you intend to publish it as such?

Spokesman: I would have to find out whether: a.) it exists, and b.) if in submitting it there was a request to have it circulated. It’s up to the author of the letter to either request it be circulated or not be circulated.

Question: Can you confirm that a letter has been sent?

Spokesman: No I cannot. But I can check with Security Council Affairs for you and get back to you later.

Briefing by Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

Good afternoon.

Today is Human Rights Day. In his message to the nations and citizens of the world, the President of the General Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, said this century launched the first World Organization committed to freedom, peace, justice, economic and social progress, respect for the rules of international law, settlement of disputes among States by peaceful means, respect for the ideals of self-determination and of the equal rights of men and women. “On this Human Rights Day, I congratulate the States and peoples of the United Nations on a remarkable record of achievements in the promotion and defense of human rights. Let us make the next century one of tangible and universal realization of human rights. Let a culture of human rights take roots, spread and flourish all over the globe”. Copies of that message are available in room 378 and as Press Release GA/SM/138-HR4447.

“Dialogue among civilizations” is the topic being discussed this morning in the General Assembly. The Assembly has proclaimed 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, an initiative spearheaded by the President of Iran. After hearing some 20 speakers, the Assembly will adopt a draft resolution (A/54/L.60), introduced by Iran. By its provisions, the Assembly would invite governments, the UN system and other relevant international and non-governmental organizations to continue and further intensify planning and organizing appropriate cultural, educational and social programmes to promote the concept of dialogue among civilizations, including through organizing conferences and seminars and disseminating information and scholarly material on the subject. The Assembly would call upon governments to encourage all members of society to take part in promoting dialogue among civilizations and to provide them with an opportunity to make contributions to the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.

The Assembly has before it the related report of the Secretary-General (A/54/546). In August 1999, he appointed Giandomenico Picco as his Personal Representative for the United Nations Year, to assist him in preparing for the observance. In his first report, Mr. Picco sets out his initial findings.

The concept of dialogue among civilizations is subject to various interpretations, he observes. It has a range of different implications, from a cultural dialogue between Islam and the West to a dialogue among major religions and a cultural-political exchange among the descendants of historic civilizations. This raises other issues and questions, and the discussions could open the door to political and cultural misunderstandings that could ultimately lead in the opposite direction from that which the Assembly had in mind. He recommends a different approach. The establishment of the United Nations was intended to provide a paradigm of international relations based on inclusion rather than exclusion, he states. It seems appropriate, therefore, to speak, within the United Nations context, of two sets of civilizations: those that perceive diversity as a threat and those that perceive diversity as an integral component of growth. The dialogue should be between these two civilizations or set of civilizations.

When it turns its attention to Afghanistan, Germany will introduce two draft resolutions (A/54/L.58), and the Assembly will hear 10 statements on two related items. However, action on the two drafts will be taken at a later date pending a review of the programme budget implications.

By draft resolution A, on the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, the Assembly would strongly condemn the sharp escalation of the conflict; would note with distress reports indicating the involvement, mainly on the side of the Taliban forces, of 2000- 5000 non-Afghan nationals, mostly from religious schools, and some of them still children; would strongly condemn the fact that foreign military support to the Afghan parties continued unabated through 1999; would support the intention of the Secretary-General to strengthen the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan and to redouble its efforts to achieve a durable and equitable political settlement; would support his intention to continue to work with the “six plus two” group; and would condemn the acts of terrorists based in Afghanistan, including those in support of extremist groups operating against the interests of Member States and against their citizens, deplore the fact that the Taliban continued to provide safe haven to Usama bin Laden and to allow him and his associates to use Afghanistan as a base from which to sponsor international terrorist operations, would recall that the Security Council, in resolution 1267 (1999) of 15 October, had demanded that the Taliban turn over bin Laden without further delay and would urge the Taliban to comply. By draft resolution B, on emergency international assistance for peace, normalcy and reconstruction of war-stricken Afghanistan, the Assembly would stress that the responsibility for the humanitarian crisis lies with all warring parties, in particular with the Taliban; would call upon the leaders of all Afghan parties to place the highest priority on national reconciliation, acknowledging the desire of the Afghan people for rehabilitation, reconstruction and economic and social development; would demand that all Afghan parties fully cooperate with the United Nations and associated bodies as well as with other agencies and humanitarian organizations in their efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan and urge them to secure the uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to all in need of it; would denounce the continuing discrimination against girls and women as well as ethnic and religious groups, including minorities, and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Afghanistan, while calling upon all the parties to respect fully the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion; would urge all Afghan parties to prohibit conscripting or enlisting children or using them to participate in hostilities in violation of international law.

The documents on the two items are: reports of the Secretary-General on emergency international assistance for peace, normalcy and reconstruction of war-stricken Afghanistan (A/54/297); two reports on the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security (A/54/378 and 536); and a summary of the report of the United Nations investigation team for Afghanistan, submitted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/54/626).

This morning, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) is taking up the financing of the International Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, as well as the financing of UN peacekeeping operations. It will also take action on a draft resolution on financial reports and audited financial statements and reports of the Board of Auditors (A/C.5/54/L.15).

Looking ahead to next week, on Monday, the Assembly will consider the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the global implications of the year 2000 date conversion problem of computers. On Tuesday, the 14th, there will be open-ended informal consultations of the plenary on agenda item 49 (b), the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations. On Thursday, 16 December, the Assembly will consider the question of the equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters. On Friday, it will consider reports of the Third Committee. The Second and Fifth Committees will continue their work.

Concerning the appointments of the President, at 12:30 p.m., he will attend the African Action on AIDS’ annual end-of-year millennium stocktaking event. He will also meet with the Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic, Ambassador Peter Tomka. The President will attend a luncheon to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the opening for signature of the Optional Protocol to the Convention. At 3:30 p.m., the President will address the closing session of the day-long Student Conference on Human Rights and the Culture of Peace in the New Millennium, in Conference Room 1. This evening, he will attend a reception hosted by the Permanent Representative of South Africa, Ambassador Dumisana Kumalo. I wish to inform correspondents that on Monday, 13 December, there will be a ceremony at Headquarters, in connection with the launch of the International Year of Thanksgiving 2000. The President of the General Assembly, Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, will unveil a commemorative stamp depicting the Glory Window in the Chapel of Thanksgiving at Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas, Texas. The ceremony will be held in front of the Norman Rockwell mosaic, “Do Unto Others”, located on the third floor, starting at 12:30 p.m. A Note to Correspondents is being issued about the event, and there is a press release from the Center for World Thanksgiving, available at the Documents Counter. The Press is invited to witness the ceremony.

Spokesman: Any questions? Thank you very much.

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