DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19991217The 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.
We told you [Under-Secretary-General for Management] Joseph Connor would be here today, but he has a contrary commitment. So in his place we have Bertrand de Fondaumiere, who is the Director of the Management Policy Office in Mr. Connor's Department and he'll be talking to you about Y2K preparedness and arrangements for the rollover period. So, welcome, Mr.de Fondaumiere, and we'll get to you in just a minute.
[Mr. de Fondaumiere's briefing will be issued separately.}
**Security Council: Vote Expected today on Comprehensive Resolution on Iraq
At 10:30 a.m. this morning in the Security Council Chamber, the members of the Council were joined by the Secretary-General for their year-end group photograph.
Then they went into a formal meeting on the comprehensive resolution on Iraq. There are nine speakers inscribed before the vote and six inscribed after it; the vote itself should be occurring shortly and we'll inform you of the results once it is taken.
Then at 3:30 this afternoon, the Security Council Sanctions Committee dealing with Somalia will hold a closed meeting in Conference Room 7.
**Tokyo Donor Meeting Ends: Vieira de Mello calls Half-Billion in Pledges a "Message of Hope for the People of Timor"
The donor meeting on East Timor ended in Tokyo today with a spectacular $522.43 million pledged, over two-thirds of which was for reconstruction and development.
The United Nations Transitional Administrator in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said, "today is a heartening development and a message of hope for the people of Timor and those who are there to serve them until independence."
For the first time ever, he said, donors were given a joint, coordinated presentation by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations and the East Timorese of the overall needs for East Timor. He pledged to continue what he called "this close and exemplary partnership".
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 17 December 1999
We have in my office the full text of Mr. de Mello's opening and closing remarks, as well as the texts of the statements by East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao and World Bank Vice President Michel Severino. We also have the breakdown of the amounts pledged.
**Note from East Timor
Meanwhile, in East Timor, the flow of those returning to their homes from West Timor has once again risen above 1,000 a day, and the total number is now over 118,000.
The Security Council will hold an open briefing on East Timor next Wednesday, for your information.
**Del Ponte "Not Surprised" Tribunal is targeted for Espionage
Carla del Ponte, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, issued a statement today at The Hague saying that she's not surprised by SFOR's announcement today that the Bosnian Croats have been attempting to carry out surveillance of Tribunal staff operating in Bosnia.
She said: "It is clear that the Tribunal has been targeted for espionage for some time and it appears that this espionage has been officially sanctioned. This activity demonstrates the lengths to which political and government leaders throughout the former Yugoslavia are prepared to go to avoid investigation by this Tribunal."
Without going into any details about the Tribunal's security arrangements, the Prosecutor noted that procedures do exist to protect her staff and information.
We have the complete text of her statement if you are interested.
**UNHCR Evacuates Chechen Refugees Stranded in Remote Village in Georgia
Some 1,200 Chechen refugees have been evacuated by helicopter since last Friday from a remote mountain village in Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Caucasus, just across the border from Chechnya, to villages of north- eastern Georgia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The arrival of the 1,200 brings the total number of Chechen refugees in Georgia to 5,000.
The air-bridge -- organized with the help of the Georgian border guards -- is now completed. The evacuated group was composed of predominantly women and children. There were also 50 war-wounded men in the group. They were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The UNHCR is trying to confirm reports that some Chechen refugees may still be stuck in no-man's land between Chechnya and Georgia, intending to
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cross the border. The airlifting may resume if more people have to be flown to safety.
**Notes from Kosovo: Two UNMIK Police Officers Injured in Mitrovica
The United Nations mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today reported that two UNMIK police officers -- both Americans -- were injured while trying to break up a demonstration in Mitrovica yesterday.
About 500 Kosovo Serbs demonstrated in front of an office belonging to a Kosovo Albanian political leader. One shot was heard and UNMIK police and KFOR detained a suspect who was also found in possession of a hand grenade. The crowd turned violent and that's when the two UNMIK officers were injured in the head. Their injuries were reported as non-life-threatening.
UNMIK police and KFOR eventually dispersed the crowd.
This account was one of several violent incidents reported by UNMIK today at the press briefing in Kosovo.
Meanwhile, UNMIK also reported that a millennium tree in the middle of the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica was lit on Wednesday as a symbol to all people to accept co-existence and attempt to live in harmony.
**Adeniji Holds First Press Conference in Sierra Leone
Mr. Oluyemi Adeniji, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Sierra Leone, gave his first press conference in Freetown today, together with the new Force Commander of the United Nations mission in that country, Major-General Vijay Jetley. He emphasized that the United Nations mission (UNAMSIL) was in Sierra Leone at the invitation of the Government to assist with the disarmament and demobilization process.
"The deployment of UNAMSIL," he said, "contrary to the general impression that it's been long delayed, is practically being done in record time". He added that it was less than two months since the decision by the Security Council to deploy the force. He ended by saying: "The international community is now facing its responsibility. It is not only a problem in West Africa for the West Africans. The United Nations has a primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and when there is a disturbance of peace in any part of the world, there is no reason why the United Nations, which is often prepared to go elsewhere, should not come to Africa." Since his arrival last Sunday, Mr. Adeniji has had meetings with the President, senior government officials and a number of others.
**UNHCR Tries to Reach Refugees in Congo-Brazzaville
The UNHCR reports today that its staff is trying to reach villages in northern Congo-Brazzaville, where thousands of refugees have reportedly fled recent fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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If you want more on that, see their briefing note.
**Nane Annan Opens New Art Exhibit at UN Headquarters
We have an announcement here that Nane Annan will open an exhibit on "Visions of the Millennium" at 3:30 p.m. today in the Visitors' Lobby. The organizers of the exhibit will present Mrs. Annan with a painting from the collection, in appreciation for the cooperation of the United Nations with the project.
"Visions of the New Millennium" consists of artwork from around the world by artists, photographers and writers between the ages of 6 and 18. They were asked to express artistically their hopes and expectations for the new millennium. The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Public Information, and International Paint Pals, with the participation of a number of other groups.
The exhibit will be on display through 28 February.
**A United Nations Christmas Story
The Christmas season is nearly upon us, and I wanted to deliver a personal message of thanks to the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs for the way they chose to mark the occasion this year.
Instead of their traditional exchange of "Secret Santa" gifts, the Treaty Section decided to donate toys and clothes to HIV-infected "border babies," who had been abandoned in New York hospitals because their families were unable to care for them.
Some 40 members of the Treaty Section sent their gifts to the Incarnation Children's Center of the Catholic Home Bureau, which provides care for HIV-positive children in New York City.
We'd like to say "Thank you" to the gift-givers, and if you're interested in details about that Center, we information in my office.
**Payment
Croatia became the 120th Member State to be pay in full for 1999. That was with a payment of more than $370,000 dollars.
**Press Conference Today
This afternoon, Marc Thiessen, Spokesman for Senator Jesse Helms, Majority Leader of the United States Foreign Relations Committee, will be briefing you here in this room at 1 p.m. on the International Criminal Court. He also has, he says, an important announcement to make.
**The Week Ahead at the United Nations
For the week ahead, here are a few highlights:
Daily Press Briefing- 5 -17 December 1999
With Christmas season and the end of the year approaching, the coming week -- next week -- will be the last week for noon briefings at United Nations Headquarters for the present year. So we will suspend the press briefings between Christmas and New Year's. We will continue, of course, to update the Web site with highlights each day, so continue to follow the Web site.
**Tuesday, 21 December
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Guinea-Bissau as well as on the situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
**Wednesday, 22 December
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), will hold a press conference in room 226 on an appeal for countries facing emergencies.
**Friday, 24 December
It's a Christmas Holiday; the building will be closed.
**Quiz of the Week
And just before I go to Shirley, let me give you your weekly quiz.
Today was the last day of the third session of preparatory talks for the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the Chairman of the Preparatory Commission, Philippe Kirsch, just held a press briefing. So here's a test to see if you learned anything from that briefing.
First question: How many countries need to ratify the ICC Statute before it can enter into force?
a. 30 b. 50 c. 60
[Several correspondents answered correctly from the floor.]
Answer: Sixty. Thank you. Sixty countries have to ratify.
Second question: True or false: the Rome Statute of the ICC specifically excludes riots and isolated or separate acts of violence from its jurisdiction.
[Several correspondents answered from the floor.]
Answer: True. It excludes those categories, as does existing international humanitarian law, from the category of war crimes committed in internal armed conflicts.
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Third and final question: Are terrorism and drug trafficking included as crimes covered in the Rome Statute?
[Several correspondents answered from the floor.]
Answer: No; however, at last year's Rome Conference that established the Court, a Review Conference was proposed to consider defining and including those crimes within the Court's jurisdiction.
Ok. Any questions before we go to Shirley?
**Questions and Answers
Question: According to the Turkish Foreign Minister's statement, there has been a change of United Nations policy in an addendum issued to the Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Could you clarify if there is such a change of policy?
Spokesman: That addendum is to inform the Security Council of the position of the relevant parties concerning the extension of UNFICYP's mandate. So the Secretary-General reported the positions, as he always does, without comment.
Question: What is the number of the shortfall for the United Nations Police Force in Kosovo? [Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo Dr. Bernard] Kouchner wanted 6,000. Is it even close to that number?
Spokesman: I think he's got about 1,700; that's a ballpark figure, but it's well short of what he needs. [The figure at the end of November was 1,818.]
Question: There has been a statement by a United States Government official that peace can only come to Angola through political settlement. Does the Secretary-General agree with this assessment of the situation?
Spokesman: Yes. 100 percent.
Question: Will a United Nations review of the situation in Angola be forthcoming?
Spokesman: We are in the process of establishing a new office there -- a new presence in Angola. And as you know fighting is raging in various parts of Angola. Our appeal would be also that the parties to this conflict should stop fighting and start negotiating. When they're ready to do that, we're ready to work with them.
Question: There were press reports this morning that the Government of Rwanda wanted the Secretary-General to go to Kigali and apologize for the genocide. What is his position?
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Spokesman: The Secretary-General was in Kigali just a year ago. He met with all the authorities there. He addressed the Parliament. He visited massacre sites in Kigali and 50 kilometres outside of Kigali. He met with survivors, and he expressed his sorrow. He apologized yesterday, in his statement, on behalf of the United Nations. I think he now wants to look ahead to what he can do, from the Secretariat point of view, to see that the events of Rwanda never happen again anywhere else in the world.
Question: How many donors were at the meeting in Tokyo for East Timor? Can we assume that Portugal was the largest donor?
Spokesman: We'll have to get the breakdown, although I'm not sure we have it by country. I have the breakdown by category that you can get in my office. We'll have to the number of donors; I think it's about 90.
Question: Has the United Nations policy on UNFICYP changed independently of the addendum?
Spokesman: My statement made it clear that there was no change of United Nations policy; the Secretary-General was just reporting, without comment.
Alright. Shirley.
Briefing by the Spokeswoman for General Assembly President
Good afternoon.
The President of the General Assembly, Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, will announce today that the session will recess on Wednesday, 22 December.
The Assemblys debate on Security Council reform, which began yesterday, will continue on Monday, with some 44 speakers still to be heard.
This morning, the Assembly is taking action on 12 reports of the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), documents A/54/595-606, relating to social, human rights and refugee issues. The reports contain 70 draft resolutions and seven draft decisions. Recorded votes are expected on 15 texts.
In the afternoon, the Assembly will take action on draft resolutions on the following plenary items: the situation in Afghanistan; the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel; emergency assistance to the Sudan; return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin; assistance in mine action; the question of East Timor; and observer status for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in the General Assembly. The Assembly will consider the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti, while deferring to next year the question of the Comorian Island of Mayotte.
Daily Press Briefing- 8 -17 December 1999
Concerning Afghanistan, the Assembly will take action on two draft resolutions contained in draft resolution A/54/L.58, which Germany had introduced on 10 December. By adopting 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; reiterate its position that the United Nations must continue to play its central and impartial role in international efforts towards peaceful resolution of the Afghan conflict; and support the intention of the Secretary- General to strengthen the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan by appointing a new Head of Mission, by progressively moving its head office to Kabul from Islamabad and by increasing its presence in neighbouring countries. The Assembly would also 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. The Fifth Committee informed the Assembly that the adoption of draft resolution A would cost $3,407,600 (A/54/671).
By adopting 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; call upon the leaders of all Afghan parties to place the highest priority on national reconciliation; demand that all Afghan parties fully cooperate with the United Nations and other agencies and humanitarian organizations in their efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan; and 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.
On the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel (A/54/L.70), the Assembly would request the Secretary- General to take the necessary measures to ensure full respect for the human rights, privileges and immunities of United Nations and other personnel carrying out activities in fulfilment of the mandate of a United Nations operation. It would also call upon all States to consider signing and ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Concerning emergency assistance to the Sudan (A/54/L.72/Rev.1), the Assembly would stress the need for Operation Lifeline Sudan to be operated and managed with efficiency, transparency and effectiveness; stress the imperative of ensuring the safety and security of humanitarian personnel, as well as safe and unhindered access for providing relief assistance to all affected populations; and welcome the decision by the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army to extend the humanitarian ceasefire for a further three months.
The text on the return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin (A/54/L.47/Rev.1) would have the Assembly commend the work accomplished by UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation for the return or restitution of cultural property, the preparation of inventories or movable cultural property, the
Daily Press Briefing- 9 -17 December 1999
reduction of illicit trade in cultural property and the dissemination of information to the public. It would commend UNESCOs efforts to encourage the linking of existing databases and identification systems to allow for electronic transmission of information in order to reduce illicit trafficking of cultural property.
Concerning assistance in mine action (A/54/L.71), the Assembly would urge Member States to assist mine-affected countries in establishing and developing national capacities in mine clearance, mine awareness and victim assistance; emphasize the role of the United Nations Mine Action Service as the focal point for mine action within the United Nations system; and would call upon Member States with the capacity to do so, to provide the necessary information and technical and material assistance, and to locate, remove, destroy or otherwise render ineffective minefields, mines, booby-traps and other devices in accordance with international law, as soon as possible.
On the question of East Timor, the Assembly will take action on draft resolution A/54/L.73, sponsored by Indonesia and Portugal. By that text, the Assembly would welcome the successful conduct of the popular consultation of the East Timorese people on 30 August 1999; take note of its outcome, which began a process of transition under the authority of the United Nations towards independence; and welcome the decision of the Indonesian Peoples Consultative Assembly on 19 October concerning East Timor. The Assembly would decide to conclude its consideration of the item entitled Question of East Timor and would, henceforth, include a new agenda item entitled The situation in East Timor during its transition to independence.
The Assembly has before it the progress report of the Secretary-General on East Timor (A/54/654), which describes events relating to the Territory from the time of the negotiations which led to the 5 May 1999 Agreements, to the establishment of the United Nations Mission in East Timor, the consultation process and ensuing violence, the establishment of a multinational force and, subsequently, of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.
By adopting a draft resolution on observer status in the General Assembly for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (A/54/L.7/Rev.2), the Assembly would, in inviting the organization to participate in its sessions and work, also decide that, in the future, any request by an organization for observer status would be considered in plenary only after the issue had been dealt with by the Sixth Committee.
The Assembly will also consider the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti. The draft resolution before it (A/54/L.36) would have the Assembly decide, at the request of the President of Haiti, to establish the International Civilian Support Mission in Haiti to consolidate the results achieved by the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH), the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH) and previous United Nations missions; and that the initial mandate would begin at the end of MICIVIH and continue until 6 February 2001. The Assembly would authorize the Secretary- General to utilize the amounts allocated in the regular budget for
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MICIVIH for activities undertaken by the new mission. The Fifth Committee has informed the Assembly that its adoption of L.36 would cost $10,353,200 -- $9,173,100 for MICAH and $1,180,100 for MICIVIH (A/54/665). In its related report (A/54/659), the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions pointed out that the total estimated resource requirements for the mission might not be sufficient to cover all the potential requirements identified in the report of the needs assessment mission to Haiti.
The Secretary-General says in his report (A/54/625) that he dispatched a needs assessment mission, which visited Haiti from 11 to 15 October 1999, to make recommendations for a possible successor mission. The mission proposed recommendations involving a dual programme of political support and technical assistance in the justice, human rights and police sectors, at a cost of $24 million (A/54/629).
By the end of today, the General Assembly will have dealt with all plenary items. There were no requests that certain items be taken up, and so they were not considered. These were items 59 to 61 and 170 -- strengthening of the United Nations system; revitalization of the work of the General Assembly; restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields; and armed aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Action on the draft resolution containing a Code of Democratic Conduct (A/54/L.23) was postponed, and other items were deferred to the next session.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) is taking action, this morning, on draft texts dealing with the report of the Committee on Programme Coordination, amendments to the Staff Regulations to make them gender neutral, financing of the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the United Nations common system.
Looking ahead to next week, the debate on Security Council reform will continue in the Assembly on Monday. It is expected to take action on the reports of the Second and Fifth Committees on Wednesday, before recessing the session.
As to the appointments of the President, he is presiding over the plenary meeting. At 12:45 p.m., he will join the Secretary-General, on the thirty-eighth floor, for a coupe de champagne, and will be presented with a bound volume of his notes used during the session, and a gavel. Thank you.
Spokesman: Are there any questions for Shirley?
**Question and Answer:
Question: What is happening concerning a proposal for there to be co-chairmanship of the Millennium Assembly/Summit?
Answer: Earlier this week, on 14 December, the Assembly held open-ended informal consultations on the Millennium Assembly, at which many delegations stated their positions. The question of co-chairmanship was one of many proposals made. At the end of the meeting, the President announced that consultations regarding preparations for the Assembly/Summit would continue.