PRESS BRIEFING BY DIRECTOR OF MANAGEMENT POLICY ON UN Y2K READINESS

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY DIRECTOR OF MANAGEMENT POLICY ON UN Y2K READINESS

The Headquarters building would be closed from 1 p.m. on 31 December until 4 January to allow testing and servicing of Year 2000 (Y2K)-related contingency plans, correspondents were told this afternoon.

Responding to a question about his press briefing on United Nations Y2K readiness, Bertrand Juppin de Fondaumiere, Director of Management Policy in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, said the building would reopen before 4 January should the Y2K management team determine that the closure status could be lifted earlier.

At that point, Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said journalists would not be prohibited from entering the building over the New Year weekend. However, correspondents were strongly advised to leave early on New Year's Eve, take a few days off and come to Headquarters only if absolutely necessary.

Mr. Juppin de Fondaumiere said that a key element of the Organization's Y2K strategy was the identification of its mission-critical activities, among them the Security Council's ability to conduct its business. They also included the Secretary-General's ability to maintain telecommunication links with heads of State, governments and offices away from Headquarters, the ability to provide safety and security to staff and the ability to carry out financial transactions.

He said contingency plans had been developed because while the United Nations was confident about its internal systems, it could not control its external environment. Two contingency plans were in place. Throughout the rollover period, a designated staff contingent would remain on 24-hour duty to collect and analyze information and to provide personnel in the field with guidance as required. With respect to public information, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs would maintain and update -- on its Web site (http://www.notes.reliefweb.int/) -- information on humanitarian emergencies throughout the world.

He said it was likely that there would be Y2K-related problems in the early months of the year 2000. To cope with those, an International Y2K Centre had been set up in Washington with World Bank assistance. Its main objective was to coordinate requests from United Nations Member States seeking remedial action, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other agencies.

Asked how much the Y2K operation would cost, Mr. Juppin de Fondaumiere said there was no special budget. Everything being done

Y2K Briefing - 2 - 17 December 1999

involved people working over and above their normal duties. All the equipment that had had to be purchased had been foreseen in the budget or carried out through redeployment of resources. At this stage, it was not possible to give a precise figure of the operation's cost.

What kinds of problems were foreseen early next year? another journalist asked.

Mr. Juppin de Fondaumiere replied that they were the same as those that might be experienced on the night of 31 December/1 January. Computers might malfunction for a few weeks. In the electricity field, problems were not foreseen in the distribution of power itself, but in the billing system. It was considered that the health sector was at particular risk of malfunctions.

In addition, he said, 2000 was a leap year, a fact that not all computer programmers had foreseen. Some computers would not be able to recognize 29 February. On the other hand, they had all foreseen serious problems on 9 September 1999, but nothing had happened.

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