DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF 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

**Security Council Notes: Prendergast Briefs on Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict

Good afternoon.

The Security Council began its informal consultations this morning with a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast, on the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. After that briefing, the Council then heard another briefing, this one by the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi, and that was on recent security incidents in Kosovo.

At 12:30 today, the Secretary-General will participate in a farewell to the outgoing members of this year's Council -- the Ambassadors of Bahrain, Brazil, Gabon, Gambia and Slovenia. And he’ll also bid farewell to Ambassador Peter Burleigh of the United States, who is finishing his term as Deputy Permanent Representative.

I’m told that the Security Council adjourned at 12:05 p.m. and they’ve scheduled consultations tomorrow at 10 a.m. to discuss the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in East Timor.

Tomorrow, the Council will hold an open briefing on the situation in East Timor, at which members will be able to speak, and there will also be a briefing by the Secretariat.

[In response to a question asked after the briefing on the Secretariat’s briefing of the Security Council this morning on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Spokesman made the following information available:

Hédi Annabi, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, brought to the Council’s attention today a further deterioration of the military and security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the last briefing last Thursday.

In particular, he flagged reports from the South Kivu area available to the United Nations mission (MONUC) strongly suggesting that the slightest incident could trigger large-scale organized attacks against the civilian population there, notably those of Tutsi origin. He said it was equally feared that, given the level of threat to the Congolese Tutsi community, they themselves could trigger an anti-Tutsi offensive through violent actions against their neighbours. On behalf of the Secretariat, Mr. Annabi urged the Council to call on the parties to the Lusaka Agreement to refrain from initiating or pursuing offensives, and to do everything possible to prevent outbreaks of violence, especially in South Kivu. He said the parties should also refrain from hostile propaganda and bellicose statements and permit access by humanitarian organizations.]

**Secretary-General Welcomes Landmine Destruction in France

We have the following statement on landmines.

The United Nations welcomes the announcement by the Government of France that it has completed the destruction of its stockpiles of anti-personnel mines, in compliance with the Ottawa Convention. The Secretary-General, who is the depositary of signatures and ratifications to the Convention, urges the other States parties to the treaty to do the same.

France joins several other countries that have already destroyed their landmine stocks, among them, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Mali and South Africa. If you want complete information on compliance with the Convention, look up the United Nations Web site, Department of Disarmament Affairs homepage.

**Russia Provides Security to United Nations Agencies in Northern Caucasus

On Chechnya, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that police have been instructed by the Russian authorities to provide security coverage to United Nations agencies working in the Northern Caucasus, which should enable international staff to conduct frequent missions to the border area. The first convoy under the new arrangement will travel to Ingushetia either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

A seventeenth aid convoy from Stavropol, comprising 29 trucks carrying food, winter coats, blankets and mattresses, arrived in Nazran in Ingushetia, this morning.

The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) registered by the Ingush Migration Service is now close to 250,000. The UNHCR reports that, according to Vladimir Kalamanov, head of the Federal Migration Service, more than 50,000 IDPs had returned to Chechnya as of 15 December. Many went back to their areas of origin. He also said that only around 2,000 persons had left Grozny through the humanitarian corridors since they were opened.

Yesterday, 500 persons left Grozny and a third safe passage was opened to a village in northern Chechnya. The UNHCR quoted Mr. Kalamanov as estimating that there are still some 30,000 civilians in Grozny, which continues to be under heavy attack by federal troops.

**WFP to Provide Emergency Aid Following Venezuela Floods

On the floods in Venezuela, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it was launching today an emergency operation for victims of the devastating floods in Venezuela.

The WFP said it will start to delivering food aid this week to some 20,000 people to meet the needs of the most vulnerable victims. Because people in flood-damaged areas have little access to cooking facilities, the WFP said it will distribute ready-to-eat food in the form of high-protein biscuits, one packet of which supplies an adult's daily caloric requirement.

WFP's regional manager for Latin America is quoted in a WFP press release as saying that the floods have badly hit the people living in shantytowns on the outskirts of the cities. "There were hundreds of thousands of them”, he said, “who lived in dilapidated, badly neglected homes. They were already on the edge, and now they have lost everything they owned."

**UNHCR Sees Improvement in West Timor Camps

From East Timor, the UNHCR reports that security in the refugee camps in West Timor is improving. He says that their staff can now move freely around the camps without escort, distributing leaflets and setting up information centres.

The number of refugees repatriated since 8 October is now over 119,500.

**UN Receives Draft Legislation for Trial of Khmer Rouge Members

I can confirm press reports that the Cambodian Government has submitted, as they had promised, their revised draft legislation containing provisions for the trial of members of the Khmer Rouge. Cambodia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ouch Borith, delivered the text to the Office of Legal Affairs yesterday afternoon. We are now studying the new draft.

**Secretary-General Praises Progress of Rule of Law in Bosnia

In his latest report to the Security Council on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is out on the racks today, the Secretary-General says that the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) has made "steady progress in laying the foundations" for the establishment of the rule of law.

In particular, he notes the gradual decline in Bosnia's national crime rate and an “increased willingness” by rank-and-file police and judicial officials “to perform their work in a professional manner”. He recommends proposals by the United Nations mission to establish a “targeted and more intrusive concept of operations”, which would include locating International Police Task Force officers with key local police managers and the extensive use of audits.

The Mission currently deploys almost 1,800 international police monitors throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

**Note from Kosovo

Jock Covey, the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary- General in Kosovo, reported that the Interim Administrative Council, formed last week, met today in Pristina and discussed in a “very professional, open and cooperative way" the draft regulation on the structure and some procedural matters. Mr. Covey did not give further details of the discussions. The new structure is expected to become operational on 31 January or before. And here’s a heads-up, the Secretary-General's Report to the Security Council on Kosovo should be out this week.

**Kenya to Host Task Force on Illegal Wildlife Trade

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Government of Kenya have negotiated an agreement to establish Kenya as the headquarters for a task force aimed at combating illegal trade in wild flora and fauna. That announcement was made by UNEP today. Tomorrow in Nairobi, Kenyan Foreign Minister Bonaya Godana, and Adan Dullo, the Director of the Task Force, will sign the host country agreement, and UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer will also attend that signing ceremony.

An agreement adopted in Lusaka, Zambia, by six African countries in 1994 paved the way for the formal launching of a task force to combat illegal trade in flora and fauna -- sometimes called a "regional Interpol" -- earlier this year. We have a press release from UNEP upstairs with more details.

**Payments

Turkmenistan and Haiti have joined the club of Member States that have paid their 1999 dues in full. Turkmenistan paid more than $83,000, while Haiti paid nearly $60,000. They become the 121st and 122nd Member States to be paid in full for this year.

Outstanding contributions to the United Nations are now under the $2 billion level, and these include more than $300 million for the regular budget and more than $1.6 billion for peacekeeping.

**UNICEF Press Conference Scheduled

Finally, a press conference tomorrow, in this room, at 12:30 p.m., Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), will be joined by Nils Kastberg, who is Director of UNICEF’s Emergency Programmes, and they will be discussing the appeal for countries facing a variety of emergencies.

And that’s all I have for you. Any questions, on a sleepy Tuesday? Yes?

**Questions and Answers

Question: You said 122 States are paid in full. How does this compare to last year?

Spokesman: Why don’t we find that out. I’m curious to know myself. So I’ll ask Farhan to get the comparative figure. [The Spokesman later announced that at the end of 1998, 117 Member States had paid in full.]

Question: Also related to that, any news on the hundred million from the United States?

Spokesman: We have received a few payments. They’ve been partial payments, and we haven’t announced them. I believe that the United States is about $8 million short of the amount they would have to pay to avoid losing their vote under Article 19 of the Charter. We’ve been told by Washington that there is another check in the mail and as soon as it arrives, we’ll let you know. In other words, when they get over that threshold, then there is no longer a threat of loss of vote. We’ll announce it. We’re getting down to the wire, as you can tell.

Question: Are you having briefings next week?

Spokesman: No. But we will update you daily on the Internet, so we will do the stories that we normally would do at a briefing. And you can just tap into the homepage and see what the events of the day are.

Question: On Cambodia, the Cambodians have set a Friday deadline. It doesn’t give you a lot of time to study it, particularly with the time difference. Can we expect some kind of a response, perhaps tomorrow?

Spokesman: I don’t think that would be realistic. Two and a half months ago, when they told us they would be submitting this revised text, they said they expected to have it in two weeks. So, all I can say is that we got it, we’re translatting it, we’re studying it. But I really can’t comment on the deadline.

OK, Shirley.

Briefing by Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

There is no plenary meeting today. Yesterday, the General Assembly concluded its debate on Security Council reform.

Tomorrow morning, the Assembly will consider 10 reports of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial). It will also take action on three draft resolutions on plenary items.

One of those drafts deals with assistance to Venezuela following the devastating floods and landslides (A/54/L.76). By adopting that text, the Assembly would express its solidarity, at this difficult time, with the Government and people of Venezuela in their efforts to cope with the serious humanitarian and material consequences of the disaster; would appeal to all Member States, the United Nations system, international financing institutions and non-governmental organizations to respond urgently and provide generous assistance to Venezuela in its relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts and programmes following the unprecedented calamity it has suffered, while expressing its gratitude to all who, with such great generosity, are providing assistance to Venezuela in the initial immediate relief work.

The Assembly would also express deep gratitude to the Secretary-General for the urgent steps he has taken to mobilize emergency humanitarian assistance, and would request him to make all necessary arrangements to continue mobilizing and coordinating humanitarian assistance throughout the United Nations system to support the efforts of the Venezuelan Government.

A second draft, on international cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters (A/54/L.74), would have the Assembly express deep concern at the increasing number and scale of natural disasters resulting in massive losses of life and property worldwide, particularly in vulnerable societies lacking adequate capacity to mitigate effectively long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences of natural disasters. The Assembly would call upon States to adopt, where required, and to continue to effectively implement necessary legislative and other appropriate measures to mitigate the effects of natural disasters; and would stress the need to strengthen efforts at all levels to improve natural-disaster awareness, prevention, preparedness and early warning systems.

A third draft relates to the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/54/L.75). By its provisions, the Assembly would request its President to put into effect the establishment of the open-ended ad hoc working group to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made by the Secretary-General in his report to the Assembly and Security Council on this subject, as well as those made by the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of 1999. The President would also be requested, at the current session, to establish the ad hoc working group, to serve as its ex officio chairman, to designate two vice- chairpersons; and to convene an organizational meeting of the working group not later than March 2000 to decide on modalities and develop arrangements for its effective functioning.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) is scheduled to do, this afternoon, everything I said it would do yesterday afternoon. The Secretariat has informed me that, after the formal meeting, the Committee will go into informals and will work around the clock in the hope of reaching agreement on, and approving, the programme budget for the biennium 2000-2001 and sending it to the Assembly for final action.

Question: When do you expect the budget to be delivered to the General Assembly?

Spokeswoman: After the Committee meets, it will then go into informals. When it reaches agreement on, and approves, the budget, the Assembly can then agree to take action on the Committee documents, rather than waiting for the reports to be translated into the official languages. They have done so in the past. I remember it happening years ago when I covered the Fifth Committee.

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