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:

Good afternoon.

**Guest at Noon Briefing

I hope you didn’t all show up for Eric de Mul [United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan] because he, unfortunately, was called to an important meeting and will not be able to join me at the briefing as we had announced.

We do, however, have -- or will have shortly -- Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. He will be here to talk to you about discussions that were completed just minutes ago in Geneva concerning the minimum age for children in the armed forces.

**Secretary-General Meeting with US Senate Committee

The Secretary-General met this morning for almost an hour with members of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including its Chairman, Senator Jesse Helms, and its ranking Democrat, Senator Joseph Biden. Also present was the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator John Warner.

They discussed resource shortages in Kosovo, during which the Secretary- General commented, "You can't build a nation by passing the hat." They also discussed peace efforts in Bosnia and the search for an Executive Chairman of the new Iraq commission.

A good part of the opening session was filmed by a press pool, and you will see from the footage that it was not only a cordial meeting, it was downright convivial.

The Secretary-General will join the lunch hosted by United States Ambassador Richard Holbrooke for members of the Committee, members of the Security Council and others.

**East Timor

In East Timor today, United Nations Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello travelled to the western enclave of Oecussi, also called Ambeno. During that trip, he visited Bobometo, the site of recent militia incursions, and met with United Nations military observers in Passebe.

Mr. de Mello said at a press conference after his return from Oecussi that the enclave was still suffering from the destruction that occurred there last September. He said that the recent militia incursions involved between 150 and 200 people and were "a serious nuisance". Mr. de Mello added that he had asked for additional measures to be taken to deal with the militia in that area. By the end of February, some 700 Jordanian troops are to be deployed in the Oecussi enclave. Today, a Jordanian advance party of more than 70 soldiers landed in Dili and headed directly to Oecussi; a second contingent of Jordanians is expected to arrive there in two weeks.

In other East Timor news, the first trial of East Timor's customs and immigration system at the Dili airport went smoothly yesterday, as five East Timorese border control officers checked passports and baggage. The officers will officially start regular customs and immigration checks on 29 January.

Also, East Timor has won the approval of its own international country code from the International Telecommunications Union. If you want to call East Timor, its new code will be 670. Of course, it will take some more time before that code is operational.

**Security Council

There is no meeting of the Security Council today. However, on Monday, the Council will begin a week of meetings on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Secretary-General will participate in the opening meeting at least. You already have his report on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The list of speakers is still being worked out, and it looks long. It will include heads of State, foreign ministers and a number of States which are not members of the Security Council, as well as the 15 members of the Council.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kamel Morjane, will be at Headquarters for next week’s discussion. We plan to invite him to the noon briefing.

**Secretary-General’s Report on UNIFIL

The mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will expire at the end of this month. In his report on the activities of the Force over the past six months -- which is out on the racks today -- the Secretary-General details developments in UNIFIL’s area of operations, and its efforts to limit conflict and protect inhabitants. The Secretary-General warns that the situation in the area remains volatile, although the level of hostility has somewhat reduced, with a decrease in the number of civilian casualties. The Secretary-General urges the parties to continue to exercise restraint and respect the non-combatant status of civilians.

Once again, the Secretary-General draws attention to the serious shortfall in the funding of the Force. Unpaid assessments currently amount to over $100 million.

Noting the importance of UNIFIL's contribution to stability and protection of civilians, the Secretary-General recommends extending the mission's mandate to 31 July.

**Somalia

The Secretary-General has decided to send David Stephen, his Representative for Somalia, to Djibouti for two months. Mr. Stephen will advise on the organization of the reconciliation conference, which is at the centre of the peace initiative for Somalia, announced at the General Assembly last September by Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh. The Secretary-General says the establishment of a central authority based on wide consultations and agreement will be the only way to reach a lasting settlement to the conflict in Somalia.

The text of the statement, attributable to the Spokesman [for the Secretary- General], is available in my Office.

**Chechnya

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today that the flow of people from Chechnya to Ingushetia increased substantially on Thursday as a fierce battle between Russian troops and Chechen rebels raged in and around Grozny.

By 2 p.m., an estimated 2,300 people had crossed -- the highest daily figure in many weeks. It was not immediately clear whether the group includes residents of Grozny or other areas in Chechnya.

Estimates of the number of displaced Chechens now in Ingushetia range up to 180,000.

The UNHCR also expressed concern over the total lack of an international humanitarian and monitoring presence inside Chechnya, which it said makes it virtually impossible to assess the number of civilians remaining in Grozny. The city has become an active battlefield. According to various rough estimates, up to 20,000 civilians remain inside the city. Most civilians are believed to have been hiding in cellars for weeks, without electricity or adequate food or water.

If you want more details, see the UNHCR briefing note.

**Afghanistan

The news from Afghanistan.

You often hear of a convoy of United Nations trucks delivering aid to displaced people, but in Afghanistan in recent days, we wound up using donkeys as our means of transport.

Thanks to a convoy of 1,500 donkeys, the Office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan was able to announce today the successful completion of aid delivery to displaced civilians in the Afghan district of Darra Souf.

That district had been the scene of heavy fighting last year between the Taliban and its opponents, and the United Nations had identified 2,000 families there who need the most assistance. However, the tricky terrain in that area prevented 36 trucks carrying aid from getting to Darra Souf.

Instead, the United Nations Office received help from nearby villages, which donated donkeys to carry the aid. Villagers worked day and night for one month to move the aid across the snow-covered passes of Darra Souf.

Today, we can say that the tents, tarps, blankets and other non-food items needed by those 2,000 families have been delivered.

**Kosovo

In Kosovo today, 44 top leaders of the Kosovo Protection Corps were sworn in at a ceremony in Pristina. They took a pledge of honour, committing themselves to serve Kosovo as a civilian emergency response agency. These leaders will be tasked immediately with a risk assessment survey of the province. The remainder of the Corps will be selected in coming weeks.

We have a background note on the Corps, remarks by the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner, and the Oath of Office.

Also in Pristina today, the United Nations Mission announced the Kosovo budget for the year 2000, totalling 562 million deutsche marks.

See the briefing note, if you’re interested.

Also that briefing note begins with the announcement of the death Wednesday night of the UNHCR Chief of Mission in Kosovo, David Riley, a United States citizen who appeared to have died in his sleep in his apartment in Pristina.

**Budget Matters

We have three more payments to the UN regular budget today. Malaysia, New Zealand and Sweden became, respectively, the twenty-second, twenty-third and twenty- fourth Member States to pay their dues in full for the year 2000. Malaysia’s payment was about $1.9 million, New Zealand’s about $2.3 million and Sweden’s $11.3 million.

This is just a reminder to Member States that they have up until next week, on the 29th of January, to meet their Charter obligations by making their full assessed payment to the United Nations regular budget. After that date, anyone who hasn’t paid, falls into arrears. On 29 December, a letter of assessment was issued to Member States indicating the amount of money they had to pay for the year 2000. And those who don’t make that payment within the 30 days are delinquent.

**Press Releases

We have several press releases available upstairs.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urges increased research in the use of starches.

From the World Health Organization (WHO), there is an announcement of the opening of this year's Executive Board meeting on Monday.

And from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a release summarizing the results of an educational review conference for Asian and Pacific countries, which ended recently in Bangkok, Thailand.

**The Week Ahead

We also have The Week Ahead feature, of which I’ll give you just a few of the highlights…

On Monday, 24 January, at 3 p.m., the Secretary-General will meet with the President and Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Commerce to discuss the business contribution, that is, the contribution of the business community, to the Millennium Assembly.

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General is expected to meet with Javier Solana, who is now the Secretary-General of the European Union Council and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, at 3:30 p.m. After that meeting, Mr. Solana will talk to you at the stakeout.

On Wednesday, the Secretary-General will leave for Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet with Acting President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials. Moscow is the first stop on a week-long trip, which will also take him to Geneva, where he will chair the opening meeting of the next round of the Cyprus talks on Monday, 31 January.

The Security Council, on Wednesday, has scheduled consultations on the United Nations Missions in Lebanon and Georgia.

Then on Thursday, the Council has scheduled consultations on Iraq.

[Also on Thursday].In Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda will render its judgement in the case of Alfred Musema, who is charged with nine counts of genocide-related crimes, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

**Foreign Relations Committee at Stakeout

I have one last note here for you -- the Senators of the United States Foreign Relations Committee who are here and Ambassador Holbrooke, apparently, will talk to you at the stakeout, after the lunch that I mentioned, at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Are there any questions before we go to Olara Otunnu?

**Questions and Answers

Question: Two questions; one on the meeting with the Senators, the other on Iraq. What was the gist of the discussion on Iraq, on the Executive Chairman?

Answer: I can’t go into any further detail.

Question: On Monday, or at any time during the week, is the Council anticipating dealing with the resolution based on the Secretary-General’s last report?

Answer: I don’t know. I’d have to check with John on that.

Question: On the [Democratic Republic of the] Congo meeting, is President Kabila still supposed to come?

Answer: That’s the big question. The latest we heard was “yes”. But it’s anybody’s guess.

Question: Does the Secretary-General have any response to the speech by Senator Helms yesterday? Answer: You’ll get the sense of his reaction to the Senator’s visit, I think, if you watch the footage of the meeting this morning. Essentially, he feels it is a positive step to open this dialogue. He feels we have turned the corner in the relationship between the United States and the United Nations. For the rest, watch the videotape.

Question: Besides President Kabila, do we know who is representing each of the other Lusaka parties?

Answer: We don’t have a list yet. We’ll try to get some information from Ambassador Holbrooke. But as of now, we don’t have a list.

Question: Has Secretary of State Albright confirmed for Monday?

Answer: I don’t know that either. We’ll have to ask the Americans.

Question: In terms of the speakers’ list still being worked on, is there any indication whether the leaders from the region will be speaking after the Secretary- General and before the Council members or vice versa?

Answer: I understand they will be speaking, but what the speaking order is -- I don’t know.

Question: It’s been a couple of days, is there any response to the Fowler report about UNITA downing the two United Nations cargo planes?

Answer: No. We had asked the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal to conduct a thorough investigation of those two crashes. Their investigation is near completion, but not yet complete. We forwarded to ICAO in Montreal the videotapes that you saw here that were shown to the Council, so that they could factor that into their investigation. By the way, when they do submit their findings to us, I don’t think we make those things public as a matter of course.

Question: There was a press report -- I think, last week -- that some Chechen official was trying to meet with American officials. Was there any movement made in that direction towards the Secretary-General since he is going to meet with Prime Minister/President Putin in Moscow?

Answer: To my knowledge, we were not approached by anyone from Chechnya to request a meeting. And had we been approached, we would not agree to meet with them in anything, but a private capacity. I realize there is one official here who has designated himself the “Foreign Minister” of Chechnya. We would not meet with the “Foreign Minister” of Chechnya -- in quotes -- as Chechnya is not a Member State.

Question: Did he try to meet with the Secretary-General?

Answer: I thought I answered that question. I said -- To my knowledge, we have had no request for a meeting from anyone from Chechnya.

Olara, welcome to the briefing. There have been some recent developments -- in the last minutes, I guess -- in Geneva. What happened?

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