DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000127The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by John Mills, Acting Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
** Secretary-General's Programme
The Secretary-General arrived in Moscow this morning for two days of talks with Russian leaders, including his first encounter with the acting Russian President, Vladimir Putin. This afternoon, he met with Gennady Seleznyov, who a week ago was reelected as speaker of the newly elected State Duma, or Lower House of Parliament. Their discussion focused almost exclusively on Chechnya. The Speaker described the security situation in the territory and the Government's efforts to care for the refugees and eventually resettle them. The Secretary-General said that the international community was against terrorism, but also wanted to see the protection of innocent civilians in conflict situations. He expressed his alarm at the toll the conflict had taken among the civilian populations.
The Secretary-General then met with Egor Stroyev, the President of the Federation Council, or Upper House. They talked about Russia's relations with international organizations and the situation in Kosovo, but again most of their time was spent talking about Chechnya. The Council President said he was confident the fighting would be over soon. Elections in Chechnya had been set for 26 March, he said, and it was hoped that everything would be resolved by then.
At a press encounter afterwards, the Secretary-General said that he wanted to see the end of the conflict as soon as possible, so that the civilians could get on with their lives. But in the meantime, he said, "we should do everything we can to protect and ensure their rights".
This evening the Secretary-General is having a private dinner with Yevgeny Primakov, the former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
** Security Council
You might be aware by now that, at the request of the Presidency of the Security Council, the Council has postponed its consultations scheduled for today until tomorrow morning, at 10 o'clock.
There are still several items on the Council's agenda before it finishes its work for this month. In particular, the mandates of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), both of which are set to expire at the end of this month. The Secretary-General has recommended, in both cases, a six-month extension, until 31 July.
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The Council is also expected tomorrow to take up the request by Tuvalu -- a small Pacific Island chain -- to be admitted as a Member State of the United Nations.
** Statements Attributable to Spokesman
There were two statements issued yesterday afternoon, both attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
In the first, the Secretary-General welcomed the official announcement by the authorities in Côte d'Ivoire of a programme to return the country to constitutional rule by 31 October. The United Nations is ready to extend electoral assistance to Côte d'Ivoire, aimed at ensuring a credible and transparent process.
There was a second statement regarding the mission this month to Colombia of the Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Jan Egeland, of Norway.
A statement this morning, also attributable to the Spokesman, concerns the elections completed this month in Guinea-Bissau. The Secretary-General says the successful completion of the elections and the imminent swearing-in of the President-elect, Mr. Kumba Yala, brings to a close the transitional government established by the Economic Community of West African States' Abuja Peace Accord and also ushers in a new democratic and peaceful political future for the country. The full text of the statement is available, of course, in the Spokesman's Office.
** International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha today sentenced Alfred Musema, a former Rwandan businessman, to life in prison. He was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, specifically extermination and rape. He is the first person sentenced by the Tribunal who was not a member of the Government or the military. He was the director of a tea factory in Kibuye, in the west of Rwanda, and took part in several attacks against Tutsis in 1994. In one attack on a group of 300-400 Tutsis seeking refuge in a cave, he ordered that the entrance of the cave be sealed with wood and set on fire. Only one person survived the attack.
You will find more details on the judgement in a available in room 378. And we also have the notes of the briefing given by the Tribunal Spokesperson.
** International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia
The new President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Claude Jorda, gave his first press conference today in The Hague. In his introductory statement he expressed his worry over the length of the trials being conducted by the Tribunal and vowed to draw maximum advantage from the report of the group of experts on the Tribunals, which was published last Tuesday. He outlined his approach for more expeditious trials and a more efficient management of the caseload.
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There is a , also available in room 378, on that.
** Launch of Global Compact Web Site
Tomorrow, the Secretary-General's effort to launch a Global Compact between the United Nations, business and civil society will move into cyberspace with the launching of a new Global Compact Web site.
The site, called, predictably, >, will be inaugurated at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, at around 5:45 p.m. local time. That's 11:45 a.m. here. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, the International Labour Organization's Director-General, Juan Somavia, and the United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director, Klaus Toepfer, will attend that event.
We are hoping to have here, at the briefing, Georg Kell, a Senior Officer in the Secretary-General's Office, to talk about this new Web site and we are trying to have a demonstration of it so you can see what it looks like.
** Kosovo
Documents out today include the monthly report to the United Nations on the Kosovo Force, which is sent to the Security Council by the Secretary- General. It covers the operations of the international security presence in Kosovo during the period 24 November to 14 December. It says there has been no significant change in the security situation in Kosovo since the last report, but notes that ethnically motivated violence remains a major cause for concern, with continued tension in areas such as Mitrovica, Gnjilane and Orajovac.
** New ECOSOC Session Begins
At 11 o'clock this morning in the Chamber of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the ECOSOC opened its session for 2000 with a ceremonial hand over by its outgoing President, former Ambassador Francesco Paolo Fulci of Italy, to its new President, Ambassador Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia.
The Council then moved to elect its bureau for this 2000 session. The first full session will be next Tuesday, on 1 February.
** Press Releases
We have a press release from the NetAid Foundation on its first donation of $1.7 million for poverty reduction projects in Africa and Kosovo.
You'll recall that the organization, set up by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with Cisco Systems (an Internet- related company) sponsored the NetAid concert last October. So far, NetAid has received donations of $12 million.
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The World Food Programme told us today that it has approved a $2.7 million emergency operation to feed some 100,000 people affected by the current drought in Djibouti.
And we have from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) a release welcoming the retrieval in the Sudan of 75 people, including 54 children, many of whom had been abducted from Northern Uganda by the Lord's Resistance Army.
** UNICEF East Timor Briefing
Still on UNICEF, tomorrow at 12:30 we are pleased to have here Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of UNICEF, who will discuss with you her recent visit to East Timor.
And that is all we have today.
** Questions and Answers
Question: Who is accompanying the Secretary-General on his mission to Moscow?
Acting Deputy Spokesman: There is a small list of people. As Fred explained yesterday, there is one group for Moscow and another for Geneva. If you come to the office we can show you the list of who is on each part of the trip.
Question: What was the reason for the postponement of the meeting of the Security Council?
Acting Deputy Spokesman: I understand from the American Presidency that today the President of the Security Council, Ambassador Holbrooke, is having meetings with African leaders who are still in New York after the meetings earlier this week. That is the reason that we have been given for the postponement until tomorrow of the consultations on those peacekeeping missions.
Question: Which African leaders are still in New York?
Acting Deputy Spokesman: I haven't been able to clarify that with the United States Mission this morning. There are no events for them scheduled here at Headquarters.
Question: On NetAid, you said they got $12 million in contributions, but they gave the United Nations $1.7 million? What happened to the rest?
Acting Deputy Spokesman: This was a project between UNDP and Cisco Systems, which held the event that raised $12 million. The $1.7 million is a first donation from that $12 million. The detail of the recipients is in the press release. There is a list of the organizations that have received grants. Money has gone to Kosovo, to non-governmental organizations throughout Africa, for environmental development and for famine relief, among other projects.
Thank you.
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