DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by John Mills, Acting Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary- General:

** Briefings

Good Afternoon. I would like to welcome to the briefing today, Andre Roberfroid, the newly appointed Deputy Executive Director for Programme and Strategic Planning of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Ciro de Quadros, the Director of Vaccines and Immunization at the Pan American World Health Organization (PAHO), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). They will be talking to us shortly about the Children's Challenge, which is a new world initiative, launched in Davos, Switzerland today, to conquer vaccine preventable diseases.

** Secretary-General in Geneva

First, the briefing. In Geneva today, the Secretary-General presided over proximity talks on Cyprus, first with His Excellency Mr. Glafcos Clerides, and then with His Excellency Mr. Rauf Denktash. Each of these meetings began with a one-on-one session followed by a session with the full delegation. The talks are expected to go on for about 10 days, and from tomorrow will be chaired by the Secretary- General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Mr. Alvaro de Soto.

In a stake-out exchange with correspondents, the Secretary-General said the process was likely to be complex and difficult. As with the talks in New York, there will be a blackout on the substance. The Secretary-General declined to give details of his meetings today. He did say there was hope of reaching a comprehensive settlement this year if there was a spirit of give-and-take and the right mood to compromise.

We have the full details of the Secretary-General's programme and also the transcript of that exchange with correspondents.

** East Timor

The report of the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor is out this morning. In it, the five members of the Commission state the evidence they gathered “clearly demonstrates a pattern of serious violations of fundamental rights and humanitarian law”.

These violations included systematic and widespread intimidation, killings and massacre, humiliation and terror, destruction of property, as well as violence against women and displacement of people. The Commission found evidence that, as well as supporting and directing the militias in the violence, there was also direct involvement by members of the Indonesian armed forces, and knowledge and approval by the top military command.

The Commission recommends the establishment of an investigative and prosecutorial body and an international human rights tribunal, including Indonesian and East Timorese judges, which would receive complaints, conduct trials and sentence those found guilty.

In his covering letter transmitting the report, the Secretary- General says the recommendations merit careful consideration. He notes the commitment shown by Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid to fully support the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators through the national judicial process.

The formal response of the Government of Indonesia is also out today, as a document of the United Nations in the form of a letter from the Foreign Minister to the Secretary-General. The Foreign Minister, Mr. Alwi Shihab, rejects the call for an international tribunal and says the Indonesian judicial system is functioning and capable of dispensing justice. He asks that the international community respect the principle in international law of first exhausting national remedies.

In Geneva, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has put out a statement, which is available in the Spokesman's office. In it, she says it is her hope that efforts to hold those responsible for the atrocities in East Timor will go on so that there is no impunity and those responsible are held accountable.

And still on East Timor, there is also available in the Documents Counter, the first of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). It covers the activities of the United Nations in East Timor since the Security Council authorized the Mission last October.

The Secretary-General says the Mission's first three months have seen "strenuous efforts" to set the foundations for an independent East Timor. He notes that 80 per cent of the population currently lacks visible means of support, and that more than 50 per cent is illiterate. He said substantial efforts will be needed to be made to educate and train the population and notes that for the time being, humanitarian agencies are one of the largest employers in East Timor.

We have the briefing notes from Dili, in which there is a report that this week, East Timorese working in the public sector have received their first stipend. The payments of those stipends will gradually spread to other parts of the island as well.

** Security Council

The Security Council began its work a little earlier this morning, with two formal meetings at 9:30 a.m. extending the mandates of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, both of which expired today. The Council extended both missions for six months and issued a presidential statement on Lebanon.

There was then another formal session to wrap up the month-long debate on Africa. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette opened the meeting saying there was no other part of the world in greater need of help, and none with greater potential to reward efforts to help.

Reviewing the Council's actions over the past month, and progress in dealing with Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone, she noted that the Council had shown a greater sense of urgency than ever before on Africa.

But she warned, “Presidencies come and go as the months pass, but Africa, with its deep wounds and its heroic efforts, remains with us month after month. Our commitment to heal those wounds and to support those efforts is worth nothing unless it matches deeds to words -- unless it is strong and, above all, sustained.”

Also speaking this morning were President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia, South Africa's Foreign Minister Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma, and Namibian Foreign Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab.

Today's meetings end, of course, the presidency of the United States in the Security Council. Starting tomorrow, Argentina's Ambassador, Arnaldo Manuel Listre, will take over as President.

** Afghanistan

This week, Francesc Vendrell, the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, will begin his first trip to the region, in which he hopes to visit officials of the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, as well as the governments of most of the neighbouring countries.

His trip begins this Thursday, when he arrives in Islamabad, Pakistan, and then in the following two weeks, he plans to visit Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation before returning to New York. He is describing this as an initial listening tour. He will be based in Islamabad.

Prior to beginning his trip to the region, Mr.Vendrell was in Colombo, Sri Lanka yesterday, where he delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General at an event to remember Neelan Thiruchelvam, a Sri Lankan politician, lawyer and human rights activist who was murdered last year. We have a transcript of the Secretary-General's message.

** Angola

We have been informed by our mission in Angola that the Angolan National Assembly approved the Status of Mission Agreement with the United Nations. We do not have other details, but you might remember that in his letter to the Angolan Government last August, the Secretary- General did ask for such an agreement to be negotiated to establish a United Nations office in Angola, which would be staffed with the personnel necessary to liaise with the political, military, police and other civilian authorities with a view to exploring effective measures for restoring peace.

** UNESCO Launching Women Make the News Day

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is announcing in Paris today, an operation designed to make sure that, on International Women's Day -– that is, 8 March -- all of you will be under the editorial command of a woman or women for that one day. UNESCO is designating 8 March, as the day that “women make the news,” and is encouraging the media worldwide to ensure that women journalists have editorial charge and control over the news for that day. UNESCO's Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, in his appeal today, said the initiative intends to draw attention to the “glass ceiling” that women journalists still face, and to push for equal opportunity for all journalists.

Supporting the initiative, the Secretary-General sent a message saying that there is not a single issue in the news that is not also a women's issue, and that women should cover all issues “with equal strength and in equal numbers”. We have both the Secretary-General' s message and the UNESCO press release available.

** Deputy Secretary-General

We also have the Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette's comments today to mark the opening of the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests.

** Kosovo

We have from Kosovo, the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) announcing the appointment of mid-level leaders in the Kosovo Protection Corps.

** Payments

Six more countries have made their full payment to the United Nations regular budget for the year -- Bahrain, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Guatemala, Luxembourg, Monaco and Samoa make up the 42 countries with those previously announced which have made their payments in full. Bahrain paid $179,000 approximately; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a payment of around $158,000; Guatemala, around $189,000; Luxembourg, $715,000; Monaco, $42,000 and Samoa, just over $10,000 dollars.

Today is the deadline for countries to meet their Charter obligation by making their payment in full to the UN regular budget. Unless we receive any more payments between now and midnight, the honour roll will stand at 42 countries, which is not many, but an improvement on last year, where at this stage the honour roll had just 32 countries.

** Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

At 10 a.m. this morning in the UN Treaty Room, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia became the eleventh country to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The Convention was opened for signature on January 10, and will enter into force after it has been ratified by 22 countries. So we are half way there.

** Indonesia

Tomorrow, immediately following the noon briefing, Ambassador Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia, the new President of the Economic and Social Council will be holding a press conference here in Room 226 to discuss his vision for the upcoming session of the Council.

** Questions and Answers

Question: What is the next step after the investigative report on East Timor? Is the Secretary-General going to recommend further investigation of the Tribunal?

Acting Deputy Spokesman: The Secretary-General sent this report to the Presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly, and the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, which at its special session asked for this commission of inquiry. He said simply that it merits careful consideration. In his covering letter, he also spoke about pursuing investigation of what did happen through strengthening the capacity of United Nations personnel on the ground in East Timor to do that and strengthening cooperation with Indonesian mechanisms. What seems to be clear from the Secretary-General's covering letter, is that, as the Indonesian Foreign Minister is suggesting, we should first see what is going to be done with this report, both by the intergovernmental bodies with which the Secretariat cooperates, and also at the national level by the Government of Indonesia.

So the ball at the moment is in two courts if you like – it is in the courts in this building in front of the intergovernmental bodies, the Council, the Assembly and the Commission. And it is also there for the Indonesian Government to consider, as well. As you know, Indonesia's own national human rights commission has come out today with a report of its own investigation of what happened in East Timor.

Question: Has the Secretary-General had any indication of Council resistance to a tribunal in this case considering what has happened with Cambodia?

Acting Deputy Spokesman: I did not know that there was Council resistance. The United Nations has an engagement on the issue of Cambodia to get a process there, which does meet international norms. Normally, the issue is whether the national processes are capable and willing. What Indonesia's Foreign Minister has said in his letter to the Secretary-General today, is that the national judicial processes are functioning. And as the Secretary-General notes in his letter, there are assurances from the Indonesian Government that they will pursue those who are responsible, within the national system.

Question: The transition between INTERFET and the UNTAET military side is getting underway, either overnight or tomorrow. Can you just explain how that is going to happen?

Acting Deputy Spokesman: I cannot explain in detail how that is going to happen. We can give you a detailed report tomorrow. Those who are interested should come and see me this afternoon. I should also mention in the context of East Timor, the Transitional Administrator, Sergio Vieira De Mello, will speak to the Council on Thursday. We will be trying to get him into this room to talk to you at some point.

Question: Do you know if the Secretary-General was satisfied with the answer that he received from the Russian Authorities in reference to Chechnya?

Acting Deputy Spokesman: I do not know if satisfied is the word. The Secretary-General came out of his meeting on Friday 28 January, saying that he felt his message had been understood.

Question: But when we read the report, the Russians have a different version of the situation.

Acting Deputy Spokesman: I do not think there is any hiding the fact that the Secretary-General's views are not exactly the views of the Russian Government and that there is a gap between them. The Secretary- General put his views strongly -- that while terrorism cannot be accepted, there was a concern about the need for the response to it to be proportional and for the rights of civilians in Chechnya to be protected. And he urged that within the understandings set out in that idea -- the need to protect the rights of civilians –- the war should brought to an end. As we said on Friday, the Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister came out and said that this point of view was academic and argued for a military solution, which was clearly contrary to what the Secretary-General was arguing. So there is gap. I cannot say that the Secretary-General is happy or unhappy. I think it is one of those occasions where you put forward your point of view and it is heard or understood. Whether or not it is accepted and you get any satisfaction is a separate question.

Question: Does the Secretary-General intend to bring some sort of result to the Security Council or is this then end of it?

Acting Deputy Spokesman: I have not had any indication of that, one way or the other.

Question: Has the United Nations group of oil experts in Iraq finished its work?

Acting Deputy Spokesman: They left Baghdad this morning and will be reaching Amman probably around now. Their report will be available around the end of February or early March. Question: The Deputy Secretary-General said to the Council, and I quote, “for my part, on behalf of the Secretariat, I pledge that we will do everything possible to sustain the momentum that this month of Africa has generated.” Do you know how she proposes to do that?

Acting Deputy Spokesman: The Council's agenda for Africa this month was very broad. What is the focus of immediate activity is the deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of Phase II of the operation there, which would involve 5,000 troops with 500 observers. You have seen the Secretary-General's report setting out the concept of operations. I just told you that in Angola, we have made some progress, even had a small breakthrough, in terms of establishing a mission there. It is not a peacekeeping mission, but it maintains a United Nations presence to work at various levels to find, explore, develop, and foster opportunities for improving the situation and bringing peace to that country.

In Sierra Leone, the United Nations is working to expand its peacekeeping presence. It has a human rights component, it is working with the Government on a number of fronts, moving the peacekeeping operation to various parts of the country, trying to keep the situation calm and avoid any backsliding. On a number of fronts and in a number of troubled areas of Africa, United Nations efforts are continuing. As indicated in the Deputy Secretary-General's statement, it is obviously helpful that the Council has focused in this very constructive and intense way on Africa's needs.

* *** *