DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY GENERAL
20000204The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Briefings
Welcome. There is a full house. Will Mr. Rahman come up? Khalilur Rahman is the Chief of the New York Office of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Tenth annual meeting of UNCTAD is taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, a bit later this month. The Secretary-General will be attending that meeting, so we have asked Mr. Rahman to brief you and we will come to that in just a minute if you do not mind.
**Kosovo
There has been an appalling rise in ethnic violence in Kosovo. Less than two days after the rocket attack on the UNHCR bus, which killed two Serb civilians, Mitrovica experienced an extremely violent night last night and remains tense.
Information from the scene is still sketchy, but according to preliminary information from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), at least six people have been killed and another 20 injured.
It appears that grenades were thrown in a cafe frequented by Serbs in northern Mitrovica, injuring an unconfirmed number of patrons. Two hours earlier, an elderly couple was shot and killed. A crowd then went on a rampage, breaking into Albanian homes in northern Mitrovica, which is predominantly Serb. Two Albanians were killed in that violence. One officer of UNMIK witnessed the murder of his landlady. Large crowds gathered on both sides of the river dividing the city.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that explosives ripped off the doors on the homes of ethnic Albanians living in predominantly Serb northern Mitrovica overnight and the residents were told to leave the area. The High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, expressed alarm over the violence that has resulted in new expulsions of ethnic Albanians. KFOR has taken control of the situation, and imposed an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
UNMIK condemned the vicious outbreak of violence and announced that the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner, is cutting short his visit to Japan to return to Kosovo.
You can see the briefing notes from UNHCR and the Mission in Pristina for more details.
**United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the decision taken in Senegal yesterday to indict Hissen Habré, former President of Chad, on charges of torture.
She said, "The message sent by the decision in Dakar is clear: Those who commit, order or tolerate torture and other gross human rights violations can no
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 4 February 2000
longer be sure of a peaceful retirement. The decision is further confirmation that torture is an international crime subject to universal jurisdiction.
She continued: "Survivors of human rights abuses the world over can take heart in knowing that impunity for torture and other human rights violations is no longer the norm, even when those accused are the highest representatives of the State.
**Security Council
There is no meeting of the Security Council today, but Council members will have their monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General today.
On the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just to recap, the Security Council met in consultations yesterday afternoon and heard a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi on the Secretary-General's most recent report on the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Council members discussed the report for nearly three hours, and in a press statement following the session expressed their support for the Secretary-General's recommendations and its concern at reports of massacres in the eastern part of that country and condemned all human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As you recall, the Secretary-General recommended the deployment of a total force of 5,537. This force would be deployed in four reinforced protected infantry battalion groups numbering a total of 3,400 troops.
Mr. Annabi said the proposed force would not serve as an interposition force, nor would it be expected to extract military observers or civilian personnel by force. It would not have the capacity to protect the civilian population from armed attack.
In this context, Mr. Annabi recalled that in November 1996, when the Security Council authorized the deployment of a multinational force in then eastern Zaire, where refugee camps were coming under attack, it was made clear at that time that that force, which was to be 10,000 strong, would not be in a position to disarm combatants or to separate armed elements from refugees or to interpose itself. He said it would not seem reasonable to expect more of a much smaller United Nations force working under much more complex and potentially dangerous circumstances.
**East Timor
On East Timor, we have grim news from the Oecussi enclave. That is a little patch of land surrounded by West Timor. The investigators recovering bodies from a mass gravesite today uncovered the first body with gunshot wounds. The pathologist working with the team said the wound to the victim's skull indicated an execution. So far the team, which is led by two forensic experts, has recovered 26 bodies and the remains of six other individuals. They are working on 25 gravesites in a 400- metre region along the border with West Timor. The forensic experts say the evidence gathered so far shows that most of the victims suffered several body injuries, including skull fractures most likely from machetes. According to the experts, the fractures suggest a tremendous use of force.
The investigators are piecing together what happened and have learned that on 9 September 1999, some 70 East Timorese men from two villages were marched by militia across the river into West Timor. That evening the militia tied the men in pairs with their hands behind their backs and marched them back across the river. Once inside the enclave they attacked, with militia members hacking their victims with machetes. Some men are believed to have survived the attack. In the morning militia brought nearby visitors and ordered them to bury the bodies. The United Nations believes that those responsible for the massacre are still in West Timor.
**Payments
On payments today: India became the forty-seventh Member State to pay their dues for the year 2000 in full with a cheque for just over $3 million.
**Miscellaneous Press Releases
Miscellaneous press release today: in the regular briefing notes from UNHCR today, the Agency says that the effort to evacuate nearly 2,300 refugees from a makeshift camp near the Angolan border to safer sites in Zambia has been completed. The agency is now turning its attention to a more isolated camp, where some 8,000 refugees are trapped in an insecure zone near Angola.
We also have a release from the United Nations Office in Vienna, noting the visit by the Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein, to address the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Among other releases, the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan notes the spread of a measles epidemic in the remote district of Darra Souf. The epidemic has been linked to the deaths of at least 100 people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has a release announcing the beginning next Wednesday of a conference in Oslo, Norway, on the regulation of tobacco products.
And finally we have a release from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, announcing that it will reach a judgment on Monday in the case of a Panamanian fishing vessel detained by France at Reunion Island.
**The Week Ahead
And it is Friday so we have our regular feature, The Week Ahead. I will just give you highlights for next week.
On Monday, the Security Council is scheduled to hear a briefing from Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, on the humanitarian programme in Iraq and the needs of Iraq's oil industry. The Council is also expected to hold consultations and a formal meeting to consider the expansion of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone.
On Tuesday, the Secretary-General leaves for his Asian trip, during which he will visit Thailand to attend the UNCTAD Summit, as I just mentioned, and also for an official visit to Thailand. He will then go on to Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Australia and New Zealand.
Also on Tuesday, Carla Del Ponte, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, will begin a visit to Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, where she will work at Tribunal headquarters for the rest of the month.
On Wednesday, the Security Council has scheduled an open debate on the protection of United Nations and humanitarian personnel in conflict zones. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will be among the speakers.
On Thursday, the Security Council will hold informal consultations on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic.
On Friday, during his visit to Bangkok, the Secretary-General will deliver a speech on peacekeeping upon receiving an honorary degree from Thamassat University, and he will deliver remarks to the Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in Bangkok, on the eve of the Tenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
**Questions and Answers
Question: There is a report on the wires about the meeting you mentioned yesterday of the survivors of Srebrenica and Carla Del Ponte, Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals of Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia. It says that they have lodged complaints with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia against Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other United Nations officials. Could you confirm that and also give us a reaction to it?
Spokesman: I going to have to give you something precise on this, okay? According to the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Prosecutor is the sole authority with the power to initiate investigations and prosecutions of persons before the Tribunal. There is not a procedure similar to the one existing in some national jurisdictions whereby private citizens can initiate private prosecutions before the Tribunal.
Question: Among the 52 Member States reported by the Secretary-General to be in violation of Article 19, one of them is a member of the Security Council. What is the procedure?
Spokesman: I do not think there is any distinction between members of the Council and other Members. The rule applies to all Member States equally. You fall behind by two years and you lose your vote in the General Assembly.
Question: My question is: we have one which is a member of the Security Council. Can that country vote in the Council?
Spokesman: Yes, because the penalty applies only to the vote in the General Assembly and not to the Council.
Question: Do we have a precedent in that in the history of the United Nations?
Spokesman: Whether a member of the Council has lost its vote in the Assembly? I do not know. I would have to look at precedents. It sounds a little unusual but I cannot say it has never happened before.
Question: Are you saying that the Prosecutor is going to ignore the complaints raised by the survivors of Srebrenica? Or are you saying that it is a case of watch this space and see if the Prosecutor takes any action on the basis of this complaint? Because everyone knows that when there is a war crime in the field, that somebody, not necessarily the Prosecutor, may have information on it and bring it to the attention of the authorities. Presumably these complainants could be seen to be doing that?
Spokesman: The text that I gave you outlines the procedures. It is complicated legal thing and therefore I do not want to depart from it or try to interpret it. Forgive me but I have to stick to this text and you may interpret it as you wish.
Question: On Sierra Leone, when the Council takes this up will they have a draft resolution on expanding the Mission.
Spokesman: I assume they would but I do not know what the status of that is. Check with me after the briefing and we will let you know.
Question: I see that there is going to be a very significant reduction in the forces in Kosovo in a few month -- from 44,000 to 20,000 or so. What is your view on that in light of recent incidents, and how are you going to jump in since there is already criticism and the deployment of police forces is not going well?
Spokesman: We have had some concern about the plans to reduce the size of KFOR and we have discussed them with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials and with individual governments. I have nothing more to say on that right now as I have no further guidance at this moment.
Question: How many policemen do you have in Kosovo right now?
Spokesman: Nineteen hundred and change something under 2,000. We had Sven Fredriksen, the United Nations Police Commissioner in Kosovo, in here just the other day. The figure was somewhere under 2,000.
Question: On the Russian tanker in the Gulf, has the United Nations got any role whatsoever in this? I gather, for instance, that they are going to analyse samples that they took from this Russian tanker to see whether it is Iraqi or Iranian oil. Is that merely a job for the United States or, given that they are United Nations sanctions, does the United Nations have any role in verifying.
Spokesman: No. We would have no role in that. The Council authorized this interception mission and now Member States are carrying it out. So it is really up to the States involved to conduct tests and do whatever else they want to do.
Question: A real source of tension seems to be mounting right now with the Russians responding to the reconnaissance mission to the area which is being run on the water. While the Secretary-General get involved or are we just going to step back?
Spokesman: It is not a matter of getting involved or stepping back. It is question of the mandate. The Security Council authorized this operation to be undertaken by Member States. And they are doing that. So as long as they are acting within their mandate, I do not think there is a reason for the Security Council to revisit the issue. As to what action the Council might take - you would have to ask them. But at this point, the Secretary-General has no intention of getting involved.
Question: In one of its resolutions, the General Assembly asked the Secretary- General to put an end to gratis personnel in order to address the imbalance in staffing in the Secretariat. But I notice the Secretary-General keeps authorizing more gratis personnel, for example in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He is talking about doing so according to rules procedure. What is the rules procedure?
Spokesman: To back up a little, the United Nations had almost no operational capability prior to 1990. The nature of peacekeeping in the nineties changed significantly from rather static patrolling of ceasefire lines which was the standard before then to complex peacekeeping missions. The missions not only changed in complexity, they grew enormously in number. And we needed to be deploying large numbers of troops to 15 to 17 different theatres around the world, rotating them every six months and supplying them. We required a very large, sophisticated logistic capacity that we did not have prior to that.
The gratis personnel was a way for governments to say we will help you out. We will give you military officers who are logistic experts. We will give them to you for free and they will help you handle this huge workload. So that is what happened. After we had built up the number of gratis personnel to something like 500, there was the concern that these were not international civil servants and there was a concern on the personnel side.
Then since the General Assembly said, okay, put an end to gratis personnel, we had to replace as many as them as we could with contract personnel or switch them from gratis status to regular contract employees. That would have been very expensive. So we ended up letting a lot of these people go and reduced our logistic capacity just as peacekeeping, having gone through a troth, started a new period of explosive growth. We have as many missions today as we had in 1993, when peacekeeping was at its peak.
So it has been a problem. The Secretary-General had to go back to the General Assembly and say, I am sorry, but to get through this latest surge in demand, I am going to need some more gratis personnel. Our long-term goal of course would be to have the number of people on the staff as regular staff members as we need to do the job. But as the demands go up and down over time, those requirements are going to vary. So I am not sure we have found the ideal way to cope with the problem yet.
Question: Are there any measures planned or measures that are within the power of KFOR to address the violence in Kosovo?
Spokesman: KFOR has been compensating for the shortfall of civilian police -- both the domestic police that the United Nations is training and the international civilian police that are there in the meantime to carry out police functions and to train an indigenous force. KFOR has never been very comfortable as military doing police work, but they have been very good sports about it and they have carried the burden. You already got from a previous question asked that our police requirements are far from being met. We have less than 2,000. We have asked for nearly 5,000 and we think that we will need more beyond that. So we are terribly reliant on KFOR and we would have to, I would say, be concerned about any plan to drastically reduce their numbers, particularly since we are not yet deployed on the police side.
Question: Is it fair to say that you are never going to reach that number of 5,000 police?
Spokesman: Part of the problem is the number of missions that we have. As I already mentioned, we have something like 17 missions, and police, in the 1990s, have become a standard fixture in United Nations peacekeeping operations. So we are asking for police for Kosovo. But we are also asking for police for East Timor and other missions. And there are a finite number of police. It is not like the military where you have battalions in reserve. Every policeman is on a beat. If you take a policeman for international duty you take him off his beat. We try to address this by expanding our criteria a bit to say we will take retired policemen. But that, as the Commissioner of the Police in Kosovo told you on Wednesday, has not made a significant difference. We still find we cannot get the numbers we need.
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