PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

Good afternoon. It's midnight in Bangkok. Less than an hour ago, the Secretary-General arrived after a 23-hour journey from New York. He was met by the Foreign Minister of Thailand, Surin Pitsuwan, and has gone to his hotel for a night's sleep. He did not speak to reporters at the airport.

The Secretary-General will be in Bangkok until 13 February when he travels to Singapore.

**Security Council Debate on Protection of Humanitarian Personnel

At 9:30 this morning, the Security Council began its open debate on the protection of United Nations, associated and humanitarian personnel, in a meeting presided over by Foreign Minister Adalberto Rodríguez Giavarini of Argentina. Foreign Minister Rodríguez, by the way, will hold a press conference, in Spanish and English, at 3 p.m. in this room.

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette opened the Council meeting by asserting that the United Nations can do more to safeguard the security of its personnel. In particular, she said, the Secretary-General intends to appoint a full-time Security Coordinator as soon as possible and to equip field missions with security professionals and essential equipment.

Among other steps that could be taken, she highlighted the possibility of establishing centres where all international staff could receive security training.

But the Deputy Secretary-General warned that "good security costs money", and added that the level of funds provided by Member States for security activities has been disappointing. She also noted that, of 98 staff members murdered since 1992, only two perpetrators have been brought to justice.

In her speech, Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), urged the Council to define how future peacekeeping operations would protect humanitarian workers and to call for a system to monitor and punish crimes against such workers. We expect to have her here shortly to discuss those issues further in person. She might walk in at any minute and I will hand the mike over to her.

We have copies of both speeches in the Spokesman's Office, along with an information sheet on casualties among UN personnel since 1992.

There are currently 30 speakers inscribed for today's open debate. At the close of the debate, the Council is expected to deliver a presidential statement on the protection of United Nations and other personnel.

Tomorrow, the Council is expected to hold consultations on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and on recent developments in Kosovo. **Statement by Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator

We have a statement upstairs by Carolyn McAskie -- she's the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator -- in which she says she is "shocked and saddened to learn of the brutal attack on Monday against staff from Médecins sans frontières in Ethiopia. This heinous act resulted in the death of the driver of the vehicle and the injury of two staff members”, she says, adding that “it serves as a tragic reminder to the international community on the day of the Security Council's open session". The full text is available upstairs for you.

**Council Introduces Draft Text on Democratic Republic of Congo

Just to recap, the Security Council, as you know, met in consultations yesterday afternoon. During that session, a draft resolution on the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was introduced. Experts were expected to discuss the draft today.

**Notes from Kosovo

In Kosovo today, the Kosovo Transitional Council, which acts as a "mini- parliament" with advisory powers, was inaugurated with its new, expanded membership. The 12-member Council has been increased to 35 members, drawn from the various political, religious and ethnic communities of Kosovo.

After its inauguration, the expanded Transitional Council discussed the situation in Mitrovica.

The United Nations Mission in Kosovo reported that Mitrovica remains tense, although the Kosovo Force, that's KFOR, said that last night was relatively quiet, with no reports of injuries or damage. The curfew in Mitrovica has been scaled back, and now lasts from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night. Meanwhile, United Nations Police are continuing their investigations into the murders of at least eight Albanians and the grenade attack last week on a Serb café.

In today's briefing notes from Pristina, which are available upstairs, you can also find detailed comments by United Nations and KFOR officials on the response to the violence in Mitrovica. We also have a press release on the Transitional Council meeting which I just mentioned to you.

**Mine-Action Service Conducts Assessment Mission in Sierra Leone

The United Nations Mine-Action Service conducted a technical assessment mission in Sierra Leone from 30 January to 6 February to assess the scope of the situation of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Sierra Leone.

The assessment mission held discussions with the Government, the warring factions, the United Nations mission and other parties. The team also travelled to Kabala in the north of Sierra Leone and to Kenema and Daru in the east to investigate reports of uncleared landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Although access has not yet been secured to all areas of the country, the assessment team has determined that landmines pose a limited problem in Sierra Leone.

The mission concluded that the United Nations peacekeeping operation can deal with the landmine situation in that country and has recommended that a mine-action information and coordination capacity be established as part of the peacekeeping operation.

**Notes from East Timor

In East Timor, the Commander of the international force, Major General Cosgrove, announced that the militia leader -- Moko Soares -- had been arrested on Monday by Indonesian authorities at his home near the Bobometo border point in West Timor. Soares is implicated in the recent armed incursions into the Oekussi enclave.

The Transitional Administrator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, welcomed the news and said he had been advised that Soares would be charged with illegal possession and sale of weapons.

The United Nations civilian police will be issued with sidearms from tomorrow. The police commissioner, Carlos Lima, decided to authorize the issue of sidearms following a number of violent incidents over the past weeks.

Under the police rules of engagement, the weapons can be used only in the case of a threat to the life of the United Nations police officer or a third person.

Finally, from East Timor, the first batch of Portuguese troops arrived in Dili today to take up command of the Central Sector. The first 250 will be joined tomorrow by another 250. The final strength of the Portuguese contingent will be 765 soldiers.

We have the briefing notes from East Timor available, including a short briefing given by Mr. Vieira de Mello on his return today from New York and Geneva.

**Meeting on Millenium Summit

I have a note from the spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly. General Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab has invited a group of 33 ambassadors to meet with him to discuss arrangements for the Millennium Summit. That meeting will take place at 3:30 p.m. today in Conference Room 6.

**Press Releases

In a press release issued today, the World Health Organization warns that the spread of tuberculosis is reaching critical levels among an estimated 180,000 displaced persons who have fled the fighting in Chechnya. Overcrowding, poor health facilities and problems of access to health care are contributing to a deteriorating health situation among the displaced persons in Ingushetia, the agency says.

Among other releases out today, we have information from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the tenth session of which begins on Saturday in Bangkok. That press release is on investment promotion strategies for the twenty-first century.

We also have from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda its amended judicial calendar for the month of February.

And that's all I have for you today. I think Catherine Bertini should be here in just a few minutes. But do you have any questions for me?

**Questions and Answers

Question: First of all, the Millenium Summit, will there be a read-out from that or is it all just in-house?

Associate Spokesman: I think you need to contact the spokeswoman for the General Assembly and she'll give you a read-out afterwards.

Question: Do civilian police in Kosovo carry sidearms?

Associate Spokesman: Yes, they do.

Question: The Deputy Secretary-General talked about the need to strengthen UNSECOORD, and the need to have a full-time person in charge of that. Can you tell us how many people there are, what needs to be done and what the budget is? Are these people mostly in the field or at headquarters?

Associate Spokesman: Well, at the moment, as you know, the United Nations Security Coordinator’s Office here is quite a small operation when you look at the numbers that they are responsible for. I think there are four full-time professionals headed by the Security Coordinator and the Deputy Security Coordinator. But that's just at Headquarters.

In the field, they have arrangements in which there are security field officers. There are also agencies who contribute to supplying security officers, as well. The total number is grossly inadequate, and I think that is what the Deputy Secretary-General was mentioning. The importance of having a full-time security coordinator is what she emphasized. At the moment, there is a security coordinator. It's just that that job is being handled by someone who also has other responsibilities. So what she mentioned was that the Secretary- General would be appointing a full-time security coordinator.

Your last question about the funding situation. Yes, a lot of resources are in great need for improving security. At the moment, for instance, I know that the United Nations trust fund that was set up for training purposes has about $1.2 million and only about five countries have contributed to that.

Question: You said the total number is grossly inadequate. The total number isn't four. What is the total number in the field?

Associate Spokesman: The total number, I've said that the United Nations Security Coordinator's Headquarters here is four. There are a lot of agencies, maybe Catherine can elaborate on that, as well, because there are people who are seconded in various operations to perform security functions. But this is something that the Security Coordinator’s Office is obviously working on now to ascertain exactly how many are going to be needed around the world to provide the kind of security that is needed.

Question: You mentioned an increase in the Kosovo Council. How many Serbs are serving in this?

Associate Spokesman: At the moment, the Serbs have agreed to become part of the council. They have still not had active participation. But there is a list that is coming in upstairs that has the current makeup of the council, including the name of two Serbs.

Question: How would you characterize the current role that a senior United Nations official is playing in the hijacking at London's Stansted Airport. I know at the moment they are monitoring the situation. Is it conceivable that she might be advising on the validity for any claims for asylum?

Associate Spokesman: The only thing I can tell you on that is really guidance that we received from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. And what they are saying is that British authorities yesterday -- that's Tuesday morning -- requested that a UNHCR representative be available as an independent observer at the airport. UNHCR's London representative, Hope Hanlan, has, therefore, made herself available in an observer capacity. At the moment, neither UNHCR nor we are providing further details and are referring questions to the British authorities who are really handling this situation.

Question: Is there any plan for the Secretary-General to meet with the Cambodian Prime Minister when he is in the region?

Associate Spokesman: We just heard from Fred, who had touched down with the Secretary-General just minutes ago. At the moment, they did not have a complete list of all his bilateral meetings. So at this moment, I cannot confirm or deny that he's going to meet with him. But keep in touch.

Question: On Timor, you mentioned Soares' arrest on weapons charges. But I thought he was wanted on something more serious than that. Are there more charges pending?

Associate Spokesman: At the moment, the information I have is what I read to you.

Question: On Cambodia, there's a report out by AP out of Phnom Penh, saying that the Secretary-General has rejected this Cambodian proposal for a court. Can you confirm that, can you provide us with a copy of the letter that is already kind of broadly circulating in the public?

Associate Spokesman: The Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, in his briefing yesterday, recognized the possibility that the letter from the Secretary-General might be made public, but was adamant that it would not be published here. As for the United Nations' position, we remain committed to the process of working with the Government. However, the United Nations' involvement in a tribunal depends on our reaching agreement with the Cambodian Government on a process that, in our view, meets minimum international standards of justice, fairness and due process of law. The United Nations will not be able to accept involvement in a Tribunal which does not meet these international standards.

The letter was sent yesterday and is still being studied by the Cambodian side. Depending on the Government's response, the United Nations is prepared to send another team to Cambodia in a further effort to reach agreement on a number of important issues.

That's all I can say at the present. Hans Corell believes that the less said by the United Nations at this stage the greater the chances of a successful outcome. And that's really all I have to say on this matter right now.

Question: With all due respect on all that, the fact is that the letter is out in the press. Do you really think that a case could be made why all of us who work here shouldn't get a copy of the letter?

Associate Spokesman: We’re looking into that, and we'll get back to you.

Question: If I could just add to that, your Legal Department likes to keep everything secret. But this is out, and in order for us to report accurately on it, it would be very useful for us to provide the letter. It's already out in the public, so any argument that he may make about the importance this has for the negotiation to move forward doesn't seem to hold water. I don't know if anyone else has this feeling.

Associate Spokesman: We are relaying the sentiment upstairs. Thank you.

I think it's time for Catherine Bertini, who has taken some time out of the open debate to join us and tell us about security needs around the world.

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