DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000216The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon.
**Secretary-General Ends Visit to Indonesia
The Secretary-General began the second and final day of his official visit to Indonesia with a meeting with the Minister of Defence, Juwono Sudarsono, who is the first civilian in 33 years to be appointed to this post. They discussed Indonesia's follow-up to the Human Rights Commission report on the violence in East Timor. They also discussed the issue of East Timorese refugees in West Timor.
The Secretary-General then went to the Presidential Palace where he met privately with the President and the Vice-President. They were then joined by delegations when the discussion focused on the democratic changes taking place in Indonesia, the effort to bring to trial those responsible for the violence in East Timor last year, the turbulence in Aceh and the Molluccan Islands, and plans for economic and financial reform.
The Secretary-General had a heavy schedule of meetings, including one with the new Attorney General of Indonesia, Marzuki Darusman, who had previously been head of the National Committee on Human Rights. They discussed the forthcoming trial of those named by the Committee in connection with the atrocities in East Timor. The Attorney General said he would like access to the files of the United Nations Human Rights Commission's Special Inquiry on East Timor, as well as cooperative agreement with the United Nations mission now in the territory.
His last appointment of the day was with General Wiranto's successor as Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs, Suryadi Soedirdja. They discussed the country's reform efforts and the plight of the refugees in West Timor. The Minister expressed his optimism that these problems could be overcome.
We have copies of his three press encounters upstairs for your information.
**Secretary-General's Next Stop: East Timor
The Secretary-General is scheduled to leave early tomorrow for East Timor. He is expected to arrive in Dili at midday. At Dili airport, he is expected to meet his Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and the President of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, Xanana Gusmao.
The Secretary-General will then visit Liquica, a former militia stronghold where a massacre took place at the church last April.
Back in Dili, he will attend a special session of the national Consultative Council and meet East Timorese leaders who are not members of the Council. He will also meet with the commanders of INTERFET and the United Nations peacekeeping force, as well as United Nations staff and representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
We have a briefing note on the Secretary-General's first day schedule in the Spokesman's Office.
**Annabi Briefs Security Council in Private Meeting on Kosovo
Here at United Nations Headquarters this morning, the Security Council began its work with informal consultations on Kosovo. After that, the Council went into a private meeting in the Council chambers to hear a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi on the latest developments in Kosovo.
Mr. Annabi said that the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) continues to be preoccupied by the harassment, eviction and murder of minorities; he added that the security situation has deteriorated in early February. But he also noted the Mission's gradual progress in restoring the rule of law in Kosovo, including the first round of appointments of judges and prosecutors. By 11 February, there were 2,052 United Nations police in Kosovo.
He also drew attention to the humanitarian effort, saying that a humanitarian crisis in Kosovo has been avoided this winter. However, he said that more funding is needed, since the cash available for Kosovo's consolidated budget in 2000 would be exhausted by early March.
Some of you were wondering what the "private meeting" format means. Private meetings of the Council are held in the Council chambers, but are not regarded as formal meetings. Non-member States of the Council may be invited to attend the meetings, but are not permitted to speak; all Council members can speak, however. The meeting is closed to the press and public.
In other Council business, you will notice on the racks today an exchange of letters between the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council confirming the appointment of Gen. Vincent Couerderoy of France to serve as the Commissioner of the International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Tomorrow, the Council intends to hold a formal meeting to consider the application of Tuvalu for admission into the United Nations. If the Council recommends Tuvalu's admission, the matter then goes to the General Assembly for its approval.
**High Commissioner Robinson Calls on Russian Government to Allow Human Rights Monitoring in Chechnya
Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the Russian Government today to allow human rights monitoring of the situation in Chechnya, Russian Federation, and to act on mounting evidence of serious human rights violations during and after the assault on Grozny and other parts of the territory.
She expressed deep regret that the Russian Government had not agreed to her request to visit Moscow and the areas affected by the conflict, or to her earlier offer to send a personal envoy to the region, and said the failure of the Russian authorities to respond to legitimate worries leads to heightened concern that allegations of human rights violations may be well-founded.
Ms. Robinson expressed particular concern over the catastrophic situation facing civilians in Chechnya and their exposure to disproportionate use of force by the Russian military, including heavy bombardment and attacks with especially devastating munitions.
She said: "The suffering caused by indiscriminate bombing and seeming disregard for civilians must not be compounded by the denial of the basic human rights of people in Chechnya. It is the responsibility of the Russian authorities to do all they can to ensure that those under their jurisdiction enjoy the rights and freedoms they are entitled to under international law and to provide for effective remedies for victims of violations."
Ms. Robinson said she would be addressing the situation in Chechnya at the upcoming session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which opens in Geneva on 20 March.
The complete text of her statement is available upstairs in the Spokesman's Office.
**UNEP Task Force Takes Water Samples along Danube to Assess Environmental Risks of Cyanide Spill
With regard to the cyanide spill from the Romanian goldmine, scientists from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-Habitat Balkans Task Force have begun taking water samples from the Danube using one of its two mobile laboratories that it had brought to Serbia last weekend. The goal is to provide a reliable initial assessment of the immediate risks to the environment and human health of the affected people. The results of the sampling are not yet available. We will keep you updated.
**Portugal Signs Anti-Terrorism Treaty
This morning, Ambassador António Monteiro of Portugal signed the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, making Portugal the thirteenth nation to sign on to the treaty since it was opened for signature here last month. It needs to be ratified by 22 countries before it can enter into force.
Portugal today also signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which would allow women to bring complaints of discrimination to the United Nations Commission that deals with the issue. The Optional Protocol was opened for signature last December; Portugal is the twenty-fifth country to sign it.
**Payment
We have another payment to the 2000 regular budget today.
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has become the fifty-second Member State to make their full contribution to this year's regular budget with a payment of just over $42,000.
**Press Releases Out Today
Among the press releases today, we have an announcement by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) that it will hold a high-level meeting at the United Nations House in Beirut from 23 to 25 February, to discuss ways to strengthen its work in social and economic development in the region.
Also, the International Court of Justice has a transcript of the opening statement at a press conference delivered yesterday in The Hague by Justice Gilbert Guillaume, the newly elected President of the Court. He emphasized that although the Court has been at times accused of acting slowly, it can often make rulings within days. However, he added, the Court may face more delays in the future unless it receives additional resources.
We also have a press release issued simultaneously in Bangkok and Nairobi by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the launching of a new task force to assist developing countries in integrating their trade, environment and development policies. The full text is available upstairs.
Finally, we also have a press release on the arrests of two high-ranking military officers in the ongoing Rwandan genocide investigations. These arrests were welcomed by Carla del Ponte, the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda yesterday.
**World Chronicle
The recently recorded "World Chronicle" TV programme with J. Victor Angelo, Special Envoy to East Timor of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will be shown today on in-house television, channels 3 or 31 at 2:30 p.m.
**UNCA Announcement
I have an announcement from the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), which would like to draw attention to a traditional "Cutting of the Pie" ceremony, organized by the Greek Mission, which is to take place on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the UNCA Lounge. The traditional ceremony, which is to mark the New Year, will include a reception with Greek food and wine, so feel free to attend and indulge in the festivities, UNCA says.
And that's all I have for you today. Do you have any questions?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Is the United Nations considering taking a lead role in the [investigation into the environmental and health risks] in the cyanide spill incident, considering its scale and the fact that Serbia is so isolated? Associate Spokesman: The United Nations is obviously making itself available. It has been requested by a number of governments, as we mentioned earlier on, to assist in the process. This morning, [UNEP Executive-Director] Klaus Toepfer mentioned the seriousness of this spill, and as I mentioned here, he has offered UNEP experts in a number of places, including Bucharest and Budapest. He has also made the mobile labs available and is in very close cooperation with the Environmental Committee of the European Commission. Mr. Toepfer has described this as an extremely disastrous situation. We'll certainly keep you updated on all the efforts by the United Nations to help combat this spill.
Question: You mentioned earlier the release of the files of the United Nations Human Rights Commission Special Inquiry on East Timor. Who is authorized to do that?
Associate Spokesman: I'll have to get back to you on that. [The Associate Spokesman later said that the Government of Indonesia, the United Nations mission and the Commission on Human Rights are in discussions on the matter.]
If there are no other questions, have a good afternoon. Thank you.
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