DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000224The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Id like to welcome our guest at the briefing today, Samuel Nana-Sinkam, the Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Peace-Building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau. Hell be talking to you shortly about recent developments in Guinea-Bissau and UN efforts in that country.
**Secretary-General Heads Home
The Secretary-General concluded his official visit to New Zealand today, starting with a Powhiri, which is a welcome ceremony of the indigenous Maori people, which took place in a traditional Maori meeting house called a Marae.
He then went to Parliament House for a working lunch with Foreign Minister Phil Goff. After that, he met with Defense Minister Mark Burton, followed by a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition, former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley.
A detailed report on the day's events is available in my Office.
He should now be in the air for the 21-hour journey home. He'll be crossing the dateline soon, at which point it will become yesterday, and then he'll arrive here around midnight tonight, New York time. And he'll work from home tomorrow.
**Security Council Discusses Democratic Republic of Congo, Western Sahara
The Security Council this morning resumed its closed consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with Council members trying to resolve their remaining differences over a draft resolution to expand the UN mission to more than 5,500 military personnel. The Council then went into a formal meeting at 11:30 a.m. to approve that resolution. That meeting is now taking place.
Yesterday, the Council's consultations on that subject lasted past 8:30 in the evening. In yesterday's consultations, the Secretariat expressed its concern to the Security Council about the further deterioration of the security situation in the eastern part of the country, in particular, in the Bukavu area. A radio station there, which broadcast anti-Tutsi messages in August 1998 that were linked to massacres of local Tutsis, has begun to broadcast again.
The Council was also informed of the outflow of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Congo-Brazzaville and the negative impact of the Government's unfavourable foreign currency and exchange rate policies on UN humanitarian activities.
We expect to have a senior UN official talk to you about the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in this room, once the Council vote has taken place. We will announce the background briefing on the intercom after the vote is taken -- possibly around 1 p.m. Delegates can view that briefing in Viewing Room 4. At 3:30 this afternoon, the Council has scheduled consultations on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, the current mandate of which is set to expire on 29 February.
The Secretary-General, in his latest report on Western Sahara, noted the obstacles hindering UN efforts to hold a referendum there, but recommended a three-month extension of the UN Mission, while his Personal Envoy, James Baker, consults with the parties to resolve their differences.
**Peacekeepers Blocked in Sierra Leone
This morning, two companies from the UN mission in Sierra Leone, one from Ghana and one from India, arrived at a place between Kenema and Daru in the eastern part of Sierra Leone. We have a map here. Daru is a mining centre. They were stopped by a force of about 300 rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who refused to let the peacekeepers pass. The rebels were tactically deployed in fighting position on high ground, and were heavily armed, including with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The UN mission in Sierra Leone has contacted a former RUF brigadier, who is now a member of the Government and who happened to be in that region at this time. He has gone to the scene in an effort to resolve the situation. Discussions have been ongoing at this point for about five hours. We will keep you posted of any new developments.
**Ethiopia
This Friday, the World Food Programme (WFP) will launch a nine-month emergency operation at a cost of $136.8 million, including food and non-food items, as well as logistics, to feed 2.3 million of the most vulnerable victims of drought and crop failure in Ethiopia.
The emergency operation is part of the overall UN country team appeal for $190.7 million issued on 28 January. The number of vulnerable persons has dramatically increased since last year when the WFP distributed food to 1.2 million people.
A recent WFP and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food and crop assessment indicated that there are 7.8 million people in need of food aid. For the last two decades, there has been a shortage of food in Ethiopia caused largely by unfavourable weather conditions. Food insecurity remains chronic due to limited availability and access by the majority of the population. It is the hope that, by acting now, we can prevent a human catastrophe from developing in the near future.
Ethiopia, one of the world's poorest countries, ranked 172nd out of 174 in the 1999 UNDP Human Development Index report. It also has one of the world's highest levels of stunting among children due to malnutrition. That is according to UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens Fund.
**Statement on Terrorist Incident in Spain
The following statement, on the terrorist incident in Spain, is attributable to the Spokesman:
The Secretary-General strongly deplores the recent terrorist acts in Spain and stresses that the only way to resolve grievances is to abjure violence and seek solutions by peaceful means. He joins the Spanish people in calling for an end to such terrorism.
**East Timor Update, 24 February
The next family reunion of East Timorese, which is sponsored by the UN Mission in East Timor, is now expected to take place at the Batugade border of East and West Timor on Saturday, this week. Last Saturday, a similar family reunion was disrupted by a brawl that broke out among East Timorese and the subsequent firing of shots by the Indonesian military. The UN Mission stressed at a meeting with the local commanders of the Indonesian military last Tuesday that such incidents should not happen again. The Indonesian military said that it was investigating the case. The UN Mission is planning to increase its civilian police presence at the next family reunion.
**Human Rights Experts Appeal to Texas Governor Bush
This morning in Geneva, two experts from the UN Commission on Human Rights appealed to Texas Governor George W. Bush not to execute Betty Lou Beets, a woman sentenced to death in 1985 for the murder of her husband, after a trial in which crucial mitigating evidence was allegedly never presented to the jury.
If youre interested in that, we have a press release available, as well as the text of the letter.
**Iraq 661 Committees Annual Report
On the racks today is the fourth annual report of the Security Council Committee which oversees sanctions against Iraq under Security Council resolution 661. It covers the period from 1 August 1998 to 20 November 1999.
The report says that during that period the export of petroleum and petroleum products from Iraq proceeded smoothly with excellent cooperation among the oil overseers, as well as the UN independent inspection agents, the State Oil Marketing Organization of Iraq and national oil purchasers. The revenue generated from oil sales during this period amounted to $13.58 billion.
The Committee continued to implement the simplified procedures to process applications for foodstuffs and other humanitarian supplies. Members of the Committee also continued to express concerns about the effect of the holds placed on humanitarian contracts, including for oil spare parts and equipment, and on the humanitarian situation in Iraq. The Committee will continue to review these hold cases.
For the latest figures on various aspects of the oil-for-food programme, please consult the Weekly Update, which is compiled by the Office of the Iraq Programme and is available in my Office.
**Secretary-General Pays Tribute to Eklund
Sigvard Eklund of Sweden, who headed the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1961 to 1981, has died at the age of 89. As the Agency's second Director, he established its main scientific and technical programmes, and was named Director General Emeritus for life in recognition of his achievements.
The Secretary-General pays tribute to Sigvard Eklund for his towering contribution to the United Nations in the field of nuclear energy, and expresses his sincere condolences to his family and to the Government and people of Sweden.
**Miscellaneous Press Releases
We have available upstairs a number of press releases, the first, from the International Court of Justice, announcing that it will hold public hearings on 3 April in The Hague, in a case involving the downing last year of a Pakistani naval aircraft by India. The hearings are to last a week and will deal exclusively with the question of the Court's jurisdiction in the case. Pakistan instituted proceedings before the Court one month after its aircraft was shot down last 10 August.
We also have a press release from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, noting Eritrea's ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Eritrea will now become the 130th State Party to that Convention.
And finally, wed like to draw your attention to a report on the racks today on regional meetings prior to this year's Millennium Assembly. The Secretary-General circulated a report on a hearing held last September in Santiago, Chile, by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which discussed the region's proposals to strengthen the United Nations.
**WHO River Blindness Initiative
Tomorrow, the World Health Organization (WHO) is prepared to launch in Bamako, Mali, an initiative to eliminate avoidable river blindness. We have a press release, embargoed for 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow, with more information, as well as a WHO fact sheet on river blindness.
**New E-mail Dissemination System
Were happy to announce that, based on requests we received from you, we are now in the process of converting our weekend and holiday dissemination of the statements by the Secretary-General and other matters of urgent interest to you from the fax method to e-mail. This system will ensure a more timely distribution of material to you over the weekend.
Because we would like to implement this as soon as possible, we ask that all of you submit to us your weekend/holiday e-mail addresses. Please give them to Betty Perry-Carpenter in my Office, if possible, by 15 March.
**Press Conference Tomorrow
There will be a press conference tomorrow here in this room at 11:15 a.m. by Cristian Maquieira of Chile, the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session on Social Development. He and others will discuss how countries assess their progress since the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.
**Noon Briefing Guest
And weve asked Francesc Vendrell to come to the briefing tomorrow as our guest. Hes the Secretary-Generals Personal Representative and Head of the Special Mission to Afghanistan. He has just returned from a trip to the region.
** John Mills
And finally, I know that youre all concerned about John Mills, my Acting Deputy. He has gone home from hospital, actually on Tuesday of this week. And he says he intends to start answering those e-mail messages you sent him. That should keep him busy for a couple of weeks. We're pulling for you, John.
Any questions, before we go to Mr.Nana-Sinkam?
Mr. Nana-Sinkam, its over to you.
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