DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Guest at Noon Briefing

Good afternoon. Welcome to the visiting journalists from Freedom Forum. Our guest at the briefing will be here shortly. It is Dr. Ebrahim Samba, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. He'll be accompanied by Dr. Libertine Amathila, the Minister of Health and Social Services of Namibia.

I'll leave it to Dr. Samba to talk to you about the panel discussion that will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. today in the Economic and Social Council Chamber on "Health in Africa". I'd just like to note that a press release from WHO on that topic is available in my office.

**Israel Formally Announces Plan to Withdraw from Lebanon

The Ambassador of Israel, Yehuda Lancry, met with the Secretary-General this morning at 10 o’clock and delivered a letter formally announcing Israel's intention to withdraw from southern Lebanon by July, consistent with Security Council resolutions 425 and 426 of 1978. The Secretary-General is transmitting that letter to the Security Council. It's not yet there, but it will be shortly. A statement issued by the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General would be consulting widely and that contingency planning by the Secretariat was already under way.

The Secretary-General then saw Ambassador Selim Tadmoury of Lebanon, followed by Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe of Syria on this subject. He is also continuing his telephone consultations.

**Security Council Discusses Sanctions

This morning, the members of the Security Council met across the street at the United Nations Regal Plaza Hotel to hear a discussion of sanctions issues, including the presentation of a report by the International Peace Academy, titled "The Sanctions Decade", on the effectiveness of sanctions regimes.

The Secretary-General addressed the opening of that meeting, and said that sanctions need to be refined, noting that the recent emphasis on "smart sanctions" that restrict the travel or freeze the overseas accounts of individuals is a more humane approach to the subject.

The Secretary-General added, "The record of the 'Sanctions Decade' has raised serious doubts not only about the effectiveness of sanctions but also about their scope and severity when innocent civilians often become victims not only of their own Government but of the actions of the international community, as well".

This afternoon, at 3 o’clock, the discussion of sanctions issues will continue with an open debate in the Security Council on general issues pertaining

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 17 April 2000

to sanctions, and that session will be chaired by Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy.

We'd also like to remind you of a press conference at 1:15 p.m. today in this room with Foreign Minister Axworthy, as well as the two authors of the Peace Academy's report -- George Lopez of the University of Notre Dame, and David Cortright of the Fourth Freedom Forum. David Malone, the head of the International Peace Academy, will also be there.

Then tomorrow, the Council will have another open debate on sanctions, this time focusing specifically on the United Nations sanctions imposed on the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, or UNITA.

**Visit of Special Envoy to Horn of Africa

World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Catherine Bertini, on a mission as the Secretary-General's Special Envoy on the Drought in the Horn of Africa, spent the weekend in Djibouti and Eritrea.

As Bertini met with Eritrean Government officials and donors in Asmara today, the WFP announced a special emergency logistics operation, at a cost of $4 million, to rehabilitate the main transport corridor to drought-affected areas in the Horn of Africa from Djibouti. Due to the fact that WFP only has access to one port, Djibouti has become the sole port of entry for all goods and aid destined for Ethiopia.

The WFP is currently working on improving the port facilities to prevent bottlenecks during this crisis period, and is launching the road rehabilitation to ensure that emergency aid can be transported quickly and efficiently upon arrival to the needy populations. The corridor is currently riddled with potholes, deep ruts and missing pavement. Should this road become impassable, the lives of thousands of people who currently face severe food shortages would be seriously threatened.

Bertini was leaving for Nairobi this evening.

**Explosions at Kinshasa Airport

A team from the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was dispatched to the Kinshasa airport today to assess the state of United Nations aircraft and equipment following a series of explosions that rocked the facility Friday.

The main Ndjili international airport remained closed today.

The Government has launched an investigation into the cause of the explosions.

**Endangered Species

On Saturday, Governments meeting in Nairobi on endangered species voted to reject proposals by Japan and Norway that international trade in four types of whales be resumed. The ban on international trade in whales whose commercial harvesting is forbidden by the International Whaling Commission has been in place since 1986.

This morning, the Governments of Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe withdrew their request to be granted annual quotas for ivory sales. An expected vote on reopening the ivory trade for the first time since 1989 (with the exception of three experimental sales last year) will therefore not take place.

A press release is on the racks from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with more details.

**Crime Congress Concludes

The Tenth Crime Congress ended today in Vienna after the adoption of a final declaration. The declaration, among other things, establishes the target of the year 2005 for achieving a significant decrease in the trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and the smuggling of migrants. The Congress will be followed by a three-day session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Highlights of today's proceedings are available in my office.

This afternoon, Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, gave his concluding remarks at the Crime Congress. He said, "The desire to act globally is absolutely clear". And he added, "Just as criminals have harnessed technology for their own use, so must we. Just as criminals have globalized their action, so must we". The complete text of his address is available in my office.

**Finance Ministers to Meet with Economic and Social Council Members Tomorrow

Finance ministers who had been attending the spring meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C., over the past three days will come to New York tomorrow to meet in the morning with the members of the Economic and Social Council.

Starting at 9:30 a.m., several finance ministers will take part in an informal dialogue in the Economic and Social Council Chamber on the promotion of international financial stability, among other topics. The Secretary-General will deliver an address, and representatives of key Bretton Woods committees will participate in a panel dialogue with the Economic and Social Council. For more information, contact Tim Wall on extension 3-5851.

**Press Releases

There are several press releases out today. Auguste R. Lindt, who was appointed as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1956 and served in that position until 1960, died in his sleep in Switzerland over the weekend. He was ninety-four years old. In a press release, available in my office, the current High Commissioner Sadako Ogata says that his "dynamic and forceful leadership" broadened the scope of the United Nations work on behalf of refugees.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in a press release out today, notes that findings from an upcoming report on world resources, which is to be issued in September, reveal a widespread decline in the condition of the world's ecosystems.

And we also have a press release from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo noting that textbooks for Kosovar schoolchildren have arrived from Sarajevo, following negotiations between the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Bosnian Government.

**Commission on Human Rights

Today the Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva voted on several resolutions, including ones on human rights in the occupied Arab territories and Palestine, on Israeli settlements and in the occupied Syrian Golan.

The vote counts are available in my office.

Votes on Chechnya and East Timor were postponed to Tuesday, 25 April, while consultations are still going on.

**Press Conferences Tomorrow

Press Conferences for tomorrow. At 11 a.m. in this room, World Economic Outlook (Project Link): a summary of the outlook will be presented by Nobel Laureate Lawrence R. Klein of the University of Pennsylvania.

And then my guest at the noon briefing tomorrow will be Carolyn McAskie, Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, and she will talk about the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

That's all I have for you. Do you have anything for me?

**Questions and Answers

Question: On the meetings that the Secretary-General had with the Ambassadors from Lebanon and Syria, was this just to inform them of the Israeli letter or was it to discuss border issues or an enhanced United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) role or anything else?

Spokesman: To my knowledge they didn't get into any of the specifics. These were appointments that were arranged after the Ambassador of Israel had come in to deliver the letter. In response to that, the Secretary-General wanted to meet with these other two ambassadors to inform them of the contents of the letter.

Question: Welcome back. What are the challenges for the United Nations now in southern Lebanon when Israel pulls out?

Spokesman: To see to it that the withdrawal is conducted safely, without any resumption of conflict or escalation of violence.

Question: This will not be an easy assignment for the United Nations, will it?

Spokesman: The Secretary-General has done all he can. He's been talking to virtually all the leaders of the region, discussing with them the threats that could be posed to the retreating Israelis; and of course, Israel has made it clear that it would counter any such threats swiftly and militarily. So therein lies the risk of escalation.

Question: Tomorrow's meeting: is there any sense that there will be a security issue regarding this meeting of the finance ministers coming up, similar to what has happened in Washington in the last few days?

Spokesman: Well we hope not. I'm sure that our own security people will take whatever precautions they think are necessary. But we hope it will stay quiet here.

Question: On the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, there are some reports that the resolution on Chechnya has been delayed for at least a week. Some are concerned that it won't appear at all. Do you have any information on it being watered down at all or any changes to the resolution that was issued last week?

Spokesman: I don't have any of those details. We can put you in touch with the spokesman in Geneva who might be able to tell you more.

Question: Mr. Annan met with Hun Sen again in Havana. Has it been decided whether the next round of meetings will be in New York or Cambodia?

Spokesman: No. Nor has it been decided when this will take place. There was reported on the wires this morning reaction by the Cambodian Government to a proposal, a compromise formula put forward by United States Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. The Secretary-General had met with Kerry in Havana as well as with Hun Sen, but we have not yet seen the specific details of this Kerry proposal.

I think the Secretary-General's reading of the general environment is that it's good. He's encouraged that the search for a compromise solution is intense. And the next step, I think, will be for our legal counsel, Hans Corell, to contact his counterpart in Cambodia to discuss this Kerry proposal, see exactly what it is and see whether it could be the basis for a final compromise solution.

Question: What is the purpose of the Tun Myat meeting today?

Spokesman: Final consultations before he goes off to Iraq. Anticipating your request to see him, we did ask him whether he would come before you while he's in town this week. He says he'd be more comfortable if he gets his feet wet first in the job.

Question: What is the United Nations current position on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, the conflict in those two countries?

Spokesman: Congo -- we were encouraged by the latest agreement in Kampala, Uganda, for a renewal of the ceasefire that was to go into effect at midnight on Friday. The report we had out of the region this morning is that with the exception of a few skirmishes on Friday that ceasefire seems to be holding. The peace agreement is there, it's just a matter of all those involved agreeing to live by it. And we're trying our best to encourage that process along.

On Angola, our role today is primarily humanitarian. We've withdrawn our peacekeepers and we've set up a United Nations Office in the capital of Luanda.

Question: The finance ministers -- how long are they going to be here and about how many are participating in this Economic and Social Council thing? And would they possibly be here long enough to have a press conference?

Spokesman: I think it's just for the morning. And we'll have to check to see if any of them would agree to speak to you, even if it's at the stakeout outside the Security Council. And the number of finance ministers I don't know, but why don't you check with Tim Wall, extension 3-5851.

Question: There are reports that the United States has sent troops to the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which was the subject of complaint from the Dominican authorities this morning. Is the Secretary-General aware of that?

Spokesman: I was not aware. I'll have to check whether our people were informed of this, if, in fact, it happened. So I'll have to get back to you.

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