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.

Good afternoon. Josh, you packed the house. Welcome to the journalists in training from Columbia University and their professor Josh Friedman. Welcome back Josh.

Our guest today will be Carolyn McAskie, she is the Deputy Head of the Humanitarian Affairs Department as well as the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator. She will talk with you about the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

**Security Council Notes: Consultations on Angola, Followed by Open Debate on Sanctions

The Security Council began its work today with consultations on Angola. Members discussed a draft resolution on strengthening the sanctions imposed on the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, or UNITA. Those discussions are still underway, and the Council expects to begin an open debate on the implementation of sanctions in Angola after the consultations adjourn -- and, after that, to vote on the resolution, if Council members have reached agreement on the draft today.

Yesterday afternoon, the Council continued the discussion of sanctions regimes that began earlier that day with a seminar conducted by the International Peace Academy on their new report, "The Sanctions Decade". In the afternoon discussion, which went on into the evening, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast underscored that the Secretariat has undertaken a review of recent sanctions regimes in order to devise "smart" sanctions that may be more humane and more effective than at present.

Mr. Prendergast added, "There is a need for the Secretariat to be equipped with the necessary resources and specialized expertise if it is to administer the sanctions regimes effectively". Among other things, he noted, the Security Council and its sanctions committees should have comprehensive impact assessments of any sanctions regimes.

Member States who participated in the debate voiced the opinion that sanctions need to be adjusted to prevent harm to civilian populations and to be used more effectively.

Tomorrow, there will be another open debate, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict -- that's why Carolyn McAskie is coming in here a little bit later.

We've received some questions, by the way, on a report on missing persons and property by Kuwaiti and other nationals that will be discussed in the Security Council next week. We understand that that report will go to the Council later today, and we'll keep you posted on that.

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 18 April 2000

**Secretary-General Urges Policies for Sustained Economic Growth In Address to World Finance Ministers

This morning, at 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General participated in the third annual meeting between the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and finance ministers who participated in the spring meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C.

The Secretary-General welcomed the assembled guests, including Stanley Fischer, the Acting Managing Director of the IMF, the finance ministers of Thailand, Switzerland and Portugal, and the President of the Central Bank of Peru.

The Secretary-General said, "In an age when globalization and new technology are bringing hitherto unimaginable benefits to one part of humankind, it is shameful and unacceptable that another part -- and by most reckonings, the larger part -- remains excluded from those benefits, subjected to a life of grinding poverty often accompanied by malnutrition and disease".

He noted the proposal contained in the Millennium Report to reduce poverty by half by the year 2015, and urged policies for sustained economic growth, as well as efforts to invest in education and deal with the AIDS crisis, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. He added that, next week in Dakar, Senegal, he plans to launch a new initiative to "Educate Girls Now". That will be at the World Education Forum in Dakar.

We have copies of his speech available in my office.

Following his address, a panel discussion on reform of the global financial system began. That discussion will continue in the Economic and Social Council Chamber until 1:30 p.m. today. For further details, please contact ask Tim Wall at 963-5851.

**No Reports of Ceasefire Violations in Democratic Republic of Congo

There have been no reports of ceasefire violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the United Nations mission there (MONUC), which also reported that it has received ceasefire orders from all the parties to the conflict -- and that includes all rebel movements.

In addition, the United Nations mission reports that the Kinshasa airport has opened for Sabena, the Belgian airline. The first United Nations flight coming in will carry the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kamel Morjane. He is expected to arrive from Addis Ababa, where he met with the head of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim Ahmed Salim.

The United Nations team which completed its assessment of damage to United Nations equipment at the airport, which was convulsed by explosions on Friday following fire there, said the two United Nations aircraft at the airport at the time of the explosions -- an Ilyushin and an Antonov -- were damaged, but were expected to be repaired on the ground.

**Notes from Horn of Africa

The Secretary-General's Special Envoy on the Drought in the Horn of Africa, Catherine Bertini, has taken slightly ill on the last leg of her mission to the region and was not able to make a scheduled trip to northern Kenya today.

Ms. Bertini, who is the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, will give a press conference in Nairobi Wednesday at 11 a.m. local time as planned.

We have two related press releases on the drought in the Horn of Africa.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today that a human disaster could be averted in the Horn of Africa only if there is "inspired leadership" at every level. UNICEF outlines the threats to children and women in five eastern Africa countries.

Then, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Jacques Diouf, who is the recently appointed chairman of the United Nations Task Force for long-term food security, agricultural development and related aspects in the Horn of Africa, appealed for an urgent and adequate response from the international community.

**Notes from East Timor

From East Timor, we have word that autopsies on 20 bodies exhumed last week in Oecussi were conducted today in Dili, to determine the age and gender of the victims.

An estimated 75 people were killed during the Passabe massacre in Oecussi last September. So far, 65 bodies have been exhumed.

Also today, more than 500 East Timorese left Kupang in West Timor for Dili. This group includes 30 demobilized soldiers from the Indonesian Armed Forces. Earlier this month, 60 demobilized soldiers returned home to East Timor without any problems.

You'll be able to learn more about these issues, including the creation of an East Timorese judicial system, at tomorrow's briefing when our guest will be Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, who is the Deputy Legal Advisor to the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNTAET).

**Sporadic Fighting Across Chechnya Slows Pace of Returns, UNHCR Says

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today that sporadic fighting across Chechnya is causing new displacement and slowing the pace of returns, even though some people, mostly women with small children, keep going back. The situation was further complicated by the closure last week for security reasons of the main highway linking Chechnya and Ingushetia.

**Commission on Human Rights Votes on Draft Resolutions Today

The Commission on Human Rights is voting today on draft resolutions dealing with human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, the situation in southern Lebanon in West Bekaa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Rwanda, China, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Cuba, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the human rights situation in the Sudan.

We also have available in my office a press release from Habitat on housing rights and we hope to have the vote counts for the resolutions on country situations later today.

**Press Releases Out Today

Among the press releases issued today, we have the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia announce that the United Nations and Canada today signed an agreement for Canada to provide qualified personnel to assist in the Tribunal's investigations in Kosovo. The first Canadian team will depart for Kosovo on 1 May.

And also, the United Nations Information Service in Vienna has issued a release on the start of a meeting there today of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. That will last for three days and I think we mentioned that to you yesterday.

I've just been given a note that the Security Council consultations have ended and they are now about to begin their formal meeting on Angola.

**Press Conferences Tomorrow

At 11:15 a.m., in this room Nyam Osoryn Tuya, Minister for External Relations of Mongolia, will give a briefing.

And, as I've already mentioned to you, Hansjoerg Strohmeyer will be a guest at the noon briefing.

Then, following the conclusion of the Security Council's meeting tomorrow, Lloyd Axworthy, the Foreign Minister of Canada, will be joined by Canadian Ambassador Robert Fowler to discuss the Security Council session on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.

Are there any questions before we move on to Carolyn McAskie?

**Questions and Answers

Question: How concerned is the United Nations about the situation in Zimbabwe where disputes over land reform have led to the deaths of two white farmers?

Spokesman: We do continue to view this as a domestic matter, but I can say that the United Nations deplores the violence in Zimbabwe. We've been monitoring the situation for a while and will continue to monitor it closely. We believe that the differences over land reform should be settled by peaceful and constitutional means.

Question: Could you give us any idea regarding Lebanon; what the Secretary- General's schedule is in trying to deal with the border issue as well as perhaps beefing up the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) approaching the Israeli withdrawal?

Spokesman: I think you're a little ahead of us. We're still waiting for the Security Council to respond to the letter that the Secretary-General sent them yesterday conveying Israel's formal and written announcement of its intention to withdraw from southern Lebanon. In that letter, he mentioned that he would be sending his Special Envoy, Terje Roed Larsen, to the region. That will probably take place next week. But, we're waiting for something out of the Council. In the meantime of course, our contingency planning is ongoing, it's been underway for a while, but we have nothing to share with you about those details at this time.

Question: What is the Secretary-General's opinion regarding the sanctions on Angola? Does he feel there should be a six-month delay before any regime is established?

Spokesman: He doesn't step on the toes of the Security Council. They are discussing the current regime, and at least one proposal to tighten that regime. Governments are debating that issue and you'll hear their views in the open meeting this afternoon, I assume. So the Secretary-General is not going to pre- judge the outcome of today's meeting, which as I already mentioned, is expected to produce a resolution.

Question: Has there been a reassessment or investigation of the situation in Irian-Jaya given the recent demonstrations there?

Spokesman: On the last two occasions he met with the President of Indonesia, the Secretary-General has discussed -- and the President has very frankly discussed with him -- some of the turmoil within Indonesia and the steps that the Government is taking to try to resolve these various internal disputes in a peaceful way. But apart from that, I have no fresh guidance today on that subject.

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