DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF THE 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.

**World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal

The Secretary-General this morning opened the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, calling on governments and civic groups to focus on educating girls as part of a renewed effort to provide educational opportunities to all youngsters worldwide. The objective, he said, is that by 2015 all children should be able to complete their primary education, a goal he first announced in his Millennium Report.

“The first step”, he said, "is for societies to recognize that educating girls is not an option; it is a necessity". After giving his address, the Secretary-General stepped outside the conference complex where students were demonstrating in support of the conference's goals. They carried signs saying, "Education is freedom"; and one girl held a placard which read, "Teach us too". The Secretary-General and his wife spent about a quarter of an hour mingling and chatting with the students.

At midday, the Secretary-General met with Senegal's new president, Abdoulaye Wade, who was accompanied by his Prime Minister, Moustapha Niasse, his Foreign Minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, and other members of the new Government.

The Secretary-General said that Senegal's peaceful and democratic change of Government was an inspiration for all of Africa. The President discussed national issues, such as the separatist movement in Casamance, which he said he was confident could be resolved peacefully, and regional ones such as peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As you recall, Mr. Niasse had been the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peace process.

The Secretary-General and the President then had a private exchange before a luncheon hosted by the President.

In the afternoon, he gave a press conference at the World Education Forum, the audio of which was just aired on UNTV. The two will then attend two receptions, one hosted by Niasse, and the other by Senegal’s Education Minister.

**Terje Roed-Larsen

I have a statement, issued through his Spokesman, by the Secretary-General.

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Terje Roed-Larsen, will begin a mission to the Middle East on 27 April -- that is tomorrow. As indicated in the Secretary-General's letter to the Security Council of 17 April, he will consult with the relevant parties regarding the implementation of Security Council resolutions 425 and 426 (1978). The Security Council, in its presidential statement of 20 April, welcomed the decision of the Secretary-General to send his Special Envoy to the region. Between 27 April and 9 May, Mr. Roed-Larsen will

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 26 April 2000

visit Israel and Lebanon and a number of other countries in the region, including Syria, Jordan and Egypt. He is scheduled to return to Headquarters on 10 May. He will be accompanied by a team of political, military and legal advisors.

The Secretary-General wishes to take this opportunity to reiterate his commitment to the attainment of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the entire Middle East region based on the implementation of all relevant resolutions, including 242 and 338.

**Security Council

This morning the Security Council, in its closed consultations, heard a briefing from Yuli Vorontsov, the Secretary-General's High-level Coordinator for Iraq, on missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals. Mr. Vorontsov briefed the Council on the Secretary-General's report issued last week on that topic.

Ambassador Vorontsov was appointed High-level Coordinator on 14 February, and in the two months since then he has engaged in talks in New York, as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, to pursue outstanding issues on missing persons and detainees.

He encouraged Iraq to cooperate with the Tripartite Commission that has dealt with this issue and has helped to repatriate some 6,000 Kuwaiti prisoners of war over the past decade, with Iraq's participation.

Tonight, an eight-member delegation of the Security Council, led by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, will depart New York on a mission to Kosovo, which is to last until Sunday, 30 April.

Then, two days later, on 2 May, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the United States will lead a seven-member Council delegation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as to Lusaka, Zambia, to meet with regional leaders and determine the state of the region's peace process. On the racks today is a list of the delegation members traveling to the DRC, and a note on that mission's mandate; the delegation is scheduled to return to New York on 8 May.

Also on the DRC: yesterday afternoon, the Council held a private meeting to hear a briefing by the Neutral Facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, former President Ketumile Masire of Botswana.

He told the Council that the parties are at the end of a preliminary phase of consultations, and that preparations should begin for the next phase -- a dialogue among all the Congolese parties. He said he is drawing up a work plan for that phase, and welcomed the Council team's planned trip to the region.

**Palestine Refugees

Today, at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, delegates from around the world -- including Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestine Authority -- met to begin a two-day International Conference on Palestine Refugees.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General, urging the Israelis and Palestinians to move the peace process forward and to address, among other issues, the plight of the more than 3 million Palestine refugees.

The Secretary-General said in his message: "The parties have traveled a long way, but much remains to be achieved. We cannot allow despair and frustration to set in and upset all that has been accomplished thus far".

We have copies of the message upstairs.

The Paris meeting was organized by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States.

**Angola

Today, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs presented the findings of a rapid needs assessment mission undertaken in 31 locations throughout Angola, in close collaboration with the Government, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations. The rapid assessment follows a recent United Nations interagency mission to Angola that was led by Carolyn McAskie, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, a.i., who was there from 18-23 March. As you recall, she came to you to talk about that mission here in Room 226.

She says, "It is important for the international community and the Government of Angola to react promptly if we are to avert the current crisis from becoming a major humanitarian tragedy". Copies of that report are available in our office.

**Iraq

We have two items today from the Office of the Iraq Programme.

The first is the regular weekly update, giving a summary of last week's oil sales and new figures for the volume of oil approved for sale during the current six-month phase. Last week, Iraq exported 16.4 million barrels of oil worth around $351 million. Total revenue for phase VII is now around $5.47 billion.

The second is a copy of Executive Director Benon Sevan's prepared remarks to yesterday afternoon's formal meeting of the 661 Committee, which focused on the issue of the observation mechanism in the centre and south of Iraq.

As you know, the Government of Iraq is responsible for the distribution of supplies in the centre and south of the country, with the United Nations and its agencies observing that implementation to make assessments based on the three criteria of equity, effectiveness and adequacy.

Mr. Sevan advised the Committee that his office has 151 observation posts in Iraq, but that 46 of these posts are currently vacant.

**Commission on Human Rights

In Geneva, several resolutions were voted this morning at the Commission on Human Rights, including one on “Human Rights Defenders”, in which the Commission expresses its concern that in many countries, persons and organizations engaged in promoting and defending human rights and fundamental freedoms are often subjected to threats, harassment and insecurity. The Commission requests the Secretary- General to appoint, for a period of three years, a special representative to report on the situation of human rights defenders in all parts of the world, and on possible means to enhance their protection. The vote count and the resolution are available upstairs in the Spokesman's office.

**High-level Segment on Sustainable Development

Some 50 ministers of environment and agriculture are participating today and tomorrow in the High-Level Segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development. This morning, they will hold talks on sustainable agriculture policies, and this afternoon on arrangements for the Earth Summit +10 conference in 2002. A list of ministers is available in the Spokesman's office.

**Kosovo

In other press releases, we have one from The United Nations Population Fund and the International Organization for Migration, along with the Kosovo Office of Statistics. They have put out a fact sheet today on the results of a demographic survey taken this winter of Kosovo's population. The survey finds that half of Kosovo's population is less than 25 years old; half of the active population is unemployed; and Kosovo has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in Europe (that is 25 deaths per 1,000 live births). We have a press release upstairs on that.

**Afghanistan

In the latest weekly update for Afghanistan -- that is the humanitarian update -- the World Health Organization (WHO) notes the outbreak of a possible louse-borne disease in the province of Badakhshan, which has led to fevers, rashes and even deaths. The WHO is trying to organize insecticide for the affected area. The update also provides details of the eradication this month of 100 hectares of opium poppies in Nangahar.

And we have a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) press release on the use of cassava.

**International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia

We have a press release from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, saying that Dragan Nikolic, who was transferred to the custody of the Tribunal on Saturday, is to appear before Judge David Hunt in order to enter a plea of not-guilty or guilty to the charges contained in his amended indictment, either immediately or within 30 days.

**Take Our Daughters to Work Day

And finally, tomorrow is "Take Our Daughters to Work Day". That will be observed here at United Nations Headquarters from 9:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. Staff, members of delegations and accredited media are invited to bring girls aged 9-15 to work with them to participate in the day's activities.

Speakers include Penny Wensley, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations; Gloria Steinem, feminist writer and co-founder of the Ms. Foundation for Women; and Colonel Eileen Collins of NASA, the first woman Space Shuttle commander. A closing statement will be delivered by Roberta Guaspari, the violin teacher whose life story was the subject of the movie "Music of the Heart".

At 11:15 a.m., here in Room 226, there will be a press conference with Ambassador Wensley, Ms. Steinem and Ms. Guaspari, along with model/actress/UNICEF spokeswoman Vendela Thommessen, and Alex Berke, a 15-year-old reporter for Children's Express, a newspaper run by children.

You can get more information by contacting 963-6828.

**Press Conferences

Scheduled today, at 3 p.m.: Franz Fischler, European Union Commissioner for Agriculture, following his participation in the High-level Segment of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Tomorrow, at 10:30 a.m.: "Environment and Trade Policy Linkages in the Post-Seattle Context", with Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and David Runnalls, President, the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

At 11:15 a.m., as I mentioned, there will be the "Take our Daughters to Work Day" press conference here.

At 2:30 p.m., we have Ambassador Hubert de la Fortelle, Representative of France to the Conference on Disarmament, on the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

That is all. I am sorry for the delay. We should have transcripts of the Secretary-General's press conference in Dakar, Senegal, available later in the day. [It was later announced that only audio tapes would be available.]

**Questions and Answers

Question: Will there be an itinerary for the Council mission to Kosovo?

Associate Spokesman: I have not seen a detailed itinerary yet. [It was later announced that a programme was available in the Spokesman’s office.

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