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. The Secretary-General has asked the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to explore the possibility of helping facilitate a renewed land reform programme in Zimbabwe. UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown will be here shortly to describe the Secretary-General’s initiative and to take your questions.

**Security Council

Late last night, shortly before midnight, the Security Council voted unanimously in favour of resolution 1298, which places an arms embargo on Ethiopia and Eritrea for 12 months. After that 12-month period, the embargo could be renewed by the Council, but -- unlike previous sanctions regimes -- the renewal would require the positive vote of the Council. Sanctions could also end immediately if the Secretary-General determines that "a peaceful definitive settlement" has been concluded.

**Ethiopia-Eritrea Humanitarian

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the Eritrean authorities have requested emergency humanitarian assistance for some 200,000 newly displaced persons near the front lines. The request, made today of the UN team in Asmara, Eritrea, seeks food items, such as ready-to-eat meals and high protein biscuits, as well as medicine, water and shelter. The UN has set up an emergency response unit on the ground comprising UN humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organizations and Eritrean government representatives.

We also heard from the World Food Programme (WFP) which estimates that over 500,000 people from the villages and settlement camps in areas of insecurity of the Gash Barka region of Eritrea have fled over recent days due to the fighting. As soon as security permits, the WFP will be part of a planned assessment mission by the UN and the Government of Eritrea to areas where people are moving to determine numbers and precise needs. The priority now is to get food and supplies to the displaced people as quickly as possible, wherever they are. The WFP is urgently exploring ways to bring in high protein biscuits, powdered milk, sugar and Unimix -– the most appropriate food type for this situation -– to meet the immediate needs of the people. We have a WFP statement upstairs.

Mark, I know you’re in a hurry -– always. With your permission, Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to go back to the Zimbabwe item, and Mark will say a few words about that, take your questions and then I will resume my briefing.

(After Mark Malloch Brown’s briefing, which has been issued separately.)

**Sierra Leone

The UN mission in Sierra Leone reports relative quiet over the past 24 hours. There were no shooting incidents reported. Following on the heels of the return of 93 former UN detainees, another group of 44 were released into UN hands by Liberia yesterday, and they arrived in Freetown later in the evening. That brings the total released to 137. As with the previous group, these were reported in good physical health and they are being debriefed today.

Also today, another group of 13 freed detainees was brought from Foya, the Liberian border town, to Monrovia, the Liberian capital, from where they will be flown back to Freetown, Sierra Leone. As you recall, we had mentioned that the Liberian authorities had informed us yesterday that 80 more had been released and were waiting to be picked up in Foya. We hope the remaining freed detainees will swiftly be brought to Foya for onward transport to Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, there continue to be reports of some 30 to 40 injured believed to be in Sierra Leone, according to the Liberian authorities, and our lack of access to them continues to be a very serious concern. And, of course, United Nations policy on these detainees remains unchanged. We feel that all detainees must be released immediately and unconditionally. Foday Sankoh, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader, continues to be in the custody of the Government of Sierra Leone, but at an undisclosed location.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the humanitarian agencies on the ground are very concerned about the fate of former child soldiers and are trying to assist them to the best of their ability. Details of their locations and numbers are being withheld for security reasons. Human rights officers who had visited the Masiaka area earlier this week raised concern that a number of child combatants had been seen on that mission. They said it appeared as much as 25 to 30 per cent of the combatants were children between the ages of 7 and 14. No other details were given.

Here in the Council, late yesterday afternoon, members of the Security Council were briefed on Sierra Leone and discussed the matter there. The United Kingdom then introduced a draft resolution, which would increase the strength of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone to 13,000 in anticipation of the arrival of reinforcements that would push the force strength beyond the mandated 11,100 by early next week. (It is about 10,000 today). The Security Council has scheduled consultations on that resolution for 4 p.m. with a view to adopting it at a formal meeting afterwards.

**Security Council -– Lebanon

On Lebanon, the Council’s consultations that were originally scheduled for today have been moved until next Tuesday, and the Secretary-General’s report on Lebanon is expected to come out before that Tuesday meeting.

Also from Lebanon today, in southern Lebanon, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported intense fighting following a series of attacks by Hezbollah on South Lebanon Army, or SLA, as well as on Israeli positions. The UN mission could not confirm accounts of casualties on both sides. One UN soldier suffered some minor injuries from shrapnel following mortar fire by the armed elements, but no other UN casualties were reported. The situation in southern Lebanon is now described as calm. However, following the fighting, the SLA has declared the Hamra Bridge -– which is the only bridge linking many UN troops to the mission’s headquarters -– off-limits to the United Nations, the first such restriction of UN movement in that area in many years. The United Nations is urging the SLA to end any restrictions on the freedom of movement of its personnel and has stressed that access to the bridge is essential for the UN Force’s operations.

**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General

“The Secretary-General wishes to commend Haiti's electoral council, Haitian officials and the Haitian people for the great strides taken towards holding legislative and local elections on 21 May. Over the last few months, extensive efforts have been made to register voters, to establish a voting apparatus and to plan for this long-awaited polling.

“By turning out to register in large numbers, Haitians have demonstrated their commitment to constitutionality and to the democratic process. The Secretary-General was disheartened to learn this morning that a grenade was thrown at the offices of the electoral council, causing injury to several persons.

“Free and fair polling is an important milestone for Haiti in the restoration of governmental institutions and the strengthening of the democratic process. As election day approaches, the Secretary-General calls on all Haitians to forsake violence and to ensure that voters may exercise their constitutional right to vote without intimidation.”

**Flooding Kills 61 in West Timor

From East Timor, the briefing notes today from Dili indicate details of intense flooding which has hit the Betun region in West Timor, where there are several refugee camps for East Timorese. The flooding has killed at least 61 people, most of them East Timorese refugees, according to the Mission. In addition, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that an estimated 100,000 people have been affected by the floods and 35,000 people have been displaced, more than half of them from three refugee camps in the Betun area. Today, 10 trucks with staff from the International Organization for Migration arrived in the area, and other trucks are also transporting people and their belongings to higher ground.

**Bosnia -– Report on Trafficking Being Released

From Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Nations Mission there announced that a summary report by the UN Mission and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the subject of trafficking in human beings in Bosnia and Herzegovina was being released. The report covered recorded incidents of trafficking over an 18-month period and detailed the outcome of the first year of the joint inter-agency initiative. The report illustrated how a human rights framework could be used to combat what had become a serious violation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And we have more information on that, if you’re interested.

**Sri Lanka

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, today expressed alarm about the plight of civilians caught in the fighting in Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula. The Indian Navy has rescued scores of Sri Lankans who have fled the fighting, but Mrs. Ogata said she is disturbed by a reported statement that refugees will not be allowed entry into India. The UNHCR has repeatedly called on countries to open their borders to people seeking asylum.

**Afghanistan

We have the weekly update on Afghanistan in my Office, if you’re interested.

**Secretary-General to Pay Tribute to Pope

At 6:30 this evening, a symposium to celebrate the eightieth birthday of Pope John Paul II, which is sponsored by the Holy See Observer Mission, will be held in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, and the Secretary-General will attend. We have embargoed copies of his remarks to be delivered at that occasion, in which he notes that the Pope has helped to develop the concept of "the globalization of solidarity, whereby the benefits of our new age can be spread more equally among the world's peoples".

**Press Conference

And, finally, a press conference tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in room S-226 sponsored by the Department of Disarmament Affairs, entitled`"NPT 2000: What Happened, What's Next". A very long list of participants, and please, see the posted list on the bulletin board for details.

**Questions and Answers

Question: Why is it not possible to get the exact numbers of peacekeepers in detention?

Spokesman: Liberia has given us precise numbers of people that have been moved from detention in Sierra Leone onto Liberian soil, from which arrangements have been made to move them back to Sierra Leone. We have relatively precise figures of the numbers we feel are detained. These numbers have tended to fluctuate in the past, and we have tended to round them off, rather than give them to you as precise numbers. But, in the reporting from the mission to Headquarters there is a precise number, and if you want to, I can give it to you after the briefing.

Question: What are they going to do with Foday Sankoh? What is the view of the United Nations on this? Are there any indications that RUF fighters are going to be retaliating for his capture?

Spokesman: I said yesterday that we were watching that Cabinet meeting with interest. However, it ended without any public statements being made. The Secretary-General spoke with President Kabbah this morning, as well as with his Special Representative, Mr. Adeniji. The Government at this time is not prepared to make a public statement concerning Mr. Sankoh. We see at the present no indications of retaliation or plans for retaliations by the RUF.

Question: Is there any consideration given of him being tried as a war criminal in the future?

Spokesman: Our priorities are: get the detainees released; consolidate our positions in the country; and, if possible, get the political process restarted.

Question: Did the United Nations meet with Sankoh or try to negotiate the release of detainees through Sankoh? Do you feel that he has control over what his forces are doing?

Spokesman: At this time, we are not speaking to Foday Sankoh and, in fact, we do not even know where the Government is keeping him. We have been dealing with President Taylor of Liberia, who is designated by the West African Presidents to facilitate the release of the hostages.

Question: When will the Secretary-General's report on Sierra Leone come out?

Spokesman: I doubt it will be out tomorrow. There is a possibility it could come out over the weekend or possibly on Monday. But the expectation is that it will be distributed to the Security Council before their meeting on Tuesday. The weekend or Monday is an educated guess.

Question: Are there any plans for Mr. Larsen to go back to the Middle East?

Spokesman: Not that he is prepared to announce at this time.

Question: Is the United Nations effectively taking its cue on the future of Foday Sankoh from the Sierra Leone Government?

Spokesman: We are not a party to this agreement. It is an agreement that the Government cut with the RUF. It is really up to those two parties to decide where they want to go with this process. We are there to facilitate implementation of the Lomé Accord. It is up to them to decide, a) whether they consider the Accord still valid, and b) if so, are they ready to try to re- implement it.

Question: Apart from indications from the Liberian Government that 30 to 40 peacekeepers are either ill or injured, have you got any indications from them that the rest of the detainees are still alive?

Spokesman: The only word we have on the condition of the detainees that have not yet been released came from President Taylor, at a press conference in Monrovia, where he mentioned the 30 or 40 injured, who apparently cannot be transported by road. We have been preparing for medical evacuation by air, but until the arrangements have been made with the RUF who control the area where presumably these people are being held, we cannot go ahead with a medical evacuation. Question: You have not heard anything about anybody else?

Spokesman: No, but all the others that have come back appear to be in good shape. So we have no reason to suspect the worst of those who might still be in Sierra Leone, except for these 30 or 40 that President Taylor has referred to.

Question: Is a medical evacuation by road not possible because of their physical health, or because of restrictions on the terrain?

Spokesman: Again, we don't know their condition, but based on the comments of the Liberians, it is our impression that they are not well enough to travel over those bumpy roads. At least, that is my understanding.

Question: What help have you received from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or some other international humanitarian body about accessing these people and helping them?

Spokesman: Only, I think, what I said a week ago that we had asked the ICRC to use their good offices to try to gain access, but they have not been able to date.

Thank you very much.

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