DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000519The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's non briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
** Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone was reported quiet overnight. Our primary concern continues to be the remaining roughly 350 detained United Nations personnel in that country. We have no new information concerning them. The most recent group of 13 were taken to Freetown last night. They had been liberated yesterday. All these 13 were reported in good health and are now being debriefed in Freetown at Lungi reception centre -- thats at the airport in Freetown.
The Security Council voted a short while ago on a resolution on Sierra Leone, raising the troop strength of the United Nations force on an interim basis to 13,000. The previous authorized strength was 11,100, and that is expected to be exceeded shortly. As of this morning, the force strength was reported to be more than 10,200.
The Secretary-Generals report on Sierra Leone is being finalized today. It is not likely to be released until the weekend, or possibly Monday. It would go into translation tonight.
On the humanitarian front, the World Food Programme warned today that the recent upsurge in fighting and insecurity in Sierra Leone is seriously disrupting the work of thousands of farmers throughout the country, especially in areas where there have recently been clashes.
The UNHCR reported reported that the latest arrivals of refugees on Wednesday, numbering some 650, came from the Port Loko area, northeast of Freetown, where they reported heavy fighting between the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Government troops. This raised the number of new arrivals in Guinea since the beginning of May to nearly 2,000.
Humanitarian agencies are assisting some 6,000 newly displaced in Freetown.
The RUF leader, Foday Sankoh, is still in the custody of the Sierra Leone Government.
The crisis action team - that is our own Secretariat-based team -- will continue to meet over the weekend and the troop contributors will be briefed as well.
** Ethiopia/Eritrea
The humanitarian crisis in Eritrea is becoming more acute.
The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) warned today of a looming humanitarian crisis in Eritrea, where UNICEF now says the Government now
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 19 May 2000
estimates that as many as 1 million people have been displaced within the last week due to the conflict with neighbouring Ethiopia..
With an additional 300,000 people already suffering from drought-related hunger and illness, nearly half of Eritreas population of about 3.1 million people may be in need of an international humanitarian lifeline, according to UNICEF.
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, said, "In the space of one week weve seen an overwhelming humanitarian crisis develop I cant recall another instance when such a serious natural disaster was followed so quickly by a man-made disaster. And its the innocent civilians - including a quarter of a million children under the age of five - who have their backs against the wall.
UNICEF staff in Eritrea reported that the capital of Asmara is fast becoming the primary destination of displaced populations.
Humanitarian agencies embarked today on a rapid assessment mission to one of the places where the displaced have been reported.
Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that thousands of Eritrean refugees are crossing the border into Sudan to flee fighting. Estimates range from 6,000 new arrivals yesterday to more than 20,000. UNHCR is currently assisting some 160,000 Eritreans in 12 camps in Sudan. Many of them have been there for up to 25 years.
** UN Helicopters Help Flood Relief in West Timor
Early this morning, two helicopters belonging to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAT) went into West Timor, on the request of the Indonesian Government, to help deal with the crisis following the extensive flooding that hit the Belu district of West Timor.
The helicopters are helping efforts to evacuate flood victims to higher ground and to deliver relief supplies, and are expected to be assigned to flood relief efforts for at least one week.
The Secretary-General informed the Security Council of the request from the Indonesian authorities for emergency assistance during its consultations yesterday afternoon, and the Council noted his proposal to accede to that request.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance says that an estimated 20,000 people have been affected by the flooding, with 48 people confirmed dead - most of them East Timorese refugees residing in camps in West Timor - and unconfirmed reports by local police of more than 125 deaths so far. An estimated 100,000 people live in the affected area, including some 16,000 refugees.
The UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration are assessing the situation on the ground, and Indonesian authorities have said they will need medicines, food, mobile kitchens, tents, fuel and equipment for water purification.
East Timor has also been hit with some of the flooding, particularly near Suai, but there are no reports so far of any casualties.
** Robinson Ends Visit to Brazil
Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ended a four-day visit to Brazil yesterday. She called for further efforts from the Government to close the gap between legislation and implementation in areas, such as child labour, indigenous rights, violence against women, racial discrimination, reported police brutality and conditions in prisons.
We have a press release, if you are interested.
** Secretary-General to Deliver Remarks at BBC Millennium Concert
Also in my office, we have embargoed copies of remarks that the Secretary- General is scheduled to deliver tonight at 8 p.m. at the Roseland Ballroom (240 West 53rd St.), where he and his wife Nane will attend the BBC World Service Millennium Concert. The Secretary-General will deliver some remarks about jazz music, prior to a concert that will be given by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis.
** Kosovo
We had a few questions earlier this morning, asking if the Secretary- General had any reaction to the vote in the United States Senate yesterday concerning a continued United States troop presence in Kosovo.
The Secretary-General, of course, welcomes the result of the vote. The international community still faces enormous challenges in Kosovo, and the Secretary-General welcomes the continued support by all nations for the Kosovo Force and the work of the United Nations Mission there.
** Information Technology Event
From the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), executives from Ericcson, Nokia and Grameenphone will speak on the future of information technology developments at 3 p.m. today, and that will take place in the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium. The event is organized by UNDP and is one of a series of information technology presentations sponsored by the Economic and Social Council.
Media are invited. If you are interested, contact Mona Affifi, 906-6469.
**Highlights from the Week Ahead
This Sunday, the Secretary-General will be heading to Indiana, USA, to give the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame.
On Monday, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Millennium Forum will begin at Headquarters, where the Secretary-General is scheduled to address the Forum on its opening day. There will be a press conference at 11 a.m. to launch the "Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2000".
The Secretary-General's reports to the Security Council on Sierra Leone, Western Sahara and the United Nations Disengagement Force -- that is UNDOF -- on the Golan Heights, as well as the situation in the Middle East, all due at the beginning of next week.
And, of course, with all those NGOs here for the Millennium Forum, you'd better eat outside the building. The cafeteria will be impossible.
On Wednesday, the Security Council has scheduled consultations on the Middle East, at which Special Envoy Terje Roed Larsen is expected to brief the Council on his recent trip to the region to discuss Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. It has also scheduled consultations on Sierra Leone that day. Consideration of the Lebanon item has now been moved from Tuesday, which was the last thing we announced, to Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Security Council will hold informal consultations on UNDOF in the Golan Heights and the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The current mandates of both Missions expire on 31 May. And then, in the afternoon, the Council has scheduled an open briefing on East Timor. This is all Thursday.
The Secretary-General that day will travel to Washington, D.C., for a single day programme, where he will deliver a commencement address at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. While he is in Washington, he is also expected to meet with senior United States officials and to appear at the John Quincy Adams lunch with members of the United States House of Representatives.
Those are some of the highlights for next week. It is a quiet, rainy Friday, but that doesn't mean that there is not a question.
**Questions and Answers
Question: What is the status of negotiations through or with Charles Taylor? He made a few promises that don't seem to be fulfilled. What is the Charles Taylor factor right now?
Spokesman: He remains the principal facilitator of the release of the hostages, and he is doing that at the behest of the West African Heads of State, who met in Abuja last week. You said he seems to have reneged or something. The only disappointment we had was yesterday, when originally President Taylor had told us that there were 80 additional freed peacekeepers waiting to be picked up at the Liberian border town of Foya. When we went down there, we found only 13. On the other hand, President Taylor was out of the country yesterday, visiting Mali, and I don't know if that was a factor.
I wouldn't say we are disappointed. We continue to insist that all of these detainees, with their equipment and their weapons, be returned to us immediately and unconditionally.
Question: There is a report from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, that the Australian Foreign Minister said that a deal was near. Can you confirm that?
Spokesman: No, I have nothing new to say on the plans to come up with a formula for a trial for the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia that would meet
international standards. We continue to exchange letters with the Cambodian Government and we hope there will eventually be agreement on a formula that would be acceptable to all.
Question: There are reports that the Secretary-General wants a force in Sierra Leone of as high as 16,000. Is that true? If so, is that going to be pushed for next week?
Spokesman: For that you will have to see his report, which I said would be out over the weekend or on Monday. The concern was that the arrival of additional troops was happening so quickly that an interim authorization of a higher ceiling was needed. That is what the Security Council did today. Will the Secretary-General ask for more than 13,000? Yes. What number will that be? Please wait for the report.
Question: National Public Radio this morning reported a dead peacekeeper. Did you say that everything is quiet in Sierra Leone?
Spokesman: Yes, there were no shooting incidents in Sierra Leone in the last 24 hours. I don't have an update here of fatalities. If you check with me after the briefing, I'll tell you what the last reported casualty in Sierra Leone was.
Thank you very much. Enjoy your weekend.