DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000526The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Lebanon
On entering Headquarters today, the Secretary-General told reporters that the situation is calm on the border between Lebanon and Israel, and that United Nations troops are now patrolling the region and had moved closer to the border.
The Secretary-General said he hoped that the certification of Israel's withdrawal could be done "in the next few days", and that work on such certification has already begun. After that, he added, he hoped to bring in several thousand more troops to bolster the United Nations peacekeepers.
Earlier today in Beirut, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Terje Roed Larsen, said that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon -- or UNIFIL -- is actively engaged in a process of confirming, by both aerial surveillance and verification on the ground, whether Israel has withdrawn from Lebanon in compliance with resolution 425.
He told reporters in a press conference in Beirut, "The people of southern Lebanon will be seeing a lot of UNIFIL teams in the coming days." Already, he said, the United Nations peacekeepers have started checking throughout the south whether Israel and its allied South Lebanon Army have left the area entirely.
We made available copies of Mr. Larsen's opening comments at the press conference, at which he also discussed the matter of the Shabaa Farms, and said he was encouraged by the release of the detainees at al-Khiam prison.
Mr. Larsen is currently in Naqoura, the United Nations Force's headquarters in southern Lebanon, where he and the Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Seth-Kofi Obeng, are discussing with cartographic experts how to proceed with the technical issues towards confirming Israel's withdrawal.
As you might recall, the United Nations team intends to mark a "practical line" on the ground to conform to the 1923 international boundary line between Israel and Lebanon, after which the United Nations Force can determine whether Israeli forces have withdrawn to the line.
Also today, the United Nations Force confirmed that more Lebanese police and civilian administrators are arriving in southern Lebanon. The Secretary-General said that he hoped that once Israel's withdrawal is certified, the Lebanese Government will also begin sending in army elements to the south.
**Sierra Leone
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone said today that there were indications that the bodies found in United Nations uniforms at Rogberi Junction earlier this week were those of United Nations personnel. United Nations spokesman David Wimhurst in Freetown said that on 6 May there had been a battle
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 26 May 2000
with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) at the site, and he added that the Zambians had reported four of their soldiers missing from that battle, and at least two Nigerians had also reported missing from the fight.
A United Nations team visited the site this week, but were not able to identify the bodies which were in an advanced stage of decomposition. A more vigorous investigation, including forensic experts, still needs to be pursued. Forensic experts are being sought by the United Nations.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Mission said the human rights situation is extremely precarious and may deteriorate if fighting continues. Human rights investigators do not have a complete picture yet, but based on sites visited over the past three weeks, they reported on violations against civilians and prisoners. The RUF continues to hold thousands of persons abducted in previous years -- many of them child soldiers and forcibly recruited civilians. Children, some as young as 10, are also to be found among government-allied forces. A press release is available on the human rights situation in Sierra Leone.
We have nothing new on the military and detainee front to report to you today, but on the humanitarian side, a new group of up to 10,000 people fleeing fighting was reported on Tasso Island in the estuary between Lungi and Freetown. They were found in deplorable condition, without adequate water, sanitation, medicine and shelter.
In Lungi yesterday, the United Nations Mission rendered ineffective 4,000 rounds of ammunition, 30 hand grenades and nine rocket-propelled grenades collected from combatants.
**Fiji
Yesterday afternoon, in a statement attributable to the Spokesman, the Secretary-General voiced his dismay at the recommendation by Fiji's Grand Council of Chiefs to replace the democratically elected Government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.
The Secretary-General appealed to President Ratu Mara to resolve the crisis on the basis of Fiji's 1997 Constitution, and noted the necessity of upholding the democratic process.
The Prime Minister and many senior government officials continue to be held hostage in the Fijian Parliament by a group of men led by businessman George Speight.
The Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon, met with the hostages and with Speight on Wednesday, and both said the international community would not accept an unconstitutional transfer of power.
Speaking to the press at the John Quincy Adams Society in Washington, D.C., yesterday, the Secretary-General said he would submit a report to the Security Council, based on a report he received from Mr. Vieira de Mello, and that the Council would decide what to do next to handle the current crisis.
**Olara Otunnu
The Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, welcomes yesterdays adoption by the General Assembly of a new treaty, which prohibits the compulsory recruitment of children under 18 and their participation in combat. Mr. Otunnu urges Member States to sign and ratify the agreement as swiftly as possible.
The Optional Protocol will be open for signature by Member States from 5 to 9 June in New York at a special session on gender equality, known as Beijing+5. Thereafter, it will be available for signature at a social development summit in Geneva from 26 to 30 June and then at the Millennium Summit in New York from 6 to 8 September. I have a press release on that in my Office, if you're interested.
**Security Council
There is no meeting of the Security Council today. The next meeting of the Council is scheduled for next Tuesday, when members expect to vote in formal sessions on resolutions to extend the mandates of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, based in the Golan Heights. The current mandates of those two missions are set to expire at the end of May.
**UNOPS Conference
On 1 June, new partnerships between United Nations agencies and corporations will be unveiled during a conference organized for the business community by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The two-day high-level conference and workshop series will take place at the Jacob Javits Center in New York on 31 May and 1 June. Copies of the programme are available in my Office.
Reinhart Helmke, the Executive Director of UNOPS, as well as other senior conference participants, are available for interviews as of today, if you are interested. If you want to arrange those interviews or ask further questions, please call Hugh Locke at 867-8086. And, of course, you are welcome to attend the event, but you are asked to pre-register by calling 457-1031.
**Convention on Biological Diversity
The Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity ended a two-week session today at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to the signing earlier this week of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety by 64 governments plus the European Community, a series of decisions were taken by the 156 participating countries on such issues as protecting the world's drylands and other particularly vulnerable ecosystems, the impact of tourism, and ensuring access to, and equitably sharing the benefits from, genetic resources. We have the UNEP press release on that.
**Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
Just a few minutes ago at noon, the Secretary-General met with the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) Organization, Wolfgang Hoffmann, to sign an agreement regulating the Commission's relationship with the United Nations.
This is the first relationship agreement to be concluded between the United Nations and a preparatory commission. The Preparatory Commission in this case is an organization which will work to prepare the establishment of the future CTBT Organization; and as such, the Commission will carry out any work necessary to operationalize the CTBT's global verification regime. We have a press release on that.
**Mother Teresa Statue
Who reads the New York Post? Well, anyway, so you probably missed an article this morning saying that a statue of Mother Teresa has been rejected by the United Nations, offered as a gift of Albania. We say this is not true. The mission of Albania has, in fact, though, been consulting with the United Nations Arts Committee, with a view to presenting a gift. There has been some discussion about a presentation of a statue of Mother Teresa, but there's nothing formal on the table right now.
The article talked about rejecting it on the basis of its artistic value - that's not the issue. We have no opinion on the quality of the statue in question. We're waiting to hear from Albania about a gift, which according, to established practice, should be representative of the culture or art of the State presenting it. By the way, the article refers to Mother Teresa's birthplace as Skopje, Albania. Skopje, of course, is the capital of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
**Payments
We received payment today from Mozambique, which became the ninetieth State to be paid in full, with a check for just over $10,000.
And on other budget news, we have the "Status of Contributions to the Regular, Peacekeeping and International Tribunal Budgets" as of 15 May.
**NGO Millennium Forum
Today is the last day of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Millennium Forum. There will be a programme in the General Assembly Hall, starting at 3 p.m., to mark its closure, which will include presentations by several civil society leaders and a report on the status of the Millennium Forum Declaration, which the NGOs gathered here have been working on this week.
At about 5 p.m., Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will address the closing session of the Forum.
And a reminder that at 1 p.m. today, Techeste Ahderom, the Co-Chair of the Millennium Forum, will give you a press conference here reporting on the Forum's outcome.
**Briefing Notes
We have upstairs briefing notes from Kosovo today, which include a report that fire units from all over the province were called in to fight a fire in a former battery factory at the Trepce zinc mining complex in Mitrovica.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) briefing notes contain updates on population movements in Sri Lanka and a planned return of Congolese refugees from Angola.
**Week Ahead
Saturday in Paris, tennis player and World Health Organization (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador Martina Hingis and Thierry Caillier, the former French wheelchair tennis champion, are to participate in a public awareness campaign called "Match Point against Polio". They will urge tennis fans to support the global effort to eradicate polio during the weekend before the French Open.
Monday is Memorial Day. This place is closed. Don't try to get in. Don't call us. Go to the beach.
Tuesday, the Ambassador of Samoa, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, and Alan Simcock of the United Kingdom's Department of Environment, Transport and Regions, will have a press conference here to discuss the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Ocean Affairs.
Wednesday, for Richard Roth [of CNN], is World No-Tobacco Day. We look forward to his questions on that day.
Thursday, Security Council presidency rotates from China to France. Ambassador Jean-David Levitte takes over from Ambassador Wang Yingfan. Ambassador Levitte will hold bilateral consultations on the programme of work.
Also on Thursday, the Secretary-General's report to the Security Council on the implementation of resolution 1283, concerning Cyprus, is due. And also, the report of the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) to the Security Council is expected.
On Friday, the Council begins a weekend retreat with the Secretary-General.
And the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Carolyn McAskie, will return from a weeklong visit to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, where she examined humanitarian assistance efforts throughout Yugoslavia.
**Farewell to Myriam
And, on a personal note, I would like to tell you that Myriam Dessables, who's been working with us and has been our vital link, among other things, to Mary Robinson's shop in Geneva, the two Tribunals, Klaus Topfer's operation in Nairobi and everywhere else, is leaving us. Today is her last day. She's going to move over to a unit in the Department of Public Information. Thank you Myriam for being such a good support to us and for servicing our colleagues in the Press here so well.
Your questions before we take off for a three-day weekend?
**Question-and-Answer Session
Question: Has the Secretary-General been in contact with anybody else about the crisis in Fiji? I'm thinking of the South Pacific Forum or possibly the Australian Government.
Spokesman: I'm not aware that he's placed any calls to Australia or to Fiji. By sending Sergio Vieira De Mello and then talking to de Mello after he returned, I think he feels he's got a first-hand sense of what's going on there. And now he's handing it over to the Security Council, as I've mentioned.
Question: What are the indications that these chaps in Sierra Leone are United Nations, further than the original things like Zambian papers and so forth? Also, is the United Nations thinking that they were perhaps killed in the fire fight of 6 May because there were reports, and I think you mentioned them, as well, that at least some of them had been shot in the head, and there was one report that one of the bodies had his hands tied behind his back?
Spokesman: We really dont know. The speculation is because there were soldiers reported missing following that fire fight on 6 May, that the fight took place at the location roughly where these bodies had been found, and that they were in United Nations uniforms - but we said that was not conclusive evidence because United Nations uniforms had been stolen by the RUF. Among the bodies that are there, although we are concluding now that they do include our people, we can't rule out that there might also be some RUF among them. So what we really need is forensic experts now to try to do whatever they can to definitively identify these people.
You had a second question?
Question: One report said that one of the bodies had his hands tied behind his back, and you'd mentioned, as well, that at least some of them were shot in the head.
Spokesman: I don't think I want to say any more until we can have experts look at these people and try to decide how they might have died.
Question: First on Lebanon, has Israel provided maps showing where they have placed land mines in that southern zone?
Spokesman: I understand that they have met with us and discussed the mine situation in the south and that they were turning over maps. That's what I heard. Let me just confirm that after the briefing before you take it as fact. But I believe that is so, yes. [It was later confirmed as true.]
Question: On Peru, does the Secretary-General have any position on what's going on there in terms of the election, given what the OAS [Organization of American States] has been saying and other international observers?
Spokesman: Not so far. He hasn't given me anything to say to you on Peru.
Question: The Secretary-General, on his way in, said he hoped to speak to President Taylor today. If he does, can we get an update on what President Taylor tells him about his hopes of being able to get the rest of the detainees released.
Spokesman: They spoke briefly just before the noon briefing, and President Taylor was then to get back to the Secretary-General with some information the Secretary-General asked for. So I think it'll be the second phone conversation that will be more significant, and I'll see if I can get a read-out for you.
Question: Where is this retreat next weekend?
Spokesman: I don't know if I'm able to tell you. I'll have to ask if we can release that information.
Question: On the drawing of lots this morning, since it was closed to the Press, any information on how that went? And also, why was it closed to the Press?
Spokesman: I understand that these lots-drawing exercises are always closed, at least that's what Shirley was telling me. Why don't you address that question to Shirley? I assume she was monitoring how it went this morning. We had a Department of Public Information film crew in the room, but only to record the event for technical purposes, not for public information purposes. Otherwise, check with Shirley, please.
Question: I'm trying to understand this Mother Teresa business. If her birth certificate could be falsified or changed from Skopje to the current holders of the city, then it would be all right? Of course, she was an Indian citizen when she died. What government would she legally qualify to be offered by as far as the United Nations rules are concerned?
Spokesman: I'm not going to answer that.
Follow-up Question: Where were you born, Fred?
Spokesman: We can talk after the briefing. Thank you very much.
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