DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000531The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Security Council Consultations
Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council received an update from Under- Secretary-General Kieran Prendergast on the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The two Governments have sent delegations to Algiers for proximity talks under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its Chair, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Currently, there are indications that Eritrea has withdrawn to its position of the status quo ante of 6 May 1998, as the Security Council has called for, but Ethiopia has yet to do so.
In a statement to the press following the consultations, Council President Wang Yingfan of China welcomed the resumption of the proximity talks and said the Council fully supported the OAU's efforts.
This morning, the Council has been holding consultations to discuss the text of a draft resolution on Western Sahara. Once those consultations end, the Council expects to go into formal meetings to vote on extending the mandates of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights. Both missions' current mandates expire at the end of today.
Later this afternoon, the Secretary-General's report on Cyprus is expected to go to the Council.
Today is the last day of the Council presidency of Chinese Ambassador Wang Yingfan. Tomorrow, Jean-David Levitte of France will begin his presidency for the month of June by holding bilateral consultations with other Council members on the programme of work for the coming month.
**Statement by Secretary-General on Admission of Israel to Western European and Others Group
I was pleased to learn of the decision of the Western European and Others Group to admit Israel as a temporary member. This step rectifies a long-standing anomaly. It should pave the way for Israel to participate on an equal footing with other nations in the main organs of the United Nations, and it upholds the principle, enshrined in the Charter, of equality among all Member States. This decision is particularly welcome at a time when all people of goodwill are hoping for early and decisive progress in the Middle East peace process.
**Lebanon
Today in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Salim el-Hoss and his Cabinet, along with more than 100 Parliamentary deputies, participated in an extraordinary session of Parliament in the town of Bint Jbeil. The legislators discussed the need for reconstruction in southern Lebanon following Israel's withdrawal. The special session has been one of the largest signs of increased presence by the
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 31 May 2000
Lebanese authorities in the south, along with the arrival of a growing number of police and civilian officers.
Meanwhile, the United Nations is continuing work on technical assessment for mine clearance in southern Lebanon, with a team from the United Nations Mine Action Service. The team is due to return to New York tomorrow and report on how to proceed, and is expected to recommend urgent support for mine awareness programmes. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expects to deploy troops trained in demining by 1 July, and a demining brigade from Ukraine is expected to arrive shortly.
The Special Envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, is meeting today in Damascus with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa. Before arriving in Syria, Larsen yesterday also went to the Lebanese border, where he said that Israel and its ally, the South Lebanon Army, have left the interior of southern Lebanon. He added that the United Nations technical work to confirm that Israel has pulled back to the internationally recognized border is continuing.
United Nations cartographic work is proceeding on the ground, in its effort to mark a practical line based on the 1923 border, for verifying Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
We just received from Damascus a press release following the conclusion of Mr. Larsen's meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister. Mr. Larsen said he was "very pleased" to learn that he and Minister al-Sharaa "are in full agreement on every matter related to the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon".
We have copies of the statement upstairs.
**Sierra Leone
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone reports that the military situation has been relatively quiet, with no fighting between United Nations peacekeepers and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters for the past 10 days.
Efforts continued to end the encirclement by the RUF of the more than 250 United Nations personnel at Kuiva and Kailahun and to restore their freedom of movement.
Reinforcement of the Mission also continues. As of this morning, the United Nations force was reported to be 11,280-strong.
The United Nations assessment mission headed by General Manfred Eisele, formerly of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, to review and assess United Nations operations in response to the crisis that erupted in Sierra Leone on 1 May, is scheduled to leave New York today.
**Kosovo
The United Nations Mission in Kosovo announced that today marked the beginning of international mail service to and from the province. To mark the occasion, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, wrote the Secretary-General a letter saying that many Kosovar families who are dispersed all over the world will now be brought closer by letters.
The United Nations Mission said there are 90 post offices open around Kosovo, compared with 130 before the war. There are about 100 letters a week in circulation internally in Kosovo. The postal service is currently using 60 motorcycles and 10 vans to deliver mail.
We have available today's briefing notes from Kosovo, and a press release on the visit to Pristina by the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Lord Robertson, who warned Kosovar leaders against continued violence.
**UNEP Global Forum Ends
The first meeting of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum concluded earlier today in Malmo, Sweden, with the adoption of the Malmo Declaration. In it, the world's environment ministers agreed that the 2002 conference to review the Rio Earth Summit should aim at addressing the major challenges to sustainable development, particularly "the pervasive effects of the burden of poverty on a large proportion of the Earth's inhabitants" seen against the "excessive and wasteful consumption and inefficient resource use" by others. The Declaration will also provide a crucial input to the Millennium Assembly and Summit in September.
**Provisional List of Speakers at Millennium Summit to Be Available 2 July
Yesterday, Under-Secretary-General Yongjian Jin of the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services conveyed to the Secretary-General the results of the drawing of lots for speakers' positions for the Millennium Summit, to be held from 6 to 8 September. The drawing of lots took place on Friday, 26 May, in the General Assembly Hall. The first provisional list, which will be rearranged by categories, will be posted on the Web on Friday, 2 June.
According to preliminary information, there will be 115 Heads of State (including Switzerland), 47 Heads of Government (including the Holy See), five Vice-Presidents and one Crown Prince. The Observer for Palestine has indicated that it will be represented at the highest level.
**Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
On 26 May, Namibia and Senegal became the first States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to ratify the Optional Protocol. We announced only Namibia yesterday, and we are now announcing the ratification by Senegal. There are currently 36 signatories to the Optional Protocol, which was opened for signature on 10 December 1999. The Optional Protocol allows individual women or groups of women to petition the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women after all national remedies have been exhausted. It also allows the Committee of its own motion to inquire into grave and systematic violations of the Convention.
On Thursday, 1 June, at 1 p.m., a book entitled the Optional Protocol Text and Materials will be launched in Conference Room 1 by the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women.
**Food and Agriculture Organization
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today appealed for $32.6 million to bring urgently needed help to pastoralists, farmers and their families in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti.
A press release is available in my office with more details.
**United Nations Children's Fund
Today at 1.30 p.m., at the Danny Kaye Visitors Center at UNICEF House, Mehr Khan, Director, UNICEF Innocenti Center, will release a new Global Digest on Domestic Violence.
**Special Arrangements for Upcoming General Assembly Special Session
On the document racks today is an information circular concerning arrangements for admission of staff members, non-governmental organizations, the press and others to United Nations Headquarters during the twenty-third special session of the Assembly to be held from 5 to 9 June.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Would General Eisele be accompanied by any Secretariat or Security Council staff?
Spokesman: I have the list of the delegation, but it includes members of the peacekeeping department. I will verify if the list of the entire team could be made public, in which case, I can give it to you after the briefing.
Question: Are there any plans for other Secretariat or Security Council delegations to go to Sierra Leone now that the detainees have been released?
Spokesman: I am unaware of anything other than the team being sent by the Secretary-General to assess how things went wrong and how they could be put right.
Question: Are the 3,000 troops offered by West African States to be included in the 16,000 United Nations troops for Sierra Leone?
Spokesman: I believe so. It has been the Secretary-General's view, having consulted with West African Heads of State, as well as his own view on how the peacekeeping mission could be organized best, that any additional troops that come in should be under United Nations command.
Question: Does the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have the capability to assess the credibility of reports that Serbia and the regime in Belgrade now have the capability to produce the atomic bomb in two years?
Spokesman: I did not see the report. I could check with the Disarmament Department to see whether they could confirm what was said and whether they would comment.
Question: Regarding the situation in Lebanon, has a decision been made or are there discussions on whether the Shaba Farms would be included in the border arrangements?
Spokesman: I have no information on any bilateral discussions that may be going on concerning the Shaba Farms. The Secretary-General's report was rather clear on his view, and we feel that has a solid base in resolutions 425 and 426 which give the United Nations force in Lebanon jurisdiction up to the Shaba Farms, not including the Shaba Farms. They fall into the jurisdiction of the United Nations force on the Golan Heights. So, for our purposes, the area we would be certifying would not include the Shaba Farms. Should a bilateral or trilateral understanding be reached to change that, we can always adjust. But, for now, those are our terms of reference and they do not include the Shaba Farms.
* *** *