DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000602The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon.
**Tribunal Prosecutor del Ponte Briefs Security Council
The Security Council is currently in a formal session to hear an open briefing from Carla del Ponte, the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.
She noted that after considering the possibility of investigating potential war crimes committed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during the bombing of Kosovo last year, her office had determined that it would not prosecute any charges against NATO. In particular, she said that her office's examination of potential charges found that there was "no deliberate targeting of civilians" by NATO during the bombing.
We hope to have her available here at 12:30 in this room to talk to you once she has concluded her briefing.
After that formal meeting, the Council will go into a formal session to consider a draft presidential statement on the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
**Security Council Notes
This morning, the Security Council began its work with informal consultations on its programme of work for June, under the new presidency of French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte.
Under "other matters", Council members also heard a briefing on the incident of missing persons in Georgia by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi.
I'd like to remind you that the French Council presidency is maintaining a Web site in English and in French for this month.
By this afternoon, of course, Council members will leave for their weekend retreat with the Secretary-General in upstate New York. I'll tell you more about that shortly.
**UNOMIG Continues Search for Missing Five-man UN Patrol Team
Today in Georgia, patrols from the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), assisted by Georgian and Abkahz authorities, as well as the Commonwealth of Independent States, have continued the search for five people -- including two United Nations military observers -- who went missing yesterday. The five have now been missing for more than 24 hours.
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 2 June 2000
Since yesterday afternoon, the United Nations Observer Mission has had no contact with this team, which is made of two military observers, two members of an international non-governmental organization and an interpreter. They were conducting a routine patrol in the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia.
The Observer Mission has conducted patrols by helicopter and on foot, but so far, we continue to have no contact with the patrol or with anyone claiming to know their whereabouts.
Consequently, we cannot confirm media accounts that have described this as a hostage situation. So far, the United Nations is treating this as a case of missing persons, and we hope the patrols and the cooperation the United Nations Mission has received will help turn up more information.
Also today, the Secretary-General's Special Representative to Georgia, Dieter Boden, met with President Eduard Shevardnadze, who stressed that Georgia hopes for progress toward a peaceful settlement of the dispute over Abkhazia.
**Secretary-General on Farm Acquisitions Announced by Zimbabwe Government
I have the following statement attributable to the Spokesman on the subject of Zimbabwe:
Earlier today, the Government of Zimbabwe publicly gave notice of its intention to compulsorily acquire 804 farms from the large-scale commercial farming sector. The Secretary-General regrets this development because it undermines the ability of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to build international support, including resources, for a legally based solution, including compensation based on the principle of the 1998 land reform conference. In light of this announcement, the consequences of which we will have to review carefully, the Secretary-General has decided to postpone the visit to Zimbabwe of the UNDP Administrator, Mark Malloch Brown, which was to have taken place this weekend.
The Secretary-General remains convinced, however, that the issue of land acquisition, redistribution and resettlement will not be resolved without good faith efforts by all parties to achieve a mutually agreed way forward. Achieving a just and equitable solution is critical for the economic prosperity and stability of Zimbabwe as well as the region. The Secretary-General, through UNDP, will continue his efforts for a solution.
The Secretary-General wishes to thank governments and the Southern African leaders, particularly Thabo Mbeke of South Africa, who have supported the United Nations in these efforts.
**Notes from Lebanon: At Border, UN, Lebanese Technical Teams Working Together
Today in Lebanon, the United Nations cartographic team and a three-member Lebanese technical team were at the Lebanese border carrying out joint reconnaissance activities. Yesterday, the two teams met in Beirut before carrying out helicopter reconnaissance at portions of the border.
The United Nations team, you will recall, is identifying a practical line on the ground, corresponding to the 1923 border, for the purpose of confirming Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in accordance with United Nations resolutions.
The situation in Lebanon was reported as calm today.
Meanwhile, the United Nations mine action team, which visited Lebanon this week, has headed back to New York, following its meetings with the Lebanese Army and non-governmental organizations. The team and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are emphasizing the need for mine awareness in southern Lebanon, where there were 12 incidents involving landmines last week -- which left two people dead and seven amputees.
The United Nations Mission is particularly worried about mines laid around the 100 or so positions that have been abandoned by the Israeli Defense Force and its South Lebanon Army allies in recent weeks. Those areas have drawn a considerable number of tourists, and there are worries that, as schools let out in Lebanon later this month, unidentified mines at those areas could pose a considerable danger.
The United Nations Mission has received cooperation from Israel in finding the location of many mines, and it expects to receive additional troops to handle demining tasks shortly. A reconnaissance team from Ukraine that deals with such tasks is expected in Lebanon next week.
**WFP and WHO Race to Provide Food, Medical Supplies for Thousands Displaced by Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict
The World Food Programme (WFP) says it is planning to airlift 40 tons of corn-soya blend to Kassala, Sudan, this weekend to feed 50,000 Eritrean refugees displaced by the current conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) meanwhile reported only a few dozen people crossed the border from Eritrea to Sudan overnight. As of this morning, the total number who have arrived this week now stands at almost 45,000.
The first UNHCR relief flight arrived in Khartoum on Thursday. The Airbus 300 is expected to shuttle between Khartoum, Copenhagen and Cairo over the next several days bringing in more supplies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has moved rapidly to ensure medical supplies are available for the estimated 550,000 people now internally displaced in Eritrea. Kits containing enough essential drugs to care for 50,000 people for three months will arrive in Asmara this weekend, together with a complete anesthetics unit.
**Taliban Renews Verbal Ceasefire Commitment to Allow Polio Vaccinations
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan says that all parties, including the Taliban, have renewed their verbal commitment to observe a ceasefire for the next round of polio immunization scheduled from 3-5 June. Afghanistan is one of 30 countries where wild polio virus remains endemic. The United Nations goal is to certify Afghanistan as polio-free by 2005.
Meanwhile, the UNHCR says that drought affecting Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan has resulted in the suspension of UNHCR's assisted returns of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan to four drought-stricken southern Afghan provinces.
**Kosovo Briefing Notes Available
There is a press briefing note from Kosovo on what the United Nations mission (UNMIK) describes as a disturbing spate of killings of Kosovo Serbs over the past few days.
For more details, you can pick that up in our office.
**Security Council to Join Secretary-General for Retreat
The Secretary-General has invited members of the Security Council to join him this evening for a retreat that will last until Saturday evening. Their agenda will focus on peacekeeping, where we stand and where we go from here.
The retreat will take place at the Rockefeller Conference Center at Pocantico Hills, which is near Tarrytown, New York.
No document will come out of this exercise. It is merely a chance for people who work under constant time pressure to pause and reflect on lessons learned that need to be applied to cases now on the docket.
**WHO Bulletin Notes that 99 Per Cent of Maternal Deaths Occur in Developing Nations
A woman living in Africa has a lifetime risk of dying from complications related to pregnancy that is 200 times greater than a woman living in a wealthy industrialized country, according to research findings reviewed in the May issue of the WHO Bulletin.
WHO data show that of the more than 500,000 maternal deaths that occur every year, over 99 per cent are in developing countries and less than 1 per cent in the industrialized world.
**Secretary-General Appoints New Director of UN Information Services in Geneva
For those of you who do any work in Geneva, you know that Therese Gastaut left the position as Director of the United Nations Information Service there to join the Information Department here in New York.
Today, the Secretary-General has appointed Marie Heuzé of France, to succeed Therese. Marie has been head of the United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) Communications Unit in Geneva since 1992, so she is well known to the Geneva press corps. She also did a six-month stint in New York for UNICEF in 1997-98 and so she might have become known to you as well.
I'm sure you'll join me in welcoming her to her new post.
**World Chronicle
The United Nations produced World Chronicle TV programme no. 789, which will feature Louise Fréchette, the Deputy Secretary-General. You can see that today on in-house television, channel 26 or 30, at 3:30 p.m.
**The Week Ahead at United Nations
We have our "week ahead" for you. You can pick it up. I'll just give you some of the highlights.
Monday, 5 June
The General Assembly begins its special session on gender equality, development and peace, called "Women 2000," and it will review progress since the Fourth World Conference for Women was held in Beijing in 1995. The Secretary- General will deliver a speech to the opening session.
At 3 p.m., Juan Somavia, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), will hold a press conference on the progress of the Micro-Credit Summit Campaign.
At 3:30 p.m., the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will hold a press conference to announce the results of a new national poll, "Connecting Women in the United States and Global Issues". Among the guests will be United States Representatives Joseph Crowley and Carolyn Maloney.
Monday is also World Environment Day. This year's theme is "The Environment Millennium: Time to Act".
Tuesday, 6 June
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the "oil-for-food" programme in Iraq.
Wednesday, 7 June
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Cyprus and on the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) for Iraq.
The Secretary-General's report to the Security Council on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is expected.
Thursday, 8 June
The Security Council takes up Ethiopia and Eritrea. It also intends to hold a formal meeting on the humanitarian program for Iraq, on the last day of Phase VII of the "oil-for-food" programme.
Friday, 9 June
The Secretary-General is expected to address the Arab-American Anti- Discrimination Committee in Arlington, Virginia.
The Security Council has scheduled an open meeting on Kosovo, on which it expects to be briefed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bernard Kouchner. Anticipating your questions, yes, we will try to get Dr. Kouchner here in room 226 to talk to you.
And finally, the Secretary-General's report to the Security Council on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) is due that day.
That's all I have for you. Are there any questions?
**Questions and Answers
Question: What does the Secretary-General hope to accomplish by taking a stand on the situation on Zimbabwe?
Spokesman: You'll recall that the Secretary-General asked UNDP to work with the Zimbabwe Government and others to find a solution to this land reform issue. That initiative had been welcomed by everyone, including the Government of Zimbabwe. I think he feels that before this effort could even get under way -- with Mark Malloch Brown originally scheduled to leave for Zimbabwe this weekend -- the Government's action has preempted the initiative that the Secretary-General had been taking with the support of other governments in the region.
Question: Does the United Nations plan to monitor the elections in Zimbabwe scheduled for late June?
Spokesman: No. However, the United Nations will coordinate the work of international electoral observers.
Thank you very much.
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