DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000615The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon. Kamel Morjane, Special Representative of the Secretary- General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is attending the open meeting of the Security Council now and most likely will not be free to join this briefing, but as soon as that open meeting is finished, he will come to room 226 to take your questions.
**Lebanon
The United Nations verification team in Lebanon was inspecting the Lebanese- Israeli border today to confirm Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, when shots were fired from the Israeli side. The team, made up of members by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) accompanied by Lebanese army officials, was in the area of Rhajar village. Four shots passed over the heads of the verification team and one hit the ground just in front of the UNIFIL Deputy Force Commander. There were no injuries. Israeli authorities, both military and civilian, have expressed their regret at the incident and said they would investigate it.
In the meantime, plans are being made to resume verification activities tomorrow morning in the hope that the job can be completed tomorrow.
**Democratic Republic of Congo
This morning, Security Council closed-door consultations began in the presence of the Secretary-General with a briefing by Kamel Morjane, the Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Morjane introduced the Secretary-General's report, issued this week, and gave an update on the latest situation in Kisangani, in Equateur Province in the north-west, and in the Kivus in the eastern part of the country, where fighting has been reported recently at those three locations. He also gave an overview on the humanitarian situation, on the status of the inter-Congolese dialogue and on United Nations deployment.
Shortly before the briefing, the Council began the first in a series of meetings -- both open and closed over the next two days -- with the Political Committee of the Lusaka agreement. Following that session, which is expected to end around 12:30 p.m., Mr. Morjane, as I mentioned before, will come to room 226. We have a list of speakers from the public meeting.
Also today at 3 p.m., a second meeting between Council members and the Political Committee will take place in a closed session (private meeting). Late yesterday afternoon, the Council began discussions on a draft resolution on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Consultations on the resolution are scheduled today at 5:30 p.m.
**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General
"The Secretary-General very much welcomes the Joint Declaration issued at the conclusion of the historic summit in Pyongyang between President Kim Dae-jung
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 15 June 2000
of the Republic of Korea and National Defence Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The Secretary-General congratulates the two leaders for the vision and statesmanship they have demonstrated. He is convinced that the continuation of the dialogue between the two sides will have a most beneficial impact on relations between them and on the well-being of the Korean people, as well as on regional peace and security.
"The Secretary-General is of the view that the international community, including the United Nations, should support the constructive developments on the Korean peninsula and contribute to building trust and confidence there."
**Mandate of United Nations Mission in Cyprus Extended
For the record, yesterday afternoon the Security Council adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations mission in Cyprus for another six months, until 15 December 2000.
**Sierra Leone
At 10 a.m. local time in Sierra Leone today, United Nations peacekeepers from Nigeria came under attack by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Port Loko, north-east of Freetown. There was an exchange of fire for about 45 minutes before the RUF retreated into the bush. No casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, United Nations mission spokesman, David Wimhurst, said that the withdrawal of British forces from Sierra Leone, due to be completed today, will not adversely affect the security situation. He noted that the United Nations mission had increased its forces during the last six weeks, both in numbers of troops and equipment deployed. The force is now more than 12,000 strong. More reinforcements -- both troops and equipment -- are on their way.
He told reporters not to be surprised by continued attacks, and that the security situation remains under control. Meanwhile, there has been no change in the situation of the 21 Indian peacekeepers being held by the RUF in Pendembu.
**Kuwait
The report of the Secretary-General on the return of Kuwaiti property is out. The report notes that between 1991 and 1994 Iraq returned a substantial quantity of property, seized during the Gulf War, but that "there remains items which Iraq is under obligation to return to Kuwait". It may never be possible to determine that all items have been returned, the report says. It also notes that until Iraq provides a credible explanation with regard to the missing property, especially archives, military material and museum items, the closure of the property issue is delayed.
In his final observations, the Secretary-General also says that priority should be given to the return by Iraq of the Kuwaiti archives, military equipment and museum items. The report lists the military equipment not yet returned to Kuwait by Iraq.
**Western Sahara
The Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, James Baker III, will convene face to face discussions between the parties from 28 to 29 June in London. In addition to Morocco and the POLISARIO Front, Algeria and Mauritania will also be present as observers, as was the case when the parties last met on 14 May.
**International Labour Organization
The International Labour Conference, which concluded in Geneva today, adopted a new international Convention on Maternity Protection. The new Convention applies to all women, including those in the informal sector, whereas the previous Convention, which dates from 1952, covers a much narrower category of women workers. Among other things, under the new Convention maternity leave will be extended from 12 to 14 weeks and a woman shall be provided with the right to one or more daily breaks to breastfeed her child. Two ratifications by member States of the International Labour Organization (ILO) are required for the Convention to enter into force.
**Press Conferences
Today at 4 p.m. in room S-226, Mehri Madarshahi, President of the United Nations Staff Union and the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System, and George Irving, former United Nations Staff Union President, will be talking about the third Summit on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service which is taking place today.
**General Assembly to Meet Today
The General Assembly will meet at 3 p.m. today to pay tribute to the memory of the late President of Syria, Hafez Al-Assad, who passed away last Saturday in Damascus. The Chairmen of the Regional Groups, the Chairman of the Arab Group and the representative of the Host Country will make statements.
The Assembly will then take action on 28 Fifth Committee reports, 19 of which relate to the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations and two to the financing of the International Tribunals. The Assembly will also consider two draft resolutions, one on the high-level international intergovernmental consideration of financing for development and the other on cooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear- Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Annexed to that draft resolution is an agreement to regulate the relationship between the two organizations.
Available in room S-378 today are copies of a message by the President of the General Assembly marking the International Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which falls on Saturday, 17 June.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Did the Israelis explain what happened regarding the shooting incident or did they just express regret? Exactly where did it occur?
Spokesman: I don't have those details. It had been an Israeli Defence Force position, which must have had a barbed wire fence around it. It had been our assumption that that position had been abandoned and it was when the verifiers were walking through the gate of that position that the shots were fired. That's when the verification suddenly stopped. If you want to come to my Office afterwards, we could find the exact location on a map.
Question: Was there any visual confirmation that the shots were fired by Israeli soldiers?
Spokesman: There seems to be no doubt in the minds of the UNIFIL personnel that they were Israeli military. I believe they sighted Israeli military vehicles on the site which, I think, led them to believe without much doubt that they were Israelis. In any case, in subsequent conversations between the Israelis and our people, they admitted that it happened, that it was a stupid mistake and let's get on with the verification tomorrow.
Question: Could you give an update on what Mr. Larsen is saying about the situation in Lebanon, as well as on the Secretary-General's travel plans?
Spokesman: We have not announced any travel plans, and I think you know the reasons why. The trip is linked to the final confirmation of Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. So, I won't say who he might have tentative plans to meet. Mr. Larsen is here today. He was one of those who had contact with Israeli officials on the civilian side this morning. The Force Commander in Lebanon had conversations with Israeli military officials concerning this incident. Mr. Larsen is expected to be in New York through tomorrow at least.
Question: About how many Israelis were involved in the incident?
Spokesman: I don't have those details. The firing of five shots was reported to us -- four over their heads and one into the ground. It may have been a single individual who fired those shots.
Question: With reference to the Congo, did all the rebel groups turn up?
Spokesman: Let me try to get for you the list of participants. This Political Committee is made up of the Foreign Ministers of the signatories, as well as representatives of the rebel groups. I will try to get a comprehensive list of who is actually here.
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