DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000619The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Secretary-Generals Middle East Mission
The Secretary-General arrived in Beirut from Cairo this morning. In an hour-long meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Salim El-Hoss, the Secretary-General felt he was able to clarify a number of issues on which there have been misunderstandings. He pledged that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) would be vigilant on the matter of border violations, but drew the distinction between Israeli military withdrawal, which he had already confirmed to the Security Council, and encroachments, which he felt could be dealt with.
At a press encounter after that meeting, the Secretary-General said that he realized that both sides have problems with the "blue line" that the United Nations marked on the ground for the purpose of confirming Israeli withdrawal. But he emphasized that marking a line of withdrawal was not the same as demarcating a border. The United Nations task now, he said, is to help restore peace and stability in southern Lebanon. He is confident that the United Nations and Lebanon will continue to work in close cooperation towards that goal. We have a copy of the transcript of the press encounter in the Office, as well as on the Web site.
In the afternoon, he flew by UNIFIL helicopter to the peacekeeping mission headquarters in Naqoura. He was briefed by Force Commander General Seth-Kofi Obeng about the border situation. He also addressed the staff and laid a wreath in memory of United Nations members of the mission killed in the line of duty. He then flew back to Beirut to meet with Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. In the evening, he was to attend a dinner in his honour hosted by President Lahoud.
The Secretary-General will spend the night in Lebanon and leave for Amman tomorrow morning. Meetings have been scheduled in the Jordanian capital starting with His Majesty King Abdullah II and with senior officials in the Jordanian Government.
For the record, the Secretary-Generals trip to the Middle East started on Friday afternoon when he left here for London, where he had a technical stopover. He continued on to Morocco on Saturday, where in Rabat he had an audience with His Majesty King Mohamed VI. They met privately for about an hour. Afterwards, the Secretary-General attended a lunch offered by the King and hosted by Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaisa.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General travelled by road to Casablanca, where he met with Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saoud of Saudi Arabia. He thanked the Crown Prince for his counsel and support on southern Lebanon, and said he hoped that Israels withdrawal from Lebanon could lead to progress on the Syrian and Palestinian tracks of the Middle East peace process.
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 19 June 2000
Early in the evening, he left Casablanca and flew overnight to Iran where he arrived in the capital Tehran in the morning. His first meeting was with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi. He had a press encounter following that meeting. We have the transcript of that upstairs and on the Web site. While on the plane from London to Rabat, he made some remarks to the press and those are also available.
After his meeting with the Foreign Minister in Tehran, the Secretary- General met with the President of the country, Sayed Mohamed Khatami, and with the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Hossein Khamani. The Foreign Minister hosted a lunch for the Secretary-General before he departed for Egypt mid-afternoon. He arrived in Cairo Sunday evening and had a meeting with Foreign Minister Amre Moussa. They discussed the latest developments in southern Lebanon and a number of other issues, including the impact of sanctions on the civilian population of Iraq and the reform of the Security Council. Afterwards, they jointly gave a press conference. We also have a transcript of that upstairs. That evening, the Foreign Minister hosted a dinner for the Secretary-General, and Monday morning before leaving Egypt the Secretary-General had a meeting with the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.
**Security Council
Yesterday, at about 4 p.m., the Security Council, after discussions on Saturday and on Sunday, adopted a presidential statement which was read by Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France, President of the Council, and the statement says:
The Security Council welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of 16 June 2000 and endorses the work done by the United Nations as mandated by the Security Council, including the Secretary-Generals conclusion that as of 16 June 2000, Israel has withdrawn its forces from Lebanon in accordance with resolution 425 of 19 March 1978, and met the requirements of the Secretary- Generals report of 22 May 2000.
The statement also notes reports of violations since 16 June, and calls upon the parties to respect the line identified by the United Nations.
The full text is available upstairs.
**New Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Appointed
Here is an announcement attributable to the Spokesman:
The Secretary-General has decided to appoint Jean-Marie Guehenno of France as Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. He will be replacing Mr. Miyet as of 1 October. Mr. Guehenno is currently President of the Council of Administration of the Institute of High Studies of National Defence. He is also a member of the consultative council of the United Nations on disarmament issues. Between 1993 and 1995, he was the French Permanent Representative at the Western European Union.
His biographical note is available in the Spokesmans Office.
**Cambodia
At the invitation of His Excellency Sok An, Senior Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers, the United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, will visit Phnom Penh, beginning Wednesday, 5 July. The purpose of the visit is to discuss outstanding issues with regard to the establishment of a court to try the most senior leaders of the Democratic Kampuchea between 1975 and 1979. The issues to be discussed are mainly of a technical nature, since the Secretary-General and Samdech Hun Sen have solved the outstanding major issue of principle. An agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia will, however, not be signed until after the National Assembly of Cambodia has discussed the draft law presently before it.
**Secretary-General Welcomes Ethiopia/Eritrea Agreement
The Secretary-General, speaking in Cairo yesterday, welcomed the signing by the Governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia of an agreement on the cessation of hostilities proposed by the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The United Nations is now assessing what its role in the implementation of the agreement would be. On Friday, three United Nations Secretariat officials went to Algiers to begin planning for a future United Nations role, and it is possible that the United Nations will afterward send experts to Ethiopia and Eritrea to determine what a future United Nations presence might entail.
On the humanitarian side, officials of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in both Asmara and Khartoum on Sunday welcomed the signing of the agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, expressing hope that the deal will allow refugees and displaced persons to return home. The latest bout of fighting between the two countries has caused large-scale displacement within Eritrea and has driven more than 80,000 people into neighbouring Sudan, putting a huge strain on the impoverished and drought- stricken region.
In the Sudan, UNHCR staff say they have now registered more than 85,000 refugees from Eritrea in the Kassala province, which borders on Eritrea. A number of people are also hiding in the bush on the Eritrean side of the border. Some refugees have told the UNHCR they would return home only after the Ethiopian forces have withdrawn. We have a UNHCR note in the Office.
**Democratic Republic of Congo
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the situation in Kisangani is reported by United Nations military observers as calm, but tense. General Giulio Fraticelli, the Secretary-General's Military Adviser, visited Kisangani over the weekend and he is expected to be back at Headquarters by tomorrow to report on his trip.
In recent days, there has been fighting reported in the north, with Government aircraft bombing positions held by the rebel Congolese Liberation Movement near Libanda, Imese and Basankusu (in Equateur Province). There have been unconfirmed reports that more than 70 civilians were killed as a result of the bombing, and the United Nations Mission is investigating those reports. The United Nations Mission is concerned about the reported attacks, which, if verified, would be contrary to the Kampala ceasefire of 14 April.
Last Friday afternoon, the Security Council approved a resolution calling, among other things, for the departure of all foreign forces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Copies of the resolution are available upstairs.
**Sierra Leone
The situation in Sierra Leone has been relatively calm over the weekend, although there was firing in the capital, Freetown, on Saturday night for about half an hour, in which at least one civilian was killed. The United Nations Mission says the firing took place between factions within the pro-government forces, and could have resulted from confusion among those factions. Freetown is currently reported as calm.
There has been no change in the condition of the 21 Indian peacekeepers detained at Pendembu, or in that of the 223 Indians and 11 military observers surrounded at Kailahun. The Liberian Government over the weekend reiterated that it would continue to negotiate for the release of the detainees held by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) at Pendembu.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation at the town of Mile 91 continues to be of concern, with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance estimating that there are currently nearly 30,000 internally displaced persons registered there and 17,000 more registered in the surrounding area. The Office estimates that there are another 10,000 persons waiting to be registered, and the World Food Programme (WFP) is helping to distribute food to those who have been displaced in that area.
**Security Council Consultations
This morning, the Security Council is holding consultations on Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a view to a formal meeting to adopt a draft resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) for another 12 months, until 21 June 2001. It is also holding informal consultations on Iraq, during which it will be briefed by Yuli Vorontsov, the Secretary-Generals High-Level Coordinator on Iraq, who is introducing the second report of the Secretary-General on the return of Kuwaiti property, issued last week.
**Special Adviser in Cyprus
Alvaro de Soto, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus, arrived in the region last Thursday evening to discuss preparations for the next session of proximity talks, which start in Geneva on 5 July. He spoke to both Mr. Clerides and Mr. Denktash on Friday and then again on Saturday. On Sunday, he left for Ankara and Athens. He will also be travelling to Brussels.
**ICTY President in New York
The President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Judge Claude Jorda, is in New York for a three-day visit. Today, he will address the Preparatory Commission for the establishment of an International Criminal Court. On Wednesday, Judge Jorda will brief the Security Council, following which he is expected as the guest at the noon briefing.
**UNITAR Programme on International Trade
Today, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) starts a week-long campus dedicated to international trade, focusing on events that unfolded in Seattle and the ensuing international developments. The campus is being held at Headquarters. For further information, please contact Cecelia Coleman at the UNITAR New York Office.
**WHO Publishes 2000 Report
The World Health Organization (WHO) has carried out the first-ever analysis of the worlds health systems. The findings are being published in The World Health Report 2000 - Health systems: improving performance, which will be released on Wednesday, 21 June. Media information kits are available in the Spokesmans Office, and a limited number of strictly embargoed copies of the full report may be obtained from the WHO office by calling 963-6000.
**UNIS Holds 2000 Graduation Exercises
The United Nations International School (UNIS) class of 2000 graduation will take place in the General Assembly Hall on Tuesday, 20 June, at 2:30 p.m. Isabella Rossellini, model, actress and, most recently, author, will deliver the commencement address. This years graduating class of 114 young women and men represents 40 nations and cultures. The UNIS was founded in 1947 by a group of United Nations parents to provide an education that fostered global sensitivity. At present, almost 1,500 children from 111 countries are enrolled in the School. There is a press release with more details on the racks.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Have the Lebanese been explicit of the violations and encroachments that they have charged?
Deputy Spokesman: I do not have any knowledge of that here. Discussions are being held directly with the Secretary-General.
Question: Did the Secretary-General try to get the Moroccan Government to comply with the referendum and what did they discuss?
Deputy Spokesman: I do not have a read-out on the content of their discussions?
Question: What is holding up the release of the detainees in Sierra Leone?
Deputy Spokesman: President Taylor is trying to negotiate that with the Revolutionary United Front. You also know there is an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission in the country and among their objectives, at the top of their list, is the freedom of movement for the Indian peacekeepers.
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