In progress at UNHQ

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

23 June 2000



Press Briefing


DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

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The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General’s Travels

I’ll start with the Secretary-General’s travels. Today was the last day of his Middle Eastern trip, a seven-nation tour. It concluded in Syria. This morning in Damascus, he stopped at the United Nations offices in that city to address the staff of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which monitors the zone of separation between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights. He thanked the staff for their support during the recent developments in southern Lebanon. He then had a final session with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara, after which they gave a joint press conference at the Damascus airport. We have a transcript of that press conference in our Office upstairs.

Concerning the Lebanese complaints about Israeli incursions along their south border, the Secretary-General said a United Nations/Israeli team was on the border today and he hoped to receive a report that all alleged violations had been cleared up. He added that he’d instructed the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to report on the status of the border issues this Sunday, 25 June, and every Sunday thereafter, so that the Security Council could be regularly briefed on any subsequent violations on either side. In the afternoon, the Secretary-General flew to Basel, Switzerland, where he will begin a four- nation European tour tomorrow.

**Lebanon

Still on the southern Lebanon issue, I’d like to draw your attention to an exchange of letters on the racks today between the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, in which the Secretary-General notes offers by the Governments of Ukraine and Sweden to provide contingents to UNIFIL.

**Security Council

The Security Council this morning, as you may have followed on screen, is meeting to hear a briefing by Carl Bildt, the Special Envoy of the Secretary- General for the Balkans. Mr. Bildt said that the reality of the Balkans is that the United Nations currently operates three peacekeeping missions in the area. “And”, he added, “we know that if these troops were to be withdrawn today, there will in all probability be war tomorrow.” He urged the need to protect minorities, particularly the Serbs, in Kosovo; the need for functioning common institutions, refugee returns and economic reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the importance of addressing the present structures of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We have copies of his speech available in our Office upstairs.

The Council meeting began with a series of procedural votes over whether Member States and interested individuals could participate in the debate without the right to vote. Fourteen Member States asked to participate in the debate under Rule 37, as did two individuals under Rule 39, Mr. Bildt and Javier Solana,

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 23 June 2000

the High Representative and Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. Also, Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic requested permission to participate.

By a vote of 4 in favour, 10 against and 1 abstention, the Council rejected a proposal by the Russian Federation to approve all the requests in one vote. The Council then agreed without objection to approve the requests of all those who wanted to participate under Rules 37 and 39. However, the request by Ambassador Jovanovic to participate was rejected by a vote of 4 in favor, 7 against and 4 abstentions. Once the Council concludes its briefing, Mr. Bildt is expected to come to this room to brief the press.

UNHCR Suspends Operations in North Mitrovica

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today announced that it is suspending all humanitarian activities in northern Mitrovica, Kosovo, for an initial 48-hour period, which began at midnight on Thursday. Because of the suspension, all UNHCR vehicles and staff have been relocated to the southern part of Mitrovica, and the UNHCR office in northern Mitrovica has been closed. The agency will review the suspension after 48 hours, taking into account the views of field staff, the UN Mission and police, and the Kosovo Force (KFOR).

The suspension follows the riot in northern Mitrovica on Wednesday night, about which I reported to you yesterday. In one incident that night, KFOR soldiers had to fire several rounds of shots in the air to halt the stoning, by a crowd of Kosovo Serbs, of a UNHCR vehicle. No injuries were reported. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) also reports that, on the same evening, there were at least six separate reports of burglaries and other attacks on United Nations residences.

Dennis McNamara, UNHCR Special Envoy in Kosovo, said in a statement today, which is available upstairs, that the level of attacks and damage in northern Mitrovica has been “totally unacceptable”. And, he added, "We are not prepared to continue to have the safety of our own staff and our agency partners put in constant jeopardy." United Nations police are continuing to investigate the Wednesday riot, which began after the police tried to arrest a group of Serbs who had been throwing stones at vehicles.

Kosovo War and Ethnic Crimes Court

Still on Kosovo, we have available in our Office a background note on the Kosovo War and Ethnic Crimes Court being created to try persons for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other serious crimes committed since 1 January 1998. The Court will be within the Kosovo judicial system with the participation of international judges and prosecutors. It is not an international court. The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia will have primacy over the Kosovo court, and both the Tribunal and the Kosovo Court will have concurrent jurisdiction. It is expected to begin its work by the end of the summer. In addition to this background note, we also have UNMIK’s regular briefing notes.

**Sierra Leone

Moving on to Africa, in Sierra Leone the 21 Indian peacekeepers detained at Pendembu by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) have been moved to the compound of the International Committee of the Red Cross in that town. However, there has been no other change in their condition. Also, there is no change in the situation of the 222 Indian peacekeepers and 11 military observers who are surrounded by the RUF at Kailahun. The situation in the country remains largely calm, although unpredictable.

Humanitarian agencies and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs remain concerned by the situation at Mile 91, where some 35,000 internally displaced persons have gathered. The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) hopes to strengthen its presence at Mile 91 in the coming days to allow for increased aid deliveries to the internally displaced over there. Meanwhile, the UNHCR reports that the number of Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea’s Kalako camp has nearly doubled in the past two weeks, to 4,281. The increase in arrivals is attributed to aerial bombing in the Kambia area of Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone itself, United Nations agencies and international non- governmental organizations have registered approximately 92,000 newly displaced persons since the fighting resumed in May. The largest concentrations are found in the Port Loko District, Tonkolili District and the Western Area.

**Refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, concludes a two-week, six-nation mission to Africa tonight. This morning, she left Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to visit Goma. She travelled there to look at UNHCR’s return operation for Rwandan refugees. Some 45,000 people who had been residing in camps in Goma have returned to Rwanda since 1 January 1999. In Kinshasa yesterday, she met President Laurent Kabila and senior government officials and urged them to take into account the human costs of the conflict in the Democratic Republic, including the plight of an estimated 1.8 million internally displaced persons in the country. She also met with Kamel Morjane, the Secretary-General's Special Representative to that country, who had just returned from a trip to New York and Geneva.

The UNHCR is currently assisting some 200,000 refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Details of Mrs. Ogata’s trip, and of the drought in Afghanistan and the suspension of UNHCR activities in three camps in West Timor, can be found in that agency’s briefing notes for today.

**East Timor Donors Meeting

The donor’s meeting held in Lisbon on East Timor concluded today, and donors reaffirmed substantial pledges for the reconstruction and development of East Timor and for the new East Timorese administration. Xanana Gusmao, the President of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, at the end of the conference said, “This conference has endorsed a concrete work programme for the reconstruction and development of East Timor, with substantial East Timorese participation. This process must include East Timorese people of all political persuasions, including those still living in West Timor.”

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said the responses received from Member States and international organizations constitute a vote of confidence and a clear indication that donors appreciated the responsible and realistic budget submission made by the East Timorese and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), particularly for the revised consolidated budget. The World Bank, the other co-sponsor of the meeting along with UNTAET, was represented by the World Bank’s Vice President for East Asia and Pacific region, Jemal-ud-din Kassum. He said the donor community and the East Timorese had worked with an incredible speed during the first six months of East Timor’s reconstruction. “Now”, he said, “we need to focus on the quality of the development process.” Mr. Vieira de Mello is expected to be in New York next week. He’ll be briefing the Council on Tuesday. He’s expected to brief the press on Thursday. We have available in our Office upstairs press releases issued by the conference in Lisbon.

**Copenhagen + 5

The special session of the General Assembly, entitled "World Summit for Social Development and Beyond: Achieving Social Development for All in a Globalizing World", also known as "Copenhagen Plus Five", will be held in Geneva from 26 to 30 June. The global conference will follow up on 10 international commitments made in Copenhagen in 1995 aimed at eradicating poverty, achieving full employment and strengthening social integration. It is expected to culminate in the adoption of an outcome document, which addresses such issues as worker rights, good governance, the role of civil society and proposals for financing social development.

On the opening day of the session, the Secretary-General will launch a landmark report on poverty reduction entitled, "A Better World For All”. The report is co-authored by the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Ian McFarlane, Policy Specialist at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will join us here at the noon briefing on Monday to talk to you about that report.

We have some copies of that report in English, French and Spanish in our Office. It is under embargo, but you can pick up a copy if you’re interested.

**Deep Regret over Execution

Today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, expressed deep regret over the execution last night in Texas of Gary Graham, a prisoner who had been convicted of a crime committed when he was still a juvenile. The High Commissioner added that she acknowledged the seriousness of Mr. Graham’s crime, and felt the deepest sympathy for the victim and his family. But she reiterated her views on the death penalty as reflected in the opening declaration of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, namely, that, "abolition of the death penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and progressive development of human rights". Her Office has issued a press release, which we have upstairs and which has more details on her position.

**Human Development Report Launch

The Human Development Report 2000 will be launched on Thursday next week, 29 June. This year’s report underlines the inextricable link between development and human rights, and offers a range of suggestions for achieving the goal of “all rights for all”. Later today, we expect to have a press kit on that report.

**Monday Briefing

I’m reaching the end of this briefing to let you know that on Monday at 11 o’clock here in room S-226, there will be a press conference by Bacre Waly Ndiaye, Director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Also taking part will be Inge Genefke, the Secretary-General of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, and Dr. Allen Keller, Director of the Bellevue/New York University Program for Torture Survivors. The press conference will be on Monday, marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, which is commemorated on 26 June.

**The Week Ahead

And finally, just to bring it to your attention, we have available in our Office upstairs our regular weekly feature, The Week Ahead, which highlights a number of activities happening next week.

Okay. Since there are no questions, have a nice weekend.

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For information media. Not an official record.