DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000707The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon. Sorry for the delay.
**Special Envoy Larsen Meets with Lebanese President, Prime Minster to Confirm Withdrawal Line
In Beirut today, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Terje Roed Larsen, held a three-hour discussion with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Selim el-Hoss, after which he held a press conference.
He was accompanied by the Chief of the United Nations Cartographic Section, Miklos Pinther, and presented the Lebanese Government with detailed maps of the withdrawal line identified for the purpose of confirming Israeli compliance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978).
Mr. Larsen described the meeting as "very warm and cordial" and added that there will be a follow-up meeting held toward the end of next week.
Prior to his meeting with the President and Prime Minister, Mr. Larsen also met with the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri.
In response to questions in recent days about the withdrawal line, the Special Envoy said that the United Nations announced the line on 6 June and that it has not been changed at all since then.
We are trying to get the transcript of that press conference. If we succeed, we will inform you and make it available.
**Security Council Briefed on UN Peace Support Offices in West Africa
The Security Council today will hear two briefings on the work of United Nations Peace-Building Support Offices in two African nations, first discussing the Office in the Central African Republic and then the one in Guinea-Bissau. Youssef Mahmoud, Director of the Africa II Division of the Department of Political Affairs, will give both briefings.
The Secretary-General's recent report to the Council on the Central African Republic says that the transition from a United Nations peacekeeping mission to the present Peace-Building Support Office has been accomplished successfully, but notes that security remains a concern in the country.
The Secretary-General's latest report on Guinea-Bissau, meanwhile, stresses the importance of restructuring the country's armed forces and helping to strengthen Guinea-Bissau's institutional capacity.
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 7 July 2000
**Secretary-General's Report on Prevlaka Mission Out Today
Available on the racks today is the Secretary-Generals report on the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP).
The Secretary-General notes that Croatias invitation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to attend a fifth round of negotiations, and the Yugoslav sides acceptance, were positive developments. While he hoped the parties would find common ground for restarting talks, due to the still unsettled political situation, expectations for substantive progress in the near future were limited.
Also, the Secretary-General recommends that the Mission's mandate be extended for a further six months, until 15 January 2001.
**UN Legal Counsel's Statement on Khmer Rouge Tribunal
We have available in our office the statement made to the press by the United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, this morning prior to his departure from Phnom Penh following talks with his Cambodian counterpart on the establishment of a tribunal to try Khmer Rouge leaders.
**Alvaro de Soto Announces Two-week Break for Cyprus Proximity Talks In Geneva, Alvaro de Soto, Under Secretary General and Special Adviser to the Secretary- General for Cyprus, announced that Cyprus proximity talks currently underway in Geneva will adjourn on 12 July and resume on 24 July. They will proceed until early August and resume once again in New York on 12 September.
We are trying to get Mr. De Soto's comments to the press. Once they are available here in New York, we will share them with you.
**Secretary-General Opens UN Peacekeeping Exhibit in Ghana
The Secretary-General and the President of Ghana, Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, opened the exhibit "United Nations Peacekeeping: A Half Century of Experience" in Accra, Ghana today.
During the ceremony, the Secretary-General presented three plaques to the Government: one to the fallen Ghanaian peacekeeper, one to the Ghana Armed Forces and another to the Gahnaian police. He also donated 60 plaques that he himself received to the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre. The Centre is part of the Ghana Armed Forces and trains military personnel from Ghana and other African countries to participate in peacekeeping operations.
He also held a private meeting with President Rawlings and with Vice- President John Atta Mills.
The Secretary-General will remain in Accra until Sunday, when he will go to Lomé, Togo for the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Heads of State Annual Meeting.
Daily Press Briefing -3 - 7 July 2000
**Secretary-General Welcomes Rwanda Genocide Report as 'Important Contribution'
Now I have a statement attributable to the Spokesman:
The Secretary-General welcomes the Report prepared by the International Panel of Eminent Personalities to investigate the 1994 Genocide and the Surrounding Events in Rwanda, which was appointed by the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The report is another important contribution towards efforts to shed more light on the tragedy that unfolded in Rwanda.
The Secretary-General hopes that the Report will make an important contribution to the success of the international community's ongoing efforts as it continues to grapple with the complex challenges of preventing genocide.
As you know, that report was released today and the Secretariat is studying it in detail and with great attention.
**International AIDS Conference Set to Open in South Africa
The thirteenth International Conference on AIDS opens this Sunday in Durban, South Africa and will continue through 14 July.
Dr. Peter Piot the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) will address the gathering on its opening day. Dr. Piot will call on the international community to break the silence, stigma and ignorance that surround the issue of HIV/AIDS. He will also call for more resources for the fight against this epidemic which, in Africa alone, is estimated to require $3 billion a year.
Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will also be in Durban. She is scheduled to address the Conference on Tuesday and will present UNICEF's Progress of Nations 2000 report on Wednesday.
Embargoed copies of that report are available through the UNICEF offices in New York.
**ECOSOC High-Level Segment on Information Technology Concludes Today, Ministerial Statement Expected
Today is the final day of the Economic and Social Councils High-Level Segment on Development and International Cooperation in the 21st Century: the Role of Information Technology in a Knowledge-based Global Economy.
This morning the Council held five simultaneous round tables on connectivity and infrastructure, tele-medicine, intellectual property, human capital investment and the environmental dimension.
This afternoon, the High-Level Segment is expected to conclude with the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration on information and communications technology.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 7 July 2000
The President of ECOSOC, Ambassador Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia, will be here in 226 at 3 p.m. to report to you on the outcome of the High-Level Segment.
The substantive session of ECOSOC's 2000 meeting continues next week with its Coordination Segment, focusing on implementation by the United Nations system of the Habitat Agenda and assessment of progress made within the United Nations system on implementation and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits.
**UNHCR Briefing Notes Update Refugee Situations in Bosnia, Timor
Today's briefing by the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) flags an upsurge in violence against Bosnian minorities returning to eastern Republika Srpska over the past two weeks.
On Timor, the UNHCR briefing note reports that four days after the resumption of aid activities, relief workers today stayed away from camps in West Timor's Kupang area amid continuing tensions between East Timorese refugees and local residents.
Copies of the notes are available in our office upstairs.
**Kosovo Notes Available
Also available are today's briefing notes from Pristina, which mention ongoing power and water shortages in the midst of an unusually hot summer. The notes also contain an update on the reconstruction effort underway in Kosovo.
**Japan Donates Demining Machine to Speed up Efforts in Afghanistan
The United Nations Humanitarian Office for Afghanistan announced today that Japan has donated a new demining machine which would speed up the process of eliminating mines by 300 to 500 per cent in a country where more than 700 square kilometers of land remains contaminated by mines.
A press release with more details is available.
**Canada Ratifies Rome Statute, Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict
This morning, Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy deposited his countrys instruments of ratification to both the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. In doing so, Canada becomes the 14th State to ratify the Rome Statute and the first to ratify the Optional Protocol.
**Payment
Swaziland has just become the 98th Member State to be paid in full for the year 2000, with a payment of over $21,000.
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 7 July 2000
**"Week Ahead at the United Nations" Available
Finally, as always, we have available our Friday feature "The Week Ahead", which this week is a bit thin, perhaps reflecting summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Are there any questions?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Does the United Nations plan to monitor the run-off elections in Haiti this Sunday?
Deputy Spokesman: The United Nations has an Office there and the Mission continues as before. The United Nations role was not that of monitoring the elections, so our activities there will not change. The Mission will continue just as it has.
Question: Do you have any comment on Israel's letter yesterday on Lebanese violations of the blue line?
Deputy Spokesman: No. I don't have a comment on that.
Question: You mentioned that the Secretariat was studying the report of Rwanda. Can they share the results of that study?
Deputy Spokesman: If there are any results of the study to be shared we'll do it. Certainly one of the most important aspects of the issue of peacekeeping is the panel appointed by the Secretary-General and headed by Lakhdar Brahimi, which will look at these operations. The report, which will be out later this summer, is expected to be discussed at the Millennium Assembly. As you know, that report follows the Secretary-General's report on Srebrenica and the report on Rwanda, and looks into those and other operations.
Question: With the International AIDS Conference about to begin in South Africa, what is the United Nations position on HIV as a cause of the disease?
Deputy Spokesman: As you know, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has been the voice of the United Nations on this issue, so I would have to refer you to them for an answer to your question.
Thank you.
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