DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon, I'm sorry I was a few minutes late. I was just on the phone with the Deputy Spokesman who is travelling with the Secretary-General this week. And, as you know, the Spokesman is also away from the office. In their absence, we will try to service you to the best of our ability.

**Secretary-General Opens Annual OAU Summit in Lomé, Togo

The Secretary-General arrived in Lomé, Togo, at 5 p.m. on Sunday, 9 July.

He took the two and one-half hour drive from Accra, where he had spent the weekend on a private visit. The Secretary-General was greeted at the border by Togolese Prime Minister Eugene Koffi Adoboli. Upon arrival at his hotel, the Secretary-General had a brief meeting with the Prime Minister. He then held internal meetings with members of his delegation. Following that, he met with heads of United Nations agencies and programmes that are in Lomé to attend the Organization of African Unity (OAU) meeting. Sunday evening, he met with the President of Mali, Alpha Oumar Konare, who is also the current Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Today, the Secretary-General started the day with a meeting with French Minister of Cooperation Charles Josselin. They discussed a number of issues, including the situation in West Africa, in particular Sierra Leone, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the current OAU session. They also talked about the Middle East and the summit meeting due to start in Camp David.

Later in the morning, the Secretary-General participated in the close-door meeting of the African heads of State and government, which traditionally precedes the formal opening of the annual Summit meeting of the OAU.

In his address at the opening ceremony, the Secretary-General stressed the obligation of industrialized countries to ensure that Africa, with other developing regions, had a fair chance to compete in the new global economy. But he also noted that "too many of Africa’s problems are self-inflicted". He added that there was also room for good news and mentioned African success stories in the fight against HIV/AIDS, democratization, and cooperation at the subregional level in areas ranging from conflict resolution to trade and economic development.

He called for investments on education, in particular that of girls, and highlighted the importance of information technology, and the opportunity it may create for "African countries to leapfrog earlier stages of development". He concluded stating that he feels the winds of change are blowing throughout Africa -- "the winds of democracy, of respect for independence, dignity, and for the rule of law", adding that, "I am convinced this process is irreversible."

The Secretary-General is expected to have a number of bilateral meetings this afternoon. The last activity planned for today is the official dinner hosted by the President of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, which the Secretary-General is expected to attend.

**Secretary-General 'Extremely Concerned' about Stand-off between RUF and UNAMSIL Peacekeepers

Late Friday afternoon, we issued a statement from the Secretary-General in which he expresses his “extreme concern about the unacceptable encirclement of the 233 Indian peacekeepers and military observers by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in the eastern part of Sierra Leone”.

The effective re-supply of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) contingent there has not been possible for a considerable amount of time. They now have 10 days worth of rations left. We are taking this situation very seriously and every effort is being made to re-supply them by any possible means.

The general military situation is being described as “calm”. One noteworthy mention is the discovery by UNAMSIL troops of a large arms cache in the Lungi area. An investigation is under way as to the provenance of the cache.

There are a number of statements by the Secretary-general issued through his Spokesman today.

**Secretary-General 'Regrets' That Haitian Senate Race Held before Old Issues Resolved

The Secretary-General wishes to express his regret that the electoral council and Haitian authorities chose to proceed with holding run-off parliamentary elections yesterday, 9 July, without having resolved outstanding issues related to the first round. In particular, he notes that the electoral council has not corrected irregularities in the methodology used to calculate the vote percentages for Senate candidates, as pointed out by the Organization of American States (OAS), as well as by other domestic and international observers.

The Haitian people had demonstrated their commitment to the democratic process by registering to vote and participating in record numbers on 21 May. That commitment has been tested by subsequent events, contributing to the low turnout in yesterday's run-off and the use of force and other improprieties to influence the outcome.

On 6 July, the Security Council encouraged the Haitian Government to investigate the miscalculation of the Senate results and other electoral irregularities, while emphasizing that free and fair elections are crucial to democracy and all aspects of Haiti's development. The Secretary-General wishes to reiterate this call and to urge Haitian leaders to heed the wishes of the people of Haiti, who have repeatedly expressed their desire for a return to constitutionality

**Secretary-General Urges Warring Afghan Parties to 'Lay Down Arms, Find Solution'

In another statement attributable to the Spokesman, this on Afghanistan:

The Secretary-General was dismayed to learn of the latest resurgence of fighting in Afghanistan, at a time when the living conditions in that country have deteriorated even further as a result of the worst drought in 30 years.

He regrets that his appeals, as well as the warning issued by the Security Council as recently as last week, have been ignored. He once again reiterates his conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. He strongly urges the parties to fulfil their responsibilities towards the Afghan people by laying down their arms and joining the search for a negotiated solution. He also calls upon Member States not to prolong the conflict through support to either side in its war efforts.

**Secretary-General Appoints Military Advisor for UN Peacekeeping Division

The Secretary-General has appointed Major General Timothy Ford as Military Advisor in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The appointment will become effective 15 September of this year.

Major General Ford, a national of Australia, will succeed Lieutenant General Giulio Fraticelli from Italy. Until April 2000, Major General Ford was Chief of Staff and Head of Mission of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). He recently participated in the assessment mission on UNAMSIL, and is currently leading the reconnaissance mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Major General Ford's curriculum vitae is available upstairs.

**UN Reconnaissance Team Visits Key Sites in Horn of Africa

The reconnaissance mission being led by Major General Ford, to develop a concept of operations for a possible United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Horn of Africa, has been in Eritrea since 7 July and visited key sites in the western, central and eastern fronts over the weekend.

The mission met today with Eritrean officials from the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs. The two sides discussed the establishment of a military coordination commission, matters relating to a temporary security zone, the main tasks in developing a United Nations peacekeeping operation, demining, public information and other related issues.

The mission will depart for Addis Ababa tomorrow morning to continue their work in the region.

**McAskie 'Deeply Concerned' as Renewed Fighting Jeopardizes Ceasefire in Sudan

In a statement issued by Carolyn McAskie, the acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, expresses her deep concern about resumed hostilities between the rebel factions and the Sudanese Government in southern Sudan. These events, she said, are of particular concern, as they not only bring about further deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the area, but jeopardize the crucial humanitarian ceasefire both parties pledged to respect earlier this year. The ceasefire is scheduled to expire on 15 July of this month, and the Emergency Relief Coordinator urges both parties to respect and extend its provisions in order to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to all beneficiaries, and the safety of civilians and United Nations humanitarian staff throughout the country.

The full text is available upstairs and it contains details on where the fighting is taking place.

**Security Council

There are no Security Council meetings scheduled for today.

The Secretary-General’s report on Western Sahara was scheduled to be out today, but is now being released later this week.

Tomorrow, the Council will meet in consultations to discuss the UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP), whose mandate terminates on 15 July.

The Council is also scheduled to discuss Sierra Leone tomorrow.

**Fall of Srebrenica Commemorated in Sarajevo and at UN Headquarters

Today in Sarajevo, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein, will attend the opening of an exhibition of handicrafts, organized by the Office of the High Representative and the “Mothers of Srebrenica” association. The exhibition, which is to last for four days and end with an auction, was organized as an alternative event to the religious ceremony planned for tomorrow to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica.

Copies of Mr. Klein’s statement are available in our Office.

Tomorrow’s religious ceremony, to be held in a battery factory in Potochari -- a few kilometres from Srebrenica -- will be attended by Special Representative Klein, High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch, representatives of the international community and local authorities.

Also, here at Headquarters tomorrow, the Srebrenica Report Symposium will be held in Conference Room 4 beginning at 9:30 a.m. In addition to three panel discussions on the Report, there will also be a viewing at 1 p.m., of the film “A Cry from the Grave”. [Following the briefing, the Secretary-General’s statement expressing his deepest remorse to the families and friends of the victims was released in advance of the commemoration.]

**FAO Press Release Available

We have a press release available from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the continued drought in Kenya.

**UNEP Press Release Available

Some 300 diplomats and experts are meeting in Geneva this week to prepare for the twelfth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, to be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, at the end of this year, from 11 to 15 December.

You can pick up a press release upstairs with more details. **World Population Day

Also available today is the Secretary-General’s message on the occasion of World Population Day, which is tomorrow, 11 July. This year’s theme is “saving women’s lives”. The Secretary-General states that with the world’s population at more than 6 billion, the challenges ahead are clear: to find ways to support all the world’s people in peace and dignity, and to ensure that people -– especially women -– are able to make informed decisions about the size of their families.

**Spokesman's Office: New Weekend/Holiday E-mail System

And finally, the Spokesman's Office is now ready to launch the new e-mail system of distributing the Secretary-General's statements to United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) members on weekends and holidays. We will also use this system to inform you of any Security Council sessions on weekends or holidays.

The new system will go into effect as of Saturday, 15 July -- that's this weekend.

If you have not done so already, please provide Betty Carpenter in the Spokesman's Office with the appropriate e-mail address.

Thank you very much. That's what I have for you today. Are there any questions?

Questions and Answers

Question: After some very vague answers to questions on the situation in Haiti on Friday, I see that today the Secretary-General has issued a very strong statement. Was this turnaround prompted by negotiations with the Government of Haiti? Can you give us any information on that? What is the next step for the United Nations?

Associate Spokesperson: I think the statement issued by the Secretary- General today is the statement for the record. I cannot speak on what you were told Friday. However, I think, as you said, this statement we have today is very comprehensive. If you want, I will look into what the next steps might possibly be, but I think you can take today's statement at face value.

Question: The fact that the mission in Sierra Leone had only 10 days worth of supplies left was not mentioned when that statement was issued on Friday. Was the new information released today?

Associate Spokesperson: I believe we have been flagging the tense situation in the Kailahun area. I can clarify for you now that heavy rains have flooded the roads there, which has made the transportation of supplies very difficult. We had an added complication on Friday when a re-supply helicopter was denied access to the area. So there was an escalation of obstacles hindering supply efforts, hence, the statement at the end of the day.

Question: When you ran down the list of the Secretary-General's appointments at the OAU Summit, you mentioned a dinner with the President of Togo. But wasn't he mentioned in the Angola Report as being a facilitator, as well as beneficiary, of illegal diamond activities there? Isn't that a bit of an ethical problem?

Associate Spokesperson: As I mentioned to you, this is a programme that I got from the Deputy Spokesman just a few minutes ago. I don't have any more details on what kind of function this is or what will be discussed. If you come to my office after the briefing, I can try to find out for you. [The correspondent was later told that the dinner was being hosted by the Togolese President in his capacity as the host of the OAU Summit, and the Secretary-General was invited as one of the meeting participants.]

Question: Is Timothy Ford with the mission in the Horn of Africa now? When will he be sworn in for his new mission?

Associate Spokesperson: Yes. He is the mission leader. He will be sworn in as Military Advisor for the Peacekeeping Division on 15 September. That announcement is upstairs.

Question: Is this announcement the reason that the Australian Defence Minister is here today?

Associate Spokesperson: I understand that he is in the Building, and he will be meeting with the Peacekeeping Division, as well as the Deputy Secretary- General. Of course, this announcement will be mentioned.

Question: There were reports on Friday that a United Nations correspondent working for the Arab press recently had her Lebanese passport annulled. Can you confirm this?

Associate Spokesperson: As you all know, Ragida Durgam was among the reporters accompanying the Secretary-General on his recent trip through the Middle East. This was a pretty hectic trip -- they travelled to a country a day. We can confirm that her passport was confiscated at Beirut Airport. We are following this situation very closely, and we are in close touch with the Lebanese authorities on this matter.

Question: Has the Secretary-General made any comments on the work of the Preparatory Committee for the International Criminal Court since they finished their work on 30 June?

Associate Spokesperson: I haven't seen anything recently. I'll have to look into that and get back to you, but nothing has been brought to my attention in recent days.

Thank you very much. Have a good afternoon.

* *** *