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 Manoel Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Security Council Consultations

The Security Council began this morning with a briefing in closed consultations by the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi, on the proposed concept of operations for a United Nations role in Ethiopia/Eritrea. He explained the need for a United Nations mission consisting of up to 100 military observers and necessary civilian support, and described proposals for deploying military observers and infantry battalions in a temporary security zone along the Ethiopia/Eritrea border. The mission is supposed to confirm the redeployment of Ethiopian and Eritrean forces in accordance with a cessation of hostilities agreement signed on 17 June.

The Security Council then went into a formal meeting in which it unanimously approved a draft resolution establishing the mission for an initial period through the end of January 2001. The Secretary-General's report on Ethiopia/Eritrea is being finalized and is expected to be circulated in the Council within the next few days. We will try to set up a briefing for you.

The Council also expects to receive a report on Sierra Leone in the early part of this week.

**Sanctions Committee Hearing on Diamonds

The Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone has begun an exploratory hearing in the Trusteeship Council Chamber to assess the role of diamonds in that country's conflict. Among the issues to be examined is the link between trade in Sierra Leone diamonds and trade in arms and related material.

Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), other interested States, regional organizations and representatives of the diamond industry, as well as individual experts in diamonds and arms, have been invited to attend the day-and-a-half session.

A list of participants is available in the Spokesman's Office. The format is a "town hall" style meeting, with the Chairman of the meeting calling on participants requesting the floor.

Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, Chairman of the Sanctions Committee, is scheduled to come speak to you at the end of the session around 1 p.m. tomorrow.

**UNIFIL Redeployment

The redeployment of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) resumed on Sunday with four more positions being occupied along the line of withdrawal. On Friday, two positions were manned by United Nations troops before

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 31 July 2000

the deployment was halted temporarily. As of now, more than 200 UNIFIL soldiers are deployed at six observation posts along the line.

This morning, the UNIFIL Force Commander, General Seth Kofi Obeng, met with officials of the Lebanese Defence Ministry to discuss the next phase of the redeployment. We expect this to occur at some point during this week.

**Secretary-General in Ghana

The Secretary-General arrived in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday evening. He was met at the airport by the Ghanaian President and Mrs. Jerry Rawlings.

In response to questions on conflict prevention from journalists who were at the airport, the Secretary-General, after reiterating that "prevention is always better than cure ... and that it is very much an essential part of our work", said that the "sad part is when conflicts are prevented, the press don't get to write about it. How do you ascertain whether there would have been a conflict or not”?

He added, "this is the problem we have, but when it blows up and the blood begins to spill, the cameras are there and everybody is there".

A transcript of his statement is available in the Spokesman's Office.

The Secretary-General's official visit to Ghana, his native country, will begin tomorrow and conclude on Wednesday.

**Office of Iraq Programme Executive Director in Iraq

The Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, Mr. Benon Sevan, left New York on Saturday for Baghdad.

Tomorrow, he begins a two-week working visit to Iraq. This is his fourth visit since his appointment as Executive Director in October 1997.

During this trip, Mr. Sevan is scheduled to meet senior representatives of the Iraqi Government, as well as the head of the United Nations agencies involved in the implementation of the programme.

A statement from Mr. Sevan on the Iraq Programme, issued prior to his departure, is available upstairs in the Spokesman’s Office.

Also available upstairs is the distribution plan for Phase VIII of the “oil- for-food” programme submitted by the Government of Iraq and approved by the Secretary-General.

During Phase VIII, which runs from June to December 2000, the plan calls for total spending of $7.1 billion, including $6.5 billion for a wide spectrum of humanitarian needs and $600 million for the oil sector. The plan also targets an increase in spending in the health sector and an increase in calories in the daily food rations.

**New Executive Director for Habitat

The Secretary-General today appointed Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka as the new Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat). She will take up her new responsibilities at the Nairobi-based agency in the next three months.

Ms. Tibaijuka, a Tanzanian national, is currently an official of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), where she is responsible for strengthening developing countries' capacity to negotiate trade agreements within the World Trade Organization. She was recently designated Executive Secretary of the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, scheduled for Brussels next year.

She holds a doctorate in Agricultural Economics from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden, has taught at the University of Dar es Salaam, and has written extensively on development issues. She has also been active in promoting women's rights in the United Republic of Tanzania, particularly the right to education, land and inheritance.

For more details, see a press release in our Office which was issued by Habitat.

**East Timor

Today in East Timor, Xanana Gusmao, President of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, introduced 50 East Timorese who have been selected for the first diplomatic training course, in which they will participate in a one-month intensive course at the Civil Service Academy, which starts today.

Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello said that, for 25 years, the East Timorese had used diplomacy to win their independence, and that diplomatic efforts had kept alive "the flame that forced the international community out of its indifference".

After finishing the programme, the candidates will be placed in internships in the ministries of foreign affairs of various countries, potentially to serve in any future East Timorese Ministry of Foreign Affairs or embassies.

Further details can be found in today's briefing notes from Dili.

**Kosovo

Also available upstairs are briefing notes from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, which contain an item about a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff member living in southern Mitrovica who will be leaving Kosovo tomorrow for her own security. This follows an incident over the weekend in which three armed and masked men broke into her accommodation, tied her up and robbed her.

**Disarmament Yearbook Released

The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook for 1999, one of the sale publications available at the United Nations Bookstore, was released for distribution today. The Yearbook includes information on steps that Member States have taken to deal with the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and guidelines agreed to by Member States on the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones.

We expect to have one or two advance copies of the Yearbook available in the Spokesman's Office today. It should be distributed to relevant offices, as well as the United Nations Bookstore, over the course of this week.

**United States Briefing on Diamonds in Sierra Leone Conflict

Today at 1 p.m., there will be a background briefing by a senior official from the United States State Department on the role of diamonds in the Sierra Leone conflict.

For more information, you may contact the United States Mission to the United Nations at 415-4240.

**Questions and Answers

Question: Could you give any information on the United Nations peacekeeper who apparently died from cerebral malaria in Sierra Leone, and/or about the condition of General Jetley in New York, who had apparently been suffering from some symptoms?

Deputy Spokesman: I do not have any information on the peacekeeper, but we can investigate that. General Jetley is still in New York. He is resting and we do not yet have a date on his departure for Sierra Leone.

Question: Under what circumstances would the United Nations send military personnel to Fiji?

Deputy Spokesman: Either at the request of the country (the usual procedure) which has to be approved by the Security Council, or if the Council decides that there is a threat to international peace and security.

Question: Why is the peacekeeper leaving Kosovo? Was any protest lodged by the United Nations Mission?

Deputy Spokesman: For her own security. The assailants were masked, therefore, their identity is unknown and we cannot ascertain where they are coming from. The briefing notes would give you more details.

* *** *