DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000801The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Manoel Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Sierra Leone
Good afternoon. The Secretary-General's fifth report to the Security Council on the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone is being issued as a document today. The Secretary-General reports that the situation in that country remains dangerous and volatile despite some improvements. The United Nations Mission, after setbacks suffered in May, has demonstrated its capacity assertively and has reinforced its hold on strategic areas and access roads, he says in that report.
The report also contains the findings and the measures taken to date in response to the recommendations made by the so-called Eisele mission -- led by former Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Manfred Eisele -- to make the operation more effective.
The Secretary-General reports the threat posed by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) remains a matter of grave concern, with the group showing no credible sign that it would be ready to resume the peace process and continuing attacks on the United Nations Mission and pro-Government forces.
Saying that the preferred approach to achieve a durable peace should be based on a robust and credible international military presence, the Secretary- General recommends a six-month mandate extension. He says he remains convinced that it will be necessary to further strengthen the United Nations Mission, and intends to submit proposals to the Council within about the next two weeks with a detailed concept operation.
He added that enhancing the Mission's strength will ultimately depend on the willingness of Member States to make the necessary well-trained and well-equipped troops available to the United Nations. Continued support of troop contributors as well as assistance in training and equipment are also crucial, he says.
Advance copies of the report are available in the Spokesman's Office.
**Sanctions Committee Continues Diamonds Hearings
This morning, the Security Council Sanctions Committee dealing with Sierra Leone continued the open hearing begun yesterday on the role of diamonds in that country's conflict. Among this morning's speakers at the "town hall" style meeting, held at the Trusteeship Council Chamber, were representatives of human rights groups and the diamond industry.
The hearings are expected to conclude shortly, and we expect Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, the Chair of the Committee, to speak to the press in this room at about 1 p.m.
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The Security Council itself held no meetings today. Instead, the beginning of the month of August marked the change in the Presidency of the Council, with Ambassador Hasmy Agam of Malaysia replacing Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica as Council President for this month.
Ambassador Hasmy held bilateral talks with other Council members on the programme of work for this month. Tomorrow, the Council will discuss the programme of work in its consultations, and is also scheduled to hold consultations to hear briefings from the Secretariat on Burundi and Guinea-Bissau.
**Secretary-General in Ghana
The Secretary-General's official visit to Ghana began this morning when he and Mrs. Annan attended a ceremony at the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum where they laid a wreath at the statue of Kwame Nkrumah, a prominent leader of the African struggle for independence and the first President of independent Ghana. Accompanying him on a tour of the site was Francis Nkrumah, son of the late President.
After that visit, the Secretary-General said a few words to the press and he told them that he was one of those fortunate enough to be growing up in Ghana during the struggle for independence. He said he recalled as a young man the energy, electricity and inspiration that leaders such as the late Nkrumah and others gave him and his generation.
"I grew up at a time", he said, "when things were changing around me all the time. I grew up believing that change is possible, that you can make changes and one should dare to try to make changes."
The full transcript of those remarks is available in the Spokesman's Office.
From there the Secretary-General proceeded to the Castle, the Ghanaian Presidency, where he met President Jerry Rawlings. Their discussions focused primarily on Sierra Leone. Later this evening, the Secretary-General is expected to attend a State banquet, where he will receive the Order of the Star of Ghana in recognition of his service to humanity.
Tomorrow, the last day of his official visit to his native country, the Secretary-General is expected to break the ground for the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College. In the afternoon, he is to receive an Honourary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Ghana.
**Sudan
We have a statement from the United Nations Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ross Mountain, who has just concluded a visit to Sudan.
In that statement, Mountain says he emphatically rejects all allegations made by what he calls an apparent campaign in the Sudanese media against Operation Lifeline Sudan, the United Nations humanitarian programme assisting millions in
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need over the past 11 years, including misrepresentations of his discussions with senior officials of the Government of Sudan.
During his weekend visit to Sudan, Mountain says he met with senior government officials who gave assurances regarding their support for United Nations relief agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and highlighted the importance of the United Nations assistance programme. Contrary to news reports, Mountain says Operation Lifeline Sudan was pleased to receive clearance from the Government of Sudan on Monday for relief flights for the month of August from all the Operations bases in Sudan and Kenya.
The full text is available in our Office, or you can call the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for more details.
**United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in East Timor
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, will arrive in East Timor this coming Saturday for a three-day working visit. During her stay, she is scheduled to meet with various high-level officials, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and National Council for East Timorese Resistance President Xanana Gusmao.
On Monday 7 August, Mrs. Robinson will deliver the keynote speech at a human rights workshop organized jointly by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and the East Timor Lawyers Association. She will speak to the press just before her departure from Dili on Monday afternoon.
Also from Dili, 82 members of Falintil began yesterday a new non-military training programme run by the Portuguese battalion of UNTAET. The two-week programme will cover topics such as environmental protection, first aid, computer and language training.
We have the complete briefing notes from East Timor available upstairs.
**Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme
The latest figures from the Office of the Iraq Programme show that in the week of 28 July, Iraq exported 18 million barrels of oil with an estimated value of $387 million. This brings the value of oil exported in phase eight to $2.1 billion from a total volume exported of 91.9 million barrels.
**Bosnia and Herzegovina
Today in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Jacques Klein, attended the inauguration of the State Border Service unit in Izacic. The first phase of the deployment of Border Service units is to be completed this week, with units taking control of entry points in Izacic, Doljani and Zvornik.
In his comments today, Klein called the State Border Service "a truly multi- ethnic institution, based on professional competence", as well as a crucial step in the fight against trafficking in women and illegal cross-border trade.
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His comments and the latest press briefing notes from Sarajevo are available in the Spokesman's Office.
**Ethiopia/Eritrea
The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that more than 11,000 Eritrean refugees have returned to Eritrea since it began a voluntary repatriation operation on July 25 from camps in Sudan.
The UNHCR also reports that access is still very limited to some 60,000-65,000 Congolese refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who are scattered along a 700 kilometre stretch of the Congo and Ubangui rivers.
We also have the UNHCR briefing notes available upstairs.
**Treaties
Today the Ambassador to the United Nations from the Czech Republic will sign the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Seabed Authority, making his country the twenty-eighth to sign this protocol.
**Questions
Question: Concerning the reports regarding Operation Lifeline Sudan, can you say who is in control of the Sudanese press?
Deputy Spokesman: I am not competent to answer that question.
Question: There are reports that the RUF has been purchasing weapons from proceeds of diamond sales in Liberia. Do you have any comments?
Deputy Spokesman: We have seen those reports, many of which came out of the hearings here. We will have to wait and see what the Chairman of the Sanctions Committee will say during his briefing, scheduled to be held shortly.
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