DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000807The following is a near verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Manoel Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
We have another slow day reflecting the summer. I will start with Lebanon.
**Lebanon
This morning, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was deployed in 17 new positions along the withdrawal line and in southern Lebanon, after having commenced its expanded deployment in that area on Saturday morning.
On Sunday, United Nations Force Commander Major General Seth Kofi Obeng flew over the newly established positions with his Lebanese counterpart. The United Nations peacekeeping Force intends to deploy into 11 additional positions in the coming days, and will continue to coordinate its deployment with the Lebanese authorities. The deployment of about 1,000 Lebanese security forces to the region is also expected to take place in the coming days.
The United Nations voiced its concern today with the relevant authorities following a shooting incident at the Fatima Gate near the border, in which at least three Lebanese civilians are reported to have been wounded by gunfire from the Israeli side. This followed an incident in which some Lebanese reportedly threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers. The United Nations has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the stone-throwing activities and the potential for escalation with the Lebanese authorities, and hopes that such incidents can be halted.
**Afghanistan
The United Nations is concerned by reports that seven men who worked for a demining agency that was implementing United Nations projects were killed, and eight others injured, in an ambush in Herat, in western Afghanistan, on Saturday.
The 15 people all worked for OMAR, a non-governmental demining agency that worked on mine-clearance projects under the umbrella of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. At this time, it is unknown why they were attacked or by whom. They were shot by unknown gunmen when their vehicles were stopped at a pass between Herat and Baghdis provinces.
The United Nations is trying to clarify the details of the attack, which remain murky. There are about 5,000 Afghans throughout the country working to implement United Nations mine-action projects.
**Sierra Leone
Moving to Africa. Although most of Sierra Leone today is reported calm, there was tension reported overnight in the capital, Freetown, where one Sierra Leonean Army soldier was shot dead while investigating a shooting incident. United Nations peacekeepers rushed to the area of the killing and brought the situation under control. Two Sierra Leonean Army recruits and a civilian technician were arrested following the incident, and a further investigation is under way.
**New York
Here in New York, there is no meeting of the Security Council scheduled today. Also, the open meeting of the Council that had been scheduled for tomorrow on Ethiopia and Eritrea has been postponed until later in the week. The Secretary- General's next report to the Council on Ethiopia and Eritrea, which will detail plans for a United Nations presence there, is still being finalized. It is expected to go to the Council in the next few days.
For the record, I'd like to draw your attention to the agreement by the members of the Council last Friday to hold a meeting of Council members' heads of State on 7 September, to discuss the Security Council's role in maintaining peace and stability, particularly in Africa. A statement made to the press by Council President Hasmy Agam of Malaysia is out on the racks today.
Also, on Friday, the Council President, in a statement to the press, expressed the Council's "profound condolences" to the family of Corporal Miah Mohammed Abdul Aziz, a Bangladeshi peacekeeper who died last week in East Timor. The full text of the statement is available in the Spokesman's Office.
Also for the record, I'd like to draw your attention to the statement this office put out on Friday evening, which noted the Secretary-General's concerns about the detention in Montenegro of two British members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who were seconded to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The Secretary-General noted that the seconded officials, as members of the United Nations Mission, are entitled to the privileges and immunities of United Nations staff members, and demanded immediate access by United Nations officials to the staff members. As far as we are aware, there has been no change in the condition of the detained officials over the weekend.
[The Secretary-General also expressed concern over the detention of two Canadian nationals in the same incident.]
**Mary Robinson Leaves East Timor
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, left East Timor today after a three-day visit. Speaking at a press conference in Dili before her departure to Jakarta, Mrs. Robinson said that the international community has a responsibility to ensure that the perpetrators of last year's violence in the country do not escape justice. "The most important thing is to bring the perpetrators to justice", she said, adding that it could be done either by courts in Indonesia or in East Timor or, if necessary, by an international tribunal.
Earlier in the day, she had delivered a keynote speech at the human rights workshop, stressing that the process of nation-building must be based on fundamental human rights principles. The briefing note from the Dili office of the United Nations Mission is available with more details in our Office. **Office of Iraq Programme
We have here from the Office of the Iraq Programme the latest oil figures. For the week of 31 July to 4 August, there were 14.9 million barrels, with an estimated value of $353 million.
Since the beginning of Phase VIII on 9 June, Iraq has now exported 106.8 million barrels, for revenue estimated at around $2.5 billion.
**Kosovo
Today's press briefing notes from Kosovo indicate that Jean Guinard of France has been appointed as the new regional administrator for Pristina, the capital. Mr. Guinard has worked for the past eight years for the French Government, dealing with relations between the army and the civil service. Of course, the note is available upstairs, as well.
**WHO Report on Tobacco
And also available at the documents counter on the third floor is the World Health Organizations report on tobacco, which we mentioned last week as being available on the Internet. It is now available in hard copy on the third floor.
**Budget Matters
On budget news, Saudi Arabia has become the 106th Member State to pay their full dues to the United Nations regular budget for the year 2000 by giving us a check for just over $5.9 million.
**Questions and Answers
Question: There is a report from Pristina which says that Médecins sans frontières have decided to leave Kosovo, North Kosovo, in protest at the lack of protection given to ethnic minorities. Is there any reaction to that?
Deputy Spokesman: I will have to look into that. I do not know of that report, and I would have to look into it to get back to you. Although, of course, the relationship of ethnic groups is the main problem in that region.
[After the briefing, the Spokesman's Office announced that there was a cell being established which will consist of the office of Special Representative of the Secretary-General Kouchner, the OSCE, the UNMIK Police and KFOR. The purpose of the cell will be to look into killings and determine whether those killings are political or not.]
Question: It was announced on Friday in Washington that the Secretary- General of the Organization of American States (OAS) is going to Haiti together with the United Nations delegation. Do you know the composition of this delegation?
Deputy Spokesman: No, I do not have the composition of the delegation. However, in the course of this week, we should have the Secretary-General's report, the first report on the mission in Haiti. As you know, the mission started its operation in mid-March of 2000. The report will be the first one covering the first four months until mid-July. So we expect that to be out in the course of the week. It is a report to the General Assembly.
[After the briefing, the Spokesman's Office said that the United Nations will not be represented in the OAS-led delegation, but that the Group of Friends of Haiti will be.]
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