DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000823The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good afternoon.
**UNHCR Suspends Aid Work in West Timor after Attack on UN Staff
We'll start with East Timor. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today suspended aid operations for East Timorese refugees in West Timor. The decision was taken after three UNHCR staffers were severely injured in the worst attack so far against UNHCR personnel working in West Timor.
The attack happened last night while the three were distributing plastic sheeting at the Naen refugee camp, 130 kilometres east of the provincial capital, Kupang. They were beaten up by militia armed with machetes, clubs and stones -- one of the United Nations staff had his head held under water in a rice paddy until he choked. All three suffered severe injuries, requiring hospital treatment.
Indonesian Army officials in the area failed to respond immediately to the incident, considered by UNHCR as the worst of more than 100 recorded cases of harassment and intimidation against aid workers and refugees since last September. A senior UNHCR official is proceeding to Kupang to conduct an investigation into the incident with Indonesian authorities. In the meantime, UNHCR assistance activities in the camps will remain suspended.
Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, Soren Jessen-Petersen, said in Geneva that it is regrettable that the militias are allowed to operate with impunity and make a mockery of statements by responsible officials in Jakarta guaranteeing security for aid workers and refugees.
Today in Dili, the East Timorese capital, a senior Indonesian delegation met with the Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and told him that the refugee camps in West Timor will be closed down within three to six months, in coordination with the United Nations.
Mr. Vieira de Mello welcomed the initiative to expedite voluntary repatriation or resettlement of the thousands of refugees still in West Timor. However, he stressed the need for greater security for the refugees and humanitarian workers, as illustrated by the recent attack on UNHCR workers. He also said that militia and criminal elements must be separated from the refugee population.
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For more details, you can pick up copies of the UNHCR press release, which is available in my office.
**At Headquarters, Secretary-General Opens Meeting with UNAMSIL Troop Contributors
This morning in the Trusteeship Council, the Secretary-General opened the meeting of the Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Troop- Contributing Countries for Sierra Leone. He noted that this was the first time in the history of United Nations peacekeeping that a Secretary-General has had the privilege of addressing the Chiefs of Staff of Member States participating in a peacekeeping operation.
You'll recall that the Secretary-General had invited the Chiefs of Defence Staff or their deputies from the nine countries contributing troops to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to meet here to discuss ways to improve that Mission's operations.
He said that the traditional model of peacekeeping, involving lightly armed soldiers operating with the consent and cooperation of responsible parties, has been making way in recent years to a more robust type of peacekeeping. In Sierra Leone, he said, the United Nations Mission faced open hostilities since last May, and, although the situation has since stabilized, he added that the United Nations must remain vigilant and be prepared for worst-case scenarios.
He said that the events that began in May exposed serious problems with the Mission which need to be addressed, including the importance of unified command and control, equipment shortfalls and clarity about the mandate and rules of engagement. He urged the delegations present, saying, "Let us solve our problems together. And let us emerge with a renewed and common sense of purpose."
The Secretary-General's comments were open to the press and are available in the Spokesman's Office. The rest of the meeting, however, was closed.
**Security Council Holds Consultation on Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo
This morning, the Security Council began its work with closed consultations on Afghanistan. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Danilo Turk, briefed Council members.
Mr. Turk noted the outbreak of large-scale fighting between the Taliban and the United Front in northeastern Afghanistan since July, the worsening humanitarian situation following the severe drought, and the recent Taliban edict banning female Afghans from being employed by aid agencies outside the health sector.
He also mentioned recent diplomatic efforts by the Secretary- General's Personal Representative, Francesc Vendrell, who visited five
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of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries in recent weeks. Also, next month, in New York, the "Six plus Two" informal group intends to hold a high-level meeting to discuss a comprehensive regional action plan to deal with illicit drugs emanating from Afghanistan.
Following the Afghanistan meeting, the Security Council will hold consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to discuss a draft resolution on extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in that country (MONUC). There is a possibility that the Council may follow the consultations with a vote on that resolution.
**Afghanistan Humanitarian Update
In other Afghanistan news, by the way, we have the latest humanitarian assistance update for Afghanistan in the Spokesman's Office. It notes the re-opening last week of the World Food Programme's (WFP) bakery project for widows, which had been briefly shut by the Taliban following its edict against employment of women by aid agencies. It also mentions the report issued earlier this week on the humanitarian impact of Security Council sanctions on Afghanistan.
**Special Envoy Abubakar, President Kabila Discuss Peace Process in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Today in Kinshasa, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, met for over an hour with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Laurent Kabila. That meeting followed a two-hour meeting held yesterday evening between the two.
Following today's meeting, General Abubakar met briefly with local media and said that his talks with President Kabila were "useful", and that they had discussed means to proceed with the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He added that there were still some points that need to be clarified before MONUC could expand its deployment, and noted that he would report to the Secretary-General next week, here in New York.
The Special Envoy then headed straight for the airport and left for Addis Ababa, where he is to consult with the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim A. Salim.
General Abubakar is expected to be in New York for about three days starting Monday of next week, when he will brief the Secretary- General. We have extended an invitation to him to come and brief you as you requested yesterday.
**Commission on Racism Adopts Periodic Reports on Sweden, United Kingdom
Today in Geneva the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination adopted its fifteenth periodic report on Sweden.
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The Committee said one of the positive aspects it found is that Sweden had taken several legislative initiatives designed to combat racism and to promote the rights of minorities and indigenous people in the country.
However, the report expresses its concern that a recent upsurge in racism and xenophobia had been seen in the country, especially among the young.
Yesterday, the Commission adopted its findings on the United Kingdom.
The report welcomed a number of positive developments, including the recent adoption of laws increasing the penalties for racially motivated crimes as well as the creation of an independent human rights commission for Northern Ireland.
The report, however, also criticizes the United Kingdom for not taking sufficient steps to curtail harassment of ethnic minorities, who are feeling increasingly vulnerable. Questions concerning institutional racism, within the police and other institutions, are also raised by the report.
For more information, you can get both those reports in my office.
**Updated Security Council Membership List Available
Today, Canada's new Ambassador, Paul Heinbecker, presents his credentials to the Secretary-General. He replaces Ambassador Robert Fowler in the Canadian seat at the Security Council. To reflect this change, we have printed an updated Security Council membership list, which you can pick up in my office.
**Budget Matters
On budget news, we received another payment towards the United Nations regular budget for the year 2000.
Nigeria has become the 110th Member State to be paid up in full for this year and that's with giving us a cheque for just over $336,000.
**China National Orchestra to Give Concert at Headquarters
I've been asked to tell you that there will be a concert by the China National Orchestra tomorrow at 7:00 p.m., in the General Assembly Hall.
The programme will be conducted by Chen Xieyang and includes both original compositions and new arrangements of ancient and traditional Chinese music.
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Accredited media will be admitted to the Press Gallery located on the fourth floor.
**Deputy Secretary-General Discusses Millennium Summit at Press Conference Tomorrow
And finally, a press conference tomorrow: , Louise Frechette, the Deputy Secretary-General will be here in this room to talk to you about the plans for the Millennium Summit. That will be at 11:15 a.m.
For more information, we have a media advisory in my office.
That's all I have for you. Are there any questions?
**Questions and Answers
Question: Will Ms. Frechette be talking about the Millennium Declaration or will her press conference tomorrow be only on organizational matters?
Spokesman: I think it's organizational and also about some of the promotional campaigns we have -- one for New York City to reassure New Yorkers that the inconvenience they will experience is worth it because were doing serious business here, that sort of thing.
Question: So how close is the Millennium Declaration to completion?
Spokesman: I don't know if I can characterize that for you, but it's not yet ready.
Question: Iraq's Deputy Prime Minster Tariq-Aziz told reporters today that Iraq won't cooperate with Security Council resolution 1284 [on the issue of chemical weapons inspection]. Do you have any comment on that?
Spokesman: Well, that's not a new declaration; it's been their standing policy for some time. Our position is that we will continue to prepare for a new round of inspections. We are training the team. We have reconstituted the Commission, and we hope that Iraq will change its position and cooperate with the Security Council so that we can get these inspections going once again. We hope that eventually we can get to a position where we can declare Iraq in full compliance and lift the sanctions against that country.
Question: The last resolution on Sierra Leone authorized deployment of a technical team of legal experts if the Secretary-General felt it was necessary. Has such a team been authorized?
Spokesman: I don't know. I'll have to look into that for you. [He later clarified that a new technical team had not been composed, although a United Nations legal expert had been sent to Sierra Leone.]
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Question: Is Issa Sesay, the new head of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), one of the leaders who had been envisioned as liable for prosecution by the Special Court?
Spokesman: I'd have to look into it. He is a field commander, as you know but I don't know if he's on any list.
Question: I've read Associated Press reports about a new law in Indonesia barring the retroactive prosecution of the army for human rights violations. How will that law affect the discussions of the criminal court that's being envisioned for East Timor?
Spokesman: When this process of the Indonesian internal review of the excesses of the military and the militia in East Timor began, the Secretary-General's position was that we should let Indonesia deal with it. When the Secretary-General visited Indonesia, he met with the Attorney General -- previously a human rights activist in the country -- and was convinced that he had good credibility and that a serious and credible investigation would be undertaken. We'll have to see what happens with this idea for amnesty. If it were to go forward, however, I think that it would probably force us to reconsider our position concerning the need for an international investigation.
Question: If I read the article correctly this isn't just an idea, it's a law that's already been passed by the Indonesian Parliament.
Spokesman: As I say, should amnesty be granted, I think that would force the United Nations to reconsider an international investigation for these abuses.
Question: The Afghan refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan have encountered various troubles with the authorities. There are also reports of lack of food. Is the United Nations going to be involved there in any way?
Spokesman: Yes. I think that there was some concern on the part of the High Commissioner for Refugees that this return flow of refugees to Afghanistan was a bit premature, but people wanted to go home. We're doing everything we can to provide for them but of course those that might be returning to unstable areas face a security risk that we can't do anything about.
Thank you very much.
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