DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000908The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Okay. We are running a little bit late. Let's start with Therese Gastaut. (The briefing of the Spokeswoman for the Co-Chairs of the Millenium Summit is issued separately.)
**The UN Says Thank You to New York
The United Nations will spell out "Thank You NY", using office lights on both sides of this Headquarters building, on Sunday and Monday evenings, for all that New Yorkers have put up with this week.
The Secretary-General is aware that there was a great deal of disruption in the lives of ordinary citizens, but he hopes that they are proud of this reaffirmation that their city, and ours, is truly the capital of the world. He would like to thank the people of New York for their courtesy, understanding and support.
**Secretary-General to Thank Leaders for Commitment in Address to Closing Session of Summit
The Secretary-General will address the closing session of the Millennium Summit this afternoon. As Therese just said, we expect that to be somewhere around 6 p.m. We will have the text of his speech available for you in advance on an embargoed basis as soon as it is finalized.
In that speech, the Secretary-General is expected to thank the leaders who gathered here, first for coming, second for making clear their pain about the injustices of the world and, finally, their determination, in the Declaration that is to be adopted, to make specific commitments to address global problems. Those promises need to be translated into action, of course, and the Secretary-General is expected to affirm the United Nations commitment to ensure that the steps outlined in the Declaration are realized.
The Secretary-General began his day early today by attending a breakfast for the Heads of State and Government hosted by the Bureau of the Economic and Social Council.
He then continued an intense programme of bilateral meetings that are continuing as we speak. In fact, he should be meeting with Cuban President Fidel Castro now and we expect him to finish this bilateral agenda by the end of today. Initially we thought we were going to have to schedule meetings tomorrow, but his programme for tomorrow thus far is free and, therefore, so is yours. We will be giving you readouts on those bilateral meetings throughout the day.
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 8 September 2000
**Continuing Violence Reported in West Timor; Security Council to Hold Consultations
From East Timor, further to consultations held Wednesday on the killings of three Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff in West Timor, the President of the Security Council for the month of September, Ambassador Moctar Ouane of Mali, has convened another round of consultations for 3:30 p.m. this afternoon. Council members are expected to discuss the text of a draft resolution.
There are continuing reports of a very volatile situation on the ground in West Timor, including unconfirmed reports of marauding militia carrying out attacks on civilians. In Betun in the general Atambua region, where many refugee camps are located, the situation was reportedly very tense today.
As of yesterday and since Wednesday, 391 United Nations workers and non- governmental organization workers were evacuated from West Timor. This morning, 73 local staff dependants as well as several non-governmental organization local staff were transported out of Kupang, the capital of West Timor, to Denpasar in Indonesia. Another 14 workers of aid agencies and their dependents left Atambua this morning overland for the East Timor border town of Batugade.
We just got word from UNHCR in Geneva that a final flight carrying approximately 25 people, including some United Nations staff that left Kupang late this afternoon, just landed in Denpasar. Meanwhile, UNHCR headquarters in Geneva reports that messages of condolence from around the world have been pouring in. Memorial services for the three UNHCR staff killed in Atambua are being arranged in a number of places by UNHCR.
**Secretary-General Expresses Concern on Potential Impact of High Oil Prices
We have the following statement attributable to the Spokesman on high oil prices:
"The Secretary-General is concerned at the potential impact of high oil prices on the world economy. The oil price increase has relieved the financial pressures in major oil exporting countries, but the potential of a serious impact on inflation and interest rates in major importing countries remains. In the past, sharp increases in oil prices have triggered recessions that hurt all countries, including the oil exporters.
The Secretary-General is particularly concerned about the adverse effects on oil-importing developing countries. Many are only just recovering from the blows of the recent financial crisis. They have seen the first signs of recovery which could easily be jeopardized by the negative impact of higher oil bills.
Developing countries are less able to substitute oil by other energy sources and smaller technological and financial capacity to introduce energy efficient processes. The increasing burden would result in balance of payment problems and a reduction in other imports and spending. The poorer segment of
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the developing countries would be hardest hit with an attendant rise in the price of other essential goods, such as fuel, food and transport.
Major oil producers have demonstrated their willingness to look at oil prices and related supply/demand issues in a long-term context. The Secretary- General urges them to be especially sensitive to the impact of their decisions on the world economy and particularly the poorest countries."
**Miyet Meets Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on Arrests
The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, met this morning with Vladislav Jovanovic, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the United Nations.
During that meeting, which took place here at United Nations Headquarters, Miyet expressed the United Nations concern at the continued detention of two police officers from the United Nations mission in Kosovo, who were arrested in Montenegro on 31 July. Both are British nationals. Miyet requested, at the very least, that the United Nations be allowed immediate access to the detained staff members and be informed of charges against them. The request was contained in a Note Verbale handed over to Jovanovic.
Miyet also expressed concern at the continued detention of two Canadian nationals who were arrested at the same time as these police officers, as well as the arrest of four Dutch nationals, all in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in mid-July.
He appealed for a prompt investigation into any charges brought against these individuals or, preferably, to consider their release on humanitarian grounds.
**Secretary-General to Address Meeting on Sierra Leone
The Secretary-General will make the opening statement on Monday at a coordination meeting between the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Government of Sierra Leone.
The meeting, which is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. in Conference Room Two, is expected to review progress made in Sierra Leone thus far, focus on the steps needed to relaunch the peace process and plan joint efforts to find a lasting settlement to the conflict.
It follows a meeting held here two weeks ago, attended by the Chiefs or Deputy Chiefs of the Defence Staffs of countries contributing troops to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, which the Secretary-General also addressed.
Monday's meeting, which will inaugurate a coordination mechanism between the three groups of participants, is a follow-up to previous discussions on Sierra Leone that the Secretary-General held in Lome, Togo, in the margins of the Summit of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) in mid-July.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 8 September 2000
**35 Countries Sign Vision Statement
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, today welcomed the fact that more than 35 countries had now signed the vision statement entitled: "Tolerance and Diversity -- A Vision for the 21st Century."
The statement, which was launched by South African President Thabo Mbeki, is part of the preparations of the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to be held in South Africa in the year 2001.
Mary Robinson, who is also Secretary-General of that conference, said that as societies grow more and more multi-cultural and multi-ethnic, tolerance and diversity will become the essential preconditions for stability and progress.
The full press release, with the complete list of signatories, is available in my office and Mary Robinson will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. today in room S-226.
**UNMIK to Fly out 24 Sick Children for Treatment in Three Countries
The United Nations Mission in Kosovo reports that Dr. Bernard Kouchner, the Special Representative [of the Secretary-General for Kosovo], will fly 35 children -- that is 24 Albanians and 11 Serbs -- to France tomorrow for medical treatment. The children, who are suffering from serious illnesses, will be treated in specialized hospitals in France, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Monaco. You can read more about this so-called Flight for Hope in a press release available upstairs. For other developments on Kosovo, pick up today's briefing notes.
**Fifteen Public Officials Removed for Obstructing Implementation of Property Laws
On Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have a press release available today from the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, as well as from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), noting that those two offices have declared the removal of 15 public officials who have obstructed the implementation of property laws.
The 15 officials are banned from running in elections or from holding public office. They were deemed to have ignored, obstructed or failed to enforce laws that they were supposed to implement, such as conducting evictions according to the law and identifying alternate accommodation to those entitled to it. The release includes the names of all 15 officials who have been removed.
**UNDP Executive Board
We will be providing in my office embargoed copies of the Secretary- General's keynote address to the ministerial meeting of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that will take place here on Monday. That meeting will be opened by the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Jan Kavan, whose
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country chairs UNDP's Executive Board, which will meet throughout next week. In that speech, the Secretary-General is expected to underscore the radical reform underway at UNDP under the strong management of its Administrator, Mark Malloch Brown, and the need to ensure that the agency is not hampered by the lack of resources.
**WHO Bulletin
We have a World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin that we urge you to look at concerning the contamination of Bangladesh's water supply.
**Inter-Agency Mission Investigates High Mortality in Angolan Province
Three press statements from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on an inter-agency mission to Luau in northeast Angola, which took place on the sixth of September this week. The mission was sent to investigate reports of high mortality and morbidity rates.
**Budget
Budget news. We got another cheque today, from the Dominican Republic, for just over $156,000 and they become the 126th country to be paid in full.
**Week Ahead Bulletin
And we've got the Week Ahead bulletin for you. You can pick it up in my office.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Has the Secretary-General attempted to speak with any of the leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries nations that are in town for the Summit? Is the statement that you read earlier the first such statement he has made?
Spokesman: I don't have the details of his discussions with heads of State. It is the first statement he has made on this issue since the oil prices have begun to rise dramatically. And I would refer you to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs in the United Nations for any further questions you might have.
Question: Are you aware of any diplomatic incidents or security breaches this week?
Spokesman: Diplomatic incidents... We did identify the interlopers in the group photograph. It delayed the issuance of the caption by 24 hours. But I will be diplomatic and not name the persons. Security questions? We don't like to talk about security, but I am not aware that there were any security incidents or any of the kinds of things you like to write about. The handshake I guess made the most news in the last two days. That is all I am aware of.
Thank you very much.
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