DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and Susan Markham, Spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly.

Briefing by Spokesman for Secretary-General

We will let you know when Nelson Mandela comes to the stake-out in case you want to rush out.

Our guest at the briefing today is Kul Gautam, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), who will be talking about what has been achieved and what remains to be done 10 years after the World Summit for Children which was held on 30 September in 1990. [Mr. Gautam’s remarks will be issued as a separate press release.]

**Security Council Briefed on Burundi

During a public meeting this morning, the Security Council was briefed on the situation in Burundi by former South African President Nelson Mandela in his capacity as facilitator of the Burundi peace process.

Before Nelson Mandela spoke, the Secretary-General addressed the Council, expressing his deep gratitude to Mr. Mandela for his efforts, and saluting his accomplishments. “Thanks to President Mandela,” he said, “the peace process has moved forward significantly.”

The Secretary-General added that “The United Nations is ready and willing to make its contribution to the success of these efforts for the sake of the people of Burundi, but also for the stability and prosperity of a troubled region.”

President Mandela then briefed the Council on his work so far and on the major obstacles that remain ahead. He predicted that peace and stability in Burundi will be solid, and that the current Burundian leadership is qualified to implement a ceasefire.

The Council then adjourned the open meeting and moved into a private session to continue discussing the situation in Burundi.

We expect President Mandela would take a few questions at the stakeout microphone after the session is over.

At the start of the open meeting, the President of the Council praised former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who passed away yesterday, and noted his ”dedication to the cause of international peace".

Members of the Council then observed a moment of silence in his honour.

A number of journalists have asked me for a reaction to that. I can say the following:

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“The Secretary-General was saddened to learn of the death yesterday in Montreal of Pierre Elliot Trudeau. As Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau led Canada during long and important periods and, in so doing, made a lasting mark not only on the life of his country but on the world. He was an effective champion for the causes about which he cared deeply, in particular world peace and nuclear disarmament. Canada continues this tradition as an active participant in the United Nations and in the cause of peace. The Secretary-General joins Canada in mourning his loss.”

**Secretary-General Reacts to Violence in Jerusalem

I think you have all been reading today about the violence in Jerusalem yesterday. I have the following statement:

“The Secretary-General is seriously concerned about the recent outbreak of violence in Jerusalem and other areas. He regrets the loss of life and calls on both sides to exercise maximum restraint. The recent incidents demonstrate, more than ever, that it is essential to continue the negotiations to reach a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.”

**Western Sahara Talks

The following is attributable to the Spokesman: “The direct talks on Western Sahara between the Government of Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO took place in Berlin on 28 September, yesterday, under the auspices of the Secretary- General's Personal Envoy, James A. Baker III. The meeting was again inconclusive. The Personal Envoy will make his recommendations to the Secretary-General as to whether there should be a follow-up meeting.”

**Mary Robinson to Visit DRC

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, will travel next week to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a three-day visit, October 1 through 3 October.

She’s expected first in Kinshasa where she is scheduled to see, among others, President Laurent Kabila. During this meeting, the High Commissioner will raise issues related to the human rights situation in the country.

Mrs. Robinson will then travel to Goma in the east to meet with representatives of the rebel group RCD (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie) and representatives of various non-governmental organizations.

For more details on her travel plans please see the notes from the Geneva briefing of today.

**UNHCR Says 8,600 Angolan Refugees Have Entered Zambia

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports today that 50 or more UNITA members, among them possible senior officers of the movement, are among the group of some 8,600 Angolan refugees who have entered northwestern Zambia during the past five days.

According to UNHCR officials in Zambia, the presence of UNITA fighters among those who have entered Zambia this week could signal an interesting new trend in the conflict, with actual UNITA members now fleeing the country.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General's Representative in Angola, Mussagy Jeichande, will assume his duty as head of the United Nations office in that country tomorrow.

**More Afghans Arrive in Pakistan

UNHCR meanwhile reported a significant rise in the number of Afghans arriving in Pakistan this month. The agency reports that more than 8,000 Afghans, escaping intensified fighting in northeastern Afghanistan, have crossed over.

The Office for the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan today called on all parties to the conflict in northeastern Afghanistan to ensure the security of the civilian population and of aid workers, and allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need.

**New School Year Starts Monday in East Timor

Monday, 2 October, will mark the start of the East Timorese school year. Some 200,000 students and 5,000 teachers from secondary and primary schools will resume classes.

More than 70 per cent of the schools were destroyed last year. Three hundred of them have been rehabilitated thus far.

During the first week the focus will be on cleaning the schools and organizing classes. Regular lessons will start on 9 October.

Today’s Briefing Notes from Dili have more details on this and other news from East Timor, including the guidelines just issued by the United Nations Mission to protect people from the health hazards of asbestos. The guidelines follow a survey that showed approximately 10 per cent of the residential and 40 per cent of the public buildings in East Timor contain asbestos cement materials.

**Letter from International Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia

On the racks today is a letter, transmitted by the Secretary-General to the Security Council, written by the President of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Judge Claude Jorda, on the question of compensation.

Judge Jorda says in his letter that, according to the Tribunal's judges, the Tribunal should be able to compensate persons whom it may have wrongfully detained, prosecuted or convicted. He further notes that the Security Council would need to amend the Tribunal's statute for it to be able to award compensation.

The letter came following several months in which Tribunal judges have voiced concerns at the plight of individuals who were prosecuted and tried, but were then acquitted by the Tribunal. Accordingly, they said, the issue of compensation needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

**Press Releases

We have a number of press releases available today. I will skip over them.

The World Chronicle is doing programme 792. It will feature Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, author of “Women at the Peace Table”. You can see that on in-house channels 26 or 30 today at 2:30 p.m.

**Sierra Leone Report

There’s been a delay in the Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on the establishment of a Special Court in Sierra Leone. We now expect the report to come out early next week. We will let you know as soon as we have a definitive time. And please hold the embargoed remarks by Ralph Zacklin, the Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, until the report comes out.

**Week Ahead

We have the Week Ahead for you and then at the Monday press briefing, our guest will be Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the new Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping. It will be his first day on the job, replacing Bernard Miyet, whose last day is today.

**Questions and Answers

That is all I have for you. Any questions before we go to Sue and then to Mr. Gautam?

Question: On Afghanistan, there is a report out of Russia that there are about 100,000 Afghans poised to flee into Tajikistan, and that Russian officials have asked for help from the United Nations on how to deal with the crisis looming in the air. Do you have any information on that?

Spokesman: No, but check with Marie Okabe of my office after the briefing. She might have something on that.

Question: I apologize that this has come up before, but I would like to ask about the claim by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that its invitation to the Millennium Summit was withdrawn by the Secretariat.

Spokesman: I don’t think it was ever extended. The General Assembly ruled that the FRY may not participate in the work of the Assembly. The Millennium Summit was a major activity of the Assembly. I don’t think there was any question of Yugoslavia being able to participate. Robert?

Question: You said that James Baker would recommend to the Secretary- General whether or not there should be further talks on (Western) Sahara. The POLISARIO representative said yesterday that if there isn’t a referendum, then there would be a return to armed hostilities. So, if James Baker does not recommend another meeting, what is the next step?

Spokesman: I think the Secretary-General would have to assess the status of the peace process and whether it has any prospects at all for moving forward. We are not in a position now to fully assess this latest round. Although it was inconclusive, I think there might have been some advances on procedural matters. But, until the United Nations official who participated in the talks gets back here and debriefs us, I don’t think we can say much more about what happened during these talks and what the prospects are for another round. Serge?

Question: What does the Secretary-General expect to achieve from his forthcoming visit to the European Union?

Spokesman: When the French Foreign Minister, Hubert Védrine, was here for the Millennium Summit, he had a meeting with the Secretary-General. France is in the rotating presidency chair of the European Union. He said that he wanted to discuss with the Secretary-General closer relations between the United Nations and the Union, and that he felt that some kind of formal coordinating mechanism was needed. I think that will be the core of the talks he would have with European Union officials in both Strasbourg and in Paris. We will put out a more detailed version of the programme in the course of this afternoon. He leaves on Sunday and begins that visit in Geneva on Monday, when he will meet with UNHCR officials and attend the Executive Board meeting, which will be Mrs. Ogata’s farewell to UNHCR. She is leaving. He will address UNHCR staff as a whole, who are still reeling from the deaths of their personnel in West Timor and Guinea. And then, he will also meet with International Labour Organization (ILO) officials and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials. And that is his programme in Geneva for Monday. We will give the details out.

Question: They had put out a press release talking about deployment of force, a version of the Brahimi Report. Is that going to be part of the discussion also? It said that this force would be at the disposal of the United Nations.

Spokesman: Yes. It is expected that they would discuss that European Union proposal to create a rapid reaction force of, I think they said, 50,000 to 60,000 troops. So I’m sure that will be on their agenda as well. Sue?

Spokesman: On the Afghanistan question, there is a press release out today from the Coordinator, saying that while a large number of Afghans are on the border with Tajikistan, UNHCR has not noticed any significant number crossing over yet. They are monitoring the situation and I will have to look into your question about the Russian initiative.

Briefing by Spokeswoman for the Assembly President

There was no plenary meeting today.

The Third Committee this morning took up the issue of crime and drugs. Pino Arlacchi, the head of the United Nations office in Vienna dealing with those issues, is in New York. He spoke this morning to the Committee. The Fourth Committee continues on decolonization issues. Next week, there will be the beginning of the Fifth Committee discussion on the scale of assessments. On Monday, they will take up the scale of assessments relating to the regular budget and on Tuesday, they will take up the peacekeeping scale of assessments.

The Plenary on Tuesday will discuss the issue of AIDS in relation to the Special Session of the General Assembly scheduled for next year.

The First Committee begins its general debate on Monday on disarmament issues. The Second Committee also begins its work and its general debate on

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Monday. The Third Committee continues on crime and drugs until Friday when they start their discussion on women.

The Fourth Committee is not scheduled to meet next week and the Sixth Committee will not meet in open sessions.

There is a revised calendar of General Assembly activities available in the Spokesman’s Office. It is a work in progress and is updated weekly, as needed.

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