DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR 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 of the President of the General Assembly.

Briefing by Spokesman for Secretary-General

We are going to have a guest at the briefing. He will be here shortly, it's Judge Gilbert Guillaume, who is President of the World Court or International Court of Justice. [Judge Guillaume’s briefing is being issued separately.] He launched a vigorous appeal to the General Assembly to increase the financial and human resources of the Court. We have a press release, we have the text of his address to the Assembly and you'll have him to ask any follow-up questions.

**Côte d'Ivoire

We have the following statement concerning Côte d'Ivoire attributable to the Spokesman.

"The Secretary-General has been following with great concern the latest developments in Côte d’Ivoire. He regrets the loss of innocent lives during the ongoing demonstrations and calls upon all political, religious and social actors to exercise restraint and ensure security for all. The Secretary-General recalls that he had deplored the recent electoral process which deprived the people of Côte d’Ivoire of the opportunity to freely exercise their rights and elect their leaders. He believes that there is now an opportunity to put in place a democratic political process that will allow the people of Côte d’Ivoire to freely elect their representatives. He appeals to all political forces to work towards this end. The Secretary-General will continue to follow the situation very closely and remains in touch with all concerned parties.”

**Security Council

On the Security Council, they were in closed consultations on Bosnia and Herzegovina and they are now in a formal meeting to hear a briefing by Wolfgang Petritsch, the High Representative for the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the Council members who will be speaking, they will also hear from the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany and Italy. Immediately after that, the Council is expected to go back into closed consultations to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Council Members will review the request by the Palestinian Observer Mission, endorsed by the Arab Group, for an urgent meeting of the Council to consider the establishment of a United Nations protection force "in the occupied Palestinian territory including Jerusalem". The full text of both requests is available in documents S/2000/1025 and 1027.

Then this afternoon at 3:30, the Council will have a private meeting to hear the Foreign Minister of Morocco, Mohammed Benaissa, to discuss the situation in Western Sahara.

Meanwhile, the Security Council has confirmed the dispatch of its mission to East Timor and Indonesia from 9-18 November. The mission will be led by

Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 26 October 2000

Ambassador Martin Andjaba of Namibia, and it will include the Permanent Representatives of Argentina, Malaysia, Tunisia and Ukraine, in addition to the Deputy Permanent Representatives from the United Kingdom and the United States.

The terms of reference specify that the mission will review the progress of the implementation of resolutions 1272 and 1319. The first of these established the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and the second, adopted in September following the killing of three staff in West Timor, Indonesia, called on the Indonesian authorities to disarm and disband the militia, restore law and order in West Timor, ensure safety and security in the refugee camps there and prevent cross-border incursions into East Timor.

**Western Sahara

The Secretary-General’s report on the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara is expected out on the racks later today. I believe this Western Sahara report came out as a document late last night. In it the Secretary-General reports on the third round of direct talks between the Moroccans and the Polisario which took place in Berlin last month under the auspices of his personal envoy, James Baker III. He also reports on the technical level meeting held in Geneva in July which failed to make any progress on prisoners of war, the appeals process and confidence-building measures regarding refugees.

In his conclusion the Secretary-General notes that regrettably, "I cannot report any progress in overcoming the obstacles to the implementation of the United Nations Settlement Plan". The Secretary-General recommends to the Security Council that the mandate of the Mission be extended for a period of four months until 28 February.

**Children and Armed Conflict Briefing

The Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, has invited members of staff and non-governmental organizations to join him for a briefing by victims of the conflict in Sierra Leone. The group of amputees, which includes children, is in the United States to receive medical treatment and welcomes the opportunity to tell its story to the international community.

The briefing and discussion will take place tomorrow in Conference Room 1 from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. and media are welcome.

**Reports and Press Releases

Among the reports on the racks today is the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala recommending the renewal of the mandate until 31 December 2001. Among the press releases out today there is one from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued in Belgrade, requesting urgent aid for some 700,000 refugees and displaced persons in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

We also have a press release from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in which the Special Representative Bernard Kouchner names Anthony Welch of the United Kingdom as the new Regional Administrator for Mitrovica.

**Press Conferences

Following his briefing to the Security Council, Wolfgang Petritsch, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, will come here to room 226 to take your questions. We think that will be around 1 p.m.

Press conferences tomorrow -- the head of the United Nations Staff Union, Mehri Madarshahi, will be here tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. to discuss staff security issues with you. And then at 1, there is Klaus Topfer, the Head of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Godwin Obasi, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, and they will be talking about a new study, entitled "Lessons from the 1997-98 El Niño: Once Burned, Twice Shy".

The Correspondents Association has asked me to announce a briefing by the Japanese Ambassador Yukio Satoh this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the UNCA Club on Security Council reform.

And finally Nane Annan, the Secretary-General's wife, will be in the United Nations Bookshop tomorrow afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. to sign copies of her recently published children's book, "The United Nations: Come Along with Me".

The book, which is published by the American Forum for Global Education, aims to introduce young children to the concept of United Nations humanitarian work throughout the world. And all proceeds from sales will go to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

That's all I have for you. Anything before we go to Sue?

Question: Regarding the Secretary-General's report on Western Sahara, he says that further political consultations between the two sides would be unhelpful and probably counter-productive. Does this mean he is about to close the book on Western Sahara?

Spokesman: I don't think he is prepared to say that or else he would have done so explicitly in this report. It's clear that the lack of progress in these negotiations has been exasperating for all those involved. I don't think he would have asked for a further four-month extension if he wasn't ready to continue to press for progress, but he is signalling loud and clear that no progress has been made and unless something gives, something else might have to happen.

Question: (inaudible) [The journalist asked a question about any more meetings being held.]

Spokesman: I'll have to get guidance on that. I can't answer that question on the basis of what I know.

Question: Fred, you might be aware of the BBC reporting on the existence of a restricted document from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on Sierra Leone dated 21 September. Can you make any comment on the status of that document, and is it the United Nations view that without United Kingdom troop involvement, UNAMSIL won't continue as a viable operation?

Spokesman: No. In fact we were unable to identify that document, at least in talking to the Peacekeeping Department this morning. I don't think the Secretary-General could have been any more clear than he was yesterday in the press conference. He said that the Member States with significant military capacity who vote for United Nations missions in the Security Council have to be prepared to back up those votes with contributions of forces. He implied that the pull-out of the Jordanians coming as it does after the decision by India to also pull out its contingents would be a setback. He has appealed to the Indians and now the Jordanians as well to be flexible in their scheduling of their pull-out to give us the maximum amount of time to find replacements. I don't think I can go beyond that. I don't think it's just a matter of the United Kingdom, which you cite. I think the Secretary-General made it clear yesterday that he was talking about all countries with military capacity. They can't leave us in the lurch if this is to be a viable mission. We need strong, viable military units and someone has got to contribute them.

Question: Regarding the report from the Internal Oversight Service (IOS) and a follow-up of the recruitment process in the Office of Human Resources. What's happened to those follow-ups?

Spokesman: I don't think there was any interruption in the follow-up on all those cases. I'm sure IOS is pursuing those cases vigorously. Do you have the impression that they are not?

Response: I haven't seen a report on those follow-ups.

Spokesman: Well then let's check with IOS after the briefing. Sue.

[He later announced there was no delay in IOS processing of those cases.]

Briefing by Spokeswoman for President of General Assembly

Thank you. This morning the General Assembly elected Ruud Lubbers of the Netherlands as the new High Commissioner for Refugees for a three-year period beginning on 1 January next year. Mr Lubbers, a former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, replaces Sadako Ogata, who will retire at the end of this year.

The General Assembly also approved a report from the Fifth Committee that will give waivers of the application of Article 19 to six countries which are Burundi, Comoros, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Sao Tome and Principe, and Tajikistan, who are now able to vote in the General Assembly until 30 June next year. Kyrgyzstan also has a waiver until the end of this year and that waiver will be continued until 30 June next year. This reduces to nine the number of countries who are unable to vote because they have not paid enough of their dues. Those countries that cannot vote in the General Assembly are the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Seychelles, Somalia and Yugoslavia.

The plenary this morning also began its discussion of the report of the International Court of Justice which is why we have the President of the International Court here with us today.

In his remarks opening the debate, the President of the General Assembly noted that there is a growing consensus that it is in the interest of all parties to have their disputes resolved through a binding third party settlement. He expressed the hope that more States would place their trust in the Court by unilaterally recognizing its jurisdiction as binding. He also noted that the Court needed more resources to enable it to cope with its increased workload, and said that its current budget of just over $10 million is smaller than the Court's 1946 budget.

The full text of the President's remarks is available in the Spokesman's Office and on the Web site www.un.org/ga/president. There were 12 speakers listed on this item this morning.

Later this morning or if not then this afternoon, the General Assembly will take up the resolution to be introduced by Libya on the issue of the elimination of coercive economic measures as a means of political and economic compulsion. You will recall that a discussion of this item was held on 19 October.

Later today, the Assembly will take up the issues of oceans and the law of the sea. There are 33 speakers listed so far on that item. We expect to have two draft resolutions introduced: one by New Zealand, which would request the Secretary-General to establish two trust funds, one for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to assist States in the settlement of disputes, and the second a trust fund to help developing countries, especially the least developed countries and small island States, to provide technical and scientific advice and training.

The second resolution, to be introduced by the United States, is on drift- net fishing and related issues. And the plenary will continue this afternoon.

Tomorrow, as you probably know, there will be informal consultations on the follow-up to the Millennium Summit and the President has circulated a non-paper on this. We have copies if you wish to get that. As an addition to the plenary on Monday morning, the item on the Korean peninsula will be taken up.

Among the President's appointments today, he has the pleasure of presenting certificates to the three Dag Hammarskjöld Fellows who have been here covering the work of the General Assembly. This will take place in the UNCA club on the third floor at 3 o'clock and refreshments will be served.

Yesterday, the President held the second of his monthly working luncheons with the Chairs of the Main Committees. Each of the Committee Chairs reported on the progress that the Committees have been making to date. They all reported that work was on schedule and I'll just run through some of the highlights for you.

The First Committee: the work seems to be going to be able to conclude a few days early, on 1 or 2 November, which is very early next week. The Chairman reported that most of its resolutions have now been introduced -- they have about 50 of them -- and yesterday they started taking action on them and will continue for the next few days.

The Second Committee Chairman highlighted the main issues that have been discussed and the fact that they have had a number of side events and panel discussions. They have 10 resolutions that have been introduced and are currently being negotiated and they expect about 30 in total, so there is some work to be done there.

The Third Committee is currently dealing with human rights issues and that will continue until next Friday. Then they will take up the issue of refugees. The Third Committee, as you know, has a lot of resolutions so they expect around 40 just on human rights issues alone. They have adopted 12 so far, not on human rights but on related issues of the Third Committee. Every Thursday afternoon, the Third Committee takes action on resolutions, so we can expect more this afternoon.

The Fourth Committee Chairman highlighted the discussions that they had had so far on decolonization of which there are eight draft resolutions, including a consolidated draft on non-self governing territories. On the effects of atomic radiation, they expect action on that draft resolution today. On the peaceful uses of outer space in the Fourth Committee, the draft resolution will probably be taken up tomorrow, and this afternoon they will take up the issue of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). They don't expect to finish their work until maybe 14 November; it was originally scheduled to finish on 9 November.

As you may know the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations will meet on 6 and 7 November to discuss the Brahimi report before it goes to the Fourth Committee on 8 and 9 November.

All the Chairpersons said that the follow-up to the Millennium Summit was being mentioned in the debates and was also being incorporated into resolutions.

The Fifth Committee and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) also reported on their work. The Fifth Committee reported that discussion on the scale of assessments was continuing and there were a number of alternative proposals now on the table and being discussed, both for the regular budget assessments and the peacekeeping assessments. But the Chairman was optimistic that agreement would be reached this session.

On Monday, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will introduce to the Fifth Committee the report on human resources reform which may be of interest to you. On 3 November elections will be held in the Fifth Committee for the ACABQ and the Committee on Contributions and other bodies.

Unfortunately the Fifth Committee won't complete its work in the first week of December, which was the target for all the committees to finish. We were not given a date for the Fifth Committee to finish.

The Sixth Committee reported that one of the highlights of their discussion was the consideration of the item on the International Criminal Court, and that good progress had been made by the Preparatory Committee for the Criminal Court. The Preparatory Committee will meet again next month. The Chairman of the Committee expressed optimism that the Treaty might come into force by the end of 2001, which is earlier than anticipated. In this regard, he mentioned that the reason he was optimistic was that the number of ratifications was proceeding quite quickly. Yesterday, Spain became the twenty-second to ratify; as you know, we need 60 for the Treaty to come into force.

The President of the International Court of Justice is scheduled to speak to the Sixth Committee tomorrow and maybe he will give us an idea of what he will be discussing there.

Also at yesterday’s meeting of the Chairmen of the Committees, they discussed how the number of agenda items on the current agenda could be shortened. As you know, there are over 180 items on the General Assembly's list and they seems to be growing every year rather than diminishing. They also discussed the need to limit the number of reports requested by the various committees of the General Assembly. You might be interested to know that this year, the Fifth Committee has 200 reports that it has to consider and the large bulk of those come from the departments that Mr. Connor oversees: 175 of those reports.

And for those of you who are following this item, the Credentials Committee will hold its first meeting on Wednesday afternoon, 1 November. Sorry, it was a bit long, but I had a lot to tell you.

Spokesman: Any questions for Sue? Judge Guillaume, welcome to the briefing. We are really short of time but we would like to hear from you on how the Court is doing with the General Assembly.

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