DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20001030The 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 of Secretary-General
We have Japanese journalism students visiting us today from the Faculty of International Studies at Meiji Gakuin University in Yokohama. Welcome. And also we have in the room Carolyn McAskie, the Emergency Relief Coordinator. She'll be joined by Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Children and Armed Conflict, who will be introducing a new children's book, Marie -- In the Shadow of the Lion. Shashi Tharoor is here and will do the introductions and we also have the author of the book. We'll get to them in just a minute.
**Kosovo Elections
First on Kosovo. The Secretary-General was gratified that the municipal elections in Kosovo went so peacefully this weekend. They were a landmark in Kosovo's democratic development.
At a time of democratic transition throughout the Balkans, the people of Kosovo, he says, have shown maturity and responsibility in carrying out their democratic duty.
Bernard Kouchner was ably supported by other members of the United Nations Mission there, as well as by the Kosovo Force or KFOR, in bringing about this successful outcome. The Secretary-General looks forward to the announcement of the results.
And we expect that the United Nations mission will announce the partial official results of those elections in the next two hours - that will come out of Pristina.
Meanwhile, in the Secretary-General's monthly report on the international security presence in Kosovo, he reported there were some 45,000 troops in KFOR and there were no major changes in deployment.
**Spanish Judge
The Secretary-General was deeply shocked to learn this morning of the cold-blooded murder of Supreme Court judge Jose Francisco Querol Lombardo, his driver and his bodyguard. He mourns with the Spanish people and sends his sincere condolences to the families of those killed so brutally.
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The Secretary-General categorically condemns terrorism and political violence from whatever quarter, and he would like to stress once again that only by peaceful means can we truly resolve grievances.
**Côte d'Ivoire Murders
He was also shocked by the discovery of the mass grave of more than 50 victims of post-election violence in Côte d'Ivoire. The Secretary-General takes note of the new Government's decision to investigate this heinous crime.
**Brahimi Report
The report of the Secretary-General outlining the resource requirements for the implementation of the recommendations put forth by the panel on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, also known as the Brahimi Report, is out as a document today.
The report says that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations would be substantially reinforced and strengthened, while other departments supporting peace operations would also be strengthened. They include the establishment of the Executive Committee on Peace and Security Information and Strategic Analysis Secretariat, strengthening of the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs and of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The report calls for an increase of 249 posts amounting to some $22 million.
And then at 1 p.m. here in Room 226, Jean-Marie Guehenno, Under-Secretary- General for Peacekeeping will be joined by Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, the Controller and Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Plannning to discuss this report and to take your questions.
**Security Council
The Security Council started its programme of work for this Monday with closed consultations on Western Sahara. That was followed by a formal meeting, which unanimously adopted resolution 1324, extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara until 28 February 2001.
After the formal meeting, Council Members went back into closed consultations with the Secretary-General in attendance, for the wrap up discussion on the work of the Council during the month of October.
Consultations on Sierra Leone, which were originally scheduled for this afternoon, have been postponed until after Council Members receive the new report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in that country.
**Group of Independent Experts
The Secretary-General has decided to designate Mr. Thorvald Stoltenberg of Norway to serve as the Chairman of the group of independent experts to be appointed by the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolution 1302. In paragraph 18 of the resolution, the Council invited the Secretary- General to appoint independent experts to prepare "a comprehensive report and analysis of the humanitarian situation in Iraq, including the current needs arising from the situation and recommendations to meet those needs, within the framework of the existing resolutions".
Mr Stoltenberg's curriculum vitae is available in my office.
**ACC Retreat
The Secretary-General and heads of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes met in retreat over this weekend as a part of the twice annual session of the Administrative Committee on Coordination. The discussion centred on initiatives to implement the Millennium Declaration adopted by the General Assembly last month.
The meeting was the first for the new Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Kohler, and would be the last for the High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Fawzi Hamad Al-Sultan, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Nafis Sadik.
The Secretary-General described the talks as "animated", and commented that the ACC members are now coming together as a team. Another Secretariat member described the session as "a warm family gathering".
**Iraq Euro Switch
The 661 Iraq sanctions committee will hold informal discussions this afternoon to further discuss the Iraqi request to switch from dollars to euros for its oil sales administered by the Office of the Iraq Programme.
The decision to accept this request has to be made by the Committee, which already discussed the issue at its previous meeting on 24 October.
Late last week, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, Joseph Connor, sent a letter to the Permanent Representative of Iraq informing the Iraqis that the Secretariat is "prepared to discuss the practicability" of the request and pointing out that the Sanctions Committee on this issue will have to be taken into account.
Connor asked that the switch to euros be postponed in light of the many technical and financial complications related to the change in currency.
We have a copy of the letter available upstairs if you are interested.
The Committee members also received a report prepared for them by the United Nations Treasury Department that outlines the issues relating to the currency switch.
**Ethiopia-Eritrea
On the racks today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council announcing his intention to appoint Brigadier General P.C. Cammaert of the Netherlands, as Force Commander for the United Nations mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and that will take effect on 1 November. We have his bio upstairs.
**Georgia
Also out on the racks today is the Secretary-General's report on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia. He considers encouraging that the two sides have demonstrated a willingness to engage, in a restricted format, in detailed talks on key aspects of a political settlement.
The report also notes, however, that the lack of progress so far on the definition of the status of Abkhazia within the state of Georgia is "deeply regrettable". The Secretary-General appeals to both sides, in particular to the Abkhaz side, to undertake immediate efforts to move beyond this impasse.
**Interim Report on Angola Sanctions
Also out today as a document is an interim report of the monitoring mechanism on Angola Sanctions submitted to the Security Council by the Chairman of that Sanctions Committee, Canadian Ambassador Paul Heinbecker.
**Climate Change
We have available upstairs the press kit for the upcoming United Nations Conference on Climate Change to be held in the Hague from 13 to 24 November of this year.
The Conference is organized within the framework of the 1992 United Nations Climate Change Convention and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
**Press Releases and Reports
The World Health Organization's Western Pacific Region yesterday was certified as polio-free. The certification by an independent panel of international public health experts was announced at the Meeting on Poliomyelities Eradication in the Western Pacific that's being held in Kyoto, Japan.
Gro Harlem Bruntland, Director-General of the WHO, described the certification as "a major milestone in the global effort led by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, UNICEF and the Centres for Disease Control to certify the world polio-free by 2005". We have a press release.
**Press Conferences
Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Michael Zammit Cutajar, the Executive Secretary of the Climate Change Convention, will be here to talk about "The Hague 2000 Crucial Climate Change Talks".
And then at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Ambassador Joun-Yung Sun of the Republic of Korea will talk about the General Assembly agenda item on peace security and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.
And then at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Angela King, the Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women will talk about the significance of the Security Council resolution on women, peace and security.
We have a press conference this afternoon at 3 p.m. Pinot Arlacchi, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna and Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, will discuss the "Palermo Conference" , which will take place in Palermo, Italy from 12 to 15 December, on the Convention against Transitional Organized Crime.
Sorry that was a lot of stuff. Ill take questions then we'll go to Sue.
Question: Will the Stoltenberg mission panel be visiting Iraq in the near future and have you got any more information on the makeup of that panel?
Spokesman: No. The makeup is still being considered by the Secretary- General and we'll announce when he has decided on all the members. He reported in his last report to the Security Council that Iraq had not yet accepted to allow these experts into the country or to grant them visas.
Question: What is the Secretary-General's position on Côte d'Ivoire following the discovery of this mass grave?
Spokesman: Well, he's been watching that situation carefully. I think he is pleased that the internal situation seems to be calming down. As we said in the statement, he took note of the Government's decision to create an independent panel to look into this incident, and his statement on elections he made last week.
Question: On Sierra Leone, the British Government has now announced an offshore force as well as this brigade. Does that assist the situation in the United Nations view, in terms of stabilizing in the country?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General has always said that he appreciated the presence of British troops in Sierra Leone. Initially, when he failed to get the rapid reaction force that he asked for, he said that the dispatch of British troops there under the national flag was a stabilizing factor, and continued to be so in his view. And if that force was bolstered as you say, I'm sure he will be grateful for that.
Question: Is there going to be a report on global warming?
Spokesman: There was that report that was leaked last week, that is still I think months from finalization. I think that's probably the next one to come out. But as I say, it leaked out of a national capital last week.
Question: Last week, the independent commission on Kosovo recommended conditional independence. Is that in the light of the elections? Is that in any way going to change the attitude of the interim administration?
Spokesman: No. That administration is created by the Security Council, which has called for substantial autonomy, not conditional independence. So we are still operating under the Security Council resolution calling for substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Question: There are reports in some of the British papers today that the United States is moving towards support for independence for Kosovo and the United States officials in Pristina are quoted as saying they have been looking at the resolution, and while it talks about territorial integrity for Yugoslavia, that won't necessarily rule out independence in the future. Would the Department of Legal Affairs have to look at the resolution and decide what it really does mean?
Spokesman: No, because the Council alone can interpret its own resolutions. So any shift in opinion among members in the Council would eventually have to get the support of at least nine members of the Council and all Permanent Members.
Question: Are there any further reactions to the fact that the elections have apparently not been recognized by Kostunica? Belgrade's reaction in fact?
Spokesman: I have not seen that reaction and I have nothing to tell you in reaction to it. If you like, I can try to get something later. Okay, Sue.
Briefing by Spokeswoman of President of General Assembly
**The President
Thank you. This morning, the President of the General Assembly spoke at the event in the Economic and Social Council on eliminating hunger in the new Millennium.
In his statement, he noted that the world currently has enough food to nourish all of us, yet today about 800 million people or 13 per cent of the world's population, go hungry everyday.
The full text of his speech is available in the Spokesman's office and also on the President's Web site.
**Oceans and Law of the Sea
After his address to that event, the President returned to the General Assembly to preside over this morning's plenary meeting. The first item was the conclusion of Friday's discussion on Oceans and Law of the Sea, and there were two resolutions adopted by a recorded vote.
**Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
And then they took up cooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.
The Executive Secretary, Mr Wolfgang Hoffman, spoke. He noted that the treaty has been ratified by 66 countries including 30 of the 44 that are required to ratify it before it comes into force. Mexico introduced a draft resolution, but as I left for the briefing they had not concluded that item.
There were four more items listed this morning and we won't get to all of them, so we don't expect today the last two items which are Towards Global
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Partnerships and the one relating to the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. They won't be taken up tomorrow morning.
**In the Committees
In the Committees, the First Committee continues this afternoon to take action on its draft resolutions. The Second Committee is not meeting. The Third Committee is continuing on human rights, and this afternoon a draft resolution on self-determination will be introduced. The Fourth Committee continued its discussion on UNWRA. As you know I mentioned on Friday that the Fifth Committee was supposed to take up today the report on safety and security of staff as well as human resources reform. These have been postponed now until Wednesday. And the Sixth Committee is continuing its discussion on the report of the International Law Commission.
**Financing for Development
There was a meeting this morning, a brief one, of the Preparatory Committee of the High-Level International Inter-Governmental Event on Financing for Development. They discussed the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and this will be taken up again on Thursday. In relation to the preparations for this meeting, which will be held next year, there is going to be on 6 and 7 November, two days of hearings with civil society and on 11 and 12 December, hearings with business representatives. The full programmes for both of those events are available in the Spokesman's Office.
**Millenium Summit Follow-up
This afternoon, the plenary will hold informal discussions on follow-up to the Millennium Summit. This is a continuation of the informal discussions that were held on Friday afternoon. Copies of the non-paper that the President has prepared are available both in the Spokesman's Office and on the Web site and of course in the room. **Social Summit Follow-up
Tomorrow, the plenary will meet all day to take up the remaining items from today and also a follow-up to the Social Summit. The President will make introductory remarks on that issue.
**Wednesdays Highlights
On Wednesday, just to give a little advance notice, there will be two more special rapporteurs who will address the Third Committee -- the rapporteurs on Iran and on Rwanda. Also on Wednesday, the Credentials Committee will meet for the first time during this session of the General Assembly. The Pledging Conferences relating to development activities and to food will be held on Wednesday and Thursday. Thank you.
Spokesman: Any questions for Sue? If not I'll turn now to the Secretary- General's Director of Communication Shashi Tharoor to introduce our next guests.
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