DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20001117The 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
I assume everyone is at the Security Council stakeout.
**Secretary-General in Security Council
The Secretary-General this morning briefed the Security Council, in a private meeting, on the situation in the Middle East as well as his recent trip to the Gulf, including his meeting in Doha with Izzat Ibrahim, the Vice-Chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Council.
Immediately following that meeting, the Secretary-General is to present his report on the Destruction of Small Arms to the Dutch Foreign Minister, Jozias van Aartsen, in his capacity as President of the Security Council. (The Secretary-General did not find time to do this; it was rescheduled for Monday.)
The Secretary-General is then to return to the Council to brief them, in an open meeting, on the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
This meeting will also be chaired by the Dutch Foreign Minister.
In his remarks, which are available in my office, the Secretary-General says this new operation holds great promise for the countries and peoples involved, for Africa and for peacekeeping in general.
He also expresses his serious concern about the humanitarian conditions in both countries and highlights the importance of ensuring early demining activities. He urges both parties to cooperate, with the mediators to the proximity talks, to resolve the outstanding issues and achieve a comprehensive settlement.
We expect the Secretary-General to take a few questions at the Security Council stakeout following his second briefing.
**Secretary-General to visit Africa in December
The Secretary-General will visit Africa and Europe in the first half of December, beginning with Sierra Leone, where on the 2nd and 3rd of the month he will visit the United Nations peacekeeping Mission in that country and meet with Government leaders.
He will then travel to Benin, where he will address the Fourth Conference on New or Restored Democracies on the 4th. You'll recall that we arranged a press briefing for you on 1 November, on that Conference, which links peace and development with democracy, and the United Nations Development Programme will be
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 17 November 2000
giving a press conference on the development aspects of that Conference next Tuesday. The Secretary-General will also meet with Government leaders in Benin.
From Benin, he will travel to Ethiopia, where on the 6th he will visit the new United Nations peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea and meet with Government officials. On the 7th, he will address the African Development Forum on HIV/AIDS.
Then, on the 8th, he will arrive in Eritrea, where he will also visit the United Nations peacekeeping Mission, and then hold meetings with Government officials on the 9th.
He will then travel to Palermo, Italy, where on the 12th he will address the opening ceremony of the signing conference for the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. You'll recall that yesterday, Pino Arlacchi, the head of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, briefed you on that Convention.
Later that day, he will travel by helicopter to Corleone where he will inaugurate the Documentation Centre against Organized Crime and address assembled youth and civic leaders.
He will return to New York on the 13th and here's what might be of special interest to you: he will be travelling in a private plane. We have a limited number of seats for the press who might want to travel with him, so if you have any interest, please let us know as quickly as possible so that we can organize your travel.
**Côte d'Ivoire
The Secretary-General continues to monitor developments in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. Following talks he held with a presidential delegation from that country earlier this month, the Secretary-General has decided to dispatch his Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, to Abidjan from 21 to 25 November.
Mr. Brahimi will hold talks with the Ivorian head of State and other senior Government officials, political party leaders, security forces and civil society groups in the country, with a view to assisting Côte d'Ivoire restore stability and the rule of law as the country pursues its democratization process.
**East Timor Council Mission
The Security mission to East Timor and Indonesia wrapped up its work in Jakarta today, holding meetings with Indonesian Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman, and Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab. The Council delegation discussed with the Attorney-General cases related to East Timor, and underscored the need to move expeditiously on those cases in order to assist the cause of reconciliation.
Ambassador Martin Andjaba of Namibia, the head of the Council mission, held a press conference with the Foreign Minister in the evening, in which Mr. Andjaba said that the mission was impressed by the progress made in East Timor since last year. The mission also underscored the importance of the "twin tracks of justice and reconciliation" and of the need for decisive action to deal with the militias still present in West Timor.
We have a copy of his opening remarks at the press conference upstairs and, following the press conference, the mission left Jakarta to fly back to New York where it will brief the full Security Council on its trip in closed consultations on Monday.
Also available is today's press briefing notes from Dili, which noted the opening of the National University of East Timor today, where some 4,500 students are to be taught by 120 East Timorese teachers. Classes at the University will start this coming Monday.
**Kosovo
Overnight, the United Nations police in Kosovo supported by KFOR mounted a major operation against prostitution, trafficking in women and organized crime in 18 separate locations in the Kosovo Polje area outside Pristina.
Seven suspects were arrested and 12 other individuals were also handed over to local authorities. Information developed during the course of the investigation indicates that Serbian and Albanian criminals have been working together to promote organized crime -- that's according to the United Nations mission in Kosovo.
We have a press release on the operation from Pristina as well as today's briefing notes. You see they can work together.
**Sierra Leone
A two-day workshop on setting up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Sierra Leone is under way in Freetown.
Oluyemi Adeniji, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Sierra Leone, yesterday opened the workshop, which is bringing together more than 150 international and national participants representing local government, traditional leaders, religious leaders, civil society and other experts.
Mr. Adeniji stressed the importance of the Commission as being owned by the people of Sierra Leone, regardless of whatever faction or side they may belong to.
Meanwhile, the overall security situation remained generally calm, with the exception of areas along the border with Guinea.
**Afghanistan
The United Nations is concerned about the continued closure of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and calls upon all countries neighbouring Afghanistan to act in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, Erick de Mul, noted that Pakistan serves as an ultimate safety net for Afghans confronted with extreme insecurity due to conflict or economic distress because of drought.
He added that Afghanistan would face an increase in the number of internally displaced persons if the border were to remain closed. Among them are women, children and the elderly, who are displaced on islands between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Like Afghanistan, Tajikistan is also suffering from the effects of severe drought.
See the press release we have on this subject in my office.
**International Labour Organization
We have two items from the International Labour Organization today.
First, late yesterday, the ILOs governing body decided by consensus to allow sanctions that had been adopted against Myanmar at an ILO conference in June to go forward.
This measure was adopted in protest at the widespread and systematic use of forced labour in that country. This is the first time such measures have been taken by the ILO since its creation in 1919.
Also, this Sunday the ILOs convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour comes into force. This convention, known as convention number 182, calls on member states that are signatories to take immediate and effective action to combat numerous forms of child labour, such as prostitution, pornography, forced recruitment of children in armed conflict and use of children in hazardous activities.
There are press releases and fact sheets on both items in my office.
**Mary Robinson
In Geneva this morning, the Spokesman for Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced that she will be arriving in Beijing, China, on Monday. During the two-day trip she is to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Government on technical cooperation in the area of human rights.
**Secretary-General at City University of New York
This afternoon, at 5:30, the Secretary-General will address a conference at the City University of New York Graduate Center, dealing with "The Second Nuclear Age and the Academy".
The Secretary-General's speech will discuss the persistence of the nuclear threat and the continuing importance of multilateral treaties and other efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament, and he will also mention the role of academia in that process.
We hope to have embargoed copies of his speech available later this afternoon.
**Press Releases
Press releases today: the Government of the United States has approved a contribution of $50 million to the Global Fund for Childrens Vaccines. The Fund, and its sister organization, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, were launched a year ago by the World Health Organization and its partners, which include the United Nations Childrens Fund and the World Bank. Nearly $1 billion has already been raised towards the goal of $1.8 billion over the next five years to ensure the children of the worlds poorest countries receive immunization.
The press release is available with more information.
And then, the World Food Programme (WFP) today is announcing the launch of their new emergency appeal for $3.9 million to provide food for more than 250,000 Palestinians, initially covering a three-month period from December through February. The operation will provide food to help cover the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable households from among the non-refugee population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
**The Week Ahead at United Nations
We also have the week ahead at the United Nations. I'll give you just a few of the highlights.
On Monday, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks to an International Peace Academy seminar on humanitarian action, which is sponsored by the Netherlands.
On Tuesday, the Security Council will hold an open briefing to review the work of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The Presidents of the two Tribunals will attend the briefing, as will Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who expects to conduct a press briefing following the Council meeting.
The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor on Tuesday is hosting an international conference for countries willing to help develop an East Timor Defence Fund. And then on Thursday, its Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, and that's an official holiday for the UN.
That's all I have. Anything before we go to Sue?
Question: Fred, would this Memorandum of Understanding between Mrs. Robinson and China be available to the press?
Spokesman: Would you check with my office? We will have to check with Geneva to see whether we have an advance copy of what they are going to sign.
Question: The Secretary-General has traveled to Europe and Africa. What about Latin America and the Caribbean? Does he have anything against that region?
Spokesman: He has nothing against that region. I forget when he went there -- I was with him in Cuba. I guess that was the most recent visit. I'm sure he will be going there again before the end of his term but I have no specific dates to give you at this time.
Question: Fred, what specific sanctions measures does the ILO contemplate against Myanmar, and is this a precedent?
Spokesman: It is a precedent in that it's the first time, as I said, that sanctions have been imposed. I think for details I would refer you to the press release or to Nanci St. John in my office who follows this issue. Okay Sue.
Briefing by Spokeswoman for President of General Assembly
Thank you. This morning the President of the General Assembly met with the President of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic. They discussed the importance of follow-up to the Millennium Summit, and the admission of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to membership of the UN, which was seen as a positive development and in the interest of stability in the region.
Mr. Holkeri was also briefed about the upcoming summit to be held in Zagreb on 24 November under the auspices of the European Union. President Mesic gave Mr. Holkeri a cravat which I'm told is an invention of Croatia. Mr. Holkeri is wearing it at the moment in the plenary where he is chairing the General Assembly discussion of the reform of the Security Council. We have 52 speakers listed today so the discussion will continue until late this afternoon.
In the Committees: this afternoon the Sixth Committee will take action on draft resolutions relating to the granting of observer status to two organizations. And in other action, the Sixth Committee will look at the report of the Special Committee on strengthening the role of the UN and take action on assistance to third States affected by sanctions.
Both the Fifth and the Second Committee are having informal consultations and the Fifth Committee was to discuss financing of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor this morning. That was an open meeting, not informal consultations.
Looking ahead to Monday, in the morning the plenary is scheduled to take up the question of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas and the reports of the International Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
In the afternoon on Monday, the plenary will take up the report of the First Committee and there's a great number of resolutions to take action on coming from that Committee.
Also on Monday afternoon, we expect the plenary to take action on a draft resolution relating to the holding of a Special Session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS.
There are a lot of special meetings and conferences coming up in the next two years, so we have put together a list for you which includes all of the meetings as we know it now, including prep coms and other preparatory meetings.
Also next week, we expect informal consultations to be held on Tuesday in follow-up to the Millennium Summit and this discussion will look at elements for a draft resolution. We can provide you with some details about that if you are interested in following it. That's, I think, on Tuesday afternoon.
I will not be here next week so I won't be part of the briefings but if anything important comes up I'm sure Fred will be able to give more details and my assistant will still be in the office for you. Thank you.
Spokesman: Any questions for Sue? If not happy weekend.
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