DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20001124The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Central African Republic
While you were having turkey yesterday, the Secretary-General issued a statement on the situation in the Central African Republic, where a significant number of civil servants were unhappy at not having been paid for some time. There was concern that that situation could become violent. There was a demonstration this morning. Happily, it stayed peaceful. We have the text, if you are interested, in my office.
**Kosovo
In Kosovo, Jock Covey, the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative, attended the funeral of Xhemajl Mustafa, a senior advisor to Ibrahim Rugova, who was shot dead outside his apartment in Pristina yesterday. Mustafa had headed the Kosovo Information Centre, and had been Rugova's spokesman for some time.
Covey called the shooting "a contemptible and cowardly act by extremists who want to undermine Kosovo's moves to democracy". He called the murder, which took place a day before the regional summit that started today in Zagreb on cooperation in the Balkans, "a dark sign for Kosovo".
The United Nations police have been questioning persons in their investigation of the murder, and also tracked down a vehicle as part of that investigation.
** Kouchner Has First Meeting with Kostunica
In Zagreb, Special Representative Bernard Kouchner attended today's summit meeting, in which the French Presidency of the European Union invited the leaders of the states that belonged to the former Yugoslavia to discuss democracy and economic assistance. Kouchner stressed at the summit that democracy has to take root more firmly in Belgrade and in Pristina, and that peace in the Balkans depends on peace in Kosovo.
While at the meeting, Kouchner met briefly for the first time with the new President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica.
We have a press release and the briefing notes from Pristina with more information. We also have a press release that notes that applications are being sought from members of non-Albanian communities for appointment to the Kosovo Protection Corps, the civilian emergency rescue agency for Kosovo, which is eventually to have 3,000 active members.
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**Cyprus
The Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Cyprus (Alvaro de Soto) is to hold meetings in Athens and Ankara on 30 November and 1 December respectively. He will be meeting Mr. [Glafkos] Clerides and Mr. [Rauf] Denktash in Cyprus on 4 and 5 December. As you know, the Secretary-General has invited Mr. Clerides and Mr. Denktash to a new round of proximity talks in Geneva starting in late January. We will give you a precise date once we have it.
**East Timor
The international conference on the establishment of the East Timor Defence Force concluded yesterday in Dili.
Portugal and Australia pledged to take the lead in providing initial training to the future Timorese force. Portugal also offered to help establish a maritime unit by offering two patrol boats, training four crews and providing spare parts, maintenance and other support for two years.
A number of the 12 nations which participated in the conference also offered support to the future defence force. Thailand, for example, volunteered to provide expertise in civil-military affairs, especially linking national development and security. More details are available in the briefing notes from Dili, which is available in my office.
**Human Rights in Palestinian Territory
In Geneva, the spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that this Monday the bureau of the Human Rights Commission would meet to begin the work of establishing a Commission of Inquiry to look at the situation in the Palestinian Territories.
Youll recall that on Wednesday the Economic and Social Council endorsed a resolution, approved by the Human Rights Commission on 19 October in Geneva, which calls for, among other things, the creation of a Commission of Inquiry. The vote on the endorsement was 21 in favour, 19 against with 11 abstentions.
Also on Monday in Geneva, Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner, will present to the bureau of the Human Rights Commission, the report of her recently completed trip to the Middle East. She is scheduled to hold a press conference early in the afternoon.
**UNDOF
Out on the racks today is the Secretary-Generals report on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights (UNDOF) for the period of 23 May to 21 November in which he recommends that the Forces mandate be extended for another six months to 31 May next year.
As youll recall, UNDOF was created in 1974 by the Security Council to maintain the cease-fire between Israel and Syria and to supervise the area of separation between the two countries.
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In the document, the Secretary-General reports that the situation in UNDOFs area of responsibility remained calm and the force has been able to perform its function effectively with the cooperation of both sides.
Despite the calm, the Secretary-General adds, the situation in the Middle East continues to be potentially dangerous and is likely to remain so unless and until a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East problem can be reached.
**Climate Change
Jan Pronk, the Dutch Environment Minister who is serving as president of the Climate Change Conference, which is currently underway in The Hague, decided to extend the proceedings until Saturday afternoon in an effort to bring the conference to a successful conclusion.
To help the parties along, Pronk distributed to the participants a 14-page note which addresses many of the major issues, including the role of so-called sinks in enabling nations to meet their emissions targets, the financing of technology transfer to developing nations and developing a policy to address non-compliance and enforcement.
We have available upstairs the Pronk proposal if you are interested.
**UNHCR
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is concerned that its staff still had not been allowed access to more than 18,000 Afghan refugees who had fled to Pakistan in recent weeks, prior to Pakistan's closure of its border with Afghanistan.
UNHCR estimates that some 47,000 people have fled from fighting in northeastern Afghanistan to Pakistan since September, before the Pakistani Government closed its borders on 9 November. Some 16,200 of the refugees who made it into Pakistan before the closure are gathered at the town of Jallozai, which the office of the UNHCR says has no sanitation or water facilities. Many of the new arrivals are reported to be in poor health, and there have been many reported deaths, particularly among children.
The agency is urging the authorities in Pakistan to move the refugees to another nearby village, and is also seeking the re-opening of the border with Afghanistan. We have more details in the briefing notes from the office of the UNHCR.
**International Criminal Court
Starting on Monday, the sixth session of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court will begin here in New York.
Out on the racks today are several documents that could help you prepare for that session, including the latest report by the Preparatory Commission on
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its work so far. In particular, two annexes were issued today that contain the finalized draft texts of the Court's rules of procedures and evidence and the elements of crimes to be considered by the Court.
**Press Releases and Report
Among the documents on the racks today is the Secretary-Generals report on Assistance in Mine Action in which he notes the sharp increase in the number of countries and areas requiring assistance in mine action and the expectation that more Member States will request such assistance. He notes, in particular, that one priority in responding to this problem is to identify new sources of funding to allow an effective response. Total contributions to the Voluntary Fund for Assistance in Mine Action stand at $68.6 million as of 18 October 2000.
Then the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners are launching a web-based network on all aspects of environmental sanitation at the Fifth Global Forum of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, which begins today in Brazil. The network, called the Sanitation Connection, will provide authoritative articles and links on all aspects of environmental sanitation.
Finally, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is promoting a four- day seminar called Feeding Asian Cities, which begins on Monday in Bangkok. The seminar will identify major food security challenges in feeding Asian cities and prepare a plan of action for the next 10 years.
**Press Conferences
On Monday, at 12:30 p.m., there will be a special press briefing here in this room on the upcoming International Year of Volunteers, which is 2001. The participants will be Sharon Capeling-Alakija, the Executive Co-ordinator of United Nations Volunteers, Mark Malloch Brown, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Astrid Heiberg, President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. That is at 12:30 in this room.
**Week Ahead
Then we have the week ahead.
On Monday, nice and early at 9 a.m., the Secretary-General is expected to meet with the five-member fact-finding committee, led by former US Senator George Mitchell, which was established at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit.
The Security Council, on Monday, will hear an open briefing on the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also, a meeting of troop-contributing countries involved in the United Nations Mission to the DRC will be held.
And then I will just mention two items from Tuesday.
The Secretary-General and acting Emergency Relief Coordinator Carolyn McAskie will participate in the launch of the Consolidated Interagency Appeals for 2001.
Daily Press Briefing - 5 - 24 November 2000That will take place in the Economic and Social Council Chamber starting at 11 a.m.
And then the Security Council expects to hear an open briefing by Special Representative of the Secretary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello on the situation in East Timor.
That is all I have for you.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Did the Security Council conclude its Middle East debate on Wednesday? There was talk that it would continue on Monday.
Spokesman: I am sorry, I dont know. [He later confirmed that the council had indeed concluded its debate on Wednesday.]
Question: There are reports that some Islamic foreign ministers are coming to New York and to the United Nations. Do you know of any planned meetings with the Secretary-General?
Spokesman: No. We normally dont get his appointments more than 24 hours in advance but I can look into that for you and see if they would tell us anything about the week ahead. Yes, Michel? [He later said that the Security Council had scheduled a private meeting on Monday afternoon to see the Foreign Ministers representing the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).]
Question: Fred, you were talking about a new round of Cyprus talks. Rauf Denktash declared today in Ankara that they are going to withdraw from the talks, qualifying them as useless. Are you aware of this and is there any reaction by the Secretary-General?
Spokesman: Yes. I am aware of that and the Secretary-Generals invitation to the two parties to meet in Geneva in January is on the table.
Question: And the reaction to the withdrawal?
Spokesman: There is a standing invitation to come to Geneva. It is up to the parties to respond. Okay. Thank you very much. Have a good weekend.
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