DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE 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 Sue Markham, Spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly.

Spokesman for Secretary-General

Good afternoon. 

Our guest today is Hafiz Pasha, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, who will tell us about his recent trip to the region.

**Iraq Talks

You've been pressing me for details on the Secretary-General's talks with Iraq, which begin on Monday.  Here is an impressionistic agenda:

The first session will take place Monday from 10 to 12. The Secretary-General will chair the United Nations delegation, which will also include: 

Hans Corell, Legal Counsel; Jayantha Dhanapala, head of Disarmament Affairs; Benon Sevan, head of the Iraq Programme; Danilo Turk, deputy head of Political Affairs; Shashi Tharoor, acting head of the Information Department; Vladimir Grachev, of the Secretary-General's Office; and Iqbal Riza, Chief of Staff.

Mr. Riza will then host a working lunch.  There will be two sessions in the afternoon, one from 3 to 4:15 on disarmament issues and a second from 4:30 to 6 on humanitarian issues.

On Tuesday, the first session again will start at 10 a.m. and will deal with unfinished business from Monday, as well as other topics.  There will be a concluding session from 3 to 4:30 in the afternoon.

The Secretary-General will head the United Nations delegation at the opening and the closing sessions and may meet privately with the head of the Iraqi delegation, Foreign Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahaf.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding closed consultations today on Western Sahara, on which it will receive a briefing by William Eagleton, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Western Sahara, on the Secretary-General's latest report.  The Council is also considering a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara by two months, until 30 April, while the work of the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, James Baker, continues.  In his report, the Secretary-General called for a two-month extension of the Mission, the current mandate of which expires on 28 February.

**Ethiopia-Eritrea

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has received notification from the Ethiopian Government that it completed the redeployment of

its troops on 22 February.  The United Nations Mission will begin its task of verifying this information on 26 February in accordance with the agreement on establishing a temporary security zone.  The Eritrean “rearrangement” of forces is expected to be completed on 3 March.

Meanwhile, the Eritrean Refugee and Relief Commission and the United Nations have launched appeals to the international donor community to support humanitarian activities in 2001. The Eritrean appeal reflects the total amount of $223 million.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

A team of four military observers belonging to the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo left Kinshasa today for Pweto as part of preparations for the deployment of United Nations observers in that town to monitor the disengagement of Rwandan troops, as announced by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.  They will become operational as of Sunday.  Meanwhile, the United Nations Mission is expecting 40 military observers on Monday, as was mentioned by Kamel Morjane, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative yesterday.

**Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina today, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Jacques Klein, welcomed the formation of the new Council of Ministers, which was voted into office yesterday by the Bosnian House of Representatives.

In a statement from the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is available upstairs, Klein said that "the future of Bosnia seems brighter with a Government made up for the first time of non-nationalistic political parties that are truly dedicated to moving Bosnia forward, instead of keeping it mired in the conflict of the past".

The United Nations Mission added that the democratic changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, combined with those in neighboring Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, provide a real reason for optimism after the past decade of conflict and economic hardship.

**East Timor

Today in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in East Timor, met with Indonesian Attorney General Marzuki Darusman.  They discussed, among other topics, the establishment of a human rights tribunal in Indonesia.  Following that meeting, Vieira de Mello said that the United Nations Mission in East Timor hoped that the human rights court would materialize soon, because there were cases which needed to be brought to a tribunal as soon as possible.  He added, “We are right now in a kind of legal limbo, and this limbo cannot last indefinitely”.  We have more information upstairs.

**Sudan

Kenzo Oshima, the Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, today expressed his deep concern about the very poor response so far of the international donor community to a critical humanitarian situation developing in the Sudan, as a result of continuing conflict and the onset of severe drought.  The $244 million Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the Sudan, which was launched three months ago, has so far received just over 1 per cent of that amount.

**Yugoslavia Tribunal

Yesterday, I announced the guilty verdicts handed down by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia against three Bosnian Serbs convicted of crimes against humanity -- including rape and torture -- committed in the municipality of Foca in 1992-1993.  Some media have reported that yesterday's conviction represents the first rape conviction by an international tribunal, which is not quite accurate.

On 2 September 1998, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicted Jean-Paul Akayesu of rape as a crime against humanity, in the first instance that an international tribunal had secured a rape conviction as a crime against humanity.  It was also the first time an international tribunal had convicted someone for rape as a violation of international humanitarian law, and also set a ruling that rape could be regarded as an act of genocide if committed with genocidal intent.

Yesterday's convictions did represent a first, however, since it was the first time that sexual enslavement was treated as a crime against humanity.

**Racism Conference Logo

We now have the official logo for the World Conference against Racism.  The logo, which was submitted by the South African Government, is based on the traditional Chinese Yin/Yang symbol representing two opposing but complementing forces in life.  The shades of gray have been added to symbolize a diverse human society.  A press release from the World Conference is available in my office.

**Consultations on Problems of Internal Displacement

Today in London, a Consultation on the Problems of Internal Displacement is taking place, with the main speakers including Francis Deng, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons.  Also speaking will be Dennis McNamara, the Special Coordinator for Internal Displacement and Carolyn McAskie, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.

**Press Releases

Four or five press releases today.  Very quickly, the World Food

Programme (WFP) today urgently appealed for $2.6 million to continue feeding some 40,000 refugees in Zambia who have fled fighting in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo since last June.  Food shortages are expected to occur in six Zambian refugee camps by the end of March, unless fresh cash pledges are made within the next 10 days.  Jorge Fanlo, WFP's Zambia Deputy Country Director, said, "We are quickly running out of food and out of time".

The second press release is from the Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO), which today appealed for international aid to help farmers and their families in El Salvador after two major earthquakes.  The quakes caused many farmers to lose their houses and their jobs, leaving them without money to restart their agricultural activities, the FAO said.

Then finally, the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan today signed an agreement with the European Union for 3.8 million euros  -- equivalent to about $3.44 million -- for the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan.  There is a press release on that.

Guinea

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners are preparing to transport aid to tens of thousands of people caught in the Parrot's Beak area of south-west Guinea.  The trucking operation is tentatively scheduled to start on Sunday.  We have a briefing note on that upstairs.

**Budget News

We have one more payment in full to the regular budget for this year.  Jordan paid more than $82,000, becoming the fifty-second Member State to have fully paid its regular-budget dues for 2001.

**Press Conference

At 3:15 p.m. on Monday, Bjorn Von Sydow, the Swedish Minister of Defence, is going to give a press conference on the role of the European Union in crisis management and conflict prevention, and the issues discussed during his visit to Headquarters.  The Permanent Representative of Sweden will also participate.

We have a week ahead for you, which you can pick up at my office.

And finally, I just want to say that the funeral of F.T. Liu, the Chinese national who worked for both Ralph Bunche and Sir Brian Urquhart during a long and distinguished United Nations career, will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Christ Church in his hometown of Bronxville, New York.

Questions, then we'll go to Sue, and then we'll go to Mr. Pasha.

Questions and Answers

Question:   What is the status of the law on the war crimes tribunal in Cambodia?

Spokesman:  What happened was that when we saw the text of the law as it was approved by the lower House of Parliament, United Nations Legal Counsel Hans Corell sent off a letter indicating areas of the law that he felt needed to be addressed to meet United Nations concerns.  It then went to the Senate, and I do not think we have received an official translation of the bill as it went through the upper House.

Mr. Corell's feeling at that time was that as we would have to sign an understanding with Cambodia to create this court for the Khmer Rouge, at the time of finalizing that document, we could probably handle most of the problems that Mr. Corell had with the text.  This latest glitch of the Cambodians apparently finding some legal problem with a reference to a pre-existing Constitution, which they say now requires them to send the bill back to the lower House, I think is primarily a concern in terms of additional time that will be needed to complete the process.

It seems that we now have to start at the bottom of the ladder again.  I wouldn't say that it opens opportunities for the bill to be watered down, because you could equally say that it opens opportunities to bring it in strict conformity with United Nations requirements.  So, let us wait and see.  This is a setback from the point of view of time; it may or may not be from the point of view of substance.

Question:  In the Iraqi talks, did Iraq set a precondition that the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, Hans Blix, should not be part of the United Nations team?  If that was not a precondition, why shouldn't Hans Blix be part of the team?

Spokesman:  Hans Blix does not report to the Secretary-General -- he reports to the Security Council.  Thus, a senior disarmament official in the Secretariat, Jayantha Dhanapala, will be sitting in on the Secretary-General's talks with the Iraqis.  That is the rationale for the composition of the delegation. 

Question:  Could you provide clarifications regarding Monday and Tuesday's schedule for the Iraqi talks?

Spokesman:  In the afternoon of the first day, 3 to 4.15 p.m. and 4.30 to

6 p.m., there will be two sessions on disarmament and humanitarian issues. 

Question:  Does the session on Tuesday, which starts at 10 a.m., end at noon?

Spokesman:  It is not specified.  The reason for the first day ending at noon is that there is a working lunch immediately afterwards.  There is no working lunch on Tuesday, so that morning session can go on as long as required.

Question:   Will the Secretary-General issue a report to the Security Council about the talks?

Spokesman:  I assume he will be reporting to the Council, but I do not have the date for that.

Question:   Is there a schedule of press availability following the talks?

Spokesman:  We can take that up with the Iraqi Foreign Minister to see whether he might want to go to the stakeout or even come to this room.  I'll also take a similar question to the Secretary-General.

Question:   Is there any news regarding the possibility of Secretary-General's contacts with President Bush prior to the talks?

Spokesman:  My answer to that is the same as it was yesterday.  I am not aware of any plan to hold talks with the President.  I am only aware of planning for a meeting, which would take the Secretary-General to Washington, D.C., but we do not yet have a date from the White House.

Question:   Did you mention yesterday that the Secretariat had issued a paper, setting agenda items to the Iraqis?

Spokesman:  No, I did not say that.  I said there had been talk about that at the initial meeting in Doha, Qatar.  The Secretary-General asked the Iraqis if perhaps they would like to submit a paper setting out what the agenda for this meeting might be, and he offered to do the same in response.  That never happened, but I do not think the Secretary-General is concerned that this is going to have a negative impact on the talks.  We have worked out an agenda with them that I have just given to you, and the Secretary-General is looking forward to these talks getting started Monday morning.

Question:   Does the agenda address the topics for discussion?

Spokesman:  I will have to give you what I gave others at the beginning.  It mentions general topics, not specific ones.

Is that it?  Okay, Sue, what do you have for us?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President

I just came today to alert you to some meetings being held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week in the preparatory process for the Special Session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS.  As you may be aware, this has been a closed process up till now -- it has been rather unusual, being conducted in informal consultations of the General Assembly.  On Monday, we will have the first open meeting, if you like, which the media will be able to listen in.  There will be a discussion with Member States and civil society, NGOs and others on the Secretary-General's report on HIV/AIDS, which, as you know, was launched on Tuesday.  Copies of the report are available, as well as a press release.

Yesterday, the General Assembly adopted a resolution, which made provisions for the open meetings next week.  They are going to be held in the Trusteeship Chamber.  Following the discussion of the Secretary-General's report, there will be two days of closed session again -- to start the first discussion of the draft declaration, which is to come out of the Special Session. 

Last night, the President of the General Assembly spoke at the New England Center for International and Regional Studies at the University of Bridgeport.  The topic of his address was strengthening the United Nations, and he said, among other things, that the United Nations should be open to the outside world, and that we need to explore innovative ways to enable civil society to contribute to the work of the United Nations.  So he is very pleased that the preparatory process for the General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS has now been opened to the participation of civil society.  You can see the full text of his speech on his Web site at www.un.org/ga/president.

Next week, in addition to presiding over the discussion on the Secretary-General's report on HIV/AIDS, the President will also have meetings with facilitators he has appointed on Security Council reform and on improving the work of the General Assembly.  On Wednesday evening, he will be leaving the city for a week.  He is going to return in time to speak at the International Women's Day observance on 8 March, which will be on the topic of women managing peace.  That is all I have.  Thank you.

Spokesman:  Thank you, Sue.  Questions?

Question:   Can you bring us up to date on the corruption investigation in Nairobi?

Spokesman:  Yes, the Office of Internal Oversight Services, at the request of the Inspector-General of the High Commissioner for Refugees, has undertaken an investigation.  We normally do not even say that we are conducting an investigation.  These matters are usually kept confidential, but in this case the OIOS is trying something for the first time:  given the scope of the inquiry that they felt was required, it has asked four governments to lend it two investigators each to help with the work. 

At least one of those governments has said to the press that it is doing this.  So if the cat is out of the bag, I guess I can confirm to you that this is the case.  As for where they are, how many suspects there are, have they discovered anything outside of Nairobi, I think I really have to respect the confidentiality of the process.  I will also have to check with the OIOS if it goes public with its reports.  I will have to get back to you on this.

Question:   What can the United Nations do in respect of a suspect who is no longer working for the Organization?

Spokesman:  I would have to assume that if we wanted to take legal action against that person, we could, either in a Kenyan court, or in a court of his own country.  I will have to talk to the lawyers about that, without saying that the person you are referring to is, in fact, a suspect.  There were three locals and one former international employee, who were the focus of the initial investigation.

[After the briefing, the Spokesman issued the following answers to the OIOS questions: 

In answer to questions asked at the noon briefing about charges of extortion involving the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Nairobi, I'd like to say the following:

First, the Office of Internal Oversight Services is likely to issue a report on that subject once its investigations are completed, although we cannot say yet when that report will be issued.  If there is any criminal investigation, the release of the report may follow the conclusion of such an investigation.

Second, in answer to a question about how the United Nations could deal with criminal actions by people who are no longer United Nations employees, I'd like to make clear that anyone accused of crimes committed while in UN service, whether they are still with the Organization or not, can face criminal prosecution by the relevant national authorities.  Current employees would first face disciplinary action; but both current and former employees could be pursued in the relevant national legal system.]

Question:   Are the HIV/AIDS meetings going to continue all next week?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  I thought you might be busy on Monday and Tuesday with the Iraq meetings, but you also may have some time to tune in to the discussion on HIV/AIDS.  Those meetings will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Question:   Do you have the time-frame and the speakers' list for Monday?

Spokeswoman for General Assembly President:  No, I do not have the speakers list.  I know the meetings start at 10 a.m.  It is the usual time:  10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.  There is a briefing this afternoon for delegations about the arrangements.  After that, I might have a better idea.

Spokesman:  Okay.  Mr. Pasha, welcome to the briefing.

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