DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

                                                      23 March, 2001   

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

This a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

      Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon.  Fred is not here today.  He is getting ready to leave for Washington in a few moments, which leads me to my first item in the briefing today.

**Secretary-General Travels

                The Secretary-General, as you know, is travelling to Washington D.C.  This will happen this afternoon, to meet with President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice. The Secretary-General returns to New York tonight.

And, as we announced earlier this week, tomorrow evening, the Secretary-General is off to Amman, Jordan, to attend the Arab Summit, after which he will visit Switzerland and Nairobi, Kenya.  He will return to New York on the 5th of April.  Stephane Dujarric from the Spokesman's Office will be the spokesman travelling with the Secretary-General, and he will be reporting daily, which will allow us to then report to you on the Secretary General’s activities during his trip.

**Kosovo/FYROM

Now Kosovo.  This morning in Pristina, the leaders of the three main political parties in Kosovo met with the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Hans Haekkerup, for an hour, after which they signed a declaration calling for extremist groups in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to end their fighting.

The three -- Kosovo Albanian leaders Ibrahim Rugova, Hashim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj -- called on the extremist groups to lay down their arms immediately and to return to their homes peacefully.  The statement also urged the FYROM Government to show restraint and to resolve grievances through peaceful and democratic means.  We have the statement available in the Spokesman's Office upstairs.

The declaration came one day after a visiting delegation from the European Union, including Javier Solana, the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy; Chris Patten, the European Union Commissioner for External Relations; and the Foreign Ministers of Sweden and Belgium.  The visiting officials and Haekkerup gave a joint press briefing yesterday, which is also available upstairs, in which they all stressed the importance of clear condemnations of the violence by Kosovo Albanian leaders.

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today that more than 22,000 Macedonians are estimated to have left their homes since fighting began in Tetovo last week.

Of that number, some 14,200 have been displaced within the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, while nearly 8,000 have gone to Turkey, Albania, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.  The majority of those who have fled said they were doing so as a precautionary measure, and were staying with friends and relatives.

For further details please look at the UNHCR briefing notes we have available upstairs.

**Security Council

Here in New York, the Security Council is holding closed consultations this morning on Afghanistan.  Council members are taking up the report of the Secretary-General on the humanitarian implications of the sanctions imposed on Afghanistan.  The report was introduced by Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

The second item on the agenda is “the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”.  Council members are expected to discuss the draft text on this issue introduced yesterday by the European members of the Council.  Still regarding the Middle East, and for the record:  yesterday afternoon the Secretary-General briefed the Security Council on his meeting on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

**Afghanistan Sanctions

The report I just mentioned to you -- the report the Council is considering this morning -- is the Secretary-General's first report to the Security Council on the humanitarian impact of UN sanctions on Afghanistan, which was requested in Resolution 1333(2000).  This report is also out on the racks today.

In it, the Secretary-General reports that, so far, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has not been noticeably affected by the additional sanctions imposed against the Taliban by the Council.  Exemptions in the sanctions that the Council approved, as well as mechanisms for humanitarian operations, appear to be working relatively well.  Humanitarian operations have continued to be "largely unhindered by sanctions".

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs finds that the direct impact of sanctions on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is "limited but tangible".  The ban on Ariana Airlines, for example, has reduced economic activity in some sectors.

The Secretary-General also says that urgent steps should be taken so that Ariana's fleet of planes can receive necessary spare parts and maintenance, and he suggests that the Council's Sanctions Committee agree to a certification process to allow such maintenance.  The report also notes the devaluation of Afghanistan's currency, but adds that, so far, the price of basic commodities, such as food, has not yet risen.

I now have two statements attributable to the Spokesman.  The first one is on the Ivory Coast.

**Statement on Côte D’Ivoire

The Secretary-General welcomes the discussions held in Lomé on 18 and

19 March between President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d'Ivoire and Mr. Alassane Ouattara, leader of the opposition party, the Rally of the Republicans.  He expresses his appreciation to President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo, the current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity, for hosting and facilitating these meetings.

The Secretary-General is encouraged by the public commitment of President Gbagbo and Mr. Ouattara to reduce internal political tensions and work towards national unity and reconciliation.  The United Nations remains committed to assist in any way it can, to help promote lasting peace and progress in Côte d'Ivoire.

The second statement is on the situation between Bahrain and Qatar that the International Court of Justice just ruled on.

**Statement on Bahrain and Qatar

The Secretary-General congratulates both Bahrain and Qatar for resolving their territorial disputes by resort to the International Court of Justice.  The acceptance of the judgment delivered by the Court on 16 March has set an excellent example for other States of how disputes of that nature should be resolved.

**Condolence Letter

In a letter addressed to South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the Secretary-General conveyed his deep condolences to the Korean people on the passing away earlier this week of Chung Ju-yung, the founder of Hyundai.

In the letter, the Secretary-General noted Chung Ju-yung’s key role in the transformation of South Korea into a leading industrial State, but more importantly, he said:  “We will miss his dedication to the cause of reconciling the divided Korean peninsula by furthering inter-Korean dialogue and rapprochement, particularly through his unswerving and visionary support for your ‘sunshine policy’”.

The Secretary-General went on to add that he hoped that Chung Ju-yung’s example will inspire business leaders, politicians and others to join your “tireless efforts to promote peace and stability in the Peninsula”.  Copies of the Secretary-General’s letter to the President of South Korea are in the Spokesman’s Office.

**Ethiopia-Eritrea

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has found Ethiopian armed forces companies in the central sector of the future Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). 

Although the Mission had verified Ethiopia's withdrawal from the Zone on

7 March, a UN monitoring patrol on March 15 saw Ethiopian soldiers in three separate company-sized positions approximately six kilometers inside the prospective Zone, southeast of Senafe.  These soldiers had not been observed during the verification process.  A further reconnaissance conducted with Ethiopian military officers on 20 March confirmed that Ethiopian soldiers were still inside the Zone.

We noted earlier, you may recall, Eritrea had refused to withdraw its forces from the Zone because it disagreed with adjustments made to the map of the Zone.

Yesterday, UN Force Commander General Patrick Cammaert protested to the head of the Ethio-Eritrean Peacekeeping Coordination Bureau in Addis Ababa and asked that the military units be withdrawn immediately to the previously agreed line of redeployment.  He was told that Ethiopia would not withdraw its forces from this area.

The UN Mission, in a statement issued yesterday and that we made available to you, regretted the setback to the ongoing process of establishing the Temporary Security Zone.  The Mission is stepping up its patrols of this area and will closely monitor the situation. 

**East Timor

Moving now to East Timor.  Some 230 East Timorese who are now in West Timor refugee camps are expected to arrive by boat in Dili, the East Timorese capital, tomorrow.  This is the third operation to bring refugees by sea since the first week of March.  The repatriation operation is organized by the International Organization for Migration, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Mission in East Timor.

A smaller land repatriation movement also occurred this week.  Two hundred and twenty East Timorese returned from West Timor on 21 March through the Suai district border.  Suai district is in the western part of East Timor on the border with West Timor.

According to UNHCR, so far this month some 1,500 people have returned to East Timor.  The total number of returns since 1999 is more than 178,000.  An estimated 100,000 East Timorese refugees are still in Indonesia.

**Secretary-General’s Speech

This morning in Conference Room 8, the Secretary-General addressed a closed briefing of an expert group dealing with the academic program of the University for Peace, which is located in Costa Rica.  He told them that "achieving decent, just and peaceful relations among diverse human groups is an enterprise that must be constantly renewed -- and education for peace is a fundamental part of that enterprise".

The Secretary-General said that work is needed to address the complex causes of conflicts, and he added that he looked forward to extensive collaboration between the University for Peace and the United Nations University in Tokyo.  Copies of the Secretary-General’s speech are in the Spokesman’s Office.

**Refugees

High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, today launched a $65 million inter-agency funding appeal for West Africa.  The money will be used to tackle the humanitarian crisis affecting some 3 million people, including refugees, internally displaced people and impoverished communities in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire.

“West Africa today is plagued by one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, which it simply cannot handle without international help”, the High Commissioner said.  He went on to add that in addition to the provision of aid, the international community must also support the restoration of regional stability and good governance.

In other news, the UNHCR has once again appealed for some $24 million to assist in the repatriation of Eritrean refugees, some of whom have been living in exile in Sudan for 30 years.  Yesterday the two governments signed an agreement to repatriate some 160,000 Eritreans, about 63,000 this year and more than 90,000 next year.  A press release and briefing notes from the UNHCR are available with more details.

**Press Releases

On press releases, we have one from the World Health Organization announcing today that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated

$10 million to the Special Programme for Research and Development in Tropical Diseases.  The five-year grant will be used to support the Tuberculosis Diagnostic Initiative to design new approaches to detecting TB.  And, as you know, World Tuberculosis Day will be observed tomorrow.  We made available press kits in our Office yesterday. TB kills an estimated 2 million people around the world every year.

The United Nations Children’s Fund has issued a fact sheet on the major challenges facing the organization in Ethiopia.  Nine of the 11 regions in the country are affected by meningitis and there have been over 2,300 recorded cases of meningitis, resulting in more than 145 deaths.  A vaccination campaign targeting 8 million people is required and there is a shortfall of 4 million doses of the vaccine.  And there is a press release on that available in our Office.

In addition to that, in a ceremony marking World Meteorological Day, Executive Coordinator of United Nations Volunteers, Sharon Capeling-Alakija,

commended the work of volunteers all over the world in providing critical data on local weather conditions.  Also, a press release is available in our Office.

**Signings

Signings.  This morning, Ethiopia became the third country to sign the 2001 International Coffee Agreement.

We have available upstairs our usual Friday feature “The Week Ahead”, which indicates the Secretary-General’s stops and where he starts each visit in each of the countries next week.  And, I will also highlight that the final, edited report on human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, will be distributed in all languages in Geneva on Monday, March 26.

The report will be presented to the fifty-seventh Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday.  The report follows a decision taken by the Fifth Special Session of the Commission on Human Rights last October to establish an international commission to investigate violence in the occupied territories.

**UNCA Announcement

And finally, I have an announcement here from UNCA, the UN Correspondents Association, inviting all members to the Pakistani brunch comprising traditional Pakistani food.  And that will take place today at the UNCA club at 12:30 p.m. And this an invitation from the Permanent Representative of Pakistan, Shamshad Ahmed, in commemoration of Pakistan’s National Day, which is today.  Are there any questions?

Well, if there are none, I thank you very much.  Have a nice weekend.

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