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

This is a near verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.  Our guest at today’s briefing is Joseph Connor, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, and he’ll be talking to you about the current financial situation of the Organization, based on his report to the Fifth Committee.

**Secretary-General Addresses Human Rights Commission

On the Secretary-General’s travels, with his official visit to Switzerland over yesterday, the Secretary-General today returned to United Nations business in Geneva with an address this morning to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, calling for enthusiastic support for the United Nations Conference on Racism to take place in South Africa later this year.

"Our main business", he said, "is to redirect public policy, and leave a lasting imprint on the workings of governments".  "They are the main violators of human rights", he went on, "and bear the main responsibility for promoting and protecting them".

The Secretary-General also had a number of bilateral meetings today.  He met with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, and then was joined by President Jacques Chirac of France for a three-way meeting on the DRC.  He told the press afterwards that he is "very encouraged by the hopeful signs that the parties are determined to implement the Lusaka accord".  He added, "The signs are positive, but it has to be sustained, and we need to make progress both on the military and political tracks".

After President Kabila left that meeting, the Secretary-General briefed President Chirac on his recent attendance at the Arab League Summit in Amman, Jordan.  They discussed the ongoing crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and also the issue of Iraq.

His final meeting of the morning was with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica.  They discussed the volatile situation along the border between Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The Secretary-General told the press after the meeting that they had also discussed Yugoslavia's relationship with The Hague Tribunal.  The President told him, the Secretary-General said, "that his Government is working on the laws, and the relationship is moving in the right direction and that he is pleased with the progress that is being made".  "What about handing over Mr. Milosevic?" he was asked.  "I did not get into that", the Secretary-General responded.  “That is, they are handling it nationally."

President Chirac then hosted a lunch at the French Mission for the Secretary-General and the heads of United Nations agencies in Geneva.

After lunch, the Secretary-General travelled to the mountain resort of Mont Pelerin, above the shores of Lake Geneva, to attend the closing session of a

retreat for his Special Envoys and Special Representatives.  He is expected to meet with the French Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine, there this evening.

Tomorrow the Secretary-General flies to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the twice-yearly meeting of the heads of all the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system.

**Situation of United Nations Staff Detained in Somalia

Earlier today in Mogadishu, two of the four United Nations staff members who have been detained by a militia faction in Somalia were released unconditionally, and then flown into Kenya.

The two men -- Pierre Paul Lamotte of Belgium, who works for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Mohamed Mohamedi of France, who works for the World Health Organization (WHO) -- arrived, in good health, this afternoon at approximately 8 a.m. EDT in Nairobi.  They were met at the airport by UN officials.

Randolph Kent, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said in Nairobi today that he was pleased by the release of the two staff members, which followed the release on Wednesday of three other United Nations staff, along with four staff members of Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF).  The staff had been seized following an attack on an MSF compound in north Mogadishu on Tuesday morning.

Kent added, "Our paramount concern now is to ensure the safe and immediate return of the two United Nations staffers still being held in Mogadishu.  We are concentrating all of our efforts in getting them out as soon as possible."

The two remaining staff -- Bill Condie and Roger Carter, both of the United Kingdom -- are said to be in good health.  The United Nations continues its direct dialogue with all parties to ensure the safe release of those being held.

**Security Council

The Security Council is holding consultations this morning on Sierra Leone, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Under Sierra Leone, Council members reviewed the draft text of a resolution extending the mandate of the Mission in that country for another six months and increasing the strength of its military component to 17,500.  The resolution went into blue last night and Council members will vote on it once consultations are over.

Council members will also vote on a resolution transmitting to the General Assembly the nominations for judges of the Rwanda Tribunal.  During consultations, Council members discussed a draft text listing five names provided by Member States, which were forwarded to the Council by the Secretary-General earlier this week.  Two judges have to be elected by the General Assembly to take up two additional seats in the Tribunal.

And finally, Michael Sheehan, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, briefed the Council on the latest developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Council members are now holding consultations to go over the activities for the month of March, wrapping up the Ukrainian presidency.  During the month of April, the Council will be presided over by the United Kingdom.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

I have some further updates on information from the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the disengagement of forces in that country.

I mentioned yesterday that Rwandan forces have withdrawn from Pweto, in Katanga Province in the east, and the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) also withdrew its forces from the town. Some withdrawals have also been observed on the Government and allied side, including reports, which the United Nations Mission has not yet verified, that troops have started to withdraw down the Ubangi river in the north.

In addition, Ugandan troops are continuing their withdrawal from Equateur Province, and Burundi, which is not a signatory to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement or the Harare disengagement plan, has announced the withdrawal of three Burundese battalions in the east.  The United Nations Mission has not verified the reported withdrawal of those Burundese battalions.

Unfortunately, the DRC and allied commanders in the south-central province of Kasai received orders on their disengagement and redeployment only yesterday evening.  I told you yesterday that one rebel group, the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), continues to condition any withdrawal on the deployment of United Nations troops at areas that it now holds so that the United Nations can protect the civilian population there.  As we informed them, the United Nations Mission has neither the means nor the mandate to do so.

The military situation has remained generally calm in recent days, but the Mission has received one report of heavy fighting near Bolomba in Equateur Province.

**Ethiopia-Eritrea

Eritrea will resume rearranging its armed forces on 5 April in order to continue the process of establishing the buffer zone between Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was informed today.

Earlier, Eritrea had suspended its rearrangement of forces, which was scheduled to have been completed by 3 March, because it objected to parts of the southern boundary of the future buffer zone between the two forces, referred to as the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ).

Speaking from Addis Ababa, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, warmly welcomed the encouraging development. He said, "This decision is extremely important for moving the peace process ahead as it will allow for the establishment of the Temporary Security Zone, and for the return of the population displaced from the area."  We have additional information in a press release from the Mission upstairs.

**Kosovo/FYROM

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, visited Skopje today, where he met with President Boris Trajkovski, Foreign Minister Srdjan Kerim and other senior officials of the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Haekkerup noted the problems caused by the closure of the border crossing points between FYROM and Kosovo of all non-UN and non-Kosovo Force (KFOR) traffic.  He told the officials that it is essential for medicines, fuel and potato seedlings, among other key goods, to be delivered promptly.

The UN Mission informed us today that they are continuing to work on finding alternate routes for essential supplies to be delivered to Kosovo, but the Mission remains short on fuel and on some key medicines, notably supplies for Haemodialysis.  Eleven trucks with haemodialysis supplies are stuck on the FYROM side of the border.

The Special Representative also stressed the need for a dialogue between the FYROM Government and minority groups, and he mentioned yesterday’s incident in which three people were killed when the village of Krivenik, on Kosovo’s side of the border with FYROM, was shelled.  Yesterday, we put out a statement in which Haekkerup expressed his deep regret about the tragedy.

The Macedonian officials told Haekkerup that a full investigation would be carried out into the incident.

**Climate Change

An important meeting to chart the future of the official scientific body that advises governments on climate change will take place next week at the Nairobi headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will take place in Nairobi from 4 to 6 April, and will be an opportunity for climate change experts to consider formally the reports of the panel's Working Group.

Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of UNEP, said yesterday that the latest scientific assessments show that global warming is intensifying with serious consequences for all people.  Toepfer said, "I would ask those countries with any lingering doubts about the science of global warming to come forward, to tell us areas where they believe the science is incomplete, so the [Panel] can address those concerns".

Although talks on the Kyoto Protocol, which requires countries to curtail their emission of greenhouse gases, stalled in The Hague last November, they are scheduled to resume in mid-July in Bonn.

Toepfer said that the United States, which produces around 25 per cent of world emissions of greenhouse gases, could not be ignored.  He said, "The United States is an important part of the problem, but also an important part of the solution.  It has an advanced economy with the technology able to help avert the threat of damaging climate change."  We have a press release with more upstairs.

**East Timor

The East Timor National Council will reconvene on Monday for the first time after Timorse leader Xanana Gusmao announced his resignation from the Council, which we reported to you on Wednesday.

In answer to questions, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said that he “understood Gusmao’s position”.  He added that his role as National Council President had been crucial, especially for the approval of a consensual regulation on the elections and the registration of political parties, which was signed on 16 March.

Vieira de Mello noted that Gusmão will now have more time, as President of the National Timorese Resistance Council, to work for reconciliation and national unity, and to work together with the East Timorese people and the United Nations Mission to ensure a peaceful and responsible process towards independence.

**Mine Action in Bosnia and Herzegovina

At a meeting here in New York yesterday, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina briefed mine action donors on the UNDP funded Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Centre.  The Centre, which is the regulatory body for mine action in the country, is experiencing severe funding shortfalls and will have to close by early May unless $2.3 million can be found to support its activities to the end of 2001.

**Guatemala

Yesterday marked the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Guatemalan Human Rights Accord.  In a statement issued in Spanish only, the United Nations Verification Mission in that country said that there has been progress in the Government’s action at the international level through the ratification of treaties and the closure of cases which were pending in the inter-American human rights system.

However, the Mission also noted that the State remains unable to guarantee the basic human rights of the population, such as right to life, security and justice.  The Mission reaffirmed its human rights verification mandate and said it will continue to report periodically on the implementation of the Human Rights Accord.  Copies of that communiqué are available upstairs.

**Yale University Anniversary

The United Nations Postal Administration and the United States Postal Service are marking the 300th anniversary of Yale University with a special cancellation stamp and commemorative postal card.  Joseph Reed, the President of the Staff Management Coordination Committee, represented the Secretary-General at the dedication ceremony at Yale University this morning and delivered a message on his behalf. 

The United Nations has participated in one other commemorative cancellation to mark the 100th anniversary of Beijing University in

1998.  We have the Secretary-General’s text upstairs if you are interested.

**Miscellaneous

      At a press conference this afternoon at 1 p.m., UNICEF will be hosting the International Action Network on Small Arms.  Then, we have the week ahead available for you upstairs.  That’s all I have for you.  Any question before we go to Joe?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Do you have any idea when the Council is going to take up a formal meeting on Sierra Leone?

Spokesman:  I think you’ll just have to wait until they finish these consultations.  Whether they can do it before the lunch break or not, we’ll have to see.

Question:  Don’t you have anything on Macedonia or Kosovo?  Heavy fighting is happening.

Spokesman:  No, I have nothing further on that.

Question:  Some journalists were killed?

Spokesman:  That was yesterday.  We did mention the situation there yesterday.  There was firing of mortar that either struck a car or struck right close to a car carrying an Associated Press television producer and I believe a local ethnic Albanian camera man.  Today, based on press reports, I don’t think either side has admitted that they fired that mortar round, but I believe that the FYROM Government has assured us that they will conduct an investigation.

Question:  And also, Macedonian Prime Minister Mr. Georgievski stated that what’s happening in Macedonia is an aggression from Kosovo to Macedonia by armed extremists entering from Kosovo to Macedonia and causing the fighting, so...

Spokesman:  What is your question?

Question:  By United Nations standards, is this aggression happening from a United Nations protected zone to an independent country?

Spokesman:  I am not going to get into that.  Any other questions?  Thank you.

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