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

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

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of the noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

I feel lonely in this room. Good afternoon.

The guest at today’s briefing will be Carolyn McAskie, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, who has just returned from Sierra Leone, and she will be talking to you about the humanitarian situation in that country.

** Lebanon 

Out on the racks this morning is the Secretary-General’s interim report on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

In it, the Secretary-General outlines his plan for a reconfiguration of the UN Force, which was detailed in his previous report on the force.  The Force will be reduced to 3,600 personnel later this year in October, from a current level of 5,800 through non-replacement or reduction of units during their natural rotations.  The Secretary-General recommends that UNIFIL be kept at that level, barring any significant changes in the situation in the country until January 2002.

The focus of the mission’s work will continue to be on the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, and the adjacent area.  The bulk of UNIFIL’s troops will be deployed close to the Blue Line.  It will be present there mostly through mobile patrols of military observers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)-- which is based in Jerusalem -- and armed infantry units from UNIFIL.

In the report, the Secretary-General says that although the situation on the ground has remained essentially unchanged since the January resolution which extended the mission’s mandate, there have been frequent minor violations of the Blue Line and “almost daily violations of the Line by Israeli aircraft.”  The Secretary-General adds that he has been ”in touch with the parties concerned and other interested parties to urge respect for the Blue Line and to avert further escalation.”  He also relates the serious incidents which have occurred in the Shab’a farms area.

** United States Missile Policy

Late yesterday afternoon -- I think it was around 7 p.m. -- we issued a statement concerning the proposals announced earlier that day by United States President George W. Bush concerning a new defence policy, including the establishment of missile defences.

In the statement, the Secretary-General welcomed the readiness of the United States Administration to consult with other members of the international community on that policy.  He underscored the need to consolidate and build upon existing disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, specifically to prevent a new arms race and to maintain the non-weaponized status of outer space.

He also appealed to all States to engage in negotiations towards legally binding disarmament agreements that, he said, are both verifiable and irreversible.

We have the full text in my office, if you’re interested.

** Security Council

The Security Council is holding consultations this morning.  On the agenda was its programme of work for this month, which is posted on the United Nations mission Web site of the United States, which assumed the Council presidency for the month of May.

Also today, Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi briefed the Council on the killing of six Red Cross staff in Bunia in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo last week.

Tomorrow, the Council is expected to discuss in a public meeting the report of the panel on the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  Among those expected to attend are the DRC Foreign Minister, Leonard She Okitundu, Uganda's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amama Mbabazi, and Patrick Mazimhaka from the Rwandan President’s Office, who is the current chair of the Political Committee of the Lusaka accord.

The Council will discuss on Friday the sanctions on Liberia, on which the Secretary-General issued a report yesterday providing information about Liberian compliance with Council demands.  The sanctions will go into effect on 7 May unless the Council decides otherwise.

** High Commissioner for Refugees

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ruud Lubbers took his appeal for a truce, so that agencies can step up aid efforts inside Afghanistan, to President (Burhanuddin) Rabbani in Faisabad, Afghanistan, who said he agreed with the idea on condition the other side, meaning the Taliban, did the same.

UNHCR says Lubbers hopes to hear the same from the Taliban when he takes his appeal to their so-called Foreign Minister, Wakil (Ahmed) Muttawakil, with whom he is scheduled to meet tomorrow in Kabul.

Lubbers, in his meetings with both sides, is also discussing technical aspects of increasing aid delivery to those who need it the most.

 ** Sierra Leone

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has just told us that it has begun the evacuation of thousands of Sierra Leonean refugees from the isolated Parrot’s Beak region in the southeast part of Guinea.  The evacuation operation began in Kolomba, at the furthest tip of the Parrot’s Beak. 

The area has been largely cut off from humanitarian aid since last September because of fighting in the region.  UNHCR and the Guinean authorities want to move the refugees inland to safer and more accessible camps.  We have a press release in my office.

** East Timor

Today in Dili, East Timor, the Office of the Prosecutor General filed an indictment against pro-autonomy militia members, Anastasio Martins and Domingos Gonçalves, containing charges of Crimes Against Humanity.  This is the third indictment involving crimes against humanity.

The crimes were allegedly committed in Liquiça district as part of the orchestrated campaign of violence following the 1999 popular consultation.

Martins is suspected of killing four individuals, while Gonçalves is accused of killing three other persons.  They are also accused of deporting the civilian population from two villages in East Timor to West Timor.

We have a briefing note from Dili with more details.

** World Press Freedom Day

Tomorrow will be World Press Freedom Day, and we will mark the occasion with an event, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 2, on the role of a free press in fighting racism and promoting diversity.  The Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the Chair of the Committee on Information will all speak at the event.

The observance of World Press Freedom Day will also include a panel discussion moderated by the Interim Head of the Department of Public Information, Shashi Tharoor, which will feature journalists from media outlets based in South Africa, Argentina, and Qatar.  There is a press release out on the racks with more information.

** Seminar Today

A new study calling for urgent reform of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will be the subject of a seminar today at

1:15 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library auditorium.

Prepared by the World Institute for Development Economics Research of UN University, with support from the UN's Division for Social Policy and Development as well as Finland's Foreign Ministry, the study calls for repeal of the Security Council veto and the addition of other countries as permanent members of that body.

Today's seminar will feature presentations by several of the experts involved in preparing the study, and you’re all invited.

** Press Releases and Reports

On the racks today is the Secretary-General’s report on the support account for peacekeeping operations.  The estimates for the year 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002 are $73.6 million, and are presented on a maintenance basis as a comprehensive review is under way.  The funds will cover 562 established posts and non-post related costs for the period.

And another press release; the World Health Organization has issued a revised fact sheet on Buruli Ulcer -- a bacterial infection found mostly in tropical and sub-tropical climates.  See the fact sheet for more details.

** Signings

At about now, Chile will become the forty-second country to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and earlier this morning, Fiji became the ninety-second country to sign the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

** Press Conference

One press conference to announce; tomorrow , at 1:15 in this room, Leonard She Okitundu, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will be here to talk to you about the situation in his country.

** Questions and Answers

Question:  Given the acknowledgement of the tensions along the Blue Line, what is the justification -– what confidence do you have that the reduced force could do the job there?

Spokesman:  Our job there is to monitor the situation along the border.  The original mandate of the United Nations mission in Lebanon was to certify that Israel had withdrawn, which they have now done; to assist the Government of Lebanon to re-establish its authority over the south, which we have done; and then, the third and remaining aspect of the mandate is to help to restore peace and security to the area.  I don't think that’s to impose peace and security.  It’s to help restore -- the assumption is this can be done with a number of military observers backed by some support units from UNIFIL infantry.  That is the Secretary-General’s proposal.  We’ll see how the Security Council reacts to it. But, in his view, this is sufficient to do the job, and , of course, in the meantime, he’s urging both sides to respect the Blue Line.  As I mentioned, he has reported frequent and relatively minor violations of the Line.  And so tensions are reduced in the area, but still there’s an amount of instability.

Question:  The Government of Yugoslavia has said that it is going to consider trying Milosevic internally on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  I wonder if you have had any word from the ITCY on whether that is acceptable to it.

Spokesman:  I’ll have to check with The Hague to see what their view is. But, I think, once the Tribunal has indicted someone, I think they expect the indictee to be turned over to The Hague for a trial.  I’ll double check whether they will cooperate with the Belgrade trial, but I doubt it.

Question:  This statement last night from Mr. Annan on the United States missile defence system; plainly, in diplomatic terms, he’s opposed to what was announced yesterday in Washington.  Are there any other initiatives or statements . . . Is there anything else to expect as time goes on?

Spokesman:  Let’s be clear.  I think what President Bush announced yesterday was a beginning of a consultation process, and the Secretary-General praised that.  And in general, he said let’s continue to build and strengthen the international arms control regime.  Let’s not start doing anything to weaken it.  So, those really are the two elements of the message.  Good to keep consulting; let’s continue to build, let’s not weaken existing regimes.  I don’t know whether he will have anything further to say, but he’s watching the situation closely.  And as United States policy firms up, he may have something [more] to say.

* *** *