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 today's noon briefing by Manoel De Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General

Good afternoon.  Thank you for coming.

The Secretary-General left Uppsala in Sweden early this morning.  He is now flying back to New York.  We expect him to be back in the office Monday morning, bright and early.

**World Conference Against Racism

The discussions at the World Conference against Racism, under way in Durban, South Africa, are going down to the wire.

Delegates are looking over the new proposed language on the legacy of the past and the language concerning the Middle East, and are meeting behind closed doors to discuss those topics.  All sides are still aiming for a text that can be adopted on general agreement.

South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is facilitating the talks.

**Report on Children in Armed Conflict

Here in New York, the Security Council met this morning in closed consultations to discuss the issue of children and armed conflict.  Later this month, as you know, on 19 September, the Council is expected to hold a public meeting on this issue.

And on this very issue, the Security Council yesterday evening received the Secretary-General’s report on children in armed conflict.  It includes 23 action points that the Security Council and other Member States, as well as other relevant bodies, should consider to ensure that children’s rights are protected. 

Among the steps that are detailed, the Secretary-General says the Council may wish to ensure that the mandates of peace operations explicitly include provisions for monitoring children’s rights.  He urges that sexual violence against women and children continue to be prosecuted as a war crime.  The report also highlights the impact of HIV/AIDS on children in conflict situations, the role of truth commissions and other related topics. 

The report is available in the Spokesman’s office.

**Ethiopia and Eritrea

       There's another report of the Secretary-General and that's on Ethiopia and Eritrea.  It was issued today.  In it, the Secretary-General recommends that the

mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) be extended for six months, until 15 March 2002.

       The Secretary-General notes that while the past 12 months have not been without difficulties, there are still grounds for satisfaction.  With the submission of the United Nations Mission’s final map to the parties, the Temporary Security Zone, established by the Mission in April 2001, is now operational.  While the two Governments have not formally accepted the map, their de facto respect for its parameters on the ground augurs well, the report says.

       For the first time in three years, the armies of Ethiopia and Eritrea have been fully separated and some of their soldiers are beginning to return home.  The majority of displaced persons have also returned to their homes inside the zone, and the processes of rehabilitation and reconstruction have begun.

       However, he says, several outstanding issues remain, and the parties’ cooperation in resolving them is crucial.

       The Council is scheduled to discuss the report in a number of meetings next week.  Monday, there is a private meeting with troop-contributing countries.  Tuesday, consultations are scheduled, and on Friday, a formal meeting to adopt the extension resolution is scheduled.

       The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Ethiopia and Eritrea, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, is here in New York and will be attending these meetings.

**Zimbabwe

Still on Africa, specifically on Zimbabwe.  Abdoulie Janneh, the Assistant Administrator and Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa Bureau, today said that UNDP warmly welcomes the agreement on land reform in Zimbabwe, reached at yesterday's Commonwealth Ministers' meeting in Abuja, Nigeria.

He said that UNDP has been working very closely with the Government of Zimbabwe, commercial farmers, regional leaders, donors, and other parties to reopen dialogue on the issue over the past 12 months.

He said "We stand ready and willing to help in any way we can to help implement the agreement".

**Yugoslavia Sanctions

The Secretary-General, in a letter to the President of the Security Council that is out on the racks today, notes the conditions the Council had placed on reconsidering the arms sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in resolution 1160 of 31 March 1998.

He notes that the situation in Yugoslavia has changed considerably, and states, "The new authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are cooperating constructively with the international community in efforts to bring peace and stability to the Balkan region".

The Secretary-General also says he believes the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has complied with the provisions of resolution 1160, and that the Council may therefore wish to reconsider the sanctions prohibitions in that resolution.

Yesterday, you'll recall, Council members received a draft resolution on lifting the arms embargo on Yugoslavia, and are considering that draft text.  They are expected to vote on it this coming Monday, 10 September.

**Lebanon

In another letter to the Council President, but this time from Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno, he clarifies what the situation is at the village of Ghajar in southern Lebanon, which straddles the "Blue Line".

That letter is also out as a document.

Guéhenno told the Council that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had for a time temporarily stored containers by a gate on the road leading from Ghajar to the Lebanese village of Abbasiyeh, but the containers were removed on 4 August.  He added that at no time did these containers constitute a position or a checkpoint, as Israel has asserted.

The United Nations, he said, is endeavouring to maintain the status quo in Ghajar.  In the most recent period, United Nations officials have engaged in concerted efforts at the diplomatic and military levels with Lebanese and Israeli authorities to restore stability and avert conflict.  However, there have been no "understandings" reached with Israeli officials.

Guéhenno adds that the United Nations is continuing to keep a close watch on the situation in the Ghajar/Abbasiyeh area and will promptly take any necessary further steps with the Lebanese and Israeli authorities to pre-empt possible inflammatory incidents.

As I said, the letter is out on the racks.

       **Afghanistan

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator’s office for Afghanistan, in response to reported threats by the Taliban to close Afghan airspace, today underscored the importance of United Nations aid flights to maintain urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.

A press release issued in Islamabad, Pakistan -- the operating base for United Nations aircraft -- said the flights were indispensable to United Nations work in Afghanistan, particularly its humanitarian operations, because of the topography and poor infrastructure of the country.  At times, various areas are almost entirely inaccessible except by air.

**East Timor

And now moving to East Timor, to some more positive news, the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Mission in East Timor, Nagalingam Parameswaran, today returned from a five-day visit to West Timor, where he met with refugee leaders to arrange for the expected return next week of some 2,000 refugees to East Timor.

That return is scheduled to take place on 12 September, when the refugees, who are from East Timor's Ainaro District, will meet with leaders from that district and be welcomed in a traditional ceremony.

More details are available in the briefing notes from Dili we have in our Office.

**Peacekeeping Operations

Also in our Office you can find an update on the number of peacekeepers who were serving with the 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations by the end of August 2001.  The number has climbed to a total of 47,151 military and police personnel, who come from 88 countries.

**The Week Ahead

Let me point out here the Week Ahead.  We have tomorrow, Saturday,

International Literacy Day.  There is a message by the Secretary-General.

I should also point out that on Sunday, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Turin to initiate a visit -- or rather she arrives there on Sunday, she leaves here tomorrow.  She will be visiting Italy from 9 to 12 September.  She will be in Turin where she will go at the invitation of the support group for United Nations institutions.

The Deputy Secretary-General will visit the United Nations Staff College, the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).

On 10 September, she will receive an honorary degree in political science from the University of Turin.  Following the acceptance of her degree, she will make a statement on globalization, which will be available in the Spokesman's office Monday morning.

The Deputy Secretary-General will be back in her office in New York on

13 September.

The Week Ahead has several other issues, but I'll not go over them now.  They're available in our Office.

**Press Conferences

Press Conferences.  None are scheduled for today.  However, for Monday, at 4:30 in the afternoon, 10 September, the President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, Harri Holkerri, will sum up his term as President and will answer questions from the media.

We also have in our office, available in the documents counter, press kits, on the annual DPI/NGO Conference.  Monday, 10 September, is the opening of the Annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization Conference.  The Secretary-General, who will be back at Headquarters that day, as I said earlier, will address that conference.  The theme this year is "NGOs Today -- Diversity of the Volunteer Experience".

**Follow-up to Question on United Nations Personnel in Iraq

And finally, yesterday I was asked about United Nations personnel in Iraq and personnel who had left the operation there. 

So in addition to the five that we know of that have been expelled, we also knew of that sixth contractor, who left Iraq on 30 August, which I confirmed to you yesterday.  To complete my answer, I should add that two members of the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM), two military observers who took some pictures on the Iraqi side of the demilitarized zone, have left the country.  The Iraqi authorities complained to the Mission, and since they had violated standard operating procedures, which forbid the taking of pictures in that area, they were removed from the Mission area. 

[He later issued a correction which reads as follows:

On 30 August the Iraqi authorities complained to UNIKOM that two UNIKOM non-commissioned officers had taken pictures while they were on a logistics convoy, re-supplying a UNIKOM observation post on the Iraqi side of the demilitarized zone.  Taking photos in that area is a violation of the Mission’s standard operating procedures.  The two non-commissioned officers, who are based on the Kuwaiti side of the mission area, will no longer be tasked to the Iraqi side of the mission area.]

I should also like to add (to make sure we have the whole record straight) that in addition to those eight, there are two more.  Back in April two other members of the Mission -- UNIKOM -- were removed from Iraq because they had also violated the standard operating procedures by also taking photographs.

So that is where I hope we now have the entire record straight.

To further complete the record, I would like to say that there are a total of 882 United Nations staff members in Iraq under the umbrella of the oil-for-food Programme, 364 of them in Baghdad and 518 in northern Iraq.

Regarding UNIKOM, the United Nations Observer Mission at the Iraq-Kuwait border, there are 195 military observers and 904 troops stationed along the demilitarized zone.

This is all I have for you today.  Are there any questions?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  On Cyprus, as far as I understand Mr. Clerides will be here on

12 September.  What is the schedule and have you received a written answer from Mr. Denktash saying that he will not be here on 12 September?

Deputy Spokesman:  I don't have any schedule to announce regarding meetings on Cyprus.  However, I can confirm that today, His Excellency Mr. Rauf Denktash informed the United Nations that he is not able to accept the invitation conveyed to him at the beginning of this week.  We regret this development.  We hope this is not Mr. Denktash's final position.  There is a lot of work that needs to be done and efforts must get back on track without delay and in earnest. 

Question:  The meeting with Mr. Clerides is still on?

Deputy Spokesman:  I don't have any further details to give you at this time on that.  All I have is this information that we did receive the confirmation from Mr. Denktash that he cannot attend the meeting here.

Question:  Will the press conference on Monday at 4:30 p.m. be in this room?

Deputy Spokesman:  Yes, it will be here in this room -- 226.  Thank you.

Question:  Mr. Clerides has accepted the invitation and he is coming.  You cannot tell us if the Secretary-General will see him?

Deputy Spokesman:  I don't have this information to give you right now.  I really cannot advance -- in the course of the afternoon, if we have more details -- and we were trying to get that as we were coming down to the briefing.  We were trying to reach Mr. de Soto, who, as you know, is not in New York yet to be able to give that kind of detail.  But, as of now, as we speak, I don't have it.  We just hope that Mr. Denktash will see fit to support the Secretary-General's offices by engaging in a new and reinvigorated phase of the search for a comprehensive settlement, starting next week here in New York. 

So we are on with Mr. Clerides, but I don't have details of the scheduling of meetings for you.  We'll try to get that this afternoon.

Question:  Mr. Denktash accused Mr. de Soto of manipulation and misinformation.  Do you have a response?

Deputy Spokesman: No, I don't.  Mr. de Soto is not the man -- his long career in diplomacy at the United Nations and outside the United Nations -- he is not known for that kind of behaviour.

Thank you very much.  Have a very pleasant afternoon and a very good weekend.  Thank you.

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