PRESS BRIEFING BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

PRESS BRIEFING BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

The Security Council would propose establishing reporting mechanisms to allow refugees and internally displaced persons to raise complaints about sexual abuses by United Nations staff and/or staff of non-governmental organizations working with refugees in the field, said incoming Security Council President for March, Ole Peter Kolby of Norway at a Headquarters press conference today.  The proposal was expected to be made during a meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict scheduled for 15 March.  The meeting also hoped to adopt an aide-memoire outlining rules to be followed by the United Nations when drafting mandates for new peacekeeping operations, he said.

Mr. Kolby told correspondents that the Security Council, which had discussed the programme of work this morning, had also approved a draft resolution to be adopted tomorrow on Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The Council had also been updated on the situation in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

During tomorrow’s meeting, the Council would hear presentations from the representatives of the European Union, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), Jacques Paul Klein, among others, he added.

On 6 March the Council would hold another public meeting to discuss the recent Security Council mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea whose report he would introduce as chairman of the mission.

Mr. Kolby reminded correspondents that the Security Council would be meeting later than usual on 8 March due to activities planned for the observance of International Women’s Day at which he would speak both in his capacity as Council chairman and on behalf of Norway’s chairmanship of the Afghanistan Support Group.  The meeting would be focused entirely on the situation of women in Afghanistan, and First Lady Laura Bush of the United States would also attend, he said.

Asked how he viewed his country’s role in both the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the situation in Afghanistan, Mr. Kolby replied that Norway was extremely concerned about the situation in the Middle East.  His country’s Foreign Minister was in constant touch with the parties in an effort to get them back to the negotiating table.  The Security Council continued to follow developments in the area closely, and all members of the Council were anxious to bring an end to the violence and have a resumption of the negotiations.  The Council had full confidence in the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi.

Asked what he would like to see as the outcome of the talks with Iraq, he said as chairman of the sanctions committee, he hoped that there would be progress in the dialogue towards resolving the issue.  As far as the Security Council was concerned, the negotiation would take place between the Iraqis and the Secretary-General, and the Council would only look forward to receiving the Secretary-General’s report on those talks.

Asked to comment on the issue of the war crimes tribunals, especially in light of the criticism that was coming out of Washington, Mr. Kolby said this had not been brought before the Council although “we do talk about the tribunals.”  He added that the Council was going to have a discussion on the special court in Sierra Leone, but nothing had been scheduled for the Council to discuss on the issue of courts in both Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The situations in Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Burundi would also rank high on the Security Council’s agenda during the month, he said.

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