DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, announced to correspondents at the beginning of today's press briefing that he had asked Charles Duelfer, Deputy Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) monitoring the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, to join him at today's briefing as a "resource person" in case correspondents had some detailed questions on the subject of Iraq.

On the subject of appointments made by the Secretary-General, Mr. Eckhard said, "The overall pattern of the Secretary-General's recent high- level appointments reflects a balance. He is always looking for the best person to fill the job, of course, but sometimes that involves bringing in fresh blood from the outside, as he did in the three appointments that he announced to you earlier this week. And yet, as one whose career has brought him from the 'P-1' level in the Secretariat up to the top job, he also recognizes the importance of taking advantage of the experience and expertise of senior colleagues within the Secretariat."

Mr. Eckhard then announced four internal promotions. They were the following: Carlos Fortin (Chile) to Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Federico Riesco (Chile) to Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services; Ralph Zacklin (United Kingdom) to Assistant Secretary-General in the Office of Legal Affairs; and Nadia Younes (Egypt), former Spokeswoman for the Secretary-General and current Director of the Media Division of the Department of Public Information (DPI), who is moving laterally to become Chief of Protocol. Mr. Eckhard said that biographical notes on each of the four appointees were available in the Spokesman's office. He also wished to express his own personal congratulations to his colleagues on their new appointments.

The Secretary-General had also appointed Souren Saraydarian (Syria), as his Representative and Head of the support group of 180 United Nations civilian police monitors in Croatia, Mr. Eckhard said. He would also be the head of the United Nations Liaison Office in Zagreb. The International Civilian Police Mission had been established for a period of up to nine months to continue to monitor the performance of the Croatian Police in the Danube Region of Croatia. The new Police Commissioner of the police monitoring group was Halvor Hartz (Norway).

On Iraq, Mr. Eckhard informed correspondents that Scott Ritter and his team had left Baghdad this morning. They had been originally scheduled to leave tomorrow. It had been announced in advance that the duration of their mission would be limited to five days of inspections. As they had been unable

to carry out their work as planned since Tuesday, UNSCOM Executive Chairman Richard Butler had asked them to leave today, one day early. Those team members would go back to their respective home bases and await further instructions.

Mr. Butler had met with the French Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine -- as had been announced yesterday, Mr. Eckhard said. After those talks, Mr. Butler announced that he had agreed to take a senior French political counsellor, Eric Fournier, as a member of his headquarters team here in New York. Mr. Fournier was an expert in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and would be joining UNSCOM in a couple of weeks.

In that connection, Mr. Eckhard said, the three experts that the Chinese Government had offered UNSCOM would be participating in the monitoring activity at the Monitoring and Verification Centre in Baghdad. They were expected to join sometime in February. Concerning the list of 60 experts that the Russian Government had offered, UNSCOM was studying that list now, he added.

Mr. Eckhard said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had submitted its report on the visit to Iraq of its technical team held from 19 to 21 December 1997. The purpose of that visit had been to clarify matters relating to Iraq's clandestine nuclear programme; the nuclear weapon design options which Iraq had pursued until the middle of January 1991; IAEA's ongoing monitoring and verification activities and the use of fixed-wing aircraft in Iraq. An IAEA press release on that report was available in the Spokesman's office.

On the "oil for food" programme, Mr. Eckhard said that United Nations oil overseers had approved one more contract this morning. It was given to a Russian company for 7.2 million barrels. That brought the total of oil contracts approved to 19 out of 29 received. The total volume approved was 96.64 million barrels.

He added that of the 100 French-made ambulances that the Security Council Sanctions Committee on Iraq had approved, the first 33 had arrived in Trebil, Iraq, from Jordan today. Six more were expected shortly.

Turning to other business, Mr. Eckhard said that pursuant to the agreement made between the Secretary-General and Senior General Than Shwe, Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Myanmar as well as Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, at the meeting held in Kuala Lumpur during the Secretary-General's December visit, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Alvaro de Soto would visit Myanmar from 20 to 23 January as the Secretary-General's envoy. That visit would be part of the ongoing dialogue between the Secretary-General and the Government of Myanmar.

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Correspondents would recall that the Secretary-General had received a mandate from the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights to pursue that dialogue. Mr. de Soto's last visit to Myanmar had been in May 1997.

The Spokesman's office had received some sketchy information of a breaking story out of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Eckhard said. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had organized a convoy to travel to Srebrenica in order to hold the first meeting of the Municipal Assembly, that had been elected last September and had not yet met. Srebrenica, he noted, was within Serb-controlled territory. Because of absentee ballots, the Municipal Assembly in Srebrenica was a Muslim-majority Assembly. A large hostile crowd had formed outside of Srebrenica to block the way of the convoy. There had been about 50 local police officers, but the crowd had been too large and unruly for them to contain. The convoy had been advised to go back.

The OSCE officers had said that they felt they wanted to go in without the members of the Municipal Assembly in order to do an assessment of the situation in Srebrenica, and they would be accompanied by their security contingent and by the United Nations International Police Task Force (IPTF), who were also present, Mr. Eckhard continued. That smaller group had gone forward and had been attacked by the crowd that had attempted to turn over at least one of the vehicles. Windows had been broken in the IPTF vehicle and a United Nations police monitor had been slightly injured. The Stabilization Force (SFOR) had deployed military resources to the area and one of their helicopters had got entangled in electrical wires and had crashed. Apparently, there had been two SFOR pilots injured in the crash. A car had driven through Srebrenica last night with loudspeakers urging people to come out and demonstrate today.

On other matters, Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General's report on Western Sahara had been issued as a Security Council document today. That report had been requested by the Council in a resolution adopted on 13 November 1997. The Secretary-General reported on progress in the identification process, which had resumed on 3 December 1997, and noted that identification activities had been pursued vigorously, with full participation of observers of the two parties and of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General also observed that "until the number of non-convoked persons presenting themselves is known for certain, it will not be possible to confirm that the identification process can be concluded by the end of May to permit the start of the transitional period on 7 June as planned". In order to adhere as strictly as possible to the timetable presented in November and permit for the referendum to be held by the end of this year, the Secretary-General appealed to the Security Council and to the General Assembly to support the provision of necessary resources in full and on time. The Council was expected to consider that report next week.

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The Conference on Disarmament would open its 1998 session on 20 January at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Eckhard said. The President of the session would be Lars Norberg (Sweden). Information on the session was available in the Spokesman's office.

The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on religious intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia), would visit the United States at the invitation of its Government from 22 January to 6 February, Mr. Eckhard said. He would be visiting Washington, D.C.; Chicago; New York; Atlanta; Salt Lake City; Los Angeles; and Arizona. Mr. Amor had asked to meet with senior leaders of major Christian denominations, leaders of Jewish groups, Muslim organizations and other minority religious organizations in the United States. The position of Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance had been established in 1986. Mr. Amor, who was appointed in 1993, was the second Special Rapporteur on that matter.

Malta and New Zealand had paid in full their assessed contributions to the regular budget for 1998, Mr. Eckhard said. Their assessed contributions amount to $147,228 and $2,324,096, respectively. That brought to 10 the number of Member States that have paid in full.

A press release from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was available upstairs, Mr. Eckhard said. It concerned the request by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for the prescription of provisional measures in respect of the oil tanker M/V "Saiga" case.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) would hold its eighteenth session at Headquarters starting on Monday, Mr. Eckhard said. Angela King, Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, was expected to open the session.

The Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings would have another signatory today, Mr. Eckhard said. At 12:30 p.m., Costa Rica would become the eighth Member State to sign.

In response to a question asked yesterday about human cloning and the United Nations position on that subject, Mr. Eckhard said that there were press releases from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on that matter available in the Spokesman office. Also available were updates on "El Nino" and Ecuador, and the floods in Somalia.

Also available for correspondents was an update from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressing concern about the situation in Addis Ababa, where Ethiopian authorities had continued to round-up Sudanese, including refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants, which had begun Thursday last week, Mr. Eckhard said. Press releases from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), relating to the official opening of a training programme, and from the International Criminal

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Tribunal for Rwanda concerning the waiver of immunity for General Romeo Dallaire in the Jean-Paul Akayesu case were also available. That case would resume on 9 February.

A correspondent, making reference to an article in today's The New York Times about Eastern Slavonia, which stated that in recent weeks 10,000 refugees had fled the area, asked whether the UNHCR offices were going to assist refugees who were not running from the war zone, but were running for their lives. Mr. Eckhard said, "First of all its up to the Croatian Government to provide safe conditions for people to return to their homes. UNHCR will assist with the resettlement to the extent that it can take place. But the international community is not in a position to force resettlement, so this is a delicate process. My understanding is that the Government is committed to permit the resettlement of those displaced, allowing those Serbs, for example, in the eastern part of the country, who have a right to stay there -- because they have been settled there -- to stay. But they need to sort out the housing problem which is not going to be easy."

A correspondent asked whether UNSCOM was going to use a Russian spy plane, more Russian personnel and have a "radically different" make-up in future? Mr. Duelfer said there had been a number of proposals for making UNSCOM's operations in Iraq more effective, including the provision of additional experts from different countries, albeit experts in relevant matters. Regarding additional surveillance capabilities, he said UNSCOM was open to any suggestions on how to make its work more effective and credible. However, some initial proposals were not yet sufficiently detailed. The Russian Federation had not given details about providing more aircraft, but UNSCOM would investigate the proposal further.

Another correspondent asked about the difference between the United States U-2 surveillance aircraft and Russian Federation surveillance planes. Mr. Duelfer said a replacement for the U-2 was not being discussed. The Russian Federation had not proposed a specific aircraft or type of sensors, but their planes would be in addition to the U-2 capability.

Asked what the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM planned to do during his visit to Iraq next week, Mr. Duelfer said the agenda had been set by the Security Council, which had identified such problems as access for UNSCOM inspectors. Mr. Butler would be discussing those types of problems.

What could Mr. Butler offer Iraq to get it to allow Scott Ritter to lead United Nations inspection teams? a correspondent asked. Mr. Duelfer said the problem was not people but access. The Council had repeatedly stated that United Nations inspection teams must have access and that Iraq must comply

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with its resolutions. Those matters would be discussed, he said, adding "It was not for us to provide something to Iraq, it was for Iraq to provide something to us."

A correspondent asked for more information on the list of 60 experts offered to UNSCOM by the Russian Federation. Mr. Duelfer said UNSCOM had just received the list of names and did not yet know about the inspectors' expertise. There would have to be a lot of discussion with the Russian Federation to determine precisely how the experts could be used, their individual specialties and whether they were intended for short inspection in Iraq or long-term staffing of the Monitoring Centre there.

Would Scott Ritter be allowed back into Iraq or was he persona non grata? a correspondent asked. Mr. Duelfer said the Iraqis had never declared Scott Ritter persona non grata, but they had complained about the composition of the inspection team he headed. UNSCOM fully intended to carry on its investigations and inspections and to use Scott Ritter, an expert with a lot of talent and more knowledge than almost anyone else in the type of areas being investigated, he added.

In reply to another question, Mr. Duelfer said Eric Fournier would be a political adviser to UNSCOM's Executive Chairman.

A correspondent asked whether UNSCOM was concerned that in adding so many new inspectors there might be security risks or that some of the new Russian inspectors might be used to tip off Iraq about future inspections. Mr. Duelfer said it was assumed that when people were invited to join UNSCOM they would work strictly for it. The resumes and expertise of the list of inspectors would be examined. It was assumed they would bring information that would be helpful, as with other inspectors, in analysing and monitoring the programmes in Iraq.

Referring to the visit to the United States by the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, a correspondent asked if the only religious groups he planned to visit were Jewish. Mr. Eckhard said he had mentioned at least three religious groups the Special Rapporteur intended to visit and there would be others. He would be talking to representatives of other minority religions and also meeting with mainstream non-governmental organizations on religious questions.

Would he visit with representatives of the Black Muslims? the correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he believed the Special Rapporteur planned to meet with representatives of the Black Muslims when he was in Chicago.

In reply to another question, Mr. Duelfer said the UNSCOM Executive Chairman would meet with Scott Ritter when he was in Bahrain over the weekend.

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Why did Scott Ritter's inspection team leave when it had only done one day's work and would he be leading his team when it returned to Iraq? a correspondent asked. Mr. Duelfer said the scheduled period of inspections was Monday through Friday. When it became clear no inspections would be able to be conducted today, Mr. Butler decided it made sense to allow the other members of the inspection team to return to their normal work. Scott Ritter would brief Mr. Butler in Bahrain and then return to New York to continue his normal duties.

Had UNSCOM asked the Russian Federation to provide inspectors in the past? a correspondent asked. Mr. Duelfer said UNSCOM had a lot of Russian support and there was a Russian inspector on Scott Ritter's team. Currently, a team in Iraq composed largely of Russians was doing missile investigations. The Russian Federation "is one of our strongest supporting Governments" in terms of providing expertise, which was natural given that a lot of the missiles exported to Iraq were Russian, he added.

The correspondent then asked if the Russian Federation had offered such a large pool of inspectors in the past. Mr. Duelfer said when UNSCOM had requested experts in certain areas, the Russian Federation had offered specific names. There was not much difference in providing a list of names in advance.

If the Russian inspectors were used would there be fewer inspectors from other countries? a correspondent asked. Mr. Duelfer said UNSCOM selected people based on the requirements when an inspection was planned for a particular area. For example, if it was decided 15 people were needed for an inspection of a biological weapons site, UNSCOM would choose people with the required expertise. Did the Iraqis tell Mr. Butler that Scott Ritter was a spy? a correspondent asked. Mr. Duelfer said that the Iraqi Government had made that allegation publicly and UNSCOM had refuted it. The Iraqis had not said that they would not accept Scott Ritter as a chief inspector. Historically there had been problems in the past with the Iraqis over other chief inspectors. It had happened before and UNSCOM had continued to use inspectors who had been mischaracterized by Iraq and they had continued to do their work.

Another correspondent asked if Scott Ritter was a spy would UNSCOM admit it? Mr. Duelfer replied that if he was a spy he would not be working for UNSCOM.

What was the basis for refuting the Iraqi allegations that Mr. Ritter was a spy? a correspondent asked. Mr. Duelfer said Mr. Ritter had been working for UNSCOM since 1991 and was a very dedicated individual. "We know what he does and he serves us just like everyone else on the Special Commission. We have members from all different types of governments with different backgrounds and different expertise."

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A correspondent asked whether UNSCOM could step up inspections if it was given access so that it could flood the country with extra inspectors and get the job done. Mr. Duelfer said it took a lot of time and planning to conduct the inspections. Information had to be analysed and locations decided on. "You can't all of a sudden bring a thousand people together to construct an automobile", he said, adding that more manpower would not increase efficiency or get the job done. "Having more experts would, to a certain extent, help but having access would help a lot more." The problem was a lack of information and a lack of access and those resources could only be provided by Iraq. The Russian Federation had very generously offered additional manpower which was helpful but the problem fundamentally originated in Iraq.

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