DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970428
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing with the following statement:
"The Secretary-General is encouraged that Laurent Kabila travelled to Kisangani over the weekend to take personal charge of the grave humanitarian situation involving Rwandan refugees in eastern Zaire. He is also pleased that Mr. Kabila pledged to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian agencies to resolve the problem.
"These agencies will need the support of Mr. Kabila, and that of his Alliance, to locate and gain access to the refugees, gather them to points where they can receive aid and be secure, and eventually repatriate them to Rwanda. The Secretary-General and the entire international community are counting on that support for a successful relief operation and will continue to monitor the situation closely."
The High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, was currently briefing the Security Council on the situation in eastern Zaire and would speak to correspondents at 1 p.m. in room 226 today, the Spokesman said.
Around 50 children had been abducted from a pediatric hospital in Lwiro, near Bukavu (Zaire) according to a report received by the Spokesman's office, Mr. Eckhard told correspondents. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other United Nations agencies had sent a team to the area to investigate the incident; further information would be passed on to correspondents as soon as it became available.
The Secretary-General would soon start another marathon trip, Mr. Eckhard continued. The Secretary-General would be at The Hague from 5 to 6 May, where he would attend the first Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and of Their Destruction. From there he will proceed on an official visit to China, from 7 to 11 May, and then to Japan, for an official visit from 11 to 14 May. He will travel to the Russian Federation for another official visit, from 14 to 18 May. Afterwards, the Secretary- General will go to Austria on an official visit, from 18 to 21 May and will also visit United Nations agencies based in Vienna.
Cuba, as announced over the weekend, intended to submit its instruments of ratification to the Chemical Weapons Convention today, Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents. Suriname, he added, will also do so today at 1 p.m. The Republic of Korea had also announced it would ratify sometime today. Those expected ratifications would bring the number of ratifying countries to a
total of 84, and "we understand Bahrain is in the pipeline", possibly for this afternoon as well, he noted.
Accreditation for the first meeting of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention on 6 May was still open, the Spokesman reminded correspondents. Interested correspondents could obtain media accreditation forms from the Spokesman's office. No celebrations were expected at Headquarters tomorrow, the day the Convention would come into force, "though in our hearts we'll be happy," he added.
The Iraqi Ministry of Trade announced last night the composition of the food basket for the month of May, within the context of the food-for-oil programme, Mr. Eckhard said. The basket would comprise 2.5 kilograms of rice, 9 kilograms of wheat flour, 1 kilogram of cooking oil, 2.7 kilograms of milk powder for small children, 1 kilogram of beans, 350 grams of detergent and 250 grams of soap. "This is an important additional step in the implementation of the oil-for-food programme", he said, adding that more than 450,000 tons of commodities had now reached Iraq. The report would be made available in room 378.
Also on Iraq, Mr. Eckhard told correspondents that the United Nations had submitted today its tenth weekly 986 Update report. As of last Friday, when the data had been collected, 51 oil contracts had been submitted and 50 had been approved. The total volume amounted to 121.1 million barrels. In total, the Secretariat had received 498 applications for the sale of humanitarian supplies. Of those applications, 226 had been submitted to the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) to monitor sanctions against Iraq. Of those, 123 had been approved, 75 were on hold and 7 had been blocked. Nineteen applications were pending "no objection" deadlines. Total oil proceeds had now reached $1.2 billion, of which $793 million had been allotted to humanitarian supplies, $360 million to the United Nations Compensation Fund and the rest to other programme elements.
The Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, James Baker III, was returning to the United States today, Mr. Eckhard continued. Mr. Baker had visited Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Tindouf (Algeria), where the POLISARIO was based, and he was expected to report to the Secretary- General on his mission before the end of the week. The Secretary-General's next report to the Security Council on Western Sahara was due on 9 May and the next mandate renewal for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) would come up at the end of May.
The Foreign Minister of Nigeria, who was also the Special Envoy of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for Liberia, Chief Tom Ikimi, had completed his assessment of the preparations for elections in Liberia, Mr. Eckhard went on to say. The Minister had taken note of the arguments in favour of pushing back the scheduled date of 30 May and would
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make a recommendation. The ECOWAS heads of State, however, would make the final decision.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was funding a new peace- building programme aimed at women, the poor, the disadvantaged and the disabled in Afghanistan, the Spokesman said. The initiative, a renewed effort to contribute to the restoration of peace, amounted to $33.3 million and would seek to increase jobs and income-generating activities, promote food security and strengthen governance at the local level to encourage community-based sustainable development. The UNDP Flash was available on the racks.
The World Food Programme (WFP) urged the international community today to respond to the appeals for food aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Mr. Eckhard continued. The Executive Director of the WFP, Catherine Bertini, in a news release issued from WFP headquarters in Rome, indicated that of the targeted $95.5 million for the purchase of 203,000 tons of food, so far just over a third -- $36 million -- had been raised. The assistance was aimed at the most vulnerable sectors of the population, including 2.6 million children under six years of age. "We understand it takes about three months to get that food through the pipeline and to the people, and June is the date that existing stocks are expected to dry up, so time is running out", he added.
This afternoon, the Secretary-General was traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the "Americas for the 21st Century" meeting, which was an international gathering of North and Latin American leaders organized by the Carter Center. While in Atlanta, the Secretary-General would also take part in this year's Cable News Network (CNN) World Report Contributors Conference, where he would make a speech and take questions from participants.
Mr. Eckhard noted that, as in the past and provided there were no technical difficulties, the audio of the Secretary-General's presentation, as well as the subsequent question and answer session, would be carried live on the in-house and MX channels at Headquarters. That presentation was scheduled for Tuesday, 29 April, at 11 a.m., and was expected to last an hour.
While in Atlanta, the Secretary-General would be the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by Andrew Young and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Coca-Cola Company, Roberto Goizueta.
The President of the General Assembly, Razali Ismail (Malaysia), would convene today a meeting of the General Assembly Working Group on Security Council Reform at 3 p.m. in conference room 1, Mr. Eckhard said.
Regarding upcoming press conferences, Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) briefing at 1:30 p.m. today in the UNCA Club by journalist David Rohde, author of Endgame - Srebrenica: How guilty is the UN?
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On Wednesday, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Carl Bildt, would hold a press conference in room 226 at 4 p.m.
Mr. Eckhard also noted that a scheduled meeting with the Secretary- General and briefing by the Canadian Minister for International Cooperation, Donald Boudria, due for today, had been cancelled.
Opening the question and answer session, a correspondent asked about the demand by rebels in eastern Zaire that refugees be returned to Rwanda within 60 days. Did the Secretary-General think that was a reasonable amount of time? "That depends on them", Mr. Eckhard said. "If you're talking about 60 days from now, when we haven't even located them, it's a totally unrealistic deadline. If you talk about 60 days from the time they've been located and then relocated to a secure position -- where they can be fed and given medical care, and from where they can be flown to Rwanda -- then 60 days sounds doable."
Mr. Kabila, the correspondent noted, appeared to be a bit miffed about the allegation that he was responsible for the slow extermination and killing by starvation of Rwandan refugees in Zaire and had asked the Secretary-General for an apology. Was the Secretary-General feeling apologetic? "We understand Mr. Kabila is under a lot of pressure these days", Mr. Eckhard said.
How well was the Angolan coalition government working? a correspondent asked. "Everything is on track, as far as we know", Mr. Eckhard said. "They still have a lot of work to do to complete the peace process, integrating the military and so on, but politically it looks like the new government is holding up and doing well."
Was there any word or confirmation on the charges by the Zairian Government that Angolan forces had been coming in through Cabinda? a correspondent asked. "We have military observers in Cabinda and they have not reported any unusual presence of troops there", Mr. Eckhard responded. "In north-eastern Angola, we have noticed military activity on the border, but they've told us it has to do with the threat of Rwandan refugees travelling through Zaire and trying to enter Angola, and in fact they report that they've arrested a small number of them -- about 20."
What was the point of entry of the Hutu into Angola? the correspondent asked. "Near Dundu", Mr. Eckhard replied. Did they fly in there? "No, they are travelling overland through Zaire", Mr. Eckhard said.
The decision to change the date of the elections in Liberia had apparently already been made, a correspondent said. Could that be confirmed? "What we announced last week was that the Electoral Commission had suspended preparation activities" Mr. Eckhard said. "But the date itself had not been changed. That has to be done by the ECOWAS heads of State".
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Was there any information on Bill Richardson's trip to Zaire? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard referred the correspondent to the United States Mission. "We understand that he left over the weekend", he added. "It is a welcome development from the Secretary-General's point of view. He's been talking to the Americans and to the Europeans about bringing their full weight to bear on the parties, as the actors in eastern Zaire have been saying positive things, while the situation on the ground just continues to deteriorate." The Secretary-General, he continued, felt that "without the active and coordinated influence of the international community as a whole, but in particular those States with specific influence in the region, there will not be a solution" to that situation. Would James Baker brief the press? a correspondent asked. If Mr. Baker reported in person, he would be asked to brief correspondents, Mr. Eckhard said. As UNCA had planned a briefing with a journalist on Srebrenica, what were the official United Nations figures on the alleged genocide there? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that he did not think the United Nations had a final accounting, but estimates were between 5,000 and 6,000 dead, though not that many bodies had been found. Some 50 bodies had been found, the correspondent said. Were excavations still going on? Mr. Eckhard said his staff would look into it. Returning to Zaire and the 60-day deadline for the refugees, had the UNHCR sent a letter to Laurent Kabila, along the lines of "thanks very much, but it might take a bit longer"? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard responded, "They met with him personally over the weekend and I don't know what was said. You would have to ask them. But 60 days from now, given that we don't even know where the refugees are, is not realistic. In fact, there is no realistic date until they're located. Only then can you estimate how long it would take to get them to a congregation point, where they can be taken care of and then flown out." Was there any information on the United Nations Human Rights High Commission team that was being sent to eastern Zaire? a correspondent asked. It was announced late Friday that an advance party of five or six was to arrive in Goma today, Mr. Eckhard said. "We have not received confirmation that that has actually happened. The Commissioners were meeting in Geneva first, then to Kigali, then to Goma on 4 May." A senior United Nations official told the media last week that there might be a mass grave in one of the abandoned camps in eastern Zaire, the correspondent said. Had the United Nations made a formal request to put an investigator on the case? "That was the Kasese camp that they visited, and they saw this freshly-dug earth, and when they tried to take a closer look at it, they were shooed away", the Spokesman said. He added that he would find out whether a formal request had been made. Did the Secretary-General intend to visit Latin America in the near future? "He certainly does", Mr. Eckhard said, but there were no dates yet.
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