Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19981111
Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Executive Director of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, had been invited to the noon briefing to explain his decision to withdraw the UNSCOM inspectors from Iraq. (Mr. Butler's comments are prepared separately.)
During a press conference in Marrakesh, Morocco today, the Secretary-General had said he was saddened and burdened by Iraq's decisions not to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General had strongly urged President Saddam Hussein to rescind those decisions and to immediately resume cooperation with the Security Council. He had said "that would be good for the Iraqi people, for the region and for the world". The full text of the statement was available in room S-378.
Further, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had now decided to suspend his official visit to the Maghreb region of North Africa. He would fly back to New York tomorrow.
At about 7:15 a.m., New York time, today, Mr. Eckhard continued, all UNSCOM and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) international staff members based in Iraq had arrived in Bahrain aboard a United Nations aircraft, following a decision by UNSCOM Director Richard Butler to withdraw them. The total of 103 passengers on the airplane had included 92 from UNSCOM and 11 from the IAEA. Later today, at about 5:30 p.m., New York time, 130 non-essential international staff from the oil-for-food programme, as well as from various United Nations agencies, such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP) and so on, would arrive in Amman, Jordan. They were now travelling across the desert in a convoy of eight vehicles and would be joined tomorrow by another 41 international staff and their dependents. Those staff members were being temporarily relocated until further notice.
Remaining in Baghdad would be about 40 essential staff, the Spokesman went on to say, including Special Envoy of the Secretary-General in Baghdad, Prakash Shah; United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Hans von Sponeck; the heads of United Nations agencies working in Iraq; and five personnel from the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM), the operation on the Iran-Kuwait border that maintained an office in Baghdad. In the three northern governorates, 231 international staff would remain at work, including 69 United Nations guards.
Mr. Eckhard then read the following statement issued by the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan:
"The temporary relocation of non-essential international staff to Amman should not be interpreted as a suspension of the implementation of the oil-for-food programme. The departure of those staff should not affect either the export of oil or the arrival of supplies under the terms of the programme. In the 15 governorates in the centre and south of Iraq, the Government is responsible for the distribution of food, medicine and the other essential supplies provided under the humanitarian programme. The United Nations role involved monitoring this distribution. We will continue carrying out our responsibilities, albeit, at a significantly reduced level."
It should be noted, Mr. Eckhard added as part of the statement by Mr. Sevan, that the United Nations had a national staff of 524 in Baghdad. The United Nations staff in the three northern governorates of Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, where the United Nations was implementing the oil-for-food programme on behalf of the Government of Iraq, was comprised of 231 international staff and 809 national staff members. Those staff members would continue working.
"The Security Council which had originally not scheduled a meeting for today has now scheduled consultations on Iraq at 3:30 p.m. at the request of the Russian Federation", Mr. Eckhard then announced.
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A correspondent asked what time the Secretary-General would return to New York and whether Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz would come to New York.
Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General would arrive tomorrow at about noon and would perhaps work at home for the balance of the afternoon. There was no information about the Deputy Prime Minister coming to New York at this time. Would the Secretary-General consider meeting Tariq Aziz somewhere other than Baghdad? another correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that, to his knowledge, there were no plans at the present for the two men to meet.
What was the Secretary-General's role regarding Iraq? another correspondent asked. Would he be undertaking any special initiatives? The Secretary-General would be here to monitor the Security Council's deliberations, to confer with members of the Council and, basically, to stay on top of what was developing as a crisis situation, Mr. Eckhard replied.
Had the Secretary-General been in contact with Saddam Hussein, or had he tried to be? a number of correspondents asked. Mr. Eckhard said that to his
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 11 November 1998
knowledge, the answer was no. "The Secretary-General deals with the Government of Iraq primarily through his Special Envoy, Prakash Shah, who in turn deals primarily with the Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz", the Spokesman added.
When asked if the Secretary-General had been in contact with the Clinton administration regarding the American military build-up, Mr. Eckhard said although he could not give details, the answer was yes and there had been telephone contact in the last 24 hours. Asked further whether that had been with United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Mr. Eckhard said he could not give details.
Asked whether the Secretary-General would consider going to Baghdad at the request of the Security Council, Mr. Eckhard said he could not speculate on what the Secretary-General would do, but that refusing such a request from the Council would be difficult. When asked if the Secretary-General was returning home on his own, or in response to a request, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had made the decision on his own.
How long would the essential staff stay in Iraq and who would make the decision to withdraw them? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said Ambassador Butler would answer the question with regard to UNSCOM. However, as far as the oil-for-food programme was concerned, the move was a temporary withdrawal from the theatre, with the personnel involved remaining in the region. "The hope is that the crisis can be resolved and the people can get back to work. The idea is to be poised to resume work as soon as possible -- if it's possible", the Spokesman added.
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