Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19981218
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Following the formal meeting on Sierra Leone, Mr. Almeida e Silva said the Council had moved into informal consultations to continue discussions on Iraq. Two senior United Nations officials were now updating the Council on Iraq -- the Deputy to the Chef de Cabinet, Rolf Knutsson, and Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme and United Nations Coordinator, Benon Sevan.
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Mr. Almeida e Silva then read the following statement on Iraq attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
"Due to the prevailing situation in Iraq, 106 United Nations staff members with the humanitarian programme left Baghdad by road early this
morning for Amman, Jordan, for temporary relocation. For the past few days, all United Nations personnel were staying at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, where the United Nations office is located.
"The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Prakash Shah, and the Humanitarian Coordinator, Hans von Sponeck, remain in Baghdad along with 26 United Nations personnel, including representatives of the United Nations agencies and programmes. In addition, the programme employs 578 national staff in the centre and south of Iraq.
"The humanitarian programme in the three northern governorates, implemented by the United Nations on behalf of the Government of Iraq, continues its operations without interruption. There are 232 international and 880 national United Nations personnel working with the programme in the three northern governorates.
"The United Nations remains fully committed to implementation of the "oil-for-food" programme and expresses the hope that all those relocated temporarily will soon resume their duties in Iraq". (Also issued as Press Release SG/SM/6845-IK/268.)
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The Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan, had said at the stake-out there were no plans to evacuate humanitarian workers from Baghdad. What had made him change his mind and had he received any warnings of the bombings continuing? a correspondent asked.
Mr. Almeida e Silva said the situation had been under constant review. Mr. Sevan had weighed the security concerns as well as the potential for effectiveness of work, and it had been deemed appropriate to relocate the humanitarian staff. The skeleton staff had remained in Baghdad with the two most senior representatives, and it was hoped all would be able to return soon to Baghdad and resume their work.
At whose behest did the Executive Director of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, serve? a correspondent asked. The Secretary-General or the Security Council? How long was his tenure and who determined whether he would serve it completely or not?
Mr. Almeida e Silva said he did not know the length of Mr. Butler's appointment. Mr. Butler had been appointed by the Secretary-General in consultation with the Security Council since the Special Commission was a subsidiary organ of the Council. Any decisions regarding UNSCOM or its Chairman would fall within the competence of the Council.
Asked who would make the decision to remove the Chairman if that decision were to be made, the Deputy Spokesman said it would be likely that the Council would be heard, since it was a subsidiary organ of the Council. Could the Secretary-General veto that? the correspondent asked. The Council's guidance had to be followed, Mr. Almeida e Silva answered.
In response to a question on how many staff were left in Baghdad, Mr. Almeida e Silva said 28, including the two senior officials.
Asked what the Secretary-General was doing to build consensus on how to proceed once the strikes were over, Mr. Almeida e Silva said the Secretary- General was following events and it was too early to speculate on what steps would come next.
A correspondent asked what the procedure of reporting was at the United Nations, whether the Council or the Secretary-General was the first to be informed. Mr. Almeida e Silva said it depended on which channel of reporting
Daily Press Briefing - 7 - 18 December 1998
the resolution had called for. Asked for the method of reporting on the Iraq matter in particular, Mr. Almeida e Silva said Ambassador Butler was to have reported to the Secretary-General. When asked if the Secretary-General was concerned that Ambassador Butler, according to the New York Times, had first talked with American President Bill Clinton in advance of reporting to the Council, Mr. Almeida e Silva said it was not known that such a sequence had occurred. Further, the Secretary-General had nothing further to add to what he had already said regarding Ambassador Butler.
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In the course of the briefing, a correspondent said, it had been announced by the United States that the refinery at Basra in Iraq had been struck. What would be the impact of such an action? The Deputy Spokesman said he would find out and report on that later.
Had the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation asked for Ambassador Butler's resignation? a correspondent asked. Mr. Almeida e Silva said the meeting between Ambassador Lavrov and the Secretary-General had been a tête-a-tête, the content of which had not been disclosed.
Had the Secretary-General lost confidence in Ambassador Butler? a correspondent asked. Mr. Almeida e Silva said the Secretary-General had nothing further to add to what he had already said about Ambassador Butler. "Also, Ambassador Butler is part of UNSCOM, a subsidiary organ of the Security Council", the Deputy Spokesman added.
Asked about a meeting at 4:45 p.m. between the Secretary-General and the Permanent Representatives of the United States, the Russian Federation and Portugal, Mr. Almeida e Silva said he imagined it would concern Angola.
Jadranka Mihalic, spokesman for General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay), said the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) had still not completed its deliberations. It was scheduled to meet at 3:00 p.m.. If the Committee completed its work for this part of the fifty- third session this afternoon, there would be an evening meeting of the plenary to consider the report of the Committee and to close the first part of the session.
Daily Press Briefing - 8 - 18 December 1998
During the plenary meeting yesterday afternoon, the President of the fifty-third session had made closing remarks summarizing the debate, Ms. Mihalic continued. The statement would be available on the racks in Spanish and English. Also yesterday, the President had issued a statement on the developments in Iraq and that was available on the racks in room S-378. The President had left New York yesterday evening.
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