SG/T/2250

ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SWITZERLAND, 1-3 OCTOBER

The Secretary-General travelled to Switzerland on Saturday, 30 October, where he arrived on Sunday morning.

He began his official programme in Geneva on Monday, 2 October, by meeting with Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. The 20-minute meeting centered on issues relating to funding provided by the European Commission to United Nations agencies and programmes.

The Secretary-General then met with senior staff of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In his remarks to them, the Secretary-General spoke of the need for the ILO and the United Nations to rise up to the new challenges created by the ever-expanding global economy. He spoke about the Global Compact initiative, noting that the United Nations system needs to cooperate to make the initiative relevant.

The Secretary-General then attended the fifty-first meeting of the Executive Committee of the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). He began his address by saluting High Commissioner Ogata who will step down this December after 10 years at the helm of the refugee agency. �Let me also lend my voice�, he said, �to millions of the world�s most unfortunate people, to thank you for 10 years of heroic service�.

The Secretary-General told the members of the Executive Committee that there were several strong candidates to succeed the current High Commissioner and that he hoped to make a recommendation to the General Assembly within this month. He urged those who wanted to pay tribute to Sadako Ogata to do so not only in words but in kind, by providing support to the UNHCR in three crucial areas: strengthening the asylum regulation; financial support for the UNHCR; and ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers in the field.

The Secretary-General ended his remarks by returning to the issue of staff security. He called on the Member States to fulfil their responsibility to protect humanitarian workers. Speaking of the UNHCR workers killed last month in West Timor and Guinea, as well as the World Food Programme and United Nations Children�s Fund colleagues who died in Burundi last year, the Secretary-General said: �they were targeted quite deliberately, not in spite of being humanitarian workers who were there to protect and help vulnerable people, but precisely because of that fact� (See SG/SM/7570).

On Monday afternoon, the Secretary-General addressed the UNHCR staff. He thanked them for their tireless effort to the cause of humanitarian work and told them of his personal commitment to the issue of safety of humanitarian workers. He reminded the assembled staff of his personal commitment to the safety of humanitarian workers.- 2 - Press Release SG/T/2250 4 October 2000

Later that afternoon, the Secretary-General went to the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to meet with its President, Jakob Kellenberger, and its senior staff. During the meeting, the Secretary-General and the ICRC leadership discussed the ever-increasing problems of internally displaced persons and how best the humanitarian community can deal with the issue.

He also met with the WFP�s Executive Director, Catherine Bertini, who briefed him on her recent trip to the Horn of Africa. He congratulated her for leading a well-coordinated effort between the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations, which prevented the recurrence of famine in the Horn.

The Secretary-General then gave a press conference at the Palais des Nations. In his opening remarks he briefed journalists on the nature of his upcoming meetings with representatives of European institutions. �I shall be stressing�, he said, �the importance of European support for United Nations activities and objectives right across the board�. He also stressed that Europe and other industrialized countries must deliver on their promises of debt relief and that this relief must not be seen as an alternative to development assistance (see SG/SM/7569).

Later that day, the Secretary-General met with representatives from the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) to listen to their concerns relating to the succession of Sadako Ogata.

Throughout the day the Secretary-General was kept informed of the latest developments in the Middle East through phone conversations with, among others, his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje-Roed Larsen.

On Tuesday morning, 3 October, the Secretary-General met for 30 minutes with his Special Envoy to the Balkans, Carl Bildt. The two discussed the current situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Before leaving Geneva, the Secretary-General received Guy-Olivier Segond, the President of the Geneva State Council. During the 20-minute meeting, Mr. Segond and the Secretary-General touched upon a number of issues regarding host city relations.

Before leaving for the airport, the Secretary-General had a brief meeting with the Geneva ambassadors of three members of the Arab League, Algeria, Jordan and the representative of the Palestinian Authority, who asked to see him on the turbulent situation in the Middle East.

The Secretary-General then departed Geneva on a direct flight to Strasbourg, France.

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