SG: Good afternoon. I have just briefed the Security Council on the terrorist attacks against UNAMA [UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] which happened yesterday where five of our staff were killed and nine were wounded.

I told the Security Council of the heroism of the security officers of UNAMA. For at least an hour, and perhaps more, they held off the attackers, fighting through the corridors of the building and from the rooftop, giving their colleagues time to escape.

Without their heroism, there could have been more casualties, victims.

They were armed only with pistols against assailants carrying automatic weapons and grenades and wearing suicide vests.

Increasingly, the UN is being targeted, in this case precisely because of our support for the Afghan elections. Not counting peacekeepers, 27 UN civilian personnel have lost their lives to violence so far this year, more than half of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Yesterday, I said we will not be deterred. We cannot do it alone. We need the support of the Member States. We must realistically assess the situation and put in place more effective protection for our staff as they perform their crucial tasks. This was the main purpose my briefing to the Security Council.

This morning I convened an urgent meeting of the heads of all UN departments, funds and programmes, and agencies to urgently review the evolving security environment and respond appropriately. I am going to chair the Chief Executives Board meeting tomorrow to discuss this matter where the heads of UN funds and programmes, specialized agencies and Bretton Woods institutions will all participate to discuss the security issues.

This afternoon, I asked the Security Council for its support.

This morning I received a phonecall from President [Hamid] Karzai of Afghanistan who assured me of the tightened security support for UNAMA and I urged him again that he should take immediate action to strengthen the security measures for the premises and staff, for their safety and security.

Tomorrow, I plan to brief the General Assembly. I will ask for expedited action for our security measures, so that we can meet the dramatically escalated threat to UN staff, now widely considered to be a “soft target,” as well as provide support for victims and their families.

The second round of the Afghan Presidential election is only a week away. As I told the Security Council, we are considering a number of immediate short-term measures.

Those include consolidating UN staff in Kabul and around the country. We are exploring the feasibility of bringing in additional security units to guard UN facilities and will ask the international community to step up its support.

This will be particularly important during the interim election period, with a special emphasis on areas outside Kabul where UN security is clearly insufficient.

I conclude by stating the obvious. The UN is a civilian operation. We are working there to help Afghanistan's people but our mission is not safe and [is] vulnerable. We need the full protection of the Afghanistan government and the international community.

Thank you very much.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, what was the response of the Security Council to your request for stepped up support? And is there any chance of the United Nations perhaps in the next week when things are going to be the most difficult before the election of calling on the ISAF troops that are already in the country to ensure...? And as a third question there are still some rumblings that the UN is not going to participate on the level that it would have before these attacks in helping to prepare for the elections, and in the carrying out. Can you address that as well?

SG: I was very much encouraged by strong support of all UN Security Council Member States. They all expressed their deepest condolences and they also expressed their strong support for UNAMA's role, my role as Secretary-General, and Mr. Kai Eide, my Special Representative in UNAMA. This will work as a source of great encouragement for all the staff working in this dangerous situation not only in Afghanistan but all around the world. This kind of strong support and cooperation and the political support is very important. This is exactly what I really wanted to seek from the Security Council and that's exactly what I'm going to ask all Member States of the United Nations for additional support.

Now I understand soon the President of the Security Council may have some announcement to make – this is not for me but that's what we discussed and I'm here to express my own position.

Q: But in terms of not operating at the same level in Afghanistan?

SG: Now I told you yesterday, we will not be deterred. We will continue with our mission. But realistically speaking at this time we are now trying to first of all consolidate our staff who are scattered around in Kabul. And it will be very important for us how we can ensure in this very difficult situation the smooth conduct of our staff in Afghanistan. I have discussed with Mr. Kai Eide this morning on this issue. He told me that he has, he had spoken with all the security-related ministries and President Karzai, and tried to ensure the safety and security of our staff so that they can engage in their official duties as normal, as usual.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you met today with Dr. ElBaradei for a farewell luncheon. We were hoping he would come to the stakeout but he didn't. Could you tell us what your discussions were about the Iranian nuclear programme and the response that Iran has handed over regarding the proposal made in Vienna?

SG: Of course he explained about the negotiations, the current state of negotiations on Iranian nuclear issues. I believe that this is something which he should do rather than me.

Q: What did he tell you, Sir?

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, on the subject of Afghanistan, I understand that you've asked for an additional amount of money in the security budget, above and beyond what was previously budgeted and also a discretionary fund to be used for security to react. Can you sort of fill in some of the blanks about that – how much you've asked for and so forth? What that's all about?

SG: I have instructed the Under-Secretary-General of DSS [Department of Safety and Security] to come out with?first of all they have to assess the situation and come out with recommendations to me so that I will be able to discuss this matter with Member States. But I'm going to report first of all to the General Assembly tomorrow afternoon.

Q: Secretary-General, the UN asked the Afghan authorities to shut down about 400 polling stations around the country, but the IEC announced today that they would keep the same amount open that caused so much speculation about the fraud. What is your reaction to that?

SG: First of all this kind of procedure and technical matters should be determined in Kabul between the Afghanistan Government and the Independent Election Commission [IEC]. I'm sure that Mr. Kai Eide will closely coordinate with these Afghan and international authorities. As I told you last time, our position is that we will try to open these polling stations, as many as possible, so that the Afghan people can cast their votes under a situation where they are not threatened and intimidated. But as I told you, for all practical reasons we may not be in a position to open the polling stations where there were no policed polling stations during the first presidential election. But for that question I have just heard that we will have to continue to consult with the Afghan authorities.

Q: Besides Afghanistan, the same civil situation exists in Pakistan at this point in time. The similarities are there. Would you also be asking the Security Council and the international community to help the United Nations for reinforcing yourself in Pakistan, as in Afghanistan? And as well, as far as Afghanistan is concerned, how much more do you want in terms of force?

SG: My report to the Security Council and General Assembly tomorrow afternoon will be on a comprehensive basis – not necessarily focusing only on Afghanistan. Of course, Pakistan is a place where we need to strengthen our security measures. That is the subject which we have been continuously discussing with President Zardari and other members.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, could you just tell us?you said that you've asked Karzai to provide you with more security. Did you also ask the Americans, being the main military force there, to provide you with more personnel – I don't think the Afghan Government has a lot.

SG: Primary responsibility for the safety and security of UN staff falls on the Afghanistan Government. But at the same time, what I said here is that we need support from Afghanistan security forces as well as from the international community. For detailed matters we'll have to continue to discuss.

Q: You talked about the additional troops – are you thinking about the possibility of having some sort of private security come in to do this? Or are you simply talking about UN security – foreign countries providing that?

SG: I didn't say additional troops. What I meant was additional security officers of the United Nations as well as some other sources of security officers.

Q: So are you talking about private companies coming in to provide that service?

SG: That includes all the possibilities, including private security firms.

SG: Secretary-General, do you have enough monitors to go into areas that are dangerous even, because the so-called ghost polling stations, the last time is where Karzai stuffed all the ballots, and the Independent Election Committee seems to be independent in name only?

SG: The United Nations at this time is not organizing monitors by ourselves. It is now organized by the international community, particularly the European Union. We have been discussing with the European Union leaders on how many monitors should be there. Of course there are some practical problems to mobilize so many monitors [in] a very short time frame. I understand that they are doing their best. It will be extremely important this time, first of all we need to work very hard to make this presidential election most transparent and [in a] credible and accountable way. As I told you last time the measures we have put in place to detect fraud worked properly. That's why we were able to address these fraudulent ballot cases according to all legal procedures. Now having learned these very painful lessons from the first election, we need not to see repeated such kinds of fraudulent practices. That's what we are working on very hard. Thank you very much, thank you.