THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
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PRESS ENCOUNTER AT THE AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT
Banjul, the Gambia, 2 July 2006
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
As you know this has been my last African Union summit as Secretary-General of the United Nations, but it has not been an occasion for just reminiscing.
Over the past two days, I have had a number of meetings on pressing issues with some of the leaders gathered here.
I had a long and substantive discussion with the Sudanese leader, President [Omar] al Bashir. He and I agreed on the immediate need to strengthen the African Union mission in Darfur and also to consolidate the Darfur Peace Agreement.
For this agreement to work, those parties who have not yet signed must come on board.
I was joined by the High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Gutierres, who stressed the need to urgently address the humanitarian situation in the region.
I, of course, continued to press for the eventual deployment of a UN force in Darfur. On this point, we agreed that the dialogue had to continue.
In the meantime, President Bashir said he would prepare a plan for the next six months which he would submit to me by the end of the month.
I also met with President [Robert] Mugabe [of Zimbabwe] and discussed the situation in his country. He advised me that the former Tanzanian President, Ben Mkapa, had been appointed as a mediator. We both agreed that he should be given the time and space to do his work.
I told President Mugabe that I was committed to helping Zimbabwe and the people of Zimbabwe, and would support the work of the mediator.
I told him that I was committed to helping Zimbabwe and we both agreed that the new mediator, former Tanzanian President Mkapa, should be given the time and space to work.
I also had the chance, as I told some of you, to discuss the situation in Côte d'Ivoire with President Laurent Gbagbo and a number of concerned regional leaders. As I said yesterday, I will be continuing these discussions on 5 July in Abidjan. It is vital that the international community continue to encourage Ivoirien parties to maintain to their commitment to the Road Map.
Yesterday, I also met with President [Mahmoud] Ahmedinejad [of Iran], who underlined his positive approach to the nuclear discussions. I told him that, while I appreciated his efforts, it was important that he send a firm and right signal and that every effort should be made to avoid any standstill in the diplomatic process. I hope that next week that signal will be forthcoming when Mr. [Ali] Larijani meets with [the European Union High Representative,] Mr. [Javier] Solana.
Later today, I will fly off to Sierra Leone and then to Liberia, further in the week. Although these countries emerged from the scourge the war, in partnership with the United Nations, it is important that we all continue to support them in their transition to peace, stability and prosperity.
Before I take your questions, I would like to add a word about the situation in the Gaza -- in particular, regarding the bombing of the Prime Minister's office and the arrest of the Palestinian legislators, and, of course, I have already said something about the humanitarian situation, which is also of great concern.
I remain very concerned about the need to preserve Palestinian institutions and infrastructure. They will be the basis for an eventual two-state solution and are thus in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians. It would, therefore, seem inadvisable to carry out actions that would have the opposite effect.
Thank you and I will now take a few of your questions.
Q: On Zimbabwe, I'm hoping you could give us some more details on your meeting with President Mugabe. How did the meeting with President Mugabe go? Who attended the meeting with you? And are you still planning to visit Zimbabwe later this year?
SG: I think I gave you the decision that was taken, that President Ben Mkapa has been appointed the mediator and he has been working quietly with President Mugabe. You do not need two mediators, and since they have a mediator, I will support the mediator, and ensure that we do help the Zimbabwean people. I had with me my own Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. [Ibrahim] Gambari, and he [Mugabe] had his foreign minister and another minister with him.
Q: On former Chadian president Hissene Habré and his court case or trial in Senegal, do you have a comment?
SG: Yes, I don't have the details of that case, but if it's in the court, then let justice take its course.
Q: It's been two months since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement. The Special Representative in Sudan, [Jan] Pronk, has said that the agreement is problematic ? that people are not accepting it in Darfur ? We still don't have agreement on a peace-keeping force in Darfur. Where are we with the DPA [Darfur Peace Agreement]? How can this be made to work? And is there a Plan B if the answer is “No,” that there won't be a peacekeeping force?
SG: I think, first of all let me say that with all peace agreements, it's not easy to implement. It's much easier to get something on paper than to implement, and we need to work very energetically and actively with those who have signed the agreement to implement them. In fact, I did discuss with President Bashir the question of the disarmament and he gave me an update of attempts that are being made to disarm, which is important for all militias in that part of the Sudan and across the border in Chad, eventually to be disarmed for the people to have a sense of stability and peace.
We also have to understand that we are in discussions with the Sudanese authorities regarding the deployment of the UN force.
Right from the start, we indicated that there were five essential things that had to be done:
The first was to press the rebels who have not signed the agreement to come on board.
The second was to work with those who have signed the agreement to begin effective implementation immediately.
The third is to strengthen the African Union force so that it can do its work and protect the IDPs [internally displaced persons] as effectively as possible. And here the UN sent in an assessment mission –a joint assessment mission - with the African Union preparing for eventual UN deployment but also immediate strengthening of the African Union force. And we intend to work with the African Union to strengthen the force. And we're going to have a pledging conference in Brussels on the 18th of July to seek additional support –financial and logistical -- for the African Union force, so that they can continue to do their work effectively and also to hold the ground until such time that the UN force is deployed.
The fourth issue that we've been working on is to work with the donor community to get the resources to assist the IDPs and the people in need. And, in fact, we have been working and pressing the donors to give us the requisite resources, so that we can go back to full rations; some of you may recall that we had to cut back on the rations because of lack of resources. We hope to go back to full rations by October.
And of course, the final and the fifth important task is to plan and deploy the UN peacekeeping troops. The planning is well advanced. Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the head of the peacekeeping operations, who's here with me, led an assessment mission, on the ground, jointly with the African Union, and they have submitted a solid report which will give us the basis to finalise our plans, and we do still hope to deploy the troops. As I said, I had a good meeting with President Bashir. We discussed the eventual deployment and he will give me a proposal of his plan within a month.
Q: Gambian Television; on the attainment of the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] and what progress African countries have made, and especially in the Gambia?
SG: I think we've had some progress. As I indicated in my statement yesterday [to the AU summit plenary] some African countries are making progress on specific goals of the Millennium Development Goals. If you take girls' education, we are doing well. Many countries have increased their enrollment by 15% but mainly due to the enrollment of girls. We doing well on providing clean water to everyone. We're doing well –reasonably well –on the AIDS front. Several African countries are reducing the rate of [new] infections. But when it comes to the global achievements, I cannot say that many will meet all the goals. Some will meet all the goals, but there are many African countries that will not meet all the goals unless we redouble our efforts. And here, the African governments have to redouble all their efforts. The international and the donor community must also sustain and deliver on the promises that they have made. But I think what is even more important, besides the achievement of the specific goals, is the way the MDGs have galvanized societies and governments around Africa on the issue of development, and it is important that civil society, individuals and the private sector, all remain engaged and press for the development and the implementation of the goals.
Q: If I could follow-up on the question on Sudan ? when you had President Omar Hassan El-Bashir saying things like 'UN troops over my dead body' or the equivalent because of the sovereignty, are we going to see UN troops or not [in Darfur] --the mandate of the AU troops ends in September ? we're not very far away?
SG: I just came here –from speaking to leaders of the AU in the plenary hall –where I raised the issue with the leaders, indicating that they do require flexibility beyond September, and that the resources that are being raised to support the African Union should at least be extended through December. President Bashir has said what you've indicated, but you know, in the world of politics things change. We hear 'never,' 'forever' and yet it does come around, and so I'm still expecting that, in time, there will be a UN peacekeeping force deployed to Darfur.
Q: Brinkmanship, or what?
SG: I'm not sure if it's brinkmanship. You are dealing with a leader who may have genuine difficulties and genuine reasons for the position he has taken, and it is my responsibility to explain to him why they will need the assistance of the international community, and I think we had a constructive conversation this morning and we're going to build on that.
Q: Pouvez-vous repeter votre réponse en français ?
SG : Je viens de dire que, effectivement, la décision prise par le conseil de sécurité et la paix [de l'Union africaine] dit qu'ils doivent retirer les troupes au mois de septembre. Mais, j'ai demandé une certaine fléxibilité parce que je crois qu'on aura besoin des troupes africaines jusqu'à fin décembre. Les Nations unies sont en train de préparer le déployement des troupes onusiennes pour prendre la relève.
Je sais ce que le Président Bashir a dit, mais nous avons eu une très bonne discussion ce matin. J'estime que nous allons trouver une solution pour le déployement des troupes onusiennes.
Q : Vous avez rencontré le Président Laurent Gbagbo et vous allez à Abidjan jeudi. Est-ce que le calendrier éléctoral pourra etre respecté ?
SG : On fera le maximum. Evidemment, le désarmement et le processus d'identification sont un peu retardés. Mais, on va continuer la pression. Evidemment, il serait préférable d'organiser ces élections fin octobre, mais si, pour des raisons techniques, il faut faire un ajustement, j'espère que ça sera un ajustement très très court. Il faut avoir ces éléctions fin octobre, et définitivement cette année, parce qu'on ne peut pas soutenir la situation telle qu' elle est.
J'aurai l'occasion de discuter de ça avec les acteurs politique ivoiriens et ma propre équipe sur le terrain. Mais, on préfere garder le calendrier. Si on doit faire un ajustement, je verrai ça sur place.
Q: Could you please repeat your answer in English?
SG: The question was, “Are we going to have the elections in Ivory Coast at the end of October?” I said that we would want to maintain that calendar. We want to hold the elections at the end of October. When I'm on the ground, in Abidjan, I will discuss the issue with all the political actors and my own team. But, for technical reasons, if there has to be any delay, I hope it will be a very, very brief one and there must be elections, in any event, by the end of the year.
Q: Is the United Nations considering the possibility of deploying troops in eastern Chad to stem the refugee crisis?
SG: I did also meet with President [Idriss] Deby here, and we did discuss the Chadian situation and the assessment mission that went to Darfur to look at possible UN deployment there also factored in the Chadian situation. Not in terms of putting troops along the border; as you know, the regional organization did put some observers around the border. It has not been as effective as one would have liked and it is one of the issues that we are considering, how best to help stabilize the situation and, above all, the situation in camps in Chad. We do not want to those camps to become resting places for fighters, we don't want them to become recruitment place for fighters, we don't want fighters to intimidate civilians and take away their food for the men in arms and, so, we are also looking at how we can secure the camps and protect the refugees in those camps as well.
Q: When you fly in to Liberia and Sierra Leone, what sort of extra support will you be bringing to those two countries?
SG: I think the United Nations is very much engaged in both countries. In both countries, we have men and women on the ground working with the governments on recovery and reconstruction and institution building. And, in Sierra Leone, helping train security forces and helping with the security sector reform. These are very urgent and important tasks that we intend to continue. As you may know, the Peacebuilding Commission, which was set up to help countries in transition, has selected Sierra Leone and Burundi as the first countries to focus its efforts on. I think this is good news for the two countries, because we are taking a medium to longer term view. In the past, we had tended to see elections as an exit strategy, but we have come to conclude that it does need medium to longer term commitment. Of course, we are all aware of what happened in East Timor recently and we don't want to repeat that in Sierra Leone, Liberia or any other country we are engaged in at the moment.
Thank you