Press encounter following meeting with Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger and the Swiss Federal Council Delegation, (unofficial transcript)

SG: (in French) I feel at home in Switzerland from the moment I arrive. I have fond memories of Geneva, where I studied and met my wife. I have very deep affection for Switzerland. I also take the opportunity to thank the President and the Federal Council, including the Swiss people, for the support and cooperation they have given to the United Nations. Switzerland as a country, even though not a Member of the United Nations, plays a very important role in all our activities, from economics to humanitarian development, and even in the past has provided us with very good peacekeeping troops and helicopter pilots, who have worked with us in the Balkans. And I hope that this will continue into the future. I am also quite excited about the prospects that the population and people of Switzerland will be making a decision next year on their association and relationship with the UN. Obviously, this is a decision for the Swiss people but if the decision were to be yes, it would be welcome with open arms, not just by the Secretary-General but all 189 Member States are waiting to welcome them formally into the family of nations. You play an important role. You are the headquarters of many important UN organizations and we are all grateful for your support. And I hope in the not too distant future (inaudible). I would also like to thank the President for the warm welcome my wife and myself and my team have received. He referred to the publicity I made for the transportation, but also congratulate it for developing such an effective public transport system. As someone who is concerned about it, I think that public transportation effectively designed is the best way to protect our environment . Thank you very much.

Q: Some people say that the appointment of Adolf Ogi is like direct intervention in Swiss affairs. Nobody knows what his exact job will be.

SG: They could say it's direct intervention if I set him loose around the country to campaign for you to join the UN. But basically, let me say that I do appoint quite a lot of Special Envoys and Special Advisors. I have appointed a lot of ex-politicians to work with me and in fact and just at the time Mr. Ogi was appointed at the beginning of January this year, I had appointed quite a lot of politicians to give me advice on financing for development. And that group is going to be chaired by ex-President Zedillo of Mexico who, until December, was a President. We had had on the panel Jacques Delors and Bob Rubin, a former Treasury Secretary all working to give me advice so it's a normal thing for me to turn to experienced politicians and statesmen to give me advice. In asking Adolf Ogi to give me advice in the field of sports and peace and development, I have identified somebody who is comfortable in the field of sports, who also understands the political area and to be able to engage the sportspeople in peace and development. Ever since I became Secretary-General, I have recognized that there are many things that the UN cannot do alone. We need to work with foundations and get the message out and I think that Mr. Ogi has a role to play in that. His activities will be global, it's not going to be focused just on Switzerland.

Q: The Kyoto protocol seems to have foundered. What are your views on this? SG: I think the environment is a very important issue and next year we're going to have a big environmental conference ten years after the Rio Conference, to review what has been achieved, and Kyoto is one of the key issues here. And the US decision does indicate that we need to work harder to get the environmental standards adopted and approved by all. And I hope that the public at large and the NGOs will become as engaged as they were in the past with this campaign to review and to get Governments to commit to environmental protection as we move into the Conference next year. It is regrettable that all Governments have not signed as Switzerland and others have done, but the pressure and campaign to get Governments to sign will continue.

Q: (In French) What would be your personal reaction if the Swiss rejected membership?

SG: (In French) I would be very disappointed, but it would obviously be a choice that we would have to respect, but it would be truly disappointing. And it wouldn't just be Kofi Annan, the individual, who would be disappointed but the 189 Member nations, but it was finally up to the Swiss.

Q: Do you think about the danger that neutrality will be endangered of Switzerland joins the UN?

SG: I usually do not answer a question by posing a question, but neutrality vis-a-vis whom? In the days of the Cold War, this concept of neutrality, of not joining one bloc or the other, did have real political relevance. But today when one talks of neutrality what does it mean? We live in a global world, we live in an (inaudible) world where on many issues no one country, however powerful, can resolve them alone. And that we often need to come together to recognize our interdependence and common humanity to tackle some of the big issues of the day. And I think it important that every country has its say or is in the room when crucial issues are being discussed. Last September, you all saw for yourselves the biggest gathering of Heads of States and Governments at the United Nations. In this global world that kind of possibility and that kind of action are important, but neutrality in today's world I don't understand it. Independent action taken in a dispassionate way, yes, but ....

Q: Do you think that joining the UN would hurt Switzerland's ability to continue [its] humanitarian work?

SG: I think Switzerland has set an admirable humanitarian tradition and when you consider the Red Cross and the work you do with the High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF and all that, but I think that by joining the UN it will not impact negatively on the humanitarian efforts. I think, in fact, it will strengthen your capacity to work in tandem with others, strengthen your capacity to be in the room when decisions regarding humanitarian issues are discussed, perhaps even in time, give you a chance to serve on the Security Council and help take some of the decisions that affect you and others.

Q: A few years ago, there was lots discussed on Security Council reform. Is it still an issue?

SG: Reform is always an issue in any organization. Reform is a process, not an event, so it will be on-going. It is an on-going process. On your specific question on the Security Council, the discussions that you referred to two years ago are still going on amongst the Member States and they have not come to any conclusions. What I can say is that I believe that all the Member States agree that the Security Council is in need of reform, but beyond that they don't agree on the details. And I do hope that the discussions that are taking place among the members of the General Assembly would bear fruit in the next year or two because the discussions have gone for far too long. There is a sense that reform is needed, I hope we would find the creativity and the wisdom to come up with the concrete ideas on how we move forward.

Q: Sir, did you discuss the situation in the Middle East during meetings with the government?

SG: We did discuss the difficult political situation in the Middle East, the concern about the violence in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, the need to work with the parties to end the violence, ease the economic squeeze on the Palestinian people and get them to the negotiating table. These issues are all inter-related. Of course at the Arab Summit, there was quite a bit of anger from the Arab leadership and the Arab population as to what is happening to the Palestinians. We also discussed the issue of Iraq, where the leaders in Amman tried to first of all, bridge the differences between Kuwait and Iraq, and of course, there was general dissatisfaction of the long-standing UN sanctions against Iraq and its impact on the population. But I think there was also a sense that Iraq has to comply with UN resolutions to see where we go from here.

Q: Do you have any comments on the hostage situation in Somalia?

SG: First of all, let me offer my deepest sympathy to the families of those who are still in captivity. I have lots of admiration and courage for those colleagues of mine who go to difficult and distant places around the world to help the poor and the needy, and they do not deserve to be treated this way. On Tuesday, I saw the President of Somalia in Jordan, and I asked him to work with us. Some have been released and I hope the remaining four will be released unharmed and that all hostages will be returned unharmed. *****