(Press conference following meeting with Federal Chancellor Schuessel of Austria, Fuschl

SG: Thank you very much Mr. Chancellor. Let me on behalf of my wife and the team and the participants of the Dialogue Among Civilizations thank you and your government very much for providing this comfortable environment for our discussions. We are always happy to come back to Austria and as you say it is one of the homes of the United Nations. And I have also had a chance to discuss with you, in addition to the Dialogue among Civilizations, the situation in the Middle East, the Balkans and the financial situation of the UN and priorities for the next year as we move ahead. And I indicated to the Chancellor that as a result of the Millennium Summit last year the Member States have given us a very clear agenda and giving us a set of priorities to pursue and I believe the most pressing among them is poverty alleviation, the fight against HIV/AIDS and the protection of the environment for future generations. And of course, we are also going to press ahead with further development of international law, including the creation of the International Criminal Court. And I, like the Chancellor, enjoyed very much the discussions this morning on the Dialogue Among Civilizations. We had scholars and eminent persons from all over the world discussing whether today we are seeing an emergence of a global civilization based, in addition to all the civilizations and cultures and groups, that exist. I think everybody in the room said we should celebrate diversity and not be afraid of it. But in addition to that we are seeing an emergence of a global civilization or a set of values if you wish, shared generally by the world, a set of values that believes in the human rights of everybody - that people must have a say in decisions that concern them, that the will of the people must be respected, that the individual dignity and the rights of the person must be respected. And I think today when we listened to leaders around the world, nobody claims to govern under any other system but democracy. Everybody claims they are trying to build a society based on the rule of law and that they will respect the human rights of their citizens. And I think today no government or nation can systematically abuse the rights of its people and expect neighbors and others not to comment on it. So we have an emerging situation here which I think is very, very interesting. I will pause here and we will take your questions.

Q: (Translated from German) What were the topics of your bilateral discussions?

Federal Chancellor: The bilaterals were the situation of the United Nations, the financial situation of the United Nations, the problematic situation in the Middle East, the Balkans. We talked about human rights and strengthening the institutions for human rights i.e. in Europe or how to support the ambitions and the work of the United Nations, the next initiatives of the Secretary-General, the Conference on Racism in Durban, the Children's Summit which will start very soon in New York, by the way an old priority where Austria was always fully engaged because children are the poorest in the global society today. So I think a lot of problems but also chances were discussed and were very useful and fascinating talks. By the way we had an interesting coincidence that more or less at the same moment we had Helmut Kohl in Austria, we had the Yugoslav Foreign Minister Svilanovic here, we had the Acting EU President Louis Michel, the Belgian Vice Premier here in Austria, Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and important politicians from Russia and America, I think it's good to see that the dialogue is there, there is no alternative.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you are going to meet Rauf Denktash this afternoon. What do you expect, what do you wish?

SG: We would be discussing how we move the discussions on Cyprus forward. As you know we haven't met for some time and I would hope that at the discussions this afternoon we'll be able to explore how we move the process forward.

Q: Your wish?

SG: I think I've made my wish very clear that I would want to see a settlement of the Cyprus situation. But of course that's not going to be done today. He is coming alone and I hope not too far into the future I'll be able to continue my proximity talks with the two parties.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, Secretary of State Colin Powell has decided not to attend the Conference on Racism. How will that affect the success of the conference, and do you think the decision was made out of internal political business.

SG: Let me say that I think the Conference in Durban is going to be a very important conference. We are going to discuss an issue that touches every society and every country. No country is immune from racism and xenophobia. And the idea of bringing governments together to share experiences and come up with a declaration and a plan of action as to what can be done to fight racism I think is a laudable initiative. And I hope all governments will participate and at the highest level possible. Having said that, I think it is also clear that the decision to participate or not to participate and whom to send is a sovereign right of each country. I hope the US will participate and that they will come and sit with other governments to move the process forward, to fight for their common ground and to get the right language. I am going to South Africa this afternoon and I am looking forward to a successful conference.

Q: As to the reasons of this decision?

SG: That is a sovereign decision and discussions that I am not privy to and I prefer not to be drawn. *****