Secretary-General's Press Conference with Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson (unofficial transcript)

Prime Minister: Mr. Secretary-General, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Afternoon. Welcome to this press conference. We have had informal talks with Secretary-General Kofi Annan but before the talks of substance, of course, I congratulated him, the Secretary-General and the United Nations being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And also thanked him for inspiring leadership and having given new authority to the United Nations. And there is firm support in the Swedish society for the United Nations and of course for the Secretary-General Kofi Annan. We discussed the situation in the Middle East. I am sorry to say, we always do, and not least, the necessity of bringing both sides back to the negotiating table. And having said that demands of course also two problems: a Palestinian Authority that is well functioning and that is also to say that we express support for Chairman Arafat and ask him to take the necessary steps to stop the extremists who committed the suicide deeds a couple of weeks ago and the organizations behind. There is no other solution but a political solution for the Middle East, and therefore there is a necessity to go back to the negotiating table.

We also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, and we expressed from our side our thanks for what the UN has done so far, and not least what Mr. Brahimi has done in his way of leading the discussions in Bonn a week ago. And now we are looking forward to the next phase with the also extremely important from Sweden's side, mainly of course contribution to humanitarian assistance and aid. And as you may be aware, we have been in Afghanistan for many, many years, and we have roughly anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 Afghans on the Swedish payroll, mainly teachers and nurses, and we will continue to give the UN the best assistance we can.

After Afghanistan we also discussed the fight against terrorism. You know we are concerned about the sanctions, not least having Swedish citizens on the sanction list. We discussed that situation and the Secretary-General himself can elaborate more about that discussion later. Then of course we also discussed the incoming (sic) extremely important summits in Monterey and Johannesburg. So we have a new start for a dialogue between South and North is necessary and also taking into account the incoming (sic) summit in Lachen tomorrow and the day after where for the first time in the European Union we will be able to unite about the target for development aid to 0.7% of GDP. That is a clear signal from the European Union we intend through different types of activities to give support to the extremely important summits in both Mexico and South Africa. I will myself, together with President Cardozo of Brazil and President Mbeki of South Africa [on] the 5th of June [do] a video conference 30 years after the Stockholm summit on the environment and 10 years after the Rio summit and the same year we are going for the Johannesburg summit. Perhaps we will also take other initiatives together to support the UN in this endeavor, to make Johannesburg a new start for the dialogue between South and North. That is mainly what we have discussed. Once more, Mr. Secretary-General, my heartfelt congratulations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Welcome to Stockholm! Thank you.

Secretary-General: Thank you very much Mr. Prime Minister. Ladies and Gentlemen, as you should [know], I'm extremely happy to be here in Stockholm. And, indeed, the UN and I are extremely honoured by the award conferred on us. It is of great importance, both symbolic and in practical terms. And I hope it will help us in our work and it will give us an added voice as we plead for the poor and voiceless.

The Prime Minister has given you an indication of what we discussed. The only thing I would want to add is that we also agreed that these conferences -- the Financing for Development Conference and the Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg -- must yield concrete results. They should really have meaning in the lives of the people, the poor in the developing world, and make it possible for them to begin to build their lives.

And as I said in Oslo two days ago, the real division in the world today is not really between nations, it's between rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless, the fettered and the free, and this is where we can make a difference. And I believe that the attacks of 11 September have also driven home that point - that we live in a single world, in one planet, and what happens in one part of the world can have an impact elsewhere. And I hope that this message will propel us to do whatever we can to bridge the differences between nations and within nations.

We'll take your questions now.

Question: [inaudible]

Secretary-General: Approve it too fast? I think first of all let me say that the Security Council following its resolution 1373, established a committee to follow-up. The list was a list provided by the American Government, which the Council has shared with the Member States. I know there are some questions about some aspects of the list, which Member States are discussing with the Council members and amongst themselves, and I think it is natural. And I would hope that as we move forward effective clarifications will be given. Let me also add that this resolution - 1373 - is a unique one. Normally the Council passes resolutions dealing with specific countries, whether it's Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan. This is a historic one in the sense that it's the first Security Council resolution under Chapter VII which applies to all 189 Member States. So in a way we are all learning how to manage this sort of a new situation. So it is normal that there will be questions and I hope there will be effective clarifications as we move forward.

Question: [inaudible]

Secretary-General: As I said, questions and clarifications are being sought and they are preparing to get into some of the details. I know that your government is seeking clarifications. The Ambassador is in touch with the Security Council which is managing this process and as we move forward into the future, I am sure that necessary clarifications, explanations and adjustments will be made.

Question: Mr. Secretary-General, do you think Sweden should take part in a multi-national force in Afghanistan?

Secretary-General: It's a big question. It's a question that the government and the people of Sweden will have to determine. I expect the Security Council to provide a mandate for the force in the next couple of days, before the end of this week, latest early next week, and I know that most governments tend to want to wait for the mandate of the Council to determine whether they should participate or not. We are all determined to do whatever we can to build a stable Afghanistan, an Afghanistan where citizens can live their lives in normalcy. And whatever countries can do to help - activities are wide: from humanitarian to multinational force, to reconstruction and rehabilitation and assistance to the new government in developing and building-up a new administration. So we are going to need a range of expertise and support and I would hope that as many governments as possible, including Sweden, will support us in any way they can.

Question: Why can't the multinational force be led by the United Nations?

Secretary-General: As you know, we don't have a force. The way UN Blue-Helmets are put on the ground is rather time-consuming. In fact, we often wait for the mandate to be approved and then approach individual governments to give us troops. And it takes about 3 to 5 months to put them on the ground, and in situations where it is urgent and some governments with capacity are prepared to go in quickly, it is faster to let them do it because the rapidity of deployment has an impact on the problem you are dealing with. You may be able to contain it sometimes or nip it in the bud. For the essence of speed and the urgency I think a multinational force will get in much faster than the UN force and this is why we opted for that option and I hope down the line an Afghan police force and others will be trained to take over.

Question: [inaudible]

Secretary-General: My position on that has been clear. I don't think it will be wise and I should not advise it. How the Council will react will be up to the Council.

Question: [inaudible]

Secretary-General: Well, I think the Council resolution 1373 focused, indicated - obviously we need to cooperate to fight terrorism but the only statement it made was that perpetrators of the 11 September attack should be brought to justice. So far all the indications and evidence we have is that they are in Afghanistan and that is where this military effort has concentrated and at this stage I have no evidence or any reason to support the position that the war should be carried on into other areas. If there is other evidence, I don't have it

Question: [inaudible]

Secretary-General: Let me say that we obtained a peace monument, and in fact we had several aborted competitions and I think we are getting close to approving one so that the peace monument will be set up in the UN garden in New York. As for the current one, there are two parts to the award. And my idea is that we should pool it together, both my half and that of the UN proper and do one single project. We have quite a few ideas that we are looking at, and I hope to be able to settle it with the Member States and then set up a project fairly quickly. I can assure you we'll put it to very good use.

Question: [inaudible]

Secretary-General: It's not excluded. It could be humanitarian, it could be a lecture series discussing issues on the horizon which are of great importance. It could be something to help children whose parents have been lost in peacekeeping operations. There's a whole range of ideas we're looking at.

Question: [inaudible]

Secretary-General: I don't have a number because it is not a UN operation. The planning is not being done by us and the indications are that the British would accept to be the lead-nation, and therefore would be in the lead on the planning and I would need to have further discussions with them to be able to give you a number. On the question of who else is going to join the force, lots of countries have been mentioned but there are intense discussions going on and I would much rather wait for the governments to announce it themselves rather than for me to volunteer them at a press conference in Stockholm.*****