Secretary-General's press conference (unofficial transcript prepared by the Swedish Foreign Ministry)
Press events | Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General
The death of colleagues and friends is always hard to bear, but when you lose so many of them, so many who were in Iraq only to help - including Sergio de Mello, who has really served all over the world and made a major contribution to the international community. My colleagues in Iraq were working day and night to help the people of Iraq regain control of their own destiny, to help them build a better future, a future of peace, of justice and full independence.
Now they have given their lives to the cause of peace. There are many other United Nations officials who remain in Iraq and we will continue our work. We should not be distracted nor deterred by this senseless and brutal act of violence. Those who killed our colleagues have committed a crime, a crime not only against the United Nations but against Iraq itself.
I'm now going back to UN headquarters to continue the work that Sergio and the team in Iraq have begun. The least we owe them is to ensure that their deaths have not been in vain. We shall continue. I will now take your questions.
Q: I would like to ask you if the security measures will be stronger in the future for the offices of the UN in the world?
SG: That is definitely one issue that we are going to look at very critically. That process has already begun. We are reassessing our security arrangements in Iraq and of course we will look at the arrangements in other parts of the world. We have been in Iraq for over twelve years and we have never been attacked. This is the first attack of this kind that we have had on UN facilities and officials.
Q: Who would you say is responsible for the security?
SG: I think security is obviously one [issue] in Iraq in the situation that is seen now. The occupying power is responsible for law and order and security of the country. But when you have this kind of terrorist attacks, you never know where it is going to come from and I'm not sure if one can entirely protect against it. But in the broader sense, to secure the environment is the responsibility of the Coalition.
Q: Sir, what sort of positive news do you see for Iraq in the future, if any at all?
SG: I think the positive news for Iraq is that we, the international
community, must accept the stability of Iraq, the pacification of Iraq. Helping Iraq return to normalcy is a responsibility of all of us. An Iraq that is at peace, at peace with itself and its neighbours, is in the interest of the region and the world and we must work for that.
Q: Are you pulling back any staff because of what happened in Baghdad?
SG: We do not intend to do that. We are assessing the situation and, as I indicated, we will persevere. We have work to do. I'm going back to New York and [inaudible] will make a very comprehensive assessment of our presence, security arrangements and what needs to be done.
Q: What message do you think they try to send to you? I mean, you are there to help.
SG: We are there to help, but obviously there may be people who are not interested in that kind of help. There may be people who are determined to destabilize the situation, there may be people who are anxious to see the UN and others leave Iraq. It is very difficult to say what exactly [is] the message they are trying to send. But we believe that most Iraqis, most sensible and normal Iraqis, would want to see their country stabilized. They have been cooperating with the UN and the international community and I hope that they will continue to do so.
Q: Will it be easier to work with the United States after this? Will they give you more power?
SG: Well, I don't know if it's a question of the United States giving us more power. Our power comes from the Security Council, our authority comes from the Security Council. Obviously we are sharing time and space and the territory with the occupying power, the US and the allied troops, the coalition troops. But we will carry out the mandate that has been given to us by the Council. This afternoon I will meet with the Council in New York for us to reassess the situation and talk about what has happened in Iraq. But the main message is that we will persevere, we will continue our work. It's essential work and we are not going to be intimidated.
Q: How much of the authority given to you by the Security Council have you been able to implement? Are you happy with the state of affairs in Iraq, with the way the country is being [inaudible] by the occupying coalition forces?
SG: I think Sergio [Vieira] de Mello and the team have done an admirable work. They have used the mandate given to them by the Security Council very effectively and they have made a difference. They have made a difference in terms of their cooperation with the coalition and with the Iraqi population and the Iraqi Governing Council. Sergio is going to be a loss.
As to the situation in Iraq, we are all aware of the security environment. We had hoped that by now the coalition forces would have secured the environment for us to be able to carry on the essential work of political and economic reconstruction, institution building and for Iraqis to carry on with their work. That has not happened and all efforts are being made to bring the security situation under control. When this will happen I do not know, but
serious efforts are taking place.
Q: Mr Secretary-General, the United States claims that it offered to beef up security at the UN compound. Is that right and why was that offer turned down?
SG: I am not aware of those details, I'm not aware of it.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, what is your comment on the appeal from the occupying states, among others Denmark, to those countries not engaged in Iraq to send soldiers there now, among others Germany, France and others?
SG: I know that that discussion has been going on for a while and as you know, India [inaudible] several countries in Asia. Many of them have indicated that they will be prepared to cooperate if there was a broader United Nations mandate. There are discussions going on. Whether there will be a second, broader mandate internationalizing the operations in Iraq is something that the next few months will make clear.
But there is a debate going on and what I believe is that the pacification and stabilization of Iraq is so important that all those who have capacity to help should help. But of course the conditions must be created for them to provide that help.
Q: We have an explosion in Jerusalem as well. What do these two [inaudible] say about the cause for world peace and the US-led war on terror?
SG: Obviously I am as disturbed about what happened in Jerusalem as I am about the situation in Baghdad yesterday and I'm not forgetting the innocent lives that were taken yesterday in Jerusalem. I think it is equally unnecessary and an unpardonable act of violence. But of course this means that we do have real hard work ahead of us in trying to make this world of ours peaceful and safe for many innocent civilians, men, women and children.
Q: One question on Iraq. How organized is this violence against the United Nations or Americans or infrastructural places?
SG: It's difficult to say. There are those who believe that this is a limited effort by a small group of people trying to undermine the work of the coalition. Others have described it as a guerrilla war. Obviously it seems to be much more organized and much deeper than one thought at the beginning. I think we all need to be vigilant and we all need to take steps to protect our staff and those who are in Iraq to help.
Q: Secretary-General, are you going to summon the Security Council[inaudible] to discuss all the measures against such atrocities?
SG: I will be meeting the Security Council this afternoon and we will take it from there.
Q: Is there any new information who might be behind the attack yesterday?
SG: It's too early. I have no information. Obviously we are also very interested. I hope whoever was responsible and those responsible will be brought to account.
Q: But you talk about that it was organized yesterday. That means that you actually think that there are people coming from the big organizations outside into Iraq?
SG: No, I haven't said that. Those who are organizing it obviously are in Iraq. They could be Iraqi, they could be anybody. I have no information
to indicate that they were outsiders or they were Iraqis.
Q: The Americans are talking about al-Qaida fighters now in Iraq. Do you fear a resurgence in our time?
SG: I have no specific intelligence or information to that effect.
Q: Could it be that the UN yesterday paid a price for its approval of the Iraqi Governing Council?
SG: I wouldn't put it that way. I think in fact the Security Council stated that the establishment of the Iraqi Governing Council is a step in the right direction, a step in the right direction of establishing a permanent Iraqi government, a government [inaudible], a government of the people, by the people, for the people. I think this is something that the Iraqis should see as being in their interest. If those who attacked the UN officials attacked it because UN is working for that objective, then I do not know what they think they are doing and if they really believe they are serving the interest of the Iraqi people. I have had [inaudible] some Iraqi leaders and they definitely do not think that these people are working for them. I do not know who they are and I don't know what their causes are and which God they pray to, but what they did yesterday will not serve their cause nor their goal. Thank you very much.
Q: How do you, Mr Annan, look upon the fact that the United States didn't have a plan for reconstructing the society in Iraq and now the United Nations have to do [inaudible] the work?
SG: Let me say that post conflict nation-building is an extremely difficult and complex process. It differs from country to country and the situation in Iraq is particularly difficult. By the implication in your question, a better planning would have made a lot of difference and I think you are right that these situations require serious [inaudible] planning and all the efforts are going on of course. Some mistakes may have been made, some wrong assumptions may have been made, but that does not excuse nor justify the kind of senseless violence that we are seeing in Iraq today. Most Iraqi people would want to get on with their lives. They have suffered for far too long, not to be given a chance to rebuild their lives and pick up the pieces. These extremists who are taking innocent civilians are not doing their nation or the people of Iraq any service.
One last question.
Q: Have you had contacts, communications with President [George W.] Bush since yesterday in any way?
SG: Yes, I have. I have spoken to him and many other Prime Ministers and Presidents on the phone, including Prime Minister [Goran] Persson, Prime Minister [Tony] Blair, President [Vicente] Fox. I have spoken to Foreign Minister [Igor] Ivanov yesterday. I have spoken to many, many people from the Middle East, from North America, Europe and around the world who have offered sympathy and their solidarity with the UN and have [inaudible] their faith in the national cooperation and solidarity. I think those who perpetrate their [inaudible] should realize that they have hardly any support around the world or amongst the Iraqi population and definitely not from the region. Thank you very much.