Secretary-General's press encounter at the Security Council stakeout following presentation of the Independent Inquiry Committee report.

Q: I have two questions, Mr.Secretary-General, first of all, are you still comfortable that $34 million of Iraqi money, Iraqi people's money, have been spent on a report that really speaks about UN reform and corruption in the United Nations. Are you comfortable with that? And secondly, what do you say to people who say now, after this report, your wings have been clipped and you can not function really well as a Secretary-General?

SG: I think on your first question, we all agreed that it was important to get to the bottom of this and we all wanted to know the truth. And I think what we did, and the work that the Volcker Committee did, was worth the expenditure and I think getting to the truth and spending some money to get to the truth is always worthwhile. As far as I'm concerned, as far as my own position is concerned, you've heard what we've discussed. I have work to do and we're going to continue with our work.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, how do you feel after eighteen months you've been dogged by these reports? Do you feel a sense of finality? And you talked in your speech about the need for reform - first, the personal aspect and then the reform.

SG: This has dragged on for quite a bit. Obviously, when we set up the Committee, we had expected the work to be done much faster. In fact, initially, we asked for the first report in three months and obviously it has taken eighteen months and we are coming to the end. There will be another report next month dealing with the companies and then that will be the end of the road. But, of course, we need to take steps against those who have been found [responsible for] any wrongdoing. We need to ensure that the lessons are learned and we move ahead and strengthen the Organization to be able to play the role that is so essential to it to play.

Q: After all is said and done about this report, this report is not going to bring back thousands upon thousands of Iraqi children who died under the sanctions. Do you think the Iraqi people [are] owed an apology by the Secretariat, the Security Council, among others?

SG: It was unfortunate that certainly Iraqi citizens suffered, and in fact, the whole idea of the Oil for Food scheme was to assist them, to ensure that their daily needs are fulfilled, they get the necessary food and medication. And I think we also heard Mr. [Paul] Volcker and the Committee admitting that the programme did achieve its objective. Despite the lapses, the corruption and the weaknesses, the objectives were achieved. And I think we should look at it in that broader context.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, first, could you comment on the very serious criticism of both your management and also of Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette's and the call for an urgent new Chief Operating Officer? Is this going to entail any resignations? Would you support a new Chief Operating Officer under yourself?

SG: Let me first say that you need to put all the report and the criticism and the comments in context. I think it is all done in a much broader context and you heard me say in there that, for the weaknesses in the administration, as Chief Admin[inistrative] Officer, I do take responsibility. On the question of Chief Operating Officer, I think the report made it clear that, given the growth and the size of the Organization, we do need somebody to be Chief Operating Officer. This is an issue for the Member States to discuss as part of the reform proposals and it is something that I will be discussing with them.

Q: Any resignations?

SG: I don't anticipate anyone to resign. We are carrying on with our work.

Q: Can you comment on criticisms of your son and have you spoken with him about the findings of this report?

SG: I think the report speaks for itself and he will have to speak for himself.

Q: Is there a legal recourse that the United Nations can seek against someone who falsely claims diplomatic protection, as is alleged against your son?

SG: I think that is something for the law enforcement people to look into it.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, the word accountability was mentioned by many speakers, including yourself, do you think that that includes accountability at the top? Doesn't the buck stop with you and don't you have to be accountable for this report that accuses the top management of very serious allegations?

SG: I know there are some who believe that the UN is like a corporation and the Secretary-General is the CEO and has all the decision-making authority and should be responsible for decisions. I have accepted responsibility for those aspects of the programme and the administration under my authority. But you also heard that certain responsibility centres and decisions centres were so dispersed. You heard the discussion going on there and, in fact, to put it that simply and put it in simplistic terms, this happened despite the complexity and the role of others, “Mr. Secretary-General, the buck stops with you”. As one Council member said, “We never passed the buck to the Secretary-General, we wanted to control that programme”.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, Mr. Volcker made it clear that the failure was broadly shared among various UN organs, including the UN member states and the Security Council. Do you feel that that helps vindicate your role, and role perhaps of the Secretariat, in terms of responsibility for this programme?

SG: I think I would like to look at it as an institution - as an institution, we did fail. As an institution, we have lessons to learn. As an institution, we need to take steps to strengthen our management, our decision-making processes, our oversight and I would much rather work with the Member States for us to do that, rather than, as I said they should not point fingers at us and we should not point fingers at them. We should focus on the need of strengthening this system. A lot went wrong and I think we all accept that.

Q: Secretary-General, how concerned are you that, at this moment, where it seems the UN is need of more reform than ever, the discussions among Member States suggest that these reforms may well get watered down if they get anywhere at all?

SG: I hope they don't get watered down to the point where they become meaningless. I think serious discussions and negotiations are going on and I'm still hopeful that we will have a document. I think some delegations have been engaged in tactical blocks. We are getting to the wire and I would expect more give and take between the next 24/48 hours for us to be able to have a competent document to place before the Heads of State and Government.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you say in your speech, “who among us can claim that the UN is not in serious need of reform”, but with all due respect, can anyone really claim that they were not aware of the problems that are spelled out in this report? And $35 million later, are you personally, truly surprised by any of the findings that you are seeing here?

SG: I think what is important here is, as we all discussed, this is the first time the Organization has been put through such scrutiny and they have come up with certain recommendations which I hope is going to help all of us in our efforts to reform the Organization. I think there seems to be lots of emphasis on the amount of money that the investigation cost, but I think we should focus on the importance of the investigation and what the exercise was all about. And I think, from that point of view, it has achieved its purpose and I could see the seriousness with which all of us and the Member States are taking it. And I also expect it will help propel us forward with all the reform discussions that are going on. Thank-you.

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