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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE BY KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL 

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday,
30
December, 2004

  [This page
will be  updated
daily
until the briefing resumes on Tuesday, 4 January, 2005.]

OPENING
REMARKS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

• Let me thank you for coming. This is a difficult period for all of
  us. 

• I returned to
  New York
  yesterday, to join in this effort, to lead the UN effort on the tsunami
  disaster. First of all let me say that my thoughts and prayers are with the
  people of the region, and with those in many other countries who have lost
  loved ones. As the death toll mounts, and we continue to search for the
  missing, we should also not forget the survivors, especially the poor, and
  the many millions of  vulnerable [people] in that region. 

• I have also had the chance to speak to all the leaders of the countries
  affected, not only to offer my condolences, but also to see how the UN and
  the international community can work with them, and to stress the need for
  effective coordination of national, regional and international efforts.
   

• This is an unprecedented, global catastrophe and it requires an
  unprecedented, global response. Over the past few days, it has registered
  deeply in the consciousness and conscience of the world, as we seek to grasp
  the speed, the force and magnitude with which it happened. 
   
• But we must also remain committed for the longer term. We know that the
  impact will be felt for a long time to come. 

• The latest figures speak for themselves: at least 115,000 are dead in the
  region; half a million injured; one million displaced; and at least five
  million in need of immediate assistance. 

• We have had a good response. As of today, a total of half a billion
  dollars in assistance has been pledged or received, as well as contributions
  in kind. More than 30 countries have stepped forward to help, as have
  millions of individuals from around the world. 

• As Jan Egeland has told you over the past few days, and I repeated
  earlier, coordination of the response is now absolutely essential. How well
  the international community and the affected countries work together now
  will determine how well we will deal with all aspects of the disaster --
  both in the immediate and the longer term. 

• This morning, I met with the heads of UN agencies and those within the
  Inter-Agency Standing Committee on humanitarian relief. I also met with the
  newly formed with the newly formed Core Group, consisting of Australia, India,
  Japan and the
  United States; and my last meeting this morning was with the Permanent Representatives of
  the 12 countries most affected. This afternoon, after I leave you, I will be
  meeting with the European Union, following up on our efforts to
  assist. 

• Above all, I would like to assure the people of the region that the entire
  United Nations family stands ready to assist, and we stand behind them. We
  will work with them in every way we can to rebuild their lives, livelihoods
  and communities devastated by this catastrophe. I will now take a few
  questions. 

SUMMARY
OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Asked about the
Core Group’s work, the Secretary-General said that the Core Group will support
the UN effort, and he expected that the Group would grow, and would work with
the UN and support its efforts.

“We’re going
to make it a truly international effort,” he said, involving not just
short-term aid but also longer-term recovery. The Secretary-General said he
spoke to US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday and this morning.

The Core Group and
the UN will deal together with issues such as logistics and the movement of
assets to the region, he added, including the moving of assets to the region.
The idea, he said, is to use Bangkok as a hub
to move goods forward; other countries are also offering areas for the movement
of goods.

Asked whether the
aid effort is straining the United Nations, the Secretary-General said the UN is
working with the Red Cross and Red Crescent and with Governments. But he
conceded, “We’re going to be stretched,” in terms of manpower, resources,
and commitments.

Asked whether he
was satisfied by the assistance provided by wealthier nations, the
Secretary-General said that, in this particular instance, the response has been
very good. Governments have not only provided cash but also given in-kind
contributions and assets, including the provision of planes in the region. “I
am satisfied with the response so far,” he said, but added that “we need to
be in this for the long haul.”

Asked about the
magnitude of the crisis, the Secretary-General said that it was agreed that it
was so huge that no one agency or country could handle it alone, and that they
would have to pool their efforts over the long term.

Asked about the
Italian Prime Minister’s call for a G-8 summit on dealing with the disaster,
the Secretary-General said the United Nations would make a flash appeal to all
Governments on 6 January, and there would be a second pledging conference on 11
January.

The appeal, he
said, would not be limited to any group of countries. He said that half of the
$500 million provided so far had come from the World Bank.

Asked about how
much the UN flash appeal would cost, Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland
said the figure has not yet been calculated.

The total damage,
Egeland said, is in “the billions and billions of dollars.” In response to
another question, Egeland said that many of the contributors of funds were
Islamic countries, and he also pointed to contributions from Eastern Europe, Latin
America , the Middle
East and Asia.

Asked where he
stands on whether there should be a debt moratorium for the countries affected,
the Secretary-General said that is an issue that he expects would be discussed
over time.

Asked about his
comments earlier this month that this has been a “horrible year,” the
Secretary-General said he could not have expected the tragedy that has occurred.

He said that he
has been on the line with world leaders on the response to the crisis ever since
the disaster struck.

The
Secretary-General said that the United Nations has an important role to play,
and is going to play a lead role in dealing with the crisis, for which it will
need contributions from major donors which will need to be sustained.

Asked why he
waited three days to return to New York, the Secretary-General said he acted
immediately, and did not have to be physically in New
York to act. He came back when he did, the
Secretary-General added, because he wanted to hold the meetings that took place
today in New York.

Asked about the UN
being used as a political football, the Secretary-General said that the United
Nations is focusing on the huge task before it. He added that, as long as we
focus on our work effectively and work with our partners and coordinate effort,
any parties who are “determined to play football with us” can also join in
the constructive work.

Asked whether the
UN should have been in the lead role in pooling countries together, the
Secretary-General said he applauded what the US Government and President Bush
had done to bring countries together.

He said that the
urgent need is assistance to the people: shelter, food, water, health. When we
overwhelm them with high-profile visitors, he warned, we could detract from the
work that is being done. “Visit the region, but at the right time,” he said.

Asked how the
death toll is calculated, the Secretary-General said some of the information
comes from the Governments and agencies on the ground. As the sea washes bodies
back to the shore, “you find additional horrors,” he said. It’s quite
possible, he said, that the figures being provided now may change, as has
happened in other disasters. Jan Egeland said the UN was relying on local
sources for reports on death tolls, and noted that are many fishing boats and
coastal communities that we will never hear about.

Asked about the
response to the earthquake in Bam, Iran , and
disasters in Africa, where much of the money pledged has not materialized, the
Secretary-General acknowledged that some of the money pledged for Iran
was not disbursed, and he hoped that the international
community would follow through on its commitments this time.

He noted that the
tsunami affected African countries, with Somalia
being one of the affected countries whose ambassadors
met with him today.

Asked about next
month’s conference on disaster reduction, the Secretary-General said the
question of why there was no early-warning system in the Indian
Ocean would be on the agenda. There needs to be
early warning and planning to deal with disasters, as is in place in Japan.

He added that, at
the moment, he does not plan to attend the conference.

Asked about early
warning, he said that all agreed it could have mitigated the disaster and saved
some people’s lives. 

Asked about
development funds, the Secretary-General said that he would want governments to
respond to emergencies by making additional resources available, rather than
taking those funds from resources for development.

He said he would
want to see Governments respond to this crisis without depleting resources for
development accounts. He noted that, to meet the Millennium Development Goals,
we would need an additional $50 billion a year.

He added that the
current situation is an opportunity for the developed world to work with
developing countries, to ensure that, in the long run, these situations do not
fester and people who have lost everything can rebuild their lives.

Asked about the
tsunami’s effect on the war on terror, and whether donor money could go into
“the wrong pockets,” the Secretary-General said there should be an effort to
ensure that the money goes to those who actually need it. He said he did not
think the response to the tsunami would detract from concerns about terrorism,
which is not a problem that is going to go away soon.

Asked about
comments that everything that can be done is not enough, the Secretary-General
said that it is conceivable that one may not be able to fulfill every
conceivable need of every community that has been destroyed. But we could not
forgive ourselves for not even trying, since “our common humanity demands
it”.

“If we fall
short, we can be satisfied that we did everything possible,” the
Secretary-General said.

Asked about the
detailed logistical problems, Jan Egeland said the main problems are in northern
Sumatraand Aceh in Indonesia.

He said that 50
trucks of relief supplies will have arrived in Aceh today; tomorrow, eight
airplanes will arrive. He said he had spoken with the United States about
provision of assets on their side to set up an air freight handling center in
Aceh.

Aceh, he said,
received the full blast of the disaster, since it was hit both by the initial
earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. He said that there were some 40,000
people reported dead in the Acehnese town of Modoc.

Asked about the
rise of diseases, Egeland said there were indications that diarrhea was on the
rise, with the possibility that more children may day from diarrhea and malaria
in the days to come than from the tsunami itself. As for cholera, he said that
the international community was increasingly able to deal with that disease.

He noted, in
response to another question, the appeal by the WHO for $130 million to deal
with disease in India, Sri Lanka and
the Maldives.

Egeland noted
that, at an earlier press conference, he was not satisfied by the contributions
coming from richer countries to deal with crises, saying that it is his job to
be an advocate for the poorer countries. He said he would welcome a discussion
of increased aid to developing countries.

Asked how many
victims were children, Egeland said an estimated one-third of all casualties
were children.

On Sudan

The
Secretary-General said that, if an agreement is concluded and signed on Friday,
it will have a positive impact on the country. He expected that the signing of
the agreement could lead to a national conference and national dialogue. Some of
the solutions that were found for a North-South agreement could affect the
situation in Darfur and could affect a
resolution of the Darfur crisis,
he added.

On the
Middle East

Asked whether Special Adviser
Lakhdar Brahimi’s views do not reflect the Secretary-General’s, the
Secretary-General voiced his respect for Brahimi’s work, and said that Brahimi
has sometimes expressed his own views. The Secretary-General gave his position
on Brahimi’s recent comments in a statement a few weeks ago, to which, he
said, he has nothing to add.

U.N. AGENCIES CONTINUE TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS

• To address the immediate public health needs and
  respond to the catastrophe,
  the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates
  that it will need $40 million.

• WHO has already dispatched to the region 33 Emergency
  Health Kits, which provide basic medicines and equipment to more than
  330,000 people for three months.

• The agency’s priority is to ensure that essential
  medicines, rehydration salts, intravenous fluids and other vital items are
  available wherever needed.

• Meanwhile, the World Food
  Programme (WFP) has started food distributions to almost 500 families in
  the town of Hafun, on the northern coast of Somalia, using two trucks.

• In the nearby town of Foar, an additional 100 families received food aid. WFP estimates that
  between 30,000 and 50,000 people were struck by the disaster and in need of
  immediate assistance in
  Somalia. 

• In Sri Lanka, WFP has distributed aid to 100,000 people. Food
  deliveries to Aceh,
  Indonesia, start on Friday.

• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
  has earmarked
  $1 million to respond to immediate needs identified by the region’s
  governments.

• UNEP is also mobilizing its
  remote sensing and Geographic Information System capacities, in
  collaboration with other UN agencies, to help identify and alleviate
  environmental impacts, and make relevant
  information available to relief efforts.

• The
  priority of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
  is to enable pregnant women to deliver safely. The Fund is providing hygiene
  kits – including soap, washcloths and sanitary napkins – for tens of
  thousands of women and their families.  Other
  UNFPA priorities include emergency obstetric care and the establishment of
  temporary health facilities.

• Meanwhile, the UN
  Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is extending
  existing programmes that study and monitor tsunamis and earthquakes, and
  teaching people how to prepare for, and cope with, such disasters. UNESCO
  also plans to provide psychological support to traumatized children.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N.
PEACEKEEPER DEPLOYMENT IN

HAITI
ALMOST
COMPLETE: The UN
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) reports
that the authorized military force for the Mission
is nearly complete, with 6,009 out of an expected 6,700 soldiers already
deployed throughout the country. MINUSTAH says that the security situation in

U.N. ENVOY CALLS FOR
HALT TO AIR VIOLATIONS OF BLUE LINE: The Secretary-General’s Personal
Representative for Southern
Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, noted with regret that Israeli aerial
violations of the Blue Line continue to occur, with a large number of
overflights witnessed on Wednesday. A total of 9 air violations, involving 20
jets were recorded. De Mistura’s office expressed its deep concern over the
numerous Israeli air violations of the Blue Line, and reiterated the call on the
Israeli authorities to halt these violations of the Blue Line. It reminded all
parties that one violation cannot justify another.

AMMUNITION SURVEY
BEGINS IN TWO AFGHAN CITIES: The UN
Mission in Afghanistan said that an ammunition survey has begun in the
Afghan cities of Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat. The Mission
says that an extensive ammunition survey will take place throughout the
country, to determine where current ammunition stockpiles exist and whether
usable ammunition needs to be transported to a safe and secure area.

ANNAN SAYS CENTRAL
AFRICAN
REPUBLIC
IS IMPROVING: The Secretary-General,
in a report
to the Security Council, said that the
general situation in the Central African Republic is gradually improving, in spite of well-known shortcomings in governance and
human rights. He called upon the parties in the country to work to bring about a
tranquil political environment by reaffirming their commitment to the process
that will sanction the elections at the beginning of 2005.

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