HIGHLIGHTS OF
|
U.N.
SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON'S
PRESS CONFERENCE
UN HEADQUARTERS,
Wednesday, October
28, 2009
SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN
KI-MOON: "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a great pleasure to see
you again.
This is a sad day and a very difficult day for the United Nations.
As you know, militants attacked a UN guest house in Kabul early this morning.
At least 25 UN staff members were there, including 17 women and men of the UNDP
election team.
Five staff have been killed and nine wounded according to our latest
information.
I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families — and to our UN family.
I have just spoken to my Special Representative, Kai Eide, and conveyed my
deepest condolences. I really wanted to be with them on this very difficult and
sad day.
The UN team in Afghanistan has lost colleagues and friends. The world has lost
women and men committed to the values of peace, dignity and respect for all.
I condemn this shocking and shameless act, and the terrorists who committed this
crime. It is unjustifiable by any standard.
If anything, this incident should remind us how tough our job is. Our people
work, often selflessly, in the most dangerous places in the world.
Those who gave their lives today came to Afghanistan armed not with guns or
bullets. They came with a more powerful weapon – hope. Hope for a better day for
Afghanistan and a commitment to help its people build a better world and a
better future.
We will not be deterred from this noble mission.
We stand by the people of Afghanistan today, and we will do so tomorrow.
We will, of course, review our security procedures, as we do regularly for the
Afghanistan mission as a whole. We will take all necessary measures to protect
our staff.
We have also witnessed an appalling bomb attack in Peshawar today. More than 80
people have died, according to our reports. I want to express my outrage at the
loss of so many innocent lives.
Before taking your questions, there are some other issues I would like to raise.
First, climate change.
We have only five weeks before the UN conference in Copenhagen on climate
change.
There is a long way to go still.
I have been working closely with the Danish Prime Minister, who is in turn
engaged intensively with other governments on the substance and form of an
agreement that may emerge.
All countries must commit to limit emissions. Developed countries must adopt
ambitious mid-term targets. At the same time, developing countries must also
limit the growth of their emissions, moving away from a “business as usual”
trajectory.
Let me also touch on a few other matters in the news.
In Iraq, we saw a bomb attack earlier this week in which hundreds were killed
and wounded. As elsewhere, these acts of violence target the innocent and aim to
disrupt the country’s fragile democracy.
In response to a request from the Government of Iraq, I will send Assistant
Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco to Iraq for preliminary consultations
related to Iraq’s security and sovereignty.
We have also seen disturbances at the Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount compound.
Events in Jerusalem can undermine trust throughout the region, and I call upon
all to avoid provocative acts. We should see this as a reminder that, in the
absence of progress in direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, political
tensions in the Middle East will only grow.
The Human Rights Council has now referred the Goldstone Report to the General
Assembly, which will consider its findings and recommendations. I look forward
to its decision. I have called repeatedly on both the Israeli government and the
Palestinians to carry out full, independent and credible investigations.
Meanwhile, ten months after hostilities ended in Gaza, we see no progress on
reconstruction or the re-opening of borders. At the donors’ conference in Egypt,
we raised $4.5 billion in financial assistance. Little if any of that money has
been delivered. Families have not been able to rebuild their homes. Clinics and
schools are still in ruins. I urge Israel to accept the UN reconstruction
proposals as set forth, recognizing that the only true guarantee of peace is
people’s well-being and security.
On Iran: the inspection of the new Iranian enrichment site in Qom, conducted by
the International Atomic Energy Agency this week, is a positive step. Meeting
with President Ahmadinejad in September, I urged Tehran to take this step and
cooperate fully with the IAEA on all outstanding issues.
I also welcome the draft agreement, circulated by the IAEA, related to the
supply of fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor. Agreement would constitute an
important confidence-building measure and could set the stage for further
advances in the negotiations between Iran and the EU3+3.
Let me close where we began, on Afghanistan again.
As you know, the second round of presidential elections is scheduled for
November 7.
No one underestimates the difficulties, especially in the aftermath of today’s
attack.
At this point, I would simply say that all operational preparations are being
put in place to minimize fraud.
If the first round showed anything, it was that fraud does not win. It merely
undermines the legitimacy of the results.
Once again, I urge Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Karzai to uphold the law and the
Constitution; to encourage participation of the Afghan people; and, after the
vote, to work to unify the country around an agenda for progress.
The United Nations is committed to doing all it can to support the Afghan people
as they once again cast their ballots and shape the destiny of their country.
Thank you very much, and now for your questions.
Q: Secretary-General, I
want to thank you on behalf of UNCA [the United Nations Correspondents
Association], for coming here and taking the time to talk to us. There are a lot
of issues out there, as you made clear. I wanted to raise quickly two that I
know UNCA members care about. The first has to do with climate change. You
yourself spoke of an agreement that may emerge from Copenhagen and your climate
adviser, Mr. [Janos] Pasztor, spoke earlier this week of the Copenhagen meeting
producing a politically-binding agreement that would chart the course for
post-Copenhagen talks that would yield a legally binding agreement. Expectations
are being pulled way back and we’re just wondering if you don’t find this
disappointing.
The second issue has to do with the Goldstone report. There were specific
recommendations that were made for you as Secretary-General, but
[Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs] B. Lynn Pascoe yesterday made
clear to us that they don’t see a direct line between the Human Rights Council
and the Secretariat in terms of responsibility and obligations. Why is that? If
you could explain things on those two. Thank you.
SG: On climate change, I’m still optimistic. This Copenhagen meeting will be an
important milestone in our common efforts to address climate change issues. As I
have been repeatedly saying, if we can agree on four political elements, then
that could be a hallmark of success on climate change. First, ambitious
mitigation targets by developed countries -- and also by developing countries --
on their own nationally appropriate mitigation action. Then there should be a
strong adaptation framework to help particular developing countries to mitigate
and adapt. And there should be substantial financial and technological support
for developing countries, again for their adaptation and mitigation efforts. And
fourth, there should be a global framework, a governance framework, to manage
all these processes. Now, if we can agree on these four political elements, that
will be a fairly good success. Then, immediately, we will have to continue these
technical negotiations so that all these agreements can be built upon to make a
legally binding and comprehensive and equitable and balanced one. That’s our
target and I have been actively engaging myself with world leaders. Even this
morning, I had a very good videoconference with Prime Minister [Lars Løkke ]
Rasmussen of Denmark and other world leaders, and this will continue. I have
been engaging myself with many other leaders of countries. Every country -- both
developed and developing countries -- they have a role to play and they have
worked together for a common and long-term goal to address this issue. We are
not lowering expectations, as you said. We are still keeping ambitious
expectations and targets. We will continue to do that. There are some other
important negotiation processes remaining in Barcelona. We will have, of course,
the Copenhagen process. Before we go there, we will continue to do all we can.
On the second question, Goldstone -- as you know, the Human Rights Council is a
subsidiary body of the General Assembly, thus their report is now in the hands
of the General Assembly. I understand that the General Assembly President is now
going to hold a General Assembly meeting to discuss this matter. This is what I
have discussed with the President of the General Assembly. I met at least twice
with the representatives of Arab member countries and, also, I have spoken with
the Israeli leadership: I have spoken with the Foreign Minister of Israel; I met
the Vice Prime Minister of Israel. And I will continue again to discuss this --
as I said in my remarks, I am waiting for any guidelines and decisions or
recommendations by the General Assembly for me to act upon.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, on Afghanistan, given this turbulent security
situation in the country, what do you think of the new Japanese Government’s
intention to suspend its refuelling activities in the Indian Ocean? Do you think
it would have a negative effect? What else would you want the Japanese
Government to do for the betterment of the situation? Thank you.
SG: I appreciate the Japanese Government’s longstanding commitment and
contribution to regional peace and security, including Afghanistan, and also
their contribution in the Indian Ocean. When I met the new [Vice Minister for
Foreign Affairs] of Japan, [Tetsuro] Fukoyama, I asked the Japanese Government
to continue their cooperation and contribution, as the Afghanistan Government
and the situation in the region is now going through a very volatile and
unstable situation. They require the international community’s continued support
and cooperation. That’s what I want.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, on Iraq: I wonder if you could tell us first whether
you are going to recommend that there is a UN investigation of the previous
bombings in Iraq that the Iraqi Government asked for and whether perhaps this
might be extended to the latest bombing. And I wonder if you could elaborate a
little on the mission that you’re going to be sending the Assistant
Secretary-General on. What exactly is he going to be doing there and talking to
Parliament members about?
SG: First of all, I’d like to make it clear that, to commence an investigation,
we need a clear mandate by the Security Council. As you know, the Iraqi
Government has requested me to begin such an investigation, but I explained to
them, for that to be possible, I need a clear mandate, an official mandate. But
before that, I expressed my willingness and, as I have announced this morning,
I’m going to dispatch the Assistant Secretary-General of the Department of
Political Affairs to engage in exploratory consultations with the Iraqi
Government. Then we will see.
Q: These are exploratory conversations on the possibility of perhaps a broader
investigation, on a wide range of issues?
SG: At this time, I’m not in a position to say anything definitely.
Q: Will your envoy, the Assistant Secretary-General, go to Syria, because our
understanding is that Syria rejected your appeal to them or your movement with
them to have them receive your Assistant Secretary-General or any envoy?
SG: We will see, after Mr. Oscar Taranco visits Iraq, after initial discussions
with the Iraqi Government, we will have to decide, in close consultation with
the countries in the region, whether we will expand these consultations with
these regional countries.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, about your continued appeals to Israel to respond to
the different things you were asking, from the borders to the internal
investigations to stopping violations of Lebanon, they seem to be always falling
on deaf ear, including that related to Mr. [Richard] Goldstone’s report. And the
impression is that everybody is passing the buck when it comes to Goldstone’s
report and the Security Council. I understand now that you said you’re waiting
for the GA, but can you pronounce yourself on the substance of the Goldstone
report -- in the sense that, do you feel that this issue, his recommendations
regarding both Israel and Palestinians involved in war crimes and possibly
crimes against humanity; should this arrive at one point to the Security Council
and to the ICC [International Criminal Court]?
SG: I have stated my position in the past. I have clearly stated my support for
the Goldstone mission. And I have tried my best to provide necessary
administrative and technical assistance for their activities. Now that the
Goldstone report was adopted by the Human Rights Council and is in the hands of
the General Assembly, I am now waiting for a debate among the General Assembly
Member States. And I will decide my own course of action upon that. I have again
made my position clear: wherever and whenever there is violation of
international human rights law and international humanitarian laws, there should
be necessary investigation and the perpetrators of these crimes and violation of
human rights should be held accountable. This is what I can tell you at this
time. I am aware that the Government of Israel and the Palestinian authorities
are now going to have their own investigation. I have not received any further
details, but that is positive, I would say. I have been repeatedly urging the
Israeli Government to institute a credible domestic investigation process.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, are you considering scaling back or leaving
Afghanistan in the wake of this attack? Do international staff get more
protection than the local staff? And on the revelation about Karzai’s brother,
does this complicate efforts to eradicate opium, to have a fair election, since
he apparently cheated for his brother? And does it hurt international support
for the Karzai Government, this revelation?
SG: I was assured by Mr. Kai Eide, through my telephone talk with him this
morning, that President Karzai had instructed his Interior Minister to provide
strengthened security for United Nations staff there. The United Nations, while
we ask the Afghan Government to provide strengthened security, we will also take
necessary measures; administrative measures to further strengthen the safety and
security of premises and our staff, not only in Kabul, but all other areas where
we have seen that the situation is very dangerous.
Q: Anything about Karzai’s brother, do you have anything to say the revelations?
SG: I read the report this morning and a few days ago. That is something I think
I’m not in a position to make any comment at this time. But I have been
repeatedly urging, whenever I had an opportunity of meeting President Karzai in
the past, that he must make sure to eradicate these corrupt practices, including
opium cultivation and opium trafficking. I have been repeatedly stating that
unless he addresses these corrupt practices prevalent in Afghanistan, it will
not be possible to expect to have credible governance. You must have seen me
speaking publicly in my press conference together with President Karzai several
times, particularly on these issues.
Q: Thank you, Secretary-General. Regarding the Israeli violation, in light of
the latest incidents in South Lebanon yesterday and the weeks before and month
before, and also on your latest [resolution] 1559 report, there were a lot of
concerns on the less balanced reports that you produced last week. And there are
these concerns, specifically on the violations, Israeli violations, not too much
stressed upon. Do you have any response on that? And also, do you fully support
your Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen in this, because also there are concerns
about him, about this report?
SG: First of all, the full and faithful implementation of the relevant Security
Council resolutions, including 1701 and 1559 is the foundation and basic
principle of ensuring and maintaining peace and stability, as well as
prosperity, not only in Lebanon, but in the region. Unfortunately, we have seen
many such cases where these resolutions have been violated, as we have seen
recently over the last several weeks. The preliminary investigations by LAF
[Lebanese Armed Forces] and UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon] suggested that
those were clear violations of 1701. We will try to ensure, to see that these
resolutions be implemented. On many occasions, whenever and wherever I have been
meeting with the Lebanese and the Israeli authorities, I have been emphasizing
and urging them to fully comply with these resolutions. And my Special
Representative on Security Council resolution 1559 enjoys my full confidence and
trust, and he will continue his functions.
Q: Like Sylviane was saying, there was some straight criticism for Mr. Roed-Larsen
yesterday, that he is expanding his mandate and covering stuff that is really
not related directly to his mission, and also the criticism that his reports
always stress the request of disarming the Lebanese militias and non-Lebanese
militias, while only referring very briefly to the Israeli violations. That’s
criticism by several countries at the Security Council yesterday of Mr. Roed-Larsen.
SG: All my Special Representatives and Envoys, while conducting their missions,
are required and they are in fact doing in close coordination with the relevant
departments and concerned governments. And also they conduct their missions
strictly under my guidance and instructions.
Q: Secretary-General, you have hundreds of UN staff working in Kabul at the
moment directly on the elections. As I understand it, they are now under
lockdown, just days before the second round is due to take place. It is now
clear that the UN is a direct target, as far as the Taliban is concerned. It is
also now clear that the Interior Ministry troops who were meant to be outside
that guest house are clearly not doing a good enough job to protect your staff.
How on earth can the UN continue to conduct the work that they have been trying
to conduct in terms of a second round of elections with any sense of legitimacy
at all? Because your staff just aren’t on the ground doing the work they should
be.
SG: In principle, we are not and we should not be deterred by these heinous
terrorist attacks. We will continue our work, particularly on helping the Afghan
Government and people, carrying on this second presidential election, scheduled
on November 7th, while ensuring and strengthening the safety and security of our
premises. That is what I am going to do, and that is what I have discussed this
morning.
Q: But, forgive me, how do you do that? You have hundreds of staff. There is no
room to accommodate them inside UN compounds. They have to continue living in
Kabul. And it is clear they are not safe.
SG: We have to first of all get the full support of the Afghan Government, the
Afghan national security forces, as well as the allied ISAF [International
Security Assistance Force] forces there. They are providing us with necessary
security. Of course, it is quite an unfortunate fact of life that we cannot
ensure one hundred percent security, because of these suicidal terrorist
attacks, but we must take all necessary precautionary measures in terms of our
security. That is what I can tell you at this time. But we will never be
deterred by these terrorist attacks.
Q: Thank you. Mr. Secretary-General, the issues that you spoke about today –
almost all of them are in the Islamic world. In light of this fact, how well do
you work with Muslim governments? How well do you work with the Arab League,
with the OIC [Organization of the Islamic Conference]? For example, Turkey has
peacekeepers in Afghanistan. Do you think that, for example for Pakistan, there
should be a Muslim peacekeeping force? How do you coordinate these things?
SG: First of all, what we have seen taking place on the ground should not
necessarily be related or understood or interpreted with regard to any specific
regional group or ethnicities or group of countries. We are now facing a
multiple crisis including international terrorism, which we have to work with.
In addition to this we have so many multiple crises – climate change, economic
and financial crisis, and food security. I have been working very closely with
all the Member States, all the regional groups, and all the countries, and even
all the leaders of the world, regardless of where they belong. That is my job,
and I will continue to do that. It would be a little bit dangerous to suggest
that this is something to do with any particular group of religions, group of
people, group of countries. This world is facing many difficult challenges, on
which we have to work together.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, I had two questions, with regard to both the bombings
in Afghanistan and Iraq. First of all, on Iraq, did you make your decision based
on the latest bombing in Iraq, Baghdad, because [Foreign Minister] Hoshyar
Zubari had requested that you dispatch a special envoy after the August 19th
bombing. And also, they recently, within 24 hours of the blast in Baghdad, they
started removing blast barriers - does that exactly send the right message in
terms of security? And on a security issue, over in Afghanistan, do you believe
it would have been better to have the United States step up to the plate and
contribute more troops ahead of the elections there?
SG: My decision to dispatch Mr. Oscar Taranco had been considered before this
second terrorist attack. Immediately after this August 19th bomb attack
happened, I have been consulting with Iraqi Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
and other leaders in the region, on what the United Nations can do and should
do. Unfortunately a second attack has taken place, and this is appropriate
timing for me to expedite his dispatch to the Iraqi Government for initial
consultations on how the United Nations can address this issue.
On your second question, I understand that President Obama and his
administration are very seriously considering what to do with further military
augmentation. That is what the US administration will have to decide. Military
augmentation will be one of the effective means to ensure peace and stability
there. At the same time, I would also hope that there needs to be a political
reconciliatory dialogue initiated by President Karzai with many other ethnic
group leaders, and also regional countries’ leaders. That is what I have been
saying.
Q: Would it have helped the situation and sent the right signal that the US
would have dispatched troops before the coming elections, because you are
talking about a security issue here, where your workers have to go out and try
to get out there to ensure a good election, so if you have more security forces,
would that not help the case?
SG: Ensuring better security to allow the free presidential election so that
people will not be intimidated and threatened, that would be necessary and
important.
Q: The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel Treatment, Manfred Novak,
today was barred from leaving South Africa to enter Harare, Zimbabwe, on a
week-long tour. The invitation was essentially withdrawn at the last minute. I
wonder what your reaction to this is, and more broadly what your reaction is to
the continued strife or strain to the cohesiveness of the unity government in
that country?
SG: I will get back to you later for more detailed information on this.
Q: On the Cyprus problem, if you are thinking about getting more involved
personally on the issue?
SG: I am reasonably optimistic about the prospect of resolving this longstanding
Cyprus issue. I am encouraged by the commitment and continuing negotiations led
by the two leaders, Mr. [Dimitris] Christofias and Mr. [Mehmet Ali] Talat. And
my Special Adviser, Mr. Alexander Downer, has been continuously engaged and
facilitating this dialogue. I hope they will continue their negotiations. Since
they have finished the first round of negotiations, then they have a couple of
weeks ago entered into a second phase. Now it is time for both leaders to be
more seriously considering to make the necessary compromises and show
flexibility so that they can move ahead. Through the first round of negotiations
I think they have picked up a good political atmosphere on the basis of mutual
trust and commitment, and now it is time for them to make real progress,
demonstrating flexibility and agreeing on compromises.
Q: Thank you. With reference again, Mr. Secretary-General, to the Goldstone
report, I think what would happen in the General Assembly and in the Security
Council is reasonably predictable, but it occurs to me that there have been
allegations made with reference to the Hamas government that they are hiding
behind their own civilian population, that they are putting their military
installations, artillery pieces and such, in civilian areas. If these
allegations were in fact true, it would be next to impossible to establish that
unless you get some colossal group of international whistleblowers, and take
them and put them in some kind of international witness protection programme.
Without that, do you not think it would be impossible to prove that or establish
it?
SG: All the allegations of violations of international human rights law and
international humanitarian law must be addressed and investigated. Whoever may
be responsible should be held accountable for that. The Goldstone Report has
stated that both these violations committed by Israelis and also committed by
Hamas should also be subject to be investigated. This is what he has made
findings and made recommendations to the Human Rights Council. I hope that all
aspects and all the allegations should be fairly addressed.
Q: Do you have an update, Sir, to your request you made to the Israeli
Government over three months ago regarding the compensation they should have
paid for damages they made during the Gaza war? And the number of the
compensation – it was over eleven million dollars. Do you have an update on
that?
SG: As you know, the Legal Counsel has submitted officially the request for
financial compensation for the damages inflicted upon the UN premises. This is
now, I understand, being considered by the Israeli Government. Last week, when I
met the Vice Prime Minister, Mr. [Silvan] Shalom, I raised this issue. And I
again urged, in my telephone talk with Foreign Minister [Avigdor] Liberman, that
they should expedite this process as soon as possible. I understand that they
are considering this issue. I expect that they will come back to me as soon as
possible with necessary actions. Thank you.
"
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE U.N. SYSTEM
BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS ROCKET FIRING AGAINST
ISRAEL: The Secretary-General condemns the firing of a rocket against Israel
from southern Lebanon on 27 October. The rocket was launched from the general
area of Houla in southern Lebanon and impacted in the vicinity of Kiryat Shemona
in northern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces returned fire with artillery
rounds towards the direction of where the rocket was launched. There were no
reports of casualties on either side. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL) is investigating the circumstances of the incident in cooperation with
the Lebanese Armed Forces. The Secretary-General urges all parties to exercise
maximum restraint. All parties must fully adhere to Security Council resolution
1701 (2006) and respect the cessation of hostilities agreement.
CYPRUS: U.N.
ENVOY SHOCKED AND SADDENED AS DEMINER DIES IN ACCIDENT: A member of the Mine
Action Centre Cyprus (MACC) was killed today in a demining accident, the group's
first fatality in five years of work on the island. Femisberto Novele, a MACC
member from Mozambique, died in an explosion at approximately 8 in the morning
in a minefield near Geri, some 10 kilometres southeast of Nicosia. The Special
Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in
Cyprus (UNFICYP),
Taye-Brook Zerihoun, said he was saddened and shocked to learn of the accident
today, which he called a tragic reminder of the dangers landmines still pose in
Cyprus. He conveyed condolences to Mr. Novele’s family on behalf of the United
Nations team in the country. The Mine Action Centre Cyprus is a project of the
United Nations Development Programme’s Partnership for the Future. The MACC has
removed and destroyed more than 14,000 mines since 2004, with the support of
UNFICYP. A total of 57 minefields have been cleared to date, covering more than
6.5 million square metres of land.
SECURITY COUNCIL TAKES UP SUDAN, GUINEA:
The Security Council is holding consultations this morning on Sudan and
other matters. Council members are being briefed on Sudan by the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Ashraf Qazi. The Council
will also hold a meeting this morning on peace consolidation in West Africa. A
Presidential Statement on Guinea is expected.
JERUSALEM MUST
BECOME A TRUE SYMBOL OF PEACE: The UN’s
Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, today
delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General to the Jerusalem
International Forum, which is currently gathering in Rabat, Morocco. In his
message, the Secretary-General said that events in Jerusalem can
undermine trust on the ground and be felt in distant lands. It is for this
reason that we must ensure that the holy city becomes a true symbol of peace,
bringing people together and marking a new, more positive era for the whole
region. The Secretary-General also expressed concern at the recent episodes of
tension at the Haram Ash-Sharif/Temple Mount
compound, and the potential for further clashes. He said he continued to
follow this issue closely and urged all sides to
respect the sanctity of the holy sites and cease provocations.
Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
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