Q: Secretary-General, is it time for someone to get realistic and actually say out loud that preparations for the Iraq elections are not going apace and maybe they will be delayed? Technically, it's possible, but politically ….
SG: I think on that, as you know, we have a team down on the ground helping and our electoral expert is working very closely with the Iraqi Electoral Commission. The Prime Minister, whom I spoke to at length when he was here, insisted that the elections will go ahead in January as planned. And I want to stress again that it is the Iraqis who are planning the elections, who are organizing the elections. We are offering support and advice. And we will continue to do that.
There has been some question as to whether we have enough UN staff on the ground or not. As we move forward, it will be necessary to send in additional staff. But the circumstances have to be conducive in the sense that either we have to notice a genuine improvement in the security environment or solid arrangements for the protection of the staff. And we are discussing these arrangements with the multinational force.
And as to whether the elections would have to be postponed or not, as I said, for the time being, we are going ahead, advising and supporting the Iraqis. It will be their call, not ours.
Q: Is there a sense that it is still technically possible at this point?
SG: I think at this point it is technically possible. We still have a couple of months yet. But at this point, it is still technically possible, depending upon what happens in the next couple of months.
Q: Secretary-General, do you have a plan for UN staff on the Iraq elections? I mean staff on the ground are six people or so. Do you have a plan to add more and who would guard them? Is it the Americans?
SG: As you've heard, the Fijians have agreed to give us close protection personnel, and also guards for the inside of our buildings.
Q: But that's in the Green Zone.
SG: Yes. But we also need to have protection for the outside zone and also when they are outside the Green Zone. That kind of protection will have to be provided by the multinational force. They have indicated they will do that and we are in discussions with them to determine exactly how they will do it and what their capacity is for us to make the judgments that we have to make.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, as the oil-for-food scandal unfolds, if you will, you know, Mr. [Paul] Volcker is meeting with us today. How do you view the potential for this scandal to damage the United Nations and you, as Secretary-General, and your family members?
SG: I think this is an issue that, as I've said, Volcker and the Committee members are dealing with it. And I hope it will be expeditious and we'll get the facts out quickly. But there is no doubt that the constant campaign has, and the discussions have, hurt the UN. This is not something we would like. And that's why we want to get to the bottom of it and clear it as quickly as possible. It has done damage, yes.
Q: It was reported the other day that your son is under investigation by the United States because of his relationship with Hanni Yamani, the son of former Saudi oil minister, who apparently did some oil-for-food business. Can you confirm or deny that he is under investigation by the US? Are you aware of that?
SG: I'm not aware. I've read the same sort of things, but I've no other information and I think it's speculation.
Q: How do we get in touch, I mean, we ask you to comment on your son's activities, but how can we actually get the comment from him. Where is he? Who's representing him? Does he have a lawyer we can talk to or something like that?
SG: I will make sure he gives you the details.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, do you consider therapeutic cloning to be morally acceptable?
SG: I think the issue is before the Member States and I think it is an important issue. It was not very long ago, I think it was about four, five months ago, that we brought a scientist here to discuss in a public lecture what it means, what it entails. And I think that lecture was quite illuminating. Obviously it's an issue for the Member States to decide. But as an individual and in my personal view, I think I will go for therapeutic cloning.
Q: Mr. Secretary, you commented on the other side of the pond, but here, do you think that France and Russia sold their votes, in effect, for preventing war in Iraq because of their business and oil-for-food connections?
SG: As I indicated, I find that very difficult to believe. If governments were to sell their votes because some of their companies, companies operating from their territory or their national companies were to do business with Iraq or elsewhere, I think it would be a very sad state for the Security Council and for the world. I do not believe it.
Q: The allegations of the Duelfer Report are, in the case of Russia, that the companies were being paid off. The allegations are that the Presidential Office and Foreign Ministry and the ruling party were being paid off.
SG: Well, that is still an allegation. It remains an allegation.
Q: Do you think the perception is good for you to meet with Paul Volcker? It's supposed to be an outside panel, but he is customarily briefing you on what he's going to tell at press conferences. This, I think, is the second time that has happened. Should that occur, since your son and the workings of the UN are going to be looked at?
SG: I set up that Committee. And I think it is appropriate that he talks to me about the release of his report which presumably will be done today. I don't see anything wrong with that. That has always happened with other Commissions which have been set up. If you don't talk to the person who set you up, who do you talk to?
Q: You've said that if there's a criminal prosecution, you'll strip a UN employee of their diplomatic immunity?
SG: It is correct, yes. We will not stand in the way of an investigation.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, the Governments in both Beirut and Damascus are saying that both the Security Council Presidential Statement and your report on the implementation of [Security Council resolution] 1559 are meddling in the internal affairs of Lebanon and Syria. How do you see it?
SG: I think it was a decision taken by the Council and we submitted a report as a follow-up to that decision. If they have a quarrel with the Council resolution, it is with the Council and not with me.
Q: And talking of meddling, Sir, just one more [question]. We're just barely a couple of weeks away from the US election. I know that the UN policy is to say that you don't meddle in US internal affairs. Basically, you said recently that the war in Iraq was illegal. Before that you said that terrorism is on the rise, contradictory to what [US] President [George] Bush had said. That is being interpreted as you batting for [John] Kerry. Is that the case?
SG: I think you answered your own question. You don't want to pull me in; why are you pulling me in? I think, when I make these comments, I make them from my own knowledge and from my own experience. I'm not saying them to support one side or the other. As Secretary-General, I talk to lots of people, I travel the world, and I observe. And I have comments that I make and these are comments that I would have made whether there were elections or not. So don't infer anything from the comments and the observations that I make.
Q: On the subject of Sudan, can you give us any sort of update? We're watching the death toll climb; human rights groups are saying the UN is moving too slowly; on the other hand, the Foreign Minister of Sudan says the UN is meddling too much. Peace talks look like they're going to fail; although the African Union is sending in troops. Are things moving quickly enough, do you think?
SG: I spoke to the Chairman of the African Union [Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare] this morning. As you know their Political and Security Council took a decision approving the expansion of the force and also the mandate of the force. In addition to monitoring the ceasefire, they are supposed to help create an environment that would be conducive to delivery of humanitarian assistance and the return of displaced persons to their homes. And that they also have a mandate to protect civilians in the immediate vicinity if they are in threat. And I would hope that they will proceed very quickly. He told me that they are going to try and move in phases and move in more quickly, and that the talks in Abuja will be resuming very shortly, and they are going to try and work to get a breakthrough in the Abuja talks.
I think the main thing here now is to really try and do whatever we can to improve the security situation. And the pressure must be maintained on the Government and the rebels to honour their commitments.
Q: Secretary-General, on the question of your “illegal” comment about the war, do you actually have a legal opinion? Is that comment based on a legal opinion, or is that just your own view? And if it's your own view, is it appropriate that a person, given that the UN has an extensive judicial structure, including a whole court set up to resolve these questions, is it appropriate that you express your personal view without legal opinion?
SG: I think I've said what I've said, and I stand by it.