Secretary-General's press encounter upon arrival at UNHQ (unofficial transcript)

Q: Could we ask you, Sir, why you've taken it upon yourself to call this meeting with the Security Council, and what plan that you have for a UN role in a post-conflict Iraq, that you want to express to them?

SG: I wanted to discuss with them the developments on the ground and also to discuss post-conflict situation in Iraq, regardless of how the war ends. And of course we would also to have to see what post-conflict environment would be, but the Council has been discussing informally and I have had Mr. Rafeeuddin Ahmed working as my advisor on this issue of post-conflict Iraq, doing some thinking about it, and he will be available to talk to the Council members as well. He will also be at the meeting.

Q: Are you going to be announcing a coordinator though? Or discussing the idea of this gentleman as a coordinator for Iraq?

SG: Well, he has been a Special Advisor, he has been working for me on this issue since February. I will be announcing him as my Special Advisor, and the council about it –we have discussed it before.

Q: Can you explain what his role will be?

SG: His role will be - actually he has been doing it already - thinking about the future, thinking about what is likely to happen and what the likely UN role will be, and also to be available to the Council members and all the members involved, to exchange ideas and then give me some advice.

Q: Sir, you spent the greater part of last week meeting with all the regional groups –you have a good idea of what members of this organization want, and also what the US wants. How would you say that your idea of a post-conflict Iraq differs or contrasts or is similar to what the US administration's plan is?

SG: Let me say that, obviously there are discussions going on, both in Washington and among Member States, and as you can see the President [Bush] and Prime Minister Blair will be talking again this week, and there has been a series of discussion where the European Union has come up firmly on the side of greater UN involvement. I do expect the UN to play an important role, and the UN has had a good experience in this area, whether it is the issue of political facilitation leading to the emergence of a new or interim administration. We have done quite a bit of work on reconstruction, working with donor countries and with other UN agencies. You have seen the work the UN has done in human rights and the area of rule of law. So there are lots of areas where the UN can play a role, but above all the UN involvement does bring legitimacy which is necessary, necessary for the country, for the region and for the peoples around the world.

Q: Can I just follow up, you said political facilitation, which is different than heading a civil administration. Are you resigned to the fact that the UN will not play a role like it did in East Timor or Kosovo where it is the administration?

SG: You have to be very careful here. Each crisis has its own peculiarities. Iraq is not East Timor and Iraq is not Kosovo. There are trained personnel, there is a reasonably effective civil service, there are engineers and others who can play a role in their own country. And as we have said before, Iraqis have to be responsible for their political future, and to control their own natural resources, and whatever one can do to help the emergence of a new leadership or a new situation is what one should focus on.

Q: How does the US efforts with Jay Garner and the meeting they are having in Kuwait and reportedly all this work at setting up an interim government - how does that affect any potential UN work, and what are your thoughts on what they are doing?

SG: Well, I think from the what I gather they see it as part of the war effort and eventually to try to pacify the situation and secure the environment before one moves onto the next stage. Thank you.