Secretary-General's press encounter following open meeting of the Security Council on Sudan

SG: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I just came from the Council, where we had a very good briefing by Mr. [Luis Moreno] Ocampo [Prosecutor] of the ICC [International Criminal Court]. And he did stress the point that those who committed those crimes in Sudan must be brought to account. And of course, he sees it very much as part of the peace and the transition process, and would expect the Council to stay closely engaged and to give him all support. He also indicated that he would need to work with the African Union and require their support as well. He is continuing his discussions with the Council, but I think it is hopeful that he has come this far in the case.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, regarding the [Detlev] Mehlis report, how would you, overall, characterize what you perceive to be the level of cooperation Syria has provided the Commission? And how important do you consider it to be to keep the pressure on Syria to cooperate fully or, maybe, to increase that pressure?

SG: I think the Security Council has requested Syria to cooperate fully. And I myself have had the occasion to urge them privately and publicly to cooperate fully. And I think the extent of their cooperation has been stated quite clearly in the Mehlis report. And I will want us to accept that.

Q: Would you characterize it as full cooperation?

SG: I think Mehlis, who is carrying out the investigation, has indicated the level of cooperation he has got from the Lebanese authorities, and the level of cooperation he has got from the Syrians, obviously, as he indicated in the report, they have begun to cooperate and there is some way to go yet.

Q: Would you consider an expansion of the Mehlis Commission's mandate to include the assassination of Mr. [Gebran] Tueni and others in Lebanon?

SG: I think this is a question for the Council. The letter and the request [have] gone to the Council. It's a difficult question. It's a delicate decision for the Council to take, and I would not want to prejudge or step ahead of the Council. And I hope after they have discussed it carefully and fully, they will be able to come with some suggestions as to how we should proceed.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, on the pattern of assassinations that we seem to be seeing in Lebanon of anti-Syrian figures, how concerned are you and what kind of message would you like to send to supporters of Syria who, obviously, appear to be bent on knocking off opponents?

SG: Well, I don't know if one has enough evidence to indicate who is doing the killing, but whoever is doing it, it is something that cannot be condoned. I think it is an attempt to intimidate Lebanese political and media personalities, and this is something that cannot be condoned or tolerated. And I think the statement I made yesterday stated that very clearly, and the Council statement also made that quite clear. But I would urge the Lebanese to go ahead with the management of their affairs, to take charge of their own state and sovereignty, and to remain united as they work for the future of Lebanon. I think they should stand together as they have over the last few months, and try and push ahead the progress that they have made in the last six months or so.

Q: Sir, thank you very much. Sir, two things. Now that the UN has the letter requesting from the Lebanese Government the expansion to include all those of our colleagues in particular and others who have been targeted, and that the report also speaks of possible linkage, in your personal view, would it be a natural thing to have an international investigation, at least to avoid further killings of our colleagues? And secondly, the report says, Mehlis says in his report, that two of the witnesses in Vienna had said that documents and possible evidence has been burned. Would you consider that an obstruction of the investigation?

SG: Let me say that there is an ongoing investigation. We have appointed a prosecutor to do that, and I'm not going to second guess him by giving my own individual or personal opinions on an ongoing investigation. And I think we should allow the investigator to do his work.

On your other question, let me say that it is an issue that the Council should take up. And in fact, I spoke to the Prime Minister of Lebanon yesterday when we discussed this issue. And he indicated that the letter was coming. And I haven't yet received it, but I will give it to the Council as soon as it comes. And I think it is an issue that we should allow the Council to deliberate, to discuss carefully, and to decide what decision to take, whether it wants it to take on the six previous assassinations, including the one of yesterday, in addition to [Rafik] Hariri's or draw the line somewhere. I really would have to leave the Council to make that judgment. And I would not want to be drawn at this stage.

Q: Are you worried about other assassinations?

SG: Well, we have had six of them, and obviously, there could more. But I hope not.

Q: How worried are you about the shenanigans between the Syrian Government and Mr. Mehlis, about the Syrian witness who recanted his testimony? And how satisfied are you, as far as Sudan is concerned, with what the Sudanese Government has been doing in Darfur so far?

SG: I think on your question of Mehlis, I think Mehlis has made it clear that the witnesses, or the witness that has recanted his evidence is not a principal one, and that it does not affect his main findings. And I think we have to accept his judgment. He knows much more than we do. And if this is his view, I think we have to accept it.

On Sudan, I think we still have very serious problems in Darfur. We have criminal elements; we have violence; we have attacks on humanitarian activities. There are some areas where our humanitarian people cannot go and therefore the Government and the rebels have to honour the ceasefire agreement they signed and take all measures to ensure security and protection of the people in the region. But what is even more important is for them to press ahead in Abuja and get a political agreement which would ensure the longer term stability.

Q: In Sudan, if the Council took action against Syria for not cooperating, should it do something for not cooperating with the ICC? It's pretty obvious from the Prosecutor's speech, that he's getting absolutely nowhere on any aspect of this. And he has been collecting information since March. What does that mean?

Secondly, do you have any date for when you're going to have a substitute for Mr. Mehlis?

SG: On Sudan, I think the Council is, in fact at this very minute, discussing this issue with the Prosecutor to get much more details as to his work, the extent of cooperation by the Sudanese Government and others. And I think after that, here the Council will have to make a judgment whether cooperation has been enough or they have not cooperated and that they will have to take certain measures. So I think it is a bit premature for me to say whether they should impose sanctions or not for lack of cooperation by the Government.

On the replacement of Mehlis, I'm trying to move a quickly as I can to find a replacement. And I hope, if all goes well, that I should be able to name someone in the next week or two. In the meantime, I've taken measures to ensure that we don't have a break and there's continuity in the work of the Commission until a successor assumes his or her responsibilities. But I would try to do it as quickly as possible.

Q: Did you agree with the Lebanese Prime Minister about the international tribunal?

SG: He did raise that issue with me. And that is also an issue that the Council will need to discuss and to determine what level of support or assistance one should give to the Lebanese authorities, and if indeed an international tribunal is required or international support of some kind is required. But it is correct that they have taken a decision to seek an international tribunal.

Q: What steps were you referring to when you said you've taken steps to ensure the continuity?

SG: Let me say that I have made arrangements with Mehlis to ensure that even though his term is due to end on the 15th of December, he will remain engaged until his replacement takes over.

Q: Mr., Secretary-General, are you having difficulties in finding a replacement? Inspector Mehlis said he's been under great pressures, received death threats. Has anybody turned down the job offer?

SG: There were some candidates who are not available, you know. And so we're going down the list. And I must say that I had similar problems even before I appointed Mehlis. We had others who turned down the job. And of course, given that it's a high-pressure job, high-profile, and a tough situation, but I'm sure I'll find someone to do it.

Q: Would you give them a six-month mandate again, or would you like them to stay on the job until it is finished?

SG: Since the mandate is for six months, at least it has to be six months initially. And if the Council were to decide to extend the mandate depending on circumstances, then of course, we will take it from there.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, the level of cooperation that the Syrians have shown so far, in your judgment, would it warrant any threat of sanctions and decision of individual sanctions, anything of that sort at this stage?

SG: I think I've answered that question already.

Q: It is up to the Security Council, but what do you think?

SG: I don't what to jump ahead of the Council and give personal opinions when the issue is right before them and they'll be taking it up this afternoon. And so I will defer to them.

Q: Human Rights Watch, in its report, they have listed the names of people that should be called for the investigation and to submit to the work of the ICC in Sudan. And the names included the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Bashir. Do you agree that the President of Sudan and other officials should be asked to be investigated in the work of ICC?

SG: I'm afraid that judgment belongs to the Prosecutor who is in the building today and is talking to the Council, not to me. I would not want to take on the Prosecutor's job. He will have to make that judgment.

Thank you very much.<