SECRETARY-GENERAL’S OPENING REMARKS

• Good morning ladies and gentlemen.  It’s a
  great pleasure to see you.
   

• I would like to begin with a major
  announcement. I am very pleased to launch today a High-Level
  Panel on Global Sustainability that will be co-chaired by
  President Tarja Halonen, of Finland, and President Jacob Zuma,
  of South Africa.
   

• The members of the panel include some of
  the world’s leading thinkers and policy makers from government,
  business and civil society. The panel will address the question
  of how to lift people out of poverty while respecting and
  preserving the climate and natural systems that sustain us.
   

• I have asked the Panel to think big.  The
  time for narrow agendas and narrow thinking is over. We need to
  promote low carbon growth and strengthen our resilience to the
  impacts of climate change.We need to address the interlinked
  global challenges of poverty, hunger, water, energy security and
  sanitation. In short, we need a blueprint for a more liveable,
  prosperous, and sustainable future for all.
   

• I expect the Panel not only to think big,
  but also to come up with practical answers that address the
  institutional and financial arrangements that will be needed to
  put such a new blueprint into practice. The Panel will report by
  the end of 2011, next year, in time to feed into key
  intergovernmental processes -- including the UN Conference on
  Sustainable Development that will take place in Rio de Janeiro
  in 2012 and the annual conferences of the
  
  UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. I am joined by
  Mr. Janos Pasztor, who will be heading the panel’s secretariat;
  if you want, he might remain for your further questions, after
  my press conference.
   

• Let me now turn to other matters.
   

• As you know, I have just returned from
  Japan, where I attended ceremonies commemorating the 65^th
  anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It
  was a profoundly moving experience.  The impact of the damage
  from the nuclear bombs was beyond words, beyond imagination. I
  had the privilege of meeting many survivors.  Their courage and
  strength through so much suffering was truly inspiring.
   

• My visit strengthened my personal
  conviction that we must do everything in our power to realize a
  world free of nuclear weapons. As long as nuclear weapons exist,
  the threat exists.  If we want to get rid of the threat, we need
  to get rid of the weapons.
   

• On 24 September, I will convene a high
  level meeting on disarmament here in New York. It will provide a
  unique opportunity to discuss how to revitalize the work of the
  Conference on Disarmament and build consensus on the broader
  challenges of disarmament -- including moving forward on a
  Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and a Fissile Material
  Cut-Off Treaty.   I also had a series of bilateral meetings with
  Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada,
  parliamentary leaders, Speakers of both Houses, the Defence
  Minister and many others, and I will be happy to discuss this
  with you.
   

• On Pakistan, I am extremely concerned about
  the humanitarian impact of the floods.  The scale of this
  disaster rivals that of the earthquake in October 2005, but this
  time the geographic range is much greater. As you know, I have
  sent my special envoy, Jean-Maurice Ripert, who is there right
  now working with the authorities to assess needs and mobilize
  aid. The UN on the ground is working to supplement the efforts
  of the Government and local and international NGOs to provide
  immediate relief -- food, clean drinking water, shelter, health
  materials.
   

• The local Emergency Relief Fund and the
  Central Emergency Response Fund have already made resources
  available for the agencies and organizations in the front line.
  We will soon issue an Emergency Response Plan and an appeal
  for several hundred million dollars to respond to immediate
  needs. But let me stress now that we must also give thought to
  medium and longer-term assistance.  This will be a major and
  protracted task. I appeal for donors to generously support
  Pakistan at this difficult time.
   

• On the Middle East, I will meet tomorrow
  with the members of the Panel of Inquiry on the flotilla
  incident of 31 May. I am grateful for the spirit of constructive
  engagement that has made this unprecedented panel possible. I am
  confident that this initiative will contribute to regional
  stability.
   

• In Lebanon,
  
  UNIFIL’s [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon]
  interventions have helped to reduce tension and restore
  calm. Once UNIFIL’s investigation into the circumstances that
  led to the exchange of fire between the Lebanese Armed Forces
  and Israel Defence Forces is complete, we will brief the
  Security Council.
   

• In Darfur, the security situation has
  continued to deteriorate.  We have consistently urged the
  Government and the JEM [Justice and Equality Movement] to
  refrain from violence and return to the negotiating table, and
  we will continue to do so. My Special Representative, Mr.
  Ibrahim Gambari, is working closely with the Government to bring
  down tensions in the Kalma IDP camp.  We are also continuing to
  press the Government to prosecute the perpetrators of attacks
  against
  
  UNAMID [United Nations/African Union Hybrid Operation in
  Darfur].
   

• On Myanmar, my Special Adviser and I are
  deploying every effort to continue to engage with the
  authorities. I have been very clear in expressing our concerns
  and expectations regarding the political process, including the
  planned elections this year. It is a source of frustration,
  however, that Myanmar has been unresponsive so far to these
  efforts.  A lack of cooperation at this critical moment
  represents nothing less than a lost opportunity for Myanmar. I
  am now in the process of preparing my annual report to the
  General Assembly in which our views at this stage will be
  further elaborated.
   

• Finally, like my colleagues in
  
  Afghanistan, I was shocked and appalled at the murder of ten
  medical workers in Badakhshan. We condemn this serious crime. I
  would like to emphasize that health workers must have access to
  treat those in need and must be able to do so without fear.
  Under international law, health workers must be protected while
  they carry out their life-saving work.
   

• Thank you for your attention.  I will be
  glad to take your questions. 

 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, on
behalf of the United Nations Correspondents’ Association, I’d like
to welcome you, sir, and thank you for this opportunity to pose
questions.  Concerning the inquiry, which you will be meeting with
the members tomorrow, there are a lot of questions about the
credibility of this inquiry, especially in the aftermath of some
statements by Israeli officials that the inquiry members will not be
allowed to interview any Israeli military member.

 

Now, I would like to ask
you, sir, to put these to rest these doubts, by stating if there is
such a previous agreement that this panel will not be allowed to
interview the Israeli military. [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin]
Netanyahu said yesterday that he is very happy with the panel and
that they took part themselves, the Prime Minister of Israel, in
putting the mandate of this panel.  So, for the sake of
transparency, which is required by the Presidential Statement, I’m
asking you here, sir, to shed light on the mandate, which shouldn’t
be a secret, of this inquiry, and whether they are allowed to ask
any, or interview any, Israeli military members.

 

SG: The Panel has a robust
mandate.  It needs to examine and identify the facts, circumstances
and the context of the incident, as well as to recommend ways to
avoid future incidents.  Those are very important mandates.  The
Panel will decide what steps it may need to take, in cooperation
with the national authorities, as their work evolves.  I have full
confidence in the Panel members, led by the Chair and Vice-Chair. 
As you know, I have again issued [an announcement on] the two
additional members of the Panel yesterday, each from Israel and
Turkey.

 

The Panel will begin its
work from tomorrow, 10 August.  I will have an opportunity, for the
first time, to meet all of them in group.  We will discuss their
future work.  I expect that they will submit their first progress
report by mid-September, before the General Assembly begins.  That’s
our target.  And then they will continue their work.  I hope the
Panel will fulfil their responsibilities, under the leadership of
the Chair and Vice-Chair, and in respecting the Security Council
Presidential Statement.

 

Q: If I may follow up, sir:
The question of the mandate, and whether they can act freely and to
interview Israeli military, goes to the heart of the transparency
and the credibility of this panel.  And you didn’t really, with all
due respect, sir, answer my question: whether you had a previous
understanding or agreement with the Israeli Government that these
members will not be able to interview Israeli military.  The point
you mentioned about this panel’s main job is to review the two
inquiries’ results, in Israel and Turkey, to prevent future
incident of happening like this.  You always told us, sir, that
justice and peace go hand in hand.  And without accountability, how
do you expect, for the killing of nine people, how do you expect
peace to endure and the panel to carry [out] its work.  But really,
I need to ask, sir, whether there is such an agreement that they
will not be able to interview military members of the Israeli, or
there isn’t.

 

Q: No, there was no such
agreement behind the scenes.  First of all, you should know that
this is an unprecedented Panel of Inquiry established under my
initiative, for the purpose of ensuring accountability, which is
very important.  This will be important, not only in finding out the
facts and circumstances, but for the future, not to see such kind of
incident, tragic incident, happen.  As has already been announced,
their main work will be to review and examine the report of the
domestic investigations, and liaise with the domestic authorities. 
And whatever is needed beyond that, they will have to discuss among
themselves, in close coordination with the national Government
authorities, that they can take their own future steps.  That’s what
I can tell you.  Now, my role is to establish this Panel.  This will
be carried out by them.  And they will report to me -- their
independent facts and circumstances and context of the incident.

 

Q: Are you sharing this with
the Security Council? Because the mandate came from the Security
Council…

 

SG: Yes, yes, I have written
to the President of the Security Council.

 

Q: No, the report, the final
report…

 

SG: After receiving the
report, then I will have to discuss this matter.  In fact, I have
spoken with the President of the Security Council and I have
communicated, through my official letter to the President of the
Security Council, on the development of this Panel.

 

Q: My question is on
Somalia, Mr. Secretary-General.  Today, your Special Representative,
Mr. [Augustine] Mahiga, announced that the United Nations would be
returning to Somalia, its mission, within the next sixty days.  Can
you tell us a little bit more about that?  Can you expand?  Who’s
going back, how many staff do you expect to be going back?  What
sorts of positions, and when do you expect a full mission to be
there?  And will it be in Mogadishu?

 

SG: As you will remember,
when I made a comprehensive report to the Security Council, I think,
more than a year ago, our strategy was a three-step strategy.  First
of all, to help the Transitional Federal Government’s capacity, by
providing funds and training to Somali national forces and police
forces, as well as strengthening the capacity of the African
peacekeeping mission, AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia]. 
That was the first stage, which we are now doing.  AMISOM is now
reaching its full capacity of 8,000 authorized [personnel], mandated
by the Security Council. The second phase will have a light presence
in Mogadishu and in other parts of Somalia.

 

Before Mr. Mahiga went to
Nairobi to assume his post, I had discussions internally, and we are
now in the process of very seriously considering how to implement
our second-phase strategy.  That is what he said during his press
conference.  At this time, he will take all necessary measures [for]
staffing and to ensure safety.  He has to very closely coordinate
with our Department of Safety and Security (DSS).  So, while we
ensure that safety and security will be there, we will also take
necessary preparations, including staffing and all other
facilities.  But at this time, I’m not able to give you any detailed
information, as you have requested.  But, in due course, it will be
announced.

 

Q: On climate change, about
a year ago at this time, you were often talking about “seal the
deal” and how the United Nations had a key role to play in bringing
the world together on issues like this.  It didn’t happen in
Copenhagen, and its looks like from the talks in Bonn that it may
not happen this year.  Have you revised your thoughts about what the
UN role is in trying to reach an agreement, given the amount of
domestic opposition that all these various Governments are facing?

 

SG: There is no point of
revising the United Nations position.  The United Nations takes
climate change as one of its highest priority issues.  That is why I
am establishing the High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability
because we really want to address climate change and development and
all other environment-related issues in a broader and more
comprehensive manner.

 

Now, climate change, I
think, has been making progress, even though we have not reached
such a point where we will have a globally agreed, comprehensive
deal.  That was our target, but we are moving toward that direction.
 Now, what do we expect in Cancún, Mexico, this year?  We need to be
practical and realistic.  It may be that the case that we may not
able to have that comprehensive binding agreement in Cancún.  But we
have been making tangible progress in various areas like financing,
adaptation, technology and capacity-building, and also in the
reforestation area, known as REDD [United Nations Collaborative
Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in Developing Countries].  We have made quite tangible
progress in these five areas; and on the basis of these sectoral
areas, we will try to build so that we will be able to move ahead in
a more comprehensive way.

 

The recent UNFCCC [United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] meeting has made
some progress.  And I have been continuously discussing this matter
with President [Felipe] Calderon of Mexico, Prime Minister [Jens]
Stoltenberg of Norway, and Prime Minister [Lars Lokke] Rasmussen of
Denmark, who is still acting as COP-15 [Fifteenth Conference of
Parties] President, and other world leaders.  These efforts will
continue.  We have a new leader at UNFCCC, and she has also been
very actively consulting and meeting with people to create a
politically conducive atmosphere.  First and foremost, we must
bridge the gap of trust between developed and developing countries.

 

This is what we are doing. 
I think that providing financial and technological support to
developing countries by developed countries will be the key to
bridging that gap of trust. That’s what we are doing, and by October
of this year, I hope the High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change
Financing, led by Prime Minister Stoltenberg and Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, will come out with their own formula and
recommendations on how to provide long-term financial support in the
amount of $100 billion [by] 2020.  Before that, developed countries
should be able to provide $30 billion as fast-track financial
support [by] 2012.  This is what we are now working very, very hard
on.

 

Q: A follow-up on that.  A
lot of developing countries are very discouraged that the
$30 billion has not materialized.  They’re sort of looking at this
thinking, “Well, if we’re not going to get to the first step, how
can we get to the larger one?” How do you respond to that?

 

SG: You should know that in
Copenhagen, Japan and the European Union, respectively, had pledged
$10 billion each, and the United States President also has pledged
an amount, which is still not up to $10 billion.  But we need to
fill the gap of what has not been pledged.  I have written a letter
to all OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development]
Member States’ leaders to address this fast track financial support
issue so that we can create a politically conducive and favourable
atmosphere by bridging the gap of trust, particularly on the part of
developing States.  This is what we are working very seriously and
very hard on.  We are making progress.

 

Q: Mr. Secretary-General,
going back to the flotilla inquiry: there was some surprise and
criticism in Colombia when you selected President [Alvaro] Uribe as
Vice-Chairman of the Panel, because of, obviously, the controversies
during his tenure: the attack on the guerrilla camp in Ecuador, the
relationship with President [Hugo] Chávez, their disputes, and also
some internal issues, like the killing of civilians by the
military.  Have you considered the possibility that his appointment
would harm the credibility of the Panel and cause other problems
with this issue that is delicate by its own matter?

 

SG: First of all, in having
President Alvaro Uribe, I should remind you that Colombia’s
bilateral relationships with Venezuela or Ecuador or some other
countries has not much to do with the specific case of the flotilla
Panel.  Now, we have also taken note of some such concerns.  While
he had been addressing all the drug cartels issues, there had been
some such issues.  But, I believe, having known him as leader of
Colombia, in my capacity as Secretary-General, for such a long time,
I have full confidence that he will be a good addition and he will
make a good contribution to this Panel.  That is what I made my own
decision on.

 

Q: My question is on
disarmament.  You are the first Secretary-General in the history of
this Organization to attend the peace ceremony in Hiroshima,
together with other representatives, of course.  There is clearly a
renewed interest in reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear
weapons.  What do you think this interest is due to, at this moment
in history?  Secondly, you indicated that you will convene a
conference on 24 September on disarmament.  As you know the history
of disarmament conferences [is that they] have not been very
effective.  Would you give thought to convening a meeting or summit
of the Security Council to give the necessary priority to this
question?

 

SG: Thank you for asking
that question.  I regard it as a very pertinent and important
question at this time, particularly as I was the first UN
Secretary-General, after 65 years, to attend that ceremony.  As I
said, it was one of my most profoundly moving experiences,
personally as well as Secretary-General.  I have been visiting many
countries.  I have been meeting various different types of groups
and attending many different events, but that was one of the most
moving experiences for me.

 

Now, the international
community has seen recently positive movement politically.  Some of
the most powerful countries, like the United States – President
[Barack] Obama has made a landmark, very historic, speech on nuclear
disarmament in Prague, in April of last year.  And he convened —
again unprecedented and historic — Security Council summit meeting
on disarmament, with all 15 Security [Council] members participating
at the level of Head of State and Government.  That was, again,
historic.  And there was the Washington Nuclear Security Summit
meeting for the first time, and they agreed to have a second summit
meeting, to continue their discussion in Seoul, [Republic of] Korea,
in 2012.  That is again very historic.

 

As you may know, I have
taken nuclear disarmament as one of the top priorities.  In January
this year, I reported to the General Assembly that this is one of my
seven top priorities of the United Nations 2010 agenda.  I’m very
glad that I’m standing in the middle of this very positive
international atmosphere.  And my participation seemed to have
encouraged other nuclear-weapon States to participate, again for the
first time.  The US Ambassador to Tokyo, Ambassador [John] Roos, has
participated for the first time as a United States representative,
which generated a lot of attention and interest in the international
community.  There were 74 countries that were represented at the
ambassadorial level.  That was for the first time, again
unprecedented.

 

We have to seize this
momentum.  That’s what I’m trying to do.  But this 24 September
high-level meeting is, again, unprecedented. As you said, this is
not limited to only CD [Conference on Disarmament] members; this is
open to all Member States of the United Nations, to help the work of
the Conference on Disarmament, at the ministerial-and-above level. 
I think this is the first time to have such a high-level meeting on
disarmament at the United Nations.  Let us see, and let us make some
more political push.

 

Q: Mr. Secretary-General,
what is your response to the portrayal of your administration as
being weak on fighting internal fraud and corruption, as portrayed
now both in the [Inga-Britt] Ahlenius memo and the grievance now
filed by the former Chairman of the Procurement Task Force? Are you
satisfied with the performance that the acting Investigations
Director is doing at this point? And lastly, what do you think that
more investigation of the UN’s investigative capacity will produce,
given that there have already been a number of studies in that area?

 

SG: If anybody or if any
Member States within the UN system, or if any colleague of me within
the UN Secretariat, accuses me on the issue of accountability or
ethics, then that’s something I regard as unfair, first of all. It
was I who have taken this accountability and highest standard of
ethics by the UN Secretariat, [which] has been held from Day One.
And I have made much progress; again; unprecedented progress. It was
I who have established an Ethics Office in the UN system; can you
believe it? I have applied it to all funds and programmes, despite
much reluctance by UN agencies. I am now in the process of applying
to all United Nations specialised agencies – they have all different
Member States, all different rules and regulations in terms of
ethics – that’s what I have done now, through CEB [Chief Executives
Board] meetings. It has been quite difficult, but I have [made]
quite persistent efforts. I have given 100 percent independence in
the operations and in the work of OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight
Services]. Then, if anybody questions my integrity or my commitment
to accountability and ethics from the beginning, it is quite
difficult for me to accept [this]. As Chief Administrative Office in
accordance with the relevant Charter, then I am responsible for all
this management, appointing senior advisers. That’s what I am doing.

 

Q: I would like to ask you
three specific criticisms that she makes, Ms. Ahlenius, in her
report: One, that you refused to carry out a risk assessment in your
office; two, that you neglected to forward cases to the authorities;
and three, your management style was such that moving people around
different positions weakened institutional memory, and in general,
you care more about the “red carpet” than you do about the health of
the Organization. Can you please answer these specific questions –
there are many more, but just these three specific questions?

 

SG: I suggest that we need
to have some other separate session for this. I am willing to do
that. But I would like to pay more attention on broader [issues] and
the bigger picture. I do not expect that all the Member States or
all the staff of the Secretariat will like my style or my policies.
But I am a very reasonable, very practical man of common sense. I do
not take extreme, unreasonable policies. I always do the right
things, proper things. That’s what I can tell you, what I can assure
you. If you will see me doing anything in an improper way, in an
unreasonable way, in an extreme way, then please advise me. And
that’s what I have been…

 

Q: The blocking of [Robert]
Appleton’s appointment was clearly an incursion on the operational
independence of the Office of the Internal Oversight Services
(OIOS), which was fought for hugely in the early 1990s. There was a
huge battle to establish the independence of that office. You have
clearly curtailed the independence of that office, and now we see
that you might have promised those D2 posts, under the new person in
charge of OIOS, to South Africa. Again, that would be another
curtailing of the independence of that office. So how do you answer
the charge that you’re curtailing the independence of the Office of
the Internal Oversight Services?

 

SG: This, again, you are
only seeing from only one side. That’s appointment of officers;
that’s something that is under my jurisdiction as Chief
Administrative Officer.

 

Q: In the OIOS case, that’s
not true.

 

SG: And then that particular
position has been vacant since 2006. Then how can you find an answer
when that position, which is regarded as being very important, has
been vacant under Ms. Ahlenius’s term for more than two years. And
there had been, again, 76 more vacancies that still had not been
filled during her term. How you can explain [this]? But those 76
were completely under her authority.

 

Q: But Ms. Ahlenius said
that you blocked her for appointments coming into the post.

 

SG: No; no.

 

Q: She said she asked you 9
times to appoint Mr. Appleton.

 

SG: Please don’t take this
as a personal issue. This is an official issue. This is an
organizational issue. I’m not doing all [this] on my personal
issues. This appointment above the rank of D2, Directors, should go
through what is known as a Senior Review Board (SRB), without
exception. And then in the course of such controversial periods, she
recommended another D2 with three names, in accordance with the
rules and regulations of the SRB; that went to the SRB. And I
appointed [that person] immediately on her recommendation. But now
we are talking about only one D2 position, which has been taking
almost longer than one year, but only because of the lack of proper
procedures which is required by the regulations of the United
Nations. Please don’t take this as personal. This issue first went
to SRB, not through me. Then, whoever is not coming through SRB -
how do I know who is recommended? This issue only came later,
charging that I did not have any authority on that. That was
regarded as a challenge to the Secretary-General. Then she left
without filling that position.

 

Q: But, sir, can you answer
the point: have you promised the D2 post to a South African now in
order to get your nominee, the Canadian, Ms. [Carman] Lapointe?

 

SG:      That is another
matter. He was one of the candidates for this OIOS USG
[Under-Secretary-General] post. That is totally a different issue.

 

Q:        Did you promise
the D2 post, under Ms. Lapointe, to a South African? And isn’t that
a further curtailment of the independence of the OIOS?

 

SG:      No, I don’t think
that he has been properly cleared through this process. That did not
happen. The selection committee -- even before they came to me, he
was one of the finalists, the South African whom you are talking
about. If he [had been] willing to take the job, then I was okay
[for him] to fill that post.

 

There are certain cases when
someone was applying for a certain post, and where she or he was not
successful for that post, and because of the excellent quality of
the candidate – we really wanted to keep certain candidates in our
system – we offered a lower rank. And there are such cases. If you
want, I can give you an answer. That’s my authority.

 

[The
Spokesperson later added the following clarification: The
Secretary-General wants to make it absolutely clear that the
recruitment process for the Director of the Investigations Division
will start only after the new Under-Secretary-General of the Office
of Internal Oversight Services has taken up her post. This selection
will be conducted strictly in accordance with the established rules
and procedures. The assertion that a South African was offered the
job is completely unfounded.]

 

Q: Mr. Secretary-General,
please, I’d like for the last question to go back to the issue of
the panel of Gaza, to clarify one matter, and I have another
question on Lebanon. If you can clarify to us how this new panel
that will meet tomorrow: they will wait until the Israelis and the
Turks finish their investigation, and then they start their own
review, and issue their own report, or are they going to work in
parallel?

 

And my question on Lebanon:
sir, concerning the tribunal, what is your comment to all the leaks
that are coming out of the tribunal about Mr. [Rafik] Hariri, that
there are charges against members of Hezbollah? Doesn’t this
minimize the credibility of the tribunal itself, considering that
all of the leaks are coming to Israeli media and Israeli press?
Thank you.

 

SG: The tribunal on this
assassination of Mr. Hariri is something which this prosecutor is
now doing; therefore I should not make any comment. I’m not aware of
any process on how this investigation is going on. That is not
really within my jurisdiction; it is not [within] my power.

 

Q: But what about the panel,
sir? Can the panel wait until the Israelis finish their
investigation to issue a report?

 

SG:      That has nothing to
do with that. That has their own mandate; they have their own work
schedules. So this has nothing to do with it. This is a totally
separate issue.

 

Thank you very much. Please
don’t take this as a personal issue. I really ask you. I’m the
Secretary-General of the United Nations dealing with so many global
issues. Let us look at the broader picture – the bigger picture. You
may raise small issues, but for me that is just one part. Please
remember, I’m not dealing with all these personal issues. I do not
take any personal feelings from this.

 

Q: Mr. Secretary-General,
the Iranian ambassador wrote a letter to you last week about the
warnings, and other warnings being issued, to Iran about an attack,
an imminent attack, on Iranian nuclear installations. Have you been
able to talk to any American officials, or other officials, calling
for calm on this issue, which has now becoming – after yesterday,
Mr. [Fidel] Castro was talking about it…

 

SG: I’m not aware of any
such issues. The only thing I am dealing with is - the Iranian
nuclear issue is a source of great concern for the international
community, which should be addressed as soon as possible through
dialogue. And as the Iranians have expressed their willingness to
come back through dialogue, some time in September, I only hope that
they will engage in dialogue with the E3 + 3, and fully cooperate
with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], and also comply
fully with the relevant Security Council resolutions. That is the
only way to resolve this issue.  Thank you.

 

 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

TURKISH AND ISRAELI MEMBERS OF FLOTILLA PANEL ARE
NAMED

• The
  
  Secretary-General
  
  announced over the weekend the Israeli and Turkish members
  of the
  
  Panel of Inquiry on the flotilla incident of 31 May 2010.
   

• Israel's Panel member is
  Mr. Joseph Ciechanover. Turkey''s Panel member is Mr. Özdem
  Sanberk. Both men have distinguished records of public service.
   

• The Secretary-General
  looks forward to meeting them in New York on 10 August when they
  will join the other Panel members the former Prime Minister of
  New Zealand, Mr. Geoffrey Palmer, who is the Chair of the Panel,
  and the outgoing President of Colombia, Mr. Alvaro Uribe, who is
  Vice-Chair.
   

• The Secretary-General
  hopes that the Panel will fulfill its mandate based on the
  
  Presidential Statement of the
  
  Security Council and with the fullest cooperation of the
  relevant national authorities of the two countries.

 

U.N. ENVOY CONDEMNS KILLING OF MEDICAL WORKERS IN
AFGHANISTAN

• The Secretary-General’s
  
  Special Representative for Afghanistan,
  
  Staffan de Mistura, condemned what he called the “apparent
  cold-blooded execution” of ten medical workers in
  
  Afghanistan on 5 August.
   

• De Mistura said that
  health workers must have access to treat those in need and must
  be able to do so without fear. He added that all those involved
  in this and other incidents targeting health workers should
  respect the value of human life.

 

ADDITIONAL FLOODING IN PAKISTAN HINDERS RELIEF
ACTIVITIES

• The
  
  UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  
  says that Pakistan's deadly floods have now affected over
  six million people, according to the latest estimates produced
  today by the Provincial Authorities of Baluchistan, Khyber
  Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab, in cooperation with the United Nations.
  As of Saturday, the estimate was of just over four million
  people affected.
   

• “Things will probably
  get worse, before they start getting better,” said Martin
  Mogwanja, Humanitarian Coordinator in
  
  Pakistan. “We are working at full speed to respond to the
  most urgent needs of the affected populations.”
   

• OCHA says that the
  floods caused by the waters of the Indus River have reached
  Sindh Province, located in the country's south, and hundreds of
  villages have been flooded. The protective bund at Torhi,
  located near Sukkur in the province's north, has been breached.
  Several barrages and embankments are also at risk of breaking.
   

• According to forecasts,
  heavy rain will continue to fall in Sindh for at least the next
  three days. Until the waters recede, it will be nearly
  impossible to gain access to some of the worst-affected areas
  for assessments and delivery of assistance.
   

• While the amount of
  funds required for the relief operations cannot be known until
  needs are more comprehensively assessed, it is expected that the
  amount required over the coming months will be several hundreds
  of millions of dollars.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR MORE
ATTENTION TO THE NEEDS OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

• Today is the
  
  International Day for the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In a
  
  message marking the occasion, the
  
  Secretary-General noted that indigenous peoples have
  preserved a vast amount of humanity’s cultural history and he
  reaffirmed the United Nations’ commitment to their wellbeing.
   

• He added that
  more governments have been working to redress social and
  economic injustices against indigenous peoples since the
  adoption by the
  
  General Assembly of the landmark
  
  UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.
  However, “we must do even more,” he said, citing the alarming
  findings of the first-ever UN
  
  report on the State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which
  was published in January.