UNSG press encounter after UNSC Consult - 28/7/6
New York, 28 July 2006 - Secretary-General's press encounter following the Security Council consultations on the Middle East
Q: Welcome back. Are you tired?
SG: A bit
tired, but it's the nature of the world we live in.
I've just come back from the conference in Rome,
where there was a broad understanding on the need for a
political agreement and a political framework which will
allow us to move forward. This would include not only the
political agreement, but also a military force that would go
to the south to help strengthen the sovereignty of the
Government of Lebanon. The emphasis should be on
strengthening the Government of Lebanon to take charge of
its territory and to extend its authority throughout the
country, and be able to implement [Security Council]
resolution 1559 fully. Lebanon is in a very difficult
situation and does need the sustained support of the
international community.
Obviously, we did not get a
consensus on cessation of hostilities, so some believe that
the conference achieved nothing. But I think we did make
good progress on the other aspects.
Mr. [Jan] Egeland
is briefing the Council on the humanitarian situation. As
you know, I've just sent him in a few days ago and he was
able to visit all the areas affected. And he's sharing his
impressions with the Council and will be able to speak to
you when he comes out of the Council. So I will leave him to
brief you on the humanitarian situation.
But the
people in Lebanon need our help. And I think many battles
are being fought on the soil of Lebanon, and some have
absolutely nothing to do with Lebanon. And we should focus
on the needs and the safety and the future of Lebanon. Thank
you.
Q: Secretary-General, how do you feel? Do you
feel that Rome and the Security Council consultations about
the Presidential Statement regarding the deaths of the
military observers - do you feel that it's a failure, and
how would you comment on that?
SG: Right from the
beginning, you noticed that I've been pushing for action. I
think the time has come for us to really be action-oriented
and concrete steps that can be taken to help the
protagonists and the civilians who caught in the middle.
We've gone beyond statements and exhortations. We're looking
for concrete, practical steps to take action. And whilst in
Europe, I did talk to several countries that may contribute
troops for the stabilization force, and I look forward to
meeting with some of the governments here, organizing a
meeting here early next week with potential troop
contributors to begin to really move things ahead.
Q:
Will you use every power and moral authority at your
disposal to ask the Security Council to stop the carnage in
Lebanon that's going on, which everybody recognizes as such,
but nobody is able to do anything about it. Will you be able
to do that?
And also, tell me, in exclusivity, 1559,
can it be implemented exclusively, without also implementing
resolutions 242 and 338?
SG: All UN resolutions must
be implemented. I'm not promoting selective implementation
of UN resolutions. They are all important, and as
Secretary-General of the United Nations, I seek to promote
implementation of all UN resolutions.
And as to the
first part of your question, let me say that I just came
back from the Council chamber; I just came out of there. And
they are also anxious and concerned that something be done.
They're anxious and concerned that they should be seen as
taking action and, indeed, do take action that will make a
difference on the ground. So I hope that self-induced
pressure is going to turn into some concrete
action.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, two things. Could
you clarify to us please, when you spoke in Rome about
bringing in Iran and Syria, would you kindly explain if you
meant to bring them in as part of the solution; like 1559
says, this is Lebanese position, it's not Syria or Iran? Or
did you mean that only exclusively through asking them to
stop alleged weapons and support that they're extending to
Hezbollah? And so what are the conditions, from your point
of view, it's not a ceasefire. From you point of view, what
are they now?
SG: Sorry, I didn't get the last part of
the question.
Q: Some people are calling for a
ceasefire and we know that a ceasefire, period, is not
happening. So to bring about the ceasefire, you've been
thinking about this I'm sure -- ceasefire, how? How do you
do that?
SG: I think on your question, let me say that
the emphasis should be on Lebanese sovereignty, working with
the Government and the people of Lebanon to take charge of
their territory and their destiny. I think that is the
cardinal principle that should drive all the efforts that
the international community is involved in.
On the
question of who has a contribution to make as we attempt to
achieve that objective, obviously, we need to work with the
Lebanese. We need to work with the region. And when I said
the region has a role to play, including Syria and Lebanon
– because at the discussions, we had some of the regional
partners, but these two were not there. And everybody knows
that they do have influence on Hezbollah and, if we're going
to be able to resolve this issue, not only do we need to
work with the Government of Lebanon, but we should encourage
those who have influence to bring that influence to bear.
And I think it is normal. I mean, we all, for example, turn
and look to U.S. and say the U.S. has influence on Israel
and should try and work with Israel for us to find a
solution. I think the same logic applies to the other side
– whoever has influence. That should not diminish from the
authority of the Lebanese Government.
On the question
of a ceasefire, obviously, ceasefire in these situations
will have to be negotiated. I called for cessation of
hostilities which, hopefully, will lead to ceasefire.
Cessation of hostilities can be called for and the parties,
if they are agree, can just stop fighting to allow certain
things to happen, to allow the sort of work for us to deal
with the humanitarian emergency that Jan Egeland is briefing
the Council on now. You will need that cessation of
hostilities to put in the force anyway, you know. And of
course, a ceasefire obviously will have to be negotiated,
and that may take a while.
Q: Hezbollah is not a
state, sir. So how do you do it? Who's negotiating
here?
SG: I think we have had many situations where
agreements have been reached. First of all, there is a
Government of Lebanon that is a counterpart here. The
Government of Lebanon has its own links and Hezbollah is a
member of the Government, and they talk to each other. But
even besides the fact that there is a Government of Lebanon,
there are many examples in history, I don't need to tell you
this, where there have been negotiations and ceasefires
agreed with militias, with insurgencies, which has allowed
peace processes to move forward.
Q: Secretary-General,
do you feel that the Presidential Statement issued by the
Security Council on the four observers will affect the
appetite of troop contributing countries?
SG: I think
the whole unfortunate event which happened with the UN
peacekeepers and the time it took the Council to be able to
react, has had a bit of a pall on them, but I hope they all
realize the urgency and the importance of what we are
dealing with and will be able to come forward with troops.
As I said in Rome, I've had the opportunity to speak to the
Prime Minister of Israel on this issue, and he indicated to
me that he couldn't believe it could be intentional. He
offered his deep sorrow and seemed genuinely upset about it,
which we accept. He has indicated that he is going to do an
investigation. I have urged that we do a joint
investigation, because we will do our own investigation. It
would be best if we could do a joint investigation.
Otherwise, we will have two reports on the table. But I
think we should all hold our horses until the results of the
investigation are out. And I was grateful to receive the
Prime Minister's apology and expression of sorrow, which is
normal.
Q: Do you foresee that the solution would have
to include the Hezbollah becoming part of the Lebanese army,
in some form or another? And you also mentioned battles that
have nothing to do with Lebanon taking place in Lebanese
soil. Is this, in any sense, that you see that this is a
proxy war with Iran and Syria going on in Lebanon?
SG:
I said many wars are going on – many battles. So don't
draw me into that now; we'll be here for quite a
while.
Let me say, on your specific question, that I
think the Lebanese themselves were discussing this. In fact,
the question of the disarmament of Hezbollah was very much
on the national agenda. During the national dialogue, this
was one of them, Hezbollah was part of the discussions.
There has been suggestion in the past by the Lebanese that
they would want to transform Hezbollah into a sort of a
national guard, bringing it under the command of the army.
Whether this is still on the table or not, I do not know.
But they need to find a way of disarming Hezbollah and
creating a situation where there will be one authority and
one gun, and extend the authority through the territory. And
this where the international community needs to work with
them and give them the support, the space, by deploying the
stabilization force.
Q: Does that mean transformation
rather than disarmament?
SG: I think it's said that
there's many ways to skin a cat.
Q: Mr.
Secretary-General, a couple house-keeping things. Are you
planning to call a meeting of potential troop contributors
for an international force, Monday or any other time this
week? And what do you know about a possible ministerial
meeting at the UN? And thirdly, are you planning any
missions to Damascus or Tehran?
SG: You have lots of
house-keeping issues. [laughs]
Let me say that, yes,
we will be bringing together a group of countries that may
be potential troop contributors, hopefully on Monday.
Obviously it will be preliminary discussions, because we do
not have the mandate of the Security Council yet. And it is
the mandate, and what the troops are being asked to do, that
would eventually help governments make up their minds
whether they participate or do not participate.
With
regards to a possible ministerial meeting, there has been
talk about it. I first heard about it when we were in Rome,
that there may be a need for a Council meeting at the
ministerial level, probably sometime next week. But I don't
think any date or time has been fixed yet.
For the
immediate [period], I have no travel plans for Iran or
Syria. But that is for the immediate. If it is necessary,
obviously, I will do it.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General,
earlier you talked about reports regarding the Israeli
attack on the UNIFIL post. We got indications yesterday that
Israel wasn't standing around, waiting, cooperating with the
United Nations. Do you foresee you're going to get
cooperation from them?
SG: Well, the Prime Minister
was very correct and very forthcoming. He did not promise
that he accepted a joint investigation. I suggested it, and
he said we'll look at it. But he didn't promise that they
will do it. We are going ahead with our own investigation,
and I thought it would have been best if we did a joint one,
so that we don't have two reports on the table and begin
another debate as to which is the correct one and which one
is acceptable, and which one is not. But in any event, it is
important that a thorough investigation be conducted and the
reports be made public. We will make ours public too, if we
do not end up with a joint investigation.
Q: To take a
wider view, sir, do you see any rising consensus on the part
of the international community that organizations or
militias or military or paramilitary organizations that
operate within the boundaries of one state and threaten the
security of an adjoining state, and simultaneously the very
sovereignty of the state from which they operate, simply
will not be tolerated by the international
community?
SG: I think in this particular situation,
you do have a Council resolution, 1559, which has attempted
to deal with the issue of units within a state which are
armed, asking for disarmament of all militia, Lebanese and
non-Lebanese. I think we need to be able to contain
terrorism. We need to be able to deal with those who commit
these atrocious acts. But in seeking effective action
against terrorists, I think, one, we need to focus our
action on the perpetrators of the crime, and be concerned
about its impact on civilians in the vicinity. And we should
also be careful that our fight against terrorism, effective
action against terrorism, does not erode our basic belief in
human rights and the rule of law.
But you are right
that terrorists cannot be given a free reign. So on that, I
think, the international community has made it clear, we
need to work together to root out terrorism. I myself have
put forward a comprehensive proposal for a fight against
terrorism to the General Assembly, which they are looking at
now. And I hope the Member States will come to an agreement
on how they come together to fight terrorism
Q: One
question on the Congo, please. There's an op-ed in the New
York Times today by a British television journalist who
filmed a village in the Congo in April being burned while
MONUC [UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]
stood by, this was reported in The Guardian. His op-ed in
the Times says that he was never contacted by MONUC during
their investigation. And then, earlier today at the noon
briefing, we were told that the allegations have been
thoroughly investigated and found untrue. There's also Peter
Karim, who took the UN peacekeepers hostage and has now been
incorporated into the Congolese army. I guess, with both of
these as the backdrop, is the UN system so committed to the
elections that it's doing half-dash investigations of MONUC
abuses, and why would Peter Karim, who you said would have
personal accountability, be allowed into the Congolese
army?
SG: First of all, let me say that we are serious
about the Congolese elections. We are working very hard with
other partners to ensure that we will work with the
Congolese people and leaders to resolve the conflict that
has engulfed their state for so long. It is the first time
they are going to have a chance to vote in over 40 years,
and we are working with them. And we hope we'll be able to
organize the elections in a reasonably secure
environment.
I do not have details of the issues
you've raised, and I'm not aware that Karim has been
recruited in the Congolese army, but I will look into these
issues.
Q: Mr. [Dmitry] Titov gave a briefing, and he
said that he was aware that that was part of the deal for
the release.
SG: I'm not aware of this.
Q: When
you were in Rome, you said at the end of the meeting that
you will urge the Security Council for a cessation of
hostilities and ceasefire too. How urgent is it, if urgent
had been two weeks now, and we are talking about perhaps a
week, days, and more weeks?
SG: I sense your
frustration, and the sense that we are behaving as if we
don't know the meaning of the word “urgent”. But as I
said this morning, we have really had a lengthy discussion
on this in the Council. And the Council members themselves
are beginning to get frustrated, and I hope that will lead
to some action.
Q: Sur le Congo, nous sommes à deux
jours des élections. L'ONU s'est investi énormement dans
ce processus. Est-ce que vous avez un appel à lancer aux
électeurs qui vont se rendre aux urnes le dimanche
prochain?
SG: Je demande aux Congolais et aux
Congolaises de vraiment participer activement mais il faut
éviter les violences. Et je demande aux dirigeants
politiques et les leaders politiques d'accepter les
resultats des élections. On ne veut pas voir au lendemain
des élections que des gens demandent des manifestations et
demandent à leurs supporteurs de se rendre dans la rue en
critiquant les gens qui ont gagné. Dans ce genre
d'élections, il y a des gagnants et des perdants. Il y a
une règle du jeu et je demande aux Congolais de l'accepter.
Tout le monde les soutient. Nous sommes en train de les
aider à batir un état et j'espère qu'ils vont saisir
l'opportunité de vraiment vaincre leurs differences à
travers le vote [Pluto] qu'à travers, disons, d'autres
moyens.
ENDS