TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN ON HIS REPORT ON AFRICA AT HEADQUARTERS, 16 APRIL

Press Release
SG/SM/6523

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN ON HIS REPORT ON AFRICA AT HEADQUARTERS, 16 APRIL

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I have just completed my briefing to the Security Council on my report on the sources of conflict in Africa, and how we, together, can help bring them to an end. Let me say that the report is addressed not only to the Council but to all the United Nations and anyone concerned with Africa's remaining conflicts, in Africa and around the world. It is a challenge that we must all face. For too long, conflict in Africa has been seen as inevitable or intractable, or both; I believe it is neither. Conflict in Africa, as everywhere, is caused by human action and can be ended by human action.

Of course, not all of Africa is in crisis, not all of Africa is facing conflict. Indeed, Africa itself has begun to make significant economic and social progress in recent years. This report seeks to contribute to Africa's renewed quest for peace by offering a clear, candid analysis of their sources, by proposing realistic and achievable recommendations which, over time, may reduce, if not entirely end, Africa's conflicts by summoning the political will of Africans and non-Africans alike -- the will without which no level of assistance and no degree of hope can make a difference between war and peace in Africa.

For the United Nations -- but also for me, personally, as Secretary- General -- there is no higher goal, no deeper commitment and no greater ambition than preventing armed conflict, so that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. With this report, the United Nations welcomes its responsibility for helping Africa meet its challenges. We must seek not to supplant Africa's own efforts but to complement them, for we wish above all that this report will make a new beginning in the relationship between Africa and the United Nations, particularly on these issues.

Thank you. I am now be ready to take your questions.

QUESTION: It is probably too early for you to have had a reaction from the members of the Security Council, but in general what would you expect them to do at this point -- let's say the first step -- to implement your report?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: The President of the Council announced this morning that in a week's time, I think on 24 April, there will be another debate in the Council on the report, where Council members and other Member States and observers will address, will speak to the report. They will have had time to study it, and we will get their reactions and responses then. And I hope they will find the report solid and frank and the analysis serious, and it will help in our efforts to assist Africa.

QUESTION (interpretation from French): In your report you talk about the role of arms merchants. At present, at least four States among the five permanent members sell arms. How do you think reductions in arms sales can be promoted?

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The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I believe that, first of all, we must begin by reading the report, and if we really want to help Africa we must find a means of not selling so many arms to the Africans. And Africans themselves need to avoid this trend towards the accumulation of arms -- because there are two sides to this. And I hope that they will work with us to resolve the situation.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, in the report you gave a great deal of attention to mediation efforts, coordination and preventive work. What value do you see in any regional approach that might involve a standing regional envoy who might be able to coordinate all aspects of security arrangements in this sense -- Ambassador Sahnoun [inaudible] [Special Envoy of the Secretary- General in Africa] throughout the continent.

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think there has been quite a lot of development in Africa on that front. We are all familiar with what ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] did with its ECOMOG force in Liberia. The SADC [South African Development Community] in South Africa has also played a very effective role in conflict resolution. And other efforts have taken place in Africa, particularly in the Central African region: one saw the role of President Bongo [of Gabon] and other leaders in attempting to resolve the conflicts in Brazzaville. In Liberia and in Sierra Leone armies and peacekeeping forces had to be introduced. It was an African force, and they were able to resolve the conflict. And I think what happened in Sierra Leone is particularly important. We sent a powerful message around the continent that juntas will not be allowed to dislodge democratically elected governments and be comfortable in office. And I hope that message is not lost on anyone.

The OAU [Organization of African Unity] has its own machinery for conflict resolution, and it works effectively with leaders around the region. And attempts are being made to strengthen African capacity for peacekeeping. That should not free the United Nations from its responsibility for international peace and security, but if there is a strong African capacity it helps in ensuring peace and security around the continent.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, [inaudible] the Security Council is acting from the point of view of the decision maker. And on the sanctions, you mentioned that you want these to be directed to targeted decision makers and their [inaudible] and their movement. How would you expect them to look at your recommendations, or would you get any other action on that [inaudible]?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: No, it's too early to know how the Council will react. But we think the recommendations will be helpful if they are more targeted to those in leadership. We all have agreed that sanctions are a blunt instrument and sometimes hurt the innocent and those for whom they were not intended. In fact, that is one of the reasons why right from the beginning, the Council introduced the oil-for-food scheme for Iraq: to be able to assist

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the general population. But if we can target, if we can have more targeted and specific sanctions, we may be able to avoid some of these problems.

QUESTION: Your report addresses basically the conflict and resolution aspect in Africa. But one of the major problems that afflicts the region is an economic crisis. Your report doesn't --

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: No, I'm sorry, the report covers the economic aspects very strongly. Not only do we get into economic issues, but we have specific recommendations in this area. We deal with debt relief, we deal with regional projects and also there is a strong post-conflict building and economic aspect in the report. And I would suggest, since this just came out and probably one hasn't had time to analyse it in all its detail -- but it's quite comprehensive and it covers economic aspects.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, in reference to your concrete recommendations regarding trade, debt relief and new sources of funding: in the post-cold-war era, funding from industrialized nations, including the United States, has declined. How important is it, in your mind, that the international community rethink the mix of private investment and government aid to help development in Africa?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: No, I think it is important, not only for the international community but for the African governments also, to think about it, and for the United Nations as well. And this is one of the reasons why we have encouraged partnerships with the private sector, with the non- governmental organizations, with civil society, to be able to move forward some of the economic and social projects.

ODA [official development assistance] has diminished and is diminishing, and we cannot keep chasing diminishing donor assistance. In today's world, it is the private sector that creates wealth, it is the private sector that has the money, the technology and the management, so we need to work with them to really try to get them to invest in some of these countries. This has become part of the United Nations modus operandi in quite a lot of the developing countries. That is one of the reasons why we are working with governments to strengthen their institutions, to come up with the right legal framework, to come up with their own regulations for privatization to ensure that they create the enabling environment that will foster investments, both domestic and international. It is these same conditions that encourage domestic investment that will attract international investment, so we are very much aware of this and we are working with governments in this respect. But of course we have to make sure that some of it is direct investment and not just capital that can move in and out at the whim of the -- but your point is well taken.

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QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, following up on this issue of economic development, we know that in Africa there are a lot of governments that are far from democratic and that there seems to be a lot of corruption. Are there any specific proposals you make for dealing with the corruption issue, which clearly has an impact on private investment?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think we discussed in the report the need for transparency, the need for good governance, the need for a society based on the rule of law -- all these requirements would have an impact on the issue of corruption. In our own work on the ground, this is one of the issues that we tackle. And it's not just the United Nations alone; the World Bank is working with us on this, and the OECD [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] and the OAU are also discussing it, and hopefully they will also come up with some standards for African government.

QUESTION (interpretation from French): Mr. Secretary-General, in your report you speak of mobilizing international support for peace efforts, and you give as an example Rwanda, where the international community procrastinated for quite a while. But it would seem that it doesn't always procrastinate when an African country has oil and diamonds, as does Somalia, for instance. How can you get the international community to mobilize when we are dealing with a country like Rwanda, which has nothing?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL (interpretation from French): In that case, obviously, you need to start with the will to do something, with the will to assist, to accept the fact that if we do not help these countries, those conflicts will continue and that the result will be mass migrations of people who are going to try to leave, to seek jobs elsewhere, be it in one or another region. Therefore, we need to start with the will and the idea of accepting responsibility for others, that we can help them live their lives as they should. If that will is lacking, it is impossible to do much. Without real political will, there is not much that can be done.

QUESTION: Going back to the questions of weapons, you refer to the arms embargoes and to the question of nations strengthening their national laws on embargoes. What could the Security Council do to strengthen enforcement of its own arms embargoes?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: That is a good question, and again it also comes back to this question of cooperation and will on the part of the Member governments to apply the decisions and resolutions of the Security Council. Application of these embargoes has not always been universal, and in some cases there has been major leakage. I would hope that if the Council acts, all Member States will respect the Council's decision and apply the sanctions.

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QUESTION: You mention in the report Rwanda and Somalia as undermining confidence in the Organization. How would you say that the Organization will gain that back, for example in the Congo [Kinshasa] today?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I don't know that the Organization necessarily needs to gain back its confidence in the Congo [Kinshasa]. The Organization is operating around the world and on many continents and is dealing with many issues. What is important is that we learn from the mistakes and the difficulties of the past, adjust our approaches and move forward. In fact, some of these lessons have been drawn, and this is reflected in the report, as are some of the solutions and the approaches that we are putting forward.

We do have a difficult situation in the Congo [Kinshasa], but it takes two to tango. Where the governments and the leaders have been cooperating and working with the United Nations and have had the will to work on either development issues, political settlements or the development of good governance, we have entered into partnership, and a lot has been done. Where that will is not there, there is not much one can do. You cannot impose it. And I think we have to be careful to not always put the blame on the United Nations. There is the other side, and in some areas it should take greater responsibility.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, some of your predecessors have made reports on Africa. Why do you believe this report will make a difference in peace and prosperity in Africa, and what sort of follow-up do you intend to do to gauge that progress?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think that first of all there is a new mood in Africa. There are lots of leaders in Africa today who are determined to take charge, who are working to improve economic conditions for their people and their nation, who are seeking to introduce democratic practices and a rule based on the rule of law. More and more African countries are beginning to accept that the only legitimate source of authority is one based on the will of the people.

And I think, with that mood — with the Africans engaging themselves — we can work with them in partnership to foster this positive development. I think the international community has also recognized that, and I hope this candid report will really engage us and encourage those who would want to work with Africa, and the African governments themselves, to embrace the assistance by the international community and work in partnership.

What we have also done in this report is really place people at the centre. We are talking about the African people, what should be done to help the Africans and what we and the African leaders and the Africans should do to move economic and social development forward while respecting their human

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rights and the rule of law. So I think in this new climate, if we can work in partnership, we can make real progress here.

QUESTION: Do you have a timetable in mind for following up your report?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: No, I think these are not the kinds of issues for which you can have a timetable. But within the United Nations and within ourselves we are beginning to assign tasks: to department heads, to programme heads -- who does what. But, of course, we would need to see how the Member States react after the Council reviews the report next week.

The report is not only addressed to the Security Council, it is also addressed to the General Assembly and ECOSOC [Economic and Social Council], and those two bodies, in time, may also want to look at it and come up with suggestions about what can be done or what they, collectively, would want to do, or what individual governments would want to do in furthering the proposals and recommendations in the report. But what the United Nations can do -- yesterday at a meeting we began to assign tasks to our heads of departments and agencies as to who should do what and how we should pool our efforts to make things happen.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, the Iraqi leadership warned today that it is running out of patience with the United Nations sanctions and that Baghdad's relations with the Security Council are at stake if the Council does not act on paragraph 22 of resolution 687 by the end of this month. Are you worried that this is an ultimatum? Are you concerned about a cycle of escalation that might jeopardize the agreement that you have arrived at -- the new relationship that Iraqis have with you? And, secondly, do you in fact plan to send United Nations representatives to the London conference, which the Iraqis have objected to? If you could clarify that for us, please.

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: On your first question, I have not seen the full text of the statement. I am not sure how authoritative that statement is. You will recall that the agreement was negotiated with President Saddam Hussein himself and signed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz. And I would hope that if there is going to be a change in policy it would come from that level and the same source.

Yesterday I was also asked a question: that Dr. Rashid, the Oil Minister, had made a statement to some of the inspectors, and if this meant a change in policy on the Iraqi side. I think we need to be very careful not to jump to conclusions each time an Iraqi official makes a statement. I think we will need to sort of test it, verify it and make sure if this is the intention or the real decision of the Government. So far things have gone well, and we hope that they will continue to cooperate. I have had no official communication from the Government that they are ending their cooperation with the United Nations.

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With regard to the London conference, we will send someone to make a statement to present the facts as to how the scheme is run and how we approach the humanitarian problem in Iraq. But we are not co-sponsoring or deeply associated with the conference; but we will provide the facts and let them get on with it.

QUESTION: Just as a follow-up to clarify. This is a statement that was made by the leadership, chaired by President Saddam Hussein; it is the top body of the Baath leadership party. The meeting was chaired by Saddam Hussein.

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I have not seen the statement. I will have to study it if it came from President Saddam Hussein, a meeting chaired by him. But I have not seen it, in all honesty.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, the United Nations has sent more than one [inaudible] to Afghanistan, from Benon Sevan to Mr. Mahmoud and from there on to Dr. Holl. And now Mr. Brahimi is engaged in the dialogue to bring a coalition government in Afghanistan -- gender equality and human rights situation. Now, Bill Richardson is leading a United States team to Afghanistan today, and he will be negotiating on the same identical agenda which the United Nations has promoted in Afghanistan. Do you foresee any success after all this marathon? Do you feel that there can be any achievement when still we are in part one, asking for broad-based coalition government and gender equality?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think a lot depends on the leaders of Afghanistan. We have been patient and persistent and have worked with them over the years, and our efforts are continuing. We have also appealed to the neighbours to stop pouring arms into Afghanistan and to stop arming the parties and to work with us in search of a political solution. If and when the parties decide that the solution is not in the battlefield but is around the negotiating table, and they engage us seriously, we will make progress.

Mr. Brahimi is doing his best. I do not know the details of the proposal Ambassador Richardson has with him. You indicated that it is similar to what we have. I think he will be supporting the United Nations efforts. I do not know the details of what he is carrying with him. But I think if the faction leaders cooperate with us we can make progress. But so far we have not received the level of cooperation that will allow us to move forward, and we have appealed to them and also to the neighbours to work with us. And I hope that Mr. Brahimi will be successful in moving the parties forward.

QUESTION: Do you mean to say that the United Nations is at the mercy of the parties in conflict in Afghanistan, or do you foresee that, with the help of Bill Richardson, the United Nations will now be able to progress inch by inch or foot by foot, something like that?

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The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I am not quite sure I understand your question. I think I have made quite clear the parameters within which we operate. I do not know what you expect the United Nations to do in a situation where the leaders' will to settle is not there. The United Nations cannot impose peace. The United Nations cannot get the parties to sit around a table if they do not want to come. I think it is as simple as that.

QUESTION (interpretation from French): Mr. Secretary-General, we understand that you are going to announce the final withdrawal of the Human Rights Investigative Mission from Kinshasa. Can you tell us why you are taking this decision now, and not before, and if you see this as a failure for the United Nations?

The SECRETARY-GENERAL (interpretation from French): I had a long discussion with my colleagues, including Mrs. Robinson. I am waiting for certain elements in order to make a final decision, but the decision will be taken before the weekend. I think we have done the most we could. We have been extremely patient. We have done everything possible to find the truth. I also think it was right to do everything possible to really try to find out who killed whom and for what reason. Therefore, it is not a failure. We are going to continue the inquiry from outside if we decide to withdraw the team.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, you have just said in French that the team's efforts have not been a failure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo --

The SECRETARY-GENERAL: No, I am saying the team's efforts have not been wasted. I am saying that we did really go the extra mile in search of the truth, and one should never apologize for going an extra mile and making an extra effort to get to the truth. The fact that they did not give us full cooperation -- and, in fact, in some cases obstructed what we had to do -- does not negate the efforts that we made.

The search for the truth will continue through other means if we are not able to continue on the ground, and we will submit a report some time later.

QUESTION: Two brief questions, one on Iraq and one on the Congo.

Is it your understanding, just to clarify this, that the agreement you reached in Baghdad was that UNSCOM [United Nations Special Commission] could go back to these presidential sites whenever they wanted to, including in the monitoring phase?

Second question: what do you think the consequences will be of pulling out the United Nations investigative mission from the Congo?

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The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think, on your first question, the answer is yes. The agreement allows UNSCOM to go in again and to go back again. And so it was not time-specific or one time only. In fact, it was on that issue that we spent more time trying to thrash it out until we got an agreement with the President himself.

On the question of the team in Kinshasa, when you ask me what is the impact: I think the impact, perhaps, would underscore how difficult it is to get to the facts, how difficult it is to get governments to cooperate in these situations when human rights abuses are at stake. We will probably have to think of other sources of creative means in getting to the truth, in addition to insisting on having people on the ground. I think the fact that we got people on the ground and focused attention on the issue, and went, as I said, the extra mile, was a positive one that showed the determination of the Organization to get to the bottom of these things.

I think there are future lessons that we will have to draw as to how we get to some of these and how we deal with recalcitrant governments in these situations.

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