TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL LOUISE FR+CHETTE AT UNITED NATIONS GENEVA OFFICE, 16 JUNE

Press Release
DSG/SM/59

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL LOUISE FRÉCHETTE AT UNITED NATIONS GENEVA OFFICE, 16 JUNE

- 1 - Press Release DSG/SM/59 17 June 1999

Moderator: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to welcome you to this press conference of the Deputy Secretary-General in Room III. She is accompanied by Mr. Bernard Miyet, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, who is sitting at her right.

This press conference follows the meetings the Deputy Secretary-General chaired at the Palais des Nations yesterday and today on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK):

The Deputy Secretary-General: Merci, vous avez devant vous une équipe francophone, c'est un peu exceptionnel, mais nous serons ravis de prendre vos questions dans la langue de votre choix, en anglais ou en français. D'abord, je vous rappelle que le Conseil de sécurité a demandé au Secrétaire général d'assumer la direction de l'administration civile intérimaire au Kosovo. Nous avions prévu cette possibilité et avions déjà commencé à travailler avant la décision formelle du Conseil. Depuis la décision du Conseil, le Secrétaire général d'une part a soumis un premier rapport, un rapport préliminaire contenant ses propositions quant à l'organisation de cette Mission des Nations Unies au Kosovo. Il a également nommé, comme vous le savez, Sergio Vieira de Mello comme Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général par intérim. Je précise que M. de Mello, par conséquent, est au Kosovo non pas en tant que Secrétaire adjoint aux affaires humanitaires mais en tant que Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général par intérim. J'espère que vous avez pris connaissance du rapport soumis par le Secrétaire général lundi matin (heure de New York) et vous verrez que la structure qu'il propose pour la «UNMIK» -puisqu'il faut bien inventer des acronymes à chaque fois qu'on a une nouvelle mission- est composée de quatre piliers. Ce qui est particulier dans cette mission dirigée par le Secrétaire général et son Représentant spécial sur le terrain, c'est que certaines des composantes du mandat qui a été voté par le Conseil de sécurité seront données en responsabilité à des organisations autres que l'ONU. Normalement dans les missions de ce genre, l'ONU reçoit un mandat, elle «livre toute la marchandise», tous les aspects du mandat. Cette fois-ci, le Conseil de sécurité nous a demandé de travailler avec l'assistance d'autres organisations et c'est ce qui a donné naissance à ce concept d'une mission à quatre piliers dont un des piliers, relatif à ce qu'on appelle en anglais «Institutions building», serait sous le leadership de l'OSCE; une composante relative à la reconstruction, la réhabilitation économique du Kosovo serait sous le leadership de l'Union européenne, tandis que l'administration civile et les dimensions humanitaires seraient, dans le premier cas, sous le leadership des Nations Unies comme telles et, dans le cas de l'humanitaire, le leadership du Haut Commissariat aux réfugiés. Le but de nos rencontres, hier et aujourd'hui, avec les institutions désignées dans le rapport du Secrétaire général -essentiellement l'Union européenne et la Commission européenne d'une part, l'OSCE d'autre part- était de définir de façon plus précise le partage des responsabilités entre les différentes composantes. Nous avons passé pas mal de temps en discussions avec chacune des organisations, en bilatéral, pour discuter des questions spécifiques au mandat de chacune des organisations. Ce matin, nous avons eu des consultations avec des représentants de ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler la présence de sécurité internationale sur le terrain. Sur le terrain, parce qu'il y a évidemment une interface entre la mission civile et la dimension sécurité. Et puis la dernière partie de nos réunions a porté sur des questions qui sont d'intérêt plus général, essentiellement de nature administrative : la possibilité de la mise en commun de certains services. Nous pourrons en parler plus avant si vous le souhaitez. Je pense que ce qui est important de noter, c'est que, d'une part les organisations qui avaient été invitées par le Secrétaire général à prendre le leadership de la mise en oeuvre de certaines des composantes ont exprimé leur accord de principe avec les propositions du Secrétaire général et leur disponibilité pour assumer ces responsabilités. Deuxièmement, nous avons déjà convenu d'un certain mécanisme de suivi pour nous assurer que nous sommes en mesure d'assumer aussi rapidement que possible l'ensemble des responsabilités qui ont été définies par le Conseil de sécurité dans cette résolution adoptée tout récemment. Mon dernier commentaire sera que, pendant que nous travaillons à définir les responsabilités de chacun, les Nations Unies sont déjà sur le terrain. Nous tenons à souligner que les Nations Unies ont répondu très très rapidement au mandat qui leur a été confié puisque déjà avec le premier convoi militaire des représentants du HCR se sont déployés au Kosovo dès le lendemain et dans les jours qui ont suivi les opérations militaires au Kosovo et deuxièmement que la Mission comme telle est présente depuis dimanche en la personne de Sergio Vieira de Mello et de l'équipe qui l'accompagne. Je pense que je vais terminer ici. Nous sommes prêts à répondre à vos questions.

Question by the President of the United Nations Correspondents Association at Geneva: Madame Deputy Secretary- General, thank you very much for coming and giving us this press conference. I wondered if you could comment, first of all, about the Special Envoys, Mr. Kukan and Mr. Bildt, who were chosen with great care and time apparently. Have they been completely sidelined by this process now? They do not seem to be involved.

The Deputy Secretary-General: Mr. Bildt, who is in Geneva, participated in all the meetings that we had yesterday and this morning. Mr. Kukan unfortunately was not able to be present in Geneva, but one of his advisers was present also at all the meetings. The Special Envoys continue to have a role in terms of the advice they provide to the Secretary-General on the development of this concept. They provide support to the Secretary-General in terms of political consultations that they can do with countries both in the region and in other countries interested in this; and thirdly, there is a regional dimension to the problem of the Balkans that goes well beyond the Kosovo operation itself, for which the Special Envoys have been asked by the Secretary-General to take a special interest in.

Question: Mrs. Fréchette, I understand the plan for elections, the timetable is D-day plus 240 days, that is, like eight months from now to hold elections. Would this be not too ambitious? And, secondly, could you elaborate a little bit on the economic management of the territory? How will they collect taxes? Who will they pay taxes to? Who will run their economic affairs and what currency will be adopted?

The Deputy Secretary-General: First, on the question of the elections, the timetable you are referring to, I believe, is the timetable that was discussed at the Rambouillet negotiations. I think all of this is subject to reconsideration, since the circumstances since Rambouillet have changed. It will be for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to provide advice to the Security Council on when will be the appropriate time to organize elections. Clearly, what was negotiated in Rambouillet is of great value and of great interest, but one cannot, at this stage, establish a date for elections in Kosovo. The Mission is just in the process of being formed. As for the economic dimension, I think there are important issues there, precisely on reigniting the economy and normal activity in the region. I do not have answers for you at the moment. This is part of the planning work that we have to do. Indeed, there are dimensions that are very much linked to the economic rehabilitation function, but as well to the exercise of civil authority. So these are issues that we are examining with a view to coming up with recommendations.

Question: On the options on the table. What sort of options you are looking at?

The Deputy Secretary-General: At this stage, it is clear in the resolution of the Security Council that, in the first instance, the security force on the ground will exercise whatever authority is required to ensure a minimum of law and order and to respond to the emergencies of the moment. I think, for the longer term, I would not want to speculate what will be the final shape of things to come in economic terms. I think we will have to see what the situation is on the ground, identify options and then the Special Representative of the Secretary-General will exercise his executive authority as given to him by the Security Council.

Question: J'ai deux questions. La première: quelle sera la responsabilité de la KFOR dans les deux piliers humanitaire et administration civile. Ma deuxième question: quels représentants de l'OTAN avez-vous rencontrés ici et quels sont les résultats de votre rencontre avec eux?

The Deputy Secretary-General: D'abord au niveau des problèmes humanitaires, les agences humanitaires des Nations Unies et les ONG humanitaires sont déjà présentes sur le terrain et elles sont donc déjà opérationnelles, actives. Les forces de sécurité ont offert leur appui aux opérations humanitaires et cela nous a été confirmé encore une fois ce matin dans nos conversations, que dans la mesure de leurs capacités, les forces de sécurité vont apporter tout l'appui dont elles sont capables aux opérations humanitaires. Mais clairement puisque maintenant le HCR, l'UNICEF, le Programme alimentaire mondial et d'autres agences des Nations Unies, de même que certaines ONG sont déjà présentes sur le terrain, le leadership va être exercé par eux. C'est évident qu'il y a des travaux d'infrastructure d'urgence qui pourraient être pris en charge par les militaires dans un premier temps et ils nous ont assuré qu'ils vont faire tout ce dont ils sont capables dans le court terme pour répondre à ces besoins. De même pour l'administration civile, ils sont, à l'heure actuelle, les seuls en mesure d'exercer une certaine forme d'autorité. Je pense qu'encore une fois, c'est dicté par leurs priorités. Je pense que leur première priorité, c'est d'assurer la sécurité et le retour de la sécurité dans la région. Ils ont des responsabilités importantes de démilitarisation de l'UÇK. Ils ont des responsabilités importantes au niveau du soutien aux urgences humanitaires. Pour le reste, je pense qu'ils vont devoir juger au jour le jour quelles fonctions ils peuvent remplir.

Question: Le représentant de l'OTAN: qui était-il ?

The Deputy Secretary-General: Le représentant de l'OTAN, celui qui dirigeait le groupe, était M. Pieter Feith.

Question: Le document du Secrétaire général parle d'autonomie substantielle pour le Kosovo, mais est-ce que vous n'avez pas l'impression que c'est un concept dépassé: l'UÇK est en train de remplacer les forces serbes et qu'est-ce qui est prévu pour structurer la vie politique du Kosovo et quelles vont être ses relations avec Belgrade, avec la Serbie?

The Deputy Secretary-General: D'abord, le mandat de la Mission est défini par la résolution du Conseil de sécurité. Son application dans la pratique va être définie dans les semaines qui viennent; je ne peux pas vous donner de réponse finale à ces questions-là. Je pourrais peut-être demander à Bernard Miyet s'il veut ajouter quelque chose là-dessus.

Bernard Miyet: Non pas grand chose, mais le seul fait dont il faut tenir compte, c'est qu'il risque de ne plus y avoir d'administration du tout. Plus d'institution et plus de fonctionnaires capables de la mettre en oeuvre. Donc, le temps nécessaire à ce que des internationaux viennent sur place pour structurer des institutions, définir une politique, choisir de nouveaux fonctionnaires, nécessitera sans doute plusieurs semaines.

Question: Yes, I would like to ask what practical elements have come out of the meetings. What I mean is, first of all in a long-range view, the European Union is involved with reconstruction so perhaps they gave some idea as to when this might begin and how much money they expect in the initial phases. But even before that, I would think that there are a lot of very practical measures which need to be taken right now in terms of rebuilding houses and infrastructure and so forth. Could you be somewhat specific about what it is that you are planning to do immediately in this area? The Deputy Secretary-General: I think the border line between emergency relief and rehabilitation and reconstruction is not quite black and white. I think the humanitarian agencies and KFOR in the first instance are going to attend to the immediate needs. Whether you want to call that simply humanitarian relief or you want to call that reconstruction, I think it is a subject for debate. What is important is that the immediate needs of the refugees and returning internally displaced people will be looked after by the humanitarian agencies and by KFOR to the extent that they are capable of providing support. I think the longer-term reconstruction plans will have to be developed on the basis of needs assessment. One cannot proceed with longer- term reconstruction and rehabilitation without that. I think the first step is to do an assessment mission. I think the European Union has indicated that it was to undertake that very quickly. There are also plans to convene donors conferences, and I think we may see various stages in the fund-raising exercise. In the first instance, we have to keep the money flowing in to attend to the immediate humanitarian needs. In the longer term, there will be need for funding for reconstruction which will, I assume, take various forms. This will develop over several months.

Question: A follow-up on this. Could you give some more information about this assessment mission? When it is likely to go, who is going to participate in this, and what sort of funding or appeals do you envision in the near future?

The Deputy Secretary-General: I do not have exact dates and I would suggest that you contact the European Union office to get the exact dates for that. But my understanding is that this is going to happen in fairly short order and that you are likely to see participation by key agencies that might play an important role in designing this reconstruction plan under the leadership of the European Union. I think what is important to remember in the concept that has been put forward by the Secretary-General is that, while organizations have been invited to take leadership, it is not for the purpose of taking an exclusive mandate onto themselves. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), for instance, will most certainly turn to the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Council of Europe and other United Nations organizations, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and perhaps the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), to deliver part of their mandate. I think in the same way, the European Union, in assuming its responsibility for reconstruction and economic rehabilitation, certainly will want to draw on the expertise and the resources of the World Bank, of regional banks, of the UNDP and of other organizations. But I think what the concept calls for is for a lead agency to really be the integrator and the provider of the overall vision.

Question: I have a couple of questions. First, I would like to know if it is already known who will be the Deputy Special Representative for reconstruction. This will be someone from the European Union I think. Secondly, is there already an amount of money known, linked to the reconstruction issue which will be a European Union burden I think? And thirdly, how is UNMIK going to take care of the ID issue? We know there is a large group of refugees who have lost IDs and licence plates. Because I think this is a sovereignty issue, I think, of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, is it?

The Deputy Secretary-General: First, there is no name at the moment for any of the four deputies or for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General. As regards the nomination of a permanent Special Representative, the Secretary- General is required to consult with the members of the Security Council. He is doing that at the moment. I expect that after a fairly brief period of time, the various nominations will come up, but at the moment there is no name. As for the amount of money for rehabilitation and reconstruction, I think it is too early to tell. I think in the context of rehabilitation and reconstruction there is a problem of Kosovo proper, and then there is the broader regional economic revitalization. I think the two are connected to some extent. I think it is premature to try to put a dollar figure, although I am sure it will be in the several billions of dollars. I think the form this support will take will come from a variety of sources. The European Union has indicated its commitment to be a major player in this, but I know that there are a number of multilateral institutions, and banks, that I am sure will play a key role and, there are other bilateral donors that I am sure will want to make a contribution to this.

As for the identification issue, my understanding is in fact that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been working in the camps to register the refugees and issue them with identity documents, but I would like Bernard Miyet to elaborate a little bit on this issue if he can.

Mr. Miyet: It will be a key issue. It is clear that you cannot just rely on the Serbian authorities. So there will be a need, I think, of some kind of legal process, and it is envisaged that the judicial affairs unit will have to deal with this problem in the proper manner.

Question: Madame Deputy Secretary-General, since United Nations officials are starting to give interviews, does it mean that the United Nations has survived successful bombardments in starting the rehabilitation process? This is the first question. Can we consider peacekeeping operations today in the former Yugoslavia as under United Nations control or under United Nations supervision? And a question to Mr. Bernard Miyet. When you accepted the post, I suspect that you had a different concept of peacekeeping. How has your concept modified in the past three months and what do you think about the situation right now in Prizren and Pristina as far as peacekeeping implementation is concerned.

The Deputy Secretary-General: I hope it is evident from the information we have been giving you over the last few days that the United Nations is very much alive, very much geared to action and has, in fact, moved extremely quickly to begin performing the mandate that we have been given by the Security Council. It is a mandate that has its unique features, since we will be working in close partnership with some organizations. That has not happened in other peacekeeping missions before in terms of the civilian dimension. I am very heartened by the very good quality of the cooperation that we have established with the OSCE and with the European Union. We wanted to deploy quickly, clearly it will take some time before we can exercise all the responsibilities that befall the civilian mission in Kosovo. But if you had doubts about the vitality of the United Nations, I hope that the rapidity with which we have moved since the adoption of the resolution would reassure you on that score.

Mr. Miyet: Just on that point, I came in at a low level of United Nations credibility in terms of peacekeeping. That was, I think, both unjustified and unfair. We are now drawing on the lessons of eastern Slavonia and Bosnia, finding a good way, a good equilibrium, about what kind of cooperation you can have with regional organizations, both on the military side and the civilian side. But also with the need of a clear authority in order to avoid multiplications of organizations working in all directions. I think that in Kosovo, when you try to make synthesis of what has happened in Bosnia and what has happened in eastern Slavonia, there is a recognition of the central role of the United Nations, like in eastern Slavonia, with the necessity to rely on the strong military forces like in Bosnia, but with more clear-cut responsibilities and, I think, authority by the United Nations.

Question: I have a related question also for Mr. Miyet. Do you envisage a way out of the current problems regarding the Russian troops, and do you not think that the United Nations and perhaps you yourself should maybe be playing a more prominent role in this?

The Deputy Secretary-General: This is a problem that has been dealt with properly between the various military presences in Kosovo at the moment.

Question: Nonetheless, if I could attempt to press you on the question just asked by my colleague. We know that this rather bizarre Russian behaviour at Pristina airport was in a strictly military NATO context. But are you able to assure the Russians that they will be given a due place in the civil administration? Thank you.

Mr. Miyet: The role of Russia in the civil administration: this is a United Nations mission and, therefore, Member States of the United Nations will be involved in the civil administration. There is no restriction to which nationality can be represented in a United Nations mission. And certainly in the elements of the implementation plan that falls on the United Nations, there will be plenty of opportunities for Russian nationals. There are also members of other organizations that will be playing a role. So, from the point of view of the civilian mission, I do not see an issue there.

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