TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN AND DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL LOUISE FRECHETTE AT HEADQUARTERS, 30 JUNE

Press Release
SG/SM/7055

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN AND DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL LOUISE FRECHETTE AT HEADQUARTERS, 30 JUNE

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: Good afternoon, and let me thank you for coming. I must say, we did not do too badly. It is fairly close to 12 o'clock, as we had promised.

We had a very, very useful discussion this morning. I think we walked away with what I would call consensus, or understanding, on several issues. Our collective objective is a multi-ethnic Kosovo in which the people — all the people — regardless of ethnicity, can live their lives in peace and hope. We also agreed that KFOR has performed well, and so, too, have the humanitarian agencies, the NGOs and the core elements of the civil administration which has been deployed on the ground.

As you know, under Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), KFOR has the function of providing for public security until UNMIK can assume its full law- and-order functions, and this was recognized by the group. We also -— and all of us would want to agree that we want to see UNMIK acquire this capacity as soon as possible. But of course, if here I may be allowed a comment, the timing of this is entirely in the hands of the Member States, those that participated in this meeting and those that were not there day, because, as a Secretariat, you know, we have no police, and we cannot deploy and distribute what we do not have. But we did have some very useful pledges and offers, which I will tell you about later. But over and above the pledges, the important thing is to get them there, to deploy them so that they can begin their work.

I think we all agreed on the complexity and the difficulty of the task ahead, and we then went on to several pledges for police from Member States that were there, and also some money for the trust fund. I will come back to that later.

There was a very useful discussion on the reconstruction of Kosovo in particular, and also of the region, and I think there was a sense that one should take a broader view of the reconstruction issue, and that for Kosovo really to succeed, the region itself must also be brought back to health.

We discussed the whole issue of humanitarian assistance and humanitarian activity, and what constitutes humanitarian activity. There was a suggestion, which several Member States agreed with, that water and electricity, for example, should be considered humanitarian because they are essential, life- sustaining systems, particularly as winter is just around the corner.

Finally on this issue, there was a sense that priority should be given to re-establishing conditions for the use of the Danube because of its importance to the region.

Of course, the Member States were satisfied with the activities that the United Nations and its partners, the OSCE and the EU, as lead agencies [?]for

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setting up the two other pillars[?] are undertaking, and of course, I myself have been very, very pleased with the exemplary cooperation we have received from all these agencies. I think it augurs well for our activities in the future.

I promised you figures on the police, and here they are: today we got two new major commitments. The United States offered 450 policemen, plus 100 police trainers, and Germany offered 200 police. Italy, Turkey and Canada also announced increases in offers they had already made. So, as of today, out of a total requirement of 1,800 civilian police, we have 1,423.

On the special police unit, our requirements are 1,125, and we have offers of 440.

On the border police, we have 75 out of 205.

This brings us to a total of 1,938 out of 3,110.

These are pledges, and as I said, we cannot deploy and distribute what we do not have. I have appealed to the Member States to work with us and move to the theatre as urgently as possible the men they have offered.

QUESTION: My first question is, after these pledges, and after all you have just said, do you think there is going to be more room for those who are saying that the operation of establishing the civil administration in Kosovo is slow? And why do you need a few more days to announce your special representative?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: First of all, I think on the civilian side we have moved very rapidly to put men and women on the ground to undertake this task. There is some confusion, and I keep hearing that the police are slow, the civilian administration is slow. This was part of the planning. We know from Bosnia and other places that it is always much more difficult and slower to deploy police than military personnel. The police, unlike the military, are not sitting in barracks waiting for action, ready to be moved in large numbers wherever you need them provided the Governments concerned agree to participate in an operation. With the police, you get them in dribs and drabs from Governments. Every Government and city and municipality tells you, "We need our police", so getting police is often like pulling teeth. This is why the resolution made it quite clear that until we have the capacity to do the policing work and assume the functions of public order, KFOR and the military must do it. Obviously, today we were briefed that they have 24,000 troops on the ground, which is less than 50 per cent of the force, and efforts are being made to accelerate the deployment of the military so that they can ensure public order throughout the territory until the civilian police and others have been deployed.

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On the question of my special envoy, I do not know what you mean by "Why did you delay it?" I have not set any timetable as to when I was going to announce it, so I am not sure the question of delay really arises. I know there was a lot of expectation that I would announce it at the gathering today, but I also wanted to use that gathering to consult them further before making my final decision, and the decision will be made in the course of the week, before the end of the week.

QUESTION: Was there agreement today at the meeting on whether the police will be armed? I understand that some of the Nordic countries do not want to send police if they will be armed.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: This is an issue, but we did not discuss it specifically at the meeting today. You are right: there are several Governments that will have difficulty giving us police if they are armed. On the other hand, arming the police is something that we have to give very serious consideration, because this will be the first time United Nations civilian police have gone into the field not only to monitor but actually to have executive functions and play the policing role until such time as we are able to set up a local police force. In the environment in which they are going to operate, there is a sense that they may need some protection.

QUESTION: About economic development, Secretary Albright reiterated today her contention that the Belgrade Government does not warrant receiving economic aid as long as the current leadership is in power. I was wondering whether you believe that, especially given the size of Serbia's economy and its importance in the region, whether economic reconstruction of the region could begin for Kosovo or for the region as a whole, without including Belgrade.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: That is going to be a real challenge. I think almost everyone we have spoken to believes that one should reconstruct and try to provide assistance to South-Eastern Europe and that whole part of the Balkans, and when one talks of reconstruction, as was made clear today by several ministers, one is not just talking about bricks and mortar, but democratic reconstruction, reconstruction of institutions, encouragement of rule of law and establishment of respect for human rights. But you raise an interesting point. If Governments maintain that they will not provide economic or development assistance to Belgrade as long as President Milosevic is in office, and if that situation persists for a long time, then we are going to have a real challenge of reconstructing the economy of South-Eastern Europe with the big hole of Serbia in the middle.

QUESTION: Further on the question of arming, if, as you said, nearly half the police that you need to get in are on their way, at least in terms of pledges, how can they go in without a clear decision on whether or not they

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will be armed? Is there a tentative idea to arm some of them or to provide some of them with the ability to use arms if they are attacked?

Secondly, has a figure been established for the amount that you will need for the trust fund?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: On your first question, as I said in answer to an earlier question, I think the police that are going -— first of all, to start it off, we are moving some of our police elements from Bosnia into the region. On the question of protection, as I indicated earlier, KFOR has the responsibility of creating the secure environment that will allow the return of refugees and allow the civil administration to continue its work. In all these situations, the military has always backed up the police, and the question of whether they should be armed or not -— we are on the verge of taking that decision, but I did not want to say anything here before I have announced it to the Member States. So the kind of concern or confusion that you think may arise will not arise. The decisions will have been taken by the time the police really begin to be on the move.

The Deputy Secretary-General: On the question of the trust fund, we have not advanced any figure to this point. The trust fund, as we see it, is to be used for basically three types of interventions.

First, to provide some funding to pay local salaries. If we want local institutions, local utilities and local services to start functioning again, there will be a need to pay local salaries as well as perhaps provide some basic equipment. We have not yet completed our evaluation of the need for this. We will be able to put a dollar figure on it when we have a more complete assessment of what is left of the local administration and what will have to be provided on an urgent basis. When I refer to local salaries and equipment, I think we are talking about "bridge" financing until such time as the economy starts functioning again and revenue can be raised to pay for services.

Finally, we also want to use this trust fund to put at the disposal of the special representative some seed money for quick-action projects. I think in other peacekeeping missions we have come to appreciate the importance of this kind of flexible money -— we are talking about small projects and money that can be disbursed quickly.

So there is no number yet for the trust fund. We will be able to provide more guidance to the Member States once we have finished our full assessment.

QUESTION: Is there any possibility that the KLA could be among those policemen, because they are well-informed about their country and have been there for many years?

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THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: We will set up criteria for recruitment, we will set standards for recruitment and we will also have a police training academy where the recruits will be trained. People who have served in the KLA and have good records -— no criminal records -— should and will be considered.

QUESTION (spoke in French): What is the ideal profile of the "Mr. Kosovo" you seek? How would you describe that man?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (spoke in French): Ms. Frechette says it could be a woman, "Ms. Kosovo".

Obviously, it would be someone with political experience, a good manager, a leader, possibly with experience in the field so that he or she would immediately be able to be very effective and very active.

QUESTION: [inaudible]

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (spoke in French): You could ask that question about all appointments: why a Belgian, why a Russian, why an American? Everyone is involved.

QUESTION: Going back to the issue of "no penny for Mr. Milosevic", no money for Belgrade, as long as he is in power, you were talking about the big challenge of reconstructing Europe with a big hole, Serbia, in the middle: would you consider this policy to be a recipe for a new catastrophe and more human suffering?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: Some of you may have read the comment I made in London, saying basically that we should try, as far as I am concerned, on the humanitarian front to define humanitarian needs as broadly as possible to cover electrical repairs and water systems, because, quite frankly, in my judgement, they are humanitarian, and it is pointless to take in loads and loads of medicine if people are going to drink dirty water and fall sick. I think this is an issue the Member States will have to work out among themselves, and I am sure they are discussing it. Some have already taken positions. After all, it is their money and their decision, but I hope that in taking that decision they will have a broader view. Because my concern is that if we do not tackle some of these issues and tackle them early, and have a broad and long-term view, we will be creating problems for ourselves down the line, because if these systems are not repaired, my fear is that, come the winter, the Serbs may be the ones on the move, just to keep warm or to look for jobs. I hope that we will take the broader and longer-term view of these issues.

QUESTION: Is Kosovo now a United Nations protectorate? What is the future there? How many years?

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THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: There is a United Nations interim administration. How many years? I cannot really answer the question. We got into Eastern Slavonia and we were out in less than two years. I think here it is going to take a while, and I think the whole reconstruction of the region and what we are talking about -— in my view, one should take a longer-term view, and perhaps it will take about 10 years. This does not imply that I am saying that we will be on the ground in Kosovo for 10 years, or that reconstruction efforts will take 10 years. It will depend very much on developments from here on. I hesitate to give you a timetable, but we are determined to go ahead and do as good a job as we can, regardless of how long we stay there. But of course, we will also be relying on local talent. The local people have to participate, and as you know, Sergio has already set up an advisory counsel including people from all aspects of society.

QUESTION: Are you worried that Mr. Milosevic will get up to his usual tricks in Montenegro, and did you discuss today ways of trying to prevent that from happening?

My other question is, are you concerned that the Kosovo operation is creating such a draw on resources that you may not have resources available for other theatres of operation? I am thinking specifically of East Timor, where there is talk that you may need more civilian police because the security situation there is still not under control.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: This morning we focused primarily on Kosovo. The United Nations mandate is on Kosovo, but you cannot discuss Kosovo without touching on the region. So we did talk about the region, but not in the kind of detail that will allow me to answer the question that you have posed on Montenegro.

On the concern that Kosovo may drain resources away from other operations -— and here I think we are defining resources broadly -— material, human and financial -— we hope that it will not, but at the same time, when you come to an issue like the question of police, you have a limited pool of police, and if there are demands on the same policemen from two or three theatres, you are competing, and it is going to be difficult to try to get all the policemen and policewomen we need for all the operations we now have in hand. So it is quite conceivable that it will have an impact on other operations.

On financial donations for other humanitarian situations, I have appealed to Governments to try to be as generous as possible and come up with fresh money for the Kosovo operation, and not divert it from budgets intended for other operations.

QUESTION: Have any of the Islamic countries offered any soldiers or police officers for the peacekeeping forces in Kosovo?

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Also, did the G-8 touch upon Kashmir at all, or not?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: I do not have the chart and the details yet, but I am sure many Islamic countries have offered personnel and offered to help. I recall, in fact, getting a call early, early on from King Abdullah of Jordan offering troops, and since we were not [inaudible] the operation I referred his offer to the British and those who were putting together the force. But I think there are several. We will make the list available to the press. We will give you a list, in the course of the afternoon, of who has offered what and where we are so that you will have the full details.

On Pakistan and Kashmir, I discussed this with some of them individually, but you have to understand that they did not come here to discuss Kashmir. It was not on the agenda, but in the margins I did discuss it with some individual ministers.

QUESTION (spoke in French): At first there were three names on the Europeans' official list for special representative. How many are left?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (spoke in French): I am going to give you a shock: there are four. There were three, and now there are four.

QUESTION (spoke in French): Officially?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (spoke in French): Officially. The German Chancellor called me yesterday to tell me that the list included Emma Bonino, [inaudible] of the Netherlands, [?]Kirchner[?] and Paddy Ashdown of Great Britain. Those are the four.

QUESTION: [inaudible]

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (spoke in French): Possibly, yes.

QUESTION: You spoke of it being now up to the Member States to come through with their commitments with the civilian police. I understand the United States has given a date for when they could expect at least the first 100 police on the ground. Do you have any realistic time frame, based on that, and perhaps some other dates that might have been given by other contributing countries, regarding when it would be realistic to see the first few contingents on the ground?

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think, first of all, when you talk of the first few contingents on the ground, let me say that as we speak, we will probably have about 70 or 80 on the ground in the next few days, quite a few of them from the Bosnian operations. I have not been involved with this kind of operation for quite a while. I hesitate to give you a specific deadline, because we need to negotiate this series of things with the Member States.

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Even sometimes when we have negotiated them, they do slip. So at this early stage, I prefer not to be drawn on specific dates. My colleagues in the peacekeeping Department are working all this out, and I am sure that in time -- and I am not asking for lots of time -— in the next week or so -— they should be able to give you quite a lot of details on that.

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