ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SPAIN, 6 - 10 APRIL
Secretary-General Kofi Annan departed New York on 6 April and arrived in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday, 7 April, to begin a weeklong visit to Europe that would also take him to Rome and Geneva.
On Sunday evening, he and Mrs. Annan attended a private dinner hosted by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía at the Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of the Spanish capital.
On Monday morning, the Secretary-General opened the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing. He urged conference participants to tell the world not to discriminate against older people and quoted lyrics from a Beatles’ song on behalf of all older persons.
“I turned 64 today”, the Secretary-General said in his opening statement. “I, therefore, feel empowered to quote a Beatles’ song and that asks, on behalf of all older persons, and I quote: Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64.”
“I trust the answer is yes, older people will be provided for, and yes, older people will be needed, in the twenty-first century”, he said.
The Secretary-General drew attention to what he described as “an unprecedented demographic transformation”. Between now and the year 2050, the number of older persons will rise from about 600 million to at least 2 billion. The increase will be greatest in developing countries, he said.
“Ageing is definitely no longer just a first world issue”, he said. “What was a footnote in the twentieth century is a dominant theme in the twenty-first century.”
Urging conference participants to “send a wider message to the world that older people are not a category apart”, the Secretary-General highlighted the importance of devising a plan of action on ageing “adapted to the realities of the twenty-first century” and outlined key objectives for such a society.
“Let us, therefore, not look at older persons as people separate from ourselves, but as our future selves”, he told the Assembly that brought together participants from 160 countries, including five heads of State/government. (For the full text of his statement, see Press Release SG/SM/8188.)
After opening the Ageing Assembly, the Secretary-General had a meeting with Ismail Amat, Deputy Prime Minister and State Counselor of China, at the latter’s request on the subject of ageing.
Before leaving the Assembly, he had a brief press opportunity during which he took two questions on ageing and one on the Middle East.
Asked about his reaction to the offensive in the West Bank despite Security Council resolutions, the Secretary-General said that he hoped the Israeli Government would heed the call of President Bush and relevant Security Council resolutions and withdraw their troops immediately.
“It is really very, very serious when you consider that a large number of people are without water, they are short of food and medications, and the humanitarian workers from the Red Cross to Red Crescent to UNRWA do not have freedom of movement”, he said.
“The whole world is demanding that Israel withdraw. I don´t think the whole world, including the friends of the Israeli Government, can be wrong”, he said. “So, I appeal to Prime Minister Sharon to heed the call, and move ahead with the implementation of the resolutions. Of course, the resolution also makes demands on the Palestinian leadership, and I urge them also to honour that.”
Responding to a question about what he expected to achieve at Wednesday’s meeting of the so-called “Quartet” (European Union, Russian Federation, United States, United Nations), the Secretary-General said the meeting would be an opportunity to assess the situation in the Middle East and to discuss with United States Secretary of State Colin Powell his objectives before he went to the area. “I think it would also give him a message of support and solidarity”, he said. “We are solidly with him, and I hope he will have a successful mission. It's not going to be easy. He doesn’t have a magic wand, so we should not expect miracles. It’s a tough mission, but we will be with him all the way.”
From the Assembly, the Secretary-General went to the World NGO Forum on Ageing, where a large roomful of delegates warmly greeted him by singing “Cumpleaños Felíz”, or Happy Birthday in Spanish. The Secretary-General made a statement and answered several questions. (See Press Release SG/SM/8190.)
The NGO Forum appearance was followed by a meeting with President José María Aznar and Foreign Minister Josep Piqué of Spain, and a luncheon hosted by the President.
On Monday afternoon, Nane Annan addressed the World NGO Forum on Ageing, speaking on critical issues facing elderly women, such as violence and abuse, and increasing demands for care-giving in the face of the AIDS crisis.
Afterwards, she opened an exhibition of works by young architecture students designed to create friendly, caring communities where older people can remain active and healthy members of society.
On Monday evening, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a reception hosted by the King and Queen.
On Tuesday, the Secretary-General received the keys to Madrid, presented by Lord Mayor José María Alvarez del Manzano, who gave Mr. Annan a golden key at a ceremony at the City Council in the centre of Madrid. (See Press Release SG/SM/8191.)
Then, the Secretary-General travelled to Alcalá de Henares, a town just north-east of Madrid and birthplace of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. He received an honorary degree at the more than 500-year-old University of Alcalá and made a statement that focused attention on the quest to alleviate extreme poverty in the world.
"There are only two families in the world -- the haves and the have-nots", the Secretary-General quoted Cervantes as saying. He added that Cervantes could have been writing about our own era, when some people enjoy fabulous wealth while nearly half of all humankind lives on less than $2 per day.
“Poverty is everyone's concern -- and not just because there is a moral imperative to help others find dignity and peace”, he went on to say. “We might be haves and have-nots, but we are a single human family. No one in this world can feel comfortable, or safe, while so many are suffering and deprived. As one development minister said recently, poverty anywhere is poverty everywhere.”
He concluded by saying, “We have the tools to defeat poverty. We have the technology and the strategies. We even, at long last, have signs that the political will and resources needed will be available.” (For the full text, see Press Release SG/SM/8192.)
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General visited the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization and then addressed a ceremony to mark 160 companies signing up to the Global Compact. (See Press Release SG/SM/8193.)
Later in the evening, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a concert in their honour at the Royal Opera House.
Also on Tuesday, the Secretary-General conferred with his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, in advance of his meeting the following morning with members of the so-called “Quartet” on the situation in the Middle East.
At that meeting on Wednesday morning, the Secretary-General discussed the escalating crisis for over an hour without aides at Madrid’s Palace of Moncloa with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué representing the rotating presidency of the European Union, High Representative for European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
Following a very brief meeting involving the Quartet’s delegations, the five men held a press conference.
In his opening press statement, the Secretary-General drew attention to the three-fold crisis in the Middle East -- intensified fighting between Palestinians and Israelis, a mounting humanitarian and human rights crisis in the West Bank and Gaza, and rising regional tensions, particularly along Israel's northern border with Lebanon. He then read a joint statement on behalf of the Quartet, the text of which is below:
“We express our grave concern about the present situation, including the mounting humanitarian crisis and the growing risk to regional security. We reiterate our shared condemnation of violence and terrorism, express our deep distress at the loss of innocent Palestinian and Israeli life, and extend our deepest sympathy to the families of those killed and wounded. Believing that there has been too much suffering and too much bloodshed, we call on the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to act in the interests of their own people, the region, and the international community and to immediately halt this senseless confrontation.
“In this regard, we express our grave concern about the most recent attacks from Lebanon across the UN-determined ‘Blue Line’. The Quartet calls on all parties to respect the Blue Line, halt all attacks, and show the utmost restraint. The conflict should not be allowed to spread and threaten regional security and stability.
“The United Nations, European Union and Russia express their strong support for Secretary of State Powell's mission, and urge Israel and the Palestinian Authority to cooperate fully with his mission and with their continuing efforts to restore calm and resume a political process.
“We reiterate that there is no military solution to the conflict and call on the parties to move towards a political resolution of their disputes based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and the principle of land for peace -- which formed the basis for the Madrid Conference of 1991. We reaffirm our support to the objective expressed by President Bush and spelled out in Security Council resolution 1397, of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders. We warmly welcome Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's peace initiative, as endorsed in Beirut by the Arab League, as a significant contribution towards a comprehensive peace, including Syria and Lebanon.
“To enable progress towards our shared goals, we reaffirm that Security Council resolution 1402 must be fully implemented immediately, as called for in Security Council resolution 1403. We call on Israel to halt immediately its military operations. We call for an immediate, meaningful ceasefire and an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities, including Ramallah, specifically including Chairman Arafat's headquarters. We call on Israel to fully comply with international humanitarian principles and to allow full and unimpeded access to humanitarian organizations and services. We call on Israel to refrain from the excessive use of force and undertake all possible efforts to ensure the protection of civilians.
“We call on Chairman Arafat, as the recognized, elected leader of the Palestinian people, to undertake immediately the maximum possible effort to stop terror attacks against innocent Israelis. We call on the Palestinian Authority to act decisively and take all possible steps within its capacity to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, including terrorist financing, and to stop incitement to violence. We call on Chairman Arafat to use the full weight of his political authority to persuade the Palestinian people that any and all terrorist attacks against Israelis should end immediately; and to authorize his representatives to resume immediately security coordination with Israel.
“Terrorism, including suicide bombs, is illegal and immoral, has inflicted grave harm to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and must be condemned, as called for in United Nations Security Council resolution 1373.
“We call on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to reach agreement on ceasefire proposals put forward by General Zinni without further delay. We commend the efforts of General Zinni to date to achieve this objective.
“The Quartet stands ready to assist the parties in implementing their agreements, in particular, the Tenet security workplan and the Mitchell recommendations, including through a third-party mechanism, as agreed to by the parties.
“We affirm that the Tenet and Mitchell plans must be fully implemented, including an end to all settlement activity. We affirm that there must be immediate, parallel and accelerated movement towards near-term and tangible political progress, and that there must be a defined series of steps leading to permanent peace -- involving recognition, normalization and security between the sides, an end to Israeli occupation, and an end to the conflict. This will allow Israel to enjoy enduring peace and security and the Palestinian people to realize their hopes and aspirations in security and dignity.
“In support of these objectives, we call on the international community, particularly the Arab States, to preserve, strengthen and assist the Palestinian Authority, including through efforts to rebuild its infrastructure, security and governance capacity. We call also on the donor community and the international financial institutions to renew their commitment to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, and to assist in economic and institutional reconstruction. We pay tribute to the courageous efforts of the humanitarian agencies.
“We agreed on the need to keep the situation in the Middle East under review by the Quartet at the principal's level through regular consultations. Our special envoys will continue their efforts on the ground to assist the parties in reaching an end to confrontation and resumption of political negotiations.”
In response to questions at the news conference, the Secretary-General talked about the grave humanitarian situation, saying that “none of us will know the full gravity of the situation until we gain access to all the territories that are now a theatre of battle”. The Secretary-General also responded to a question on attacks with regard the Blue Line and on the need for economic and social reconstruction of the Palestinian Authority.
The Secretary-General said the Quartet is hoping to meet fairly shortly and remain “constantly seized” of this problem. Depending on the outcome of the Powell mission, the Secretary-General said, “We will perhaps meet sooner rather than later.”
Immediately after the press conference, the Secretary-General departed Madrid for Rome, Italy.