DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
| Press Briefing |
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Good Afternoon.
**Secretary-General on Iraq
The Secretary-General, on entering UN Headquarters this morning, was asked about comments from Iraq’s UN Ambassador that his actions in pulling UN staff out of Iraq cleared the way for war there, and he responded, “It has to be clear that the UN workers were the last to leave”.
He said that normally, UN staff is moved out of harm’s way, which is what happened just one day before the war started last Wednesday, and he added that “they will go back as soon as it is practicable”.
In terms of aiding the Iraqi people, the Secretary-General drew attention to the initiative before the Security Council to adjust the “oil-for-food” program, on which 60 per cent of Iraqis are dependent, to keep the aid pipeline to Iraqis open. He added, “Whichever authority is seen in charge at the end of the hostilities, we will work with them”.
The Secretary-General drew particular attention to reports from the Red Cross that people in Basra may be facing a humanitarian disaster, with no water or electricity available to them, and he said that urgent measures must be taken to restore electricity and water there. He reminded all concerned to respect international humanitarian law.
Asked about whether the UN weapons inspectors would return to Iraq, he said that the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) still has the responsibility for the disarmament of Iraq, and has only suspended its work temporarily because of the situation on the ground. Once the conflict is over, he said, the inspectors and the “oil-for-food” program would both be expected to resume work.
We have the full transcript upstairs.
**Amman Briefing
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UN agencies, along with the International Committee for the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations, are providing assistance to internally displaced persons in the three northern governorates of Iraq. They are providing food, medicine, sanitation, water, shelter, fuel and generator support.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says its national staff in Erbil, off-loaded 380 tons of food into a warehouse. The cargo had arrived by truck from Turkey and had crossed the border just before it was closed. The food handlers
are still operating, so the food can be distributed. The situation in Erbil is described as quiet but tense. People who had left Erbil because of the conflict are returning.
In the last week, the WFP confirmed that about 5,000 internally displaced persons arrived in the northern governorates after fleeing towns controlled by the Iraqi Government.
In Amman, Jordan, the UN Children’s Fund reports that its staff is at work in Baghdad focusing on the urgent need for clean water in hospitals across the capital.
UNICEF said it is concerned about the situation in Basra. Frequent power cuts and the consequent cutting of water supplies, especially to hospitals, has created a threat of disease as tens of thousands of people in their homes, hospitals and care institutions attempt to cope and find what water they can from the river and other sources. Unfortunately, the river is also where the sewage is dumped.
Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it is continuing to prepare campsites, transport relief supplies to the region and monitor possible border crossing points throughout the Iraq region over the weekend. No large-scale influx of refugees has been seen so far into any of the neighbouring countries, and border areas are reportedly calm. UNHCR has some 200 staff in the region and emergency teams are on standby for deployment from around the world.
**Security Council
There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council today.
**Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman on the situation in Kashmir:
“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms as a cowardly act of terrorism yesterday’s massacre of 24 Kashmiri Hindus, including women and children, that took place near the town of Shopian in Kashmir. He sends his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.”
**Myanmar
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has suspended his fact-finding mission to the country after discovering a listening device during interviews with inmates at Insein Prison on Saturday, 22 March. He left Yangon today.
Pinheiro, who was scheduled to end this fifth visit to Myanmar on
26 March, has informed the country’s authorities that he found the bug in conducting his interviews. Under these circumstances, he said, he felt obliged to interrupt his mission. Pinheiro reports that the authorities had expressed regret on learning of the incident and given the assurance that it would be investigated in full. We have a press release on that.
**Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Lakhdar Brahimi, joined President Hamid Karzai and other senior Afghan officials, at the ceremony held over the weekend to launch the beginning of the Afghan school year.
In his impromptu remarks, Brahimi called “unacceptable” the attacks against schools, mostly girls’ schools, in some parts of the country last year. He said that “neither the religion of Afghanistan, nor the culture, nor any tradition and certainly not the tradition of Jihad allow something like this to happen”. He went further to say that those who do this are the enemies of the people, religion and culture of Afghanistan. He called on Afghans “to unite against these destructive elements” who are not serving any principles that the people of Afghanistan recognize as their own. He also said the UN system was doing its best and expressed the hope that more would be done by all involved in the education sector to help the girls and boys of the country to have the education they deserve.
**Bougainville
The Secretary-General, in his latest report to the Security Council on the work of the UN Political Office in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, says that the peace process there “is undoubtedly stronger than it has ever been before, but still needs nurturing.”
The report says that the UN Office expects to complete its work by the end of this year, by verifying the placement of collected weapons in secure, double-locked containers under its supervision. The election of an autonomous Bougainville government is also expected to take place before the end of this year.
**Liberia
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, today expressed his profound concern at the armed conflict in Liberia, and, in a statement, urged all parties to the conflict to commit themselves immediately to the protection of civilians.
He has continued to receive credible reports of serious abuses and human rights violations by both parties, including extra-judicial killings, torture, rape, the deliberate targeting of civilians, abductions and the forced recruitment of children and displaced persons. We have copies of that statement available upstairs.
**Missing or Detained Staff
At a time when at least 39 staff members of the UN family of organizations are under arrest or detention or are missing, the 18th annual International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members will be observed tomorrow.
This year, a lapel pin intended to highlight the importance of staff security and safety will be distributed. In a brief ceremony tomorrow, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will accept the first pin from Elaine Collette, the wife of Alec Collette, who was abducted by armed men in 1985 near Beirut Airport while on assignment for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
**Cultural Property
The Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, dealing with the return of cultural property meets in its 12th session in Paris beginning tomorrow. One item on the agenda will be the differences between Greece and Britain over the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, which are kept in the British Museum. The marble friezes, statues and other artifacts were removed from the Parthenon by the 7th Earl of Elgin, Thomas Burce, and sold to the British Government in 1816.
Another item on the agenda is the dispute between Germany and Turkey over the Bogazkoy Sphinx, which is currently in a museum in Berlin. The Committee will also consider methods to limit the illicit trafficking in cultural property. We have a press release.
**Tuberculosis Day
Today is World Tuberculosis Day.
And in his message the Secretary-General said that the Directly Observed Therapy Short-Course, or DOTS, has been one of the most successful public health interventions, helping to save lives and reduce the spread of the disease. The programme now covers 155 countries and 60 per cent of the world’s population. The Secretary-General called for an expansion of the programme in order to meet the target of detecting 70 per cent of all infections and curing 85 per cent of those detected by 2005.
The World Health Organization said that more than 10 million patients have been successfully treated under DOTS, 90 per cent of them in developing countries. Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Director-General of WHO, said that efforts must now be concentrated on the 22 high-burden countries that account for 80 per cent of global cases and called for additional funding for TB control programmes. The Secretary-General’s message has been issued as a press release and we also have a press release from WHO.
**World Meteorological Day
On the celebration of World Meteorological Day yesterday, General Assembly President Jan Kavan highlighted the connection between climate change and the control of greenhouse gases. Together with this year’s theme, “Our Future Climate”, President Kavan called on the active participation of all Member States in “an international collaboration to manage the damaging emission of greenhouse gases, to find ways of reducing carbon dioxide and to develop and adopt renewable energy sources”.
**Budget
Finally, some budget news today. The United States made a payment of more than $106 million to the peacekeeping budget.
That’s all I have. Serge?
Questions and Answers
Question: Fred, how would you describe the relationship between the present Iraqi Government and the Secretary-General after (inaudible) …on Friday?
Spokesman: Well, the Secretary-General doesn’t recognize governments. Governments recognize governments. He said in his comments this morning that he could understand some of the frustration that Vice-President Ramadan might have felt when he made some comments about the Secretary-General’s role in pulling out UN staff. I don’t think there is any resentment or bitterness in his attitude at all towards Iraq. It’s rather understanding.
Question: What about Article 99? The fact that the Secretary-General did not send a letter to the Security Council?
Spokesman: Article 99 gives the Secretary-General the option of calling to the attention of the Security Council a threat to international peace and security. In this case, you had the Council already fully engaged in this threat. So, I don’t think that Article 99 would be relevant.
Question: That’s the answer?
Spokesman: That’s the answer.
Question: Excuse me Fred, but the Secretary-General, I mean, doesn’t he believe that an invasion from a number of countries of a sovereign State is not a threat to international peace and security?
Spokesman: This matter of whether or not to resort to military force was debated thoroughly in the Security Council for weeks. It was not something that had to be brought to their attention. The Secretary-General’s views…
Question: He has had the opportunity to raise it if wants to. Why did he choose not to do so?
Spokesman: You don’t seem to be hearing me.
Question: No, I’m hearing you.
Spokesman: The Charter says he may call it to their attention. If it already has their attention, there’s nothing for him to call to their attention. His position on this matter of war and peace was very clearly laid out in the William and Mary speech and in The Hague statement.
Question: I understand that perfectly; but why did he decide to remain silent the day before the attack and in the Security Council and ever since regarding the invasion?
Spokesman: That matter was discussed in the Council. He laid…
Question: You’re not responding to my question…
Spokesman: You’re not letting me speak.
Question: Well, why did he decide to remain silent?
Spokesman: First of all, he was not silent. I’m trying to say within the parameters of his limits to take action; he first made clear the matter of principle. It’s not he who decides whether or not a country goes to war. It is not he who should enter into a debate with Council members, publicly, when they’re divided. He did take a public decision concerning the wording in the Charter when it comes to military intervention. He took a public position. It was a controversial position, but he took it because he felt he needed to defend the Charter. I don’t think you can say he was silent. His voice was heard on the matter of principle. But on the matter of whether to go to war or not, that was in the hands of governments.
Question: Fred, this is not him; this is the Ambassador who is accusing the Secretary-General of not using Article 99. There is an accusation from a member country, so that there must be an answer?
Spokesman: But I have given you the answer. Article 99, when the Security Council is fully seized of an issue, does not have relevance. Robert?
Question: Fred, the United States has asked other governments to expel Iraqi diplomats around the world. Has there been any contact between the US Government and the United Nations on the status of the Iraqi mission. And, can you comment on the report in the Washington Times that the Secretary-General has, as they put it, “quietly” ordered the closure of the Iraqi news agency office here?
Spokesman: First of all, I’d have to check this morning to see if we’ve had any contact with the State Department today. As of Friday, we had not heard from them. The standard procedure when the United States wants to expel a diplomat serving at the United Nations, or even a journalist, as was the case recently with the Iraqi news agency, is that they’re required to consult with the Legal Counsel. And the Legal Counsel must challenge them that they have, at the highest levels, reason to believe that this person’s activities are inconsistent with their role as a diplomat or a journalist. Once the United States says “yes” at the highest levels of our Government we have this concern”, the United Nations options are exhausted. So, that was the case with the representative of the Iraqi news agency; and we really had no further options. They told us that, at the highest levels of the Government, they thought that his activities were inconsistent with that of a journalist and represented a threat to US security.
Question: That was in the case of the journalist who left. But the Washington Times says that the Secretary-General has ordered the office to close. Is that correct?
Spokesman: I don’t really know what they’re talking about. I mean, if a new journalist representing the Iraqi news agency were to get permission to come into the United States and were to come and ask for credentials, we’d give him credentials and we’d give him work space again. Yeah?
Question: The Secretary-General made quite detailed recommendations about the oil-for-food programme. He didn’t, as far as I know, say anything about the financial aspects. Does he have a view which you could share with us, about whether the oil-for-food programme should continues to finance Kuwaiti claims for compensation for the first Gulf war?
Spokesman: I don’t know that that was mentioned in the letter. Let me consult the Legal Department and get an answer to you. Off the top of my head, I don’t know. [The issue of the Compensation Commission is not specifically addressed in the Secretary-General’s letter to the Council. It is assumed that the Commission would contribute.]
Question: The Iraqi ambassador also accused the Secretary-General of receiving orders from some Member States and of presenting a private solution passed to him by the Americans and the Brits. Is that true?
Spokesman: I can assure you that’s not true. This initiative started within the task force headed by the Deputy Secretary-General. Our immediate concern was keeping the oil-for-food programme running, and we started talking about the need for a new Security Council resolution to allow oil for food operating under conflict conditions. So, that was the United Nations initiative. Yeah?
Question: You mentioned that 380,000 tons of food had passed through Turkey. How long do you expect that can last if the allied forces campaign or air campaign continues and no more food can be brought in or supplied in the near future?
Spokesman: I don’t know what the ratio is, but if we ask the World Food Programme we can get an answer for you. So, if you check with me right after the briefing we’ll get an answer.
[The Spokesman later announced that the World Food Programme warehouse stocks are very low and WFP is working on the assumption that families have six weeks’ worth of food at home.]
Question: Fred, I’m going to insist on this. Just for the average viewer of anywhere in the world; how would you explain the contrast between the wording of the statement you’ve just made regarding Kashmir and whatever the Secretary-General’s has said regarding what’s going on in Iraq?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General has…
Question: I mean, there’s such a contrast in the statement you’ve just made; and I am not trying to minimize whatever is going on in Kashmir. But for the average viewer, really, or the people just in the streets anywhere in the world; it’s hard to understand how the peacemaker-in-chief has two different tones regarding two different conflicts. How can you explain that?
Spokesman: Don’t fall into…
Question: I am not falling, I am just…
Spokesman: …the trap of turning the Secretary-General into some kind of a miracle worker and asking him to do something that’s not within his power to do.
Question: I think I’m just being…(inaudible)
Spokesman: He has said more on Iraq. He has probably said a hundred times as many words on Iraq than he has said on Kashmir. They’re qualitatively two different issues, in that the Iraq issue has been debated in the Security Council, has been a subject of intense policy differences at the highest levels of government and so, that is a different issue than Kashmir. And, I think, despite that the Secretary-General has defended the Charter, has nudged the Council in the direction of unity of action for the sake of world order and international law, and in the end, the Council could not agree. That is a disagreement of governments. That’s not the fault of the Secretary-General. Can you imagine anything he might have said that could have changed that outcome?
Question: No, that’s not for me to say; that’s for him. I am not making policy, I am just asking questions.
Spokesman: Well, you’re an editorialist, you can have an opinion. Yes?
Question: Speaking about, we spoke to Ambassador Lavrov earlier and he said that he believed the Security Council is going to meet on Wednesday. Is that correct?
Spokesman: We don’t have word yet when they’re going to meet. I understand that the 661 committee, which met all day Saturday on this draft on oil-for-food is meeting again today. And they still have brackets in the text that they’re discussing. So, your information is probably better than mine. But I have nothing to announce on when they’ll next meet. Yes?
Question: Is there any particular significance of the $106 million contribution to the peacekeeping fund that the US made?
Spokesman: In addition to payments in full to the regular budget, which we always announce, large amounts given to the peacekeeping budget, we also announce. I forget right now what the…but we have a cut-off, everything over
X-million that’s given to peacekeeping we usually give you a heads-up. [Everything over $5 million is announced.]
Question: So, I mean is there any significance in the timing of the US in particular, giving this amount of money at this time?
Spokesman: Not that I am aware of. It’s probably just a matter of how their budget works and when monies that had been authorized became appropriated and payable. But, you’d have to ask the Americans why this payment came in today. Serge?
Question: Fred, some sort of controversy about the Geneva Convention? Who is the depository of this convention? Is it the Swiss or is it the United Nations?
Spokesman: Oh, now we’re going to have to go to the lawyers and ask them. I am afraid I don’t know that. I’ll find out for you and tell you right after the briefing. [The Swiss Foreign Ministry is the depository.]
Thank you very much
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