PRESS BRIEFING BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

 

Issues of Africa would comprise most of the Security Council’s business in July, the Council President for the month, Adamantios Th. Vassilakis (Greece), said today at a Headquarters press briefing. 

This morning, he said, the Council took up the situation in the Central African Republic, based on the Secretary-General’s report and a briefing by the Special Representative there.  The electoral process had concluded successfully, and General Bozizé had been elected President with 64 per cent of the vote. 

He said that, at present in that country, the primary concerns included respect for human rights, restructuring of the armed forces, institution-building, economic reconstruction, and addressing the country’s humanitarian needs.  All Council members had expressed the view that the international community should continue to support the Central African Republic. 

Next Monday, on 11 July, the Council would hold consultations on Ethiopia and Eritrea, he said.  The Secretary-General had submitted his regular report on that ongoing peace process, and Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, would brief the Council. 

In the report, the Secretary-General had expressed concern over the present stalemate between the two countries and called on the Council to visit them, he noted, adding that the Council was also concerned and would explore every option, including the possibility of an “on-the-spot” mission.  Some shooting incidents in April had been deeply worrying, and he urged both sides to exercise restraint.  Greece, as lead nation, was in close contact with both sides in New York, as well as with other partners, in order to explore ways to break the deadlock. 

On 13 July, the Council would consider the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he went on.  Under-Secretary-General Guéhenno would brief the Council, focusing on preparations for the elections and related security issues.  The Secretary-General’s report was not likely to be ready at that time, but Mr. Guéhenno would give an oral briefing to the Council, and the report would be discussed at a later stage, most likely in August. 

He said that, although the report was very useful to the Council when it dealt with an issue, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo demanded urgent attention in support of the electoral preparations.  Voter registration seemed to be on track and citizens were preparing to participate in the first elections to take place in 40 years.  The recent postponement of the elections should be viewed as a step towards better preparing for them, he said. 

On 27 July, the President of the Sanctions Committee, Algeria, would present a progress report on the work of the Committee and sanctions implementation.  The mandate of the group of experts ended on 31 July, and its renewal was also expected to be discussed at that time.  He expected a formal meeting on 27 to adopt a resolution on extending the sanctions regime for another year.  France was preparing a draft along the lines of the previous resolution, 1596 (2005).

The Council would hear a briefing on 14 July by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, François Lonseny Fall, on the situation in Somalia, he said.  The Secretary-General already submitted his regular report on that situation, along with the monitoring group’s report on implementation of the sanctions.  The report would first be presented to the Somalia Sanctions Committee on 12 July, and later on, the President of the Sanctions Committee, the Philippines, would brief the Council.  

He added that there was an impasse regarding the Somali Government’s relocation, which was causing concern.  There was a need for dialogue among the country’s leaders, in order to ensure that their location plan was implemented and that the country’s reconstruction was allowed to begin. 

On Friday, 22 July, the Council would hear a briefing on Sudan by Jan Pronk and, hopefully, an African Union representative.  The situation in Darfur remained worrying, both in terms of its humanitarian aspect and political process.  Progress in the Abuja talks was slow.  The parties involved needed to engage more seriously and show the necessary political will to move forward.  He underlined, once again, the valuable role of the African Union in the Darfur crisis.  There was also the sanctions regime regarding Sudan.  Greece, as the Chair of that Sanctions Committee, would brief the Council on implementation at a later stage.

Concerning the Middle East, Council members would hear the regular monthly report by Alvaro de Soto, in his first briefing to the Council in his capacity as Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.  Also coming due was the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). 

He said he anticipated a “very pleasant” discussion about Bougainville, as the United Nations operation there had been successful.  The United Nations office concluded its work and was due to close soon.  Assistant Secretary-General Danilo Türk would brief the Council at a public meeting.  It always gave him a good feeling to discuss success stories, and he sincerely wished the people of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea the best of luck.

On the European front, the Council would consider the renewal of the mandate of United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), for which a formal meeting would be held on 29 July.  As for other issues on the programme, he drew attention to the regular luncheon with the Secretary-General, although at present, he was unable to identify the issues that would be discussed. 

He next drew attention to an open briefing on HIV/AIDS and peacekeeping, set for Monday, 18 July.  The Council had adopted resolution 1308 (2000) five years ago, which had addressed the linkages between AIDS, peace and security, and highlighted the importance of pre-deployment and sensitization for peacekeeping personnel.  It was time for an assessment.  A report would be submitted to the Council, which had invited Under-Secretary-General Guhenno and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, on progress made towards implementation of that resolution.  Guidelines for the subsequent discussion had been prepared, and the Council was expected to adopt a presidential statement. 

As correspondents knew, there was a pending issue regarding the ad litem judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), for which the Council hoped to find a solution in the coming days.

On Wednesday, 20 July, the Chairpersons of the three anti-terrorism committees -- the Counter-Terrorism Committee, the “1267” Committee, and the “1540” Committee -- would brief the Council in a public meeting on progress in their work, he noted.  The wider United Nations membership was invited to take the floor.  That was the second time the Chairpersons of those three committees would brief the Council in a common briefing.  The first had been on 25 April.  Council members believed that was a practical way for improving coordination and enhancing cooperation among them. 

Greece’s Foreign Minister would travel from Athens for a thematic debate on Tuesday, 12 July, on the role of the Security Council in humanitarian crises, he said.  The debate was related to the two recent discussions on peacebuilding and the protection of civilians in armed conflict.  It was different in that it would focus on certain aspects and provide an opportunity for Council members and other interested States to discuss how, in maintaining peace and security, the Council tried to break the conflict cycle and prevent further outbreaks of violence in conflict-affected societies. 

He said that the debate would mainly focus on certain key pillars contained in Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter aimed at promoting long-lasting peace and reconciliation, such as governance, democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights, transitional justice, security sector reform, and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. 

Timely and effective implementation of those measures in societies emerging from conflict or which were conflict-prone was crucial for the peaceful transition to stability and prosperity.  That required a more active involvement of the United Nations, as well as of other international, national and local actors.  That also required consistency in terms of donor aid and the full cooperation of local authorities with the relevant United Nations peacekeeping missions.  The debate would give Member States an opportunity to reflect on those questions and consider whether there was a need for an improved and proactive Security Council role in that field, he explained. 

Asked what he had done so far as Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on the Sudan, he said the Committee had informed all Member States of their obligations under the relevant Council resolutions, and in consultation with the Secretary-General, a panel of experts had been nominated.  Now the panel would travel to the country and prepare its first report. 

In a follow-up question, the correspondent asked for a comment about a new report on Darfur by the International Crisis Group, which had concluded, among other things, that the concept of African solutions for African problems had given the United States and European policymakers a convenient excuse not to honour any more requests. 

Mr. Vassilakis said he had not seen that report, but he had not thought of that as any kind of excuse.  The European Union was ready to provide help, and logistical support was one way to do that.  Everyone knew that the African Union had been instrumental in Darfur, and the European Union did not want to interfere in a way that made things worse and not better. 

The correspondent, noting that that report had also highlighted several enforcement options, such as a no-fly zone, asked whether that was something the Council would look at under the Greek presidency. 

The Ambassador replied said he thought that issue would be discussed in the Sanctions Committee.  He would not go as far as that report, and he had to see what the Committee would decide on that.  He would be able to respond later. 

There was no date for the Council to consider the work of the two Committees in Lebanon, he replied to another question.  The Council would deal with that, but at a later stage, including during the month, if required.

The open meeting on HIV/AIDS and peacekeeping was related to peacekeeping and not to the broader issue of HIV/AIDS in peace and security, he said to another question. 

He said, to a further question, that he was expecting the new Special Envoy to Zimbabwe, Anna Tibaijuka, to submit a report to the Council on her mission there, and, at a later stage, the Secretary-General would brief the Council.  How that would be handled had not yet been discussed in the Council, he added. 

Asked if he expected the Cyprus matter to come up this month in the Council, he said the Council would not take up that question every month, adding that correspondents would be bored if they had to deal with that each month.  Mr. Prendergast had travelled to the island.  Now the parties were thinking about where things stood, and the Secretary-General had to make up his mind about how to proceed.  That was all he could say at present. 

To a question about whether the Council might, one day, consider how billions of dollars had “gone missing” from the development fund for Iraq -- a UN-mandated fund for the oil-for-food monies -- Mr. Vassilakis said that the former Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and United Nations Controller, Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, had briefed the Council on certain aspects of the development fund.  He did not think there would be anything more on that issue this month.  He added that the Acting Director of UNMOVIC, in a regular practice, had briefed him on what he was doing and the Council was briefed this morning.  

Concerning UNMOVIC, he was asked whether he expected any discussion this month or soon on the future of what all of those people would be doing. 

He said he was not sure there would be anything on that this month, nor could he exclude that possibility.  Several contacts were taking place among those most interested, and at some point, the Council would have to consider the issue, but he was not sure that that would be in July.

Asked if he expected the new United States Ambassador to be present in the Council in July, he said he was not worrying if there was a new United States Ambassador or not, because there was one who was doing her job.  If there was a problem between the President and the Congress -- that was a strictly internal matter and had not affected his work at all.  Besides, it was not the Council’s practice to get ready for a new Ambassador in advance, and he did not expect to hear from the United States President about that, anyway. 

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