ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN PAKISTAN, INCLUDING STOPOVER IN GEORGIA, 16 – 19 NOVEMBER
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan departed Tunisia on Wednesday, 16 November, and arrived the following day in Pakistan, where he would attend a Donors’ Conference for earthquake reconstruction to be held the following Saturday.
The Secretary-General was met on arrival at Chaklala Air Force Base in Rawalapindi on Thursday afternoon, by Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri.
After a brief discussion with the Foreign Minister, the Secretary-General spoke briefly to the press on his way out of the air base. He told journalists that he had come to Pakistan to attend the Donors’ Conference. “I would expect the world,” he said, “those with capacity, to be generous and to give, and give willingly and I am not just speaking to Governments, I am also speaking to the private sector and individuals who have been generous in other situations.”
In addressing journalists directly, he encouraged the media to find the right words and images to get the magnitude of the disaster across to their readers and viewers.
Later that evening, in Islamabad, the Secretary-General met with the representatives of the UN Country Team in Pakistan. They briefed on the relief efforts, as well as ongoing UN projects in the country unrelated to the recent earthquake.
Early on Friday morning, the Secretary-General met with President Pervez Musharraf at his Islamabad office. The President statistically recapped the catastrophe: 73,000 casualties; 80,000 seriously injured; 400,000 households and 3.5 million people affected. He briefed on reconstruction and compensation plans. The Secretary-General assured the President that the United Nations was prepared to assist with humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts.
The Secretary-General, accompanied by his wife Nane, flew by helicopter with the President, and his spouse, to Muzaffarabad.
Upon landing in the regional capital, the Secretary-General was given a briefing by Maj. General Khaled Nawaz, the senior Pakistani military officer in the area. The general underscored the need to move quickly before the snow arrived, which was estimated at three to four weeks. The general also made clear that all the Pakistani authorities, the international organizations and the various foreign military units were working at unprecedented levels of cooperation and coordination.
The Secretary-General and the President then flew a short distance to the Thuri Park camp for internally displaced persons. The camp, administered by the local authorities with assistance from the United Nations, houses approximately 260 families or close to 2,000 people. The Secretary-General and his wife had the opportunity to meet with a number of families, many of whom had lost loved ones and were still trying to locate family members.
He also visited a tent where children were being vaccinated for polio through a UNICEF programme.
During the visit to the camp, the Secretary-General and President Musharraf were briefed by Rashid Kalikov of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the challenges ahead, which include getting enough supplies in place before the snow arrives, and dealing with the many spontaneous camps that have sprouted across the affected areas. In a positive development, the Secretary-General was told that UN and Pakistani health experts had managed to prevent an outbreak of communicable diseases usually found in such situations.
In addressing the residents of the camp, the Secretary-General said he had come to express to them the solidarity of the international community. He also promised that help to rebuild their lives was going to arrive. “As difficult as the situation seems, I have no doubt that you will overcome, you will rebuild and you will build even better”, he said. He also paid a special tribute to the women of the camp, who, he said, often bear a heavy load. “You are the every day heroines”, he told them. He also underlined the impressive contribution to the relief effort of the Pakistani population at large.
A short while later, the Secretary-General and President Musharraf spoke to the press. The Secretary-General said that he had been both depressed and impressed by the visit. Depressed by the scope of the devastation, but impressed by the level of cooperation in the relief effort and the determination of everyone to rebuild. He again encouraged Governments, the private sector and individuals to give and give generously. Asked what his message to the world was, he said that “regardless of the distance, regardless of who they are, when so many people are affected, none of us should be indifferent”.
The Secretary-General and the President then took a helicopter tour of the worst affected areas, notably the town of Balakot in the North-West Frontier Province. The devastation, including whole mountainsides that had slid off and the collapsed houses could be clearly seen from the air, as were the many organized and makeshift tent camps.
Before returning to Islamabad, the Secretary-General and the President stopped by the Hattian rehabilitation centre. The centre, run by the Government and a local non-governmental organization (NGO), is a haven for women and children widowed and orphaned by the quake. The centre offers classes for children and vocational training for women. It was designated a centre where these families can stay for a few weeks before returning to rebuild homes in their villages. During the visit, the Secretary-General and his wife visited classrooms and met with some of the families living in the centre.
The delegation then returned to Islamabad, where the Secretary-General had a working lunch with the President, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Kasuri.
Immediately following the lunch, the Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister drove a short distance to the Foreign Ministry for a bilateral meeting. During their discussions, the Foreign Minister briefed the Secretary-General on the developments during the recent SARCC [South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation], including contacts with India. They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan. In discussing the good cooperation between the UN Country Team in Pakistan and the Government, the Secretary-General encouraged the Pakistani authorities to continue their campaign to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. The Foreign Minister also brought up personnel issues at the United Nations which are of interest to Pakistan.
In speaking to reporters at the Foreign Ministry at the conclusion of the meeting, the Secretary-General said that the reconstruction and rehabilitation process would be drawn out. He said he would appoint a Special Envoy who would follow up on the decisions taken at the Donors’ Conference to make sure that the commitments are honoured and that the long-term effort will be sustained and not fade once the cameras are gone.
Later that same afternoon the Secretary-General held a press conference in at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad.
In his opening remarks, he told journalists that he had come to Pakistan to see for himself the devastation and the status of the relief effort and to listen to the Government, the UN staff and non-governmental organizations on what further could be done.
As for the devastation, he said he had been able to see it first hand. “It was unimaginable”, he said, “one had to see it to understand what has happened.”
He also said he had been impressed to discover during his visit to the devastated area how well the Pakistan Army, UN teams and the NGOs were working together in a very coordinated way. “In these kinds of crises, coordination is absolutely essential”, he added.
In answering the many questions at the press conference, the Secretary-General’s noted that the first wave of response by the international community had been weak and tardy. He promised that during the upcoming Donors’ Conference, he would press the international community to give and give generously.
Asked for a reaction to the recent opening of a number of crossing points along the Line of Control, he said that in deciding to open a number of crossings, the Indian and Pakistani Governments had acted “positively and responsibly”. He noted that the openings could be used as a confidence-building measure in the talks initiated by both sides and he urged them to strive harder to find to reach an agreement and understanding. The Secretary-General promised that the United Nations would continue to support the process. In a follow-up question, he was asked if the earthquake could lead to a breakthrough on the talks on Kashmir, much like the tsunami had helped resolve the Aceh issue in Indonesia. He told the reporter that often cooperation on humanitarian issues could lead to a thaw and to an improvement in relations and eventually accelerate the discussions.
In closing, the Secretary-General was asked for his personal impression following the morning visit to the quake area. He said he had been very moved by women and children who had lost husbands, parents and children. “You could see in their eyes the trauma, the pain, the sense of loss and bewilderment”, he said.
But he noted that he had seen hopeful signs of life restarting in tent schools, with young people studying, sitting in the open with the blackboard and their teachers. The Secretary-General also applauded the overwhelming response of the Pakistani people themselves. “It is that sort of community spirit”, he said, “that will make it easier for us to resolve the challenges ahead”.
“The international community can help”, he concluded, “but it is you, the people of Pakistan, who will have to do the heavy lifting”.
Following the press conference, the Secretary-General was taken to the Prime Minister’s office. During their meeting, the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister previewed the next day’s Donors’ Conference. They also discussed Iraq, Lebanon/Syria and UN reform.
In speaking to the press afterwards, the Secretary-General again encouraged donors, whether Governments, the private sector or individuals, to give generously to the relief effort.
The Secretary-General concluded his day by attending a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister in honour of the Secretary-General and the delegations attending the Conference.
Prior to leaving Pakistan, the Secretary-General opened the Donors’ Conference. He told the delegates from over 70 countries and international organizations, that the 8 October earthquake was an unprecedented disaster that required an unprecedented response. He stressed that, while the full scope of the damage was still emerging, it was already clear that Pakistan would require the enduring support of the international community.
The assistance effort, he said, was focused on three main areas: the ongoing effort to save lives, the need to start restoring livelihoods and the longer-term effort to rebuild economies.
Rebuilding for the long term, the Secretary-General said, provides an opportunity to improve on what was there before, notably in the areas of housing, sanitation and education.
All these efforts, the Secretary-General said in conclusion, will require the generous and creative support and engagement of Governments, civil society and the private sector. It will require all our energy and creativity. “It will require us”, he said, “to work as one”. (See press release SG/SM/10220.)
The Secretary-General left Islamabad immediately after delivering his remarks. On his return journey to New York, he stopped in Tbilisi, Georgia, for a technical stopover. He was met by Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuasvili. He had a quick working lunch with President Mikheil Saakashvili. Following that meeting, he told the press that the United Nations was continuing in its efforts to deal with the talks between the Georgian Government and the Abkhaz side. He added, “In the meantime, it is important that all sides respect the rule of law and respect human rights and the dignity of individuals.”