PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

 

Iran’s nuclear programme, the situation in the Sudan and the election of the next United Nations Secretary-General where the issues that dominated this afternoon’s press conference by the President of the Security Council for April, Ambassador Wang Guangya of China.

Briefing correspondents at Headquarters on the Council’s programme of work for the month, Mr. Wang pointed out that the schedule was relatively light, considering how busy March had been.  He intended to arrange fewer, but more effective and efficient, meetings.  The work programme adopted by Council members today included a number of meetings and open briefings on a range of issues, with a heavy focus on Africa and the Middle East.

There would be several discussions on the Sudan, including a briefing on the 13^th by African Union Special Envoy Salim Ahmed Salim on the Abuja negotiations.  Following a briefing this morning by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hédi Annabi on the latest situation in that country, Council members expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Darfur, and expressed strong support for the African Union Mission in the Sudan.

They also took note of the Secretary-General’s statement on the Government’s ban on the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, from visiting Darfur, and shared his concerns on the matter.  The Council called on all parties, including the Government of the Sudan, to provide more cooperation to the missions of the United Nations.

Asked about the possibility of imposing sanctions, he said the international community wanted to see peace prevail in the country, and the humanitarian situation addressed.  The African Union was playing a leading role in the matter, and the United Nations was playing its role.  He hoped the Sudan would cooperate.  China, as a permanent member of the Council, felt sanctions were not the right way to promote solutions to differences, he added.

A correspondent commented that the Council appeared to be reluctant to ask for visas for an assessment mission to go in and look at what was needed for the transition of the peacekeeping force from the African Union to the United Nations.  Asked if he would try to push that process ahead, Mr. Wang said the visas were a technical issue to be addressed by the Secretariat, and had nothing to do with the Council.

In response to a number of questions on Iran, he said that China believed the international non-proliferation regime must be maintained.  There were two sides to the Iranian nuclear issue.  On the one hand, Iran was a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and its rights under the Treaty must be respected.  On the other hand, Iran must honour its obligations under that Treaty.  The issue was best addressed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the role of the Security Council was to support and reinforce the Agency’s authority, “because the Council itself is not the watchdog on this particular issue”.

He hoped that, after the passing of last week’s presidential statement by the Council -- giving Iran 30 days to take the steps required by IAEA to build confidence in the exclusively peaceful purpose of its nuclear programme -- diplomatic efforts would lead to a solution of the issue.  He cautioned that actions by the Council on the issue, acting under chapter VII of the Charter, would be counterproductive.  “This region itself… the Middle East region has so many problems already, we don’t need to escalate the situation for the worse.”

Asked about the next steps if Iran did not cooperate within the given timeframe, he stressed the need for the cooperation of all parties, especially that of the Iranian Government with the IAEA, in order to solve the issue.  He hoped the major players would pick up the momentum created by the Council’s presidential statement to engage in negotiations leading to a solution that was agreeable by all sides.  He did not believe chapter VII action by the Council would be helpful with regard to Iran.  

In coming up with a solution, it was necessary to put pressure, as well as provide the right incentives, for the Iranians to cooperate.  While encouraging the Iranians to cooperate, they should also be warned about non-cooperation.  They had to realize that non-cooperation would lead to undesirable results.  China, for its part, was talking to the Iranians and encouraging them to cooperate with the IAEA, the EU-3 ( France, Germany and the United Kingdom) and others.  It was ready to play a further role if asked to.

In response to questions on what he referred to as one of the most important issues for the United Nations this year, Mr. Wang said he intended to continue the informal process, begun in February, to seek the views of Council members on the election of the next Secretary-General.  It would take a few months for the consensus-building process to take place.  Member States wanted to see more names from different countries emerge in the next few weeks.

The Charter, he continued, was clear that the Council would play a key role by making the nomination, and the General Assembly would play an important role by approving the nomination.  This year’s process must be more transparent and inclusive, due to the high expectations of Member States of the next Secretary-General.  He hoped the process would involve all Member States and not just Council members.  By late fall, when the new Secretary-General was elected, all 191 Member States should feel they were part of the process.

There was a general view among the Asian Group, and supported by the African Group, that the next Secretary-General would come from Asia, he noted.  Asia had the largest regional group with 54 members and the world’s largest population.  Therefore, Asia could provide the best qualified candidate for Secretary-General.  He hoped that view could be supported by others.  Vetoing candidates should not be considered, he added, and whoever the next Secretary-General was, he or she should act in accordance with the mandate given under the Charter.

Asked about the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, he emphasized that the best solution to that crisis was through the six-party talks.

With regard to United Nations management reform, he said the Organization needed to improve management.  Member States agreed on the need to give more decision-making powers to the Secretary-General.  On the other hand, the United Nations was an intergovernmental Organization.  Therefore, 191 Member States were “masters of this organization”.  It was necessary to balance the two sides of the issue.  On the issue of assessments, he hoped the traditional practice and principle -- that of capacity to pay -- would be adhered to.

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For information media • not an official record